Kirth Gersen |
The pantry begins to make more sense; the southern door opens into a mess hall (~30' E-W x 20' N-S), dominated by a long banquet table. A large cage filled with listless tropical birds stands to the northwest, and there's a door in the south wall, near the west end of the room. As you open the door, the birds begin variously tweeting and squawking, and one of them very clearly yells, "Up yer mother's bum!"
Jym Withawye |
"Uro, can you calm these birds?"
Jym Withawye |
Yes!
Kirth Gersen |
There's a kitchen, now deserted of people, and another pantry.
The kitchen reeks horribly, and is mostly filled with an acrid smoke -- someone left a kettle boiling, and there's something really nasty in it.
Anyone training in Craft (toxicology) is invited to roll a check.
The corridor extending east (from the east wall of the banquet hall) is probably a better bet for exploration and fresh(er) air. You can see that it's 30 feet long before turning south, and there's a door all the way at the east end, where the turn is.
Jym Withawye |
The corridor extending east (from the east wall of the banquet hall) is probably a better bet for exploration and fresh(er) air. You can see that it's 30 feet long before turning south, and there's a door all the way at the east end, where the turn is.
Through that door, next.
Kirth Gersen |
Your other East, Jym.
There's a chair in the corner and a pile of practice dummies in the middle of a small room. From there, you can see that the corridor merely bends south for 5 feet before turning east again; it extends another 30 ft. before turning north.
There's a door in the south wall of the east-west stretch.
Jym Withawye |
From there, you can see that the corridor merely bends south for 5 feet before turning east again; it extends another 30 ft. before turning north.
Is this corridor from the south of the new room, or are you talking about the corridor that goes south from where the red X currently is?
Kirth Gersen |
Start at the red X. Bend that corridor south for 5 feet only (erasing the excess you've drawn), and then it heads east (so the practice dummy room -- which is a lot smaller than you've shown it -- is in the crook of its elbow). It runs 30 ft. east, then turns north -- at that point, it will be headed straight for where you have "locked door" shown, with space for a room in between.
Jym Withawye |
Okay, thanks. Let's try to link up the hallway to the "locked door," and if nothing interesting happens there, we'll come back and try the door along the east/west hallway after that.
Those practice dummies seem out of place. Anybody with a better Perception score than Jym want to retroactively search that room?
Kirth Gersen |
There's a small (10' x 10') room to the north, with the door open. As you approach, two Lotus Dragons pop out and yell "Die invader scum!" and fire hand crossbows at you.
Uro=1, Gwl=2, Elebrin=3, Jym=4
1d4 ⇒ 41d4 ⇒ 2
Attacks:
1d20 + 0 ⇒ (13) + 0 = 131d4 + 1 + 1d6 ⇒ (4) + 1 + (2) = 7
1d20 + 0 ⇒ (2) + 0 = 21d4 + 1 + 1d6 ⇒ (1) + 1 + (2) = 4
Kirth Gersen |
One of them fires at the monstrous fish-man, but his terror throws off his aim. The other evidently is prejudiced against short people, and takes a shot at Jym, nicking him in the arm.
Jym takes 7 damage and must make a DC 11 Fort save.
Without waiting to see the results of their volley, the two thieves drop their hand crossbows and brandish rapiers.
Initiative: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10
Elebrin Thel |
Init: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 2 = 13
With there still being space between her and the attackers, Elebrin gestures from her heart out to a splayed hand directed at the closest foe. Acid splashes from her fingertips as she intones words of power...
Splash!: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 1 = 13
Dam?: 1d6 ⇒ 3
Jym Withawye |
Fort: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18
Initiative: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16
"We need the left one alive!"
Jym casts unwitting ally on the left attacker. Will negates; DC 14
Gwlybwr |
Its alive!
Init: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
"How prophetic! The scum will die. Just not the scum you meant."
Claw, claw, bite: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 191d6 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 91d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 81d6 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 101d20 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 71d4 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6
Gwl leaps into the fray, slashing like a feral cat.
Kirth Gersen |
Gwlybwr is a half-step ahead of Uro, and steps into the thieves' rapiers:
1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 151d6 + 2 + 1d6 ⇒ (3) + 2 + (5) = 10
1d20 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 2 = 131d6 + 2 + 1d6 ⇒ (2) + 2 + (3) = 7
One rapier skids along his ribs, and he narrowly avoids a more life-threatening injury. 10 damage to Gwl.
One of the fish-man's claws subsequently connects with the acid-spashed goon, however -- and drops the thief to the floor, bleeding out his life.
Uro steps up smartly and, if he wants, can take a -4 for using the flat of his axe and still knock the second guard senseless.
Jym Withawye |
"Soooo, after we see if there's anything useful on them, we need to take our new friend here to a room where we can tie him up and I can spend a few minutes alone with him!"
"Hey, did you guys hear how sinister I sounded when I said that, just now?"
Jym Withawye |
"Gwlybwr, the whole point of questioning him is to find out where Vanthus is. This place seems fairly large, so we could spend all night here, getting yourself more pig-stuck! We might miss breakfast!
"Let's head to the kitchen, and you guys can keep watch while I get what we need from this guy.
"Ooh, I just gave myself chills! So sinister! I wish I could grow a goatee."
Jym Withawye |
Hey, guys. I know the delay is on me. I'm swamped, sorry. Basically, Jym wants the party to secure the unconscious guy to a chair in the kitchen and then leave so a hypnotism spell has a higher chance of working. Then, Jym will revive the guy (using a potion, unless anyone has a better solution) and cast the spell on him. The delay here is that I haven't had the time to come up with the wording of the hypnotism spell to get the guy to tell us how to get to the most likely locations Vanthus (or a valued guest of these guys) is likely to be. Then, concerning the "Even after the spell ends, the creature retains its new attitude toward you, but only with respect to that particular request" part of the spell, Jym will try and convince the guy to guide them to where he thinks Vanthus is.
So, if anyone wants to word the spell on Jym's behalf, feel free. Or Kirth can just handwave the wording and assume Jym worded the spell as above.
Kirth Gersen |
"Vanthus? Thar's a scary one. My guess'd be he's with that art-house hussy Brissa. A right Suicide Girl, there, I'm fit to tell ye. He's got her all pantin' after 'im, not realizing he's doing the one-two pretty regular with the Lotus Queen when 'er back is turned. Ah, it's a fine life that Vanthus leads. He gets every good-looker in Sasserine, exceptin' the only one the sick bastard really wants... Say, you'se got any rum? There's a good gnome!"
Kirth Gersen |
The thief looks up at Uro as if to see if he's kidding. Noticing the half-orc's expression, he stops grinning and says, "That prissy little sister o' his, of course," in a quieter voice. "He won't be admittin' it, but it's clear as day. Like I said, 'es a sick bastard."
The thief looks at Jym with sudden concern, "Say, ye won't be tellin' Vanthus it were Young Tom been talkin' about him, as it were?" (Take this as a sign the spell is wearing off, so if you have other stuff to ask him, do it fast!)
Jym Withawye |
"You told me who he was with, but where is that? How do we get there?"
Jym Withawye |
"That's hardly fair, Tom! The only reason we're intruding is because Vanthus intruded, first! Once we find him, we'll get him out of your hair. But we don't even know where he's likely to be. Or where he's likely to not be! Tom, just give us your best guess!"
Jym throws his hands up in exasperation!
Kirth Gersen |
In his enchantment-befuddled state, Young Tom's wits are no match for Jym's veritable net of obfuscation. The thief's mouth hangs open slackly and he stares, glassy-eyed. Finally, drooling slightly, he suggests, "I'm not Vanthus, praise be to Procan, but If I had leave, money, and a wench, I'd not be staying in a cave underground."
Jym Withawye |
"But if you were hiding down here with Lotus Dragon folk, and you were on good terms with them, where would they put you up?"
Jym Withawye |
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Jym nods at Uro.
Jym Withawye |
Jym sighs in frustration/boredom/existential ennui/hunger.
"Well, first let's check out the one door we passed. Hopefully that will finish off this section of this complex."
Where the red x is on the map.
Gwlybwr |
"We should finish here first, I think. Even if Vanthus isn't here, if these thugs see that we're busting down doors looking for him, they might cut ties with him. One less place to hide for him. Plus, people are stupid when they get scared. Bet he's no different."