The voice seems to resound from both doors to the room at once, bouncing and echoing off the stone walls. From her knowledge of the layout of the subterranean level, Alicia guesses that whoever is calling is doing so from the central room with the mosaic in the floor, where they fought the flood troll and Vhailor found the jeweled book cover.
The voice calls again, a little closer. "Identify yourself!" It sounds as if whoever is calling is slowly advancing toward the door on the right.
Alicia motions for Marikel and Kaleb to take up positions near the door the voice seems to be advanced toward. At the same time, she sneaks over to the opposite door (presumably the one leading toward the probably-trapped corridor). She searches it for signs of a trap, then attempts to slowly open it.
Marikel gets carefully to his feet waving to get Alicia's attention.
Frowning, he points to his helmet twice and towards the front of the church. Nevertheless, he makes his way to the door Alicia indicated.
While his sword is still drawn and glowing, he doesn't raise it.
Marikel and Kaleb take up positions near the door on the right, the halfling following the priest's lead in not readying his weapon immediately to strike.
Alicia intends to move silently to the other door and examine it carefully for danger, but in her anxious haste, she's not sure she did a very good job of either one. Still, she eases the door open to see the narrow corridor make a sharp turn left five feet from the door. Artificial light makes a dizzy slant on the walls; someone carrying a lantern appears to be approaching from around the corner.
Ali waits a few moments, peering down the corridor to see whether a person comes into view, and strains her hearing to see whether it sounds as though footsteps are still proceeding toward the door where Marikel and Kaleb are stationed.
As Alicia hesitates, straining her ears to listen, the lantern light flashes onto the door and her face in the opening. "Hey!" a voice shouts, startled. "Who the hells are you?! Show your hands, nice and slow!"
It's difficult to make out more than a silhouette on the other side of the flaring bullseye lantern, but it's definitely not Urnsul and looks too small to be Daktani.
Marikel sighs.
"It's okay. We're friends," Marikel calls out.
"We're here on behalf of Miss Blackblade. We're after some fugitives who recently came here. Have you seen anyone else around?"
The door at which Marikel and Kaleb are waiting is yanked open to reveal a Patrolman peering in anxiously. "Well, Iomedae's breastplate! Begging your pardon, Padre, but why didn't you just say so instead of sneaking around down here? Thought you was another f@%%ing troll, if you'll pardon my Kelish." The man looks simultaneously relieved and annoyed.
At the other door, the Patrolman lowers his lantern and approaches nervously, giving Alicia a admonitory glare. "Ain't seen no one but some big centipedes, and a line of bear traps looking to take our legs off, and the damned burned plague victims screaming at everyone upstairs. Who you looking for?"
Alicia shoots Marikel a glance. "See?? I told you this place was haunted!" she says. Returning her gaze to the patrolman in the hallway with her, she continues. "Pair of half-orcs. Daktani and Urnsul. Seen them?"
Marikel is about to retort to Alicia, but stops and looks at the Patrol person.
"Burned Plague Victims? Was this within the last half an hour or so? Two of them perhaps? Male and female?"
He starts towards the door. "Where?"
"Pair of half-orcs. Daktani and Urnsul. Seen them?"
"Urnsul I don't know," the Patrolman in the northeastern corridor answers, "but they told us to detain Daktani if we saw him. You might ask upstairs; they've got more of a view."
"Burned Plague Victims? Was this within the last half an hour or so? Two of them perhaps? Male and female?"
He starts towards the door. "Where?"
"Hells if I know. I didn't see them," the Patrolman in the southwestern corridor replies as Marikel brushes past him. "In the chapel upstairs where everyone died. Had a couple of people run screaming before they shut the doors and declared it off-limits until it could be blessed, or whatever."
"We should check it out," Marikel advises the others.
"If there's another trail, it's gone cold."
Ali scowls and nods. "Yeah, probably." She starts making for the stairs up.
Alicia, Kaleb, and Marikel file down the corridor where the flood troll burst out on the party yesterday and into the central room with the mosaic floor. The doors to the columbarium where they almost met an oozy demise stand open. Continuing to retrace their steps, they return past the statue of Iomedae that had been holding Marikel's sword and back up the stairs they chased the rat down into the small annex and out into the ruined hall.
By the sunlight streaming in through the collapsed wall and staircase, they can see that the area has been cleaned, the webs cleared away, the rotting cupboard and bookshelf pulled away from the walls and deposited in a pile for later removal. Back on the ground floor, the thumps and bumps of the workmen clearing the room with the collapsed corner at the front of the structure are again distinctly audible.
Alicia, recalling that there is a wing of the Plague House she hasn't seen in the past day, heads straight for that door ().
Past the open door, a narrow corridor leads straight ahead before abruptly turning to the left. Natural light paints the end of the hallway, informing Ali even before she gets there that this must be the room with the collapsed corner at the front of the old church.
It's hard to tell what this room was used for originally, it has become so dilapidated and exposed to the elements for so long. It is a shambles of broken masonry, scorched rafters, fragments of plaster, and fallen shingles, and it is becoming more cluttered as two workmen are tossing detritus down to the ground floor from a loft on the intact southeastern wall. A staircase just around the corner from the corridor Alicia entered by provides access to the higher ground.
Alicia takes the steps two at a time as she climbs to the loft. Once there, she looks around for any way to get onto the roof of the Plague House.
As Alicia rushes up to the loft, the two men heaving debris off of it look up in alarm.
"Here now, where'd you come from, missy? This structure is off-limits, by order of the Council of Defenders."
"Go on, now, git! You're going to get hurt!"
The broken roof still overshadows most of the loft, and the precarious and rickety-looking railing doesn't offer an easy place to get a foot up. The best place to gain access to the roof is probably the way the giant spider went, up the remains of the staircase in the ruined hall, beneath the fallen steeple.
"It's okay," Marikel steps forward, "She's with me."
He looks about at the wreckage.
"Was there a disturbance here recently? The other patrol members said something about a ghost. There are some spiders around though. What have you seen in the past hour?"
Alicia snorts. "I'll be fine," she says to the laborer. She turns on her heel and descends the staircase. Back in the main hallway, she turns toward the ruined staircase and attempts to climb up onto the roof.
"It's okay," Marikel steps forward, "She's with me."
The workmen straighten up when Marikel speaks. "Padre," they come partway down the stairs to greet him. "Councilor Crumkin expected the church might send a representative to check on the process."
"Was there a disturbance here recently?"
The second workman guffaws but checks himself when his companion shoves an elbow in his ribs. "Recently? No, sir," the first man goes on. "I can assure you that none of this damage is recent. We're just looking to clear out everything that's unstable or sharp or might pose any other danger to people wandering in here unawares."
"The other patrol members said something about a ghost. There are some spiders around though. What have you seen in the past hour?"
"No ghosts in here, padre," the man replies quickly. "There were some good-sized centipedes making a nest in all these rotting rafters, but the Patrol took care of them. Just an example of the kind of dangers that have been allowed to exist here for far too long, meaning no disrespect, sir. You see, we clear out the nesting material, and they'll move on someplace else, where there's less of a chance of innocent passersby getting hurt."
"The ghosts was across the hall," the second man grins. "Ben Greene went in to check it out when we got here this morning and came tearing out again wailing about dead folk screaming with mouths full of fire and ashes. He was halfway to the Kestrel before they could calm him down. Wouldn't come back until they agreed to shut the doors to the old sanctuary, and no one else has gone in since."
----------------------------------------
Alicia heads back to the staircase in the ruined hall and climbs the rickety steps to the first turn, where the remainder was torn away when the steeple fell. It's a precarious perch, the hole into the basement where they slid down earlier yawning beneath her. She has to jump out over it, grab hold of the broken edge of the roof where the spider escaped yesterday, and pull herself up. She feels sure it's all doable on her end ... assuming the roof has enough structural integrity to hold her weight.
-----------------------------------------
The blond delinquent leaps up, grabbing the roof's edge and hauls herself up. Instantly, she draws her hopeknife as she recalls the spider that fled this way. She peers around the roof for signs of spiders, half-orcs or anything else of interest before getting to her feet.
Feeling the wave of feline aggression flowing from Carbonel, Vhailor frowns and looks up towards the bird. Pushing his lenseless glasses back up the bridge of his nose the gnome takes a slight backward step and muses "What's up Carb? Hungry?"
Marikel nods.
"Thank you... I'll check it out now."
He looks round for any of the others, then heads over to the old sanctuary with his sword at the ready.
Alicia scrambles onto the roof, arms herself, and takes a quick look around for anything which may pose a danger. She knows that the giant spider exited this way yesterday, but it has left no traces of its passage which she can discern. Seeing nothing to give her pause, she gets to her feet to gain a broader perspective.
The breeze is brisk, but the moldering shingles retain the heat of the sun which they've been absorbing since morning. The roof climbs a bit higher to the ridge before sloping down toward the other side of the church; the remains of the steeple are strewn down toward the collapsed staircase beneath the ruin of the roof behind her. It looks as if there may be an intact space left near the base, a protected niche under the fallen wall that could shelter something; otherwise, the roof's surface seems to hide no secrets.
Kaleb follows Marikel across the hall to the old sanctuary where sick townsfolk died in such a terrible tragedy so many years ago. The double doors near the front entrance are shut. As the pair approach them, the Patrol members on guard outside notice them, and one says anxiously, "Careful, Padre. That's the haunted infirmary. Thought it might be better to shut it up until the work's done; no point in getting people all riled up when they've got a job to do."
Crouching low, Alicia slips over toward the fallen steeple for a better view.
The dwarf's eyes go wide and he immediately runs over as fast as his dwarven speed will carry him. As he nears the human woman, "Lass! Lass! You've got ta be careful, lass! Those buildings aren't ta be trusted! The roof could collapse on ya and then you'll probably just go splat," he tells her, nodding as if it's a matter of fact.
Alicia carefully climbs up the roof toward the ridgepole, intending to check out the fallen remains of the steeple when she hears an unfamiliar voice calling to her from the ground, telling her to be careful.
Alicia pauses and squints at the sound of the voice. No one important, she thinks, dismissing him, and resumes her climb.
Figuring she doesn't seem to hear him, "La...!" he starts but stops, his curiosity getting the better of him. "I don't know, this could be grand. Maybe she won't go splat," he tells himself, watching with a spectator's interest.
Ali reaches the ridge and inches along it toward the ruins where the steeple once protruded from the roof. There seems to be a narrow protected space between the fallen steeple and the scorched roof, maybe ten feet long but no more than half that in height. As she leans down to peer into the niche, a pair of glittering gossamer streaks shoot out toward her, enveloping her in a sticky cloud.
With a curse, Alicia attempts to extricate herself from the webbing. "Spiders," she mutters as she slips free. "It just had to be spiders."
"Careful, Padre. That's the haunted infirmary. Thought it might be better to shut it up until the work's done; no point in getting people all riled up when they've got a job to do."
Marikel looks about for the others then sighs.
"I believe there was a disturbance there recently. Tell me about it and if you've heard anything since. We're looking for some suspicious characters who may have a secret way in."
Vhailor remains puzzled by the new arrival... trusting more to his companions reticence more than what appears to be a friendly enough disposition. His eyes narrow upwards at what sounds like the faint remnants of an uttered curse from Alicia.
"I believe there was a disturbance there recently. Tell me about it and if you've heard anything since. We're looking for some suspicious characters who may have a secret way in."
"Heh, yes," the man replies with a grin, while his companion stifles a laugh. "Ben Greene went in to make sure the room was clear and came running back out hells-for-leather, screaming about dead folk with their mouths full of fire. Straight out the door and across the badlands; couldn't hardly catch up to him to calm him down. None of the rest of us saw anything, but ... well, we weren't in any hurry to go in and check. Figure if there was anything in there, his screaming would have riled it up."
--------------------------------
Ali shimmies out from under the floating webs before the adhesive has a chance to stick, but no sooner has she freed herself than a spider emerges from beneath the fallen steeple to nip at her with twitching mandibles. This spider is not as large as the one the group chased from the ruined hall yesterday, only about as big as Jess Meeson's hound.
Vhailor and Dorn, on opposite sides of the burned church, see Alicia flinch, then wiggle and writhe, waving her hands in the air, for no reason they can fathom.
The dwarf looks curiously upon the human woman before a big grin eventually forms. "Oh I see, she's just showin' off. And I was worried. You go, lass!" He cheers her on, copying her dance as he does. "I think I'll be namin' it: 'The wriggle and writhe'," he decides, concluding that to be quite fitting, as he continues to dance with all the grace of a rock rolling down the side of a mountain.
Still unsure exactly what was going on up above, Vhailor (with Carbonel riding upon his shoulder) moves around to get a better look. Noting the presence of an eight legged aggressor, he gasps and begins fumbling around within his jacket for a recently acquired item. Calling to Alicia he implores "Give me a moment... I'll zap it!"
Dorn sees ... something small emerge from the fallen tower atop the ruined building and dart at the human female. Unfortunately, it's just on the other side of the ridge of the roof, so he can't quite make it out.
"Heh, yes," the man replies with a grin, while his companion stifles a laugh. "Ben Greene went in to make sure the room was clear and came running back out hells-for-leather, screaming about dead folk with their mouths full of fire. Straight out the door and across the badlands; couldn't hardly catch up to him to calm him down. None of the rest of us saw anything, but ... well, we weren't in any hurry to go in and check. Figure if there was anything in there, his screaming would have riled it up."
Marikel purses his lips.
"Mind if I just take a peek inside?"
The second Patrolman shrugs. "It's your funeral."
The other man elbows him with a frown. "Reckon if there's anyone that knows how to handle ghosts, it's a priest," he replies, giving Marikel the go-ahead.
Dorn stops his ridiculous dance when he catches sight of "something" crawling out of the building. Squinting to see if he can make it out, "Ya know, I'm startin' ta think she wasn't dancin'. REAVER!" he hollers, turning his attention toward the sky, "Helpu'r feinir! Ymosodiad y peth hynny yw ar ôl iddi!"
The bigger-than-normal-sized-bird turns his attention towards the girl and spots the target mentioned. He immediately flies in that direction, attacking the bug with a snap of his beak once he nears.
The dwarf then moves to the building and attempts to make his way up.
In response to the dulcet Dwarvish tones that he hears echoing across the rooftop, Vhailor answers "Mae'n pry cop mawr!"
The large-ish bird that has been circling in the sky dives toward the rooftop at the dwarf's command, deftly manipulating its hooked beak between Alicia and the remains of the steeple to tear open the spider's smooth carapace.
Meanwhile, the dwarf attempts to scale the annex to reach the roof himself, but is unable immediately to find a reliable foothold.
The second spider, cowed by the arrival of the roc just outside its lair, tries once again to ensnare the human girl for later digestion, but the disturbance in the air caused by the flapping wings of the man-sized bird foils the arachnid's intentions.
Deciding that two overgrown spiders may be too many, she dances aside in an attempt to interpose a wall between herself and the second arachnid. Ali jabs at the nearer spider with her hopeknife. "Don't know where you came from," she says, eyeing the large bird. "But thanks for the help."
Alicia carefully slides down the roof, keeping a defensive eye on the nearest spider, hoping to divide its attention between herself and the bird. She stabs at it, but the point of her hopeknife skitters off its hard carapace.
Putting some distance between itself and the bird whose beak just took a morsel out of it, the spider scurries down after Alicia and tries to bite her again but doesn't come close.
Marikel readies his sword with one hand and uses the other to open the door and look inside. He looks around carefully before stepping inside the door.
As the dwarf finds himself still on the ground, he ears perk up when he hears his own language. Nodding in thanks to no one, "DIOLCH!" he responds. "REAVER! MAE'N PRY COP!" Hopefully that's what it was he was attackin' and not the lass. A thought then occurs to him causing a slight grin to form, If he's smart, he may get lunch out of it too, he chuckles lightly.