Amiri sniffs the remaining potion.
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"Probably diggin' wands, move earth, transmute clay or some such, ah'll 'ave a looksee..."
After taking a look at the wands, Dunkel cracks his fingers with anticipation and literally skips to the trapdoor like a child on a winter feast morning.
"Now we're talkin'! Let's see what kind o' shaft they dug in'ta th' basement!"
Seeing how Thorn and the others have given the door an "okay", Dunkel eases the door open and feasts his eyes on what lies beyond, figuring it couldn't hurt to peek while the questioning of the woman is transpiring.
"Maybe ah four-by-four! Ah wonder how deep 't goes!!"
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Dunkel identifies the remaining wands:
Mage Armor (14)
Unseen Servant (10)
Magic Missile (10)
Protection From Evil (5)
Dunkel sees a set of descending stone stairs. It leads to a a tiled stone room. There is an open archway to the south, while the other exit appears to be blocked by a cave-in of rubble and mud.
Amiri stands by patiently, waiting for the party to finish upstairs, before exploring the underground portion of the ruins.
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Dunkel shakes the wands, testing their weight.
"Might as well use 'em, ye never know what th' captains'll do when we bring 'em back."
Dunkel hits every member of the group with mage armor and activates the unseen servant wand.
He clears his throat and talks slowly, hoping that will improve his usual cant, as he addresses the "servant": "See what ye can do with th' bodies, we dun wan'th wolves gettin' to 'em."
He then hands the wand of magic missiles to Imrana and the wand of guarding against evil to Jair.
"Looks like a tiled room below. Archway, and.."
Dunkel sucks in air.
"A cave-in o' rubble n' mud!"
He begins checking his inventory for digging tools, occasionally glancing in Jair and Thorn's direction as they question the "listening post" captain.
"T'all sounds reasonable t'me! Yer bein' too suspicious Doubtful! Now less ask th' nice lass if she's got a pick around and if she knows wha's behind th' rubble!"
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Thorn isn't much for sweet talking, but he's got a reasonably good feel for when someone is lying. "One of you can read'em the Andoren. I'll be right jackrabbit with a knife to let you know when they're giving you a broken scale."
After, "Praeda is no use to a man in a coffin. I say we use those happy sticks like there's no sun in Tien."
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"Alright, fine! That Aspis half-orc hired us. They just told us to protect the place. Don't know what they're doing, though. The Razmiri one took most of the soldiers into the city last night. They aren't back yet." the woman says as she realizes her ruse is failing.
As to Dunkel's question, "Half that place is caved in. It's just as messed up as up here. We just use the half we can get to."
There are no digging supplies among the above-ground ruins.
Amiri follows along behind Thorn, her ridiculously over-sized sword at the ready.
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Dunkel guzzles the potions, knowing that somehow he won't get a chance should he return to Tamran with them in hand as his superiors will swipe them quickly from the party's hands.
Dunkel holds his breath as Thorn trots off, trying not to cough, wheeze, grumble, groan, creak, or discuss the best technique for dealing with the cave-in or rubble his eyes cannot help but scan repeatedly.
Ah'm sure ah can sprint down after 'em should th' two get n' any trouble..
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If no one objects:
Thorn will stealth forward to a corner/intersection/door. Assuming he doesn't find any traps, he'll retreat to the party, get them, then bring everyone up to advance. From there Thorn will hide while someone else takes point.
I can definitely get more specific, but I don't want to sign the party up for a unilateral technique.
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Thorn first walks through a muddy room. Water drips in through a crack in the northwest corner. Footprints crisscross the muddy floor, mostly from medium sized boots and shoes, though Thorn does notice animal prints, which he recognizes as coming from badgers, weasels, and similar creatures of varying sizes.
A long hallway opens up to a larger room at the end. On the way, Thorn notices a long room, full of poorly constructed bunk beds. The room reeks of mold and decay, though the furniture seems fairly new. The room is empty of both people and possessions, though it's clear it was in use very recently.
Thorn is able to make it a short distance further, passing an archway to another collapsed room, before he hears a gruff woman's voice from room at the far end of the hallway.
"Gyrlak, attack!
S
P
Thorn, I'll give you a surprise round, as it's clear that at least one person knows you're coming. If you'd prefer to cut through the bunk room, you can start in the red square.
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Doubtful sees a sleek, white, furry creature appear at the end of the hall, baring its teeth and growling menacingly at the Pathfinders.
Thorn, Amiri, and Jair are up.
Amiri moves forward, and readies to attack the first hostile to come within reach.
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Dunkel, spying combat nearly a hundred feet away does quick math on the tunnel.
Shaft about 100ft.
Diggin' speed, three man team. Jess about 6 hours.
Dunkel speed, by foot. Amiri and Jair in th' way. Eighteen seconds or so...
Dunkel's mind works to quickly calculate the time it will take him to speed down the tunnel, before concluding that whatever the exact result is... it's too much with Thorn in the room already.
He rubs his ring and begins to weave ahead, detouring through the side room with supernatural speed.
He considers the bits of furry animal he saw ahead in the room as he spots Doubtful.
"Wea.. *huff* -sels, or somethin'... But-- *puff* - much bigger!"
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Thorn gently taps the closest weasel with his sword, though that seems enough to infuriate the creature. Now inside the room, he sees the pair of weasels are accompanied by a badger and a woman, both of whom look at Thorn angrily.
Rolled up straw mats lie in a pile against the western wall of this room, leaving the damp earthen floor exposed. The walls appear freshly cleaned, though they are still speckled with stray flecks of moss and mold. Open cages line the southern wall of the room, and the air is rich with the smell of recently shifted earth. Archways lead to the north and to the east.
Each open cage contains one or more small furry mammals. They leap out of the cages as Thorn enters, swarming over the floors.
One animal, a North Arcadian River Otter bites Thorn on the ankle for damage.
Both large weasels bite at Thorn. The one Thorn hit looks exceptionally angry. It savages him fiercely, teeth digging deeply into his flesh, and maintaining hold, while the other snaps its jaws at empty air.
Unfortunately, rapid blood loss from the bite wound begins to make Thorn feel woozy.
With a roar, Amiri charges forward, and takes a swing at white weasel!
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Amiri cuts clean through the weasel, leaving just part of a jaw stuck to Thorn's arm.
The badger, also looking angry, advances on Thorn, claws and teeth flashing, nearly tearing Thorn to pieces.
The woman, meanwhile, seems unusually bestial, with untamed black and white hair. She swiftly kicks Amiri, knocking her off balance, then quickly manages another kick as Amiri hits the ground.
She turns to Jair, grinning savagely. "What were you saying about the odds?"