"I will be fine. I managed to avoid most of it."
Spectrum finds nothing special.
Isme follows behind, snickering once she realizes Spectrum seems to have only suffered a little damage.
"Should we head underground while we're here? I don't fancy returning any time soon myself."
"That was my plan." Spectrum said brushing himself off and straightening his clothing.
Searching through the reeking latrine, Isme discovers that the western wall is false; a hefty shove pushes it aside, revealing a extra-large sea chest with a heavy iron padlock.
Spectrum opened a small pouch and retrieved a small, odd key that looked partially mechanical. It was designed to fit the majority of locks, and then be minutely adjusted from the inside. It didn't work on every lock, but it worked on enough of them that it was a very handy investment.
Isme waits to see if the key will work before offering to try to unlock it herself.
Spectrum manages to disarm a nasty booby-trap, revealing the Thistletop Tribe's amassed treasures; weapons, crude armor, stolen jewellery and finery, and a mass of partially-rusted gold, silver and copper coins. Altogether, Isme estimates the treasury's worth at 6,600gp.
Isme twitters lowly. "Quite a haul there. I'd have hated to miss this. Might take more than one trip if we didn't have Wyam and Noro to carry it. We should move it to a safer location before heading down."
Spectrum helps Noro move the chest somewhere closer to the entrance and makes sure to hide it reasonably well in case there were still one or two skulking goblins about.
Once the chest was moved, he gave it a quick scan for magical auras.
Searching through the wreckage of the fort, you manage to find and descend down a set of ancient stone stairs, down into the depths of Thistletop.
A single lantern hangs from a hook on the wall next to where the stairs enter this room from the north. Several rickety doors open into this room, and a few discarded dog pelt rugs lie forgotten in the northeast corner. Ancient food and blood stains cover the edges, ancient bonus and scraps piled in corners.
"Pleasant." Spectrum muttered dryly, looking at the surroundings with disgust.
Spectrum put a hand on Noro's shoulder to keep her from just walking around. He made a couple of quick gestures to direct their fliers to listen at the doors.[/ooc]
Glimmer goes left, and gets rather distracted on the way.
Array goes right.
They hear nothing.
Spectrum walks across the room and opens the doors on the south wall, one after another.
The first southern door opens onto a tableau of goblinoid carnal hedonism. An enormous brown-furred bugbear sits atop a bed and three goblin females clad in dirtied nightwear, cackling and running hands over the creature's hideous crevasses. Dozens of ratty cushions, lumpy pillows, and rumpled dogskin furs lie heaped in the south half of this chamber, which smells of a nauseating mixture of vinegar and rotten flowers.
They start at the sight of you, and reach for weapons.
Spectrum makes a disgusted face, and launches a blast of light from his hands.
The bugbear blinks then slowly and ponderously falls forward, smashing his nose against the stone floor as snores echo through the chamber. Two of the goblins follow suit, and the remaining looks around and drops her rusted dagger. She tries for a gap-filled terrified grin. "...Elfy want a turn?"
Spectrum looked pained. "You are going to tell me how many of you live down here. You are going to draw me a map in the floor with that dagger. You are not going to speak except to answer questions. You are going to do it right now, or I will kill you. Do you understand?"
Spectrum motioned to the two sleeping goblins and sent a mental request to the little dragons. The flew in and landed on the goblin females, each taking one, and slammed their tails down in tandem, pumping the little savages full of venom.
The Bugbear he simply walked over and executed. It was too dangerous to let live.
Isme spreads her wings out as if to fly from her perch and help then quickly thinks better of it. Spectrum seems to have it under control and why do more work than she has to?
A quiet wail emits as the bugbear and her companions are cut down; but the woman gulps, and picks up her dagger, aiming it at the floor, and nods desperately.
The hesitantly scratches out a rough map.
"W-w-w-we not allow down much in this deep or double-deeps; not know much. Know is Bruthazmus" she takes a glance at the bugbear and winces "There... is other Chief allies too; hew-mon witch Lyrie, hew-mon fighter Orik... more creature else in deeps and double-deeps, strange sounds, not know else... Big ugly monster, tenty, in door through right; Lyrie studied, we leave alone. Left alone... Not know much about, no survivors"
"These two will wake up in a few minutes. When they do, you all leave. You head away from Sandpoint and you tell every goblin you meet that Sandpoint is death."
After a brief telepathic conversation, Spectrum pulls the bow and the four bane arrows off the bugbear's corpse and pockets the pouch of gold.
He walks out of the room without another word to the goblin and shuts the door behind him.
He unstrings the bow and tucks it away along side his quiver next to his own bow, and then quietly opens the center door.
Glimmer takes the potion and clutches it possessively.
"At least they were still clothed?" Isme notes bemusedly at Spectrum's seeming impatience.
"Thank the gods." Spectrum said flatly.
Spectrum finds a doorway, heading down and to the right, with more doors at the end.
The female goblin flees.
Spectrum moves quietly down the hallway to the bend and glances around the corner. Seeing the doors, he waves the dragons forward to listen at doors again.
The dragons hear nothing, and one by one, Spectrum pushes the doors open.
The first room is clean and well-organized, with a low dresser to the southwest and a stack of papers sitting atop it, weighted down by a large chunk of obsidian; a bed sits at the corner. Examining the papers reveals rough drafts of plans to blackmail Lonjiku Kaijitsu and use the Sandpoint Glassworks as a staging ground for a coming underground invasion from the Catacombs. A piece of well-made parchment is attached to the floor, with a single ornate eastern Tien character.
The second room shows many signs of having been lived in. The bed itself is rumpled and unmade, and a half-eaten meal of bread and smoked salmon sits on the nightstand. A few articles of dirty clothing sit at the foot of the bed. Under the bed, there's a discarded sheet of parchment; closer examination reveals it to be a Wanted: Alive poster for one Orik Vancaskerkin, described as a human mercenary wanted by the constabulary of Riddleport.
The third room is clean and brightly lit by an everburning torch lying on the nightstand, the room's spartan decor making it unclear if it's actually lived in. Everything other than the bed seems undisturbed.
The fourth room has a faint, musty odor. The bed isc overed with matted grey and black hair, and bloodstains mar the stone floor, while a morbid stack of birds' feet lies heaped on the floor by the side of the bed.
The fifth and largest chamber seems to serve a dual purpose; to the north is a fine bed with silk sheets, while to the south, a desk and chair under a hanging lantern make a comfortable-looking study. The fine bed appears virtually brand-new, out of place among the rest of the lived-in and wearied furniture.
Spectrum went about his investigation with precision. He glanced over the parchments, then pocketed them, the rest he passed by. He was careful to look beneath mattresses and scan for places suitable for hiding things.
What are we looking for? Glimmer asked, poking about and trying to help.
Treasure.
Well yeah. I meant treasure.
"Information." Spectrum said. "The most valuable treasure of all."
Glimmer rasped a series of staccato hisses, a reptilian laugh. You're funny.
On his way out of the rooms he passed the papers to Noro. "Lonjiku was blackmailed."
"Have either you heard of a mercenary named Orik Vancaskerkin?"
He didn't actually slow down as he spoke. He was focused on the task at hand and did not intend to dally in this place. He moved to the next door, listened, then opened it.
"Orik? Hmm."
"I've not heard of him. Why, is he important?"
Isme looks around herself, bored with watching Spectrum.
"I do not know yet."
Spectrum opens the door to a rather fascinating segment of goblin society. The walls of this room are lined with small wooden cages, each with a dirty mound of straw; a few buckets of water are spread around along with a few leftovers from boars and dogs. Inside some of the cages are tiny green-skinned goblin babies, about eight in number.
Spectrum shuts the door and moves on.