The stench of rot and decay bursts through the open door when the half-elf opens the door.
A broad chute extends diagonally through one of this cellar’s half-crumbled stone walls. Beneath it lies heaped more than a dozen mutilated humanoid bodies. Nearby, a flight of rickety, wooden steps climbs toward the high ceiling—an escape none of the room’s current occupants seem capable of employing as a fallen wall above has blocked the way out. The smell of rot and decay in the room is nearly overwhelming, and the buzz of flies hangs in the air.
Covering her nose with her hand, the halfling girl uses her other hand to hold the burning censer closer in an attempt to block out the smell. "Whatever way out this used to provide, it is no more, unless we want to try to climb over a pile of corpses and up a chute. Unless you want to sift through the bodies for some trinket, there's no reason to progress any further this way." She steps away from the doorway and the smell and looks for another way out of this pit.
Following the others in the room Eldako does not flinch at the smell, I remember living in sewers that were worse off than this when I was a child. What? where that come from? , he stops in his tracks when he realized what he was thinking. Walking into the room Eldako tries to see up the shoot; not caring if there is anything on the bodies.
When the half-elf mutters his prayers, eldako barely holds back a scoff. " I think I can check up the shaft faster than anyone else. If the rest of you want to check the bodies for anything, at least we will know how difficult the climb will be when I get back. Unless anyone has any better ideas?"
Zylah tilts her head as she considers the strange pale man. Seemingly decided on a course of action, she nods at him and follows him into the room, keeping the censer close to her face whenever possible.
The pair move into the room and as Zylah begins to poke and prod through the bodies Eldako peers up into the chute.
The halfling gingerly moves various...body parts. Most of the corpses wear outfits reminiscent to the rags of the murdered man. Over and over she reads "Staff: O" or "Staff: N". A few are in simple garments with series' of numbers where a name tag would be. She pauses periodically to pull the censer close or to force a choked cough back down. Eventually, she manages to collect a few stray coins and cheap jewelry from the bodies.
The chute has seen better days. The walls of the chute appear to be rather rough and would be fairly easily to brace against while climbing. At the top of chute is a metal hatch. It is currently closed.
Grateful for managing to keep from loosing what little contents her stomach carried, Zylah makes her way back out of the room with her meager findings.
Next time, you can dig through the corpses, she complains to Colenso. She only receives a mental shrugs in return.
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The Kellid woman had remained behind staring at the carved woman’s face she found on a broad cord. The face seemed familiar, with what looked like stars worked into the eyes and seemingly at random in the hair, but she could not put a name to it just yet. She knew the object was some kind of talisman to her, so she hung it around her neck and hoisted the shield once again. Then she entered the horrid scene in the room with her new companions.
”Sorry, I was lost in thought for a moment.” she says upon entering. ”This is strange. I understand not knowing any of you, but for us all to forget who we are seems strange to me. Still, some things are familiar. I know this shield is something special to me and this talisman as well, but why is lost to me.”
The woman notes that the halfling girl has found some things among the corpses and the pale man is looking at the chute. She nods to the half-elf as he seems to be taking in the scene as well and she kneels near the pile of bodies. The light in the room is poor and she instinctively grasps the talisman around her neck and speaks a short prayer, then the talisman glows slightly allowing her to examine the bodies to see what may have happened here.
"Well, there seems to be easy handholds in this chute with a hatch at the top I'm going to try to go open it." with that Eldako grabs up and starts climbing his way up the chute.
Eldako tries to lift the hatch at the top of the chute once he gets there.
With the others waiting below Eldako easily climbs up the grisly chute. The hatch at the top opens and he finds himself peering into, what appears to be, a large closet. Through the darkness he is able to see that nothing stirs in the room above.
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The Kellid woman looks up to the half-elf returning to the room and nods.
"It certainly a monster of a being." she says. "I hope we do not encounter more of them, but escape does seem like what we should be aiming for. I can't recall what may have happened here, but it is clear that something horrific went on."
She turns at the sound of the pale man's voice coming from the chute. She shudders at the though of having to climb up, but there doesn't seem to be much else to do.
"Should you go up next to help our pale friend make sure things are clear?" she continues while looking at the half-elf and then to the young halfling. "I can stay here and watch over our back and our halfling friend can follow you next."
"Ok, just one second." Eldako looks around the room just to make sure his presence wasn't found out. his darkvision seeing all the darknend corners of the room. Once he finds out no one is watching and its safe, he heads back down the chute.
sighing from having to go back up the chute for a third time. Eldako is just happy that at least he isnt alone in this hellish place.
Eldako, once again, proves his climbing prowess and heads up the chute. Certain that nothing else is in the room he finds a cask full of stagnant water and secures the rope around the barrel.
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The Kellid woman keeps a weary eye, focusing on the area beyond the door of the room. The air seems heavy with fear and while she is fighting to appear in control, her own fear is starting to show.
"Okay, up you go little halfling." she says with a mental note to try not to talk down to her like a child. "Hopefully we can find a safe shelter up above."
Zylah watches the others as they make their way up the chute, not looking forward to wading through the dead bodies again, but motivated by the prospect of leaving this unknown hell hole. She looks up at the human woman nods in agreement before making her way up the rope with as much strength as she can muster.
The bodies move and slip across each other as the amnesiacs begin their disturbing climb. Hands and arms seem to reach for them as they ascend to the chute. An illusion created by the disturbance of the corpses.
With the last of the group having ascended the chute with the aid of the rope, they find themselves crammed into a closet of sorts. Dark though it is a sliver of yellow light slices under the singular door.
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The Kellid woman quickly follows the halfling girl up the chute, feeling the sense of dread wash over her as she realizes she was now alone. At the tops she takes a look around and at her companions. Still feeling the dread, she clutches the wooden symbol at her chest and causes it to glow again.
I wish this would shine brighter, her thoughts run. I can't help but feel something is missing that more light would reveal.
While waiting on the others, Eldako quickly moves towards the door and tries to listen for voices or any other sounds.
No voices can be heard though the soft pattering of water on soil can be heard and thunder rumbles somewhere in the distance.
Once everyone is up, Eldako opens the door slowly and goes out into the hallway. "it sounds like its raining..." he says to the others.
Zylah lets out a sigh at the mention of rain, "... and me without an umbrella."
Trampled flowerbeds lie smeared and squashed across this muddy courtyard. On all sides, stark gray walls climb toward a narrow gap of sunless sky. A shedlike structure to the southeast lies largely collapsed and to the north, a large section of wall has crumbled. It would take a considerable amount of time to clear the rubble.
A familiar yellow fog floats a mere inch or two from the ground. A shadow of the haze that haunted the shared nightmare. Unusually warm rain falls from the amber clouds above and thunder rumbles somewhere in the distance.
Scabby stains amid the mud puddles lead from the door to the west back into the room containing the chute.
The halfling girl ignores the half-elf's ravings while she examines the markings on the floor. "Seems that whoever brought in the bodies came from that way," she says softly, pointing towards the next door just west of them.
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The Kellid woman steps out into the courtyard, looking around to see if anything seems familiar.
"Please, my friend," she says to the half-elf. "remain calm. Something tells me that we are as real as anything else around here, though I can't say I know exactly why I feel that way. Regardless, we have been given a chance to make whatever is wrong, right again."
I am not sure I believe that myself, but panic will not help us right now.
"Nothing here looks familiar, so I guess we should see about the door here. Our pale friend seems good at getting around, perhaps you would care of see what lies ahead? We won't be far behind though."
With that the Kellid woman steps back from the door and waits to see what the groups wishes to do.
Resigned to push forward, the group ventures into the courtyard. The thin layer of mist coils around their feet yet never quite touches any of them.
As if in response to their presence, the rain begins to fall heavier than before. Larger drops begin to pelt the ground in random places and the ground sizzles where they land. One such drop lands on the nape of Kayalenta's neck and sears the smooth flesh there.
The rain shows no sign of slowing.
Eldako heads towards the Door as quietly as he can, and trying to be as stealthful as possible. As he listens to the ramblings of the half-elf he couldn't help but scoff, Only those of weak wills worship the gods... His bare feet squish in the mud as he crosses the small courtyard.
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The Kellid woman winces as she feels the burning sensation from the rain. She raises her shield to stop the drops from running down her back, though it still soaks in.
"I feel we should hurry." she says. "I don't welcome being caught in this rain much longer. Its burn and none of us can avoid it for long."
Eldako quickly opens the door and looks inside, his darkvision looking around, he turns his head to motion to everyone, "Quickly!"
Eager to get out of the rain, Zylah makes for the door, but makes sure to have a look of her own into inside before fully committing.
Broken lanterns and several battered doors line this cold, rubble-strewn hall. To the south, a pair of swinging doors lies shattered upon a 4-foot-high heap of wrecked furniture clogging a broad door frame.
As the group rush into the hallway, a voice calls out from behind behind a 3-foot-high barricade of broken furniture and fallen masonry. The barricade fills a wide, empty door frame, blocking off the northern portion of this broad hall. Lanterns flicker upon the walls, casting shadows upon several closed doors and beyond the ramshackle barricade.
“Whoa, there! We got more here!”
Four men behind the barricade train crossbows on the group.
"Stay back! I'm warning you!"
The halfling girl stands behind her taller companions, reflexively staying out of direct sight. Somewhere in the back of her brain, she knows that her appearance tends to be startling to others, and she'd rather not have one of them loose a bolt from fear.
“‘We don't want to harm anyone’” it says,” calls back one of the guards. ”Just how dumb do you think we are?”
A second lets out a nervous chortle, ”These bastards really think we are that dumb, eh? Easy to say you don’t wanna hurt no one when you got four crossbows staring you dow-HEY! Don’t move!” He shouts at and turns a shaking crossbow on Kayalenta as the woman raises her shield.
The third man shushes the first two and calls out, ”Don’t move!” Though he is clearly the largest of the four gatekeepers, his clothing hangs too loose on his frame. He turns to the fourth guard, ”Go get the Captain. He’ll wanna talk to ‘em.”
The first man’s glances over his shoulder at the larger man, ”You can’t honest-” the first guard stammers before he is cut off by the larger man.
”Better yet, you fetch the Captain.”
The first glowers at the big man for a tense moment before relenting. He opens the door to his left and disappears. An eternity minutes later, a stocky man in well-worn leather armor steps out from the same door followed by the first guard. Dark circles ring his eyes. He places a hand on the large man’s shoulder and the two share whispered words. After a moment, he turns to face the group in the hall.
”With things the way they are, you can pardon my bluntness. In the off chance that you are telling the truth, I’d hate to have to have my men shoot potential allies so, I’ll ask you to come no closer. I hope you can appreciate our caution.” The man motions to the guards and, once again, four crossbows are aimed at the party. ”I’m Captain York. And if you truly are not one of those,” he curls his lips in disgust, ”things, then you should have little trouble proving it.”
Immediately Eldako regrets not taking more time with checking the room. He tries to stay out of direct light partially to hide his appearance and also to not hurt his sensitive eyes. Dropping his club, "Let me guess, you think were Doppelgangers right? We killed one in the other room. It was attacking a prisoner, but unfortunately he didn't make it. As you can see we are no threat; we barely even have the clothes on our backs."
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The Kellid woman remains in place but does not lower her shield.
Prove we aren't shape shifting monsters, she thinks to herself. how are we supposed to do that?
Seeing that the half-elf and the pale man seem to be wiling to take front in the conversation, she feels that trying to add to the discuss will just make things worse. She remains silent and continues to watch for additional threats.