Galonor opens by offering her the bag of coins, "We bring tidings, as a sign of good will, it may not be much but hopefully it is something." Once the Muckrucker has received it, he continues straight to the point, "We come hear in search of answers, we are attempting to investigate the disappearance of a few members in the puddles, with links to the Rose Street Killer. Would the Muckruckers have heard of this?"
"We bear donations towards your cause. I hope you'll find this favourable." Galonor reaches his hand out toward the muckrucker.
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She accepts the bag, then quickly examines the contents.
"Ah, yes... the Society has been quite a generous benefactor of ours lately."
She stows the bag under he oilskin cloak, then removes one of her gloves. "Ziraya al-Shurati. Normally a Muckrucker, but it seems all that just means these days is being a amateur rat catcher." She holds out her hand to shake Galonor's.
She then explains that a few days back, she received a report from a local named Dahlia that one of her friends had gone missing. "With the rats and fly infestations troubling the neighbourhood granaries, our resources have been spread thin... it sounds like this missing person might fall under the same scope as your investigation."
Seeing another rat or two escape the house she just exited, Ziraya draws her sword once more, then lets out a sigh. "Well, back to it. this Dahlia girl, she works down at the Frog's Tongue tavern - she's the cook, so you'll know it's her if she's behind the hearthfire. Check with her for more information. I've got some more rats to kill."
”I appreciate your time fair maiden. You have my word that we’ll look into this.” Galonor slightly bows as he thanks her and heads towards the direction of the tavern getting his boots wet.
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You make your way through the Puddles to the address that Ziraya specified - the sign announcing the Frog's Tongue Tavern is a mummified frog glued to a slab of wood. As it's just getting to be the early afternoon, business is slow at the moment. A few patrons are scattered among the various seats and tables, but any sign of activity is limited to the kitchen.
The door to it is open, and you can see a blonde woman frying some fish in a skillet - must be Dahlia.
"I'll be right there, folks. Give me a second." She flips the fish in the pan, then exits the kitchen. Once she gets a good look at the party, her face turns to one of excitement.
"Oh, thank the gods! The Muckruckers must have decided to send someone after all! As I was telling the badge lady with the dog tattoo earlier, it’s not like Justerian to not show up for work. He's a cook here with me, see, and he loves his job. He’d been a slave for years, and with all that slavery isn’t on the up and up anymore, he finally had a chance to pull his life back together."
She scratches the back of her neck, continuing. "The Puddles sure ain't the best place for that, but he was managing just fine. He kept talkin’ about how he was worried that one of those underground slavers was gonna come snatch him back. I thought it was just talk... but now
he's gone, and I'm worried he might've been right after all."
"I see. Not good, not good at all. Can you tell me what he looks like? And where he lives?"
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"Justerian's human, an older fellow... not much hair left, and a strong build, as he's a dockworker. He's been staying at this real run-down place, an old manor, as no normal person would ever think of calling that place your home - he was always looking over his shoulder, thinking that the slavers would come take him back."
She writes down a simple map to the manor that Justerian was staying at.
"Just... be careful, right? Remember how I said no one would think to look there? It's because the place just ain't safe. The stairs are full of termites, and the attic's chock full of bats. One good storm and the whole place might just fall down."
- - - - - - - - -
Arriving at the location that Dahlia gave you, you see a once-majestic manor house, which now leans slightly to the west, sinking into the muck. The first floor is flooded, and its front door hangs open. Two staircases lead up to the second floor, their steps riddled with small holes.
Remus moves to the walls and starts to climb.
Galonor knows a little about bats and termites to everyone's surprise, his time adventuring in the wilderness allows him to have experience some of them first hand.
Always realising on his strength, the half-orc follows Remus and threads the walls with a firm grip.
Lifeng also tried climbing...
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Looking at the side of the house, and the staircases to the second floor, Galonor knows enough about termite tunnels to predict their patterns, and where rot meets a termite nest.
With that knowledge, Remus and Galonor scale the outside wall without issue. They enter through a window on the second storey, and await the rest of the party.
Lifeng attempts to follow them, but a piece of the brickwork above crumbles and showers him in debris, dealing 2 bludgeoning damage.
"Wow. I don't think I can do that, but I bet I can make it through."
Lifeng tries to climb again.
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Lifeng manages to sidle up the side of the house on his second attempt.
Mellikim gets halfway up the western staircase before stepping on a weak spot. His foot goes right through, and a handful of splinters stick into his leg, dealing 2 piercing damage. Once he gingerly removes his leg, he is free to attempt the rest of the way.
Gingerly, he tries to make it the rest of the way.
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Mellikim makes it the rest of the way up the stairs. The afternoon light doesn't really make it that well into the second floor of the manor, and so the area is rather dim.
You are at the western end of a hallway, with multiple rooms to the south. The space opens up to the north about halfway, with a spiral staircase at the center of the northern room.
A strange sloshing sound is coming from the southern master bedroom, with intermittent splashes being able to be heard.
Being cautious, Galonor draws his greatsword and carefully wanders down the corridor in search of anything unusual."Be on guard men, we know not what lies beyond here." He warns the others as he takes the lead.
"Why would anyone want to live here? The building doesn't want us here."
Lifeng helps with the searching.
Remus sets his instrument, preparing to blow the notes as they travel.
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Galonor is first to the corner, and sees an unlikely pairing - a sewer ooze, and a flock of nesting bats in the rafters about 10 feet above.
Everyone in the party can also plainly see that the sewer ooze has left the ground covered in a sludge. Being a thick, viscous substance, it looks as if it would make any movement more challenging whilst in the room. All squares south of the door contain the sludge and are considered difficult terrain.
Before Galonor can mention anything about calming the bat swarm, the rafters in the ceiling crack, and a board falls, splashing the muck left behind by the ooze on the floor. A drop hits a piece of linen, and it appears to sizzle, burning through it.
The bats peel out of the room, and towards the party. The entire party is buffeted by wings, teeth and claws.
Round 1-A:
Environment: Difficult terrain, hazard, dim light
Battlemap!
(those in bold may act)
22.5 Bat Swarm
22 Mellikim (-5)
13.3 Galonor(-3)
13.2 Lifeng (-5)
12 Ooze
10 Remus (-3)
Areas in shadow or lit by weak light sources are in dim light. Creatures and objects in dim light are concealed (DC 5 flat check = 25% miss chance) to creatures that don’t have blindsense, blindsight, darkvision, or low-light vision.
"Ow! Ow, stop it! Cheet-chit cheet!" Mellikim tries convincing the bats to leave him alone as he draws his weapon, wary of the ooze.
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You can be simultaneously affected by multiple persistent damage conditions so long as they have different damage types. If you would gain more than one persistent damage condition with the same damage type, the higher amount of damage overrides the lower amount. All
types of persistent damage occur at once, so if something triggers when you take damage, it triggers only one time.
Persistent damage can have the bleed type, meaning it affects only living creatures that need blood to survive.
Bleeding automatically ends if you’re healed to your maximum Hit Points. You or an ally can spend actions to help you recover from persistent damage, such as casting healing spells or using Medicine to Administer First Aid against bleeding, dousing a flame, or washing off acid; successfully doing so reduces the DC of that condition’s flat check to 15 and usually lets you immediately attempt an extra flat check to end that persistent damage. The reduction to the DC lasts until you remove the persistent damage or gain another persistent damage condition with the same damage type.
The bats are still rustling around, clattering into the walls and one another in their frantic panic. It appears as if Mellikim's attempt to pacify them had no effect.
Round 1-A:
Environment: Difficult terrain, hazard, dim light
22.5 Bat Swarm
(-4)
22 Mellikim
13.3 Galonor(-3)
13.2 Lifeng (-5)
12 Ooze
10 Remus (-3)
Braving through the bats, Galonor immediately enters the bedroom to deal with the ooze like creature. "I'll handle the slimeball! You take care of the bats!" And with a mighty swing, he slices through the ooze causing slime pieces to splatter across the room!
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Galonor spreads viscous goop all over the bedroom walls with a mighty swing of his greatsword, dealing 13 damage to the abberation.
In retaliation, the sewer ooze unleashes a wave of filth and slime, which fills the entire bedroom, and spills out into the hallway.
+2 to Reflex save from cover
+2 to Reflex save from cover
+2 to Reflex save from cover
The wave of sludge rushes forward, but Galonor and Mellikim jump over the spreading concentric wave, and suffer no ill effect. Sloshing out of the bedroom, and into the hallway, Lifeng and Remus brace to avoid it as well - Lifeng manages to do so, but Remus takes the brunt of the wave, along with the entire bat colony.
The ooze then lashes with it's appendanges.
The ooze connects, dealing 6 damage total to Galonor!
Round 1-B
All squares that contain the sludge in the bedroom are difficult terrain.
Description The floor of [the bedroom] is covered in acidic sludge. Debris from the ceiling periodically falls into the sludge, splashing those nearby.
Disable DC 15 Crafting (untrained) to brace the ceiling with debris in three places disables the hazard, or a PC can attempt a DC 13 Perception or Survival (trained) check to avoid being near falling debris that round
Creatures and objects in dim light are concealed to creatures that don’t have blindsense, blindsight, darkvision, or low-light vision. (Concealed requires a successful DC 5 flat check before determining your effect)
22.5 Bat Swarm (-7)
22 Mellikim (-4)
13.3 Galonor(-9)
12 Ooze (-13)
10 Remus (-6)
DELAYED Lifeng (-5)
0 Hazard: Acidic Floor
are up!
Remus begins to play his song...
And takes a shot at ooze like creature.
and another!
"Can you draw it back Galonor? I'd rather not have to venture through that sludge."
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Mellikim (already made check)
DC 20 Flat Check to negate bleed:
Mellikim (already made check)
Remus lets a pair of arrows fly from his bow, and both strike the ooze, dealing 9 damage!
Lifeng ventures out of the bat swarm's reach, and sends some positive energy Galonor's way, healing him for 6 points.
Shortly thereafter, another piece of the ceiling falls down into the sludge covering the bedroom.
- (Galonor/Mellikim)
- fail
The debris lands with a splash, showering Mellikim with acid, taking
5 damage!
The bats are still in a panicked frenzy, and lash out at those nearest to the swarm.
Remus is completely swarmed by the bats, and takes 5 piercing damage.
Round 2-A
Battlemap!
(those in bold may act)
All squares that contain the sludge in the bedroom are difficult terrain.
Description The floor of [the bedroom] is covered in acidic sludge. Debris from the ceiling periodically falls into the sludge, splashing those nearby.
Disable DC 15 Crafting (untrained) to brace the ceiling with debris in three places disables the hazard, or a PC can attempt a DC 13 Perception or Survival (trained) check to avoid being near falling debris that round
Creatures and objects in dim light are concealed to creatures that don’t have blindsense, blindsight, darkvision, or low-light vision. (Concealed requires a successful DC 5 flat check before determining your effect)
22.5 Bat Swarm (-7)
22 Mellikim (-9)
13.3 Galonor(-4)
12 Ooze (-22)
10 Remus (-9)
1 Lifeng (-4)
0 Hazard: Acidic Floor
are up!
Galonor continues to fight through the pain, slashing away the ooze with full might. "Worry not Li Feng, I shall eliminate the threat! Gruhh!"
Mellikim moves closer to the ooze, stabbing with his rapier.
With the threat dismissed, Galonor quickly turns around to look for potential hazards coming from the ceiling.
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"The bats are easily spooked and likely to attack the PCs, but the PCs might be able to calm them. If a PC succeeds at DC 12 Nature check as an action, the bats do not attack anyone that round. If a PC critically succeeds at the check, he calms the bats sufficiently that they no longer pose a threat. An individual PC can attempt to escape the bats’ notice by using an action to attempt a DC 12 Stealth check. If the PC succeeds at the check and hasn’t attacked the bats this turn, the bats do not include him in their swarming bites attack on their next turn.
Galonor scans the area for any other threats, but doesn't sense anything aside from the bat swarm.
22.5 Bat Swarm (-7)
22 Mellikim (-9) (2 actions)
13.3 Galonor (-4)
10 Remus (-9)
1 Lifeng (-4)
0 Hazard: Acidic Floor
Remus books it out of the bat swarm, keeping up his song as he moves.
Mellikim keeps trying to convince the bats to leave the group alone, with no better success than he had the last time.
With little knowledge of natural things, Lifeng enchants his weapon and then slashes at the swarm.
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Lifeng swings his polearm, cutting down many bats in the process. What remaining bats there are scatter to the wings of the manor, far from the reach of your blades. They are no longer a threat.
With the threats of vicious fauna gone, you can brace the ceiling of the bedroom with boards and other debris, and the threat of pieces falling and splashing you all no longer pose a threat. You can search the room for anything of note.
Looking under the bed, one of you finds a small wooden trunk hidden underneath it. The trunk contains two sets of simple clothing, 50 feet of hemp rope, a waterskin, 10 days of rations, a set of cookware, a minor elixir of life, a vial of nectar of purification, and 12 sp.
It also contains a letter that contains the following message;
Justerian,
Again I ask that you find somewhere else to live. You don’t need to live in squalor — not when you have friends who can help you find a safer home.– W
Once finished in the bedroom, when you all meet back up in the main hallway, you notice a trail of blood that heads north towards the spiral staircase.
In this room, you notice a few things out of place - a club, a holy symbol, and two different kinds of insects.
Galonor approaches carefully with his sword still readied, "Blood is never a good sign." He mutters as he investigates the items.
"These are flies and death-head moths!" He points out bluntly at the insects. But he is unable to make sense of the other effects.
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Galonor knows that Death’s-Head moths are sacred to Urgathoa, goddess of gluttony, disease, and undeath. The moths are indigenous on the Isle of Kortos, but their presence here seems like more than a coincidence.
- - - - - - - - -
Heading up the spiral staircase, you enter a 20x25' room. Justerian’s body lies on the floor of the attic among abandoned furnishings, surrounded in a puddle of congealed blood.
Mellikim, with his training in medicine, determines the wounds that cover his body and caused his death came from claws. Surprisingly, there is no patch of scalp or hair missing from his head, so whoever the sample on the club belongs to must have been Justerian's assailant.
- - - - - - - - - -
When you return to Dahlia, she is devastated to learn of her friend’s death but grateful to you all for investigating.
"Did you find any clues about the killer?" she asks, through sobs and tears.
"Unfortunately, that there is foul play as I suspect that the deity Urgathoa might be responsible for it. But besides of that, I know nothing of the killer. I am truly sorry for this." Galonor tells Dahlia the best of his knowledge.
"We don't know who it was," Mellikim adds quickly, "but we have this." He holds up the hair sample from the club. "It was on the weapon, and it isn't Justerian's. Perhaps there's a spell out there that can identify it?"