Corian Sifts again around the tracks. "It's not Bacon's tracks?" he says with a smile, not looking up from his scrutiny.
"Let's try this key in that door, shall we? And use caution with that ring. Someone should identify it before putting on any strange ring." The inquisitor finishes his search, stretching his back after being hunched over.
Morrigan huffs, "No, it's not Bacon's tracks. I'm not stupid."
"Let me see if I can detect anything about the ring. Do we have any way of getting up there to retrieve it?"
Morrigan casts detect magic and stares up at the platinum ring above.
"It's just a little bit out of my spear's reach while standing, but I can try to jump and knock it down."
Voreni stares at the dead dog and blood dripping from his rapier as the others continue the search. That was awful!
He snaps out of it a moment later. "Wilhelm? Would you like me to give you a boost?" He hunches down and forms a basket shape with his hand.
Further investigation of the tracks turns up little else of note; now that you're looking for them, you can see them all over the place.
Meanwhile, Wilhelm's attempt to jump up and knock the wring down with his spear isn't quite successfull, but perhaps with a boost from Voreni he could climb up there. Morrigan is quite certain that the ring isn't magical, but it certainly does look like genuine platinum.
As Morrigan is pondering this, everyone hears a loud slamming noise as the desk drawers that had been opened during the search suddenly close, followed by both office doors.
As the others try to retrieve the ring, Ignati turns an investigative eye on it.
As the livery seems to take on a life of his own, he draws his blade, for the fourth time today and takes a look around hoping to find the source.
"Well, what do you all make of this then? The ghosts of the dogs we've just slain, perhaps?"
Valleria looks around, always paying attention while her companions searched the place. If any danger appeared, she would be ready.
"Now, what was that?" She says when the noise is heard.
"I would think that the ghosts of dogs would be less dextrous," says Corian with a thin smile, gripping his mace and looking about. He holds the key in the other hand.
"Show yourselves!" he says a bit louder, feeling foolish.
Rexus is still present in the room, and looks startled when the doors slam shut. Ignite recognizes the ring as bearing the signet of the Juliac family, a noble house that died out many years ago. You imagine the ring might fetch 250p or so, if you can get it down from there.
Sadly, nobody is quite sure what's going on with the sudden slamming of the doors. The ring begins to wobble slightly, then floats off of it's perch and drops onto the floor. Valleria can hear a faint giggling.
Wilhelm is about to take Voreni up on his offer of help, then hesistates at the sudden slamming sounds, then finally frowns as the ring dislodges itself without any additional effort.
"That's... not how I expected this to turn out. Having just watched it take a dive by itself, I'm suddenly rather reluctant to touch it."
He holds his spear in a defensive position and looks around, though he doesn't expect looking to do much good. He'd been watching the ring and didn't see anything.
"I think we should try the key quickly and move on, or retreat to prepare for some sort of supernatural threat. I doubt our weapons' effectiveness if we're dealing with a ghost, or something similar."
"Glad to help?" Voreni glances about. I do not like this unusual activity one bit. "Sir Wilhelm is correct."
Voreni takes a minute to prepare a shock shield extract.
Morrigan casts detect magic again and examines the desk, door, and ring one more time.
"Let's rule out the possibility of these items being animate so we can move on to the assumption of an invisible presence. I'm not ready to retreat just yet. I hold no fear of creatures that hide in the shadows."
Morrigan whispers to Rexus, "Do you have anything that'd help again an invisible or ethereal creature?"
"Bacon, do you detect anything with your scent?"
"Before I place that key in that door, does anyone want to check it for infernal poisonous electrical dog-launching ghost traps?" says Corian, waggling the key.
"Ah, an excellent suggestion. A secret insurgent organization would likely protect their caches with booby traps. Let me get my tools..." Voreni continues speaking, but in a low mutter. "Mirror? Check. Pliers? Check. Grip tool? Check. Torsion wrenches? Check." After verifying his tools, he starts to run through a checklist for examining a potentially trapped door.
The iron gate does not appear to be trapped, and opens easily when you insert the key in the lock.
Meanwhile, Morrigan's magical scan of the ring determines that it is not magical, and neither is the desk. She does, however, detect a weak, rapidly declining residue of magic, as if magic was used in those areas very recently.
Bacon sniffs the air curiously, seeking to assist Morrigan in resolving this mystery.
Keen on a scent, Bacon scrambles towards Morrigan's left pocket and begins munching on a small biscuit that she was saving for later.
The open gate looks safe to pass, and the hallway beyond is empty. Judging by the smell and stains on the floor, this is where the livestock were slaughtered; the gates were likely designed so that the animal's head could be locked into them prior to slaughter.
Valleria again looks around, as if she detected something.
Weird... did I just heard someone, or something, giggling?
Seeing that the gate is open, she leaves this tought aside and focuses on her compaions.
"Better check this hallway properly... it looks like a good spot to hide a secret door or something. Besides, why would it be locked if it was not important?"
Morrigan pushes Bacon away. "Not now, Bacon. Why can't you be more helpful?"
"Well magic was definitely used here recently, so I'm going to rule out ghosts. However, there are still many things in Golarion that can go invisible and use spells. From the giggling, I'm going to guess fey, but I have little experience on that subject, unfortunately. It hasn't hurt us yet, so let's just watch our backs."
"Kintargo could use some laughter these days--not of the mocking variety, that is, so we shall see," says Corian. He waits while Valleria inspects the hallway.
Searching the hall, Valleria finds it empty, but there is indeed a "secret" door...well, it was likely a secret once. Time has not been kind to this building, and what was once a secret door now hangs partially open, it's hinges rusted and decaying. Looking into the room behind, it is unlit, but through the light spilling into the room through the open door you can see a thick layer of dust on the floor, through which more of those tiny tracks are visible.
Morrigan joins Valleria and focuses on the floor of the secret room.
Perfect. This thick layer of dust is exactly what we need to locate our invisible watcher. If it follows us in here, I'll spot the fresh tracks.
"So...we have been invited to a meeting by an invisible fey? Or a transparent rodent," says Corian. "I will take it over devils any day."
"This day is starting to get very strange."
Ignati looks over the tracks hoping to identify what could have possibly made them, trying to think of any native, sentient species in the area that might be so small.
"Fascinating. Do you think they've taken up residence here? I know very little about fey, do you think we're in danger?"
Glad that he's prepared a shock shield extract, Voreni keeps the vial near a readily accessible pocket.
Wilhelm doesn't particularly think any of this is funny, but he's just more or less just met these people, so he keeps his annoyance to himself. Since the door they're looking for is already ajar, he figures the best thing to do is get on with the search. Whether its fey or a poltergeist that's messing with them is all the same to Wilhelm. Trouble is trouble, and hopefully this pranking entity will get bored and either leave them alone or finally show itself.
"Stand back, in case of something bizarre," he suggests. Then, after waiting for the others to have time to act on the suggestion and standing well back from the door himself, slides the pointy end of his spear into the gap and nudges the door fully open.
As the door swings open and your light sources begin to illuminate the room beyond, you can see an old workroom, strewn with slaughterhouse tools, veterinary equipment, and woodworking tools. Like the floor, they are all covered in a thick layer of dust and clearly have not been used for quite some time. More tools hang from pegs on the walls, and to the southwest you can see a trap door that has been propped open with a block of wood. Here and there, the dust has been lightly disturbed by more of the small footprints you've seen elsewhere.
As you begin to step inside, the tools on the walls begin to rattle, and you can see ugly red stains appearing on parts of the walls.
"Come out trickster! Your parlor tricks won't be enough to deter us. Ghosts don't leave tracks."
Morrigan fearlessly enter the room and uses detect magic again to observes the walls.
Wilhelm holds his spear at the ready as the tools start to rattle and then... bleed? Walls bleeding are a pretty universal sign for something being decidedly unfriendly.
"Entity, if you're listening, and if you care, we hold no affinity with those who caused the destruction of the people who used this place as a base. If you bear a grudge, do not take it out on us. We seek their posthumous aid to resume their work. You have nothing to fear, or protect, from us."
While talking, Wilhelm heads over to the trap door and once again uses his spear to nudge it the rest of the way open while keeping as much distance between himself and the opening... just in case.
Morrigan recognizes the bleeding walls as being caused by either Silent Image, or perhaps Prestidigitation, while the rattling appears to be Mage Hand. There is no answer to anyone's statements to the unseen entity, however.
Wilhelm's spear easily pushes the trap door open, and a small ladder leading down is visible. A horrid stench of animal waste wafts up from below.
I'm not fond of leaving anything that might be dangerous behind my back, but I think it is better to press on... we have no time to waste with such frivolities.
Differently from other girls, Valleria always hated faery tales.
"Fear not, friends. It is all harmless illusions. Smoke and mirrors. I'm sure this hidden foe was not expecting us to have an illusionist of our own. These are my tricks and I see right through them."
Lacking powerful enough magic to dispel invisibility (our a sack of flour), Morrigan scoops up a hand full of dust off the ground.
Perhaps if I can location this charlatan, I can do a mundane revelation.
"I'd hate to admit it, but I agree with Valleria here."
Ignati pulls a handkerchief from a pocket and holds it to his mouth as he approaches the trap. He coughs a few times at the stench but eventually gives up and moves to start down the ladder.
"And if Morrigan is right, hopefully our illusionist here doesn't have to stomach to deal with this gods awful smell!"
Grimacing behind the piece of cloth he slowly descends, hoping to get this over with. Keeping his senses sharp in case they run into anything more foul than the smell.
I hope this isn't all for naught.
Corian follows Ignati, shrugging. "I've smelled worse," he says vaguely.
Corian blinks at Morrigan. "Hey, can Bacon smell a person? I mean, over this amazing stink," he says, as he disappears into the lower depths with Ignati.
"He can try again. Last time, he just went straight for food."
"Come on Bacon." Morrigan uses her empathic link to stress the importance of not fooling around.
Bacon shudders visibly at the stench in the room, but dutifully sniffs around the room, taking notice of a stack of boxes and gesturing towards it just before Corian and Ignati see three dire rats emerge from the boxes, looking even more ravenous than the dogs above.
"You filthy creatures..."
Having lived and trained in the dungeons for a couple of years back when she was a Grey Maiden, Valleria got used to rats... but they were still disgusting.
"Still not the prankster we're looking for but I suppose we'll have to deal with these first. Bacon, go hide. I don't want you catching any diseases."
"Binding darkness, do my bidding and wrap this rat in your cold embrace."
A weave of shadows reaches out towards one of the rats.
These 'pranks' are frustrating and taking our focus off of our true mission...Ugh, rats. Of course.
"Thrune sewer upkeep has faltered, I see," says the mock Asmodean. "Perhaps I will campaign for mayor."
Things just aren't going to be simple today, it seems. More fighting is frustrating to begin with, but to have to do it in this stench? That's just adding insult to injury.
Just after Valleria attacks one with her sword, Wilhelm moves a little closer so he can reach them with his spear.
23: Valleria's sword quickly bisects the rat in front of her, spraying its filthy blood across the floor.
21: Wilhelm moves forward and skewers another rat, shaking its limp body from his spear.
19: Morrigan's shadows swirl around the third rat, who deftly leaps between them and...
11: ...leaps forward onto Morrigan, gnashing it's horrible, yellow teeth.
11: [left open for Voreni]
5: Corian steps in to swing on the third rat, but just barely misses the filthy little thing.
Voreni draws his rapier and moves up beside the others, ready to attack one of the vermin.
Having finished her first target, Valleria studies the next rat before stepping forward and attacking it.
Valleria dispatches the last rat, striking with such ferocity that it seems to dissipate into a red mist. Rexus is the first to break the silence.
"If we're going to repurpose this place as a base of operations, I think we'd better cleanse it with fire first" he says, covering his nose and mouth with his cloak.
The room is a mess, and it's rather obvious where the stench is coming from, as signs of dire rats nesting here are easily visible. There are also rusty tools and knives on the tabletops, and door leading out of the room to the west. It is slightly cracked.
Ignati sheathes his rapier, having drawn it despite being given no chance to use it, a fact he did not mind in the least.
Feral dogs and vermin, what a mundane start to our little rebellion.
"Fire may not be enough Rex, but I certainly won't stop you from trying. I don't suppose there's anything in this room that may still be useful?"
Once he's satisfied he's looked the room over he moves to the cracked western door, looks it over closely and puts an ear to it to make sure it's safe before he opens it to whatever lay beyond.
"Well, looks like I may have exaggerated in the strength of my blow... so shall we move on? Let's keep our same pattern, I'll protect our rear..."
Saying this, Valleria looks around, just to make sure they were leaving nothing behind.
"-kaf-...yes, let's move on. Goodness," says Corian. 'The smell should dissuade any interlopers, at least," he quips.
Voerni lingers for a moment, carefully examining everything around the group before catching up. He takes mental note that his extract is waiting in his pocket in case something more threatening than dogs or rats show up.
There is nothing further in the rat nest, and nothing in view appears to have any value. Eager to depart, you each shuffle through the door with Rexus in tow.
"It's hard to even imagine the Silver Ravens ever calling a place like this 'home'. Worse yet, I shudder to think of what manner of creatures might reside here now." he says.
The stench dissipates notably as you enter the much larger room beyond the door. A mixture of dirt, salt, and sawdust covers the floor, and you can see steel rails mounted on the ceiling with a few rusty iron hooks dangling from them. The walls have been chewed and clawed, revealing a network of narrow, winding animal tunnels beyond. To the northwest, you can see a pile of stained pillows and moth- eaten blankets.