"Hmmm, that might not be a bad way to spend some time.
I believe I shall second that motion.
Better to proceed with such an endeavor presently when we are free with our time."
Stricia shrugs and nods. We also must find other ways to travel as the sewers are now being patrolled.
You leave the passenger cabins to the main deck - where a couple deckhands are lazing about. They nod to you, and continue their half-hearted "looking busy".
It is a humid morning.. the sun is burning away the last bits of fog. You hear then see the dockworkers toiling away in the Old Harbor.. people in the streets beyond - curfew has ended for the day.
You return to the area where you found the Lucky Bones entrance, and find no presence. It is dark under the hatch... You hear nothing as you descend into the filthy basement, and the swinging door leading into the large chamber is still unlocked. There is not a hint of light coming from the descending staircase beyond the door.
Idril will cast a Dancing Light to illuminate her way.
You return to the chamber. As your illumination fills the room, you see a barricade of simple spears and overturned tables blocking the northeast hallway. A figure on the other side tries to slink away into the darkness without being seen, but she is clearly visible due to your several light sources.
>map<
"How very interesting...
Tell me oh shrouded one, does there exist a possibility of this ending in a cordial fashion?"
Idril casts all four Dancing Lights (in the steady glowball style) to shed light in the 30ft radius around the barricade.
Nio murmurs to the others "Don't forget there's a passageway that loops around to that room in the northwest corner."
Bastargrae rubbed at his chin, squinting at the blockade as he mulled it over
You hear no words.. just the retreating footsteps of the fleeing cultist. Several seconds later you hear a series of short whistles further in the complex... and then, quiet again.
To pursue or not to pursue,tis the question...Looks like that would be running headlong into an ambush. The whistling was obviously sounding a signal.
They will not be running to the Guard for help. So we will just need to be vigilant to hold onto this hidden place. This is a... gang struggle Strcia says with distaste as she realizes their situation as being very much outside the law.
For now this is our stronghold and we should start to treat it as such. Let us clear it out and discover all its secrets.
Indio looks over at Stricia for a moment, rubbing his chin as he re-evaluates her and stores the new insight away for later use.
"Indeed..."
If there is a secret passage around (I don't remember if this is the place I'm remembering), Idril will quickly use it to go around the barricade to check out the hall beyond.
If not, she'll help pull the barricade apart to allow passage.
Nio and Hasta follow Idril's lead.
With Dancing Lights, moving Defensively (AC+4)
Bastargrae nodded his head in agreement at Strica's declaration.Indeed, my dear. I shall strike unseen with my extracts and dart underfoot.I shall scout ahead until I am needed to engage.
Stumbling on a bit of debris, the gnome managed to catch himself. Feeling a nearby wall, tapping with his sword and, he scrutinized their surroundings as he went.
The hallway behind the secret door in the northwest chamber is flooded with clutter. Stones, bricks, broken furniture, and molding cloth make for slow going as you clamber over and weave through piles and obstructions. The drifting motes of illumination cause moments of shadow.
In the main chamber, as you begin to look about, you find nothing new other than stains from your previous fight.
Nio looks around and Hasta sticks her snout up into the air to scent for danger.
Stricia essentially just walks around looking for threats or hidden passageways
Just at the last moment, Nio is able to point out a precarious beam holding up quite a bit of loose rubble overhead. The trio are then able to avoid the primitive trap, and reach the secret door at the end of the hall. It opens just a hair before hitting some obstruction on the other side.
Meanwhile, within the second chamber Stricia inspects, there is another secret door against the back wall.
Stricia backs away and informs the rest of the group of her finding, before returning and carefully opening the door.
Frustrated at the blockage and unable to physically break the door, Idril will carefully retreat back to the main room barricade.
There she will ready herself to go over the barricade into the next room next round.
Bastargrae cautiously inspected the nearby rooms
Nio and Hasta follow Idril back to the room with the barricade.
Stricia enters an unadorned fifteen foot long hallway with no visible exits. Though it appears to be solid stone, she can hear muffled raised voices which seem to be coming from beyond the east wall.
Bastargrae took this opportunity to search the cell of a room for anything noteworthy
Stricia steps back and motions to the rest of the group. I have found something she hisses. I will sneak in, one with the shadows.
At Stricia's signal, Idril turned and followed her into the corridor.
Nio and Hasta stop following Idril and wait in the unadorned room.
Indio considers for a moment, he was fairly skilled in stealth himself, but he decides to remain with the larger group.
Too many cooks spoil the broth after all.
Stricia, practically a ninja, takes the lead down the hidden passage towards the noise.
Stricia hears a monstrous voice beyond the far wall, and is able to make one half of the exchange...
"Speak to me that way again - Speak to me EVER!!... and you will join those in the cage! I answer ONLY to Mistress Luculla!"
Idril noticed something on the north wall. Tripping the latch, she quietly peeked through the secret door...
...and quietly closed it again.
Stricia points Idril towards the secret door at the far end of the wall.
And does the same, opening the door and peeking through.
Idril eased her way to the far end of the passageway to the east, then put her ear to the secret door to see if she could hear anything more.
She'll also look for peepholes and secret door latches.
Idril sees the dark empty hallway beyond the barricades... no sign of life within view. She hears nothing on the east end before Stricia quietly opens the secret door.
It is red.. demonic.. with beard of twitching locks like writhing tentacles. The deep dark eyes on its cruel fuming face are cast toward the east wall. You see a lip begin to curl upward as you close the secret door fully.. unsure if it detected your presence.
Stricia, makes a fist and points in the direction she saw an enemy. There was a fight ahead and they would need everybody prepared to rush in.
Idril nodded, waited until everyone was ready, then slowly and quietly as possible, opened the secret door to the east.
Steeling his nerve, Bastargrae released the breath he'd been holding. He rummaged in his poncho and plucked a vial that held one of his newer concoctions.
He popped the vial with a deft flick of his thumbnail and sucked it down with a pucker. It had an acrid vinegary tang from the flashed-boiled spider and other ingredients that finished with a hint of walnut.
He twisted his cane to unscathed its hidden blade, it's alchemical silver gleaming dully in the gloom.
Stricia moves in to take the lead in confronting the monster within!
As Stricia opens the secret door, you can hear a low voice, and smell a faint sulfurous scent. As you move in you see the muscular red devilish creature watching you from the far wall. Now there are two squat figures - disfigured lumps of flesh - on either side of it.
"Please enter... a word perhaps?" The devil's deep and textured voice is as congenial as it's inherently evil timbre could be.
An antique wooden desk sits to your right.. in the southwestern corner of this 20 foot square room, attended by a high-backed chair with tufts of stuffing protruding here and there from its rotting cushions. Partially broken shelves sit against the north and east walls, and strange symbols of a one-eyed insectile face have been painted on the walls along with curving lines of strange, sinister script.
One lumpy squat figure stands in front of the door on the north wall.. the other in front of the cell door on the far wall. The devil stands between.. holding a wicked polearm - though non-threateningly at the moment.
Nio moves up with the group but hangs back where he has a line of sight to the devil. Hasta, meanwhile, moves up to stand next to Stricia.
Stricia, confused, allows the others to take the lead in... Discussion.
Idril froze for a moment at the reception committee. Then she eased forward a couple steps, fingering her bladed scarf and poised to either attack or retreat.
"Well well, this is a surprise. I thought this place had been long abandoned. Who might you be?" She asked politely.