Grod's eyes go wide at the sight of the chest's contents. "Oh my."
"Odd stash for a church..." Mortoth comments. "Seems pretty decent for a spy though."
The age of the items varies, but no - it does not appear to be a stash from years past.
When you speak Giant, the boy sits up. "Yah - that's what they were speaking. Sounds like that! What is it?"
Yverstrix smiles, "I'm not after being sure, but I imagine my companions are. Good job, lad... Always helps to be knowing what we might be up against."
"It's Giant," Mortoth replies, rubbing his tusk. "Trolltongue, you might say. Though the real giants in the Mindspin Mountains speak it too."
"How big was this guy that was doing the speaking?" Grod asks, suddenly curious. Giant was an uncommon tongue outside of, well, giants.
"Well, I was locked in this room, so I only heard voices through the door."
It must be the troll, mustn't it? Sam asks.
Mortoth shakes his head, "Never assume until you absolutely have to. All we know is that someone was speaking Giant. More than that is facts we don't actually have, and you try to stand on a scaffold of assumptions I guarantee you'll end up on your ass."
Grod smirks and nods. "Mortoth speaks wisdom. We should be ready for anything."
Yverstrix cocks his head, "I wasn't after suggesting we be locking into plans, but rather that we could benefit having an idea of what we might face... Ignorance is never a weapon. Be it troll, ogre, giant or what have you. I don't be thinking anyone would choose to have a conversation in Giant for the sake of it. .. and saying they did it to ensure the lad didn't understand seems a stretch. Simplest solution is there's after being something bigger than we are involved."
Mortoth shakes his head, "Never assume until you absolutely have to. All we know is that someone was speaking Giant. More than that is facts we don't actually have, and you try to stand on a scaffold of assumptions I guarantee you'll end up on your ass."
Well, that's as may be. But in my experience the simplest solution is often the correct one. And we know, or at least we think we know, that there is a Troll down here somewhere. Sam says, standing his ground for once.
I may not know much about trolls but I think I'd rather assume there is one and be wary of it than just be open to the possibility. And I know that's possibly a narrow distinction but local legends and myths almost always have a basis in fact.
I remember a dig in the barrows of Amun-Sub, a horrid, dry place. I was accompanying my mentor at the time, a really wonderful man, extremely knowledgeable - Dr Barnabous Snipe. Anyway, we had heard tell of a curse placed upon....
Not for the first time he realises he is bumbling.
Let's move on, there's more to this place to be sure. he trudges off toward the easternmost corridor, waiting at the corner and peeking around it.
"Mortoth, check this one before we move on," Shivarra indicates a door in the passage they came from. As with all previous rooms, she surveys the surroundings with Detect Magic and listens for movement.
Nodding, Mortoth returns to the earlier passage and examines the door.
As Sam wanders ahead of the others, he unfortunately steps on a trigger plate, causing a bear-trap to snap shut. Fortunately, though, he manages to step out of the way just in time, saving himself from a very nasty injury!
Otherwise, you did not find any magic or traps in the immediate vicinity.
Sam breathes a sigh of relief as the trap slams shut mere inches from his foot.
He then glances around the corner before regrouping with the others.
Yverstrix winces, "A nasty piece of work that. Your reflexes are clearly after being better than mine, Doc." He settles into the marching order, then nods his readiness.
This once-grand flagstone hall is filled with statues of different celestial creatures in every corner. An old fire pit in the center of the room is bordered on all sides by moth-eaten bedrolls, while shovels, picks, and other digging equipment lie strewn about a shallow tunnel bored into the northeastern wall. The ceiling above the tunnel has collapsed, leaving a hole open to the sky above a pile of burnt rubble.
"Is... or was, at least... someone attempting to tunnel into Trunau from here?" Mortoth asks, looking at the excavation.
But look at all the equipment, the bedrolls, Almost all rotten. Sam replies. This isn't a recent excavation is it?
Yverstrix winces, "A fair point... Though it could always be that villains of a more recent vintage were after hearing rumours about an older tunnel."
It looks not recent, but not long ago. Probably more like days or weeks. You also spy an arm sticking out of the rubble... it appears to be half eaten.
Pointing to the arm, Grod says "That looks...ominous."
Oh my! Sam says, spying the arm. How ghastly!
The doctor has seen his fair share of remains over the last few years, but usually they are mummified or preserved in some way. Seeing a half-eaten arm is all a bit too real and he skirts it in a wide berth.
He pokes about the bedrolls and tools, leaving the more grisly elements to Mortoth.
As Sam starts to poke around the rubble, two ghastly looking rats attack! They look as if they might be undead.
[ooc]Round 1: (Bold may act)
Yverstrix, Shivarra, Malthu, Sam
Rats: Blue, Green
Mortoth, Grod
Yver raises his axe, calling out, "Don't be moving, Malthu! I'll get it!" as he brings the blade down on the rat.
One rat chopped in two.
After being nipped by the rats, Sam dodges back as fast as he can.
Shivarra inflicts misfortune on the remaining rat.
That will do it. Both rats are dead.
Horrid, horrid things! Sam mutters as he wipes away a smear of blood just above his ankle. Oh I'm alright... I think anyway. Serves me right for just poking my nose in.
Yverstrix says, "Too bad all our problems aren't so easily dealt with. Wonder if the can find their nests? Might be they were after picking up something shiny?"
"Hmm..." Grod says, glancing around. "That's not something I'd have thought to do, but it's worth a shot I guess."
Oh really...? Sam blanches. I'll... I'll have to make sure to make an appointment at Sanctuary.
"Charming," Mortoth mutters to no one in particular.
Yver looks up at Malthu, "Undead? Really? I was after thinking they were just being mangy."
Pulling the body out of the rubble, you see it is a half-orc cleric.
The macabre corpse still wears a suit of sturdy chainmail, and his pockets hold a wand, a fine silver dagger, a red gold unholy symbol of Nulgreth, the Blood God worth 60 gp, and six black onyx gems (worth 25 gp each).
Other than that, you do not find the rat nest - or at least realize it is deeply buried and you would have to be rat sized to follow it.
Sam's wound looks infected already, so you can guess it is probably some sort of filth fever (despite the bad Heal check).
"Nasty," the witch wrinkles her nose. "I've got some good stuff for treating infections, but it's bloody expensive. Better to wait and mooch of the priest, unless your condition takes a dive."
Sam wrings his hands somewhat, looking down at the innocuous nip on his ankle.
Oh really, do you think it will? Get worse I mean? It doens't look much to me right now but then I suppose sometimes you never can tell. Perhaps I'll get Katrezra to take a look at it. Well, not a look per se. he adds hastily, remembering the old oracle's blindness.
Let's get a move on maybe. Some useful things there Malthu?
The tunnel is collapsed. There does not appear to be anywhere else to explore.
Yverstrix says, "Can anyone be telling how long it's been since the tunnel collapsed? Or how long he's been dead?"
You would guess days, maybe a week or two at most.
I agree. Let's go and tell Kurst what we've found. Sam says, though he looks down at his bloody ankle as he says it.
"This can't be it," the witch scowles. "It doesn't fit the message we found, or that they've been getting more active despite the supposed setback here. It's not the tunnel, there must be more. We need that troll's head, or whoever's left the stash here."
Yverstrix nods, "I do be thinking Shivarra is having the right of it.. Especially with the boy having heard someone speaking Giant.. I'm thinking we must be after missing something.... somewhere.... "