Antonio carefully checks then opens building 9 on the map revealing a large storerroom.
He finds:
100 quivers
2000 crossbow bolts in boxes of 100
1000 arrows in boxes of 100
100 javelins in a large box
"I 'spose its best to let this sleeping dog lie... we'll worry about them coming up when we know they know we are here." he whispers as he follows Antonio to the next building.
"doesn't looks like they were looking to outfit a mine as much as a small army." he wonders aloud before looking to Antonio,"Ready to go to the next building? he ask pointing south to building 7.
Following Antonio into the building, Kunala furrows his brow. "I think your right Taddy, looks like their planning something big."
Lifting one of the quivers from the pile, Kunala begins stuffing it full of arrows. "Do you think we can fit all this in a wagon when we leave, or should we burn it?"
"Those wagons weren't empty, but not laden to burst either. If we do abscond with the wagon's we can certainly take what we can and dispose of the rest."
Antonio nodded agreement.
When they were ready, he moved quietly over to building 7.
He listened at the door.
He carefully eased his lockpicks out to unlock the door.
Antonio leads the investigation working logically to the north east.
Opening the door to the building near the stables, Antonio finds a working anvil and a complete set of blacksmiths tools (bellow, hammer, tongs,...). Wagon wheels and parts of a wagon harness are here.
Then the next building is a smelter with two half molds to make three ingots at a time when clamped together.
The large three story ore processing building has a bag amongst the remains of two dead humans with some unprocessed gold ore.
The last building is an empty store room that Taddy finds orc tracks in and out.
Then the large building (2) is two stories high with doors wide open and houses bunks that can sleep over 100 and seems to be a tightly packed barracks that is now deserted. In the back corners are two spiral staircases that lead to an upper floor.
"Seems to me a standard campus for a mine so far... Miss Coin, er Coins.... misses coins... Uh Ladies, would one of you be able to value the raw ore?"
Taddy raises his hand up in a fist to signal "STOP" before pointing at the tracks and whispering "More orcs... be on guard as we enter this one."
Taddy has his sling ready as he awaits to see if Antonio's lockpicking skills are needed.
Then the large building (2) is two stories high with doors wide open and houses bunks that can sleep over 100 and seems to be a tightly packed barracks that is now deserted. In the back corners are two spiral staircases that lead to an upper floor.
"Hunk of ore that size could make as many as 300 coins, depending on purity. Weighs a lot more, though."
Looking into the large, deserted barracks, the newly minted halfling shakes his head. "Really has ben deserted for a while. Nest of giant centipedes in there, somewhere. See the molting leftovers across the floor?"
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Amelia chuckles softly as Tacitus tries to figure out how to address her and Emre.
"Certainly," she says with a smile that fades into a looks of surprise as she looks over the blacksmiths tools.
"These are a set of Svarsens, dwarven make and popular among journeyman smiths. I'm surprised to see them in the hands of orcs. The anvil is an Adbar Number Three. Not the best anvils ever made, but they get the job done, from what I hear."
She looks at the others, seeing their looks and blushes.
"I worked with a dwarven priest, Banker Feldspar, for a couple of years during my tutelage. He dealt almost exclusively in dwarven goods."
Hearing about the nastiness waiting for them in the two-story building, she shuffles a little bit more behind her more formidable sister.
"Couldn't we just leave it," she asks the others.
Antonio nodded at Tacitus and stealthed in behind him.
Taddy and Antonio sneak into the barracks, and see a host of feelers from just past the threshold into the building as the sea of giant centipedes turn toward you.
A sea of feelers greet the duo as they enter the barracks. Light from the door and small windows keep the barracks at low light. As expected, there are a lot of centipedes, and they are giant ones.
ORDER
PARTY except for Kunala and Amelia
Centipedes
PARTY
Taddy realizes now, and maybe too late, the tracks are that of a nest of giant Centapedes, he tugs on Antonio's sleeve and hisses out of the corner of his mouth, "Poisonous...we need to go, block the door on our way out. NOW!" as he doubles around and retreats out the door, ready to slam it shut as soon as Antonio is out of the building.
Deadeyes bow that's alot of legs! Might have to torch the whole building to get that infestation out.
The doors, being a military barracks, open in with the hinges inside. They are large double doors
The centipedes have not become aggressive yet.
Tacitus will effortless close the doors as soon as Antonio exits the building
Seeing the creepy gigantic insects filling the inside of the building, Antonio smiled, nodded and carefully eased his way back outside.
... and gently closed the doors.
Taddy closes one door, and Antonio can't pull the other door closed. Possibly he was being gentle when brute strength was required. He is still inside the barracks. The muck and silt and other organic debris keep the door from closing.
Drektan
Erme
Drek blows air from his mouth in disappointment as he realizes Antonio's not going to get out of the building, yet. Knowing he doesn't want to lose his dagger, Drek begins looking near the doorway for a stone he could throw deeper into the building to hopefully distract the centipedes . . ..
Drektan finds a stone nearby as one of the double doors remains open.
TO ACT
Drektan/Erme
18 giant centipedes
Drek throws the stone across the room, attempting to make as much noise as possible . . .. Hoping the noise will distract at least some of the centipedes.
Érme replenishes her own ammunition, before nodding at Kunala's proposal;
"All these items have worth and can be ported relatively easily. Would be good acumen for us to return with them. If we cannot, then destroying their assets makes sense."
She takes a mental note on the inventory before pressing on.
The tall Inquisitor nods in agreement first at Drektan's, then her sister's assessment and valuation;
"Well valued Master Drektan. Was your canny eye one you had before, or moreso now in your new form?"
Keen to avoid poking such a potent nest Érme bids Drektan hold from his stonethrowing and lends her own muscle in an attempt to close the remaining door...
The stone seemed to agitate the centipedes, but Erme reaches in and with a mighty pull slams the second of the two doors shut with a resounding "SLAM" as Antonio is knocked off his feet and falls to the ground prone outside the closed double doors. You notice there are open small windows in the barracks that easily fit giant centipedes and prudently retreat back.
The group retreats and no centipedes seem particularly inclined to follow.
Smiling at himself for his use of 'accounting terms' in reference to the two Abadarans, Kunala holds his ground while drawing an arrow. Looking back and forth from one small window to the other he asks, "Does anyone know anything about these bugs? Will running make them more interested?"
"I don't think so, but lets not stick around to find out."
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This extraordinary ability lets a creature detect approaching enemies, sniff out hidden foes, and track by sense of smell.
A creature with the scent ability can detect opponents by sense of smell, generally within 30 feet. If the opponent is upwind, the range is 60 feet. If it is downwind, the range is 15 feet. Strong scents, such as smoke or rotting garbage, can be detected at twice the ranges noted above. Overpowering scents, such as skunk musk or troglodyte stench, can be detected at three times these ranges.
The creature detects another creature’s presence but not its specific location. Noting the direction of the scent is a move action. If the creature moves within 5 feet (1 square) of the scent’s source, the creature can pinpoint the area that the source occupies, even if it cannot be seen.
A creature with the Survival skill and the scent ability can follow tracks by smell, making a Survival check to find or follow a track. A creature with the scent ability can attempt to follow tracks using Survival untrained. The typical DC for a fresh trail is 10. The DC increases or decreases depending on how strong the quarry’s odor is, the number of creatures, and the age of the trail. For each hour that the trail is cold, the DC increases by 2. The ability otherwise follows the rules for the Survival skill in regards to tracking. Creatures tracking by scent ignore the effects of surface conditions and poor visibility.
Creatures with the scent ability can identify familiar odors just as humans do familiar sights.
Water, particularly running water, ruins a trail for air-breathing creatures. Water-breathing creatures that have the scent ability, however, can use it in the water easily.
False, powerful odors can easily mask other scents. The presence of such an odor completely spoils the ability to properly detect or identify creatures, and the base Survival DC to track becomes 20 rather than 10.
Maff accidentally snorted a fly and can't smell much of anything right now apparantly...
Amelia falls in behind Emre as the others begin tracking something. What, she hasn't a clue, but they appear to know what they are about.
"Well valued Master Drektan. Was your canny eye one you had before, or moreso now in your new form?"
"Neither, really. Has far more to do with reading enough of the right writings, and then remembering it when pertinent. The color of the ore reflects a lesser grade of gold ore, so there should be less refined gold available from it. As the pile is near the size of m . . . my old head, it should generate a much smaller amount of gold than expected for that bulk. I guessed at a little more than a double handful of coins." As he says that he looks down at his hands before hiding them behind his back.
Antonion watched and waited on the trackers, then tried to remember which buildings they had already cleared.
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Érme nods appreciatively as the diminutive Drektan provides a sound rationale to his skill;
"You would do well in the service of the First Vault Master Drektan. There is always opportunities in the path of the Balanced Scales - auditors of treasure caches if you will. A keen eye, sound evaluator and sense of adventure. A calling almost tailor-made for an enterprising soul such as yourself."
Spying something, she adds her own canny senses to the collective tracking, pointing out previously missed prints and indications;
"See here, here... and there. Orc Tracks. Leading to and from this building in a westerly direction."
Most of the orc tracks lead to the three front doors of the next building. The rear door facing another building nearby.
You move to the next building and leave the centipedes to the former barracks. Deciding which door to enter with so many choices.
Amelia places her hands on Tacitus and Antonio as they approach one of the buildings Emre points out as a potential hiding spot for the orc raiders. A soft golden glow surrounds them as she chants softly and casts a spell.
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Spying something, she adds her own canny senses to the collective tracking, pointing out previously missed prints and indications;"See here, here... and there. Orc Tracks. Leading to and from this building in a westerly direction."
Tacitus looked up with a smile at the orc, "And so they are, Thank you for your help, I missed them entirely on my first lookover." he said turning a few shades redder. How did I miss those? Thank Erastil we have an orc to track orcs.
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"We should go round the back, less foot traffic means we'll be less likely to be spotted, and more likely to survive whatever does see us."" he whispers as he nods for the others to follow him round the back going as quietly as he and Maff can he approaches the back door and looks around through a window or keyhole if possible.
Maff and Taddy find and open back door that leads to a simple kitchen for the mess hall that orcs are currently eating at. There is a mobile grill set up in the kitchen with some meat of dubious nature still cooking, and past some swinging doors the kitchen lead to a much larger main room where a group of orcs is loudly having a meal in the larger mess hall.
You feel you can surprise them if you act before one returns to the kitchen for more food.
Amelia holds up a finger for a moment before she begins to cast as quickly and quietly as she can.
Once she's finished, closes her eyes and nods to Kunala.
Taddy creeps in followed by Antonio, who kicks over a bucket used to mop the floor.
The orcs are startled.
Order of Action
Party standard round action each
Kunala full round action
Enemy
Party
Taddy winces at the sound of Antonio kicking over the bucket, before leaping into action he enters tiger focus, orange streaks now filling his hair and beard, he flings a bullet at the nearest Orc screaming "FOOD FIGHT!!"
Then urging Maff to about face he yells "SPRAY BOY!!" Maff unleashes a torrent of foul spray at the nearest orc,
Then he hisses at Antonio, "get in the kitchen, quick!" as he wheels Maff back into the kitchen.
Surprised when Taddy tells the rogue to 'get back in the kitchen' Kunala moves forward, asking "What's the plan Taddy?"
Taddy makes room for Kunala to get by, saying "Chokepoint is easier to defend, remember, take your shot on the elk when the elk is where YOU want it to be"
he then looks around the kitchen and sees the grill still cooking the questionable meat would that be enough to torch the whole building... he wonders to himself trying to figure out how to get out of this fight alive.
Seeing Taddy return, and hearing Kunala engage the enemy Érme sets her jaw and hefts her spear...
"We cannot leave them to fight alone."
With a "stay here" look to her sister she enters into mess hall and takes up position at Antonio's shoulder;
The heroes sneak into the kitchen of the mess hall, and Taddy sneaks into the mess hall completely quietly, but when Antonio kicks over a bucket sneaking in, the orcs appear to be surprisingly alert.
Taddy nails an orc with a sling shot, and Erme moves into the mess hall. Erme forms a line with Antonio and Kunala.
Kunala, with the fastest reflexes, prepares to hack at his seated opponent (+2).
ORDER
Surprise std
Amelia
Maff ?
Judgement for Erme?
ROUND 1
Kunala (attack declared)
Orcs (seated and no weapons in hand)
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Amelia nods to her sister's order before quickly casting a spell with a prayer to Abadar.
Grimacing when he tripped over the bucket, Antonio shrugged, shot Orc 2...
for a possible piercing damage.
... tossed it aside and drew his rapier.
"Well, what are you all just sitting there for? Let's get this party started!" He said with a grin.
As Érme joins the line, she invokes Abadar's protection;
"Master of the First Vault hear my plea - grant your humble servant aegis in this conflict."
The closest orc takes a shot from Taddy, a slice from Kunala, and staggered he attacks Kunala with claws only to have his claws parried and return strike disembowel him on the spot.
Two orcs at the far table rush to the eastmost door and open it. Two orcs manage to get javelin shots off at Erme and Antonio, but the judgement of protection turns one aside, and Antonio nimbly dodges the other. A single orc kicks over the chair and engages Kunals with a deadly two handed axe-sword combo weapon. The orcs look at their downed comrade with a grim look and hiss in common. "You pay!!"
Order of Action
PARTY
Orcs