(PF) maggie's Rise of the Runelords: Skinsaw Murders IC

[bcool999]

Taladron

Taladron was just finishing magically examining the scrolls Sirus placed on the table, when Brin started her outburst about a ghost being in the room. "Well we should be wary then, I believe this room belonged to Traver in some fashion since these appear to be mementos he collected, and we all know what happened last time we ran into his spirit. By the way, Setsuna, I have a scroll here you might be interested in. It should give Maethilur a better edge should she need it. I will hold onto it for now we can study it later okay." Taladron says as he slips the two scrolls into his haversack, "We should stay in the circle and keep moving. There is still plenty of house to search after all."

Taladron then follows Brin's example and stays close to Rico.

[Desril]

Setsuna

Knowing the elf well enough, or at least believing she does, to realize he was just speaking without thinking rather than suggesting Setsuna do a better job at killing herself if Traver's spirit tries something again, the tiefling simply nods her head without a word and also takes a step toward Rico. The magic circle might not have saved her from the last haunt, but the haunt itself scared her enough to want every protection she could get.

[maggie_mcknife]

Red

Red barely glances at the vials but immediately scoops up the gleaming platinum coins to squirrel them away in one of her many pockets. Money was money. And since she somehow doubted that Sheriff Hemlock was going to pay them for their services and since it was all Aldern's fault for making them trudge through his horrid haunted manor, she'd take these on behalf of the group now, thank you very much.

At Brin's warning, however, she grunts and retreats towards Rico, before pausing and snatching up the copper key as well. Maybe it'd save her the trouble of picking some other lock before the day was through. Or not. Maybe it could be melted down for more money. That'd be nice too.

*****

GM post

There are about 30 minutes left of MCaE 2nd casting.

Wary now that you have been warned, all of you step closer to the locus of Brin's spell, looking all about the room for the slightest sign of anything moving, every now and then glancing into your companions' faces to see if anyone else is going to be possessed by malign spirits. Meanwhile a chill wind sighs through the ragged holes in the manor roof, bringing with it the reassuring smell of the ocean even as it causes those of you less inured to shiver violently.

Setsuna ONLY

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Will save: Using banked 15 for 21 - passed

Just when the apparent failure of a haunt to manifest causes you to finally draw a muted breath of relief, you suddenly become aware of a vague shadowy presence, snarling, prowling at the edge of your consciousness, trying to force its way in.

For a single awful moment, it succeeds. The presence asserts itself with all the keenness of a cold knife, memories that were never yours flooding your head with a rapidity that takes your breath away - dawn washing over waterless sands, a city carved out of proud rock looming overhead, the grasslands ablaze with whooping warriors at your side as you outrace the fire on fleet horses - your heart clenching in bitterness as you realise that you can never again travel the world like this, not anymore, all thanks to her -

Awaken! Reclaim yourself, Setsuna Yuki! Did you not desire to master yourself from nightmares?

Maethilur's usually laconic voice is bright with fury as she screams at you, your skin tingling with the sheer force of her cry. Your nails biting into the palms of your hands, you gasp and jerk upright, suddenly free of the other presence, which melts away as abruptly as it came.

[Miraqariftsky]

Rico returns Red's squeeze before her overlapping shoulder plates clank as she shrugs and says, "Well... better bats'n 'squitos."

Coming upon the trove of tomes, she stops and briefly considers laying them all out in the hopes that there might be something learned from them. But as things are, there is too little time. That, and unless a book is truly destined for the purging pyre, it does still deserve the respect of proper treatment in an archive.

At Brin's word, Rico's body coils with steel tension, shield readied and hand hard upon her sword's hilt. Silvered steel, reforged and blessed, she knows it stands a better chance than her sturdy old axe in case of any phantom that dares assault them directly.

[Desril]

Setsuna

Reeling suddenly at the new mental assault, Setsuna stumbles away with a hand to her head. With Maethilur's assistance however, she manages to resist the angry spirit's influence. "No! Not again."

Shaking her head, she moves closer to Rico in the hopes that closer proximity to the evil warding spell will help clear her mind. "He was so angry at a woman. She kept him from traveling the world, and he..." Shaking her head, she doesn't continue. The presence may not have been explicit, but the pure rage it expressed made it clear that there wasn't going to be a happy ending.

[maggie_mcknife]

Red

Another haunt? Red startles at Setsuna's sudden outburst, instinctively reaching for her kukris before she sees that the tiefling is all right and relaxes her stance.

"You beat it... Do not worry so much." Smiling shyly, Red pats Setsuna on the back of her hand in what she hopes is a reassuring gesture before indicating to the others that they'd best move on. Brin's spell would not last forever.

*****

GM post

There are about 28 minutes left of MCaE 2nd casting.

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Red's Perception check: (1d20+8)[11] - failed

The first thing you all notice when you tentatively push open the door of the next room (B22) is the smell - not the dankness of a stale room or the sickly sweet scent of mold, but ocean breeze, fresh and lilting. Though the room itself remains spotted with mildew and some of the floorboards are swollen with damp, the place is relatively dust free, thanks to the constant draft of wind whistling through the roof and a couple of missing bricks in the wall.

The second thing you all notice are the windows. Similar to the two rooms directly below it in the west wing of the manor, this room has two intricate stained-glass windows set into the wall, though these are smaller in size and have clearly borne the brunt of whatever natural tempests have previously beset the house. The northern window depicts a dark-haired woman with pale skin and large green eyes, resplendent in a trailing night-and-crimson gown. In her right hand, she clenches a jagged iron staff raised in a gesture of command, while in her left hand trails a longsword with a broken blade.

The southern window, on the other hand, has been broken and patched with canvas. Its wooden frame is scored with what looks a lot like fresh black scorch marks, as though someone had tried to gouge it out of its frame with a red hot poker. What does remain of the window's upper half shows a man in regal finery against a bright red background, a slender crown of ivory and jade set on his chiseled brow.

This room might have once been an observatory of sorts. A battered and ruined telescope of prodigious size lies on its size atop a desk in the middle of the room. Directly above it is a large trap door in the roof that has been tied shut by several lengths of rope.

Knowledge (history) DC 20

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You recognise both of the persons in the windows to be famous lichs. The woman in the northern window is Arazni, once herald to Aroden, now reanimated in debased service to the ghost-king Geb as his Harlot Queen. The man in the southern window is Socorro, the Butcher of Carrion Hill, who slaughtered thousands of Ustalavians in a show of his devotion to the rising power of Tar-Baphon, the Whispering Tyrant. While Socorro has not been witnessed since the end of the Shining Crusades over a hundred years ago, Arazni still reigns on the throne of the Kingdom of Geb.

Perception DC 15

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Despite the breeze, as you enter the room, it seems to you that you catch the sudden stink of something burning... But you don't see a fire anywhere in here.

*****

Map

[Desril]

Setsuna

Slowing nodding, "You are right. Thank you," she says, more grateful than the words her still recovering head can form for Red's kind words and especially grateful for Maethilur's telepathic clarion call to fight off the mental intrusion.

By the time they reach the next room however, Setsuna still hasn't quite put herself back together mentally, and merely cocks her head to the side at the sight of the stained glass windows and the damage to the southern one, completely failing to recognize any of them. Curious about the broken window, she ignores the rest of the room and makes her way over to it in order to see if she can see out of the house and spot anything of interest outside.

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Perception check (1d20+2)[5]

Knowledge History -> Substituted for attempted Religion or Arcana due to the subject matter
Arcana (1d20+7)[12]
Religion (1d20+4)[14]

Clearly she skipped both A History of Magic and Defense Against the Dark Arts during Lich Week

[maggie_mcknife]

GM post

Setsuna

Standing this close to the stained-glass affords you a wavering if tinted view of the crashing waves and open sky outside. Taladron was correct earlier on: if this were normal glass and not stained-glass, you would have quite a magnificent view of the Lost Coast from here.

[bcool999]

Taladron

Taladron recognizes the figures depicted in the windows and groans, Yet more references to Lichdom. This house has a knack for making visitors unwelcome. "To the left we have Azarni, former herald to Aroden, now a lich known as the Harlot Queen who serves the Ghost-King Geb. On the right we have another lich, Socorro, known as the Butcher of Carrion Hill, who slaughtered thousands in service to Tar-Baphon the Whispering Tyrant. Azarni is still ruling in Geb for Geb to the best of my knowledge, but Socorro hasn't been seen since I was a child... Does anyone else smell something burning?" Taladron cuts off his history lesson with a concerned look around.

Spoiler: Dice Thread Rolls

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Perception: (1d20+4)[15]

Knowledge(History): Taking 10 for 21 or if that is not allowed... (Forgot if there was a rule against taking 10 on knowledges...) (1d20+11)[20]

[ProudGrognard]

Sirus


Sirus looks around the room carefully. The news make him look at the others.

"Are we. Up. Against. A lich? Doubtful."

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Perception (1d20+12)[14]

[Bhaakon]

Brin

"If we are up against a lich, then we're In so far over our heads that the fish can't even find us." Mutters Brin as she looks up at the trap door in the roof. She looks for something to stand on to loosen the bindings. It was probably just a hole for the telescope, but there might be a balcony or something up there.

[maggie_mcknife]

GM post

Brin

The table looks sturdy enough.

[Desril]

Setsuna

After stepping back away from the view, Setsuna looks at Sirus and Brin, "If it truly is a lich then we absolutely must stop it from leaving this place, but I do not think that is the problem. These windows must have been put in a long time ago, right? If a lich has been here for a while, why has it not left yet?"

Spotting the elf looking up at the trap door, the tiefling looks for a way to help her open the trap door.

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Can a prestidigitation untie the ropes?

[Bhaakon]

Brin

Brin drags the table into position under the skylight and climbs up to untie the ropes, cutting them if necessary. Once that's through, she'll look through the opening and climb up if there's more than just a sloping roof to stand on.

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Perception to see what's up there, if needed: (1d20+10)[11]

[maggie_mcknife]

GM post

Brin

With Setsuna's help, you manage to lug the desk into position and cut through the ropes holding the trap door shut.

Several decades worth of accumulated dust and other small detritus rains down on you as you push the trap door open and out, flooding the room with the wan sunlight of an autumn morning. Peering out, you find yourself treated to a bracing gust of ocean air and the quarrel of gulls circling in the distance. (The gulls, you can't help but notice, are keeping their distance from the house. Perhaps because of the carrionstorms?)

The slate tiles of the roof outside are worn and slippery with algae, which would certainly make any attempt to walk on the roof rather risky. Other than a bent weathervane showing some sort of pouncing animal, there isn't much to see out here.

*****

Red ONLY

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Will save vs haunt: (1d20+8)[23] - passed
Will save vs panic attack: (1d20+6)[18] - failed

Red is about to ask Brin if there is anything out there on the roof - it might be good to go outside for a while - when she suddenly realises that she has broken out in cold sweat. Raising a hand to her damp cheek, Red frowns as she stares confusedly down at the perspiration on her fingers. Funny. It was a cold day. Why on earth-?

Burning. Fleeing through shadows. A blistered hand thrust to the door of this room, stumbling half-blind. Her body aflame, charring and sloughing off her bones, boiling her alive in her own skin. His hissing breath behind her. So close. Pale moonlight through the trap door, the squeal of her bones as the flame licks down to the white. So hot. Too hot. Choking on the stench of her bubbling flesh. Too hot. Make it stop. The sea. The window-

A choked-off whimper escapes Red's clenched teeth as the illusion fades, bent-double, her heart pounding so hard it hurts. This wasn't real. This wasn't her. But the fire - Red frantically clutches at the burn scars on her back and shoulder, feeling her skin tingle and crawl, a familiar sickening churn in her chest as her knees buckle. Oh gods. No. No. Not now.

Everyone else

Those of you who aren't busy watching Brin fiddle with the trap door notice Red suddenly sway on her feet. For a moment, the young woman's eyes glaze over, acute fear contorting her face as she shies and jerks, as though being tugged at by some invisible force towards the window showing Arazni. The next moment, you hear Red whimper softly as whatever force trying to move her leaves her body, causing her to fall forward onto her knees. Collapsing bonelessly on the floor, Red remains where she is, panting heavily, her fingers digging into her shoulders, eyes squeezed shut and her entire body rigid as she struggles for air.

Red is experiencing a panic attack due to fire-related PTSD and is Shaken for the next 30 minutes.

[Bhaakon]

Brin

The fresh ocean breeze was a nice change from the manor's stifling atmosphere, certainly worth a showering of dust and whatever less pleasant substances tumbled down from the old hatch. Even though it had only been an hour or so since entering, Brin had nearly forgotten that the entire world didn't stink of musty, damp, fungal rot. She takes a few moments longer than strictly necessary to survey the empty expanse of slate roof tiles before ruefully ducking back into the observatory.

"It's a glorious day outside." She calls down to anyone listening, "and there's nothing up here but sunshine and seagulls."

As she bends down back into the room, she immediately notices Red collapsed in front of the unbroken window. She scrambles down off the table and crosses the room, pausing an arm's length away unsure what to do. "Are you all right, Red? Was it another apparition?"

All these mental assaults, and no means to counteract them. Sooner or later one of us will break.

[ProudGrognard]

Sirus

Sirus was going to volunteer to climb up, but Brin managed just fine. But being next to Red gives him notice that she is not alright.

Carefully, almost tenderly, he helps Red stand up. He gives a bit of water and also splashes her face.

"It is. Gone now. You. Beat it. Take. Deep breaths. "

[Desril]

Setsuna

Quickly recognizing what must be happening to Red, the tiefling dashes over to her side and drops down to her knee. Doing her best to detract one of the rogue's hands from her shoulder and hold it in her own, Setsuna tries to reassure Red and bring her back to the present reality, "Whatever you saw was not real. It might have made you feel like you were there, like it was happening right now, to you, but it was not. Just focus on here and now, we are all with you."

[maggie_mcknife]

Red

At first, she resists, pulling roughly away from Setsuna and clenching her jaw against Sirus's offered waterskin. How could she explain that it was really what her father had done and not the house? She didn't want to get up. She just wanted to lie here, curled up, waiting for the fear to pass, as it always did. Why couldn't they leave her alone? Just let her breathe?

A look at their faces is enough to remind her. It wasn't safe here. Not in this house. If she didn't get up, they might all die if some ghost came to get them.

Still trembling and breathing hard through her teeth, Red allows herself to be dragged to a sitting position, keeping her arms wrapped around herself. "...Saw... myself... on fire... W-wanted to jump. Out... out the window..." The words come out in a thick mumble. Squinting up at the stained-glass panels, Red gazes for a moment at the broken one, then shivers and huddles down into her knees again, her breath coming in short, sharp pants. Gods. She felt sick. Dizzy. Taladron had said something about one of the Foxglove people falling out a window, hadn't he? It must have been that one then.

*****

GM post

There are about 20 minutes left of MCaE 2nd casting.

Even as the rest of you gather around Red crouched on the floor of the observatory, a woman's shriek of pain suddenly echoes through the attic. The cry clearly comes from the room next door (B24).

*****

Map

[Desril]

Setsuna

At the sound of a pained scream, Setsuna is back on her feet in the span of a blink, but hesitates to move from Red's side. I can't just leave her here, but I can't ignore that scream!

With a sudden decision, she looks to Rico. "Can you take care of her?"

If the half-orcess answers in the affirmative, Setsuna releases her grip on Red's hand as soon as Rico reaches her and makes a dash out the door and down to the source of the scream, drawing Maethilur in the process in order to fight off whatever was making the woman scream.

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Not going anywhere if Rico doesn't grab Red, but if she does, run and draw!

If the door is locked or stuck or anything, she'll just slam into it, Str (1d20-1)[18] (unless I have to use the banked 11, in which case that probably fails, but she'll try again with the roll)

[maggie_mcknife]

GM post

Setsuna finds that the door to the room where the scream came from is locked. It does not budge, no matter how she pushes at it.

[ProudGrognard]

Sirus

Half supporting Red (a superfluous motion, since Rico is doing most of the lifting), Sirus follows Setsuna. When they get to the door, Sirus straightens.

"Setsuna. What we. Just heard. Is probably. Not real. Very few. Things. In this house. Are. Be. Prepared"

He then turns to Red.

"You have. A key? Can you. Open this. Lock?"

[Bhaakon]

Brin

Brin glances back at Red Eyes glazed and fingers quaking. She's in no condition to jimmy another lock.

"I have a key right here." She replies to Sirus, her hand yanking her morning star off it loop in her belt. If no one stops her, she gets to work battering down the door.

Spoiler

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Damage rolls if needed:

(1d8+1)[3]
(1d8+1)[7]
(1d8+1)[6]
(1d8+1)[6]
(1d8+1)[6]

[bcool999]

Taladron

Following the others into the hallway, Taladron stands by and watches as Brin beats in the door with her morning star. Not the most subtle of entries, but I suppose that is what we are left with. He thinks to himself, curious as to what they will find on the other side.

[maggie_mcknife]

GM post

The door doesn't stand up to Brin's determined bashing for very long. The wicked spikes of the morning star bites easily into the wood, spending splinters and wood chips flying left and right. Soon enough, Brin has hacked a hole large enough for Setsuna to squeeze through, and by peeling back some of the planking, the hole is made large enough for all of you to enter, should you so desire.

Sirus is wrong: there is someone in this room (B24). This room is cold and damp, with only an old armoire with its doors thrown open standing in the southeast corner and a full-length mirror with a dark wooden frame of coiling roses leaning against the west wall. Here, the ceiling sloping down to only four feet high to the northeast, barely leaving any room for a small window. As you step through the hole in the door, your eyes are immediately drawn to the disheveled figure of a woman huddled in the shadows of the sloping corner, her thin shoulders convulsing as she moans wretchedly to herself, weeping soundlessly into her knees.

Even from where you stand, you can see that this woman's long hair is matted with grime, her once-magnificent watered silk dress long since ripped to shreds, while a tattered bedsheet flecked with what looks suspiciously like dried blood lies crumpled up at her feet. Those of you who look closer also see that much of the woman's skin has blanched an impossible shade of white, pinched and pulled tightly over her bones, and that the blackened fingers clasped over her head are little more than sharpened bone punctured through the shriveled flesh. This must be the crying lady that Lorey Foxglove spoke of. And she is quite, quite undead.

Knowledge (religion) DC 16

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Given the lack of rotting smell, the claws grown on her hands, and the rather well-preserved condition of the body, you realise that this lady is probably a revenant - one whose need for vengeance is so great that instead of lingering only in spirit as a ghost, the entire body rises from the grave with only a single purpose: to hunt down and slay its murderer.

Retaining little of their former personalities, revenants are devoid of compassion and logic, fueled only by overwhelming hatred. They are relentless in their hunt and possessed of a powerful shriek that is said to chill even the hearts of the bravest. There are only two known ways of turning aside a revenant's fury and to render it helpless: to confront it with either its own reflection or with an object that was dear to it in life. The one before you right now is likely only held in place by the mirror angled at the west wall.

*****

Map

[Desril]

Setsuna

Letting Brin do her work, a morning star being better suited to bashing down a door than Maethilur is, Setsuna simply stands back and impatiently waits, nodding at Sirus' warning.

Once inside however, she still can't help but feel disappointed that the woman was already amongst the undead. But she was crying out in pain. How can an undead cry in pain if they've completely lost their humanity? Maybe she can still be saved...

Hopeful but alert, the tiefling slowly approaches the weeping woman and tries to talk to her calmly, "Hello. We heard you cry out and came to help. Can you tell us what is so upsetting?"

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It's not going to work, but DIPLOMACY ON THE UNDEAD (1d20+10)[17]

[maggie_mcknife]

GM post

Spoiler

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Will saves: (Everyone: +2 MCaE; Red: -2 Shaken, +1 Bravery)
Sirus: (1d20+10)[22] - passsed
Red: (1d20+7)[8] - failed
Setsuna: (1d20+6)[19] - passed
Rico: (1d20+8)[14] - failed
Taladron: (1d20+7)[24] - passed
Brin: (1d20+10)[23] - passed

Cower for (1d4)[2] rounds.

Unaware of her peril, Setsuna steps forward to attempt comforting the crying lady.

At the sound of another voice in the room, the undead woman goes rigid and slowly raises her head to see who hails her - only it might have been better had she not. Those of you with better memories instantly recognise her from her portrait downstairs - this is Iesha, Aldern's wife - only the apparition before you bears little traces of the famed beauty she had been known for in life. Iesha's face is a mess of blackened lips and sallow skin, the whites of her eyes awash with congealed blood, her cheeks tumid, her neck still bloated with bruises even in death.

Upon seeing Setsuna, Iesha's face contorts in fury. Snarling beast-like, she rears up, close enough for Setsuna to see what remains of her chewed tongue as she gapes wide her jaws and shrieks a terrible keening note that nearly deafens the tiefling. Those of you standing further away might reflexively shy away or clap your hands over your ears, while outside the door, Red and Rico, unable to quite see what is going on, are seized with a sudden fear that has them trembling and cringing where they stand.

Iesha seems about to press her attack, baring her teeth as her gaze sweeps the room, only to apparently catch sight of something in the mirror over Setsuna's shoulder and immediately cower back into her corner with a low hiss of fear.

Combat has NOT been initiated. Red and Rico cower for 2 rounds.

There are about 18 minutes left of MCaE 2nd casting.

[Miraqariftsky]

"Maybe... it's... still... ah, preparing, er, stuff? Or it can't stand daylight for long?" comes Rico's closest guesses at Setsuna's question regarding the lich...

...then in valour vain, out of reflex and frustration, grips her weapons tight as the haunt takes her friend. She dives forward, catching Red as she falls, grimacing and nodding grimly at Setsuna and Sirus.

Breathing hard, her mind a blur, her teeth a-grind, Rico glares at the chaos erupting in the other room while supporting Red with the crook of her shield-arm.

Asmodeus' arse! No-no-no-NO!

She tries to force a smile, tries to squeeze some strength into her eyes as she holds up the shivering knife-fighter, holding her close. She reaches for her moonshine bottle, and douses Red with the holy water within, anointing her, as if a babe.

She frowns and closes her eyes, her voice seeming ot take on a life of its own, "Hmm-hmm-mm-mm-hmm... Rum, rum, rum... guts, gold and glory... mmmh-hmmm-mmmh-mmmhmm... rum, rum, rum... ain't there no more, ain't there no more... rain barrels o'erflowin', rats strung up'n downna riggin'... rum, rum, rum... ain't there no more, ain't there no more... whoever'sa whoever, yer forever is yer today... the wind, the road, the river or the sea an' the sky... rum, rum, rum... all's a-flowin', all's a goin'... rum, rum, rum... errywhere an' nowhere, 'tsall yers ta take... rum, rum, rum... washin', flyin', scrubbin away in storm an' sea an' sky an' sun... rum, rum, rum... grab yer matey, grab yer mop, hoist that sail, swing yer lass an' yer cut... rum, rum, rum..."

Then suddenly the wave of terror and shrieking and howling washes over them. The comforting song of the sea shatters on the teeth of a Gebbian shore. Rico cowers, her flesh run icy cold, her heart thundering within her chest, yet still with shivering arm she raises her shield to cover the both of them. She growls out, "W-we s-stand, by the Cup an' by the Blade! F-faith is our sh-shield, frien'ship our m-magic. B-BY the FIST O' F-FOX! G-get thee back, u-unto thy peace! BY THE LAW that binds all! J-JUSTICE, s-s-shallbedone BY WRATH, ofthisyouare ah-ah-ASSURED, O spirit in pain, spi-rit of pain! G-get thee back, unto thy rest!"

[ProudGrognard]

Sirus

Sirus is surprised by actually someone being here. He is too late to restrain Setsuna as she again plunders into chaos.

"This is. A revenant. It knows. No reason. No feelings. Save hatred. It is stopped. Only. Bu real death. Its reflection. Or something. Dear to it.

Foxglove. Killed her. He. Beat her. To death."

Srus catches Brin 's eye, even as the revenant invades the mind of Rico and Red.

What now, sister in faith? Do we set her free?

[bcool999]

Taladron

"I have an idea." Taladron says, recognizing the Revanent. He moves over to Rico, giving her a quick pat of reassurance that everything was fine, and unties the Kapenia from Ricos gauntlet and enters the room with the Revenant, carefully hiding the scarf behind his back. "Be careful not to block it's view of the mirror." Taladron says as he moves closer to the Revenant.

Once he gets as close as he dares, Taladron pulls out the Kapenia and attempts to tie it around Iesha's throat like a leash with him holding onto one end. Should that succeed, Taladron looks to the others and motions for them to get out of the way of the door. "Iesha? Find Aldern." Taladron instructs the Revenant, holding tightly to the Kapenia leash.