Caelia perked up at the mention of the baron. 

"Daddy? My brother was talking about him. It wasn't very nice. I asked why he was being so mean to his family... he laughed and said we weren't his family. I didn't understand. He also said the spell he's doing would make me hurt my dad somehow. Did I do something bad?"

She curled up in Lilandra's arms. "I really want to go home."

At the hallway, Morthos and Morgan would realize once they got close that the walls were covered in countless tiny holes, and the doors at the end of the hall were made of heavy-looking stone slabs carved with the image of a skull surrounded by eight colored circles. The little gems in the large floor tiles twinkled in the dim light, awaiting, almost daring, the half-elf to try his theory.

"As much as I'd like ta take this one home, that mention o' the spell aimin' ta hurt the baron is concernin'. I think we'd be better ta figure out how ta dispel her before we go back." Thad looks over to the others at the coloured hall and points Lilandra's attention from Caelia to them, "Maybe we should join 'em?"

Morgan gives the hall a wary look.  He nods to the half-elf, gesturing him to go ahead and give his idea a try.

Doubting heavily wether they should turn back or stay. Heeding Thad's words. Either could be a trap. 

(my memory did not fail me, we received a way to communicate )

Lilandra will walk with Caelia towards Morthos keeping a safe distance in case the stones did something bad. Morthos, give me the scroll of sending we received from Iridessa. We need to let them know of what we found. They could help. 

Morthos reconsiders going down the hall for a moment. "I could give it to you, but are you sure you are able to use it? Perhaps I should send a message now to be safe."

(We could use it now, if you think Iridessa could help us even when we are this far in). 

Even though she knows magic, this was not a spell like her own magic. Perhaps you should use it. 

(I think now is the only time to use it. We need to know if we should go back now. Since right now is the point where we did what we set out to do, find Caelia. I know you want to keep going but i think if we open a new door there is no way back and risks the safety of Caelia. )

"You should try to tell them the condition of their daughter too."  Morgan suggests as they pause in the probable fatal act of entering the glowing hall.  He steps back from it as the others start discussing sending a message.  "Maybe the Baroness will know how to revert her back to her normal body."

Morthos nods. "Okay, let's tell Iridessa what we found."

He ponders the contents of the message, keeping in mind the restrictions of the spell. The scroll begins to light up in his hand as Morthos begins speaking in a musical tone.

"Found Caelia, transformed into semi-corporeal deer by her brother. Can you dispel this? Reached Gernacht's cathedral, fought kidnappers, Dakara escaped. Entered cathedral. Should we proceed?" 

As Morthos held the spell scroll, its script luminous with the glow of arcane energy, he received a reply from the baron's wife in his mind as clearly as though she spoke directly into his semi-pointy ear.

[MORTHOS ONLY:]

 And then the script faded from the scroll, leaving behind a blank sheet of parchment. The chamber was silent as, once again, all eyes were upon Morthos.

[MORTHOS ONLY:]

Morthos furrows his brow, growing even more confused. Were his previous suspicions correct, and this was not Caelia after all? 

He replies to Iridessa, "Small deer, unnaturally flawless condition, body is semi-corporeal, added pressure phases right through her. She speaks with a disembodied voice, sounds exactly like Caelia."

If he has time to, he explains to his companions that Iridessa was able to scry on Caliea. 

"Her mother claims that she sees Caelia sitting in the dark, in the form of a girl, not a deer. What do you make of this?" 

Hearing this, Thad uses his Divine Sense to look at the deer held in Lilandra's arms (trying to identify if it's celestial, fiend or undead in nature as a starting point for us).

[Faint celestial signature from the deer. Weak undead energy at the far edge of your range beyond the door at the end of the western corridor.]

[Rules as written, Divine Sense doesn't go through total cover like walls, doors, the ground, etc. but I think that makes it less cool.]

(OOC - no worries. Faint reading makes sense still, I think.)

"This creature sounds like Caelia, though gives off the aura of a celestial," Thad says to the group, then he points towards the door to the west, "There is some form of undead back there. We should proceed with caution." Thad then looks back at the creature, "You're not Caelia. What exactly are you?"

Morgan is not all that known for patience. he waited while the scroll was used, then stood around while nothing seemed to happen. The use of magic had always interested him, so that kept his attention a bit longer than would have been usual for him. That, after a bit, lost its luster as well, so he soon was up by those closed Northern doors looking for any signs of a trap or anything.

Perception: 8 (if investigation subtract 1.)

Lilandra looks puzzled at the deer and back at the others. How can that be, she knows us. She cant be an illusion. 

She stands up and takes a step back. There is more magic in you then i ever felt before. 

The ghostly creature looked up at everyone as they spoke about her, visibly wincing at Thad's accusation followed by nodding her little deer head furiously in response to Lilandra's defense.

"Yes! It's me! Promise! I know I'm different right now, but I already told you it was magic. And I know what celestials are. They're angels, right? Does that mean... I'm dead?" Caelia then looked to Lilandra with shimmering doe eyes. 

Before the young druid could respond, however, Caelia was distracted by glimpsing Morgan approach the northern doors. "W-wait don't go there!"

Trotting across the chamber to catch up to the nobleman, she then kept pace beside his powerful strides as he reached the large and heavy arched doors. "I came from that way! There's a big, horrible monster in there! It tried to get me but I went through the walls and got away! Don't go in! Please please please don't go in!"

Perhaps distracted by the creature's frightened pleas, Morgan wouldn't discover anything amiss with the doors themselves, which were unlocked.

[Morgan may or may not recall that Morthos also investigated these doors just before activating the bizarre orb-eating puzzle machine.]

[MORTHOS ONLY:]

"Well, if ya came from that way an' there's a creature in there, p'haps that's the way we need ta go?" Thad says as he checks over his gear once again in preparation for a coming battle. "I fer one am keen ta clear out whoever is responsible fer takin' Caelia." Thad looks to the small deer as he says this, but his look is more accusatory and distrustful.

Having completely missed the subtext of Thad's comment, the little spirit animal smiled with its eyes.

"Aw, thank you!" she said sweetly. She then blinked and tilted her head quizzically.

"Hmm? Oh, Commander Thadraes, what's that big cup you're holding?"

Her gaze was directed at the massive fiendish chalice in the dwarf's possession as it glittered in the light of Morgan's torch.

Morthos replies to Iridessa, "Understood. No scroll now, how should we communicate? Can you send aid? Otherwise, we will continue and be careful." 

He moves over to the deer. "Don't worry about that. It's none of your concern."

He turns to Thaedren and taps his pack, suggesting that the chalice should be removed from "Caelia's" sight. If this was some sort of illusory celestial, it may have ulterior motives for it's interest in the cup. 

To Morgan, he says with a laugh, "You up for trying out those colored tiles again? What's worst that could happen, other than certain death."

If the nobleman agrees, Morthos will return to jumping on the tiles. 

Thad looks at the chalice in his hand, having been engrossed in everything else happening, he'd forgotten all about it. "Ah, er... this? Ah, well, it's just somethin' I happened ta pick up earlier." Taking Morthos cue, he drops his pack to place the chalice away, but not before taking one last moment to look at it again, the temptation to utilise it in order to take care of Dakara all too real.