Bog Luck headed back to his room quite quickly, so Soar's questions are directed at Mack the Guard.
No charge, miss Soar. Just let me know when you've got the item, and I'll call the Superintendant over to store it for you. I... didn't really notice much of a change in the food last night, but I think that tortle fellow was mostly just washing the dishes. It's good when old Pete has someone to help out. We should hire someone for the busy times, just to help him I reckon.
You exit the warehouse and return to your room. Nate, I assume, has stayed behind in the warehouse near the closed door?
Soar definitely would not have seen ArachNate when she checked her cloak because he would've jumped off her at the perfect moment when the guards were not looking in the warehouse. ArachNate is very pleased that there is enough room to sneak under the door to the strong room, and would like to attempt that as soon as he senses a good moment. He knows he has some time to play with, so at first he's up on the ceiling, likely in the corner of the warehouse not to get noticed (although he is a very small spider this time, he recalls the most smallest spider he has seen and morphs into that. Like smaller than a quarter I'd say) watching the strong room, who goes in, what gets brought in and taken out, and just timing it perfectly to be able to get in that strong room as easily as possible.
Nub, Pete looks happily at the caught animals. Here, let me help you with those. Less happily at the other ingredients, but he shrugs. You know what, why don't you show me what you can do?
Despite his enthusiasm, Nub is not proficient with cooking utensils or a trained cook, I believe. Nevertheless, Pete now expects him to cook the main meal for the evening. Roll a d20 to see the outcome of his efforts.
Nate, as soon as the warehouse door closes behind Soar, you scuttle down to the door into the strong room, and do indeed manage to find a hole large enough for you to crawl through. You wait a little while, but after Soar, no-one else comes into or out of the warehouse, and you enter the strong room.
You discover a room with several large crates that you reecognise from the merchants and cultists who travelled in the convoy, and many crates and barrels you do not recognise. The room is pretty full, in fact. On one wall is a shelf where multiple small bags and boxes are stored, all carefully labelled. You are using darkvision, as there are no windows and the room is dark, except for a small sliver of light peeking in under the door.
Nate, you can make a Perception check to search through the room. How long will you spend on this?
24Nate’s going to ‘roll the dice’ and spend as much time as he can in the strong room, creeping around as many boxes and items as he can trying to find out all of this stuff that they’re being so secretive about, hopefully to find some solid leads that we have been looking for for the past number of months.
He will keep alert for any weird noises as well.
so... maybe it took 15 minutes to get into the warehouse, then soar leaves... so nate spends another 1.5 hours in the strong room then gets the hell out of dodge waiting for his ride to return.
Nate, you get a pretty good look through the strong room. Your darkvision prevents you from seeing colours, and your small size makes it difficult to see everything you might want, but you definitely notice two interesting things.
First is that there is a trapdoor in the south-east corner of the room. There's a large crate on top of it, and in spider form of course you have no hope to move it, but you do see it very clearly.
Second is marks on the ground that suggest people have been entering and exiting the room through the trapdoor. It's a stone floor, so you can't really get the same kind of information as you might from fresh earth in the forest, but you can at least be sure that someone has been coming and going, probably recently.
Your two hours are near to being up, so you head back into the warehouse. Are you waiting there for Soar to return, or are you heading out through the door into the yard?
(I'm taking the 24 as the Perception roll - is that correct?)
(Went back and forth on this and then decided on a third option. Quite happy with it.)
Soar returns about an hour and a half later, holding a small wrapped bundle in her hands. It's not fully covered, so the guard and then Bog can see it's a small flute.
"Thank you again, so much, for keeping this safe. I was never as good as this little instrument deserved, but it's very dear to me. Would you mind if I just watched you put it inside? Call me sentimental, but, well, I worry about things. Humor me. I don't even have to go inside the warehouse at all, I just want to be sure."
She stands as close as they'll allow, eyes darting down to the ground every so often, looking for spiders. She tries to stay still so ArachNate can get onboard, though she knows that he can definitely make it out on his own and back to the room, even at spider speed. She'll return to the room for a debrief.
Despite his enthusiasm, Nub is not proficient with cooking utensils or a trained cook, I believe. Nevertheless, Pete now expects him to cook the main meal for the evening. Roll a d20 to see the outcome of his efforts.
[Yep, Nub is very enthusiastic, but has no formal training (yet). This could be good, mediocre or terrible: 5 ]
Nub coats the meat in flour and browns it off before adding some of the vegetables (onion/spring onion and/or garlic, any mushrooms, any root vegetables, any tomatoes) and some of the herbs and then slowly adds liquid (cheap wine or stock preferably, but if there is none, he'll use water). He then lets that cook down into a a rich saucy stew, before adding the last of the vegetables (carrots or similar) and herbs about half an hour before the dinner shift starts.
[I couldn't really help with the other thing, but hopefully a good meal makes up for it.]
(I mean, enthusiasm, time, and care means a lot when it comes to this sort of thing! I know plenty of excellent cooks who have never been trained to do anything formally. They'd even be classified as a reliable talent, though in 5e they would not be able to add their proficiency bonus.)
(Also, Soar, as previously established, thinks and hopes for the best in people despite any evidence to the contrary, so she'd definitely not even consider Nub failing at this sort of thing.)
[Thanks, I agree that enthusiasm, time, and care are important in cooking as well as a good memory or list of recipes. That said, Nub is likely to try and get training at some stage later as well (if he survives long enough to), as it is one of his two passions. It may be after he retires from adventuring though, so the other characters might live in constant fear of a bad die roll and inedible "food". As Tortles only live to around 50 before dying of old age, they are very motivated to learn as much as possible, which they pass on to their offspring in the last 9 months of their lives (if they don't die adventuring before that).]
It all goes pretty much according to plan. Mack the Guard calls Bog Luck, Bog Luck takes the flute, not seeming to inspect it very carefully, and enters the warehouse. When Soar makes a move to follow, Mack says: Just stay near the door, miss. And as Bog Luck opens the door and takes the flute beyond Soar's line of sight, Nate is able to crawl up over her boots and up her legs.
After locking the strong room door again, Bog Luck ushers you out of the warehouse.
Nub, your cooking is really good. As the sun sets, and the merchants, labourers and guards who populate the Roadhouse stream in for dinner, there's much comment on the improved quality of the food - with a few moaners who prefer 'good, traditional Neverwinter fare' (i.e. bland). Pete takes a little of the credit, without shame, but makes sure you get a mention too.
Early in the night whilst on kitchen duties Nub brings up with Pete "You mentioned yesterday that Bog Luck has a special diet. I should check what that is, just in case he orders food."
Towards the end of the night Nub offers "You mentioned noises interrupting your sleep at night. If I were to sleep here in the kitchen, not only would I be able to do extra cleaning and help prepare for breakfast a bit earlier, but I could also try and figure out what the sounds are and maybe fix the problem."
[I will check, does Nate or anyone let me know about the trapdoor?]
Depending on the timing of when Arachnate/Soar returned and when Nub went to cook for the evening, Nate would've told Nub about the trapdoor that he saw, and the fact that it is being used very frequently. He'd of course also tell this information to Jalt and Soar.
"Sorry I couldn't find more. I am not sure how we are all going to be able to get in there, let alone access the trap door. What the hell are these scumbags hiding? I shall meditate on it this eve. Nub, I will also spend some time recalling those spells should you need it for tomorrow. I'm pretty tired from being a spider... I never had the endurance like Elspeth had when she did these types of things. Anyhow, goodnight all."
You would have needed to interrupt Nub to give him the tale, as he would be in the kitchen working long before sunset, but you absolutely can do that. So let's say you did! :) You would also be able to tell Soar and Jalt.
To Nub, Pete does not want to discuss Bog Luck's diet. Never you mind. Trying to take my job are you, son?
He's not interested in allowing you to sleep in the kitchen. Paid for a room, didn't you? You're weird, kid. Now get back to work. That pot's overheating, look.
He's cantankerous, but seems good-natured, and you continue to work together during the evening. However, he very firmly shoos you out when the work is done; though as you are leaving, you do hear, once again, some movement, very faint, coming from below, and Pete starts muttering quietly again. Rats, I reckon, vermin get everywhere, moving and scuttling and... he goes on like this.
Is there anything else you want to accomplish that evening?
When Nub is back in his room, he tells the others that Pete didn't agree to letting him stay, though based on what Nate has shared it might not be necessary anyway.
Nub then asks Nate whether he can have a quiet word. When they are out of earshot of the others, Nub asks Nate "Are you any good at hiding apart from when you are transformed? Either that or are you able to transform into any creature that could carry an item which is also good at hiding? I have thought of a very bad and dangerous plan that I didn't want to share with the group, but I thought I'd tell you in case it inspires a better and less-dangerous plan. Soar had that spell where she could track items, including an item that you carry. If there is a secret trapdoor and you can get into the room undetected, you could transform back into yourself, go down the trapdoor, hide and hold the item and we could follow you via Soar's magic to where the trapdoor leads, as long as it leads to somewhere we can access. Now there are too many things that could go wrong for this to be a plan that we consider properly, though I thought I'd suggest it to help brainstorm a a better plan."
[Nub is not trying to be sly. He genuinely does not think that Nate should do the above and he is genuinely raising it just to hopefully help brainstorm a less dangerous idea.]
To Nub: "I am pretty sneaky when I am not transformed... but I know magic that can make my extremely sneaky... it can make all of us sneaky. I just don't think we are all going to be able to get in there together even with that spell. There's guards there all day, all night. And if I just go down there myself, you all might be able to track me via the object, but it will just be me down there... it's not like you all can just appear there... right? Heck maybe we should ask Soar exactly how her magic works."
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Bog Luck headed back to his room quite quickly, so Soar's questions are directed at Mack the Guard.
No charge, miss Soar. Just let me know when you've got the item, and I'll call the Superintendant over to store it for you. I... didn't really notice much of a change in the food last night, but I think that tortle fellow was mostly just washing the dishes. It's good when old Pete has someone to help out. We should hire someone for the busy times, just to help him I reckon.
You exit the warehouse and return to your room. Nate, I assume, has stayed behind in the warehouse near the closed door?
Soar detects nothing from Detect Evil And Good.
[Nub is already planning what he would do with the ingredients they brought back and will ask Pete (shyly) whether he can do more cooking tonight.]
Soar definitely would not have seen ArachNate when she checked her cloak because he would've jumped off her at the perfect moment when the guards were not looking in the warehouse. ArachNate is very pleased that there is enough room to sneak under the door to the strong room, and would like to attempt that as soon as he senses a good moment. He knows he has some time to play with, so at first he's up on the ceiling, likely in the corner of the warehouse not to get noticed (although he is a very small spider this time, he recalls the most smallest spider he has seen and morphs into that. Like smaller than a quarter I'd say) watching the strong room, who goes in, what gets brought in and taken out, and just timing it perfectly to be able to get in that strong room as easily as possible.
Nub, Pete looks happily at the caught animals. Here, let me help you with those. Less happily at the other ingredients, but he shrugs. You know what, why don't you show me what you can do?
Despite his enthusiasm, Nub is not proficient with cooking utensils or a trained cook, I believe. Nevertheless, Pete now expects him to cook the main meal for the evening. Roll a d20 to see the outcome of his efforts.
Nate, as soon as the warehouse door closes behind Soar, you scuttle down to the door into the strong room, and do indeed manage to find a hole large enough for you to crawl through. You wait a little while, but after Soar, no-one else comes into or out of the warehouse, and you enter the strong room.
You discover a room with several large crates that you reecognise from the merchants and cultists who travelled in the convoy, and many crates and barrels you do not recognise. The room is pretty full, in fact. On one wall is a shelf where multiple small bags and boxes are stored, all carefully labelled. You are using darkvision, as there are no windows and the room is dark, except for a small sliver of light peeking in under the door.
Nate, you can make a Perception check to search through the room. How long will you spend on this?
24Nate’s going to ‘roll the dice’ and spend as much time as he can in the strong room, creeping around as many boxes and items as he can trying to find out all of this stuff that they’re being so secretive about, hopefully to find some solid leads that we have been looking for for the past number of months.
He will keep alert for any weird noises as well.
so... maybe it took 15 minutes to get into the warehouse, then soar leaves... so nate spends another 1.5 hours in the strong room then gets the hell out of dodge waiting for his ride to return.
Perception
24
(I was on my phone, and I rolled the second roll because I didn't see the first one. It'd be cool if you use the first one.)
Nate, you get a pretty good look through the strong room. Your darkvision prevents you from seeing colours, and your small size makes it difficult to see everything you might want, but you definitely notice two interesting things.
First is that there is a trapdoor in the south-east corner of the room. There's a large crate on top of it, and in spider form of course you have no hope to move it, but you do see it very clearly.
Second is marks on the ground that suggest people have been entering and exiting the room through the trapdoor. It's a stone floor, so you can't really get the same kind of information as you might from fresh earth in the forest, but you can at least be sure that someone has been coming and going, probably recently.
Your two hours are near to being up, so you head back into the warehouse. Are you waiting there for Soar to return, or are you heading out through the door into the yard?
(I'm taking the 24 as the Perception roll - is that correct?)
That’s correct and Arachnate is waiting for Soar to return to the warehouse.
(Went back and forth on this and then decided on a third option. Quite happy with it.)
Soar returns about an hour and a half later, holding a small wrapped bundle in her hands. It's not fully covered, so the guard and then Bog can see it's a small flute.
"Thank you again, so much, for keeping this safe. I was never as good as this little instrument deserved, but it's very dear to me. Would you mind if I just watched you put it inside? Call me sentimental, but, well, I worry about things. Humor me. I don't even have to go inside the warehouse at all, I just want to be sure."
She stands as close as they'll allow, eyes darting down to the ground every so often, looking for spiders. She tries to stay still so ArachNate can get onboard, though she knows that he can definitely make it out on his own and back to the room, even at spider speed. She'll return to the room for a debrief.
[Yep, Nub is very enthusiastic, but has no formal training (yet). This could be good, mediocre or terrible: 5 ]
Nub coats the meat in flour and browns it off before adding some of the vegetables (onion/spring onion and/or garlic, any mushrooms, any root vegetables, any tomatoes) and some of the herbs and then slowly adds liquid (cheap wine or stock preferably, but if there is none, he'll use water). He then lets that cook down into a a rich saucy stew, before adding the last of the vegetables (carrots or similar) and herbs about half an hour before the dinner shift starts.
[I couldn't really help with the other thing, but hopefully a good meal makes up for it.]
(I mean, enthusiasm, time, and care means a lot when it comes to this sort of thing! I know plenty of excellent cooks who have never been trained to do anything formally. They'd even be classified as a reliable talent, though in 5e they would not be able to add their proficiency bonus.)
(Also, Soar, as previously established, thinks and hopes for the best in people despite any evidence to the contrary, so she'd definitely not even consider Nub failing at this sort of thing.)
[Thanks, I agree that enthusiasm, time, and care are important in cooking as well as a good memory or list of recipes. That said, Nub is likely to try and get training at some stage later as well (if he survives long enough to), as it is one of his two passions. It may be after he retires from adventuring though, so the other characters might live in constant fear of a bad die roll and inedible "food". As Tortles only live to around 50 before dying of old age, they are very motivated to learn as much as possible, which they pass on to their offspring in the last 9 months of their lives (if they don't die adventuring before that).]
It all goes pretty much according to plan. Mack the Guard calls Bog Luck, Bog Luck takes the flute, not seeming to inspect it very carefully, and enters the warehouse. When Soar makes a move to follow, Mack says: Just stay near the door, miss. And as Bog Luck opens the door and takes the flute beyond Soar's line of sight, Nate is able to crawl up over her boots and up her legs.
After locking the strong room door again, Bog Luck ushers you out of the warehouse.
Nub, your cooking is really good. As the sun sets, and the merchants, labourers and guards who populate the Roadhouse stream in for dinner, there's much comment on the improved quality of the food - with a few moaners who prefer 'good, traditional Neverwinter fare' (i.e. bland). Pete takes a little of the credit, without shame, but makes sure you get a mention too.
Early in the night whilst on kitchen duties Nub brings up with Pete "You mentioned yesterday that Bog Luck has a special diet. I should check what that is, just in case he orders food."
Towards the end of the night Nub offers "You mentioned noises interrupting your sleep at night. If I were to sleep here in the kitchen, not only would I be able to do extra cleaning and help prepare for breakfast a bit earlier, but I could also try and figure out what the sounds are and maybe fix the problem."
[I will check, does Nate or anyone let me know about the trapdoor?]
Depending on the timing of when Arachnate/Soar returned and when Nub went to cook for the evening, Nate would've told Nub about the trapdoor that he saw, and the fact that it is being used very frequently. He'd of course also tell this information to Jalt and Soar.
"Sorry I couldn't find more. I am not sure how we are all going to be able to get in there, let alone access the trap door. What the hell are these scumbags hiding? I shall meditate on it this eve. Nub, I will also spend some time recalling those spells should you need it for tomorrow. I'm pretty tired from being a spider... I never had the endurance like Elspeth had when she did these types of things. Anyhow, goodnight all."
You would have needed to interrupt Nub to give him the tale, as he would be in the kitchen working long before sunset, but you absolutely can do that. So let's say you did! :) You would also be able to tell Soar and Jalt.
To Nub, Pete does not want to discuss Bog Luck's diet. Never you mind. Trying to take my job are you, son?
He's not interested in allowing you to sleep in the kitchen. Paid for a room, didn't you? You're weird, kid. Now get back to work. That pot's overheating, look.
He's cantankerous, but seems good-natured, and you continue to work together during the evening. However, he very firmly shoos you out when the work is done; though as you are leaving, you do hear, once again, some movement, very faint, coming from below, and Pete starts muttering quietly again. Rats, I reckon, vermin get everywhere, moving and scuttling and... he goes on like this.
Is there anything else you want to accomplish that evening?
When Nub is back in his room, he tells the others that Pete didn't agree to letting him stay, though based on what Nate has shared it might not be necessary anyway.
Nub then asks Nate whether he can have a quiet word. When they are out of earshot of the others, Nub asks Nate "Are you any good at hiding apart from when you are transformed? Either that or are you able to transform into any creature that could carry an item which is also good at hiding? I have thought of a very bad and dangerous plan that I didn't want to share with the group, but I thought I'd tell you in case it inspires a better and less-dangerous plan. Soar had that spell where she could track items, including an item that you carry. If there is a secret trapdoor and you can get into the room undetected, you could transform back into yourself, go down the trapdoor, hide and hold the item and we could follow you via Soar's magic to where the trapdoor leads, as long as it leads to somewhere we can access. Now there are too many things that could go wrong for this to be a plan that we consider properly, though I thought I'd suggest it to help brainstorm a a better plan."
[Nub is not trying to be sly. He genuinely does not think that Nate should do the above and he is genuinely raising it just to hopefully help brainstorm a less dangerous idea.]
To Nub: "I am pretty sneaky when I am not transformed... but I know magic that can make my extremely sneaky... it can make all of us sneaky. I just don't think we are all going to be able to get in there together even with that spell. There's guards there all day, all night. And if I just go down there myself, you all might be able to track me via the object, but it will just be me down there... it's not like you all can just appear there... right? Heck maybe we should ask Soar exactly how her magic works."