As the story is told, San starts to sympathize with Vanda's situation. It's apparent she is also a victim in this plot. Whoever this Azomi is... "Wait, you said a creature... what is this Azomi person if he can be referred to as a creature? And what would he have done with Ordwi?" San thinks for a moment before deciding to tell their story to try to get Vanda to help. "Look, we told you our story on the docks when we first got here. We're escorting Ordwi after she was attacked on that gods forsaken island off the coast of Sandpoint. We volunteered to help when one of her original bodyguards washed up on the shore with this disease." With the mention of the disease, he shows the bite mark on his leg and the odd bruising around it. "We seem to be in the business of helping people we come across and you seem to be in need. It's terrible the organization you followed has been upturned and gutted. And, it seems your Lord Ragnulf has been influenced to betray you, hopefully this wasn't voluntary... If you can help guide us through Stonehome, we'll do our best to cut out this corruption." He knows he volunteering the others to help but it looks like their original goal aligns with making Stonehome right anyway.
Autumn watches Vanda as intently as she listens to her tale. When the Gorumite talks about the sick townspeople disappearing, she gently places a hand on Morga’s shoulder. “Are there any passages out of Stonehome besides the front door?” she asks, wondering how the villagers and Ordwi could vanish without a trace.
The sorceress shifts uncomfortably. How on Golarion did she become so deeply involved in this mess? Damn you Titus. But it’s too late to extricate herself now. With a sinking feeling, she realizes she’ll need to see this through to the end, with hopefully something to show for it. Her mind starts worrying about practicalities, like whether or not they can find any more allies in this place.
“Are there any of the original acolytes left that you trust? Brother Blanton?” she asks hopefully. “And where are Lord Ragnulf, Meitremar, and this Azomi now?” Autumn hesitates, falling silent for a long moment. “Is there any hope left for Lord Ragnulf? Must he die, to save what’s left of Stonehome?”
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"Do you know what happened to Hilga Fistcrusher? My great-aunt...?" Morga asks, her stomach forming a pit around the words "Their illnesses would get worse, and then they would disappear." She feels more strongly about this than any responsibility she's ever had. It's not about doing her duty anymore; it's about justice and closure for their own sake.
"The townsfolk seem to have some sort of... either amnesia or ultimate trust in Stonehome. They don't seem concerned at all about the missing, and many have forgotten those who've entered here for healing. Is that part of all this, too?"
To San she answers "I don't know quite what Azomi is. It's certainly not human, with that long tongue and the eyes glowing in that cowl. It started as a figure we would see in the halls from a distance at night, one that some thought was a ghost. After Meitremar came, that was when it stopped hiding." She grinds her teeth for a moment "If I'd been bold enough to raise my blade against it earlier maybe this wouldn't have happened. But even Lord Ragnulf eventually said we were not to bother it."
For the rest of San's offering she hesitates only a short while before nodding "It is well past time that someone stood up to what is happening here. I regret that wasn't myself, but if I can make up for it by guiding you - or better yet joining you - then perhaps Gorum will see some value in me yet."
When she sees the bite wound on San's leg Vanda shakes her head "Then make the best use of your time you can. Everyone who fell ill with that sickness vanished eventually." To Morga she adds "Hilga was sick as the others were. It was even worse for her, maybe due to her age. She was among the first that vanished." She shakes her head "I'm sorry. As for the town, Ragnulf insisted we would not allow them to panic. So we have not said anything. Somehow... that seemed very reasonable before."
At Autumn's questions she answers "The younger acolytes used to scale the cliffs as part of their training. But if you're talking ordinary entrances, not that I know of." Then to Autumn's second line of inquiry she responds "There were a few. Most fell ill. Perhaps the only one left that might be trustworthy is Trygve. He... when we last talked it was heated. But you may be able to convince him to trust you."
"Today I've seen nothing other than the other acolytes here. I haven't seen Lord Ragnulf for several days, though that is not unusual for him. Meitremar left us over a week ago. As for Azomi, that creature wanders Stonehome, though with the way you stirred things up here, I don't know where it might have skulked off to." She falls silent at the mention of Lord Ragnulf "I have known Lord Ragnulf my entire life. A stout defender of Gorum and someone I trusted. I can only hope that whatever madness has seized him can be reversed. If he dies... then what hope is there for Stonehome, or for Iron Harbor?" She grimaces.
Morga and Autumn don't sense any intentional deception in Vanda's story, but they do notice that her recollections seem a little muddled.
San considers the story Vanda has told and the situation as it's been laid out. "I think our next move is to find Trygve. Gather whatever allies we can before we find Azomi or Lord Ragnulf. If these remaining acolytes aren't really your compatriots, we should have no hang-ups overcoming them. As for this disease, I've had it a few days now and it seems to have not gotten worse. Perhaps I'm luckier than most. I'm confident I have time enough for this at least." He retrieves the greatsword from where Autumn confiscated it. Looking to make sure there is agreement with his companions, he presents the hilt to Vanda as a token of trust. "I think you'll be needing this."
Remembering the wounds suffered he asks, "Is there an infirmary or anything like that here? We've taken some wounds and could use some resources to recover."
The pit in Morga's stomach drops further as she hears of her great-aunt's fate, though there's still the faintest glimmer of hope. Disappeared is not dead, though with the cultists who knows if the alternative is even worse? Steady. What's the next step? Her thoughts are muddled, so maybe some clarity will help.
"You say you don't know of any connection to Rusthenge. We've been there. There's a cult that worships some being called Xar-Azmak. They go on and on about rust and decay. I'm sure you've noticed how rusty the blades of those who've succumbed are. There's bound to be a connection. ... I agree that we should talk to Trygve, but we've got to hurry. We overheard the ones who were searching for us earlier talking about going to convince him, and I don't know how far they'll go to do that."
Autumn nods in agreement with San, though she dismisses the dwarf’s urgency. “It’s been over an hour since they said that—plenty of time to have talked to Trygve already. And it sounds like they’ve been trying to convince him for some time, without any success. We’re better off thinking this through carefully, and, if we can, finding a safe place to rest and heal for an hour or so.” She looks at Vanda and glances at her multiple burns. “You could so use some healing yourself.”
The sorceress exchanges a look with Vildran. “Sorry about that,” she apologizes to the Gorumite, “but it seemed like everyone here was corrupted, and we couldn’t take any chances. Speaking of which …” She furrows her brow, trying to weigh the risks of their endeavor. “How many other acolytes are here today? Do new ones show up often?” She wonders if it might be worthwhile disguising herself as a new acolyte.
“And we’ll need to know more about Trygve—what can you tell us about him?” After all, it’s harder to con someone if you know nothing about them. “What might be the best way to convince him? Does he respond better to reason or emotion?” Autumn eyes the priestess. “And why was your last conversation so heated? What did you talk about?”
Vildran frowns, a little disappointed that Vanda is not aware of a connection. He suspects the leadership of Stonehome has been keeping quite a bit from her.
She's been asked enough questions for now so he awaits the answers to not overwhelm her.
After a bit of hesitation, Vanda grasps her greatsword once more. After a moment to look at it, she answers San "We have a clinic on the ground floor. It's where the first people who fell sick were held. We went through most of our supplies already, but there may be some reserves. For all of us."
The description of the cult at Rusthenge has Vanda scowling "Then they're at fault for this illness? How have we heard none of this until now, if such a group was operating so close by?"
Vanda shakes her head at Autumns comments "I earned your ire rather than your mercy with my actions. More than earned." Then adds with a frown "Between those who fell ill and vanished, those who fell in battle, and those you already slew, there are only six of us left. Myself, Trygve, and four others. None of those four I trust. No newcomers, ever since we locked down Stonehome."
"As for Trygve, he's been here since long before I entered into Gorum's service. A smith. He made this -" She places a hand on the flat of her greatsword "-and many of the other weapons we use. Even so, I don't know him very well. He's not a man of many words. We last spoke the day that the sick acolytes attacked those of us still loyal to Lord Ragnulf. Trygve, he didn't take sides. I was very aggressive in my rebuke to him. He cursed me as a fool..." She grimaces. "In my defense at the time it felt like he was betraying us. Lord Ragnulf said he would not hold Trygve's actions against him, and that was that."
When she hears that, not surprisingly, most of the clinic’s supplies have been used up, Autumn muses “I wonder if we might find something useful in people’s personal belongings? Most will hang onto a little something special for themselves.” She searches the footlockers and cabinets in the barracks for healing potions or anything else that might be of use.
While she searches the room, she thinks to herself. Four others. With one at the gate, that’d leave three inside. And that Azomi thing. She scowls, still not liking the odds. “When did you lock down Stonehome?” It must have been very recently, since Ordwi was allowed to enter. She wonders if there’s a connection with their foray at Rusthenge.
After learning what there is to tell about Trygve, Autumn nods, a little more optimistic now. “At least he won’t attack us, if he didn’t take sides then. It sounds like he’s in the smithy? Is that on the first floor?”
While they're talking, Morga begins binding the deep cut on Autumn's arm.
As she works, she muses: "I wonder if there's a connection between Azomi and that cythnigot." She realizes it hasn't been fully described to Vanda yet, so she explains: "Apparently it's a fungus-thing that takes over bodies and spreads this disease with its bites, but surely the townsfolk would've mentioned something like that if they saw it. The thing's an absolute horror."
Once she's finished with Autumn's wounds, she pulls out a jar of salve and approaches Vanda. "For your burns, if you're willing."
Well, at least I can heal *some* people. Just not San and me. She muses ruefully, before stopping herself with a shake of her head. No time for self pity. Focus on the solution, not the problem! Okay... Okay... "Okay. I think talking to Trygve takes precedence over the probably-depleted clinic. I'm ready to go. Standing around talking will only do so much."
Vanda submits to Morga's treatment as she answers the few remaining questions coming in. "Lord Ragnulf asked the gates to be kept closed and people kept out a few days ago. He made an exception for your priestess..." She trails off, looking at that situation with fresh eyes, before answering the next question "Trygve all but lives in the smithy. We will find it downstairs, though we'll likely find the other acolytes as well."
Morga's explanation of the cythnigot gets a grimace from Vanda "A horror. Not a creature I've heard of before, but it would not surprise me if two monsters are related given the disease."
Once the treatment is done, Vanda gives Morga a gruff nod and hefts up her greatsword. Meanwhile, Autumn checks the various lockers around the room. Her intuition proves sharp, as in addition to several sets of clothing she finds 87 silver pieces, an intricately carved wolf fang on a leather cord, and two scrolls that Morga's able to identify as scrolls of restoration and remove disease.
You poke your heads through the door to the southwest and find a small but mostly bare chamber designed to give archers a good view down into the courtyard. A single trapdoor in the floor indicates that you could descend to the ground floor this way.
Vildran notes that perhaps Morga can employ the remove disease scroll to improve San's condition.
Is there some way to get Trygve to leave the smithy and separate from the other acolytes?
With arrows... Thinking of the obvious solution, San replies, "We may have to fight our way through them. If they are like these two, it shouldn't be a problem. Hopefully they didn't do anything drastic to him now that we're interfering in whatever is going on here. We can save the scroll for when things are a bit more drastic. My condition with this disease is stable at the moment."
Hiding a glimmer of greed behind her lashes, Autumn pockets all the silver—for safekeeping, of course—but shares the scrolls and the wolf fang for the others—the fang seems important somehow, even if she has no idea why. “Magic?” she inquires, handing the fang over to the elf.
She quietly steps into the southwest chamber to cautiously peek through an arrowslit, trying to see if any Gorumites are stationed in the courtyard, before returning to the discussion in the barracks.
“Where downstairs is the smithy? I don’t suppose it’s under the trapdoor?” The sorceress thinks for several moments. “Vanda, you walk ahead of us. We’ll stay back a room or two and keep in contact through a messaging spell—you can whisper back if it’s safe for us, or if you see the other acolytes … or Azomi.” She hesitates, then adds “I think we should take the long way around to the stairs,” she makes a looping gesture with her finger, south to west to north, “just to make sure Azomi isn’t prowling around up here. I’d rather not have him sneaking up on us from behind.”
Morga's eyes go wide as she identifies the scrolls. "Why didn't they use this on the sick people?!" She fumes for a moment before forcing herself to think practically. After several calming breaths, she asks Autumn and Vanda: "Do you mind if I carry these? I agree with San. We've lingered long enough already, and our conditions are stable enough for now. I'll use it on him tonight." And maybe I'll have time to treat myself this time, too.
She nods at Autumn's proposal. It grates on her to have to move so slowly, but considering how deadly the last couple of days have been, she accepts the wisdom of trying to avoid a monster that could likely spell their end. "Lead the way."
Vildran accepts the wolf fang and looks at it curiously.
I would guess a druids implement, but...
He only gives himself a moment to scan it before nodding at Autumns plan and following behind.
Vanda shrugs to Vildran's question about getting Trygve away from other acolytes, and agrees to Autumn's suggestion "It seems a safe plan, but I'm no spinner of half-truths. If I come across the other acolytes and they ask about the action upstairs, you will need to be prompt." before answering "The smithy is in the western side of the building, but not far, however we descend."
Vildran does indeed detect a magical aura associated with the fang talisman. He feels he could inspect it more carefully with some time and determine what its properties could be. Meanwhile the rest of you begin a sweep of the rest of the second floor.
A peek down into the courtyard finds it empty for now. You proceed into the southernmost room. This room features two ballistae, although each siege engine is all but useless, rust having eaten through all of its metal fittings. A large rusty iron grate with a view of a wide hallway below fills a ten-foot-square section of floor, while weapon racks on the wall hold several ordinary javelins and light hammers . The "arrow slits" in the southern wall here are significantly larger to allow the ballistas to be used effectively.
Heading back north-east from there you enter a secondary barracks, this one much less presentable. Four sets of triple bunk beds mark this room as a barracks, but they’ve been heavily damaged, with mattress feathers tossed everywhere. Footlockers sit on the floor between the beds, bashed or broken open. When Vanda sees this, she murmurs "When did this happen? Why?"
While she's occupied with the junior barracks, you also check the room to the south-east, finding another guard lookout. This one has a longbow leaning against the wall and a quiver of arrows. Of note, two arrows look unusual and quite fine - one with a silver fletching and the other with an oddly flared and branched arrow head.
------
San takes particular interest in the arrows, collecting them for future study. He does take a few of the regular arrows to replace the couple he used when fighting the acolytes that were with Vanda. Returning to the bunk room, "Had you not been here in a while? I know they said the other room was the senior barracks. It makes sense you wouldn't have need to come over here... unless it was for inspections I guess? These foreign intruders don't have much respect for the place."
After giving the scrolls to Morga, Autumn pauses before the large rusty grate in the floor and peers down into the hallway below. She remembers the grate in the ceiling when they first entered—she will never forget the image of San’s body impaled on several iron spikes—and tries to see if the trap has been reset.
Inside the secondary barracks, the sorceress gives Vanda a quizzical look. “When was the last time you were here?” She begins searching the ruined barracks herself, more out of due diligence rather than any actual hope of finding whatever it is that prompted such a ransacking. She also looks for any tell-tale signs that might indicate whether the destruction was caused by man—or by beast. “Clearly someone was looking for something. But what? And why?”
Taking a moment to assess before wading in, Morga wonders aloud: "Are there specific ones that are more damaged than others?"
Vildran examines the ballista with great interest. He lines up their aim with the enlarged slits to see where they might be pointed.
Finally he catches up to the others in the disheveled barracks. Frowning at the mess he moves on to peek in the nook just through the door to the North.
Autumn peers down the grating and sees that indeed the woven reed mat has been replaced and the trap reset. The edges are plenty blood stained, though it looks like they flipped it over.
In the junior barracks Autumn notices claw marks on several articles of furniture, while others seem to have been torn apart. The scene has the look of a rampage rather than a looting. Whatever did this damage possessed some bestial traits and considerable strength. As for any items left behind, neither Morga nor Autumn find anything of note, just some torn up articles of clothing and the remains of some books. It seems if anything of value was stored here it was taken away. Morga doesn't notice anything in the room that appears to have had been a particular target of ire either.
Back in the ballista room, Vildran can see that they would have been aimed at the gate, likely to catch the first people to breach the outer wall. As is though, the rusty remains of these siege engines mean that it's hard to tell whether these defenses were truly designed to be effective or if they were more for show. Moving through the destroyed barracks Vildran enters the small wash room in the north-east corner. It looks like it hasn't been used very recently. He doesn't find anything else of note.
"Hmmm, maybe it was that Azomi seeing whatever plans it had being threatened by our activities at Rusthenge and taking out some frustration. Unless there's anything else to prepare up here, we should move on before we lose our chance to sway Trygve to our side. Vanda, do you know of any other traps besides the spears in the entryway? The protections here are very effective... I'd like to avoid falling prey to something like that again." San shudders at the fleeting memory of his experience with the spears.
"Yeah, this is a distraction." Morga agrees with San, ready to move on but awaiting Vanda's input on the traps. Her healing spells are almost depleted, and she'd rather not deal with anything like that entryway trap again.
After examining the wreckage in the room, Autumn corrects herself. “Just some rampage, not a search.” She points out the claw marks. “Though I’m not sure if that’s better or worse. Azomi, presumably.” The sheer strength and fury behind the destruction is not reassuring.
She nods in agreement with San and Morga. “Vanda, if you would be so kind as to lead the way downstairs as we discussed earlier?”
Vanda shakes her head "No other defenses of the sort in the entryway. Even those were supposed to be only for true emergencies... if this place were to be overrun and we needed to hole up within the inner keep. I can't believe they were actually put to use."
With Vanda in the lead, you descend down the main stairs in the rear of the building and enter a long hall with doors branching off either side. Vanda gestures northward and lowers her voice "Storage and what little remains of our armory. We have two ways to reach the Smithy from here. The grand hall is the most direct-" She points to the middle door heading southward. "-but we could also go through the kitchens." She points to the furthest door to the left. "Either could have the other acolytes."
Vildran joins them in the junior barracks, beholding the results of some chaos.
If this was Azomi... does he have another, more brutal form? The one you described Vanda does not sound like the type to do this. He asks out loud, not really expecting a conclusive answer.
Suffice it to say, we should expect anything with this individual.
Hearing the others' suggestions he nods in agreement.
On to Trygve then...
--------------------
After they descend further into the keep, Vanda offers their options for proceeding.
If it's not currently a meal time, perhaps the kitchens would be best. he suggests, looking to the others for input.
Not wanting to be caught in a large, exposed space like the grand hall, Autumn nods in agreement with Vildran. “Let’s try the kitchens,” she whispers quietly through her messaging spell.
Morga nods and focuses on keeping her shield from clanking against her armor as she walks.
A large forge and anvil mark this room as the keep's smithy. Unlike many of the other spaces you've seen, this room is neat and orderly, and with only a few hints of rust. Several weapons line the walls and fill a nearby weapon rack. Against the northern wall, a cot and pile of dirty but neatly folded clothes mark makeshift quarters. Across the other side of the anvil stands an older man with long, curly brown hair and a deeply lined face. He seems to have heard your approach because he holds a hammer at the ready. He grimaces and utters "Vanda." in a tone that makes it sound like a curse.
For her part Vanda just says "Trygve, I've brought some people..." then looks to you all for help.
Vildran nervously clears his throat before introducing himself.
Hello. I'm Vildran. These are my companions in travel, San, Morga, and Autumn.
He gestures towards each in turn. His antennae lay back on his head, flat, in an attempt to not draw Trygve's attention.
We came to investigate spreading sickness, and loved ones who hadn't been heard from in some time. So far we've found more than we bargained for, but still not the answer to our initial questions.
Notcing Trygve's hammer, he exhales and pauses to look around the room, taking it in for a few moments before continuing.
Perhaps it would be prudent to deflate any anxiety or urgency in the room.
So... you're the one who makes the equipment that they like to let rust. Of course the acolytes are nothing compared to the cythnigot. Abject horror, that thing. Anyway, Lord Ragnulf, your boss. We think he's up to no good, collecting people who are mysteriously sick. Then they disappear into the bowels of this place. What do you know of it? And what of this shady character he's been consorting with... Azomi? Do they ever haunt your smithy?
He looks to Autumn for additional "smoothing over" the situation.
Autumn exhales a sigh of relief when the kitchen is as empty as they had hoped. She moves slowly and quietly, safely near the rear, but when she hears the smith’s name—and the tone of conversation—she quickly squeezes forward into the room to Vanda’s rescue.
“I believe Vanda wishes to apologize for your last meeting,” the sorceress begins smoothly with a long, meaningful look at the woman, then focuses her entire attention upon Trygve as she continues in a quiet, calming voice, with both hands held up in a sign of peace. “We’re friends of Ordwi, who came at Brother Blanton’s urgent request. We want to help.”
“We have an idea where the disease comes from—there’s a nest of fanatics at Rusthenge, with a cythnigot—a horrid creature that bit San and Morga, infecting them both with the disease.” She turns to introduce the archer and cleric. “We want to find Ordwi and all the other sick people who have gone missing. And we know Lord Ragnulf can’t be in his right mind—we’re sure Azomi and Meitremar must be responsible, somehow. But we need your help. If not your hammer against this creature Azomi, then at least any information you might have about what’s happened here.”
Autumn lays out the unvarnished truth, not bothering with even the slightest deception—if she’s read the Gorumites correctly, they prefer plain talk over pretty words. She can only hope she’s right.
San stands by as the others present their situation. After their opening remarks are made, he adds, "We overheard some of the other belligerents talking about having to convince you to join them. This leads me to believe you don't want to go along with whatever their plans happen to be. For what it's worth, we are opposed to these cultists as well and don't want their plans to come to fruition either."
He lets his statements linger to give the smith a chance to respond.
Morga nods, adding: "Whatever's going on, it doesn't seem to fit with Gorum's standards. The cultists at Rusthenge worship a 'Xar-Azmak', some god of rust and degradation or something. Their weapons and armor were rusty, just like the acolytes' here. We doubt it's a coincidence. Whatever's going on, it looks like the safety of the people of the town is at risk. Vanda has vouched for your integrity, and has agreed to help us get to the bottom of this to atone for her failure to see the truth sooner." She gestures to Vanda as if to say: "Your turn."
Trygve listens patiently as you begin to explain yourselves. Already by the end of Vildran's explanation Trygve has lowered his hammer, and as each of you say your parts he paces back and forth. He doesn't interrupt, waiting to hear the full story. Finally he says "So someone finally knocked some sense into Vanda. Good. You seem like you've got your heads on straight."
"Brother Blanton was sensible too, so they made sure he got that blight along with the rest of them. Shame that. Your Ordwi must be the priestess that came. Gone now, taken to the basement not to return." He sets his hammer on the anvil "Madmen run this place now. And Ragnulf, poor dwarf, at their helm. All of it rusted and rotten. Now that you're here though, it tells me their time is up."
He shrugs "I'll let you worry about Rusthenge and this cult of yours. If they're behind it, then so be it. I'm just tired of being trapped here to work on weapons for the few acolytes left, if you can call them that anymore. My request to you is to help me escape. If you could make it in, I'm sure you can get me out. How about it?"
Vildran looks around at the others with an expression of relief that says "that was easy." His antennae relax and wiggle upward.
Yes, we will definitely help you! Do you have a specific place to go in town? Otherwise we have an option or two...
Autumn gives Vildran an inscrutable look. If only the wizard were wealthy—and they weren’t in their current predicament—what a wonderful mark he would be! His negotiating skills—or lack thereof—leave much to be desired.
The sorceress pauses to think, being more circumspect in her response. She definitely empathizes with Trygve—after all, she’d love to cut and run herself—but after expending so much effort to get into this place, it seems a shame to just leave. She looks down at the tattoo on her arm, remembering Morga’s deep concern for her great-aunt, and sighs. “Agreed—but you need to tell us all you know about this place—especially what’s in the basement, since that seems to be where everyone vanishes. But first you need to help us vanquish the remaining acolytes. We took care of two upstairs, so Vanda says there are just four of them left. If they’ve posted another guard outside the front gate, that leaves three.” Her gaze flits over San, Morga, Vanda, and Trygve. With the shift in numbers, she’s feeling more confident about their chances—or at least confident enough to ensure her safety by removing the threat.
“I wish we could lure them into the entry hall and activate the spike trap remotely. But at least we should lure them to a place where we can all safely attack but they’re restricted to a bottleneck … like climbing up the ladder to the roof. What do you think?”
"Getting you out of Stonehome shouldn't be a problem. Getting you off the island might be a challenge. You said the priestess was brought into the basement? I'd imagine they tried to infect her straight away. But we all still remember her so she might be hanging on still."
When the discussion turns to taking care of the remaining 'acolytes', San adds, "A fighting retreat might work as long as we can stay ahead of them. If we really need to, out to the balcony should be sufficient."
Morga furrows her brow in thought as Vildran speaks. "Hmm. Vildran makes a good point. How far do you need to go to truly get to safety? You should know, they have eyes on the town. A threatening note signed "M" was left for us on my relatives' door. The only way they'd've known that's where we were staying is if they'd been watching us for more than a day. You may not be safe in Iron Harbor."
Later, when the conversation turns to dealing with the acolytes, she notes: "We outnumber them if we stick together, especially if we can separate them or force them through a bottleneck. Where do you two think they're most likely to be? Are there any traps or tricks near there that we could use against them?" She looks to Vanda and Trygve for their input.
"If you can get me to town, I will be safe for the time being. There are people there I trust, and in any case there's no other place nearby to stay. As for getting out of here, I can help you, but not to fight. " He surveys the Smithy and his eyes fall upon a finely fashioned mace upon the wall. He retrieves it "You may help yourselves to the weapons here, but this one is my finest, made of cold iron."
Trygve also retrieves a key and passes it over "Take this key to the secure storage room in the basement. I have no been allowed to venture down there so I do not know what may lie in wait. However, the storage room has emergency supplies previously, and you may find it useful."
Vanda answers Morga's last question "We'd thought you fled, so we're watching the front entrance. If they didn't hear the commotion elsewhere and go to investigate, they're probably still somewhere they can keep an eye on the front."
Autumn politely passes on Trygve’s offer of weapons, but accept the proffered key. “So in your entire time here,” she asks the smith while flicking a glance to include Vanda as well, “you’ve never been down in the basement? Was Ragnulf the only one allowed downstairs?” From what Vanda had said earlier, it sounds like Trygve has been at Stonehome for a long time, and it seems incredulous that he wouldn’t have earned the right to access all parts of the keep. “What’s his rationale for that?”
When Vanda mentions that they’re watching the front entrance, the sorceress nods. “That makes sense. But I didn’t see anyone in the courtyard earlier—which is a pity, because it would be a lot simpler to take out the guard from the safety of the second floor. So they’ve either posted a guard outside the front entrance, or they’re watching from behind the arrow slits on the first floor.” She gazes at the door leading south out of the smithy. “Where does that go?”
Accepting the cold iron mace almost reverently, Morga nods to Trygve. "Thank you. I'll put it to good use."
Her ears perk up when Autumn asks about the door. "Hm. What's the best way to ambush anyone posted at the arrow slits? Are there two rooms of those, one on each side of the entry hall?"
"Thanks for the extra equipment and the key. I'm sure the supply room will also come in handy. We checked all of the top floor so they have to be down here. Maybe in the rooms looking over the entryway..."
"'Course I've been down to the basement, before all this started. Totally normal basement, used for storage. Nothing worth mentioning about it. But now that we've got creatures like that Azomi about, and the change that overtook Ragnulf, who knows?" Trygve shakes his head. Vanda nods with his comment.
Trygve points to the southern door and says "Part of the guard rooms out front, but they've barred it from the other side so I don't go wandering."
Trygve answers Morga's questions with "There's four guard rooms in the front not counting the entryway. Hard to assault from the outside, but trying to corner anyone there won't be too hard from the inside of the fort. Either come from the trapdoors on the second floor if you're agile enough or through the clinic on the east end of the ground floor if you're not."
Autumn looks at the southern door and asks Trygve “Could you return the favor by barricading this side of the door? That would help trap any acoytes who might be in there.” She glances up at the ceiling. “I think the best option is to loose arrows through the trapdoors from the safety of the second floor—that way their greatswords won’t be of any use.”