Ben looks up from where he is scribbling in his notebook, and turns back to the halfing.
"The more consistent the events, the easier it is to observe and identify. I suggest that you don't change one thing from your usual routine." Ben glances at his friends, shrugs, and goes back to scribbling formulae.
"Plus, if they've already eaten, it's less likely they'll look at us as a snack." Ben mutters into his book.
Laria:
"Hmph. Take care of this and I'll start recommending you to friends as an extermination service." Laria winks and patters to the door. "Food as usual it is, good sirs and mesdames. And coffee is on the house. I'll let Caprice know that you're honored guests and to treat you well."
"That's most kind of you." Dee says with a smile, as to the free coffee, the recommendation or the extra room - it's unclear. She finishes her coffee and stretches before preparing to go upstairs.
Ensis nods, "Also, they're less likely to be starving and trying to eat us this way... at least, not right away..."
Ben looks up.
"Is there an echo in here?" he says with a wry smirk at Ensis.
Ensis chuckles, "See if I ever agree with you again."
Laria is as good as her word, leaving the upstairs to the party all day while she takes care of business in the shop below. Food and drink (well, coffee) are provided whenever needed. She also leaves the normal rations just inside the door to the downstairs before dinnertime, as usual.
Dee spends the entire morning having a good rest to recover from her injuries, glad of the separate rooms & a bit of privacy. Early afternoon, she plans to take the amulet to her Uncle to see if he recognises the crest and with it the group can hopefully identify the mysterious family that's associated with the Silver Ravens.
Dee's uncle totally cheats and looks up the crest in an old book of heraldry from his library. It is a ring of the Juliac family, the prior owners of the Fair Fortune Livery.
He insists that she stay and share a fine bottle of port that he recently acquired.
Laria:
When the party descends in the evening and notifies Laria of their readiness, she leads them into a pantry/storage closet behind the kitchen, unlocking the sturdy pantry door first.
"Close the door," she says softly, threading her way through the shelves full of stores and random crates and casks scattered around. She rolls a couple of barrels aside - having no problem moving them herself - and presses a hidden stud at the back of an adjacent shelf. A panel pushes back. She shoves it aside, revealing a dark stone stairway leading down.
"Down there," she whispers, "Do you want me to go with you?"
Rexus:
Rexus takes one look at the dark stairs and lights his lantern with a wave of his hand and a low word.
Valexia looks around the storeroom, twanging at the string on her bow, "You know," she notes to nobody in particular, "One of these days I will hit something with an arrow, and you will all be quite impressed by the dazzling display."
She idly takes a look around the storeroom as they go, mild curiosity on her face, but she lacks the commitment of actually looking.
At the question on whether Laria should accompany them, she says, "Well, you said you are a thinker, not a fighter... Perhaps best for you to stay back, in case we take awhile down there. Best to make everything look normal." She glances between the others and says, "But my fame is for my voice, not for excellent judgment, so do with that what you may."
Ben looks around, patting his satchel as he does so, as if reassuring himself it is still there.
"Yep. It's a storeroom alright." Ben decides at last.
Ensis watches the others and yawns, "Isn't all the excitement down there?"
"Yup," Rexus responds glumly, and starts down the stairs behind the hidden door, pointing his lantern forward into the gloom.
The stairs are carved from living rock, as is the well-dressed corridor beyond. The damp walls seem to vanish at the furthest extent of the lantern light, though some crumbled remains at those points indicate it might not have been a planned disappearance of said rock.
The cavern smells strongly of wet stone and the sea, with a faint hint of smoke. There's the occasional slopping slap of a wave on rock from somewhere ahead and to the left (probably).
Ben peers into the gloom barely dispelled by Rexus' lantern.
"It is dark. You are likely to be eaten by a grue." Ben intones tonelessly. Then in a brighter, chipper tone continues,
"Very dangerous. YOU go first!" He smiles at Ensis.
Ensis chuckles, "Apparently we left our enthusiasm and sense of adventure in our other pants, Ben? He shrugs and heads down the stairs, passing Rexus, trusting in his unnatural vision to amplify the light.
Ben sniffs, lighting his own lantern.
"MY enthusiasm and sense of adventure are right here, thank you." The alchemist says, patting his satchel of tricks.
"I'm,... just saving mine. In case of emergency." He adds, holding his lantern high and following Ensis cautiously down the stairway.
Dee strolls casually down the stairs into the cavern, one hand against the wall in case the natural stairs have any sort of slime or seaweed from the damp air. "Frankly, seems a trifle hazardous down here. Hmm since we've the only light, our friend must have good dark vision..."
She brushes a lock of hair that's escaped from her ponytail back behind an ear and squints into the darkness. Looking to the others, she then calls out in an insistent voice;
Ensis chuckles, "Years of sneaking out of my dowager aunt's Manor were good for something.."
"Sneaking sounds good. maybe we should try it?" Ben asks in a slightly worried voice. He winces visibly at Deanna's cry.
"Well we've come to find out what's going on, no good pussy-footing around....especially when we've brought bright torches into this dark cavern. Anything with eyes can spot us." Dee hisses softly waving the others into the shadows if they want.
"It was just a thought." Ben Grumbles softly.
He does, however, hold his lantern higher.
AND sticks his free hand into his bag.
Ensis says, "And not a bad thought.... Though, in this case, one we'll have to save for later."
"Understood. Onward then?" Ben says resignedly. He holds up his lantern for Ensis and follows the duelist down the steps,...
There's a soft splash from the opening to the left ahead, which fades into more slopping waves.
Ben gently prods Ensis.
Then does it again. Just in case the first time was too subtle.
With a soft resigned sigh Dee moves towards the pool, keeping an eye on her feet for damp rocks or a grasping pseudopod. Her arm raising the lantern high above her head. 'For all that my family were sailors... well pirates as my Grandmothers side calls them, I don't really want to fall in yet another pool.'
Ensis chuckles, "As tempting as it is to stand here until Ben breaks his finger, I guess I should check out that sound..."
He strides toward the pool, blade in hand.
"Ben, are you manhandling Ensis again?" asks Valexia, before watching the swashbuckler walk towards the pool, remarking with a grin, "If only I were so bold!" She draws her bow, just in case something nasty decides to appear.
Ensis chuckles, "We may have to find you some liquid courage when we're done here, milady... If I'm to be handled, I think I'd prefer your hands to Ben's."
Ben rolls his eyes, his blush invisible in the lantern light.
"Not manhandling, more like a gentle prodding,... Oh, Wait, that STILL sounds terrible,,... I think I may need some liquid courage if I'm going to survive THIS verbal onslaught. I'll leave the clever quips to you lot. I'm just here for moral support." Ben says, jiggling the lantern for emphasis.
"And Artillery, If needed." He adds with a small smirk.
"SO,... Back to business. Do you see anything in the water? I can't see anything from behind your armored backside." Ben sounds a trifle grumbly, possibly still embarrassed.
Rexus' lantern illuminates the corridor and, as he moves to follow Ensis, the rooms and pool beyond. The ceiling seems to be about ten feet high, and the corridor is lined with empty sconces obviously meant for torches.
As Ensis moves past the opening in the wall, he can see the pool - a reservoir of dark water, ripples now fading into a calm surface. The wooden pier extends twenty feet into the water, while another twenty feet out rises the top half of a statue of a beautiful elven woman. Crouched on her shoulder is a creature which, upon close scrutiny, appears to be a wasp the size of a large bird. A foul smell, like that of rotting meat, comes from the direction of the pier.
On the opposite side of the corridor from the pool, it looks like a couple of rough openings have been knocked through the wall, revealing a glimpse of a chamber beyond.
"Oh. Calistra. Nice statue. If your into that sort of thing."
Ben says, indicating the statue sticking out of the water. He sniffs the air, but does not cringe at the rotting meat smell. He likely deals with worse smells in his lab.
Walking forwards towards the pier, upon the balls of her feet ready to dive away as she approaches Rexus. Her nostrils flare slightly at the smell before bringing a linen handkerchief to her face - nicely pressed and scented with lavender.
"Meat? Could it be bait for a trap? Or our missing smuggler... if there's a difference." She wonders softly trying to locate the source visually beneath the pier & steeling herself mentally.
Ensis nods, "It could be that... It is a rather foul smell.. Almost enough to make me forget to tease Ben about lust not being his story of thing... almost."
"Maybe it's a defense mechanism... those grimple things spew goo at us... maybe whatever this is smells like it's dead..." Bertom says wrinkling his nose "It would make playing dead quite convincing." He shakes his head "It's enough to knock the lust out of anyone... well except maybe you Ensis."
The rogue moves along after Rexus drawing his weapons, he'd like to ready if some foul smelling monster decides to attack.
Ensis shrugs, "Could be... Or we might just be approaching a lair with rotting meat... Is the smell coming from the water?"
"It's coming from that direction,..." Ben says helpfully. Indicating a general direction that basically includes the entire body of water, and that half of the basement cave,...
"Calistra? Well," decides Valexia as she looks at the statue of the goddess without any glimmer of recognition, "I expect anyone who would hold a giant wasp on her shoulder has a flair for the dramatic. She's okay in my book."
She tries to spot any strange movement in the area before them, quickly turning her attention to her nails as she gets bored of that.
"I'm not going into the water again!" Dee warns primly, as she walks forwards to look underneath the pier.
"Not a problem. Our encounters thus far seem to indicate an excessive willingness of any damp denizen to come to us!"
:)
Crouching down whilst ensuring none of her clothes trail into the water, Dee peers into the smelly darkness beneath the pier.
Ben (and anybody who looks) sees that the room across from the water is full of small-sized beds and sleeping pallets, as well as a few crates and tables. It looks like quite a few halflings could be hidden here in relative comfort for some time. However, unlike the tidy quarters upstairs, this room is in disarray; furnishings have been knocked over, bedding shredded and scattered, and crates knocked open, as if somebody ransacked the place in a towering rage.
From their vantage point near the dock, Dee and Ensis can see the remains of... somebody... tucked under the stone lip of the pool, close to where Dee crouches. The person has been in the water for a while.
Ensis points, "Looks like a corpse in the water... Maybe a friend of our benefactor?"
"This room seems to have been set up for a cozy campground for halfings. Or similar -sized persons." Ben calls quietly over his shoulder.
"Looks like somebody decided they don't like camping. The place is trashed even worse than I would do on a bad Mutagen trip."
Dee nods to Ben as he provides his assessment of the room, wondering what sort of smuggling operation would require so many small bed. 'I've heard of persecution of halflings, but wonder if it was helping them to get out or slavery... or child slavery.' She distracts herself with grim thoughts for the body in front of her is even more vile.
"Certainly Ensis, it could be who we're looking for. But if so who was making sounds.... and what was that thing that just swam behind the statue?" Dee wonders.
"Ben, is there a mop or pole in there, to fish the corpse out?" She asks with slight exasperation.
"Hang on." Ben replies softly, and inches cautiously into the room, holding his lantern high in order to find Dee a long pole or stick of some sort.
His other hand holds his loaded crossbow against his side, ready to fire.
Not the most accurate way to fire a crossbow, but if something gets close enough to attack him physically it's not like he should be able to miss.