Yasmin reaches out into the ether, her eyes glazing over briefly...
...but detects no magical auras...
Rallos check the garderobe for any secret compartments or drawers.
Examining the garderobe, you find an unusual feature - a discrete button disguised as a knot in the wood along the rear wall. Before you press it, you listen carefully against the northern wall and hear, just over the volume of your own quieted breathing, a gentle and repetitive ticking noise...
Back away...quickly...I am not sure what this is....might be a trap or something coming out...
Rallos backs away from the garderobe 20ft
The ticking is definitely metallic and quite rhythmic... almost clockwork...
"Curiosity killed the cat"... Rallos, what have you done?
There's a slight smile on Ea's lips, but the prepares herself for another battle nevertheless.
Somethink like the mechanical golem we fought some time before, perhaps?
Pertreeko shakes his head in mistrust. "Why anyone would construct such a thing is beyond my understanding..." the druid moves a little closer, examining the button. He rubs his beak with his feathers thoughtfully.
"I want to press it."
for once, I have done nothing. I don't know the source of the ticking. It might be anither automaton like before. I found a button, but am not sure if the button and ticking are connected. I have an idea. Everyone clear out of tge room and i will press the button. Any thoughts?
"Very brave, curious, and possibly very foolish idea, Mr. Therinor." the druid makes his way out of the room and takes up a spot in the doorframe looking in.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Grayface says with a wide smile. Heeding his friend's advice, he exits the room.
"Good luck!" agrees Yasmin. She sure hopes this does not go wrong.
one thing first. Yasmin, I need to borrow your longspear. I can press the button with that. at least I won't be right beside it should something happen.
After he gets the spear, Rallos readies to press the button. He stands to the side and uses the spear to press the button from afar. He also holds his breath should a gas come out. He prepares to dart for the door should anything spring out at him.
Ea waits near the door, with the rest of the group
It is his Fate.Let's hope he did the right choice.
Standing at a distance with his breath held and ready to run, Rallos depresses the disguised button - with a slight crunching of wood upon wood, the entire rear wall of the Garderobe slides away to reveal a room behind. The secret room beyond is filled, floor to ceiling, with shelves and pigeonholes...the air holds the dusty aroma of ancient parchment.
At the rear of the room, the source of the ticking noise, a four-armed, human-sized clockwork construct balancing on three legs that rise into a central body. As the door slides open, the ticking increases in intensity and speed...cogs whirr as the clockwork springs to life.
Rallos dashes by the beast, seizing the opportunity to strike a blow at its vital gears.
Still grinning, the fighter hustled into the room and initiate melee combat with this dangerous machine. "Here we go!"
Rallos ducks beneath the accelerating machine and, seeing his opportunity, smashes his mace against an exposed gearwheel - moving with his friend, Grayface steps in and rends a tear across the stumbling machine's torso. Cogs and gears rapidly slow until, with a crunch of metal on metal, it ceases moving entirely…
Taking the time now to examine your surroundings, this room is full of parchments, scrolls and tomes – most are stored tidily on the shelves that line the room although several books are open on the table in the corner. Next to these books is a black leather ledger…with a number of quills and an inkpot nearby, it is clear that the ledger is being used…but, as it is locked shut, you can’t tell what for.
Well, now that we can breathe again....good job Gray.
Rallos then looks around the room.
Clearly these things are not mine and Gray's realm of expertise. I will leave it to you three to determine the value and importance of these tomes. I will take a look at that lock...after someone checks for magical traps. I assume there is one.
Rallos then scans through the room, checking for anything out of place
The swiftness with which the two combatants put down the automaton caused a rush of pride in Grayface. There was almost nothing as satisfying as a well-aimed solid blow from a fine weapon.
Trying to contain his smug, self-satisfied demeanor, Gray walked around the room helping Rall look for anything else of interest.
Well done, both of you.Pharasma smiled at you.
Passing near Rallos, she adds in a whisper
The cat got lucky this time.
Then she looks at the books with interest
Could you please take some time to open the lock of this ledger, Rallos?
I would be more than happy to...but could it not be protected by magic? Those locks and traps I cannot disarm.
Yasmin could probably detect if any magic is at work. That would be a first step
There are no detectable magical aras within this room - Rallos, examines the ledger to confirm that there are no apparent traps - it looks safe.
Excellent...now about this lock....
Rallos gets his tools out to work on the lock.
Rallos easily picks the lock of the black ledger and, opening it carefully, discovers pages and pages of meticulously copied text...there are family trees (with multiple interconnected dotted lines suggesting convoluted relationships), records of the news within Fort Inevitable – trade in / trade out with a number of items being highlighted as ‘interesting?’, rumours about certain Hellknights and, finally, lists of arrest warrants and executions…
Beyond this treatise of life in Fort Inevitable, there is another text…written on charcoal black paper, it is described as ‘Words Behind the Mask’…
Looking at other books, scrolls and parchments on the shelves reveals little beyond the fact that, whoever was transcribing information into the black ledger was using the records on the shelves as source material…
While Rallos takes his time to pop open the book's lock, Grayface will bend down to the automaton and pick up a small cogwheel from the broken lifeless pile of scrap. He then ran a twine through it and tied it around his neck, as a keepsake.
When Rallos reveals the contents of the book Grayface raises an eyebrow mischievously.
"That contains some sensitive information indeed. I bet we could make some important people at the fort very uncomfortable with the knowledge that we own their secrets. We should keep this blackbook for later."
"So, onward?"
Investigating the room at the northern end of the corridor first... This room is choked with tables stacked with stills and alembics, flasks, vats, and crockery. The eastern wall is fitted with stout wine racks filled with empty bottles of various sizes and shapes. Notably there are no bottles with any liquids within them and there is no small amount of broken glass on the floor... Almost as if someone cleared out and left in a hurry.
And then, when you have confirmed there is no threat from the emptied room, you move to the room at the eastern end of the corridor - this room had, the last time you were in the Spire, a cacophony of animal noises emanating from it - but now, it is silent... Trusting nothing, Rallos listens and checks for traps before opening the door to a room filled with cages... The smell of animals - canine, feline and who knows what else, is overpowering but, so far as you can see, the room is now abandoned and devoid of life.
To the south of the corridor, a final door...opening into a kitchen which, in turn, connects to the dining room where you previously fought the Splinters.
...it seems that the entire hideout has been abandoned... and, of the Gibbering Mouther, no sign...
Rallos jots down the specifics of the level for Royst.
We should head back. The news we found in that ledger might be worth mentioning to the powers that be. And a nice place to rest to....I do not feel so well after that fight with those ghouls.
"Excellent drawing Rallos. I never could keep my lines straight. I'm fine with returning to town but we can drop off this level's map to Royst anytime. I say let's rest up here and see how we feel tomorrow before we decide to delve deeper or not."
Gray (hopefully with some friends accompanying him) will go check out the bundled piles of weapons previously brought up to our old campsite one level up, where we rested the first night after we encountered the bandits.
"Nice map indeed - let's hope Royst is back in town, or we might need to go fetch him." Yasmin is pleased that the gibbering monster is gone.
So, do we rest here or at the Fort? If we rest here, I could study this book, "Words Behind the Mask", and get more information about Norgober and its servants.
"Let's just get out of here. You never know what's going to show up in these parts."
-Posted with Wayfinder
Grayface – The weapons are safely stored up on Gorloth’s level – although, you do notice as you continue your searching and mapping of the Splinter’s hideout, a lot of the crates, boxes and barrels that were stored along the corridors have gone – along with the robes in the small armoury.
"Frankly, I am more at home staying here, under the stars and among the forest trees, than go back to that Fort again." The Tengu druid nods at all of you. "If you wish to return to the Fort, I would be happy to meditate a safe distance from the Spire and await your return. I feel new vistas of possibility opening for me; I wish to think on them."
"Agreed. I want to keep those upper levels from becoming infested with the minions of evil, and our trips through those levels at random intervals will help. Also, our spoils are up that way so we can grab them on our way out!"
Grayface gathers the bundles for assessment. He looks over the spoils:
He then looks for any empty, remaining crates, barrels, or other containers that might be suitable to transporting some for elaborate crockery found in the Splinter's lair.
"Through the spire sounds good to me. I do wonder if we'll see these bandits again."
-Posted with Wayfinder
The levels of the Spire are still empty...Gorloth's domain, the home to nothing more than a few 'normal' sized spiders whilst the goblin's domain within the ruins of the tower is still devoid of life - the wind whistling through gaps in the green glass building to create the occasional noise...
...and then, back out into the snow...and the long trudge back to Fort Inevitable...
...by the time you arrive at the guarded (but open) gate at the northern end of the town, it is mid-afternoon. With more respect than you have previously been shown, the Hellknights hale you as you approach and, without question, let you pass into the town...
I have no idea where we should take that finery. I wonder if the priestess would know where we should take it. Since diplomatic skills are not mine or Gray's forte, I think Ea and Yasmin should take care of that. I will gladly go along, but will keep quiet.
Rallos heads to the inn after getting back to the fort. Feeling a little ragged and slightly uneasy, he huddled at the bar with a warm mug of tea, hoping the hot liquid would shake the chill he has, whether it is real or imagined.
I sure hope that ghoul bite doesn't lead to anything....
Grayface nods at Rallos' suggestion. He knew better than to try his hand at negotiating the sale of crockery, plates, and goblets. The proud warrior stuck to what he knew best - warrior's gear. For now he was confident that he would get a fair price for all of the looted weapons and armours from Rillin or Tsador.
After selling the spoils of war, Grayface finds his companions again. He hands them a hefty pouch of coin, clinking heavily into each person's outstretched hand.
"Here is everyone's share. We did well." Gray smiles a self-satisfied half-smile, thoroughly enjoying these moments with his friends when they are awarded their due.
"Shall we pay Royst a visit now? We can get even more coin and maybe he's figured out how to work that artifact we left with him."
Thank you for the money, Grayface. You did well.
Seeing Rallos not as loud and boisterous as usual, Ea asks
Do you still feel sick, Rallos? Do you want me to check on your wounds, later?
There is, as far as the rogue can tell, some true concern in Ea's voice.
But is it because she feels sympathy for the fetchling's health or because she's already planning to bash his head with her morningstar should he turn into an undead abomination... That he can't tell.
Yes, Grayface, it may pay to see Royst now.
A slight smile on those thin lips.
Maybe there is a human trapped in Ea's body, after all?
If her appearance wasn't so strict, if her behavior was more relaxed, and if she would show more of her emotions, she could even be considered good looking.
"We can always see if Royst is in the market for some crockery. A few of these things might be useful for practicing alchemy. More importantly, I want to make sure he's back safely, and to see if he has some more information for us."
After you have sold the weapons and eaten a hot meal in the Julliver, you all head over to Abernard Royst’s house – reassured by the smoke rising from his chimney, you knock at his door…there is a short wait before the wizard opens his door – a smile washes over his face as he sees you, ”Ah, I thought you had left town for a while? My neighbour Frederyck said you had come looking for me yesterday – I am sorry, I was out of town…business to attend to you see… and I hear you brought the brigand Dars in as well…. My, you are making a name for yourselves around here…. Do come in… come in…”, he gestures for you to come in out of the cold…
As you make your way in, he asks, ”Now, how can I help you?”
Pertreeko waves farewell to his friends as they make their way to the Fort, after arranging a rendezvous point to expect to meet them at.
While he awaits their return, he practices shapeshifting into various animals of the region, due to having just learned the ability to do so.