"Traps? Ok, speed is not of the essence, then. We should be careful", Normont says in reply to Werhann, even as he digs into his backpack and retrieves his pistol and a pouch of 20 bullets.
He keeps side-eying the woodland creatures as well, remembering the black eyes that the creatures had by the Far Gate Portal, after consumed the black ichor.
When Lokilia calls for them to hurry, he shakes off the memory and shoulders his pack. Amber flutters off his shoulder as he does, but then lands again.
"Yes, yes", he says. "Maggie, with me", he adds and they both jump down through the open hatch.
Unless someone else moves ahead, he will take point alongside Maggie, moving slowly in order to be mindful of traps. If anyone does decide to overtake, he will instruct Maggie to move alongside them instead.
(OOC: Did the creatures have black eyes? Are they reminiscent of those at the Far Gate portal in the way they act, as I am assuming? Basically looking for signs of mind control rather than just curious animals :-) )
(OOC: Did the creatures have black eyes? Are they reminiscent of those at the Far Gate portal in the way they act, as I am assuming? Basically looking for signs of mind control rather than just curious animals :-) )
( No black eyes but almost certainly there is nothing natural about their behaviour'....they are under some form of compulsion.....hive mind....something......perhaps the earlier suggestion that they all contain brain dogs is true? If so....things are much worse than a missing Grey Hunter......or perhaps they are simply under a spell of some sort?)
Dev is relieved that the others have resolved to investigate the — what? Lair? Hideout? Jail? — but after hearing Normont’s explanation, and understanding that the source of the scream might be un-savable, the teenager has second thoughts. Yet, although still scared, he puts on a neutral expression and takes up the rear as the companions — now six in number — descend underground.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries //Dev Horndin Curious Critters
Progo watches in disbelief as one by one they all descend into the death trap. What were they thinking? Going after some rifle or trying to save some low life guard whi got punished, this was madness! Progo was no fool, and he always knew when to walk away when the odds are too stacked up against them. He should just go back and find this guard, what did he say her name was? Doesn't matter, Progo would retrieve his cart and wares, hopefully they are still intact where they were left. He would need to find a way to open that lock he put on it, he had broke a set of picks the last time he had popped it open, it really was a good lock.
Stepping of the final rung of the ladder, he finally realized that all of that grumbling in his head distract him enough that he instinctively followed the rest down into the hideout. Blast! Progo can't go back up now, he wasn't going to look like a coward infront of these folks just because they couldn't see reason. Well if anyone was going to talk sense into them and safe them from their own heroic foolishness, it would have to be Progo. "Just so Progo understands, we save this Werhann, if that is your real name, and the first thing we do is re-enter the hideout with the intent to explore more, likely to suggest the rifle would be kept in someone's quarters because someone stole it and wants to keep in for themselves and if it's not on their person, then it would be where they sleep. Which sounds like lets all go where a number of occupants will be. Are not sure that this man isn't just another mind controlled member down here, perhaps even using some of those tactics on some of you right now? Would you walk to the side, nobody put arrow traps to aim along a wall. Traps and triggers are centered as to catch the most traffic..." Progo takes up the rear of the group still trying to sell his tactics or caution and retreat while following and on high alert and voicing his exploration tips. "Watch up high for death from above, clues and trails lie on the ground but never trust a ceiling"
Lokilia drops down the ladder, staying just ahead of Dev. Once they are all down, she notes, "I can use my magic to help us all move quietly. It will only last for an hour, and you have to stay kind of close. But I think that's probably worth it for this." (If there are no objections, she waves her staff, chanting in Druidic to cast Pass without Trace: +10 to Stealth for all within 30 ft. and leave no tracks or traces of passage.)
Normont turns to Progo before they leave the first room.
"Glad to see you are still with us, Progo. The goal was to free Werhann, you are right, but not just to save him. Because we thought he would have information on how to find the creature behind all this, and what all this is even about. The squid is a danger to the citizens of Whitestone, and likely anywhere else it travels. If there is a chance to put an end to that threat here and now, that is of vital importance. And your help, I am sure, will be greatly appreciated by Lady de Rolo. She wants this taken care of swiftly", he explains.
As Lokilia offers to make them magically quiet, he nods agreement.
"It knows we are here, but you are probably right, it is better not to announce our movements by being noisy. We should also shut the hatch so those creatures don't follow us, in case they are really brain dogs".
When they are ready to move forward, he will make sure Maggie goes ever so slightly ahead, so if there is a trap he misses it will be her that ends it the hard way. He will also make sure to really focus on finding traps.
Dev flips up the hood of his cloak, so that his brick red face is shaded and vague and only the subtle yellow glint of his eyes gives focus to his features. Even his red sequined shoes seem drab and colorless now under the elf-woven garment’s spell.
Yet, still fearful, when his eyes are visible, they can be seen to flit quickly about, mistrustful of every step and dark corner as they walk.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries //Dev Horndin Curious Critters
Werhann will descend after Normont and, at least for the time being, walk behind the Gnome, offering what little knowledge he has gained of the area. "In truth, I only ran into one trap, and it's some way ahead," Werhann reassures, seeing how everyone is now looking for the traps he mentioned. "Assuredly, while it's more than likely that I'd have missed others on the way, they didn't activate while I passed through, either."
When he gets to the room with the body, he notices the illusory wall remains, but behind it, Werhann doesn't see the greataxe he left. Perhaps it disappears after a bit? But the sword stuck around for a while earlier. Does it also depend on proximity, or did someone take it? Werhann reaches through the illusory wall, mostly for show, and retrieves a new weapon. Anyone not already aware of the illusion should, hopefully, believe it was left against the wall there all this time. It is a long glaive, with a somewhat long blade at the end. Not a weapon Werhann was used to, perhaps, but he was curious as to his new abilities with weapons and wanted to test the limits. Besides, perhaps fighting at a short distance away will prove useful.
"This one was too afraid of the squid,"Werhann gestures at the body, "he wouldn't let me pass without a fight. The other one ran, once this one died. And while I'm not certain, I believe there is one more, not too far ahead. As for the squid itself, I didn't run into it on my way out, fortunately, so it might be farther down, unless it climbed up to chase me."
When the group eventually approaches the guards' room, Werhann will alert them a little bit ahead, so that all know what to expect.
There are pitch soaked torches every few metres making things quite brightly lit.
Leaving the body behind you you descend the sloping tunnel, further ahead the corridor opens out into a small room with two cots, a small table and two chairs.
There are two crates pushed up against the near wall and two other corridors leading from the room. One seems to slope slightly downward, the other stops after a short while at a wooden door.
Normont is fairly distracted when Werhann collects his weapon, and isn't paying enough attention to notice anything odd.
"Only two cots and two chairs, presumably for the guards we know about already", he notes quietly when they finally reach the small room. He looks at the crates and then down the corridors.
Pointing to the corridor with the wooden door, he asks Werhann, "Is that where you were kept?". It made sense that the guards quarters were close by the cells. He had wondered if perhaps there were more than one prisoner as well. "Is it just a single cell through there? Could there be more prisoners?", he will ask if Werhann answers that it was.
"No. Not here. My cell was farther down, over there." Werhann points towards the downwards-sloped corridor. "I haven't seen what's behind that door. I believed it was the guards'... privy, I suppose, and heard some noises from behind that door, which is why I assume there was another guard. But you're right. Everything suggests there are only two guards, and with one dead up there and the other who fled, there shouldn't be a third over here. Which must mean the guard that fled either fell into some trap, or was caught by... either the squid or the brain dogs, whatever those are."
Thinking for another moment, however, Werhann adds: "And yet, behind that door I heard sounds of squelching and, I believe, singing. It is not unthinkable that there is a third guard, and that one guard is always on duty while, at most, two sleep. But even if not, something was making sounds over there."
Werhann does not walk past Normont, however, choosing to follow for the moment instead of leading. He does wonder whether these are the squid's agents after all, leading him down again after mere moments since he 'escaped'. He could choose not to follow, maybe, but he felt as if it wasn't unthinkable that the squid knew Werhann wouldn't let this opportunity pass. It did have quite some time to toy with Werhann in its twisted methods, after all.
Progo follows closely, still grumbling to himself. Progo typically is more of a fan of close combat, but he is choosing to stick with his bow on this death march, preferring to have a head start on the inevitable retreat when it comes. "Let Progo guess, we need to continue deeper? How do even know its still down here? Do you even know if it was ever down here?" Progo's normally upbeat demeanor still mostly subdued since going on this journey. Progo should have stayed with Progo's cart!
Normont listens as Werhann explains his theory of what is behind the wooden door, nodding along. The thought pattern of the dwarf makes sense to him, and he can see why Werhann was chosen to be a hunter.
"We should check it out. I wouldn't want to leave something or someone dangerous between us and the exit", he says, and starts to move down the corridor to the wooden door, making sure Maggie is still a little ahead of him.
He leaves one of the others to respond to Progo, remaining focussed on the mission.
He intends to listen and check the door initially, and is aware of the prospect of traps in the corridor and on the door itself, so he will make sure to remain focussed.
He also doesn't want to move out of Lokilia's zone of stealth magic, so hopes the Ashari is positioned closely enough.
Progo follows closely, still grumbling to himself. Progo typically is more of a fan of close combat, but he is choosing to stick with his bow on this death march, preferring to have a head start on the inevitable retreat when it comes. "Let Progo guess, we need to continue deeper? How do even know its still down here? Do you even know if it was ever down here?" Progo's normally upbeat demeanor still mostly subdued since going on this journey. Progo should have stayed with Progo's cart!
“I mean,” comes Dev’s eerie voice, “if it’s not here, then we don’t have to face it today, right?” His tone is upbeat on its surface, but is transparent as a glaze over a mask of fear.
The teenager, frustrated by the brightly lit surroundings, pulls his hood off. Yet, he finds some calm watching Normont work. Pointing his eyes at the gnome, he continues softly to Progo, his tone more steady, “He’s good at his job though…”
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries //Dev Horndin Curious Critters
"I know it was here, at some point," Werhann answers Progo, "though I don't know if it's here now. But as..." Werhann trails off. Apart from Progo, he didn't ask any of the rescuing party's names. He thinks the Tiefling's name was mentioned before, but he wasn't focused on it at the time. "As your friend here mentioned, perhaps finding this place to be empty, in the short term, is a good thing." In the long term, he - or someone else - will have to deal with this threat eventually. Not to mention the falling likelihood of finding his rifle.
When the Gnome approaches the door, Werhann stops talking and tightens his grip on his weapon, ready to cover for the Gnome should any threat lead out. With the glaive as long as it is, and Werhann's short stature still a little taller than the Gnome's, he could attack any threat, hopefully without risking hitting the wrong person.
Normont is fairly distracted when Werhann collects his weapon, and isn't paying enough attention to notice anything odd.
"Only two cots and two chairs, presumably for the guards we know about already", he notes quietly when they finally reach the small room. He looks at the crates and then down the corridors.
Pointing to the corridor with the wooden door, he asks Werhann, "Is that where you were kept?". It made sense that the guards quarters were close by the cells. He had wondered if perhaps there were more than one prisoner as well. "Is it just a single cell through there? Could there be more prisoners?", he will ask if Werhann answers that it was.
"No. Not here. My cell was farther down, over there." Werhann points towards the downwards-sloped corridor. "I haven't seen what's behind that door. I believed it was the guards'... privy, I suppose, and heard some noises from behind that door, which is why I assume there was another guard. But you're right. Everything suggests there are only two guards, and with one dead up there and the other who fled, there shouldn't be a third over here. Which must mean the guard that fled either fell into some trap, or was caught by... either the squid or the brain dogs, whatever those are."
Thinking for another moment, however, Werhann adds: "And yet, behind that door I heard sounds of squelching and, I believe, singing. It is not unthinkable that there is a third guard, and that one guard is always on duty while, at most, two sleep. But even if not, something was making sounds over there."
Werhann does not walk past Normont, however, choosing to follow for the moment instead of leading. He does wonder whether these are the squid's agents after all, leading him down again after mere moments since he 'escaped'. He could choose not to follow, maybe, but he felt as if it wasn't unthinkable that the squid knew Werhann wouldn't let this opportunity pass. It did have quite some time to toy with Werhann in its twisted methods, after all.
Wehann recalls that the wooden door that smelled privy-esque is a little way down the downward corridor and not the one he heard noises from.
Progo follows closely, still grumbling to himself. Progo typically is more of a fan of close combat, but he is choosing to stick with his bow on this death march, preferring to have a head start on the inevitable retreat when it comes. "Let Progo guess, we need to continue deeper? How do even know its still down here? Do you even know if it was ever down here?" Progo's normally upbeat demeanor still mostly subdued since going on this journey. Progo should have stayed with Progo's cart!
Keeping towards the back, Lokilia follows and remains quiet. She keeps alert for any traps or other dangers. (Perception: 11)
All is quiet in the immediate vicinity......there is a very slight susurration coming from behind the wooden door but nothing that you can make out exactly......
Normont listens as Werhann explains his theory of what is behind the wooden door, nodding along. The thought pattern of the dwarf makes sense to him, and he can see why Werhann was chosen to be a hunter.
"We should check it out. I wouldn't want to leave something or someone dangerous between us and the exit", he says, and starts to move down the corridor to the wooden door, making sure Maggie is still a little ahead of him.
He leaves one of the others to respond to Progo, remaining focussed on the mission.
He intends to listen and check the door initially, and is aware of the prospect of traps in the corridor and on the door itself, so he will make sure to remain focussed.
He also doesn't want to move out of Lokilia's zone of stealth magic, so hopes the Ashari is positioned closely enough.
Progo follows closely, still grumbling to himself. Progo typically is more of a fan of close combat, but he is choosing to stick with his bow on this death march, preferring to have a head start on the inevitable retreat when it comes. "Let Progo guess, we need to continue deeper? How do even know its still down here? Do you even know if it was ever down here?" Progo's normally upbeat demeanor still mostly subdued since going on this journey. Progo should have stayed with Progo's cart!
“I mean,” comes Dev’s eerie voice, “if it’s not here, then we don’t have to face it today, right?” His tone is upbeat on its surface, but is transparent as a glaze over a mask of fear.
The teenager, frustrated by the brightly lit surroundings, pulls his hood off. Yet, he finds some calm watching Normont work. Pointing his eyes at the gnome, he continues softly to Progo, his tone more steady, “He’s good at his job though…”
"I know it was here, at some point," Werhann answers Progo, "though I don't know if it's here now. But as..." Werhann trails off. Apart from Progo, he didn't ask any of the rescuing party's names. He thinks the Tiefling's name was mentioned before, but he wasn't focused on it at the time. "As your friend here mentioned, perhaps finding this place to be empty, in the short term, is a good thing." In the long term, he - or someone else - will have to deal with this threat eventually. Not to mention the falling likelihood of finding his rifle.
When the Gnome approaches the door, Werhann stops talking and tightens his grip on his weapon, ready to cover for the Gnome should any threat lead out. With the glaive as long as it is, and Werhann's short stature still a little taller than the Gnome's, he could attack any threat, hopefully without risking hitting the wrong person.
Werhann watches Normont work hearing what seems like a different voice singing to the one he heard before....
Normont hears the gnomish nursery rhyme through the door, and doesn't get any hint of a privy smell. He highly doubts it is regular children being sung to behind the door, and he gets a chill as he finds it more than a little creepy.
But what he said before is still true, they can't leave something potentially dangerous behind them.
He briefly looks back to the others to make sure they are ready, then happy that the door is not trapped he will reach forward and look to open it quickly, stepping back as he does so as to put Maggie between himself and whatever is in there.
Amber remains perched on his shoulder.
(OOC: @DM - I assume as you didn't mention anything about traps, there either isn't one on the door, or he rolled too low to spot it. Also, what is Quinn doing in all this? He is our usual muscle)
Lokilia looks from the animals then over at Normont. "We're going down there, right? We should really move, whatever way we're going."
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard || Iromae Quinaea, Cleric
Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
"Traps? Ok, speed is not of the essence, then. We should be careful", Normont says in reply to Werhann, even as he digs into his backpack and retrieves his pistol and a pouch of 20 bullets.
He keeps side-eying the woodland creatures as well, remembering the black eyes that the creatures had by the Far Gate Portal, after consumed the black ichor.
When Lokilia calls for them to hurry, he shakes off the memory and shoulders his pack. Amber flutters off his shoulder as he does, but then lands again.
"Yes, yes", he says. "Maggie, with me", he adds and they both jump down through the open hatch.
Unless someone else moves ahead, he will take point alongside Maggie, moving slowly in order to be mindful of traps. If anyone does decide to overtake, he will instruct Maggie to move alongside them instead.
(OOC: Did the creatures have black eyes? Are they reminiscent of those at the Far Gate portal in the way they act, as I am assuming? Basically looking for signs of mind control rather than just curious animals :-) )
( No black eyes but almost certainly there is nothing natural about their behaviour'....they are under some form of compulsion.....hive mind....something......perhaps the earlier suggestion that they all contain brain dogs is true? If so....things are much worse than a missing Grey Hunter......or perhaps they are simply under a spell of some sort?)
Dev is relieved that the others have resolved to investigate the — what? Lair? Hideout? Jail? — but after hearing Normont’s explanation, and understanding that the source of the scream might be un-savable, the teenager has second thoughts. Yet, although still scared, he puts on a neutral expression and takes up the rear as the companions — now six in number — descend underground.
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters
Progo watches in disbelief as one by one they all descend into the death trap. What were they thinking? Going after some rifle or trying to save some low life guard whi got punished, this was madness! Progo was no fool, and he always knew when to walk away when the odds are too stacked up against them. He should just go back and find this guard, what did he say her name was? Doesn't matter, Progo would retrieve his cart and wares, hopefully they are still intact where they were left. He would need to find a way to open that lock he put on it, he had broke a set of picks the last time he had popped it open, it really was a good lock.
Stepping of the final rung of the ladder, he finally realized that all of that grumbling in his head distract him enough that he instinctively followed the rest down into the hideout. Blast! Progo can't go back up now, he wasn't going to look like a coward infront of these folks just because they couldn't see reason. Well if anyone was going to talk sense into them and safe them from their own heroic foolishness, it would have to be Progo. "Just so Progo understands, we save this Werhann, if that is your real name, and the first thing we do is re-enter the hideout with the intent to explore more, likely to suggest the rifle would be kept in someone's quarters because someone stole it and wants to keep in for themselves and if it's not on their person, then it would be where they sleep. Which sounds like lets all go where a number of occupants will be. Are not sure that this man isn't just another mind controlled member down here, perhaps even using some of those tactics on some of you right now? Would you walk to the side, nobody put arrow traps to aim along a wall. Traps and triggers are centered as to catch the most traffic..." Progo takes up the rear of the group still trying to sell his tactics or caution and retreat while following and on high alert and voicing his exploration tips. "Watch up high for death from above, clues and trails lie on the ground but never trust a ceiling"
Lokilia drops down the ladder, staying just ahead of Dev. Once they are all down, she notes, "I can use my magic to help us all move quietly. It will only last for an hour, and you have to stay kind of close. But I think that's probably worth it for this." (If there are no objections, she waves her staff, chanting in Druidic to cast Pass without Trace: +10 to Stealth for all within 30 ft. and leave no tracks or traces of passage.)
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard || Iromae Quinaea, Cleric
Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
Normont turns to Progo before they leave the first room.
"Glad to see you are still with us, Progo. The goal was to free Werhann, you are right, but not just to save him. Because we thought he would have information on how to find the creature behind all this, and what all this is even about. The squid is a danger to the citizens of Whitestone, and likely anywhere else it travels. If there is a chance to put an end to that threat here and now, that is of vital importance. And your help, I am sure, will be greatly appreciated by Lady de Rolo. She wants this taken care of swiftly", he explains.
As Lokilia offers to make them magically quiet, he nods agreement.
"It knows we are here, but you are probably right, it is better not to announce our movements by being noisy. We should also shut the hatch so those creatures don't follow us, in case they are really brain dogs".
When they are ready to move forward, he will make sure Maggie goes ever so slightly ahead, so if there is a trap he misses it will be her that ends it the hard way. He will also make sure to really focus on finding traps.
Dev flips up the hood of his cloak, so that his brick red face is shaded and vague and only the subtle yellow glint of his eyes gives focus to his features. Even his red sequined shoes seem drab and colorless now under the elf-woven garment’s spell.
Yet, still fearful, when his eyes are visible, they can be seen to flit quickly about, mistrustful of every step and dark corner as they walk.
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters
Werhann will descend after Normont and, at least for the time being, walk behind the Gnome, offering what little knowledge he has gained of the area. "In truth, I only ran into one trap, and it's some way ahead," Werhann reassures, seeing how everyone is now looking for the traps he mentioned. "Assuredly, while it's more than likely that I'd have missed others on the way, they didn't activate while I passed through, either."
When he gets to the room with the body, he notices the illusory wall remains, but behind it, Werhann doesn't see the greataxe he left. Perhaps it disappears after a bit? But the sword stuck around for a while earlier. Does it also depend on proximity, or did someone take it? Werhann reaches through the illusory wall, mostly for show, and retrieves a new weapon. Anyone not already aware of the illusion should, hopefully, believe it was left against the wall there all this time. It is a long glaive, with a somewhat long blade at the end. Not a weapon Werhann was used to, perhaps, but he was curious as to his new abilities with weapons and wanted to test the limits. Besides, perhaps fighting at a short distance away will prove useful.
"This one was too afraid of the squid," Werhann gestures at the body, "he wouldn't let me pass without a fight. The other one ran, once this one died. And while I'm not certain, I believe there is one more, not too far ahead. As for the squid itself, I didn't run into it on my way out, fortunately, so it might be farther down, unless it climbed up to chase me."
When the group eventually approaches the guards' room, Werhann will alert them a little bit ahead, so that all know what to expect.
Varielky | Werhann
There are pitch soaked torches every few metres making things quite brightly lit.
Leaving the body behind you you descend the sloping tunnel, further ahead the corridor opens out into a small room with two cots, a small table and two chairs.
There are two crates pushed up against the near wall and two other corridors leading from the room. One seems to slope slightly downward, the other stops after a short while at a wooden door.
Normont is fairly distracted when Werhann collects his weapon, and isn't paying enough attention to notice anything odd.
"Only two cots and two chairs, presumably for the guards we know about already", he notes quietly when they finally reach the small room. He looks at the crates and then down the corridors.
Pointing to the corridor with the wooden door, he asks Werhann, "Is that where you were kept?". It made sense that the guards quarters were close by the cells. He had wondered if perhaps there were more than one prisoner as well. "Is it just a single cell through there? Could there be more prisoners?", he will ask if Werhann answers that it was.
"No. Not here. My cell was farther down, over there." Werhann points towards the downwards-sloped corridor. "I haven't seen what's behind that door. I believed it was the guards'... privy, I suppose, and heard some noises from behind that door, which is why I assume there was another guard. But you're right. Everything suggests there are only two guards, and with one dead up there and the other who fled, there shouldn't be a third over here. Which must mean the guard that fled either fell into some trap, or was caught by... either the squid or the brain dogs, whatever those are."
Thinking for another moment, however, Werhann adds: "And yet, behind that door I heard sounds of squelching and, I believe, singing. It is not unthinkable that there is a third guard, and that one guard is always on duty while, at most, two sleep. But even if not, something was making sounds over there."
Werhann does not walk past Normont, however, choosing to follow for the moment instead of leading. He does wonder whether these are the squid's agents after all, leading him down again after mere moments since he 'escaped'. He could choose not to follow, maybe, but he felt as if it wasn't unthinkable that the squid knew Werhann wouldn't let this opportunity pass. It did have quite some time to toy with Werhann in its twisted methods, after all.
Varielky | Werhann
Progo follows closely, still grumbling to himself. Progo typically is more of a fan of close combat, but he is choosing to stick with his bow on this death march, preferring to have a head start on the inevitable retreat when it comes. "Let Progo guess, we need to continue deeper? How do even know its still down here? Do you even know if it was ever down here?" Progo's normally upbeat demeanor still mostly subdued since going on this journey. Progo should have stayed with Progo's cart!
Keeping towards the back, Lokilia follows and remains quiet. She keeps alert for any traps or other dangers. (Perception: 11)
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard || Iromae Quinaea, Cleric
Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
Normont listens as Werhann explains his theory of what is behind the wooden door, nodding along. The thought pattern of the dwarf makes sense to him, and he can see why Werhann was chosen to be a hunter.
"We should check it out. I wouldn't want to leave something or someone dangerous between us and the exit", he says, and starts to move down the corridor to the wooden door, making sure Maggie is still a little ahead of him.
He leaves one of the others to respond to Progo, remaining focussed on the mission.
He intends to listen and check the door initially, and is aware of the prospect of traps in the corridor and on the door itself, so he will make sure to remain focussed.
He also doesn't want to move out of Lokilia's zone of stealth magic, so hopes the Ashari is positioned closely enough.
Investigation (with Guidance): 7+5+3=15
“I mean,” comes Dev’s eerie voice, “if it’s not here, then we don’t have to face it today, right?” His tone is upbeat on its surface, but is transparent as a glaze over a mask of fear.
The teenager, frustrated by the brightly lit surroundings, pulls his hood off. Yet, he finds some calm watching Normont work. Pointing his eyes at the gnome, he continues softly to Progo, his tone more steady, “He’s good at his job though…”
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters
"I know it was here, at some point," Werhann answers Progo, "though I don't know if it's here now. But as..." Werhann trails off. Apart from Progo, he didn't ask any of the rescuing party's names. He thinks the Tiefling's name was mentioned before, but he wasn't focused on it at the time. "As your friend here mentioned, perhaps finding this place to be empty, in the short term, is a good thing." In the long term, he - or someone else - will have to deal with this threat eventually. Not to mention the falling likelihood of finding his rifle.
When the Gnome approaches the door, Werhann stops talking and tightens his grip on his weapon, ready to cover for the Gnome should any threat lead out. With the glaive as long as it is, and Werhann's short stature still a little taller than the Gnome's, he could attack any threat, hopefully without risking hitting the wrong person.
Varielky | Werhann
Wehann recalls that the wooden door that smelled privy-esque is a little way down the downward corridor and not the one he heard noises from.
All is quiet in the immediate vicinity......there is a very slight susurration coming from behind the wooden door but nothing that you can make out exactly......
Normont hears a nursery rhyme being sung in a light sing-song voice within.......the song is in Gnomish......
Werhann watches Normont work hearing what seems like a different voice singing to the one he heard before....
Normont hears the gnomish nursery rhyme through the door, and doesn't get any hint of a privy smell. He highly doubts it is regular children being sung to behind the door, and he gets a chill as he finds it more than a little creepy.
But what he said before is still true, they can't leave something potentially dangerous behind them.
He briefly looks back to the others to make sure they are ready, then happy that the door is not trapped he will reach forward and look to open it quickly, stepping back as he does so as to put Maggie between himself and whatever is in there.
Amber remains perched on his shoulder.
(OOC: @DM - I assume as you didn't mention anything about traps, there either isn't one on the door, or he rolled too low to spot it. Also, what is Quinn doing in all this? He is our usual muscle)
( No traps detected.)