Xavien spends enough time to convince himself that the closet is truly empty....
The party slinks into the pipe and follows it until it dumps out into an excavated chamber. The walls are embedded with several artifacts of a long-gone iteration of Oppara: bare scroll rods, broken pots, cobblestones, and various other bits of street garbage. The southwestern door is normally a closed secret door, but the door has been left open...
Kenton nods and allows Leo to go first, though he follows closely behind.
Leo immediately stops the party. There's a tripwire attached to a javelin launcher!
"Right! Give the man some room," Xavien smiles, ushering everyone back out the door, in case Leo accidentally sets it off while disarming it.
Leo nods at Lord Xavien,"Much appreciated My Lord." and he gets to work...
Leo doesn't get it on the first one, and then makes ano-
Snick!
He sets it off! for
Thankfully it's as light a hit as such a tightly wound javelin trap can deliver.
"A brave and hardy man, you are," Xavien says, returning and giving Leo another tap of the wand.
"I say we plumb the southern passage first. If you do not mind leading with your sharp eyes in front, Leo, I shall be right behind you."
Leo takes the front...
Leo finds no traps, and the secret door here is also open (the secret being on the OTHER side. There's nothing of note in this first room.
"Let's keep to this structure, I suppose," Xavien suggests, nodding west. He follows Leo into the next room.
The stink of spoiled food permeates this common room. Several plates covered in scraps of rotten meat and spoiled vegetables cover the two round tables in the center of the room. Shelves of preserved foods line the walls to the north and south. Passages lead out to the north, south, east (yours), and west.
Kenton shakes his head. Hard to imagine living with this stench, he muses. Let us try south from here.
This can't be right. All this food is spoiled--nobody's been here for a time.
Corran seems worried, as the timing doesn't seem to match. With it weighing on him, he clenches his jaw a bit.
Kenton checks south a bit. The hall turns a corner and ends in a door.
DOOR PROTOCOL
Kenton and Leo each check the door.
If found to be locked or trapped, Kenton steps back and Leo attempts to deal with the problem.
After he is finished, Leo steps back and Xavien opens the door with a quick spell. Open/close.
After the all clear, Xavien opens 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.
On the far side of the room stands a murderous looking halfling, "Oh good.... guard duty was boring!"
Round 1:
Xavien: Go
Ianthe: Go
Aurelia: Go (Bot needed)
Kenton: Go
Leo: Go
Corran: Go
Halfling Killer: TBD
INITIATIVE:
"Sadly, the excitement is not likely to last," Xavien smiles grimly. He steps into the room, blade forward.
Xavien closes in....
Round 1:
Xavien: Move and Ready
Ianthe: Go
Aurelia: Go (Bot needed)
Kenton: Go
Leo: Go
Corran: Go
Halfling Killer: TBD
Ianthe loads her crossbow and shoots the halfling.
Ianthe promptly wings the halfling with a bolt!
Round 1:
Xavien: Move and Ready
Ianthe: Hit
Aurelia: Go (Bot needed)
Kenton: Go
Leo: Go
Corran: Go
Halfling Killer: TBD
BOT
Aurelia moves forward and throws a bold of arcane force at the enemy.
and
Aurelia opts for the sure thing, bringing the violence and hoping the halfling never reaches for a weapon, or worse, a signal whistle.
Round 1:
Xavien: Move and Ready
Ianthe: Hit
Aurelia: MM
Kenton: Go
Leo: Go
Corran: Go
Halfling Killer: TBD
Kenton's blade is in his hand almost as if by magic, and he advances on the foe. He advances to engage the halfling. Your respite will prove unpleasant for you, I suspect.
Leo advances on the halfling. "you are outmatched. Yield and we will have mercy."
Leo and Kenton close in, but the halfling seems unafraid.
Round 1:
Xavien: Move and Ready
Ianthe: Hit
Aurelia: MM
Kenton: Close
Leo: Close
Corran: Go
Halfling Killer: TBD
Corran takes position by Aurelia at the intersection, to protect the casters, drawing his falcata and readying a defense.
If I can ready an attack while fighting defenisvely, do that. If I can't (never tried it before) then Total Defense.
Corran takes his position as the wounded halfling takes action.
Shockingly, the halfling neither retreats, nor grabs a whistle. Instead he stabs at Kenton, then steps back, clogging the hallway.... as if buying time.
for
Round 2:
Xavien: Go
Ianthe: Go
Aurelia: Go
Kenton: Go
Leo: Go
Corran: Go
Halfling Killer: TBD
Xavien hurries forward to join forces with Kenton and Leo. His blade snicks on the wall, however.
CRIT MISS
BOT Aurelia... Aurelia moves into the chamber and attempts to Daze the halfling.
DC 13 or Dazed.
Neither blade nor spell land on the halfling!
Round 2:
Xavien: Miss
Ianthe: Go
Aurelia: Daze
Kenton: Go
Leo: Go
Corran: Go
Halfling Killer: TBD
Kenton steps in to engage.
Corran's blade sinks deep. The man is out on his feet. Even a minor exertion will send him over the edge!
Round 2:
Xavien: Miss
Ianthe: Go
Aurelia: Daze
Kenton: Go
Leo: Go
Corran: Stagger
Halfling Killer: TBD
Round 2:
Xavien: Miss
Ianthe: Go
Aurelia: Daze
Kenton: Stagger
Leo: Go
Corran: Go
Halfling Killer: TBD
Ianthe steps into the room and fires off another crossbow bolt.
Ianthe's bolt is way off target!
Round 2:
Xavien: Miss
Ianthe: Miss
Aurelia: Daze
Kenton: Stagger
Leo: Go
Corran: Daze
Halfling Killer: TBD
Leo steps up and gives him what for!
While Corran steps forward and takes the same action as last round... Readies to fight defensively if that's possible, full defense if not.
Xavien tries to seize the opportunity, but his strike is hurried and ill-aimed.
Kenton is shocked by the halfling's brazeness and cannot take advantage!
With his spirit finally broken, the halfling rushes for the door, knowing it'll cause him to bleed out. It doesn't matter though, as soon as he turns, Leo slays the halfling outright!
Quickly, search him. What was he guarding...?
What do we see, hear and smell?
Perception:
This halfling has little on him other than his arms, which are quite nice. He was wielding a masterwork rapier and a chain shirt made of mithral!
Corran looks around. The air here smells... too natural. It's more like the smell of a cave than a safe house. The room just in front of the door smells of metal and sulfur, with a riot of bottles and alembics on counters to the north and south. Four shelves containing alchemical ingredients extend from the southern wall.
The door at the end of the hall looks completely non-descript. Solid, wooden, and entirely the same as most doors...
The party moves forward into the room the Halfling appeared to be guarding. And...
DOOR PROTOCOL
Kenton and Leo each check the door.
If found to be locked or trapped, Kenton steps back and Leo attempts to deal with the problem.
After he is finished, Leo steps back and Xavien opens the door with a quick spell. Open/close.
Leo approaches the door with Kenton. Unfortunately, neither man notices the trip wire until after Kenton trips it.
The good news is that nothing bad seems to happen. The bad news is.... nothing bad seems to happen.
"Likely an alarm. Go! Go!" Xavien opens the door with his spell.
Damnation! Kenton curses, rushing past Leo with his rapier in hand.
Lord Karthis opens the door as quickly as possible. The room here gives way to an open cavern beyond. 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, Lady Martella Lotheed!
There's a man hiding around the right hand corner in the cave...
Perception:
KENTON! ON YOUR RIGHT!!!
Corran throws a dart!
If it matters and he's able: ,