"It's blind?" Eloise says out loud, gauging the hound's response.
The Hound looks at Eloise directly, looks her up and down before looking back at Sour Heck once more. Tilting its head at him with its ears perked up. The large double doors behind the Hound appear solid and shut, apparently the trolls never tried coming any farther...
If you are armed it reacts by turning Crimson momentarily as you approach, Sour Heck is the only one who appears to be immune to this reactio. It continues to look to Sour Heck with a completely neutral response and continues to wait there. Sitting at the far side of the bridge with its ears perked up. It's scales twitch every now and again as though it isn't in complete control before settling down. But the Hound doesn't move an inch from where it sits. Unless provoked...
The Hound remains still, twitching every now and again as the silence between the groups stretches on. It scales were a neutral grey tone and the hounds eyes remained focused on Sour Heck alone.
The Goblins nervously gathered to the edge of the cage, leaning their odd shaped heads out and watching for almost a minute before Gutterbug sighed with boredom. The Hound leans forward, its rear legs rising as Gutterbug speaks. "Dis borin' dem trollhead fought dat'un and ran. Dis'un no fight ya, so dis boring. We g...? " The hounds thundering bark makes the goblins duck back into their cage.
The Hounds scales are crimson once more as it growls low each of its scales vibrating as it does so. It gives a few low growling barks before tilting its head and seeing the threat was gone. It's scales slowly change to grey and as they do it sits back down, focusing on Sour Heck again...
"If you don't do something soon, I will." Alderam readies his crossbow.
The Hounds head swivels towards Adelram, crimson scales appearing as it glances between his crossbow and Sour Heck. A low growl in its throat a s it's scales change it rises ever so slightly, no longer in a sitting position but not quite yet ready to charge.
Eloise saunters after Sour Heck, still bouncing that coin in the palm of her hand and giving the Hound a speculative look.
"This may well be a phenomenally stupid act," she announces as she steps up next to the Bard - and takes a single step forward.
If the Hound reacts by attacking, she will immediately cast Coin shot, fires the projectile at the Hound once it comes within 20 feet - and then start running, carrying her away from Sour Heck.
The Hounds head turns towards Eloise. Focusing on the flipping coin but not reacting in the same way as if she had been brandishing a weapon. It doesn't react much more then that as it looks back towards Adekram, then to Sour Heck and then to Eloise before repeating the process.
It's a scales were still partially crimson and it appeared ready to react like before.
Sour Heck sighs. "I will probably be the easiest dinner this creature has ever lured in," he complains. Then he walks across the bridge, kneels by the beast and wraps his arms firmly around its neck, like a child fearfully hugging a large and particularly smelly dog.
If the beast remains stationary, Sour Heck calls back to the others. "All right then, heroes, put your weapons away and slip on by. If it has orders not to attack people wearing a guard uniform, it probably won't pull away from me to bite people that could be peaceful guests. Probably. Possibly. Okay, it's a stupid idea, but I'm out here already and I'm afraid to let go, so hurry along please."
Sour Heck's approach, brings the Hounds full attention to him. As he approaches it sits. Its scale turning grey as it watches just him alone. When he gets close enough to touch him the Hound nuzzles the front of his tabard before raising its head up.
The symbol on the Tabard glows, but only you appear to notice it. As the Hound withdraws its head and raises it once more you feel something familiar about it. Soter... echoed in your mind then. The tag on its ear had an Archaic looking 'S' engraved on it as well. As quickly as this happens it all snaps back to reality, like you never missed a step and were now clinging to the Hounds thick neck. Since it stood as tall as a warhorse...
Looking At your Tabard you see the archaic 'S' was now added to it though you had no idea what it meant at that moment.
The Hound doesn't react now that Sour Heck was near, staring straight ahead the way you all came and growling only if the Goblins peaked out of their cage to look at the Hound. Now that you were up close you could see it was injured, lightly, but some of its scales were scarred from recent battles.
The arched bridge everyone crosses ends at a moderately sized cobbled terrace with a curious looking iron door depicting a scowling sun being devoured by ravenous clouds. To the left, two hundred feet below, a huge waterfall plummets into the depths. The Iron Door before you though is locked...
Sunset puts away the borrowed x-bow and...taking a deep calming breath... walks casually across the now seeming very narrow stone bridge over the water-falls of DOOM....
"Amazing." Adelram breaths out. He put away the crossbow and comes down stairs. He crosses the bridge and risks petting the hound as he passes by.
Eloise moves past the Hound, her cloak 'casually' draped over her sword, but one eye on the golem at all times.
With Sour Heck hanging from its neck, the Hound no longer seems concerned with any of the group. Merely watching ahead as Eloise moves by, its scales twitching as its body betrays it every now and again. But it doesn't perform any other actions unless interacted with.
The Iron Door you all are standing in front of appears to be looked, as it doesn't budge when pressed against. Nor does anyone come if you knock...
While examining the area and waiting for something to happen with the door you noticed what appears to be a hidden bell pull hanging by the eastern side of the door.
"Hey, look, a bell pull! Well, why wait for the worst to happen when you can make it happen?"
Sour Heck releases the hound and gives the cord a few good yanks.
The lithe Elf tries to take up as little space as possible, pressing herself flat against the door, trying to leave as much space on the narrow stone bridge as she can. She blinks in surprise(?) Wonderment(?) Amazement(?) at Master Heck's actions.
"Sure. We might as well bring hell to us. What could it hurt?" The sarcasm is there for all to bear witness to.
The chiming of the bell brings the Hounds great head around to look at the door. After several seconds nothing happens until a loud *CLACK* is heard and the shift of what must have been barring the door. Without a sound the iron door swings open, seeming to be inviting you all in.
Just beyond the doorway you can see that a huge portrait hangs above an enormous, lit fireplace in this large entry chamber. A set of steep stairs rises to the right of the room.
The Hound watches the open door now...
"Well, how nice," Eloise says, her voice carefully neutral. "They went a lit a fire to welcome us."
The Magus mutters a Word under her breath and starts to stroll inside...
Still unarmed, Adelram also goes inside. He pauses just inside the doorway to take the room in before moving to the side to allow the others passage.
After a song of praise to Shelyn, Iesha fills in her spell slots with:
1st: Shield of Faith
2nd: make Whole
3rd: a second Prayer
She repairs the tunic, then joins the rest as they cross the bridge, calmly ignoring the dog, then following the rest into the building when the door opens.
She studies the room then the painting. "Is that the Count, perhaps?"
Sour Heck gingerly backs away from the hound through the door, then quickly slams and bars it. "Today we learned a new way to deal with horrid monsters: Hug them. I've done my share, though. Adelram, you hug the next one. You look like you could use more hugs."
The bard clears his throat. "Hello! Guests at the front door! Sour Heck at your service, a traveling bard, with news from Lepidstadt and beyond for Count Caromarc!"
"Appearances are deceiving then. I have no need of more hugs than I already have. You seem to be very adept at them, though. Perhaps you should be our designated hugger."
You detect three moving aura's, a cursory examination reveals them to be unseen servants augmented with permanency. The move about the chamber, moving in and out of the two doors on either side of the Fireplace, up the stairs on the far right of the room and before your eyes one returns with a broom and begins mopping dust towards the now open door...
What really catches your attention is the horrific looking construct slowly snaking its way out from under the Stairs!
For several moments the room seems to be a flurry of activity, perhaps the sounds were hidden behind the Iron door. On either side of the fireplace a door sits. The doors open and close over the course of several moments and eventually a broom appears floating of its on volition before it begins to sweep the floor. Driving a light amount of dust towards the group.
Adelram wasn't distracted by it though as something pulled itself out from under the stairs. A thing of metal and wire, this loping construct has some organic parts that seem more for decoration than for a purpose. It takes awkward, hobbling steps and frequently rests itself upon two huge, scythe-like forearms. Its arms and legs ended in hooks on which it rose up to its full staggering height of seven feet tall.
Its China Top head made of symbols were about to slap together when the construct stopped. The animated construct waves a scythe like appendage at Sour Heck and sits near the stairs swinging back and forth on its scythe like arms occasionally...
As soon as it was back under the stairs Eloise notices several unseen servants have emerged and appear to be waiting patiently near each of her party members.
Sunset looks about, seeming slightly dazed by this over whelming display of magic.
"Um... what was that...?" Sunset points to where the... animated conglomeration of things stumbled out and then back under the stairs.
The symbols on the Tabard light up again, this time a large 'H' appears near where the Hounds symbol was.
However when you look at the strange animated horror under the stairs you oddly recall its name is... 'Mr. Hooks.' It is then that you notice the ghostly shapes of the Manse's servants standing nearby, each of which looks dour as usual and awaits commands from your fellows. The one nearest you appears to be a rather young elfin looking woman whose form consisted of misty clothing which was incorporeal. She watches you with dull eyes and a dour frown.
You seem to recall that they could provide refreshment, cleaning and run down services. Other simple tasks as well so long as it wasn't too complex.
"This place is crawling with Unseen Servants," Eloise says, as she gently rebuffs the efforts of one of these entities from taking her cloak. "It's a Lucky thing you brought that tabard, Sour Heck; seems the guardian creatures here have instructions not to bother anyone wearing one... But that does beg the question why the Hound killed the humans who came here before? Anyway... Maybe the servants can lead us to the master of the house."
"The unwelcome wagon?" Iesha jokes feebly. "At least it doesn't SEEM hostile, currently"
Adelram takes a moment to center himself and casts See Invisibility. "Yes. They are here. Next to each of us there is one. Perhaps they are waiting for a command?" He then tries one. "Take me to the Lord of this manor."
Adelram's Servant moves towards the far left door and then stops, then it starts moving twards the next one on the right and stops again. FInally it moves towards the stairs before just returning to Adelram, appearing unable to perform the task...
The dour looking Elvin Servant near you looks concerned at the command Adelram issues, all of the servants appear to watch Adelram's as they frantically move about in utter confusion. It returns looking pitiable but silently conveying failure to perform. Your's turns towards you, its expression returned to normal as it awaits your command.
"Ah, heroes...I think the servants might be under the impression that I am the Lord of this manor. Either because of the enchanted tabard I put on, or because I just look like the kind of person who would be cursed with an enormous, haunted pile of stones."
Sour Heck turns to the abomination and speaks to it as if it were a slow child. "Mister Hooks, is it? Crawl back under your stairs, please, there's a good fellow. Have a good rest until I call you back out. [i]When pigs fly[i]," he whispers aside to the others. "You, and you, and you servants: Give us a tour. Open these doors for us, and lead us safely through the rooms."
The bard frowns. "Eloise, can you tell if Mr. Hooks and the freak hound were made by the same person who made Andrew?"
Adelram waits to see if the invisible servants follow Sour Heck's commands.
Sunset awaits developments.
"Is it possible they don't KNOW where the Count is?"
"Maybe he's dead," Eloise says, shrugging. "The Servants are here indefinitely, and constructs wear out very slowly. The old boy could have croaked a long time ago and they'd still have to putter on, following his last orders,"
The Magus frowns in thought after that statement.
"Don't really know, Sour Heck. Sorry."
With the door shut and the large Hound outside Sunset slowly begins to walk/move about the room. Looking at things but not touching anything.
Andrew is hard for you to determine but Mr. Hooks and The Hound appear to share a similarity when it comes to odd tastes. The Hound is a mix of reptile and dire wolf species. Though the Dire Wolf appears a more docile type from the smoothness of its features. Most likely raised in captivity and harvested from fresh cadavers.
Sour Hecks proclamation gains very little momentum at first...
Each of the ghostly Elvin servants turn their eyes to regard you, studying you for what seemed like an age before they started to move as bidden.
The hobbling hooked clawed apparatus known as Mr. Hooks. Slides back under the stairs, fitting with ease despite its strange and larger appearance from before.
After Mr. Hooks was out of the way the servants started to move, opening doors and giving a silent tour of the Manse. The fist room you had been in was what appeared to be a Great Hall. Aside from the fireplace, iron door and the large picture of Lord Carlomarc over the fireplace it was sparse of any other decorations.
The rooms to the north were several storerooms and a kitchen to the northeast. While to the east lay two trophy rooms, a library a smoking room, a billiards room and a dining hall.
The servants do not take you upstairs though...
When you return to the Great Hall though you all find that the large Hound is now laying in front of the fireplace and the iron doors appear to be barred still...
"Who let the dog in?" Eloise asks. "Methinks we're not alone in here with the servants... or else Mr. Hooks let in his brother. I may not know about Andrew, but those two show a similar... taste."
Sour Heck peers dolefully up the stairs. "Hello? Anyone there? We're just going to have a look around down here. Let us know when you're dressed or ready to murder us or whatever." The bard surreptitiously attaches the party's Stone of Alarm to the bottom stair, then gestures expansively at the open doors. "There's a story waiting to be read in these rooms, I'm sure of it. Let's find it."
At the reappearance of the dog Sunset stops for a moment, glancing from the door.. to the beast... to the door and back. Eventually giving a small shake of her head, pushing this small puzzle to the back of her mind over the lager puzzle that is the empty building.
At Heck's urging she also helps survey and thoroughly check out the room (If allowed by the locals)
Adelram is happy to go along with Sour Heck. He will help to investigate the rooms.
Can I Take 10 on Aid Another (16 total)?
If not?
Eloise follows the others in grim silence, a frown on her face and her hand on the hilt of her blade. As she goes, she gazes about and periodically murmurs a Word of Power.
As the thorough search starts none of the guardians appear to be bothered by the intrusion in each room. The unseen servants provide refreshments and clean up behind you as you move through the areas. Those staying in the great hall watch as furniture is slowly assembled, along with refreshments and small snacks. The Hound and the Hooked Horror don't appear to care that Sour Heck isn't nearby, in fact they don't appear to take any notice unless interacted with.
Library
Shelves crammed with books line the walls of this room. A comfortable leather chair sits in the room’s center. It is where the group discovers a secret door in the north wall, formed by a bookcase that swings inwards. Searching the books here reveals they are all about engineering and grant a +2 bonus on Knowledge (engineering) checks made here. The books are worth 500 gp in total.
Smoking Room
Two plush chairs sit around a small lit fire in this cramped, tobacco-stained room. Numerous tobacco jars stand on a shelf next to a pipe rack filled with strange pipes. The group finds a secret door in the north wall. Linking with the dining hall.
Treasure: The tobacco jars are filled with various exotic tobacco mixtures, worth 200 gp in total. Among the mundane pipes are a calabash set with six small jets (worth 75 gp), and a long churchwarden with a gold toothguard (worth 50 gp).
Trophy Rooms
Treasure: These two rooms are crammed with taxidermied animals and stuffed heads. While interesting, the numerous trophies in these rooms are low in value; the entire collection is worth perhaps 300 gp.
Billiards Room
Treasure: A billiards table fills up most of this chamber,
and a rack of cues on one wall. A brass and gold score checker worth 90 gp hangs by the door.
Dining Hall
The vaulted ceiling of this large room is adorned with gilt. A pair of halberds hang above a huge lit fireplace in the far wall. A great dining table and twelve chairs take up the center of the room.
Guests at Schloss Caromarc are rare, and despite regular dusting, however everyone notices a build-up of dust around the chair legs. A large bell hangs near the fireplace, connected to the bell pull at the main entrance. Secret doors in the south wall lead to the library and smoking room. Although the secret door in the west wall is very well made, a thorough check locates the door from the slight draft and the sound of water rushing over the falls outside.
Treasure: The two halberds above the fireplace are masterwork. In addition, hooks next to the outside door in the secret corridor hold several coats, a walking cane, and a sealskin cloak worth 120 gp.
Storerooms
These four rooms are crammed with items in boxes and on shelves, and the smell of beeswax lingers in the air. One area is a household storeroom containing furniture polish, mops and brooms, torches, and other simple tools for the use of the unseen servants in their daily chores. One area is a well-stocked wine cellar, and one is a larder stocked with excellent foodstuffs. Both rooms are linked with
pipes to the waterfalls below, lowering the temperature in these two rooms to better preserve their contents. The fourth is full of wood for the manor’s fireplaces, it appears to still be well stocked.
Lord Caromarc likes his wine, and has several fine vintages in his cellar. The entire collection is worth 1,200 gp.
Kitchen
This large kitchen contains a roaring stove, several workbenches, and a spice cabinet. While Count Caromarc occasionally brings in chefs from Lepidstadt to cook for him, he generally cooks his own meals here. A bell hangs above the stove, connected to the main entrance bell pull.
Treasure: The spice cabinet is of Tian design and crammed with an outstanding collectionc of spices. In total, the collection is worth 300 gp.