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At Wes's knock, you hear a thump from inside and then a voice like what driftwood might wound like if it could talk. "Pharasma's teats, what do you fools want now! Why are you interrupting my contemplations."
You hear shuffling steps coming closer to the door and then it creaks open.
The stone house is built from large stones carefully fitted together without mortar or chink. The door, however is of rougher construction, rough boards nailed together and attached to the stone with metal plates and rope hinges.
As the door swings inward, you see a woman bent with age, hair gone white and silver. She wears a homespun dress and no hat, but has a Varisian shawl over her shoulder. She doesn't wear a gun, but there is a good sized knife at her belt.
As she looks up at Wes, she smiles a grin with only a few teeth. "Hello, handsome. What brings a looker like you to my neck of the woods?"
Myrandya shyly watches from the shadows, hoping to go unnoticed with all the activities of the others.
Nempura chuckles silently at the woman flirting with Wes. She chews her lip and considers how this event will go down. Hopefully, Wes can play up the older woman and charm her. That's what Nempura would do were she in his position.
Higgins tips his hat at the old lady as she opens the door. "Mama Nightthrush? Wes Higgins. Got a minute to talk? Have a favor to ask about this Stone House."
He gauges the woman's reaction, but continues on if she seems open. "You might've heard a thing or two 'bout the ghost of Roderic comin' back ta town--some of your folks were there when he showed up. Well, the stories are real--he's back, and he's lookin' to set some things right. One of those things has to do with this here Stone House. There's somethin' here Roderic left behind and we need ta get. Not just for Roderic's sake, but for the town."
He pauses a bit to let the story sink in and answer any questions before getting to the punchline. "So, seems like you're livin' here now, but we're just wantin' to look around and try to find this thing. We'll be careful and we'll be on our way soon as we grab it."
The woman tilts her head back and looks down her nose at Wes. Not with an air of disdain, but as someone whose vision is failing and needs a little help to see well. She squints. "Seems to me like you are wanting a to be friends, and like you have some of my 'children' locked up in the county jail. That don't seem very friendly like. But maybe we could come to some sort of accommodation."
Despite the woman's relatively cordial welcome, you all note a rising tension in the guards. They are clearly ready for action if things go wrong.
"Mama has had a natural charisma and appeal for gatherin' followers through the years. Even now she's full of charm and accommodation. It is welcoming."
"Us deputies of the law have come to this stone house, which ain't hers by rights, and yet treated her with kindness, dignity, and as though it were her home. Even knocked on the door so she could get her knickers on...," Nempura lightly jokes. Then continuing in the third person, she continues, "...Mama's seen a lot, especially as it regards to her children but these accommodations that will hopefully take place should have nothing to do with the prisoners the sheriff holds, as mama's children can be foolish at times and make some bad decisions. That shouldn't be connected with her charity and kindness in allowing this group of deputies to search her abode for a bit and then peacefully be on our way?"
Higgins was not at all surprised that the fate of Mama's "children" was being thrown into the mix. He glances back at the others as everyone starts coming alert.
"Sheriff has the last word on what be happenin' ta Lullaby and her crew. I can't promise nothin', but I sure can put in a good word on account o' your hospitality. Reckon the Sheriff might look a lot less kindly if you be gettin' in the way o' town business, though. Whatever beef you and I here might have with each other, what's goin' on here's a whole lot bigger than the both of us."
Higgins' gaze slides between Mama's face, her hand, and that big ol' knife on her. He might be terrible at bluffing, but poker taught him to read people.
Mama smiles widely, with nothing to hide that Wes can see, "Bigger than you, maybe. Not much bigger than Mama!" Her hands go to her voluminous belly and she laughs in a way that sounds like a coyote yipping.
"You say Roderic left something in this old ruin? Well, I ain't found nothin looked fancy enough for the Captain, but come on in and see what you see."
To her men, she says, "Boys, behave, and see to it that our guests are comfortable."
The room is dark, the only light coming from the open door and a single candle that sits on a table. There is a rough made bed, just four rough posts and some nailed together boards that were probably once a wagon. Next to that is a nicely made small table that is currently serving as a nightstand.
There is a larger table made of two trunks sitting on end with boards sitting on top. There is a stone staircase that once lead to a higher floor. The stairs now serve as a shelves, littered with pots, jars, pans, herbs, animal parts.
The opening at the top of the stairs has been roughly thatched to keep out the rain.
The floor is stone.
Higgins laughs more at Mama's laughter than her joke, glad she was in good humor. He tips his hat and enters. With an Indian word, he conjures some light to see better in the dark room.
After taking in the room, he turns back toward Mama and her crew. "I ain't usin this rifle for shootin', but think it might help me look around." Assuming there's no negative reaction, he visibly unloads his rifle, then starts using the rifle butt to tap around in the stones. He figured that if anything was still in this Stone House, it had to be well-hidden.
Nempura will take the pathway up, seeing as it is probably the least dangerous place to be. Her elven eyes can see through the dim light of the room as though it were normal. Wes's light below and the roughly thatched roof aid her sight. She will search thoroughly here for the gauntlets or at least a recess they could be hiding in.
Mama keeps an eye on your doings, "Don't know what could be in here. Boys brought all this rough furniture in here. I just have these few books and some candles. Cooking is all done on the camp fire."
Higgins thumps the old stonework, finding that all of it rings with solidity.
Nempura scans the walls, stairs, and furnishings.
It takes Roja's careful look at the floor to determine that some of the stones of the floor are not fixed. She slides slim fingers under a single stone, pulling it upward and turning. As she does so, a section of the floor lowers, thumping downward as it forms a spiral staircase leading down into darkness. There is a hiss of air moving as the pressure between the two rooms equalizes.
Mama's eyes grow large and she says, "Well, I'll be..."
"Well, Mama. Looks like we just turned your winter retreat into a castle, fit with a nice basement room to keep warm, if you can get a stove down here. I'll be on the lookout for a good deal for ya in town."
Nempura will cast a dancing lights spell and send them down into the darkness swirling down the stairs. She will let others lead.
"Comin' down with us, Mama?" she asks sweetly. As she goes down, she will look to the walls for secret doors/buttons to make sure that the staircase could not close on them and could open from below.
"How the hell?" After poking around aimlessly, Higgins is ready to give up when Roja somehow opens up some sort of secret staircase. "It's like you've been here before, Miss."
He turns to Mama. "Guess we'll be spendin' more time in here 'n I expected." He conjures his own light as he tries to peer into the depths.
The stairs descend about 30 feet, ending at a small room with fitted stone walls, smoothly worked. A single kerosene lantern sits in the center of the floor. A door to the west is boarded up with six sturdy pine planks secured into the stone doorframe with iron spikes. An empty silver saucer sits in front of the door, accompanied by a few bread crumbs, and an
arched opening leads to the south.
Beyond that opening you can make out a thirty-foot-long colonnade. A few cracks mar the marble floors and walls, yet the six smooth columns that hold the ceiling up are in immaculate condition.
Once the others have descended, perhaps including Mama (GM you never answered her question to Mama above), Nempura will move carefully into the open room. They will allow Roja to take up the rear.
"Now...be careful everyone. I've studied some ruins before and they've been filled to the brim with traps from their previous owners. Old Roderick might not have set traps, but there may be hazards here. Keep your eyes open..." she whispers.
Her elven eyes see down to the end of the hallway clear as day, looking for movement not concealed by the artifacts that may linger down here. If the coast seems clear, she will cautiously approach the table and observe how old these breadcrumbs are, as if they are fresh, which will mean Mama likely has been down here recently.
Mama to Nempura: "No, beautiful. I hain't made it this far by taking myself down secret holes where I don't belong."
Nempura nods to Mama and moves downward. Once there, she'll consider what Roja asks. Instead of answering her, she does so by speaking to Wes.
"Wes, dear...reload that gun of yours. Never know what old Roderick might have been cooking up in his anger."
Pleased that the group has so effectively worked to avoid a shootout and also managed to stumble on this passageway, Pan Pan draws her blades and proceeds in the front position down the staircase, alert to possible dangers below.
Or not, it's a tight spot.
Once the others have descended, perhaps including Mama (GM you never answered her question to Mama above), Nempura will move carefully into the open room. They will allow Roja to take up the rear.
"Now...be careful everyone. I've studied some ruins before and they've been filled to the brim with traps from their previous owners. Old Roderick might not have set traps, but there may be hazards here. Keep your eyes open..." she whispers.
Her elven eyes see down to the end of the hallway clear as day, looking for movement not concealed by the artifacts that may linger down here. If the coast seems clear, she will cautiously approach the table and observe how old these breadcrumbs are, as if they are fresh, which will mean Mama likely has been down here recently.
[dice=Perception]1d20+9
The crumbs aren't moldy, and there isn't any sign of vermin, so they likely aren't that old.
Wes nods and reloads his gun, expecting trouble. He starts looking around for tracks.
Too bad he was never good at that part of his job. "Maybe we just bust in that door," he suggests, as he takes a look at it.
You haven't found a trigger to control the stairs from here, and the trigger you found remained at the top of the stairs.
There is nothing about the door that suggests what is on the other side, other than that someone clearly wanted to keep it on the other side.
"Yeah, let's head down this open way. We can always come back. That door looks like it'd take quite a bit for something to come through it--be it us or somethin' else...Plus, my lights are already shinin' down that way."
As the others hopefully head down the open path to the left, she'd follow quietly after casting a quick spell of blending. As she walks down, her pale blue skin seems to appear almost dusty brown like the walls.
Having no skill in stealth, Pan Pan would prefer Wes' approach. So far there's been nothing in the way of this group that it could not easily handle, so the cause for concern now confused the young monk.
Perhaps by divine intervention, she moves as if walking on air, quiet as the dead.
Higgins concedes the folly of his original plan and joins the quiet march forward.
The colonnade looks like something out of a palace in a fairy story or something. Shadows loom large in your light, casting the edges of the room into dusk
A lantern sits near a set of stairs leading down into darkness. Near the north wall of this chamber, opposite the stairs, is a statue carved from red stone that depicts a woman with wild hair and her face set in a sneer, holding a clenched fist out in front of her. Four smooth columns hold the cracked ceiling aloft.
You see a deck of cards and a scattering of pennies near the lantern. And then you here the click of the hammer of a revolver being drawn back.
"That's about far enough. This here place is occupied. Y'all just turn around and go back where you came from."
Swift action, activate Snake Style.
At the click of the hammer, Pan Pan advances to the nearest sentry. Not knowing this groups motivations, but seeing the heinous statue, she assumes they must be dealt with. But at least for now she fights with her hands to harm but not kill these men.
Nonlethal; Stun DC14
As Nempura traverses into the next room with the others, she can see as clearly as day. The shadows and darkness afar off hold no secrets from her. As she prepares to descend the stairs after Pan Pan, she hears the warning.
"We are officers of the law. Put your guns down." Despite Pan Pan's reaction, she hopes to calm down the situation still, "You don't have law and deed to this land so identify yourselves or risk being fired upon."
Nempura looks at the ceiling in trying to understand the structural hazard before them and what might happen should it cave in, as well as the statue before her, if it were to have some religious significance to the cards and such.
Higgins is disappointed he hadn't seen this fella before the gun got pulled. "Seriously, how many folk are livin' 'tween us and our goal?"
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Pan Pan smashes a fist into one man's throat, he drops his pistol and his hands grasp his neck.
Nempura, the roof looks stable enough. The damage looks to have been there for a long time.
The cards are a harrow deck, but the way they are scattered, it looks like they were just gaming not telling fortunes or anything.
The three hombres stand there, eyes wide and jaws agape, their nerves a-jangle from witnessing Pan Pan's audacious bare-handed assault. As they try to summon their courage, their fingers itch on the triggers of their six-shooters, ready to take quick shots from the hip. But alas, their apprehension gets the better of them, and their shots go wide, ricocheting off a marble column with echoing spangs.
Caught off guard by the lightning-quick moves of Pan Pan, they realize they are facing a force of nature, a gunslinger unlike any they have encountered before. The air is fraught with tension, as the dusty marble floor beneath their boots seems to tremble with anticipation.
The scent of gunpowder mingles with the sweat-soaked air.
The shot hits the column the man is taking cover behind.
Pan Pan hears the wild gunfire all around her, but her attention remains on the stunned opponent. Her fists strike out again, following the chop to his neck, she aims to disable him quickly.
With two quick jabs to the body, Pan Pan takes the fight out of the man.
The room erupts in gunfire and she can hardly hear. Isabella says something to her about the one in the back, and logically she deduces it has to do with the one Roja steps forward to attack. Nempura deftly hops down the stairs and rushes across the room. There, she swiftly brings up her strong swimming hands and tries to grab one of their guns before they suspect her.