This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Seeing inside the room more clearly, Melantha stepped forward; tapping along the floor in front of them with their crowbar, and looking about the shelves and ceiling...just in case.
Once at the skeleton and the chest, Melantha moved to the side of the chest, and used their crowbar to open it - in a way such that they can glance inside and still have the skeleton collapsed over the opening.
Peering inside, you can see that the chest contains three blank books with black leather covers, three rune covered scrolls, and three more mundane looking scrolls.
The skeleton slumps and clatters to the floor, the letter coming free from its hand.
Xai’Bo hears the clatter of the skeleton and turns to the children. "Wait here, I will go and make sure all is ok", he says and wanders to the doorway of the library, keeping the children in view, and looking in to make sure the others are ok.
Seeing the initiative of the brave little one, Mavis is filled with a sense of shame and disappointment. Here is someone that has little fear entering a mysterious room while he waited behind in paranoia and slight cowardice. Steeling himself, Mavis moves closer toward the chest while still keeping a cautious step to ease his paranoia a little. He is reminded to a proverb he once read: If you are too careful, you will be too occupied in being careful that you are more than likely to stumble over something.
Mavis moves toward the pile of skeleton that had spilled out of the chest and grabs the fallen letter. He reads it aloud so the other can hear.
Sirron moved back from the secret room just in case those who had entered needed to make a quick escape and froze up slightly when he heard the sound of the skeleton clattering onto the ground. After a little bit he snapped out of it and glanced into the room, wanting to make sure that Melantha and Mavis were alright.
"Are you two okay? The skeleton didn't..." he trailed off slightly when he noticed that the chest was opened and the skeleton was now laying on the floor. He let out a relived sigh when he saw that they were okay.
Written in an elegant, flowing script, the letter reads as follows.
My most pathetic servant,
I am not a messiah sent to you by the Dark Powers of this land. I have not come to lead you on a path to immortality. However many souls you have bled on your hidden altar, however many visitors you have tortured in your dungeon, know that you are not the ones who brought me to this beautiful land. You are but worms writhing in my earth.
You say that you are cursed, your fortunes spent. You abandoned love for madness, took solace in the bosom of another woman, and sired a bastard son. Cursed by darkness? Of that I have no doubt. Save you from your wretchedness? I think not. I much prefer you as you are.
Ruel listening to Mavis recite the letter, was more confused than ever, was the person in possession the pathetic servant if so it looked like he had certainly met his end and the souls he had tortured had their vengeance.
Something sparked at the back of Ruel's consciousness didn't the children mention mother went to the basement, the letter made reference to a dungeon was this basement the dungeon the letter references.
For sure they had gained more knowledge to light their way but more was required.
Ruel searched more of the room trying to find reference to the altar and sacrifice, at that point a dark thought occurred to him what if the baby had been sacrificed to the dark powers.
You find that the shelves are packed with tomes describing fiend-summoning rituals and the necromantic rituals of a cult called the Priests of Osybus.
Xai'Bo hears the letter read out loud and steps back out the room, looking again at the picture. It all made more sense now, Walter was a half brother and that was why the lady in the picture looked at him with scorn. And the basement was a dungeon and torture chamber. He reflexively gripped his staff tighter, they needed to be careful.
He turns to Rose, "How many visitors have you seen come to the house and go down to the basement? Did you see them leave?".
Sirron fell quite as he listened to the letter being read, glancing down at the floor as he thought about what he'd just heard. The mention of a dungeon was a bit odd but when he heard mention of an alter he felt a chil run down his spine and a familiar sinking feeling hit him. After a couple seconds he glanced back up and shook his head slightly as he tried to find the right words to express the thoughts that were currently running through his mind.
"I have a sinking suspicion that if we don't find the baby upstairs we might find him and the children's mother wherever this 'hidden alter' is. I just hope that if that is the case we can get to them before something horrible happens... if it hasn't already happened that is."
Xai'Bo smiles at Rose, and nods. "Don't run off ok?", he says and goes into the library to talk to the others. "We should press on, time may well be of the essence. The child says the basement only has potatoes and old books, so there might be some kind of secret entrance down there".
Mavis looks at the letter and the skeleton with apprehension. A dark thought crosses his mind as he recalls what the children said about their father. Is it really possible that... He shakes his head to keep positive.
'This place is wrong,' Mavis says, a frown etched on his face. 'The skeleton must have been here for a long time. What was it again that cause this room to open up? The owner of the house cannot possibly miss it, even if they are new to the house. It took the brave one a short time to find it. From the letter, and this might be a leap, I fear that we have entered into a trap in the form of a house. Perhaps Sir Sirron and Sir Xai'Bo are correct, there is little time to ponder what may or may not have happened here. With the information we have gathered, we know that there are two points of interest we must investigate further: the third floor where young master Walter could be, and the basement where a hidden entrance -- that might or might not lead to this dungeon and hidden altar -- could be. If what young miss Rose said was true, then heading upstairs will eventually lead us to this basement.'
{{@DM, the oil lantern will last how long? And what's the range?}}
Melantha - whom the others have continuously referred to as the "Brave Little One" - had just finished picking up one blank book and all six scrolls as they overheard the group's deductions. They then briskly walked out of the secret room; tossing to Ruel, Sirron, and Xai Bo one rune covered scroll each (as they assumed from their appearance and attire that they could learn some form of magic).
"Got to find Walter, yes-yes." They agreed on their way out of the library towards the children. "Time is urgent - I took tad while in here, I'm sorry." They handed to Rose the three mundane scrolls. "Family chest, family scrolls, maybe. We might need rune scrolls to protect family, please?"
Ruel catches the scroll tossed to him from Melantha nodding in appreciation, before unravelling it to see if he can make any sense of what is on there.
Ruel like Melantha is beginning to have a bad feeling regarding baby Walter and is keen to head upstairs as quickly as possible.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Xai'Bo catches the scroll and also takes a brief look, before heading towards the stairs. "I will go and see what awaits us", he says once more whispering some arcane words in Elvish before slowly creeping up the stairs.
Casts Guidance on himself. Stealth: 13 Perception: 13
(OOC: We are down to 6, our Wizard, Day, has left the campaign)
Sirron catches the scroll and looks at it for a moment in a curious fashion before slipping it into his coat. Before leaving the library he glances back in the direction of the hidden room and apologizes underneath his breath. After he stepped out of the library he began to walk towards the stairs but stopped when he heard Xai'Bo speak and nodded slightly.
Seeing inside the room more clearly, Melantha stepped forward; tapping along the floor in front of them with their crowbar, and looking about the shelves and ceiling...just in case.
Once at the skeleton and the chest, Melantha moved to the side of the chest, and used their crowbar to open it - in a way such that they can glance inside and still have the skeleton collapsed over the opening.
Perception Check: 15
Main Character: Melantha(They/She)
Ideal Voice Claim
Peering inside, you can see that the chest contains three blank books with black leather covers, three rune covered scrolls, and three more mundane looking scrolls.
The skeleton slumps and clatters to the floor, the letter coming free from its hand.
Xai’Bo hears the clatter of the skeleton and turns to the children. "Wait here, I will go and make sure all is ok", he says and wanders to the doorway of the library, keeping the children in view, and looking in to make sure the others are ok.
"All ok in there?", he asks quietly.
Seeing the initiative of the brave little one, Mavis is filled with a sense of shame and disappointment. Here is someone that has little fear entering a mysterious room while he waited behind in paranoia and slight cowardice. Steeling himself, Mavis moves closer toward the chest while still keeping a cautious step to ease his paranoia a little. He is reminded to a proverb he once read: If you are too careful, you will be too occupied in being careful that you are more than likely to stumble over something.
Mavis moves toward the pile of skeleton that had spilled out of the chest and grabs the fallen letter. He reads it aloud so the other can hear.
Sirron moved back from the secret room just in case those who had entered needed to make a quick escape and froze up slightly when he heard the sound of the skeleton clattering onto the ground. After a little bit he snapped out of it and glanced into the room, wanting to make sure that Melantha and Mavis were alright.
"Are you two okay? The skeleton didn't..." he trailed off slightly when he noticed that the chest was opened and the skeleton was now laying on the floor. He let out a relived sigh when he saw that they were okay.
Written in an elegant, flowing script, the letter reads as follows.
Ruel listening to Mavis recite the letter, was more confused than ever, was the person in possession the pathetic servant if so it looked like he had certainly met his end and the souls he had tortured had their vengeance.
Something sparked at the back of Ruel's consciousness didn't the children mention mother went to the basement, the letter made reference to a dungeon was this basement the dungeon the letter references.
For sure they had gained more knowledge to light their way but more was required.
Ruel searched more of the room trying to find reference to the altar and sacrifice, at that point a dark thought occurred to him what if the baby had been sacrificed to the dark powers.
Investigation 20
You find that the shelves are packed with tomes describing fiend-summoning rituals and the necromantic rituals of a cult called the Priests of Osybus.
Xai'Bo hears the letter read out loud and steps back out the room, looking again at the picture. It all made more sense now, Walter was a half brother and that was why the lady in the picture looked at him with scorn. And the basement was a dungeon and torture chamber. He reflexively gripped his staff tighter, they needed to be careful.
He turns to Rose, "How many visitors have you seen come to the house and go down to the basement? Did you see them leave?".
Sirron fell quite as he listened to the letter being read, glancing down at the floor as he thought about what he'd just heard. The mention of a dungeon was a bit odd but when he heard mention of an alter he felt a chil run down his spine and a familiar sinking feeling hit him. After a couple seconds he glanced back up and shook his head slightly as he tried to find the right words to express the thoughts that were currently running through his mind.
"I have a sinking suspicion that if we don't find the baby upstairs we might find him and the children's mother wherever this 'hidden alter' is. I just hope that if that is the case we can get to them before something horrible happens... if it hasn't already happened that is."
Rose looks puzzled. "Visitors don't go in the basement. There's nothing there except potatoes and books too old to be up here."
Insight Check on Rose: 13
Xai'Bo smiles at Rose, and nods. "Don't run off ok?", he says and goes into the library to talk to the others. "We should press on, time may well be of the essence. The child says the basement only has potatoes and old books, so there might be some kind of secret entrance down there".
Mavis looks at the letter and the skeleton with apprehension. A dark thought crosses his mind as he recalls what the children said about their father. Is it really possible that... He shakes his head to keep positive.
'This place is wrong,' Mavis says, a frown etched on his face. 'The skeleton must have been here for a long time. What was it again that cause this room to open up? The owner of the house cannot possibly miss it, even if they are new to the house. It took the brave one a short time to find it. From the letter, and this might be a leap, I fear that we have entered into a trap in the form of a house. Perhaps Sir Sirron and Sir Xai'Bo are correct, there is little time to ponder what may or may not have happened here. With the information we have gathered, we know that there are two points of interest we must investigate further: the third floor where young master Walter could be, and the basement where a hidden entrance -- that might or might not lead to this dungeon and hidden altar -- could be. If what young miss Rose said was true, then heading upstairs will eventually lead us to this basement.'
{{@DM, the oil lantern will last how long? And what's the range?}}
Melantha - whom the others have continuously referred to as the "Brave Little One" - had just finished picking up one blank book and all six scrolls as they overheard the group's deductions. They then briskly walked out of the secret room; tossing to Ruel, Sirron, and Xai Bo one rune covered scroll each (as they assumed from their appearance and attire that they could learn some form of magic).
"Got to find Walter, yes-yes." They agreed on their way out of the library towards the children. "Time is urgent - I took tad while in here, I'm sorry." They handed to Rose the three mundane scrolls. "Family chest, family scrolls, maybe. We might need rune scrolls to protect family, please?"
Main Character: Melantha(They/She)
Ideal Voice Claim
Ruel catches the scroll tossed to him from Melantha nodding in appreciation, before unravelling it to see if he can make any sense of what is on there.
Ruel like Melantha is beginning to have a bad feeling regarding baby Walter and is keen to head upstairs as quickly as possible.
Xai'Bo catches the scroll and also takes a brief look, before heading towards the stairs. "I will go and see what awaits us", he says once more whispering some arcane words in Elvish before slowly creeping up the stairs.
Casts Guidance on himself. Stealth: 13
Perception: 13
(OOC: We are down to 6, our Wizard, Day, has left the campaign)
Sirron catches the scroll and looks at it for a moment in a curious fashion before slipping it into his coat. Before leaving the library he glances back in the direction of the hidden room and apologizes underneath his breath. After he stepped out of the library he began to walk towards the stairs but stopped when he heard Xai'Bo speak and nodded slightly.
As far as you can tell, Rose is being genuine.
(The lantern casts bright light in a 15-foot radius and dim light for an additional 30 feet. It has enough oil to burn for three hours.)
A quick glance of the scroll reveals it to be the incantation for spiritual weapon.
(Ruling that paladins can cast this from scrolls.)