Ghosts of Saltmarsh (cbaer8) - Campaign Thread

Dwal will fall in line, picking up the end guard.

Gerrard:

If the others are also done with this room, Gerrard gestures for Boko to lead the way to the next likely location, trusting her to track the Kuo-Toa.  If she demurs, he will look to Dwal to pick the next door.

Kei 

"Sometimes I really wonder why I left smuggling behind!" Kei remarks to no-one in particular, referring to Gerrard's rummaging through excrement.

He follows close behind Gerrard.

Peri:

Peri feels remarkably better off after Dwal's unsolicited healing. He hadn't realized quite how ragged he'd been. Good thing I didn't stub a toe -- they'd have had to carry me home! As the group is working its way down the hallway to the left, he ducks through the doorway and heads right, just far enough to be out of the bright light of Dwal's torch. He finds a pocket of darkness from which to watch the dooway they'd come through and the hallway and hides (20), so he can cover their exit route. He hears them mutter about 'bedpans' and wonders if this was some long-abandoned hospital.

Peri finds a dark pocket of shadows at the east end of the hallway, just past the north hallway, near the boarded-up window.

The building remains quiet.

The next door to the west is the one the old woman vanished through a minute ago. Web-toed tracks lead to it, too, as well as further to the west and in Peri's direction.

Gerrard:

Wary of another surprise attack from the assassin woman, Gerrard stealthily approaches  the next door and gestures for Boko to open it when she is ready.  He tumbles through quickly and puts his back to the nearest wall in an attempt to foil any possible sneak attacks.

Stealth:  13

Acrobatics:  16

Boko turns away from the bedpan wall, curious about what might hide behind it, but not having the time not inclination to want to pull down the whole thing to see/hear/smell.

She comes back out and nods at Gerrard, and, when everyone is ready, goes to open the door and look in the opposite direction of where Gerrard goes. If she sees any kind of unlit candle or lamp inside (through her goggles of night) she readies druidcraft to light them up. Her shillelagh driftwood staff is pointing in the room, ready to take on any threat.

This old door opens easily. Gerrard and Boko enter, Gerrard with a stylish (if maybe a little ostentatious) tumble.
(Does everyone but Peri follow? Check the map and let me know if you disagree with your positions.)

The dark room is empty, pitch dark, and it smells terrible. (Are Gerrard or Dwal illuminating the room?) Those who can see, spot two large pools of black water filling the room, together with taps and pipes. (Those who can see may also make an intelligence check, or in Gerrard or Rue's case, a History check if they prefer.)

A large pile of debris is heaped behind Boko. A sliminess covers the floor. It's slippery here. 

There are neither candles nor lamps inside, although hooks on the wall indicate where lighting once existed, long ago.

It is very quiet; only distant sounds of the wind can be heard.

Gerrard:

With his glowing rapier out, Gerrard looks around the room alertly for the assassin.  (Stealth roll was primarily for being quiet before bursting into the room—in an attempt to foil sneak attacks by people possibly hiding behind the door)

Perception:  8

History:  8

(Dwal will follow)

Dwal, with his torch in Mage Hand and will step inside. Once inside he will send the torch forward 30 ft. to help get a better look at what the room is like.

Dwal will also listen.
Perception: 5

Boko points down at the slime, peering a bit more closely at it. Is it the same kind of slime she encountered after she was abducted?

Boko takes a closer look at the slimy floor. Investigation: 10

It is not obviously dissimilar. All surfaces here are slimy and wet (and are considered difficult terrain. Anyone from the party moving faster than a walk must make a DC12 Dexterity saving throw or fall prone at the end of their move.) A stench is palpable. 

Dwal picks up hushed voices and footsteps ahead, past the pools and through an archway to the north.

(Again - let me know if your positions are not where you imagine them to be.)

Peri:

Peri dashes down the hallway as quietly as possible. Nearing Kei he whispers, "Three really big rats comin' down the hallway off to the north back there. Likely some o' the wererats been chewin' folks up around here. And my spear's back at the jail so I can't hurt 'em except with my blastin'."

Kei 

"If'n they are wererats, your probably best off with magics than a spear anyway. Keep your distance." He offers up some sensible advice in unusual moment of seriousness. "I think we should stay close together anyway. Not for fear of the creatures in these hallways, but for fear of our new tracker. She scares me a little." He winks as he finishes the last sentence. 

Whispering through the door way to the majority of the group "Peri and I will hang back as you all head deeper. I can offer magics from afar and Peri has no way to fight so I can keep an eye on his hide too. Apparently there's rat people moving around out here." He stands in the doorway so as to be able to see both the group and his pint sized friend.

Peri hustles over to join the party. By the time he reaches Kei, Peri can see the big rodents peeping silently around the corner from the intersection of the hallways. They are too far away for the others to see in this light. Then they begin a slow, careful advance toward you up the hallway, but they pause about sixty feet away.

"We should deal with them before we explore this room," Boko says, peeking down the hall. "You have faced them before? Any recommendations?"

She readies a frostbite on the closest one as soon as it takes a step into range. 6 cold damage on a failed CON 15 save

Gerrard:

Moving quietly out of the room and preparing to face the Wererats in the hallway, Gerrard whispers, “Well, I was planning to go shopping for silvered weapons today against this eventuality; I can only hope the enchantment in my blade works too.”

Two figures emerge from the gloom at the other end of the pool room: the fat man and the old woman. But there are other figures you cannot quite see, right behind them. The fat man levitates a few feet off the ground. A few flames drip from his outstretched fingers. The old woman cradles a baby in one arm, and holds a light crossbow in the other, pointed at the party.

"Trespassers!" booms the big man. "You are not welcome here. You have ten seconds to tell me who you are and what you want."

The rats maintain their distance. They are only visible to Peri, who has the keenest vision in the dark.

Dwal will use Control Flames and cause the flames dripping from the mage's hand to brighten to double their illumination, trying to get sight of what is moving behind the fat floating mage. 

Dwal finds he cannot control these flames. Arcana check: 20

They are undoubtedly a magical illusion of some sort.