HLoM: The Firebird, Chapter 2

[Isabella]

"I-I-I had assumed that we had lost the goodman due to the-the shifting times, but if Leila can still scent him, I-I-I can only wonder why he left. It-it seems to me he may be in some danger," Richard replied regretfully, looking pale and sallow. "I-I-I know I-I argued we ought to stay together before, but it-it seems our choices have little bearing on where we find ourselves. I-I think my conscience says I-I must part ways, for I-I-I know Ushka will be in good hands with all of you, and I-I-I fear we may have delayed too long already in searching for Rojan. I-I-I pray we meet again without issue."

[Nathan of the FoS]

"Perhaps we'd better separate after all," Renhalt says, looking back and forth between the doors, obviously dissatisfied and equally obviously not coming up with another solution. "All right, everyone. Whenever you're in this castle--the present--make for the oak tree and make some kind of mark there. If elsewhere, stay together as much as you can and keep your eyes and ears open for signs of the others."

Tara nods. "If you're going with the Baroness, Gudman ben Mansur, I suppose I had better go the other way."

Unless I hear otherwise by tomorrow afternoon, I will divide the party as follows: Lena, Avram, Renhalt and Cattia go for the druid and Ushka; Richard, Tara, Nuray, Altan, and Vasili (+Leila) go for Rojan. Assuming for now that you actually divide that way...


Passing through the hallway through the south doors, you find yourself in what was apparently once a kitchen; the far wall is dominated by a brick oven and a fireplace big enough to walk into, with overturned tables and long benches also hinting at its former use. There is a very decrepit-looking stairway leading upward--so decrepit it seems unlikely that a man of Rojan's considerable size could have passed that way. Leila draws you to a halt at the foot of the staircase. "This is where he went," she says matter-of-factly. "A secret passage, perhaps?"



Passing through the ruined entry to the base of the north tower, you find yourself in a large room lined with broken wooden frames; a single spear, its head rusted, hints at a past life as an armory. In the center of the room a spiral staircase leads up and down.

The dungeon, like all proper dungeons, being downward, you move accordingly to find yourself in a guard room of sorts--one which seems to have been occupied relatively recently; the tables and benches are right-side-up and whole. The door which, presumably, leads on to the cell block is both barred and locked.

[Isabella]

Leila draws you to a halt at the foot of the staircase. "This is where he went," she says matter-of-factly. "A secret passage, perhaps?"

"I-I-I think you are right, my-my lady. Look here," Richard said. He was not normally observant, but at Leila's suggestion he'd run his fingers around the wall next to the stairs, and felt a slight give beneath his fingers. "It-it feels like some sort of counterweight. By Ezra, I-I-I can't imagine what would possess him to walk through this without some-without some form of guidance. Where could it go...? I-I-I'd suggest you all stand back, my-my good ladies and gentleman..."

With that, Richard set his shoulder to the door and tried to push his way through it.

Assuming he doesn't explode/fall in a pit/get sent hundreds of years into the past, Richard will probably draw his sword once on the other side assuming there's no one there who would react in a more negative fashion to that (such as Rohan or one of the non-hostile ghosts).

[DeepShadow of FoS]

While following closely behind Leila, Vasili continues to unravel the edge of his robe and wind the resulting cord around his hand.

"It regenerates," he explains if asked. "Everyone can grab part of the cord, which will remain connected to my robe. It's no guarantee against separation due to time shifting, but it's better than nothing."

Just as he finishes explaining this, the group reaches the juncture between the doors, and Vasili and Leila continue north a few steps with little hesitation. Turning around to offer the cord to everyone, Vasili realizes that time shifting is not what is going to separate them...

"Marvelous. In that case gentlemen, let's be off." Lena said, turning sharply towards the dungeons. "The faster we collect our unknown druid and my familiar, the faster we can look for Rojan."

Vasili stares at Lena in a mixture of surprise and disappointment. Surely she realized that Rojan's situation was far more urgent? Apparently not...

"Perhaps we'd better separate after all," Renhalt says, looking back and forth between the doors, obviously dissatisfied and equally obviously not coming up with another solution. "All right, everyone. Whenever you're in this castle--the present--make for the oak tree and make some kind of mark there.

"Arcane marks may have the best chance of surviving the years unseen," Vasili interjects. He's not sure anyone else here can cast them, but there it is....

I-I-I'd suggest you all stand back, my-my good ladies and gentleman..."

With that, Richard set his shoulder to the door and tried to push his way through it.

Vasili backs away, but Leila crouches close to Richard, ready to attack anything inside the passage that would attack the warrior in the act of opening the door.

Guard action for Leila

[NeoTiamat]

"Ushka mentioned a blocked door." Lena said, looking out at the barrier before her. This was not in her skill-set. Guards, she could charm. Locks had no appreciation for beauty though. "Cattia, darling, I don't suppose that girls' school of yours encouraged activities after hours? Otherwise, Renhalt, any chance you can melt the lock?"

For her part, Lena glanced about the guard room. If she was lucky, there might be a key somewhere around here which would obviate this whole mess.

Perception +10

[dice]0[/dice]

[Revka et al]

The dungeon, like all proper dungeons, being downward, you move accordingly to find yourself in a guard room of sorts--one which seems to have been occupied relatively recently; the tables and benches are right-side-up and whole. The door which, presumably, leads on to the cell block is both barred and locked.

(Pretend I've been talking from time to time; unlike Vasili's paranoid silence, I can't think of a good reason for Cattia to be so quiet. )

"Cattia, darling, I don't suppose that girls' school of yours encouraged activities after hours?"

"As a matter of fact..." Examining the lock mechanism closely, Cattia pulls a nail file and a hairpin from her handbag, and sets to work.

After a moment of two of working, she addresses Avram: "Goodman Ben Mansur, would you mind pushing against that hinge? I need to change the tension on the--"

At that moment, the lock pops open, and Cattia returns her tools to her handbag with a demure but smug smile.

Prestidigitation to clean and oil the lock. Thanks to the preparedness rule, Cattia remembered her "special" nail file and hairpin (i.e. lockpicks), rather than having to improvise. Thanks, Neo!

[Taking ten on Appraise +4 (preparedness), +2 from Renhalt's aid another, that's just enough for DC 16 (for masterwork tools).]

With those tools, she's at Disable Device +10
[dice]0[/dice]

[Nathan of the FoS]

]

Richard pushes the door aside...and he and those with him find themselves in a forest, a grove of oak trees of the size and girth of the lone oak in the courtyard. Rojan is on his knees, watching a tall woman with red-brown hair, dressed very simply in green and brown, with the expression of a small bird hypnotized by a snake.
She turns toward you at your entrance, and you gasp. Her eyes have been eaten from their sockets, and her throat has been ripped out by some ravening beast. The grass around her is dry and dead, and the tree she stands seems almost to shrink away from her presence.

She speaks, with the garbled sound of someone trying to talk with a mouth half-filled with water. "Cad a thugann tú anseo, eachtrannaigh?"



One final turn of Cattia's "hairpin" and the lock snaps back. Looking at the group, Renhalt frowns slightly and opens the door himself. You find yourself in a low, dark hallway, with a door at the far end. Removing an everburning torch from his haversack and handing it to Avram, Renhalt leads the way down the passage to this second door, which is also barred but not locked. Removing the bar, he opens it, and you find yourself in the presence of a very happy fox.

The room is a large one, and filled with crude (but presumably effective) instruments of torture--a rack, two flogging posts, a fire pit, whips, chains and irons. Unlike almost everything else you have seen in the castle, they have been well-maintained and look relatively new and well-made. Ushka quickly leads you down the hallway to the prisoner, who looks up at you with an expression wavering between wariness and such great relief and gratitude that he might break into tears. "Baroness Von Zarovich?" he says, in thickly accented but intelligible Barovian.

[NeoTiamat]

"In the flesh, sir." Lena said with a beatific smile. Ushka yipped once, and was soon perched upon Lena's shoulder, proud as a cat and mistress of all she surveyed. The Baroness glanced at Cattia and made a gesture towards the locks, then continued. "And with whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?"

[Isabella]

"Bi-Bidelia..." Richard drew in a breath, stepping back slightly at the sight of the ghost, though his expression had something in it closer to sorrow than to fear.

Precluding any hostile reactions from the ghost, and/or Vasili providing a conversation that would make this action seem stupid:

Unable to understand her, but hoping she - like others - she had mistaken them for somehow "belonging" in this castle, Richard gave the woman a deeply respectful bow. By necessity leaving Vasili to speak, Richard cautiously approached Rojan, trying to place a hand on the man's shoulder as if to ask or remind him of something.

"Freiherr Rojan," he said quietly, keeping his grip on the other man exceptionally solid.

Assuming Richard can get up to Rojan without resistance from either of them, he's casting Protection From Evil on the other man. Hopefully Richard's weight on him will keep him from doing anything nuts. If not, he's breaking off his attempt and leaving Vasili to smooth it over. If she's asking something along the lines of "what are you doing here" my suggestion would be for Vasili to bluff that we need to borrow/ask "our servant/friend" for something and will only be a minute.

[Nathan of the FoS]

]

The phantom watches Richard warily as he approaches Rojan, moving so she can keep an eye both on him and on the group at the door. She makes no move to interfere with Richard's approach, however.

Rojan shakes himself at Richard's touch, then looks up at him, confused and frightened, but seemingly under no evil influence. "She's got summat to say, Freiherr, but I can't make out her gabble much. I know a little o' the Forfar talk but she's got summat wrong w'her voice. I think she's askin' after our business here."



"I am Dundee ApDundogan, Baroness," the druid replies, his voice rusty with disuse. "I am most grateful your familiar has been so kind as to lead you here. If you'll put me at liberty I will do all I can to be of use to you. No sign of the goblyns, I take it?"

[NeoTiamat]

"We'll have you out just as soon as Cattia gets the doors." Lena said, smiling beneficently upon the druid. She'd have to inquire from Vasili about Forfarian culture and debts of honor. "No sign of goblyns just at the moment, though we heard some phantom piper playing the calling of the clans a little earlier and thought it best to lower the portcullis. We hope to be free of this place by nightfall, though gathering our party may be trickier than originally anticipated."

Taking 10 on all relevant Knowledges -- Anything turn up for Mr. ApDundogan? Info on his Clan or Druidic Circle, perhaps? Also, using it as an Etiquette Check:
•What is the proper etiquette for speaking to [relevant group]?
•Are there any known faux pas I should avoid committing with [relevant group]?

[Revka et al]

Removing the bar, he opens it, and you find yourself in the presence of a very happy fox.

Cattia is also relieved to see the little fox, and tosses her a bite of raw meat.

Once finished with the cell door, Cattia touches the hinges to hush them with a thin coating of oil, then slips inside and starts working on the leg irons. She gives a look to the druid and to Lena with one finger over her lips--talk if you must, but keep voices down!

"How long have you been here," she asks Dundee in Balok, "and how did you come to be captured?" She squats close to him as she works, the better to keep her own voice low.

[Nathan of the FoS]

]

Frowning, the ghastly apparition speaks again. "[/i]Is féidir aon cheann de leat...[/i]" Then her gaze lights on Tara, who has pushed her way to the front of the group at the door. "Tú!" the ghost exclaims, and the forest vanishes, leaving you in a long, wide hallway, in almost total darkness. As the forest scene disappears you see a pillar of slightly luminescent mist standing where the ghost-woman had been; it rushes away through the nearest wall, leaving a faint spray of dark-red drops to mark its passage.

"If only they would all do that," Tara says. "I wonder..."

As the anchoress speaks you hear a rumble of thunder from outside, and the hall is now well-lit by oil lamps; behind you you hear someone cleaning in the kitchen, and the mercenary Colin is descending the staircase and turning toward you. "Oh, there you are," he says. "I'd better show you your room now, I suppose. Follow me."




Ushka heard him refer to the Dagda, which would hint that Mr. ApDundogan is of the oak faction (support the good!) of Forfarian druids, rather than the rowan faction (smite the evil!). ApDundogan is a perfectly good, perfectly ordinary Forfarian name; there are Dundogans living near Immol, but there's nothing unusual about them that Lena knows of. Under these particular circumstances, it will be pretty hard to offend him, tho if you were to disparage the gods of Forfar he would probably feel obligated to defend them.

"The calling of the clans?" Dundee repeats. "Dagda defend us. You had better do your business as quick as you can; the goblyns have already been away longer than I would have expected. I'd be dead, I'm sure, if it weren't for the good god's grace--they forgot me, I suppose. I've been here...ten days? Twelve?"

As the lock on his legs slides open, he stands awkwardly and fingers the chafed wounds at his ankles. "Many thanks, ah, m'lady," he says to Cattia, making an awkward head-bob in place of a bow. "Not much to tell of how they took me, I'm afraid. The goblyns found a friend and I camped in the forest and fell on us by night. My friend..."

Dundee pales, then tears up before continuing. "They brought me back for questioning and their amusements, but it was just before the solstice and they cleared out to Mt. Arawn and haven't come back. Yet."

[DeepShadow of FoS]

Throughout the exchange, Vasili had been rooted to the spot as if he feared a single step might be fatal. As the illusions dissolve, he berates himself for his cowardice and snaps to attention, scanning* for any lingering magical auras in the scene, the blood-spattered wall, and the ranger. As he begins his scan of Rojan, Vasili flushes a little to see the Rashemani appears completely unharmed.

Seeing the others looking to him for translation, he stammers, "Beg pardon; I only understood Forfarian due to Tara's spell cast before we arrived. It has long since expired; I've lost all grasp of it."

With the arrival of Colin, Vasili maintains his concentration on the spell but appears ready to follow. Likewise, Leila slips obediently to her master's side, and the two of them confer telepathically regarding the changes of scenery.

*detect magic, Spellcraft +13 to detect the type of magic.
[dice]0[/dice]

[NeoTiamat]

"You have my assurances, Dundee ApDundogan, that we aren't staying here a moment longer than we have to." Lena said. She caught the look on the poor man's face, and it did little to allay her own worries. "How long we have to..." She shrugged slightly.

"In any case..." Lena said, opening a belt pouch and withdrawing a smaller satchel and picking up a stout stick. "Here. Spell components, and a weapon. Not much, but I'd feel better armed in this place. And..." She drew her wand. "This may also help. A wand for healing. As soon as you are well enough to walk, we'd best go and search for the others."

Giving Dundee a spell component pouch and a club, and healing him to full HP. Let me know how many charges this takes, and if any other spells are required (I can UMD a Lesser Restoration or the like if necessary).