Kel slides into the conversation, not wanting to lose the cook or her husband from what is sure to be a diminished staff. "We are grateful to have you and husband at the Goblin, please Elara, let's discuss more pleasant topics, perhaps you have some suggestions of improvements to our cooking area that would allow you to make your wonderful meals even more special." Kel holds out a hand to Elara and leads her away from Calla while dishing a healthy dose of stinkeye in the inquisitor's direction.
Elara harrumphed, and then relaxed a bit. "Ain't no one gonna care too much about Saul being gone, to be honest. Except Bojask and those rats Hans and Beyar; you took care of them did you? Good. Bunch of scoundrels, they were, harassing all the serving girls and filching tips from the jar."
Turning to Kelendra, she beamed, "Well, yes ma'am there is. The oven needs to be rebuilt, cause the last time the ground shifted it got a crack in it. Course, that ain't cheap, and it'll take a good week to tear it apart and rebuild it. I talked to Ersk over at Bitterbridge's and she said I could rent her oven for the time, if we ever decided to do it. Also, if you've a mind to, I could use a new 6 quart pot, and these here, "she waved at a pile of pots in a corner, "need to be mended. Saul was too cheap to let me take them in, said they could leak if they wanted. As if he ever had to try and cook over a fire with leaking pots!" She snifed.
"The ground shifted?" Anklebiter asks, the tips of his ears quivering. "Anyway, all those things should be doable. Good food is important, so good cook is like a queen!"
Bruendor also looks up from his tea when Elara mentions the ground shifting. "When did that happen exactly, Elara?" His gaze is unwavering, much like a barrister leaping upon incriminating testimony. At long last, he might have guessed at Saul's game.
"Ground settles, buildings lean. It happens all over. Some buildings get hit by it more than others. This was maybe 3 or 4 years back, I guess." She shrugs, as if it is of no importance to her.
"Well, let's hope it doesn't shift us all off the map," Anklebiter says. He winks at Elara and grins slyly. "Breakfast? Yes?" he asks in a wheedling tone. "Long night, hard fight. We could all use some of your wonderful cooking, goodwife Millar. Oh - there is an almost freshly killed pig in the animal pens. Would that be useful?"
Bruendor frowns in disappointment. "Oh. I see." He finishes his tea, and stands up. "Save some breakfast potatoes for me, I'm going to get those supplies. Kwava, care to come with me?" Regardless of whether the elf follows or not, Bruendor makes off to purchase a pair of mattocks for he and Lefrik.
"Be wary, Bruendor. Eyes will be on your back," Lefrik predicts
"I might as well go with him," Calla grumps. "Wouldn't do to lose Beardless."
She dons her leather armor again, strapping on her weapons.
"Pigsaw's dead? I wouldn't let that vile critter near my kitchen alive or dead. You best get him out of there before he starts stinking up the place too bad though. Saul left a goblin dog down there for a week once, and we like to never got the smell out. As for breakfast, it's nearly noon, but I can get a spot going if you're hungry."
Bruendor found no problems at all in getting the supplies he needed. It seemed the rumor mill of Riddleport was churning at full speed. The beardless dwarf gathered quite a few hurried looks and whispered conversations as he strode through the merchants' quarter. The prices seemed to be lower than usual too. Perhaps letting that one archer escape was a good thing.
The beardless dwarf is surprised once he starts receiving lower costs for the equipment. "I guess there's advantages to being feared," he says, but pushes the full amount of coin to the merchant regardless. "But you have nothing to fear from me, or any of the Goblin's crew, so long as you do not cross us. Push us, however, and expect us to push back. Hard."
"A Goblin dog?" Anklebiter repeats, his ears quivering. "Are there any more?"
The Goblin grins widely - and his stomach growls. "Hrm. If breakfast is over, how about brunch? It was a long night."
"So, if you're done eating..." Calla says, her voice full of scorn as usual, "Shall we go explore these tunnels or let Saul get farther away from us?"
"Food is important," Anklebiter says. "You could stand to eat more, Calla. Anyway, haven't we learned from the last time we charged into an ambush?" The Goblin gives the half-Elf a meaningful look.
"I'd say a few purchases should precede the pursuit into the tunnels, better gear would go a long way towards catching Saul the next time we encounter that slick scum. Here, Anklebiter, take my share of the loot and use it for scrolls to set us up pretty when the time demands it."
"Generous!" the Goblin says. "But don't you want your own scrolls?"
"I have no idea what to do with my share of the money," Lefrik states aloud, ready to follow into the others when they're ready.
"Better armour?" Anklebiter suggests.
"A bigger axe?", Bruendor says to Lefrik upon his return to the Goblin. He lays a pair of mattocks next to the door to the basement. "For what it's worth, I'm beginning to think we need to go after Saul now. It's less about letting the trail get cold, and more about the tunnels. After all, he kept the key to his escape hatch literally on hand all the time, so that was vitally important to him. I'm wondering if his real motivation in owning the Goblin wasn't the Goblin itself, but what it sat upon. What was Saul up to down there? I thought maybe he was digging his way somewhere - Elara's mention of the ground shifting made me think he might have undermined the Goblin's foundation - but maybe he wasn't. It's our best lead, and I think finding out more of Saul's plans hinges on getting past that door." He looks to Lefrik. "Once we're all ready, I'm going to need your strength to help me break through. I'm sure the others can swing a mattock, but you and I should make short work of that door."
"Get what you need," he finishes. "We're heading back into unknown territory again. Prep yourselves for underground work - hooded lanterns can be shuttered once we get close to better take whatever we find down there by surprise. Any questions?"
"Bruendor is right, let's get Lefrik a better axe and then hit those tunnels."
Lefrik smiles, "Your southern lands don't have axes much bigger than the one I carry, Kelendra. I am as ready as I am likely to get, though thank you both. Perhaps a few healing potions, but other than that... " A shrug.
"I didn't say bigger", Kel points at the limb chopper that Lefrik carries, "I said better, like Bruendor's masterwork finery." she points to the beautifully crafted weapon that Bruendor carries. "Not saying a thing about the quality of the weapons up north, my friend, legends tell of fantastic things crafted in the northern forges, I'm just saying your axe could get an upgrade and if my coins aren't going to scrolls then I'd be glad to see them go to buying the finest axe you can find in this city. After all, you're usually the one line between me and our foes, so let me help you help me stay out of harms way." Kel flashes a winning smile at Lefrik and turns to Anklebiter, "What say you Anklebiter, should those coins go for scrolls or a master's axe for our friend?"
"Well, if it is still a Great Axe, maybe. One handers are alright, but I've gotten used to the power of two handed weapons..." He isn't sure he wants to trade his his family great axe just yet but can't deny Kelendra makes sense.
"Axe," Anklebiter says, nodding. "Most definitely. I still have some scrolls left, and I only need to buy a few replacements."
"Well, let's go on it, then" Calla says. "We have a quarry to catch before he gets farther away from us."
With both Bruendor and Lefrik working together, the mattocks and axes chopped through the heavy trapdoor. The thing was a double layer of crossed planks, nearly 8 inches thick. After about a quarter hour of hacking, the remnants fell through the hole, revealing a dark tunnel below.
Bruendor tosses the mattock aside after he and Lefrik finish breaking through the trap door. "Well, if he had someone watching the door for our entry, they got a good head start on us. No need for stealth right now. Cover me, I'll take a quick look down there and see what we've gotten ourselves into." Bruendor ties off a rope and climbs down, using his innate vision to get a bead on what lies beneath the Goblin.
A ladder leads down from the trapdoor about 15 feet to the floor of a small ledge. Beyond the ledge is a sinkhole, dropping away from the eastern wall. It ends 25 feet or so below, into a sloshing pool of water. The sinkhole's sides are steep and slick with moss, but there are pockets and handholds in the walls where centuries of water had dissolved the stone surfaces. A haphazard set of ropes and rickety ladders descend to a another small ledge, just around the edge of the sloshing pool.
Calla follows Bruendor down, her eyes easily adjusting to the gloom thanks to the light still emanating from above.
"Keep an eye out for any trouble," she mutters to Bruendor as she begins looking around for tracks.
Not about to make the same mistake twice, Bruendor checks out the sinkhole, just in case Saul or his allies have trapped it.
Bruendor carefully inspected the sinkhole and the ladders and ropes leading downward. There were no signs of any traps, and though the ladders looked shoddy, they also looked like they might hold up well under everyone's weight.
Lefrik follows the others down, happy to let the dwarf take th eelad in the dark.
Kelendra stays near Bruendor, continually casting Resistance on him even before they make their way into the tunnels.
When the party encounters the watery pit, Kel just smiles. "This looks like the perfect location for a Moonlight Bridge. Everyone ready? I'll need to go last and when I cross the bridge it will disappear."
"Looks safe enough to descend, just have a care." He pulls his crossbow, and stares into the black as he waits for the rest of his allies to descend.
As Kel conjures a bridge of pure moonlight, the dwarf looks suitably impressed. "Useful thing, that." He crosses over and maintains his vanguard position.
Rather than climbing down, Anklebiter grips onto Lefrik's shoulders.
"Sorry," he says on the way down, shrugging apologetically. "I was never that good at climbing and jumping. Terrible failing in a Goblin, that."
Lightly tripping the moonlight bridge, you descend into the sinkhole. Nearing the bottom, you can see that the sandy ledge overlooks a large chamber, mostly filled with turbulent water. Water marks on the cavern's irregular walls and the collection of sand, mussels, and flotsam embedded in niches in the stony walls indicate the periodic flooding that this cave periodically receives. A tunnel exits the cavern's opposite side. There is a musty smell in here that you can't place, above and beyond that of a tidal pool.
"I do not suggest a swim," The Ulfen comments as he gazes at the water, "And what IS that smell?"
Bruendor wrinkles his nose in disgust. "I don't know, but it smells old and decayed." The dwarf continues leading the way around the pool, keeping one eye trained on the water while another watches to make sure nothing has been buried in the sand.
+ 5 more if it's a trap
Calla looks around the chamber, to see if there's any source of the smell, or any other threat.
If not, she'll look for tracks before Bruendor obliterates them.
Anklebiter sniffs loudly, his brow wrinkling as he tries to place the smell. "Odd," he says. "Very odd. But here... Luces pendantes saltantes inflammo."
At the Goblin's invocation and gesture, four torches spin themselves out of thin air and illuminate the room. "Little light for those who need it," the little Wizard explains, grinning. "See enemies coming. ... But enemies see us coming, too, more's the pity."
Kel wrinkles her nose at the stank of the cavern. "Yep, smells like the right place for a crustacean like Saul."
Bruendor and Calla both noticed that the pebbly surface of the ledge had odd scuff marks along it. It looked like a deep center track, with nearly perpendicular marks pushed out along it. Calla heard a movement to the south, and as Anklebiter's spell took effect, the sound turned into a clattering hiss of distress. From the dark recess to the south lurched an elongated fish with a large pointed head and a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth. It's lower jaw thrust out in front of the upper, and it propelled itself along towards Bruendor with a pair of very strong front fins. A second appeared from around the corner, also attacking the dwarf. The fish's teeth catch nothing but air as Brundor spins back in a defensive posture.
Initiatives:
anklebiter
kelendra
bruendor
calla
lefrik
enemies
Lefrik, bruendor, and calla are up!
Initiatives :
Lefrik 18
Bruendor 16
Calla 11
Enemies 7
Anklebiter 7
Kelendra 6
AC 15, touch 12, flat-footed 13
Fort +4, Ref +3, Will +7
CMD 14
HP 15/15
Divine retribution (DC 13) 0/6; Judgments 0/1
Effects: 1 arrow
"What in the name of all the hells are those things?" Calla snarls.
Pulling her bow, she fires an arrow toward the one trying to eat the dwarf before stepping out of Lefrik's way to let him attack the other. The arrow goes wide, thrown off by her haste in getting the shot off.
Bruendor whirls into action as the land-based eels came after him. He dropped his crossbow - it was useless, now that the things had engaged him. He stepped away from the one before him, drew his rapier and pressed his back against the nearest wall. That would at least keep them from surrounding him. At last, he stabbed at one of them, mostly to keep them at bay than out of intent to kill.
Free: Drop the crossbow, step to AQ64.
Move: Pull my rapier.
Standard: Stab the unprocessed unagi in AQ65. Combat Expertise and fighting defensively, which increases my AC to 18 while reducing my attack rolls.
I'm unlikely to hit, and even if I do, they probably don't get sneak, but I'll roll it just in case!
Taking the opening Calla has made, Lefrik rushes forward to attack the other eel thing swinging down his axe. "Whatever it is, perhaps it goes well with lemon sauce."
The swamp barracudas seemed to writhe and thrash in a way that made them difficult to hit, as they dodged arrows and blades alike. One lashed into Lefrik's left leg with its razor teeth, opening a deep gash at the knee and nearly causing the big man to stumble. The other managed to score a hit on Bruendor's stomach. Both men felt the blows strongly, and knew that these were no trivial foes.
Lefrik takes 8 damage
Bruendor takes 7 damage
Initiatives :
Anklebiter 7
Kelendra 6
Lefrik 18
Bruendor 16
Calla 11
Enemies 7
"That..." Lefrik admits, "is one mean fish!"
He swings again when he can, wondering all the while if somehow Saul stocked the damn things down here.