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Viviana lines up a shot and then fires it at the gnome, a look of annoyance on her face. Whether it's because of the general distastefulness of combat or the fact that the gnome is cutting up the most handsome member of the party is uncertain; that the arrow flies with the viciousness expected of a Calistrian taking revenge is crystal clear.
Between the arrows of Viviana and the sword of Kalvin, the evil little gnome is put down in a blood stained frenzy.
End of Combat
Crux casts Detect Magic and directs his allies to any magical booty.
Panting slightly with the exertion of combat, even such a brief one as that, Rodan quickly looks around the room he landed in for hidden opponents. The smell is even worse now that he has time to relish it fully, and he pauses to wipe the blood off his sword on the dead half-orc's clothing before sheathing it, then ties a scarf around his lower face in an attempt to minimise the stench.
He calls back to the rest of the party in the other room, "Everyone still standing? Lamm knows we're here now, so we need to keep moving." Stepping over to the door on the east wall of the chamber, he draws his sword again and eases the portal open. The half-orc must have come through here, so it's not trapped and probably not locked. Peering through into the large room beyond, Rodan is expecting to be ambushed by any of the Little Lambs who haven't had the good sense to leave the building through other exits yet...
Graxton knows that Crux is safe in the hands of Kalvin and Vivianna. He cleans his blade on the half-orc as well. Though he looks over each of his new companions a few moments to see if they are hurt.
Perception Check
Heal Check
Seeing that Kalvin is hurt he comes over and says, "Father Gorum continue to give us strength, please heal my fellow in arms." Sacrificing Obscuring Mist to cast CLW, . He will then go from one companion to the next casting virture on each of them, 1 temporary hit point for 1 minute.
Then Graxton follows Rodan into the new room. Last he casts Virtue on Rodan. "By the power of Gorum, give us more fortitude to face the battle to come."
Perception Check
Crux gets a magical aura on just the wand that the tall man had tried to use.
As Rodan looks around the upper workroom, he notices the desk and cabinet in the west side. The pool of chum and seawater is the source of the overpowering smell, and as you look down, you can see the wooden chutes empty into the big wooden vat in the lower work room.
There are no hidden enemies left upstairs. Most of the children in the lower workroom have fled, but 1 or 2 remain, unsure of where to go next.
Graxton eases the wounds received by Kalvin and then adds Virtue to the whole group.
Spellcraft
Crux gets the wand and takes the time to examine it.
Rodan calls out to the urchins on the floor below. "If you know where Gaedren Lamm is hiding tell me now, and I promise you'll never have to worry about that scumbag again." As he speaks he moves through the door and begins making his way slowly down the stairs, as always keeping one eye out for any traps or an ambush. I hope Lamm hasn't used the time we wasted gutting his friends to run away again. He scowls at the children, but makes no attempt to approach them, or block their exit from the room. "Either tell me, or get the hell out of my way, I don't care which." The blood splattered across his armor and still dripping from his blade probably doesn't make Rodan look any prettier to them...
Graxton will follow Rodan 10 feet behind him.
He will try to figure out which Rodan is trying to use diplomacy or to intimidate the children.
Sense Motive Check
Then attempt to assist:
Intimidate, possibly an extra +2 due to their bloody nature?
Diplomacy
The streetwise urchins are immune to tough words from grownups, and know there's little worse you can do to them than staying here. They give you baleful looks, and grumbling and begin to shuffle out of the side door.
Brandishing his new wand, Crux is ready to continue. "What's in the room they came out of?"
As Crux steps over the dead bodies of the caster and gnome, he enters a small barracks room. A pair of bunk beds sits against the far wall of this room to either side of a boarded-over window.
There seems to be little else of interest here.
"The ship. He must be in the ship. Graxton hurry!" Crux falls into step behind Graxton.
Kalvin looks at one of the young children, places a gentle hand on his shoulder and kneels down to the child's level.
"I'm sorry little one. Lamm is a very bad man, I know my cousin Tomas was once like you, but then Lamm gave him the shivers and now Tomas is sick and missing. He'll just keep hurting more little ones like you, using you up until you're no good to him anymore and then casting you aside. Let me help you," Kalvin's voice is soft and low. "Tell me where Lamm is and I will stop him from hurting anymore little ones."
Diplomacy
Rodan has trouble restraining himself from rolling his eyes and saying something sarcastic to the Iomedean paladin when he kneels down to speak to one of the children. He just made it easier for the brat to lift his purse or anything else on his belt, or to slip a knife between his ribs. These kids have been trained by Lamm to be thieves, pickpockets and con-artists, they haven't had a childhood as Kalvin probably thinks of it. Lamm stole that from them too. I know - I was one of them.
Instead he shrugs and moves past Kalvin, looking around the large room for any exits, trapdoors or hidden portals behind which Lamm might be hiding.
When Crux makes his exclamation about Lamm being on the ship, something in Rodan's mind scoffs at that thought too. That scow behind the fishery? Lamm wouldn't hide there - not enough escape routes. Or would he? Dammit. Turning to the wizard, he says "You may be right Crux, but if so he's trapped himself - that old barge isn't going anywhere in a hurry, and one thing that old bastard definitely can't do is walk on water."
"Yes, but he can float over it like oil. The rat b@stard." Graxton says being somewhere between Kalvin and Rodan in his outlook. Though he does not drop his guard, watching the others backs as much as he can. "Let's keep moving, I trust your eyes better than mine Rodan, I follow your move."
Watching for anything strange, or extra movement. Perception Check.
"If he's not on the boat, then either the woman was wrong or he's invisible.Let's go check out the boat."
Dammit, dammit, dammit... if the wizard is right, and that tub is more seaworthy than I thought, Lamm could get away again. Rodan jumps up on top of one of the old crates lining the east wall and uses the pommel of his sword to smash open a grime encrusted window, looking out at the ship moored behind the fishery, examining it for any signs of activity.
As Rodan breaks out a grimy window and looks out at the moored barge, Kalvin takes a knee and speaks gently and softly to one of the unfortunate Lambs.
The child looks him over appraisingly, and sensing his innate goodness, decides to trust him. "Your friend was one a' us? An' now he's sick? Tha's why yer lookin' fer the Bad Man? He lives down there." The child points down through the hole in the floor where you can hear the river churning in the darkness below.
Looking at the barge, Rodan sees:
Sense Motive
"Thank you little one, no go this will be very dangerous place once I find him," Kalvin replies. He turns to those who hadn't rushed out yet. "The little one says he's down below. There's got to be steps somewhere."
Kalvin rushes begins looking for a door they hadn't tried yet.
Perception
The door on the gangway, how many times had he passed it?
Kalvin rushes back to the gangway and attempts to open the door.
As Kalvin mentions steps, the child says:"Ain't no steps down there, sir. Gotta go down that hole. Giggles lowered us down wit' a rope when we had to see the Bad Man."
If you continue into that room, the door is not locked. LMK, and I'll describe it for you.
Graxton looks around for some rope, a wench, and anything else that might be used to lower a person into that hole.
Perception Check
"Down the hole one at a time to find the Lamb which we all want to silence, who will go first?" Graxton chants a bit with a melody.
Sheathing his sword and picking up a coil of rough hempen rope stacked on the crates nearby, Rodan quickly secures it to a nearby beam or other solid anchor point. "That would be me, Grax. He knows we're coming - the commotion up here a minute ago would've raised the dead - and I've the best reflexes to dodge any traps below." He takes a moment to tie a series of knots as handholds into the length of rope, to provide handholds for the less agile members of the motley party. Then carefully lowering it down the hole, Rodan inspects what he can see from above before taking a firm grip and climbing down.
It is quite dark down in that hole making it hard to see much. Additionally the river's rushing current and the creaking of the pilings makes it hard to hear much out there either. Straining his elven eyes and ears, Rodan makes out a wooden plank walkway with a little skiff tied off against it. He doesn't sense any immediate threats.
Finding an old length of tarry rope, and knotting it for handholds, the rogue slips down through the hole, his feet coming to rest on a a mushy wooden plank floating right above the effluent-filled Jeggare River.
He looks around (see new map) a bit before tugging the rope indicating it's safe for others to descend. A narrow space about four feet tall exists between the bottom of the fishery and foamy river below. Wooden pilings support the building and moss and cobwebs hang thick from ropes and rusted chains hanging between them. A wooden walkway floats on the river's surface, winding along the sodden barge and along the pilings that support the structure above.
Graxton looks down the hole, then back up at Rodan. "I will get everyone else, and be the last person down. I will likely be the one to fall of us all."
With that Graxton tracks down the rest of the group. Telling each of them to come see Rodan slip down a rope and find Lamm first. That should get them moving.
As he finds his footing Rodan notices the sleek, dark shape of the shark, cruising below the surface of the river with it's dorsal fin just parting the water. He whispers back up to Graxton "Be careful on your way down. We have a toothy friend looking for lunch in the water - so don't fall in." With that the rogue looks around for a better place to stand, then positions his feet and grips the bottom of the rope tightly to steady it while the others climb down.
"Fine. Here I come, Lamm" Crux gathers his robes, grabs the rope, and begins climbing down.
Perception
Climb
Kalvin whispers a little prayer and then begins his descent.
Climb Kalvin weebles and he wobbles but he doesn't fall down.
Watching the woman try to ascend the rope and getting herself all tangled up, Rodan hisses and grits his teeth with impatience, but refrains from making any remarks. Quietly he says to Kalvin "Help steady the rope here, please. I'll need your additional weight when Grax tries to climb down anyway."
"Toothy friend looking for lunch in the water, don't go in the water," Graxton relays to each of them as they go down. Apprehensively Graxton says, "Should I come down now, or just wait for you guys?"
Viviana struggles to free herself from the tarry rope and slipping a little hands precariously out over the water. Rodan tries to grab her legs to help her down, but she plants a boot on his head instead...
Kalvin assists
Still trying to brush the fish guts from the soles of Viviana's feet out of his hair from where her boot hit him, using his off hand and keeping the other firmly on the rope, Rodan calls up to Graxton sotto voce. "You're going to have trouble with all that gear. Lower your shield and anything else you can down to us first, then trying climbing down yourself."
Crux waits impatiently for the others to descend.
"Your next Crux, I am last. The shield was left back at the beginning of this wretched place, I should be fine though I have all this armor and I will not take it off. I will come down after Crux."
Aiding Crux with climbing from the top, .
...then climbing down myself, climb check. No more encumbrance for my carry load is +/-50 lbs. My pack is hidden outside of the fishery and my sheild is at the front.
With the aid of those below holding the rope to aid him, Graxton makes it down safely.
Kalvin takes a quick look around trying to let his eyes adjust to the differences in light.
Perception
"Thank you Rodan and Kelvin. I would not have made that safely without you. I am going to need to work on my climbing some more. Onwards my friends new and old, we must put an end to Lamm. Bring him to his slaughter! Gorum bless us!" Graxton says whispering for the most part getting to talking level when casting Virture once more to make sure the spell has not run out.
'Ah, even darker, the way I like it.' He thinks to himself. Perception check.
Once everyone is safely down, Rodan will tie off the rope somewhere so that it can be used to climb back up later, then leads off along the narrow walkway heading west. He moves relatively slowly in the dimness, taking time to check the stability of the wooden planks before treading on them, and trying to peer into the gloom looking for threats, traps or hopefully Gaedren Lamm himself.
In the pitch darkness of the night under the Fishery, little can be seen and the noise of the river rushing past along with creaks of the soggy boards underfoot combine to make perceiving much a difficult task. Still Rodan leads the group along the wet planks to a shoddy understructure built beneath the fishery. A door stands at the end of the waterlogged plank walkway.
Chains, ropes, and cobwebs curl and tie themselves together in the undercarriage of the fishery above.
Kalvin whispers to the party.
"I have torches, should we illuminate our path or continue in darkness?"
"Except for Graxton, none of us present can see in full dark, so go ahead and light a torch, Kalvin." says Rodan. Turning to the half-orc cleric, he shrugs by way of apology. "Sorry, but he has a point. It's a little too dark down here, and I'd rather not fall through a hole in the planks with our smiling friend cruising the water for dinner."
"I will cover my eyes, go ahead and get those torches up, I fully support and understand the necessity." Graxton says a bit smug and ends with understanding.
Once Viviana has cast the light spell on Kalvin's sword, Rodan pauses and blinks for a few moments to let his eyes readjust to the new source of brightness. This place doesn't look any better in the light. What a dump! Gaedren has been maintaining his low-tastes when choosing lairs in the years since he tried to kill me. Seeing the doorway at the end of the wooden walkway, the rogue waved the others into silence and stepped up to it, quickly checking it over for traps before attempting to open it.
If he is successful, then Rodan opens the doorway and steps in, drawing his sword as he moves forward and leaving room for the others behind him (assuming that there's enough space beyond).