Alexandr follows Shin, Bardiche drawn.
You follow the tracks through the still-silent colony, the ocean breeze bringing a rustling noise from the small fields around you. You follow the trail all the way to a small cottage built away from the rest of the colony . As you pass a low stone wall, you notice one larger stone painted with the words "Levin Farm". A small well stands on the north side of the house.
Alexandr looks at Shin, making eye contact, motions at the door to A18, motions at himself then makes a phantomimic movement as if opening a door, then motions at himself again.
He switches his weapons to Heavy shield and hooked axe, and attaches his bardiche to his back.
He attempts to silenty move towards the door and gets in position to open it. He does however wait for the rest of the party to come up, listening to any sound from the inside of the house in the meantime.
Edit: I do have combat reflexes and can make AoOs while flat footed. If anything that could possibly be a colonist opens the door and goes at me, I will attack non lethally should an AoO be possibly.
Nox nodded and pointed at the well. Thats a welcome finding! Fresh water would be really important for our village…
Brother MacLaren does not understand why anybody thinks fresh water is a concern in the least.
He can conjure as much as is needed.
Listening at the door, neither Alexandr or Shin hear anything.
Alexandr looks at Shin, looks at the door, holds up his shield hand showing 5 finger and begins to silently count down. After 10 seconds, one finger goes down, after 20 seconds, another one. He puts his shield in front of him and assumes a combat stance.
Another 30 seconds later, he opens the door, bracing himself for combat.
He does not enter his rage.
Rolling for initiative just in case:
Brother MacLaren stands watching as Alexandr seems to take forever to open the door.
He doesn't say anything, but just looks off in the other direction.
So military... so regimented and methodical...
Now, what will it be? Tentacles? Acidic Puke? Blood sucking Vines? All of the above which would be a Qlippoth I guess? It cant be a Qlippoth, right? Right? A hint of distant melodic feminine laughter echoes faintly in only Alexandrs head.
As Alexandr opens the door, which is unexpectedly quiet, he and Shin see what was once a simple farmhouse, with crude clay wares and wooden furniture. Now though, bits of melon in various states of rot lie scattered on stools thrown topsy-turvy all around the front room. There are two doorways off the front room, both covered by ragged bits of sackcloth.
Brother MacLaren follows Shin through the doorway to the right, sword and mug in hand.
Anastasia keeps a silent watch as the others enter the house. She was deliberately hanging back after her continued failure to read tracks, doubt evident on her face. Casting a sullen look at the treeline, the other small buildings in various states of disrepair, and the field.
Alexandr slightly relaxes, motions to the left doorway and opens it, investigating what is in there, before doing the same with the other one.
14 didn’t have any skills that would identify the pieces of melon left in the room, but he made note of them anyway. Assuming that is native to the island, the melon could be a main food source to supplement our current shares. I bet someone could cultivate them and really help out. I’m sure they are delicious, he thinks, getting slightly distracted from the current mission.
Melons? Aleksandr thinks. Lady Nocticula, is this a practical joke? To be truthfull, I did just think of you.
the distant laugher in his mind chuckles a bit more before fading, the party, thankfully, having no idea whats going on in his mind.
Although, rotten or broken melons could also symbolize possible danger or traps, or perhaps a hint of it? Hmmm...
I noticed something, these melons are probably foodstuff. The rot started at some point and then spread, apparently uncontrolled. I am unfamilar with this fruit, and this climate, but we may establish from the most rotted fruit when things may have started to go downhill, and from the average rotted fruit when things were bad enough that an infestation of rot in food-stuff was not considered a cause for action.
He pauses.
Assuming anyone is familar enough with this climate to have a good idea of how long it takes for a fruit to rot, per day. I am not.
As Alexandr finishes speaking, there is an low creaking noise that comes from behind the first curtain, just across from the front door.
Brother MacLaren calls out, "Who goes there? Are you of Talmandor's Bounty?"
You get no response other than the curtain beginning to flap ever so slightly in the breeze.
Brother MacLaren moves up and pokes the curtain aside with his sword.
on the other side of the curtain is small bedroom, though a good half the size of the front room. Barrels are haphazardly stored over most of the floorspace, not marked but smelling of alcohol. A glass bottle, sticky with residue from repeated use, lies on a nest of sorts made out of the bedclothes. The shutters hang open, swinging slightly in the breeze outside.
Alexandr runs out of the builing and towards the shutters in the room from the outside, to maybe intercept whatever has been heard by McLaren.
As Brother McLaren reveals and empty room with open shutters, Alexandr spins around and rushes the main door to head off whatever may have made an escape out the window. As he does so, he steps on a loose, warped board in the floor.
As Shin rushes to look out the window, he sees the forest on his left and the ocean on his right, but no sign of a fugitive. He does, however, feel hands reaching out from behind and above him, trying to wrap around his neck.
He drops the two feet to the ground, and looks up to see a strange creature, about gnome or halfling-sized, with rubbery black skin and tentacle-like arms, clinging like a spider to the outer wall of the house. It hisses loudly at you.
Blyad Ebad pisdez swearing in very ungentlemenlike Irriseni, Alex probaly avoids the warped board.
This does however, delay his reaction to the outbreak of hostilities.
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As Alexandr avoids falling on his face in his haste to exit, those still in the main room of the Levin farmhouse see a glint of something from a space underneath the treacherous floorboard.
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Shin throws the thing off balance, but fails to land the following blow. However, rather than leaping at him, it withdraws, clambering back over the thatched rooftop and leaping down off of the wall near Alexandr. It moves very quickly, almost scuttling over to the well in the front yard, climbing down into it and leaving nothing other than the mess in the house and the stink of ale in Shin's nose.
Interesno, a drunk tentacle thingy? Apparently intelligent enough to appreciate booze and to flee? I dont think we want to pursue it into a well hmm. Place some wood, like a bed or a crate, over the well so we have it trapped for now? It could have friends down there, and I dont want them in our rear. Once we secured the colony, maybe we can communicate with it, lower some booze down the well as a peace offering? Did it seriously try to attack you Shin?
Alexandr says as he looks for possible thing to temporarily block the well with, assessing the creature as agile but not very strong.
As he says so, he drops his shield and hooked axe, draws his bardiche as a move action and walks towards the well, stopping 5 feet in front of it.
If I was it, very drunk, and feeling heroic, I would try to goad us to the well, and then try to grapple and throw one of us down there, so approach with some care. Alexandr says.
"Ah, and are you also saying that if you were drunk and feeling heroic, you would pursue it down the well?
That's the spirit!"
Brother MacLaren holds out his tankard to Alexandr.
"Go ahead. I don't need any liquid encouragement. I'm good to go now."
If Alexandr does not take him up on the offer, he looks disheartened.
He really wants to do everything the cautious way?
"There could be other exits from the well. Boarding it up may work, or not."
He shrugs.
"If we have to fight it, maybe better to do so when it is possibly drunk?
Nox, do you know what that thing was?"
"It could be a demon of some sort.
I have no desire to try to make friends with it unless we have reason to believe that this particular kind of creature can be trusted."
Know. Arcana
Nox takes his hat off and wipes his brow. ”That is a peculiar looking thing all right! Not sure I’ve ever seen anything like that. Can’t lie, though, I am a bit afraid it might be foul the well, which would be awful for us. It might be worth luring it out, just to keep our potable drinking source clean and clear!”
Aleksandr offers his thoughts.
Surprisingly few actual Demons have tentacles, plenty of Qlippoths have them though. Qlippoths seriously hate mortal life and dont run, and even the weakest ones would be the fight of our lifes, they are also not just ugly but so ugly, even looking at one physically sickens, nauseates or stuns you. More practicaly, Demons have a really hard time getting drunk, and that thing seemed pletty sloshed.
I think a more land based equivalent of our previous Octogob acquaintances is more likely then an extra planar origin.
He takes the tankard, downs it in one go before handing it back, and says:
Za Pobedu, well, thank you comrade, after you. I like not having my allies disappear down a well, so how about some extra security? As he pulls out a rope and offers it to Brother Mc Laren.
I think I saw a second well in the colony proper, but they may well be drawing from the same water source, so concern about it fouling up is totally apt.
If questioned about his in depth knowledge of demonic alcohol consumption habits:
Look, I never fought demons, I doubt I could identify them in the field, but I spend a surprising amount of time getting drunk with the Mendevian military attache in Irrisen. We did discuss the logistics of getting demons drunk on a militarily relevant scale, and yes, we were shitfaced drunk when we did that.
Tentacle things, rotten melons and something hostile hiding in a well? My Lady in Shadows, what are you cryptically warning me off? I will figure it out, about 10 minutes after it is to late no doubt.
He thinks in the meantime.
Brother MacLaren looks at Alexandr with surprise as the warrior drinks.
"I also heard a lot of stories from drunk soldiers and adventurers, at my father's pub. All kinds of rumors about various horrors. I don't think it is enough to go on."
Brother MacLaren sheathes his sword and hangs his tankard on his belt. casts Guidance on himself, ties the rope around his waist, and prepares to descend.
"I am not totally foolhardy. Nox, can you conjure any light? Drop a rock down the well or something?"
"Something killed or drove off the colonists, and I can see how a stealthy ambush predator might have done so. It would only need to kill a few before the rest pack up and move, if they were unable to find it, so most of the colonists may yet live."
If Nox can send some lights down there, then Brother MacLaren will proceed. Take 10 on Climb if allowed (if he is not threatened or distracted) for a 10 (+4 Str, -4 ACP). Rope-and-wall is pretty easy - DC 5 usually - so even on a 1 he will not fail by 5.
Alexandr draws a throwing axe, putting his Bardiche in his left hand, preparing to offer a degree of ranged covering fire, should brother McLarren be attacked while descending.
"Nothing ventured, nothing gained, Shin!"
Nox nods at McLaren’s suggestion. ”Id be happy to help. I’ve got a minor ability to summon lights and can move them as needed. I’d be happy to try to light the way for us to deal with that strange creature!”. He moves toward the well, ready to jump into action when the others agree.
As the bold cleric begins his climb down the well, Shin investigates the space under the floorboard, finding a fine longsword of fine make, with a hilt wrapped in green leather and gold wire. The blade begins to glow with an emerald light as it is removed from the small space.
The blade is of Azlanti make.
The climb doesn't seem that difficult for Brother McLaren, the stones of the well giving way to bedrock, and finally a small natural cave with a pool of water. A small tunnel leads off into the darkness.
MacLaren climbs back up.
"There's a tunnel leading off the well shaft. I am not sure where it goes, and I am not that foolhardy. Maybe we can go together when well prepared for such an expedition - for example, I could prepare Light so we would have multiple sources.
I do want to follow that at some point... I am dreading finding human remains in the creature's lair.
We can block off the well for now, as Alexandr suggests, although if that tunnel leads to another exit the creature will still be able to emerge again. We'll find out.
As to the concerns about fresh water and fouling the well..."
Brother MacLaren casts Create Water and two gallons of water splash down.
"Look."
He does it again.
"Again."
"If I'm creating water rather than wine or beer, I can fill a 30-gallon barrel in a minute and half. The other priests can likely do more. Fresh water is not going to be a concern in the near term.
Sure, the conjured water lasts only a day unless you drink it, so that would be part of my morning duties to the Colony - filling everyone's cisterns."