Session 11: Ghosts and Grimoires
We begin with the Sprite at 4 health after getting fucking kerblasted by an animated suit of armor wielding a glaive.
Sartorii got the highest initiative, but elected to wait for Rutana to figure out what these monsters are.
Rutana then proceeded to get skewered for 11 damage.
She does recall that constructs' armor drastically drops after they get to half health.
She then just murders the construct closest to the Sprite.
Sartorii scoots back up and fires an arrow at one of the constructs, but the arrow plinks right off.
One of the constructs grabs Rutana and drags her out of the room.
Another steps forward and starts stabbing at Clarence, whiffing each one. He lays hands on the Sprite, healing for 6. Clarence squares up, providing cover for the Sprite to flit behing him. The Sprite shoots an electric arc as he retreats, but the constructs shrug it off.
Another construct steps forward and crits on Clarence for 13 damage.
Rutana expertly twists free of her construct captor's grasp and slashes with her shorsword on the way out, but can't quite deal enough damage to dent the thing. It closes the door and throws a punch at Rutana, but misses.
Clarence takes another 7 damage to the face, then steps around to flank the construct that had been hitting him. He gets one good slash in, missing the second.
The Sprite launches a Magic Missile volley at a construct, blasting it to bits.
Rutana cuts down her captor and emerges from the side room victorious.
And then it's Sartorii's turn to annihilate the last constructing standing.
The suits of armor clatter to the floor. Shades of men rise from each, their hateful glares lingering on the party as the shades fade into the ether.
Once the dust is settled, Sartorii gets to looting the chests.
Lots of general armory items, arrows, leather straps, caltrops, and miscellaneous gear. Much of it is rotten, old and dilapidated, but Sartorii does manage to scavenge some items of worth.
30 arrows
1 bag caltrops
Small baggie of 10 gold pieces
There's nothing that looks like traps in the next room, but the dust filteringthrough the air hovers around impressions of people; ghosts sitting on the beds, likely old enough that they do not remember who they were. They mill around, just existing.
There are a few chests in the room with broken locks and dried blood spatters.
The party decides to leave them be.
They explore south.
Sartorii sees a dining room. Some chairs are knocked over, plates smeared with old food.
She opens the door at the other end of the room. The moment it's open she ducks, and a whole kitchen's worth of silverware soars over her head and embed themselves in the table. A few land on the table and spell "GET OUT" in Common.
On the other side is a startlingly clean kitchen. There's a cabinet with some fine china, and a basin still cycling clean water.
Sartorii peers into the basin. It casts her reflection back at her, but she cannot see into it well.
The reflection solidifies into two arms, grabs Sartorii and pulls her in. She sinks into her ankles, facedown. At the bottom of a dark pit is the chef's corpse, screaming bubbles in her face. Clarence grabs her ankles just in the nick of time and yanks her back out. He high fives Rutana up another 6 health.
This time, the Sprite mage hands the next door open.
The door knocks over a bag of moldy flour that reveals a large, angry ghost shambling toward Clarence.
The shape breaks harmlessly upon his shield.
The next room is a larder full of rotten food and some bottles of very, very old wine.
The party again elects not to take anything, but the Sprite leaves some rations on the stove for the chef.
Recap:
Baron Segrid First is a direct descendant of Sirian First, and asked us to come find and retrieve an heirloom. We can take anything else we want. Everyone else he sent has died.
The party returns to the main hall and comes upon some stairs going up and down. They elect to go upstairs.
Sartorii hears footsteps and a door slam shut around the corner.
Second floor, same as the last. A wrecked hall where an ancient battle plays out on loop, ghosts fighting against something that is not there.
The last ghost standing raises into the air as if skewered and lifted. He looks down, listening to some unseen speaker, then smiles before his assailant snaps him in two.
The party approaches the door at the end of the hall and Clarence knocks to request entry.
There is a long silence, and no answer.
Clarence knocks again, more urgently.
This time a voice calls out, "Who is there?!"
Clarence responds they were sent by Lord Segrin First. When the voice says there is no Segrid First, the Sprite clarifies it was on behalf of his forefather, Sirian First. The man unlocks the door, and the party enters.
A striking humanoid figure stands silhouetted against a room divider, sword in hand and hair quaffed back.
Some banter ensues regarding the party's unique races. The man indicates a slitted window, from which Neeble eating a whole cow can be seen.
Rutana and Clarence notice something off about his silhouette, how he doesn't quite seem to be the right perspective.
A doll hops off the bed and steps around the room divider.
"My name, I believe, is Ser Dori."
The party explains they are here looking for the heirlooms of the First family. Ser Dori says he had an owner, a preteen girl who he kept safe. The party is the first people he has ever spoken too. He thinks the girl's love caused him to be real after a very long time, like an old fairy tale.
Rutana asks if Ser Dori wishes to come with us.
He leaps from the table and agrees to show the party to heirlooms.
He has to jump three times to reach a doorknob.
He leads the party into a little room containing a family's old curios.
Dry-rotted floral dresses, model ships, a little painted portrait of a man, woman, and child holding Ser Dori.
The Sprite mage hands the picture down, and Clarence notices there is Celestial writing on the back. No one in the party can read it, but they sure know someone who can! Poor Astrafel likely doing paperwork this very moment is likely to get another visit from the party.
The Sprite shows the back of the painting to Ser Dori, asking if he can read it. Dori squints at the writing and says, "To Sirian and your beloved family. Your friend always..."
A sigil follows, the same sigil that is on the Celestial map.
The Sprite copies down the writing and sigil, then stows the painting safely away.
The party decides they should search the vault and remaining rooms, but Ser Dori reminds them they need a vault key.
Sartorii proceeds to search a room, and the Sprite searches a vanity for the vault key.
The Sprite glances at the mirror and sees through it like a porthole. It is wavy, like something is moving beyond it.
Three shining yellow eyes, arranged vertically like the plants in Greenwall, slowly open and peer into his soul. He feels tiny, fragile, smaller than usual.
The mirror cracks, and it ends.
The Sprite scribbles down what he saw. Returning to searching the drawers, he finds an immaculate silver mirror bearing the crest of Aldori.
He pockets it with Ser Dori's permission then flits into the hall to resume being Clarence's light source.
Sartorii enters a maproom. The map on the central table is long-faded, with writing around the edges similar to that of the party's Celestial map. Some devices litter the table, lengths of hinged metal that can fold back on themselves and snap shut. When all fastened together they form the shape of a frame with key notches throughout, decoding devices.
Clarence grabs the cypher frames and shoves them in the pockets like breadsticks.
Sartorii continues searching the desk's drawers.
Within one is what appears to be a large, notched, wrought-iron key, what could probably be used as a club.
Sartorii pockets the key.
Next up is the library!!
Book shelves ladedn with books in okay condition!
Too bad the party can't see shit.
Luckily, Ser Dori can see all the shit.
He backflips onto the table and points out several intact scrolls, plus a book in a glass case with a padlock. It has a gray membrane for a cover.
The Sprite pockets the 5 scrolls, and Sartorii sets to picking the lock on the ominous evil book case.
With a 17 in Thievery, the padlock pops right off. The case swings open as if pushed from within. A sickly scent wafts out like dead fish and rotten seaweed.
Rutana takes the book and cracks it open. The ink looks moist and runny, the pages sticking together. They yield, however, and pull apart like flesh peeling off hot leather.
The title is written in Aklo. Rutana recognizes the language, but cannot read it.
The longer she stares at it, the more she feels the book living. She can understand the title just by holding it:
On Alghollthu
She can use the book as a scroll that will never, ever run out.
There are many spells, but she only comprehends one, and she comprehends that using them is dangerous.
The first spell she knows is Water Breathing.
Her hand goes numb. When she closes the book, she sees the skin on her hand has turned transparent. The effect fades when she puts the book away.
She gets the feeling that she could resist this long enough to cast spells from the book.