Recent enemies and a haunted house

"Come up, Tlax, let's go. You said the meeting was in like half an hour."

"Mmm," the nude marilith lies splayed on the bed, still a mess from the debauchery she slithered into after tracking down the rogue.

"How did I even get tricked into promising you a whole night on our way back, given... this?" You motion in exasperation and the snake woman smirks, flops over, and flicks her tongue at you, her hair splayed out on the bed underneath her.

"Asss if you're ssso hard-done by," her long tail flicks out and grabs you, pulling you back on to the bed. "Mmm, maybe they'll ssstill be there after we take a nap." She wraps her arms around you and closes her eyes. Mariel hops in on the other side of the sleepy champion and wraps her arms around her, earning another contented squirm until the marilith suddenly gives a startled hiss and flies out of the bed. She wears a betrayed look on her face, hugging her body and squirming from side to side on her tail. Mariel gives you a high-five, and you can't help but let out a shiver of your own: her hand is cold as ice.

"Thanks again, cutie! Come visit!" Mariel hops off the bed and gives Becca a deep kiss, then the adventurer gives a yelp and leaps backwards, her lips a pale shade of blue. Her two friends burst out laughing at the scene, but then have to dodge out of the way as the angel goes in for hugs.

"Okay, you're a threat to elf- and monster-kind alike," you grab her from behind and pick her up. The angel squirms atop your shoulder and shoots bursts of cold air at your back, but with your heightened cold resistance it's more uncomfortable than shocking. With that, you walk out of the room. The rest of your group follows behind—or, in one case, is carried—while the three adventurers stay behind to laze about and enjoy their time in town.

When you're back on the dark streets outside the inn, you put down the very pleased-looking blue Erinyes and turn to Tlax. "So did you get an eye on the woman you said David was meeting with?"

"No," the snake shakes her head for emphasis. "I think ssshe sssounded ssslightly familiar, but I couldn't placsse it. But ssshe sssaid ssshe would meet him again, ssso we ssshould sssee her there." As soon as she's done speaking the snake woman slithers ahead, and you have to up your pace to keep up with her.

When Tlax finally slows down you're deep into a maze of alleys, having taken so many turns you doubt you'd even be able to find your way back out. The bustle of the city is still barely audible, but between the night and the buildings it's muffled and distant rather than the near-**** on your ears that greeted you when you arrived earlier in the day. The marilith puts a hand to her mouth and then peeks around the corner.

The slight clank of armoured feet moves in the alley ahead. "So what's the plan, babe?" The masculine voice clearly belongs to Shadowdagger, every bit as confident and sleazy as in your meeting earlier today.

"Well, first off, the plan is to drop the 'babe'." A vaguely familiar female voice drifts around the corner. "Other than that, just head in, deal with anyone who gets in your way, and get to the wine cellar. That's where they stash most of the items. I'm not sure what's guarding the place, but given your class I assume that shouldn't be an issue for you."

"Got it b—" there's a ringing sound of steal being unsheathed, "—got it ma'am." Muffled footsteps, these ones without the clanking, start heading your way. Celestina points out a large pile of crates in an alley. As quietly as possible, the six of you make your way behind the rotting wood. Some sort of pungent odour emanates from the cracks in the wood, and you grimace as you're piled together uncomfortably with your champions. A moment later, Shadowdagger passes by while idly juggling a dagger. Nearly as soon as he's out of sight a tall paladin walks by clad in thick armour, tracing the steps of the rogue. When nobody else follows, you creep behind the holy woman as quietly as possible. After passing through another tangle of alleys, she emerges into the grounds of a large manor.

The moon hangs above, and the house casts a deep shadow as it's back-lit by the dark blue sky. A thick hedge surrounds most of the manor grounds, carefully-sculpted trees partially concealed behind the thick evergreen wall. A flickering light glows in a high window just under the point at the top of the house; some sort of attic or room with an especially high ceiling. The house is otherwise dark. Shadowdagger's silhouette darts across the still grounds. The paladin observes while crouching behind the trunk of a particularly thick oak.

A series of squeaks, chirps, and chitters cut through the cool night air, and the rogue's shadowy form pauses behind an ornate fountain. Bats stream out from under the roof in a long line, wheeling in the air before darting out into the night sky, and after a moment the adventurer gets moving again. The caw of a raven cuts through the air, almost like ominous laughter tracking his approach, but Celestina's estranged brother makes it to the door and slips with no further incident. Seeing that, the armoured woman you're watching stands up and confidently strides forwards. Other than another series of caws from the watchful bird she faces no more challenge than the rogue does.

"Say, we've met her before, right?" Her identity is just on the tip of your tongue, but you can't quite place it.

"She's that low-level adventurer I warned you about letting go back when the lich was invading," Sera glares at the door the adventurers recently disappeared through. "Although not so low-level anymore after the wish Akserrak granted her."

"Well, I guess this is my second chance then. We're fortunate to have someone with so little practical experience, even if she has a lot of XP. I'm going to enjoy paying her back for her part in my near-downfall." You let an evil grin spread across your face, visions of breaking the paladin crossing through your mind. It's the first time that you've felt the urge to do something truly daemonic since your impromptu vacation ended a week or so ago.

"That second chance isn't going to take itself. Let's go." Sera stands up and starts strolling confidently towards the mansion. The rest of you rise and follow her, and the raven's caw calls out to you as you approach the door. Poorly-oiled hinges creak as you push open the tall wooden slab; the pale moonlight casts a long rectangle in the house's dark interior.

The room you step into is tall, with vaulted ceilings, a massive carpeted double stair, and numerous doors set into the various walls. The stair rises in a curve to each side and ends in a high balcony, a few doors leading to the second floor. Statues of armoured men and women line the walls and gorgeous tapestries hang behind them. There's no evidence of any recent visitors: the plush carpet ahead is undisturbed and perfectly clean. Your group files in one after the other and the door swings shut behind you. The house creaks slightly from the impact. Everyone tenses up for a moment, but nobody appears to challenge your intrusion.

"Well, if we're looking for the wine cellar, what about down there?" Ari points to a flight of stairs which sink down at the middle of the back wall, ending in a worn-looking door. When you push it open, it reveals stone stairs sinking farther into the earth. Clammy air clings to your skin, and rows of bottles containing dark red liquid line racks across the room. Tina uncorks one of the bottles and takes a sniff, then recoils and tosses it on the ground. It shatters into a muddy red stain.

"Eugh, it smells metallic... this isn't wine, it's blood!" Something hits the ground deeper into the room with a wet thud, and you dash around just in time to see Shadowdagger's body vanish into a pile of loot. A gorgeous aristocratic woman wearing a low-cut ball dress turns to look at you, two rivers of red running down her chin.

"Mmm, that was delightful. Now, if you wouldn't mind, we'll need to replace that bottle you so clumsily broke. Could you just come over here and give me your neck, dear?" The woman's beauty seems to shine throughout the room, and you watch with a lazy, satisfied grin as Ari obediently walks over to the duchess. The warlock gives a rapturous moan as the woman runs two delicate hands up and down her neck, licking the spot where it's joined. Maybe if you're good she'll do that to you next?

"Stop, fiend!" Sera lets out a yell and draws her sword. The rasp of steel brings you back to your senses. She lets out a confident yell and begins to charge the aristocrat, her whip trailing behind her as she runs.

"My pet, we'll continue this later. Kindly dispose of this angel who so rudely interrupted us." Ari draws her wintry sword and charges her friend with a yell, while a hiss announces Tlax doing the same. Celestina seems to shake herself back to awareness next to you, and a crash announces Tlax slamming into one of the wine racks as a meaty fist hits her from a portal. The noble herself hisses, revealing two small but vicious fangs, then crouches and charges at you. You let a cone of fire loose from your hands, then dodge out of the way at the last moment. She adjusts her course with impressive dexterity, but a freezing-cold arrow strikes her in the shoulder and halts her advance.

Your wings carry you on top of another shelf of bottled blood, the stack teetering and a few bottles crashing to the ground as you land. The vampire hisses at this waste of precious nectar and leaps towards you. Another frost arrow soars at her nimble form, but at the last moment she vanishes, a small fanged bat flying towards you in her place. After summoning a flash of light to illuminate the shadowy creature, you grab the glowing bat and toss it at another stack of wine. The flying rodent shifts back into a woman just before striking the stack, a furious hiss leaving her lips as she finds herself bathed in shards of glass and droplets of no-longer-preserved blood.

A toll from a bell echoes throughout the cellar and your enemy's eyes are drawn towards the stairs. She turns back to you and gives one final hiss before turning into a cloud of pale mist. The incorporeal substance drifts rapidly in the direction of the stairs with clear purpose. Several of Mariel's frost arrows sail harmlessly through it, and while your firebolt seems to disperse a bit of the fog it has little effect. Two arrows suddenly protrude from your chest: Tlax holds her new bow pointing in your direction, while Ari seems to have occupied the erinyes currently hammering away with her sword and whip. An imp materializes from a portal behind her, but she casually kills it with a flick of a scimitar. The marilith nocks another pair of arrows and raises her bow to you once again, then a look of surprise crosses her face. The ringing of steel stops and you see Ari shaking herself as if just waking up as well.

Seeing that the battle is over, you lean against one of the remaining stacks and pull out a potion to heal your wounds, while Ari and Sera each do the same. "Babe, are you alright?" Celestina walks up and gives her counterpart a hug.

"Eurgh, she just... gets inside your head, and now I feel like I have the worst hangover I've ever had." Ari rubs her eyes as she speaks. "Tlax, how are you holding up?"

The marilith looks over her shoulder from a corner of the room. "I can't sssee any magic itemsss. Do you think they're hidden sssomewhere?"

"I'll take that as a 'fine'." Ari laughs a bit then lets out a groan of pain. "I'll just sit down for a moment while you all search... oh dear."

It only takes a few minutes until the five of you have turned the room over. Sure enough, there don't appear to be any other exits, nor anywhere where things could be stored. If there were any items to be had here they're long gone.

"Well, this was a colossal waste of time," you groan and kick a bottle lying at your feet, sending it smashing into a rocky wall across the room. "Wait a minute; I'm an idiot. This whole thing was probably just a big distraction: we should be looking for the paladin. Let's go!" You dash towards the door and the others follow you. The faint clash of battle is audible by the time you reach the main hall.