As well, Zev peers over the other's shoulders...
Maerra ducks down to peer in before muscling her way in front.
(+1 from star aura = 21)
After tying the two goblins to the tables and leaving them, you move on down the hallway. Sure enough, it turns and you can see it continue all the way down to the other side of the building where you were. There are a few doors down that way too, but the one in front of you is your current concern. It opens easily once you remove the bar.
This room appears to be the storefront of the glassworks. Various items are on display, including colored glass bottles, stained glass windows, glass sculptures of various animals and people and numerous other things made of glass. What strikes you as odd is that considering the place was recently inhabited by goblins, none of the merchandise has been damaged or destroyed.
There is a another door leading out of here marked 'Storage', plus the front door that opens to the street outside.
"It doesn't look like the goblins came in here."
Even so, Aurica goes in and opens the door to check the storage room before proceeding to the next door down the hall.
Milah stands ready to assist Aurica, if the need arises.
As you open the door, you have to step around some broken pieces of glass to get any further. The storage doorway opens to a hallway that bends around the corner. Another door near lies partially open and in the light of Aurica's power you can see a dark stain on the floor by the door.
Aurica moves up cautiously to examine the dark stain, also listening for sounds of any intruders.
"At least it looks like the old man was dead before the glass got piled on him," Maerra says, glancing at the stain. She too moves up, keeping an ear open.
The stain itself appears to have been blood, but without further investigation, it is difficult to tell how old it is. Aurica's eyes move up to the storage room itself, noting that several of the pieces in here look more expensive than the ones on display. They must be custom work. On the floor in this room is a single finger, judging by the ragged skin and flesh and bone sticking out of it, that was chewed off of someone.
Down the hallway are more doors and every so often you see a splatter of dried blood...
Aurica enters and looks around the storage room.
Maybe you want to call for an opposed perception check from the others?
Milah continues down the hallway and listens at the next door.
Milah's cat like ears listen very closely at the next door and she can hear the pitter-pattering of very tiny feet in the next room. According to the sign on the door, it should contain cleaning supplies. The room next to it says firewood and the room straight ahead is marked as the mess hall. There is a distinct smell coming from underneath the door of the mess hall...
Aurica returns to the hallway and notices Milah looking very focused at the cleaning room door and whispers, "What is it, Milah?"
Milah whispers to Aurica, "I hear something behind this door..." She spreads the word to the others and, when they indicate they are ready, enters the room, rapier drawn.
The light from Aurica's aura let in by Milah's opening of the door only shows quite a few mops, buckets, brooms and other such sundries. It also dislodges a group of rats that go swarming out of the closet, nipping, biting and squeaking as they race past you. Luckily it isn't a large enough group to overwhelm you...
Milah allows the rats to escape past her feet, graceful as she steps between the scurrying bodies.
Aurica also dodges the rats and then moves closer to the mess hall door.
"The cleaners here aren't much" she grumbles as she kicks the rats away.
Zev had followed Aurica down the hallway, not wanting her to go too far by herself.
He stood by as she listened, his own head cocked to one side.
Standing ready as the door was opened, his feet dance here and there as he tries to avoid the stream of rats..
... and easily gigs his way out of harms way.
All of you easily move around the family of rats that runs off to find a new home as you have disturbed their current one. Getting closer to the mess hall door, a rank scent assaults your noses, as if something rancid was left out overnight. Milah hears nothing as she leans as close as she dares to the door.
"Ready when you are," Aurica says to Milah, waiting for her to open the door.
Milah silently opens the door, rapier drawn.
Milah opens the door and the smell assaults all of your noses, that of some sickly liquid that you now see spilled all over the floor of this room. Judging from the upturned tables and several chairs strewn about and the hearth oven, this is definitely the mess hall. Several sacks of flour and corn meal are scattered about and you see what looks to be animal droppings all over. On top of that, there are smaller dried puddles of what could only be urine. It is apparent the goblins have used this place for many things, not the least of which is a privy.
The actual privy door hangs open and the smell of death permeates from it as well, though with all the other smells, it is still faint. To your immediate right, you see smears of blood along the floor that lead into a room with the door partially open...
Disgusted, Aurica covers her nose with one hand and does her best to tip toe on clear spots of floor over to the partially open door and pushes it open the rest of the way.
Maerra moves to catch up so that Aurica doesn't leave her behind.
Not stepping as delicately as Aurica, Zev stomps over the the privy door to see what villainy the goblins got up to in there...
Milah follows the others, doing her best not to seem affected by the nauseating smells and sights.
Zev looks upon the ruin of someone's body in the privy, the smell, sights and sound of flies causes his gorge to rise.
With effort, he resists the urge to add to the mix of stenches in this room and slowly back out and closes the door.
Turning to the others, "You'd rather not see that..." but sees them peering into the room beyond.
He wanders down the nearby hallway, and listens to the closed door there...
Milah breathes shallowly as she makes her way back to the previous door and opens it.
Milah's finds that this small room is not more than a storage for glassworking tools of various shapes and lengths. There is also a small pile of firewood in here as well.
The two rooms that Zev stands near have their doors already open. One is obviously the kitchen, with the remains of food left all over the floor and pots, pans and oven racks all in disarray. The room across from it is the pantry. It appears the goblins cleaned it out as well, with the ripped sacks and broken barrels of grains and other food stuffs. Zev also spots a broken dogslicer that might have been used as a makeshift lockpick on the door in the pantry. That one also hangs open and he can see firewood stacked high inside.
The door at the other end of the mess hall, you reason, leads back to the room you came through in the first place...
Aurica proceeds into the first room and through it, to the first door that the party had walked by on their way in. She listens at the door.
Maerra rechecks the pantry and kitchen for trapdoors or similar. "Got to be a way into the cellar somewhere... "
,
Maerra finds nothing else of interest in this area, other than more rotten smells and things that would probably be best left undescribed when she tells this story to the patrons of the the Rusty Dragon later...
Nothing out of place is heard at the door Aurica is at, besides the rumble of the furnaces nearby...
Hearing no indication of danger, Aurica goes ahead and opens the door.
Milah stands by Aurica, rapier ready for...whatever.
This next area appears to be a simple hallway leading to another room with the door left slightly open. Though no sound escapes from it, your hearing is still affected by the ongoing furnaces. You do note however that someone dropped a hastily scrawled note on the floor of this hallway along with what appears to be a seal ring and some crumpled papers.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Aurica picks up the note first before grabbing the ring and other papers.
Milah follows Aurica through the short hallway, hackles raised and rapier ready.
As soon as she notices, Maerra grabs Zev and drags him after the other pair.
"Who...What...Where?!?!" Zev blurts as Maerra pulls him along, then he sees Aurica picking up something on the floor, "What you got, Aury?"
As Maerra and Zev arrive, Aurica is unfolding the note. She reads aloud, ". . ."
"T, I hope that whatever your plans are for this ring are worth what it took to get it. We have held up our end of the deal. Now it's your turn. - J."
The papers themselves seem to be copied invoices on some shipments that came through Sandpoint in the last few weeks.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Milah examines the ring and states, "This is the family signet of the Valdemar family. They're one of the founding families of Sandpoint. Who knows what mischief - or worse - someone could have wrought with this..."
"Might be T is Tsuto? Who'd J be though?" Maerra thinks out loud,"wouldn't be a goblin, they don't write for some demon-loving reason. Let's keep looking for the way down."
2nd question: are the other listed shipments ones that Aurica may have heard any chatter about being taken by Jubrayl's organization?
3rd question: has Aurica ever seen any of Jubrayl's handwriting? Does this note look like it's his?
The room this hallway leads to is in disarray. It appears to have been an office, with a mahogany desk and chair. Papers are thrown here and there and quills and ink are spilled on the desk itself. On the floor you can see a green stain. There is another door that leads from this room.