"In there?" Euron looks up at the burning building not sure where to start tell Lilith and polo dart inside. "We better get in there by help them." Following Polo he shouts out the same name hoping to find anyone still alive. "Kaiya!"
Azmerai glances around, but sees nothing more dangerous than the yellow/red flames, consuming the buildings hungrily and belching black smoke in their wake.
Lilith shifts inside, and is almost instantly swamped by the combination of heat and stinking smoke, though she manages to unbar the door to allow the others access.
- Search a floor: pick basement, ground or first floor and make a perception check
- Grab some gear: pick up your backpack or grab a handful of other items
- Attempt to fight the fire in some way (imaginations at the ready...)
Your shrewd eye for the damage being inflicted indicates that the buildings might be entirely consumed, or at least too far gone for you to survive inside, within 5 rounds.
Seeing most of the group heading for the shop, Valex runs for the inn and the sickened lady that they said may still be inside, racking his brain for the name they had mentioned.
Opening the door and squinting into the flames, he makes for the stairs and calls out.
"Meeko? Miko? Anyone?"
If the door was unlocked she can't be here. Why would she unlock it? I have to be sure.
Polonius takes out his canteen and soaks a rag in it which he holds against his nose and mouth as limited protection from the smoke. After that he heads inside and toward the basement, thinking Kaiya may have tried to get as far from the flames and smoke as possible.
Bring his cloak to his face he hopes to get some protection from the smoke as he begins his search following Polonius to the basement. Kiaya? is anyone here!" He shouts out.
HP 24/30
Valex heads up to the first floor, the smoke is very thick here and he can barely see anything. No-one responds to his shouting.
Polonius and Euron head to the basement, and almost immediately see the tunnel from the basement has caved in.
Indigo is wide awake now, but tense. He paces up and down around your fallen pack in agitation, buzzing a quick and sharp be careful in you mind as you run. Lenneth does not see anything immediately helpful on the ground floor of the shop, though there are smasked shards of ceramic pots all over the place, the oil that used to be in them now spread out over the floor. Flames are already licking at and through the windows. You are very sure of the thing, you do not want to be in here when the oil catches... the others don't know about the oil as they ran through the area quickly with their intent on searching the other floors...
Azmerai starts to grab backpacks and other items, so that at least something can be saved.
Euron continues to shout. "I don't think she's down here, we have to get up top and keep looking, I'm going to help save things up stairs." Heading up stairs Euron continues to look around picking up anything that looks useful.
Hp:21/30
What the hell is going on here? Polonius shouts at no one in particular. His hands tremble from the adrenaline coursing through him and despite his small stature he takes the stairs two at a time as he rushes up to the first floor.
Kaiya!
Valex checks around the upper floor, but finds only smashed furniture and some odd barrels. Never having been here before he doesn't recognise them as out of place, and the smoke masks the oily residue that advertises the barrel's contents.
Lilith's instinct is good, she finds Kaiya's yellow blanket, the girl evidently spent last night alone here by herself whilst you were all at the church. Unfortunately there is no sign of Kaiya herself, though you do spot the old ledger you found in the basement. Perhaps she was reading it, it might be the last thing she has of her parents. With the door open, smoke quickly fills the small space and forces you out in a fit of coughing.
Euron joins Valex and bumps in to one of the barrels, hand coming away covered in lamp oil. Their eyes meet in frightful understanding of exactly what they are standing next to.
Lenneth and Polonius join them at the top of the stairs, but before anyone has a chance to speak, there is a dreadful creaking noise, and part of the roof collapses inwards, sending a flaming beam smashing down on top of the stairs where you are all standing!
Azmerai and Lilith hear an almighty crash from upstairs...
The beams creak sickeningly and Polonius feels the entire building lurch. In a cascade of flaming wood and cinders the roof collapses inward.
Instinctively, he throws himself to one side, avoiding the worst of the deadly conflagration. Still, the heat from the flames all around him begins to singe away his beard and his hands and face start to blister.
By now his eyes are streaming from the smoke and when he coughs he brings up long strings of black saliva.
He knows he has one chance to survive this Hell but as he hauls himself to his feet and casts anxious glances through the smoke-filled room to see if any of his friends still live.
Seeing the beam begin to fall Euron attempts to jump out of the way but is too slow as the beam slams in to him, pinning him it the floor. As the air is knocked out of him he takes a deep breath taking in the smoke.
"Help! I'm pinned!" He coughs out, straining to push the beam off himself.
HP:
10/30
Running up Azmerai checks for trapped people, ready to help them
Forewarned by an ominous creak, Valex is able to dance out of the way of the falling beams.
|
Lilith had intended to close the door as soon as she entered, so maybe not as much smoke in here as out. But even keeping low she breaths in enough smoke and heat to damage her. She hears the crash upstairs and fears for the worst. She quickly gathers the items in the room of significance (Full round of grabbling) and uses her dimensional step ability to step outside the house to escape the smoke.
The staircase leading back down to the ground floor and salvation is overwhelmingly tempting to Polonius. He knows this may be his one chance to escape this fiery fate.
But still...
These people have fought and run and bled and scavenged by his side for months. And though Euron and Valex have only been part of the group for mere hours, he can feel they are good people and the world seems woefully short of their sort these days.
Despite his better judgement he rushes to the falling beam just as the massive form of Azmerai appears in the doorway, causing Polo's heart to soar - there was no way he and Valex could lift this beam alone.
Azmerai, Valex! Help me, quickly. We need to get this off them and then get out of here!
His small hands clasp one side of the beam and when the others are in position, he heaves with everything he has.
Without a word, Valex rushes to the aid of his trapped comrades.
Firstly, my apologies for not being clear and muddying the waters by using game terminology where it was not applicable.
The idea behind the beam is that each individual present can try to lift the beam in order for all those trapped to get free.
Every character rolls a d20 and adds their STR mod, this is their contribution to shifting the beam.
Those trapped under the beam have a -10 to their contribution.
Once the total contribution of all those present and lifting the beam exceeds 30, the beam is shifted enough to let those trapped get free.
Example:
Adam the Alchemist rolls 13, add his STR of -1 for a total of 12.
Blaze the Barbarian rolls 12, adding her STR of 3 for a total of 15.
Connor the Cleric rolls 19, adding his STR of 2 for a total of 21, but he is under the beam so -10 gives him a total of 11.
Adding together every contributing character's result gives us 12+15+11 = 36, more than 30 so enough to lift the beam!
Azmerai the barbarian
Muscles straining, you are able to lift the beam enough for those underneath to wriggle free. Azmerai joins in and helps you shove the flaming timber aside.
Cinders and smoke dance in the air as relief washes over you, before the realisation that you are standing next to several barrels, and there is a flaming beam only scant feet away from them...
"The barrels! they're full of oil, we need to get out of here now!" He shouts out of the sound of fire and snapping timber. Standing up he looks down at Lenneth unmoving he picks her up and heads for the door out in the street.
With everybody back on their feet, Polo heads toward the stairs.
Come on, this place is coming down any second! he cries though he doubts he can be heard over the roar of the flames.
He then decsends the stairs as quickly as he dare until he bursts through the front door, bent over and retching
Valex coughs violently, waving his soot-stained hand ineffectively at the smoke, helping Euron and Lenneth out.
12 nonlethal remaining.
Azmerai grabs Lenneth, puts her over her shoulder and runs out.
You all stand outside, coughing smoke from your lungs. You have searched the shop top to bottom and there is no sign of Kaiya aside from the yellow blanket heaped on the pile of belongings lilith managed to grab. The inn is also ablaze, you think you might have a short window to search inside it before it becomes too far gone to enter.
Whilst not a patch on the temperature inside the buildings, the outside is starting to get hot too, and by now it's easy to see that the whole town in on fire. It might take a while to finish gnawing on the bones, but there is nothing that can save Sandpoint now from the voracious and all-consuming beast the fire has become.
Polo grits his teeth and tries to push aside the thoughts of the little girl, lost and alone out there.
Focus on the things you can affect, Polo
I know none of us want to go back in there, but Meiko might still be alive in there. I said I'd help her if I could and I still hold to that.
Once more he wraps the damp cloth around his face and says;
Remember, this place was trapped.
He then opens the door and heads inside.
Following Polonius inside Azmerai prepares for the worst.
As he gets outside Euron begins to cough, feeling a broken rib or two from the beam. He trys he best to take in a deep breath before following after Polo.
"I'm with you Polo, Let's find this Meiko." He then wraps his cloak around his face and runs into the building to start his search.
HP 23/30
'Right behind you, Polo!"
He takes a deep breath, pulls his tunic up over his nose, and runs in, vaulting the stairs as quickly as he can.
11 nonlethal left
Lilith and Lenneth find there are no safe alleyways, the buildings are all on fire and putting out a dangerous amount of heat. They find the best thing is to back away towards the river. Crouching down by the bank affords a modicum of cover and still allows you to watch the back of the inn.
With a loud cacophany of falling timber, the shop in front of you collapses inwards, sending embers and black smoke soaring high in to the sky.
The smoke isn't quite as bad inside the inn, although you can see fires have caught in several places inside, there's no putting it out.
For those searching the inn, in the front bar area the only thing you find is the presence of two more barrels of oil, one has fallen on its side and is leaking a slow puddle of viscous black flammable death across the floor.
You recall from your previous visit that the place had both a back ground floor area where the kitchen, store and cloak rooms were, and also an upstairs where Meiko lived. Judging from your experience with the other building, you guess you can choose to check out either upstairs or downstairs, but not both...
Valex, not knowing about the back room, charges for the stairs. "Madam!" he shouts, trying not to cough in the middle of it. "We're here to help! Let us get you out of here!"
Seeing the oil spilling over the floor, Euron knows they don't have long but doesn't understand why or who is doing this. "I'm checking down stairs!" He shouts through his cloak.
Polo heads downstairs with Euron.
Azmerai, Valex is upstairs. Don't leave him alone, some bastard is behind this and could still be around admiring their handiwork!
Valex moves quickly along the upstairs corridor, glancing in to each bedroom as he passes, but finding them in the same state they were a couple of night's back when the party were last here, moldy and stripped bare. He finds a shut door in front of him as the only way forward, but the hairs on the back of his neck tingle... ... he spots a very thin and fine tripwire across the front of the door that he is very sure he doesn't want to trip.
Polonius and Euron search the ground floor unsuccessfully, there is simply nothing to find it seems. They do however find the door down to the basement where Polonius ventured all that time ago, crawling through the tunnels underneath, is standing ajar where the last time you were here it was blocked...
Lenneth and Lilith continue to watch Sandpoint burn, they witness a group of half a dozen groaners making their way north, past the buildings to somewhere else. One brushes against a wall and immediately ignites, their clothes catching fire as the thing continues to walk. After a few moments it collapses to its knees before keeling over, the shell too weak to hold the necromantic energies needed to sustain it. The other members of its group completely ignore the event.