Erik Soong's Call of the Netherdeep

" Yes. That is what we are telling you."

" You know.....generally males who splash liquid on my face without a warning get gelded......but you get a pass because I have someone else higher up the list than you."

" So we can pass, yes?", she began stepping forward.

Morgan watches the scene in confusion. Was it really possible the soldier did not see a wounded man running through? But there was no time to question it.

Switching to Orc, he speaks fast and low:

"Listen, brother. We work for Verin Thelyss. Should we tell him you let an invisible assassin interrupt your cleric's ritual? If you do not trust us, then come with us."

(Persuasion 22)

 DM: Randa, give me a Check. Whatever you were trying to do. If Persuasion, I'll let Morgan get advantage. If Intimidation, do your own roll. 

DM: Moving on...

The soldier balks at the name drop. His spearhead tilts toward the ground and he looks down the open staircase. "Listen... I... I'm not able to make decisions like this but..." He looks around and seeing no one wanting to approach the well at the moment. "Follow me."

He then turns and leads the party down the staircase. 

The staircase winds down about 20ft. The guard pulls up short at the base of the stairs and lets out a loud curse, then runs into the small room within. As the Fellowship reaches the bottom, they find the orc checking the pulse of a dead man, draped in white and gray robes. The room is 15ft by 15ft, plain, and unremarkable but for the tiny alter set up by some pipes that lead to some underground well deep beneath the earth.

"Alarm!" The guard yells. "You! Get back up the stairs. This is now a crime scene." He then urges you back up the stairs.

"We just told you that. But nooOOooo you didn't want to listen."

"Luna, is there somebody in here that's not us?" Ylis asks her bat.

"Show yourself you dirty sack!" she shouts to the room.

Randa scanned the room looking for tiny puffs of dust and invisible foot might stir up, distorted shadows or even the errant sound of breathing where no one stood.

Perception- 24

Inspired by Ylis’ words, Morgan gasps as an idea strikes him: ff Luna can do it… maybe my undisciplined familiar can too!

With a flourish, Morgan removes his top hat. A small bat is perched atop his unruly red hair.
As Morgan closes his eyes, the bat opens its own. Eyes, ears, and tiny mouth flaring wide.

Morgan’s perception shifts as he begins to perceive the world through his familiar’s senses (blindsight 60 ft).

DM: Ylis and Morgan, you may have your familiars perform Perception Checks using the Bat's stat block. 

"Take a good look around girl."

Luna Per check 21

Luna flaps her wings as she flutters around the room. The guard spares a glance to the bat, but quickly forgets about it and threatens the party back up the stairs with the point of his spear. 

Randa gets almost no time to observe the room before she is pushed back up the stairs, but Luna remains behind. With time to carefully investigate the room, Luna can see that there is no person in it other than the corpse. However, Luna was able to observe what appears to be a set of bricks that were not quite flush with the rest along the wall next to the stairs. No one would notice it in most cases, unless they were looking for it. This set of bricks is approximately 5ft tall and 3ft wide. 

"Don't worry mister, we will report to the Taskhand that because of YOU the bad guy got away!"

With that the bunny girls casts Light on the concealed door. She then turns to move grudgingly toward the steps.

Ylis, being so small, is able to squeeze right under the guard's legs when the party is halfway up the stairs. He turns to give chase, threats to his reputation setting his tusks on edge and his spear point seems to be driving at Ylis' heart, but when Ylis lights up the disguised door, the guard nearly drops his spear. "Wh-what?" 

By this time, the sounded alarm brings several more guards whose faces darken upon seeing the corpse. "That was one of our last clerics. We're screwed." Another despairs. 

The orcish guard points to the illuminated door. "I found this door when I discovered the body, but the bunny girl here helped make it obvious with this light. We... er... haven't figured out how to open it yet." The guard looks smugly down at Ylis for taking her credit. 

"B-but how did he cleric get killed?" said one of the new guards. 

The orcish guard's eyes widen, not having thought this far ahead. "Well... we-uh..." He looks to anyone in the Fellowship for answers. "They said they were chasing a murderer and..." his mind races, trying to think of how the murderer got past him in a way that wouldn't make him look incompetent, but seems to be coming up with a blank. 

Morgan huffs in discontent. His familiar was probably taking a nap, because all Morgan saw was the inside of the bat’s eyelids (Perception: 5).

He scratches his head in confusion.
"It doesn’t make any sense…" he mumbles as he moves closer to Ylis.

"I thought we were following a common thug. A robbery gone wrong… or something like that. But this… this feels like the work of an assassin. And if it’s true that they’re running out of clerics… then that assassin may have had a very specific target."

He shakes his head, looks puzzled at the brick wall (investigation: 7) and adds:
"Should we run to the temple and protect Foghome?"

Randa rounded on Frekor, " You can still see the tracks? Do they go through that door?"

Frekor tries to point out the steps that are practically glowing to his finely tuned senses, but for anyone else, especially the skeptical guards of the Aurora Watch, there is nothing but stone flooring. 

Fortunately, the party does not have to work hard to convince the guards that a murderer got in and killed the cleric. That much is painfully evident. They begin discussions on how to proceed, whether they should try to open the door, and if they should shut down the well until the water can be tested. 

One of the guards recognizes the party as being under a special mission for Thelyss, which prevents their immediate apprehension for questioning, but they are cornered off and kept from the door while the guards stumble about the small room, pressing stones on the wall hoping to find some hidden lever. 

DM: What do you do?

(OOC: My internet has been very bad this last few days, I'm sorry for leaving everyone waiting for my posts. I think now the issue is gone. And if it comes back, I'll get someone's internet to tell you guys what is happening.)

Frekor tries to find the mechanism to open the hidden door.

(Investigation check: 7,  4+3.  Bad roll to start with after my internet issues.)

Jacaranda sighed at the guards antics, she allowed herself to be cordoned off then ducked down behind the others and activated the Vestige.

Turning invisible she made her way across and investigated the door herself.

Stealth-9

Investigation-17

Randa ducks behind Frekor and Morgan and then disappears. Some of the guards notice that Randa is missing and even comment on it, but since there is literally nowhere to go but up the stairs to the market, they assume she went up for air. 

Quiet as a cat, she slinks over to the wall and carefully examines it. There are definitely no obvious levers and the guards have already tried pushing on every stone nearby. She is just about to give up when she notices a crack along the short side of one of the bricks in the wall near the door. It splits only a finger's width of stone and that piece is still there, but seems slightly offset. Curious, Randa pushes it, but nothing happens. She thinks on it for a moment and with her index finger, gently pulls on it. The stone shifts outward and a quiet rumble sound is heard beyond the door. The door then shifts in and swings open. 

The guards, naturally, freak out. Their spears whirl on the door and they fall into a compact phalanx formation. 

Ylis makes the exasperated 'what is wrong with you' gesture. "Hey guard dudes, the door is open, go get the bad guy!"