The maps are of all of Taldor and there are various marking and symbols, but it seems to be coded somehow and without knowing more about the code it is impossible to decipher the meaning.
"A good idea." Caspian agrees. He examines the map carefully, making interested sounds, but consents to it being rolled up for later study.
"We must press on. If Martella is down here with creatures like that I am very worried."
Capricia moves into the room and nods when Bimble suggests claiming the map. She looks around a bit to give Caspian and Sara time to do their thing with any locks or traps on the western door.
"Intersting." Sara agrees "We can check later to see if the marked areas have had any activity. If not they might be future plans." she muses before moving to the door to aid Caspian in trap searching.
"Hopefully Lady Martella will have answers for all this," Rossana states, uneasily. "I would rather not have to run into any more of those...fantionette things."
With nothing he can do about his fears Caspian sets himself to examining the doors for any dangers.
Checking the door and not finding anything overly concerning the group opens it up to find a hallway leading north. The hall turns back east to an open door to another long hallway leading east. Eight doors line the sides of this tiled hallway. The doors of several rooms are open, revealing ten-foot-by-ten-foot bedchambers, each with a single bed and nearby table. Aside from the furniture the rooms are bare of anything else. Following the hallway the rest of the way around it leads back to the dining room where the only other route is a hall leading to the south.
Caspian doesn't completely dispense with caution, but his checks of the rooms are a little cursory, especially when it becomes clear that they are basically empty.
"We must hurry." He insists, making haste to return to the dining room and the southern passage.
Capricia leads the party down the south passage, turning a corner west. She stops suddenly and whispers back to Caspian and Sara, "Another door for you two to check out."
Her natural instinct is to look over every room, to understand the story of why, but there is a life in danger, so she hurries to the door and helps.
While at the door she'll babble "[b]This is very organized and neat. If they are responsible for all this we are in real trouble I think.[/ooc]
Assuming no traps are found, Capricia will open the door.
Not finding any dangers Capricia moves up to open the door. Three stuffed training dummies stand in the southern side of this stone room. Arrows and daggers protrude from the dummies, while weapon racks stand neatly along the northern wall. Passages exit to the north, and west, with another closed door directly to the north.
As she opens to the door she spots a halfling pulling a dagger out of one of the dummies and he sees her. He looks toward the door to the west as if ready to run that way.
"He's running!" Sara darts forward without a thought, as usual. In front of the others she'll taunt him, "We're bakers, old men, and poets. What would your halfling god of assassination say to running away from us. Coward." she'll smile sweetly at him.
Capricia charges the fleeing figure and hacks away with her falcata.
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Sara tries to draw the halflings attention which causes him to turn just in time for Capricia to rush forward and slice him open from shoulder to navel. He collapses to the ground, in a bloody mess.
After a moment of sudden adrenaline, Rossana feels her fur lay flat once more. "What happened?" she asks as she is finally able to come around the corner. Seeing the body, she grimaces, but focuses on checking Capricia for any more wounds. "How many more of them are there?"
Caspian meanwhile heads straight for the western door and tries to make out what he can from the other side.
Sara comes up next to Carpicia, letting out a low whistle. "That was amazing. I mean I'd rather none of us having to be killing one thing after another, but if we are, cause it seems like we are, that way seems Pretty efficient." the baker gives the warrior a quick smile then hurries up to help Caspian, not that he needs it.
"I think he was running this way cause there are reinforcements. So be ready..." she whispers to the nobleman.
Capricia returns Sara's smile, giving a slight shrug in addition.
"I guess that's why Martella recruited me for this team."
Caspian heads straight for the western door and he looks around noticing this next room, beakers and vials cover a table spanning the entire northern end of the room, while four shelves containing alchemical ingredients extend from the southern wall. As he moves up to the door he trips over something, looking down he notices that he stepped through a trip wire that looks to lead into the next room.
"They know we're coming." Caspian says, a slightly apologetic note in his voice. "It might be best to move quickly now."
Suiting actions to words he hurries across the room, resisting the urge to examine Martella's alchemical set-up and pauses to check the next (and final?) door for more trip-wires or other traps.
With a small sigh, Rossana readies her crossbow again.
While she's in the room she'll do a quick as can be casting of sift. One never knows if there is something extremely important just under a lace doily.
Then Sara hurries over to help Caspian, to make sure there are no offending wires, maybe at face level since the nobleman's eyes are trained lower.
Otavio looks around for a beaker with a handle and if such an item is within sight, he picks it up. "A souvenir, if you will."
With Caspian's warning the group prepares for another fight. Once everyone is ready Caspian opens the door and the group moves into the room. A short hallway gives way to a large open cavern. Six sets of manacles, evenly spaced along the western cave wall, dangle down to the dirt floor. All but one set hang empty, while the final set secures the body of a beaten and bruised woman which you recognize as Martella. Nearby are three more cultists with their blades drawn.
Rossana hurries through the corridor as the fighting begins, hoping to find a bit more of an open space to ready her crossbow from.
Capricia enters the room, closes on one of the cultists, and tries to take his head off.
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Hearing the ruckus ahead Rosanna moves up to see what is going on, finding the cultists ahead with Martella shackled to the wall. Capricia rushes into the room to attack the nearest cultist. She slices into the man leaving behind a grievous wound. Out of the shadows on the northern side of the room you hear a woman casting a spell as a duplicate copy of her appears, she continues casting another spell as a weapon made of pure force springs into existence to attack Caspian.
Luckily the blade misses Caspian in it's attack. The cultists circle around Capricia to attack.
Only the man she already injured manages to cut into her with his blade as the other two men both miss their attacks.
Caspian ducks the blade out of pure reflex as his gaze is fixed on his sister. "We'll have you out of there in a moment Martella!" He says confidently, moving into the room to join Capricia and attack the foe she has already wounded.
Stepping to the side to get a clear shot, Rossana fires at one of the men swarming Capricia.
In the back of the line, Sara slides through and to the side of everyone with a 'excuse me' here and to 'whoops sorry accidental handsy' there until she slips under Caspian's attack of...
If so, Sara rolls under the force blade popping up on the other side of it. Otherwise she doesn't roll at all.
But either way, she'll takes a swipe at the figure next to her, the spellcaster?
There isn't much thought to what Otavio does as he rushes in with no regard for his own safety and throws his body and sword at the nearest foe. He raises the sunrod in his offhand to parry a blow before realizing his trusted buckler is dangling on his hip - oh crap. Still, the bright light it emanates helps the sellsword to distract his foe.
Bimble casts a spell at the halfling woman who had previously been hiding. He gets the spell off but it doesn't appear to have any effect on her. Caspian lands a solid blow on the injured cultists and drops him to the floor. Otavio moves in after the man to the south and with Rosanna landing a shot on him two they manage to drop the cultist to the ground. Sara moves up to join the fight and strikes out at the halfling. She stabs at her but when the blade hits it turns out to just be an image of the halfling that dissipates into nothingness as the actual woman is still standing their unharmed. Capricia turns to attack the last cultist to her north.
She manages to hit the man, leaving behind a significant wound but he manages to stay on his feet. The woman calls out to her henchman "Forget them, help me with her." He nods and turns his attention to Sara.
While the man misses he provides enough of a distraction for the halfling to stab Sara in the back dropping her to the ground. With Sara down the halfling directs the blade toward Caspian to attack again.
However, it misses once again.
Caspian moves swiftly to attack the halfling up close. "You kidnapped my sister!" He declares, feinting left and thrusting right, "You will regret that!"
Capricia hacks at the cultist flanking Sara...as he's foolishly allowed himself to be flanked between herself and the bard.
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