As they began to walk towards the door Gooterat paused for a moment. He slowly pulled Silver Spark from his belt. His eyes sparkled as they took in the beautiful silvered weapon. He could feel the tingle of magic in his fingertips and began to move it back to his belt, but he hesitated. He looked at Aleric, much more skilled in melee combat than he. He looked back at the magnificent blade. With a soft sigh he said, "Silver Spark would be put to better use in your hands. Do you ever fight with two weapons?"
***If Aleric fancies two weapon fighting Gooterat offers hin the magic dagger. Even so, his eyes follow it like a lover watching their hearts desire leave them.***
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
“Let him not vow to walk in the dark, who has not seen the nightfall.” — Elrond
With an audible sigh of relief, the little Gnome slides the dagger back into his belt. Puffing up his slender chest and steeling any nerve he can dig up as they set off to search for Boff. They can begin by just calling out to him. Gooterat yells his name up the stairs then down the hall leading to the mirror room. If he hears no reply he offers Aleric a shaky formal bow and says, "After you, " with the best used horse salesman grin he can muster.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
“Let him not vow to walk in the dark, who has not seen the nightfall.” — Elrond
Alaric summons his sword and will lead the way, firstly just glancing in every room downstairs (from the doorway only) and if there is no sign of him, or any disturbance to a room where it looks different from when we last left it, he will then head to the stairs
A storm had begun to gather. Thunder rumbled low and constant, the kind of sound that seemed to roll through the very bones of the house. As the rain fell, the windows of Halvhrest manor began to be lashed with rain.
Alaric and Gooterat
The pair of adventurers, having found no sign of Boff downstairs, climbed the sweeping staircase to the second floor. The landing opened into a broad hall shaped like a horseshoe, stretching away into shadow. The warped floorboards creaked under their boots, the sound almost swallowed by the howl of the storm outside.
Boff
Elsewhere, the dwarf blinked awake, the sting of his own slap still tingling on his cheek. The room he found himself in was no dream now, though it appeared to be the same study he had wandered in before: shelves of heavy tomes leaned against the walls, a desk with carved satyrs was covered with yellowed papers, and a high-backed chair sat near the desk. Two doors left this place. One led to a hall, and another out to a grand balcony that stood over the main entrance of the home.
No ghost child greeted him this time, however, and the study door stood ajar, opening into a horseshoe shaped corridor beyond.
All
From either end of the horseshoe-shaped hall, the same noise reached the heroes: a harsh, wet coughing fit echoing from one of the side rooms. It was violent, racking, and unmistakably humanoid, as opposed to monstrous. The sound came in uneven bursts, then silence, then another wave of hacking coughs.
As Gooterat climbs the stairs, all but climbing into Aleric's pocket to avoid being split up, he dips a thin shoulder. The strap of his pack slipped easily with the movement. As the pack swung slightly he was able to reach in and pull forth a torch. Another little shimmy and the pack swung back into place; a twig like arm hooking the strap without missing a beat.
When the reached the top of the stairs Gooterat summoned his helping hand and put the unlit torch into its waiting grasp. He glances at Aleric with a little smile and a raised eyebrow.
The twitchy forest gnome nearly slipped and fell back down the stairs when he heard the cough. His wide eyes took in the surroundings fairly well, but if things went sideways he wanted his human friend to be able to see too!
***OoC: magic action: mage hand. Gooterat attempts to solicit a light, if Aleric has another action he wants to do Gooterat can spark it next round with prestidigitation***
Boff freezes at the sound of coughing down the hall, then relaxes slightly as Alaric calls his name.
Aye! This way! he barks back, loud and sure — too sure, maybe, for how unsettled he feels.
When the sound fades, he turns back to the study. The memory of the dream-child clings to him like cobwebs. Why here? Why me? He runs a calloused hand over the desk’s edge, eyes narrowing. Something brought me here. Something wanted me to see… what? Boff kneels, methodically checking shelves and corners, jaw set tight, searching for any sign — anything to explain why his feet carried him here in his sleep, as he waits for Alaric and Gooterat to arrive.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
The study was quiet except for the patter of rain against the windows and the distant groan of the storm. Boff moved carefully around the room, eyes scanning shelves of tomes and loose papers strewn across the desk. Dust coated nearly everything, though the top of the desk was strangely neat, as though someone—or something—had arranged the papers deliberately.
When Alaric and Gooterat entered, their torchlight filled the room with a warm glow. Together, they sifted through the scattered papers.
Among the brittle, age-spotted pages, a pair of documents stood out:
The last will and testament of Loren Halvhrest, along with a death certificate, and
A deed of land rights concerning Caslte Laventz and the surrounding lands
In addition to these papers, the desk itself had one more secret. Its drawer refused to open. Boff’s tug met stubborn resistance, and the lock glimmered faintly in the torchlight.
Whatever the Halvhrests had seen fit to secure ... it remained hidden within.
Gooterat smiled when he saw Boff in the library. He started to rush to him then skidded to a sudden halt. "Boff? Is it really you?" he asked shakily pulling out a copper coin he tosses it to the dwarf. If it passed through him Gooterat shrieks and prepared his mind for battle. If he catches it the gnome smiles, gives him a hug, then holds his hand out for his copper.
Gooterat's wide eyes took in the contents of the room, pausing to wonder if some of the tomes held magical secrets. When the torchlight hit the metallic face of the lock his eyes narrowed. Ah, we meet again old enemy. Ever have you kept the poor gutter rats away from food and comfort. How many nights did I shiver, starving in the rain? You don't keep me from from what I want any more. Silence hung in the air as Gooterat stared at the lock, menace and determination in his eyes.
WIth a thought he positioned the mage hand to maximize light on the lock. He then pulled out his oiled leather roll, opening it and laying it carefully on the floor to his left. He then turned to the desk and began a thorough search of the desk for traps.
***OoC: perception: 17. Technically, that's his turn. Should you like to tie the scene together with his go at the lock he uses a luck point and gives it a go (assuming no trap) slight of hand (thieves tools) w ADV: 8 <ugh> if you prefer, I can write the lock picking debacle into the next post***
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
“Let him not vow to walk in the dark, who has not seen the nightfall.” — Elrond
Alaric is relieved to have found Boff, "As much as I am glad to have found you again, that coughing sound didn't come from here. So there is someone else out there. Could Rats have survived? We have to assume worse case scenario that it is something that wants to kill us, while hoping for the opposite. We should check that out and then come back here to investigate."
Gooterat's coin bounces off Boff's chest and clinks onto the floor. Aye. It's me. he replies, then picks up the coin and hands it to the gnome with a confused expression (gnomes in this world had such strange customs) before switching to Gnomish:
I dinnae what happened. Musta walked here while dreamin'. There was a wee bairn... a young lad, talkin' to me in me dream.
Then seeing Gooterat get excited about the books and the desk, he leaves him to it and saunters over to the doorway, certain that no books were about to attack them... then again, he would have been certain just over an hour ago that a mirror wouldn't attack them either.
Boff picks up some of what Alaric says, and enough to get the gist. He grunts a reply in the affirmative, and then prepares to lead the way back down the hallway.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
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Gooterat
As they began to walk towards the door Gooterat paused for a moment. He slowly pulled Silver Spark from his belt. His eyes sparkled as they took in the beautiful silvered weapon. He could feel the tingle of magic in his fingertips and began to move it back to his belt, but he hesitated. He looked at Aleric, much more skilled in melee combat than he. He looked back at the magnificent blade. With a soft sigh he said, "Silver Spark would be put to better use in your hands. Do you ever fight with two weapons?"
***If Aleric fancies two weapon fighting Gooterat offers hin the magic dagger. Even so, his eyes follow it like a lover watching their hearts desire leave them.***
“Let him not vow to walk in the dark, who has not seen the nightfall.” — Elrond
Alaric shakes his head. "My blade is already magical. It might be good to spread magical blades around"
After joining more my signature got out of hand so I am now a proud member of the extended signature club!! :)
Gooterat
With an audible sigh of relief, the little Gnome slides the dagger back into his belt. Puffing up his slender chest and steeling any nerve he can dig up as they set off to search for Boff. They can begin by just calling out to him. Gooterat yells his name up the stairs then down the hall leading to the mirror room. If he hears no reply he offers Aleric a shaky formal bow and says, "After you, " with the best used horse salesman grin he can muster.
“Let him not vow to walk in the dark, who has not seen the nightfall.” — Elrond
Alaric summons his sword and will lead the way, firstly just glancing in every room downstairs (from the doorway only) and if there is no sign of him, or any disturbance to a room where it looks different from when we last left it, he will then head to the stairs
After joining more my signature got out of hand so I am now a proud member of the extended signature club!! :)
Outside
A storm had begun to gather. Thunder rumbled low and constant, the kind of sound that seemed to roll through the very bones of the house. As the rain fell, the windows of Halvhrest manor began to be lashed with rain.
Alaric and Gooterat
The pair of adventurers, having found no sign of Boff downstairs, climbed the sweeping staircase to the second floor. The landing opened into a broad hall shaped like a horseshoe, stretching away into shadow. The warped floorboards creaked under their boots, the sound almost swallowed by the howl of the storm outside.
Boff
Elsewhere, the dwarf blinked awake, the sting of his own slap still tingling on his cheek. The room he found himself in was no dream now, though it appeared to be the same study he had wandered in before: shelves of heavy tomes leaned against the walls, a desk with carved satyrs was covered with yellowed papers, and a high-backed chair sat near the desk. Two doors left this place. One led to a hall, and another out to a grand balcony that stood over the main entrance of the home.
No ghost child greeted him this time, however, and the study door stood ajar, opening into a horseshoe shaped corridor beyond.
All
From either end of the horseshoe-shaped hall, the same noise reached the heroes: a harsh, wet coughing fit echoing from one of the side rooms. It was violent, racking, and unmistakably humanoid, as opposed to monstrous. The sound came in uneven bursts, then silence, then another wave of hacking coughs.
EDIT — Clarified the nature of the cough.
You guys have a pretty good sense of the layout of the house's exterior by this point.
Here is a map a little more zoomed in so you guys can see where you are at. The red dot is where the sound is coming from.
Light sources?
Gooterat
As Gooterat climbs the stairs, all but climbing into Aleric's pocket to avoid being split up, he dips a thin shoulder. The strap of his pack slipped easily with the movement. As the pack swung slightly he was able to reach in and pull forth a torch. Another little shimmy and the pack swung back into place; a twig like arm hooking the strap without missing a beat.
When the reached the top of the stairs Gooterat summoned his helping hand and put the unlit torch into its waiting grasp. He glances at Aleric with a little smile and a raised eyebrow.
The twitchy forest gnome nearly slipped and fell back down the stairs when he heard the cough. His wide eyes took in the surroundings fairly well, but if things went sideways he wanted his human friend to be able to see too!
***OoC: magic action: mage hand. Gooterat attempts to solicit a light, if Aleric has another action he wants to do Gooterat can spark it next round with prestidigitation***
“Let him not vow to walk in the dark, who has not seen the nightfall.” — Elrond
Alaric uses his tinderbox to light the torch, seeing as he is the one who needs the light most.
Upon hearing the coughing he shouts out "Boff?" and runs in the direction of the coughing, hoping that Gooterat and the torch follows.
After joining more my signature got out of hand so I am now a proud member of the extended signature club!! :)
Boff freezes at the sound of coughing down the hall, then relaxes slightly as Alaric calls his name.
Aye! This way! he barks back, loud and sure — too sure, maybe, for how unsettled he feels.
When the sound fades, he turns back to the study. The memory of the dream-child clings to him like cobwebs. Why here? Why me? He runs a calloused hand over the desk’s edge, eyes narrowing. Something brought me here. Something wanted me to see… what? Boff kneels, methodically checking shelves and corners, jaw set tight, searching for any sign — anything to explain why his feet carried him here in his sleep, as he waits for Alaric and Gooterat to arrive.
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
The study was quiet except for the patter of rain against the windows and the distant groan of the storm. Boff moved carefully around the room, eyes scanning shelves of tomes and loose papers strewn across the desk. Dust coated nearly everything, though the top of the desk was strangely neat, as though someone—or something—had arranged the papers deliberately.
When Alaric and Gooterat entered, their torchlight filled the room with a warm glow. Together, they sifted through the scattered papers.
Among the brittle, age-spotted pages, a pair of documents stood out:
In addition to these papers, the desk itself had one more secret. Its drawer refused to open. Boff’s tug met stubborn resistance, and the lock glimmered faintly in the torchlight.
Whatever the Halvhrests had seen fit to secure ... it remained hidden within.
Gooterat
Gooterat smiled when he saw Boff in the library. He started to rush to him then skidded to a sudden halt. "Boff? Is it really you?" he asked shakily pulling out a copper coin he tosses it to the dwarf. If it passed through him Gooterat shrieks and prepared his mind for battle. If he catches it the gnome smiles, gives him a hug, then holds his hand out for his copper.
Gooterat's wide eyes took in the contents of the room, pausing to wonder if some of the tomes held magical secrets. When the torchlight hit the metallic face of the lock his eyes narrowed. Ah, we meet again old enemy. Ever have you kept the poor gutter rats away from food and comfort. How many nights did I shiver, starving in the rain? You don't keep me from from what I want any more. Silence hung in the air as Gooterat stared at the lock, menace and determination in his eyes.
WIth a thought he positioned the mage hand to maximize light on the lock. He then pulled out his oiled leather roll, opening it and laying it carefully on the floor to his left. He then turned to the desk and began a thorough search of the desk for traps.
***OoC: perception: 17. Technically, that's his turn. Should you like to tie the scene together with his go at the lock he uses a luck point and gives it a go (assuming no trap) slight of hand (thieves tools) w ADV: 8 <ugh> if you prefer, I can write the lock picking debacle into the next post***
“Let him not vow to walk in the dark, who has not seen the nightfall.” — Elrond
Alaric is relieved to have found Boff, "As much as I am glad to have found you again, that coughing sound didn't come from here. So there is someone else out there. Could Rats have survived? We have to assume worse case scenario that it is something that wants to kill us, while hoping for the opposite. We should check that out and then come back here to investigate."
After joining more my signature got out of hand so I am now a proud member of the extended signature club!! :)
Gooterat's coin bounces off Boff's chest and clinks onto the floor. Aye. It's me. he replies, then picks up the coin and hands it to the gnome with a confused expression (gnomes in this world had such strange customs) before switching to Gnomish:
I dinnae what happened. Musta walked here while dreamin'. There was a wee bairn... a young lad, talkin' to me in me dream.
Then seeing Gooterat get excited about the books and the desk, he leaves him to it and saunters over to the doorway, certain that no books were about to attack them... then again, he would have been certain just over an hour ago that a mirror wouldn't attack them either.
Boff picks up some of what Alaric says, and enough to get the gist. He grunts a reply in the affirmative, and then prepares to lead the way back down the hallway.
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?