"Never Winter, Seldom Spring" - A Loose Collection of Adventures

[OOC: on phone now so can't search easily. I had thought we'd already determined what room the magic was sensed in -- if that was just the conjuration and Therne's sweep through the house doesn't reveal the conjuration anywhere, she'll go to the room with the stronger sense of necromantic magic. If the sweep does pick up conjuration, then she'll go to whichever room it's strongest in. If there is no visible aura in that room, then we move things around.]

Quote from pocketmouse >>

[OOC: on phone now so can't search easily. I had thought we'd already determined what room the magic was sensed in -- if that was just the conjuration and Therne's sweep through the house doesn't reveal the conjuration anywhere, she'll go to the room with the stronger sense of necromantic magic. If the sweep does pick up conjuration, then she'll go to whichever room it's strongest in. If there is no visible aura in that room, then we move things around.]

[OoC]: Therne determined the necromancy aura was stronger in the study. The conjuration didn't particularly seem any less than faint in the eastern side of the manor, and completely absent from the left side.

Abner pushes away the debris on the top of the trapdoor and lifts the handle with a huge creak. The darkness below is pitch black, making even darkvision limited. He sees a ladder descending 15 ft. into a cold cellar. The sound of rats scurrying in the room breaks the silence. Abner can't make out much detail of the room, but it appears to be roughly 25 x 15 ft. A small 5ft. hallway extends southwards into an adjacent basement that appears to be stocked with barrels and crates. As the half-elf peeks into the room beyond the hallway from his vantage point, he can't help but feel a sense of unease in the blackness before him - almost like the silence calls to him.

Abner

Abner gingerly closes the trap door as a chill runs down his spine.

"Urghh," he groans. "Maybe Brother Brozak would like to go first."

He describes to the others what he saw - and felt - below.

[OOC: I'm assuming but would like confirmation that neither of these might be above the cellar, since I think there's probably enough material to block the spell, but I want to make sure my visualization is correct.]

"Brozak, can you block that hatch with something heavy? Then maybe we can check the study."

We wanted to wait until Sister Adri was with us before exploring the cellar. Maybe the kenku pieces on the hatch?

Red will help block the hatch, tail twitching with anger and fear. As we move them, see if we can tell anything about how the kenku broke. 

He goes to take a check on Adri, and comes back to help with the search of the study. Sorry if we are boring you Master Sorcerer. How 'bout you go climb your effing beam. 

Investigation 7

Once Adri is padded up and secured, Red and Therne head back to the study and begin rifling through the area, carefully avoiding knocking the beam that bisects the room. Therne's necromancy and conjuration auras are still present here, yet the source cannot be found by rifling through the debris. Through group work, you manage to find some valuable writing tools, enough to piece together a full set of calligrapher's supplies. You also find a book in the desk drawer entitled "Aatush the Cruel" which features a collection of fanciful tales about a notorious Rakshasa pirate of the same name. The book does not identify its author, nor the fate of the pirate. You could guess that it has a value of roughly 25gp in a city or large town.

Abner

"Really? You're ready for me to climb the beam?" He lights up with a grin. "I'm game, especially if Brozak can help support it, or we can rig a rope or something."
"Or unless Therne wants to go first - she's lighter than I am."

Abner was wandered back into the beam room to join Red and Therne and to have another look. He puts his hand on the timber to get a sense of its strength and stability. 

"I'm not worried about the beam so much as falling through the ceiling. And, also, ghosts." He holds up his hand in mock-spellcasting fashion. "But I'm ready!"

[OoC]: Make an acrobatics check please Abner, anybody in the room can take the help action to stabilise the beam and grant him advantage.

Red will get out an extra sack and pack up the items. My thought, my Lady, is to preserve whatever treasures in hope of the Redmane's safe rescue. It does no good if the kenku get them, or they decay away. This sword as well.

My guess is the auras you describe are either up or in the cellar? I'd like someone to get a view of the upper level, now that we've completed this one - and Master Abner was itching to go. Do you want to scan around from the upper floor?

if Therne or Abner wants to climb the beam, Red will use Mage Hand to secure his grappling hook to a strong point on the wall above so the rope forms a safety line for climbing the beam. He'll act as 'belay'

[ooc are my dice broken? test below

6  7   2   9   15  5   15  12  19   2  9

Quote from skuk >>

 

[ooc are my dice broken? test below

18  7   12   7   14  2   7  14  18   11  13

[OoC]: I was getting a little concerned too lmao, thought you were just typing the number 7 after every roll. I'll roll Abner's acrobatics check now so that we don't need to wait for him to return.

Abner Acrobatics check: 15

Abner Religion check: 22

Abner carefully scales the beam, using both hands to steady himself before using the rope to pull himself along its length.

As he reaches the top, he stands in what appears to be the only upstairs room remaining, and it seems to be on the verge of collapse. Debris litters the floor, which strains under his every slightest movement, yet in the far corner rests a small casket, atop an elaborately carved wooden shrine. Both are remarkable, not only as the embodiment of fine craftsmanship, but more pertinently, they stand upright and intact despite the state of the roof.

The door out into the remainder of the ruined upper floor is completely blocked by timber, possibly what saved it from being levelled like the rest of the floor. The half-elf's light-footedness is the only thing that saves him from crumbling the planks underfoot and tumbling back down to his companions. The floor around the shrine seems to be in better shape, perhaps sat atop a load-bearing wall. The casket, which is dedicated to a goddess whose symbols Abner doesn't recognise, is made of finely carved mahogany, inlaid with religious symbols fashioned in gold. There appears to be a lock and keyhole inset onto one of the religious symbols. Both the shrine and the casket, despite being cumbersome, are likely worth a small fortune themselves.

[ooc casket as in small chest or casket as in coffin?]

Quote from skuk >>

[ooc casket as in small chest or casket as in coffin?]

[OoC]: Apologies, a casket chest. Mind was elsewhere when I wrote that part, should have specified.

[OOC: I'm unclear on where the intact upstairs is -- it's over which rooms on the map?]

Quote from pocketmouse >>

[OOC: I'm unclear on where the intact upstairs is -- it's over which rooms on the map?]

[OoC]: It's on top of the study, which is the room directly to the right of the entrance. If I'm to post maps in the future, I might consider adding numbers, but I thought it might detract from the immersion to start saying things like "let's search room 2" or "there must be something in room 8 because it's important enough to get a number", if you get where I'm coming from?

[once Abner tells us what he sees]

Should we move these things, to protect them from collapse? Or it their presence a sight that a deity is keeping them motionless? Master Abner, if we send up another rope, could you tie them one at a time, to drag to the opening? I worry that carrying them might put too much stress on the floor. Unless something is less than 10 pounds, then I could Mage Hand it down?

Quote from skuk >>

[once Abner tells us what he sees]

[OoC]: *if 😉

[OOC: Got it. I've found that labeling the axes works, so people can either say 'let's move to the room at B19, or they can more precisely describe where their character is moving during combat.]

"Let Abner get his wiggles out," Therne says to Red as they rejoin the others. "I'll wait until I can transform into a bird. No belay needed then." She's happy to let Abner go first.

Quote from pocketmouse >>

[OOC: Got it. I've found that labeling the axes works, so people can either say 'let's move to the room at B19, or they can more precisely describe where their character is moving during combat.]

[OoC]: I tried that originally, but gave up after 15 minutes or so because I couldn't align the axes properly. In retrospect, there was an easy fix - but my brain was pretty fried from work at the time. Might give it another pop in the future for battle maps.

Abner

Abner calls down - quietly - what he sees. (How large is the chest and shrine?)

He's a little spooked by it. The hairs on his neck are standing up.

"We need a magic detector up here. Also maybe somebody who knows more about religious symbols than I do."

Does anything look structurally sound up here, that could support more weight? Can Abner spot a way to get one of his heavier partners up here safely?
Are there any beams that a couple of rounds of mending might strengthen?

He'll give it a shot, in any case. Abner starts to cast mending on the nearest crack.