"Let's backtrack to the second branch."
"Wait a minute. I've heard tales of supposed dead endings that really contain secret passages. I wonder if there is such a one here..." Venmirl says as he starts to search the area at the end of the tunnel for secret passage ways.
Perception:
"Wait a minute. I've heard tales of supposed dead endings that really contain secret passages. I wonder if there is such a one here..." Venmirl says as he starts to search the area at the end of the tunnel for secret passage ways.
Perception: 1d20+7
Venmirl quickly examines the tunnel's end but doesn't see any signs of a secret door. However, now that he's close to the end wall, the shoanti hears a very faint rhythmic rumbling sound.
Venmirls eyes get big as a quiet moment passes and he hears something beyond the wall. "Everyone, come here! I can hear some rumbling over here!"
Izbahn approches cautiously and touches the wall, trying to determine the source of the rumbling noise.
Naomi tightens her grip on her mace as she listens for the sound Venmirl hears, and gives the wall a look in case his first thought was correct.
While they can't be sure, both Izbahn and Naomi think that the rumbling sound is coming from somewhere farther ahead. Looking more closely, Naomi finds a loose rock hiding a small wooden lever inside a crack in the east wall. Surely there is more to this dead end then appeared at first.
"Ok everyone, let's get ready for this. Naomi, can you see if the lever is trapped?"
"If it is, there isn't much I can do about it. I may not even find the trap if there is one..."
"Should have paid more attention that week..." She whispers unconsciously.
Perception (to hear what Naomi said under her breath):
Anyway, is the lever pulled?[/ooc]
"Okay, I didn't see anything that looked like a trap, so I'm going to pull the lever now. Those of you who don't want to tempt fate should probably stand back just in case..."
Once those who want to move away do, Naomi pulls the lever.
No, I couldn't come up with a better way to show I got it. I only saw that movie twice.
Seeing his friends cannot figure out what the lever does, Darst comes over to examine it himself. He's too distracted to hear Naomi's warning.
Before Darst can get a good look at the lever, Naomi pull on it. The sound of stone rubbing on stone is heard for an instant and the slab of rock in front of them is released. It must be on some kind of hinges since it rotate slight outward now that is not restrained. It could probably be pushed to open it some more. Some light shines through the newly formed crack. The rhythmic rumbling sound is now easily identifiable: it's the sound of waves breaking on shore.
Izbahn looks through the crack in the wall, trying to determine where exactly the party is situated.
He speaks up, "Hmmm, this could be how the goblins plan to invade Sandpoint. Let's see if there is a way we can disable this door here, or block it off somehow."
"Do you see anything beyond the door Izbahn? I wonder if it has been used recently." Once Izbahn moves from the door Venmirl checks the ground outside of the door to see what kind of tracks are on the other side.
Survival:
The stone door opens into a small 30-foot-diameter cave by the sea. The cave mouth slopes down to a narrow beach overlooking a small cove. Izbahn thinks this place must be the coast a little north of Sandpoint proper. The cave's floor is littered with patches of moss and foliage (probably serving as crude beds), small animal bones, moldy fruit and vegetable leftovers and broken pieces of wood and metal. Venmirl can easily see plenty of tracks of small humanoids on the dirt floor but there are too many for him to be able to decipher anything from it. The fire ring ashes are cold so it seems the cave has been abandoned for at least a few days.
The stone door opens into a small 30-foot-diameter cave by the sea. The cave mouth slopes down to a narrow beach overlooking a small cove. Izbahn thinks this place must be the coast a little north of Sandpoint proper. The cave's floor is littered with patches of moss and foliage (probably serving as crude beds), small animal bones, moldy fruit and vegetable leftovers and broken pieces of wood and metal. Venmirl can easily see plenty of tracks of small humanoids on the dirt floor but there are too many for him to be able to decipher anything from it. The fire ring ashes are cold so it seems the cave has been abandoned for at least a few days.
** spoiler omitted **
"This is a goblin camp," Darst says. "Not a nice one, they not put lotta effort in."
Izbahn nods at Darst, "Yeah, this is a good staging area for a possible goblin attack. The goblins probably used it to gain access to the Glassworks building. We need to block this area off somehow, so the goblins can't use it."
He thinks for a moment, and shrugs, knowing no one has engineering skills. "We need to inform the Sherrif about this anyway. Let's get back to the other passageway, and see what's down there."
Meanwhile, somewhat close by ...
When Algar came back to the Sandpoint area, he was disappointed to only find the foundations of his father's house remained intact. Either someone took the wood for something else or it simply burned to the ground. At least the tombstones were still intact so he was able to pay his respect to his parents. Curious for some news, the half-orc went to the closest neighbor who was once a good friend of his father. Sadly Algar found Grigor's cabin abandoned and boarded up. Only a piece of wood marked the hastily dug grave next to the cabin. It seems Sandpoint might not be as peaceful as it once was.
"We need to inform the Sherrif about this anyway. Let's get back to the other passageway, and see what's down there."
"I agree. We need to do something about this, but let's clear out the rest of the rooms down here first."
"Sounds good enough for me."
"As for making it impossible for goblins to use, you wouldn't happen to have some sort of magic that could do the trick, would you Izbahn? It's either that or smash the lever."
Izbahn smiles wryly at Naomi, "Unfortunately, my spells are not that destructive, or permament, for that manner. If we cannot disable this, then we should move on, and see if there are any other ways the goblins can enter this passageway."
"And here I was thinking the possibility of might beating magic would get you to be creative! Silly me." She says with a playful wink.
He thinks for a moment, and shrugs, knowing no one has engineering skills.
The group backtracks along the main passage to the second side tunnel, the one heading east. They walk along it for about 400 feet before encountering a cave-in that fills the entire passage. This tunnel must have collapsed at some point in the past.
"And here I was thinking the possibility of might beating magic would get you to be creative! Silly me." She says with a playful wink.
Izbahn returns her wink with a grin, noticing her mood has greatly improved. He was glad Naomi was making light of their situation, he was really letting this responsibility to Sandpoint get to him. Plus losing Kortus, and Amrumelara also weighed on him. He wondered if maybe his own personality drove them away. Reflecting on the situation, he noticed Naomi had a way of brightening his day, not to mention quickening his blood flow.
"Well, a man has to know his limitataions, I would say. But this contest has not been decided, only postponed."
The group backtracks along the main passage to the second side tunnel, the one heading east. They walk along it for about 400 feet before encountering a cave-in that fills the entire passage. This tunnel must have collapsed at some point in the past.
"Hmmm, well looks like we have found our building materials for blocking off the passage. Let's go ahead and tell the Sherrif what we have found, then we can tackle the quasit."
"It's only postponed if might doesn't act first." Naomi replies, but she makes no no move to smash the lever or door.
"I've yet to receive the mace I sent for. I would not want the person delivering to have come here for nothing. I know you may not want to wait, but I was pretty much useless last time, and I want to hit that quasit as hard as I can for making me run like that."
Algar continues his way to Sandpoint and try to find some information about recent happenings. Best sources are maybe town priest or sheriff... or maybe that one-legged old man is still alive. I wonder how Jargie is doing?
Walking through the town and whistling to himself, the half-orc seems to not pay any attention around him, but his steps are slowly taking him towards Hagfish tavern.
Perception(listen)
"It's only postponed if might doesn't act first." Naomi replies, but she makes no no move to smash the lever or door.
"what we can do is post a watch outside this cave and see if anyone shows up to use the passageway. Then we can learn more about the invaders."
"I've yet to receive the mace I sent for. I would not want the person delivering to have come here for nothing. I know you may not want to wait, but I was pretty much useless last time, and I want to hit that quasit as hard as I can for making me run like that."
Izbahn smiles at Naomi, "Yeah the creature deserves to die, I hesitate to wait much longer, as we don't know when the goblins will make their move. Let's return to town and inform the Sherrif, then we can maybe recruit some muscle, and plan our next move."
Izbahn smiles at Naomi, "Yeah the creature deserves to die, I hesitate to wait much longer, as we don't know when the goblins will make their move. Let's return to town and inform the Sherrif, then we can maybe recruit some muscle, and plan our next move."
Before joining the others before they head off to explore the east passage, Venmirl gets down on his knees and uses his hands to smooth the ground in front of the hidden door, using water from his to waterskin to turn the hardened dirt into mud where needed.
Algar continues his way to Sandpoint and try to find some information about recent happenings. Best sources are maybe town priest or sheriff... or maybe that one-legged old man is still alive. I wonder how Jargie is doing?
Walking through the town and whistling to himself, the half-orc seems to not pay any attention around him, but his steps are slowly taking him towards Hagfish tavern.
Perception(listen)1d20+9
Algar is surprised to see Sandpoint's north gate guarded by a pair of watchmen. They let him in quickly enough but not before giving him some suspicious looks. As he heads toward the Hagfish, most people stop talking as they walk pass him, even if some seem to recognize him.
The half-orc finds the Hagfish tavern mostly empty at this time of day. It is mostly popular with fishmen who must be out at sea at this hour. Still, there are a few patron and the one-legged Jargie is behind his counter, cleaning some tankards. A murky aquarium sits behind him, the home of the creature that give the tavern its name. Barely visible in the dirty water, the slimy hagfish Norah swims slowly. Jargie quickly recognizes Algar. He addresses him happily: "Algar! Long-time no see, lad. What brings you back here? Please don't start a fight, I'm not sure I can afford the damages." He concludes with a chuckle.
Hey Jargie! Passing by for a couple days. Paying a visit to my father grave... Been a long time, since I was here last time. The house disappeared or rather all the woods. Nevertheless, I am back now and seems like something has happened here. I would like to have one beer, if possible?.
Algar speaks to Jargin, while watching around and waits for the beer. Gate is quite busy with people, you know? They saw a ghost here or what? Feeling... ah, it is still same. During my walking I am still getting those odd looks. This place is still the same... screwed, I would say but who knows. Good things might have happened even here. How was this year Swallowtail festival? I bet you missed some good fights here during my absence. Grin appearing on his face, he looks now more human than half-orc.
Izbahn, Naomi, Venmirl and Darst make it out of the tunnels and outside of the Glassworks without trouble.
Algar speaks to Jargin, while watching around and waits for the beer. Gate is quite busy with people, you know? They saw a ghost here or what? Feeling... ah, it is still same. During my walking I am still getting those odd looks. This place is still the same... screwed, I would say but who knows. Good things might have happened even here. How was this year Swallowtail festival? I bet you missed some good fights here during my absence. Grin appearing on his face, he looks now more human than half-orc.
"You haven't heard?" Jargie says as he fills a tankard with his usual dark bitter. "You might have the right of it with your ghost. That old bastard Stoot* could just have decided to haunt us." Once filled, he puts down the tankard in front of Algar. "Some people also say they saw the Sandpoint Devil** fly above the village some nights. That's all superstitious nonsense spun by drunkards if you ask me, but the goblin attack was real enough. They raided the town in great numbers during the festival, took us by surprise the damned little blighters did. We might have lost a lot more people if a band of well-armed strangers hadn't helped the guardsmen push them out of town. And that's not all. Some goblins must have hid in the Glassworks during the raid ... all its workers were found butchered on site a few days ago. A bunch of outlying farms have been hit too. Dark times I tell ya, lad ... the little devils just seem to be everywhere these days. Rumor has it that some bigger raid might be in the works, so a bunch of people are scared."
Izbahn, Naomi, Venmirl and Darst make it out of the tunnels and outside of the Glassworks without trouble.
As the group walks north on Main Street toward the townhall and, thus Mayor Deverin, they pass a young brunette woman riding a donkey cart. She stops and smiles beautifully at this chance meeting. She climbs downs her cart to talk to the group, addressing Izbahn in particular. "Great! I was hoping to meet those who helped repel the goblins during the festival. It's Izbahn, right? I'm Shayliss Vinder of the Vinder General Store, just down the road. I have a problem and could use your help. It's a bit embarrassing really, we have a small pest problem in the store's basement. Why, just yesterday, I saw a big ugly rat hiding behind a barrel. It was just as big as a dog! Normally I would ask my father's help on this but he's been really distracted lately. Between the recent goblin raid and the rumors that my sister Katherine is seeing in secret that no good man Harker at the lumber mill, he hasn't had much time to devote to me. Now, since your the new hero in town, I thought maybe said you could come back with me to kill or magick away a few rats in the store’s basement. It would really put my mind at ease."
Izbahn looks at Shayluss, and smiles at her. It seems our reputation is growing. He notices the pretty lady addressing him in particular and feels Naomi looking at him. He puts that out of his mind for now. I guess this is what heroes have to deal with, right? "Shayluss, it is a pleasure to meet you. I would be more than happy to check into this rat infestation for you. We are on the way to see Mayor Deverin now, but this should not take very long. Can you tell me when you first started having these rats in your basement?"
As the group walks north on Main Street toward the townhall and, thus Mayor Deverin, they pass a young brunette woman riding a donkey cart. She stops and smiles beautifully at this chance meeting. She climbs downs her cart to talk to the group, addressing Izbahn in particular. "Great! I was hoping to meet those who helped repel the goblins during the festival. It's Izbahn, right? I'm Shayliss Vinder of the Vinder General Store, just down the road. I have a problem and could use your help. It's a bit embarrassing really, we have a small pest problem in the store's basement. Why, just yesterday, I saw a big ugly rat hiding behind a barrel. It was just as big as a dog! Normally I would ask my father's help on this but he's been really distracted lately. Between the recent goblin raid and the rumors that my sister Katherine is seeing in secret that no good man Harker at the lumber mill, he hasn't had much time to devote to me. Now, since your the new hero in town, I thought maybe said you could come back with me to kill or magick away a few rats in the store’s basement. It would really put my mind at ease."
"Rats?" Darst looks interested. "I could be helps. Rats likes me, might be able to draw out of place without even stabbing."
The look in Algar´s face turns surprised and looking at Jargar, while thinking what to answer I have been away for a long time now, but I didn´t expect anything like this to happen here. and sips from his tankard. Looking at the bottom of tankard, thoughts are crossing in his mind.
Anything else about this place? Who is here in charge at this moment and about these new heroes, what kind of people are they? Goblins are just goblins, but still threat and that is quite impressive. I heard that the new cathedral is finally up. Zantus is the new cleric of the cathedral?
He notices the pretty lady addressing him in particular and feels Naomi looking at him.
"Rats?" Darst looks interested. "I could be helps. Rats likes me, might be able to draw out of place without even stabbing."
Shayliss pouts at the goblin, possibly in disgust or displeasure. "If they like you so much, you just might attract more. No, no, there aren't that many rats. I'm sure Izbahn can handle them alone."
Izbahn is careful to hide his smile from Shayliss, Darst needs to work on his people skills. "Darst, the idea is to eliminate the rats, not turn them into pets. Well, Shayliss, I am sure a few rats won't be much trouble, when would you like us...uhh...I mean me to stop by your shop?"
Anything else about this place? Who is here in charge at this moment and about these new heroes, what kind of people are they? Goblins are just goblins, but still threat and that is quite impressive. I heard that the new cathedral is finally up. Zantus is the new cleric of the cathedral?
The one-legged man snorts at this and loudly taps his peg leg on the wooden floor, an old habit of his. "Who's in charge? You haven't been gone that long, lad. It's the same as always, them nobles are in charge. The Deverin, Valdemar, Scarnetti and Kaijitsu families still own most of the land and businesses around here. Well actually, the old Lonjiku Kaijitsu died at the Glassworks with his employees, leaving no clear heir, so I guess the influence of that family might diminish slightly. But I digress ... What else did you wanted to know? Oh right, Zantus has been the new high cleric for 5 years, ever since Father Tobyn died in the fire of the old church. The new cathedral is an impressive sight, if you're the religious sort. Personally, I don't feel like I need a temple to speak to the Gods. I just look toward the sea to speak to Gozreh or toward the night sky for Desna. But all this talking is making me thirsty, let me join ya." The older man pours himself a drink in another tankard before turning his attention back to Algar.
"I don't know much about them new heroes. They mostly stay at the inns, the Rusty Dragon and the Blac... euhh I mean White Deer. Mayor Deverin has deputized them or something and I think they are also the ones who found out about the Glassworks. I'm not ungrateful for what they did for the town but they're an odd bunch if you ask me. I remember three of them, 2 men and a woman. One of men's a Shoanti, the other some sort of magic user. I'm not sure what the woman is capable of but I heard she has a fiery temper. My kind of woman!" He says with a wink and a chuckle. "Recently, there's also been a junkyard goblin that's been following them around. A goblin! Of all things!" He chuckles and taps the floor again. "I'm not sure if he's their mascot, guide or translator but that one seems harmless enough."
Izbahn is careful to hide his smile from Shayliss, Darst needs to work on his people skills. "Darst, the idea is to eliminate the rats, not turn them into pets. Well, Shayliss, I am sure a few rats won't be much trouble, when would you like us...uhh...I mean me to stop by your shop?"
A smile returns to Shayliss' face. "Lovely! You can come by at any time but please hurry ... Just thinking about what they are doing down there is ... let's say not pleasant. Well, I got to get this to the shop, she you later!" She climbs back on her cart and ride by, but not before throwing one last smile at Izbahn.
Izbahn is careful to hide his smile from Shayliss, Darst needs to work on his people skills. "Darst, the idea is to eliminate the rats, not turn them into pets. Well, Shayliss, I am sure a few rats won't be much trouble, when would you like us...uhh...I mean me to stop by your shop?"
Darst seems completely clueless as to what is going on.
"I isn't like her," he says to Naomi as Shayliss leaves. "Attract rats...they isn't coming like that. Has to train thems first. Silly lady. You's hair is much shinier than hers, too."He still seems a bit scatterbrained from the altar.