After breakfast you head out, fully healed at last, and return to the derelict house to resume your cleaning chores. The temperature is well below freezing, and you are almost looking foreward to getting into the house, just to be out of the wind.
Sasha seems frisky this morning, delighting in the chill air and falling snow. She balls up a bit if it, and tosses it at J'Harast.
"Well...shall we head for the tunnels then? I think we have done most of the house...though I would like to check and see if we can find evidence of people staying here - in the unlikely event they have abandoned it."
Bel says, "I am going to investigate the house and would be glad to accompany you into the tunnels. Just give me a second to get some things." Bel goes to his pack and gets some herbs and a vial of water. Bel notes, "When going into tunnels in a graveyard of a cursed house one should take some precautions, let's go."
You boldly go where most of you have gone before...namely up onto the verandah of the house...stepping around a large hole...and through the front door. You are in a foyer. The portrait of a man on a horse hangs on one wall.
You open the north door from the foyer and face the passage beyond...running east then north, and west then north.
Suddenly you realize that you have never explored up the west branch of this passage...
Sasha stops in front of the painting. "Hey...there is somehting funny going on here...the first time...it was a painting of a woman...then the second time it was of a man...and now this...am I just losing my mind?" She asks, plainly puzzled.
You move on to the passage...
Bel looks at Sasha and says, "Well, shall we?"
"J'Harast likes to barge in first - we act as his backup...which would explain how he was incapicitated." Sasha explains with a grin.
"He's such a man," Petunia says admiringly.
Bel says, "How considerate of him. I would not dream of being rude, go ahead my good man. About this painting, how long was it between times you looked at it? Could thieves be switching it? Why didn't you explore the west branch of this passage before? Did you not notice?"
"Actually...I'm not sure how me missed it...but there are so many ways to go...we did the basement, this level, and two more above this. We tried to do it in an aorderly fashion...but sometimes events forced our hand and we simply ran out as fast as we could."
Sasha becomes pensive for a moment. "To be honest...I could be mistaken about the painting...but it could be that the thieves are changing it. I wonder...say...does anyone here know art well enough to determine the value of it...perhaps they are 'hiding' art treasures here until they are fenced...you know, the old 'hide it in plain sight' kinda thing..."
As previously described long ago, this passage immediately turns north to the west of you. There is a door in the west wall at the end. Looking north, it immediately turns west again.
J'Harast opens the door after listening at it.
Beyond is a large 30' X 50' room (20' south, 50' west, door in south end of east wall, windows along south wall). A formal living room, you have looked in here previously through the windows from outside. It is well furnished with three couches, 6 armchairs, four smaller chairs, and 8 tables of varying shapes and sizes. A number of paintings hang on the walls, depicting pastoral scenes.
All of the furnishings are covered in once white, now dirty sheets.
Illyana blinks and looks at the room. "Hmm.. This house is so annoying. Every time we think we've covered the thing from top to bottom, it turns out we missed something. We even tried looking for the plans, but they were stolen."
She then moves in and looks around.
Upon closer inspection you realize that the paintings - while dirty - are actually quite good. There is nothing but wall behind them, though.
Next, Illyana cautiously lifts up one of the sheets to inspect the furniture underneath.
Much to her surprise, though, the sheet suddenly comes to life and attacks her!
In a flash it rises up and wraps itself around her tightly, immobilizing and suffocating her for 4 hit points of damage.
Illyana is helpless.
Bel exclaims, "Vidars beard! Whoevers got a knife cut her out, Rane help me keep her still so she won't thrash around while we cut her out. Try and cut her an airhole quick before she suffocates more." Bel moves toward Illyana and grabs her shoulders while looking for a loose end of the sheet to try and peel it off her.
The sheet seems to have a life all its own, as Bel is unable to get a grip on any edge of it. Meanwhile, Illyana takes another 3 hit points of damage.
Rane joins the group, pulling a dagger and trying to cut the sheet off of her. His dagger cuts through the material - which seems to be considerably tougher than your normal bedsheet - for a hit point of damage. He also cuts into Illyana as well, though.
Illyana suffers 4 more hit points of damage as Bel, seeing the hole Rane cut in the sheet, grabs with both hands at the hole, braces his knee on Illyana's body and heaves with all his strength trying to tear open the sheet. It refuses to give.
Rane slashes again with his dagger but this time he does not penetrate the leathery sheet.
Sasha tries to heal Illyana but is unable to find a part of her that is exposed, but for the cut that Rane made previously...and Bel is blocking that.
Illyana takes 2 more hit points of damage this round, as Bel lets go of Illyana, takes out a vial of water and pours a little onto the sheet. The holy water sizzles and burns into the sheet in a most unexpected fashion.
"Hey a killer sheet, what an interesting developement, Bel out of the way let me have a rip at it". Pillar moves in to assist Bel in tearing the sheet from Illyana.
"No! Wait...let me try something...it probably won't work...but I don't know what else to do..." Sasha shouts out.
She raises her holy symbol high, "By the power of ISIS I command thee to flee!"
Nothing happens.
Rane stuffs his dagger into the sheet again, inflicting another wound on both it and the girl underneath. Illyana sags and collapses to the floor unconscious, but the sheet still binds her. Pillar grabs the edge of th latest slice in the sheet and tugs, but again it refuses to give.
Bel empties his second vial of holy water and douses the sheet with with it. It bubbles and boils off, but apparently kills the monster in the process...as it goes limp and frees Illyana.
The girl is bleeding heavily, her skin is bluish, but she lives.
While Pillar attends to her, the rest of you complete searching the room.
Under the chair that the monster was covering you find some goodies, namely: 8000ep, a 21 small gems, a ring, a wand, a set of fancy leather armbands, a suit of ring mail (sized for a dwarf), a longsword and a dagger.
Bel says, "Well folks, everything but the jewels and electrum is magic in some way. Anybody have a good analysis spell? I've no interest in the dagger, sword, or ringmail but would like to know what the ring, wand or armbands do."
"What the hell was that? What sort of creature responds to holy water like that?" wonders J'Harast.
"Undead, perhaps, my love?" suggests Petunia, the all-knowing NPC.
"Yay treasure... great now a killer sheet with a treasure hoard. It seems to me that we always lose an active member of our party whenever we go into this place." Sighing Pillar returns to his fallen comrade.
"Pillar, whats the prognosis? Illyana doesn't look good. However, it seems that we found some money that will help to pay for any cures that she might need."
Illyana is regaining her colour and her consciousness, though she is very weak...and you realize that she is going to be out of commission for awhile.
You inspect the treasure.
The ring is of plain gold and unadorned.
The wand is of copper, untarnished, and also plain.
The armbands are finely crafted of leather, and embossed with a pattern of heraldic shields about them.
Pulling the sword out of its sheath, you gaze in awe at it, for the blade sparkles and glows with a life all its own.
The dagger does the same when you unsheath it.
Rane looks in awe at the treasure. He too is interested in the armbands or the ring, but will let anyone else have access to the other. If he had a choice, he will take the armbands.
He takes the armbands.
Bel inspects the loot and says, "I'm partial to rings, if no one objects I would like to hold the ring."
Bel takes the ring.
J'Harast would like to use the sword for now. He'll also keep the dagger, if no one wants it, as he fights with dagger and longsword.
He takes both weapons.
"Well, lets take this all back to the Inn. We need to get Illyana to her bed and then plan what to do next..." Sasha is pensive and says no more. She motions for someone to assist her with Illyana.
You leave the house twenty minutes after you entered it. Still, the trip was not in vain, for during that time you have again successfully defeated the forces of Evil which have been such a problem for the neighbourhood party-goers. Too, you picked up a pile of loot.
You make it back to the inn without incident. It is still snowing.
When Illyana is all tucked in for the night, Sasha looks up and and says, "I'm going to see if the cleric is still here...I may as well use this time to learn more ... if she is still here. Will you all be in the common room for a while - this shouldn't take long."
Sasha takes her leave, in search of the cleric.
She returns, some minutes later, either checking Illyana's room or the common room for the rest of the gang.
Upon finding them, she joins them, obviously excited.
"She was still here! I'm so amazed...but I feel bad for her...she is trying so hard to find converts here and is not having any luck. Anyway, she says I can train with her...but it will take about 2 weeks...I hope you don't mind...I feel as if I am abandoning you...but I really feel I must continue my studies...and it will only be two weeks..." Sasha grins, "At the rate we are going...I shall probably not miss very much."
"Oh...and I have to go out and run an errand. I want a sign made - to go in front of the house - a big one. It will have the symbol of Isis on it, and it will invite people to contact me for information on the new hostel going up there. I have hopes that this will draw the thieves out of hiding..."
Sasha gathers her things, and gets ready to leave.