We have a letter of introduction. I say we enter the front door. I am not inclined to knock though. It is a place of business of sorts after all.
As the back door is locked tight, and with the letter of introduction at hand, the group opens the front door. Inside is a simple reception area, with a desk and three chairs, two to the west and one to the east. A cord hangs from a hole in the southern wall above a sign that reads "Ring for Service"
There are two other doors in this room, but both appear to be locked.
Robin pulls the cord, and the sound of chimes rings from several distant places in the building all at once.
At first nothing happens, but after perhaps a minute, a key turns in the door to the south, and a man enters. He is dressed in the white robes of a physician, but has a rather distressed look on his face.
When he sees you he starts in right away, "You simply must excuse me, I am in the middle of a very delicate procedure. Very delicate! I must not be disturbed under any circumstances. You understand...Run along now...There's a good fellow." He actively shooes Robin and the rest out the door, following close behind ready to close it as soon as you are all out.
Kizzy nodded earnestly in support of Robin's plea. "We've come quite a ways, Doctor. We've got to speak with the witness as soon as possible and then we'll be on our way again. We'll do whatever we can not to make a ruckus, but time is a wasting and the killer is still out there."
I am afraid we simply will not be denied. We act as representatives of the Sandpoint Sherif and out business is quite time critical. I am sure you will want to help.
Cads comes across a little aggressively and fails to be of assistance.
As the doctor starts to push the group out the door, Marcellano scowls and turns on his heel, vanishing and reappearing behind the physician's back. "I must insist that you leave us be, sir. As my companions have stated, ours is an urgent errand."
As Robin squeezes inside, and Marcellano mysteriously shifts behind the doctor, he finally gives in, with a sigh.
"Of course, of course. Come in. I am a bit scattered, my apologies. My patient, Mr Sevilla, is in a very precarious state and really should not be disturbed. However, since you seem to insist..."
He whistles sharply, and a few moments later a pair of tiefling men dressed in orderly uniforms appear.
"Please bring Mr Sevilla downstairs. These people would like to ask him some questions." The orderlies, burly fellows, turn to comply and Habe turns back to you.
"Please follow me into the day room. You may interview Mr Sevilla there, but I really must insist we keep it short. Please try not to agitate the patient too much. When I say so, the interview must by over. Understand?"
And with that, he leads you through the south door into a the dayroom where several long tables line the walls. A fireplace/stove stands in one corner, and two doors are on the south wall, evidently leading upstairs to where the inmates are housed.
Qetsiyah nods. "Sure Doc. Lead on. Have you learned anything about what happened to the poor fellow yourself?" She tried to smile reassuringly.
"He...he is very ill. Very ill. As i said, he is in a very precarious state. Like nothing I've seen really...Oh there he is."
The door from upstairs opens, and the two tieflings muscle in a man wrapped in a hospital straitjacket. It is immediately obvious there is something seriously wrong with Grayst Sevilla.
The man's skin is pale and looks gangrenous, his hair is wild and his eyes are milky white. The man is mostly unresponsive, and has to be dragged in by the orderlies
Cadas is somewhat shocked to see the state of the man brought before them and says quietly to the group This man has been bitten by a ghoul and is dying. Should he die he will certainly rise again as an undead.
This man has been bitten by a ghoul and is dying. Should he die he will certainly rise again as an undead.
Speaking to the man Cadas says Good sir, you are gravely injured. If you would help us track down the thing that did this to you then you have to tell us what happened.
Kizzy gasps as her eyes fall on the ill man. "Cadas, can he still be healed?"
The unfortunate man makes a handful of incoherent mumblings saying things that you can only partly make out "...razors...too many teeth...Skinsaw Man is coming!"
That is until Cadas address him directly. Then his eyes bulge and his attention fixes on the Shoanti priestess. "He said. He said you would visit me. His Lordship. The one that unmade me so. He has a place for you. A precious place. I am so jealous. He has a message for you. He made me remember it. I hope I haven't forgotten. The master wouldn't approve if I forgot. Let me see...let...me...see."
The man features contort as he struggles to remember. He also struggles against the bonds holding him. Just then Dr Habe intervenes. "That's it!" he cries. "He is far too agitated. Get him back to his holding cell!"
The orderlies come and start too move him back to his cell. Sevilla lets out a low moan then cries out turning his head back to Cadas. "He said you should come to the Misgivings soon to meet the Pack, for they have something wonderful to show you."
As soon as he speaks, he slumps to the floor with a cry. His low moan turns to a keening shriek and he lurches to his feet, ripping the strait-jacket free and moving to attack Cadas, the one his master loves more. The two orderlies fly to the doctors side, trying to usher him out a side door, leaving you to deal with deranged and possibly undead patient.
Grayst Sevilla - Round 1
22 Marcellano
21 Grayst Sevilla
20 Robin
16 Kizzy
12 Cadas
Qetsiyah's dark eyes grew wide with shock as the man ripped his way free of the straight jacket. Her mind whirled as she thought about what to do... was his life still salvageable? She really had no idea... but in the back of her mind, she realized she knew the place he was talking about and maybe an idea of who was running about calling himself 'Lord'...
Marcellano's eyes widen when it's revealed that the deranged man may be under the thrall of some greater power, though it's not truly a huge surprise. When he bursts from his bonds, however, a most unscholarly oath escapes the wizard's lips. In the blink of an eye, the young man disappears and reappears at the back of the room, with as much space (and bodies) between him and their foe as possible. Even as he pulls his crossbow from his back, his other hand sketches a sigil in the air. As he mutters a word, the glowing symbol disintegrates into a pair of silvery bolts that leap forward, slamming into Sevilla's torso!
Grayst Sevilla - Round 1 - continued
Marcellano magically shifts away from trouble flicking a magic missile at the suddenly freed prisoner as he goes. The magical force blasts smash into Sevilla, but don't stop him.
The lunatic steps up around Kizzy and trying to get at Cadas. His movement leaves him open to attacks from the Varisian fighter and from Robin.
Qetsiyah reacted quickly, cuffing the ghoulish man with a quick punch from her gauntlet and then drew her sword and struck, acting on instinct as her friends were threatened.
Surprised both by the violent response from the creature and the lack of support from the caretaker and his staff Cadas pulls and uses her trident against the undead.
Grayst Sevilla - Round 1 - continued
Robin leads the insane man right into the brunt of Kizzy's attack which rends Sevilla's flesh, dropping him to the ground mortally wounded.
End of Combat
Marcellano lets out a sigh of relief and then steps quickly forward to crouch by the fallen madman. "Is he dead? That would be most inconvenient..."
If Sevilla still lives, the wizard awkwardly tries to patch him up. Somewhat to his surprise, he manages to get the blood to clot, slowing to a trickle.
Dr Habe quickly recovers his senses when the danger has passed, but he is clearly shaken. "Please...accept my apologies! I had no idea the patient would react that way. No idea! Will you agree to keep this quiet? Word of this on the street would be most...inconvenient for me. What do you say? Will you keep the secret?"
He looks on the verge of panic, hanging on your reply.
"Dammit man, you're a doctor, not a courtier! Shouldn't you be trying to help this man?!"
Cadas as the target feels little reason to cooperate with this man. You, you studied him. You had to know his condition. You are madman or worse to keep such a creature here to endanger everyone. We might hold our tongues but you will have to let us examine the complete facility to make sure you have no other patients. To start with you shall show us to the room you held him in. I would see that cell now.
"Oh gosh! Oh no!" Kizzy exclaims anxiously as she sees the man crumple to the floor from her attack. She begins to babble excitedly, much like a nervous halfling. "I didn't kill him, did I? Is he dead? Or was he undead just a moment ago? What would that make him now, dead-dead? Or maybe re-dead? Ohh... Cadas, can you heal him? If healing fixes him, he might get better. But if it kills him outright, then it was already too late... right?"
"Don't worry, doc. This guy wasn't exactly suffering from run-of-the-mill mental illness. Only a priest could have helped him, I think. You did all you could, right?"
At Cadas blunt comments, the doctor frowns, but as Robin pipes up he smiles again, if a bit nervously. "Very good, yes very good! Saved the world from a menace. I did that, and and...and you helped! Didn't you? Oh jolly good that!"
He, with the help of the two tiefling orderlies start shuffling you to the front door of the day room, back towards the lobby. "Oh, can't have you looking around. No that won't do at all. Not at all. My patients are in a most delicate state, most delicate I assure you. You understand, don't you? There's a good lad, and lady. Bye-bye now!"
As they start to lead yo to the door, Dr Habe backs away slipping behind the orderlies and out of reach.
Marcellano snorts derisively as one of the tieflings pulls him away from Sevilla. "Get your hands off me, half-blood." As they're hustled to the doorway, the wizard snorts and vanishes once again, reappearing behind the orderlies and next to the doctor. "You're really being quite unreasonable, sir. Allow us to see the man's cell. He was attacked by a murderer who remains at large--anything he wrote or drew in there could be invaluable to our investigation."
Cadas refuses to be herded at all and still has her weapon out. She holds her ground and even pushes forward. I shall have a look at his man's cell and no one shall stop me. I have legal right to do so granted by the sherif. Now step aside or there will be trouble.
Qetsiyah found the doctor's behavior very odd, and tried to get a sense for what was going on here.
But she really couldn't even make a guess... Still at a loss, she did the only thing she could. Back her friend's play. She tapped the hilt of her falchion with one hand as the other took a firm grip on her hip. "Hear now! You almost sound like a man with something to hide, Doc. We've got to figure where these undead came from originally or there's going to be a lot more of them soon. Now either you're helping us, or you're against us! Which is it gonna be, now?"
As you resist being pushed outside and start to come down hard on the skittish doctor, he does what comes natural. "Boys, hold them off. I am getting help from downstairs. Caizarlu! Help! We are in trouble!" he shouts.
The tiefling guards move to engage you and it looks like a fight brewing.
Sanitorium Rumble - Round 1
19 Robin
19 Kizzy
18 Habe
17 Gortus
16 Marcellano
15 Cadas
10 Gurnak
After Robin and Kizzy see that the doctor won't be cowed, and the tieflings mean to fight, they react quickly to the scene.
Kizzy stretches, limbering up her neck and shoulders as she drew her falchion and slid her feet as she lowered her center of gravity, preparing for combat. "Alright boys, how do you like to play? Nice? Or not so nice?"
Marcellano begins to move his hands in arcane gestures. "Keep those thugs away from me, and I'll soon get us some help."
Sanitorium Rumble - Round 1 - continued
Robin tries to stop the fight without resorting to violence, and his first move is to spread glittering dust through the air, trying to disturb the vision of his foes. As the dust spreads, it becomes clear that all the foes are affected.
Delaying to see how the foes play it, Kizzy is not exactly surprised to see Habe trying to make a run for it, blindly banging into stuff, while one of the tieflings wanders blindly trying swinging a sap at the intruders, but never getting close enough for a real attack.
Marcellano's hands pause, mid-incantation. "Hmmmm. Well, that was effective. Well done, Robin. What now? Bind them? Hamstring them?" He casually slings his crossbow forward and sights down it at Habe. "If we're careful, we can prevent them from following us without harming them too seriously."
They were willing to use violence against us even though we have the right to search the place directly from the sherif. Cadas says plenty loud for everyone to hear. And they mentioned getting help from the basement. I say we subdue them and then run them into town under arrest.
Seeing the tieflings flailing blindly, Kizzy snorts a laugh in a scoffing tone. She simply walks up to the doctor and prepares to stop his advance as he tries to warn whomever he's going for. "Come now doc. If you've gotten yourself in hot water we can probably still help you. I'm gonna feel all kinds of guilty if I have to hurt you. Now what kind of trouble is going on here?"
The tiefling guards know they are over-matched and when the others threaten them in their blind state, they throw their hands up and give in. The doc isn't so wise. Driven to escape, he takes a nasty knock on the head from Kizzy. Just that one blow, and he prostrates himself crying, "Please don't hurt me anymore. It wasn't my idea. I was forced into it. Please!"
The guards came from upstairs which is one of the locked doors at the far end of the room. It might be safe to assume that downstairs is the other door as that was the general direction Habe moved in before he was struck blind.