Owen keeps an eye out for trouble.
Savendir peers over the edge and sees the lookout watching the entrance of Carthon's Warehouse. Nothing else appears out of the ordinary in the alley.
All is quiet on the rooftop as Owen keeps a vigilant lookout for trouble.
Zarine tries the door to the shed. She does not find any traps but the door is locked from the inside.
Zarine gives a little moue of annoyance.
Some people are so untrusting.
She shakes her head and retrieves a set of tools from her pack, then sets to work on the lock.
Zarine's skilled hands make quick work of the lock and it yields with a click.
Zarine creeps back to the group.
"The door is open," she murmurs quietly to those assembled, "We could go in and explore or at least get the group off the rooftop and maybe leave one sentry overlooking Carthon's. I am not certain of the best thing to do."
"I think any investigation should be brief and cursory. We just want to know what sort of building we are atop. Breaking into every warehouse on the street is not part of our mission."
"Oog doesn't want to go to jail."
"I could go take a quick peek if you like, and come right back. Perhaps somebody should go watch Carthon's in the meantime," Zarine suggests, "And we'll keep everyone out of jail."
Nyxalia steps forward and opens her mouth, as if to say something and then drops her head and softly says "I can be pretty quiet when I need to, I could go with you if you like so you're not alone". She directs the statement in the direction of Zarine.
Zarine nods with a pleased smile. "That would be a relief. Really, I do not expect to find anything here, but if we are going to keep watch from this vantage point, it would be better to know what we're on top of."
"Oog and I will keep a watch on Carthon's while you and, er, Nyxalia explore."
To identify the holy symbols open the spoiler in the next post with a successful DC 10 knowledge (religion) check.
"No, Oog, I don't know why anyone would be wearing a holy symbol for both Pharasma and Norgorber at the same time," Ilias says sharply to thin air to the left of himself.
Savendir's eyes widen. "What do you see, Ilias?"
Zarine (and Nyxala?) peek in the door of the shed atop the roof and look/listen for anything unusual.
Knoweldge (religion): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17
"No, Oog, I don't know why anyone would be wearing a holy symbol for both Pharasma and Norgorber at the same time," Ilias says sharply to thin air to the left of himself.
Owen's head whips around to look at Ilias, eyes narrowing.
"What?"
"Well, we saw a man carrying packages to Carthon's, he set them down to retrieve some keys, and when he bent over to pick up the packages, Oog noticed that he had a holy symbol of Pharasma and a holy symbol of Norborger hanging around his neck."
Nyxalia trails behind Zarine as quietly as she can.
Zarine checks out the rooftop entrance to the warehouse below. She cannot hear anything from her current position.
Zarine shrugs at Nyxalia and shakes her head to indicate she hears nothing. She is inclined to move to rejoin the group and keep watch after that, once Nyxalia is prepared to do so.
Nothing in Owen's knowledge of religion can explain why someone would wear the holy symbols of those two deities at the same time.
"Well, that matches the sort of thing I saw in Sirathu. The cultists were operating out of a hidden chamber beneath the temple of Pharasma. They must be maneuvering within the church to mask their efforts. Given their predilection for animating the dead, it is safe to say they are not adherents of the true teachings of the Lady of Graves."
As you watch the warehouse, you see a courier walk up to the office door and knock. Half a minute passes and the door opens. The courier hands over a letter and then quickly departs. The door closes again.
"I'd sure like to know what's in that letter," Zarine muses, staring intently at the scene below, "Maybe we should find out. Do we have to watch out for adherents of this Norburger fellow?"
"Can someone distract the lookouts? We need a way to get into Carthon's without doing so right under their noses."
Zarine makes a tiny moue. "I did not have much luck at that, and would probably only make him suspicious a second time. Perhaps another sort of distraction at the far end of the alley, away from Carthon's? Is that something Oog could do?" She turns to address the question to Ilias.
"I can distract. Or I can take care of problem."
Owen motions toward the door.
"Wait for next courier. Get rid of him. Take the message."
"Um...er...Oog's methods of distraction are a little...extreme. Are you, um, sure that's what you want?"
"Hmm," Zarine's brow furrows slightly at the declaration of Oog's puissance, "Did we ever check to see if Carthon's has a back way in?"
"I'm subtle. Trust me."
"Hmm," Zarine's brow furrows slightly at the declaration of Oog's puissance, "Did we ever check to see if Carthon's has a back way in?"
"We did not."
Owen begins scanning the area, searching for a possible entrance.
Savendir looks across at the rooftop of Carthon's, scanning for entrances with his elven vision.
Owen does not see any shed like structure on the rooftop that resembles the one at their current location. However, Savendir's keen eyes do see a low protrusion on the roof that he surmises is a trapdoor entrance to the roof.
No other entrances other than the office door and double door facing the street and a second pair of double doors facing the alley are visible.
"There's a trapdoor on the roof of Carthon's. It may be possible to enter it unnoticed."
Zarine squints across the street. "Your eyesight beats your climbing, master elf," she winks at Savendir, "Now, how to get there. Shall we try a circus act and cross the street at the rooftop level, or descend, circle, and re-ascend? And what of our lurker below?"
"And what of our lurker below?"
"I can deal with him. I don't have to kill him. Up to you."
"There is no way we can cross at roof level," Savendir says, "Unless one of you is adept at flight." It is a legitimate question which he punctuates with a raised eyebrow.
"If you can manage a distraction," he says to Owen, "Perhaps we can sneak in without raising an alarm. Although it might be good to determine if there is a backdoor or any other entrances at street level."
Zarine raises her finely groomed eyebrows. "Owen, I would like to see your distraction. Perhaps I could learn a thing or two." She pulls her veil a little tighter, tucking it more securely into the neck of her garments.
Owen nods, and begins climbing back down the rope.
At the base of the warehouse, he flattens himself against the wall, crouching in the shadows. He murmurs something unintelligible, and the group loses sight of him in the darkness.
Scanning the area, he reaches into a pouch on his belt, gages the distance, and lobs a thunderstone at the corner of the building opposite him.
Nyxalia waits patiently with the others, content to let them decide on the best course of action. She does want to go and see what Owen is up to, but since nobody bet Zarine has gone over to the edge, she refrains.
Savendir climbs down and looks to see if Owen's diversion does the trick.
The lookout, startled but not deafened, looks around the alley to see what's happening. He spots the suddenly materialized Owen.
"S!@$."
Owen swears audibly, and draws his dagger.