While difficult to climb with her pata, Gul did her best. Luckily, a mixture of determination and brute strength seemed to do the job just fine.
"Beware the creatures above, Gul. Do NOT underestimate them. They do not appear very threatening but if they attach themselves to you, you will most definitely feel it," Umazura warns.
Gul demolishes the ladder simply by stepping on it.
Face flushed with embarrassment from before, the breaking ladder was too much. Gul angrily kicked the remnants of the offending tool, sending pieces of wood flying. Breathing heavily, the half-orc stalked over to the door and threw it open.
"An auspicious start to her career," Axton mentions to Grommush about Gul... but not where Gul can hear him.
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A6. Escape Route
This room is floorless, with only an exposed septic pit where the floor should be. A dry sewer pipe extends from the wall of this pit. The west wall is dominated by a massive brick fireplace that still remains anchored in place, overlooking the sewage. A ladder extends from the sewage to the fire-blackened hearth above. As in other rooms, the ceiling here has collapsed to reveal the attic space.
What are you doing now? The Stirges are watching you with interest, but not leaving their perches yet.
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"So... two options. Either Natalie took this ladder and escaped through the sewer below, in which case we should chase her, or she's hiding on the roof and oping we'll move past," Elena says, observing the two ladders.
...And really not looking forward to having to go into the muck.
"Don't suppose any of you could to animals and ask those sturges above so we don't have to climb and check?"
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The cleric continues peering at the hole below. "On second thought, I think the grate there is too small for a human to pass. Even for a relatively small one. We should search the roof first."
Of course, that left the Stirges. "Anyone have clever ideas on how to handle them or do we start pulling out our ranged weapons? Maybe a loud sound or such could chase them away..."
"You shoot'em, they come down 'ere, me smash" Grom says in a deliberately 'basic' language.
Gul stood next to Elena, and kept her blade at the ready. She fully expected the stirges to swoop down at her once disturbed. And when they did, her blade would be waiting.
Axton times his crossbow shot with Elena, and aims at a different stirge than the one she is targeting.
Splut.
Splut.
Two dead Stirges land in the muck.
What are you doing now?
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"That... went a lot easier than expected. Well-shot, Axton," Elena comments, putting the bow away.
"Okay... so since stealth has abosultely no point anymore and everyone in the building already knows we're here, I'd like to try simply calling out to her," she continues, then calls to the roof.
"Natalie? Are you here? We're friends and we've come to get you out of here. Are you all right? Have you been captured? The goblins and thugs downstairs are dead. Can you move, or give us a sign where they're holding you?"
She waits a moment to hear if there is a response. "On the off chance of this being a misunderstanding, it might save us fighting eachother..." she explains.
If no response comes, she stands ready to follow the frontline up the ladder to the roof, or is another route to the roof is open by outside, she readies to alternatively take that. Less chance of an ambush that way?
"That... went a lot easier than expected. Well-shot, Axton," Elena comments, putting the bow away.
Axton rests the empty crossbow on his shoulder and smooths one end of his mustache between two fingers.
"It's a handy skill to have until I develop the magical lineage that courses through my veins into something more deadly," he explains, casually.
Axton's large brown rat pokes his head out of Axton's backpack and squeaks.
"Thank you. You too," Axton replies.
"On the off chance of this being a misunderstanding, it might save us fighting eachother..." she explains.
"Would it help if we told her that Sheila Heidmarch sent us, do you think?"
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"Yes, yes. VERY GOOD! You are both VERY GOOD at killing." Gul said, huffily. She had started out trying to be nice, but her frustration was getting the better of her. She took a deep breath, not looking at the others, knowing that she was out of line but being too proud to admit it. "Let's find something more to practice on."
Grinning at it all, "I must say, that was definitely some nice shooting. And now that it is safe to, let us proceed up to the attic, shall we? That is, if we do not receive a response over the next few seconds. If we do not then odds are she either will not answer or she does not hear us." Barring a response, Umazura will proceed up the ladder.
There is no reply to Elena's call.
You hear shuffling above you in the rafters as if someone was getting into position.
What now?
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"Yes, yes. VERY GOOD! You are both VERY GOOD at killing." Gul said, huffily. "Let's find something more to practice on."
"Oh. Well, thank you, Gul, and Umazura. I'm glad you think so. But I'm afraid that was just luck on my end. I'm not normally that good of a shot." Elena seems a bit embarassed and looks away. "Or that good of a killer..."
Just as Uma is about to go up, Elena holds up her hand. "Shhh! Did you hear that? Someone moved above us, but didn't respond. Probably someone waiting in ambush near the top of the ladder?"
She looks up and scratches her chin. "Okay, I have an idea. You go up. But I'll summon an eagle to fly up in front of you. Hopefully that will take the hit for whoever goes up first."
Elena's summons flies up at squawks indignantly as it is attacked by two Sewer Goblins and a human female. All three perched on the remains of the ceiling by the chimney.
It's life is short and painful. It dies instantly.
What now? You can see what's waiting above you. From the glimpse you got the human female does not look sane?
"Do you guys think setting the roof on fire is a bit overkill?"
"Do you guys think setting the roof on fire is a bit overkill?"
"No!
"I mean, yes, right now in this particular circumstance. But in many other circumstances, no."
If he can target the woman, but also any of the goblins, Axton casts color spray up into the rafters.
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"I'd, ah, rather not burn down the building with both us and Natalie still inside... maybe we could instead mimic something the goblins are afraid of to spook them? It's a common saying in the Lodge that goblins are afraid of dogs. Can anyone magically or verbally mimic a barking dog?"
She blushes slightly as she suggest it. "It may sound silly, but it might work?"
"Do you guys think setting the roof on fire is a bit overkill?"
Shaking her head, but yet grinning, at the fatalistic orc, "Let's just hold that thought, dear Grom, shall we? Maybe save that one for another time." She then draws her shield and her sword just in case those above decide to pay a visit to the party below.
Axton casts a dazzling array of colors up to the ledge they enemy is perched on. Both the Sewer Goblins are caught and fall to their deaths unconscious and blinded.
The women resists and you hear chanting.
Grease
The ladder is now coated in a slippery substance.
What are you doing now? You can see her though she has partial cover.
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"I don't know where the grease on this ladder came from!" Axton announces. "I can't make the connection between this grease suddenly appearing and the woman chanting!"
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"Hm. Yes. Very odd indeed." Elena scratches her chin and shrugs. "Does that spray of yours last forever? If not, we should rush upstairs while the goblins are down. But first..."
She starts casting a spell, and a large amount of water crashes onto the stairs, hopefully washing (part of?) the grease off!
With the ladder not in working condition, Gul looked around for anything big enough that could be dragged over and made into a makeshift solution to climb on.
"Does that spray of yours last forever?"
"Does that spray of yours last forever?"
"Don't worry about them. They've gone to go live on a goblin farm in the country," Axton says soothingly.
"I don't know where the grease on this ladder came from!" Axton announces. "I can't make the connection between this grease suddenly appearing and the woman chanting!"
Raising an eyebrow at the confused cleric and sporting a slight grin, "The grease, dear Axton, is actually due to her magic. Therein lies your connection between the chanting and the grease," she explains professionally. She then looks over at the ladder. "And let us hope that Elena's water is enough to remove the grease, otherwise, the going will prove difficult."
Grom leaves the talking to the talkers and the climbing to the climbers. He opts to be a climber this time, and goes to the greasy and wet ladder.
"Let me have a go."
Despite Gromm's embarrassing failure the ladder has been cleared. It is still dangerously slippery though.
If Axton can see the girl in the rafters, he will try and time a daze cantrip for when someone reaches the top of the ladder.
Taking a deep breath, she stows her shield and sheathes her weapon. "Well, with my natural gift at climbing this ought to be interesting," she says, the sarcasm obvious. "Off I go." The bard then attempts to make her way up the ladder.
Managing to make her way up, she looks upon the woman curiously. "Hello. I don't suppose you'd be willing to talk, would you?"
Gul finds a lot of rotten muck, but nothing that she would risk her neck climbing.
Axton can't see her yet.
Umazura sees a rather ragged looking woman glaring at her. Natalya Vancaskerkin. "Worthless swine!" Is her screeching response to your words.
She slashes at you with her short sword.
Missing wildly.
She is acting extremely arrogantly. As if she believes she is of a much higher rank than you. As she was a street thief this is very out of character. Those who have met her before didn't suggest she was like this?
What is the party doing now?
"I have an idea!" Axton makes an arcane gesture and, suddenly, there's full-grown horse (saddle and all) taking up much of the space of this small room.
Axton takes horse's bridle and cranes his neck around to look at Gul.
"Climb on, and then climb up into the rafters!"
Gul did just that. She ran over to the bridle leapt towards it, fully intending to use the momentum to quickly pull herself up. In her haste though, she completely missed, her hand sailing through the air. She landed with a curse and then roared "WHY MUST EVERYTHING HERE BE SO COWARDLY?! FIGHT ME, WOMAN!" Her green skin was flushed with frustration and anger. It was quite clear that if she made her way up that she would not be listening to Elena.
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[dice=Climb]1d20-1
[dice=Grease]1d20-1Gul did just that. She ran over to the ladder and leapt towards it, fully intending to use the momentum to quickly pull herself up. The combination of the grease, her pata covering one hand, and her eagerness caused her to slip off the ladder and from there she landed on the ground. If the wind hadn't been knocked out of her lungs she would have been cursing loud enough to wake the dead.
Despite Gromm's embarrassing failure the ladder has been cleared. It is still dangerously slippery though.
Managing to avoid the woman's blade, "Pay that one no mind. She's is typically cranky of everyone. You wouldn't happen to be Natalya Vancaskerkin, would you? We simply just wish to speak with you if you are. I promise you there will be no needless blood shed."
The horse surveys where it has been summoned to and turns it head to give Axton a disgusted look.
Clutching a shard of coppery metal in one hand the woman straightens with a glazed look in her eyes ."Of course. You wish to negotiate with me now you've seen my power! No doubt you wish to serve me as my retainers? " She proclaims with no sense of the current situation to Umazura. Acting as if your servitude is certain.
The shard looks to be made of the rarest of the sky metals Horacalcum, It also seems to have once been part of something? It is shaped not rough.
A snake like creature is slithering up the ladder from where it was hiding in the chimney.
What are you doing now?