Reflex Saves
"Thank you Sorja." Holding his cloak over his nose and mouth, Etienne runs into the flames. Through the smoke, he sees Johan's door to his right and kicks it open.
Perception
EDIT:
Duraelo stands at the top of the stairs and starts waving at everyone to follow him down.
Sjora slips downstairs when she's sure Etienne is safe and heads outside, safe from the fire. "I hope everyone made it out alright. I'm worried about the innkeep, I haven't seen him yet."
Etienne leaps nimbly through the flames to the innkeeper's door, only to find it is locked. Kicking it only reveals how sturdy a door it is, and the fire seems to be spreading quickly.
Sjora waits, watching, and the others make their way downstairs and out.
Outside, the whole village is awake. A bucket brigade of sorts has formed, not to fight the fire but to attempt to contain it to the inn itself.
While waiting for Etienne, Sjora keeps casting create water as many times as she can just to assure that the two of them will have an escape route.
Strength Check:
Strength Check:
Strength Check:
EDIT: With all his strength, Etienne slams into the door again and again.
Option 1: Under the assault, the door burst open, and Etienne rushes in to find...
Option 2: Despite his best efforts, Etienne's unable to get the door open. Realizing that rescuing the innkeeper is a hopeless proposition, he readies himself to once again brave the fiery inferno blocking his path to safety.
Despite a sustained assault from Etienne, the innkeeper's door remains unmoved.
Rufon looks around when he's outside, hopefully seeing everyone from the evening before.
Content for himself, he still shouts along while helping out with the bucket brigade.
If he hears of people that are still inside or missing, other than his roommates, he will go back in to warn Etienne and Sjora.
Realizing that getting through the door is a hopeless proposition, Etienne rushes for safety as the fire continues to rage.
Unfortunately, his heroic rescue attempt costs him dearly as the flames burn him.
Current HP: 9/12
Sjora continues to make the way as clear of flames as she can for herself and Etienne as they escape to the exterior of the inn... She will then look around for any hot spots emerging that look like they may be a source for the fire to spread beyond the inn. She will create water as needed to help control these areas, along with the efforts of the bucket brigade.
Duraelo is busy helping out with the bucket brigade along with the rest of the group. He looks around, trying to see if anyone in the area seems suspicious. There's no way those zombies and fire are unrelated. Must have been some sort of two-part attack. Someone had to organize it and be close by to see if it worked.
Perception for anything unusual/suspicious:
As Duraelo continues to help bring buckets of water around to help with the fire, he takes a note of where Rufon is and takes a quick walk over to him.
"Hey. Are you feeling alright? You should probably see someone about your wounds, they look...well, they don't look pleasant."
Moments after Etienne and Sjora dash out of the inn, you hear a massive fooming sound, as if one of the huge, 100 gallon barrels of mead behind the bar burst and the contents ignited. The flames shoot high into the sky, and most everyone moves back, except those bravely dousing the nearby houses.
Cal (the stableboy) and a couple of other villagers seem to have managed to evacuate and then corral the horses and mules, etc. from the stables, and the other guests are mostly standing and staring in shock. While the guests are all out, there is still no sign of Johan or Susanna.
As Duraelo scans the crowd, he notices nothing particularly suspicious, but does spot a new face. First is a woman who is fully armed (longsword and longbow, over opposite shoulders) and armored (hide) working the bucket brigade. She bears a distinct resemblance to Karsto.
Rufon looks up at Duraelo's question, while he is working along the bucket brigade as well.
"Aye you might be right, that zombie packed quite the punch, exploding zombies even more so. I have the feeling that we miss Johan and Susanna, they might still be in there." He says to him with a hint of worry in in his voice.
Seeing the woman resembling Karsto, he thinks to himself. Haven't I seen her before, was she not here last night? He also spots Caylin and Cal among the people outside, but not Ana, Susanna or Johan.
He continues to Duraelo, " If my condition wasn't as bad as this I would have tried breaking down the doors myself of their rooms. Alas I couldn't risk that."
He sees Etienne and Sjora coming out of the building.
He calls to them as he still works the bucket line.
"Tell me, have you seen Johan or Susanna? They are still missing."
He obviously breathes a bit heavy, certainly this bucket line is nothing to a big man as Rufon, it might just be his wounds that strain him too much.
"Johan's door was locked, and I couldn't get it open. Susanna's door was blocked by fire too strong for me. I fear that they're no longer with us." Etienne looks crestfallen as he whistles for Isabeau.
Sjora continues to create water, working hard to keep the fire from spreading to nearby buildings. She does note that Ana has turned up among the crowd outside, but that Susanna and Johan are still missing.
Between castings of her spell, she will ask others around, townsfolk and such, if they've seen either one of the missing staff?
The addition of alcohol seems to have sped things along. By the time the sun comes up, the fire has more or less burned itself out. All that remains of the inn is a mound of glowing hot coals and the hearth and chimney of the massive main fireplace, which seems to have held up to the fire, though the others collapsed.
The guests and villagers sit and stand quietly, exhausted but by no means sleepy, chewing on the ragged end of the adrenalin that kept them going through the night. For the most part, they just watch the fire, though Tomas, the old priest, invites the guests and staff of the inn to rest in the temple, which offers at least shelter and a minimum of comfort. As the sun comes up, he mutters a quiet prayer to the dawn, healing those who were injured for...
hps.
Most of the guests and staff accept the offer, trudging wearily towards the church as other villagers offer blankets and food. The elf hops around pretty nimbly on his crutch, and manages to corral the four of you away from the others.
"I understand you risked your lives to make sure all were safe," he says. "I wish to thank you. Also, to ask if you saw anything unusual."
Rufon, invigorated by the prayer of the priest, dusts himself off. Ash and dust falling off his clothes, his white shirt and armor stained a bit black.
"Well... fires start all the time, this inn wouldn't be the first. Exploding and burning zombies however would speed up the process." A bit of sarcastic humor from Rufon, he smiles a bit, then it turns into a grimace. He's still thinking of the owner and barmaid that probably died in the fire.
"Too bad we couldn't get everybody out. Why do you ask? Has this happened before around here?"
"Oh, please, it was nothing. Sure, we were able to stop zombies from tearing apart people and have innocents saved from burning alive, but that's normal."
"However, there is one thing I noticed was a bit...odd, to say the least. When everyone was working to put out the fire, I saw some woman. Didn't recognize her, but based on her armor and weapons, it looked like she was preparing for a major fight. Didn't seem entirely appropriate for fighting a fire. Do you know who she is?"
Duraelo looks at Rufon as he mentions not getting everyone out. He tries to think of something to lighten the mood, but can't think of anything that wouldn't come across as rude.
Jalind shakes his head at Rufon's question.
"No, nothing recent. It's just ... well, surprising. The inn's been here for centuries. As you say, fires do happen, but this one seems to have caught so quickly. And if there were zombies, I hardly know what to think." A few others overhear and start to listen in, not terribly discretely.
To Duraelo's question, the elf chuckles. "That would be Kyra. Karsto's daughter and captain of our local guard. She often patrols at night, hunting for demons of the nightmare and practitioners of the black arts."
Etienne quietly adds some additional information. "During the fire, I attempted to find Johan and Susanna. Johan's door was locked - quite securely, I might add. Is that normal? Did he have any enemies?"
The elf shakes his head, frowning thoughtfully.
"No enemies that I know of. Perhaps there were those who were envious of his influence, but he was well liked in general. On the other hand, there are many reasons to lock one's door. The inn made him one of the few truly wealthy individuals in the region."
Sjora sniffs back tears at the thought that there might be casualties, and she looks about among the townsfolk for any sighting of Johan or Susanna. Perhaps they got out before the fire took hold? If she doesn't spot them, she looks among the smoldering ruins for signs of bodies - surely the bones would not have burned away to ash completely. If necessary, she uses create water to make a safe path through the smoldering ruins so she can search safely. She will start by going directly to search in the area beneath where Johan's room would have been.
Sjora ... it's going to take some time to clear a path through the coals, but you manage. It's still brutally hot, but you don't feel like you're in any immediate danger. The area directly below where Jonah's room was is covered by beams that are massive and unstable (and still glowing hot coals) which it seems wise to keep off of, but the stone hearth and chimney of the massive main fireplace still stands is right next to it.
Sjora looks at the tangle of beams over the area where Johan's room would have been if it fell in and sighs. This would take a long time to untangle and would have to wait for the embers to die out. She helps as much as she can by creating water on the beams over and over again. But she stays back from them enough so that if they shift, she won't be in danger of being buried herself.
When she gets out as much of the heat and embers as she can, she will make her way out of the ruin and back to the crowd of onlookers, wiping the soot and sweat from her brow.
Duraelo takes a look over and sees Sjora close to the ruins of the inn. "It's a pity," he says. "I really was starting to like their brew." He refocuses his attention on the elf. "So this...Kyra, you said her name was? I'm going to guess from the smoking ruins over there that she hasn't been as successful as she'd like finding these demons and practioners."
Rufon looks on with a grim face at Sjora searching the burned down inn.
Good girl, hopeful and kind. Realistically though we won't find them alive.
He turns to Jalind at the mention of locking one's door.
"What about Susanna? Did she have any enemies?"
"I guess we need to have a talk with Kyra then. She'll want to know this firsthand."
Jalind sighs wistfully at the memory of the brew, and watches as Sjora makes her way back out of the wreckage of the inn, having found nothing to suggest that there were any bodies there.
"Susanna? Enemies? Of course not," he shakes his head sadly. "Such a beautiful girl. Everyone loved her."
The elf seems to snap out of his reverie and looks around him. Spotting Kyra, he calls out.
"Who are they?" she answers.
"Travellers, staying at the inn. They think it was black magic."
"I warned you. You all act like it's a joke, and now you see? Where is she?" Kyra snaps, impatiently.
"She's dead," Jalind snaps back.
After a brief exchange, the young woman shakes her head and walks towards you, her scowl mostly for the elf but including you as well.
"So, what have you found out, so far?" she says, imperiously.
"Not much more than anyone else. The four of us were inside when the fire was started. We ended up also being attacked by zombies that seemed to explode if you hit them hard enough. They nearly killed Rufon here," Duraelo says, motioning to Rufon. "Beyond that, I don't know anything."
"I didn't see any signs of bodies left in the inn... maybe Johan and Susanna got out somehow? Has anyone seen them?"
Kyra scowls at the two of you for a long moment and then takes a drink from a waterskin worn at her hip. She breathes deeply through her nose and after a moment, she shakes her head.
"Nobody's seen them," she sighs. "Nobody will. I knew something was foul about that girl. Ever since she came here, Jonah's been different. I said she had bewitched him, but nobody wanted to listen to me. Now it's too late."
Rufon looks up as Kyra mentions bewitching.
"Bewitched him? What makes you think Susanna is a witch? She looked and acted nothing like the other cultist I ran into in the woods.
Kyra sneers at Rufon.
"You met some half-mad creature in the wilderness, did you?" she says. "What made you think he was a cultist? How long did you know him before you were sure? Are you truly fool enough to think they're all harmless, diseased lunatics raving alone in the forest?"
Thrace growls threatingly at the woman as she raises her voice at Rufon.
"Easy there tiger, she is alright, just agitated by my questions that's all." He calms Thrace with a pat on his flank, he comes back to Rufon's side and lies down, glaring at Kyra.
"Though the latter might be true Kyra, you never answered my question." Rufon said with a grim face "Why do you suspect Susanna was a witch? Or in league with those other cultists for that matter? Why set the inn ablaze now?"
"Kyra, please. We're all on the same side here. I certainly don't want more buildings going up in flames, especially if they have me in them, and I'm sure everyone else here can agree with that. I'm sure we'd all be happy to assist you in some way that can help bring the people who did this to justice." For an appropriate fee, of course. "I'm sure you're angry, I'm angry too, but we need to have a clear head."
"So...what DID make you suspect this Susanna? Seems like a rather odd choice, but I'm sure you have a good reason."
"Neither did you answer mine," Kyra replies to Rufon, barely sparing a glance for the tiger. "You wanted to know if I ever saw Susanna wearing a black cloak and muttering to herself in the woods at night? No I did not."
"An odd choice?" she says, turning to Duraelo. "What makes her an odd choice? Why are you so persuaded of her innocence? Is it because she's pretty, and pretty people are never evil?"
Eventually, she relents and responds to your questions, though not with anything resembling good grace.
"Why set the inn ablaze now? Because she had done whatever it was that she came here to do."
"Why do I think she's a witch? Because she's clearly not a barmaid. In three years, I've never seen her bring anyone what they actually asked for. Because she appeared one day out of nowhere and immediately took the top position over two other girls who were well known and at least reasonably competent. Because Jonah's been a completely different man since the day she arrived. Because she's rarely in her room at night. Because she performs strange rituals with candles and knives in the steaming caverns."
"Well that last about the strange rituals especially sounds pretty damning, but in three years, why didn't you do something about it? Why wait for now to bring this up?" Sjora looks at Kyra questioningly.
"And what can we do now to help?"
Retcon:
Though the latter might be true Kyra, you never answered my question.
"Like I said Kyra, it is true that I've seen a man fitting exactly the description you just gave me. I assumed that cloak and strange mutterings would be the standard for these nutjobs."
"Hmm, that sounds more likely. Have you got any idea as to what she was trying to do in those caves?"
"Steaming caverns? I didn't know the area had them. Seems like an interesting place to check and see if she might have sneaked off in the middle of the fire. Maybe you could lead us there, Kyra?"
Kyra raises an eyebrow at Sjora, gives her a quick once over and shakes her head in dismay.
"What on earth makes you think I haven't brought this up before?" she says softly. She shakes her head. "Why I haven't done anything is because here we don't murder each other solely on the basis of strangeness and suspicion." Her glare turns to Rufon at that. "I've been trying to find out what she was doing and who she might have been in contact with. Meanwhile, these idiots..." a wave of her hand includes the priest, the elf, and her father, "... can't bring themselves to take her seriously as a threat, because they don't want to do anything that might stop her falling into bed with them."
Her voice has grown steadily louder through this little speech, so that by the time she's finished, pretty much the whole village has stopped to listen.
"Kyra," Karsto says, with the sound of a man whose patience is stretched nearly to breaking. "Enough. Your suspicions were given a fair hearing, and even you agreed there was not enough proof to act."
"If you want to help," she says, deflating at her father's words. "Find out what she was doing in the steaming caverns."
Kyra glances at the priest, who nods.
"I can show you the entrance to the caverns," she says. "If you truly wish to take these troubles on your shoulders."
Sjora looks to the others to see if they are game to investigate this further. She gives them a little nod to indicate she is game if they are. "Well, something drew me here, perhaps it was for this very purpose. And honestly, there is no place left to stay now, so might as well investigate a steaming cavern. I for one would very much like to know the source of the fire and the burning zombies." She smiles and shrugs.
"I'm in for some more rough and tumble. We should keep in mind that those zombies pack quite a punch. And don't stand close to them when they die again."
Thrace looks up at Rufon from his lay-down position, puts down his head again and his paws over his snout.
"Ah come on buddy, you can go on a while longer right?" He teases the large cat a bit by poking his head a little.
Thrace only lets out a short growl in response.
"Us two will help ya. One more thing. What kind of effect do these cultists have on the surroundings?"
Etienne speaks up quietly. "Sjora helped keep me alive in the fire, and Rufon's an old friend. I'm in."
"All right them. Follow me," Kyra says, and turns quickly on her heel, heading into the woods. In the grey dawn light, you can see the path she follows is well worn, though somewhat overgrown, as if it was old but seldom used. After little more than half a mile, it drops steeply into a narrow ravine. It twists between boulders and under fallen trees that hang caught in the tangled branches of their brothers.
The bottom of the ravine is shrouded in a warm fog, and a stream pours down, clouds of steam billowing off the water as it splashes over the rocks. Kyra points upstream, and after another hundred yards, she crouches low in the brush. Just ahead, you see the stream flowing out of the mouth of a cave.
"The steaming cavern," she says, and her fingers reach for the hilt of her sword.