After Gared sees the rat-like creature is tending to the wounded halfling, he walks over the corpse and roughly removes the arrow in it, and then attempts to do the same from the one that landed in the wall.
Horven looks over the corpse, pondering for a moment that the armor might be nice. However, his sense of decency and the stench tells him to forget that idea.
"Quite a collection..." Horven muses. "Seems like Malgrim was quite a thief in life, perhaps better than I. At least, more vicious than I. Appears he enjoyed finer things as well. He probably had a plan to attain his comforts. I'm willing to wager Jabin Mord was part of that plan."
Horven steps away from the twice-dead Malgrim. He wipes his hands on his trousers, anxious to move on.
Trying to move on, Ganer said, "I suppose we should continue on." He ambled toward a nearby door , presuming it to be another restroom, and wanting to get it out of the way. He tried the door. Assuming it opened, he relied on his darkvision to peer inside before he entered.
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Ganer moves to the door and waves the other jurors aside. They do not object openly seeming to let the heroes take the lead. Ganer also notes Patrissa giving him a warm smile as she waves him on. With the other heroes waiting behind him, he opens the door.
The first thing he discovers is it is definitely not a privvy. In fact, looking around the area he believes this used to be an office. This large area is partitioned into smaller cubicles by thin wooden walls with cracked panes of frosted glass set in them. Old desks litter the area, some overturned and emptied of their contents, others still standing where barristers once toiled under mountains of paperwork. A large window set in the north wall is shattered. Beyond, the sprawling desolation of Beldrin’s Bluff greets the eye, its tangled weeds and leaning storefronts strewn with bones and rubble. Suddenly, shadows flit across the frosted glass panes of the partitions as hollow voices whisper blasphemies on the wind.
Following Ganer, Horven peers into the office. He is thankful to have someone else taking the lead. In group situations, Horven is quite reserved and unassuming. This situation is nothing short of a nightmare for him. He has been confident, intimidating and motivated in such a short period of time. It was out of character for him.
Bow resting in his calloused hands, Gared strode into the room and immediately stepped to off to the side of his companions as he scanned the room. If battle would be had again, the dwarf wished to have a cleaner shot.
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than the wind hissing through the cracks in the frosted panes of glass here in the north window.
"Bah! There be nothing more than empty threats of the wind and tree's here. Let's see if we can't find something useful, or a way out of this cursed place."
The dwarf made his way through the room to the broken window, his keen eyes darting back and forth as he went before they fell on the possible escape in front of him...
Gared hopped backward instinctively when he saw the creature and snapped off one arrow followed quickly by another at the beast with a challenging growl, then ducked back towards his companions, shouting. "Durned beasties be dropping from ceilings now!"
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Gared ducks out of the way as the giant leech drops from the ceiling, obviously looking for an easy snack. Two arrows fly out from his bow, one flying wide left, whilst the other actually strikes it causing a dark ichor to ooze from the wound.
Undeterred by this, it lunges at the dwarf seeking to attach itself to him.
It latches onto the dwarf and already he can feel the vile leech starting to suck his body dry...
"Oh Gods! Get it off me!"
Gared's face blanches and contorts with horror as the leech begins to drain his life-blood from his body...
Horven quickly makes his way to Gared's side. He deftly slashes with his dagger, hoping to be of some help to the dwarf.
Attack:; Damage:
"В ім'я богів! Що це?"
Upon seeing the leech, Ganer launched into action. He charged, drawing his weapon in mid step, swinging it upward as he ran toward the creature. He kept the other hand within the cloak, holding the shield, but not ready to draw it out yet.
Damage:
Oops, I forgot to add the +2 attack bonus for charging. That should have been 14 on the attack roll.
The dwarf shouted in rage and terror as those teeth bit further into him, as if they meant to drain out his very soul...
He mustered a feeble attempt to strike the creature, bringing a powerful thrust of his right knee to bear...
but there was no real fight behind the desperate strike and it rolled off the creature's rubbery skin.
All the while, the dwarf clenched onto his bow, his knuckles white as his face.
Unarmed strike:
Ratcliff sees the desperate struggle and moves a bit further into the room. He quickly forms another diamond of blue energy and lets it fly at the leech.
In hopes of perhaps gaining a tactical advantage if the leech is dislodged, Horven moves opposite of Gared. He swings his dagger again, hoping for a better attack this time around.
Attack:,Damage:
Gared shudders and scrambles away from the thing's corpse. He is quiet for a long moment before he addresses his new found allies. "I believe I be owin' ye all thanks. I dun't know what that thing was fer, but it had me good. I'm afraid without your help..." He shudders again, then briskly shakes his head. "There be no time to waste! We need to find a way out of this cursed place!" The dwarf hobbles back towards the window, but more cautiously, and with more than one glance above him.
Horven smiles and walks up to Gared. He clasps a hand on his shoulder. "Think nothing of it. We're in this together."
Ratcliff rubs his whiskers before running over to examine the strange blob thing.
He then does his strange rat like smile at Gared, "No problem friend. Yes we should check that window, see if there is a way out."
"I should hope that you would do the same for us in the circumstances." Ganer said, as he strode toward the window. "I doubt we would be allowed to escape through a window, and I hesitate to wonder what sort of consequences we would endure for trying. So I suppose I shouldn't wonder." When he reached the window, he gave it a good look, and then hit it with his mace.
No hit roll, because I seem to recall that inanimate objects are auto-hits.
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The blood of a leech can be gathered and sold to an apothecary, who uses the blood as a thinning agent.
As Ganer approaches the window seeking a way out of this cursed place, his steps grow slower and slower...
I...
will...
NOT ...
let you...
Ganer turned and looked at the others in the room, a questioning gaze that wondered if that had been just for him, or if the others had heard it too. "What is it you want, Jarbin Mord?" He announced at noone in particular. "Why have you brought in four others, strangers who had nothing to do with this matter, and then treat us as though we had wronged you the same as any of the others?"
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After Ganer speaks there is silence...an eerie silence covers the courthouse. Even the wind has stopped blowing. The other jurors clamor into the office building clearly unnerved by the noise.
Soon, an eerie whisper echoes though the room, "You have been chosen to bear the crimes of your progeny. Justice will be done...else you will also hang...as I have." Then the voice fades to silence.
Killian walks up to Ganer, his face white with fear. He croaks, "Was that...Mord's spirit? What did he say to you?"
"'Crimes of your progeny'? What does that even mean? I'm a bit more street smart than book smart," Horven says, with a fading grin.
"Then it is as I had believed. Mord believes that he was wrongfully condemned, and has brought the four of us to judge his jury. I don't have any idea about the progeny bit though."
Turning to Killian, he added, "He said that we were not to leave. I suspect that bad things will happen to anyone that tries to make it out the window."
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Killian glances about the offices before he turns to face the tiefling, a serious look on his usually jocular face. "Aye, I believe ya. Seems clear to me we won't leave this place 'less it be feet first. Yet Mord was justly convicted, was he not? Least accordin' to Rekkart he was." He glances at the paladin. "I mean if he be guilty, then why has he not just slaughtered us already? Why he be...toying wit' us?"
"Aye. There be more to the story than meets the eye. Mord wouldn't have brought us here unless there be more information to be found, and as we go, we be finding clues to this cursed plot."
Gared cracked his knuckles and tested the draw on his bow.
"Mord means for us to unravel more of th' story, and these ghosts can be a vindictive sort. He's not fer letting us go until we understand the details and send him off proper. If ye have any more clues about th' hanging to share with us, sooner rather than later, it might help keep us from ending up like the hobgoblin."
The dwarf cocked his head and eyed the old man and the rest of the group curiously.
Ratcliff shivers at the eerie whisper, "I agree Gared, seems as if we have been assigned the task of handing out justice." He looks around the room some more "Looks like we are stuck here till we figure out this mess. Any ideas where to go next?"
"Unless there's a good chance we'll find compelling evidence elsewhere, I think we should still try and find the gallows. Start with the end of Mord's story, I suppose," Horven says, after some thought. "I may not know ghosts, but we've been finding strange clues all over this place. And nasty creatures...can't forget that either."
Horven shrugs. He didn't know which doors were those prohibitive exits and which led further into the courthouse.
I'd give five gold for a reliable sense of direction right now.
Killian did bring up a good point. Rekkart had been professing Mord's guilt like it was a religious law. Malgrim had already proved his character twice over and he was quite adamant about Mord's guilt. Horven knew he couldn't get Rekkart to budge on the whole guilty issue, but perhaps he could find out what his relationship is to Patrissa. That was curious indeed. But where could Horven start without raising Rekkart's hackles?
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Killian glances over to the ratfolk then to the halfling, a mild look on his face. "Wellll...that is a right fine mystery now isn't it. Guess there could be clues all over this place, but who knows what clues you be lookin' for. As for the gallows..." he pauses for a few seconds as if to recall something. "I reckon it was beyond that barred door...course they never let any of us jurors back there...so who knows exactly where they put the damned gallows."
"Well then, where should we head to while the night is yet young?" Gared asked the group, a hint of a smile playing across his so often troubled face.
Ganer decided to try talking in private again, as it had served him well with Halgrak. He moved away from the group, and requested that Patrissa join him. He decided to try a different tactic with her, hoping she would incriminate herself if she believed that she was in the clear.
Ganer spoke in a low voice, "I'm beginning to notice some odd patterns here, and I wonder if you can help me. I am beginning to wonder if Mord was somehow set up, and I find myself suspecting tha Malgrim and Rekkart have something to do with it. Rekkart seems overly insistent that Mord was guilty, so much so that he might be trying to convince himself, as much as the rest of us."
He didn't know what he would get out of the woman, or if any of it would be true in the first place, but he had to try.
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As Ganer escorts the beautiful, woman into a private corner of the office away from prying ears (and eyes) he is struck by how gracefully she moves. The curves of her body, the gentle swaying of her hips, the rustle of the silk fabric against her skin. She is indeed the epitome of grace and loveliness. There is a small smile playing in her lips as she strokes the fire opal necklace she wears as she listens to his words.
After a moment of thought, she gazes at him and replies in a breathy voice "Wow...so you really think that poor man was set up to be found guily? That is horrible! I know whowever was behind it was certainly wily enough to fool that upstanding gentleman as well. It probably was that foul hobgoblin who was behind it all! But how do we prove it?"
Ganer smiled, how convenient that she accuse the dead man, but still, she was almost certainly right. "I had already began to suspect that he had a hand in it, but I didn't want to mention his name because I wanted to know for sure. I have already found clues that pointed to him, if you have noticed anything, about any of the others, then it would help. Anything you might have noticed learned during the trial that was untoward would be useful as well."
It was difficult, but Ganer resolved to not believe her surprise. The way she moved, the way she spoke and how she looked, it was all too perfect, there was no way she could be true. When he found that unconvincing, he remembered his vision, where he'd seen her delight in the decision that Jarbin Mord would be executed, that helped somewhat.
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Patrissa cocks her head to one side, her auburn hair framing her lovely face. "Well, I did not notice anything unusual about the trial, well except for the nasty hobgoblin. He certainly wanted to show Mord was guilty." She turns to face him, her full red lips pursed in thought, "But, if Mord was not the killer, then who was? Who framed him?"
Gared walked over to Madge and eyed up the recently wounded halfling. The dwarf spoke gruffly but softly to her,"How are ye feeling there, little one?"
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Madge stands off to one side of the offices, cleaning her dagger on a torn piece of the formerly-living hobgoblin's cloak. To Gared's trained eyes, she seems a bit too diligent in making sure her blade is clean.
As he approaches her, she looks up and give him a half-hearted smile. "Thanks, Gared. I...I suppose I am doing OK...well as best as I can be, stuck in this horrid place!" She glances at the broken window, "Do you think we can get out that way?"
"I don't know the answer to that, though your question presents an interesting possibility. That might be why this group was chosen. It has struck me as odd why there are only eight jurors and four strangers here. Why not all twelve jurors? Why not the judge and counsel? The voice claimed that we are here to judge the jury, but maybe it is more to determine who actually committed the crime. I would dare say he is one of us. Malgrim may make a fine scapegoat, but I think if he were the villain in this, his death would have been far more grandious, after all, Mord must have been planning revenge since the day he died, and this must be it." Ganer had been afraid of this, he'd hoped that the woman would implicate anyone and everyone except herself, and she still might. It seemed that Ganer would have to earn it though.
"What of Ebbin? He seems, eccentric. Has he always been like that, or do you remember him acting different during the trial?"
"We might as well see what else this courthouse has to offer. Maybe a giant spider or more floating books?"
Horven makes his way back out of this room, pausing to nudge Ganer gently in the ribs. He jerks a thumb at Patrissa and then points at his neck, clearly indicating her necklace.