Click. Whirr.
Barengar's cell clicks open!
Pietros's cell clicks open!
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Having unlocked the cells, Stali pulls them open and waves the two dwarves out.
Having been warned of a skulk in the area, he points down the hall and out into the open area where Vralk had defeated the male rogue. He will take rear guard, expecting the others to form up around the two dwarves in a protective formation.
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Chak whispers, "we are going to check upstairs for more people to apprehend, arrest and detain. Once we escort, accompany and lead you to the exit, please head directly to the sheriff and tell her to come, approach, and arrive to the warehouse as quickly as possible with as many deputies as possible."
The Gearwrights help themselves to some of the daggers. It's clear they have no idea how to handle any of the other weapons here.
"Wait a minute, lad. Go to the Sheriff? What sheriff? Where are we?" Barengar asks, bewildered. “We were captured by lake pirates en route to Janderhoff. The pirates slaughtered everyone on board, but left us alive because... well, we're Gearwrights, famed from Magnimar to Korvosa for our clockwork. They think they might get a good price for us.”
Pietros sighs. "They trussed us up, then threw some sort o' smoke pellet at us. The next thing we knew, we woke up here. Wherever here is..."
Barengar nods. "Aye. We had headaches that felt like a bunch of stone giants had hosted a drunken boulder-hurling contest inside our skulls."
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"You are in Ilsurian. Once you leave, depart from and vacate this place, you can head that way to the center of town. I'm sure just about anyone there can help you find, locate and pinpoint the sheriff. After that, go to the Two Rivers Tavern. When we return we will give, provide, and supply you with all the pie you can eat.
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Stali is mildly surprised when the dwarves don't seem to understand how to wield a weapon. I thought dwarves were trained from birth to use weapons!
"Right now, you are in a hidden area underneath a warehouse filled with smugglers, drug dealers, and murderers. We are in the process of fixing those issues." He pauses a moment to let that sink in.
Looking to the other Tengu, Stali suggests "Perhaps it would be better if they stayed in the curiosity shop. They could watch the prisoners in the pit trap from a safe distance. If any awaken and try to escape, they" Stali gestures to the two dwarfs "could sound an alarm."
Looking towards the two fellow, he asks "Would that work for you? We would come back once everything was secure. The other safe option is to run for the Two Rivers Tavern."
With a nod to Vralk, he adds "Vralk has proven himself quite capable many times now. He can lead you to either the sheriff or the inn."
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The grandmother keeps her tone quiet, though she points at the 'southern' rooms and holds up one finger before pointing at her eyes and making a circling motion with her ringer pointed upward.
"Andrietta Ebonfeather, Silver Crusade. Our group is here checking things out for the Pathfinder Society.
We'll definitely make sure that you get back home, and perhaps even you'll have a chance to talk to an artificer or two from the Society."
They both stick out their tongues for Sarano. "Mmmm..."
Sarano discovers that they are bruised, grimy and undernourished. They've been beaten several times, but they're trying hard not to make a big deal of their pain.
Pietros looks thoughtful. "I suppose we can find that Sheriff of yours, if yon birdie would help us get started on our way. Ye saved us, and Gearwrights pay our debts. Then afterwards, we could all drink together!"
"And after that drink, a bath and food would be most welcome," Barengar says wistfully. "Alas, the thieves took all our money, but we've had some correspondence with a Walder fellow in town who wanted us to construct some clockworks for him. Maybe he'd advance us a loan!"
The Gearwrights tell you that Onamae frequents the rooms in the area of the basement that you haven't explored yet. "Watch out for her. She has a temper, that one." Before they leave, they look in at the alchemist for you. "Aye, we've seen her too. She didn't have claws then, that's new, but she was always brewing up some foul smelling concoction somewhere near our cells."
Where do you go next?
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"And eat pie together too! Yes,bacon too. Do you like bacon? Come on, this way"
Presumably the group escorts the 2 dwarves to the stair case, at which point Vralk leads them to the sheriff. He'd also fill the sheriff in on all of what is going on, in the detailed and clear way that we've come to expect
"We caught Robylla. Mate of bad guy. She had BIG claws. Claws like wounds in Sister. Crows in basement now. And slinky one there too. Everything Ok. Found lots of paper. Gallako happy about papers. Crow kick ass!!. Still looking. Oh, and found these two. Were prisoner."
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Gallako shuts the doors leading to 1 and 2 and makes sure that the other doors are firmly shut.
"If another one of those skulks is around we'd better not split up. We also need to make sure she doesn't slip past us.
Shall we start at the top down? I'll keep watch down here, you open the doors"
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Before the dwarves depart, Andrietta will give them each a tap with the Standard Issue Society Wand of Light Healing.
In addition to the running commentary and questions thus far, she adds...
"Be very careful out there. We're pretty sure we've gotten the skulks narrowed down to here, but extra caution doesn't hurt, kids."
Despite the fact that the dwarves might be two or three times her age, she's still treating them like everyone else that's fallen under her aegis.
In response to Stali's question about the clockwork, Pietros smiles and whispers a secret in his ear. "If ye be finding it, the secret to opening it is this." He tells you about a cleverly hidden catch, and a sequence of tiny switches that will open the clockwork right up. "When we're done, if ye like it, we can help ye repair it. It's a clockwork spy that obeys the orders of whomever winds it up. Ye'd like it, I think. Ye like your tools, don't you, Stali?"
Both dwarves thank you for the healing, and follow the excited Vralk in the quest to find the Sheriff.
Chak opens the door of the northern-most room. A heavy metal chair with straps mounted on high, flat armrests sits against the center of the north wall. To one side is an unlit brazier, and to the other is a small table covered with metal instruments. Two more comfortable-looking chairs sit directly across from it.
It's also clear that this is a place where rogues went to hide from their bosses and goofed off. There's a deck of cards on one of the chairs, grease spots from snacking, and a little bag of nuts hidden behind one of the chair legs.
Not seeing anyone in there, the group moves on to the next door. It appears to be a well appointed office. A desk sits to the south, covered in an alchemical equipment and supplies. A cot with an extra padded mattress rests against the far wall, a small chest at its foot.
The rest of you search while Stali casually unlocks the chest. Inside he finds an unusual clockwork construct that appears to be broken. Whether the breaking happened in the battle when their ship was taken, or was quietly done by the Gearwrights themselves as insurance is unclear. The chest is littered with gears, and with the tools.
Stali, do you open the secret compartment?
Meanwhile, the rest of you search the office. You find a stash of expensive chocolates, money, and enough equipment to assemble a full working alchemist's lab. You also find more spider parts, some of them scattered on the floor near the lab.
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Looking in the chest, Stali announces "At least we will be able to return their tools to them!"
Curious, Stali carefully inspects the device. He follows the directions given him by Pietros and gently opens the secret compartment.
Hearing Hikaru's comment, he says "One moment please!" Looking up, he suggests "We should gather up the other parts and put them in the chest, in case they are still useful." He then examines the contents of the secret compartment, sharing what he found with the others.
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Once he is done with that, Stali moves over to the other door. He quickly checks that there are no traps and if the door is locked. If it is, he gets out his tools and unlocked it while Hikaru stands guard.
He will make sure everyone is in place before opening the door. He has his sap ready as he opens it.
Stali follows directions and the secret compartment pops open. Inside, he finds two scrolls and a 12-inch iron bar lined with small plates and spikes.
Stali opens the door, and Chak cautiously peers in.
The room is a study in contradictions. It's a girly-girl room with cloying pink flowered wall paper. A stale, greasy smell hangs in the air, combined with the sour tang of body odor and overladen with a really cheap fake rose scented perfume. A padded cot sits to the south with another floral quilt pattern that clashes with the wallpaper. A platter of chicken bones picked clean sits on the floor next to it, along with several bags of nuts and other treats. To the north is a large, empty crate with a stained doily on it.
Then, from seemingly nowhere a shortsword glimmers out of the darkness and strikes at Chak.
Hikaru is up!
Lighter than air, Hikaru nimbly tumbles through Onamae's square and past her to set up a flank for Chak. Alas, he fails to hit the hard to see the skulk!
Onamae, having seen blood, attempts to strike Chak again and misses! Then she attempts to tumble away from Chak and then around Hikaru.
She does not trigger an attack of opportunity from Chak.
However, she triggers an attack of opportunity from Hikaru!
The whole party is up!
Hikaru slices and hits! Stali sails over the crate, and successfully positions himself next to Onamae and readies an attack if he gets a flank!
Seeing these graceful, ninja-like, tumbles, Onamae stares. "What are you, monkey-birds?"
Sarano, Gallako, Andrietta and Chak are up!
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The grandmother clanks on up as she spins her quarterstaff and holds her shield at the ready.
"Onamae, what should be more worrisome on your mind, dear, is how badly you've been thrown under the cart by your bosses. Give up now, and you *might* have a chance."
"You don't know them! How DARE you JUDGE them!" The skulk says to Andrietta.
It appears that she's not surrendering. As Chak takes his position...
...she misses, horribly.
Everyone's readied actions go off, and Onamae goes down!
When you search her, you find that she's wearing a lovely pearl tiara with the Heidmarch crest. She also has keys to the detention cells, and to what appears to be the rest of the rooms on this level.
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"Don't worry, we took them both alive so the whole town can judge them." Stali tells the unconscious body.
Gesturing to the door, he says to the rest "That made enough noise, might want to open this door now."
He quickly checks it and waits until someone gives a nod before opening it. He uses the keys found on Onamae if needed.
Team Tengu continues their search of the remaining rooms on this level. Using Onamae’s keys, you go through the next room to the east.
This room is bare except for several tall stacks of crates and boxes. Many of them are labeled to addresses and ports of call other than Ilsurian.
This appears to be a storage area for much of the stolen property and smuggled goods the guild receives. Some of these were more bulky or distinctive items that appear to have been stolen from either the Locked Box or other local businesses. Some things are likely here because they're things that Borvius and Robella couldn't explain away, or that the guild wouldn't want the sheriff to find during a random inspection of the warehouse. This area also contains a locked box with Erastil's holy symbol on it.
This is where the guild keeps most of its ill-gotten gains. The door is thick, reinforced steel, and the lock is one that might have given Stali trouble if you hadn’t had the key.
A large chest contains a haversack and a key, both of which glow magical. There’s also money, gem stones, and many prepacked doses of what appear to be a drug. In amongst the other misgotten goods, you recognize a silver chalice set engraved with a stag from your visit with Sister Esrelda at the temple.
The lower level is clear. Now where do you head next?
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"She was a feisty one... didn't want to give up even though outnumbered severely. Don't naughty people EVER learn to surrender?"
Hikaru looks in the haversack to see if there's anything stored inside that might be interest to the group. then he puts his old small pack into the haversack and follows along behind Chak.
Are you all following him, or are you splitting the party?
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Pausing a moment to think, Stali says "There is only one way out of down here that isn't through the warehouse. How about we use the magic key to lock that door and then all go up the same way? That way even if some flee through the other door, they can't escape."