"One presumes Saul's 'quiet partner'..."
Possibly this 'evil elf' our friend here," nodding to Kwava, "is seeking out."
Kwava frowns grimly as you reveal the recently discovered information. "I do not know the name of the renegade elf I seek. I only have an indication, a suspicion that it is one and the same, but no proof. If you will have me, I will venture into the subfloor of this place to investigate further."
"Well, you probably saved our lives out there with the were-rats. We were largely unprepared for that, but you had silver arrows. I think we'll put up with your company for a while longer, " says Trig, turning the last sentence into a joke with a wink and a grin.
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Kwava nods his appreciation at your easy acceptance, and gathers his gear ready to explore whatever lies in the subfloor.
There are two known entrances to the sublevel. One, of the kitchen, is said to lead to the wine cellars. The second, off a locked foyer in Area 11, leads to the Red Room, a place where Saul had secret events with his pals and cronies.
You may remember that Saul's animal handler and rather feral friend, Bojask, is said to live somewhere in the basement of the Goblin as well.
"Let's go straight to the foyer," says Reva. "There may be something interesting in the wine cellars, but no reason to miss a perfectly good locked door."
After reaching the foyer, Reva checks to see if Saul's key-hand fits the lock.
His hand-key does not fit the lock but there were other keys in his pocket that do. The door opens and there are stairs that descend into a rather small bar and seating area. The walls and floors are painted a rusty red.
This is the Goblin's underground bar, The Red Room, which serves the fighting arena nearby. When a game is in session, a bartender would be stationed down here along with at least 2 bouncers. Drinks here cost double what they would upstairs in the Goblin's Tankard.
There is an exit door on the south wall of the bar teh presumably leads to the fighting arena.
Kwava, you have been generous and true. And I believe your quest is selfless and noble. Be welcome among us. I agree with Reva that we should start with the foyer. In time we will explore it all, but I think that is the place to start.
In the room Saphren will take 20 searching each door for traps.
Reva keeps her sword drawn, watching Saphren work.
"I think the first clue that Saul didn't consider us real partners is that he never let any of us down here," she mutters bitterly.
The door out of the Red Room does not appear to be trapped. Opening the door reveals a passage that starts out heading south for a few feet then turns east. After a bit farther, the passage turns to the north, running under the main part of the Casino upstairs.
Eventually the passage ends with what look like a small guard hut, complete with a bench and spear rack. A door (which is missing on the map for some reason) stands on the east wall.
Saphren holds up a clenched fist signaling a halt as he searches the guard hut for clues and the door for traps or alarms. After which he listens at the door for a moment before opening it. It locked he tries his keys and if the keys found to date do not open the door he picks the lock.
Saphren's quick search of the guard hut reveals a catch underneath the guardpost bench. Since it doesn't appear trapped, Saphren releases the catch, and the back wall of the guard hut swings inward, revealing a passage beyond.
One of Saul's keys fits the door to the room on the right, which is also not trapped. This room holds steeply inclined bleachers and narrow stairs which look down through an opening in the floor to the arena 10' below. A short stone rail and iron bars running from the wall to the ceiling prevent any accidental (or purposeful) entries into the contests.
The area below is sand-floored and looks like a gladiator or other fighting pit from above.
A fearsome screeching sound echoes up from below and a feral boar trots into view. The creature, smelling the newcomers, is clearly wild and clearly hungry, and bellows a challenge at you, rooting around for a way to get to the tasty morsels above.
That is a good sized pig. Saphren comments as he gets out his sling and prepares to fire a bullet at the creature's head. I hate to think what they have been feeding it. and I hope it cannot get up here.
Reva paces through the underground complex, absolutely fascinated by what she's seeing.
"How in the world did we ever trust Saulie with this going on?! I knew there was some sort of fighting here, but this is incredible."
After Saphren finds the secret latch, creeping along carefully until they enter the arena. She shakes her head at the boar.
"That thing is dangerous; best as meat."
She pulls out her own bow and fires.
Magnus shrugs. "You are... surprised? Is... ehhhh right zere in books. If you are caringk to look." Magnus grunts, dragging his feat. "Eugh. Smells of piss and vomit and pigshit. These humans never did know how to live underground."
As the others fling their missles at the boar, Magnus scowls his disapproval. Whether his displeasure is due to the waste of resources, attacking a helpless opponent or simply the spoiling of good meat, he leaves unsaid.
With a dismissive grunt, he begins to walk down the newly opened passage.
The pig takes a couple of hits, including a shot to the vital organs from Reva, it squeals loudly then runs out of sight of the viewing stand where you currently are standing.
Magnus turns and leaves the arena and heads down the hallway to the north. After about 25', a set of stairs descending to a level below this basement appears on the right. The passage continues to the north where Magnus can see the outline of a couple of doors ahead.
Magnus, with no pretensions of stealth, folds his arms and waits by the doorway, impatiently waiting for the others before swinging open the door.
There is more in this pit that we cannot see./b] Saphren notes. [b] Let us explore this place completely first. But we must climb into the pit and deal with the pig at some point. He goes and joins the dwarf to see what he has found.
Lets check out these doors before heading down. he says as he begins to check each door for traps.
Reva makes her way over near Magnus and Saphren. She scans the area carefully, listening for any sign of danger whilst her eyes briefly flash white.
It is evident from the viewing area that the battle floor below is larger than the opening, it looks like several passages go off to various sides, all meeting in the middle under the hole in the ceiling.
Reva's scan for evil auras comes up empty as she looks ahead. She does not see or notice anything unusual about the passage or hear any sound from the stairs below.
"Deeper down rabbit hole we go. Yes?"
Without waiting for an answer, Magnus tromps down the stairs.
Two doors first Magnus. I would not want to leave allies of Saul behind us. Saphren will open the first door.
The first door opens into a filthy sleeping quarters. The strong smell of animals, sweat, and garbage pervades this place. There is a dirty and mussed bed, clothes thrown here and there, and the remains of several meals strewn about the place.
Animal furs, combs, and other grooming devices lay scattered about the place. A whip and some sharp daggers also lie on a small table.
It appears this is the quarters of the animal wrangler Bojask, but that worthy man is not at home.
The second door is locked, but fishing through Saul's keys you find one that works. The door opens into the Gold Goblin's wine cellar. While not the finest cellar in Riddleport, there are some worthy bottles mixed in the cheap stuff that was frequently sold upstairs.
Mostly notably here is the smell, the room bears a dank musky smell that is faint but still quite noticeable.
Reva cringes as she looks in the room, bringing a hand up to her face.
"This is filthy! What is that smell though?"
After a brief look over the wine cellar, Reva shrugs.
"Well, wine if anyone wants it since we own the place. We can celebrate later. Anyone else spot anything of interest?"
Hey. Some of this is the good stuff. What smells so bad? That is not wine.
"I know not."
"Say, I know that smell... By the First Vault, why would Troglodytes be in the basement of the Goblin? Careful!"
"Wait, what? Those underground reptile things? That's... weird. Good nose though."
Reva begins to explore the room more thoroughly.
"If we smell a cave creature here, that means that the smuggler tunnel entrance must be in the vicinity, right?"
"Yeah, the unbearably stinky ones. Gramps told me one time he talked a group of Trogs into letting him go, though -- maybe we can negotiate with any we find, if... anyone speaks Draconic?" Trig looks around, not sure what linguistic abilities her friends, and their new elf ally, might have.
"Wǒ dédàole" Blossom replies casually at Trig's query.
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"In Janderhoff we do not be negotiatingk with stinking cannibal lizards." he says, grunting in annoyance at Blossom's gibberish before turning back to Trig. "This must be qvite the tale. This ancestor of yours, vas he a great warrior?"
Magnus steps protectively in front of Trig before leading the party down to the lower level.
"An explorer, mostly. I think I've mentioned, he's a deep gnome? Svirfneblin, they call themselves. They live somewhere underground, and he would go out into the caves looking for treasure, then bring it back home. Eventually he made it as far as the surface, and met my Grammy, and then -- well it's kinda corny, but he always used to say, he knew then he'd never find a greater treasure. I'm pretty sure I got my magical blood from him; those deep gnomes are pretty magical."
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"Aren't all of ours?" says Reva dryly as she checks around the room for anything hidden.
You do indeed know something about troglodytes. They are not usually seen in Riddleport, but there is some rumor about them living in the sewers and kidnapping small children etc from time to time.
The stairs descend into the another sub-basement. There the hallway at the bottom continues to the east, with two doors on the north wall. At the end of the passage, it bends to the south.
Hanging from the walls in the hallway here are all manner of weapons, mainly those used in arena fighting, as well as a variety of collars, leashes, and other animal training equipment.
Trig tries to peek around the bigjobs around her. "What's going on? I can't see!" she whispers.
Saphren pads up to the first door and checks it, taking 20. If he finds no traps he will open it. Looking at the weapons, colors and leashes he comments. When this place is reopened under our management, we shall not offer arena sports, says I.
Reva looks over the weapons on the walls, shaking her head.
"I can't believe the scale of the operation Saul had going on here. This is barbaric! And Trig, just a cramped hallway and a lot of weapons for his pit fighters."
The door is neither trapped nor locked and as Saphren opens the door, he sees this area was obviously the infirmary used to treat wounded animals (and perhaps) men who participated in the arena.
Sand and bloodstains litter the floor and a rough wooden table. A cabinet holds dirty bandages, needle and thread for sutures, and splinting materials. At the far back of the cabinet is a single potion vial filled with a frothy blue liquid.
The weapons wall in the hall does not have any masterwork quality or magical weapons, most appears well worn or shoddy. There is a gladiator-style net attached to the wall used for tripping or snaring opponents.
You note there is a spot where a few weapons are missing. Judging by the size of the space, it appears a battleaxe, a handaxe and a smaller throwing axe are all missing from their pegs.
Trig casts Detect Magic and determines the properties of the potion.
"Saphren, Magnus, Reva, do you three all have healing available to you? Well, I guess you certainly do, Reva."
No. I have no healing.
Saphren gathers together some healing supplies and offers it to someone in the group with the heal skill. He then moves to the next door, checking it, and when the group is ready, opening it.
Trig hands Saphren the potion. "Just for emergencies, you know."
This room is locked, but one of Saul's keys opens it without incident. Five mangy dogs and two angry monkeys are housed here There is another very large cage which looks and smells like it might hold a rather large pig.
The cages are all very cramped and very filthy and the beasts snap and growl and foam at you as you approach. It is obvious they are pit fighters and not friendly to man nor beast.
There are man-sized manacles on bolted to one wall, what they held no one can speculate.
As you look down the hall to the south, a barred portcullis blocks the way into the large room at the end of the hall. There is a lever on the wall there that appears to control the apparatus that raises and lowers the cage. The lever, and the portcullis, are in the down position.
Reva looks around at all the snapping, growling animals.
"A horrible way to treat the poor creatures. I have no doubt they'd rip us apart if allowed to roam free."
She keeps her limbs well away from the cages as she approaches the portcullis to peer within.
I have no skill in handling animals, but know enough to make sure they have food and water. Saphren tries to find food and water for the creatures, which he hopes is kept near by. [b]Remind me to come and clean this place later. [/b[ he says.
Magnus walks to the lever in stony silence, grunting with the effort of opening the portcullis before entering the chamber beyond.
Magnus lifts the portcullis open with a loud sound of metal shrieking on metal. The answering cry of the feral boar comes from the room beyond, but no sign of the massive beast appears.
"Hold there heroes. This doesn't have to end badly." cries a voice from the big room beyond the raised bars. "Turn around and leave me be. I will clear out of here and you'll never see me again. Just give me time to grab my gear and go."
You recognize the voice as Bojask the animal handler who was often seen with Saul Vancaskerkin, but to whom none of you have spoken much.