Seann Eoghan |
Terin 'The Beast' Talonshift wrote:Seann, I see you have done something different with your hair or something...A facelift certainly outdoes my poetry book instant tattoo idea...
...Which is a pretty awesome idea. I'll roll with it. And judging by the look of my new avatar, I think the fire burned off Seann's beard.
G'mork |
A woman’s voice softly recites a soothing poem, though for the remainder of your life, you never can recall exactly what it was she spake. The words coalesce into soft light, gracing upon Seann’s left cheek and leaving a permanent imprint of a book of verse before fading away. Though you may not be sure of the patron, you all know the endowment of celestial grace when you see it. Someone must believe grand achievements are in the party’s future.
In the distance, the remaining Carcass Eaters let loose another of their bizarre howling squeaks. The baying arrests midway through, interspliced by a yelp of pain, followed by a hefty splash. Clearly, the dangers of the sewer are legion.
Terin "The Beast" Talonshift |
Guys, I would rather we try the other door in the boat room before we venture into a locked, nailed-shut, door that obviously holds something in. I suspect that the Rat-dogs came from somewhere and I would rather continue to ensure that we explore one area or section to a conclusion.
I propose that we take the door that the first Rat-dog came through, in the boat-room.
G'mork |
Through the now ruined door, a manmade tunnel five feet wide extends roughly ten feet before make a ninety-degree turn to the right. The hallway proceeds a mere five feet before making another immediate bend back to the left. Moving forward an addition ten feet brings you to a wooden door.
If you proceed down the hall:
While you find the upper half the door swollen tight to the frame; the lower portion of the door is missing, having been recently rent outwards, wooden pieces scattered into the hallway you occupy.
Through the gaping, broken lower half of the doorway, you note a faint, flickering light.
Harven Whisperfeet |
"Good idea Terin. I'll move ahead and check it out, if you guys could stay reasonably close in case I get find trouble, as seems likely."
Harven moves off into the darkness. On reaching the door, he pauses to allow the party to catch up. "You guys stay here, I'll duck in and check it out. If you hear me call out, it means somethings wrong, so come running. Should be back in a couple." With that he slips off silently.
Listen, Spot (1d20+8=20, 1d20+8=11)
Hide (1d20+17=34)
Move Silently (1d20+13=33)
Wow, they are some rolls. If I get spotted, we are in some trouble.
G'mork |
The party waits anxiously as the diminutive man ducks beneath the broken door.
Terin fidgets, fingering his blade restlessly.
Harven enters a tiny stone room, five feet square, and just cresting seven feet tall. This connecting chamber contains two doors (the one you entered, and a wooden door in slightly better condition facing it), and a niche for tools.
The light you observed previously is gone, but the greasy aroma of tallow soot lingers. Atop fresh claw marks scratched into the grimy floor is a set of boot prints, leading into and then back out of the room. As you look about the room, you hear something heavy scrape up against the back of the second door.
Harven Whisperfeet |
I return to my companions "It seems we have been noticed. Must have just missed them blowing out the candle, and I think they are barricading themselves behind the door just a few feet across the room. Well, I heard something heavy scrape against the back of the door, I assume it is a barricade. Breaking down doors is not my forte"
Eldin Farstrider |
“We have some burly fellows amongst us,” says Eldin, glancing in turn at Terin, Seann and Tyndal. “I imagine we could probably deal with a barricaded door, but it may take some time, and certainly some noise. The other options would be to try to find another way around … or try to negotiate through the door.” The priest shrugs, causing the light from the lantern he carries to wobble and flicker.
Seann Eoghan |
Seann glances at the opening.
"Well, if I can get though, anyone can."
The mage kneels, peering through the hole to see what lies on the other side of the door.
"One second. I'm just checking ...for danger. And the like."
Spot: 14 + 0 = 14
G'mork |
Heh, you guys are always throwing me with your actions. I love that.
"One second. I'm just checking ...for danger. And the like."
It sure looks safe enough.
Just typing that brightened my day.
The room should easily accommodate two of you at once, or potentially more if you come from a country with lenient personal space requirements.
Tyndal Maelglum |
"We need to hurry..they are piling an entire warehouse against this door. Seann, you want some help breaking it down?"
If he agrees: Strength Check (1d20+3=11)
Tyndal Maelglum |
G'mork |
Using the small space to the utmost, Seann and Tyndal back against the ruined door.
Both men charge the barricaded entrance; making a running leap into the air, Tyndal throws himself bodily into the door with bone-jarring results, while in tandem, Seann smashes his person upon the portal.
The ancient door collapses under the combined assault of the men. Buckling, it snaps from rusty hinges, colliding with two water-filled coopers’ barrels and bouncing back into the room. Seann twists adroitly aside, landing on his feet, while Tyndal, not so fortunate, batters into the falling door before plummeting bodily through the obstructed entrance, landing unceremoniously not upon the ground, but atop a queer little man.
A Queer Little Man |
As Tyndal’s impact presses the stranger to the ground, a candle spins away from the man’s outstretched hand, flying into a nearby pool. The modest flame snuffs out, then quickly sinks beneath the surface.
From beneath the tangle of limbs, you hear a muffled cry of, “Mercy!”
The uppermost barrel falls, shattering upon impact, and the ensuing torrent soaks both men to the skin.
G'mork |
The man before you is roughly five and a half feet tall, with brown hair and eyes. His clothes are a bit bedraggled, but otherwise he appears to be in decent shape, for someone hiding out in the sewer system. His left cheek bears a tattoo you recognize.
The room itself is the largest of the complex you have visited as of yet, roughly 300 square feet. The fungus laden ceiling is held in place, if barely, by four enormous wooden columns. Four doorways are visible (not counting the one from which you just entered): one on the far side of the room, two to your right (the man indicates the further of the two rooms as the animal’s lair), and a set of double doors hanging ajar to your left. At the lower end of the room (relative to where you stand) the wall has collapsed, allowing the pool of rippling water to extend into and cover the bottom half of the space.
A bloated body floats face down in the center of the pool, near what appear to be rotted dock pilings.
The Beast -Terin |
The Beast advances on the man menacingly and lets a vicious snarl escape from the pit of his throat. It's claws dig into the loose debris on the floor with a sound of nails across a piece of slate.
Tryin' to put a scare in him, to get him to start talking some truth.
Tyndal Maelglum |
Tyndal growls..not like the Beast's, but with its own brand of intimidation.
1d20+5=12
Intimidate Check
"That's two lies you've fed us so far..third one means pain."
Seann Eoghan |
Clearly demoralized, the man begins to back towards the pool.
Hey, hey! No need to be like that. Those are the only names I’m familiar with, ok?
Look, seeing as you took away my only light, you could at least help a guy out.
Think of my children!
Seann grasps the man's shoulder firmly, staring him straight in the eye.
"Now listen, moron. If you don't stop lying to us, I shall turn you over to Tyndal here," the mage states firmly, nodding his head in the fighter's direction, "and you wouldn't like that very much. By your tattoo, I've cleverly deduced that you're a member of the Lotus Dragons. Now tell us who you are."
A Queer Little Man |
Lotus...Dragons? Never heard of them!
Sense Motive check DC10:
Vanthus. Vanthus Penkus. I chose it and I'm sticking with it!
G'mork |
Spellcraft (to determine if he's under some sort of spell): 14 + 8 = 22
You do not detect any telltale signs of glamour about the man, though it is possible he is using some sort of shape-shifting magic.
Detect Magic Results (if cast):
Seann Eoghan |
I'm no creature. I'm a people person. Vanthus Penkus, that's me.
Can you step away from that doorway so I can block it up again?
The peculiar man brushes himself off and meanders over to where the collapsed but salvageable door lies, intending to resume his previous operation.
"Whst were you doing when we ...intruded upon your ...position?"
Terin "The Beast" Talonshift |
The beast becomes man once more. "I think we should kill it. It is lying to us and is clearly not trustworthy, so why should we wait for the lying scum to stick us in the kidney or lead us to a doom. After the disgusting guy from our flaming warehouse I feel that we need to be more.......complete...in assuring our safety as a group. What say you all?"
Eldin Farstrider |
“Hold a moment friend Terin,” says Eldin, kneeling down before the queer little man, reaching out and turning the man’s head, so that he can see the tattoo clearly. “Here, let me see if you were injured in that spill,” he says, looking closely at the man’s tattoo.
Eldin is trying to see whether the tattoo looks newly done, old … or if it’s a real tattoo at all. Spot: 14+4 = 18, Heal: 11+7 = 18.
“Where are your children sir? How long have you been down here? The names that you chose, Vanthus and Penkus, do you know the original bearers of those names? Have you seen them?”
A Queer Little Man |
Shying away at first, then sighing at the futility of resisting, the man relents to Eldin’s scrutiny.
Eldin is trying to see whether the tattoo looks newly done, old … or if it’s a real tattoo at all.
It does appear to be genuine, probably within the last few years or so, as the colors are only slightly faded.
“Where are your children sir?
I haven’t had them yet, but I plan to! I’d almost given up hope, truth be told. Now that you’re here though, I think things look much better for them.
How long have you been down here?
All my life!
The names that you chose, Vanthus and Penkus, do you know the original bearers of those names? Have you seen them?”
I’ve never met them; I only heard someone screaming them some time ago. “Vanthus….Penkus…Mercy!!!,” like that.