"I say we waltz right in the front door, and start poking around."
Aye! When in doubt just walk right in - But if ye still be needin' me to break some locks or boards...
Not wanting to beat about the bush, you simply walk in the front door and into a waiting room. The stinging scent of alcohol and medicine floods this dingy chamber, an odor typical of hospices — and morgues. Across from the entrance sits a long wooden desk, beyond which a stained leather curtain covers an archway, muffling the moans issuing from the rooms beyond. A sign has been hung up that reads "Hospice of the Blessed Maiden" - it was made rather hastily, and is too small to properly cover an older sign that reads "Arkona Imports West Dock".
A long bench sits against the wall, and on the bench are six people, all of them showing obvious signs of Blood Veil infection, some in advanced stages.
Behind the desk sits a rather burly woman, whose placard declares her to be Nurse Brunhilde Torthus. She looks more like a prize fighter than a medical professional, but is wearing a starched white dress, a wimple, thick gloves, and a scarf over her mouth and nose to protect against sickness.
As you enter the nurse glances up disinterestedly and pushes toward you a clipboard with some paperwork on it to fill out with your name, address, age, and next of kin.
Shaeda boldly marches up to the desk, and brushes aside the paperwork. "No, dear, we're not here as patients." She flashes her holy symbol, "priestess of Calistria here, and we've had reports of unsanitary conditions, poor bedside manner, and general bad medicinal practices. As a part of my priestly duties, I was asked to lead a delegation of assorted experts," she gestures towards her companions, "to look into these claims and determine if they have any merit, in which case fines, levies, and other penalties could be applied. However, so far the place looks pretty standard and up to code, but this is just the reception room. We need to look around please."
Tronar keeps his mouth quiet and let's the talky talkies do their thing. His job is to keep a watchful eye, ear, and nose to notice the finer details of something amiss.
Tronar doesn't notice anything particularly off, nor does anyone look especially Varisian. Except for Emma, but you knew that.
The nurse at first draws herself up as if ready for a good bellow, not used to being addressed in such a manner, but as Shaeda's spiel goes on she deflates somewhat and even looks a tad nervous.
"Very well, I'm certain I can arrange for you to be shown around the facility. Just let me inform Dr. Davaulus, and I'm sure he'll be willing to see you." She departs through the curtain.
So the good news is she bought Shaeda's story, but the bad news is that she's going to speak with someone who has actually met most of you and is fully aware that you are working with the City Guard. But the other good news is that you are currently unobserved, and a peek through the curtain reveals that the nurse is passing through a large room and up some stairs. If you act fast you might get in before she returns, unless you relish explaining yourselves to the doctor.
Shaeda whispers to her friends, "Get in and to looking around people, I'll talk us out of it, if needed. Or, if they feel the need to really make something of it, then we can rest assured we'll find something in the ashes when we're done."
She ensures that she keeps enhanced diplomacy current on herself, and just as the nurse and/or the doctor come into view, she'll hit herself with a bout of lucky presence for her next Diplomacy/Bluff roll.
Shaeda pushes through and starts searching...
Tronar will not need another order and sets to looking about.
Searok will start looking around too.
The warehouse’s vast interior has been converted into one gigantic convalescent ward. The stench of alcohol, sickness, and waste chokes the breath, and tight rows of low, stained cots cram the stone-floored hall. Every bed is filled with a pitiful story — men and women of all walks groaning and wheezing as they’re consumed by blood veil, their sufferings multiplied by the echoing chamber.
There are catwalks going around the walls of the room, and upon these a couple of those Grey Maiden soldiers are patrolling. They haven't seen you yet, but it won't be long before one of them scans the room and spies you.
There are also a few of the Queen's Physicians among the sick, checking up on their patients.
Tronar says "I'll check the far room." and points across the open area. No sooner does he point and seems to take a step forward...but he vanishes before his companions eyes and appears in the far room and continues to move out of sight searching the area.
The scent of exotic wood and sawdust fills this maze of barrels and crates. A web of ropes and pulleys crisscrosses the ceiling; from one thick cable hangs a net of barrels suspended nearly twenty feet above the splinter-scattered floor below. Three great wooden doors stand in the northern wall, while leather flaps lead to the south and east.
This room appears to have not been fully converted from being a warehouse yet, as there are empty crates around and some cages that were once seemingly used to transport exotic animals. Some have ominous labels still on them like “Three Breaths Viper— Mwangi Expanse,” “Emperor Cobra (Eggs)—Vudra,” and “Toad Shrew—uncharted island.”
There doesn't seem to be anything incriminating here, but among a pile of rags Tronar does spot a very fancy looking silk Vudrani garment that was apparently left by mistake.
Options include:
1) Back the way you came, to regroup and plan.
2) Into the room Tronar is in; if you double move, you make it.
3) Toward the northeast corner of the room where you see two doors. The one on the right is stairs going up because you saw the nurse go that way. Note that there's a door to Tronar's east that could make getting there unseen easier, as from where you are now running directly would mean sprinting through the room and around the beds.
4) Stealth checks, maybe hiding under the patients' beds and slowly traversing the room by crawling.
5) Allow alarm to be raised, deal with consequences.
Searok will double move to Tronar's room.
Shaeda knows better than to split the party, she goes with Tronar as well.
One way or another, by stealth, magic, or luck, you all make it to the far room without catching any sidelong glances.
The doors to the north are the boarded up ones you were told about, in case you need an alternate route out.
To the east is an open door beyond which is a small lounge area where the employees of this place can make coffee or tea, and north of that are the aforementioned doors, one of which you know leads to stairs.
Tronar collects up the fancy silk garment and quickly moves to peer into the next room beyond the flap.
"Well what is the search plan?"
I can take the lead, if ye all want. Course I'm not good at the talkie thing so iffn we find anyone, it'll be a fight fer sure!
"Let's move, before that nurse, or the doctor coming looking for us. Pick a direction and move!"
Ye want me ta lead? Searok asks as he starts in motion.
Several cubbies and wooden lockers line the walls of this small workroom. Four rickety chairs surround a water-damaged table, and a well-used but solid-looking cargo lift rises up through the ceiling.
"Best that you do, lest we encounter, ummm, resistance. I'll be right behind you my friend."
"Well, we can't go wrong taking that lift up and checking around I should think."
Both Searok and Tronar notice something odd about the lift; it can indeed be used to ascend to the 2nd floor, simply by climbing on it and operating a lever that will cause a counterweight to fall. Straightforward enough.
What's less expected is the tiny keyhole concealed by the grain of the wood next to the lever. After a couple minutes investigation, its purpose becomes clear; if one had the key, they could reconfigure the controls to take the lift down instead. Which is really odd, because this is a dockside warehouse, and there really shouldn't be a downstairs.
Looks like we need to find someone that be havin' that key! Searok says as he moves the lever to ascend once everyone is aboard.
You ride the lift up to the second floor.
The rough functionality of the warehouse below gives way to beige tile and a whitewashed hall on this floor. Double doors engraved with images of rampant gazelles stands to the south, their once fine teak bearing obvious scores and chips from rough use.
You can hear two voices from the other side, having a discussion.
"Infection rate among these subjects remains 0%. They represent approximately 20% of the Varisians taken, which is in line with what we've observed throughout the city. Cause of immunity still unknown."
"One fifth of a relatively small portion of the city's populace is nothing to get worked up about. So there are some factors of this strain we don't underst-"
"Hold your tongue! It's a large enough segment of the population to be notable. Suppose their immunity can be replicated? We need to explore further-"
And that this point the voices have moved farther away from the door, and are too muffled to discern what they are saying.
Shaeda places her finger over mouth in the universal sign (amongst humanoids) to be quiet, and then gestures towards the voices in a "sneaky sneaky" motion, and she starts off towards them trying to be quiet.
Searok shrugs and follows the noisy Shaeda.
Shaeda gives Searok a disapproving look for being so loud!
Both Shaeda's and Searok's attempts at stealth are less than impressive. You hear a voice on the other side of the door, this one female, snap "Quiet!" followed by a second's pause and then the doors to the room are flung open.
Rows of white-sheeted beds line the walls of this room. Each bed holds a patient restrained by leather straps that bind the figure to the sturdy metal frame. At the room’s center stretch simple wooden worktables, each covered in fluidfilled beakers, intricate glass tubes, small burners, and other alchemical instruments.
Before you stands a Gray Maiden, her face completely obscured by her helmet but her posture radiating fury and indignation, and her sword already in hand. Behind her are two shocked Queen's Physicians.
"Overhear anything interesting?" The sneer is actually audible through the helmet.
Order will be:
Grey Maiden
Shaeda
Queen's Physician 2
Emma
Searok
Queen's Physician 1
Tronar
The Grey Maiden wastes no time, slashing at Shaeda with her sword. Although unprepared for the blow, her armor spares her.
"At least your actions have removed any doubt in my mind as to your ill intentions."
Shaeda will attempt to trip the Grey Maiden...
"Get her Searok!"
The woman trips up due to her heavy armor.
One of the doctors throws a scalpel toward Searok.
But it misses.
Emma moves and casts Hideous Laughter on the doctor to the East.
DC 13 Will Save, or laugh!
The doctor just barely manages to resist.
Searok starts to beat up on the prone maiden!
Searok's first blow strikes the maiden, but the second merely dents her armor.
The other Physician charges forward and attempts to stab Searok with a dagger.
He misses.
"Well apparently sneaking and talking our way out is no longer the plan."
Tronar calls upon the arcane arts and sees Grey Maiden as the primary threat. He calls forth a fiery arc that targets the maiden and then jumps to the physician next to her...and then jumps again to the physician in the back! The fire seemingly is targeted at each foe and does not have the indiscriminate blasting that a fireball may bring.
School: evocation [fire]; Components: V, S; Casting Time: 1 action;
Range: close (25 + 5 ft./2 levels); Target: one primary target plus one
additional target / 3 levels (each of which must be within 15 ft. of the
primary target); Duration: instantaneous; Save: DC 19 Reflex half; subsequent target have DC reduced by 2 DC 17 Reflex half;
Resistance: yes
Creates an arc of flame that leaps between foes.
DC 19 reflex save for the Grey Maiden
DC 17 reflex save for the physician next to the Grey Maiden
DC 17 reflex save for the physician in the back
None of the three were paying attention to Tronar back there, and are unprepared for his magical attack. The prone Grey Maiden, hit the hardest and already injured by Searok, is scorched into unconsciousness. The two doctors fight on.