So a bunch are dressed like us and the others wear white clothes. Hmm...Well we have two openings that might be ways out, shall we try this one? I will help give a boost. Trevor will help lift people up.
To help boost people up, Trevor will need to climb onto the pile of bodies. Does he do so?
What is the worst that can happen? Trevor climbs.
Trevor clambers up the pile of bodies (which is a bit squishy but otherwise fine). He steadies himself a the top and holds out one large hand to help the rest of the party up the slope, the other hand gripping the side of the chute, a big toothy grin on his face.
Does anyone take Trevor's hand up the pile of dead bodies?
You can easily clamber up the chute. It goes up into a 10 foot by 20 foot room. One wall is masonry, the other three are wooden. The walls are a dirty black (looks like this may have been a coal chute to supply fuel to the furnace room). There is a door in the south wall.
@Faradin and Lazare - the potions are 1d8+5 so give yourselves 4 more hp. My bad for not catching this earlier.
He hears birds chirping, and some odd thump/swishes that are hard to describe.
Trevor climbs up the chute and grunts as Faradin helps him up. This place gets nastier all the time. So no sense hanging around, let's check out the door.
The opens to a courtyard measuring roughly 20 feet by 70 feet. Just south of the door you opened is a door on the west wall (I almost cut this off when hiding areas of the map from you - look close and you should see it!).
A collapsed pile of wood in the southeast corner looks like a shed; from where it is located, it would have connected with the stairs coming up from below.
Trampled flower beds lie smeared and squashed across this muddy area. On all sides, stark gray walls climb toward a narrow gap of sunless sky.
In fact, the sky above is a roiling yellow cloud or fog bank - it looks strikingly like the world from your shared nightmare.
Rain pours in this courtyard, falling straight down in a heavy downpour. You can feel warmth coming from the rain; it is hot enough to burn! (A DC8 reflex save every round you are in the rain or you take 1 hp damage).
Overhead, through the heavy hiss of the rain, you hear something odd - the thump / swish is coming from overhead. Here, with the door open, it sounds almost like heavy wings beating overhead in the fog and mist.
You can discern drag marks thru the mud, from the door on the west, through the door you stand in, to the chute (perhaps where the bodies were dragged through and dropped into the lower room).
Lying before you, eyes wide open and mouth in the shape of a scream is the woman who shared the dream with you. Her throat is slashed as it was in the dream. She is not breathing.
Augh! Let's get out of the rain...acid..whatever it is. Head west! Trevor heads to the west door.
Jean-Phillipe is not able to beat the eager half orc to the door. Trevor swiftly pushes it open and moves beyond it to get out of the burning rain. The others crowd in behind him to escape the downpour.
As you do so, you hear a peal of thunder that sounds almost like laughter.
You are standing in a 10 foot wide hallway running north and south (clustered up where the red X is).
Broken lanterns and several battered doors line this cold, rubble strewn hall. To the south, a pair of swinging doors lie shattered upon a 4 foot high heap of wrecked furniture clocking a broad door frame.
The hall is generally dark, but there is some light from the southern rubble.
Plaster is cracked here, and some floor tiles are popped up, and there is the odd crack running through the wall. The place looks like it has been through an earthquake.
Let us try south where the light is. Trevor will help lead the way.
You step a few feet south before you hear Stop right there lads. Another step and I'll blow a massive hole in ye chest. That ought to stop even an unnatural one like you
You hear the distinct sound of a hammer being cocked on a musket or rifle.
You can see some more light now; what lies ahead of you seems to be some sort of barricade. A few medium size creatures move behind it, and at least two barrels point out at you.
Jean Phillipe can see well enough (although the figures are backlit) to see that they are humans, and dressed similarly. They all have rifles or muskets, plus shortswords (or bayonets) at their side.
There are at least 4 behind the barricade.
Trevor stops. Uh..ok. We don't want to get killed, especially after some crazy doctor lady tried slicing us up.
No 'arm, is it? Your kinds been trying to kill us for days. We won't have any more of it, EH!?! DO YOU GET MY MEANING? he is shouting by the end of his statement.
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"Look mate, I just woke up in a f&!*in cell after a bloody horrible nightmare. I don't know anything but my f%@%ing name. In the last half an hour I've been clubbed and stabbed by a weird looking creature with no f@*@ing feet and a face like your fathers arse. I have no interest in killing you, no interest in killing your friends. All I want is something to eat, something to drink and some f!$~ing answers. DO YOU GET MY F&+&ING MEANING?!"
Maybe they got stabbed by those footless things like we did? No wonder they are all freaked out.
A different voice speaks out I do indeed take your meaning, young man. And we have been attacked by those weird shapeshifters. And I have no way of knowing you are not one of them. They are crafty. So, take a step closer and the lads and I will shoot you full of holes.
The man hawks and spits over the barricade.
It seems we have a bit of an impasse here. But we can't let you any closer. We have women and children here. We won't take any risks
I am Vaustin York, by the way.
Umm..I heard a story about finding shape shifters by poking them with hot needles.
York knods, Aye, some answers would be good. We don't know much ourselves. But certainly more than you seem to, or at least what you say you do The rifle barrels never waver as they point at you.
A few days ago, the patients went crazy. With a grin Well, crazier than they were, anyhow
He hawks and spits again. They rose up agin the staff. And they were more than the patients. Shapeshifters. Ghouls. Weirder things. The doctors are gone, taken. Most of the staff except for a few of us security folk, and some others, are dead. The rest of us are holed up here in the Chapel. We were infiltrated once by a shapeshifter and that arn't happenin agin. They are very good at soundin just like a poor lost soul. Like you.
What you can do to prove it, mayhap, is bring is a few dead ones back. At least a few of you be dead that way if we are wrong.
One body will be a good start. But as we know we shot at least one of ....them.....I am afraid one body won't be enough. Let's all agree to settle on three bodies to gain entry?
He stands, arms akimbo, watching you. The rifle barrels are unwavering.
The furnace pipes and vents go to the boiler to the north there He gestures somewhat vaguely down the hall behind you to the north. To the north there is where the shifters mainly are. And mayhap a ghoul or two.
We'd prefer most of the body, if you please. Just to make sure its not more shape shifting nonsense.
He squints at Lazare I recognize you lad, or at least the face you are wearing, if you be a shifter. You were a patient here at Briarstone Asylum. Not sure why though.
Trevor turns to his group. Well let us go get that body, we can use rope to haul it up.
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You head to the north. As you walk north, you pass two rooms on your right; they appear to be storage rooms, thought the shelves have fallen into a tangled mess and they look to be thoroughly looted.
As you get to where the red X is on the map, you hear some humming.
Everyone needs a stealth check at this point if you intend to be stealthy.
Odd; I see Jean-Phillipe posted a minute later than me but showed up in the feed earlier. OK. I have the cat man's stealth.
Trevor manages to be rather sneaky in his scale mail.