Baldrek dispatches the two creatures in a flurry of motion, ending the immediate threat.
Potential Loot
sunrod x2
Mya walks on the mess made by Baldrek's trident on the creatures' corpses, trying to grasp anything from them.
Does the red-eyed one bleed normally? she thinks to herself analyzing the corpses.
She notices something behind the boilers and tries to get it, crawling under them.
"At this point, I think we can expect other hostile creatures in the next rooms." she approaches the door, without touching it, trying to get her hear as close as possible, checking if anything can be heard from the other side.
Mya doesn't hear anything on the other side of the door.
Tassa feels a terrible rumbling in her gut as she sees the bleeding rats, and her tentacles pick up one and then the other, draining them of their blood.
She turns to Baldrek to compliment him on his work with the trident...and again finds that all she can manage is a gurgling hiss.
Shrugging, she tries to control the tentacles, but finds them still disturbingly hungry. She finds she isn't certain whether she can manage opening a door any better than she can manage speech, so she just elects to wait beside the door, ready to pounce on whatever they encounter next.
"Ughh!" S*@&. Baldrek moves quickly back to the furnace just in time to throw up inside it. "Doo yoou haave... aany ideea hoow fuucked uube ziis?"
"Rraats! Zeey crraawling oon biss ande shiite brrobably miinutes agoo!" That was beyond reasonable. He knew hungry. He thinks at least, because he can't really remember, but that hungry to basically suck basically walking s!~*? That was new.
He wasn't really thinking too much as he opened the door and left the room...
Broken lanterns and several battered doors line this cold, rubble-strewn hall. To the south, a pair of swinging doors lies shattered upon a 4-foot-high heap of wrecked furniture clogging a broad doorframe.
As Baldrek exits the room, a shout erupts from the makeshift barricade to the south. "Whoa there! We got more here!"
"Whooa whaat?" He turns, looking towards where the voice came. "Yoou goote moorre whaate ande wheerre?"
You see several scared-looking humans hiding behind the makeshift barricade while pointing crossbows in your direction. "Don't play dumb, shapeshifter! We're wise to your tricks! Don't even think of coming any closer!"
Mya puts her hands up and turns to the barricade where the voice is coming from, but does not move closer.
"We are not shapeshifters. In fact, we killed one of them just now, they were holding us captive below here."
Tassa is about to slither through the doorway when she hears the shouted accusation she hesitates...and through sheer force of will, she manages to push the tentacles once again back inside her body, regaining her normal form.
Mya shifts her gaze between the barricades, where the voices are coming from, and the room she just left, realizing Tassa has reverted to her non-tentacle form. Relief feels her mind.
Mya once again directs her attention to the crowd.
"You see two of us, there are two more inside" she gestures her head toward the room to her right "We were captive down below, as I said. We found our equipment and are planning to leave. If you doubt us, we can bring the corpse of the shapeshifter we killed."
Mya, for now, decides not to tell they don't even know where they are. The crowd can also be amnesiac. With that said, hiding that fact would be impossible.
One of the men behind the barricade scoffs. "Planning to leave? So you can rejoin your other monster friends, I bet!"
"Yoou maake yoourr miinde zeen!" Baldrek shouts back. "Yoou saay wee doon'te coome clooserr, aande wee doon'te! Wee say wee waante too leeave, yoou goote brrooblems with zaat too!"
"Wee noote staandinge heerre foorr eeverr... yoou buute doown yoourr boows aande wee taalke, oorr yoou leete uus bee, oorr yoou shoote aande wee rruush aat yoou!" There was only too much patience to be had with stupid people.
These people are clearly terrified and suspicious to the point of paranoia. Logic and reason aren't going to be very effective.
A new voice speaks up, sounding slightly more authoritative. "Look, in case you forgot, the whole place is overrun by lunatics and monsters that can look like anyone. None of us want to shoot strangers, but until you can prove you're safe, I can't let you through - especially with that bunch lurking in the wash rooms up north. You might be friends of theirs, for all I know!"
"Aande whaate iife wee doo noote waante too goo srrough? Uhn?"
"Wee wooke uube in a ceell wiith a shaabeshifterr nuurrse cuuting a maan intoo strriibs. Wee juust waante too leeave ziis maadhouse, soo yoou keebe hiding zeerre aande wee goo oon oourr waay..." Better to raise his hands and show some good faith. Then a step back towards the north. "Zaate faairr, uhn?"
Arborie side-eyes Tassa as she reverts to normalcy. From the snatches of conversation she's heard from outside, it sounds like there's some question about who's what traveling in much wider circles throughout wherever they are. She hopes Tassa will just not complicate things for a little while, but she's too afraid of her to say so.
Upon coming out of the room herself, Arberie starts by asking Mya and Baldrek what's going on. But when she sees the barricade, she turns her attention to it instead.
"Hey! It's really good to see you! We were getting worried since all we've seen so far are dead people, rats, and yeah, a shapeshifter of some kind that intended to kill us before we killed it. It had us locked up in cells and since we got out, we've only seen a couple of rooms."
"We haven't seen any washrooms, and I don't believe we've been farther north than where we are right now. What's up with with the 'bunch' up there you mentioned?"
Arborie sounds ridiculously happy to see people, and quickly falls into a conversational patter that doesn't acknowledge the barricade and crossbows. One might imagine she's asking for directions of someone on the street in some town, gregarious and cheerful in a way that tends to put strangers at ease. What she doesn't do is approach them closely, or try to convince them of anything.
She smiles the whole time, and anyone who gives her more than a passing glance will notice her two front upper incisors are slightly larger compared to her other teeth. She not really bucktoothed, but the bunny or squirrel-like effect reinforces the impression Arborie is very young. Further, there is a slight gap between those two upper incisors.
The men lower their crossbows a fraction as Baldrek backs away and Arberie makes an appearance. "There's some shapeshifting monsters up north that attacked us when we went searching for more supplies. Maybe you're with them; maybe you ain't. Not my problem either way as long as you don't cause trouble for us. Things are rough enough as it is, you know? If you find a way to leave, let us know."
Idiots who cannot listen to reason, it would be much easier if the shapeshifters got to th- Mya stops her thoughts in her tracks. What kind of resentment was this? This did not feel characteristic, but to an amnesiac, what does?
She watches as the group does the talking much better and still does not get allies or any information, just there are a few enemies ahead.
"North, then? she asks her allies as she starts moving in that direction already. "Lots of doors." she states, matter-of-factly "I suppose this was once a hospital. Or an inn?"
Arberie is unhappy with the degree of consideration they're receiving from the other side of the barricade. She lets them know it. She sounds hurt, upset, and incredulous.
"Now hang on, what you're saying here is 'nope, we won't help you and you can bugger off. But, while you're out there taking all the risks and getting by as best you can on your own, if you find out something that will help us, do be sure to come back by and do us a solid'. Do I have that right?"
"That's not even a little bit fair. The way I see it is you get as good as you give. So how about this? You amend you're attitude toward us, and we'll do you better than leaving an X chalked on the right door out of here for you to maybe find some day."
"So, can we be more reasonable with each other or not?"
"Look, lady - if that's even what you really are - I don't know you, and I'm not going to risk the safety of my people on an unknown. Not unless I can be certain you're not a threat. If it's true that you're no shapeshifters - or allied with them - give me solid proof, and we'll reconsider."
"Moorre chaances oof zaat zaan a whoorre hoouse." Baldrek replies to Mya. Was that an inn? That was hard to tell for while it seemed too big for that, he also could not remember s!*! about anything. A hospital sounded right, or a mad house.
"Coome giirrl." He turns away from those behind the barricade. "Feearr aalways brrings zee woorrst frroom beeoble. Zeey doo noote waante too rriiske anysing foorr uus. Faairr." He shrugs, glimpsing at the barricade. "Buute I'll rreememberr ziis choice, if zeey neede oourr heelp laaterr."
"We've already offered to bring you the body of the dead one we killed" replies Arberie, flustered by the man's denseness and circular reasoning. "What more could we offer as proof?"
"Four strangers offering one monster corpse? That math don't add up by any stretch of the imagination. Don't get me wrong, any dead shapeshifter's a good thing, but they're smart. Maybe smart enough to sacrifice one of them to let a bunch more into our camp. Like I said, a one-for-four trade is too risky for my liking."
Tassa is quiet at first, and the hairs on the back of her neck stand up at the talk of killing shapeshifters.
But I'm not that....right? Whatever they are.
But then, what am I? Did they do this to me? Why to me alone?
When it seems clear that these people aren't going to be useful allies, she sighs.
"North, then. Can you tell us what to expect behind each of these doors here, as best you know? That was maybe we'll live long enough to rescue your asses."
"Laundry, storage, and an office. There's also a door to the courtyard, but that's where the outside is."
Mya raises her eyebrows at the seemingly reticence to go outside. She felt like she blew her chances anyway to convince those stubborn people, so she asks anyway: "What's the problem with 'the outside'?"
"If you don't already know, you'll find out soon enough."
"Coomee... wee waastinge too muuch tiime wiith zeem." Baldrek calls as he reaches the closest door on the north corridor. Bunch of a~&*~%@s those survivors were. As the others draw close, he opens the door.
With a wary eye over her shoulder, and a spear in her hand, Tassa follows Baldrek.
Both this door - and the one beside it - open to a room that reeks of chlorine. Both rooms are heaped with fallen shelves and broken containers.
Tassa keeps watch while the rest of you search through the debris in these rooms. It takes five minutes or so, but you find a few things that have been overlooked.
Potential Loot
Chain
Hammer
Lantern
Manacles
Tarnished Old Silver Necklace
Winter Blanket x5
"I cannot afford to carry a lot of these, but I can help if we wanna take this. The blankets might be nice if it's cold. Lantern is useful too, though to be fair" Mya turns to Baldrek as she points to the chain and manacles "from what I've seen, you can use any of these as weapons."
"Brroobably trruue, zough I haave foounde enooughe weaabons alrready." And that was pretty true. A trident, a pair of nets, daggers, javelins and even a bolas. Short of starting a war, he was set up. Probably.
"Hoow aboout wee staash zeese heerre in caase wee neede zeem laaterr?" When he is about to turn and continue their exploration, he thinks again. "Eh, I'll taake zee iirrons." Manacles were fore sure useful.
"Fair enough." Mya turns to the two others. "I don't really need anything, feel free to take whatever. I'll remember the blankets here though, in case we need to sleep in this place. Next room, then?"
Several wide tables and gigantic washbasins fill a laundry equipped to service hundreds. The place looks as though it were repurposed as a failed surgery, though, with at least one table heaped with remains while corpses lie discarded in corners. A stained sheet hangs between two of the basins, dividing the room roughly in half. A lantern shines on the far side.
So that was the shapeshifter? Seemed very straightforward. Nodding to the others and gesturing for silence, he creeps forward.
Arberie is so furious with the barricade a*%+#@~ she finds it very difficult to let things lie and move on. But, she does manage. There's nothing in the first room they explore except the lantern, but it's being taken anyway.
At the next room, with the figure behind the curtain spotted, she suggests a simple plan to draw it out. She whispers to the others.
"I'll go in and see if I can draw it out. Once I'm in position, I'll make some noise to present myself as alone and helpless. When it comes out to investigate, the rest of you come in quick from here. We'll catch it between us. You'll know I'm in position when you hear me making noise. After that watch the figure. Give it time to come to me, but don't leave me hanging."
Arberie slips into the room, staying low so she can use the near table for cover, and creeps on over to shelter behind one of the wash bins. She pauses there to see if the figure shows any sign of noticing, but make no sound yet.
Mya nods, agreeing to the plan, crouching to take advantage of her small stature, trying to stay under the table nearest to the door.
As you quietly enter the room, there's a groan of pain from the body on the table nearest to the door. You've found another survivor!
Mya's head pops from under the table, trying to find the others' gaze. She points to the shapeshifter behind curtains, trying to signal she'd rather deal with it first.
I'll stay here to protect the other survivor. she thinks, a promise to herself.
Curiosity does get the better of her and she tries to look over the body. What does she see?
Arberie holds her position rather than going back to the table. Considering that her original plan has potentially been disrupted by a person on the table and her companions failure to stay quiet, things may have to be reversed. The figure behind the curtain may well be drawn to them instead.
She moves up to the next basin as she had initially planned, but stays down behind it to remain concealed. She might be the one who attacks from the rear instead. Arberie waits to see what happens.
Tassa moves in, spear in hand. She manages to maintain her normal form and tries her best to be quiet but as she nears the curtain the thing in her abdomen suddenly begins to rumble violently.
The survivor is a middle-aged woman of Ustalavic descent. She appears to be quite badly injured.
The doppelganger doesn't appear to notice as you creep closer.
Are we in Ustalav? This was the second person of Ustalavic descent they found. Mya keeps "hidden" under the table ready to haste whoever engages the shapeshifter.
Seeing that the doppleganger doesn't seem to be coming their way, Tassa holds up one hand, counting down three...two...one...
...And then pushes under the curtain, jumping up on the table, and strikes out with her spear.
Arberie stares, mouth agape, at Tassa's charge. She stays where she is for the moment.
Heck, that would do it. Subterfuge wasn't his style anyway. He thought, at least, because of the memory gab that could mean s%&&. He rushes after Tassa, grabbing the curtain as he goes and stopping behind the doppelganger.
Tassa and Baldrek charge through the curtain to find ... an empty room. You don't even see the doppelganger - although the image remains when you glance back at the other side of the curtain. At the same time, from her hiding place, Arberie sees the survivor on the table sit up and smile with a mouth that's suddenly much too large and full of sharp teeth. "A bleachling? You'll make an excellent specimen."
Mya sees this as well. Honestly, the transformation is quite fascinating. A turn of events that's this interesting must certainly be harmless, right?
Surprise Round Completed
Mya stares immobile, fascinated at the transformation. Such marvelous shapeshifting, artistic teeth. Did they even say something? Mya is filled with the need to pick up her chronicler's kit and write all about this immediately, but cannot even bring herself to take her eyes off the creature.
Arberie catches on that they've been had. She may still have an advantage though. She creeps up behind the shape-changer on the table while it's focused on Mya, carefully and quietly slipping her rapier out of its scabbard. When she's close enough she thrusts it toward the thing's back, hoping its kidneys are in roughly the same place as usual.