Chapter 33: Nightmare House

[Scott308]

Ingrid Esthof

Well, either the dimensions of this place do not conform to the reality we know or it perhaps overlooks the first floor.

The cleric follows after healing Mouser once more.

Cure Light Wounds [1d8]=8
Inferno, it looks like you subtracted Ingrid's CLWs from second level slots instead of first level.

[OGRE MAGE]

Bo moves inside, sticking to his routine of looking up the nearby stairway for anything he can see above.

[ChubbyPixie]

Telkis glances at Bo, then tip-toes to the window in the south wall and peers through.

[ravenn4544]

Mouser is grateful once more for the healing. He follows the group with an eye over his shoulder at the casket.

[Inferno]

Second Story, The Accursed Mansion, The Dreamlands
Day Three. Morning? Monday, December 26th, 576 CY







In what feels like a dream, the doomed heroes venture deeper into the accursed mansion that bestrides existence itself.

Ingrid resists the allure of the chained coffin and joins with the others in carefully following west.

Long Bo peers up the curving stairway and finds no door at the top. He can glimpse the fine ceilings of the chamber above.

Urdur finds the nearest walls of the hallway sound and devoid of secret passages. From a distance, he believes the candlestick and the mirror to be of value although he does not recognize the style.

Telkis alone creeps to the open window in the southern wall and peeks out.



It looks down upon the grand entry hall below. There, surreally, nothing stirs.


Actions?!


Map Detail:

One square = 10 feet. Lighter areas are visible.





PC Status:

Faron, Human Thief 5: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 18/22, Glowing Sword
Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 4/5: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 19/21, Spells: 3/3 1st lvl, 2/2 2nd lvl
Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 5: Move: 6", AC: 3(1), HP: 15/25, Spells: 0/5 1st lvl, 5/5 2nd lvl, 2/2 3rd lvl
Jerome, Human Paladin 4: Move: 9", AC: 3(1), HP: 19/23, Laying Hands: 0/1
Long Bo, Human Druid 6: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 31/41, Spells: 6/6 1st lvl, 4/4 2nd lvl, 2/2 3rd lvl, 1/1 4th lvl, Light stone
Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 5: Move: 9", AC: 0, HP: 28/37
Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 5: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 14/15, Spells: 4/4 1st lvl, 2/2 2nd lvl, 1/1 3rd lvl, Torch

PC Magic:

Protection From Evil, 10' Radius (Jerome)

Player Resources:

Tale of Terror (the story so far)
A Dark and Terrible World (maps)
Blasphemous Iconography (the story so far in images)
Desperate Struggles (clues and player notes)

[jemmus]

Faron says to the group, We should remember the mirror and the candlestick as possible loot. Gods know we could use some coin. That is, if there is a world out there to spend it on.

[Urson]

Jerome
Jerome starts to say something about theft, but stops when he remembers where they are. He joins Telkis, looking North around the corner.

[SocraticLawyer]

Urdur follows the rest of the group into the next room. He expects something horrible to jump out at them at any time.

Are the candlestick and mirror small enough to fit in Urdur's backpack? Urdur has ambitions to research some better spells if he makes it back to the real world, but he'll need some coin first.....

[ravenn4544]

Mouser also slides quietly forward into the room to see what the darkness reveals.

[OGRE MAGE]

Bo stays where he is, watching up the stairs and back towards the entryway the group just came through in case anything should show itself while they search.

[Scott308]

Ingrid Esthof

With Jerome toward the front of the party, Ingrid will stay toward the back of the party, holy symbol at the ready. Just in case. Not that she really thinks something might come at them from behind. Nope. Absolutely no way that would ever happen. She's just staying true to her philosophy of "Better to be careful than to be ghoul food."

[ChubbyPixie]

Telkis huffs and turns from the window. He makes his way to the opposite side of the room, using the corner as cover to check out the northwest quadrant, gripping Cranach in both hands, all but certain he'll be using it again sooner than he'd like...

[Inferno]

Second Story, The Accursed Mansion, The Dreamlands
Day Three. Morning? Monday, December 26th, 576 CY





In the strange, disembodied sensation of a dream, the doomed heroes carefully advance and peer around the corner.

Beyond lies a door and, against the northern wall, a large candle-lit shelf of dusty, old tomes.




Actions?


Map Detail:

One square = 10 feet. Lighter areas were visible this round.





PC Status:

Faron, Human Thief 5: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 18/22, Glowing Sword
Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 4/5: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 19/21, Spells: 3/3 1st lvl, 2/2 2nd lvl
Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 5: Move: 6", AC: 3(1), HP: 15/25, Spells: 0/5 1st lvl, 5/5 2nd lvl, 2/2 3rd lvl
Jerome, Human Paladin 4: Move: 9", AC: 3(1), HP: 19/23, Laying Hands: 0/1
Long Bo, Human Druid 6: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 31/41, Spells: 6/6 1st lvl, 4/4 2nd lvl, 2/2 3rd lvl, 1/1 4th lvl, Light stone
Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 5: Move: 9", AC: 0, HP: 28/37
Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 5: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 14/15, Spells: 4/4 1st lvl, 2/2 2nd lvl, 1/1 3rd lvl, Torch

PC Magic:

Protection From Evil, 10' Radius (Jerome)

Player Resources:

Tale of Terror (the story so far)
A Dark and Terrible World (maps)
Blasphemous Iconography (the story so far in images)
Desperate Struggles (clues and player notes)

[SocraticLawyer]

Urdur follows the others into the room. If nothing unpleasant surprises them, Urdur checks the bookshelf. He uses his ring to determine if any of the tomes are magical or contain magical writings.

[ravenn4544]

Mouser can't help but be drawn by the allure of the books. He has had such a successful history when it comes to books....

[Urson]

Jerome
Jerome keeps his place, watching for trouble.

[ChubbyPixie]

As some of the crew go to inspect the books, Telkis will scurry over to the western door and, if it opens into the room, put his foot at the base of it to prevent someone walking in and surprising them from that quarter.

[jemmus]

Ever on the alert for possibly valuable loot (even in circumstances as bad as these, and possibly just to cheer himself up and keep his professional thieving skill partly honed), Faron also investigates the books. As a scrounger and re-seller, he knows that books can be surprisingly valuable to the right buyer. Most valuable, of course, are tomes of magic spells. It crosses his mind that one of those found in this place would probably be full of such horrid stuff that it would make even the master of an assassin's guild test his ethics about releasing it on the world. Second are histories of lost caravans and wrecked treasure ships. The market for those is fairly local, though. Next is all of the rest. Who knows what some odd person might want to buy and read. Or not buy, and not read.

He first checks the book cabinets for evidence of moveability-- rails for rolling wheels, etc. And then scans the spines of the codexes for sign of a unusual, more frequently used book that may be used as a key to unlock the way to a passageway behind. And finally, begins perusing the spines of the books themselves and the titles.

Open Locks 52% [1d100]=67 Find/Remove Traps 40% [1d100]=39 Read Languages 20% [1d100]=36

[Scott308]

Ingrid Esthof

Ingrid accompanies Telkis in guarding against any unexpected visitors through the door. She is not overly concerned with whatever books might be found in this foul place, but will not prevent others from examining them.

[OGRE MAGE]

Bo moves to the door and presses his ear up to it, listening for any action beyond.

He will check for any clues around the frame and try to peek through the crack at the bottom to detect for any light coming from beyond.

"I so hope there is no one currently at home."