Adventure #1: The Shadowstone Catacombs
You stand at the entrance to the Shrine of Saint Salina. You'd heard that a very rare and priceless treasure had been buried beneath the shrine and you, and your fellow team of robbers deemed it right to free the poor artifact and let it breathe fresh air once again.
You are currently crouched in the shadows. The moon shines bright enough to give sufficient lighting however.
The door to the shrine is made of solid lumber.
A pair of stained glass windows borders the door.
There are no signs of guards this far from the town so you shouldn't need to worry about the noise.
Know Religion
"Ah, crypt robbing. A shame that such wealth would be left to the whims of the long dead. I wonder if anyone's in attendance tonight?"
"We could just knock?"
"I don't require drama or petty destruction to get a door open."
Karthan knocks on the door continuing.
"If you're going to alert them anyway you may as well have them standing within arms reach with the door open and unmolestes. Gods forbid someone comes by and sees a window smashed or the door busted in. They might get it in their heads to do something about it."
Suzhen rolls her eyes at the bickering. "I could have opened that," she reminds Karthan, miming picking a lock. "You do well to remember that."
"I was amused by your bickering," the half-orc smiles. "You humans have such strange ways. All this talking and arguing. Nobody thinks to just jump into the action."
She shrugs off her pack, cracks her knuckles, and rummages through it, producing a leather wrap lined with long, thin tools. She crouches in front of the door, selects two of the tools, and begins probing and twisting them into the lock.
Suzhen simply shrugs, not looking up from the lock. "But you didn't just jump through window. You talked about jumping through window. All talk, and no action." She gives a small smile. "You could have just jumped through window. But if you ask me, window is beautiful. Should be left. Lock? Crude. Pick lock, walk in. Lock behind us. Nobody knows."
"So are you. But if you ask, you people not very good, as you called, "graverobbers". Nobody thought to bring picks. I did, because I have been through many. Tombs, crypts, have locks. And when you cannot pick lock, you smash with axe, or set on fire." She gives a small chuckle. "Axe and fire not so subtle, but they work."
"The dead sometimes walk around, as if living. They tend to be angry if you disturb their home. But mostly? They stupid. You quiet, you sneak up, you set on fire, they burn. You pick locks, you take treasure. If there is treasure. If there is no treasure, you find the person who told you there would be treasure, and you set him on fire, too." She laughs, a little too harshly, then adds, "I believe you humans call that a 'joke'. Orcs not so fond of jokes. More fond of smashing with axe."
Suzhen rolls her eyes, twisting her picks slightly to the left. "I do not know. What do you call barbarian that likes to read?"
Suzhen shakes her head, sighing loudly. "Ooof. Is very bad joke. You would make terrible bard. Do not quit day job."
"I know how to open door."
KArthan whistles to himself quietly and after a moment knocks harder.
Suzhen growls, looking up at Karthan. "Human, you would do well not to knock on door while I am trying to open. You knock, it sends vibrations through door. Through lock. Lock is metal, more vibrations. You keep knocking, it breaks my picks in lock. Door will jam, and we have to break lovely window to get inside. We break window, it makes noise. Noise draws people to this place. They see broken window, they come in after us. But if I pick lock, we get inside with no trace. So please, stand back and let me work." She jerks her head curtly in a direction away from herself.
"Orrrrrrrr. The kindly priest on the other side of the door simply opens it and you can take your frustrations out on him. But not too much frustration. We're not murderers."
The door is unlocked easily thanks to some superb lock picking.
Assuming you proceed to open said door.
You find yourself inside. Two rows Wooden pews line the room, with a small stone altar at the end. Two more stained glass windows lie at the far end of the shrine. From what you heard, the entrance to the catacombs should be beneath the altar.
The inside of the shrine is surprisingly bright for a room with no light. A faint breeze also blows through, with no visible source.
"See?" Suzhen says smugly as the door swings open. "No priest. Door is open. Picking lock worked, yes? You can be thanking me now." She tucks away her tools, shoulders her pack, and steps inside.
"Is rather nice room. Door should be under the altar. Would have been a shame to break lovely windows," she adds, with a pointed look at the other alchemist. "Who wants to be leading the way?"
Perception
KArthan sighs as he steps inside. "I suppose no one's home. A shame. I imagine the priests who keep this shine are nice folk given a chance. Sad to have to rob them but there are many living people who can benefit."
Suzhen cracks her broad knuckles, taking a few steps further into the room. "So, who would like to be inspecting the altar?" she asks, casting a sideways glance at Karthan. "You seem most concerned about lack of priest. Perhaps you would like to be looking for the door? Or would you like 'graverobber' such as myself to search?"
"Good. Let's keep that as long as possible." Looking at the altar Karthan looks at the ground around the altar seeing if there are any scrae marks that would indicate what direction it can be slid.
Perception
"Do you see any traps or locks?" Suzhen asks of Karthan, idly running her fingers along the edges of the altar.
Karthan spies signs of slight scraping. It appears that the altar can be slid to the right. As for traps, Karthan cannot say.
As you all approach the altar, the breeze seems to pick up, becoming a noticeable wind.
"None. You?"
"Yes. Pray it's a draft. We are sort of desecrating sacred ground. For a good cause mind."