Game will be restarting here!
As the group recover from a difficult fight, Callie search the throne for any treasure left. Sadly she finds nothing, and you are left with only one left to explore. You move closer to the door and evaluate is there is any danger. Convinced that there is no traps, you are about to open the door, when you hear a giggle toward the "throne". Turning you she Laori poking some one of the corpse in its wounds with her finger. She looks up and smile at you. "Oh! You are ready to move on. Then let's not tarry, more fighting awaits." She walks innocently to stand next to you.
Finally all together, you proceed to open the door. On the other side, you find a long narrow corridor. You see three doors and the corridor turns to the right. Callie speaks out loud to no one in particular. "Which door first?"
Alistair looks down the hallway and then at the doors...
First door on the...left?
”Works for me.” Garran takes up position to the side, ready to open it when the others were.
"Agreed," says Alika, sword in one hand, holy symbol clutched in the other. "Can anyone hear anything?"
Left it is then
You open the door to reveal a storage room. There are crates and box everywhere is this room as if someone tried to fill it up with more stuff than one can possibly store there. You do see a path around so that you can navigate the place, but it almost seems like if anyone would accidently hit one of the containers, everything would come crashing down.
Garran eyes the chaos. "While something could be hidden in here, it looks as though if we entered and bumped something, we could be trapped in there. Let's check the door across the hall before we go in."
"Could even be an ambush," suggests Alika with a nod. "Other side it is."
His majesty may still be around. I doubt he is hiding in here.
Alistair turns to the others.
Across the hall it is then.
Turning around, you decide to try the other door. The air in this room smells sickly sweet - a combination of flowers and vinegar. The unpleasant smell likely comes from the fourteen poorly preserved heads mounted on the walls of this grisly trophy hall. Most of the heads are humans, although two are those of elves and one is from a dwarf with a beard roughly sheered off to match the cut to the neck. To the north, a small, child-sized bed sits against the wall opposite a wooden table decorated with a magnificent set of silverware. Across the room is another door. It is currently closed.
Garran wrinkles his nose at the stench. "It's foul, but it looks like someone or something has been sleeping in here. Should we investigate the next door?"
"What... ugh," says Alika. "Someone did this in purpose. Some kind of unholy rite?"
Glancing to the small bed she says, "A halfling or gnome, perhaps? One deranged and indulging in this kind of twisted imagery to appease some evil spirit or deity?"
"The executioner from upstairs, I suspect."
Alistair nods his agreement to Garran's assessment of the room.
I do not see how Pilt would stay in this room, let us continue on and see if he is still in his kingdom.
"Mmm, you're right," says Alika to Garran. "Should we toss the room? Don't murderous little wretches like this love keeping journals or things where they talk about their kills and their plans?"
Looking into the room...
...I think we should make sure Pilt is gone for good before we start to toss rooms.
and then down the corridor
Let us check the door at the end of the hallway.
You move to the second door of the corridor. Going through the usual inspection, you find no traps and decide to open the door. This large room might once have been an attic storage area, but the rafters above now brood over an empty chamber. To the northwest, a large portion of the roof and floor below have collapsed entirely, leaving a void looking out over the sodden skyline of Old Korvosa.
You are about to dismiss the room as empty, when Alistair notices a leather bag wedged between two high rafters. It is in the corner of the room on the left of the door.
When Alistair points out the bag, Alika says, "Anyone feel like they could climb up and grab that? I'm not sure I'd trust the structure of this room... maybe it could be snagged with magic?"
"I might be able to. I'm fairly good at climbing, although I agree the structure of the room doesn't look good."
Alistair scans the room one more time before setting his eyes on the pouch.
If we can get the pouch down by magic...I say go for it. Otherwise Pilt is not here and we should move on till we find him.
Alistair nods and points down the hall towards areas unknown.
Seems this is the only way left to explore.
Alistair moved to the last door in the hallway. Opening the door reveal a smaller room. Several barrels and crates sit against the wall here. Stacked on some are many blank canvases and what appear to be ceramic containers. A stack of paintings leans against the eastern wall, stretched on wooden frames and covered with sheets.
"It seems this was some sort of art studio or storage? It doesn't look like Pilt's here, anyway."
S%%~....Well then, back to the first room on the right when we came in. There was a door on the far side of that room. Shall we?
Heading back to the first room, you cross it to test the door on the other side. Opening the door reveals an extravagantly decorated bedroom that would seem to belong in the richest of noble villas or monarchs' castles - at least, until one looks a little more closely at the sheets on the four-poster bed and notes how stained and frayed they are, or examines the tapestries and bed curtains and sees the patches of mold and threadbare edges. A tall, well-stocked bookcase to the south turns out to be leaning against the wall for support; the contents of its sagging shelves are poorly produced books with violent or erotic names on their mildewed spines. Everything is slightly musty, stained with age, and well beyond its prime. Only the three paintings hanging on the wall hold up to closer examination, but their grisly subject matter might make them difficult to show in most public venues. To the north, a simple wooden door is secured with a lock and a heavy wooden bar.
"A locked door usually means something behind it. Let's get it open."
Agreed...how do you wish to proceed...Quick and loud or quietly and with some grace?
Alistair smiles slightly...
"Quietly, if possible, but I don't now how to pick locks."
"I second what Garran said."
Alistair nods in agreement
Makes me wish I paid more attention to my drinking buddies from the old days. They knew a thing or two about locks.
Shaking his head with disappointment...
I am afraid this will have to be loud and quick.
...and he looks at Garran.
Care to do the honors?
You walk over to the door and move the bar aside. Dropping it on the floor, you open the door. The air in this room is an unpleasant mix of body odor and paint. A lumpy straw mattress lies on the floor in one corner of the room, partially covered by a few blankets, while in the other stands a large easel on which rests a nearly completed painting of immense fiend attacking a village. Next to the easel stand a plain-looking man dressed in paint-stained rags. Flea bites cover his skin, and his eyes are sunken. He looks surprised at your sight and then fall on his knees. "Please... Please help me out of here. I beg you!" The man start sobbing uncontrollably. In the main bedroom, Laori inspect one of the three painting. "Wow, those are really good. Would anyone mind if I take them." Her joyful voice sounding out of place next to a man begging for freedom.
"Are you Salazar Scream?"
"Sir, you look to be in a bad state," says Alika softly. "Please, let me see what I can do about this for you."
She unbundles her waterskin from her pack of possessions and puts it on a table to one side, then says gently, "May I?" as she reaches to inspect the flea-bites and make sure that they haven't become infected—and, of course, to make sure that this isn't an illusion or a trick.
Alistair glances around and around ignore the man...at first
WHERE...is
He then calms slightly with an almost embarrassed look to him.
My apologies...we will get you to safety. Where is Pilt? Has he been here recently?
"Yes! Yes! I'm Salvator Scream! Please get me out of here." The crawl on his knees toward Garran as he speaks. While he doesn't register Alika's question, he doesn't move away when she moves closer to inspect his bites. She finds that he is not suffering from any infections or complications, but those things must be itching like crazy. She is also sure that this isn't an illusion nor a trick. Alistair outburst scare the man for a moment and he stops talking. He focuses on the swashbuckler as he more calmly ask his question. "I don't. I don't know. I heard noise from the main room a few moments ago but then someone said something in a weird language and that was it."
From the other room, Laori continues to admires the paintings. "Look at the blues eyes on this one. You can almost feel that anger as if he was glaring at you. Just amazing!"
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"Shall we see about getting Mr. Scream to safety?" says Alika. "Time will just melt away if we're not quick."
Garran says, "We've made an enemy of Pilt, and he'll come after us, I'm sure, but we came here for Mr. Scream. Let's get him out of here. We can look for Pilt later."
Agreed, let us get out of here.
He looks around the room one last time.
Damn it. The f*&$er will cause trouble.
Alistair advances towards the exit.
I will take point, Garran behind me with Alika and Mr.Scream after that. Laori...cover our backsides.
He pauses and thinks for a moment.
Some of Pilts men may have found their balls by now and wish to earn their keep. Did anyone notice the stairs around the corner. I honestly was hoping to find Pilt and was not paying much attention to them?
"Stairs?" Salvator looks toward the door frame. "There are people down there. He... He kept them there. Wanted them fight in the pit."
Laori grabs a blanket from the bed and wraps the three painting in them. "Sure thing. Keeping an eye out for your backside! Let's us go explore some more."
You make your way back toward the stairs unchallenged. Walking down the stairs, you find an heavy wooden door that is also barred from your side. Obliviously made to keep who or what ever is on the other side trapped there.
Unless the party approaches with considerable stealth when the reach the door they hear:
Mhh. Mrrh. Mmmrrh!
"If there are more prisoners, perhaps we should free them, as well."
Garran will look to make sure the door isn't trapped, then open it.
Alika's busy keeping Salvator busy, making sure he doesn't run off or cause too much noise.
Yes we should...
Alistair nods at Garran and prepares for trouble.