"I do not maul sheep.".
"I maul goats! "
Zilch nods, showing his strong agreement with Aodan...even if it shows a lack of understanding.
"I'm sure you could take both sheep and goats on at the same time. You're pretty tough, a lot like me."
"but tell me. How do I know I can trust you and that this isn't some sort of trick by the one known as Hunclay?"
Zilch rubs his chin thoughtfully.
"Probably because Hunky is dead? And I don't know that you have much choice, do you? But don't worry that you're questioning my honor and my words, Ol' Zilch is going to save you whether you want it or not. That's what Zilch does."
Zilch looks around for a light switch or dimmer.
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Dust in a cave north of town? That narrows it down.
"O.k. ....
"We'll look for dust. In a cave."
Davros said not necessarily good, not necessarily evil, so hopefully that means trustworthy enough.
"Anything else ya' can say about the, well, now dead Hunclay, or his place, or what he was doin', would be useful."
In terms of specifics, that is indeed little to go on. Typical dwellers of caves are not exemplary of tidiness, so an accumulation of dust is to be expected. Out of curiosity, though, can this hidden cave be consider to be among the estates of Hunclay, or is it merely a transient storage space? Eugene asks the Shae, asking himself the question whether this creature is an asset or a liability.
I am not sure what I can add to this.
"Eh, I am no sure what I can add to this."
Coming to think of it, this place is, at most, an undeclared asset. As to the motivation of Hunclay to keep such an asset, be it reasons of tax evasion or covert activities, we should pay no mind. Even it it is considered an asset for the totality of the Hunclay estate, it is clearly not within scope of the Hunclay Manor, nor has any such asset been declared at the either drafting stage or the signing stage of the contract. Given that the location of the cave is to be determined, I suggest we defer investigation until an opportunity for further narrowing the location of the storage presents itself.
Zilch nods and is ready to go upstairs.
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Zilchus leads the way back up the spiral stairs, past the first floor and up to the second. This lushly furnished library features three tall bookcases running north to south down the center of the chamber and another bookcase of iron is the northeast corner. A stuffed grizzly bear towers in the northwest corner, its claws and fangs bared aggressively. The east wall features sixteen paintings of various planets in gilt frames. A ladder in the west side of the ceiling leads up to a trap door.
Zilch looks around the room as if he doesn't recall getting there.
Perception
Moving forward, he looks for danger with his danger and scale-sensing eyes.
"Oh yeah, we'll almost done here, huh? We can get gone pretty early, maybe go find that Calistrian Temple that Lady is a part of. Maybe she's even working too."
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"Not done yet, Z. Might be more stuff." A wizard may have plenty of interesting notes, spells, materials, and enchanted items that could give us even more information. "Yeah, stuff." And sorely pique the interest and tempt an aspiring arcanist.
The half-elf will raise his bow, readying his comfort zone of arrows and now magic.
The book!
"Eh, maybe we should take our time here. Lots of things to catalog here, no?"
Unless persuaded otherwise Davros begins examining the contents of the room as carefully as he can.
Zilch will look around, trying to find a nice place to lounge around while Aodan works. He'll offer his muscle, all his muscle, if needed to force open the lock as well.
"You let me know if you need anything, Mauler. I got your back," Zilch says, taking a seat on the divan.
Hunclay must be keeping something valuable in here.
Davros offers silent encouragement as Aodan attempts to open the iron bookcase.
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The half-elf's over-sized pupils widen a bit as he spots the trigger.
"Crap" The wizard's trickery remains.
"Picked the lock, but somethin' bad'll happen if we open the door." And I don't want to be close when that happens.
"I can try and un-trap it with my picks, but I'm not that good." And it's likely to trigger under my touch. "Or... The magic in my bow and book might open it from across the room."
He looks to the others, but mainy to the Qadiran. "'less somebody wants to try anythin' else."
He looks to the others, but mainy to the Qadiran. "'less somebody wants to try anythin' else."
Zilch sits up on his couch, no longer a-slouch.
"You want me to spear it open, Aodan? I've stuck down many scales with these spear, I don't suppose a door would be more difficult."
Unless needed, Zilch watches Aodan work. He pulls up a chair or something upon which to put his feet up while he waits, sitting again on the divan.
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Aodan peers through his bow-sight at the books, looking for magic ().
Looking at the strong case and lock...
"Either Hunky has some rare an' powerful 'strology books, or maybe there's somethin' else in here."
After looking for any magical auras, he slowly scans through the shelves and the books, looking for any notes or indication that they are something other than astrology books.
"Astrology. Your good with that, right Davros?" After checking for any hidden or extra interesting features in the locked case, the half-elf will defer to the Qadiran's superior knowledge of the content.
Anyone who can compose a contract like Eugene does must be able to read and write, and maybe make heads or tails of some of these books. He turns his attention to the one with his feet propped up. "Zilch, ya' constantly want stuff written about ya, right? Does that mean you can read?" He motions to the books on the shelves. "Or do ya' see any other important stuff in the room?"
Zilch lounges, waiting to see when he will be needed. He contemplates taking off his boots, but that seems like work and instead keeps his feet up.
This hero stuff comes pretty easy to me. Who'd thunk I was a good driver? I should have been a hero years ago.
The science of the stars is beyond me, not an area in which I can display qualifying experience. Matters mundane and pecuniary are to me of greater familiarity. I will investigate nonetheless, but would like this reservation taken in mind.
"Eh, I know a little from my studies. I am aware that Meester Hunclay was interested in books that had to do with the, eh...void? Mayhaps this is his 'private collection,'" Davros says in answer to the Taldan.
Hmm...is the book here? Let's see..."
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"Zilch, ya' constantly want stuff written about ya, right? Does that mean you can read?"
"Yeah, I can read. Definitely. Uh huh," Zilchus mutters back. "I can't wait to read the history you're going to write about me, Darkrose. It's going to be good. I bet it will have many pages."
Zilch burps, then squeezes out a bit of gas into the cushions of the divan.
He waits patiently for the books-not-about-him to be read.
"The important stuff isn't my business, according to the contract. We're supposed to find danger, not catalog the books."
Naturally, I'm the only one here adhering to the agreement. It's tough to be a hero. I'll make sure to remind Darkrose about my honor.
Whereas creating an inventory is not our main task here, it will help us create a potentially profitable opportunity during an auction, stemming from information asymmetry. In brief, should we identify a copy of interest, we may suggest a proper price knowing the full extent of its contents. Eugene says, un-brief.
Davros looks at Zilchus while pointing at Eugene. "Thees guy knows I am no native speaker, no? He used words, of that I am sure, but what those words say...," Davros shrugs. "All I know is thees, there are books here. I am a scribe. There will be an auction. What is the harm in looking for books that we may want to buy? Makes sense, no?"
Davros then turns to Eugene and smiles for a second before he is overwhelmed by Zilchus' ... boredom.
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I'm not sitting on those. Or next to him. If I can ever help it. Ever. The half-elf day dreams a bit about shaving a certain beard...
"Ok, wizard was definitely into some not-so-great stuff." Surprise, surprise. "Magic books on creating a golem, summoning stuff from beyond, and fightin' different. We've already run into summoned stuff. I hope there isn't a golem..."
Pointing out the eastern door. "Oh, and that door is pro'lly gonna shriek." That's what I would do, if I were a screaming lock. "It'll need to be picked. Unless Davros can knock it."
"Unless there's somethin' else, maybe check the other one first?" He will move to the west door, scan it for any potential danger or barriers.
"Unless there's somethin' else, maybe check the other one first?" He will move to the west door, scan it for any potential danger or barriers.
Seeing that others are now ready to do heroic stuff, Zilch rises from his divan to go help Aodan with the door.
"You ready to move on now, are you? Let's do this."
Zilch opens the door after giving it a quick, heroic check.
Perception
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Aodan spies the chest and wonders what Hunclay did with all of the keys to these various locks.
The half-elf will cast Detect Magic to identify any auras, looking especially hard at the bearskin.
Aodan will move in and taking a closer look at the lock.
"Evil wizard. Paranoid wizard." Which leads to extra problems for us.
Zilch walks around the bedchamber, taking a looksee at stuff.
Perception
If not finding interesting, like dragons to slay, Zilch will set himself up on the bed (feet/shoes on the linens) and relaxing while the others assuredly go through all the clothes.
"Heroes like me don't have much use for fancy clothes. Heroes get too much blood on them from saving and rescuing people and slaying the scalykind. Nope, just better to stick with the regular clothes."
Zilch puffs up his pillow(s) and relaxes.
Davros follows Zilchus into the bedchamber and looks around as well.
"Ugh. Thees is no leading us anywhere. Dammit Hunclay, your house is both dangerous and boring. Where did you keep the good things?" says Davros in exasperation as he sits down at the desk.
Boredom overcomes the Qadiran and he beings riffling through the desks drawers and contents.
Boring is profitable for us, as it raises the effective per-trap rate that we receive. Still, I see no point in wasting precious time commodities on a non-living wizard's fashion choices. When you are so inclined, we may move on to this next room.
Eugene has a look as well, but shares the boredom of his party members
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As soon as Zilchus steps into the room a low growl is heard from the floor by the bear skin rug.
Nothing else happens as everyone else looks around the room. There is a scrap of paper on the night stand with some bawdy limericks as well as the locked chest. Zilchus lounges on the bed while Davros sits down at the desk and starts looking through drawers. Suddenly a large bear appears in the room!
::::::::Round 1::::::::
22 Zilchus
19 Bear
15 Aodan
11 Eugene
10 Davros
Round 1
Know (nature)
"I think that's a bedbear!!" Zilch says rolling off the bed to engage the bedbear, snapping his longspear into a fighting stance.
Zilch snaps at the bedbear.
to hit;
damage.
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Zilchus' attack goes wide, completely missing the bear. Since he had to go and try and poke it, the bear takes a small step toward the mouthy adventurer and attacks in a flurry of claws and teeth.
There is something...different about this bear.
::::::::Round 1::::::::
22 Zilchus (@-8)
19 Bear
15 Aodan
11 Eugene
10 Davros
Zilchus first drops his spear, then his entire body as he hits the ground dying.
Oh poor Zilchus! The maidens unrescued, the lives unsaved! Woe! WOE! WOE!!
Round 1; Init 10
Davros watches in horror as the bedbear mauls into Zilchus. The Qadiran whispers, "قوة العاصفة" and feels the electrical charge pulse within. As he steps forward and draws his new scimitar, Davros channels his fear anger and suffuses the weapon with the mystic energies of the arcane and strikes at this killer of driver.
It looks like Zilchus took an acute subcutaneous trauma, and has taken a prompt subconsciousness excursion.
Eugene makes a strange step, and suddenly there's two of them - one real and one illusory. Both of them makes a concerted stab at the bear with a longspear.
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Aodan casts a spell to increase his bows strength. Davros attempts to strike the bear with his new blade but misses just as badly as Zilchus. Eugene then steps in and lands a solid blow with his spear, though it seems to resist some of the damage.
The bear then turns it's attention on Eugene and steps over before biting and clawing the servant of Abadar.
It seems a bit winded after it's brutal attack on Zilchus.
::::::::Round 2::::::::
22 Zilchus (@-8)
19 Bear (11)
15 Aodan
11 Eugene
10 Davros