Tath was battle-tested. That much was true. While she was no soldier, she'd been in her fair share of drawn-out fights. The Catfolk woman liked to believe she had nerves of steel, though they failed to manifest upon the first loud boom. Thankfully, she managed to pass it off as a protective instinct, her hand tightening on Feliph's shoulders as a mother might smother a child in her bosom. Her ears stood straight up, head turned as she watched the window and the door unflinchingly her free hand gripping something at the small of her back - perhaps a weapon.

"It can never be a peaceful night, sleeping with a cute girl in a warm bed in an empty castle, can it?" The shameless woman almost growled, eyes narrowed as she kept her gaze trained equally on window and cupboard. "Because that would mean life was normal."

The closet still did not stir, but a faint scent was just barely detectable in the room now. It seemed to emanate from the closet. It became harder to stay awake in the soft, comfortable bed. The room seemed to be just the right temperature for sleeping. The rain pattered a little softer, and the thunder began to fade.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:40, Sat 04 Apr 2015.

Feliph was starting to feel a little weird, and not how she would expect from Tath tightening her grip on her. Less panicky, and more drowsy. But then she suddenly placed the subtle smell in the room.

"Hey!" she said, suddenly alarmed, before she made a quick cutting motion with one hand and shouted a couple of magic words (which might just sound like nonsense, depending on one's familiarity with such things). It was an air-purifying spell, one she'd learned to explore a volcanic crater without being overwhelmed by smoke. "It's those spider things again - it's coming from the closet. Up and at 'em Hammy!"

The air cleared, and the lethargy wasn't increasing anymore. Feliph's hunch was confirmed, as the predators burst from the closet, with their trap dispelled, they could wait no longer for an opportunity. The wall darkened as waves of dozens of giant spiders crawled out. They avoided the fire, but otherwise hissed and and crawled anywhere they could reach. They would cover the room within a matter of seconds if left unchallenged.

Now that the walk in closet was opened, it was apparent that there was a rather large hole in the wall that was letting in the arachnids, and quite a bit of water to boot.

Tath's nose twitched, and the Feline was already springing into action, leaping to her feet and pulling Feliph away from the closet with her, she snatched up her bag, pulling her bow from the sleeve sewn into it and knocking several arrows. In such close quarters, there was no doubt they would find their mark, and she'd rather down as many of the beasts before Feliph's companion made aiming a touch more difficult. "If you've a flame spell, Feliph, now would be the time to use it." Tath said, her tone still very much heady and thick, though there was more than a little urgency in it.

Feliph's eyes widened with shock and fear as the huge spiders suddenly poured out of the closet. She was saved from a slow initial reaction by Tath's quick thinking and swift reflexes, but unfortunately Feliph could make little more than a few sparks for a campfire with her magic. She wasn't given to the dramatic and damaging.

There was something else she could do, though, judging by the spiders' reaction to the fireplace. She waved her hands and muttered a few more quick words - this spell actually also useful for exploring volcanoes, though addressing a very different threat, that of the heat involved. A magical, implacable chill settled over the three of them, seeming to come from within. "Get to the fireplace, it won't hurt us," she said, her voice thick as well. Hamilton, trained to recognize his mistress's fire protection spell, was already heading for it.

The spiders fell from Tath's arrows, but three angrier arachnids took each fallen's place. They pounced and nipped as the trio, even getting atop the dog before he made it into the fireplace. The few that were foolish enough to follow burned and crumpled with a screech. The rest did not even try. The many eyes of each of the many spiders glowed a faint green for a moment, they rushed to pile on, interweaving to block the girl's way to the other side of the room.

In a display of feline grace and acrobatics, Tath evaded the spiders with relative ease as she jumped into the fireplace. She was no stranger to elemental endurance magics, and Feliph seemed capable enough. Even then, it wasn't as if the other option were appealing. Glancing up the fireplace, Tath snarled something in an unknown language; presumably her native tongue.

Fishing in her pack, she pulled out two coils of rope, as well as what appeared to be an intricate belt. While normally a fashion statement at such a time would be inconsiderate, to say the least, every thief had a kit, and every thief had ways of keeping it mobile. Glancing upward, she did her best to gauge where she might be able to find a leverage-able point. Fastening an arrow she carried for such occasions with one piece of the rope, she wasted no time in firing upward.

"No way but up, my dear." She said, sounding downright pleasant if her voice didn't hold the quaver of adrenaline. She tested the rope as best she could, before holding out the second coil to Feliph. "Fasten yourself to your friend and climb up. I'll be right behind you."

With that she drew her rapier, flicking the tip down into the still burning embers as she swung her blade in an upward arc, intending to splatter the would-be wall of spiders with orange-cherry blossoms of heat. Maintaining her ground, she then did her best, within the fire itself, to keep the spiders from amassing enough to overtake them. They weren't that brave, and Tath needed only to buy her sweet magical girl time enough to make it to the end of the rope.

If required, the catfolk could do without. Stone-masonry worked reasonably well as footholds, especially when factoring her razor-like claws.

Considering the smoke they were now subject to and her poisonous lethargy, Feliph had some trouble following just what Tath was up to when she fired the rope up the chimney, but she understood the instruction clearly enough. She knew at once, though, that the task of lifting Hamilton, difficult under any circumstances, would be downright impossible feeling the way she was. She mumbled a quick purging-healing spell to get the poison out of the trio's systems, then, feeling refreshed, said "Right."

She reached down to tie Hamilton to herself, the dog mildly confused but cooperative, then did her best to hoist herself up. She grunted and strained with the effort of lifting the enormous dog, but managed to make slow progress upward.

At the top of the hot chimney led to a larger  was a small magical barrier; not enough to keep out (or in) anyone, but just enough for the rain to harmlessly bounce away from the fireplace. Above that was the wet, slick roof; flat in design and fitted with old ballistas and catapults in varying states of disrepair. Towers sat at each of the four corners; roofed and large enough for a few archers, oddities for a manor seemingly fitted for leisure. Other chimneys dotted the roof, each corresponding to a main room in the keep.

The rain continued to pour. For just a moment, a faint voice seemed to echo back from the escaped room: "You run from my servants' help and straight to the demon's mouth. "

Pulling her scarf tighter over her mouth, Tath gave Feliph as much time as she thought was necessary. At least, enough for her to get out of reach of the spiders. It was then that Tath glanced upward, leaping up onto a foothold as her claws dug into the stone. Fireplaces weren't her best exit or entrance, but they were adequate, even if just for the ease in which they let one climb.

Once they were at the top, Tath kept her balance, as best she could, her tail swishing this way and that as a counterpoint to her leaning over to check Feliph over. The whispers were ignored, for the most part. Tath paid homage to only one deity, and her realm most certainly didn't deal with spiders, bats, or creepy haunted castles.

Adrenaline still pumping in her system, her hackles raised on end, the cat looked as though she were bursting with energy, almost shivering yet managing to remain still. Willpower, probably. "You alright?" Came her muffled voice as she pulled her hood over her, despite the rain being barrier'd off by some protective spell.

It was tough work getting to the top of the chimney with Hamilton, but the enormous dog at least scrabbled up to solid footing near the end of the trip, enabling Feliph to hoist herself up more easily. She took a few moments to catch her breath, then looked up to answer Tath. Incongruously, she was suddenly grinning. "Great," she answered, and she meant it. She'd been out of her element in one way or another since joining this group, not least because of the unbalancingly cute catgirl now keeping her company. But it was Feliph's nature to seek out danger in nature. Feliph was at her best right now, out in the elements and pursued by monsters, and she knew it. The whisper was a new one on her, but mostly it made her excitedly curious about what would happen next.

"Keep an eye out for a few seconds, I'll help us set up," she added, before starting to run through spells appropriate to the situation. First one to keep the rain and chill off, then another to dry out the soaking they'd already gotten up here, and then a third to make them more sure-footed on the wet, uneven roof. Finally, she squatted down and laid a hand on Hamilton's scruff, where it glowed a soft green color as the injuries he'd sustained from the spiders gently mended themselves. "How about you Tath, take any hits from those spiders?" she asked as she did it, sounding almost casual about it. It was quite possibly the first time she'd sounded entirely self-confident in talking to the catgirl since they'd met.

The spells did their jobs, providing a somewhat comfortable shelter to the nature's friend and her two companions. The weather barrier spell crackled ever so slightly at their feet, a sign of magical interference; it was the castle, it seemed that the thin force field was more than waterproofing, it was standing guard, someone or something inside was being alerted to what passed through uninvited. The pained screeches of hundreds of spiders echoed out from the chimney they had just exited, then silence, nothing but rain and thunder...

Tath couldn't help but smirk at the once-flustered girl. A part of her thought it was cute, and extremely appealing, though the situation at hand barred any pursuits of pleasure she would love to explore. Not only that, but she was just as much in her element in the thick of excitement as out of it. Then again, Tath did have something of a penchant for daring escapes, and this most definitely qualified as an escape. Her ears twitched as she kept herself poised, watching for any signs of spiders, before flatenning against her head. It was something of an odd sight, brown-ears on white hair, though it was quickly covered by a hood. Whether or not the rain reached them, it seemed more a matter of habit than anything else.

Satisfied that they weren't being pursued, she winked at Feliph. "Just wonderful," She replied, though how truthful she was being was outweighed by the dripping sarcasm she'd grown accustomed to taking on during heists. A quick pat-down brought the discovery that she wasn't harmed - a good thing for her seeing as spiders were usually poisonous - and she let out a small mew of annoyance. Perhaps the thought of Feliph tending her was too good to pass up. More likely, it was because of the ruined moment the spiders had intruded upon.

"We should probably look for the others." She said after a moment's pause.

"Yeah, you're right," Feliph said with a nod. smiling in response to Tath's wink. She wasn't used to operating as part of a team, but now that she'd gotten her footing and could think things through, it made sense that that could be part of a coordinated attack. She looked around after that. "I'm not good at distances this precise, though, I wouldn't know which chimney led to them. Do we just start yelling down them, or climb down a different one and work our way in again, or something else?"

Tath took the moment to stretch herself, bending backwards as she let out an exasperated sound. "I don't - murr - Think that will work." She grunted out, "I could probably find them, but if the same thing happened to them, they're not gonna be in the room they were in." Scuffing her boot against the roof, the feline made her way over to Feliph quickly. There was an uncanny grace to her gait, each step carefully took, nigh silent even in the dripping wet yet just as quick as anyone else would when fast-walking.

"Like it or not, Tora can handle herself, and Eve's just as good with a blade. Our best bet's to get on the ground and find out where that blasted Black-Armored spirit went and get his help finding Tora and Eve. 'least he can't be poisoned. It's kinda why he and Tora are our front-line."

"That makes sense," Feliph said with a nod. She hadn't expected Tath to walk right up to her like that, but she couldn't afford to get distracted at the moment. She looked around the roof again, this time for any slopes or anything else that might aid in their descent, and said "Where do you think we should climb down from?"

At the ends of each wall were fitted with worn crenellations, some more solid looking than others, with the worst nearly blown away with what looked like attacks form a siege weapon in a battle long past. The nearest wall to the eastern side was directly above a balcony some 15 feet down; the same that led to the room the just exited on the second floor.

The roof was fitted to be used as a defensible point, so there was a better way up or down than a chimney, though it would not be visible from their current vantage it was easily reachable if they explored, inside the tops of any of the four roofed towers to the corners was a hatch and a staircase leading down somewhere in the manor. Stone steps led up to the towers themselves.

Tath, however, was all too willing to let herself be distracted, if only momentarily. In these rather unorthodox circumstances, Tath likely would have touted some sort of spiritual benefit to be gained from taking one's mind from the task at hand. In all reality, though, the Catfolk was a thrill-seeking, pleasure-loving being who preferred living in the present; Feliph just happened to be both the object of Tath's peculiar affections and the one nearest at the time.

Blinking, Tath looked to and fro, not hesitating to trot along the edge and consider the towers, before giving Feliph an apraising look, as well as her pooch. "Looks like we got several ways off, but I'm not too keen on goin' back in just yet." She glanced around at that, her tail swishing back and forth as well. "If we fight spiders, we do it in an open environment, where they can't swarm us." She slowly folded her arms. "Aside from the towers, we could always rappel, or take the stairs. What do you think?" She regarded Feliph with a searching look. Despite whatever experience the thief might have, the worst thing in the world was a party member who didn't want to go along with a certain plan. That, and Feliph seemed to have some savvy of her own. To adventurers, survival meant just a smidge more than pride.

"Oh, you found some steps?" Feliph asked, following more cautiously and slowly after Tath. Her spell had made her more sure-footed, but she still had nothing like the natural grace and balance of the catgirl. "I'd rather take those this time, rather than haul the mammoth around again," she continued with a chuckle, tilting her head toward Hamilton. The dog opened his mouth in a quick pant when he realized he was being acknowledged. "But I'm not used to fighting big swarms of unnatural enemies like this... so if you think it's not a good tactical idea, I'll follow your lead."
This message was last edited by the player at 00:13, Fri 22 May 2015.

Tath smirked at Feliph's descriptor, though nodded. "Stairs we go, then. I do enjoy a good descent from a rope, though." She said, keeping her bow and several arrows on hand. While normally she'd just use her rapier or a dagger in such situations, she didn't want to slip and cause any undue harm. As balanced as she was, it was likely she was being overly cautious, but caution was what made an ordinary thief extraordinary.

Trotting down the stair, Tath kept a lookout for anything that might be dangerous, as well as glancing over her shoulder from time to time, checking to see if Feliph was okay. Keeping her scarf over her mouth, she muttered something under her breath - A prayer to the patron goddess of thieves. It was less homage and more for a lucky break, however.

Beneath the hatch were a spiral of old stone steps. The descent was dry, though the passage did not seem to have been used in a long time, even longer than the old mansion itself. The steps were completely solid and in tact, but there were no holds on the walls, nor lights in the alcoves to prevent the pair from taking a two story tumble.

After a few seconds, if no one fell, they would reach a flat area and a door with a little bit of light beneath; it was the right height to be on the upper floor they escaped from. The tower stairs did resume on though, if they instead wanted to get to ground level.

Tath spared just the briefest moment to crack open the door, peeking in momentarily before continuing on down the stairs, grabbing a hold of Feliph's hand as she increased her pace. Much as she didn't want to traverse the interior of the building, if there was a hope of running into their companions once more they would have to. As they stopped at the ground level door, Tath paused, slotting her bow in it's place as she pulls a dagger, peeking through the door before opening it and continuing onward.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:04, Wed 03 June 2015.

Now that they were out of immediate danger (or at least immediately apparent danger), Feliph couldn't help a little pink coming into her cheeks again when Tath took her hand. Still, she tried to stay focused, keeping an eye out and a firm grip on the staff in her other hand. Hamilton kept pace beside her, his grim, alert appearance in contrast to his usual carefree way of carrying himself.

The door creaked open noisily and roughly as the warped wood struggled against the rusty bolts. The passage had definitely not gotten any use in a long time, but of course bats don't need stairs to reach a roof.

Their eyes having adjusted to the dark, the pair would have been able to see the rest of the group just outside the door; it seemed the passage led right to the ground floor where the stairs were located. They appeared for the most part weary, sick, and confused.

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