Daseem wasn't interested in the contents of the box, but now it appeared to be safe he couldn't help but think of Othdan. Turning to the lad he told him, "L-lets get you home." He then started to escort the lad up to safety, intending to go as far as the gates. Seeing the others pause he cajoled them, "C-come on, let's see him home."
Bupkis continues trying to work the lock with his dagger, a pin, and various small scraps of metal, but nothing is working. He stands on top of the chest and pulls at the lock — no good. He tries to jam a stick into it, and beats on it with his fists, to no avail. Finally, he was forced to admit failure: "Bupkis needs real lock tools!"
"Me doos." Scrabler said, giving Bupkis a small shove out of the way and pulling a handful of small metal tools from a pouch.
Scrabbles show Bubkis how it is done. The box opens as he comes with the right tool.
"Where you get those?" Bupkis asks, looking over Scrabbler's shoulder.
"We open?"
"From circus!" Scrabbler said proudly, bobbling his head so that the badly tarnished bells on his slightly scorched jester's hat tinkled. "Need all kinds of tools to set up big tents and rides. Had to buy these special with good monies from clownsing 'cause most tools are for big folks. These ones used to belong to a half-shank who got caught stealsing from Big Chief Ringmaster."
"When you take stuffs apart or opens them up, you gotta always check first. Here look." Scrabbler said, sliding a thin rod slid beneath he lid, and moving it around to look for hidden catches. "Big Boss Clown liked to play clown jokes on everyone. Open door, bang! Big cloud of stinky clown gas. Pull open tent flap, bang! Paint bomb sprays you orange. Sit down in outhouse, bang! Thunderstone blows up under butt."
Scrabbler carefully checks for traps, but no clown gas, no orange paint and no thunderstone to see with his methid of checking. And nothing else of that kind.
"Circus sounds fun! So many jokes!", Bupkis exclaims. When Scrabbler opens the box, he looks inside. There was a small crossbow, some bolts, and two rolled up pieces of paper. He wasn't so sure anymore that reading stole words out of your head, but better safe than sorry. "Paper — probably words. Smart person checks!"
He gets up and says, "Guess we take boy home now?"
Once everything was gathered up from the chests, Menrozzar said, "Agreed. Othdan, let's get you back to town - and put the guards on alert for that cutpurse."
Edgar waited patiently for the goblins to open the chest before saying, "Daseem is right we need to get Othdan back to the town, its getting far too late."I'm sure his mother is worried sick about him, especially if she found out he was messing around the plague house. upon seeing the contents of the chest, Edgar will cast detect magic and concentrate for the 3 rounds if something is magical. "Let me check out those scrolls Bupkis, I can read quite well." If the scrolls are magical Edgar will cast read magic.
Edgar reads over the scrolls, then looks to the two goblins," Excellent find my green friends! these are valuable scrolls," he says as he raises one up,"this one can toughen your skin up so that it is as hard as bark on a darkwood tree," he says, then raises up the second scroll,"but this one, well this one will help us if we encounter a ghost or anything incorporeal." he says with a smile on his face before looking at the (probably) confused goblins,"Incorporeal means weapons go right through them."
Edgar takes a look at the potion, pops the top off and wafts some of it towards his nose,"AHHH this is darkvision. I think either one of you two will benefit most from this." he says as he offers the potion to Menrozzar and Daseem.
"Similar to the ghost rat we fought and had a hard time hitting. As for the potion allowing one of us to see in the dark, give it to Daseem. I will be fine for the moment."
'A potion to see in the dark? Well that certainly sounded useful... Probably tasted terrible mind you, fortified carrot juice or something similarly obnoxious. Of course this is all beside the point - we need to get Othdan to safety, why this resistance to go?' He glanced at the goblins and thought wryly, 'Shines of course...'
Accepting the potion from Menrozzar, he replied, "T-thank you. Lets take Othdan h-home." He beckoned the lad and started leading him to safety.
Outside the house a flickering light besides the house catches your attention. Going there to take a look you find a fire of coals. A shallow fire pit surrounded by a ring of stones sits in a corner formed by two of the Plague House’s walls. The fire burns with a bluish flame that is very bright. From town this probably can't be seen, as the building and the stone cover the fire in that direction.
Bupkis looks at the fire and says, "Who makes fire here? Bupkis wonders if signal for bad people. We put out?"
Being a goblin, Scrabbler liked fire. That's why Big Chief Ringmaster had so thoroughly drilled it into his head that fire without someone to tend it was very bad. Fire had to be kept. Watched. Like one of the circus tigers. They might be pretty and graceful and strong, but they were still tigers. Take your eyes off them, they might eat you. Fires were like that. You didn't leave them by themselves.
"Gotta put it out." Scrabbler said, sounding both sad, and worried.
He started shoveling dirt from around the fire pit onto the blue flames.
Edgar did not like the fire, This isn't good. whoever built this fire didn't want the town guard to see it. "Good idea Scrabbler." he says while nodding to Edwin. they both hurry to help scrabbler put out the fire.
With that dealt with the group moves on to bring Othdan back to his home. After all the dangers in the basement of the plague house the way back is pleasantly uneventful. Approaching the gate you find it closed. You see light from torches in the watchtowers but so far no one has noticed you.
Bupkis thinks to hail the guards at the gate, but is nervous. Not everyone like goblins. "Maybe someone who's a guard calls up?", he suggests.
Menrozzar shouts, ”Ho, watchtower! We bring news. Open the gates!”
It was odd no one had challenged them yet, but perhaps the guard was lazy tonight. He’d tell the captain about it later - something was off, and they couldn’t Afford to be lax.
"Show yourself!" comes back from the tower with someone looking out. After the group shows themselves with proper light, the gate opens just enough for one person after another to slip in. Behind the last one it is closed quickly.
"Othdan held prisoner Plague house by wicked Daktani!", Bupkis tells the guards.
He escorts Othdan through the streets to his home; he hides behind a wall and picks up a rock with telekinesis, and uses it to knock on the door. "Call to family!", he urges the boy.
Menrozzar tells the guards, ”That cutpurse, Daktani, kidnapped Othdan and held him in the Plague House. We encountered Daktani, but he trapped me with some alchemical concoction and escaped. Has he come through the gates tonight? If not, keep an eye out so we can arrest him for his criminal actions.”
'Not sure I have much to add, Menrozzar pretty much covered it. We don't know where that Daktani went or what he was about, I'll have to keep my eyes open for anything suspicious...' thought Daseem.
His eyes darted this way and that while they waited for somebody to answer.
Othdan calls out for his parents who open the door soon after. It's a joyful reunion. Othdan gives a short summary of what happened to him, followed by more hugging and some tears.
The father thanks you all for bringing his son back in one piece.
Bupkis emerges from his hiding place and greets Othdan's parents: "Bupkis happy Othdan home!"
Once Othdan is reunited with his family, he declares, [b]"Bupkis ready for sleep," and heads back to the Ramblehouse. He heals his wounds and, suddenly famished, eats some rations.
Once they have returned the boy to his parents, Edgar realizes how tired he is."Right you are Bupkis, lets get a few hours of shut eye, and I'll have whatever you just had there buddy." He says as bupkis heals himself.
Ivan bids goodnight to his companions, changes into his comfy chain shirt PJs, and sleeps until morning.
With Othdan returned to his family, and the guards at the gate informed of Daktani, Menrozzar goes to make his report to Patrol Leader Kurst Grath, if he's awake. If not, he'll wait until first thing in the morning, turning in for the night at his bunk in the Longhouse.
Daseem nodded goodbye to everyone and slunk back to Lessie Crumkin's and let himself in as quietly as he could. In truth he didn't make much noise on account of being sober as a judge, but he was no sneak thief. He made it half way up the stairs when a feminine voice behind him demand, "So you're back, off gallivanting gods knows where. I know that look Daseem, you've been up to something/ And what's heck is that on your armor Daseem?" 'Oh great, Tessa's drunk. Again.'
"I.I.I've been-"
"Have you been fighting Daseem? You know how I feel about that."
"Well, er..."
She drew closer, "There's blood on your boots!" I saw it coming, but I let it happen anyway, it would forestall the fight. Slap! She turned on her heel and stormed up the stairs. 'Great. Just great. I get to sleep in the shed again..'.
Scrabbler was tired. The day had been exciting, but he was still feeling the bite of the ghost rats. As the group split up, Scrabbler gave them all an enthusiastic but obviously fatigued wave and disappeared quietly down an alley.
He didn't do his usual clownsing and the tavern. He just went right to the loft in the barn where he'd been sleeping and passed out.
Two men in leather armor walk into the longhouse as if they belong there. The main hall and entry are only lit by oil lamps and no one notices that this is wrong. But this bold approach limits the stealthyness while walking into the dormitory.
The muffled sound of breaking glass encompanies the entrance of two women with ill intentions into the room Edgar and Bupkis share.
Two shady figures try to sneak into the barn but the creak of the barn door counters their attemps.
Menrozzar snores away, blissfully unaware of anything being amiss.
Bupkis is self-conscious about sleeping underneath his bed, rather than on top like the other folk in town. He resolves to make another effort to fit in. He doesn't feel secure enough to take his armor off, but he lies on the bed, wrapped up in his blanket, and eventually drifts off to sleep.
In the middle of the night, he hears something and wakes up. What dat?
Through his Snoring, Ivan starts. groggily, he looks around blinking as he straitens his chain shirt PJs. Feeling a disturbance in the air, he grabs his hammer as he listens.
know, who could that be wonderin' round 'ere... more wolves? surin' that durned orc wouldn't nary show his face round' 'ere?
His tower shield sits at the foot of his bed, propped against the railing.
Edgar is asleep, if he hears anything go bump in the night, he assumes it is just his restless goblin friend.
Daseem slepps peacefully, blissfully unaware of anything untoward.
Ivan has a light sleep and wakes just as two figures, he has never seen before in the longhouse or in the guard come into come into the dormitory.
Bupkis wakes to the sound of the window of the room breaking and as he looks up he sees the first of two women climbing into the room.
Before going to bed, Bupkis had followed his usual practice of making sure there were objects nearby that he could use as telekinetic projectiles, should the need arise. Seeing someone climbing into the room, he jumps to his feet and shouts, "Bad peoples!" Using telekinesis, he picks up a crossbow bolt laying by his bedside, and launches it at the longshanks coming through the window.
The assassin is hit hard but decides to ignore the goblin and goes for Edgar. On the way she pulls out some metal bottle, opens it and lets the liquid pour out. The liquid immediately freezes and she stabs Edgar with it.
The other woman climbs in and places herself between Bupkis and her companion.
Oye, what're ye lot doin' 'ere, ye lookin' fer someone? Ye ain't part O' the watch fer sure. Well comon then, speak up! Let Ole Ivan help ye out. What'ere ye sneakin' about for?
Ivan stands and dusts his hands off, he leans on his shield while speaking. He doesn't have any real reason to out right hostile, but there sneaking has him speaking loud enough to wake people. He also prepares to strike one of them should they turn out to be hostile and try to attack him.
Edgar awakes when Bupkis announced the intruders, and upon opening his eyes, sees the women standing over him with a dagger of ice! "Desna save me!!" he says as he rolls out of bed onto the floor, and casts a spell that causes a glowing Eagle to appear in the room and begin attacking the woman!
The eagle pecks and claws at the women!
Scrabbler's eyes snapped open and he immediately climbed the walls and hid in the hayloft rafters.
Edgar is lucky, as the assassin only stabs his blanket. And the assassin is taken out by the eagle that appears out of nowhere.
The two strangers in the Longhouse don't even try to pretend to be something else. They move in to kill, drawing their liquid blades. Even though prepared, Ivan is hit with the unusual weapon. Menrozzar, still asleep has no chance to evade the attack.
Bupkis waves his hand, and another crossbow bolt flies towards the remaining assassin.
The assassin is badly wounded by the bolt, but retaliates with the liquid blade.