Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh

Just a rainwater puddle.  As soon as Seri’s weight crosses the wet section of balcony a seven foot section of the balcony collapses to the main floor, creating a huge crash and a dust storm.

Dex save DC 12 or fall 10’ taking 5 bludgeoning damage and land prone.

Seri's DC 12 DEX Save:  21 (success)

With an undignified yelp hardly befitting a devotee of the Wave Father, Seri leaps back away from the collapsing balcony to avoid falling to the floor below.

"Ned?" She looks sternly at the messenger.  "Here is the plan.  From now on, WARN ME if I am about to tread somewhere you do not think is safe."

Esme would eventually collect herself enough to stand again, giving Darixa a quick embrace of gratitude, then being ready to follow along as the team resume the investigation of the house, although she is more quiet than earlier, only hoping to return to town as soon as the mission is completed. 

     Cook whirls at the sound of splintering wood and crashing debris. For one terrible instant his heart leaps into his throat.

     “Seri!”

     Without thinking, he lunges forward. The reaction is immediate. Instinctive. Pack first. Always.

     He covers several strides before the rest of his mind catches up with what his eyes are seeing. Seri isn't falling. She's moving but not falling - springing backward with a grace Cook envied, landing clear of the collapsing floor before it can claim her.

     Cook slows to a stop, the surge of alarm draining away almost as quickly as it came. Mostly. He lets out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Then he catches Seri turning her irritation toward Ned.

     A small smirk tugs at the corner of his mouth. Attagirl, he thinks to himself.

     “Perhaps Dan can lead the way?” Cook suggests, gesturing toward the prisoner. “Seems only fair, it is his home…”

     His grin widens slightly. “Then the rest of us can be careful to step exactly where he does.”

“If you want me to guide you safely we need to return the way we came through the kitchen to the stairs and avoid this balcony.”  Ned looks at Cook for the okay to lead the way.

Darixa finally managed to catch up just about the time the portion of the balcony collapsed beneath Seri. Although not close, she still backs up a bit in surprise at the sudden event.

She glances from the elf to Cook. "You alright?" she asks first. She follows it with, "Why did you two just go charging on ahead? Ned's been telling you to go the other way. I think we should listen. Let him lead!"

Seri dusts herself off and briefly hugs Cook's arm (if the big man allows) for his obvious concern.  A gesture somewhat spoiled by Ripple's impassive glance, the osprey, who had briefly taken wing during Seri's near fall, having settled back to a perch on her shoulder already.

"You are right Darixa, I should not have gone ahead in what I now see was clearly not the path Ned intended, though in my defense, that was unclear to me at the time.  Now that he has spelled it out, and in retrospect," (she points at the collapsed balcony), "I think I understand."

"So, I suppose we just follow Ned back down and to the other set of stairs.  If we choose, we can explore the rooms on this western side later?"

Seri looks to Esme briefly, concerned that the encounter with the blood-sucking bat-like creatures has (understandably) discouraged the Rhenee woman.  "I can be in the front, just after Ned.  Cook, perhaps you guard our rear?  The rest of you stay between us to reduce risk."

If there is agreement, she follows carefully behind Ned as he leads, murmuring as she often does for Procan's guidance.

Darixa motions for Ned, and then Seri, to lead the way. 

Map

This room appears to be another dirty, decaying bedroom without furniture. Even viewed from the doorway, it’s evident that the floor in here does not look safe; some of the floorboards are missing, and others are partially dislodged. 

Ned makes a point to walk with his right hand on the wall as he walks to the window…

The young Rhenee merely nods at Seri and stays back as the team pushes forward, glancing around as she slowly but surely composes herself further, noticing the house would need major repairs before being used again, it seemed like Brynn had her work cut out for her she thought with a hint of a smile.

     “Charging? Who charged?” Cook replies, looking genuinely puzzled by the accusation. “Walking. Exploring. Checking the house, is all…” He spreads his hands as if the distinction ought to be obvious.

     When Seri loops an arm through his and gives it a quick hug, Cook smiles despite himself. The expression lingers for a moment. Then he notices Ripple nearby and leans a little farther away from the bird. Nothing too overtly obvious. But enough.

     “If we only go where the captive leads, then we only see what the captive wants us to see,” Cook points out.

     It's a practical observation rather than an argument, and when nobody seems inclined to debate it, he simply shrugs and lets the matter rest. 

     Truth be told, he's a bit put out at being assigned to the rear. Not enough to complain. He'd made enough of a fool of himself in the attic to last the week. Besides, staying farther away from the raptor has its advantages.

     As they move into the room, Cook notices Ned hugging the right-hand wall with remarkable dedication. “Only step where he steps,” Cook cautions.

     Then, after a moment: “Push him there first if you need to go somewhere he doesn't.” The suggestion is delivered with complete seriousness.

     Cook himself remains near the doorway. Partly because he's ready to charge in at a moment's notice if trouble starts. Partly because he suspects the floor has already suffered enough without adding the full burden of Cook to its troubles.

     When his attention drifts to Esme he notices she seems quieter than usual. A bit sullen. A bit withdrawn. Cook gives her a gentle nudge with his elbow and offers an encouraging smile.

     “Cheer up,” he says. “What else could go wrong?”

Clues at the Window. A combination of the position of the house and the topography of the cliff results in this room providing the best view of the sea from any part of the house, and it is from here that Ned indicates they signal to their colleagues out at sea. If Seri carefully examines the window area she discovers small clues to this fact: fresh scratches on the sill where the signaling lantern has been placed, scuffing of the floor dust immediately near the window, and so forth. These signs cannot be seen from the door; they require up-close observation to be discovered.  I assume Seri followed Ned to the window.

Next more exploration?  Return trip to Saltmarsh?  Ned mentions once back out in the hall, “There’s another of Sanbalet’s special alarms in the patio room.  Not sure what’s in the other rooms though the other smugglers and Sanbalet did use them for their twisted purposes.”

Seri does indeed follow Ned, this time taking utmost caution in treading where he treads and staying clear from the compromised area of the floor.

Retrieving the Bullseye Lantern from her pack, she takes a minute to work through with Ned exactly where to orient it on its spot on the sill (perhaps it's just oriented to point at wherever the Sea Ghost's signal flashes from?) and reviews with him how to signal the ship for a rendezvous.

Once confident she's got it down, she take a moment to gaze out longingly at the ocean, murmuring a brief prayer to the wild freedom Procan's domain before her.  Does she spy any vessels out, or anything else noteworthy in the expanse of open ocean?  (And is it still raining?).

Seri's Perception with Guidance:  14 + 3 = 17

Barring anything unforeseen, she pads back carefully with Ned out of the room, sticking to the safe path.

"Shall we investigate the other rooms here in the hallway, and go down and back up to look at the other rooms past the fallen part of the balcony?  There may still be deadly creatures lurking that we do not wish to be surprised by later.  Or have we explored enough for today?"

Seri guesses that Esme would say that it's been enough, but she's not certain about the others.

She takes a moment to gaze out longingly at the ocean, murmuring a brief prayer to the wild freedom of Procan's domain before her.  Does she spy any vessels, or anything else noteworthy in the expanse of open ocean?  (Is it still raining?).

Seri'sPerception with Guidance:  14 + 3 = 17

It is still raining but more of a drizzle.  There is something stirring out in the deeper water.  Whatever it is it’s large and powerful, it was a very lucky spotting to see, but Seri knows what she saw.  Big as a whale strong enough to show a wake without breaking the surface, but not enough details to identify…

You can also see the lights of Saltmarsh way off in the distance.

No ships currently.

As they walked, Darixa just gave an eye to Cook as he spoke his piece but doesn't make any response. In the room, she followed just behind Seri, taking the same care of stepping where Ned has stepped.  She too observes what she can of how the signaling was done. 

"Well, we have that down now," she says. "What next?"  She looks back the way they had come then looks over at Ned. "You know, the way you keep alluding to these other rooms makes me think we don't want to go in them. Ned, you're either being very clever about keeping us out, or it's going to be truly bad."  She sighs deeply. "We've already seen a lot. Might as well finish up here." 

There is a hint of a smile there when cook tries to cheer Esme up. "I can imagine a fair few thing still going wrong here but....I agree, better finish up here before we head back for a well deserved rest, or I will probably stay awake wondering what we missed." She says, slowly seeming more confident about things again.

The room at the end of the hall is locked.

Esmeralda cautiously moves up to the door and draws a pair of pins out of her raven hair, leaning in towards the lock to see if it can be convinced to open for her.

Sleight of hand with thieves tools: 19

Esmeralda probes the lock and with a twist and pressure the satisfying click unlocks the door as the door is indeed convinced to open it seems unusually quiet as it easily swings on its hinges.  The room is a mirror image of the one just looked at except at the window lies a coil of smooth rope, and a small box.

This room also features a fireplace along the outside end wall.

     “Contract did call for a thorough investigation,” Cook remarks to nobody in particular when the question of searching the rest of the house or calling the job done comes up.

     “Course, it also called for discretion.” He glances around at the group.

Thinks about the damaged floors. The bodies. The various signs of their passing. Cook grimaces slightly.

      “Our adherence to that part is... debatable.”

     When they come upon the locked door, Cook immediately takes a step back and squares his shoulders. His first instinct is always the simple, brutal solution - hit it. Hard.

     He plants his feet and sizes up the frame, already judging where to put a shoulder into it… Then a more discreet method is suggested.

     Cook pauses. Considers. Reluctantly abandons the much more satisfying plan.

     “Aye, fair enough.” He steps aside and sweeps a hand toward the door in an exaggerated flourish, as though presenting the stage to a celebrated performer.

     “After you, then.” He says to Esme. “Let's try the clever way before we resort to the traditional method of introducing a door to the floor.”

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