The showroom is what you’d expect, a small warehouse with a few pieces of furniture arranged for display.
The brothers greet Jessamy not long after her arrival. They’re taldan, middling in age but healthy and fit.
”Buying it?” one brother says, older by a few years. ”I knew it was abandoned but is it up for sale?”
"We figgered you might know that," says Pirknok. "D'ya happin ta know whar we'd be able ta find out?"
The younger brother looks to his older brother and shakes his head.
”We’re not sure really. You’d have to ask the Council of Ushers. The work order we got just said to board it up.”
The younger dwarf studies the humans' faces thoughtfully.
They seem to be honest if a bit confused at Jess and Pirknok’s questioning.
Kaplan himself looks confused, not sure of Foxglove's Manor's significance. "Ahem, perhaps we ought to take their advice and see this Council of Ushers."
He then turns to the younger dwarf. "Bu yer ile büyük bir anlaşma nedir zaten, değil mi?"
"Well, before we do that, we're just trying to find out if it's worth our time. It seems in good shape?"
The younger carpenter speaks up again.
”I suppose so”, he says.
Pirknok shakes his head at the older dwarf. "Ik nal."
"Really? There's nothing unusual. I mean, they must have abandoned it for some reason. I just don't want to buy something that's going to be more trouble than it's worth."
The younger brother hesitates and then comes clean.
”When we do these sorts of jobs we’re not supposed to poke around but when you’re working on a swanky place like the Foxglove townhouse, you’ve gotta take a look. I let myself in for quick peek. Let me tell you, it’s a good thing they paid us to board the place up. I think there was squatters living in there. There was changes of clothing and refuse scattered across the first floor.
"Ugh, squatters. But I suppose we can have someone remove them if we buy the place, I guess. Did you see anything else when you looked? I mean, did it seem to be in good condition?"
"Yeah, it looked like it was in pretty good condition but I didn't go up to the second or third floors."
The townhouse is located in the Grand Arch District, not far from Starsilver Plaza. The building itself is three stories tall. Boards have
been nailed over the windows on the ground floor and the back door but absent from the front door. Based on the disrepair of the yard, nobody's been here for months.
"Nice part of town," Ventus said, looking around.
Eli frowns at the situation. "Front door looks too easy. Anyone fancy trying the back first?" he asks.
Jessamy shrugs.
"Sure. I don't know that it really matters, but ...
"Or! If there really is someone staying here, maybe they've got another way in considering everything's boarded up. Let me look around..."
Pirknok frowns. "Why wud they put bords over thuh whole thing 'cept thuh frunt door? Is that normul here?"
Doesn't make any sense...
He begins to examine the front walk leading up to the door in an effort to determine whether it's been recently traversed.
"Let's hit the back, less chance of curious locals sticking their noses in," Ventus said, breaking out a crowbar and starting for the back door. Wedging the crowbar between the two loosest looking planks, he sets to work.
"They said there may be someone in there..." Jessamy interrupts as Jessamy pulls out his crowbar. "Maybe we should be careful?"
Creeping up to the door, she listen to make sure there's no one nearby before the Chelaxian gets to work.
Poking around the overgrown and weedy yard, Pirknok finds the boards that were previously sealing the front door. Jess hears nothing inside.
With a little effort, Ventus pries the boards off the rear door.
"Yeah, quietly as possible." Eli says, looking up at the windows above. He grips his longspear and fingers one of his bombs while Adventus works on the door.
Once Ventus gets the boards off, Jessamy will check and make sure no one left any nasty surprises on the door before we go in.
Jess detects some termite damage but no traps.
Pirknok points out the front door's boards to the rest of the group. "Sumbuddy's bin in here since it wuz boardid up, an' they didint bother goin' in thuh back."
Ventus takes point on the way in, unslinging his shield and drawing his sword on the off chance there were any unpleasant surprises in the building.
Moving quietly, Jessamy enters the building, wincing as she steps on a slightly squeaky board.
Pirknok draws his sword and follows as well, keeping his dwarfy eyes open for trouble.
The backdoors open into what looks like a dining room. There are crumbs and other signs of habitation but no occupants.
There are single doors on the east and west side of this building and double doors on the opposite side leading further into the house.
"Which way should we go? Maybe toward the front, where the brothers thought they saw evidence of people here?"
Pirknok frowns and motions to the others to get their attention, gesturing toward the front of the house and then touching his ear. Tilting his head as if in inquiry, he points to himself and then out the back door and around the house to the front.
Eli raises an eyebrow at Pirknok's gesturings.
Kaplan picks up on what he thinks the younger dwarf is trying to tell the group. "Seninle giderim."
Pirknok frowns, but his eyes light up at the older dwarf's words, and he nods.
After a moment he points at the rest of the party and places his hands out, palms down at waist-level, fingers held straight. He nods and holds up one finger, then two, then three, four, and five in a slow count. Indicating himself and the other dwarf, his arm describes a semicircle beginning at the back exit of the house, going around it, and ending in the front. He tilts his head again, wondering if he's communicated his message successfully, then turns and exits.