Erevel began walking toward the gatehouse as Armania was heading to the bathhouse. Paullus in confusion started to trail Erevel while Asa and Daelene followed Armania. Asa was as determined as ever to coax Armania into a sensual situation.
"I hear she is into that kind of thing." Gavril whispered to Asa.
Asa chuckled while still leering in her direction.
Armania suddenly felt a sharp pain in her head, although no one saw any action or heard anything from either Asa or Daelene.
Ciprian was dogging Daelene while Gavril kept after Asa. Ursina headed to the north of the outbuilding hiding behind a corner.
Erevel kept walking toward the entrance and through the gatehouse. She ignored any queries from Paullus or Armania who had decided to follow.
Daelene skirted the topiary and moved toward the well. When Ciprian moved over to see her again there were 7 of the fascinating woman standing in her area. He then cast vanish on himself. Gavril moved into the well area, also sighting 7 Daelenes. Ciprian was still trying to determine how spells were being cast without outward visible actions or words, Hmm.
Gavril, using his witch killing sense, decided that there was Psychic magic being used here. Gavril then felt a quick impulse in his head but willed it away. Paullus was still trying to determine what in the world Erevel was doing as she continued out of the complex. Armania, looking to get out of the line of fire moved into the gatehouse.
Ciprian moved up to the images of Daelene while Gavril downed a potion of vanish and moved to flank.
Paullus, confused by Asa's words and actions, stood watching as the suave man crept ever closer. Daelene slipped out of the flanking position and retreated toward Asa, Ciprian followed casting Ear Piercing Scream causing Asa and Daelene to become shaken. Ursina cast invisibility on herself while staying hidden. Erevel kept walking away not paying attention to anyone else.
Paullus stepped up and attacked Asa doing critical damage. Armania threw her dagger at Daelene, knocking off one of the images. Ursina moved out from hiding and used the wand to cast bless on the party.
Asa turned and winked at Daelene and waited as she moved around behind Paullus. Asa then leapt to attack with advantage and hit with his dagger. Then Paullus felt an overload of Psychic information and felt damage in his head. Ciprian cast Blistering Invective starring Asa on fire while Daelene took damage from the fire. Paullus hit Asa once again with two hits and dropped him to the ground. At this point the party started to surround Daelene, destroying images until she was left alone. Gavril felt a quick impulse in his head again, but again his will overcame the pulse. Erevel kept walking away.
Asa continued to take damage from the fire and he expired before Ursina could get near him. Paullus, Gavril, Ursina and Ciprian took turns damaging Daelene until she fell unconscious. Gavril then finished her off before Ursina could steal her life. A quick study of the bodies revealed two finely worked daggers, a magical ring, a magical amulet, a key, pearl earrings, a wand, two potions, thieves tools and a matching fold necklace and bracelet.
At this point Erevel started running back to the party while Armania and Paullus looked to Ciprian for healing. Then the party, led by Armania and Ciprian went into the guest building where they met Asa and Daelene. This well-appointed lounge included a brick fireplace, a mahogany table with three matching chairs, and an antique sideboard near the foot of the stairs. No magic was seen in the room. Armania led up the stairs followed by Ciprian, Ursina and Gavril. At the top was a landing with two doors, one to the northwest the other southwest.
Armania opened the door to the southwest which opened to large windows which spanned two of the walls of the whitewashed room, allowing in warm sunlight. The chamber held two fine chairs and small tables seemingly for basking in the sun.
Ciprian opened the other door which revealed a lavish bedroom contained a plush, four-poster bed draped with lacy netting. A fire burned in a ceramic stove in the western corner of the room. A large, padlocked trunk sits in the southern corner near a long writing desk. Again no magic was seen as Ciprian moved toward and used the key found on Daelene to open the padlock. Armania started to move toward the trunk but thought better and moved back away.
Ciprian, seeing Armania back up clambered up onto the bed, cast mage hand and used it to open the trunk. A blast of force exploded from the trunk, destroying the mage hand but not harming any of the heroes. Letting out a deep breath Ciprian moved to the trunk and found, 24 nobles outfits, 12 bottles of wine, and a jewelry box made of palm wood. Inside the box were fine rings, bracelets, brooches and necklaces. It seems Asa and Daelene were accustomed to a rich lifestyle tried to bring that with them.
As the party headed downstairs again Gavril pointed out that there was one last outbuilding left and the party moved toward it. Ciprian noted that the eastern end seemed open to the outside, separated only by a wooden fence and gate. Moving up Ciprian saw what appeared to be a stable with red, possibly blood stains on the damp, musty hay scattered across the floor. There was a door leading to the west. Taking a possibly safe precaution, Ciprian did not enter the stable. Erevel listened at the door to the main building. Hearing nothing she opened the door revealing a carriage near a wall hung with tools and various pieces of tack. The smell of freshly turned earth filled the carriage house.
Moving in Erevel and Paullus found a nearly five foot hole in the floor at the bottom of stairs leading up. Looking down Erevel could see down about 30 feet. The hole was a jagged tunnel, seeming dug out, from the top or bottom was not clear. At light rock dropped down the hole fell beyond where Erevel could see, illuminating a larger area at least 20 feet below the bottom of the tunnel.
While Erevel and Paullus stood watch over the hole the rest of the party headed up the creaky stairs to the second floor landing. Gavril listened at the door and heard no noise so Ursina opened the door. The nicely appointed room contained a wide bed covered with a homey quilt, a low shelf, and a writing desk. Tapestries hung on the wall, and the room smelled faintly of sandalwood. A door led to the south on the far side of the shelf. What appeared to be a pitcher plant as tall as a person stood perfectly still in the middle of the room.
On the shelf was a small box which was magic and four small pieces of wood with substance on one end. Ciprian again cast mage hand to grab the box, which had incense inside. The party was reticent of entering the room but Erevel made her way up the stairs and crossed to the other door. Listening she heard no noise so she flung open the door. The slightly dusty room contained a pair of mostly empty bookshelves and a couple of comfortable chairs.
Ciprian followed and started to examine the books which were histories of Versex and various sensationalist romance novels. One leather bound book appeared to be a ledger. Ciprian opened it revealing a ledger which recorded the accounts of Iris Hill. Lists and calculations of shipments received and pay distributed for the last month filled the pages of the leather-bound book. The ledger shows that the former servants were fired and new ones were purchased from someone named Weiralai. Another item of note showed that weeks ago, before Count Lowls left for his expedition, a number of books were delivered to Iris Hill. The books in the shipping manifest included titles such as Argument Against Reality, Delusion: A Pact with Sanity, Esoteric Delves into the Waking Mind, and Mystical Sites of Eastern Casmaron. Ciprian did not recall finding any of these books in the manor.
DM's Notes: The party earned 466 XP for the night and now have 32,254 XP. An additional 2,2746 are needed to reach 7th level.
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