The Castle [02] (Remba, but don't let it stop you)

[Rloa]

Kerag is surprised on the sudden switch of gears then he shakes his head. "I can't do anything with magic at the moment, that spell it was made to stun a massive crowd i used it on one person. It drains you of most of your energy, I can't do that kind of stuff for a few hours now." then Kerag thinks for a moment. "unless you all want to stand around me for 30 mins and let me feed off your emotions." Kerag chuckles.

[Boog]

Jeremiah simply watched Stygian walk away. Nobody ever checked that temper of yours, did they? Being right sucks so very much sometimes.
"Well, good to see you're intact," He nodded to the dragon once, and looked around him. He hadn't had the chance to really read much the last time he was here. Instead, though, his eyes settled on the spider woman still trussed up on the couch.
"You know, I'm honestly starting to think that our host collects crazy people. Anyone get her story?"

[Prof B Hunnydew]

Well I hope to get some answers for the spiderlady, and we need a cubi's mind reading powers and find out her feel story.  Keaton, I think, Can you help us out, please...

AH Mel Are you feel okay?, dear.. You are look alittle White

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel smiled weakly at Keaton's inquiry. "Scared and bruised, but no more than that. Thanks to all of you. And white is my natural color, Bambi. I turn grey if I'm not well." She let healing energy bathe her strained wing. Soon she was able to fold it properly. "Let us get back to your problem before I leave here." She looked around at the devastated room. "If we can figure out where we left off." She shook her head. "The ritualist has disappeared on us. We're going to have to look for another way to do this unless you want to wait around for him to return."

[Boog]

"Lets try something obvious first. Ask her some questions," the frog offered, wandering a little closer to the spider woman. Not close enough to be within arms reach, but enough to get her attention. "Hello madam. We have a few questions regarding what's going on," turn the idea in a few different directions until you can fit it into the avalable 'not-going-nuts' space in her head, "They are solely regarding the rules of this castle, to better avoid the ire of its denizans. Would you be willing to answer them? After all, how can we not muck things up if we know not how this place works?"

[Prof B Hunnydew]

"Yes, Mel I know.    I was trying to be funny,   *Sigh*  Would have ONE of Arachspearian spider help in anyway.?  mmmm  Well we need to see what spells we can find in all this mess?   mmmm

Wait, What happen to Gina? Maybe she can help us.  fWhen I woke-up, she was not there? 

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha smiled as Mel confirmed that she was well enough, though she had to roll her eyes at the thought of all of this drama.  It was somewhat silly to think that someone would still have an unchanged grudge on a race for such a long time, when after over a hundred years it would probably never matter any more.  Looking around the interior of the library, even ruined, there was still some haunting grandeur behind its design.  Maybe it's just the noble ones that are protective of memories in a single place, she thought with a shrug and turned to where some of the others were gathering, near a slightly overturned sofa.

The panthress looked around it, looking down upon the thing they were trying to question, and quirked an eyebrow.  The face reminded her of the horrendous spider-woman they had fought and defeated in the chapel, only different.  Though, looking at the creature, bound and gagged, she didn't seem like much of a threat now...but probably more scared than anything.  After a curious stare, she glanced back up at the ones attempting to speak with her.  "Do you think we might get anything from her anyway?  I doubt Sebastian's methods but I also think she might be tied up for a reason..."

Aisha then started toward another table, crossing her arms and only glancing at another book on it.  She had no real knowledge of magic, but hoped that whomever did would step up soon enough.

[Cogidubnus]

 Cog sighed and lowered his arm, the glowing light at the end of his arm quickly dying, and with an air of resignation placed the charm back in his jacket. He pushed an empty chair up to Mel, knowing there was not much else he could do, and shook his head as picked up his book where it had fell.
Fool. Utter fool. This was why he disliked mages.
He turned back towards Mel, somewhat at a loss for words. He was not quite sure what he was going to say, and felt churlish for thinking of himself before someone who had obviously gone through an incredible ordeal, but they needed her badly. He bowed his head slightly, and spoke softly.
"I hate to be so mercenary, good lady, but if you are indeed alright, it would help us all greatly if you stayed. The brute is a monster, I know, but true to her word, I think. She reacted in shock, and a little repressed rage. No excuse, but I don't think she'll do it again, somehow." He absently drew a finger across a dusty table. "Jeremiah, yourself, Keaton...me, and Sebastian, I think, and you have somewhat more experience than any of us, save the shade." He gestured at Keaton sadly. "I could live with what has been done me, but some of us have a harder time with the curse than others." he said, sitting back down in his chair. He could only hope the dragon would stay. As he waited for Mel's response, he muttered under his breath.
"I think Sebastian is dealing with his, for some reason..."

[Stygian]

All of the spider-woman's eight eyes turned as she studied the adventurers, blackish and gleaming against them as they did. She seemed both scared and confused, but there was a sort of disbelief and some anger to her look as well. She was unable to answer them, just chewing on her cloth gag and making a sort of sighing, exasperated sound at their attempts to communicate with her. Then, she strained the six of her limbs tied up so that the heavy chains shook and clinked a bit, and raised her eyebrows while looking at them as if to say; Aren't you going to untie me yet?

   Some distance from the library, the bat pushed through a door while rubbing her temple and moaning a bit. Her senses were still dizzy, and she felt a serious headache commencing, one which would take some time to numb.
   She set the bottle and glass down, along with the digital camera she had picked off the ferret, and poured some more in, slumping down and getting ready for some hard drinking. Then, when she removed her coat, something which was mostly just a gesture, she felt something in her pocket and remembered. She pulled out a reservoir pen and a notebook, and set them down, looking at them for a moment.
   Then, she took the pen, unscrewed the cap, and started writing.

[Rloa]

Kerag had and impulse to go do something he didn't want to read books so he decided to explore some more of the castle he vanish out the door with out a word and started to walk around the castle looking at the furniture and other things making a map in his head.

[Prof B Hunnydew]

Oh, Right I forgotten the Cubi is an Angel, and she is not alright with that.  Well, I guess, we can start to clean this mess up, start researching again and maybe find a spider or two while the magic users look in this mess.  But, we can at least take off her gag and give her some water"

**PBH moves back to the Spider-lady and unties to rag from her mouth**

"Would you like some water? Were you bitten too by one of the spider maybe long ago?"    PBH says holding the rag in one hand and offer a glass of water in the other near her mouth.

PBH

[Boog]

Jeremiah massaged his brows, "Right, right, the gag. Sorry, it's my first day on the job," He took another step forward, then stopped, "Now ma'am, when I remove the gag, I do most certainly hope I don't get bit or coated in webs or something. I' doing something nice for you here," And with that, he walked the rest of the way to the couch and removed the gag, "Is that better, miss?"

[Stygian]

The spider spat when her gag came off and made some eeky noise in her throat before looking up at Bam and then Jeremiah.
   "You're all batshit crazy, know that?" Her statement was calm and collected, but incredulous, and her just slightly chirring and insect-like voice accentuated the tone. "And you're all going to die," she explained, equally calmly, and then laid her head down and sighed, almost as if in resignation.
    Then, unexpectedly, she thrashed around and struggled against her chains with an angry look. The metal creaked a whole lot more than it had before, and the couch shook.
   "This is insane! Let me go!" she shouted, before she fell onto the floor with a heavy thud and went still again. "Ow..." she declared, rolling onto her back and laying her head down again.

[Prof B Hunnydew]

"Jeremy, Tie the gag again.  if she is insane too, then we will have to try to cure her, too. If we can?  And can you see if you can find Gina the ferret.?  Maybe she can help us or we should see if she needs help.  Last, I know she was passed out with me in the painting room when we just got back into the castle as it closed.  I didn't see her when I woke up or since, but I thought she woke up on her own and left me.  I can help with the research here." 

** PBH starts pick up what may have been on the tables, which she puts to the side for Mel to sort and reading, sorting what should have come off in the bookshelves.**

PBH

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel gave a sigh. Cog was right, they needed her help more than she needed to give in to her insulted pride's demand to storm off. She would stay until she wasn't needed. "Everyone please stand still for a moment," she requested. She sent out a cleaning spell to right some of the damage she had caused. Carpets straightened, furniture righted itself, and books and papers piled themselves in neat stacks. Not much could be done about the smashed furniture or the holes she had put the in floor but at least no one was in danger of breaking their neck tripping on a book.

"There. Now we can get back to work." She picked up the paper the bat had been working on, but it looked as if he had crossed everything out as useless. She set it back down, if it was useless to him it was more than useless to her. Unfortunately her knowledge of curses was thousands of years out of date. Half the stuff she was reading was new to her. She was picking it up quickly enough but she felt like she was playing catch-up more than being helpful. Smothering yet another sigh before it escaped she picked up the book she had been working with and resumed her research.

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha watched from the sidelines as the others removed the gag from the spider-woman's mouth, and only quirked an eyebrow at her treatment of them...though, looking at the situation, nobody would have been happy if they went through the same suffering and were being bothered by a curious bunch of adventurers.

"Going to die, huh?  I've heard that about..." she raised her fingers and jokingly counted on them.  "A hundred times...being crazy is how we all have so far survived this mansion, and how we got here in the first place."  She gave a light smirk.  "And right now all we want to do is cure our friends..." she pointed to the various ones having been affected by the venom, "...who have been so generously bitten by someone's minions.  So how's about not being insulting, and let us have a reason to untie you?"

The panthress put a hand to her forehead.  She must have sounded quite irritated, but after all of the commotion, and with it being so far late in the night, could anyone have blamed her?  After a second, she made an apologetic bow for her rudeness and decided to do a little exploration of her own among the library's restored shelves, though staying nearby...perhaps she'd find a story that didn't have to do with the castle.

[Cogidubnus]

Cog nodded gratefully at Mel. "Thank you. Staying is a larger burden than I know, I am sure." he said, placing the book he had been reading on a table and standing. "Now this spider woman..."
Cog carefully approached the woman and kneeled next to her. "Hello, my dear. My name is Cogidubnus.", he said as he began tracing some sort of symbol in the ground. "And you have, unfortunately, gotten and the wrong side of me and my friends here. Aisha is right - all we want to do is cure ourselves. Now...." the symbol that he had been tracing on the ground suddenly flared a bright yellow. "That being said, it was your spiders that bit us. I'm going to guess you know how your own venom works. So, little spider, I normally make a habit of not hurting anyone if I can help it..."
As he brought his hand back up, it crackled madly with lightning. "And so I will be compassionate. Tell us what we want to know, and we'll let you go. Keep blabbering death, and I will make the next few days, a hell worse than the one you just came from."
He held his hand close to her face. "I am sick of being at this castle's mercy. How does the venom work!" he said, his voice deathly quiet.

[Gareeku]

No sooner had Cogi finished speaking, a finger tapped him on the shoulder.
"I doubt threats like that are going to work. Now, if you'll stop acting tough and gun-ho, then maybe we can work something out. I know there's ill feeling towards this castle, that much is evident from the way a few of you have been, but you seem to be forgetting that it was the angel, not the house, that has been the cause." Gareeku said, the look on his face showing the fact that he was not impressed at how the situation was being handled. For a while he had stayed quiet, but for some reason, he had a feeling that the spider woman was just an innocent party. Considering the events the group had been through, the wolf would not be in the least surprised if the spider woman had been controlled by the angel.

Kneeling down beside the spider woman, Gareeku looked at her with a gentle smile.
"Now then..." he said, putting a hand on her shoulder as he spoke. "A few of us have been cursed from spider bites. Is there any way you can help us?"

[Boog]

Jeremiah crooked an eyebrow at Bambi, "I prefer Jeremiah to Jeremy, if that's all the same miss. And that ranting was oddly lucid for a completely useless crazy person. I think I can be more help here than elsewhere; you see about Gina," Seeing Cog begin to summon up lightning, Jeremiah quickly stepped forward again, hands raised in a universal sign for peace. However, Gareeku beat him to the punch. So Jeremiah simply stood there looking at the spider woman's eyes. In case he needed to be convincing.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

"Mr. Mithome." The soft voice came from Mel, in the far corner of the room. She remained sitting at the desk in the pool of light from a crystal she had floating above her head. She didn't look up from the massive book she was slowly scanning and appeared a little overly quiet but she seemed rational and reasonable as she said, "Sebastian has questioned her multiple times. Unfortunately he told neither Keaton or myself what he found out. Perhaps it would be faster to find him and ask rather than re-interrogate that girl. He is our curse expert and actually knew what questions to ask."

[Sunblink]

Keaton's facial muscles felt too slack and exhausted for her to manage even so much of a falsified twitch of her lips, but somehow she was able to plaster a slightly forced, but noteworthy effort at a smile. "Well, good," Keaton said, leaning back and massaging her temples roughly from beneath her pallid hair. "Would've really sucked if you got hurt in some way..."

Looking over to the area where Stygian had made his brusque departure, the jackal sighed and rolled her eyes, idly wondering for only a split second if the bat had gone to subdue his temper somewhat, or at least enough to not assault Mel again. A frown twisted the periphery of Keaton's lips into a thin, slanted line, half grimace, half scowl, fading only slightly when she looked away from the doorway and over to the thoroughly jostled spider-woman, who they were currently interrogating shortly after removing the gag from her mouth.

Professor Hunnydew had suggested that she use her mind-reading capabilities to unearth the information they needed from the trussed-up spider woman, but later remembered that Keaton was now unable to execute such a technique since she had been stripped of all of her Cubi abilities. For some reason Keaton felt sore about this--she definitely would've wanted to be involved in everyone's research more than simply scanning through countless ancient books (a slight shifting of her eyes confirmed that the books Keaton had amassed had spilled all over the floor, some of them mangled beyond recognition from Mel's rampage).

Still, there was always other, brutal methods of prying knowledge out of people, but they were often rather unscrupulous. Such as threats, which Cogidubnus seemed rather intent on using towards the poor spider-woman, who seemed equally inclined to spit foul insults and curses at them. If they were going to go through with the violent means of extracting information, Keaton would be more than obliged to assist, as the hefting of her mace indicated.

Keaton's patience had nearly been drained to its last drop. She was willing to do just about anything to find out the means to reverse the curse that gripped her body, whether it meant smashing someone or something's head in or not.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Cogidubnus]

Cog sat silently and lowered his hand, shaking his head at Gar. "Be my guest, good sir. I'll be over there when she spits in your face." He stood and turned, and walked toward the chair he had been sitting in. He called to Mel. "As you say then." he said flatly, the sparks on his hand dying. "Well then, I suppose we wait for her to come back, or stop sulking or some such."
He grabbed the book he had been reading and sat down again, resuming his place. Dear god, but this was dry reading. He sighed and looked forlornly at the collection of Beddoes on the shelves before resigning himself to yet more magical theorem.

[Stygian]

The spider woman actually made a bit of a "progressive" response to Cog's threat, her eyes widening, all eight of them, and her look turning against his face with more than a trace of fear. When the others interfered and he let up, that gaze remained but turned a bit more suspicious, and then sour as she slumped down again and sighed deeply.
   "I don't know. I don't know who you people are and what you think I did to you. I came here to this place to find... that thing, and after that, everything's a blur..." she offered with a resigned look. Laying as she did, she looked like a big, anthropomorphized arachnoid ragdoll.
   "He's going to kill you too, that's for sure. He's never done anything different. You should get rid of him while you still can..." she groaned.

   In her solitude, the bat was getting tipsy, and after having made something like diary notes, followed by some scientific and arcane scribbling in combination, was laying back and singing softly, thinking. Not being able to sleep, Stygian did what he could to pass the time and wind down. He would try as hard as he could to forget that he was in the wrong body and down there were people who were all cooped up and probably plotting to burn the castle down with him in it. He needed and craved to say or do something to them, but that would be too soon and too much of an admission, so he tried letting his mind wander instead...

[Rloa]

Kerag as he get quickly bored of the current thing he is doing and heads for the library again then he suddenly gets side track and finds himself outside again. He shrugs maybe there something up on the roof that is interesting so he jumps and flaps his wings and grabs the roof edge not wishing to over shoot and pulls himself up and takes in the view.

[Aisha deCabre]

While Aisha browsed the books, she was keeping an ear tuned to the conversations like a sattelite.  So they hadn't decided to gag the arachnid-like woman back up yet, instead listening to her words.  Both ears perked curiously then, at the mention of someone wishing to kill them.  An audible slam could be heard as she closed the book she was looking at and stepped back towards the sofa, tilting her head.

"I don't see how he'd want to," she commented, thinking it was Sebastian she was talking about.  "We helped release him.  Was that angel not the evil one?"

The panthress tried not to make too many quick judgments about the place, or its inhabitants.  He had helped save their lives.  But ever since the fiasco with Mel, and the deadly look on the bat's female face, who knew what was really sure any more?

[Prof B Hunnydew]

PBH was confused and very unhappy, She tries her magic sight on the spiderlady and the other adventures.  Was there any ties between them and the Spiderlady or with the bat.?    No the spiderlady seem clean

The frog refusal to seek the ferret, has made it more important to find the girl in her mind.  PBH leaves the library and wanders around the rooms from the kitchen hoping to find the Ferret.  Only finds the female Bat with nearly a empty bottle and looking very tippy in a remote room.  She stops just outside the door of the room that the Stygain was in and unsure if she should disturb the girl bat.

PBH

[Boog]

"What we THINK you did?" Jeremiah's bushy eyebrows shot up. They'd been doing that a lot, of late, "You don't remember? You charged in with what could only be called a brood of spiders under your command. Arachsperians, I believe they're called?" He grabbed a chair and brought it over, then sat down facing the spider woman, "Are you comfortable where you are, or merely unable to sit up?" It was an honest question; who knew how tight those ropes were? "I think you know more than you give yourself credit for, miss. After all, you've just told us two things we hadn't yet heard. Who is this mysterious host of ours?"

[Stygian]

When Jeremiah mentioned Sebastian as their host, she snorted and sneered at him. She did strain against the chains a bit...
   "He's a monster and a murderer. He killed the people who sent me here, and the ones who lived here as well. His own family," she said, her voice partly coloured with distaste and partly with dark humor. "He's called Stygian. I think you can guess why." She sniffed and smirked a bit more.

   The bat was singing some soft, slow song, her voice as deceptively angelic as much of her looks. The knower might have recognized the mezzosoprano melody from a certain opera; Die Frau ohne Schatten...

[Boog]

Says the woman who turned the morose young woman over there into a different species. We're all monsters to somebody...
"I can guess," Jeremiah replied dryly, and then smiled in what he hoped was a friendly manner, "You see? You know quite a bit. His alias, his habits. What else do you have on him? Particulars regarding his history or personal motives? Why would he turn against his family, and why would this family send you?"

[Prof B Hunnydew]

"My My So our empress needs a shadow, or Are you fitting into your new gender, and now wish for a child.?"  says  PBH  as she enters Stygain's room...She sits down near the bat and waits...

"I'm not sure Whose part you were singing just now, and I have not seen that opera in years."  asks PBH in a friendly tone.  "Can you tell me some of why or How you and your family got this way? or You can tell me where Gina might be and I leave you alone. "

PBH