Tybus puts his shoulder into this door, seeing how he was able to force the door outside, maybe he'll be successful here.
Oof. Ouch.
Lamsfel hearing Gan shouting through the door and hating that he's not on the scene with the others, piles the gravely wounded man into a wheelbarrow, straps on the bow and arrows, and heads down the hallway to see what the others have found.
"What? Uh... No, I'm alone.... I don't know where the key is... Where's Tsuto? You need to watch out for him!"
"What? Uh... No, I'm alone.... I don't know where the key is... Where's Tsuto? You need to watch out for him!"
** spoiler omitted **
He's with us. Unconscious, but alive.
Without ceremony, Tsuto will be dumped into the wheelbarrow. Lamsfel will let the bucket of swag dangle from a handle as he wheels him down the hallway.
About that time, Lamsfel pushes a wheelbarrow containing one erstwhile bad guy. With a grin, he says, "Look! A portable prisoner!" After a moment to take in the scene, he asks, "Have you found her? I did not find any keys on Tsuto, but I did find this..." He shows the following to the rest of the party:
I'd be happy to take the picks. Maybe I can get the door open with their help.
Marcelina makes sure that Tsuto isn't going to die, then follows everyone else in their search of the surrounding rooms. Upon finding the door barring their way to Ameiko, she becomes first excited and then restless as it becomes apparent that there is little she can do to help in her rescue now. Instead, she stands back out of the way, fretting with the ends of her scarf.
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Tristan "borrows" Tsuto's equipment and, after a few moments' worth of work, has the door open. The room beyond is another storeroom, this one smaller than the last, but most everything has been removed from it except a few wooden shelves anchored to the stone walls with iron brackets. Against the far wall, Ameiko is half-lying, half-sitting-up, her hands bound behind her and her face covered in swollen, bloody bruises. Though her eyes are open and looking at you when you enter, she barely reacts when the door is opened except to flinch away a bit from the light. Her breathing is shallow and pained, and the angle of her left leg makes it unlikely she will be able to stand without assistance.
Tristan "borrows" Tsuto's equipment and, after a few moments' worth of work, has the door open. The room beyond is another storeroom, this one smaller than the last, but most everything has been removed from it except a few wooden shelves anchored to the stone walls with iron brackets. Against the far wall, Ameiko is half-lying, half-sitting-up, her hands bound behind her and her face covered in swollen, bloody bruises. Though her eyes are open and looking at you when you enter, she barely reacts when the door is opened except to flinch away a bit from the light. Her breathing is shallow and pained, and the angle of her left leg makes it unlikely she will be able to stand without assistance.
Gan runs over to Ameiko, unable to hide his concern.
Hold still, let me cut the rope. We'll get you out of here. Marcelina, she's hurt badly. Tristan, help me support her.
Gan will cut the rope and try to help Ameiko so she doesn't put pressure on her leg until Marcelina can come heal her.
We killed a few goblins, but a few escaped. Is there anything else down here? And why did Tsuto throw in with these foul creatures? How could he betray his own family?
"He's... he's insane," Ameiko answers heavily. "He claims he's working with Nualia, Father Tobyn's daughter from back before the fire. He says she's got a bunch of mercenaries and some plan for..." She suddenly breaks off, her eyes widening, and gasps, "Father! My father! We have to warn him - Tsuto had something specific planned for him!"
Lamsfel finds it easier to check Tsuto's condition than to look Ameiko in the eyes.
"Judging by what happened to the poor people here, we have no time to lose." Tristan is torn between helping Ameiko to safety and rushing off to save her father. Also she smells good, and that's distracting. Another thought strikes him. "Nualia? That was the girl in his notebook. But she's dead." He looks helplessly to the others for a clue about what to do next.
Still unable to look at the woman but not wanting his friends to go on a wild-goose chase, Lamsfel speaks up, "We.. ah.. I'm sorry, Ameiko. We found your father upstairs. I pray to Desna that he went quickly, that his suffering was brief."
Ameiko stares, apparently uncomprehending, at Lamsfel. "I... I don't... What happened?"
Tybus' face is grim, and the best he can do is shake his head a few times. He looks at her with sympathy, but words fail him. He looks over to Marcelina, and bows his head, stepping aside to let her comfort the woman.
Marcelina hurries over, her hands already coated in a sheen of cool water as she reaches the woman. Though she is listening to the conversation, she doesn't have the heart to break Lamsfel's obvious news any harsher. Instead, she concentrates on her work, laying her cool hands on Ameiko's leg first, a soft glow spreading from her fingers into the injured flesh.
The leg mended, she then turns to Ameiko's face, laying one cool hand gingerly upon it while the other rests upon her chest.
Shaking his head, looking at the floor, Lamsfel tries to explain, "When we arrived, the goblins had the run of the foundry. Several of the workers - and your father - were dead when we arrived. I don't know if any of the workers escaped. We haven't seen anyone but goblins and your brother."
He looks up, sympathy clear in his eyes, "We didn't see who did it, but your father was tortured, Ameiko. It would not surprise me to find they all were. I can only hope the goddess saw fit to take them home before they had suffered too much. I'm so sorry."
He steps toward her as Marcelina steps back from her healing, arms open, and folds Ameiko into an embrace unless she stops him. After a moment, he will step back, looking in her eyes.
He leans down to kiss her lightly on the forehead, like one might an injured child, before moving back.
Suddenly self-conscious at his display, he moves quickly back and behind the others to where Tsuto lays in the wheelbarrow.
Ameiko's wounds close at Marcelina's touch, and although she still bears a number of bruises and cuts, the worst damage has indeed been healed. To her body, at least.
Her heart, however, is another matter. When Lamsfel's words finally sink in, she sags, closing her eyes, and after a few breaths, begins sobbing - not desperately, but the slow, deep weeping of terrible grief. She allows Lamsfel to hold her through the worst of it, and he hears both "Father" and "Tsuto" mixed in with the tears, but as he steps away, she wipes her eyes and steadies herself.
In a voice already smoothing over from her crying, Ameiko asks, "Are they still upstairs? And is Tsuto still alive?"
Lamsfel, still standing at the back, doesn't look to see if she's watching him, but he nods mutely.
In a whispered voice to Lamsfel: We should take her out some other way than through the furnaces. She don't need to see what's in there.
He looks at his comrades and sees that Ameiko's back on her feet. He glances down the passageways and then turns back to the group.
By my count, we killed seven or eight goblins. There's still a lot of this place we haven't looked, so there might be more hiding about. And if there's mercenaries, and this Nualia, we need might have more fighting to do.
I think we should get Ameiko out of here to someplace safe -- like Koya's -- then go room by room to make sure there aren't more of the runts lurking about. Tsuto we can drop off at Hemlock's on the way.
In a whispered voice to Lamsfel: We should take her out some other way than through the furnaces. She don't need to see what's in there.
He looks at his comrades and sees that Ameiko's back on her feet. He glances down the passageways and then turns back to the group.
By my count, we killed seven or eight goblins. There's still a lot of this place we haven't looked, so there might be more hiding about. And if there's mercenaries, and this Nualia, we need might have more fighting to do.
I think we should get Ameiko out of here to someplace safe -- like Koya's -- then go room by room to make sure there aren't more of the runts lurking about. Tsuto we can drop off at Hemlock's on the way.
Hemlock might have left already, though no doubt he left someone in his place as acting sheriff. And if you escort Tsuto to the sheriff he might be able to rouse any of the remaining militia left in town to send help. I don't want any of these wretches to get away, though, so I'm going to stay outside of the Glassworks and watch the exits. Would any of you stay with me?
Quietly, looking at the tavern owner for confirmation, Lamsfel says, "We should not split up. Ameiko can come with us and Tsuto's fine in his crib here. Let us hunt the rest of the vermin as a team, starting at the door where we entered and down the hall we did not investigate. Ameiko knows the building better than any... any of us, she will be a great deal of help."
Ameiko nods, squaring her shoulders. "I left my rapier at the Dragon," she says slowly. "Looking back, that might not have been the best decision. But thanks to Marcelina-" and she nods here to the young Varisian- "I think I'm in good enough shape to fight if I have to. I'd need a weapon, though."
She looks out into the hallway, staring wordlessly for a moment at the unconscious form of her brother, before deliberately turning away. "You said you killed seven or eight? That's about as many as I saw when they jumped me. You might have gotten them all already, but... Tsuto... might have had a chance to bring more in. I never knew this part of the basement existed," she adds, pointing to where the walls have been knocked down at the south part of the loop, "so I don't know what secrets Tsuto might have been hiding down here."
Tristan is getting impatient and nervous. His hands start drumming as of their own volition. "How about we clear the area and then explore the passage?" He dares not look at Ameiko.
Lamsfel draws his off-hand sword and hands it to Ameiko. "I don't know your fighting style, but this should work relatively well if you prefer the rapier. That said, I'd prefer you stay behind me and only use it in self-defense."
Looking at Tsuto, he adds, "Let's lock him in here where he left you. Tristan, can you lock the door again with those tools?"
Lamsfel will use a dagger as his off-hand weapon as the party proceeds.
Before we set off in search of more vermin, allow me to bestow the Faceless One's blessings of foresight...
Immediately before we set off searching again, Gan will refresh the light spell on Tristan's armor and then cast Guidance on Lamsfel, Tristan, and Tybus in that order.
Lamsfel draws his off-hand sword and hands it to Ameiko. "I don't know your fighting style, but this should work relatively well if you prefer the rapier. That said, I'd prefer you stay behind me and only use it in self-defense."
Ameiko's mouth quirks in something that almost resembles her traditional humor. "Are you trying to get me to stab you with this?" she asks, swishing the blade nimbly through the air.
Ameiko's response brings a genuine smile from the elf. "Very well, sounds like you are ready to proceed."
"OK, Ameiko, I've been assuming that we can get from one end of the building to the other without passing through the foundry. Is that correct? If it is, let's go back up the stairs and take the other route to the door where we entered. We'll move quickly, not searching unless we notice something. Once we are at the other end, Gan and I will check out the foundry to make sure none of the little beasts have returned and are hiding therein. The four of you, with Ameiko as the guide, will give the rest of the building a thorough search. Gan and I will rejoin you after we've passed through the foundry."
And maybe tried to make the scene a little less horrific - covering strewn body parts somehow and hiding the terrible sculpture of Ameiko's father - but I don't want to tell her that. I think Gan would be willing to help with that.
Ameiko nods, squaring her shoulders. Her gaze, a little narrowed, lingers on Lamsfel for a moment as she does so; she does not give voice to whatever she might be thinking, however. "Let's go," she says instead, leading the way back up the stairs.
The "other route" passes through a series of small offices and storage areas on its way to a longer hall that loops around the outside of the furnace room. Even casual glances reveal that the goblins were here as well - papers are thrown about, chairs knocked over, graffiti written (or even gouged with dogslicers) on the walls - but otherwise the building is still and silent except for the constant low roar of the furnace.
It takes only a few moments to reach the delivery entrance once more, still standing slightly ajar for where it was broken open earlier. Ameiko turns back to face you all. "You sure you want to split up?" she asks warily.
Perception
Sure, I'll help you, Gan says, though he avoids Ameiko's gaze. He is not fond of keeping the information of her father's fate from her, nor is he skilled at doing so.
Ameiko, it'll be fine. Come on, let's make sure there's no more lurking about.
Listening to the others and knowing Ameiko reads people better than he does, Lamsfel says, "Lady Ameiko, I would not wish the sight of what happened in there," he gestures toward the foundry, "on the stoutest warrior I know or my worst enemy. I sincerely doubt that the goblins have returned. Listen - have you ever known the little vermin to remain quiet? I think the greater potential for danger, honestly, is in the rooms we have not seen, thus more swords out here. But we would be remiss to not check this room, too. I think it is the lesser danger, so I think Gan and I can handle it. I prefer that you and the others have strength of numbers in case one or two goblins lie in wait in one of the smaller rooms."
Marcelina just waits. She doesn't feel she is anywhere near good enough with words to help either Lamsfel or Ameiko. Instead she keeps herself busy looking about for any threats, her hands fidgeting on the haft of her spear.
Ameiko shakes her head. "You are good souls," she says slowly, "but not everything my father made was glass." And with that, she turns and walks purposefully into the furnace room.
The sight staggers her, literally. She sags against a table, and for a moment it almost seems as though she will pass out. The weakness passes in the space of just a breath, and then she is standing up again, her face white and her hands shaking slightly. Her lips move - whispering something, but the roar of the furnace swallows the words.
"We... we need to keep looking," she says in a tight voice. "If we search the room quickly, we can sweep the rest of the building and be done here."
Tristan starts on the unenviable chore of searching the room, preferring that to speaking to Ameiko.
Perception:
Perception using guidance
Lamsfel watches her turn toward the furnace room and shakes his head. Under his breath, he says, "Beautiful, strong, and stubborn. Someday, she's going to be a big challenge for a lovestruck lad."
He follows her into the room, but lets her deal with the shock on her own, certain that she can handle it, hard as it might be.
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The room is free of living goblins, though the dead are still scattered where they fell.
The rest of the first floor is likewise empty of any intruders. As you search, Ameiko begins talking; not to any one of you in particular, but almost as though she needs to fill the silence.
"Tsuto told me he was working for Nualia, along with some other mercenaries; he didn't mention names or any other details about them, though. He said Nualia had 'big plans' for Sandpoint, and that I didn't want to be in town when those plans came through. He asked - well, demanded, really - that I come with him and join Nualia's forces at Thistletop, the goblin island. I... I loved him, once. He was my brother, and I stood up to my father to try to bring Tsuto back into our family. But last night... I don't know. I snapped, slapped him. The idea that I would be a part of what he was implying... Then he whistled, and a swarm of goblins came through the doors. I tried to run, but there were too many of them. Tsuto... Tsuto was the last one to hit me before I blacked out."
By the time she finishes speaking, you have returned to the top of the stairs.
When she stops talking, Lamsfel says, "I have seen many people in my many travels, both before I came to Sandpoint and over the last few years away from town. You are not the first good person to hold out hope for someone against all odds. Sometimes that person they believe in deserves it and comes to be a better person. Sometimes that person doesn't deserve the faith placed in them."
Looking in the distance with a sad expression, he takes a deep breath and adds, "You have to remember, you have to believe that regardless of how Tsuto turned out, it is in no way your fault for believing in him. You are not less of a person for giving him second chances, just the opposite. If your soul drives you to love, to have faith, to believe, you can do nothing else. Desna blesses you for your kindness."
"Let's go find some goblins. Then we will find young Nualia."
Back into the basement. Let's refresh those light spells before we go, Gan.
Tybus draws out the flask with the alchemical frost in it, and readies himself. He begins down the steps.
Back into the basement. Let's refresh those light spells before we go, Gan.
Tybus draws out the flask with the alchemical frost in it, and readies himself. He begins down the steps.
Gan nods, refreshing the light spell and again casting Guidance on Lamsfel, Tybus, Tristan, and Ameiko in that order.
Nothing seems to have changed in the basement - it too is as quiet and still as it was before. Thorough searching of the rooms you already explored reveals little beyond the discovery of a key in the desk where Tsuto was presumably sleeping - the key fits the lock on the storage room he was using as a cell. In short order, all that remains is the exploration of the tunnel that stretches away into the darkness from the south-eastern corner of the basement.
Nothing seems to have changed in the basement - it too is as quiet and still as it was before. Thorough searching of the rooms you already explored reveals little beyond the discovery of a key in the desk where Tsuto was presumably sleeping - the key fits the lock on the storage room he was using as a cell. In short order, all that remains is the exploration of the tunnel that stretches away into the darkness from the south-eastern corner of the basement.
Sorry to be repetitive, but as that likely takes over a minute, I'll refresh the light and then the guidances immediately before going into the tunnel, same order except Ameiko first this time