All - Throwing open the door reveals four flickering torches in wall sconces that light this partially collapsed crypt. An open sarcophagus in the middle of the area is filled to the rim with blood, with spillage streaking the sides of the sarcophagus and pooling around its base. The sarcophagus lid lies half buried under rubble behind it. Incessant muttering comes from behind the sarcophagus and after a moment the head of an older, frail woman perks up. Her hair is disheveled and her face dirty, but beneath the grime she appears to perhaps be good-looking in a matronly way. Her brown eyes are darting around the room and she whispers to herself and she stands. She clutches her hands and draws her arms protectively to her chest as she says, "Have you come to buy flowers dears? I'm afraid I can't seem to find the lilies..." She looks down at the blood filled sarcophagus and plunges her hand inside, sloshing and spilling blood as she searches for something, "Nor the daises it seems." She withdraws her hand and looks at it uncomprehendingly for a moment before wiping it on her tattered and dirty dress. She is unarmed and it would seem that the torture she has endured has broken her mind.
"This one is beyond saving." Damian quickly conludes. "Let us put her out of her misery, it would be an act of mercy really."He suggests, hoping for quick consent.
Ranala would look to Damian shocked. "Would you have said to same to me if I was in such distress?" She'd eye him down before looking back to the elder. "We should just shut the door and keep her here. She seems to be fine in her delusion and hopefully we can send help down here to properly help her."
Ranala would also eye the old woman down, observing any signs of recent torture or if she would recognize her. She does seem to like flowers and Ranala would be sort of familiar with that group in Lower City Baldur's Gate.
"I think the question rather is would you have wanted us to leave you in a blood filled sarcophagus if we would have found you in such a state, but nevermind." Damian says but does not object to Ranala's plan. "The door was unlocked though and she does not seem to be shackled, she must be really lost if the cultists just decided to leave her like this."He adds.
Ranala - The woman eyes you warily and backs away as you approach, unwilling to allow you to get too close. She bears scabby lacerations on her forearms and many of her nails are broken, consistent with self-defense wounds. She also appears to be half-starved and has numerous burn marks across her body, likely from some torturer's branding implement. She is unfamiliar to you, though you have knowledge of a few florists in the Lower City it is entirely possible that if she is indeed a florist, she calls the Upper City her home.
All - When you make to leave, the woman's eyes go wide and it seems she gains a brief moment of lucidity, "W-Wait! Please don't leave me! I...I know about the secret door, the secret door! Please, take me with you and I'll show you, please!"
Samuel produces a lily in his hand via Prestidigitation. “Here is your lily, my lady. A secret door you say, mind trading knowledge for beauty?” Persuasion: 9
Samuel - The woman stares at the offered flower, her expression one of awe, "How lovely... Yes, trade, of course, we can trade..." Her gaze never wavering from the illusory lily, "I remember being carried westward by those horrid thugs, past the stairs and then northward through a hidden door. They made me keep my head down, but I could see the ground as we... we..." She blinks and shakes her head, then looks at you all with confusion, "I'm sorry, but we are closed. You may return at dawn if you'd like." She then begins pacing, gesticulating, and muttering, periodically glancing over to you all and frowning.
Ranala would look to the group, frowning and somber at the sight of what this florist has become, as well as the injuries suffered by the cult. "She isn't too far gone if she speaks true of this secret door. She's a citizen from the Upper City. Can we please just... close the sarcophagus to keep her from the blood?" She'd ask, handing the elder a ration. "I assure you, we're not here to hurt you, we're not like those who captured you. Just please, stay here, gather your strength, and help will come. Would you like water too? For you and your new flower?" She'd attempt to calm the florist.
Ranala - She accepts the ration and sets about eating it as the lid is placed on the sarcophagus. She sips at the water a bit before taking long draws and belching loudly. She claps her hand to her face, obviously embarrassed, "Excuse me! My goodness, where are my manners... where are..." She then takes the crumpled ration wrapper and smells it, "Such a lovely flower..."
All - Once fed and watered, the poor woman seems content to wander the room and mutter at inanimate objects. When you make to leave a second time, she doesn't seem to notice.
Once they close the door behind them, Ranala would bow her head. "So back around where I was held. So past the stairs, go north, and there should be a passage. Should we bother with the last door or try for the secret door?"
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
"Excellent, let's hope she doesn't wander off into the claws of some undead. Now, let's check the door over here and then we'll see about that secret door." Damian says putting his ear to the last door in the corridor. Perception: 16
“I’d say she’s going to be frustrated when that flower disappears later, but I somehow don’t believe she will notice. I agree with Damian. Let us see what is behind this door, then pursue whatever dark secrets lay behind this secret door.”
Damian - There are no sounds to be heard coming from beyond the southern door.
All - When the southern door is opened, you see four flickering torches in wall sconces illuminate this crypt, the middle of which is occupied by an open stone sarcophagus. The sarcophagus bears no carvings or other ornamentation, but is full of humanoid skulls and bones. Six dusty bedrolls lie on the floor around it.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
"Hm, no cultists here either, secret door next." Damian grumbles and ushers the others towards the place the deranged florist described. Investigation: 21
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
All - For DM's eyes only:
Stealth Check: 16
When you turn back to the passage behind you, you see a set of bloody boot prints leading from the room where you left the woman. They lead north to the intersection, then eastward down the steps. The prints fade from excessively bloody and sloppy just outside the door of the room, to nothing by the time they reach the bottom of the steps.
"Aaand she's off in the dungeon. Excellent. Should have put her in that sarcophagus so we knew where she was. Well at least she is armed with a lily when the cultists try to grab her again."Damian says dryly and ushers the others along to look for that secret door, not that he holds much hope there is one.
“Ladies and gentlemen….I believe we may have been duped. Perhaps that old woman was not as senile or lost as we believed. We should be prepared for an ambush.”
"Oh goodness. If that was a trick it was a mighty good one. Definitely keep an eye out for an ambush" Ankita tries to look for any signs of ill will as they move towards the secret door she spoke of. "We're either headed right for something that she sent us to, or, it is the only way out - honestly there isn't another corridor that we haven't searched, so I'm hoping for the latter. I've had enough of this place and am in need of fresh air!"
All - Throwing open the door reveals four flickering torches in wall sconces that light this partially collapsed crypt. An open sarcophagus in the middle of the area is filled to the rim with blood, with spillage streaking the sides of the sarcophagus and pooling around its base. The sarcophagus lid lies half buried under rubble behind it. Incessant muttering comes from behind the sarcophagus and after a moment the head of an older, frail woman perks up. Her hair is disheveled and her face dirty, but beneath the grime she appears to perhaps be good-looking in a matronly way. Her brown eyes are darting around the room and she whispers to herself and she stands. She clutches her hands and draws her arms protectively to her chest as she says, "Have you come to buy flowers dears? I'm afraid I can't seem to find the lilies..." She looks down at the blood filled sarcophagus and plunges her hand inside, sloshing and spilling blood as she searches for something, "Nor the daises it seems." She withdraws her hand and looks at it uncomprehendingly for a moment before wiping it on her tattered and dirty dress. She is unarmed and it would seem that the torture she has endured has broken her mind.
"This one is beyond saving." Damian quickly conludes. "Let us put her out of her misery, it would be an act of mercy really." He suggests, hoping for quick consent.
Ranala would look to Damian shocked. "Would you have said to same to me if I was in such distress?" She'd eye him down before looking back to the elder. "We should just shut the door and keep her here. She seems to be fine in her delusion and hopefully we can send help down here to properly help her."
Ranala would also eye the old woman down, observing any signs of recent torture or if she would recognize her. She does seem to like flowers and Ranala would be sort of familiar with that group in Lower City Baldur's Gate.
Medicine: 25
Perception: 8 + Guidance: 2
"I think the question rather is would you have wanted us to leave you in a blood filled sarcophagus if we would have found you in such a state, but nevermind." Damian says but does not object to Ranala's plan. "The door was unlocked though and she does not seem to be shackled, she must be really lost if the cultists just decided to leave her like this." He adds.
Ranala - The woman eyes you warily and backs away as you approach, unwilling to allow you to get too close. She bears scabby lacerations on her forearms and many of her nails are broken, consistent with self-defense wounds. She also appears to be half-starved and has numerous burn marks across her body, likely from some torturer's branding implement. She is unfamiliar to you, though you have knowledge of a few florists in the Lower City it is entirely possible that if she is indeed a florist, she calls the Upper City her home.
All - When you make to leave, the woman's eyes go wide and it seems she gains a brief moment of lucidity, "W-Wait! Please don't leave me! I...I know about the secret door, the secret door! Please, take me with you and I'll show you, please!"
Samuel produces a lily in his hand via Prestidigitation. “Here is your lily, my lady. A secret door you say, mind trading knowledge for beauty?”
Persuasion: 9
Ankita is impressed with Samuel’s quick thinking and seeing the burns on the woman, has her fox go back out the door to not agitate her even further.
Samuel - The woman stares at the offered flower, her expression one of awe, "How lovely... Yes, trade, of course, we can trade..." Her gaze never wavering from the illusory lily, "I remember being carried westward by those horrid thugs, past the stairs and then northward through a hidden door. They made me keep my head down, but I could see the ground as we... we..." She blinks and shakes her head, then looks at you all with confusion, "I'm sorry, but we are closed. You may return at dawn if you'd like." She then begins pacing, gesticulating, and muttering, periodically glancing over to you all and frowning.
Ranala would look to the group, frowning and somber at the sight of what this florist has become, as well as the injuries suffered by the cult. "She isn't too far gone if she speaks true of this secret door. She's a citizen from the Upper City. Can we please just... close the sarcophagus to keep her from the blood?" She'd ask, handing the elder a ration. "I assure you, we're not here to hurt you, we're not like those who captured you. Just please, stay here, gather your strength, and help will come. Would you like water too? For you and your new flower?" She'd attempt to calm the florist.
Ranala - She accepts the ration and sets about eating it as the lid is placed on the sarcophagus. She sips at the water a bit before taking long draws and belching loudly. She claps her hand to her face, obviously embarrassed, "Excuse me! My goodness, where are my manners... where are..." She then takes the crumpled ration wrapper and smells it, "Such a lovely flower..."
All - Once fed and watered, the poor woman seems content to wander the room and mutter at inanimate objects. When you make to leave a second time, she doesn't seem to notice.
Once they close the door behind them, Ranala would bow her head. "So back around where I was held. So past the stairs, go north, and there should be a passage. Should we bother with the last door or try for the secret door?"
"Excellent, let's hope she doesn't wander off into the claws of some undead. Now, let's check the door over here and then we'll see about that secret door." Damian says putting his ear to the last door in the corridor.
Perception: 16
“I’d say she’s going to be frustrated when that flower disappears later, but I somehow don’t believe she will notice. I agree with Damian. Let us see what is behind this door, then pursue whatever dark secrets lay behind this secret door.”
Damian - There are no sounds to be heard coming from beyond the southern door.
All - When the southern door is opened, you see four flickering torches in wall sconces illuminate this crypt, the middle of which is occupied by an open stone sarcophagus. The sarcophagus bears no carvings or other ornamentation, but is full of humanoid skulls and bones. Six dusty bedrolls lie on the floor around it.
"Hm, no cultists here either, secret door next." Damian grumbles and ushers the others towards the place the deranged florist described.
Investigation: 21
All - For DM's eyes only:
Stealth Check: 16
When you turn back to the passage behind you, you see a set of bloody boot prints leading from the room where you left the woman. They lead north to the intersection, then eastward down the steps. The prints fade from excessively bloody and sloppy just outside the door of the room, to nothing by the time they reach the bottom of the steps.
"Aaand she's off in the dungeon. Excellent. Should have put her in that sarcophagus so we knew where she was. Well at least she is armed with a lily when the cultists try to grab her again." Damian says dryly and ushers the others along to look for that secret door, not that he holds much hope there is one.
“Ladies and gentlemen….I believe we may have been duped. Perhaps that old woman was not as senile or lost as we believed. We should be prepared for an ambush.”
"Oh goodness. If that was a trick it was a mighty good one. Definitely keep an eye out for an ambush" Ankita tries to look for any signs of ill will as they move towards the secret door she spoke of. "We're either headed right for something that she sent us to, or, it is the only way out - honestly there isn't another corridor that we haven't searched, so I'm hoping for the latter. I've had enough of this place and am in need of fresh air!"
Perception: 18
All - When you turn the corner after the steps, you see a cleverly concealed door in the north wall now lies slightly ajar.
Ankita - You see a bloody handprint on the right side edge of the door.