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  1. - Top - End - #91
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    BlueKnightGuy

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    Spider dips its head into the bowl of water and happily starts lapping it up, making little tiny waves in the water. It's silent for the moment, as it drinks. Then Spider comes up for air and immediately begins talking again. "I don't think he lived in the house. Oh no! Did I invade his nest!" the spider's tone shifts to worried distress. "Was that why he was stabbing me? I must have been really, really bad."

    "Sshh, sshh, calm down. Can you tell us what the man was like first? We've seen what the... nest owner looks like," Gweyir takes a seat on corner of the bed as she talks, trying to comfort the worried spider.

    "Oooh, well he had a face with a nose. And he had hair. Really really long hair, all over his face, but none of it on his head. And he was small and wide. And he had a big long stick that was glowing and had a poking bit like a sharp stinger at the end."

    Taking in spider's description, Gweyir nods along. "Well, I don't think you hurt the nest owner, so don't worry. The master of the house had no big long hair on his face." She looks up to Kellon and shifts out of her softer, kid talk tone from dealing with Spider. "It sounds like it was a dwarf."

    While they talk, Anton takes a seat at the table and opens up a small personal journal similar to the one the nursemaid had, beginning to jot things down in it.

  2. - Top - End - #92
    Firbolg in the Playground
     
    Prehysterical's Avatar

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    The village seemed to consist of only humans, from what Kellon had seen. Perhaps the dwarf had been another outlander like them? He had a suspicion that searching through the dwarf's belongings would likely bring some answers. Looking back down at Spider, Kellon asks, "Spider, it is very nice to meet you, but we need to get some rest. We were in the Mist earlier, you see, and Gweyir here was very sick from being in it. We would be happy to talk more later, but we need to get some sleep. Would you mind if we come up to the attic later? The above space? We are trying to figure out what happened to the nest owners."

  3. - Top - End - #93
    Firbolg in the Playground
     
    BlueKnightGuy

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    "Okay, Kellon! You can visit my attic nest anytime, new friends!" Spider cheerfully affirms. It dips its head again and drinks most of the rest of the water in the bowl before it goes. Crawling around Kellon back under the hole in the ceiling, it shoots out a web above and starts to lift off. "I'm going to eat more bats and bugs and get a nice breakfast! Sleep tight, eat very good bedbugs!"

    "Um, have a good breakfast," Anton looks up from his book and waves. Spider waves a mandible again, as it did with Gweyir's greeting, before ascending back into the ceiling. "What a pleasant little fellow."

    Getting up from the corner of the bed, Gweyir returns to her chair and sits once more. "It's kind of nice to see a friendly face for once, in this place. Even if it's a spider face."
    Last edited by RandomWombat; 2020-10-19 at 11:10 PM.

  4. - Top - End - #94
    Firbolg in the Playground
     
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    Were he capable of it, Kellon would be smiling as he waves farewell to Spider. In response to Gweyir's remark, Kellon responds, "I'll take that spider over this entire village so far. This one only takes what it needs and doesn't judge by appearances." Turning his gaze to Anton, Kellon suggests, "Well, you should get back to sleep, Anton, unless you are now so taken with your little book that that's impossible. One of us will be sleeping, whichever way."

  5. - Top - End - #95
    Firbolg in the Playground
     
    BlueKnightGuy

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    "I think I'm too awake to get back to sleep at this point," Anton answers tapping his fingers on the desk. "Go ahead and get some rest. I'm recording some things in my journal."

    With no complaints for Anton volunteering to run a second shift, Gweyir folds her legs back up to return to her meditations. "May as well. We don't want to sit around too long."

    Spoiler: OOC
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    Since Spider interrupted the second half of the rest, they'll finish the rest now - and Gweyir finish her second rest.

    That's it for me tonight, got to turn in for work tomorrow. Probably not much posting will happen tomorrow, Tuesdays are busy ones for me.

  6. - Top - End - #96
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    The others may be too wired, but Kellon happily goes back to rest. A few hours later, he wakes up feeling completely refreshed and ready to take on whatever the house has to offer... barring any surprise dragons or archfiends.

    Before things get rolling, there is one thing Kellon wants investigated. He carefully approaches Anton and flashes him the Ghost card from earlier. "You seem to deal in sorceries. Can you tell me anything about this?"

  7. - Top - End - #97
    Firbolg in the Playground
     
    BlueKnightGuy

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    The rest is welcome to weary bones, but soon comes to an end. The Mist has not retreated, and many dark forces still lurk in the corners of this house of death. Hearing Kellon stir, Gweyir stands from her chair and stretches, working out any remaining stiffness from her time in meditation.

    Looking up from his writing, Anton closes the little journal and reaches up to take the card in hand. "How fortuitous! Earlier this... well, can't tell if it's morning, but let's say morning for convenience's sake. I prepared and memorized an Identification spell, in case we should find anything cursed in this place." Setting the card down on the table in front of him, bringing his hands together with his fingers and thumbs in the shape of a rectangle, much as he had before. This time a shimmering sheet of green light takes form between his hands, and glows behind his eyes.

    "Hm...!" the magician hums in a pleased tone. "Not exactly cursed, but not exactly not cursed either. It appears to be part of a set. Something in it calls to others, a greater whole." Picking up the card, Anton turns it over to examine the other side. The back of the card is inlaid with strings of silver in flowing patterns around its edges, and in the center is a stylized silver sphere that gleams like a full moon. "According to my Naming Magic, this is the Ghost, one of a set known as Mother Night's Tarokka Deck... what those words mean is anyone's guess. I can conjure names, but not what they mean."

    Finally, he hands the card back to Kellon. "As to its effects, one who attunes to it will be able to call upon its power to speak to corpses, and ask them questions. For a time, it can also allow the bearer to walk as spirits do. On the other hand, its connection to the other side means that the bearer can be turned by holy powers as those same spirits."

    Spoiler: OOC
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    Kellon has obtained The Ghost, one of a set of magical Tarokka cards.

    (A cleric bearer is not affected by their own Turning, only that of others)

  8. - Top - End - #98
    Firbolg in the Playground
     
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    Kellon regards the card as he would an orca: respectful of both its power and its potential to cause problems. He stashes it in his belt pouch before heading back to the table to get himself some more fresh water. Sated, Kellon makes sure to grab his oil lamp. "Well, might as well be thorough today. I will be heading up to the attic to inspect it... I am sure that Spider will be glad for the company. You are welcome to stay or come with. The dead dwarf might be up there, Anton, and it sounds like he had some magical items on him."

  9. - Top - End - #99
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    BlueKnightGuy

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    Anton nods, collecting the alchemy jug and carrying it under one arm. "Certainly. May as well bring this along, don't want to lose track of it!" He falls in step behind Kellon - but not too close.

    Taking up the rear, Gweyir adjusts her belt to slip the silver sword's scabbard into it. "I may as well accompany you as well. I'd rather not wander alone around this place."

    Together they cross through the landing above the stairs, where the stinking tiger rug is still lying there. Now that he knows where it is, Kellon easily shifts the false wall out of the way, opening up the path to the attic. The wooden stairs creak as he walks up, and one of them is too worn and rotten - snaps beneath him, sending his leg down through. But the others hold and he is able to pull himself up the rest of the way. The two behind him skip over the missing step.

    At the top of the stairway is a door, which they enter. On the other side is no fancy landing or hall, but a dusty wooden hallway absolutely covered in webbing that sticks to Kellon's feet. The web-covered hole from below is right ahead. If there is any blessing here, Spider's webs appear to be helping hold the place together, and the wooden floor stops creaking.

    There are a few other doors in the attic. One of them stands out, nearest to the hole in the floor, because the lock is on the outside, not the inside.

    "Hewo fwens!" Spider speaks with its mouth full, coming around the corner with a limp rat hanging from its mandibles slowly being drained into a desiccated husk of rat jerky as the arachnid drinks its insides.

  10. - Top - End - #100
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    Kellon's heart stops for a split second when one of the stairs breaks underneath of him, but heaves a sigh of relief when the rest hold. He will be a very happy tortle when he is out of this damnable place.

    Mindful of Spider's presence, Kellon refrains from complaining about the feeling of sticky webbing against his claws. Somehow, it's less offensive than the foul dew they ran through yesterday. Besides, it is a small price to pay for not crashing through the ceiling.

    Kellon gives a small wave of greeting to Spider's welcome, trying not to look too closely as Spider enjoys its meal. "Hello again, Spider. Please, don't mind us; we are just going to check these rooms up here." As Kellon makes for the door opposite of the locked door, he asks the other two adventurers, "I don't suppose either of you have a lockpick?"

  11. - Top - End - #101
    Firbolg in the Playground
     
    BlueKnightGuy

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    Spoiler: OOC
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    To clarify, it's one of those deadbolt locks that you turn, not a padlock or keyed lock. The turning bit is on the outside, allowing it to be locked and unlocked from the outside.


    "I do not, no," Anton answers as he follows, struggling a little to step through the webbing - he is not as physically strong as Kellon and Gweyir. The elf shakes her head as well, and leans down to pat Spider on the back, seemingly not disturbed by its eating. Such is nature's way after all.

    "It's nice to see you got a good breakfast, Spider."

    "Yup!" Spider finishes its meal and sets the rat down. Kellon feels the crunch of more bones beneath his feet, leftovers from past meals. True to its word, there are no human (or human-like) remains among them. The dwarf's remains aren't in the hallway either.

    Opening the door at the end of the hall, Kellon finds a dirty old guest room that doesn't seem to have been in use when it was abandoned, all of the sheets and bedding folded up and put away in a wardrobe. There is a slender bed, a nightstand, a wood-burning iron stove, a writing desk with a wooden stool, and a rocking chair. In the window box sits a smiling doll in a yellow dress, cobwebs adorning her like a wedding veil draped down her back.

    Lying on the unmade bed are shriveled, mummified remains of a dwarf, his dried and peeled skin partially eaten by other insects since Spider laid him to rest. Across the chest of his body is a spear, the head of which is glowing with a white light and adorned with the symbol of the blazing anvil of Moradin. He is clad in ring mail that is still in decent condition.

    Crawling up behind Kellon, Spider tugs at the bottom of his backpack. "You are looking for lock wigglers?" it asks. "I know how to do the wiggling using little bones!"
    Last edited by RandomWombat; 2020-10-20 at 09:09 PM.

  12. - Top - End - #102
    Firbolg in the Playground
     
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    Fortunately, the bottoms of Kellon's feet are tough enough not to mind occasional poking from the odd rat or bat bone. Kellon has mixed feelings upon finding the dwarf's corpse. On the one hand, Spider was just defending itself. On the other, Kellon imagines dying alone in a foreign land, without anyone knowing your fate... A terrible fate.

    Kellon's musings (and appraisal of the spear) are interrupted by surprise tugging on his backpack. Ponderously looking past his shell, Kellon blinks in surprise at the offer. "Well, now, that is very useful, little one! I do not think that we need that for now, but I will keep that in mind. I would certainly like to see you do it! Now, could you please the room for a moment? I would like to give this dwarf some last rites. It will help his spirit move on, hopefully to Moradin's forge halls."

  13. - Top - End - #103
    Firbolg in the Playground
     
    BlueKnightGuy

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    "Okay, tell him sorry for me!" with that, Spider shuffles back out of the room and closes the door behind it. "Kellon is saying goodbye to the dwarf," he hears Spider telling the others through the thin wooden door.

    Kellon is left alone with the body of the dwarf. Thankfully, no vengeful spirits seem to erupt at the worst possible moment.

  14. - Top - End - #104
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    It is difficult for tortles to kneel due to their shell, so Kellon instead bows his head and closes his eyes as he says the words.

    "Moradin, I am not one of your priests, but I call on you nonetheless. Please, see this poor lost soul home, so that his kin may find peace and closure. Welcome him into your halls and let him feast with his ancestors. In the name of the Tempest, may the currents of the afterlife bear his spirit swiftly to rest. In the name of the Storm and the Anvil, let it be so.

    ...And Spider apologizes for killing him, so please be merciful and gracious."

  15. - Top - End - #105
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    BlueKnightGuy

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    If anyone hears his prayer, Kellon does not know. For the room is as silent as ever, only the sound of a slight draft and quiet chatter from outside between the other three.

  16. - Top - End - #106
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    It was about all that Kellon expected, really, but it had to be done. At least the dwarf's spirit was not haunting the room and swinging a spectral weapon around in furious vengeance for his untimely death.

    Kellon goes to the door and opens it, waving Anton inward. "Anton, I found the dwarf. Could you come take a look at his spear? It's blessed by the gods, but I can't tell much more beyond that."

  17. - Top - End - #107
    Firbolg in the Playground
     
    BlueKnightGuy

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    The three of them are outside, with Gweyir talking with Spider, and Anton trying not to touch anything and get his clothes caught on the webbing.

    "So your ancestors used to live in a cave?"

    "Yup! And then Spider led us outside, and we lived outside where there was a lot more food!"

    At Kellon's invitation, Anthon squelches his way over across the webbed floor, happy to cross into a room where the webbing is not so thick. "It seems that all spiders are simply called Spider," he comments as he slides into the room and looks around. "I suppose they tell each other apart some other way. Smell, perhaps?"

    Standing over the fallen dwarf, Anton restrains himself from touching the spear for now, holding out his hands in a familiar gesture. The screen of green light shimmers between his fingers as he examines the spear. "Well, it is no grand artifact of 'Moradin', as I'm sure we surmised from Spider's survival. It is simply made to provide light." He closes his hands and lowers them to his sides, turning his head and examining the dwarf. "He is quite wide and sturdy for a dwarf. I get the sense that, much like elf, the meaning of the word is different where you come from. I've begun to suspect we may not be from the same plane at all."

    Gingerly, Anton picks up the spear and says, "Off." The spear's tip stops glowing, dimming down until it is only a normal spear head. "On." The spear begins to glow again, shedding light around its tip. "Your dwarves are an uncomplicated and practical people, if their craft speaks to them," he observes, offering the spear to Kellon.

    Spoiler: OOC
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    The Spear of Light has a Light cantrip on its tip that can be activated or deactivated with On and Off commands, and triggers the light sensitivity trait of things like kobolds. It provides no bonus to hit or damage, but does qualify as a magical weapon for bypassing resistances.
    Last edited by RandomWombat; 2020-10-20 at 10:04 PM.

  18. - Top - End - #108
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    It is hard for Kellon to not respect the dwarves for their ability to combine function and simple beauty in their creations. Kellon douses his lamp and accepts the spear from Anton graciously. "'Uncomplicated' does not fit their notions of honor, but their craft is well-respected among all races. We shall use this artifact until we come across a priest of the Forge-Father. The church has more right to the weapon than we do, but it shall do us much good in this accursed house. Still, it is strange... Dwarves are known for their ability to see in the dark. What need would one of the underfolk have for a light-bearing spear?" The question is rhetorical; Anton is most definitely not the right person to ask.

    Kellon intends to do a more thorough search later, but it is best to quickly check the rooms before getting "lost in the reeds", as his father would have said. He steps past Spider and Gweyir to approach the latched door. With one hand on his new spear, Kellon opens the latch.

  19. - Top - End - #109
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    BlueKnightGuy

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    "Perhaps the light is not to see, but to frighten or to blind?" Anton suggests, following Kellon outside. "Underground creatures such as moles can have very poor eyesight when it is too bright for them."

    The two of them rejoin the others in the hallway, and Gweyir gets ready as he opens a new room. The latch turns and clicks open, and Kellon swings the door open inwards. Insight is a somber sight.

    There is a single bricked up window, flanked by two dusty, wood-framed beds sized for children. To the right of the door is a toy chest painted in once-bright yellows and blues that have faded beneath a thick layer of dust, and peeled with time and water damage. Spots of wood that are more damaged than others suggest some places on the roof leak, dripping down when it rains. To the left of the door is a dollhouse, modeled after the house they are in. Kellon recognizes several of the rooms they've already explored, and it gives a fairly good view of the ones they haven't. The third floor and attic are a lot nicer on the model, as they must have looked back in their own day.

    Lying in the middle of the floor are two small skeletons wrapped in familiar clothing. The smaller has a doll clutched against its chest with its little arms, while the larger is wrapped comfortingly around its lesser sibling.
    Last edited by RandomWombat; 2020-10-20 at 10:32 PM.

  20. - Top - End - #110
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    Anton raises a good point, Kellon is forced to admit reluctantly.

    Opening the door, Kellon audibly gasps. "The children... by all the gods..." Life is hard and uncertain, he has learned, but the death of those who have not learned to take care of themselves is always a tragedy. He takes a deep breath through his nostrils and releases it with a sigh. "When all is said and done, they shall need a proper burial. I will not leave them like this."

    Unfortunately, that will have to wait. The Mist has no respect for funerary rites. He approaches the dollhouse and looks at it with great curiosity. If it is modeled after the same house, perhaps it can provide some clue as to what might lie ahead.

  21. - Top - End - #111
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    BlueKnightGuy

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    The model house reveals the rooms yet to be explored:

    On the ground floor there is a dining room, a kitchen and adjacent pantry, and a sitting room with a glass cabinet containing some crossbows on display.
    On the second floor there is a ballroom containing a piano, a library, and a hidden room behind a bookcase that on the dollhouse is very obviously a door. There is also a small servant's quarters tucked away to the side, with an adjoined closet.
    The third floor they explored completely.
    And in the attic there is another guest bedroom beside the childrens' room, and a storage room full of spare furniture.

    Spoiler: Kellon Perception
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    There is a door hidden in the storage room in the attic, which even on the dollhouse is not obvious. Kellon is able to reach out and open it up, revealing a hidden spiral staircase that appears to descend throughout the entire house. Wherever it leads, the model house does not show.


    As Kellon touches the dollhouse, he feels a slight chill. Not the dark powerful fury of the specter, but as he turns he can see two translucent figures standing in the middle of the room, over their skeletons. Thorn still clutches his little doll.

    "Please don't take anything from the dollhouse. I don't want it to get lost," the little girl asks.

    "Hello friends!" Spider peeks into the door and waves a mandible at the children. Thorn smiles from his shy hiding spot behind his sister and doll and waves back.

    "Henlo."

  22. - Top - End - #112
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    The dollhouse proves to be full of information, even allowing Kellon to see a hidden staircase. Since the exit is not immediately obvious, they can do without probing its descent for now.

    Itching in his scales prompts him to turn around and he startles at the reappearance of the children. They seem as harmless as ever, however, and Kellon relaxes. He hopes his smile reaches his eyes since his beak is incapable of it. "I am sorry, little one. I was just admiring this tiny little version of your house. It is a very nice home." His tone grows more sad as he is forced to ask, "Tell me, children, why were you locked up here? Who locked you in?"

  23. - Top - End - #113
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    BlueKnightGuy

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    The girl looks down. Thorn seems too shy to speak much, so she does it for him, "We... mother and father would lock us in here when they brought guests down to the basement. Father said, he didn't want us to see what was down there. Said we were still too little."

    Thorn holds his doll tighter. "That's where the monsters howl."

    "One day, mother and father never came back. I tried to break down the door, but I was too small," the girl recounts. "We got hungry and thirsty, and then we just got tired. And I held Thorn and we went to sleep."

    "It wad just me and Rose until friend Spider come," Thorn says. Spider slips by into the room and walks over to nuzzle Thorn. Its head phases through the boy's body and leaves little misty streaks, but it seems to tickle and causes Thorn to laugh and giggle.

    Gweyir and Anton each watch from either side of the doorway. "Well, there is no doubt that these are ghosts. But they don't seem like dangerous spirits at all." Even the usually either fascinated or unfazed writer's voice dips low, and his eyes watch the children sadly.

    "They just locked their children up in a room?" Gweyir asks, rhetorically - and angrily. "So they could go do... gods know what?!"

  24. - Top - End - #114
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    Not quite the scenario that Kellon had feared, but this was not much better. Their parents must have run afoul of their own rituals and the children perished up here, since no one else knew about the hiding place. The fact that these children have retained their innocence even in the face of such death and evil makes their fate all the more tragic. Just the thought makes Kellon physically ill, a lump in his stomach.

    Kellon gives Gweyir a look, showing that he shares similar feelings but silently asking for quiet. Turning back to Rose, Kellon tells her, "When last we spoke, we did not have time to introduce ourselves. I am Kellon, the lady behind me is Gweyir, and the man is Anton. Now, Rose... Tell me everything that you can remember. The names of your parents, your nursemaid, anything that seemed strange... beyond the scary noises in the basement. How did your parents make so much money?"

  25. - Top - End - #115
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    Gweyir contains a primal growl in her throat, choking it back. She nods and calms herself before her shouting can scare or upset the children - though Spider is doing an admirable job of keeping Thorn cheerful, and Rose seems very levelheaded for her age.

    "It's nice to meet you. I wish it were under better circumstances," Anton bows his head to the children.

    "Pleased to meet you, Anton and Gweyir, and Kellon," Rose performs a formal curtsy in her spectral dress. "Our parents were Elisabeth and Gustav Durst. Our family were Barovian nobility, and owned the farmlands around the windmill west of town." She speaks with the fluency and clarity of a child well-educated, in spite of her neglectful upbringing. "Miss Georgia was our nursemaid. She took good care of us, and tutored me and Thorn. She took care of little baby Walter too - but I never got to meet him," she says sadly. "She never came to check on us, but I hear her crying sometimes."

    "We spoke with miss Georgia," Anton tells them in a soft voice. "She really wanted to help you, but she couldn't. I think she would want to say sorry, and that she cared for you both. She left for a better place now."

    Rose's sad face turns up into a wistful smile.
    Last edited by RandomWombat; 2020-10-20 at 11:33 PM.

  26. - Top - End - #116
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    Perhaps an overly generous spin on the situation for Anton's part, but at least the children now know that their neglect was not due to their caretaker abandoning them.

    Kellon thumps the butt of his spear on the wooden flooring emphatically. "Well, rest assured, young Miss Rose, that we will put a stop to whatever evil has been hidden in this house. May Tempest strike me down if I lie!" A claw points to the sky, hidden as it is by the roof.

    Turning to the other adults, Kellon continues, "But before we descend to the basement, we must inspect the rest of the house. There is another bedroom and a storage room here in the attic. I suggest that we investigate those before we head down to the second floor."

  27. - Top - End - #117
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    Gweyir takes a step inside the room and walks over to the beds. "Children, do you mind if I use your pillowcases?" she asks. Rose nods and looks down at Thorn, who thinks it over and then nods as well. Gweyir looks up at Kellon and says, "I'm going to collect their remains to bring with us, so that we can give them a proper burial later. I'll be down in a moment."

    "Do you want to come explore with us?" Spider asks. The little boy smiles and nods and steps inside Spider's body, seemingly melding into the creature, Rose following with Thorn holding her hand and pulling her in. There is a brief blue glow in Spider's eyes. "Let's go exploring! I show you my best secret hiding spot! Hey, stop pushing."

    "I suppose if everyone else is going downstairs, I will remain with Gweyir for safety. You know where to find me if you need me to elucidate this or that," Anton steps into the room, perhaps just to get out of the webbed hallway, and takes a seat on one of the beds.

  28. - Top - End - #118
    Firbolg in the Playground
     
    Prehysterical's Avatar

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    Default Re: Curse of Strahd Solo Run (IC)

    While Kellon appreciates Gweyir's thoughtfulness, there are things going on that have a higher priority. Still, that is something that she can do while he investigates the other rooms in the attic. Kellon nods his understanding. "Very well. I will make a sweep of the other rooms while you gather the remains."

    A sympathetic shiver runs through Kellon's bones as he watches the children seemingly possess Spider. He steps over to the neighboring bedroom and performs an inspection.

  29. - Top - End - #119
    Firbolg in the Playground
     
    BlueKnightGuy

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    Default Re: Curse of Strahd Solo Run (IC)

    The second guest bedroom is much like the first, but covered thoroughly in Spider's webs. A bed of webbing seems to have been woven on the floor, and there are more desiccated and skeletal remains of small pests such as rats and bats.

    Spoiler: Kellon Perception
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    As he sweeps over the room, Kellon notices a small gleam of silver inside of the iron stove against the wall of the room. Pulling aside the webbing keeping it shut and opening it up reveals the silver lining of another Tarokka card lying in the bottom of the empty stove. Turning it over reveals The Innocent, with an image of a young human woman, surely a great beauty by their standards. Her hair is curled up at the sides and she wears clothes which somehow blend the fineness of wealth with a humble bearing.

  30. - Top - End - #120
    Firbolg in the Playground
     
    Prehysterical's Avatar

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    So... this is where Spider made its home. It seemed that even a mind as alien as Spider's liked the idea of a separate room.

    He almost misses the Tarokka card in the stove, of all places, but the sheen on the back of the card catches the light just right. This house proves more and more unsettling by the hour... What sort of force would leave these magic talismans lying around? Another mystery for Anton to decrypt.

    Kellon steps across the hall and enters the storage room. He is on his guard; the layout of the furniture in this place make it a perfect candidate for an ambush.

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