Finding the secret Cupboard Caesare carefully checks it for traps
before taking out a probe and a small bar to disarm or open it
Caesare does indeed find a trap, but he manages to disarm it with little trouble, and after that, the lock is simple. Inside he finds several pouches containing a total of 2,000 gp worth of coin and three small figurines of goats made of ivory. A moment's study identifies them as ivory goat figurines of wondrous power.
In addition, in the wardrobe you find several small objects of value, a silver chain worth 50 gp, a gold snuff box set with a topaz worth 400 gp, a platinum handled magnifying glass in a leather case worth 600 gp, and a monocle with a silver chain ending in a diamond pin worth 800 gp.
You leave the house and head north across a short stone bridge. A narrow stone bridge without a handrail lies above the roaring river waters as they are drawn over the edge of the falls. The bridge looks terrifying, but it proves to be stable and you find yourself outside the building the rat described as containing three skitter bugs. Indeed, there seems to be sounds like a scrabbling noise and chittering high pitched barks coming from behind the door in front of you.
Risbeth raises her eyebrows. "We are stealing from your friend?" She sounds very disapproving.
Xerice shrugs "Might be that he is already dead after taken away. That or he might give it to us anyway as a thank you for rescuing him. Either way, I don't think he will mind terribly if we use to to try and rescue him."
Risbeth eyes the small trinkets and bag of coins, obviously wondering how they are going to be used to rescue the man, but subsides for now.
Sonny shakes his head at Xerice, "While I agree, the magic items may prove useful, there's no need to take the valuables. Best left locked up I think for now."
"Well we might need all the ressources, magical at least to recover him. Anyway, let's go now, with the goats."
Risbeth purses her lips. "I see, I have no objection to borrowing his magic items to save his life." She eyes Xerice and the bag of purloined coins and valuable trinkets.
Xerice smiles sweetly in reply. "Good, I'll hold on to the stuff then until the owner is available and requests their return.
So, who wants to go in first?" Xerice finishes pointing at the door.
Carefully moving for the door, checking for traps Caesare moves forward.
Caesare checks the door, but finds no traps. He opens the door cautiously. This large workshop is crammed with alchemical equipment, but an explosion of some kind has ripped away the western wall, leaving a large gap in the floor and wall open, now wreathed with scaffolding. It looks as if a stone bridge once connected this building with another on the far side of the gorge, but only a slender rope bridge now hangs between the two.
A snuffling, whoofing noise is coming from the east, where boxes and crates obscure your view.
"Sounds as if someone left a pet behind. Given the rest of the household, I suggest we bypass the pet, in case it's a 400 lb bear puppy hybrid with a scorpion tail." Risbeth says cheerily, as if imagining a 400 lb bear puppy hybrid with a scorpion tail as a pet.
It's not quite the scorpup that Risbeth envisions, but the three creatures that pop up from behind the crates may be worse. These insectile monsters have four legs, a strange propeller-shaped protrusion at the end of their tail, and two long, feathery antennae. Spotting you, they sniff at the air, then let out joyous sounds and rush at you!
Initiatives!
Round 1:
22 Xerice and the Monsters
16 Sonny
15 Augustus and Caesare
14 Zanu
12 Risbeth
"Ugh such filth. Calistria send these mangerols away!" Xerice shouts while holding her wasp medallion.
Dark energies exude from her core, waving harmlessly past her companions, except Risbeth, and seems to harm the three monsters.
Only one of the creatures seems to avoid any of the dark energy that Xerice channels. All three's noises go from joyous to angry in a second and they charge forward! Fortunately, perhaps, only one of them can fit in the door at a time!
and Caesare manages to avoid the biting teeth of the first creature, but its antenna find Ceasare's mithral shirt! Fortunately for him, he twists and avoids the rusting effects of the antenna!
Risbeth punches the creature facing Ceasare, being next to him.
"I beseech you Sarenrae guide Cesare's hand as he deals with these foes." Sonny then taps Cesare on the back.
Augustus will wait a bit before acting.
Risbeth cracks the shell of the first creature, killing it.
Zanu reaches around the corner and manages to scorch one of the remaining creatures. Sonny adds the holy touch of guidance to Caesare!
After quickly observing the movements of his opponent, trying to identify it and using the reach of his spear Caesare stabs the creature in front of him
Using the reach of his spear Caesare stabs the creature in front of him
[dice=Kar]1d20+1d6+9
As there are only a few left, Xerice uncoils her whip and strikes the nearest monster with it.
"Oh, I once read about these! Interesting creatures!"
The prof shares his knowledge with the others and summarize it by saying "Don't let them touch your metallic items, people!"
Caesare's spear skitters along the hard shell of the rust monster!
Round 2:
22 Xerice and the Monsters
16 Sonny
15 Augustus and Caesare
14 Zanu
12 Risbeth
Xerice tries to whip it, whip it good! But its hard shell rebuffs the whipping!
The rust monster steps forward and bites at Caesare while his antenna try to reach his spear!
for damage!
The antenna hits the spear! but once more Caesare wrenches it away to avoid its rusting fate!
The other rust monster reaches through the narrow gap and attacks Zanu!
for damage!
But it cannot quite reach him!
Risbeth gives a serene, but rather intense and horrificly bloody grin, and punches the new creature facing Ceasare.
Sonny again casts guidance on Caesare.
The prof goes on and on about the weaknesses of the creatures he identified, designating the one in front of Zadok.
Between Risbeth and Zanu, the rust monsters are dispatched, leaving behind a wrecked alchemical lab.
Risbeth looks at the ruined lab with interest. "I hope your friend is understanding of killing his pets."
"I'm not certain they were his pets. They looked more "natural" than his other pets." Sonny then pokes around to make sure there isn't anything else dangerous here before moving on.
Sonny's quick search finds two things: the first is a magical rod; the second is that the iron supports of this entire building have been eaten away, presumably by the creatures you just killed. It could collapse into the water below at any moment.
Heeding this, you head toward the rope bridge. Beyond the scaffolding, a slender rope bridge swings out toward a two-story building with a tower across the gorge. The rope bridge sways menacingly.
Risbeth pulls a 50 ft rope out of her pack, and ties one end around her waist. [b]"Let me go first, I'll secure it on the other side, and then we'll use the rope to make sure no one falls."
Risbeth steps spritely and lively across the bridge, her toes barely touching one swaying spot before her other foot touches down again. Despite the swaying of the bridge, she looks like she might have carried a tea cup over without spilling a drop.
Once on the other side, she looks for something to tie her end of the rope to that's secure and could take the weight of a falling person.
Binding his belt to the rope Caesare tries to climb over
Risbeth makes it across with no difficulty at all. Caesare follows, but he makes it only halfway before he slips and falls, the rope catching him. He hangs, precariously, as Risbeth slowly hauls him up to the other side.
Risbeth unties Caesare, taking care as if with a small child, gives a small smile, and then tosses the length of rope back across the bridge to the other side.
Sonny picks up the rope and hands it to the next person to cross. "I will be last and will offer Sarenrae's blessing on each of you to cross."
With Risbeth's help and Sonny's guidance, everyone makes it across, though there are tense moments when feet slip and ropes creak. You find yourself on solid ground again, in front of a large door. One end of the demolished bridge clings to the cliff beneath a large building. A statue of a beautiful nymph stands next to a pair of double doors. Above the doors is a stained glass window depicting a unicorn.
After checking the door, and determining there is neither trap nor lock, you open it cautiously. This room is crammed with cabinets full of weird,
alchemically preserved creatures, including a pair of ice mephit wings, several large spiders, parts of a dissected giant slug, and the digestive tracts and proboscises of three stirges. Doors lead from here to the north, south and west.
"That's truely a BEAUTIFUL room! I wish I had such wonderfull subjects to study!" shouts the prof as he strides in and examines the preserved creatures.
Each specimen is labelled with species, condition and other relevant data. Whoever did this clearly is an educated person.
Well I really want to meet that scholar. I am sure we shall have an most interesting discussion!
Risbeth seems not at all bothered by all the macabre items in the room. "Oh, my mother had one of those..." She says, looking at the stirge parts. "She named it Kawei'Desu... It means 'Cuddly' in your tongue."
"This is a very dedicated place to the siences... I could spend hours here."
"Isn't it, my dear?" says the prof to Caesare.
"Well, let's find its owner, then! Where shall we go?"
Sonny looks at the three doors and says, "Well, they say right is right, so let's go right."
Right proves to be the northern door, so leaving the room leads to another, larger room. This room is filled with weird-looking preserved creatures. Two elaborately carved and painted sarcophagi stand against the east and west walls. A pile of chains lies in the center of the floor.
Among the more unsavory creatures on display in this room are the tentacle of a froghemoth, a pickled intellect devourer, and a desiccated darkmantle.