"Not detecting any magical auras, afraid to say," Rafaello murmurs as he follows along behind Kien and Galoria into the foyer. "I did, however, detect some truly unfortunate violin-ing from somewheres about. Let's keep things quiet, eh?"
Rafaello admires the billiards table. A fine work of art, it seems. He nods to himself in approval and strokes the holy symbol around his neck. Realizing that Kien has gone back into the main foyer, Rafaello takes one last glance around, making note of the remaining door in the entertainment room. He meanders back to the doorway leading back into the foyer and watches as Kien tries the remaining doors. Unhelpfully, he offers, "You be careful, now, Kien. I've seen my fair share of trapped doors." Somewhat more helpfully, he adds: "I'd be more than happy to share a bit of Shelyn's protection with you if you don't mind."
Pip stands at the entrance to the house, looking between his new adventurous friends and his canine companions.
"This seems a little rude. What if Taergan's just busy and we're barging into his house?"
With a quick shrug, he got over any qualm he had and stepped into the house. Drips and Pavlov were quick to follow, but Pipernortin turned around and held his hand out.
"You stay here. Watch for others, bark if they come."
Running up behind the others, Pip cranes his neck to try and see around all the tall people.
"So... a lot of doors and no one home?"
Galoria enters the billiard room after finding nothing out of the ordinary - besides the noise upstairs. The half-orc seems civil enough. "Ooh - wonderful craftsmanship." She palms a stick and postures herself over the table, locks falling onto the velvet. "Perhaps a match after - a dozen gold pieces. Any takers?"
She sighs as they hop to the search though. Oh well, perhaps later. Trotting along, she replaces the stick.
Standing on his tiptoes so he can look across the billiards table, Pip frowned. "I played once. Didn't end well. So I'm afraid I'll have to decline."
Heading over to the pool cues, Pip grabbed one of the oversized sticks and gave it a few experimental swings. How was anyone supposed to hit those little balls with these? They were easily twice as tall as him! He sighed and replaced the cue.
"Wouldn't be such a problem if you didn't make everything so big..."
He meandered through the room, looking at everything and nothing and everything in between. Then he spotted the padded chairs to the side. Pip dashed over and jumped up, taking a seat in an oversized easy chair.
"These, though. These are nice. Taergan's obviously got some taste."
Turning her head slowly, Laralai tracked down the strange smells. Her eyes locked on the southern most door and she headed to it, murmuring, "There is a strange scent from here." It wasn't too surprising, given the outside of the house, and knowing that Taegan was a Alchemist, that there was probably some kind of lab. Still, it was a likely place to find him as any.
The Half-Orc reached out and tried the door.
Galoria gives the practical Stephen a nod. She looses one of the daggers from her grabs into her left hand.
Summoning a fragment of Shellyn's magic, Rafaello gestured a simple orison that produced a small shield around Kien ( if he chose to accept it ). As divine light surrounded the brawler, he motioned for the Eastern Door, slowly turning its handle and preparing for the worse.
As he opened the Eastern Door, Kien immediately regretted his decision. The drow-descended brawler was met with such bright resplendent light that he nearly doubled over. Sensing danger, Rafaello pulled back his comrade, and entered the room ascertaining for danger, but only saw that the Half Elf had a weakness to...a sun room. Casting his fears aside, the Cleric saw yet another chamber that attributed to the Owner's success as an adventurer.
A small table which sat four individuals was positioned within the center of the room that provided a good view of the townhouse’s backyard. Tugging upon the blue velvet blinds, the Cleric dimmed the light that had cost his ally's sanity. Through the window, Rafaello a wooden patio, hedges, and what looked like a smaller building towards the north.
The leads to :
1. A door that lead to the , possibly a connection towards the chamber leading from the ?
2. A screen door that lead to the .
While your contemporaries busied themselves with the first two chambers, Laralai focused her attention on what seemed like the Owner's Alchemy Lab. Passing through the threshold, the Scarred Witchdoctor was surprised with the contrary!
A tasteful menagerie of Flinn’s travels and victories packs this large room. Paintings and memorabilia fill the perimeter, and a on its front lies in the room’s center. Inside the case rest A fine painting of Flinn and his four adventuring friends hangs on the eastern wall, behind which a .
Laralai was quite certain that amid old musty smells, the laboratory lied to the south past another closed door.
leads to :
1. A that leads to the .
2. A that lies along the that leads to the .
3. A door to the that presumable leads to the
Kienyach mutters a colorful curse, blinking his eyes and shading them. "Bloody sun room..."
What a magnificent room! Much like this adventurer, Galoria imagined she might have such a collection when she was older. "I wonder what tale lies behind that chalice..." Her noble curiosity was tempered by a not-so-noble desire to pick the lock and see what lay within.
However, now was not the time. If the worst was to be assumed about their focus, however...
She allowed herself a brief smile and a last look at the maps. "If I were an intruder, I'd want to leave. Yet the noise I heard was from upstairs. Let's head up."
Barring intense opposition, the woman moved to the staircase.
"I'll go up first, I have a shield."
Hearing the others start to rummage through the house and head for the stairs, Pipernortin sighs and pulls himself out of the human sized chair. Walked back to the foyer with the others, he watched as the group split and went in two different directions.
Peeking in on Kein, Pip saw a sun room that looked innocuous enough. With a shrug, he followed after the green lady, the bow lady, and the shield man. His already bright eyes lit up even more upon seeing Taergan's treasure store.
Speaking in his inside voice, the gnome whispered to the others. "If there's an intruder, they won't get past Drips or Pav. But we should get up there and surprise them before they know we kind of just... walked in."
"Ah, yes- Kien, once you've gotten your sight back, shall we get back to the others? I would feel more comfortable if we stuck together." Rafaello gives Kien a pat on the shoulder as the half-drow clears his vision. "Let's come back to this sun room later. I have a theory it may connect to the game room we saw earlier."
He reflects momentarily on a bit of priceless knowledge his dear Streya had once shared with him: "Never split the party..."
Hearing Stephen's declaration of shield-bearing derring-do, Rafaello takes a quick cursory look around the sun room for anything unusual or out of place.
"Either way, I don't think our presence is unwarranted,' replied Galoria to Piper. "Let's go!"
Slowly ascending the stairs, the wooden steps creaks under the weight of the adventurers. A rather short ascension leads to a long hallway containing book shelves and another pair of comfortable chairs. Possibly a small library of sorts, Taergan certainly has taste for luxury. Tall windows mark the western side of the passage facing two closed doors.
is to the and appears to be
lies at the is also .
It becomes clear to the party that the that Galoria heard is audible, and it's coming somewhere from one of the eastern doors.
Without patience to wait, Galoria heads to the door nearest the staircase. Leaning her ear to it, she attempted to determine the proximity of the thumping.
With her dagger in her left hand, she uses her right to enter - or try to. Surprised this man of adventure doesn't have a liking for security. Especially with his treasures on display such as they are.
Laralai glanced at the door to the lab before following the others upstairs. She had no intention of looking around with no back up, and no desire to be caught on her own. Instead, she muttered a spell under her breath, casting Mage Armour to help keep her safe in these tight quarters.
As Galoria tried to locate the right door, Laralai held back and prepared to help her with Spells or Hex should whater was making the knocking noise be aggressive.
Pipernortin leaned in close behind Ria as she went for the door. "A dagger? Won't that make the wrong impression if it's just Taergan in there? Maybe we should be a little more *ahem* subtle?"
Despite his own advice, Pipernortin kept a hand on his belt - ready to pull his own concealed weapon if there truly was something bad on the other side.
Reaching the top of the stairs, Rafaello positions himself near enough to Galoria to be in a position to help should something bad happen when the door opens. He finally draws the glaive from his back, and eyes the door suspiciously.
"That knocking- suppose Taergan... or somebody... is locked up somewhere in there and trying to get out? I think we should be on our guard, gents and ladies."
Rafaello reaches for his holy symbol and utters a quick prayer.
Pressing her ear to the to the , Galoria was quite certain that the ...
Golaria's muscles tensed as she slowly opened the door. Allowing the door a wide berth before it reached its full swing, she was horrified with the site before her. Prepared for combat, she was surprised that no monster greeted her, but rather, a scene of a crime.
Flinn’s private room has been turned over roughly. Signs of a struggle include a broken window in the south side of the eastern wall, a displaced mattress, a broken chair, and a on the floor. On the south wall, a appears to hang just off . The same muffled thumping is louder here than elsewhere in the house.
Allowing the details of the scene to come to her, one thing didn't sound right. The banging she heard earlier was the loudest in Flinn's bedroom, but the source seem to be very close...
Kienyach frowns, continuing the search for further clues.
"But where is that confounded thumping coming from...?" Rafaello asks, looking around the room cautiously. "Let's search this room thoroughly... perhaps there is some clue as to what happened here. This dried blood would suggest there was a struggle- do any of you have any tools that might help us discern what went on?"
I knew it! Though not able to divine what particular aspect was out of place, she had felt something was afoot. A life of keeping just out of reach of her people's and others' authority gave her a good sense of that.
"Our wits," she sounded to Rafaello, a slight rebuke as he seemed to be asking for something material. "I've been in a situation or three like this before, and while it's clear there was a struggle, I'd say it was something that was the aim here." The amount of ruffled items in the room seemed to confirm her hypothesis. "And yes, looking for clues," she said, kneeling next to the blood, "is exactly what a few of us should do. But there's still that noise and more rooms in the house."
She wasn't overly concerned on seeing who desired to go look elsewhere at the moment, but her ears didn't lie to her; that damned noise is coming from in here!
Pipernortin's smile faded for a moment, his gnomish optimism waning. For the briefest of moments, he looked as serious as Kien. But only for a moment. He followed the others into the room, taking a quick look around for any signs of Taergan. Certainly didn't look good, though.
"Maybe he was just painting. But he spilled the paint and made a terrible mess, then threw the canvas out the window in anger? I'm sure that he's perfectly- Well, no. It's probably time to worry. Maybe just a little."
Pip gladly joins Ria in searching the room.
The Half-Orc moved over to the blood, nostrils flaring as she tried to smell if it belonged to the owner of the house or if it was someone else's blood. Either would be a clue to what happened here - either it was the blood of Taegan, suggesting he'd been killed and taken from this place, or the blood of an attacker suggesting he'd been forced to run.
Laralai hoped it was the second.
Whilst your companions were preoccupied with the mystery of Taergan's room, you decided instead to explore the room at the end of the hall. Giving the handle a test, you noticed that this room is unlocked, and slowly opened the door hoping to avoid another sun room. Satisfied that you weren't at the mercy of luminous light, you were instead faced with what appeared to be a guest room. It was a small chamber complete with a bed, a simple dresser and a wardrobe.
A fine layer of dust covered the entire room, giving you the impression that no one had stayed in that room for a long time....
Allowing your respective sources of magic gather, you scan the room for any inkling of magic. In your search, you sensed a small aura coming from the bottom drawer of Flinn's desk. A cursory tug reveals that the drawer is locked!
You're quite certain that the blood had to have belonged to Flinn.
Probably the biggest mystery was the large red stain that rested on Taergan Flinn's floor, and how it came to be. Judging by the size, coloring, and spread pattern, it seemed as if Taergan had been struck down, mortally stabbed, and then gathered in some fashion as there was no trail that lead out of the room. Whatever happened had occurred within the bed room, and was violent.
A short while passed as the party had performed their detective work. Every bit that the room contained contributed to great mystery. Scattered papers, a large blood stain, and one veteran adventurer that's still mia. Whilst everyone focused deeply on the manner, it was Pipernortin who noticed something wrong.
Standing by the mirror, it seemed...peculiar. Letting curiosity get the better of him, the gnome had tried to adjust the device, since it hung off center. Starting with a small squad, the mirror was revealed as a !
This large study has clearly been ransacked. Papers and inkwells have been thrown around the room. A large wooden cabinet lies on its back, its closed doors facing the ceiling. A window in the east wall has been broken out.
The west wall is a large tinted window overlooking a well-appointed alchemy lab. Something makes a from inside the !
Locked drawer with goodies in it... Hmm.
"Hey, there's something in this desk drawer! But its... well, locked. Maybe its what the break-in was about?"
Pip, ever distracted by his own gnomish curiosity, forgets about the drawer the second he discovers the mirror. Without a single thought for his own safety, he barged through and into the study.
Something makes a loud thump from inside the fallen cabinet!
"Guess we found what was making all that noise... a trapped intruder, mayhaps? Sure looks like someone was looking for something."
Pipernortin looked at his traveling companions as his eyes quickly took in the rest of the room. There had to be something left here, even if it had been turned over twice and a third for good measure. Some kind of clue of where Taergan may have gone - or who had it in for him.
Pushing aside papers and inkwells, he cast another quick glance over at the others.
"Well, what are you waiting for? If there is a robber or something in there, I'm sure not opening it!"
Galoria stood once more, brushing her hair aside and casting one last glance at the moribund clue. "That splatter doesn't bode well for our friend. Whoever's blood that is - they'd be lucky to be alive."
She sighs at Piper's request. Adventurer indeed... "Fine, I'll open it. Stand back."
"I'd say that's it," responds the traveler to Stephen. Or perhaps it's the intruder that was murdered? What a twist that would be.
Unable to pick anything up with her scent, Laralai turned curiously to see what was in the draw. "Motivation is difficult with so little information," she added to conversation. "Even the strongest will die from a jilted lover's dagger in the heart while they sleep. And there is enough down stairs that has not been taken to make me think it is a poor thief. Also, why take the body?" Assuming they had taken the body...
If you thought Flinn's bedroom looked like a mess, his private study was in far worse shape.
Clearly, something had happened here. Aside from papers, ink wells, and stationary scattered about, you noticed that amid the chaos stood a row of . Their positioning was odd, as if someone carefully allowed those containers to stay still despite the room's current condition.
While Pipernortin scanned the secret study, several of his companions had entered to further discern the alchemist's fate. The knocking within the cabinet continued, as if someone was rapping – help me, let me out!. Several of the heroes stepped closer towards the cabinet, mainly Galoria, Laralai, and Stephen. Bracing themselves for the inevitable, it was the Ranger who pulled the handle...revealing... that raced out!!!
As a trio of clearly hostile little flying things pounced from the downed cabinet, Pipernortin found himself instinctively reaching for his fiddle...
Galoria recoils on reflex. What are those things?!
The unusual nature of the enemy and its unexpected appearance caused her thrust to be slow and erring.
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Monsters 23
Pipernortin / Kienyach 22
Galoria 21
Stephen 15
Laralai 21
As quickly as the creatures bound from their captivity, they homed in on their nearest targets, eager for the taste of warm flesh!
All but one of the snapping heads find their mark. Stephen easily bounces his opponent away with his trademark shield. Laralai's tribal mask proved tougher than flesh, and granted her protection from the hungry sphere. Unfortunately for Galoria, the fist sized creature left a nasty bite on her.
You couldn't tell where, but soon after you succumbed to the bite, a voice filled your thoughts.
"Such tasty flesh! Females of the material plane make great treats!"
Laralai hoped back from the creatures attack, and then focused a vicious glare on the thing, focusing her power to make it suffer.
Kienyach steps forward with a growl. "Die foul creatures!" He slashes with thick nails at the creature, seeming to slash more than punch.
Jumping backwards as he watches the little things take a chunk out of Galoria, Pipernortin reaches for his fiddle.
There was only one thing to do in a situation like this.
Improvise! Someone had to finish the Ode to The Golden Watchmen, anyway.
Taergan Flinn, the alchemist,
Don't we know his manor's the grandest?
Targeted by an unknown larcenist!
Lo, the Golden Watch!
Rafaello moves in to flank with the closest party member engaged with one of the small creatures, hoping to catch the creature between them, and takes a broad, overhead swipe with his glaive.