In the southeastern corner of the grounds, hidden amid a copse of gnarled trees sits a large mausoleum of polished granite. Statues of weeping angels of green- tinged bronze flank the closed entrance. A tarnished silver doorplate on the black steel door reads, “Sarini.”
Liet-Gar leads the way as usual, heading up to the large stone building and carefully checking the door for dangers. He declares that it is safe and pulls on the handle. Immediately, one of each angel wing slashes through the air at him, attempting a quick decapitation.
They catch the flat-footed Liet-Gar mid-jump, but the old sharpened edges are heavily worn and barely manage to bruise the half-elf .
The gears running the trap grind to a halt. With the wings in a downward position, it is obvious this trap would have to be manually reset before working again. Once the pain settles, Liet-Gar recalls that the door was locked.
___________________________________________________________________
Dimple easily opens the lock with utter confidence. Inside the mausoleum, two stone coffins stand on a dais, and several more coffins lie on shelves built into the walls. The coffins on the dais are empty.
One of the other coffins contains the bones of an adolescent boy. The corpse is still clutching an old journal, whose dedication reads “to Luca.”
|
Seeing the wounded warrior, Dimple begins to concentrate. Eyes shut tight and a low growl escaping her lips, the young Desnan's face slowly turns different shades of red. It starts with pink before slowly darkening through the warm end of the spectrum, ending in a deep crimson. Just as it looks as she might pass out, a burst of healing energy erupts from the tiny gnome. The area is bathed in a peaceful, healing calm that smells a little like warm cinnamon bread.
"Whoo! Close call there. Almost pooped my pants. That would have been embarrassing. Anyway, let me see about that lock." Still winded, Dimple slightly limps toward the doors. "I think I pulled something. Hafta be more careful."
The journal appears to be very worn and would take significant time to study to determine any information.
|
...[s]tatues of weeping angels...
Kasvot opens his eyes wide, refusing to close them for any reason as he runs away screaming. "There's no way we can win, we have to run and never stop running. Flee!!!!"
Kasvot freezes as he's overwhelmed by an existential fear--seemingly from another place and perhaps even another timelord--though he somehow senses the danger, he can only watch as LGZ triggers the trap... though it's much less of a dangerous trap than his fear had warned him of. He catches his breath and is happy when Dimple heals the elven warrior.
"Agreed, Vie, we should study this later. Instead, now we have to uncover what other stories this estate can tell us. Should we circle to that gazebo, then try the manor house?"
Vie carefully searches the crypt and coffin, finding a thin golden disk with a winged eye carved onto it. Anyone trained in the religious circles easily recognizes the symbol as being Arodens. Anyone trained in being a pathfinder can easily recognize it is gold and thus valuable.
The full elf collects the journal for later perusal, then the group decides to head over towards the gazebo. Warily they watch for further ambushes.
___________________________________________________________________
On the way is a wild garden flush with colors and full of scents both sharp and sweet. The gazebo topped with an old rusted weather vane sits in the northeast corner of the garden.
Kasvot easily identifies varieties of many of the plants in the garden. They include many different kinds of poisonous plants, including hemlock, poison oak, belladonna, and even stranger growths, many of which are not native to Isger. Some of the plants have been imported from other countries, some of which are as distant as Sargava.
However, the half-orc can tell that many of the plants have medicinal or alchemical uses. Collecting them could net the group a nice profit.
Liet-Gar starts wandering through the overgrown hedges of poisonous plants, avoiding touching them as he moves. He is blissfully oblivious that he is walking up next to large frog, though some of his allies notice just as the amphibian moves to strike.
(Move or Standard Action available)
Niza
Fromagalli
Vie
Frog (concealed in a bush)
Niza & Albis
Dimple
Fromagalli
Vie
LIet-Gar
Kasvot
Frog
Bold may act
Vie moves forwards to get a better angle. Fromagalli prepares a spell from his location. Niza just clocks the thing upside the head, her force punch making a resounding thump into the soft flesh. The creature reels back and then snaps its jaw at Liet-Gar.
The half elf is chomped HARD and the frog easily holds on to the scouting warrior .
Niza & Albis
Dimple
Fromagalli (True Strike)
Vie
Liet-Gar (-8 HP, Grappled)
Kasvot
Frog (-5 HP)
Bold may act
|
|
"Oh Pish and Posh! That boy is always getting hisself inta trouble of somesort." Dimple reaches into her bag. After briefly rummaging around, she pulls out an old biscuit. She scrapes off some of the congealed bacon fat and flings the small blob at the partially elven warrior. It hits his armor with a 'splat', then begins to spread all over him.
Liet-Gar swipes, missing wildly. Dimple makes him all glistening and oily, like a Spartan Warrior!
Fromagalli hacks the frog in two, also like a Spartan Warrior!
|
|
The bard pulls the wand with braided hair out and pokes the warrior a couple of times. Wow he sure is ... shiny right now. Like those shirtless fighters from way back when. Wait, am I staring? Look away, LOOK AWAY! She busies herself putting the wand away as her face starts to look a little flush. "Is it hot? It feels like its getting a little hot."
Dimple heals up the oft-wounded half-elf. Kasvot carefully collects samples from each of the plants in the garden and his allies check out the Gazebo. It is full of raccoon poop and spiders, but not unusually so for an outside location.
Turning towards the building, there appears to be a set of doors on the east and south sides of the building.
Liet-Gar carefully checks the door, it appears unlocked and without traps. Dimple confirms there are no magical auras present. Niza rips the door open and the now-less-shiny Liet-Gar looks inside!
He sees the broken remnants of an old table and chairs, probably used for a nice meal looking out upon the garden. The remainder of the area has a number of bare shelves and empty containers, this was probably a pantry with eating nook. Four doors exit this room.
|
|
Dimple nudges the warrior as she points to the closest door. "Go open that one, but be careful. But, don't LOOK like you are trying to be careful. Remember, they can smell fear. Who THEY are is not important. Just trust me, fear is stinky. Be confident without being too confident. Over confidence has used up a lot of your magic healy stick. Move quickly, but go slow enough to see any danger." She stares at the elf, "Why are you still here?" She shoo's him with her hands. "Go! Go on now. Go open the door. We're right behind you from over here."
The usual process occurs, no dangers discovered with the door itself and it is flung open to show two large tables flanking an oven built into the west wall of this kitchen. Jars of different sizes sit on the two tables in uneven rows. A narrow set of stairs leads down to a dark, musty basement.
After a quick search, most of the items are easily discovered to be without value as they have rotted or worse. However, in one corner of a cabinet is a sealed cask. Popping it open, inside it is full of tasty salt, plenty to actually be of commercial value.
Fromagalli natters on for a good while, talking about a number of uses in alchemy, cooking, canning, etc...
He eventually gets to the good part, mentioning that "right you are Dimple, against certain kinds of giant vermin, like snails, slugs and leeches, a handful hurts them just as bad as acid!"
|
|
Looking expectantly at the others, "You know, it's not like we have been very quiet. Every time we run into something, Leased-a-Cart here shouts, and or screams, at the top of his lungs. Everything in the house has to know we are here, right? So, where are they? Plus, in every creepy story, there is a basement. This place has to have one of those. I'm willing to bet that when we find it, Leave-it-Jar end up girl yelling at least one more time. Any takers?"
"What's wrong with screaming like a girl? You ashamed to be compared to the better sex?"
___________________________________________________________________
Without a lot of space, Liet-Gar confidently opens the (safely checked) deep south door and quickly re-grabs his two handed weapon as he moves inside.
A few pieces of silver tableware lie strewn about on a 30-foot-long oak table, and more valuables are displayed in a large antique vitrine. The heads of three beasts—a dragon, lion, and goat—have been mounted above a fireplace on the north wall.
Door checked, seems safe. Niza hops up on a small table and pulls it open while Liet-Gar and the rest stand ready.
Through this door, they see the large double doors of the front entrance. Paintings of people and landscapes adorn the walls of this once-grand entrance hall. A few small vases, most of them cracked or broken altogether, sit on semi-circular tables set against the west wall. A faint smell of mildew hangs in the air.
The door of the cloakroom to the west has been ripped off its hinges and lays on the floor. A quick check inside turns up a few valuables. Two quivers and small coin purse. The quivers hold a total of five cold iron arrows and five cold iron bolts. The coin purse has twenty-six gold coins.
|
|
Snagging the quivers and coin purse, LGZ stops a moment to gander at the paintings.
"Whomever did this has quite the talent. They are very pretty."
"Almost as pretty as our little ones here." he adds with a wink to Niza. "Anyone recognize the landscapes?"
Cautiously making his way to the far door, he waits for the others to finish checking out the room.
|
|
Dimple walks by the portraits and paintings, reporting aloud her inner thoughts on the subjects. "Boring dead guy. Another boring dead guy. No place I've been. Another place I haven't been. A place no one has been." She stops and backs up to the middle landscape. "Wait a pip! If I was a betting girl, and if we find a basement I most definitely am, I think I recognize this place."
The two (whoops) three portraits are of Baron Marcius Sarini; Baron Lucius Sarini; and Baroness Sadira Sarini. The Baron's appear to have very distinctive long chins, which are reminiscent of the adolescent skeleton found in the crypt.
Niza snorts derisively at LGZ's comment and reaches up to her shoulder to scratch the celestial hawk's chin, "Yes, Albis is quite the gorgeous bird. Good eye."