Jorin will stay tucked to the side so that he isn't visible through the door knob hole.

Hildigrim is curious and so will remain silent for now.

For Quillary only:

You hear Emmek's voice yell out in annoyance: "Go away. We are not open for business. Come back some other day."

Well, she didn’t expect this. Quillary mutters to herself in the old tongue and reaches up to her cat skull, then her form blurs around the edges as her spores gather and start to swirl about her. The grey, ash-like bits grow more numerous until within seconds she cannot be seen clearly, then Quillary seems to be dissolved into a cloud of grey and black swirling spores which pause, then gather, and float through the hole in the door. Inside, the cloud gathers into a vaguely human shape again, and the ashy spores slough off of Quillary to pool and eddy on the floor at her feet, leaving her solid and substantial again.

She dusts herself off and proceeds towards the office. “I come about business,” she says, arriving at the open door.

(that was cool)

OOC > I forgot to put it in the post, but that was Gaseous Form.

Quote from Mingofaust >>

OOC > I forgot to put it in the post, but that was Gaseous Form.

(OOC: Thanks. I was starting to hurt my brain trying to figure out how her spore form was able to do that, based on RAW. As role-play, that completely works.)

How does Emmek react to that... 7

Emmek is stunned by the figure that seeped through the door without disturbing the barricade in front of it. He has a large whistle in his hands, which is often used by shop owners to summon the city guards, but it drops through his numb fingers. While he nervously glances at the floor to find where the whistle fell, he asks, "B-business? What-what do you want? I still have time on my loans, there is no need for you to be here."

Quillary tilts her head, momentarily confused. "No, that is not..." She stares another moment. "I am one of the owners of the Road's End, formerly Trollskull Manor. We know you are responsible for the hafling wererats trying to infest our establishment with rats. I would like you to stop. Please. Perhaps, as you are not very far along with your work," she glances at the place, "You could, how do they say it? You could pivot, yes," and she pivots in place, then pivots back to face him again. "You could pivot, and turn this place into an inn. The Road's End does not have beds to let. Then you would not have to compete against us."

She stops to watch him with a raised eyebrow. "Have you tasted Pascal's cooking? You will lose if you compete on merit, and we will bury you..." she seems to think a moment, "...figuratively... if you continue to try to sabotage our work." Finally she stops, eyeing him contemplatively. "My name is Quillary."

LOL

The fear is starting to fade, as his pride is making him angry. Despite amble evidence to the contrary, he has to be the best, and doesn't like the idea of losing.

"Road's End? That manor... you sent that thug to damage my place, and try to intimidate me?"

Roll to see how Emmek reacts: 9  (Surprisingly strong reaction from Emmek.)

"You are mistaken that I have anything to fear from your establishment. Maybe you should change your place to a soup kitchen. I don't have to sabotage anything, unlike you and your minions did here. By tomorrow, people will know that "Frewn's Pub" will be the place to go in this alley."

Much calmer, he picks up the whistle and is prepared to blow. "You should leave now, or be arrested by the city guard for trespassing."

For Quillary only:

Quillary shakes her head, sadly. "I wish you happiness." She turns and discorporates back through the hole in the door, returning to solid form on the other side, with Hildi and Jorin.

"He is delusional. I believe there will be an attempt made on the Road's End this evening, perhaps as late as midnight. I will not go to the City of the Dead tonight."

OOC > How long until the evening? Is there a chance Quillary can get a Long Rest in and recover two 3rd level spell slots? Because using Gaseous Form was cool, but knocked out two of her three 3rd level slots.

(It is still like 10am. I figured Hildigrim is leaving soon to visit the family, and soothe the parents about not calling/writing.
Quillary can get a long rest before anything menacing happens in the evening.)

Hildigrim frowns. "Well, you tried," he says to Quillary. "I'll try to get back to the Road's End as quickly as possible, but I should leave now to meet my family," the halfling says, looking up at the sun.

OOC: I'm pretty sure the plan was to leave Volo in the kitchen to guard against more rats entering. As Hildigrim passes by the Road's End, he'll telepathically communicate with his owl that he's going to leave him at the tavern longer to continue to help guard against intruders and that he should listen to and obey Quillary, Jorin, Drusk and Pascal.

Volo keeps a watch around the mansion for any suspicious activity. And for mice & rats. At least for now, nothing to report.

Hildigrim visits his family by the docks. His parents alternate between pampering him and complaining about not telling them sooner that he was okay. Despite their efforts to make him stay another day (or week), Hildi returns to the manor to help with the rat problem.

Drusk returns from the brewery. Still some time before he has learned enough to run a distillery in the basement of the manor.

Quillary gets to take a Long Rest, and thinks more about what to do about Frewn.

Pascal is interviewing several candidates to be chefs in the kitchen. The door to the kitchen is closed, with a sign crudely painted with the words "Abyssal Kitchen". Every so often you hear Pascal yell out things like: "You troglodyte. You added too much salt, this is inedible!"

Jorin and Fanny are unable to escape, and becomes a taste-testers for the dishes prepared by the candidates. He is grateful to have the Bodt constitution; she to have the stomach of an earth genasi. (Quillary is wise enough not to be around the dining hall that afternoon.)

(You can discuss your plans for this evening.)

Quote from Quasimodal >>

Jorin and Fanny are unable to escape, and becomes a taste-testers for the dishes prepared by the candidates. He is grateful to have the Bodt constitution; she to have the stomach of an earth genasi. (Quillary is wise enough not to be around the dining hall that afternoon.)

(I'm not trapped in here with you, you're trapped in here with me...)

Jorin's plan would be to get his rest in during the day and then keep a vigil all night.  He would patrol the outside of the house, but without dark vision he isn't super suited to that task, so he'll patrol around in the inside, the main floor and basement.

Volo doesn't need sleep and can patrol with Jorin. While the owl cannot communicate with the human, he can certain hoot or peck or something to alert him of anything.

Hildigrim is going to sleep on the floor in the kitchen. "Mother always said I could be comfortable balancing on a pin top so long as a I had a book under one arm." He will also cast alarm on the exterior door to the pantry just in case.

Quillary rests, naps, meditates, plays with Shrub, and finally appears for the evening meal. As the night wears on, she suggests, "I will take the tressym form again, it has the advantage of flight," she nods towards Volo, "And its senses are keen. But I will be unable to speak with you in that form, so we should have some sort of signal prepared."

Jorin nods in agreement and says, "My people made the purr of the mighty crag cat to signal battle." He then cups his hand to his mouth and attempts to make the rumbling purr of a crag cat.  (Performance: 12)

Quillary makes a cat noise in response, smiling at the playfulness of it.