You arrived at the citidel around 8am. Your meeting with Cressida and the cleric took half an hour. The cleric then gave you gifts, Ralofs and Amendithas took him 2 hours to complete (Btw, Ralofs and Amendithas Weapons are now considered Masterwork). We also need to account for Dylans gather information (Diplomacy) check timeframe:
Hours
So Ryder would be heading into the shop front somewhere between 1:30-2:30??
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Earlier while investigating, you would have noticed plenty of folks in and out of the front of the shop getting as much meat as they can. There is a large pen in the back of the building on the outside that currently holds..
.. Only one Cow.
There is a selection of meat sitting in the window enticing customers to come in and either purchase (or receive for free if deemed extra needy).
A tall man with bushy eyebrows that merge into one just above his large flat nose stands outside while there is no customers in the store. When a customer enters he follows them inside.
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As noon hits, the customers are becoming few and far between as the supply of meat begins to dry up. By the time you enter (2:00) There is only a single stale cut left and the fly's are out in force.
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Assuming this information doesn't change your approach, I'll proceed with Ryder's wonderful Bluff Check.
A wheezy man in awkward fitting chain-mail looks at you and is taken aback by the official standing before him. He fumbles for the proper words to say. "Umm. ahh.. yes, sure.. No problem.. Exactly what parts of the business do you need to inspect?" He starts to head to the door leading to the back rooms.
"Everything - I'll need to check the building over top to bottom. Don't worry though, I only need to take quick peek," Ryder says with a smile and a wink.
Ryder looks all around the room as he walks through, looking under tables, behind chairs, checking the corners, along the windows, "Mmm hmm... yup... looks good..."
Between his 'inspections', Ryder interjects some questions for the wheezy man,
"Your name? ...and are you in charge here?
How long have you been back in operation?
Any problems that you're aware of with the building?
What hours are you keeping?
Is the building occupied day and night?"
Meanwhile, Ryder keeps an eye out for anything out of the ordinary, suspicious, or otherwise of interest:
"Of interest" might include papers with names, possible points of entry, evidence of 'business' not related to the meat market, anything related to the Korvosan Guard, weapons, etc?
Taking your questions one at a time:
"Your name? ...and are you in charge here? - ”My name is Muldar, yes I am in charge here, this is my associate Baldrago”
How long have you been back in operation? – ”Since our great city needed us. Food has become scarce since the riots began. We bring hope to the people.”
Any problems that you're aware of with the building? – ”Not that I'm aware of.”
What hours are you keeping? – ”As long as the people need us.” --You get the sense that this answer is an attempt to distract from the fact that he doesn't really know what to say here. He may be hiding something.
Is the building occupied day and night?" – ”Yes”
Looking around for things of interest, you do notice that both men are armed with Long swords and Crossbows. It’s not an uncommon practice for a security guard such as Baldrago to be armed, but most shop keepers do not themselves carry weapons.
There does not seem to be any papers in the front of the shop, but there are back rooms that could hold an office for such papers.
The shop-front is area B1 on the map. (I will post the map at a later time)
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You can sense he is growing impatient with this surprise “inspection”. ”Lets get on with it shall we?”
He opens the door to area B2 and Baldrago moves in first. Baldrago takes up a post in front of the set of stairs. As this is a simple hallway, Muldar opens the closest door to area B3..
”This is the meat locker where we cut and salt the meat for the daily sales.”
The air in this room is stale, stinking of day-old meat and blood. Straw litters the floor, scattered to catch what drips from the meat hooks affixed to the walls and ceiling on metal rods. To the north is a low blood-stained table and two barrels of salt, while to the south, a pair of double doors stands. An iron bar extends through a narrow hole at the top of the doors; the bar runs along the ceiling for five feet before ending at a vertical pole running floor to ceiling.
Ryder will enter the locker and take a quick stroll around while looking about. When he gets to the closed double doors, he stops and says, "... And through here? "
Ryder will continue in this manner for all areas they grant him access to, moving quickly to give them the sense the inspection will be quick and painless, but insisting to see all areas of the building, asking only what the room is used for and if it's normally occupied. If Ryder's disguise includes a pencil and notepad, he'll take notes.
If met with resistance, Ryder will firmly insist that all areas must be checked in the interest of not only proper tax records but also public safety, and that the city could shut them down if the inspection isn't completed satisfactorily, and assuring them it will only take a quick look. If they continue to resist, Ryder will back down before escalating to anger or violence, continuing on to other areas, adding, "Very well, but if the City isn't satisfied, I may be back with the Korvosan Guard."
Muldar Grins a little as you ask what’s behind the doors. ”Why, that’s the killing floor” With a flourish he pulls the doors open.
The floor of this grim chamber is strewn with blood-stained straw, and the reek of slaughter is almost overpowering. The room itself is a killing floor. A metal track affixed to the ceiling dangles meat hooks here and there, allowing the hooks and their gory loads to be moved easily from the northwest where a large hammer sits on the floor amid a permanent bloodstain. To the south, a bloodstained grill covers a wide hole in the floor. Just north of the grill sit two large vats of water; one you can tell is used for boiling and one cold. Two large butcher blocks stand to the east next to barrels of salt, and in the southeast corner sits a reeking vat of cast-off meat and bones.
The smell is overwhelming as the doors bring the stench rushing to your nose. As a result, you find yourself unable to control yourself as you vomit on the floor. Muldar laughs at you and says, "What's a matter? Don't like where your meat comes from?"
In your sickened state, you hurry your inspection and your perception check reveals nothing of consequence.
To the West there is a set of double doors he takes you through. It is a simple shed containing a straw filled wagon.. The doors to the north of the shed are open, looking out the doors (B6) you see a large cattle pen that is open to the air, and the stink of manure, mud, and animal is strong, despite the breeze that wafts through the stockade’s wooden fence.
”This is where we load and unload livestock.” You can see the pen with a single cow in it where a lone man is feeding the cow. The man stops what he’s doing as if he’s surprised that there is a stranger being shown the shop. ”That’s Parns, he’s our main butcher. If you really feel like getting dirty go right ahead and be my guest”
***regardless your perception finds nothing interesting.
Muldar then takes you back around to the North West door of the killing floor. He opens it up to reveal a set of smaller pens (B5), each containing a fat ornery pig. There is another man feeding the pig bits of meat scraps and bone leftover from the earlier butchering.
”This here is Karraloan our other butcher. I suggest not getting too close to the pigs, they’re not too friendly.”
Your perception results reveal that the man has set down his weapon to feed the pig, and with a clearer view, it appear to be a standard issue Korvosan Guard longsword.
Muldar then takes you back to the front of the shop, through the hallway where Baldrago is still setting up post at the bottom of the stairs. As you approach the stairs, Muldar says, ”Yeah, you can forget about going up there, where we sleep has nothing to do with the business.” Baldrago puffs up a bit as if to accentuate the fact that they mean business.
****Assuming you don’t press the issue, he allows you to leave the premises.
Ryder pushes the issue a little, to the extent indicated in my previous post. I'll await a look at the map before Ryder leaves.
Got the Map Uploaded: Map
Ryder pushes the issue to see upstairs... He says, "In the interest of accurate tax records and public safety I really must see the entire building for the inspection to be complete. I won't be nosy - I don't even need to go into every room; I just need a quick peek inside each of the rooms. If you prefer, I can give you a few minutes to prepare the rooms for my inspection - I really don't care what's in the rooms, though, I just need to observe the status of the structure."
If they persist in resisting the inspection, Ryder will say, "Very well, but if the City isn't satisfied, I may be back with the Korvosan Guard."
Before leaving, Ryder makes one final request, "Lastly, I need to take a walk around the outside of the premisis." If allowed, Ryder will look the building up and down, looking for any possible way to get inside the upstairs of the building (assuming they don't let him upstairs inside).
In response to the first part...
You can see growing impatience on Muldar's face. His hand moves towards his longsword and he taps the handle. "I don't think you heard me. Get out."
When Ryder mentions the Korvosan guard, Muldar laughs, "Bah! like they don't have better things to do right now." He steps closer as if to begin ushering/pushing you out of the building.
You get the impression that they will not tolerate any more from you. It may be prudent to avoid the last statement. If you decide to say the last sentence anyway....
They grab you and start to move you towards the door.
Ryder will forgo the request to go around the outside. As Ryder leaves he will make eye contact with the party but will walk down the street out of sight from the shop before stopping for them to catch up. Ryder will tell them everything that happened and will draw them a map of the building. In addition to the account, Ryder adds,
"They didn't want me upstairs, that's for sure. They had longswords, and I saw that one of them for sure was Korvosan Guard issue. I didn't meet anyone introduced to me as 'Verik'. The killing floor reeks something fierce - if we're going back in there we should find something to stave off the nausea, but I suggest we find a way to the upstairs directly. Perhaps we should relay thisis information back to Cressida."
Yes, Cressida would likely have given you a description of Verik, and no, none of the people you met matched his description.
Also, since you asked about it in the previous post, as you left the building, you do notice that there are some windows in the front of the upstairs area. Since they watch you as you leave you probably don't get to check the sides and back, but the building may have other upstairs windows.
This could potentially be an entry point if you all get your cat burglar on. Granted, none of you are the most stealthy chars ever.
Assuming Ryder informed us of the name Dylan asks "Ryder is Muldar the same guy from the fight a few days ago. He said his name is Muldark...sounds like those thugs had some sort of connection to this place."
Ralof says to the group, "So who wants to go in and how are we going in?"
Ryder says to Ralof and Dylan, "You two wait here and keep an eye on the place." To Amendithas he says, "You come with me."
Since we're not making our attach until late, we have some time to spare. Ryder goes back to the Citadel and reports to Cressida what he learned by entering the shop under cover, and asks her if she has any suggestions, or if the other people involved have any bearing on the situation or instructions. Ryder will also take a Korvosan long sword, and drop off some stuff at the Citadel to balance a light load.
Ryder then goes and purchases two scrolls of Invisibility and one scroll of Summon Swarm. . Ryder will immediately cast Read Magic to decipher the writing on the scrolls. Ryder then purchases four vials of Sooth Syrup, which he'll distribute to each party member as soon as able to. Ryder will also purchase a masterwork backpack (50 gp), trading in his own backpack and all the armor and the shield from the loot sheet.
Ryder then returns to where Ralof and Dylan are staked out, asks what they saw, and then and suggests the four of them go get some supper. After supper: several hours of whatever - maybe some sleep? Ryder will eventually get impatient sometime after midnight and press to make their move.
Ryder directs Dylan and Amendithas to take up an inconspicuous post across the street. Ryder makes sure everyone has their whistle and drinks their Soothe Syrup (+5 alchemical bonus to saves to resist becoming nauseated or sickened).
Ryder takes Ralof accross the street to a position as close to AtWM as possible and still be out of sight from the shop...
...and uses the scrolls of Invisibility on himself and Ralof, and says, "We have to hurry, we only have 3 minutes."
Caster level checks to use the scrolls (DC4 for a 2nd level spell)
Ryder takes Ralof's arm and says, "Move quickly, but quietly" and pulls him along around the building, looking for a good way in to the upper level. Ryder will move at half speed (15), so Ryder will take no penalty on his Stealth check, and Ralof will take a -5 for moving more than half, but less than full speed. +20 for being invisible.
When you report to Cressida about AtWM she confirms that the people you met inside are the rogue guards that have left to join Verik. She praises you on your ability to infiltrate the compound and says you were right not to press the issue, as they surely would have killed you. She does not have any further advice as she gives your plan her blessing.
You grab your Korvosan Issue sword and drop a few items off to lighten the load, then make your purchases (you are correct on price, and you can get what you need no problem)
As far as what Ralof and Dylan saw while waiting...
At around 7pm (as it is starting to get dark) Parns brings in the remaining cow into the killing shop (presumably to be butchered)
Ralof notices around 10pm, Parns and Baldrago can be seen leaving the compound.
***Does Dylan or Ralof want to do anything about this? I'll await your response before continuing.
Dylan says to Ralof "Should we fallow them from a distance to see where they are going?
Ralof says to Dylan, "Yes, you go. I will stay here and inform keep wath."
Dylan head off fallowing Parns and Baldrago staying about a block or so back. When they turn a corner Dylan increases his pace to make sure to see them before they make it to the end of the block so he can see if they turn again or to see if they entered a building.
Ralof quickly stops dylan before he goes and says, " Maybe i should go. I have some skill at being stealthy.
Ralof then goes and follows close enough to see them, yet far enough not to be seen.
You follow them for a good 30 minutes before they stop at small home. Parns moves towards the front door, takes out a tool from his pack, wedges the tool into the door frame and bursts the door open with the tool.
Both men quickly rush into the home.
Sounds of commotion can be heard coming from inside the home. However it is quickly silenced... Do you wish to intervene?
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Ryder and Amendithas meet back up with Dylan about 5 minutes after Ralof begins his pursuit.
No i will wait.
Dylan explains that two individuals left and Ralof fallowed them
After about an hour, Both Parns and Baldrago leave the home with a third man whom hands are bound behind his back with a hood over his head. Parns is carrying a a sack over his right shoulder, while Baldrago is leading the third man via a rope tied around his neck.
If you choose to intervene you can, otherwise they find their way back to AtWM. Instead of the front entrance, this time they head towards the back entrance of the compound.
*Despite Amendithas having Darkvision, he does not see them enter the back of the compound.
They shut the door behind them. You see the second set of doors (past the shed with the wagon in it) open and also close behind them.
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The time is now shortly before midnight.
From the rest of the players perspectives you would be unaware that they have returned to the compound, as there are currently no visible light sources, and the one with darkvision was unable to notice they've returned.
Ralof stops them and says, "Hey you two let them go!"
Rolling initiatives
Parns glances at Baldrago and gives him a quick nod. He then quickly drops his sack of goodies (free action) which makes a noticeable clang on the ground. He then charges (charge action) at you while drawing a menacing looking Warhammer.
Just barely connects with you
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Baldrago grabs the rope around the mans neck and tightens it with all his strength (Standard Action). The man falls to the ground writhing uncontrollably. With his hands tied behind his back, he is unable to loosen the rope.
Baldrago then pulls out his crossbow as he moves to a better firing position.
It is Ralof's turn.
*I'll get a map up asap.
MAP
It's a crude map, but imagine you are going down back alleys behind several houses. Trying to stay off main roads.
Ralof will back up to MAP
Then i will do an double attack with the bow.
You're new, so I'll let this slide, but for future reference, Rapid Shot requires a full attack action: Full Round Actions
What that means is you cannot take a normal movement as well as use Rapid Shot
However, be aware, that as part of a "Full Round Action" you may take a 5 foot step in a round where you perform no other movement: 5-Foot Step
What this means is you can take a 5 foot step away from your opponent without risking an attack of opportunity. Normally, leaving a square while next to an enemy provokes an attack of opportunity unless using the Withdraw Action.
So, in this scenario, the best move for you is to take a 5 foot step and rapid shot. Small difference, but the map would look like this: MAP. More importantly, you do not provoke because of the 5 foot step and you are able to full attack using rapid shot.
After taking a step back, Ralof expertly fires 2 Arrows into Parns in front of him. The shots are enough to drop Parns right there.
*Nice shooting
On Parns turn he begins to bleed out.. (rolling to stabilize)
He continues to bleed
The man on the ground continues to struggle
Baldrago seeing his friend hit the ground loads his crossbow, aims and fires.
Miss
Frustrated with the miss, he takes a 5 foot step behind the cover of the side of the building. It is only considered partial cover. MAP
ralof moves MAP
ralof shoots 2 arrows.
*You can either move and shoot once or 5ft Step and Rapid Shot. Either way both shots were a miss this round. So I'll move on.
Parns Continues to Bleed Out
The man is still conscious writhing on the ground.
Baldrago loads another bolt and fires at Ralof
Nat 20
Confirmation Roll
Did not Confirm
Baldrago fires a near deadly accurate shot, just missing a major artery, but still inflicting damage.
*Ralof is now at 10/21 Hit points.
Are Dylan, Ryder, and Amendithas within earshot?
That wasn't really established, but I would think he probably would have intervened quite early on the trip back. After all, it's a half hour (being sneaky) just to get to the mans house. I'm going to say that Ralof probably stopped them as they were dragging the guy out of the house.
Way too far for earshot.
I thought as much I just had to try plus the sounds of battle would not have been much war-hammer hitting leather and a bunch of arrows and bolts hitting stone and ground. I don't think that would make a lot of noise
*Edit - this was meant to be a response to your question in discussion about the results of your perception roll.. I guess it doesn't really matter where it is posted.
It's fairly quiet in the building at the moment. If I recall you guys are parked across the street keeping watch correct? Hard to say what you could hear if you got up next to the building.
As far as visual perception you do not see any visible light sources from the building currently.
ralof stands his ground and fires 2 more arrows.
I will use a harrow point and re-do the second shot.
You just barely hit Baldrago with both shots.
Parns continues to bleed
The man is no longer flopping around on the ground
Baldrago reloads his crossbow, then readies a shield as he takes a step back even further behind the cover of the side of the building. this location currently granting him Total Cover from Ralof. Ralof will need to move into a better position if he wishes to attack Baldrago.
ralof moves, MAP
Then takes one shot.
Even with the shield and the partial cover, Ralof expertly places an arrow into the throat of Baldrago dropping him to the ground. (nice shot!)
Parns Bleeds some more
The man is still motionless on the ground.
Baldrago Is Also Bleeding.
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Since your enemies have been incapacitated go ahead and give me a summary of the actions you are planning to take over the next 3 rounds.
Ralof starts trying to get information out of the 2 men on the ground. He will ask questions like, " Where is Vancaskerkin hiding? How many men does he have? What are his plans? What were you doing with those people?"
Ralof then tries and loots the 2 bodies.
Ralof will the go back the the groups location and explain to them what happened and he will tell them the information found out as well.
Ralof then says to Dylan, "Dylan can you heal me or something? I took quite a beating from those guys."
Just to clarify what is going on here....
The man that Baldrago choked with the rope is on the ground about to die. You have a small chance to save him if you can loosen the rope and perform a "heal" check to stabilize him.
Both Parns and Baldrago are bleeding out.. They are not quite dead yet, but when their damage total exceeds their Hit Points + their Con Score, they will be dead for good. (*edit - you wont be able to ask them questions until they are conscious again... aka positive hit-points)
You have a tight window of opportunity to save these people from death, and it will involve using the heal skill to do so. (*edit - A DC 15 heal check is required to stabilize a dying person)
Ralof runs over to the man with the rope and tries to free him.
after he gets the two men and tries to save one of the guys on the ground.
ralof then tries to get information out of him.
Taking this round by round so it's easier to track..
Ralof takes a move action to get to the innocent, and standard action to free him from the rope.
That concludes that round.. back to the top of the order..
Parns bleeds another point of damage
The man "bleeds" for lack of a better way to describe the mechanic of dying
Baldrago also continues to bleed.
Ralof then Successfully stabilizes the man on the ground with his heal check, he uses his move action to get to the next closest person, Baldrago.
That round is finished. Next round.
Parns fails to stabilize and is now officially dead.
Baldrago is still bleeding.
Ralof then attempts to stabilize Baldrago but cannot seem to patch up the damage he inflicted.
Next Round....
Baldrago is also now dead.
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You have the innocent stabilized but he is still unconscious. You can bring him to Dylan, or possibly a hospital, or a third option is to run back to Dylan to have him come help the person.
Carrying the man faster than your normal movement will cause him to start dying again.
ralof runs to dylan and tries to get him to go heal the innocent.
You hustle back to Dylan to get some healing help, At 3x movement for a hustle (too far to run it at 4x) you will get to Dylan's location in 10 mins.
When you get to Dylan, both Ryder and Amendithas have rejoined the stakeout over AtWM.
Ryder will suggest that Dylan return with Ralof to help the man while he and Amendithas maintain watch.
Ryder will also suggest that every one in the party carry at least one potion of Cure Light Wounds (50gp) and tells them where he bought his.
Dylan heads back with Ralof to heal the innocent man after he casts Cure light wounds on Ralof.
When Dylan and Rolof arrive Dylan channels positive energy into the man