Yes, lets asks Tamli first.
Says Tamerius, agreeing with Natsume.
Tamli tells you that you can borrow one of caravan's lanterns, from off your wagon for example.
"Just buy some oil from us or make the Feedmill happy and get it at their General Store.
Though their's might be turnip oil?"
"In my opinion, it's part of the adventurer's pack. Well, if you need light, of course. Anyway, do as you want, I don't have the money to buy one. And then, we move quickly to the north of the town!"
Giggett seems happy about this idea.
Natsume nods, taking down one of the lanterns from their wagon.
"If turnip oil burns, I'll take it!" laughs Natsume. She heads off to the General Store to see if they've got it in stock.
Presuming they do, she pays her prettiest copper piece for some and fills the lantern's reservoir with it.
She ponders a moment; "Tamerius, do you want to hold it? You can do more with less free hands than I can," she points out.
"As we don't know what we can find there, let's be cautious if it's ok for you."
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No worries, I know I’m the light of this group!
Says with a chuckle the cleric.
But we don’t need oil, I can cast light inside.
Delma thanks you for having taken her father for a walk: "And I heard I might be related to some of you?"
Natsume pays her copper and gets a nice flask of dark Osiriani oil.
You use the oil to fill the bullseye lantern from the wagon, and--
--off you go.
All four of you set out, towards the Dead Houses, in the north of the village.
Tamerius holding the lantern.
Giggett starts walking slowly, thus all will probably have to move slowly too.
Giggett moves steathely along.
You are ready to explore.
Natsume brings some oil back-- but does not have to use it.
Tamerius' spell has a slight smell of turnips to it-- no, that's just the even stew on the air.
Dragh nods to the idea of visiting the empty houses
"I can cast light on you flail Natsume. Just keep it covered when you don't need it."
Normally Dragh could look for magic, but in this party he would use his keen eyes and look for dangers.
Natsume shrugs. "If you don't mind!" she says, promptly storing it in its sheath. She keeps her shield on her arm for the exploration.
Natsume has a light spell on her flail, but covers it up-- so an interact to remove the cover and use the light and flail.
Tamerius holds the lantern with his own light spell in it.
Dragh will slowly move ahead, and around, scouting along.
And Giggett fades into the shadows...
Then you head out of the wagons, exiting the inn's courtyard, crossing the Plaguestone square, and heading out into the dark and foreboding "Dead Houses" district.
Big clouds move past the half moon, thus it is quite dark.
A barn owl flies overhead, spooked by your arrival.
All is quiet--
Tamerius is aware of his surroundings and looks around while moving, trying to not be too loud.
With Dragh scouting ahead--
Tamerius coming along behind, using faint light from the lantern to not stumble in the dark, but looking around into the night, trying to spot things, using the lantern light once inside homes you feel are empty--
and Giggett and Natsume creeping along stealthily, so as not to be spotted, Natsume remaining closer to the light source than Giggett.
Though Tamerius sees that Natsume often moves out into the darkness, away from his faint light, and manages to not stumble around.
You start searching the Dead Homes, which covers the whole north side of town, above the Plaguestone and the main square.
Slowly, in the night, moving from half-destroyed shop to house in a terrible state of disrepair, you soon see that nearly all of these homes and businesses are empty, their residents probably long dead from the Plague, or having moved away. Out of town, or to be with relatives in the south of the town, or in farms outside.
It is quite eery, all these empty ghost inhabitations in the night.
You find some places with people, but, as Targen said: Anyone with coin lives on the south side of town.
In the first home, you scare three kids, who run off-- visibly, these are some orphans who, seeing the place they are in, must be living in the remnants of their old home.
Though, like all the other places, the interior has been stripped of furniture and all.
Then, you find other people living here. Maybe one house in ten has somebody.
But all the most very poor and desperate of Etran's Folly.
They answer your questions, but know nothing about much of anything, having barely heard someone died, but only working now and then as extras, mainly for food, so not caring about merchants and such, only about surviving.
It is all quite dark, dank, and very depressing.
Then, towards the end, when you are continuing your house to house search only because you have to, after you want to abandon, Natsume makes a discovery!
In one of the numerous simple wood-and-thatch homes, one that is clearly empty and abandoned, with its collapsed roof, and broken stairway leading to what used to be an attic--
--Natsume spots a coil of rope, barely poking out, and placed on top of a beam, that one end is tied to.
It is most probably something that can be lowered to climb down from the old attic, since there are no stairs anymore.
And that might, must, have been pulled up by someone who moved upstairs.
Giggett looks at the rope then at Natsume, noding to indicate that she has an excellent sight. She then puts her finger on her mouth and show the ground, expecting someone to look for tracks.
In the meantime, she starts searching for traps or alarms. This is the first person to be so protective in the neighborhood, one can expect anything.
Giggett looks around, and is sure that there are no alarms or traps.
Giggett then listens carefully, in case we can hear something from up there.
Dragh walks in front of the group looking and listening around. After encountering the first group of children he hides his dagger and continuous unarmed.
The work goes slow and brings no effect. Until they found the rope.
He gives time to Giggett to observe and assess the situation. Then he walks under the rope and rolls up his sleeves. You can spot symbols tattooed on his forearms. He begins by speaking slowly and making arcane symbols on the floor which begins to glow with light blue light, after a bit longer time his tattoos begin to glow as well. He raises his hand in an attempt to move the rope.
Tamerius looks for tracks around the rope.
Giggett listens, trying to spot something-- but hears nothing.
Then he hears something very faint... that grows louder.
Is that...? Yes, it is magic!
Oh, it is Dragh casting a spell, chanting Dwarven Arcane words while his arms glow in the dim light.
Suddenly, the rope moves, as Dragh waves his hand and forces the start of the rope to move to the side... which makes it fall, and then pulls the rest of the coil, that comes tumbling down, hitting the dirt floor.
Dust rises... but the rope is now stretched down.
As the dust covers the floor for a few seconds, Tamerius does not see any relevant tracks.
It is a bit of an old hard mud floor.
Giggett grabs the end of the rope, pulls it and holds it to help the climbing. With a head gesture she tells Natsume to climb it.
Upon finding the folks who are hard up, Natsume distributes alms as she is able-- a couple of coppers here, a couple there. For those that seem particularly and immediately hungry, she dips into her rations and passes out some food.
She is not one to see hungry people and not try to help.
Natsume also searches for tracks (+3 Survival, trained).
Regardless of her findings, she follows Giggett's indication and hefts herself up the rope.
She's pretty quick about it, even!
Giggett looks at Natsume's butt climbing at light speed then looks at the two others... with a raised eyebrow, her expression clearly asking if someone feels able to climb a rope quickly.
Giggett looks at Natsume's butt climbing at light speed then looks at the two others... with a raised eyebrow, her expression clearly asking if someone feels able to climb a rope quickly.
For what it's worth, Natsume does have a good butt.
Dragh decides to follow after Natsume. He begins as soon as she finishes
But the climb seems to be too big of a challenge for him.
The people cry, and kiss Natsume's feet:
"Thank you, benevolent mistress!
If you need, we can work..."
They flex their weak muscles.
_________________
In the old house, Natsume does see some indication that someone, maybe two people - kids, possibly? Small feet for sure - have been coming and going recently.
Then she starts climbing up the rope that Giggett holds for her--
--and sees Giggett checking out her butt.
Giggett does feel that this is one foxy butt!
Natsume manages to climb all the way to the top.
Dragh bumps into Giggett, who is busy looking up.
Thus Dragh is unable to get a hold of the rope, and he grumbles.
Just then, a figure jumps from up on top, leaping down from the top floor onto the ground, amidst you, and racing out the door--
--'tis not a kid.
'Tis a goblin!
'Tis Phinick!
As Phinick races out the door, you all will - I imagine? - start to chase him.
Natsume slips back down the rope.
Dragh spins around.
Giggett lets go the cord she is holding.
Tamerius opens his lantern, maybe?
All of you who wish, may start off after Phinick who is running away.
The first part will be chasing him through the last old homes in the Dead Houses district, as he rushes to get out of them.
You feel you can either just race straight for him, or else try to jump through a window and into an abandoned house, to zip out the other side.
The people cry, and kiss Natsume's feet:
"Thank you, benevolent mistress!
If you need, we can work..."
They flex their weak muscles.
But alas, she is entirely too far gone as she ascends above all the weaklings back on the planet's surface. "Goodbyyyyyyyyyyye!"
---------------------------
As the goblin drops right past her, she swings back down the rope, her behind bonking the slack-jawed gnome as she finds her feet-- and hits the ground running!
She's off like a shot, fingers threaded through her flail's iron chain and gripping the handle in one hand to keep the light shining, other hand free (as there's no time to strap on a shield while running!).
"How could I not have seen that coming!"
Giggett starts to run after Phinick, but she very quickly decides to go for a shorcut, jumping through the window of a house she remembers being empty and rushing through it.
And the chase is on!
Phinick is a goblin, fast and nimble, who can see in the dark, and who probably knows his way around this neighborhood.
But Natsume jumps right off the beam and races off.
She is right behind Phinick.
Giggett rushes out, and leaps through a window--
--seeing the poor people, who hold their hands for more money!
But Giggett races out the door and catches up with Phinick.
Dragh--
Tamerius--
Tamerius tries to race through the houses, but he’s quickly lost in the maze of dead houses!
Dragh stands up after falling at Giggett and follows her jumping through the window. His short legs make him slower, but wide arms a bit more resilient.
Even if Tamerius is a bit lost, Dragh sees everyone rush off--
--and manages to follow them, rushing through the houses.
Phinick rushes out of the tangle of little alleyways of the Dead Homes, and ends up on the road that leads North out of the village.
And the goblin starts to sprint, gaining speed, he dashes off like CRAZY!
It will be hard to keep up with him.
But, other than Tamerius, who exits the Houses behind everyone else, the others are still close to Phinick.
Giggett sprints behind Phinick with lots of tension, holding her fists tightly closed, as endurance has never been her thing.
And despite all expectations, she sprints like an elf, proof that size doesn't matter!
Dragh dashes after the Goblin. And even that size does not matter...
Years over the books took it's tall. He is a tad more tired than Giggett but it does not slow him down.
Giggett is pulling on reserves she never knew about, and, after racing along, she somehow feels even more in shape than before starting the chase!
She is just behind Phinick!
Dragh is a sturdy Dwarf, and manages to pace himself, and is not out of breath at all.
Keeping her knees up and booking it seems to be working for her so far--
--and of course, no wrestling nomad worth her salt would be winded after just a few moments of physical activity!
She keeps pace with her companions like a champ.
"C'mon, Tamerius! You can do it!" she cheers.
Natsume rushes along, and manages to keep her breath just fine.
You wonder if Tamerius is used to sprinting down muddy countryside trails in the dead of night?
Giggett's not wondering :)
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Following behind, Tamerius is able to follow the group, to his own surprise!
I... I'm... he... re
Phinick whines: "Go... a... way..."
Phinick feels that even Tamerius, who is a little behind, manages to keep abreast and succeeds in sprinting.
The goblin suddenly jumps to the right, going east, paralleling the north of the village.
He surprises you, taking a small, very muddy, foot-path, leading towards some fields.
You all try to react and manage to take this abrupt turn, without slipping in the mud.
You either have to be nimble enough to not slip.
Or else you can quick check out where you can turn while avoiding the mud.
You are all doing good so far.
Timerius used to follow tracks of halflings is able to keep his pace through the mud!
Natsume, no stranger to keeping her footing in mud—after all, mud wrestling is even better than non-mud wrestling!—keeps her footing, bearing down on the goblin!
”Ahaha!! Are you guys having as much fun as I am?” she asks.
Giggett loves mud wrestling... as spectator!
But she's handling well the running, using the more roguy mud skating.
"You won't make me lose my concentration! I'm leading!"
Phinick starts to smile when he sees Tamerius not turning... but his eyes bug when he sees that Tamerius actually took a sort of short cut and did not drop out at all!
Then he jerks his head around, glancing back for a second when he hears Natsume change directions with ease, not missing a beat, and talk of having fun!
And now he sees Giggett also making the turn-- Phinick looks ahead again, and you see he is frowning: he is losing no one!
Giggett does seem to be leading, and Phinick does not seem to be able to shake her at all.
Dragh--
(behind)
• Tamerius (2)
(ahead)
• Phinick
• Natsume (3)
• Giggett (4)
• Dragh (2) DC 15 Reflex or DC 13 Survival
If Giggett is not far away from Phinick, she screams to him:
"Yes! Yes! Go see Hallod! Leave poor Phinick be!"
He glances back:
"Diarrhea! Diarrhea! Go see Hallod!
DIARRHEA!"
Dragh looks how Tamerius takes a shortcut and he follows his steps...
But he turned a bit too late and ended up in bushes.
Dragh ends up in bushes, and inhales a whole cloud of dust and pollen, and starts coughing like crazy--
--you are sickened 1 till the end of the chase.
You can skip on leg of the chase to retch in the bushes, and feel better.
But dwarfs can hack it! Hey, sickened 1 is nothing compared to a night of beer!
Dragh manages to get back in the race, a bit behind Phinick, alongside Tamerius.
Whle Natsume is tailing the gobling, and Giggett seems as though she is about to tackle the fugitive and bring him down.
Seeing this, Phinick suddenly leaps over a fence to the right side of the road, towards the end of the Dead Homes.
What a crafty goblin!
He must have had this in mind, because he just jumped into someone's back yard, where a guard dog starts barking and snarling, ready to attack the intruders!
You look to one another, and feel that one of you can calm the dog--
--or else you have to see if you can get past the dog without it paying attention to you, which is what Phinick is doing.