"Hm. I don't suppose a police knock on the front door is an option?" Ustemir starts to look around the place, searching for signs of entry. Then he notices Sebastien, new attire. "What the..." he doesn't utter a sound, but his mouth moves.
Keeping her eyes on the front gate and courtyard, Ascaede takes her cues from Ustemir, waiting for an all clear before moving anywhere.
Sebastien seems to prefer the south-west corner, while Ustemir and Ascaede stake out the front entrance. There are plenty of kobold and wolf tracks about, coming and going from the main entrance, although, at the present moment, nothing stirs.
I think we just go in before dusk, some of us can't work in the dark very well. Waedin says.
Ustemir seems puzzled. "I'm confused. Are you saying you want to go in now, because it's dark soon and some don't see in the dark? What?"
"Anyway - lot of prints of wolf and I think kobolds tracks at the front door. Do kobolds ride wolves?"
Waedin shrugs. If we wait till it's dark before we go in then some of us will be at a disadvantage. I can see in the dark just fine, but not all of us can.
Sebastian seems to be pointing to the the south-west corner...
The Bard holds his Wand, as he begins to inch that direction....
The party hunkers down and watches. Although there is evidence of plenty of recent wolf and kobold traffic around, nothing comes or goes from the ruins while they watch. The sun gets lower and will set behind the mountains soon, so they decide to move in.
Entering through the broken doors of the main gate, they enter the courtyard. Tall grasses and chunks of stone debris have all but overtaken this small yard. Off to one side, a wooden stable has collapsed into a mound of rotting timbers and moldy straw. The outer wall on the east side has also collapsed, leaving a ragged hole. Three doors also exit into this yard: a set of double doors to the east, a smaller door to the north, and a lone door leading into the squat tower in the southeast corner. Narrow footpaths in the grass run between these doors. A low stone well, almost entirely overgrown with foliage, sits in the northwest corner of the yard with 10 feet of rope dangling into it.
Sebastian reverses his slide....
Sebastian re-reverses his slide....
After poking their collective heads into the courtyard, the group backtracks and decides to enter through the collapsed wall in the southwest corner. To do so, they have to wade through a boggy area and get their boots muddied, as well as climb over the rubble of the collapsed wall.
The evening light pours in from the crumbled wall and the room is dimly lit. What looks like it was once a library is left in a shattered mess. The floor is strewn with rubble and soaked in a pool of stagnant water. Broken and ransacked shelves line the walls, thick fungus growing on what books remain.
There is a wooden door in the wall to the north and a broken door leading into a hallway to the east.
Before turning around, Asceade notices the remaining ancient statue outside the courtyard and realizes it is a depiction of Ferrakus, The Lord Beneath, Deity of mountains, mining, and craftsmanship, often worshipped by Dwarves, Gnomes, and subterranean peoples.
Ok, back to the flooded moldy library.
Sebastien notices there's one book on the shelves that looks relatively intact.
Ascaede points out the faded statuary in the courtyard to Waedin.
”Ferrakus - dwarven deity of Mountains, Mining and Craftsmanship. Are you a follower - your secondary nominative suggests a fellowship, if only tangential…?”
Looking wistfully at the lost lore now giving life to mold and fungi, Ascaede stands at the edge of the ruined library, waiting for Ustemir or Sebastien to give the all clear.
Ustemir slowly walks into the room, causing ripples across the water's surface. "Smells like a swamp in here." he mutters, scratches his nose, moves to the door in the east wall, and puts an ear to it.
Stepnik shrugs and follows Ustemir into the room his shield head ready to deflect anything dangerous... or stinky.
Yeah, Ferrakus is someone venerated by pretty much all of us. Our depictions of him are a bit different though. I'll be honest, I was a pretty poor student until very recently though. Waedin says, ignoring the fact she has no idea what a secondary nominative is.
Although she serves Gerana, Waedin recalls that Ferrakus is one of The Called, and his Edicts are: serve as guides to the underworld, honor the earth through craftsmanship, and always strike true. If this place were once dedicated to Ferrakus, it would teach the ways of earth and craft, catering to craftsmen, artisans, and spelunkers.
Ustemir crosses the room and stands at the eastern door, which is actually broken off its hunges and on the floor. There is a narrow darkened hallway beyond, but with his low-light vision, he can see a wooden door directly across the way.
Sebastian walks over to the one book on the shelves that looks relatively intact. He plucks it from its perch....
Ustemir chuckles. "This door... is hiding another door." he turns around. "Or so it seems." he shrugs.
Ascaede stares boggle-eyed as Sebastien pulls the book from the shelf, certain it will trip a trap or cause the bookcase to slide open and reveal a secret portal…reminding her somewhat bittersweet of home…
Prioress Aska’s sanctum had a secret-bookcase-door…
Sebastien climbs up a decrepit shelf to snatch a book. As he does, he disturbs the moldy shelves and a cloud of spores is released.
A burst of pale grey spores fills the air, but all those caught within hold their breath until the air clears.
Sebastien descends from the rotten bookshelf holding an intact book. This tome is beautifully illuminated with scenes of dwarven history, and is filled with hymns of praise for Ferrakus. It might be quite valuable. Folded into the last pages of the book is a scroll of Spiritual Weapon.
Absently reaching for a clean handkerchief to pat his face, the Bard holds up the book.
Good fine, right! Just sitting there this whole time and nobody grabbed it. Weird.
Sebastian grins at the pale grey spores covered faces of his companions.
Ascaede’s careful assessment of the would be trap kept her at enough distance to avoid the plume of toxic spores. She nods to herself, then smiles.
”Well done Sebastien. Risk is at times necessary for reward.”
The acolyte waits for Ustemir to give the go ahead, and fusses with lighting a torch before pausing.
”Do we have any magical means of providing light for those of us less ocularly endowed?”
Ascaede does a quick calculation.
”Namely Stepnik, and me.”
Ustemir peeks away from the door as he hears the cloud of spores release. Kolek seems fine, so does everyone else, so he steps away from the door. "I have torches, if you want some." he states calmly, looking at the book in Sebastien's hand. "An interesting read, I take it?"
This feels like something I should know about.. mind if I hold onto this tome? Feels like Ferrakus' presence lingers here still.
Stepnik tries to maneuver himself into the middle of the group taking advantage of the light.
Exploration Activity.
Sebastian trades book for scroll. The Bard then casts Light, as they continue...
He winks.
Sebastien solves the lighting issue as Ustemir steps out into the narrow hallway. He sees the hall ends shortly to the south, and extends to the north into darkness. There is a door directly in front of him.
"Hm. Guess we're just going where we can." Ustemir shrugs, pulls out his parrying dagger, and opens the door. Well, tries to open it. See if it's locked or anything.
Ascaede nods in thanks to Sebastien and packs her torch away. She grips her blade tight, looking keenly at…everything…as if her eyes were hungry for information.
Ustemir tests the door and finds it locked. The mechanism looks ancient and decrepit, should be easy to pick.
Ustemir sighs. "Place is falling apart, but doors are locked. Amusing, isn't it?"
He pulls out his lockpicks and gets to work.
"Perhaps I could drip a bit of acid in the mechanism. Would that help"? Might either meld it together or destroy it".
Crafting
Ustemir works the lock, Sebastien adjusts his elbow, and Stepnik helps to reduce the rusty bits with some well placed acid. Their collaborative efforts pay off, and the door clicks open.
Sebastian’s light shines in and reveal a small chamber that appears to be a simple sitting room, sparsely furnished with an old wooden table and chair. A half eaten crow carcass sits on the table next to a crude knife and cracked mug.
Another door leads south.
Sebastian eyes the half eaten crow carcass siting on the table next to a crude knife and cracked mug with suspicious eyes....
Ascaede also looks at the abandoned repast.
Ascaede moves into the small chamber to get a closer inspection of the still life arranged on the table. As she does, she fails to spot the trip wire arranged across the floor, and so a net-full of rocks and debris falls on her head in a loud crash that echoes down the dark and empty halls.
As she recovers from the concussion, she inspects the crow carcass. It looks half eaten, raw and uncooked, roughly defeathered. It looks to have been left in this state only recently, a half finished supper.