After the basic checks, we'll try the western most door.
After checking things out, Miette opens the western most door but finds a virtually empty room. There are a few small rotted bits of wood near the center of the room, but otherwise nothing of interest.
Kwin takes his time searching for secret doors but finds none.
Checking the center door, and satisfied it is not trapped Miette opens it to discover a hallway running south with another door at the far end.
Checking the eastern door, and satisfied it is not trapped, Miette opens it to discover the room contains what appears to be an operating table of some kind, although the wood is rotten and the table looks like it would collapse at the slightest touch. There is a stone counter built into one of the walls that has several now rusted surgical instruments set out upon it.
Kwin takes his time searching for secret doors but finds none.
Let's continue down the corridor revealed by the center door. We'll do our standard checks on the door and then go for it.
Agreed, just keep plugging along until we find something.
After careful searching, the hallway, frustratingly, opens into another hallway. There is an eastern passage, with a door in the southern wall nearby, and a southern passage which branches both west and then further south east. Also, in the distance along the southern hallway on the western wall you can see a door. So many choices!
We'll try the nearest door. I've moved Kwin's icon in front of it to indicate which one. The usual checks on it before we open it.
Dobin will move up and have his sword and shield at the ready!
Dobin - Perception:
Jericho - Perception:
Kwin - Perception:
Miette - Perception:
Parfin - Perception:
Rose - Perception:
Spider - Stealth:
This room was obviously once a storeroom, for it contains rotted bags of grain, jugs of soured wine (vinegar, at this point), and several broken barrels. Rose and Parfin notice a giant spider lurking behind a pile of broken barrels, ready to attack!
Surprise round action to Rose and Parfin!
Dobin - Init:
Jericho - Init:
Kwin - Init:
Miette - Init:
Parfin - Init:
Rose - Init:
Spider - Init:
Round 1
Miette
Parfin
Rose
Spider
Dobin
Kwin
Jericho
Parfin moves into the room!
Parfin charges the spider!
or
As the spider begins moving out of hiding hoping for an easy meal, Parfin charges across the room and crushes the spider flat with his earthbreaker!
The various contents of the storeroom, when searched, include the following: 12,104 cp in a non-trapped box, a silver plate (50 gp), a bag of 245 sp, and a box of spices (200 gp).
We'll collect the loot with our typical diligence. After a quick scan to make sure we're not missing secret doors, we will head down the corridor that we are in (I moved Kwin's icon to indicate the direction.
That's a lot of copper. Why so much in one place? Parfin then tries to scrape spider from the face of his earthbreaker.
"It does seem odd. Maybe it was some sort of collection for the undead..you know placing copper pieces over the eyes to pay the ferryman?"
The warrior shrugs and continues on with the others.
Travelling further down the eastern hallway, Kwin and Rose notice that it opens into a room. Searching carefully and approaching with caution, the room is painted with murals depicting five Mwangi men in white robes standing next to each other. The last figure in line has had its left hand blacked out with paint, but the others are not defaced in this way. There is a large bloodstain (very old) in the center of the room. There are doors to the north and the east, which are closed, unlocked and untrapped.
"Mwangi men?" Kwin murmurs as he examines the mural. Were the zombies we fought before Mwangi, or where they too far decomposed to really tell? Were they dressed in white robes?
"And the left hand there, covered up?" Kwin will take a dagger and try to chip off some of the paint over the hand. If we can tell, is the hand depicted as holding something?
Was a ritual performed here? A sacrifice? Parfin simply thinks aloud as he has no formal training in these types of things.
And if checking out the blood stain and the murals doesn't yield anything actionable, we'll move on via the eastern door with all due caution.
The zombies where a mix of Mwangi and Garundi humans, they did not have white robes. The men depicted in the mural appear to be tending to the sick in a number of ways. Picking at the paint with the dagger, Kwin isn't able to learn much as the paint underneath comes away with black paint as well. The bloodstain is weeks or perhaps months old.
Cautiously heading through the eastern door, the room contains no identifying decorations or furniture. There are a few small holes drilled into the stone walls perhaps to hold torch sconces, but the holes have nothing interesting about them after further investigation. There is another eastern door as well as a souther door.
"Another room with little of interest." Kwin forces a smile then adds "But at least no zombies and pools of fecal waste!"
We'll try the eastern door after checking it over.
Parfin chuckles to himself and proceeds to the eastern door.
Jericho follows, alert for enemies.
Cautiously continuing to the next room to the east...
This room contains a rotted bedframe, a nightstand, and a wooden chest under the bedframe. The chest has already been broken open, and is empty. There are three pictures on the nightstand, each of which is a charcoal sketch of a different woman’s face.
Kwin's goggles alert him to the presense of a secret door and after a few moments of concentration he is able to locate it on the northern wall! After searching around another moment he is able to find the release for it.
The secret door in the north wall of the room contains some interesting items. The contents of the secret room are: (1) an earthenware jar containing five golden rings each with the inscription “To my one and only,” worth 50 gp each; (2) a silver headed light mace (100 gp), (3) a leather bag containing 500 gp, (4) an earring with an obsidian sphere dangling from it (5) three red scrolls tied together with a parchment note that reads, "Jossel, if you plan on continuing your activities with the young ladies of the various villages where you are assigned, the High Priest suggests that you might need these."
"Hmm. An otherwise ordinary bedchamber, it would seem." Seeing the sketches, he adds "A promiscuous fellow, at that." With the contents behind the secret door reviewed, Kwin says "I don't think these people were minions of Orcus. Peacefully romancing local women hardly seems to fit that mold. So perhaps a faction here combating the minions of Orcus that died out? Well, we will make sure these valuables go toward that same fight; we'll use the proceeds to better prepare ourselves to delve deeper here."
Can Rose or I identify the scrolls? Spellcraft
Since it looks like we've gone as far as we could in this direction, we'll start back, checking missed passages and doors as we go. Our next stop, the southern facing door in the last room (where I've moved Kwin's icon).
Checking the door carefully and then opening, Kwin finds this room is the lair of a giant diseased giant rat that is almost ten feet long! It only has a few patches of fur sticking out from its pale hide, which is covered with oozing boils. Its eyes are bright red,
[fspoiler=Party Initiative]
Dobin - Init:
Jericho - Init:
Kwin - Init:
Miette - Init:
Parfin - Init:
Rose - Init:
Rat - Init:
[/spoiler]
Round 1
Dobin
Miette
Rat - 9 damage taken
Parfin
Rose
Kwin
Jericho
"Holy crap that is a big rat!" Miette yells as she quickly raises her crossbow and fires a bolt into the thing!
*hit*
Dobin is up!
Dobin quickly swings around and slices into the giant vermin with his sword.
Attack-melee:
Damage:
The large rat lunges forward at Dobin as he approaches and bites the warrior! Dobin returns the attack with a slash of his own!
*hit*
The beast then tires to turn Dobin into it's next meal!
*miss*
Round 1
Dobin
Miette
Rat - 18 damage taken
Parfin
Rose
Kwin
Jericho
Everyone else may act for Round 1, and Dobin may go again for Round 2!
Parfin flies into a rage, moves into the room and attacks the creature!
for
Round 2
Dobin again slashes at the rat, but this time he also smacks it with his shield-spike.
Attack-melee(sword):
Damage:
Attack-melee(shield):
Damage:
Round 2
Kwin launches an arrow at the enormous rat.
To hit
Damage
Then he uses a move (and a 5' shift class ability use) to get to a corner of the room to support the warriors.
Parfin's attack smashes into the giant rat as Rose's whip distracts it momentarily! The raging half-orc crushes the skull of the rat into the back wall with a bone cracking thud!
The beast seems dazed as Dobin moves in for the kill, swinging his sword but missing he is able to impale the rat with his spiked shield!
While searching the room, Jericho and Miette notice a rotting humanoid form shambling down the hallway towards you!
Round 1
Party
Zombie
Party up!
Fearing more disease, Jericho draws and throws his dagger at it and steps 5' back.
Kwin moves back out of the room and, before Parfin charges up and splatters the zombie, Kwin tries to stick an arrow in, more to give the impression he's helping than anything else.
To hit
Damage
Despite his condition, Parfin moves himself into position to strike the approaching enemy!
Dobin also moves to the doorway to assist if needed.
Miette manages to clear and reload her crossbow and takes a shot after Jericho's dagger flies wide, though her bolt doesn't seem to slow the advancing undead!
*hit*
As the zombie shambles toward Parfin, he unleashes his earthbreaker on it, smashing the rotting mess into the doorframe! Like the zombies near the wretched water, this one also explodes in a shower of putrescence which Parfin tries to shield himself from.
Now where?
We'll continue to work our way out of this dead end. Next up in the door on the north wall. I've put Kwin's icon there on the map to note which one.
Jericho picks up his dagger quietly, unimpressed with his wide throw.
After taking the standard precatuions and checking the door, satisfied Kwin pulls the swollen door open!
This room reeks; as the door is opened, the stench rolls out of the room like heat from a blast furnace. At the center of the room there is a seething puddle of unbelievable putrescence, so foul that just the sight of it is enough to make the Kwin's eyes water. Kwin can see from the door that the pool is fed from a rivulet that runs into the room through a crack in the stones of the north wall.
"Ugh! I really need to make an item that supplies me with fresh air, or mitigates the need to breath all together!"
Kwin will cast detect magic around the room, looking for anything of arcane value that might be hidden below the surface.
If that doesn't turn up anything interesting, we'll try the other door in this room. Do we have to cross the puddle to get to it? We would want to avoid actually coming into contact with it. If it blocks our access to the door, please let us know and we can figure something out to get around it.