Aurora looked over the items that were in the cupboard. Many seemed like small trickets, things of personal value mostly. "I think most, if not all of, these used to belong to other people. Perhaps things Bavlorna took as part of a bargin or stole out right. There might be some sense of attachment to them as well. I don't think we should take any of them." She said after looking through some of the things. The small ceramic cauldron did catch her interest briefly. Carefully taking it down, Aurora checked the inside and just found the slip of paper. "Spittlespew?" She frowned and put it all back. "That seems to be an odd thing to store in a small bauble."

She went to close the cupboard and paused turning to Gabriel. "You said you had the sense that your lost thing was somewhere here. Did any of these things seem to be it?"

Gabriel shakes his head and answers Aurora, "I'm afraid not. None of them even looked close to the item I lost," He then grumbles in frustration as he rubbed one of his temples with one of his hands, "If she has it, then she must be keeping it somewhere else then,"

Zavakri speaks up, "We do have two more doors to check on this floor. The scales of fortune are also tipped slightly in our favor: We do know a good deal about the layout upstairs, so we're at least prepared for the second floor, without having to deal with that witch,"

@Lurking Krog@ctrlsaltdel@Dark Cloud

Aurora closed the cupboard, and turned the hourglass back to how she found it. "Right then, I suppose we should move on to the next door." She walked out of the room and went to the door that was between the sewing storage room and the room with the cupboard.

Upon seeing stairs ascending upward she turned to the others. "Looks like this goes to the next floor. Do we want to check the other door first or just head up? There are also those stairs over there we can use." She pointed to the stairs on the other side of the pool.

Rearden shook her head. "Let's make sure everything's clear down here before we move on. As unlikely as it seems at the moment, I'd like to be as sure as we can that there's nothing nasty waiting between us and our way out of here. And besides," she added as an afterthought, "it feels neater that way." She set words to action, marching over to the last remaining door and opening it cautiously, staff at the ready.

Aurora easily remembers that when they fled the Hut the first time around, with the Drunken Bugbear Brutrumukk in tow, she and her friends used the spiral staircase in the Preservation Pool room. Opening the door, she is hit with a gust of swampy wind, and she sees the outside!

This flight of stairs runs along the outside wall of the cottage, with wooden doors at the top and bottom of it. A rickety railing hugs the edge of the staircase, which looms above the foggy lake. A steady droning sound comes from a shadowed corner above the door at the top of the stairs.

@Lurking Krog@Dark Cloud



Rearden opens the door easily to see this ten-foot-wide balcony running almost the length of the cottage. It is covered from end to end with living frogs, all croaking and ribbit-ing as they hop about amongst themselves. At each end of the balcony, attached to one corner of the cottage just beyond easy reach, is a clothesline draped with patchwork garments. The two lines stretch out over the lake and disappear into the thick fog.

@ctrlsaltdel@Dark Cloud

ribbit... ribbit... ribbit...

Rearden surveyed out at the balcony wordlessly for a few moments, listening to the cacophony. As her gaze tracked across its length a particularly fat toad, crouched on the railing of the balcony, met her eyes.

They stared at each other.

"Ribbit."

She slowly closed the door again, then turned to face Rory, over by the corridor leading to the stairs.

"I stand corrected. Shall we go up?"

Rory looked up to the corner where she heard the droning, before turning to the cacophony coming from the door Rearden just opened. When Rearden closed the door and suggested heading up, Aurora looked back up the stairs toward the droning sound.

"Perhaps the other stairs. It sounds like there is a hive of insects or something up this way. I would rather not find that out right now." She said as she closed the door to the outside stairs. "The railing also seems rather... unstable looking as well. The spiral stairs held up for us the last time and we had a drunk bugbear in tow."

Aurora went over to the stairs and went up slowly listening for any sounds of movement from the mini-Bavlornas or the redcap cook that were here last time.

Aurora leads the way up the spiral staircase and into the familiar hallway. The walls of this dank hallway are covered with scores of portraits depicting grumpy, sad, frightened, and angry people. The figures include humans, elves, halflings, bullywugs, and goblins, among others. The portraits are rendered in a variety of mediums, including paintings, etchings, and sketches. All are displayed in gaudy, gilded frames.

A framed oval mirror two feet wide and five feet tall hangs in the middle of one wall.

The door ahead (leading to B10) is open. Aurora would recall that that door lead to the lounge where Bavlorna and Charm were speaking with each other.

@Lurking Krog@Dark Cloud@ctrlsaltdel

Aurora pointed at the open door. "That is the room Bavlorna was having tea with Charm in. I suppose we can start there." She walked to the door to peer in and make sure it was clear first before going into the room. She carefully starts to look around to see what the hag stored in this room.

"How did you end up here in Hither?" Aurora asked Rearden.

Jub looked over at Brutrumukk incredulously when the barbarian started snapping his fingers and ordering everyone to stop fighting. In fact, he was starting to act like this was a dance routine as opposed to an actual battle. "What are you-" Before Jub could get the question out, however, one of the suits of armour decided to slam their shield into him, causing him to almost lose his balance again. "Ow!" He is super tempted to send another Fire Bolt at the armour, but another one of the suits almost hitting him again caused that anger to fade into annoyance. He shot a look at Brutrumukk, hoping he knew what he was doing before following the macaw over to the stage.

The Animated Armor that first tried to strike him pursues Jub as he makes his way to the stage. However, he seems to stop in his tracks, as though forbidden from going onto the stage. The metal trembles and vibrates as though it was trying to push through an unseen barrier. Thankfully, this means that Jub is safe! ...For now at the very least...

The macaw calls out to Jub, "Great! Yer on stage! Now do something! ANYTHING! Whatever performing talent ya like to show off ta yer friends--now's the time ta use it!"





@XxFellsingxX@rush99999

Seeing that the armor was seemingly unable to follow anyone onto the stage, Brutrumukk rolled clear of his current attackers and made for the
place of safety.

As Aurora checks the room, Rearden takes a moment to idly inspect the mirror.

"Hm? Uh, well..." She thought for a second, then shrugged. No harm in telling the truth. "I don't actually remember. I was traveling to a farm outside Vember's Crossing to tend to one of the workers there. I took an afternoon nap under a tree, and woke up in this swamp."

"Certainly quite the rude awakening that must have been," Gabe remarked shaking his head "Aye what I'd give if I took a nap right now and woke up in a tavern somewhere else...If only this were all a bad dream." the bard sighed.

All of the armors follow Brutrumukk and Jub to the stage, but all of them are stopped by an unseen barrier. The metal of their suits tremble and vibrate as they seem to come into contact with the invisible barrier.

However, Jub and Brutrumukk would be able to see that one of the armors is starting to push through. Merely being on the stage is not enough. They'll need to do something!

One of the armors begin to stretch out their gauntlet towards the pair of them.





@XxFellsingxX@rush99999




As Rearden inspected the mirror, she would notice that her own reflection stares back at her...their expression not matching hers at all. Her reflection's expression is completely bereft of expression or emotion.



Aurora does see that the study is indeed clear. The room doesn't seem to have changed at all...

The room is filthy. Dirty dishes and bits of discarded food lie everywhere. The furniture was perhaps once of fine quality, but now stains of mysterious origin mottle every surface, and the upholstery has been patched numerous times. Set with its back to the wall in one corner is a hulking wooden cabinet. Sturdy legs support the bottom of the cabinet six inches above the floor.

A decrepit wooden staircase climbs up the wall in another corner. It is now completely open for investigation.

@Lurking Krog@Dark Cloud@ctrlsaltdel

"Oh, that would be most upsetting. How long have you been here?" Aurora asked before heading over to the cabinet. She peered underneath briefly before trying to open it to see what was inside.

"I do agree with you Gabe. This place has slowly started to feel more and more like a bad dream as we've kept going. More so after leaving that inn. This brand still hurts and itches." Aurora's mood started to sour again thinking about how badly the group suffered when ambushed by the Harengon. The thieves tools had sentimental value as they had come from Alexander, and that Agdon took them. "Down right miserable dream if it is one." She muttered softly to herself.

After checking the cabinet she noticed it was locked and muttered a few more choices words about Agdon. "Would any of you happen to have a hair pin or toothpick? This cabinet is locked and that blasted rabbit man took my proper lock picks..." She asked and grumbled some more while checking the cabinet for possibly weak points to hit with the hammer or pry at with her crowbar.

Rearden watches her own impassive face in the mirror. The rest of her body seemes to reflect normally enough, even as she waves her hands in front of her face, but her twin's expression remains blank. She tilts her head, then pulls at the corners of her mouth, sticks her tongue out, and makes a noise. "Bwehhhhh..."

"Certainly quite the rude awakening that must have been,"

She whips her head around, wiping her hands dry on her tunic. "Tell me about it. It took me a while to stop pinching myself."

"Oh, that would be most upsetting. How long have you been here?"

"Hard to say, really. If I had to guess, it's been some weeks, but it's hard to keep track of time here, and I've been busy most of the time trying to stay dry. And alive."

Rearden walks into the next room, then leans down to frown at the cabinet with Aurora. "Hairpins? No, I can't say I do... Oh, wait a minute!" She leaves the room at a slight jog, and her footsteps echo from the stairwell, then re-enters the room a minute later, holding a pincushion bristling with sewing pins. "Is this anything?"

As Aurora grumbles about the situation, wooden creaking can be heard. Should anyone look towards the sound, they would see part of the wooden wall of the cottage now looks like a frowning face. That doesn't impede Aurora's and Rearden's efforts to open the cabinet.

Aurora was able to find the lock to pick underneath the moss, and discern the weak points of the cabinet itself. Thanks to Rearden, Aurora was able to improvise lockpicks from the sewing pins stuck into the pincushions. Using multiple pins in each hand, Aurora is able to unlock the cabinet and open it!

Aurora is able to see that there are two shelves. The bottom shelf has three potions, with labels written in Elvish. Aurora is able to read the Elvish labels on each bottle. The first potion is labeled with "Shrink", the second potion is labeled as "Grow", and the third potion is labeled as "Vanish".

The topmost shelf holds...a stuffed, taxidermied cat? The cat shifts, shambles, and comes alive as Aurora and the party takes in the sight.

"Mrrrroooooowwww..." The cat gives a low angry growl at Aurora and the party, before arching its back and hissing at the group. It's clear that this cat is hostile to the party, and raised its claw ready to attack!

Zavakri widened her eyes, her irises now resembling gold clock faces, and she exclaims, "Cor! Stand back, Aurora!"





@Lurking Krog@Dark Cloud@ctrlsaltdel

"Great! Yer on stage! Now do something! ANYTHING! Whatever performing talent ya like to show off ta yer friends--now's the time ta use it!"

For someone who prided himself on being a showman, Jub's mind was blank for an embarrassingly long amount of time. It didn't help that he was tired and could physically feel how long on magic he was. "Okay, errr..." He looked at Brutrumukk, then at the armours and then back again. He then cleared his throat. "Ahem... gather round, for the greatest show on... wherever the Hells we are!"

He casts Silent Image to create a spectral bonfire in the centre of the stage, the flames shifting through various hues of the rainbow.

At Zavakri's warning, Aurora looked up to see the cat inside raising it's claw to attack. Out of pure instinct, she drew her shortsword and jabbed the point right at the center mass of the cat. "I am not in the mood for this today!"