Saul manages to avoid touching the worst of the rotten food while going through the contents of the credenza. Whitin, he finds a cheap looking strong box secured with a rusty lock and an old stained hat box. There is a rotten smell emanating from the hatbox.
Saul takes the strong box out, setting it aside for now before gingerly cracking open the hatbox.
Saul takes the strong box out, setting it aside for now before gingerly cracking open the hatbox.
Saul opens the hat box and a swarm of flies streams out in an angry cloud. Inside is a gruesome scene. Zellara the fortune teller's rotten head sits at the bottom of the box, looking up at Saul with empty, cavernous eye sockets. Wedged beside her head is a harrow deck, stained with dried humours.
Saul is aghast in horror and disgust, dropping the hatbox and gagging from the sight.
"Dawnflower's mercy! This is awful!"
Regaining his composure, his eyes go wide.
"If Zellara's head is... then who did we... what..."
Bas makes his way back down to the lobby and out the front door. The rain is still coming down in sheets and the streets seem to still be deserted. Getting a good look around though, he notices that there is a reddish glow in the sky to the east. Looks like there is probably a fire off in that direction.
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"Alright, Paddy, you wanna help? If we can just extract the vials from the bears, we should be able to salvage all the toys so they can go to more deserving folk, and the drugs can be quietly disposed of in an orderly--WHAT WAS THAT?" he exclaims as the paladin's cry echos through the house.
The ranger sprints and leaps back to the large room, to be greeted with a wall of flies and the grizzly severed head staring back at them. "Oh boy all the gods how would...why did...OH WHAT THE HELLZ?
Guh, ugh," he gags as he puts the lid back on the hatbox. "Okay, if you don't mind, I'm just gonna take the strongbox out into the hall and work on there. Someone open a fragging window!" he says, hauling the secured box out of the room so he can work in peace.
Once out of the cloud of flies and death, he gets out his set of tools and sets to work.
Paddy examines the head with great fascination, trying to divine the seeress' last thoughts and lamenting that his relationship was Pharasma is still too impersonal to allow him to speak with the dead.
He also tries to estimate how long she's been dead, and/or whether the head was severed post-mortem.
"What the..."
Bas, deciding it best not to be on his own in the middle of the night in the shady part of town, he rushes back to the others.
"Guys, I think there's a fire nearby. We got to get the kids out of here, not sure how far it'll spread."
Once out of the cloud of flies and death, he gets out his set of tools and sets to work.
[dice=Opens!]d20+5
Orion pulls the strong box out into the hallway and gets to work with his lock picks. The ranger feels like he is depressing all of the correct pins and is puzzled why the lock isn't opening. With a last bit of effort though, he realizes that thing was just rusty and needed some good old brute force.
Inside is a narrow teak cigar case inlaid with tiny bits of jade, a 2lbs gold ingot bearing the Cheliax coat of arms, a fist-sized scrimshaw carving of a kraken with garnets for eyes, a highly realistic and highly scandalous ivory figurine of two entwined succubi, a sharpened key bearing the inscription: “For an inspiration of a father”, a crystalline vial containing a dose of silversheen, and a bejeweled brooch with a broken clasp.
A ledger with what appear to be accounting details, though the entire thing looks to be encoded.
Paddy examines the head with great fascination, trying to divine the seeress' last thoughts and lamenting that his relationship was Pharasma is still too impersonal to allow him to speak with the dead.
He also tries to estimate how long she's been dead, and/or whether the head was severed post-mortem.
[dice=Medicine]1d20+5
Initially you think that the state of decay is quite advanced, but the amount of insects that came from the box make you think that a lot of the missing flesh was actually just consumed. You end up concluding that you are just unsure.
"A fire? Oh man. Officer Paddy, do you want to take charge of... of... Zellara's head and Harrow deck? I'm going to round up the kids and get them back to the orphanage. Not sure where most of them came from, but we can sort that out later."
He picks up one of the comatose kids.
"If one of you guys could pick him up, I'd appreciate it.", he says, nodding to the other comatose kid.
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Orion dumps the lot into a sack for divvying later. He rises to show the key and book to the others--just as Saul calls for an evacuation of over a score of kids! "Gah! A fire? This is a lot of kids...oh, alright, let's be about it," he says tossing a kid over each shoulder and stumbling toward the street exit.
tossing a kid over each shoulder
Paddy, clumsily fumbling with the box, pauses to lift another child.
Bas ushers the children out as quick as they can, picking up one if need be.
Red Feather helps as needed. He really hasn't spent any time with children, and is not sure how to act... so he follows along, and tries to stay out of the way... his fingers absent-mindedly straying to his belt pouch now and then.
The five adults pretty easily manage to haul the children out of the apartment building. When you all reach the street, you can see the red glow in the night sky that Bas described. The fire seems to be a ways off to the east. Probably not much of a threat to your current location yet. As you all stand outside of the building and looks up at the sky, loud bells begin to toll. Most of you instantly recognize the sound as the alarm from Citadel Volshyenek (headquarters of the Korvosan Guard).
One, two, three clangs. The signal is for a riot somewhere in Korvosa.
Saul keeps heading away from Lamm's toward the orphanage.
"Wow. I hope no one gets hurt...."
As the group continues away from the house of horrors, Saulden falls in line with Red Feather.
"How are you holding up, Red?"
If it looks like Saul and Red Feather can get the kids to safety, Paddy says to Orion, "Three bells -- our work this night is just starting; there's a riot to be quelled. I wonder if we dump our prisoner at the jail first, or leave him chained to a lamppost or something while we respond?"
If only there were a way to communicate instantaneously with one another across the city, wherever one finds oneself! Ah, what a wondrous world would hold such magic in it!
"I... I think I am good. It was... well weird. I try to put my mind space into the spirit of the wolf in times of peril, but before tonight I had never actually... well turned into a wolf. I of course know of such things, but was beginning to wonder if I had chosen my correct path in life. Now I know the spirit of the wild lives in me so I am both relieved and a bit overwhelmed.".
"Let get these children to safety, then head towards where the rioting seems to be beginning. We might not be able to do anything about it... but at least should research it's cause".
"I'm sorry my mind is racing. I see that you are still injured. I have some healing magic still available, but let's wait until it is time to rest, or we are sure the healing is not needed to save lives, before I use my dwindling energy. If we are about to enter combat, then I shall try my best to heal you beforehand".
Saul shrugs as best he can with a comatose kid in his arms.
"Sure man, but don't worry about that. What I meant is... how are you feeling now that Lamm- whatever it was- is gone? Especially given how much shiver that thing was moving it must have been hard to face him and to be around that. I just want to see how you're holding up. You've worked hard to turn this corner in your life, you know?"
"The city went to s~#+ while we were busy with Lamm." Bas murmurs, trying to keep close.
"I don't want to be shuttling these kids along with a riot going on. Should we head back to the tarot reader's place? Might be safe until this blows over, or at least until the day."
Saul shrugs as best he can with a comatose kid in his arms.
"Sure man, but don't worry about that. What I meant is... how are you feeling now that Lamm- whatever it was- is gone? Especially given how much shiver that thing was moving it must have been hard to face him and to be around that. I just want to see how you're holding up. You've worked hard to turn this corner in your life, you know?"
"Hmmm. That is a more complex question. I don't feel as good about it as maybe I should. I'm not even sure that Lamm recognized me. He was a monster of one type before, but seemed to be a different kind of monster this evening. Still a monster killed is a monster killed. Perhaps the nightmares shall cease... or at least minimize. I'm not sure".
Red Feather absently reaches for his pouch, fondling something inside when Lamm's name is mentioned.
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Orion nods at Paddy. "Aye. One wonders if our actions here tonight are related to either the riot or fire or both. Ah well, we may never know. Let's tie him up and leave him here--a riot is more trouble than even he's worth, and we can not risk that he'll slow us down. He'll either be here when we get back, or he'll get free and leave the city. Either way we're rid of him and his skuldugerousness.
Oy!," he yells as Bas and Red start talking of heading off and laying low. "There are riot, and a fire to boot! If you still want a city to lay low in, rather than an unusually deep pile of ashes around you, come along. At the very least we'll need everything with two hands carrying water just to make sure only a few buildings get burned. I'm not saying to come with us out of sense of civic duty, but good old self-preservation.
Anyway, yeah, Paddy let's be about it. Saul? I assume you're in for the haul?"
"I gotta drop these kids off, then I can help if need be. If Zellaras' is on the way, we could just stop there and hole up with the kids until morning... assuming... she's um, 'around'?"
Paddy sighs and says, "Your plan beats anything I'd come up with, Orion."
Smiling, Paddy carefully undoes the manacle from one of the prisoner's wrists, feeds the chain through the gap between the hinges of the front door, then walks around and snaps the other end shut on the handle inside. Stepping inside, he closes (if the chain is thin enough to allow it) and bars the front door, and exits through a nearby window again -- leaving the prisoner manacled to a barred door, unable to get at the bar, handle, or hinges on the inside.
"Is this what folks mean by 'into the fire'?" Bas calls as Orion berates his sense of self preservation.
"Let's at least stash the chitlins away where they don't have to burn away for their city, eh?"
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Orion nods. "Aye, Saul, Zellaras' place is, well, bound to be free, and is even away from the fire. Take them there and tell them to stay put--we'll send someone for them as soon as we can. Then join us as soon as you're able. That should be easy, we'll be where the flames are hottest!
Alright, everyone who's not a paladin let's be about it. We'll just head toward the big bright light and see what trouble will find us on the way.
Ready? Go!"
"Come on kiddies! Let's get you somewhere where the ash won't stain you."
He turns back to call at those heading to fight the fires.
"Careful of rioters! The city doesn't just light half itself on fire without some help!"
We really should stick together, but first the kids...
"Be careful out there!", Saul calls to the guardsmen as they leave.