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Zedril will step through the doorway and cast Burning Hands toward the 2 thugs, careful not to hit any party members. DC=15
Zedril raises his hands and from the palms unleashes a flame that licks the thugs from head to toe bathing them in fire and soot.
Zedril's hands appear to be getting darker as the spell ends and the fire leaves a plume of smoke dancing from his hands.
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In rapid succession, VBH, Zedril, and Rhydderch burst from the doorway. The thugs, distracted and dispirited by Garinol's dirge-like threat/promise, are smashed and trampled by VBH and burnt crispy by Zedril. Then for good measure Rhydderch beheads Giulio, who was still gawping at Garinol.
In the aftermath of the sudden burst of violence, two of the cushioned chairs provide some dancing light, as whisps of flame begin to eat at their fabric. A brief inspection of the thugs shows that the two closest to the doors are well and thoroughly deceased, but the one towards the center of the room - having 'only' been well-burnt by Zedril - clings to a waning thread of life.
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Each of the thugs has armor, shield, short sword, 4 daggers, and carries a wayfinder. The not-dead thug (we'll call him Johann) also wears a gold signet ring.
@Garinol - Giulio and unnamed-thug-#1 are thoroughly, unquestionably dead. Johann is doing poorly (his lungs and face are badly burnt), but Ka's 'virtue' has stabilized him. He may not be grateful when he regains consciousness.
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"They should have a name engraved on them, please take a look."
"So, this guy won't wake up without some magic healing, and I don't want to spend my magic just yet. Why don't we let him tied up here and go take a look at the place, to see if we can find out the reasons why they tried to kill us? There's something with a bed smell in the kitchen, to be sure."
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With a gasp, Johann regains consciousness. He initially tries to slide backward from the adventurers, but fetches up short at the heat from the merrily burning chair behind him. His flinch away from the flame is palpable - his scars may run deeper than the magical healing repairs.
For all that Johann is visibly terrified, he bites his lip and prevents himself from babbling or screaming. His gaze moves from person to person, apparently seeking some source of comfort, and finding only more reason to be afraid.
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"It was Guilio's idea. He said the setup here was too sweet to give up, and that you'd get us for stuff we didn't do. I wanted to just pack out and leave - seems this place was Pathfinder before we found it, so let you have it back. I just wanna leave - I won't say nothin'. You'll never see me again."
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"Its ok boy. Just tell us everything. If we where going to kill you, we would not have bothered with the calling on divine aid to heal your wounds. Take this as your proverbial second chance, and one that you can use to live a life worth living and remembering." placing a comforting hand on the mans shoulder, either to be a good cop or in sincerety, no one is sure.
-Posted with Wayfinder
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"Yes, we will let you go. I was only trying to scare you and your friends earlier, as I had hoped to avoid bloodshed. These deaths where unnec, and could have been avoided. Remember that the next time you are temped to repeat the behaviour that landed you here in the first place."
"You mentioned earlier you where just living here. Was the house abandoned? Wherd do you and you friends get these?" holding up a Wayfinder. "Start from the begining."
-Posted with Wayfinder
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"We was going to rob the place - it looks all rich, right? So we hung around outside a few days. We didn't see no one in or out, no one moving about. So we made our way in to check it out. When we got in we found these dead bodies, right? It wasn't us - we found 'em like that. We snatched some stuff, and added it to our stash. But when we went around, there weren't no one there at all. So we had a few bottles - y'know, so not to carry 'em about (they break..). A few minutes turned into a few hours, then a couple days. And didn't no one come around."
"So Giulio, he says we should bluff it through - make like we live here. Just settle in. So we took the rings and compasses and whatnot from the bodies, and took to wearin' 'em. We moved the bodies 'emselves out into the summer kitchen, so we could clean up around 'em. So we've been here a few days - it's a great place."
"You lot are the first ones that've visited. I guess Giulio's plan wasn't so good." Johann lets out a snort. Then a giggle. His face looks panicked as he dissolves into gales of hysteric laughter that he obviously can't stop, and is obviously appalled and terrified by his own laughter.
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Stepping away from him for a minute to talk to the real Pathfinders a moment, "In this condition it might be better to keep him where he is at for now. I wonder the source of his malady, as I wouldnt think his moral dilemma would be enough to crack his soul, unless he where particularly weak-willed."
Ill go ahead and Detect Evil, more on the room and area.
-Posted with Wayfinder
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Coming back to the man, again calm and gentle, "Have you come near anything strange while here, my friend? Or seen anything or anyone besides us and your group? Anything at all. Any strange substances or material? Had any odd dreams or feelings these last few days?"
-Posted with Wayfinder
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After a moment or two Johann winds down, reduced to gasping like a fish - but the PCs exercise enough wisdom not to make the comparison, because it might well set him off again.
He responds to Garinol's question, "We never saw anyone alive here abouts. There was some noise downstairs, from under the floor. But we never found a door for no basement anywhere. We was really going to look for it - thought there might be good loot - but then you lot showed up."
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Ok, for the time being, I'll go ahead and take the man to another room, and tie him up to a bed to get some rest. Then I'll take the other bodies downstairs and outside somewhere, just kind of out of sight, but protected from any hungry animals. Hopefully a shed is around or something. Then I (and when I say I, I mean hopefully we) can go check out the other dead downstairs in the kitchen, go through their things looing for evidence as to who they where, and see if they have anything of interest. From there, I think it's time to search the house a bit, as it seems the one we are looking for isn't here and hasn't been for a while.
[dice=Perception (find a good "shed" location)]1d20+7[/dice]
also utilizing the occasional Detect Magic and Detect Evil.
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Looks like we may have to do some digging around for further information....HA! We may have to do some actual digging as well.
Zedril will also sweep the house for any unusual items, paperwork or secret doors.
Detect Magic in each room as I enter.
Perception for general use:
Perception for unusual items:
Perception for paperwork/journals:
Perception for secret doors:
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Spending a good amount of time searching the house yields two main items. Adjacent to the kitchen is a pantry:
This pantry contains bags of flour, canned goods, and small barrels of potatoes, onions, beets, and apples. Its contents lie in disarray; blood-stained piles of flour create pink smears on the floor that lead to the northern wall, which holds a shelf mostly containing broken spice jars. A successful Perception check reveals a secret door behind the spice rack leading to stairs downward, accessible with a hidden latch.
Eventually, the PCs collect together in the Summer Kitchen, at the scene of a grisly discovery. As Garinol was scouting for places to dispose of the bodies of the two thugs, he discovered their solution to the issue...
Three sealed barrels have been pushed into the far corner. Anyone inspecting the barrels notices a foul odor rising from them. Opening the barrels releases the pungent, sickening scent of decaying flesh. Once a barrel is opened, the smell dissipates. Within each barrel rots the corpse of a pathfinder. The bodies have already been looted (by Giulio and crew)
One of the bodies is Balriman Wiltshire. The PCs notice the imprint of the ring’s former position on his finger. There is also a small hidden compartment in the sole of his boot.
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Garinol feels a momentary stormcloud threaten to darken his bright and cheery demeanor, but he shrugs off the tinge on an Inquisitor of Saranrae.
Dusty stone steps descend into darkness, curving around themselves and blocking the view of the floor below. Numerous footprints of varying sizes show that this passage was used recently in both directions.