Braelex follows, carefully taking her time with the climb.
The party works its way across to the large wooden platform. Surprisingly stable it starts to creak ominously as Aidon joins Relan and Fulmen and when Braelex arrives, there's a moment's panic, but the ropes hold strong. Andel and Tarric wait for the party mainly because of limited space.
Using the boat hook, Fulmen reaches up and pulls down the hidden trap door, latching the end of the hook on the bent piton. The trap door is shaped on the inside like a stone ladder and it fits perfectly with the edge of the platform.
The climb up is simple, and a 5-foot wide passageway above heads south in the ceiling. The party clambers through, pulling their comrades along behind them.
The corridor drops down and dumps into a short passage that bears murals showing strangely dressed Thassilonian priests placing bodies into crypts. Several niches in the walls may have once been burial crypts themselves, but today, the hall is strewn with bones and the niches lay empty.
A relatively thorough search turns up next to nothing and the party proceeds to the west towards another empty chamber shining their hooded lanterns ahead as they move through the dark corridor.
Braelex signals for an immediate halt, and holds a finger up to her lips for silence. Once she has everyone's attention, she points out the trip wire and warning bell.
Fulmen looks at Braelex, "If there's one booby-trap there's likely more. Keep an eye out." Fulmen looks past the wire, "Watch for pressure plates and other traps everyone." With that he looks immediately past the wire at the floor to see if he can discern anything.
The party holds fast and searches carefully, staying quiet and listening. Although no other visible signs of traps or alarms are discovered, but a faint light is seen flickering from the room to the north and a whispered whining voice cuts through the dark.
"Tellavee, they're not coming. I've been up all night. It's my turn to sleep! You can cover your shift, why do I have to stay up with you?"
A bitter retort from another woman answers, "Yazlenda, I don't care. You're lazy even when you're on shift. This will do you good. If you don't like it, go talk to Terisha. Now shut up and stay alert!"
Relan holds at the ready attempting to stay as quiet as possible.
Stealth to be quiet :)
Braelex signals the others to hold position, then whispers. "Maybe we can sneak up and surprise them. I can try to hit their position with a bomb and then you all rush in." She looks to the others for suggestions.
Stealth to be quiet :)
I just meant staying still ;)
Relan nods at Braelex, "My thoughts exactly," he listens for a second to the voices, "Sounds like theres two of the, but there may be more. Lets get someone up there checking for traps on the way and if possible maybe silence those two without too much bloodshed."
"Okay then... bear with me a tic." Braelex moves into the hallway to apply an alchemical ointment to her skin. She returns a few feet shorter, her entire body shrunk to the size of a halfling.
"Taric, Fulmen... can I get some 'guidance'?
Once all is ready, Braelex leaves behind her backpack and moves forward as quietly as possible, being careful not to disturb the many scattered bones.
Braelex sneaks up to the corner, glancing around noticing the light playing from the room further up. A hooded lantern sits on the lip of a fountain in the west wall. A tinkling rill of water runs from a demon-shaped mouth on the wall into the fountain. A bedroll and several bags of rations sit on the floor just to the north of the fountain. Two Varisian women dressed in leathers like the previous Tower Girls, 1 tall and 1 short are arguing and gesturing to each other quietly. They don't notice Braelex.
Taking advantage of her stealth, Braelex hurls a bomb at the near Tower Girl.
Surprise round actions from everyone. Feel free to roll your own initiative this go as well
Fulmen attacks the nearest guard.
Surprise round, 1 action. Can't just attack. See map
To Hit -
Damage -
Init -
Braelex quietly tosses a small object around the corner, unbeknownst to the two girls their. A loud explosion accompanies a burst of flame that covers one girl, shrieking and hurts the other one.
The rest of the party moves quickly into position.
A series of crossbow bolts and arrows from the team take down the two girls, one tries to run but Aidon catches her in the back. They're both unconscious.
A quick search turns up similar gear to the earlier girl, which we'll now call a Tower Girl Kit: You find 2 of them:
The eastern wall of this room is buried under an ancient pile of rubble. Sitting next to a large wooden crate is a dull, gray amphora.
The stairs here twist and turn down into the darkness of the piling.
; HIT!
; HIT!
Braelex lets out a pleased chuckle before she advances to look over the fallen women. She makes no move to bind their wounds. She takes the thieves' tools and secures the coins. She ponders the hand crossbow for a few moments before dropping one into her backpack.
***
Braelex approaches the container slowly, searching it carefully before opening.
Braelex looks over the crate and the amphora next to it and finds no sign of anything nefarious. Tentatively opening the crate, she discovers it's full of straw. Digging through it, she finds a 2-foot bronze statuette of an armored humanoid with a narrow head and foreign runes carved into it's body.
Andel and Tarric both step forward, eyes wide open, "Rune giant!" They exclaim simultaneously. Tarric follows with, "Oh my, that's very impressive indeed, obviously of ancient Thassilonian make, but it's so pristine!."
The amphora itself is full of coins ... 98 in fact, but made of a gold and silver mix and stamped with Thassilonian runes. After confirmation with your experts, they too are from the ancient empire.
Braelex hands the rune giant to Andel for safekeeping, before counting out the ancient coins and stashing them in her pack.
Perception -
Aidon looks puzzled at Tarric and Andel, "What is a rune giant and why is this exciting?"
Tarric watches as Braelex counts through the coins and mutters to himself. Almost too late, he recognizes Aidon's question and starts, stumbling over himself to get an answer out, "Ah, yes ... of course, well then, <ahem>, Rune Giants are ancient experiments of the Runelords. Created by magically cross-breeding fire giants with the nomadic taiga giants creating a rune-infused lifeform that was capable of true-breeding. A remarkable accomplishment in itself. However, the rune giants were rumored to have innate control over other giants, able to create slave armies to do the Runelords' bidding."
Andel takes the rune giant statue and packs it in his bag along with some of the straw, "It's exciting not because it's any more rare than other recently discovered Thasilonian artifacts, but because it's an indication that this piling was inhabited by something of signficance. The Runelords and their minions were likely the only ones at the time to own artwork of this caliber. We are likely to find more and maybe something as yet undiscovered!"
"Huh," Braelex shrugs, then makes her way towards the stairs, methodically checking for any trip wires or trap triggers.
Relan watches the exchange keeping a sharp eye on the stairwell and waiting for the group to finish their search.
As Fulmen scans the tower girls' gear he let's out an exclamation and points at the fountain "Would you look at that! The fountain is magical. I'm picking up conjuration type magic. I'm not sure what it means. Could be good or bad for us..."
+4 aid from others
Im gonna push us forward a bit. Feel free to respond to Fulmen in flex time.
Gathering up and heading to the stairs, the party moves down a flight before it turns, hooded lanterns illuminating the way
Perception -
"We have company, and they are not friendly, arm yourselves."
Yes, about halfway down reaching the first landing.
"Hmm? What's that, another ambush planned? Maybe we should prepare for this one a touch more. That woman has encountered us twice before and may have passed info on our tactics to the others. I wonder how much further she can back up. I doubt there's another way out then behind us."
Tarric coughs slightly, hands still clasped behind his back, "Hmm, ah, Relan, perhaps now would be a good time to make use of the shard and see what we might be able to accomplish with its powers. If you're not comfortable with it, maybe one of the others who is more arcane in nature would like to give the illusion some thought?"
What I wouldn't give for a haulocost cloak and a wheel barrow.
Seriously though, what do we have to counter an ambush? We don't have flanking options. The only thing I can think of is that we need to lure them out of their defensive positions. What do we have for that?
I'll lay down an obscuring mist and braelex can throw in some grenades then we'll charge in. How's that sound for a plan?
Don't forget the major image from the shard. Lots of options there.
What image?
Shard of Pride can cast major image 1/day.
A voice calls up. It's a female voice with an odd scratch and squeak to it.
"We know you're there and we're waiting for you. The entire might of our gang is assembled. Leave now and we'll leave you be as well. Come further and we'll slaughter you to a man and send your hands and feet back to your lodge as a warning to others who wish to meddle in our affairs."
Definitely not
Definitely not I can't tell or definitely not it's not anyone we have talked to?