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After pleasantries are exchanged and lunch is had, the party takes its leave of the White Deer, stepping out into the rain and walking through the streets to reach Chopper's Isle.
The Isle itself is connected to the mainland by a stretch of beach to the north of the Old Light, and is little more than an upthrust spur of rocky land topped by a few trees. On a clearer day than this, anyone walking along the cliff face of the isle would doubtlessly be provided with a wonderful view of the bay. A weather-beaten dirt path winds up the side of the cliff and leads to the trees.
Following the path, the party soon arrives at what appears to be a dilapidated cottage, its white paint peeling in several places on its facade. There are several large holes in the roof, revealing a second story that has been all but completely ravaged by the elements. The door to the cottage stands quietly shut, with several images of birds carved into it.
Nicat considers Conner’s description of him as ‘talkative’ and responds, ”Really? I just say the important stuff. I had to introduce myself, don’t you think? And it was important to tell you a little about what we were up to, so you’d know if it was worth your getting involved…” As the party makes their way from the White Deer to Chopper’s Isle, Nicat continues, ”I didn’t tell you all about the way that Foxglove goes all moony when he sees Sylvia – but you probably noticed that back at the inn – dang, I was so busy I forgot to have any lunch there! Ah, well, I’ll get something later at Ameiko’s. Anyway, ever been to Chopper’s Isle? My folks’ house is on the cliffs above it, I used to look down on it after the whole bad mess with the Chopper and wonder about it, now I can’t believe I’m going to check it out, as a deputy no less! Hey, you think you’d want to become a deputy sheriff, if working with us turns out to work for ya?”
As they come to the dilapidated cottage, Nicat makes a show of looking around carefully, studying the rocks for footprints and sniffing the faded paint deeply, as if he’ll somehow learn something from it. ”Better keep our eyes peeled, everyone. See how I’m looking for clues? You guys should do the same.”
However, you can also detect a whiff of... is that blood? Whatever it is, it seems to be coming from inside the house...
Still putting on the air of a veteran investigator (and completely unaware of the damage he’s doing to any real clues he’s trampling), Nicat wrinkles his nose and says, disgust in his voice, ”Ewww, do you smell that? This cottage is seriously moldy, no way anyone has lived here in a long time.” He pauses suddenly and takes a couple of quick sniffs, his neck swiveling and his head bobbing a bit as if he’s following a vein of some other scent amongst the dank, moldy smell. ”Is that…blood? Uh, guys, I think I smell blood, coming from inside the Chopper’s cottage.”
Drawing his longsword, he bravely takes several steps away from the building and says, ”Conner, Ekan, you guys ready to check it out?”
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"Wow, the creepy, dilapidated cottage where the old local serial killer lived smells like blood, who'da thunk it?" Eostre replies, rolling her eyes, trying not to make a face as the awful smell made her steak-filled stomach churn.
REALLY regretting having eaten before doing this, she thinks to herself.
Nicat considers Conner’s description of him as ‘talkative’ and responds, ”Really? I just say the important stuff. I had to introduce myself, don’t you think? And it was important to tell you a little about what we were up to, so you’d know if it was worth your getting involved…” As the party makes their way from the White Deer to Chopper’s Isle, Nicat continues, ”I didn’t tell you all about the way that Foxglove goes all moony when he sees Sylvia – but you probably noticed that back at the inn – dang, I was so busy I forgot to have any lunch there! Ah, well, I’ll get something later at Ameiko’s. Anyway, ever been to Chopper’s Isle? My folks’ house is on the cliffs above it, I used to look down on it after the whole bad mess with the Chopper and wonder about it, now I can’t believe I’m going to check it out, as a deputy no less! Hey, you think you’d want to become a deputy sheriff, if working with us turns out to work for ya?”As they come to the dilapidated cottage, Nicat makes a show of looking around carefully, studying the rocks for footprints and sniffing the faded paint deeply, as if he’ll somehow learn something from it. ”Better keep our eyes peeled, everyone. See how I’m looking for clues? You guys should do the same.”
Conner stares at Nicat through the entire speech. "Have you considered not talking so much? Perhaps if you did not let all your air out, you would be taller." Not waiting for an answer, Conner kicks the door of the cottage in.
Perception for clue-findingStr check for doorkicking LIKE A BOSS
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As Conner storms up to the cottage door, he notices that there are a set of small, muddy footprints leading inside.
His boot connects with the middle of the cottage door, but the door itself doesn't give way.
The same, however, cannot be said for the hinges.
The door flies inward, the hinges tearing free of the dilapidated doorframe and landing on the wood floor beyond with a loud *BANG!*
The smell of mold and blood becomes stronger with the door no longer in the way. The room beyond is mostly dry, with a broken couch sitting near the back of the room in front of an empty hearth. What appears to have been a kitchen table lies in two pieces near the northeast corner of the room, next to an open pantry that appears to have been thoroughly looted. Patches of unsightly green mold and fungus can be seen in several dark patches on the ceiling and in the pantry.
There is a set of stairs by the east wall of the room that have been blocked off by a section of the old building's roof that has fallen in, and what appears to be a trapdoor in the floor on the west side of the room.
The muddy footprints walk to the pantry, then make a circuit of the room before walking to that trapdoor. The smell of blood grows stronger the closer you get to the trapdoor.
"Someone has been here in the last few days," Ekan says, and then frowns as the scent of the blood comes in, "And that hasn't had time to dry."
”Taller? Why would I want to be taller? You don’t make any sense,” Nicat replies. As he watches Conner kick the door in, he shrugs and says, ”Typical tallfolk approach. But it worked.”
He follows the burly human into the building and looks around. Even he can see the footprints heading toward the trapdoor, which reeks of blood. With a resigned look on his face, he says, ”I guess that’s where we need to go. Care to kick that in, Conner?”
There is a handle visible on the trapdoor. It's stained black with water damage, but it still appears to be sturdy enough to open.
”Taller? Why would I want to be taller? You don’t make any sense,” Nicat replies. As he watches Conner kick the door in, he shrugs and says, ”Typical tallfolk approach. But it worked.”
He follows the burly human into the building and looks around. Even he can see the footprints heading toward the trapdoor, which reeks of blood. With a resigned look on his face, he says, ”I guess that’s where we need to go. Care to kick that in, Conner?”
"I would suppose that your lady friend might appreciate the effort for height. You see, when you are larger, so is everything about you. Proportionately." Conner kneels down and gives the trap door handle a tug.
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"Real class act, you are," Eostre rolling her eyes at Conner's statement.
"I'll have you know that's garbage. Dwarves may not be as tall as you humans, but the plumbing's the same size as humans. Hell, on a dwarf it looks even bigger. And before you ask, no I don't have FIRSTHAND knowledge of this. I'm a cyphermage. I read."
The trapdoor opens with Conner's first tug.
As the trapdoor opens, the coppery stench of blood becomes overpowering. A wooden, feather-decorated ladder in suspiciously good condition descends about 10 feet into the dark room below.
Nicat crinkles his nose again, then wiggles his fingers and summons up a small swarm of glowing lights, which he sends down through the trapdoor. He peers through the opening, taking a close look at the feather-bedecked ladder as well.
"Real class act, you are," Eostre rolling her eyes at Conner's statement.
"I'll have you know that's garbage. Dwarves may not be as tall as you humans, but the plumbing's the same size as humans. Hell, on a dwarf it looks even bigger. And before you ask, no I don't have FIRSTHAND knowledge of this. I'm a cyphermage. I read."
"Thank you, it's important to make a good first impression. But that's not surprising, dwarves are very wide. Though I do have to wonder what kind of books you've been reading. Down the hole then?" Conner readies his sword and shield and waits for an opening to drop down.
Eostre blinks at Nicat's display of magic.
"How did you do that?"
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The ladder appears sturdy enough to support the party's weight. The feathers on the ladder are quite colourful, and their plumage suggests they have come from many different species of birds. Some of the feathers are stained with old blood.
Nicat's lights illuminate a 20'x20' room, its walls carved from the earth underneath the house; however, its floor is made of smooth stone. A workbench stands against the southern wall, and it's littered with various expertly crafted wooden carvings of birds, along with a set of corroded carving tools. A small stool is neatly tucked underneath the bench, and the whole setup is flanked by a pair of extinguished braziers.
The muddy footprints from the room above lead to a stone altar in the centre of the room. Standing atop the altar is a tall wooden carving of a bird-man with a scorpion's tail and four massive eagle wings spreading from its back. Its torso is clad in a wooden facsimile of plate mail, and it carries a delicately-carved spear in its talons. The bird-man's face is twisted into an expression of sheer, utter rage. The entire carving is caked in blood and filth and is without a doubt the source of the reek of death in this place, but it's a masterpiece of a wood sculpture.
Conner makes a disgusted face, looking at all this. "We should burn this place when we're done."
Nicat looks up at Eostre's question, a puzzled look on his face, "Oh, you mean the lights? Just something I came up with after juggling those glass balls - no clever remarks out of you, Conner - at the festival. I kind of figured out how to do the same with magic. Pretty neat, huh? I might be able to teach you."
He turns his attention back to the room below, saying, "Anyone know who the big winged guy is supposed to be? Doesn't look like someone you'd want to meet in a dark - hey! That stone altar thing he's standing on looks like we could move it, see how it's got those little grooves worn in the stone on one side, like it's been slid back and forth there? Let's go take a look!"
Without a thought, Nicat clambers nimbly down the ladder to take a closer look at the means of shifting the altar.
Conner looks very uncomfortable. "This is no place for clever remarks."
Upon closer inspection of the altar and the sculpture atop it, it becomes obvious that several pieces of the wood carving have been smashed and cut up. A particularly wide crack is visible in the sculpture's torso, from the bird-man's collar all the way to its calves. The damage done to the sculpture should have reduced it to splinters, but something is somehow still holding it together.
As Nicat pokes and prods at the altar, he finds an odd-looking square stone button next to the carving's right foot.
"Look, a button!" Nicat does the inevitable thing, squatting down and mashing his small hand down eagerly on the button.
The button recesses into the altar with a *click*.
The altar begins to move backwards, the *grinding* and *scraping* of stone against stone filling the room. The altar comes to a stop at the far wall of the room, revealing a spiraling staircase descending deeper underground.
The stairs are each engraved with a seven-pointed star.
Ekan looked a bit embarrassed at the talk of proportions and things. He didn't think of himself as a prude, but he had to admit his training as a monk had meant a certain focus on less... worldly matters.
But he soon found his focus as they came to the statue, even if he didn't know the answer.
"I'm sorry, Nicat. I don't know what it's supposed to represent, but it certainly is unsettling."
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"Godsdammit, Nicat you don't just "figure out" how to do something with magic! It took me years before I could cast a sodding cantrip! And you're bloody saying you just picked that up on a lark in three bloody days?! Who do you think-"
Eostre gawps as her rant is cut short by the revelation of the stairs, and more importantly, the star carved on them.
"That symbol!" she exclaims.
"I know that mark! It's a sihedron!"
"Sihedron? If you mentioned that before I've forgotten," Ekan admits his ignorance
"The seven-pointed star. The emblem of the Thassilonian Empire. These stairs may lead under the Old Light, or even deeper!"
"Nothing hidden under a place like this can be good... Don't take it to hard Eostre, I can't cast cantrips yet either."
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And in that moment, Eostre's back to ranting.
"Ugh! NOT the bloody point, ya walking junkyard! I'm a wizard, casting cantrips is child's play for me. But it took a bloody long time to learn how it all worked! It's magic! It's complicated! The intonation and hand movements alone can take weeks to practice! I've seen nothing to suggest Nicat has that kind of background! He'd make a lot more sense to me if he did!"
Those with a sense for attitude and emotion may note the jealous tone creeping into Eostre's voice.
"Aw, don't take it so hard, Eostre," Nicat says in a kindly tone. "As I'm sure you'll agree, I'm a pretty subtle fellow about most things. You'll be surprised to know that I've actually been using some little magic tricks for a while now - when I juggle I can kind of nudge a ball, or a kitten, whatever I'm juggling, in the right direction, like I've got a little magical hand helping me out. Makes pretty good juggling look great, let me tell you!"
A grin appears quickly on his face and he says, "In fact, watch this!" He mutters something under his breath and points a finger at Eostre, then at Ekan. Stepping away from them both, he mouths a few words and both the grumpy dwarf and the thoughtful human can clearly hear a whispered message: "Pretty neat, huh? And it works from far away too!"
Looking back down the staircase, he says, "Anyway, let's go see what these siphedrones on the stairs mean. You okay with going first, Conner?"
Conner readies his shield and heads down. "I knew a guy who liked to play with knives. He'd spend all day throwing them at things. Walls, paintings, slow cats. Used to brag about how good he was, never let us forget it. Then the circus came to town, and there was a 12 year old kid who could take the wings off a fly at twenty paces, it was unreal. Naturally, my friend was pretty bummed by this, didn't think there was a point to practicing anymore. But the talents of others don't diminish your skills by comparison. Sure, magic is easy for him, but I'll bet you know why it works way better than he does."
Nicat moves down the stairs after Conner, a thoughtful look on his face. "That sounds like a hell of a trick with a knife! But why would you need to know why something works, as long as it works?"
He shrugs, then his face turns more serious as he smells another waft of blood-scented air. On his way down the spiral stair, he draws his sword nervously.
A grin appears quickly on his face and he says, "In fact, watch this!" He mutters something under his breath and points a finger at Eostre, then at Ekan. Stepping away from them both, he mouths a few words and both the grumpy dwarf and the thoughtful human can clearly hear a whispered message: "Pretty neat, huh? And it works from far away too!"
Ekan nods, a bit surprised at first but not for long, "Quite neat. Possibly very useful too."
Sylvia looks around the workshop, her face paling and her hand clutching her holy symbol. The sight of the bird-man sculpture seems to especially unnerve her.
"I... I've never seen an effigy like this before. Shelyn preserve us, what have we gotten ourselves into?" She breathes, her discomfort plain for all to see and hear.
When the altar moves to reveal the spiralling stairs, she tightens her grip on her glaive and follows the rest of the party down, saying a prayer to Shelyn to light their way.
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The stairs go down for quite some time, the scent of blood becoming weaker and weaker the further down the party descends. It isn't long before the smell is gone completely, replaced by the odour of age-old earth and stone.
The party emerges in a cave of sorts, its walls and floor carved from the earth itself. The ceiling drips slightly with condensation. The cave branches off to the north, its walls becoming less earthen and more stone with each step.
The sound of something *snuffling* and huffing greets the party as they approach--the sight that greets them is born from the dreams of a madman. A hairless humanoid crouches on dog-like, back-bent legs, its back turned to the party, frantically scrabbling at the dirt with a pair of hands that are tipped with sharp black talons.
It turns as they draw near, revealing a face that no sane man could ever call 'human'. Its eyes are a solid red colour, and its mouth takes up the entire lower half of its head. The mouth is flanked by a pair of tiny arms, and they're all lined with serrated, yellowed teeth. Its slavering tongue flicks out and wets its hideously distorted lips. Beyond it, there is a second one standing at attention against the south wall, a sharp ranseur in its claws.
The crouched one screams.
"oooooooooAAAAAAAAAAAA
Sylvia gasps as the... thing screams. "Eternal Rose, bless and preserve us!" She prays.
A hue of many colours settles on the party before fading away.
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Eostre yelps in surprise at the beast and snatches a scrip of leather from the bag at her hip. She begins waving her free hand and muttering. The circle of runes tattooed around her eye begins to glow green, and a green flame consumes the leather. She begin gesturing to various vulnerable parts of her body and as she does, green panels of light begin appearing, and soon Eostre appears to be wearing a suit of emerald armor. The light quickly fades, but the protection remains.
"Wow, those are some ugly beasts!" Nicat cries out. "Lucky we found them, and can take some ugly out of this world, eh? Sorry fellas, but luck is on our side today!"
As he speaks, he holds his blade before him, ready to step into the fight once some of his larger friends do so.
The monsters snap to attention once the party begins buffing up. Eostre's spell and Nicat's taunting have especially drawn their ire.
One of the monsters (the one closest to Conner) dashes forward before the warrior can react and bites at the halfling!
However, a combination of Nicat's small size and superior reflexes save him from a nasty bite!
The second monster moves up, brandishing its ranseur. The beast twirls it before swinging at Conner!
The weapon *CLANGS* off of Conner's tower shield!
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Other than that, you have no idea what they are.
Conner half-crouches behind the shield, his sword held at shoulder height and parallel to the floor, ready to strike. One of the...things is attacking Nicat, but the other is armed and threatening him directly. But the difference was, he could take it, Nicat probably could not. Turning, Conner brings his blade down on the unarmed creature.
Attack
Crit confirmation just in case
Damage
Ekan moves forward to engage the foes directly and strikes at one with a kama
Even as he tries to place what this foe might be
Conner takes a swing at the monster biting at Nicat, but his blade meets nothing but air as the beast dodges the blow.
The monsters swing at Ekan as he moves, but his speed proves to be too fast for blade or claw to catch.
Unfortunately, Ekan's swing at the monster before him misses as the beast ducks the swing.
Sylvia holds her action, having no way of effectively contributing for now.
"Well, you'd think I'd have heard of these, since they're just about the ugliest things ever to walk the earth," quips Nicat, "but all I know is we're lucky not to be so unsightly. They make even Conner look good!"
He pats the hilt of his longsword with his free hand, imbuing it with a touch of his magical power, then strikes at the creature that attacked him.
Eostre waves her hands and fixes her eyes on the monster standing before her and Nicat. She plants her glaive next to her and takes a deep breath and appears to scream at the top of her voice, but no sound issues forth. The monster, however, hears a terrifyingly loud roar that threatens to burst its eardrums.
The beast grunts in pain as Nicat's blade slices open a large gash in its belly...
...then its hide briefly glows red as Eostre's spell runs into some sort of resistance.
Not for long, however, as the beast clutches its head and howls. Its hands come away from its head, sticky with blood, but it doesn't appear to be dazed.
The monsters retaliate! The wounded one's eyes blaze with hate as it attacks the halfling in a blind rage!
The wounded monster's maw and claws scrabble madly at the halfling, but meet with naught but air.
The monster facing Ekan throws its ranseur aside and comes at the monk with a savage fury!
Its toothy maw manages to nick Ekan's arm, despite missing with both of its claws.
A wave of RAGE flashes through the monk's mind, but his discipline allows him to push it aside. A moment later, it vanishes.
Slightly annoyed, Conner switches targets to the now-greater threat, the creature that has managed to draw blood. He thrusts his shield at the beast, then sweeps the barrier aside as his blade darts out from behind it, plunging four feet or steel at the foul thing.
Attack (remembering buffs this time...)
Crit confirmation
Damage
Conner's blade skewers the monster through its chest. Its solid red eyes widen and it gurgles as it falls backwards, muddied red blood cascading from its many wounds.