Cinnamon Rolls Have Eyes
The party is on in full swing, everybody is eating the delicious food along with the wonderful drinks. Brandy is busy dealing with some of the customers, 'So you want spider cookies?"
Ga'Elian tries to slip unnoticed into the back rooms. Looks around to get the lay of the bldg.
Selia sneaks. It's what she does, mostly as a force of habit. Having a solid reason to be sneaky takes things that little extra level. It's not that hard, really, just a matter of having an innate understanding of where people are going to look, and being somewhere else. Garrin, really, is sneaky.
Far sneakier than most who know him give him credit for. He's casally moving along just behind the halfling. HALFER. LUCHT! Whatever!
Tiny Dancer.
The backroom is... almost completely empty. There are some stairs leading down into a celler, but the most interesting part is in the center. There is a glowing red portal shimmering, with a hallway made of stone past it. Cesran pages: Still have room?
Selia takes a quick circuit of the room, looking for perhaps a third option, though the steps and portal certainly get a look. Little legs only move so fast, but they keep moving, making for an end speed quicker than some might anticipate. (Talent: Fast Stealth)
Ga'Elian sneaks around to look for anywhere less attention drawing. But if nothing is found, will offer, "tunnel?"
A closer look at the stone hallway through the portal shows there are no light sources on the other side.
Selia hrmms softly, stoping near the portal, and waves her hands in a meaningful way. "pointpoint wiggle right wiggle finger left finger up finger up left wave" <unknown> Remaining silent, Garrin wiggles his fingers in Selia's direction, as well as Ga'elian. "wave up left up" <unknown>
Selia considers a moment, still talking with her hands. "Maybe. How long do we have?'
Garrin nods towards Ga'elian. Seems in agreement with him. He starts to creep towards teh stairs.
Ga'Elian replies with his hands, "Maybe we should check out the stairs first then come back to the portal?" <handspeech>
The stairs lead down, and ringed around them is a faint glow. One that a certain wizard in the area will reconize immediently as a alarm spell, along with a few other wards to prevent people going down, and to warn if somebody does.
Selia hesitates at the magical glow. Magic is not her forte, but she knows a trap when she sees one.
Cesran comes up behind Ga'elian and he whispers to him, "Don't be alarmed. It's Cesran, there is an alarm spell as well as a few other wards on the spells. If you'll give me a moment I will dispel them or try to."
Ga'Elian?s eyes enlarge momentarily as he hears a whispered message. He stands aside.
Garrin gives a gesture. Ready to mvoe on is an obvious one that should be apparent to anyone observing him.
Ga'Elian gestures, "We have a wizard working with us here." <handspeech>
Selia nods, having figured something was up. "Who?" <handspeech>
Ga'Elian responds, "C E S R A N". <hs>
Cesran casts a spell trying to be as quiet as he can and the spell goes off, but he doesn't say anything. There is a low swear as he starts to cast the spell again. The spell happens, but this time Cesran swears a little louder. There is some rustling of robes as he's pushing up his sleeves and he casts another spell. Cesran moves around to Ga'Elian, "The stairs are safe now. Sorry it took so long."
Ga'Elian signs, "I can go first, unless one of you prefers to. I'm interested in finding useful information to discover what this Brandy might be hiding." <hs>
Rolling his eyes, Garrin nods towards Ga'elian with a sigh. Wizards. They're sucha pain!
Down the stairs you find a empty room, nothing of interest in it at all! Magical or otherwise is in the area at all, just a square 20ft by 20ft room.
Selia nods, eyeing the steps, and waiting for another to proceed. One might notice her shadow is looking the other direction. Or perhaps more accurately, her Shadow Companion, Issa.
Ga'Elian probes around using fingers and listening to seek hidden doors.
There appear to be no hidden doors in the area.
Ga'Elian signs, "A bare room could be a red herring, but I'm not quite ready to give up on it yet. Maybe one of the stairs had a concealed compartment?" He heads back to the stairs to check them out.
A voice can be heard coming down the stairs, "Oh mistress orders, i follow. Mistress orders, i follow." The voice is a childs, and soon a child comes into view, a undead skeleton child. "Oh mistress wants... the children put over there, and the doors over there. Oh so much work so much work..." the child giggles, "Oh I wonder what games she is playing today." She is clearly unaware of the pressence of people. Then stops and appears to sniff the air, "Wait... magic is gone... well some magic is here. Looking towards the direction of cesran her eyes glowing a faint red.
Selia moves quietly, silently, partly towards the door, partly to have the.... 'child'.... surrounded should this get violent.
Ga'Elian waits to see where the 'child' goes to follow the mistress's orders. He rests his hand on his whip.
Garrin's expression clearly reads it: OH FOR GODS SAKE. One does not need hand speech to interpret that.
Cesran looks towards the others and he whispers, "There is a demi-lich down there, it's the child. She's surrounded by protective magic. She can see me, we can make it to the stares or confront her. Thoughts?"
Ga'Elian reaches for his quiver and grabs his bow. He nods at the 'child'.
Selia is pretty much thinking 'ohshitohshitohshitohshit...' But so far as -productive- thoughts go.... not so much. Does get her blade in hand, so there's that.
Selia rapidly moves up behind the bony kid, across from the...whatever that angel looking thing is... and slips a blade between its ribs... wait, dang it, when all that there is ribs, a blade between them means a miss!
Ga'Elian remains still and silent, but makes a mental point of focusing his efforts upon this 'child'.
Cesran casts a spell to give himself more time. He shakes his head as his spells seem to be weak today, perhaps it's the phases of the moon. He tries to make good use of the time he has and casts magic circle against evil on himself as well as start to cast a summoning spell. He calls upon an angel. An Astral Deva appears next to the demi-lich and shakes its head as it raises its warhammer, "Begone foul being." It slams it's warmhammer once, twice, three times as the warhammer flashes each time trying to disrupt this undead where it stands.
The child turns and blinks a moment, staring up at the Deva as it rains down its fury on her. He head getting crushed in a good bit and her humor gone, "What... who... where... when... Mommy is not going to be happy if I don't get the job done!!" then lets out a shriek as she flails her arms dramatically and steps to the side as she quickly chants and suddenly most super fast and is gone from sight.
Selia maintains her combat stance, looking around warily. "....it gone gone, or jus hidin gone?" she asks of the Deva. If you can't trust a celestial being, who can you trust? You paged Cesran with 'Deff a time stop spell, and the rest is a blur. There is no more magics in the area.'
Ga'Elian speaks softly, "Well, I guess she didn't want to fight head on. Maybe she's getting reinforcements. She'll likely be back. Maybe we should go check out the myztiq portal. When I was watching this place from a couple weeks ago, they never seemed to get any deliveries. I'd bet they did through that portal."
Selia nods. "Reckon iffen our cover ain't gone, will be soon. Dat portal won't be around fer much longer."
Both Cesran and the Astral Deva look around. "Well she's not in the room. I can find her, but that ladies and gentlemen was a lich. I can find her." He says as he take bits of her off the warhammer. He nods to the Astral Deva, "Thank you for helping us. Do you mind staying with us?" The Astral Deva nods.
"...damnation," says Garrin as the child vanishes. "Well, /that's/ not good. Where did they go?" he asks, glancing towards Cesran in the hopes he can locate them.
Cesran takes a moment to cast a spell well aware that time is ticking. "She's at the Moon's Crossing, it's an abandon keep far far north in the lands of Heth. I can teleport us all there."
Selia says, "Save it. Bet my stash the portal goes there. Save teleport fer commin back."
Cesran nods to Selia, "Let's go then, the angel has about 2 minutes before they have to go back." He says as he starts to head to the portal
Ga'Elian heads to the stairs and up, without putting his bow away.
Selia nods, and heads towards the steps up, sidestepping a little when reaching the shadows near the wall, going back to being sneaky.
At the top of the stairs is now stone, with no more exit visible. Impeding any progress out.
"...do we really want to go all the way there?" asks Garrin, cautiously. Mostly becasue he doesn't like the idfea of jumping into the lands of heth without much prep.
Cesran looks over to Garrin, "We can go there wreck up the place and I can teleport us back, we just have to stay together. Let's hurry."
"I think that's... I think not, CEsran," says Garrin, shaking his head. "You have a location. Let's get more help. If it's just us, we'll probably get ourselves murdered."
Ga'Elian says, "Yeah, I just wanted to snoop around and find out for sure what's what. I don't mind fighting, but let's not dive head-first into the enemy's home base.
Ga'Elian tells the angel, "Thanks for your help." <celestial>
Ga'Elian says, "I for one think there's a whole lot more going on than we've seen yet, and I'd like to follow the trail a bit longer."
Selia is nervous, but that's pretty much her default state. Glacing to her shadow a moment, she nods. "They were playin. They ain't rilly ready. Give 'em half a chance, and they will be. Do damage while we can."