Bohrs assists Nic in trying to force the door.
Bohrs calls on the guidance of Cayden Cailean to offer Nicolette some protection from whatever the madman on the other side of the door might decide to do, and then leans in to help her hoist the junk attached to the door out of the way. With their combined efforts, they manage to open the door partially. It looks like it will take at least two more good yanks to get it fully open.
As the door cracks open, you hear a trigger pull and a bolt shoots out from the small opening. "NOOOOO ANGRY BOOOONES! YOU WON'T TAKE ME!" But the bolt smashes and splinters on the stone floor to no damaging effect.
Calaithes
Kayle
Nicolette
Roldare
Bohrs
Map
She pushes with her great strength, moving not only the door, but his blockage at the same time. Only someone with true strength could do as much.
When he fires, she yelps and dodges, only to push again twice as hard. Pure fury is in her tone:
"Look at me, you idiot! You are trying to kill me. I'm so going to pummel your face! Then you'll be afraid, insane, and hurt!"
Bohrs also pulls with all his might to shift the door.
"Roldare, ye daft fool, we're your friends! Stop trying to kill us!"
Kayle gets his sling spinning as Nicolette and Bohrs pry at the door, waiting for an open shot. "If I have to choose between healing our wounds or his I'll choose his!" Kayle shouts.
Nicolette destroys a significant portion of the barrier and backs away while Bohrs gets ready to make a final pull. But just as they trade places, another crossbow bolt comes whistling between the growing crack--you can now see Roldare quite clearly, completely disheveled and looking like he hasn't slept in days. Through that crack, Kayle manages to sling a stone that raises up an angry-looking welt on Roldare's forehead, trading blows.
Thankfully, with Bohrs' movement, it's a grazing shot. Then Bohrs yanks the doors completely open. On the other side, you see Roldare frantically reloading his crossbow.
he screeches into Bohrs' face.
Calaithes
Kayle
Nicolette
Roldare
Bohrs
Map
Nicolette charges through, rushing in past Bohrs as her frustration festers at seeing the graze upon her ally. She rushes right through the crossbowman's space, bowling right past him and now flanks with Bohrs. From there, she brings up her arms to grapple the fool
Hearing, and then seeing the open door, Calaithes strolls forward. He really didn't want to hurt the fool, and it looked very much like Nicolette had him well in hand. "Take away anything that he can use as a weapon? Maybe he'll accept defeat when he realizes that we aren't trying to eat him? Or whatever he thinks 'angry bones' would do!"
Glancing around for anything that he could use as a weapon, grabbing or kicking it away so it isn't available if he somehow broke free of Nicolette. (Not that Calaithes thinks that's likely!)
Getting close enough to the grapplers Calaithes spots a dagger on Roldare's belt. Taking his own advice he tries to snatch the weapon.
"Wait, no, no, nonononono! What is this? DIMIRAAAA! DIMIRAAAA, HEEEELP MEEEE!"
Roldare continues yelling even as Nicolette grabs hold of him and wrestles his arms into a mostly defenseless position. Seeing a dagger at his side, Calaithes deftly withdraws it so that the cobbler won't be able to stick Nicolette with it. Roldare continues to maintain a death grip on his loaded crossbow, with the tip of the bolt now flailing wildly around the room, a finger itching against the trigger.
Now that you all are entering the room, you also notice the smell. It doesn't seem like Roldare has left this room in days, and the evidence of that is everywhere. It doesn't take a doctor to realize that the man has lost his mind. Calming him down, if it's even possible, may take some effort. But he has almost been neutralized. Just a little bit more and he won't be able to hurt anyone else, including himself.
Calaithes
Kayle/Owens
Nicolette
Roldare
Bohrs
Map
Kayle watched with initial amusement when Nicolette took on Roldare, but the slight smile on his face vanished shortly when the crossbow started flailing about. His brow rose, eyes wide. Considering his options in a panic, he looked to Owens and kneeled down beside the great dog.
Edit: After looking at the warm command it specifically says lay down beside.
Owens quickly looked between Kayle and the scuffle, sensing the tension in the room and excitedly prancing about on his feet. He was unable to read what he should do, and despite his sweet temperament was considering lunging forward to bite the man with the crossbow.
Nicolette moves to pin foolish, and mostly disgusting man.
"I don't think he's listening. We'll make him hear us!" she then directs her fury to him. "You idiot...would an undead grapple you like this?"
She tries to pin him down even further.
Bohrs grabs at Roldare’s knees, attempting to help drag him to the floor.
Seeing that the crossbow still holds a bolt, ready to fire, Calaithes tries to knock the bolt from the weapon.
Roldare wrenches back and forth in Nicolette's arms, trying to get free but mostly seeming convinced that firing off his crossbow will be a good idea. He pulls the trigger and it fires straight up into the ceiling. His wordless wailing resumes.
With a quick scuffle, Bohrs grabs onto Roldare's legs and Nicolette drags him down to the ground. His crossbow clatters away and he continues to struggle feebly. "Noooo, don't eat me, angry boooones!"
Nicolette's already taken lots of time to try to convince him to stop. Anything she says is worthless. She will just squat on him until he calms down. Every once in a while, she will shift so she isn't so uncomfortable and will try to not look at how gross he is currently. With a pleading voice, she will ask of him, "Come on, Roldare..."
Bohrs sits down, settling his weight across the man's lower legs, to keep in from struggling.
"Well, that was fun," he says lightheartedly, "Care for a drink, Roldare? I'm buyin'!" He fills his mug from his skin and offers it to the man.
"How do you know my...wait, drink? Oh Erastil, I'm so thirsty. Release, please." Roldare sticks his tongue out. It is white, dry, and cracked, showing severe signs of dehydration.
Bohrs holds the tankard to the tankard to the man's lips, tipping it gently and allowing him to drink.
"I wouldn't let go just yet..." he suggests to Nic. "Not until he's calmed a bit."
Seeing a wet and helpless face before him, Owens need not be told twice. He steps forward and begins to lick the filthy face of Roldare without mercy!
Frowns as Bohr offers the poor man alcohol. He puts his hands on his hips and surveys the situation with the pinned man.
"Alcohol is the last thing this poor man needs." Kayle explained matter of factly, "What he needs is water, and desperately. Not just for a bath either. That drink of yours will dry him out even more."
Kayle kneels before the pinned Roldare and extends a hand above his forehead. He mutters a few words of power in druidic and water starts to conjure out of the air. Not only offering Roldare his fill of water, but pouring out over his head.
When that was finished Kayle will smirk at the soaked man. "Well, now we can begin the interogation." Kayle muses, "Owens... get'em."
"Water will heal his body, the ale is for his spirit, Bohrs replies. [b]"A little bit will be good for his morale. I won't get him drunk until he's healed. Here, let me help all of us with that."
"Before I let you up, who is this person or thing you are ranting about? Help us out here. If you tell us, maybe we can kill him for you?"
She pulls out her canteen and begins to fill it with the water that Kayle is pouring.
Seeing that the rest of the team has the crazed man well under control, Calaithes gathers his weapons and removes them from his reach. He searches the area for anything else that he might grab and likewise removes that.... "Water for hydration and cleansing. A bit of ale to calm perhaps. And when was the last time you've eaten? You look.... and smell terrible. Perhaps we should help you back outside?"
Roldare sputters as water pours over his head, but he still sticks his thirsty tongue out to anything offered, lapping and gulping greedily. As a wave of positive energy washes over the room, you also see various wounds--not just the lump from Kayle's sling--begin to knit back together. What Kayle can see is that, in addition to severe thirst, Roldare's wounds match those of the two men you found in the entry hall and of the horses. Some of the wounds are showing signs of infection as well, as they have not been properly cared for.
Searching around the room, Calaithes finds ten bedrolls, a pair of bullseye lanterns with 4 flasks of oil, 5 days' worth of rations, and two potions labeled "healing." Roldare is also wearing some padded armor. Seven crossbow bolts remain. It looks like some of the rations have been eaten, so Roldare isn't starving. But there is no waterskin in sight.
Peppered with questions, Roldare's eyes flick around to the faces that he can see in his pinned, prone state. "Two days...two days ago the walking bones came. It was dark, the middle of the night. We had been setting up the dungeon for the young adventurers' arrival, to test them, yes. Three days ago we came, six of us. Me, Dimira, Gerol, Vark, Paak, and Bree. They dragged Dimira off and killed Gerol and Vark. We were putting pillows in the pits and checking the shields and the keys and the pool, but oooooooohhh the walking bones! And the one with the voice of death, who stalks these halls in ancient mail. He wasn't here four years ago, no, no, nonononono. I barely got away. I wanted to try to save Dimira, but I couldn't. No, Dimira, no..."
You recognize all of those names. Dimira is a local woodcutter who also does some shifts at the Seven Silvers Tavern, and is Roldare's younger sister. Gerol and Vark are two of the mayor's good friends. Paak is an acolyte at the Temple of Erastil. And Bree is a baker and a disciple of Ilimara Oniri, a Qadiran woman who has lived on the outskirts of Kassen for eight years.
When Calaithes suggests helping him outside, Roldare squirms and wails. "No, no, nonononono, this is the only safe place! And Dimira...no, I won't leave without Dimira. You can't make me. Please noooo..." He reduces to sobs once again.
"Calm yourself Roldare!" she soothes and pats his head with her hand. "We are going to look into this. I think this place is the safest place for you, at least until we can escort you back to town, and since your sister was taken, we will do what we can to get her back to you."
She then asks, "Can you tell us anything else about this foe? What weapons does he use? Did he cast spells?"
"How does he talk? He has no lips!" Roldare trembles. "The claws... the blades... his eyes glow bluuuue!"
Kayle didn't argue with Bohrs and Calaithes' reason. "Suppose I got a bit excited to have a patient. A sip can't hurt." he admitted as he lowered his gaze.
"You have some infections." Kayle points out to Roldare, "I'll treat them if you're fine with that." He looked to Nicolette and gave a nod to her. Truthfully, he didn't have much in the way of bandages, but he could tear some cloth or burlap from a provision sack. The biggest thing was cleaning the wounds Roldare had gotten infected. He could use water for that.
Kayle hadn't been close to Dimira, much like much of the town he remained somewhat detached from her. Not for lack of seeing her though. Between the tavern and bumping into her in the woods on occasion he recognized her as easily as he did anyone else in the group. He sighed and turned back to the task at hand.
"I'm sure if they took her it was for a reason." Kayle pointed out, "She might still be alive to be rescued. Is anything of hers still here? Owens would be able to track her scent.
Calaithes pulls the waterskin that they'd found with the two packs on bodies outside. He tucks away the dagger, wondering if they should keep the crossbow and quarrels in case he goes crazier again. "Well, if you're staying in here you should have water. Just barricade the door so no bones can push in. We've destroyed all that we could find but we haven't explored everywhere. We heard your yelling.... And you might keep in mind that any monster in the area would also hear. Anyway, We'll go and find Dimira for you so you can go back home."
"If you're going to stay here," Bohrs says with a small sigh, "can we come up with a word or phrase we can say to you so that you won't attack us again when we try to open the door?"
"Yes. I think him staying here will be safer than anywhere else. We already saw that the undead came outside of this tomb. This is as good a place as any, and if it's any indication of our journey, the forest isn't much safer. We'll help you though Roldare. Now, you mentioned shields and a key in the pool. What do you mean by these?"
The burgeoning infections are not so bad that Roldare is likely to die from them, but the lack of supplies means that Kayle has a hard time doing anything but cleaning the wounds. It will require a little more effort to stop the infections. Kayle recalls some lesson from Olmira that there were certain fungi that promoted effective healing. Maybe there's something deeper in the crypt that could be useful.
Six of the bedrolls look like they had been used, though not for a couple of days. It's hard to tell which one Dimira may have used, and Roldare is unable to help make sense of any other particular belongings.
"Home! Kassen! Yes. Please find Dimira. Use my bow! Save her, please." Responding to Calaithes is probably the most coherent Roldare has sounded so far. He doesn't have anything clear to say in regards to a password, though.
When Nicolette pulls out a few words from his rambling speech, he looks blank. Then he gets a little fearful, squirming around again. He hits his head on the ground, more in frustration than actual injury, wailing again. "I don't remember! But you'll need them. You'll go for a swim somewhere. Aaahhh, why can't I remember?"
With Roldare not commenting on a password, she groans and rolls her eyes. To herself, she thinks, "I believe this man is going to shoot at me again..."
When he begins to squirm under her, she tightens her grip on him, being that he's still under her hold.
"Alright! Alright! Calm down...it's fine. We'll figure it out. Jeeze. You can't remember because you've gone through a lot of stuff. Just focus on hope. We are going to help you find your sister. Now, we are going to take some of these supplies and head further in. You just lay there until we close the door behind us. Then I want you to put your barricade back, okay?"
She will ensure her team is outside of the room before she lets up on her grip and then will quickly move to exit and close the door behind her. She will listen for the barricade to be returned.
Calaithes nods and takes the offered crossbow and seven bolts. He knows how to use one but hadn't felt like carrying one. "I can swim just fine so don't worry. We'll find your daughter and get her back here so you both can get back home. But stay quiet!"
"Sister!" Roldare squeaks as he shuts the door. You can hear him stacking boxes back in front, and see the outer barricade being cinched back with ropes. Despite his madness, Roldare seems at least somewhat clever.
Nicolette sighs to herself as she hears him. In a whisper, she states, "I'm going to need more than your light waves of water to wash his stench off me. I imagine that's what a troglodyte lair smells like."
She then waves them to continue down the passage. She will let Cal lead if he wants, or he can keep watch for traps behind her as she keeps an eye out as well.
Calaithes leads back to the door that they had passed and examines it.
Kayle follows close behind his light source, keeping a watchful eye out for anything Calaithes might miss. When he hears Nicolette's comment he stifles a laugh. Favoring her with a chuckle instead. "I could try and replace it with wet dog smell, but I don't think it's much of an improvement." he explains. Owens cocks his head and give a confused look toward the two of them.
Once Roldare is safely tucked away in his room again, Bohrs joins the rest of the group as they examine the other door.
Leaving Roldare to his barricaded room, the party moves forward. Blessedly, the wailing does not resume--yet--and the horrid smell begins to dissipate, replaced with unappetizing aroma of mold and rot that hangs in the air of the rest of the crypt.
Looking over the door, Calaithes doesn't see anything trapped--nor does the door seem to be locked. Beyond, both he and Nicolette hear some kind of rhythmic clicking. It's not a constant sound, but occasional and happening in bursts.
”Allow me, friends,” Bohrs says, stepping up to the door. He places his had on it, closes his eyes and whispers a prayer to Cayden Cailean.
With the curious clicking sounds being the only clue about the door, Calaithes is glad to step aside and let Bohrs use his unique ability to see through the door.
On the other side of the door, Bohrs sees a brown and yellow beetle perched atop a corpse, trying to push it from the center of the room into a corner with a pile of trash. The beetle is larger than Owens, maybe the size of Kayle. There look to be two exits out of the room beyond: a set of descending stairs to the west, and another door to the south.
”There’s a man-sized beetle, dragging a body. That’s the clicking noise. Do you want to go in and smash it?” he asks the group. ”There are two other doors out of that room, so it’s not a dead-end.”
Nicolette smirks at the threat of wet-dog smell and gives a chuckle before heading off after Cal.
Regarding the beetle:
"I say we surprise it. Get it away from defiling that body and then we can decide from there where to go. We should probably clear the area as close as we can to Roldare, as we know he's alive."
Basically what she's suggesting is that they clear rooms with Roldare in mind. That may involve some back and forth, but making sure he is secure is the priority, it seems.
"Do you want to lead us in Cal, or do you want me to?" Whatever he decides, she will follow suit and rush into squash it with her hammer.
i
Kayle stays right where he is as the party attempts an ambush, not trusting himself to move silently in his armor. He raises his club high, pantomiming an attack, and then let's the others attempt their ambush.