Sim smiles faintly in a satisfied way "Good, now, just a few more questions for you. Has anyone apart from myself and your other visitors contacted you for help? What did this other group look like? Does the House have any agents that might get in the way of this operation? Do they know anything about any plots to break in?"
"Listen, I do my job well. Both of them. No one at the bank suspects a thing. I've been doing this for a few years now. Likewise, I've met with a lot of groups and individuals in the past. The group I met with earlier today was the only one for a couple months that's needed my help. I'm pretty sure they're working for an old guy. I saw him try to get in there a couple weeks ago with no success, so I approached him. He said he may have use of my services and then he took off. If you ask me, I think he was kinda embarassed. Anyway, since then, I can't get rid of the guy! He's constantly in my head, Sending to me. He told me he was going to send another group to pick up what he needed. He gave me their descriptions and everything. Whatever he needs at, it seemed pretty serious."
Rurin takes a moment to judge your reaction to all of this.
"Look, I can help you get in, and I can give you the info you need about the bank, but why do you want to know about the other group? Do you think you're going after the same thing they are? I really don't want to get into the middle of this. Look, we're friends right? Don't ask me to undermine my integrity. They have to stay somewhat anonymous."
Sim nods, remaining silent for a moment before replying, his tone reassuring "No, no I don't think they're after the same thing I am. This old man you spoke of doesn't sound like anyone I know to be in opposition to my employer."
Sillas throws a few coins on the table, using the gesture to cover his grab for the real letter.
"Here, have a few drinks on me, friend. I'll contact you again soon."
Sim leaves the table, quickly vanishing into the crowd and returning to the restroom, dropping the illusion and returning to 'his' face before returning to the crowded room of the tavern. Taking a deep breath he slips back into the role of Sillas, looking around the room for Irirangi.
'He hasn't been contacted by anyone else, at least not about this job. Also, I got the letter. Let's get out of here.'
"Good. Let's go. Starlan! Where are you?"
I'm in the house now. I can let you in the back porch door. There's a fruit orchard behind the house that opens onto a side street. Just be quiet as you come up, I think someone(thing) is in the basement.
Iri greets Sillas with relief as he rejoins her.
"Starlan's at the house. It's not as empty as we thought it was. There's something in the basement he says ... oh, you know all that of course."
She grins up at him. "You must have been quick - I never saw you once. I hate to say it, but crime is really starting to appeal to me. Is that wrong?"
They head towards the house, Starlan and whatever is lurking in the basement.
Iri greets Sillas with relief as he rejoins her.
"Starlan's at the house. It's not as empty as we thought it was. There's something in the basement he says ... oh, you know all that of course."
She grins up at him. "You must have been quick - I never saw you once. I hate to say it, but crime is really starting to appeal to me. Is that wrong?"
Sillas grins and hands then envelope to her "Its not wrong, just illegal."
Sillas grins and hands then envelope to her "Its not wrong, just illegal."Iri greets Sillas with relief as he rejoins her.
"Starlan's at the house. It's not as empty as we thought it was. There's something in the basement he says ... oh, you know all that of course."
She grins up at him. "You must have been quick - I never saw you once. I hate to say it, but crime is really starting to appeal to me. Is that wrong?"
"Illegal is fine. My parents do that all the time. They're just not honest enough to admit it. Let's see what this says, now you've gone to all the trouble of getting it back."
She opens the letter.
The wax on the seal cracks as you open the letter.
Letter to Rurin;
Rurin,
If you are in receipt of this letter, then the team that I have sent to meet you has given it to you. They are to be trusted, and they are not to be trifled with. Nor am I.
You should know by now that it is fully within my power and station to hunt you down should anything happen to them. You are to carry out your unscrupulous task as we have agreed. No changes in plan, or deviations of any kind will be tolerated.
You need not know who we are, or what we need, but you will respect us.
S.
Iri reads the letter and hands it to Sillas.
"Well, I suppose we should give it back to him. He seems reliably dishonest in his dealings. Let me fix the seal."
"Starlan - we'll be right with you. Don't open the door. Please."
...ALRIGHT... I guess I will water the rest of the plants, then.
"Where's the noise Starlan? We've got maps and we need to plan, but let's find out what's going on in the basement first."
"It's in the basement."
I show them the messy kitchen, with the locked door that leads to the basement.
"There's also a door to the basement from outside, but I figure if it tries to slip out, inside the house is one more area before it escapes, although Draghonheart is watching from above, of course. I checked out the house, and besides several libraries and lots of plants that hadn't been watered, there's no bedroom OR bathroom... Though those could be in the basement...?"
Sillas sighs and finds Rurin's waitress. Giving her his most charming smile, he hands her the letter and several gold coins, asking her to return it to Rurin's table along with another drink.
Starlan/Iri;There are certainly enough plants scattered around the place to act as a conduit for spells like Entangle. Some particularly long creeper vines make their home in the upstairs rooms, and decently sized potted plants can be found throughout the home. With some work, you can certainly gather a sufficient amount of foliage.
Sim;
The waitress accepts Sim's request, and moves to deliver the letter.
Upon spying you leave the place, Merreck comes running out, carrying a half-full mug of ale. "Hey! Are you just ditching me in there! You were supposed to come get me!"
Merreck will keep up, although slightly stumbly, all the way to Delphis' home. "What did that gnome tell you? Fill me in! Where are we going, anyway?"
"Ah, I'd thought you'd be engaged with a...friend by now. Come on then; they heard something in our wizard's house."
On the way, Sillas fills Merreck in on what Rurin told them.
You have no trouble getting into the place, as Starlan lets you in. The door in question is locked, and fits tightly into the door-frame. After some examination, it is revealed that an inner deadbolt holds the door in place.
A whirring, mechanical sound, definitely comes from the other side of the door. It's rhythmic, like pacing.
"Shoot.", Merreck whistles. "And just why do we wanna go down there?"
"Starlan, you said there were no bedrooms or bathrooms. Do you think this place might belong to a warforged? One who really likes plants and wanted to stay out of trouble... maybe..." her voice trails off.
After showing them the door, I motion for us to talk telepathically, giving the whisper sign to Merreck.
"Hmm... That would be interesting if Solinthas didn't manage to notice that this was a Warforged Wizard..." (giggles)
"...We certainly don't have to open door #1 right here and now, but I figure at some point in time, SOMEONE will come here to loot the place, if the Cultists don't first, and whatever's inside that door could get out... I think between the three of us, we can hold our own, and I have a few tricks which could stop anything wanting to escape."
"Any ideas on who should go in first?"
"Well, who's handy with a lock?" Sillas asks, bending down to examine the door's lock.
"I have to do everything around here.", Merreck sighs, flipping out a shiny set of silver implements, and he quickly sets out to unlock the thing.
"Stubborn....old....rusty...Click!" He takes a few moments but eventually the deadbolt slides out of the wall.
"Are we opening it, then?", Merreck asks.
I can go in first if nobody else wants to...?
...Iri, are you getting any sort of magic aura from down there?
I nod gratefully at Merrick, thankful for his helpful presence,
even though we can't share everything we know with him, for his own sake.
"I don't know. Give me a second."
"Not as easy as it looks Starlan, this place is confusing."
Nothing registers magical close to you. Pushing open the door helps, for though it is dark, the detect spell does not need light to work. At the limit of your enhanced vision, you detect a magical aura, 60ft down the corridor. The rhythymic sound of gears and metal is more prominent now.
"Well? Are we taking bets on what that is?"
Should I use my Father's Talenta Ninja-Ranger training and sneak a peek of what is down there?
...Or just go ahead and ask where the bathroom is in this place?
"Something's magical down there. I don't think you should go alone Starlan. Sillas or I should come with you."
"I've no idea what it is Merrek. There is something magical down there, but I can't tell what at this distance. Starlan's keen to take a look."
Sillas inwardly sighs with relief as Merreck unlocks the door. He hadn't been looking forward to trying to explain why he knew how to pick a lock if it had come down to him doing it.
Looking to Irirangi he says "We can't know what's down there unless we take a peek."
"Then let's do it. Merrek, do you want to come with us? This might be one of the dangerous bits we mentioned earlier."
Deftly replacing the lockpicking tools in his right pocket, Merreck sighs. "Right then. On you go. Exploring, and what. Not me. I'll leave that to you. I'll be right here. Scream if you need me."
Travelling slightly further down the corridor, you realize that it is sloping downwards. You approach what looks like another room of sorts, but without any light sources, it's difficult to see anything. The thing that detected as magical is still in front of you, pacing, though it's figure is hard to discern in the darkness. Metal clanks on stone as it moves around, probably studying you. It is about 50ft from your position.
Iri struggles with her backpack. "I've got a tanglefoot bag in here someplace," she mutters. "Ah, blast this, why don't I ever think." A short chanted phrase later, and she casts a light spell on her pack, illuminating the passage and allowing her to extract the tanglefoot bag.
Slowly inching your way down the corridor, Irirangi's magical light dances along the walls of this stone corridor. Some light filters through into the room, but as the light is emanating from Irirangi's pack, she must get closer to illuminate the space.
Before you enter the chamber proper, thanks partly to your illumination, you notice a strange handprint set into the wall. It is at about eye-level, and it is painted gold. The word 'Travistus' is painted in similar gold, above it.
Wracking her brains to see if she's ever seen or heard the word before ...
Know (Rel), (Pla), (Arc) to see if mystery word means anything (1d20 7=22, 1d20 8=23, 1d20 3=11)
Know(Planes) for hand/words 10, Perception 10(12 Sound), Stealth as approaching room 15
Nodding gravely at my companions, not really sure what to make of the situation, but confident in the motley crew we've come to be, I shrug and scurry towards the room. Entering on the side furthest from where I last saw the figure to keep some distance from the unknown being, I call out as I enter "Excuse me, would the bathroom be down here, perchance?"
Irirangi; Though the handprint-symbol and the word itself don't mean anything to you, you certainly get the idea that it may be a command word to activate something.
Sim; On closer examination, you also notice that there are thin traceries of gold, like veins, extending from the handprint. If you follow their zig-zagging paths, you'll find they extend into the dark room, spreading out along the ceiling.
Starlan; You manage to advance closer to the entrance; with your halfling eyesight, the light spell is more effective. Moving within the room is a metallic creature the size of a wolf. Strong paws made of steel carefully trace a path around the entrance; sharp blades extend from it's back and sides, while dim red eyes scan the entrance for intruders. Your stealthy movement through the shadows conceal you for a time, but when you call out the creature reacts, stiffening. Standing at the entrance, it c`ocks it's head from side to side, scanning for you. It does not appear hostile right now.
"There boy (?), you must be hungry after being down here so long." I say,
some question in my mind as to whether this sort of creature GETS hungry.
I do my best to look non-threatening and don't further encroach on it's territory. Wild Empathy: 10 :^/
I glance around the room, not taking my eyes off the creature for too long Perception: 12
Know(Nature): 12 for what type of beast this is (or 9 if Planes is more appropriate)
Starlan; As long as you don't try entering the room, the metallic creature doesn't seem to harass you, though it does keep it's eyes on you. It has you in it's sight clearly, now that you continue to speak to it. You do your best to glance around the room, but from the threshold, and in the darkness, it's difficult to get any manner of detail sorted out.
Though perhaps you have heard of them in passing, the creature doesn't seem to be something you know much about.
"Do you think 'Travistus' will make it attack us, or let it know we're harmless? I've no idea what this is, but it looks like a guardian of some kind to me."
Turning back to you two, "...Well, My guess is this isn't a cultist."
I'll try talking to the dog, asking if it speaks all the languages I know (Halfling, Common, Goblin, Orcish, Druidic)
"...Maybe it's a follower of the Silver Flame, too, Iri!"
"Starlan, even if it is, we don't have any special language. At least if we do, I'm not high enough rank to know it."