Blacklock was way too far in the back, and way too interested in some small mushrooms that were growing out of the damp carpet, to notice whatever it was the wizard was hiding. He shrugged and offered "Well, one more room to go here, isn't that right?"
"One more, and then we go back upstairs and see what else is there."
To Drusilla "I would suggest Blacklock and Argyri take them for now. Since they tend to scout for us, it would give them a means to care for themselves if they get separated from the rest of us."
Badger nods. "Let's go."
Tarn leads his squad toward the east wing. Passing the entrance hall, the first door on the right reveals a room with the only thing of note is a clump of tiny red mushrooms growing around a fireplace in a semicircular formation. Otherwise, the room is bare.
Aside from a large amount of plaster that has fallen from the ceiling, the next room on the right room is also bare. Blacklock and Kwin looks up and notices the floor in the room above is considerably weaker than elsewhere.
"Nonsense Blacklock, Kwin is right should we not beable to reach you or you can reach someone else before Master Kwin then by all means take one." Drusilla says as she hands then out and then follows suit.
Badger looks throughout the room.
Badger follows the others out of the first room and toward the second.
Badger finds the mushrooms harmless unless ingested.
"These ain't for eatin' I garuntee."
After concluding the ground floor is fully explored, Tarn leads you up the stairs in the entrance hall to the second floor east wing. The dwarven captain reminds everyone to be careful of the large gap in the floor to the west wing exposing the floor below.
The first door on the right in the east wing of the second floor reveals a bedroom with no furniture. Rubbish is scattered everywhere, and webs cover the walls and ceiling. From the doorway, you can see a glint of light in the fireplace from a small, highly reflective object.
”Well fook. Place is covered in webs. That means more spiders. There be any magical solution to this? I really don’t want to be covered again. Right, Blacklock?”
"Something in the fireplace. Reckon we are here to check it." He shrugs "Or leave it to the spiders. I can go." Badger grabs a few pieces of rubbish from the ground by the door and tosses them high toward one wall of the room relatively away from the fireplace. He watches to see what happens when the items reach the webbing.
Argyri shivers a bit at the memory of the bugs.
She holds her rapier, her grip a bit too tight, as she watches with interest for any reaction to Badger's toss.
Everyone watches the rubbish thrown by Badger arc toward the far wall. When it lands, a swarm of spiders coalesces with the muffled clatter of thousands of tiny legs at the far side of the room.
Without thinking, Tarn raised his hand which contained the ring that he had found so deep underground. Pointing it at the swarm of spiders, he yelled out ”Halt! Disperse! We are not food! Not! Food! Not a threat!” His ring briefly flashed and his voice was tinged with…something. Almost an echo which sounded like chittering, almost as if his speech in common was overlaid with whatever communication the tiny beasts could understand.
Drusilla looks at Tarn and shivers.
"That nose is vile! Just wrong"
In his decades of wandering, Kwin had seen many things. He had seen druids and rangers talking to animals of all kinds, but this, this was new. He was still wary, but wanted to see what this remarkable dwarf was trying to do.
The the muffled clatter of thousands of tiny legs at the far side of the room responds to Tarn by growing still and silent. The swarm then disperses.
Just in time for a second swarm coalesce above the door from which you entered. Then, it too disperses into the wood work.
”I…I don’t know.” Tarn said as he watched in horror as the spiders dispersed. ”Never spoke to beasties before. Then again, this magic I do? Never did any of that before either. Don’t know where it comes from.” He said, as he absentmindedly fidgeted with his ring. ”But I’m nay one to overly prospect a gift-mine. So long as it works, it’s a good thing.” With that he carefully went about seeing what the shiny object was, before the spiders changed their simple minds.
The glint inside the fireplace comes from a small crystal bauble that once belonged to the alchemist. The flat-bottomed crystal orb is pleasant to look at and tactilely satisfying to hold, but ultimately neither particularly valuable nor useful.
"Some kinda crystal." Badger nods "Next room."
”Aye!” Tarn smiled. ”Was digging a mine shaft, ye know? Next day found that I could do wee things. Like clean me beard. And then I could do other things. Like…make some light.” He held out his hand, which emitted a small glow. ”Or chill me beer. Little things like that. Practiced it and now can make me wards, and just found that I can speak to spiders. Which is weird, but I’m nay complaining.” Slapping the kid on the shoulder he said ”Who knows! Mayhaps it’ll happen to ye as well. And ye’ll be able to make fire come out of your hands! ”Or… control shadows ”or something. As I see it, anything’s possible if ye don’t think about it too much.”
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Drusilla blinks and shakes her head. Hearing the two talk and then looked to Badger.
"Impressive display of magic aside, what kind of crystal was it? Many a crystal can be used for magical items or even magical Foci for spells!"
Drusilla examines the bauble and realizes it might be a part of a set of similar crystals used as counterweights in alchemical work.
"Counterweights? Wonder what else is in here?" Drusilla says looking about a bit more carefully.
Nothing more is discovered in this room.
Argyri cranes her neck at the crystal, and then says, "OK fellas. No offense to Tarn's newfound--and very cool--friendship with spiders, but I've still kinda got the all-overs.
"We ready to move on?"
Badger's head bobs like he is considering Blacklock's words, "Ya sound wiser already."
" I mean I have seen you charge into battle Blackrock, I would worry you'd take an unbeknownst arrow or spell. Best to jump in after the initial attack," Drusilla says as she seems to finger her scimitar as she was unsure if she could be as capable with her blade
After investigating the spider room, Captain Tarn leads you to the next room in the east wing. This room appears to be another dirty, decaying bedroom without furniture. Even viewed from the doorway, it's evident that the floor in here does not look safe; some of the floorboards are missing, and others are partially dislodged.
When you enter the room with reasonable care, you can avoid moving into the part of the floor that is sagging and damaged, looking perhaps not strong enough to support significant weight. Most of you detect recent tracks that lead from the door to the window, and back again, along the west edge of the room.
Investigating the window, you see that a combination of the position of the house and the topography of the cliff results in this room providing the best view of the sea from any part of the house.
Drusilla pauses and studies the room. As she does she begins to speak. " They signal them here. Using the lanterns. Didn't we find a book with something like that?"
It was a practical guess. Hopefully this eludes to them all fiscussing on the idea of summoning these smugglers.
"Yes. Lets their partners know when its safe to approach."
When you're finished with this room, Captain Tarn leads you to the last room on the second floor of the east wing. This room appears to be another dirty, decaying bedroom without furniture. Even viewed from the doorway, it's evident that the floor in here does not look safe; some of the floorboards are missing, and others are partially dislodged. When you enter the room with reasonable care, you can avoid moving into the part of the floor that is sagging and damaged, looking perhaps not strong enough to support significant weight.
When they walk into the room, Argyri holds up a finger to her lips, urging quiet.
She motions for everyone to surround the sleeper (or as best we can, while standing on the sturdier parts of the floor) with their weapons out. Once they have, she sing-songs, "Good Moooorning. Rise and Shine!"
Captain Tarn remained with hammer at the ready, though he didn’t want to walk in. Between his body weight and his armor he didn’t know if the floor would hold. But a question nagged at his mind: how did this person sleep among all the swarms of spiders? Whomever this was, he was likely holding either knowledge or power. If they were unlucky, both.
”Looks like a person, doesn’t it?” Tarn said. ”Fooking dust and shadows. Clear someone slept here, but the room is empty. Let’s move on, aye?”
"We did let that one bandit go. Maybe he slept here before moving on?"