The last remaining abomination, nursing a crossbow wound, stops encouraging the others to attack and leaps down between the vats.
Those remaining back up and raise their hands and cringe.
The room reeks of chemicals as large massive vats of ammonia and other compounds take up the the bulk of the room below and appear to extend even deeper to a basement level.
The room that most of the party entered as much an abattoir as a bedchamber, this room contains not only a four-poster bed, but also numerous workbenches and alchemical gear. The walls are lined with shelves and strangelooking objects in jars of liquid. Bits of rags litter the floor, and the air is heavy with the stench of spoiled food mixed with acrid chemicals. This room is part alchemy lab, part slaughterhouse,
and part bedroom. The many jars about the room contain alchemically preserved body parts from a variety of creatures. One bell jar full of liquid contains a small gold key at the bottom.
Emmett curses, but does not stop. He crouches to the ground and looks for signs of the gnome's passage. Remembering the fight, he also looks upward at the wall.
Nothing.
Nalun attempts to speak with the "abominations" he wonders if they understand Taldane, or can speak the language.
Do you understand me? he asks them.
Aye Master, don't hurt us!, they wail, a warbling chorus of discordant voices.
Nalun and Simeon recall tales of creatures such as this, a mismatch of parts - Mongrelmen, but rumours have them as peaceable and shy folk.
Nalun holds up his hands placatingly It's ok, we won't hurt you. Who was the Gnome that ordered you to attack us?
That was Master Grines - mercy, have mercy on us.
Ok then. Well, lets hope he doesn't decide to have the Watch summoned. Nalun says, looking in Emmett's direction
Muttering under his breath, as he realized that his protective spell was wasted, the melee having ceased.
Walking out onto the walkway, he peers at the strange men, "Mongrelmen? Fascinating....
"Indeed...all you can relate to us on the activities of your Masters. We know they are an unsavory lot , but details ...." Simeon says, his voice trailing off as he notices the gold key.
He eyes the gold key within its seemingly innocent prison, then casts about the lab/abbatoir/bedroom for someking of straining device.
Simeon can't see any straining device.
The creatures continue to grovel.
We work the vats, we decant the admixtures - we do what we are told and keep silent.
The Pharasmin looks disgusted by the large assortment of uninterred body parts. He casts detect magic to have a look around and then focuses on the conversation.
"Well, you will no longer have to fear Masters Grines and Vorstag. You should not remain silent any longer. With your help, they will be properly judged either in the court or in the Boneyard. If it is so Fated."
"Where is Vorstag anyway? and what lies in the basement?"
Where do you come from? Nalun asks...he fears he knows the answer he thinks Surely its a crime to create such monstrosities...perhaps they have not gone for the watch.
We were in the deep place... the safe place - then they came. They killed out leader, took his skin and body and bought us here in great secrecy. I think we were under the mountains but we cannot tell and now, now we have no way to return. Men are cruel here - we will be attacked as monsters and we have no where to turn to for safety or respite now that the Masters are gone.
Vorstag is gone - he wears many faces. You will understand if you look well enough.
The basement? We only go there when we are permitted. It is the place of the dead and the still ones will not tolerate any who enter without one of the Masters. We can show you the door but we will not enter.
We know nothing of documents or ledgers. We are workers here only.
Simeon gazes at the gold key, cursing his lack of foresight in his spell selection that day when the mongrelman's response catches his attention.
His gaze intense he advances into the conversation, "What did you mean he took his skin....wears many faces, where does he keep these faces you speak of?"
At the same time he wracks his brain for any recollections of this kind of behavior
It could be many things - could be a shapeshifter or maybe even a doppelgänger ... Or something else altogether.
Simeon shrugs as Elidal's suggestion, "It doesn't quite fit the description of some of the creature's i've studied..." then turns back to the monrelman speaker for an answer to his earlier question.
We ask no questions - we just know that he takes other forms including that of our old leader - maybe his chambers..., they say pointing up to the walk way where the party were but next to the room the party entered from.
Nalun thinks he knows what the beast man is talking about....he once read a book.
The Basement, I'm sure that the worst of this place lay there.
"I would guess so as well, Nalun. Let's first take a look at the leader's room though,I think it most likely that we will find evidence there, If it is so Fated."
Emmett takes a short moment to look back inside through the window: "He fled, it seems... I'm staying outside for now. I can't say I like the idea of him running around free. Maybe he'll have to come back. I'll be ready for him..."
He then tries to find a position where he can watch without being too easily noticeable, perhaps the courtyard?
Simeon nods at Jaru's comment, "Yes, the basement is intruiging, but the chambers of Master Vortag take precendence." he says, rubbing his hands in anticipation.
He leads the others up the ladder to stand before the doorway. After waiting a moment he tries to open the door...
"What about them?"
Jaru shakes his head. "I do not know if their route home remains open. I certainly do not think that they will be accepted here anyway. We may require them as witnesses. In that case, perhaps we can arrange with the city officials to provide safe transport to some place that they may safely dwell. Should it be so fated, of course."
The Vats / Main floor
This chamber occupies a whole side of the building, from the cellar level below up to the roof high above. Seven iron vats, each ten feet across, occupy the majority of the room. Furnaces fuel the vats at cellar level, while at the ground floor level a series of planks have been laid across the vats to allow passage to a ladder that leads to an iron walkway on the level above. Two ladders also allow access from the planks to the floor below.
The air in the chamber is cloying and acidic.
The Mongrel men point out Vorstagg's room.
This room appears to be the study of a scholar. A roll-top desk with a leather chair stands against one wall, holding a variety of alchemical equipment and surrounded by hundreds of books piled on every available surface. A narrow cot is crushed into one corner behind a wall of books. A door stands in the north wall.
A combination alchemy lab, library, and bedchamber, this room is almost fastidiously clean except for the heaps of books everywhere. A large bell jar atop the desk contains the alchemically preserved head and shoulders of a human man.
The other door in this is secured by a complicated and advanced looking lock.
Emmett mutters a curse and decides to step back in the factory. The thrill of battle having receded, pain resumes its place of power in the old watchman's world and he takes his time getting back through the window, wondering how he managed to jump without breaking his neck.
Once inside, he hides to look through the windows, watching for signs of the gnome.
Jaru's lips curl with disgust at the accouterments revealed within the room, but steels himself and casting a spell scans it again.
He calls for Emmett: "Emmett, there is a locked door here that requires your attention. I don't think the villian will return unless he brings authorities to foil our investigation. Time is of the essence!"
Jaru detects and is able to home in a potion bottle containing a clear viscous syrup.
"All right then, I'm coming." grunts Emmett and suffers himself up the stairs to look at the lock.
"Ok, leave me some space. Might be that gnome put a trap on it. That sounds like him actually..."
There are no traps but this lock is beyond your abilities. It would need a master locksmith, magic or the key, to get past the lock itself.
Jaru inspects the syrup while Emmett works. Simeon, can you identify this?"
"Oh, the gold key. Can't we just break the bottle and get it out? Perhaps the workers know how it was retrieved."
Simeon sidles around the room, examining book spines, occasionally muttering over a paritcularly interesing volumen.
As Jaru's request, he tears himself away from his review and take the bottle...
He then considers the and key in the bottle "Is suspect the fluid in that bottle is acid, it would not harm the gold key, but would be appropriate given the owner's occupation. I would advise caution in handling it."
He then contemplates the door after Emmett's failure to open it, "Here , I have an enchantment that may allow us entry..."
He begins an intricate series of gestures, accompanied by a few gutteral syllables of arcane power. He ends with his hand held up in a common position of knocking on a door....a couple of pantomime 'raps' and the spell is complete.
The library you are examining would easily be worth 500 gold to a university or a dedicated collector in medical or anatomical texts.
The lock clicks but doesn't open... is may have moved some vital things around... giving another opportunity for Emmett to try with a +5 to his attempt. He can take 20 if he wishes to open the door.
The key in the fluid filled flask does look like its around the same size as the lock on the lock box on the under the bed in the Grines room.
Nalun will inspire competence on Emmett when he attempts to unlock the Door.
Emmett whistles at Simeon's prowess: "Just like that eh?! But it didn't do the trick it seems. I'll be damned if I didn't hear it click though. Clear as water I did. Let me take another go at it... Ok, move back, and go find something else to do. This may take a while..."
The door comes open.
Beyond the locked door, a tiny room holds a single object — a large oak cabinet.
The cabinet contains nearly a score of flayed skins — Male and female alike Most importantly, hanging at the front is a grotesque, deformed skin of a 8-foot-tall mongrelman, made up of flesh, fur, and scales and covered with fungal boils and hideous puss-filled eruptions — and which bears bite marks on its shoulder... bite marks that look like they have been made by a crocodile or similar.
Simeon ignores Emmett's advice to leave, as always curious about the older man's process of defeating the tumblers and devices of the locks he picks.
Holding his hands behind his back, he watches, nodding at the single minded purpose Emmett displays during his task.
When the door opens to reveal the cabinet, Simeon frowns then steps around the crouched Emmett and approaches the cabinet.
Pulling the doors open, he lets out a long breath, reaching out and gently running his hand along the skins hung there.
Occasionally, he will stop and feel the skin between two fingers then move on.
Coming to the large mongrelman skin, he pulls it out to see better, "There see," he says pointing, "The shoulder...could be we've found our Marsh monster. Remember that man said the Beast had been bitten on the shoulder, but our Beast has no such wound. This could very easily been mistaken for our Beast by those ignorant peasants. "
Potion of invisibility
"There see," he says pointing, "The shoulder...could be we've found our Marsh monster. Remember that man said the Beast had been bitten on the shoulder, but our Beast has no such wound. This could very easily been mistaken for our Beast by those ignorant peasants. "
The tall priest watching over Simeon's shoulder nods excitedly. "Yes! Surely this is the hard evidence that we needed. Let's take it and the other remains. Whatever Grine was planning on doing with them, we have stopped him and there may be people looking for the former owners."
"By the Accused's own testimony, he was at Herstag. We will hopefully find out more tomorrow, but I don't think we can connect that to these two blasphemers."
"As for evidence of a connection to Brada, They at least sold or traded him their product. Perhaps there is something else here. We could start with the lock box. Just pour out the key and let's get to it. Be careful though, I do not doubt it is immersed in acid or poison or something of the like."