With a loud crack, the door finally gives way and opens, shattering an ancient wooden chair propped against it on the other side. The room beyond is dark and smells deeply of dust and decay.
In the far corner of the room, dressed in the garb of a blacksmith, lies the mummified corpse of a dwarf. In one hand are the shattered remains of a glass vial while in the other you see a scrap of ancient parchment.
Gilgar will read the parchment aloud after getting close enough to snatch it from the corpse's hand before dashing two quick paces back.
"Dog... Smell ye any of them mushrooms in here?"
The worg steps into the room and wrinkles his nose. "No, no mushrooms here. They must be in the other room."
Giving the forge a better look since there are no mushrooms here, Gilgar looks around for weapons, coins, or other potential valuables in the room.
Perception:
Tucked into the belt of the long-dead dwarf is a silver light hammer with a religious symbol carved into the head.
The rest of the room is basically empty, it's other contents essentially gone to dust.
Stepping into the room, Laucian listens to Gilgar read the parchment. Once finished, he turns to scan the room, stopping back at the door and seeing the broken chair that once blocked the door.
"Um guys. Why is it that this room was blocked from the inside. What was he trying to keep out?"
Turning to the Worg
Well friend, any ideas as to what our Dwarven host was trying to lock out to the point that he apparently poisoned himself?
With a distinctly canine yawn, the worg shakes his head. "You must understand - your friend here is the first dwarf I've ever seen in this place. That door's been stuck shut since I got here."
Heal Check
Sense Motive
Looking over the skeleton, I suppose he has been dead awhile now. I don't know that you not knowing about him has anything to do with you not telling us more about what he may have been afraid of.
The worg just looks back at the druid, head tilted to the side slightly.
Leveling his gaze at the worg
Perhaps we could start with some details about the beasties that you wanted us to clear out for you.
"Well, just step through those double doors and introduce yourselves. They're annoying, but hardly a challenge for an experienced dwarf. They are like black cloaks and drop down from the rafters. It's hard to bite what you can't see."
sense motive
If they are so hard to deal with for one so strong, why are you still here? What is so valuable in this place?
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"This is my den, my lair. Why would I leave? These creatures are annoying, but they stay in this room, so I have tolerated them. But it's my lair and I would prefer to be able to go where I would." He yawns again. "You wanted something I had, I thought you might be able to do something for me in return. But if a party as powerful as yours is afraid to, maybe I should just get used to their presence."
Sense Motive:
DM
"Do you know where the rest of these mushrooms are, or are you leading us around to fight your battles? The more time we waste with you, the more our quest is failing. We do not have tme for this."
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"What really do you want? Do you want the mushrooms or do you want to know what scared the old dry dwarf to death?"
He motions at the south door with his head. "As I told you, I can smell the mushrooms here by the big doors, but I have never been able to open either of these doors. I've been pretty sure there was at least one mushroom in one of these rooms for quite a while. If there wasn't one keeping the dwarf company since the end of the last age, then I would check the other room."
He turns to pad off. "That's all of the mushrooms I know of other than mine. I'll be in my lair - you need seven total, yes? Let me know how many you find and I will give you the rest of what you need. That's the best I can offer."
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Gilgar screams viciously at the worg "Dog! Ye need skin in this game. Ye either fight aside us, or yer two b!4ch dogs fight aside us. Either that, or we take all yer mushrooms and go now."
Intimidate:
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Gilgar screams viciously at the worg "Dog! Ye need skin in this game. Ye either fight aside us, or yer two b!4ch dogs fight aside us. Either that, or we take all yer mushrooms and go now."
The worg sighs, stops, and returns to sit in the entry. "OK, but fight what? That door? I don't think you need to fight the cloak monsters to get your mushrooms - I have never scented any in their chamber. As far as I know, the only remaining mushrooms - other than my meager portion - are behind that door there."
Well, if you want us to do anything else other than take what you have as payment for your b&+%%es having attacked us, you will stay and fight anything we come across. If you act in good faith, then perhaps we will help clean out your cloak creatures.
turning to the rest of the group
If my mates agree, that is.....What say ye?...If our host stands with us against whatever we may find, shall we help him clear his den of these fiends?
OOC: B!tches is not a bad word if we are talking about a dog is it? lol
"A proposal rather than formless threats? Intriguing. Fight alongside you in return for you maybe helping me. I did fight the skeletons you woke up, you know. It would seem I've made a payment toward this bargain already..."
He shakes his head. "I'm here, elf. I will fight. But I still lack the hands to open the door or I would have opened it years ago for myself."
"These creatures do not sound like they need to be on this plain however our mission is to save people with these mushrooms. If this alliance helps in that way, I can agree to it." Laucian start to move to the next stuck door.
Nox will move to the closed door and listen for anything on the other side.
perception
Growling, Gilgar moves to the door that the worg indicates the mysterious beasts are behind, opening it, axe at the ready.
The door resists, but it doesn't appear to be stuck as firmly as the other one was.
Strength Check:
The door, after the initial resistance, opens easily. It appears there was some debris on the threshold preventing it opening freely.
The room contains many pegs along the walls and a table in the center. Hanging from a few of the pegs are a few moth-eaten rags and laying on a table is a single ancient soiled hat.
The worg sticks his head through the doorway after the door is open. He nods his head, "The scent is stronger in here. Probably not many mushrooms, but at least one is close."
Perception:
In the far southeast corner, behind some rags fallen from their peg, stands a healthy, but solitary, mushroom. The worg sniffs around after you've harvested that one, but he doesn't find any more.
Laucian keeps his eyes open for anything that may be trying to attack the group. He is doing this while Gilgar is getting the mushrooms.
DM
Other than the sounds made by the party and the worg, the only sound Laucian hears is from the forest outside -- but those are just what you think are the normal sounds of an undisturbed forest. You know, one that doesn't have a frothing, battleaxe-wielding dwarf marching through...
Looks around the room, up in the rafters (if there are any), to see if the monsters the worg talked about are hiding somewhere.
Perception:
"I ain't fer seein' none o' yer beasties in here, Dog. We'll be leavin' the door open fer ye." Gilgar says as he exits the room.
"I never said there was anything in here - I couldn't open the door, so I had no idea."
Padding out into the hall behind the dwarf, he adds, "I said they were in there." He gestures with his head toward the double doors, slightly open, leading into a dark room that the party has not investigated.
Laucian looks over to the door the warg gestures to. "With the sounds we have been making, I am sure if there is something in there, it already knows about us, so if we are to go in there, I can light it up for us. I say we do to get this thing out of the way so we don't run into it on its terms."
If the group is going in the dark room:
DM
OOC: Do we have our full compliment of adventurers yet?
I am of a mind that we should probably have the rest of our party before we purposefully join in battle. Perrin and I will return for our visiting druidic mate
if noone objects, Nox and Perrin will head out the the way they came as quickly as they can quietly
stealth
Laucian and Gilgar, the worg waits almost eagerly for the druids to return. He is facing the double doors, tail twitching in excitement.
Gilgar shifts his weight from one foot to the other a few times, sighing heavily as he tries to expel some of the frustration that has been building up on him while in this place.
"I think I'm seein' some pews an' an altar in there."
"Well this place is a monastery. That would make since that they would be in there. The problem I foresee is being able to quickly clear the room. With so many things to hide around, we will need to be on our toes."
Laucian turns from Gilgar to look back for the druids, "So where did you meet Sylvanis again?"
We have found some mushrooms, but not all. It has come down to stealing his or addressing the flying beasts he spoke of, so I have come to see if you will stand with us.
I expect that we will be best served to approach at full strength.
Mushrooms collected, she calls to Winter and heads out into the other room. Over her shoulder, "Lead on, we will follow."
Nox will call Perrin to his side from the side of the wolf they had injured.
Perrin, come here and leave that girl alone. She already has a man and he's bigger than you.
He will start back towards the group, calling over his shoulder to the trailing Sylvanis Pay no attention to the bones and the cells, they're old news
The druids and their animal companions return to the entryway.
Gilgar kicks the doors all the way open, then stands in the open doorway, axe readied.