The armors stop moving and all of them seem to be tilting their heads inquisitively while Jub begins a performance with the Silent Image spell that created an illusory bonfire and shadowy figures. It seems that they're curious about what's happening, as the performance begins....
Animated Armor 6 is stopped by the barrier for this round.
Brutrumukk's Turn! I will need a Performance check from the both of you.
Aurora's shortsword easily pierces into the stuffed cat. For a brief moment, it seems like it's going to fall over instead of trying to attack Aurora. However, its jowls curl up and its head jerks twice before the cat sneezes!
After sneezing, a large cloud of dust expels outward from the cat and into the room! After it sneezed, it finally falls over and out of the cabinet, completely unmoving.
Zavakri shakes her head at the dust and she comments to Aurora, "That's why I told you to stand back, Aurora..."
She looks to Gabriel and Rearden to see if they were okay.
Aurora wins the day against the cat!
However, everyone within 30 feet of the cat will need to make a DC 15 Constitution Saving Throw. Failure means you become unable to breathe while sneezing uncontrollably. A creature affected in this way is incapacitated and suffocating. As long as it is conscious, a creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on it on a success.
Other than that, we are now out of initiative. ^_^ Disregard, we're going to need for those suffocating.
While sputtering to clear the sinuses of the dust the cat released, Aurora noticed that Gabriel started to sneeze uncontrollably. "Hold on Gabriel, let me try to help!"
With what haste she could, Aurora recited the words and hand gestures to use magic to clean the dust off of Gabe.
"I'm sorry you two. I did not expect this to happen..." she said with remorse. She had not expected that this was yet another trap or trick of the hag. Once again she had recklessly did something, only now it was her companions who were paying the price. Aurora started to wonder if she was starting to behave in such a way that she disregarded her and her companions own safety. She scolded herself as she cleaned the dust off Gabe criticizing her recklessness.
Aurora uses prestidigitation to try to clean the dust off of Gabriel, giving advantage on his next save.
Rearden barely has time to interpose her staff between herself and the corpse-cat. She shouldn't have bothered--before the thing can pose a threat, Aurora has already skewered it. She lowers the staff and tries to take a closer look at this animated piece of taxidermy, only to get a face-full of the dust.
"Aaaa-choo! I--achoo! I don' thing--achoo!" Rearden struggles to speak through tear-filled eyes and snot-filled sinuses, though not to great success. "Don' thing she--achoo!--had mugch ti--achoo!--time to react--AACHOO" That last, explosive sneeze is apparently the limit; Rearden pulls a handkerchief out of a pouch and blows her nose with a impressively loud trumpeting sound.
Brutrumukk briefly shot a confused glance at the illusory bonfire, unsure as to what its purpose was. He didn't dwell on it too long though, they had to put on a show if they wanted to stave off the armor. And so, Brutrumukk decided to put his singing lessons from Palasha to good use by singing a bard song that had been written about him.
"There once was a noble, so proud an' so vain, Who rode through the village in gold an' in chain. 'E 'eard of a beast, the Spirit they said, Who dwelt within a field rock—the Snorin' Stone its bed.
Oh, the Snorin' Stone sighs an' cold winds do wail, The proud noble’s 'ead tells a grim, grisly tale. 'E offered no gift, no treasure, no bread, Now 'e lies in the dust, 'is body long dead.
The villagers whispered of bugbearish might, A monster unseen in the day or the night. It guarded their 'omes fer a price to be paid— Food, drink, an' coin as offerin's laid.
But the nobleman laughed at their cowardly cries, “I need no gold, no meat, nor their lies. I’ll call on this beast, make it bow to me 'and, No offerin' needed—prestige will command!”
Oh, the Snorin' Stone sighs an' cold winds do wail, The proud noble’s 'ead tells a grim, grisly tale. 'E offered no gift, no treasure, no bread, Now 'e lies in the dust, 'is body long dead.
'E rode to the Stone, 'is voice cold an' clear, "Spirit, come forth! I command you, draw near!" The bugbear did rise with 'unger an' 'ate, Fer gold buys its mercy, but pride seals one’s fate.
"Who are you to demand without price, without plea? I care not fer rank, only what’s given to me." The nobleman scoffed, 'is 'and on 'is blade, But the bugbear's great claws made 'is laughter fade.
Oh, the Snorin' Stone sighs an' cold winds do wail, The proud noble’s 'ead tells a grim, grisly tale. 'E offered no gift, no treasure, no bread, Now 'e lies in the dust, 'is body long dead.
With a roar an' a swipe, the bugbear did feast, On nobleman’s flesh, like ravenous beast. 'Is 'ead it did sever, 'is body it ate, An' left naught but a skull to proclaim 'is fate.
Now outside the Stone, 'is severed 'ead stands, A warnin' to those who make foolish demands. Fer the Spirit o' the Snorin' Stone is moved not by pride— Only 'umble offerin's can make it abide.
Oh, the Snorin' Stone sighs an' cold winds do wail, The proud noble’s 'ead tells a grim, grisly tale. 'E offered no gift, no treasure, no bread, Now 'e lies in the dust, 'is body long dead."
Gabriel clutched at his throat as the dust exploded outwards from the cat, a violent coughing fit wracking his body. His eyes water, and he sneezes repeatedly, each expulsion of air accompanied by a rattling wheeze.
The dust stung his lungs more than even the most wretched and cheap ale he'd ever had the displeasure to partake in, and he felt a strange, prickly sensation spreading through his system. After a moment, the worst of the coughing abated, leaving him breathless and gasping for air.
The bard wiped his streaming eyes, Gabe's face pale and drawn. "By the gods...that was close." he croaked exasperatedly, voice thick with phlegm and eyes watery having to blink several times before he could take his clenched hands from his sides and went to give Aurora an affirming squeeze on the shoulder as thanks and also a gut feeling of a kind hopefully she didn't fret over having accidentally caused him and the other woman Rearden their short-lived malady.
Though he still felt like shit he offered the elf a friendly smile "Oi, Rory? Let's just make it a point to maybe not touch a witches more than likely dangerous objects shall we? That thing was filled to the brim with a kind of magic powder that causes...Well choking and sneezing." he explained, though it was pretty obvious there wasn't much complexity to it.
But he jokingly chided Aurora, gesturing to the cat "At the very least we now know that this place is probably filled with that sort of crap, " he was laying it on a bit thick for the moment, realizing he might sound like he was mocking her he shook his head "Ah sorry, was just trying to brighten the mood...No apologies are necessary from you milady, accidents happen no need to fret over it."
Jub can see that the macaw is helping him by beating his wings and sending gusts of wind towards the bonfire illusion, to make it seem real as it flickers and waves. Between both Jub's magic and Brutrumukk's singing, the armors stop, watch for a bit, before they immediately march back to their posts. It seems that they were letting Brutrumukk and Jub finish their performance for an unseen audience. Once the song was done, applause can be heard all around the theatre, even though the suits of armor are completely stand still at attention.
The macaw leads the way towards the door where the cats escaped and he calls to the both of them, "Nice job! We're in the clear! Now let's hurry!"
The door is open and as Jub and Brutrumukk move, they would find that the suits of armor are not moving to attack them. Should they move closer, they would see bookshelves filled with books and scrolls beyond the door. Other than that, they can't see much else until they cross the threshold.
Initiative is over! Brutrumukk and Jub can continue onwards after the two Grinning Cats!
Everything falls silent as the cat remains limp and lifeless on the ground, the wall remains unchanging from the current frowning face, and the three bottles in the cabinet sit there...ready for the taking should anyone want them.
For Gabriel, in this silence, he can feel that tug on his heart again. His lost item...it's so close!
Should he take a moment to close his eyes and focus on that tug, he can discern that tugging sensation a little better. If that tug was any stronger, Gabriel may fear that his heart would be ripped out of his chest and pulled....up? Towards the ceiling...
Aurora felt a little better when the two got over the effect from the dust the cat expelled. She returned Gabe's smile with her own half-hearted, forced smile. It still bothered her that yet another reckless decision brought harm onto the others and not just herself. "It wasn't much of an accident, Zavakri did try to warn me and I could have closed the cabinet door rather than stabbing it. I suppose it's a moot point regardless as what's done is done" she paused for a bit as she remembered just a few hours ago how she had yelled at Brutrumukk.
The recent memory of yelling at him for his reckless behavior left her feeling like a hypocrite. It also deepened the guilt of putting her companions in harms way. "I'm starting to wonder if my parents were right..." she said quietly before forcing herself to move on. Dwelling on what happened years ago, or just hours ago, was not going to help her now. That was going to be something to deal with when they were less pressed for being stuck in a perpetual swamp with a seemingly endless horde of things trying to harm them.
Aurora looked over the potions weighing whether or not they might be useful. Uncertain of whether or not it would cause more problems, she left them where they were for now. She walked over to the door on the other side of the room. She checked to see if it was safe to open before opening it enough to peer into the room.
Aurora contemplates taking the potions before going to the door to B11, checking it for traps/if it's locked before opening it just enough to see what is in the room.
Rearden leans in to examine the potions for herself, then looks over to Aurora, peering into the next room. Free for the taking, I guess. She stores the potions labeled "Grow" and "Vanish" safely, then opens the one labeled "Shrink" and takes a whiff before storing that one as well.
(Of course, actually drinking the potions would be unwise, but it's better to have the option than not. Sometimes, even in Faerie, things just are what they appear to be... right?)
Entering through the open door, Brutumukk and Jub find themselves in a labyrinth of bookshelves, and...floating books?! The books seem to be all floating above in the air and between the shelves. Some to be putting themselves away, while others are open in the air. A curious sight indeed!
The refreshing smell of new book pages being opened fills the air, along with the sound of a mocking voice, singing a poem,
"Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun The frumious Bandersnatch!"
That voice definitely belonged to the ogre cats! They're somewhere around here...and they are taunting the pair and macaw.
There are three paths open to Brutrumukk and Jub: A path that leads straight to a fountain and another center of crossed paths, a path to the right, and a path to the left.
Nothing of note happens as Rearden takes the potions. When she does sniff the Shrink potion, she does feel a little lightheaded, but it swiftly passes.
When Rearden sniffed the 'Shrink' potion, he notices something. It's faint but he does see that she briefly lost an inch of height. But she recovered that inch after corking it and putting the potion away.
Zavakri meanwhile, looks to the cat carcass and picks it up. She puts the taxidermied cat into her pack and if anyone asks, she would answer him,
"I have a feeling that this cat might be important to have. That's why I'm bringing it with us, just in case,"
Rearden and Gabriel can see that her irises still show the strange golden clock faces.
The door opens with ease. Looking inside, Aurora sees the next room's interior. Slivers of light enter through cracks in the shutters that cover three tall windows. The light reveals the shapes of several pedestals. On each one rests an object with a patchwork cloth draped over it. Wilting ferns in crumbling clay pots give the room its earthy smell. The floor is covered in a layer of straw.
The window straight ahead at the end of the room has a wooden balcony, and the word "Thither" scrawled above it.
"Thanks fer the 'eads up. We'll be sure to keep that in mind." Brutrumukk said when he noticed a hint of sincerity in the cat ogre's voice. "An' since the Rule o' Recipe City's a thing, I'll go ahead an' repay one warnin' rhyme with another..." Brutrumukk cleared his throat then, took a moment to think, and then spoke once more.
"A bugbear once met a grim fate, But returned as a gnome filled with 'ate. If you rouse 'is dislikes, Then beware when 'e strikes— Or yer 'eads'll be mounted on spikes."
Once that was done, Brutrumukk looked around to see if he could see the cat ogres. Predictably, he could not. But although they were invisible, they had just demonstrated that they were far from inaudible. "So what's all this about treasure and deals then?" Brutrumukk asked in an effort to get the cat ogres talking again so that he could listen for where they are. "You said you gave somethin' to the windy nob what runs this place, an' now you want it back. The bird said you gave it as part of a deal you made. One what yer still Benny-fittin' from. What is this deal?"
Brutrumukk makes a Perception check of 17 to try and pinpoint the location of the cat ogre's voice.
Aurora stepped into the room, making sure to be cautious of where she stepped and what was near by. Once she got to one of the shuttered windows, she opened it to let more light into the room so she could better see what was in the room. With one of the windows open she better sees the dome shape on the pedestals under the fabric. Deciding to leave those be in case of finding something less than favorable, she examined the windows and the writing scrawled over the top. With a raised eyebrow and a shake of the head, Aurora closed the shutters to the open window and left the room.
"I do not believe there is anything in there for us" she informed the others before starting to make her way to another room. Back tracking a little bit, Aurora went through the hall of pictures to see what down the hall from the stairs.
Gabriel, his heart pounding a frantic rhythm against his ribs, called out to Aurora, his voice hushed but urgent. "Wait!" he implored, his eyes wide they were so close now "I feel it—this tugging sensation, it's stronger now! What I'm looking for…it's incredibly close. I can practically taste it...Well not really but the point is it-"
The half-elf momentarily paused eyebrows shot up, a flicker of surprise crossing his face as he witnessed Rearden's momentary shrinkage. He blinked, wondering if he'd imagined it, then shrugged between the fact Zav was pilfering the very much worn and ragged taxidermized cat and their fast-friend Rearden sniffing unmarked potions little was outside the norm they were in the Faewild after all.
"Ahem, as I was saying..." shaking his head he spoke again frantically waving a hand to the ceiling "It's somewhere above us!"
Aurora looked through the two doors at the end of the hall of pictures. One for lead to a bedroom that did not have much to it. The other lead to the dinning room the party had gone through earlier pursuing Brutrumukk in his drunken stupor. She noticed the goblin heads mounted over each door. Somehow the elf had missed that on the first time around.
As she was about to proceed further she heard Gabe call out. Quickly returning to the study. She had just arrived back when Gabe shook his head and waved a hand toward the ceiling saying it was above them. Aurora looked over to the stairs that went to the next floor. "Well we can go check up there now. I think we've seen most of this area already when we were chasing thay drunk bugbear."
She waved Gabe over to the stairs as she made her own way over to them and up to the next level.
All Brutrumukk and Jub hear is eerie laughter echoing around them. The sound of the laughter bounces off the walls and bookshelves around them, causing them to sound more and more distorted. Brutrumukk can tell that they are further inside. It seems like going straight ahead is the best option, for now at the very least.
The stairs creak loudly as Aurora leads the way upstairs. Zavakri follows after she speaks to Rearden, "You should come with. Just in case we encounter anything..." Her irises still appear as golden clock faces as she speaks and moves.
Upon reaching the top of the stairs, the party is able to take in the sight of the room.
A ball of light bobs above the rafters, casting shadows over this room, in which the owner's messy habits are on full display. Rumpled and moldering rugs share floor space with food scraps, stacks of dirty dishes, and tipped-over clay pots whose plants have long since died.
A bed that occupies one corner of the room has a pile of straw in place of a mattress. In the opposite corner stands a squat chest of drawers with a watering can resting atop it. The only other furnishing of note is a stocky wooden chest with a sturdy iron padlock. It sits in another corner between two closed doors.
The ball of light drifts down towards the party, but it doesn't do much else.
Aurora, you notice a faint glow of white light begin to shine from one of your pockets. Should you pull it out, you realize it's the Iron Key you received from Telemy Hill. Your attention is pulled to the East Door in this room, where the lock is giving the same glow as the key.
Instinctually, you realize that this key was meant to open that door!
Sshizna...you have been in this room for so long now, you practically know this room like it's the back of your hand!
This musty room looks like a miser's attic. Lying in tall heaps are discarded blankets, quilts, cushions, and clothing of all shapes and sizes, not to mention musical instruments, toys, dolls, jewelry boxes, flower vases, child-sized caskets, and broken furniture.
Among the heaps of junk are a few oddities, including a stag's skull hanging on one wall, a white porcelain jar with chicken legs standing on a table, a fancy helmet placed on the faceless head of a wooden mannequin, and a five-foot-long bronze statue of a giant frog squatting in a corner, its mouth agape and filled with impenetrable darkness.
Most days have been boring and uneventful. But today was the noisiest and busiest day you noticed thus far! New voices talking loudly below...and a show taken place in front of your eyes. The evidence of that show lies on the ground: A dead lornling in the middle of the room.
Now...you hear footsteps climbing up: Four sets of footsteps! It's definitely not Bavlorna...
Could it be...?
...Freedom is so close, you can practically taste it in the air!
For a species that supposedly had little capacity for emotion, Sshizna sure felt pissed.
She wasn’t sure what the worst part of her predicament was. Being captured by one of these realm-splitting loons was bad enough, as was hearing exactly what purpose she had been captured for — but to then be forgotten about like some substitutable ingredient for a common brew? Absolutely inexcusable.
Sshizna wasn’t sure how long her captivity had lasted. Time had long since lost all meaning to her — an absolute irony, considering what her studies had focused on prior to Prismeer’s doom — as she had no means to keep track of it. No sun, no stars, no sounds of repetitive routines outside the door. Just darkness, silence punctured at random, and anger.
Until today.
Today was peculiar.
It had started with what sounded like a group of disgruntled visitors, followed by a short skirmish between a witchy shadow and a lornling (good riddance to the cursed thing). And now, footsteps.
Sshizna straightened her back from where she had been sitting, hunched over the lornling’s body mid-dissection. The steps didn’t sound like they belonged to a regular occupant of the hag’s house. They sounded foreign, new, promising.
Hope was an insidious thing, Sshizna knew, yet she could hardly keep it at bay now. She wiped her viscera-covered hands on the hem of her shirt and made her way closer to the stairs, to the extent the walls of her room allowed. She listened, intent, then weighed her options. To speak up and make herself known to a potential enemy? Or to wait, and see, and — potentially lose out on a rare chance of salvation.
She didn’t need to think for long.
“You there!” She hissed at the strangers through the door. Her voice was hoarse from unuse, words sticking to her throat on the way out. “Approach, ssstrangers. Ssset me free, and you ssshall not regret it.”
Aurora glances to the orb of light that dropped down from the ceiling. It drew her attention briefly before the key in one of her pockets started to glow. Removing it from her pocket, Aurora looked down at it recognizing the key the trees from Telemy Hill gave to her. A quick glance to the door to the left of the locked chest gave Rory an idea of what lock the key was ment for, and with that the glowing faded.
Then someone from inside that room called out. “You there! Approach, ssstrangers. Ssset me free, and you ssshall not regret it.” She had not been expecting someone being in here, and nearly dropped the key. She motioned to the others to ready themselves just in case it was a trap, before cautious walking to the door. "Who are you and what assurances do we have you will not attack us as soon as we unlock this door?"
Rearden frowned at the back of Aurora's head. "Whoever she is"--she spoke in a low voice, hopefully audible only to the room--"it sounds like she's stuck here as much as we are. Moreso, really." She poked at the chest's big iron padlock with the butt of her staff, then shrugged. "I'd say that's pretty good reason to give her a chance." Despite her words, she didn't move to interfere; instead, she turned to examine the clay pots.
Jub made a disdainful face at the cats' rhyme, which only became more so when they started with their creepy laughter. "I hate this so much," he muttered, before following after Brutrumukk.
