Ghosts of Saltmarsh (cbaer8) - Campaign Thread

The door looks just as you left it. A cellar door, similar to many others in these foul alleys, with a faint symbol scratched onto it (among many other scratches and graffiti samples.)
The narrow, dirty alley is very quiet, sheltered from the gusting winds, with snow drifting down from above. The snow does little to squelch the stench of the open sewer nearby, partially camouflaged by melting snow. No fresh tracks appear in the snow other than some rat trails.

Dwal stands about 10 ft. from the door, looking it over. He seems to be considering his next actions.
When the party approaches he will acknowledge them with a nod. 
"There are 3 guards to tha next door in there an' stealth ain't gonna get ya past 'em." he says while staring at the door. "Tha only way will be tha direct approach an that will alert what ever or who ever is behind that second door, if'n they ain't alerted already."
Dwal is silent for a minute.
"Procan is a Sea God, an so's this Xolor, if I don't miss my guess. So they would be feudin' amongst themselves. What I find dangerous is tha Procanites don't have a clue about it or they are denying it. We seen Xolor followers use Gnolls ta attack a town an' I suspect they are tha reason fer all tha folks being poisoned here."
Dwal turns to Gerrard. "Ya ain't said much about yer trip ta see yer lady love. What happened." he asks flatly. 

Gerrard:

A bit surprised Dwal is choosing this moment to show an interest in his love life, Gerrard says, ”I thought there was a charmed woman, a corpulent and immobile man, and the voice of a baby.  Are these the three guards of which you speak?  This direct approach—do you mean for us to assault these people?  How sure are you that we have the right place and the right foes and would not just be murdering an impoverished family?”

”As for my ‘lady love’, she is in town but not taking visitors, as her family’s sailing ship was assaulted by the sea devils and few of their number were spared.  Esmerelda herself was badly wounded and is in need of more powerful healing than was available from the temple of Procan,” he adds.

"Fer one," Dwal starts. "Who in tha Nine hells said anythin' about murderin' anyone?" Dwal asks."Ya keep thinkin' there is only 1 way when there's so many more than that."
Dwal pauses for a moment. 
"Have ya heard anythin' from yer family about all this. Tha Sea Devils, the disease?"Dwal asks. "Is yer lady love sufferin' from tha same thin' as the rest of tha town?"

Dwal waits for a few moments.

"As fer the problem at hand. Murder ain't on tha agenda. I figure we can get in by gettin' those inside ta open tha door and run outside." Dwal says with a smile.

Dwal sets out to explain his plan. 
"if'n ya ever had dealin's with beekeepers you'd know bees leave their nests if'n ya smoke 'em out. They fly around an' all in fear of tha hive being burnt up. But it ain't tha fire that puts them in this state, its tha smoke."
Dwal lets that sink in.
"People act just like bees an' will flee if'n they think fire is takin' over their dwellin'. So if'n we control tha flames and get tha smoke ta flood inside tha door, those inside will come rushin' out. With that, I figure tha Bard an' tha newcomer can use their skills ta get inside an' snoop around much better than I could." 

Gerrard:

”No, her injuries were on shipboard as the sea devils murdered most of the crew and attacked her family.  She was savaged personally by a sea devil, not some tainted water causing an infection,” replies Gerrard darkly, though he is slightly relieved that Dwal is not planning to just murder the people inside on the chance that they might be disguised mind slaves.

“I understand your plan, Dwal, but too much smoke can kill as easily as fire, and an obese man too fat to move and a wailing child are unlikely to be too spry when it comes to evacuating a burning house…unless, of course, they are not what they seem,” he responds.

"I could summon a dust devil in there that wouldn't set the building on fire but might smoke them out," Boko says quietly.

Kei 

Back with the group he soon slips out of the serious mood he had entered whilst walking with Gerrard. "Ah Gerry, don't you know by now that 'tween Magicbeard over there and myself we could cause no end of mischief in that building and not harm a hair on anyone's head? Well, maybe a few hairs, just for effect though. Annnd it seems the little miss here" he thumbs towards Boko "wants to join in the fun. Although a Dust Devil might be a bit much. Inside."

The alley remains cold and empty, the door shut. Boko hears the sound of footsteps approaching from deeper within the ancient alley network.

Gerrard:

Stepping off to the side, Gerrard waits for Dwal to figure out his next move.  Looking at Boko, he asks, “I have limited skill with stealth, but I will do what I can.”

Stealth:  9

Dwal takes out a torch and walks over and places it on the door. Dwal will then use Prestidigitation to light it and Control Flames to intensify the flames and set the door on fire. Once it is lit Dwal will control the flames the best he can and keep them focused on the door. 

Boko peers at the alleyway, stepping away from the door to get a closer look, trying to find a place to hide. 

Stealth: 11
Perception: 8

She also looks at the flames starting on thee door, eyes going a a bit wide at the impulsive dwarf.

The ancient, half-rotten wood on this cellar door, wet with snow, takes some work to light, but with magical aid, Dwal soon gets the old door ablaze.

Gerrard and Boko do their best to hide in the shadows of the narrow alley.

An old woman appears at the nearby intersection of two alleys, squints in the party's direction, then disappears behind the building on the other side.

A flames continue to build; Dwal constrains it to the door and frame of the old building.

Half a minute passes; acrid smoke begins to fill the alley (and, presumably, the interior as well.) An inaudible shout can be heard within.

Gerrard:

Moving quietly to the edge of the alley when the witness sees them, Gerrard tries to stay in sight of Dwal’s shouldering door but also peer after the old woman.  Is she moving more spryly than her appearance might suggest?  Is she headed into the same building from a different ingress or is she merely moving on?

Stealth:  10

Insight:  9

Dwal will reduce the flames to just a smoking ember, keeping it at that level to create the smoke needed.

"We need a way ta keep tha' smoke going inside." he will say in a hushed tone to the group. 

Gerrard carefully peers around the corner; the old woman seems to be continuing on, her head down in the blustery cold.

The door suddenly bursts from its hinges.
Smoldering Door attack vs Dwal: 5  Hit: 2 bludgeoning damage

It swipes across Dwal's tough armor, but does not harm him. The door clatters noisily against the wall of the building on the other side of the alley, where it continues to smolder. There is no indication of what force within smashed it so forcefully from its hinges.

The open doorway is full of smoke, thinly lit by an oil lamp somewhere within. You cannot see inside.

Gerrard:

Shrugging, Gerrard moves back to the rest of the group, waiting to see what Dwal’s next step would be in this not-so-stealthy recon.

Kei 

Watching as this new, improved Dwal begins to create havoc at the closed door, Kei can't but help smile at his friends creativity. Back in Saltmarsh he would never have thought his stern colleague would start a conversation by burning down a door. 

The door bursts from its hinges. Flying from its resting place it almost moves in slow motion to Kei's unbelieving eyes. With the door gone the smoke begins to bellow into the laneway. Kei steps up next to his Dwarven priest and attempts to blow the smoke back into the room. "I hope you know what you're doing" he says between castings.

Dwal looks left and right to his companions.
"Alright, I'll go see what's inside," he says.

With that Dwal will pull out a torch and use Prestidigitation and lights the torch and then grasps the torch using Mage Hand and moves to the door. Dwal will stay about a foot outside the door, looking inside and send the torch in before him to provide light. 

Dwal stands outside the door, while his invisible hand sends the torch inside. It is too smoky to see much yet, just glimpses of the small room. The ceiling is low, the room cramped with broken furniture, rags, and garbage. You hear deep coughing on the far side of the room, and then the big man's voice. "Who's there? What do you want?"

The smoke begins to clear slightly. Inside, you can see the massively obese man in the back of the dim, cramped room, wrapped in many blankets. He coughs and coughs.

"Who's that?" he asks again, in a deep, hoarse voice. "What do you want here?"