Darwin walks forward and looks down the stairwell.
"Well that doesn't look appealing", he says, as he peers down into the dark.
"I can help with that", Caper's voice says in Sylvan from where he is wrapped invisibly around Darwin's shoulders. There is some more whispering in Sylvan and then suddenly 4 glowing orbs appear. They move down the stairwell, stopping at 20 foot intervals.
Ida uses her glowing battle-axe to guide the way. She motions for Agnarr to stay with Antonius and keep a look out. She heads down the stairs and motions for Hamish and Darwin to follow.
[[I should never have given you that damn Dragon 😂]]
As you proceed down the stairs, it goes about 30 feet down, curving in a spiral, and you find yourselves in a living room.
Homely and comfortable, decorated in rich earthen tones, an unlit fireplace standing against one wall.
It doesn't take long for at least one of the party to realize that a dwarf would be more comfortable underground.
There are 4 doors leading out of the room.
The room would be homey and comfortable, anyway, if it wasn't for the darkness, layers of dust and cobwebs and general signs of lack of use that would suggest no one has been down here in at least a month, creating an almost creepy vibe.
That vibe is pushed from almost to very but the overwhelming stench of death and decay that fills the space, clawing, pungent and oppressive.
Hamish glances from Ida to Darwin, his face full of concern. He starts to walk around the room slowly, taking his time to look and listen as hard as he can to figure out what is going on.
"Certainly not what we were looking to find." Ida bows her head for just a second and murmurs a word. She then moves towards the corpse to try to see if she can recognize anything about it.
Hamish crouches beside the body, seemingly unperturbed by the smell. He scans it, looking for some cause of death or other strange detail, anything that might give them more to go off of.
As Hamish investigates the body, he rolls it over onto it's back, as it had formerly been face down on the floor.
As his rolls the body, he does so indelicately, and a large evisceration in it's stomach opens up sickeningly. There is also a dagger embedded in the corpses chest.
'If the body's been here this long then...it's been since before we went north.' Antonius says staring white at the body.
Agnarr nods, 'and I doubt my brother has come back down here since. He likely comes in the front of the work shop so that the workers see him, then slips out that back gate we saw up top.' he sighs and shakes his head.
'He could be anywhere. He could be anyone. My father doesn't have time to wait for me to find him, it's been too long already. I have to go.'
Antonius nods, 'Yes, yes. That's a good idea.' he turns to leave, his eyes distant and his mind clearly running.
'Or...' he pauses at the stairs turning back, his mind going a mile a minute. 'He thinks I'm dead. If I reveal I'm alive at the palace, regardless of if the duke truly is the duke, maybe he's a palace guard or the chancellor or the marshall or...well anyone.' he sets his mouth in a grim line.
'I think I should go and find somewhere to hide until this all blows over.'
Ida agrees that hiding Antonius for the time being may be the best idea. She reminds them that Antonius needs to stay out of sight of everyone, including the workers and the shop for this plan to work. However, it could be highly beneficial to ask the workers how often Brennan has been coming into the shop, to in know if he is making an appearance each day or only every few just to track his movements.
She also agrees they need to continue on to help Agnarr and his father now, and they need to try to hurry and avoid being recognized in town as much as possible to try to keep Agnarr away from anyone that has brother may be.
Do you do anything with the body? Do you intend to tell anyone what you found down there?
Immediately upon exiting the cottage, Antonius bids his farewells and slips out the back gate, hopeful that his brief appearance in the workshop doesn't blow the whole game.
Does the party leave via the back gate or the workshop? Do they question the employees in regards to Brennan? Do they do anything about the fact that Agnarr's brother, who I believe I have remarkably got this far without naming, has Antonius' operation producing weapons of mass destruction for a reason yet to be discovered?
Darwin walks forward and looks down the stairwell.
"Well that doesn't look appealing", he says, as he peers down into the dark.
"I can help with that", Caper's voice says in Sylvan from where he is wrapped invisibly around Darwin's shoulders. There is some more whispering in Sylvan and then suddenly 4 glowing orbs appear. They move down the stairwell, stopping at 20 foot intervals.
Ida uses her glowing battle-axe to guide the way. She motions for Agnarr to stay with Antonius and keep a look out. She heads down the stairs and motions for Hamish and Darwin to follow.
[[I should never have given you that damn Dragon 😂]]
As you proceed down the stairs, it goes about 30 feet down, curving in a spiral, and you find yourselves in a living room.
Homely and comfortable, decorated in rich earthen tones, an unlit fireplace standing against one wall.
It doesn't take long for at least one of the party to realize that a dwarf would be more comfortable underground.
There are 4 doors leading out of the room.
The room would be homey and comfortable, anyway, if it wasn't for the darkness, layers of dust and cobwebs and general signs of lack of use that would suggest no one has been down here in at least a month, creating an almost creepy vibe.
That vibe is pushed from almost to very but the overwhelming stench of death and decay that fills the space, clawing, pungent and oppressive.
Silence reigns.
Hamish glances from Ida to Darwin, his face full of concern. He starts to walk around the room slowly, taking his time to look and listen as hard as he can to figure out what is going on.
((Investigation Nat 20))
As you circle the room, you notice that the smell is stronger the closer you get to one of the doors.
As you look around intently, you notice a dark dried smear on the door's handle
“Stand back, and make ready”, Darwin says as he notices Hamish concentrating on one door in particular.
He checks the others are ready, possibly with Ida in front.
Caper moves the Dancing Lights so they cover the room, with one right by the door they are about to open.
He summons the translucent hand, and attempts to open the door.
It creeps noisily and as it swings open and the stench that pours out is so strong it feels almost palpable.
The room revealed appears to be a kitchen and in the middle of the floor is a bloated and decomposing corpse.
"Certainly not what we were looking to find." Ida bows her head for just a second and murmurs a word. She then moves towards the corpse to try to see if she can recognize anything about it.
Investigation: 18
As you circle around the corpse, it becomes apparent that it is a bald dwarf with a large beard.
As you investigate closely, you come to the conclusion that this body has, unsurprisingly, been here for quite some time, a month at the very least.
Antonius is pale and blinks slowly, 'Thats...Brennan.'
Agnarr growls, 'My brother.'
Darwin swings around to see that Antonius and Agnarr have both followed them.
"Of course, your brother is adept with illusion magic", he says putting his palm to his forehead. "It all makes sense now. But where is he?".
He and Caper both stay in the central room, keeping their eyes peeled for any sign of movement, or illusion.
Darwin Perception: 17
Caper Perception: 18
Hamish crouches beside the body, seemingly unperturbed by the smell. He scans it, looking for some cause of death or other strange detail, anything that might give them more to go off of.
((Investigation 6))
As Hamish investigates the body, he rolls it over onto it's back, as it had formerly been face down on the floor.
As his rolls the body, he does so indelicately, and a large evisceration in it's stomach opens up sickeningly. There is also a dagger embedded in the corpses chest.
'If the body's been here this long then...it's been since before we went north.' Antonius says staring white at the body.
Agnarr nods, 'and I doubt my brother has come back down here since. He likely comes in the front of the work shop so that the workers see him, then slips out that back gate we saw up top.' he sighs and shakes his head.
'He could be anywhere. He could be anyone. My father doesn't have time to wait for me to find him, it's been too long already. I have to go.'
Darwin shakes his head.
”So are the plans for your armour missing, or are they upstairs being worked from?”, he asks Antonius.
”I assume you can take this issue to the Duke now and get protection and people to hunt Agnarr’s brother down”, he adds.
If all that is true, he sees no reason to stay here.
Antonius shrugs, 'I mean, it looked like they were working on my suit?' he says. 'I will speak to the duke immediately.' he adds
'Just be wary, my brother could be literally anyone.' Agnarr warns.
“Might be worth taking precautions, like asking a question only the real duke would be able to answer, for example”, Darwin suggests.
”Might be worth us all doing that from time to time”.
Antonius nods, 'Yes, yes. That's a good idea.' he turns to leave, his eyes distant and his mind clearly running.
'Or...' he pauses at the stairs turning back, his mind going a mile a minute. 'He thinks I'm dead. If I reveal I'm alive at the palace, regardless of if the duke truly is the duke, maybe he's a palace guard or the chancellor or the marshall or...well anyone.' he sets his mouth in a grim line.
'I think I should go and find somewhere to hide until this all blows over.'
“As you wish”, Darwin says to Antonius. “It will give you time to focus on my payment at least”, he adds with a wink.
”Ok Agnarr, lead on. Let’s get this cure you need”.
Ida agrees that hiding Antonius for the time being may be the best idea. She reminds them that Antonius needs to stay out of sight of everyone, including the workers and the shop for this plan to work. However, it could be highly beneficial to ask the workers how often Brennan has been coming into the shop, to in know if he is making an appearance each day or only every few just to track his movements.
She also agrees they need to continue on to help Agnarr and his father now, and they need to try to hurry and avoid being recognized in town as much as possible to try to keep Agnarr away from anyone that has brother may be.
The party heads out of Brennan's cottage.
Do you do anything with the body? Do you intend to tell anyone what you found down there?
Immediately upon exiting the cottage, Antonius bids his farewells and slips out the back gate, hopeful that his brief appearance in the workshop doesn't blow the whole game.
Does the party leave via the back gate or the workshop? Do they question the employees in regards to Brennan? Do they do anything about the fact that Agnarr's brother, who I believe I have remarkably got this far without naming, has Antonius' operation producing weapons of mass destruction for a reason yet to be discovered?
"Well this is a fine pickle", Darwin says.
He wanders around the room, remembering what Agnarr once said about his borther's vanity. He looks for a worker with piercing green eyes.
Perception: 16+1=17