Securing the Landing pt. III

Mon'Fargret carefully steps around Granite Spear to the west door and puts his ear to it. Nothing can be heard. The music in the air is strangely muffled, as if the source itself were muted but the floor and walls were acting as a conductor.

Reading the thought, Betham says, "I think it's coming from that way." He points south toward the stairwells. "Somewhere behind the stairs. I sense a lot of people that way." Then he looks around at the smoldering bodies on the floor with disapproval.

Lirassa crouches, pauses, and then quickly jumps around the corner of the stairs toward the window to the east. After a quick scan with her pistol, she relaxes with a sigh and mutters to herself.

Mey'Luskar suddenly appears on the stairs, which then creak as if in agony.

"Ooh, that Farbett is going to wreck the place!" she cries.

"Let's hope the music muffled that," replies Mon'Fargret.  "In any case, we'd better get a move on."

He, Betham, and Granite Spear turn to follow after Lirassa, who mutters something evilly about the leafy-green carpeting.

All at once, Lirassa's muttering ends in a grunt of surprise and she stiffens.  In the next instant, a volley of stun bolts cuts low across her position, one of them catching her in the shin.  The Besteeng convulses but stays on her feet.

Securing the Landing pt. II

Lirassa disappears completely.  Mon'Fargret, with Betham close behind, heads up the stairs.  Both vanish as well.

"I don't remember that !" mutters Mey'Luskar as she starts up the stairs, Widjgleeby closing from behind.  Pru follows uneasily.

"Is Ham alright?" calls Zeton across to Bina.

"He's just stunned!" replies the disgraced priestess as she looks over the Ibitonian.  "At least I think he is!  I don't see anything else!"

Over by the crystal's display stand, Nekshi and L'Toyei start a very low but apparently animated conversation.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the action, Mon'Fargret and Betham cross what appears to be a cloaking curtain, and everything at the top of the stairs suddenly comes into view.  (At exactly the same moment, the thumping of loud but muffled music becomes audible.)  What are apparently the front doors of the mansion stand open to the night.  Two armored figures and one in ordinary (but professional looking) clothing lie on the floor with smoldering wounds.  Granite Spear prods one of the armored ones to the left.  Lirassa, weapon in hand, eases around the banister of the stairway to the right.  On either side of the stairway, twin curved staircases arc upward to the next floor.  There is also a door to the left and a passageway going right.

Securing the Landing

"Lirassa," starts Mon'Fargret into his wrister.

Puzzled, Granite Spear starts to raise her staff to poke ahead.

"Are you there?" continues Mon'Fargret. "What's hap..."

Just then, Granite Spear's fighting reflexes allow her to jump aside just as Ham suddenly materializes directly in front of her and tumbles backward.

On the other side of the stairway, Lirassa can be seen partly to appear. She seems to be quickly crouching and pressing herself against the rail.

"...pening?" continues Mon'Fargret.

Granite Spear immediately grasps her bulky pistol and dives up the stairs, disappearing from view as she passes Lirassa's half-visible form.  The armored Amazon, perhaps startled, seems to lose her balance and catches herself on the rail, allowing a little more of her form to fade into view.

"Lirassa!" cries Mon'Fargret.

Forgetting all about the crystal, Bina sprints across toward Ham, cutting in front of Mon'Fargret and leaping across the bottom of the stairs.  She pays no mind to the stun bolt that suddenly appears from nowhere in the stairwell and expends itself against the railing directly behind her.

Lirassa seems to right herself and move a little up the stairs again, parts of her fading out grotesquely as she does so.

"Tricks!" Widgy says, starting to move closer to the stairs as Betham raises his weapon and trots forward.