Mai using the Hat, disguises herself as a human greymaiden, of 5 foot 9 when the operation starts.
You enter the Hospice of the Blessed maiden using the front door during the day. The stinging scent of alcohol and medicine floods this dingy reception room, an odor typical to hospices, morgues, and battlefields. Across from the entrance sits a long wooden desk, beyond which a stained leather curtain covers an open archway, muffling moans from beyond.
Six poor citizens wait here to be seen by the queen's physicians all of them showing signs of blood veil in the early stages.
A burly middle-aged nurse waits at the desk in the reception room. She glances up as you enter but then looks back down to her notes and pays you no further heed.
Donagar sets out with the others who are waiting for Mai and gregor to complete their mission inside.
Donagar sits on a barrel and works at whittling. A rather large mug of ale sits on a crate beside him.
Gregor dons his physician's mask they found, and tries to dress the part of the doctors as best he can. Before going in, though, he tells the other three. "If things sound like they've gone sour, try to sow chaos by telling the closest Hellknight you can find that Blackjack was seen ducking inside."
As they enter he takes a brief look around, as they are looking for clues of illicit activity, before doing his best to act like he belongs. He takes the lead and makes for the stained leather curtain leading to the next room.
Mai does a quick check of the room before she says anything.
Drakus leaned against the wall near Donagar, a mug in his hand. He is dressed as a nondescript man-at-arms, his bardiche leaning against the wall next to him.
Crain was more than happy to have a frosty mug or two with the fellas. "I wonder if they are having fun in there? Gods know, it's pretty great out here right now!""
You walk by and past the sheet wall and the woman at the entrance doesn't say anything.
The warehouse’s vast interior has been converted into one gigantic convalescent’s ward, the stench of alcohol, sickness, and waste choking each breath. Tight rows of low, stained cots cram the stone-floored hall. Every bed is filled with men and women of all walks groaning and wheezing as they’re consumed by blood veil, their sufferings multiplied by the echoing chamber.
Here, the Queen’s Physicians mill about the cots, cooing at their victims in unsympathetic voices as they watch the sick wither and die. More than 60 cots fill the area, each holding a helpless citizen—most of whom are too weak to even rise from their stinking sick beds. While most of the room is filled with beds and the dying, the northeast holds an improvised kitchen with room and supplies enough to make the patients their daily watery gruel. The ceiling of this room is nearly 30 feet high, though
the catwalks above span the room at 20 feet.
Despite feeling for the citizens seeking aid here, Gregor makes a few stops, to look as if he is checking on a patient or two, before making his way around the room. He is looking at the area purely from a tactical and investigative approach. He counts the number of both physicians and Grey Maidens visible. He also looks for the other egress routes from the room.
All the while he whenever he sees a Physician attend one of the sick, he tries to tell if it looks like they are doing anything specific, or at all.
Crain is having a pleasant time, hanging out outside drinking with the boys. "It's a mighty fine day out, huh? Wonder if our girl is having luck in there....no screaming yet, so it must be going well."
"I'm sure tha girls will be jus fine, but iffen we hear a high pitched scream could be from Mai err Gregor."
Donagar pats himself on the back and sips at his beer through small chuckles.....
"Heh. Any way you cut it, we'll be crashing that party." Drakus commented; then he took a drink.
Inside the room there are four queen's physicians patrolling the sick. They seems to be examining them and taking notes but doing nothing to provide relief.
On the catwalks above there are two grey maidens patrolling.
Mai thinks
This is definitely not a treatment centre more like a hidden lab.
There is another door at the back of the room. Opposite to the one you used to enter.
Gregor makes his way toward Pai, until he's close enough to ask quietly, "Kitchen or back door, where should we look next? I'll need you near, lying is not my strong suit, so I'll need you near in case anyone questions us." All the while, he points at a patient or two, as if he's discussing them.
Pai whispers back "poison and other unplesant things tend to be hidden in the kitchen."
Gregor pauses, giving Pai a look she can't see behind his plague mask, before nodding, "It's not an unreasonable place to start. Let's go." With that he leads the way toward the kitchen doors to look for any evidence of wrong-doing happening there.
The kitchen was obvious quickly put together and was not originally part of the warehouse. Several boxes in the area have a label for the Arkona important company that used to own this warehouse.
You don't see anything unusual here just water barrels and sacks of grain and oatmeal.
Crain speaks to the others while waiting. "You know, we could just kick the doors in, and conduct a more ...direct investigation. The lady might get cross with us, though."
Gregor sweeps the room with his eyes, before he looks around for a small closable container to collect some of the water from the barrels into, in case they are able to test it. Barring any sign of one, he is willing to empty his waterskin into one of them, and collect from another. If need be, he will just buy a new waterskin. Once he's gathered some of the water, he leaves to head towards the other door they have left to investigate.
You gather some water into your waterskin since there is no closable container there just some bowls and glasses and you towards the back followed by Pai. You open the doors and see a staircase going up and lots of boxes stacked around a large room. There is also a cargo lift in the corner that seems to go upstairs as well.
Pai keeps alert for anything as she moves through with Gregor.
Gregor also gives the room a quick look, before suggesting, "Stairs? Other than good exercise, they will draw much less attention than a lift." Regardless of her answer, he prepares to take them.
"I have to agree, as they might only use the lift for cargo and large items."
Looking at the controls of the lift you see that there is one lever to move the lift but there seems to be a place for another which is missing.
You go up the stairs...and you enter a lounge of sorts.
The rough functionality of the warehouse below gives way to beige tile and a white hall on this more officious-looking floor. A door engraved with images of rampant gazelles stands to the south, their once fine teak bearing obvious scores and gapping chips from rough use. There is nothing of interest here so you move on there are two doors to open here. You chose the closest one to your left.
The scent of exotic wood and sawdust fills this maze of barrels and crates. A spider web of ropes and pulleys crisscrosses the ceiling, one thick cable suspending a net of barrels suspended nearly twenty feet from the splinter-scattered floor below. You see the lift in the corner that goes down to the floor below.
You examine the area and find that this is more cargo from the arkonan shipping company that was left behind.
You try the next door.
Rows of white-sheeted beds line the walls of this room. Each is occupied, every bed bearing a patient restrained by leather straps that bind the figure to the sturdy metal frame. At the room’s center stretch simple wooden worktables, each covered in fluid-filled beakers, intricate glass tubes, small burners, and other alchemical instruments.
Three of the queen's physicians are at work here experimenting on the unconscious or dead subjects on the tables.
Gregor turns to Pai and briefly shrugs. Though it looks to lack compassion, he doesn't know enough about fighting plague to recognize whether these actions are unwarranted.
Pai whispers to Gregor
"Looks like they are not interested in helping folks and more into inhuman experiments."
Once of the doctors takes notice of you at the door and comes over.
"What are you doing here?...Who are you?" he says.
Gregor holds a finger up like he's about to speak, before feigning the kind of cough brought on from swallowing the wrong way. Meanwhile, he nudges Pai, reminding her that he wanted her there for her lies, as much as being backup.
"Did tha durned fools say whars tah happen if we run out o ale?"
"Only pullen yer legs I came prepared."
Donagar fills everyones tankards with ale....
"If we run out, one of us can head and get us refills. Ain't nothing going to happen at this place, I'm afraid. They are going to go poke around then come back having found nothing...just wait and see."
"I bet a gold they drag em out tha door in irons an we hear narry a peep o' any trouble."
Mai copying a grey maiden's voice as best she can
"I'm Escorting a supervisor, from The Pallid Princess's higher ranks.
They wanted to one of their own to personally check in on the progress made here and that nothing is causing problems."
"Well I assure you there is nothing to worry about...The plague is proceeding on schedule and while we still haven't figured out why a few people are immune to its effects I doubt it will pose a problem to the plan as a whole." he replies.
Mai acts as though Gregor gave her words via message spell and replies in a Grey Maiden's voice
"He says, he's heard of a group discovering one and possibly two of our plague's entry points.
And he's hoping that there are no lose ends that will lead discovering the operation.
He is assuming you dealt with the silver coin ledger, and that a certain elf's remains that can't be spoken with."
"He also wants to go over the other plague entry points to ensure that no tracks have been left for anyone to find.
And furthermore he wants a review of the other operational sites and their progress."
"First I hear about any of that...Your going to need to talk to Dr. Davaulus or Rolf...You can find Davaulus in his office right over there." he says pointing to a door at the end of the lab.
"Excellent, Continue your good work.
As he would like to discuss some matters with Dr. Davaulus in his office."