Re: Festival of Springtime Blooms (Occam, Garb, Tass, Copper)
Keti gave his own wings a little glance, feeling a little self-conscious, but otherwise remained silent as the group deliberated. It was an interesting diversion, if nothing else - though, he would definitely have to make some extra time later to do more sight-seeing.
Well, my rapport and presence aren't sitting too high. Bluffing our way in might be good. If Violet wants to play Queen and escorts with me and Keti (and *finally* tip Atair off) I'm for that. Maybe play off the whole sirens and water thing? Either that, or we put Keti in the middle, given his affinity for things like this, and just let Violet do the talking. And is Drago going to go in or is he going to make sure red don't slip out the back?
Also, I has a concern that struck me this morning...as to keeping the ginger from causing a scene if we confront her in the bath house. That is going to be hella tricky.
Ooh, but the hilarity of not knowing it's a trap grows exponentially! The longer it goes, the bigger the freakout!
I've got presence 1, which is... well, probably not very helpful. The bathhouse may consider acquiring a Siren flutist to play for people or something, but that would probably mean I'd be stuck there playing for awhile, or us getting kicked out or getting the guard sic'd on us when we start a fight or leave immediately as we are probably going to do.
And there is that. We could get you hired, maybe. But I don't know if that would get the rest of us in. Maybe if you play and Violet sings. I'm your guard to keep the ruffians away...
Re: Festival of Springtime Blooms (Occam, Garb, Tass, Copper)
"Whatever you three decide, I'll stay overhead and keep her from fleeing out the back." Drago says, spreading his wings and squatting, then leaping with all his might and flapping his wings once to launch himself off the ground and into the air with a gust of wind around the group, before flapping his wings several times to both slow his ascent and stabilize himself over the bath house, keeping watch at the back for anyone exiting the building.
Empathy at 1, Deceit at 4, Rapport and Presence at 2. Intimidation is at 0 since I couldn't justify her having it. No combat prowess to speak of and all. I suppose that I could have Violet (STEVE) walk in first and try to bluff that her daddy had payed her up for the week, but I'm not sure if they'd buy that.
And I think that the entire party except for Atair can fly.
Re: Festival of Springtime Blooms (Occam, Garb, Tass, Copper)
As Drago kicked off the ground and took to the air overhead, briefly getting the attention of some passer-byers, the other three made their way into the reception area of the bathhouse. The room was moderately sized, with a number of comfortable chairs to one side along with some light reading which mostly served to advertise what the bathhouse had to offer. The harpy behind the counter beamed as the group entered "Ah, yes, come in, come in, and welcome to the Jade Blossom Bathhouse, how can we purify you today?"
Ar just kept moving, open combat being so much of a dance as it was the intent to rend ones enemy, his Blade coming to bear once again on the darkness.
Moving quickly as the fighting continued, Soren cranked back his crossbow into firing position and pulled a bolt from his pouch, preparing it to fire before pointing it towards one of the cultists and loosing the shot. The bolt catches the cultist in the chest, and they collapse to the ground with a muffled thump, sword clattering against the hard stone floor.
Meaghan delivers another powerful blow to the spectre, who simply cannot get out of the way. This time, when the blow slices through it, it lets out a great howl that echoes and reverberates around the halls as it loses shape and form, turning into some sickly looking purple smoke-like substance, although it splits into three pieces and disappears away, moving at uncanny speed as it darts away in each of the three exits.
Witnessing this, the last remaining cultist throws down their sword and turns, bolting from the room through the east corridor with remarkable speed, before others can react, they're already disappeared around a corner and out of sight, making ranged attacks impossible; and a blind pursuit seems unwise in this place.
(Yup. Of course the fleeing cultist rolls the best possible dice roll, a massive +4 on the dice (incredibly rare, basically he nat 20'd, but it's even less likely than a nat 20 due to bell curve) Where were the good rolls when trying to attack? :< ).
With the threat gone for the moment, the group has a chance to figure out their next move. Each of the corridors is dark and as they all know by now, the pyramid itself is full of twists and turns, the entire structure a giant maze. But as the humming sound continues to resonate beneath them, at least there's some sense of direction.
Soren
The spectre itself was destroyed, but either due to its very design, some form of thaumaturgic link with something else or possibly even some sort of ritual built into the pyramid, its energies and essence were not dissipated back into the spirit world, but rather reclaimed by something else. It seems likely that whatever being that rests within the heart of this place is drawing the energy of the spectre back to feed its power.
Given what Soren knows and remembers of spiritual beings, it seems most likely that this was the result of a contract or bond between the spectre and whatever being yet awaits them; unlike the other methods, such a contract would not cost its master any of its own power beyond what was required to summon or form the spectre from spiritual energies, save for anything else that may be part of such a contract.
Ar spun to a stop and kept his blade low as Meaghan destroyed the specter, and the surviving cultist fled. "well done Meaghan, well done everyone. Whats our next move?"
Irla let herself take a steadying breath, working to get heart rate down now that the current fight was over. The nekomata kept her blade in hand though, her ears twitching as she listened for the sound of anything else coming their way. The incessant humming made that difficult however.
"Hopefully not staying here." She said aloud, her tails swirling apprehensively behind her. "Something far worse might come along, and I don't like the idea of being in a room with three entrances." Her ears flattened against her head. "Besides, that noise is very irritating."
Re: Festival of Springtime Blooms (Occam, Garb, Tass, Copper)
Putting on her best arrogant smirk as she entered the bathhouse, Violet shot the servant behind the desk a look of disdain. "Yes, thank you." She began, her voice holding a great deal of disinterest but also issuing every word like a command. "You may give me the best services that you have to offer. And some minor refreshment that might be suitable for my servants as well."
Re: Festival of Springtime Blooms (Occam, Garb, Tass, Copper)
Atair's gaze drifted up as Drago took off. Having someone outside keeping watch would likely be a good thing. It was going to be difficult enough if they wound up confronting this female here in the bath house. Having her get away and potentially alert the watch would add an additional layer of trouble they didn't need.
As Violet strode toward the entrance, he fell into step behind her, keeping a respectful pace between the two of them. As she adopted her role, he slid a bit into his, not that it would take much. If he were to be a servant, given he was visibly armed, acting as a bodyguard for a noble lady would be easy enough to pull off. And given they'd discussed this possible course, it didn't irk him either. He just hoped the siren wouldn't push her luck too far.
Re: Festival of Springtime Blooms (Occam, Garb, Tass, Copper)
Keti, meanwhile, took up a place behind and to the side of Violet, trying to play the part of... manservant? He wasn't too sure how the whole "aristocracy" thing was supposed to go, never really having been exposed to this whole "nobility" thing beyond when he'd first arrived, and had tried to ask a lord, or... something, he wasn't quite sure, for directions. He'd looked important - surely that meant he knew his way around, right? How was he supposed to know that you 'just don't do that'?
Siren society didn't have nearly the formality and complexity that was to be found in cities like this - or had they? Even his memories of that was muddled, having lived alone for so long.
...At any rate, he tried to keep quiet and not draw attention to himself, letting Violet handle it.
Re: Festival of Springtime Blooms (Occam, Garb, Tass, Copper)
The harpy's mouth falls open slightly in a silent 'ah' as she consults something on her desk. "Ah, do you uh... have an appointment, my lady?" she asks as she shuffles through some paper carefully.
After a moment, she glances up and chimes a small bell, summoning a young and lithe male elf, blonde hair tied back with an ornate pin matching the crest of the bathhouse, garbed only in a pale green loincloth. His body was even more slender and graceful than the norm for his kind and he walked without a hint of shame, proudly displaying his well groomed and formed body.
Without even looking up, the harpy spoke to him. "Fetch some refreshments for our guests while I sort this our, would you dear?" she said almost offhandedly and he disappeared back behind the curtain he had appeared from, no doubt leading further into the bathhouse.
Right. So, it's not like this is relevant to, uh... our game, in any significant manner, except maybe as very distant character inspiration, but I just wanted to mention how much I am enjoying myself re-reading
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, on the off-chance that it would lead to something similarly hilarious. Definitely not an attempt to try and possibly score Atair a jetpack, nope.
