”Classic room clearing.” Brannin muttered. Not that he had too much experience doing so, nor was anyone here really trained. With a sign he said ”Lets clear this one by one. Check every door for a trap. Then open, two people go in with guns out, each person looks to either left or right side. Then we move in, loot the room, and move on to the next.”
Cardshark is fascinated by a small whirlwind of dust on the balcony.
This spacious room has entrances in the southern and eastern walls. The aged remains of dressers, a large bed, and a divan lie in ruins. The husk of large hornet's nest, gray, papery, and devoid of life, occupies one corner of the ceiling. The spaces in the northeast and northwest corners appear to be closets. Their wooden doors have all but fallen off their hinges, and heaps of disintegrated fabric mingle on the floor. Between the closets stands a single lacquered dresser covered in dust.
Edgar nods to Brannin. I prefer knives, he says, but takes his position and advances to the next room with Lucian, looking to the right.
Seeing no immediate threat, he does not relax but instead looks around for the next door to open.
Uh, yeah. Sure
Cardshark pulls his attention from the small whirlwind.
Knives are fine, but I prefer pistols myself
Lucian notices, once up close, that the dresser is fake. The "dresser" has no actual drawers, only handles on the front face, which is carved to look like drawers. The entire fixture is more akin to a box with an open back.
It seems it can be pulled open quite easily.
A secret compartment? Or a passage?
Edgar assumes that the scouts of the group have things in hand, and sparing a glance for what Lucian is showing the group, continues looking around for danger of the creature type.
Behind the facade, there is a bronze chest. It appears to be locked, requiring a key.
"It would be too easy for the key to just be here, right?" Brannin said as he went about looking
Lucien spots a trap, which is apparently disabled by the same key on a second keyhole at the bottom of the chest. He believes he has disabled it.
Inside, you find that the chest contains 20 small gold ingots, each
bearing a seal. You also find a headband, concealed inside an old hornet's nest.
Plague of Madness - 2,215 years ago. Each ingot is worth $250.
hmmm
I dunno. It was with this valuable stuff, so it may be important.
Edgar spits on the ground. Put it on and say the right word, and it turns you into a dragon? Or some such age of legends grakh.
He speaks generally in the direction of Olivia. Wish there was a way to know what this stuff was supposed to do, in case it really is something from the stories.
He takes a closer look at the headband. It's in surprisingly good condition for its age, no?
The walls of this room are decorated with a scenic vista of a river valley running through a desert, resplendent with verdant life and greenery near the shores. Only a few pieces of lacquered furniture remain in the chamber. A faint, musty odor of decomposed wood and fabric lingers in the air. A set of doors stands in the western wall.
The body of a human man lies on its back in the small alcove to the east. Unlike most of the remains in the house, the body is only a year old, and its flesh is in a state of advanced decomposition. The head is missing.
Maybe he ducked when he shouldn't have, or vice versa. Edgar's response is a very different sort of humorous, and his smile is grim. Let's be very careful in that corner. Whatever did that might have been guarding something of value.
And it may be still here
”Someone making a point.” Brannin said. ”Probably tomb robbers who got into an argument. Ripping someone’s head off is a good way of ending one.”
That's a bit unlikely. It was either a trap or something very nasty
Lucien doesn't find anything more interesting in the alcove, but does spot a wedding ring on a finger of the man.
Always he grins
A large lacquered desk, now in poor condition, sits in the center of this room. Bookcases stand along the eastern and southwestern walls, sagging as if ready to collapse at any moment. Their shelves have fallen out, and the piles of dust at their bases are all that remains of books and scrolls that failed to survive the long years. The lacquered wooden frames of what might once have been divans stretch along the north and south walls, but their upholstery has disintegrated. A single door in the western wall is the room's only exit.
Cardshark watches carefully
But doesn't see much
Pentheru the Younger (and his father before him) conducted the family's business dealings from this office prior to his death. Searching among the ruins turns up a few items of small interest but no great value, such as a broken set of scales, the Pentheru family seal (for marking documents), and scattered pieces from a marble chess set (no board is present and half the pieces are missing).
You do find a brass key.
A key means a lock. We should keep alert to that
No traps, no lock. You peer inside.
Most of the contents of this room have fallen apart or otherwise been reduced to dust from the dry desert air. A foul, cloying smell fills the room.
”Smells like old people.” Brannin muttered.
He wanted to look for where a hidden compartment might be, but soon realized that he had no idea where one might be hidden.
Sniffing Cardshark says Where is that smell coming from?
It doesn't take long before Lucian notices what appears to be a human head, decayed and having grown bat-like wings, screaming toward him! You are now convinced you are in a horror movie.
OOC: Sorry all, was traveling for spring break.
”What the f-“ His curse was drowned by a wild shot which was born out of fear and surprise. He caught himself and fixed the problem with a well aimed shot, as his training took over.
Each of you makes a good shot, and do some significant damage to the flying head.. but not enough to kill it.
The creature opens its jaws impossibly wide, and emits a very loud shriek.
Being partially deaf sometimes had it's advantages, and this was one of them. Completely unfazed by the screech, Brannin aimed his pistol...
...and landed a single glancing blow against it.