You realise, of course, that if you attempt to keep us here against our wills, then you will be testing our might, for we will not just acquiesce. Be that as it may. This blood... says Antoine, with a quizzical look ... does it have to be human?
"The blood does not have to be human, a pledge does. Blood I have, in offerings upon cloth within the bedchambers." The specter intones
"Bernat." Fleur sighs "During the summer, he bled while he was recovering from his wounds."
"But I was offered a pledge." The spectre continues "I asked only for blood last year and a pledge was offered. Now a pledge must be delivered, as promised." You hear the door to Fleurs lab slam shut. "None will leave until I have my pledge." The spectre turns to depart through the nearest wall.
That'd be Fleur's blood, isn't it? :-/
Arachne glances at Antoine
Good one, although I doubt this'd fly. Quick thinking, though.
Roberto... You dumb oaf... Typical
And then, the spirit exists
Hey, were do you think you are go... ing... Oh, great. Sigh... Why did I have to try and be diplomatic when this guy screamed "abusive jerk"?
So. It seems we're done for now. Unless someone wants to stay here?
Just to make certain of where they stand, Lucas steps over to the door and tries to open it. Should it prove to be shut tight, he'll try The Key of Theodorus on it to see if that works.
[hr][/hr]
I don't really expect these options to work. But they're the obvious first step.
The door does not seem willing to move, and investigation- either mundane or through casting the spell, will reveal that the lab door is not locked.
A soft, gloating chuckle can be heard from downstairs.
"Well," Lucas says, "as promised, the door won't open. I've tried a spell that should open any mundane lock, but haven't gone any farther than that."
So what now? I mean, "all guns blazing" is always an option, but maybe someone can think of an alternative?
Oh, so you're holding the door through Rego Herbam? Let's try this then.
Arachne begins incanting a Perdo Herbam spell to destroy the door, but, hearing Antoine, she stops, and sighs
You're right. I should be better than this. The prospect of losing yet another sodales gets a little too much on my nerves. I was more patient before. I shall try to avoid magicking my way out of this. This is a lesson in powerlessness that should be usefull in the City of Brass.
Are the 2 first spirits still there? If so, she'll adress them.
You. Could you tell me your story please? What's going on here?
The woman rises out of the floor. "We were his students in life, when it came time for our initiation, he went mad and killed us. We have been here since repeating that night, but I think maybe he hadn't gone mad, that he did some ritual to bind our spirits to him, to make him more powerful. He only reasons when he has had blood, and he is hungry for blood and spirits."
How did he kill you, and can you say how long ago? Was there anything... unusual, or eldritch about it? Maybe we can work out who this spirit is, or what he was hoping to gain.
"He stabbed me through the heart with a sword. He was alive then as well."
And him? How did he die?
Arachné ponders a little more
Okay, sorry for the questions flow, but we need to know. Do you know what he does with the blood? What would happen to Roberto should he come here? What does he want? Oh, and what did you study with him?
"We studied to be members of the Order of Pluto, I'm not sure how he died, my memory since he killed me is... fuzzy. If Roberto came here he would kill him to, while his spirit is still bound."
And what is it that you are now repeating? Is this what happened the night you died?
The spirit nods, then eyes grow wide. A bloodstain appears on her dress and she is dragged down through the floor again.
Order of Pluto? Interesting. I thank you for this information.
Now, this is just as I feared. Roberto, you impulsive flambeau...
Arachné turns towards the spirit
I may be able to... Oh great. Here we go.
She sighs, and turns toward her sodales.
So. What do we know?
Spooky is supposedly from an Order of Pluto. Which fits his clothes. Now, I've never heard of such a thing, but I'm not an expert on obscure death cults.
This could be interesting and beneficial if he wasn't a juveline jerk obsessed with blood, and apparently power mad to boot. Worse: He's arrogant enough to believe he can push us around, which can only finish badly.
And he wants Roberto, which seems like a really bad idea at the time.
Now, we could use his obsession and follow Antoine's idea, and feed him some animal blood. This isn't a good course of action IMO, but still beats human blood by a long shot.
Is there something I missed?
"Just that he doesn't seem satisfied with just blood this year, he wants an acolyte or initiate or whatever, because he feels like Roberto promised him." Fleur adds. "Of course if he means to starve us out the pantry is loaded for months, and we might be able to get a better deal if we try and wait him out."
Arachné pauses a moment, gathering her thoughts.
I don't think that'd work. Spooky here has already spend at least a few years waiting, I don't think a season means that much to him. That, and I have more pressing matters than catering to his wits.
Clearly, his obsession means we could probably set some kind of bargain, but I won't get into the blind bargain he's promising us, especially as it seems it's a fools bargain: As far as I can tell, any acolyte of him would be at his mercy and suffer a quick death. I won't sacrifice some innocent to him in order to indulge either of us. I don't think this would help us in the long run, though.
So, barring any reasonable solution, I fear I may have to admit failure and resort to magic. Depending on our preference, we could dispell his Rego Herbam effect, destroy the door, translocate out of here, or (And I'm being tempted to try this) use the arcane connection his spell gives us to summon and bind him.
Or... and she smiles Yes, Fleur, you are right, but not as you think. Most ghosts manifest themselves only during the night, and, so far, Spooky is only and exception in that he manifests one night per year. If we just wait until the morning, I suspect he'll just disappear, and his enchantment with him. Of course, this won't solve our problem, but we'd end the night on a stalemate, which is satisfying to my ego.
What do yu think of it, sodales?
"If Spooky will disappear come morning," Lucas observes, "he'll likely not return for another year. By that point we could have learned a bit about the Cult of Pluto and be more prepared to deal with an angry ghost. A stalemate, as you say, at least for the moment. But it will place us in a better position to ultimately deal with this problem. To that end, I think waiting to see if he disappears at dawn is a perfectly acceptable option, and worth a try."
Fleur smiles "Then how do we wish to entertain ourselves until dawn?"