A search of the cart reveals some hair from the wolf cubs--your ranger determines the cart tracks lead in from the main gate.
You see a concerned Cham come out of the inn and express shock: "This happens inside our walls!! Is Trunau safe?? Let us get inside for a large dinner"
The old dwarf warrior is concerned and has Rodrik's brother, the accomplished ranger with him.
"We have been visiting some of the orc tribes around here. They are generally agitated, but we have found nothing specific. One fanatic seems to think Truanau's days are numbered. He claimed it was a bastion of civilized decadence that would fall in three days."
You enjoy a dinner in the pleasant private room of Cham's inn. She has tapped a keg of truly dwarven ale: Bargus' Blend.
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Belir's face becomes excited as they tap the keg. This is what I am talking about. Sure glad I found you lot in that dump.
He cheeks quickly turn red after a few beers and stories of his journey. Greasy meat drips from his lips. Why would Trunau'sh daysh be numbered? He says as he drops a leg of meat down onto his plate.
"So, someone deliberately brought the wolves into the city," muses Tam. "Right at the same time as the murder of Rodrik, and at the same time that the large sign was painted on the wall... this is sounding more and more like a pre-planned set of events leading to an attack."
Crom nods at Tam as he drains his ale, "Aye, we must be weary. Let's return to the plague house at first light and be done with that cursed ruins."
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Aye! But tonight let's drink! Belir bellows from around the room as he actively chases a little lass about.
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In the morning it takes a bit of prodding to get Belir out of bed. Heading downstairs he partially eats his breakfast and cringes as the death sun strikes his red puffy eyes on the way to the Plague House.
The ale seems to perk Dolgrym up some. "What do we do next? Should we head back down to the Plague house with something to trip those traps?"
"I agree, we should see what is appending with that blasted House. Let's clear it out, and see if we can then investigate these goings-on!"
"It's our best lead so far," Tam says in agreement. "I'll see if I have any magic to deal with those strange rats..."
The morning comes with a large breakfast of sausages and ham with large baked bread loaves with fresh peach preserves.
As you head out to the Plague House, you consider what precautions you are going to take. You have a closed portcullis or a hallway full of bear traps to navigate.
"How are we to handle this accursed place, boyos?"
"I've prepared a spell that might help," says Tamxander. The gnome explains, "I know a cantrip that can open and shut doors, windows, chests, and such. It might work on the bear traps! I've never tried it that way before."
You buy four poles, and Glorik is able to disarm the traps, move past them, and open the portcullis from the inner room!!
Embedded into the floor of this chamber is a ten-foot-diameter granite emblem of a faded gold and white longsword. Four passages lead out of the chamber in different directions. A portcullis blocks the southern exit, and a sturdy wooden door leads west. A ladder in the southern corner of the room leads upward, and a small chest and decrepit bookshelf face one another from opposite walls.
The ladder is seen to lead to trap door under one of the beds in the infirmary, the room that is haunted by tormented souls.
The door to the west and the door to the north are found. The door to the north skirts the rats that caused so much trouble. The door to the right of this door, however, obviously leads into the excavation chamber with the rats of shadows.
A search of the bookshelf in this room shows faded texts of Iomedae, but Glorik and the ranger find a chest.
Glorik opens the chest, which is not trapped and finds:
ounce of sovereign glue, disguise kit with 6 uses, thieves tools set, 50' silk rope, noble outfit worth 80gp, signet ring worth 50gp, 237gp, 255sp, 55cp
Glorik leads the party back into the house, and helps clear all the traps.
"Well, now lads, let's figure out what to be doin'! My vote is that we take the north route, to avoid more troubles, yeah?"
"Probably figured it was safe here, as no one in their right minds would be out here."
Glorik gives a pointed look around the group.
"Save for us crazy bastards!"
Tamxander laughs at Glorik's joke and says, "That's right; this is a madhouse, after all!" He fiddles with his belt and says, "We've already run across traps that devastated us and rats that we couldn't kill, third time's the charm -- it's time for a challenge that we can handle!"
Crom points to the sword emblem on the floor, "That's the same thing we saw on the city wall. Who ever did the excavating and left this chest is somehow associated with Trunau."
Crom ponders a moment longer and then shrugs his shoulders and follows Glorik.
"Seems to imply that whoever this person is, they have been stashing their stuff here for use in signaling... whoever it is they are signaling. Which means they know they'd be caught, otherwise they'd just keep it at home."
Glorik decides to try the northern door, and find it decidedly locked. Glorik tries the new tools and notes they are of master craftsmanship, and begins to work on the locked door. His new picks easily catch the tumbler, and the door opens with a twist.
Inside is a young human adolescent who smiles as you open the door and blinks at even the little light added to this ten by ten dark room.
The room has an old cast iron furnace and piles of coal, used to heat this place. But with the collapsed chimney, only smoky disaster awaites someone trying to relight the furnace.
The boy gasps: "Thank you! Thank you!" He looks out into the hallway. "We need to get out of here-- they may come back!!"
The boy clutches a moldy sack and explains: "Get me back to town immediately and I will pay you in platinum!!"
The boy says the last word with reverence and awe.
Crom scans the area for danger before addressing the child, "Calm down boy, what are you doing here and who are you afraid of?"
"Who might come back and what are you doing here?", Dolgrym says to boy as he looks around for anyone else.
Glorik keeps watch, taken aback by finding a boy in this place.
"Don't worry, we've managed to make our way in and we can get back out," says Tamxander soothingly to the boy. "The dwarfs may be gruff but they are hearty fellows. You'll be all right now. Who locked you in here? Who should we be worried about running into again?"
And the boy begins to bolt past everyone, no one has allayed his extreme anxiety. The smell indicates he has been here for days if his story is true.
No one is suspicious of his story.
"Careful boy! There are traps in this place. We'll take you out!"
Dolgrym shouts as he reaches out to grab the boy so he doesn't get hurt.
Crom will similarly try to grab him.
Glorik will follow his friend's lead, and try to tackle the boy, so he doesn't die on his way out.
"Boy! It's not safe! Come back here!"
The boy seems to be human, not a Halfling. He evades everyone as they grab at him and begins to run to the exit. He turns back to yell:
"I am going to report to the town guard. If you think it is safe here, you are probably in on 'it'."
Crom makes one last effort to stop the boy, "Son, we're here investigating on behalf of Rodrik's family. Whatever 'it' is, we're not in on it. Now, why don't you just stop a minute so we can talk? We'll tell you what we know and then you can decide if you still want to run."
"Was that incredibly suspicious to anyone else?"
"He claimed he was going to go talk to the guard. No reason we can't do the same," suggests Tam.
"Agreed. We should investigate that child. Something isn't adding up."
The boy makes a run straight for the town center of Trunau. As soon as he clears the Plague House, he begans shouting for the guard.
Curiously, he also calls for Rodrik as he runs.
"The boy doesn't know Rodrik is dead. He's in for a shock. Let's see what we can get out of him once the guard calms him down." Dolgrym says as he follows the boy.
"He must ha' been in there for a while then."
He starts looking around for the child.
Crom shrugs, "Let's press on."
He will search the boy's room thoroughly .
The party splits up, some returning, others continuing.
Glorik assist Crom with his searching.
Tam seems to dither for a moment, then says "I'll go with Dolgrym!" and follows the dwarf out while the other two continue to search the area.