The Sun Sets

Kanen was beyond hysterical. He continued beating at the mannequin with a look of terror on his face.
"Iqluq!"
"Iqluq!"
"Iqluq!"

Roll:

Storm:
The goopy residue on Figure Head is the result of combustion of a volatile mixture. The antidotal mixture you know of should not react like this, so he must have been experimenting with extra ingredients- something flammable, like lamp or cooking oil, in this case. There also must be some more advanced chemical process in effect, as short of deliberately lighting the mixture on fire, there would be no way for it to react so violently, unless it had an unforseen reaction at a chemical level- contact with oxygen may have been what sparked the explosion.

The chemical in the vial seems to be another mixture, unrelated to the mixture. It appears safe, in that it hasn't yet exploded. Opening it up, you smell something like ammonia and pepper. You are unfamiliar with it specifically, but it is safe to assume it is some manner of herbo-chemical medicine, that Figure Head may have intended to use in conjunction with the antidote, or to mix them together.

Dodger, Gearick:
You enter a drawing room. It is all but cluttered with all kinds of things- there is a fireplace at the far end of it (with the other door into the hall near it), and a few small sofas. More towards your end of the room there is a piano, and several shelves of knick knacks and antiques. There is a large landscape painting above the fireplace, a large globe, an antiquated map along the wall to your left, a minibar on the opposite wall with a number of empty bottles, decorative carpets, etc. What grabs your attention, though, is that the entire room, and everything in it, is covered in a thick layer of dust. It looks like it hasn't been used in decades, except for a trail of hoofprints. It is impossible to tell how long ago they were made.

Kanen:
The mannequin struggles to get up under the blows, but it doesn't appear to be taking any real damage. One solid hit knocks the head around, and the red gem loses contact with you. Almost in reaction, the black eye once again snaps to you, and the whisper suddenly isn't a whisper anymore. "Kashdem den otstrovook dar!" On the next hit, the staff cracks and breaks in two, and a burst of yellow static erupts from it. The explosion knocks you away from the mannequin, and the two pieces of broken staff lay on the floor. As you recover, you see the mannequin get to its feet... and then up on the four spindle-like legs now protruding from its back. The Black gem is staring at you again, and you are now aware of what looks like a stitched up mouth, tearing open.

Doing his very best not to touch any of the goop. Storm checks for any vitals on Figurehead.

OOC:Is Figurehead actually dead, or just badly wounded?
Heal(10) + FK:Diagnoses(5) = 15
Roll(1d20)+15:
12,+15
Total:27

Storm also takes a whiff of the sugar and wood and see if they match the scent of the contents in any way.
Roll(1d20)+7:
5,+7
Total:12
Bleh. Stupid nose.

"If it was meant to throw us off, why are there hoofprints?" asked Dodger. "I can't exactly tell when they were made, but it can't have been too long ago, otherwise there would have been dust covering them."

Dodger follows the hoofprint trail, trying to see what it leads up to.

---

Perception: 1d20 (16) + 10 - 2 = 24

Storm:
He's dead, Jim. The wood and sugar do not smell like the concoction in the vial, nor the residue on Figure Head. Koli flits around again, still sparking again, before flying up to Storms face. "Hey, where's the unicorn, I can't do this myself."

Dodger, Gearick:
The hoofprints track up to a shelf across the room. There is a spot with no dust, clearly something has been removed. It is irregularly shaped, probably some small statue or figurine. The tracks then go over to the fireplace, and looking closely, it looks like some ash has been scooped away from the substantial pile still there.

"You see, it looks like nothing important is here," said Dodger. "But what's more important in the situation is that something is NOT here. Something's been removed from this shelf, and ash has been scooped away from the pile for some purpose or another..."

Dodger scoops up some of the ash himself.

"So, while this might not solve the mystery of the chests itself, it's still something to keep in mind."

>Smart guy

---

The third and final door opens into the same room, near the fireplace. Exactly where you saw it before.

Laaaame.

Bronymous wrote:Storm:
He's dead, Jim. The wood and sugar do not smell like the concoction in the vial, nor the residue on Figure Head. Koli flits around again, still sparking again, before flying up to Storms face. "Hey, where's the unicorn, I can't do this myself."

"Poor pony. Rest his soul." He turns to Koli. "Gearick's on the 1st floor probably. What did you want to do?"

Kanen remembered an old trick his mother taught him that allowed him to calm any beast. He tried to calm his breathing and sat perfectly still. With a deep breath, he performed a series of gestures that would seem very odd to any one observing.

Spoiler:

Storm:
"Ask him what happened. I need the unicorn's magic, since mine doesn't work right anymore."

Kanen:
The terrifying spider mannequin monster stops where it is. It's four spindly legs lower it slowly back down to its hooves, and the whispering has stopped. It stares at you, expectantly, head cocked. The black gem is still trained on you.

"Wow that actually worked." Kanen said outloud. Cautiously he stepped towards the mannequin. "Uhh do you understand me?"

The mannequin nods, still jerking and creaking and clicking. By now the spider legs have receded into its back.

Kanen quickly tries to think of plan while this...thing was momentarily friendly.
"Ok, so uh first off....are you the reason the door changed?" he pauses.
"Shake your head if you was trying to hurt me before and nod if you was acting in self defense before."

Storm gets the green vial, the bag of sugar and the wood and places them into his saddlebags. "Ok, lets go ask him." Storm retraces his steps and heads back to the first floor.

Storm, Dodger, Gearick:
Storm packs up his finds and heads back the way he came. He is almost back to the room with the hole in the floor when Dodger and Gearick appear on the landing at the top of the stairs, just down the hall.

Kanen:
The mannequin continues to click as it shakes its head. It then seems to look up and slowly points to the sewn "mouth", straining to open. And still, the black gem manages to keep staring at you.

Storm greets Dodger and Gearick somberly.  "Hey.  We found  Figurehead.  He's dead.  Lab accident.  Gearick, Koli wanted to ask you for something."  He turns to Koli to allow her to speak...and notices she's not there.  "And she's not here."

"Sorry. Could you just follow me for a bit?" Storm starts heading back to the room.

"Umm uh hold on."
Kanen takes one of his arrows and carefully holds it in his hoof.
"Please dont eat me after I'm done."
With a quick pull, Kanen cuts the strings on the mannequins mouth.

Dodger lowers his head sadly as he follows Storm. He never got to know Figurehead that well since he started working at Neighagra, but he seemed like a nice man, and death always seemed tragic and unnecessary to him. And to have died in a lab accident? What a senseless waste of pony life!

"A lab accident killed him?" Gearick questioned with a small frown, even as he moved with Storm. "What was he doing?"

Kanen:
The mannequin's mouth snaps open as the last stitch is cut. It hangs there, sort of slack, and the inside of the maw appears to be a dark, featureless void. At least there's no teeth, though.

S, G, D:
Back in the room, Koli is still flying about and sparking. When she sees Gearick, she flies up and latches onto his horn, and he feels her magic pulling on his. "Go stand by the body, quick, before he leaves."