The evening started off much like any other. A comfortable and affordable inn, drinks and food to eat, a bard in the corner playing her lute, the innkeeper telling tales of how he took on a multi-headed hydra.
You been to one inn like this, youve been to them all.
As you settle in for a comfortable stay, you begin to chat amonst yourself. A self-righteous nobleman from Chileax, a couple of mercenaries from beyond, a cleric who blesses his ale before drinking it, and others. Everyone seems content to be friendly through the night before the day comes again and you all go your separate ways.
But, something strange begins to happen. At first, you feel a dull throb within your head, and your heart begins to pound rapidly at first, then slows. Pushing away your drink and food, you chalk up the odd sensation to the meal. You look for the innkeeper to complain, but he is gone. So is the bard, for you finally notice the quiet.
Looking about, you see others with the same questioning look.
A thud at the door draws your attention to the front. another thud. and another.
this doesn't seem right you think to yourself as you struggle with through the haze of your affliction.
A last thud and the door opens. Its the Innkeeper, but something isnt right about him. He shuffles in, slowly at first, as if he hasnt walked in months. his arms, once fluid with motion from his many speeches, now hang limply at his side.
The bouncer, a rugged human, walks up and asks a question.
hey, you ok?
The response is an unexpected one. The innkeeper grasps the mans arm and bites into it, tearing out a huge gash of flesh. the bouncer falls back to the floor, screaming in pain. the innkeeper, swallowing his appetizer, leaps upon the wounded man, his fingers driving into the bouncers soft core, tearing it open with savage strength of a man who is starving.
Ropes of intestines, and small balls of flesh colored organs fall to the floor and spread out, spilling their contents, filling the air with the stench of decay.
The creature, for that is no longer an innkeeper, snatches up the string of intestine, and shoves it greedily into its mouth.
A quiver of fear escapes someone, causing the creature to turn its gaze upon those of you who sit in their seats, unable to move for the fear of the unnatural scene floods your brains with immobility.
The creature screams out a wail, filling the room with its deathly sound. It is answered from outside. A second. a third. A weaker cry emits from the dead bouncer as the body begins to quiver and twitch.
A moment later, 3 more of these things shuffle in through the door, their hungry eyes falling upon those of you shocked in your seats.
we...have...to...move a voice mummbles.
Surprised that you still sit, you leap into action, hurling your chairs at the things, and sprinting up stairs, for your gear is in your rooms.
Taking the stairs 3 at a time, (an orc mercenary picks up the small halfling and carries him up), you arrive to the second floor and see another horrific scene.
More of the creatures, the maids, wenches, and other patrons who have already bedded are out in the hall, blocking your access to your rooms.
Looking down the stairs, and down the hall, you are trapped.
Several of your fellow patrons attempt to fight against the horde with wooden clubs that were remnants of chairs, but all fall to the raveneous horde.
Quick thinking, the dwarf motions to the large orc give me a boost. The orc, realizing the genius of the plan, laces his fingers, catches the dwarf's foot, and lifts the dwarf to the ceiling, where the dwarf smashes a hole in the plaster.
Scrambling quickly, the dwarf reaches down and begins to pull you all up to the safety of the attic.
As the last person is pulled, the human noble, the things press forward, attempting to overwhelm the lone human, but a quick leap and a pull see him to safety.
Your eyes have a hard time in the darkness of the attic as you move about, navigating the narrow timbers of the unfinished attic. Seeing no windows, you realize that for the time being, this place is safe.
Sitting down, and making yourself as comfortable as can be, you wait out the night, hoping that daylight brings hope.
the night is long, with a strange haunting tune floating upon the air, the words are incomprehensible, but seem to drill into your thoughts, making it difficult to think, to sleep, to concentrate. The occasional reminder moan from the creatures helps to amplify the lack of sleep.
During the sleepless night.
Alfonso finds his thoughts turning not to the strange attack or the things below them but rather to the voice, the voice that bade him to move. Was there something odd about that voice? {ooc]Was it a message spell by any chance? [/ooc]
With the dawn.
The noble removes a small silver box from his belt. Opening it reveals a brown powder. Sprinkling a pinch onto his glove he closes the box before inhaling the snuff.
Sniff..."Ah..Good morning my friends. At least I think that is morning light I see peeking through the roof-tiles."
Jacob groans as he sits up, having successfully gotten some sleep, mostly drunken stupor. He hugs his bottle of wine to himself as people ask for it, but after a swig, he hands it off. "Uhg...This is not what I had in mind when I got drunk. Things are supposed to get prettier...Not Uglier!" He rubs his head. He blinks, wincing as he looks up in time for a single speck of sunlight leaking through the roof hits him right in the eyes before he covers his eyes again. Thankfully being small he stands up and stretches, causing little bones to pop, echoing through the attic.
The surly-looking Dwarven mercenary looks amongst his companions as they wake, while sitting with his back to a wooden beam. "I ain't seen nothin' but these things," he starts, the accent noticeably different from the average Dwarf. He cranes his neck to take a look through their makeshift entrance to the attic, clicking his tongue and cussing softly under his breath at the view through the hole in the ceiling. Setting the weapon that has been resting in his lap against the beam, he stands up and begins to stretch.
"It looks like we don't got many options, so whether I like it or not, we're stuck together for now. Name's Khron."
”Any sign of the watch yet?” he says, nodding at the hole in the plaster made the night before. ”Or is it just still those things?”
The noble stands and peers down the entry hole.
"No sign of those noble servants of peace and tranquility. No sound of their whistles either. That I think is significant."
"It looks like we don't got many options, so whether I like it or not, we're stuck together for now. Name's Khron."
The human turns to Khron and bows deeply. "Greetings sir. I am Alfonso de'Almonte de'Beronsanti de'Calientia. A humble adjunct to the imperial diplomatic mission and your grateful servant. I believe we have your head to thank for our palatial surroundings? Along with our green skinned associate of course." The Cheliaxian accent is not overwhelming but it is present.
Fort Save
Teodor rests his back against a beam and shifts a bit, obviously uncomfortable.
I don't know how much rest you actually got last night, but I am pretty tired, the screams stopped at some point, but they're still shuffling down there, I bet you they know we're up here, even if they are no longer smart enough to try to follow us...
Or maybe they didn't see us...
I am Teodor Skov by the way
The human turns to Khron and bows deeply. "Greetings sir. I am Alfonso de'Almonte de'Beronsanti de'Calientia. A humble adjunct to the imperial diplomatic mission and your grateful servant. I believe we have your head to thank for our palatial surroundings? Along with our green skinned associate of course." The Cheliaxian accent is not overwhelming but it is present.
Khron gives the human man a once-over. "Ain't nothin'. Cap' always said that higher ground gives ya the advantage." The dwarf sits back down, dusting off a leg of his slightly faded blue and gray traveler's outfit before picking his weapon back up and laying it on his lap again.
In the darkness of the windowless attic, Khron's gray eyes search around for anything of value or use in their predicament. While his right hand rests on the head of his axe, his left strokes his well-kept red beard. Though he's sitting, it's quite obvious he's rather large for a dwarf, taller and broader than most of his kind. "More important than thanks, we need to think 'bout what we'll do from here."
I don't know how much rest you actually got last night, but I am pretty tired, the screams stopped at some point, but they're still shuffling down there, I bet you they know we're up here, even if they are no longer smart enough to try to follow us...
I am Teodor Skov by the way
Khron nods once to his fellow dwarf. "'s'long as they stay down there, we got time... nothin' but time."
Grumbles, rubbing his eyes a little, and with a final yawn, the hafling looks over at the folks. "The names Jacob. Just Jacob." The small hafling, wearing just a simple traveling outfit, chuckles, moving over to an empty area of the attic. Any idea how this all happened? These things usually don't happen out of the blue." He then nods over to Khron."Indeed, you guys seem nice enough, but not enough to stay cramped up here together for much longer...Though I may be making it a bit more cramped here soonish. I need to call a friend." He says with a chuckle, brushing his blond hair out from his face as he uses very little of the remaining wine to make a small circle in the floor, muttering.
Khron shakes his head. "We need a much more solid plan 'fore we try to go droppin' in on 'em down 'ere. I like me insides where they is, safe and sound under me beard." He looks towards the ceiling, considering his options. "I also don' know how good it would be to put a hole in our only shelter. And if those things aren' just in th' inn, but outside too, I don' think we'll find many people out there lookin' t' help." The mercenary grimaces, his hand squeezing the top of his weapon.
Khron sniffs the air but doesn't smell any smoke. "Nah, but it doesn't bode well if y' do." He stands, storing his axe on its belt hook, with a deep frown marring his face. "Looks like we ain't got as much time as I thought. Get up, ya slackers, we're gonna hav'ta come up with a plan now."
Is still in the middle of his summoning, before he takes a breath through his nose, and wrinkles it. He pauses just for a brief moment. "Aw crap.." And he seems to mumble faster in arcane words, the little circle of wine glowing slightly, and a lightly glowing symbol appears upon his forehead.
Perception
Teodor stands up with a sense of purpose despite the aches in his back and the growls in his belly.
If the building is burning, our little hole is going to fill up first
Someone take a peek at the hole, is it safe to go down? otherwise, I can see the wall divisions in the floor, we can probably figure out what our rooms are, but are those safe?
"Yes, there is smoke coming from below. We need to leave and we need light."
The noble scrapes his gloved hands together and four sparks fly from them.
The tiny motes of light grow in strength as they begin to move about the room
"I should think down is far from safe. Mr. Khron care to test your axe against the roof? We could use another exit"
"Th' hell wit' it!" Khron barks, drawing his weapon and moving to strike at the roof above. "I'll cut a hole topside, you folks worry 'bout figurin' out what to do about the fire and them!"
Kragdash had been silent till now just clutching to his weapon and listening. The orc is a mountain of muscle huge even by orc standards. His hair is unkept and has a short stubble. His body is covered in scars some self inflicted as decorations. "Kragdash son of Felzak. I smell fire too. I say we go down and slaughter the things, I want my things from my room and this is an inn there would be good deal of food and more importantly something to drink here, if we can stop the fire." The accents is thick and coarse but pretty easy to understand.
The orc then looks at the dwarf starting to assault the ceiling. "Good fresh air." He then moves next to the entrance and shoves his head out of the hole to take a look to see if the creatures are still there and if so how many.
Bel rubs the back of his neck as he stands and listens to the others make introductions. It would appear that an attic is not the most comfortable if places in which to sleep.
"Morning all," he says with all the brightness he can muster, "Belvedyr Haverfoot, although my friends call me Bel for short. Quite the predicament we find ourselves in, hmm?"
Bel's rising concern at the smell of smoke is offset by the logistical problems of clambering over rooftops. "You know, clambering over the rooftops is not likely to be easy and if we're to stand any chance of getting out of this situation alive, I suspect we'll need our weapons and equipment." Bel has a small rapier hanging from his belt but little else except his travelling clothes.
Khron stops mid-swing, considering the Halfling's words. "Yer right. So, let's size up what's goin' on." The mercenary moves over to the hole he'd punched in the floor the night prior, peeking through the opening while trying not to be too exposed. "'Ere goes," he mutters as he looks down.
"You know, clambering over the rooftops is not likely to be easy and if we're to stand any chance of getting out of this situation alive, I suspect we'll need our weapons and equipment." Bel has a small rapier hanging from his belt but little else except his travelling clothes.
Alfonso turns his attention to the halfling.
"No it will not be easy. However walking through a burning inn full of those things will be no easier. You saw how fast they overcame and, converted the bouncer. Getting within arm's reach is not on today's agenda Mr Haverfoot."
"Then there are the streets to consider. Are they empty? Full of...we need a better word than things... but them? Or are the happy and contented citizenry going about their myriad daily tasks in blissful ignorance of what is happening here?"
"We don't know. We need to know"
"Hacking a hole in the roof will give us information about what is happening on the streets. It will give us an exit in case of extreme need, an entrance if rescue is forthcoming, and it supplies a road for the smoke to leave allowing us more time to solve our current pressing problems while signaling our distress to a conceivably helpful world."
"So if Messers Khron and Kragdash would please return to their interior decoration. Our friend with the dagger can proceed to open a new exit to the hopefully empty room below. The rest of us can can keep eyes and ears open for movement until Jacob's friend arrives."
Khron pushes himself up, resting most of his weight on one knee, and turns a dark glare towards Alfonso. "Look 'ere, blueblood. I ain't yer damned servant, and I sure as the Nine Hells ain't doing what ya want just 'cause ya say so. Now eitha' make yerself useful or shut yer yap." The dwarven man returns to his earlier position, attempting to continue checking out the situation below.
Kragdash raises his head from the opening snapping it to Alfonso's direction and bares his teeth. "Listen unscarred, unless you want to be my next meal or improvised hammer to open the way you do not make the mistake of telling me what to do again."
Khron gets up and moves away from the hole in the floor. "At leas' eight t' ten of 'em, that I can see. Probably more," he begins, moving over to the area of the attic above where his room was situated. He begins to cut a small hole here with his axe. "Me gear's in th' room under 'ere, and I ain't leavin' without it. Somebody should work on th' roof so we can get an idea o' what's goin' on outside. We ain't got much time, e'en though it seems like th' fire ain't an immediate threat." As he finishes cutting, he steps back and kicks the damaged floor out, before leaning back down to see if there are any of the beasts in his room.
"If ya know where yer room is, you'd probably do well to check on it. We ain't gonna do well with jus' the clothes on our backs."
Continues to mumble, pretty much ignoring the rest as he hurriedly tries to finish his ritual to call a friend for help. Almost there. Get you're furry behind here!"
Teodor looks at Khron, what about the fire, did you see it? how much time do we have?
Teodor then looks around the attic, trying to find something useful to pry a board from the roof off, as well as trying to identify the board with best chances of coming off quickly.
If I don't find anything useful... I will use my dagger.
Perception
Khron looks up from scouting out his room. "Didn't see any fire, doesn't mean it ain't there." He leans back down, his waraxe still tightly gripped in his right hand.
With that, the circle of wine soaked wood of the rafters flared up in a soft light. Jacob jumps back to give the emerging creature room. [n]Took you long enough to get here Fritz![/b] The creature, which looks like a...'large' bidedal rabbit! Though the fur, being quite a gaudy purple, with white paws and feet. The creature groans a little, rubbing his head as he balances against the side of a beam. Dammit, you made the circle from booze again didn't you! I don't need a hangover either!" He snorts, glancing around, keeping his head ducked down not to have the small horns portruding from the base of it's long ears getting caught on anything. The creature also seems to have very long arms, almost down to it's feet. "Umm...Where are we? ...And where's my weapon at?
Jacob quickly answer. "Attic, undead, and in my room!"
Khron's suggestions seems more agreeable to the orc as he starts making his way towards it. That was interrupted when the halfling summoned his eidolon. He looks at the creature shaking his head few times. "I did not drink this much." As the creature seems to be the friend Jacob had talked about, Kragdash goes back to his business of locating the ceiling of his room while mumbling something in orcish beneath his breath. The orc then starts with the task of opening the ceiling managing to keep his temper in check to do so patiently as to not make too much noise.
Smiling benignly at the orc and dwarf Alfonso sweeps his eyes and floating lights around the attic.
"Please forgive my clumsy words. I am afraid our situation momentarily got the better of me.
Alfonso moves to assist Teodor in opening the roof. Though Fatigued as he is I fear the aid will be minimal.
Fools and children. Eyes locked on the short term, things, drink, rage and glory.... We should be hearing temple bells about now. Or feeling the rumble of the dray carts. Cities are never quiet... The rooftops might be the best option.... Still best to let them have their heads for now. Let the fear and anger burn itself out here.. Maybe some will start thinking in time.... Maybe
Questions for Mr. RizzenMagnus: What is the name of this Inn? In which neighborhood/district is it located? What is near the inn? Any abutting buildings/nearby temples/rivers? Kn. Local (untrained) if it helps.
Bel grins charmingly at the nobleman.
"Some of us require our gear, Alfonso, or else we'll be worse than useless out there." Bel gestures vaguely towards the half-formed hole in the roof.
"Unfortunately, my holy symbol is on the table I was sitting at in the tap room, which by the accounts of our dwarven friend here is behind at least eight of those... things."
"I suggest that we recover our belongings and see what we can see from our vantage point up here," Bel says, looking around at the others.
Kragdash rips in to the floor gripping in and pulling it every concievebly direction, clearly frustrated at the task at hand. It takes some time with lot of grunts but finally the floor gives way to the assault. "Finally. Do others need help so we can get going?" The orc inquires as he looks trough the opening in to his room to see if some of the things had gotten in.
The bunny-man creature stretches, managing to avoid beaning anyone with those large hands of his. Oh sure, one of the few times I go home for a party of my own, I get brought back to undead parties... Shakes his head, then glances around. "If I remember correct, you're room was..."