Inside you see a flight of stairs runs along the outside wall of the cottage, with wooden doors at the top and bottom of it. A rickety railing hugs the edge of the staircase, which looms above the foggy lake. A steady droning sound comes from a shadowed corner above the door at the top of the stairs.
"this place is so strange, what do ye make o' those pincushion things?"He asks, walking towards the one with wooden wings to check it out. "Magic or just another sick display that seems to permeate this house?"
Valrieth confirms that they're not magical. "I agree, this is a strange place. These 'pincushions' don't appear to be magical. Maybe they're related to someone who made a bargain with her or...", checking the notes in her notebook, "...maybe to the other two members of the Hourglass Coven: Endelyn Moongrave and Skabatha Nightshade." Val makes a note in her notebook about the figures with a "rocking horse" and "wings." She also suggest, "Or maybe they're related to the missing children somehow. Isn't a rocking horse a toy for a child?"
As Val joins Finley at the door to B5, she says, "I don't understand how a hag could acquire enough power to rule over her own realm in the Feywild but then apparently do nothing with that power. She has apparently put all her energy into such twisted and useless projects. And to what purpose?" She shakes her head and subsides into quiet contemplation for a moment.
Inside you see a flight of stairs runs along the outside wall of the cottage, with wooden doors at the top and bottom of it. A rickety railing hugs the edge of the staircase, which looms above the foggy lake. A steady droning sound comes from a shadowed corner above the door at the top of the stairs.
(OOC: could an Arcana or Nature reveal the source of the droning sound? Valrieth has the same bonus for either one: 8.)
Valrieth pokes her head through the door to B4. She looks up the stairs to the door at the top, looking for any magical auras from the stairs or other door. The she closes the door quietly, saying, "Hm...I'm not...sure...what that sound was. The stairway in here looks a little safer," pointing to the circular stairs in the northwest corner, "but maybe we'd have more luck sneaking up to the second floor unnoticed if we used these stairs outside?"
She shrugs. "This whole building seems so dilapidated, like it's about to fall down. I wonder whether Hither reflects its current ruler: old, soggy, rotten, and depressing."
Val listens at the door to B5. (Perception13) If she doesn't hear anything inside, she suggests that Octavian, the strongest of the party, could try forcing it open. "It doesn't seem to be locked: just stuck. And it's not like we've been that quiet so far. I guess no one is home. Or...maybe the hag knows we're here, and she's just waiting for us to come to her." She glances up at the ceiling, and the thought of a powerful hag watching their movements and drawing them in like some sort of wicked spider makes Val shiver. She shakes her head briefly as banishes the image, and then casts Produce Flame, as usual, before Octavian tries to open the door to B5.
Octavian athletics - 14 the door opens with a loud squeal, and you hear the sound of footsteps from the floor above. More than 1 pair of footsteps.
Inside B5
A large cupboard stands alone in this dark room. Fine scrollwork frames the cupboard’s two doors, which are bridged by a circular panel of dark wood. The panel is inlaid with a silver hourglass sigil.
Octavian athletics - 14 the door opens with a loud squeal, and you hear the sound of footsteps from the floor above. More than 1 pair of footsteps.
Inside B5
A large cupboard stands alone in this dark room. Fine scrollwork frames the cupboard’s two doors, which are bridged by a circular panel of dark wood. The panel is inlaid with a silver hourglass sigil.
At the threshold to B5, Valrieth's ears rotate to follow the sound of footsteps and then stand stiffly above her head. She indicates B5, saying, "Someone's coming. Should we hide in here? Or on the Balcony? Or maybe just try that outside staircase?" She's not sure that they have time to get much farther than that whomever it is arrives.
(OOC: Can Val tell whether the footsteps are actually approaching, and if so, where are they approaching from? Perception18)
At the threshold to B5, Valrieth's ears rotate to follow the sound of footsteps and then stand stiffly above her head. She indicates B5, saying, "Someone's coming. Should we hide in here? Or on the Balcony? Or maybe just try that outside staircase?" She's not sure that they have time to get much farther than that whomever it is arrives.
(OOC: Can Val tell whether the footsteps are actually approaching, and if so, where are they approaching from? Perception11)
"Or should we just wait here?", Valrieth asks breathlessly, indicating B1. "We could see who it is and whether they will help us. If things look bad, I guess we could always jump down to the lake below from the stairs outside or even the trap door."
"Do all the sisters live in the same house? It's possible that they use a toy horse if they kidnap children.."Finley tugs at his beard as they peer into B5.
"Hide in this room quickly, ah cannae make it ta th' balcony without someone hearin' me." He motions to his armor and tries to quietly go inside, "We can brace it closed if we need to."
(OOC: Sorry, I could've swore I posted yesterday morning!)
"Do all the sisters live in the same house? It's possible that they use a toy horse if they kidnap children.."Finley tugs at his beard as they peer into B5.
(OOC: regarding the items in B3)
Valrieth replies uncertainly, "I...don't...think so." Scanning quickly through her notes, she summarizes what they've learned, "We know that Bavlorna is here in Downfall in a realm called 'Hither'. Tsu Harabax said that the Palace of Heart's Desire could not be reached directly from Hither, and Clapperclaw said that he could take us to the realm of 'Thither'. Sir Talavar and Tsu Harabax both said that Bavlorna dislikes her two sisters. So, my intuition says that the other two hags are in Thither. Or...maybe they each have their own realm? Hither, Thither, and somewhere else?"
"Hide in this room quickly, ah cannae make it ta th' balcony without someone hearin' me." He motions to his armor and tries to quietly go inside, "We can brace it closed if we need to."
(OOC: Sorry, I could've swore I posted yesterday morning!)
(OOC: I'm not sure whether anyone's stealth check matters. In the end, we'll need to pull the door to B5 closed, and that's probably going to squeak just as loudly as when we opened it. 😜)
Valrieth agrees about having Octavian hold the door shut. "Maybe they'll just think the door is still jammed? If we're found, we're just three lost travelers?" She ducks into B5 with Finley and Octavian and moves to northeast corner of the room, next to the cupboard. Val continues to hold a flame in her hand, but she tries to hold it next to her, behind her shield, so that the light isn't so visible under the door.
Val notices that her heart is pounding and that she's breathing quickly, and she tries to relax. She forces herself to take more measured breaths as she reminds herself that she's just following the Path shown to her in the Stars. Val tries to listen for the sound of the footsteps either approaching their door or (hopefully) eventually going back upstairs.
"Hide in this room quickly, ah cannae make it ta th' balcony without someone hearin' me." He motions to his armor and tries to quietly go inside, "We can brace it closed if we need to."
(OOC: Sorry, I could've swore I posted yesterday morning!)
(OOC: I'm not sure whether anyone's stealth check matters. In the end, we'll need to pull the door to B5 closed, and that's probably going to squeak just as loudly as when we opened it. 😜)
Valrieth agrees about having Octavian hold the door shut. "Maybe they'll just think the door is still jammed? If we're found, we're just three lost travelers?" She ducks into B5 with Finley and Octavian and moves to northeast corner of the room, next to the cupboard. Val continues to hold a flame in her hand, but she tries to hold it next to her, behind her shield, so that the light isn't so visible under the door.
Val notices that her heart is pounding and that she's breathing quickly, and she tries to relax. She forces herself to take more measured breaths as she reminds herself that she's just following the Path shown to her in the Stars. Val tries to listen for the sound of the footsteps either approaching their door or (hopefully) eventually going back upstairs.
(OOC: can I keep the same stealth and perception checks, or should I re-roll?)
Valrieth says, "I think that THEY will know which door down here squeaks. Maybe we can slip upstairs while they're coming down?" Realizing that the time for stealth has come, Val dismisses her flame and releases her concentration on detect magic and takes out her star chart. She casts pass without trace, including both Octavian and Finley in the effect, cloaking them all with the shadowy stillness that fills the space between the stars.
Val then puts her finger to her lips for silence and pads as quickly and quietly as she can to the door to B4, waving for Finley and Octavian to join her. Val will go first this time so that she can inspect the stairs and railing more closely for traps or hazards. She figures that she can always jump down to the lake and get to the boat if something monstrous jumps out at her. Octavian can guard the rear in case the owner of the footsteps tries to chase them through the door.
Once she's on the stairs, Val puts away her star chart and casts produce flame again. While it's still daytime outside, the surrounding fog seems to strangle the sun's light. She hopes that the light from her flame will illuminate the "shadowed corner above the door at the top of the stairs" and reveal the source of the droning sound before she gets too close.
OOC: I'll keep the original rolls. Stealth becomes 16 with the boost from pass without trace, which will probably equal the rolls from the other two since they have disadvantage. And I especially like the 22 in perception when Val is first in the marching order!
"Eh, good idea,"Finley shakes his head as if he was clearing it and follows her as quietly as he can up to the stairs. When he sees the wasps he says quickly, "Can ye talk to them to ask if we can pass?"
(Finley's new stealth will be 23 with Pass without Trace.)
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Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
The footsteps head down the spiral staircase and you hear the clack of clawed feet on hardwood and by how loud it is you estimate the owner of such feet is quite large. You hear the figure checking the rooms one by one starting with B5.
The you hear the door handle to the stairs turn, but the figure stops and slowly heads back upstairs.
"Eh, good idea,"Finley shakes his head as if he was clearing it and follows her as quietly as he can up to the stairs. When he sees the wasps he says quickly, "Can ye talk to them to ask if we can pass?"
(Finley's new stealth will be 23 with Pass without Trace.)
Valrieth stares at the wasps' nest, which is big enough that Val could fit inside it. She approaches the top of the stairs slowly, knowing that bees, at least, don't normally attack unless they or their nest are harmed. She tries the handle of the door.
(OOC: Is the door locked? Can she tell whether they'd have to open the door out towards them or push it open (into the hut)?)
Assuming that she doesn't immediately get attacked by the wasps, Val tip-toes back down the steps to Finley. She says uncertainly, "I could try to talk to them, but it's difficult to talk to a swarm of insects. Kind of like talking to a crowd? And even if I could explain that we mean no harm, the nest is so big. I don't think we could get through the door without disturbing their nest, and I don't think that they'll like that. Even if you believe that a dragon means you no harm, if she accidentally crushes your house, you're still going to get angry. And an angry swarm on these stairs with nowhere else to go but down..." Val looks over the railing, shaking her head. They hadn't even found any useful information, yet.
Val cranes her neck, looking up toward the roof and out around the corners of the walls in front of them and behind them. She says, "I wonder whether there's anything that you could attach your rope to so that we could climb up or swing over to get back inside through another window or balcony."
(OOC: I see that the second story rooms (B11 and B13) overhang the rooms from the first floor (B3 and B5). I don't know whether the party can see that B14 balcony or whatever those three things are that extend past the balcony. It looks like it might be visible from the landing at the bottom of the stairs, for example.)
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The door to B4 is unlocked and not trapped
Inside you see a flight of stairs runs along the outside wall of the cottage, with wooden doors at the top and bottom of it. A rickety railing hugs the edge of the staircase, which looms above the foggy lake. A steady droning sound comes from a shadowed corner above the door at the top of the stairs.
B5 is also unlocked and not trapped. Though the door hinges seemed to have rusted.
Valrieth confirms that they're not magical. "I agree, this is a strange place. These 'pincushions' don't appear to be magical. Maybe they're related to someone who made a bargain with her or...", checking the notes in her notebook, "...maybe to the other two members of the Hourglass Coven: Endelyn Moongrave and Skabatha Nightshade." Val makes a note in her notebook about the figures with a "rocking horse" and "wings." She also suggest, "Or maybe they're related to the missing children somehow. Isn't a rocking horse a toy for a child?"
As Val joins Finley at the door to B5, she says, "I don't understand how a hag could acquire enough power to rule over her own realm in the Feywild but then apparently do nothing with that power. She has apparently put all her energy into such twisted and useless projects. And to what purpose?" She shakes her head and subsides into quiet contemplation for a moment.
(OOC: could an Arcana or Nature reveal the source of the droning sound? Valrieth has the same bonus for either one: 8.)
Valrieth pokes her head through the door to B4. She looks up the stairs to the door at the top, looking for any magical auras from the stairs or other door. The she closes the door quietly, saying, "Hm...I'm not...sure...what that sound was. The stairway in here looks a little safer," pointing to the circular stairs in the northwest corner, "but maybe we'd have more luck sneaking up to the second floor unnoticed if we used these stairs outside?"
She shrugs. "This whole building seems so dilapidated, like it's about to fall down. I wonder whether Hither reflects its current ruler: old, soggy, rotten, and depressing."
Val listens at the door to B5. (Perception 13) If she doesn't hear anything inside, she suggests that Octavian, the strongest of the party, could try forcing it open. "It doesn't seem to be locked: just stuck. And it's not like we've been that quiet so far. I guess no one is home. Or...maybe the hag knows we're here, and she's just waiting for us to come to her." She glances up at the ceiling, and the thought of a powerful hag watching their movements and drawing them in like some sort of wicked spider makes Val shiver. She shakes her head briefly as banishes the image, and then casts Produce Flame, as usual, before Octavian tries to open the door to B5.
Octavian athletics - 14 the door opens with a loud squeal, and you hear the sound of footsteps from the floor above. More than 1 pair of footsteps.
Inside B5
A large cupboard stands alone in this dark room. Fine scrollwork frames the cupboard’s two doors, which are bridged by a circular panel of dark wood. The panel is inlaid with a silver hourglass sigil.
What do you do?
At the threshold to B5, Valrieth's ears rotate to follow the sound of footsteps and then stand stiffly above her head. She indicates B5, saying, "Someone's coming. Should we hide in here? Or on the Balcony? Or maybe just try that outside staircase?" She's not sure that they have time to get much farther than that whomever it is arrives.
(OOC: Can Val tell whether the footsteps are actually approaching, and if so, where are they approaching from? Perception 18)
"Or should we just wait here?", Valrieth asks breathlessly, indicating B1. "We could see who it is and whether they will help us. If things look bad, I guess we could always jump down to the lake below from the stairs outside or even the trap door."
The footsteps are heading towards the spiral staircase.
(OOC: I'm going to wait until end-of-day today to see whether Snievan is able to post his vote on whether / where to hide.)
"Do all the sisters live in the same house? It's possible that they use a toy horse if they kidnap children.." Finley tugs at his beard as they peer into B5.
"Hide in this room quickly, ah cannae make it ta th' balcony without someone hearin' me." He motions to his armor and tries to quietly go inside, "We can brace it closed if we need to."
(OOC: Sorry, I could've swore I posted yesterday morning!)
(Stealth: 2)
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
(OOC: regarding the items in B3)
Valrieth replies uncertainly, "I...don't...think so." Scanning quickly through her notes, she summarizes what they've learned, "We know that Bavlorna is here in Downfall in a realm called 'Hither'. Tsu Harabax said that the Palace of Heart's Desire could not be reached directly from Hither, and Clapperclaw said that he could take us to the realm of 'Thither'. Sir Talavar and Tsu Harabax both said that Bavlorna dislikes her two sisters. So, my intuition says that the other two hags are in Thither. Or...maybe they each have their own realm? Hither, Thither, and somewhere else?"
Stealth 18
(OOC: I'm not sure whether anyone's stealth check matters. In the end, we'll need to pull the door to B5 closed, and that's probably going to squeak just as loudly as when we opened it. 😜)
Valrieth agrees about having Octavian hold the door shut. "Maybe they'll just think the door is still jammed? If we're found, we're just three lost travelers?" She ducks into B5 with Finley and Octavian and moves to northeast corner of the room, next to the cupboard. Val continues to hold a flame in her hand, but she tries to hold it next to her, behind her shield, so that the light isn't so visible under the door.
Val notices that her heart is pounding and that she's breathing quickly, and she tries to relax. She forces herself to take more measured breaths as she reminds herself that she's just following the Path shown to her in the Stars. Val tries to listen for the sound of the footsteps either approaching their door or (hopefully) eventually going back upstairs.
Perception 21
I strongly advise a better hiding spot as B5 with a squeaky door will reveal you location.
(OOC: Heh. The Hand of Fate nudges the party.)
(OOC: can I keep the same stealth and perception checks, or should I re-roll?)
Valrieth says, "I think that THEY will know which door down here squeaks. Maybe we can slip upstairs while they're coming down?" Realizing that the time for stealth has come, Val dismisses her flame and releases her concentration on detect magic and takes out her star chart. She casts pass without trace, including both Octavian and Finley in the effect, cloaking them all with the shadowy stillness that fills the space between the stars.
Val then puts her finger to her lips for silence and pads as quickly and quietly as she can to the door to B4, waving for Finley and Octavian to join her. Val will go first this time so that she can inspect the stairs and railing more closely for traps or hazards. She figures that she can always jump down to the lake and get to the boat if something monstrous jumps out at her. Octavian can guard the rear in case the owner of the footsteps tries to chase them through the door.
Once she's on the stairs, Val puts away her star chart and casts produce flame again. While it's still daytime outside, the surrounding fog seems to strangle the sun's light. She hopes that the light from her flame will illuminate the "shadowed corner above the door at the top of the stairs" and reveal the source of the droning sound before she gets too close.
You can reroll if you want to or not.
Val's light illuminates a large wasp nest 7ft long 5 ft wide partially covering the door at the top. You hear the droning of all the wasps.
OOC: I'll keep the original rolls. Stealth becomes 16 with the boost from pass without trace, which will probably equal the rolls from the other two since they have disadvantage. And I especially like the 22 in perception when Val is first in the marching order!
Octavian stealth 4, but with Val's spell it becomes a 14.
"Eh, good idea," Finley shakes his head as if he was clearing it and follows her as quietly as he can up to the stairs. When he sees the wasps he says quickly, "Can ye talk to them to ask if we can pass?"
(Finley's new stealth will be 23 with Pass without Trace.)
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
The footsteps head down the spiral staircase and you hear the clack of clawed feet on hardwood and by how loud it is you estimate the owner of such feet is quite large. You hear the figure checking the rooms one by one starting with B5.
The you hear the door handle to the stairs turn, but the figure stops and slowly heads back upstairs.
Valrieth stares at the wasps' nest, which is big enough that Val could fit inside it. She approaches the top of the stairs slowly, knowing that bees, at least, don't normally attack unless they or their nest are harmed. She tries the handle of the door.
(OOC: Is the door locked? Can she tell whether they'd have to open the door out towards them or push it open (into the hut)?)
Assuming that she doesn't immediately get attacked by the wasps, Val tip-toes back down the steps to Finley. She says uncertainly, "I could try to talk to them, but it's difficult to talk to a swarm of insects. Kind of like talking to a crowd? And even if I could explain that we mean no harm, the nest is so big. I don't think we could get through the door without disturbing their nest, and I don't think that they'll like that. Even if you believe that a dragon means you no harm, if she accidentally crushes your house, you're still going to get angry. And an angry swarm on these stairs with nowhere else to go but down..." Val looks over the railing, shaking her head. They hadn't even found any useful information, yet.
Val cranes her neck, looking up toward the roof and out around the corners of the walls in front of them and behind them. She says, "I wonder whether there's anything that you could attach your rope to so that we could climb up or swing over to get back inside through another window or balcony."
(OOC: I see that the second story rooms (B11 and B13) overhang the rooms from the first floor (B3 and B5). I don't know whether the party can see that B14 balcony or whatever those three things are that extend past the balcony. It looks like it might be visible from the landing at the bottom of the stairs, for example.)