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"Nothing smells as good as a hyena," Ulretha says with no sense of irony.
He takes the three of them around the building, seeking out tracks that can be found with the olfactory senses rather than the ocular.
[dice=Handle Animal plus Link]1d20 + 5 + 4
And they actually listen to him.
Honestly, I'm not sure what else to say other than "they smell things that are creatures". They aren't tracking anything in particular, so yes, they smell creatures inside the building.
... so he goes looking for better prospects and decides to find out if Lidia is a head scratcher.Turns out she is.
But when the little dinosaur nudges at her hand, she sort of automatically responds with pets and scatches, without really taking her attention off what she'd otherwise be doing. It seems like a reflex more than kindness. That said, she seems willing to keep it up as long as LB desires to receive it.
Ben observes with humor. Well, I guess he's going to be preoccupied for a while.
If Ben's examination of the door produced nothing, and Sal's detect magic showed no magic on the door, he opens it and enters the first room.
Thyste waits for the herd to pass through. She gets herself ready for a frontflip through the door (just to show off), but not wanting to kick Lidia in the face in the process, instead takes the human woman's hand.
And, with a flourishy bow, kisses it. "M'lady~"
Grinning cheekily, she climbs halfway up Lidia's arm and drops onto the ground on the other side.
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Thyste gets herself ready for a frontflip through the door (just to show off), but not wanting to kick Lidia in the face in the process, instead takes the human woman's hand.
And, with a flourishy bow, kisses it. "M'lady~"
Grinning cheekily, she climbs halfway up Lidia's arm and drops onto the ground on the other side.
Lidia blushes and smiles a little in spite of herself.
"Quit clowning." she says in a quiet earnest voice. "Rodrick's killer might be hiding in here."
Sal is a little afraid.
”Can you help me and my dog up please?“
Thyste's swashbuckling grin slowly slips into a frown.
Why does everyone have to have a predator or three following them around?
"Well, let's head to where the pack thinks there are people."
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The support walls and pillars that once connected the Plague House to the huge boulder behind it have burnt and crumbled in this ruined chamber, revealing nearly the entire face of the monolithic stone as well as much of the sky above. Jagged red runes have been painted onto the rock in long, broad strokes that reach from top to bottom. A cabinet on the southeast wall and a tall bookcase against the northeastern wall are all that remain of the room’s furnishings.
As you look around the room, the heyna's continuously alert you to an enemies presence. You look up and realize the ceiling is covered in webs...and lots of eyes!
Initiative Order, Bold May Go!
Map Slide
Lidia
Little Ben
Thyste
Spiders! 2 medium size, 4 small sized
Ulretha
Salaamati
Thyste takes quick stock of the situation, then scrambles up the nearby bookshelf...
She runs right up the shelves, pulling the bow off her shoulders as she goes; as she lands at the top, her toes curl over the top of the bookcase, her other foot propped up against the wall for support as she takes a shot at the off-white colored spider.
Seeing two nasty spiders plop down right in front of him and Little Buddy, they both spring into action with a mediocre display of skill.
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Little Ben just barely manages to catch a spider off guard while Little Buddy only does so on his first attack.
Lidia fires a nearly perfect shot at one the smaller spiders and easily hits it.
Thyste does some cool acrobatic moves before following up with her bow, but the arrow doesn't penetrate the hide of the bigger spider.
The two bigger spiders try to bite little buddy and little ben, but they both easily miss their targets.
Three of the small spiders try to bite the heynas. One of them gets bitten pretty hard, but the spider is young and weak, so it doesn't leave much of a wound.
plus fort save vs poison
One of them tries to bite Lidia and she tries to dodge, but her foot slips on some books lying on the floor. By sheer luck, the spider manages to get its fangs into her.
plus fort save vs poison
Initiative Order, Bold May Go!
Map Slide
Lidia, -4hp (fort save)
Little Ben
Thyste
Spiders! 2 medium size (black -2) (grey -11), 4 small sized (blue -3)
Ulretha
Ulretha's pack, Red -7hp (fort save)
Salaamati
Sal casts ‚bless‘!
”May fate be on our side!“
Once again the pair sees to eliminating the giant spiders.
"I always said. Leave the crawlies alone unless they come into the house, then they're fair game."
*splat*
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Ulretha draws his flail as he slides past one of the male hyenas (I really need to write down their names) and comes next to the spider it is threatening and that Lidia just put an arrow into.
He brings the heavy, gnarly head down toward the lighter, gnarly head.
It makes quite a satisfying crunch as metal trumps carapace.
If it makes Lidia feel any better, it doesn't seem like the pack notice her success, failure or predicament, at all. There are aggressors to conquer and territory to take and they are immediately focused on that. They don't seem the least phased that their opponents are the same size as them and some of them much larger.
Onnikka only snarls as she is bitten, as though she is more offended than hurt by the assault.
She counterattacks, ready to show the creature what a real bite is like. (Red on Red)
The male next to her does the same, lashing out at the creature that attacked him. (Orange on Yellow)
The male that Ulretha moved past looks for the nearest opponent (if Ulretha did not down the spider he attacked (orange) blue attacks it. If he did, then he slides up and attacks blue.
Thyste watches her arrow hit carapace and go spinning off into the wall.
"I think for a place as battered as this, 'inside' is relative!" she says, pulling another arrow from her quiver.
Nock, draw, aim... wait for the right moment when the dinosaur isn't in the way...
Twang!
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Little Ben slams the spider in front of him into paste.
Lidia shoots orange right as Ulretha swings at it to knock it unconscious.
Ulretha's pack begins tearing into the spiders. Red bites red while blue bites blue. Spider probably doesn't taste too good.
Thyste lets an arrow fly into one of the bigger spiders, but it's still skittering around.
The spiders bite back!
The spiders miss their return attacks and the group finishes them off in their next volley of attacks.
Combat Over!
Lidia -4
Red pack -7
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An abandoned hopeknife sits in plain sight on one of the shelves in the bookcase to the northeast. Its blade bears the inscription, “For Rodrik, my love.”
DC 16
The bookcase contains a false back. . The small cubby behind the false back holds an ornate gold coffer studded with numerous gems. The coffer is empty, but is itself worth 500 gp.
Thyste looks down on the group's handiwork from her perch.
"I suppose there are worse things than spiders larger than me," she muses, shaking her head.
"...Wait, izzat a hopeknife?"
Sal looks around.
”You were all so brave. Thanks for protecting us!“
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As soon as the spiders are dealt with, Lidia immediately drops to a sitting position and strips off her right boot to get a better look at the spider bite. She pokes and squeezes at it carefully and intently, then finally dabs some of her blood with her index finger and touches it to her tongue, lets it sit there for a moment, then spits it to the floor. Her bare foot is filthy and smells musty. She grabs one of the books on the floor, rips out one of the pages, and uses it as a makeshift bandage to stop her bleeding, then pulls her boot back on, spattering little pebbles of dried mud on the floor as she does,
”Could have been worse.” she says simply as she pulls her boot back on. ”I don’t think it’s poisoned.”
Once she returns to her feet and notices the hopeknife with the inscription, she nods. ”Well, this must be why he needed a new hopeknife. This must be the original one — the replacement one vanished before the inscription was put onto it. So if the original hopeknife was here, and Rodrick never got to pick up the replacement, he didn’t have a knife to kill himself with. This proves he didn’t commit suicide.”
She also helps search the bookcase.
”Hey, look at this!” she says excitedly, pulling out the coffer from its hiding place. She examines it wonderingly and delicately.
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Delicious or not, the pack tear apart 3 of the spiders after they have been slain, for some reason fighting over each one instead of simply having one each to themselves.
Ulretha twists and pulls one of one of the spiders' legs, finally chopping the last digit off with his new (to him) short sword. He sucks out the meat inside the way others might to a crab leg.
He's chewing on it absently, making loud crunching sounds as he joins the others.
"So...it's as we all thought. He was murdered. Now, we just have to figure out who murdered him."
Ben approaches Lidia and says, "hey, let me look at that. I've picked up a few skills in my time and paper is not the right tool for the job think I can do better than slap a few pages of paper on it."
...
Though Ben does not have a full-on healing kit, he does have a decent survival kit which includes some basic first-aid supplies. Amidst the fish hooks and trap wire, there is a small box with the symbol of Sarenrae on it. he opens it and takes out some bandages and herbal paste and gently, oh so gently, applies it to Lidia's wound.
"Hmmm. No, the bite was poisonous but your body is successfully fighting off the infection. You should be just fine."
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Ben approaches Lidia and says, "hey, let me look at that. I've picked up a few skills in my time and paper is not the right tool for the job think I can do better than slap a few pages of paper on it."
Lidia opens her mouth like she's going to argue the point, but she looks up at the big half-orc silently for a few moments instead, and then closes her mouth and just nods. She pulls her boot back off.
"The paper would have worked ok. I've done it before." she grumbles.
... there is a small box with the symbol of Sarenrae on it. he opens it and takes out some bandages and herbal paste and gently, oh so gently, applies it to Lidia's wound."Hmmm. No, the bite was poisonous but your body is successfully fighting off the infection. You should be just fine."
Lidia watches curiously while Ben works. She seems uncomfortable at the attention, but not in pain as he ministers to the wound. "What's in that paste?" she asks in a subdued voice.
"I got bitten once by a centipede. Right on the back of my neck. You can still see the scar." she says, and pulls aside her hair too show Ben the spot. There is indeed a round, pale, ragged scar just to the left of her spine on the nape of her neck. "It burned like fire for days. I was so weak I couldn't even sit up. It got infected too. I was delirious for a while I think--I remember being in a dream where I kept trying to do a cat's cradle with my brother and getting it wrong over and over and over, but not being able to just stop. I'm pretty sure I almost died. I remember waking up one morning in the rain, and just letting the raindrops fall in my mouth. I swear water never tasted so good." She speaks calmly, almost to herself, while she watches Ben work. When he finishes wrapping her leg in a clean bandage, her elbow is resting on her knee and her chin rests in her palm, so that as she speaks, the movement of her jaw makes her head move up and down slightly. She's smiling vaguely.
"Thank you." she adds quietly, in a distant voice, still looking at her leg.
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DC 15
The runes spell out "Skreed".
Lidia also spots the characters "R + B" carved on one of the support beams near the bookshelf.
You now have a very important hopeknife and a fancy box. You can check the room to the west, south, or go downstairs from this room.
Ben holds up a dab of the grey paste and responds to Lidia's questions.
"It's a mixture of with hazel, ground up charcoal, and a baking soda. Works well at drawing out poisons and infections and has the advantage of being dirt cheap. Aloe also works well, but I don't have any. Fortunately you will not be needing it... I'm sure the paper would have been fine, but I carry this stuff around for a reason and we can do better than fine in this case."
Ben quickly reads the inscription and mutters, "I wonder who Skreed is - or was," as he finishes the job by putting away his supplies.
"I'm sure the paper would have been fine, but I carry this stuff around for a reason and we can do better than fine in this case."
"In other words, he just wanted to see you take your boot off again," Thyste interjects.
Ben smiles at the single minded woman's comments. In an deft segue, Ben quips, "I do love to walk through the mud in bare feet. Or moss. Or a sandy beech."
As he gestures with his hands, Little Buddy, who is used to being hand fed tidbits, takes a lick of the paste at the end of Ben's finger and has a little coughing fit as he tries to spit it out, then gives Ben an accusing look.
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Ben holds up a dab of the grey paste and responds to Lidia's questions.
"It's a mixture of with hazel, ground up charcoal, and a baking soda. Works well at drawing out poisons and infections and has the advantage of being dirt cheap. Aloe also works well, but I don't have any. Fortunately you will not be needing it... I'm sure the paper would have been fine, but I carry this stuff around for a reason and we can do better than fine in this case."
Lidia makes a discreet, small nod at each ingredient listed, as if trying to memorize what Ben is saying.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to sound ungrateful." she says a little awkwardly.
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"I'm sure the paper would have been fine, but I carry this stuff around for a reason and we can do better than fine in this case.""In other words, he just wanted to see you take your boot off again," Thyste interjects.
Lidia looks questioningly at Thyste. There's more than a hint of irritation to her face. She glances down at her filthy foot, little more than a collection of dirt, sweat, calluses and old blisters, with nails practically as long as the raptor's. She suddenly blushes uncomfortably and looks away to scowl at the wall.
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"What's in the box?" Ulretha asks, reversing the spider leg he's been chewing on to use the sharp end to pick his sharp teeth before tossing it casually to the side.
"Maybe it's a clue. Or maybe it's enough platinum pieces that there won't be any reason to keep looking for clues," he continues.
The Pack has finished eating the vanquished and Onnikka and Fazingar sit watching the bipeds in the room curiously. The other male is wallowing in the remains that are left as predators often do to hide their scents.
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"What's in the box?" Ulretha asks, reversing the spider leg he's been chewing on to use the sharp end to pick his sharp teeth before tossing it casually to the side.
"It's empty." says Lidia. Still sitting while Ben works on her leg, she puts the box down on the floor next to her and shoves it peevishly along the floor toward Ulretha, never once taking her glaring eyes off the wall.
She pauses, then speaks again, more calmly.
"I agree that Skreed is probably a name. I'd guess it's just orc graffiti. They can't help but deface things. Most likely Skreed was an orc who came here and wrote his name on the big stone, just because he could."
She pulls her boot back on again, then stands to see if she can retrieve her spent arrows.
"You are probably right. Well, Ulretha, looks like we have to go on, and since there is a door right here, I suggest we pas though it. Is everyone ready for more unpleasantness?"
Little Buddy tries to go see what the pack is gnawing on but the growls send him scurrying for cover behind Ben. Not having any luck with the hyenas and still offended by Little Ben's trick, he seeks solace under the scratching hand of Lidia.
Sal is really a little intimidated by the situation.
"What do you think is hidden behind these doors? The spiders were just aweful!" she says to Ulretha and holds her holy symbol.
"Bigger spider, of course," says the vixen, nocking an arrow.
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You open the door to the south. Two iron doors connect this small stone extension to the Plague House’s main building. A large steel lockbox sits in front of a steep stone staircase that winds down into darkness. Rats scurry around in the room and move to attack you!
One of them tries to bite Little Buddy!
but little buddy's tough hide bounce off the blow
Initiative Order, Bold May Go!
Map Slide
Orange Rat
Salaamati
Ulretha
Ulretha's pack
Red Rat
Lidia
Little Ben
Blue Rat
Thyste
Sal is a little frightened and waits to see where she is needed.
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Ulretha still has his flail out when Little Buddy opens the door. He's so impressed and trying to figure out how to teach the Pack to do it that a rat almost bites the dinosaur before the gnoll moves. He makes up for lost time quickly, though, closing the distance and bringing down his weapon on the beast (the rat, not the dinosaur.)
Rats! Delicious, plump rats! Spiders were ok, but there wasn't enough meat on them. Rats, though...
Before either of the others can react, the lowest male rushes to the fray.