If there's anything kept here, an office is the best place to start. As Parai sees to Abelard and Onorix climbs into the rafters, Alliszah makes her way to the back office and begins to rummage through the desk, her senses sharpened by magical enhancement. In no time, she's searched the contents of the desk - mostly broken quills and old papers ruined beyond recognition, but the search does turn up something useful.
I've found a key in here... she calls out as she re-enters the main space, but suddenly her words are interrupted by a strange chirping growl and the beating of wings. Claws! Lydir's telepathic voice rings in everyone's mind. Claw marks, in the dust! Are they the dogs?! Cats?! Something... Nervously, he flaps over to Alliszah's shoulder and digs his claws tight into the fabric over her shoulder.
I'm...not quite sure what could have left them, Lydir, Alliszah admits. Anyone recognize these markings? I highly doubt they're from the dogs, unless hounds can develop sorcerous ability - that's what's making these odd tricks happen. Minor prestidigitations, nothing a first-day wizarding student couldn't handle, but certainly beyond a dog's ability.
Nightgaunt is not sure what's going on, and remains silent.
Abelard blinks slightly as he hears Parai invoke Milani - he's glad she's not an Asmodean, but isn't Milani one of those weird types who just thinks everyone should do as they please? Oh well. A problem for another day.
For now, he smiles "My thanks, Parai."
Looking around, he is unable to assist with discerning what's going on - the arcane is not part of his training.
Korva will enter the livery, but remain close by the doors. Using Dancing lights to let her see more clearly.
Onorix grabs the ring and climbs back down, landing on the ground in time to catch Parai's prayer in perfect clarity, and to watch her cast clerical magic- and invoking the name of a deity that was most definitely outlawed in the country in the process.
He keeps his face a blank slate, but his mind is racing. Parai Sarini worshiping Milani? The Goddess of rebellion?.... When did THAT happen?
It would have to be dealt with later. All he knew right now was that she was an ally, and needed more protection and anonymity than he did- his father probably could weasle him out of a death sentence for betraying Cheliax, even if it meant getting exiled or something. But a Milanite would be unlikely to receive equally lenient treatment, in spite of whatever connection she had to her family.
But again- that would have to be dealt with later. Hearing Alliszah mention the key, Onorix goes over to her and asks, "Find anything the key can be used for?"
Parai nods neutrally to Abelard's thanks, and looks around the room with a frown. The situation confuses her, and having no arcane training per se (despite her family's dabblings in such matters) she waits for the others to figure things out. "Things...moving without being touched? I assume something bad would happen if we intervened and touched them?"
Don't worry - you can grab them all you like. It's just magic, and little more than parlor tricks at that, Alliszah answers Parai's question. But it does mean there's something in here that can cast such spells, so we should be on our guard. At Onorix's question, Alliszah takes a look around, then moves toward the iron grate along the south wall. This would be my best guess as to what the key opens...and my hope, really. There's a section of wall that's fallen away over here behind it, and I don't see anywhere else that anything could be hidden, unless it's hidden very cleverly.
As soon as the dogs fall, Alliszah ducks inside, glancing warily around as she enters and clearly unfazed by the darkness that reigns before Korva's lights take shape. It does not seem the sort of place where one would keep important historical documentation, she comments, but perhaps that is by design? Perhaps this stable conceals something more?
Korva relaxes at Alliszah's words and moves further into the stable, she waits for others to approach the door before joining them.
Nightgaunt moves further into the room.
He isn't skilled in recognizing tracks in the dust; they're small tracks, that's all he can see.
He looks at and through the iron gate to see if anything is particularly notable.
Nightgaunt moves further into the room.
He isn't skilled in recognizing tracks in the dust; they're small tracks, that's all he can see.
He looks at and through the iron gate to see if anything is particularly notable.
[dice=Perception]1d20+4
As you peer into the grated area, you can identify old, dried bloodstains on the floor at your feet, and the stench of death and decay is even more pungent than in the rest of the dilapidated facility. The middle of the gate has a wide opening, large enough for a small creature to fit through completely, with only moderate difficulty. You think that when the building was in use as a slaughterhouse, years ago, cattle and other creatures would be loaded into the narrow hallway beyond the grate and then locked into place with their head in the gate, at which time the slaughterhouse worker would deliver a deathblow to the restrained animal using a sledge.
To the side of the kill-chamber is what looks like a workroom, hidden behind a door that is now decayed and hanging partially open on its hinges.
Nightgaunt moves further into the room.
He isn't skilled in recognizing tracks in the dust; they're small tracks, that's all he can see.
He looks at and through the iron gate to see if anything is particularly notable.
[dice=Perception]1d20+4
As you peer into the grated area, you can identify old, dried bloodstains on the floor at your feet, and the stench of death and decay is even more pungent than in the rest of the dilapidated facility. The middle of the gate has a wide opening, large enough for a small creature to fit through completely, with only moderate difficulty. You think that when the building was in use as a slaughterhouse, years ago, cattle and other creatures would be loaded into the narrow hallway beyond the grate and then locked into place with their head in the gate, at which time the slaughterhouse worker would deliver a deathblow to the restrained animal using a sledge.
To the side of the kill-chamber is what looks like a workroom, hidden behind a door that is now decayed and hanging partially open on its hinges.
Hmm...pleasant, Alliszah murmurs, eyeing the bloodstains on the floor dubiously. Cautiously, she tries the key from the desk in the grate's lock, struggling with the rust and wear of the mechanism.
The rusty door screeches and squeaks in protest as you slide the key in and turn it, but the lock opens with a satisfying click. The door swings open after the same wailing protest. Behind you, the clattering of cupboards, tossing of hay, and other general nuisances cease.
Onorix looks around as all the strange noises of this place stop as soon as the door opens. Slowly, he begins to draw his two weapons from underneath his coat. "Lets keep moving- I don't think this is the type of place we want to be in for very long." He says as he moves to enter the next room and looks around.
Alliszah follows at a slight distance, drawing a dagger from within a fold of her gown as she steps past the grate - while it's clear from her bearing that she's never used it for anything more threatening than a roast boar, it acts as a talisman of sorts, giving her a touch of comfort moving into the grimy, blood-stained room. And why again am I getting myself into this mess? she muses to herself, raising a sleeve to her face and trying to breathe as little as possible. Hells and heavens, the smell...
"Lets keep moving- I don't think this is the type of place we want to be in for very long." He says as he moves to enter the next room and looks around.
Abelard nods uneasily, and follows; his usual jaunty demeanour somewhat dampened by the mood - and the smell.
This old workroom houses numerous old, rusted slaughterhouse tools, veterinary equipment caked with dried blood, and rusted woodworking tools. All of the apparatus are covered with a thick layer of dust, through which strange tracks and patterns have been traced. Heavy mallets, crumbling ropes, and restraints for all manner of animals hang from pegs in the walls or rest atop leaning tables. In the southwest corner of the room, a trap door sits ajar in the floor, propped open by a block of wood.
The tracks belong to creatures known as Grimples, half-starved, putrid-looking humanoids that bear a strong resemblance to mange-ridden possums. They are urban scavengers known for their constant shedding, a byproduct of the parasites they host on their filthy bodies. They also possess flaps of skin under their arms which allow them to glide for short distances.
Nightgaunt moves closer to the door, but does not move through it until those more adept at identifying tracks have a chance to look at them.
"I...think I might know what's living here", Parai says as she enters the workroom and kneels down to examine the tracks in the dust. "I've seen feet shaped like these in my books... I thought these creatures were very rare, but the drawings were very much like this. I think there's a grimple living here...perhaps more than one. It's a small scavenger that can glide. A filthy creature, if I remember my books right."
"Do you know how dangerous these grimples are?" Onorix asks, curiously as he continues to look around the room, his eyes evnentually settling on the trap door on the other side of the room.
"I can investigate first and check if it's safe down there, if you would all prefer that."
Alliszah nods at Onorix's suggestion, still trying (in vain) to keep the hem of her skirt clear of the gunk and grime coating the floor. If these..."grimples", were they?...are capable of gliding, we should keep a set of eyes to the spaces in the rafters. I do not relish the idea of becoming host to a parasite, if it can be helped. Carefully, she takes her own advice, scanning overhead as Onorix prepares to descend.
You see nothing in the rafters, and indeed, no signs of life at all aside from the unconscious dogs and the six of you.
The trap-door leads to a ladder, which descends approximately 15 feet down into a dank, dark cellar.
Korva leans forward a little, curiously sending her Dancing lights down into the cellar to aid sight. "A real hidden cellar? I never thought I'd see one myself." She says naively.
Perhaps there is something to Rexus' report, then, Alliszah adds, peering down over the shoulders of the others into the dark column. How far can you send your lights down, Korva? It might benefit us to send them as far as we can ahead of us. Odds are this cellar has been abandoned for some time, and if anything else has taken up residence perhaps it will react to the light and give us some advance warning.
"Oh a lot further than this. About 110 feet till I can't move them any more." Korva answers, still peering into the creepy cellar. "They're very handy for sneaking back into home after my curfew."
The eye-watering stench of urine and feces fills the damp, dark room. Nests made of chewed crates and barrels line the walls, while rusty knives and hooks cover the tabletops.
As you peer down into the cellar, you begin to hear skittering noises, followed by a faint, haunting melody. The music is discordant and strange, coming from a woodwind instrument of some kind, though the familiar sound of scratching paws and claws against cold stone is much closer, and seems to be coming from the foul nests in the corners of the chamber.
After a few moments of observation, three shapes become distinct in the dim light - ravenous, wild-eyed rodents, all scampering towards the ladder.
Round 1:
Abelard <- You may act!
Onorix <- You may act!
Parai <- You may act!
Korva <- You may act!
Enemy
Alliszah
Nightgaunt
"Yuck." Abelard's stomach rebels at the stench, but he keeps it under control.
He looks down at the frenzied rodents scampering towards the ladder, and then throws a sardonic look at Parai: "You don't want these kept alive, I assume?"
He waits until they are climbing the ladder and then brings his booted foot down, hard, on the nearest one.
Onorix already had two weapons drawn and ready as the rodents appeared- all that remained for him was to use them. Moving forward while keeping his back towards the eastern wall, Onorix lashes out at one of the rodents with a short sword.
One of the rats collapses in a heap after the sickening crunch of Abelard's foot caves in its skull.
Korva, one of the other rats shakes its head for a moment and then snarls and scampers up the ladder after you.
The last rat climbs up beneath his friend, enormous teeth glinting in the light from above.
Round 2:
Alliszah <- You may act!
Nightgaunt <- You may act!
Abelard <- You may act!
Onorix <- You may act!
Parai <- You may act!
Korva <- You may act!
Enemy
They can climb? Somehow visibly (or perhaps audibly?) disgusted even behind her mask, Alliszah throws a hand in front of her, and her eyes flash red as she stares down the rat attacking Korva.
Trying not to think about what the mess is doing to his footwear, Abelard moves and strikes at the next rat.
Korva recoils as the rat jumps at her. "Oh yuck!"
Taking a deep breath and blasting it with another Ear piercing scream.
Onorix takes uses both of his weapons against the same rat, hoping to skewer the thing.
One of the remaining two rats screeches and reels in pain, his eyes crossing as the shrill sound penetrates its ears. Onorix's flashing blades slice the dazed creature neatly through the throat, the second strike managing to catch the last of the foul rodents in the eye. Both fall off of the ladder, clearly dead or dying.
Send your lights ahead, Alliszah calls to Korva, remembering at the last moment to edit the imperious tone out of her request. If this place has secrets, this is where they'll be. She doesn't need to wait for the light to reach every corner, though - with eyes enhanced by her infernal heritage she scans past where the light stops into the room's dark corners, looking for any shapes that look promising. I wonder what this secret information will look like...besides shreds in the bedding of a rat's nest, if those things were in here. Let's hope that's not true.
Your search proves fruitless, with regard to anything of value or interest. There is a door to the west of the room, and in the distance, the faint sound of pipes seems to echo through the basement.
Abelard shrugs good-naturedly and volunteers to open the door.
You open the door to a room coated in dirty salt and sawdust. Bits of the masonry walls in this gloomy room have been chewed or clawed away, revealing winding, narrow animal tunnels beyond. Steel rails are mounted in the ceiling, with an assortment of rusted, lonely iron hooks dangling from them. A pile of threadbare pillows and moth-ridden blankets are stacked in a pile in a depression, located in the northwest corner of the room.
[ooc]I've moved you all on the map to be downstairs. The door is open, map is updated, and you have some vision into the room thanks to Korva's Dancing Lights.
Korva will bravely allow others to enter the room first. Maintaining the Dancing lights from the doorway.
Abelard isn't short on bravery; he takes the lead.
Onorix is right behind Abelard, both of his shortswords still drawn and ready to strike should the situation call for it.
Letting Abelard and Onorix take the lead, Alliszah falls in behind, watching for any signs of trouble.
As several of you enter the room, you hear the sound of chittering and the scratching of tiny claws from inside the walls. In the small tunnels dug into the walls, you can make out a couple of faint shapes, and the glint of diminutive, beady eyes reflecting off of Korva's lights.
Begin Combat
Round 1
Onorix <- You may act!
Abelard <- You may act!
Black Grimple
Green Grimple
Orange Grimple
Red Grimple
Parai
Nightgaunt
Blue Grimple
Alliszah
Korva
Onorix looks around at the Grimples and the situation at hand.
Hmm... They've got the upper hand... perhaps they can be reasoned with...
Unknowing the disposition of these creatures- or even if they will understand him- Onorix speaks to them, "We have no quarrel with you- just let us pass, and no harm needs to come to either of us. We mean you no harm."
Studied target on the blue one.