Age of Ashes (Team Alseta)

Game Master Delta Arena

"Oh - that was Draconic?" Netkin perks up a little. "How did you learn it? It's never come up in my books..." He cuts himself mid-sentence, and goes white as a sheet. "Erm... Anyone can hear that too? Are those... survivors? Or maybe... enemies?"

"Oh - that was Draconic?" Netkin perks up a little. "How did you learn it? It's never come up in my books..."

"A long life garners many skills," the elf replies enigmatically.

With casual indifference, Ellaeaanda remarks offhandedly to the others. “Sound has both meaning and cause. Decorum demands that we greet our hosts within the fort.”

She herself ignores the noises for now, and instead focuses on searching the southern rooms, investigating the drawers and cabinets and chests for any clues--as well as any traps.
Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21

Cerrus silently gestures to the group, indicating that they are not alone in the room. He then approaches the middle of the room and calls out, “We are here to help. We have been sent by Breachill to make contact with the goblins that live here. Who else is in this room?”

Somthing stirs as Cerrus calls out, and you hear a very soft sound of paws and rubbing leather coming from inside the fortress.

Ardoinel's Initiative: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21
Cerrus's Initiative: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8
Ellaeaanda's Initiative: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (14) + 8 = 22
Netkin's Initiative: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14
Resa's Initiative: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10
Zeldone's Initiative: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27

Ellaeaanda from the decor and behaviour you know that this is not Goblin made. You don't see any traps or clues in the rooms, but you do see potential spoils in each of them. I'll save that result for after the combat.

Out of one side of the fortress, from behind one of the bunkbeds a humanoid creature covered in fur rushes at Cerrus and grabs him with her arms, punching him in the process.

"I'm the only one here. This is my fortress! Mine!" She says. ALthough it is hard to tell whether she is referring to the citadel or to the bunkbeds she's pilled up.

Cerrus, you are now Restrained

Action Breakdown: Hide* to become Hidden, Sneak* to become Undetected, and Bushwack*

"Who are you?!" Ardoinel barks. "Are you one of the Bumblebrashers?"

I would like to flank behind, I have the movement, but if others wish to get around the creature, I'll move to a side. I also do not know if the bunkbeds count as extra movement or not. Just let me know.

Resa was to busy blinking as someone else understood what she was saying to properly respond, causing her to lag a bit before responding " It was just what my mas... what my old boss used to speak to some of his... people he worked with. They were not pleasant people. I hadn't heard anyone else speak it since then." While her voice was low, it was enough to clearly keep her from seeing anything that would harm the group, because she had opened the door fine, but failed to scout any dangers out.

She would move towards the creature, and while it could talk clearly, she was not taking the chance of it harming Cerrus. She would take her starknife and stick it into the back of the creature.

To hit: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27
damage if hit: 1d4 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

"I am no Bumblebrasher. I am Yoletcha and I will defend this fort."

Resa moves behind the bugbear and strikes her with her starknife, creating a gashing wound.

I have marked with an orange outline which squares count as difficult terrain. If that works for everyone, I'll make that the default way to mark difficult terrain.

Hearing the commotion, Ellaeaanda quickly steps back into the main room and assesses the scene. “Resa!” she calls out, in a surprisingly sharp voice. “This is not your enemy.” Turning to Yoletcha, she explains “The fort is yours. Parley is all we seek.” With a slow, deliberate motion she draws her longbow, then makes a conspicuous show of dropping it to the ground and holding up her palms, unarmed.

Step*, Interact* (draw longbow), Drop longbow (free), Recall Knowledge*

Netkin cries out in surprise when the creature suddenly jumps out of nowhere to attack Cerrus. He retreats in one of the corners of the room, his tanglefoot bag still in hand.

"Wait - the fort is hers? This is her fort? Then we don't have to fight ma'am - miss? Yoletcha. Please," he pleads.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

Ellaeaanda You know that bugbears are territorial hunters. If Yoletcha sees this place as her fortress, it probably means she has made the bunkbeds into her lair, and it is protecting the fruits of her hunt. Speaking to her in Goblin is somewhat helpful but she is unlikely to let her guard down as long as she thinks you are there to steal the game she's saved for later.

On a Meta level, she is Hostile to anyone who enters this room, regardless of who they are.

"I have nothing to negotiate with you! Leave me be if you are not looking for a fight!" She says before growling at Netkin.

Netkin, you should still have one action.

"We apologize then, Yolechta." Ardoinel says, bowing a little. "We were unaware you were here. Indeed, your readiness to defend your home and property is admirable in the eyes of Torag! We will leave you be, but some more information about what's been happening here recently would convince us to leave more quickly."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17

She looks downright confused. "What's been happening here? I've no clue what you are talking about. Now leave and I'll let your friend go as well."

I'm going to have to learn to speak that well. Seeing that things are calming down, Zeldones speaks to the bugbear, holding up his empty hands in a conciliatory gesture.

She looks at Zeldones, then backwards, to peek at her wound.

"She just wants to be left alone. Let's go." Zeldones backs carefully out of the room.

Ardoinel sighs.

"Very well, we leave in peace."

He begins making his way to the other entrance of the chamber.

Cerrus grimaces as the bugbear punches and grabs him. He attempts to react quickly enough to evade the creature's grasp, but he is too slow.

"We don't mean you anymore, Yoletcha. We will leave you alone if you let me go. And, apologizes for the gash on your arm. My friend was only trying to make you let me go."

Diplomacy check: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15

Recall Knowledge on the creature; Diplomacy check

"If you want, I can patch that up for you," Netkin offers in a trembling voice. When he gets a glare in response, he hurriedly adds "Nevermind!" with fake cheer, and hurries out of the room.

Focused on the bugbear, Zeldones replies absently, "I offered, but she wasn't interested."

"I shall let go this time, but you should not grab friends. That's very rude."

Resa let's go of the attack, but she still seems on guard, given that the bugbear came from nowhere and they all had missed her presence. What else had they missed? She seems to worry with some of her earrings as she nervously looks around before telling her new friends "I will log look ahead, but I will check everything over first before we confirm we can move in."

Resa will take her time checking the doors and other features before moving forward.

Ardoinel, where are you headed when you say the other entrance of the chamber? Could you mark it on the map or move your character?

Cerrus Bugbears are known for being cruel and sneaky. They specialize in attacking from the shadows. They will usually look for lone victims or a small group of people to prey on. As such, Yoletcha is probably hesitant due to your lack of fear.

You also know that Bugbears are strong and agile.

Yoletcha growls at Netkin but does let go of Cerrus. She has
moved to Unfriendly for the time being.

Resa All the doors in this room are unlocked and free of traps.

As for Ellaeaanda's finds, there is a lesser tanglefoot bag and a lesser flask of bottled lightning in the western room W on the map , two minor healing potions in the central room C on the map and a Wolf fang talisman in the eastern room E on the map . But how long would it take for Yoletcha to lose her patience? Resa, you have time to safely take the contents of one room, and Ellaeaanda (as determined by eveyone else) has the time to take the contents of a second room.

I believe I would check C since Ellaeaanda would get either one of the others.

Ardoinel, where are you headed when you say the other entrance of the chamber? Could you mark it on the map or move your character?

Where ARE we on the map? I don't see character tokens on it?

Ardoinel, we are pretty far to the south on slide #3. You probably need to scroll down to see us.

When Cerrus feels Yoletcha loosen their grip, he steps back slightly but still within reach of the bugbear, keeping his arms raised to keep everyone calm. "As I said before, we didn't come here to hurt you nor do we aim to take anything from you. We are only here to make sure the goblin tribe, the Bumblebrashers, are safe. Do you know where we might find one of them?

Cerrus's third action is to loose himself of Yoletcha's grip and move away slightly, but technically in the same square.

Resa You quickly grab the two minor healing potions from the central room.

I have rotated the map to have everything fit the slide, let me know if that makes it easier for you to see the characters.

"I know nothin' of no Bumblebrashers. I stick to my fort. And I stay away from all the noise others make." She makes a gesture with her head pointing towards the north, towards the center of the Citadel.

Can I see the back door? Like from the room C? Then seem sorta hidden at first look, and I think Resa would alert the group to them.

Since no one seems to be in a hurry to leave the room, Netkin sticks his head in the doorway to shoot a worried glance at his teammates... But when he overhears Resa's question and Yoletcha's answer, he frowns.

"Others...? What 'others'? Do they... bother you?"

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18

"Thank you for the information. Is it okay if my friends and I walk around your fort to another part of this building? We promise not to disturb your fort."

Oh, that's much better! Thank you. :)

Ardoinel moves past Yolechta's "bed-fort" to the hall bending off it to the door in the curved wall. He first looks around to make sure there isn't any danger from the door itself.

Perception: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12

Yes, you can see all doors in the room.

***

"I don't know the others. I just hear the others. The crashing, the stomping, the screaming. So loud recently."

She eyes Cerrus with suspicion. "Just make it quick, and don't come back."

***

The door in the curved wall looks save.

***
Ellaeaanda quickly jumps in and out of the southwestern bedroom to grab the lesser glue bomb (tanglefoot bag) and the lesser flask of bottled lightning.

Ardoinel opens the door and looks into the room, his eyes well adjusted to darkness.

Dark AND low-light vision, baybee!

Cerrus cautiously walks past Yolechta. "Thank you for your understanding, and apologizes again that we got off on the wrong foot." He walk to the north and is directly behind Ardoinel as he opens the door.

Netkin hurries back to his spot - safely standing behind Cerrus.

His eyes light up as he sees what Elleaanda has managed to grab in an adjacent door. "Oooh - can I keep that?! I'll take good care of them, I promise..."

She frowns at Cerrus as he goes by. "Don't come back. I warn you."

You all get 60xp for the encounter with Yoletcha.

***

Ellaeaanda hands over the two items to Netkin, seeing in him the experience he has with them.

***

The door leads to a room filled with many rows of stadium-style benches. There is a wide dais standing to the north end of the room. Garbage clutters the floor.

A small corridor near the dais leads to the west, and an iron gate provides a view into a central courtyard to the north.

Ardoinel begins looking around. Was this a chapel? An auditorium? A gallery?

Perception: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14 Checking for traps

"Is this... some kind of church? Are those pews? I wonder what it looked like, before..." Netkin clears his throat. "... Stuff happened."

Cerrus follows Ardoinel into the room and searches the room for anything interesting. "Given the original inhabitants were a Hellknight Order, Netkin's guess is likely accurate. Probably some sort of worship or dedication room."

"Oh, you're right! This could date back to the Hellknights! I've read a bit about the Hellknights. Not the friendliest of bunch, are they?"

At least Netkin seems to have momentarily overcome his anxiety while he's babbling and looking around.

Lore (Hellknights): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14

Ardoinel it's hard to tell from what remains, but it is certainly set up for public speaking.

Netkin From what you can see, the room is not trapped, the doors from the corridor to the west are open and the iron gate to the noth is unlocked.

Cerrus It is a little difficult for you to tell due to the dim-light, but you find a cloth insignia with the sunburst made of nails clearly depicted on it. Then you find another, and another, and another. All in all you find a dozen or so such insignias laying on the floor between the garbage.

Assuming you show the insignias to Netkin Netkin recognizes these insignias as temporary order badges that are given as tokens to Hellknight recruits, the so called Armingers.

Resa will wander over to the door in front of her, and check it for any traps or dangers, along with seeing if anything was dangerous on the other side.

I think this are the doors that are not open, if they are I would go to the next set of doors.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23
Thievery: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17

"Netkin, you are right. Lots of Hellknights insignias lay in this look. Look at them all." Cerrus shows Netkin all the Hellknight cloth insignias that he found. "Does it seem strange to you that these were left behind?"

After consulting with Netkin about the Hellknight insignias, Cerrus turns to the rest of the group. "Where to next? I'm interested in what other information we will find here."

"It is strange, yes," Ardoinel agrees. "What IS the history of this place anyway? Hellknights aren't known for abandoning places they've become entrenched in. They rival my dwarven kin in terms of stubbornness."

"Netkin, you are right. Lots of Hellknights insignias lay in this look. Look at them all. Does it seem strange to you that these were left behind?"

"Oh - indeed, indeed! Those were badges for the new recruits, if I remember correctly." Netkin filps over one of the insignias, and nods."Yes, see? No order emblem, or any sign of a rank. Mmmmm. Perhaps they were not planning on recruiting anyone in the foreseeable future?"

"What IS the history of this place anyway? Hellknights aren't known for abandoning places they've become entrenched in."

"Good question! That's a tough one. A real tough one. Er. I don't think anyone really knows! I certainly can't remember a time I've seen it bustling with activity. I've asked my grandma a couple of times, but..." He clears his throat. "Well, she thinks they must have had their reasons."

"But the Orders are quite mysterious in themselves, aren't they? And there's about no way to know what commands are given from the top, so... Maybe they just relocated?"
 
Lore (Hellknights): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24 If he can remember anything about why the citadel was abandoned

Zeldones makes a circuit of the room, looking for anything else of interest. "They must have left long enough ago to give the Bumblebrashers time to move in, right? I can't see Hellknights coexisting with goblins. On the other hand, why haven't the goblins salvaged what they can from here?" He shrugs. "It's just odd, is all."

Resa There is not much through the corridor you are looking through, and the room beyond looks just as empty. The next set of doors, both to the east and to the west, lead to corridors surrounding what looks like a central courtyard past the iron gates. None of them are trapped, but you can tell from the scratch marks on the iron gates that they have been recently picked. Coming from the direction of the courtyard you can also hear some curious sounds. There are barking growls, claws scraping stone, and the voices of goblins and a halfing yelling at each other.

***

Cerrus you know that Hellknights value their insignias greatly, as they see them as sacred symbols of the order. They were treated similarly to how other military groups treat their banners, they look after their insignias as they show their pride and their care for the other, and they would try to protect the insignias as much as they could.

***

Netkin you don’t remember any great tragedy or cataclismic event bringing down Citadel Altaerein. From what you can remember the Order of the Nail built a larger fortress somewhere in northwest Varisia. Said fortress had better funding, so the Order moved to Varisia. They used to keep a contingent behind to guard the premisses but, as their missions in Varisia demanded more of their attention, they decided Citadel Altaerein was not worth the effort and abandoned it completely. That was nearly a decade ago, and it has fallen into disrepair since then.

Resa thinks for a moment, then calls back to her companions, not overly loud, but she was straining to hear what the halfing and goblins where saying. That was the people they did seek to find wasn't it?

" Friends! Friends I think I found our goblins! come this way quickly!"

"Now that I think of it, I do remember reading something about the Order of the Nail moving to a bigger fortress in Varisia-" Netkin abruptly cuts himself off when Resa whisper-shouts for the party.

"Oh dear. Let's hope they're not unfriendly," he moves to the rogue's side nervously.

Ardoinel's eyes light up when Resa suggests she might have found the Bumblebrashers. He begins making his way over to her as quickly as he can.

"Well, the presence of a band of heavily-armed strangers will at least make them friendly enough to not try anything too rash."

"We can tell them Warbal sent us, and ask to speak with Chief Helba. I can speak their language, which might help."