Quivering Corruption (DM Lerus)

Utar paces the storage room before he realises that taking his two steps below turning and repeating his journey is likely to annoy both Doozey and Villonah.

Settling himself on a sturdy looking crate, Utar lets his foot tap away on the floor betraying his nerves.

"If we can't move around the place, how are we finding this horn? I'm not exactly built for subterfuge... And if we don't find this horn and the retainers arrive..."

Utar rubs his hands through his hair and looks to Doozey and Villonah for answers.

Graxx nods to the hobgoblin and looks to Yalek.  Graxx gives Yalek a nod motioning for them to return.

Graxx will return to the supply room.

"Well... That went better in my head.  They wouldn't let me in the tower.  I'm guessing if we want in we're going to have to fight our way in.  Should we visit the barracks?  Maybe see if someone knows of the horn?"

Successful at partially ingratiating himself with the hobgoblins but failing to gain enough trust to be invited into their tower, Graxx accepts the stalemate and returns to the supply closet. Yalek is close behind. As he moves away from the tower, Graxx hears one of the hobgoblins whisper: "Hey, wasn't that the mercenary group that had an ogre with them?"

Graxx enters the room and shares his experience with the others. His mood turns a bit worse when he notices that Villonah's worried looks have apparently contaminated Utar.  

Yalek brings in the last crate from the wagon, signaling that their presence within the supply room, should they linger, will likely raise more suspicion.

Villonah kicks a pebble: "I say screw it! We burst out of the door and push the wagon against the barracks' door! Whatever stealthy alternative he can come up with in the next few seconds will surely derail once our allies begin arriving en masse."  She sighs: "At least we managed to gain free entry via our little ruse."

"Hn... I would've liked to confirm if the horn was in the tower or not. But, if we can at least take out those two remaining sentries quickly and quietly enough, we might be to enter the tower next before they've finished with that delivery." Doozey somewhat grudgingly admits, and after effort, climbs his way out of the barrel with a half-chewed up piece of jerky in his mouth. Taters had one in his mouth as well, though seemed to have it there more as a prop to mirror Doozey than any desire to eat the thing.

"But let's try to at least be a little clever about it? It doesn't have to be a perfect deception. But, we will want our 'friends' that are already inside out before we start moving that wagon, after all. So, I wish to propose the counter argument, if'n no one minds. That being one of you going to inform our missing friend on the quickly shrinking timeline, and the other... I suppose, seeing about getting our wagon prepared to 'move off a ways' as to avoid blocking traffic in and out of the storage. Or at the very least, preparing for as much, for when our fellows make their exit -- and are sure you can't make anything out here with the big boom, Villie? No? Alright." He shrugs and carries on. "Once she's out, we'll want to move fast and swift. Worst case scenario, we may have to set this storage room on fire as a very stupid distraction. But a distraction all the same." 

Utar nods approval to Graxx's suggestion to visit the barracks for some intelligence gathering. It feels more useful than sitting in the store room.

"We don't want to spring the trap too early, Villonah. Do we know when the cavalry is arriving? Might be something useful to find out. Might be we could agree a signal?"

Gruxx shakes his head in a "no" motion to Utar.

"Actually Utar... Now that I think of it when I was walking off some of the hobs were asking where the Ogre was that was with us.  Sounds like they are getting a bit spooked.  I think we need to put them down sooner than later.  I can probably get close enough to draw first blood before they know what him them if I carry another sack of food over there.  I can go for the leader and stick my pike in it's throat."

Neya takes some bread as she waits for more of CRAP to file in.

Although her wagon-blockade idea is not completely dismissed by Doozey and Utar, Villonah's tendency to act/speak a bit harshly when frustrated is put in check by CRAP. Instead, the group proposes a couple of different courses of action. They decide to either join Neya in the barracks to gather some additional intel or get rid of the cluster of increasingly suspicious hobgoblins. Despite being a spy, Yalek seems to favor the fighting option suggested by Graxx. He says: "Either way, the wagon is now empty. The hobgoblins will be expecting us to vacate this supply room very soon."

Somewhat oblivious to this more recent planning session, Neya snacks on some bread and behaves as if she always belonged in the barracks. She can see Rhonda sitting several yards away, avoiding conversation. 

Utar will follow Yalek to the barracks.

Graxx shakes his head....

"Ugh I forgot Neya was in the barracks we can't start fighting that far separated.  She would be all alone when things went down.  We can't do that to one of our own.  Let's get Neya and get back out as soon as we can."

Graxx will follow Utar who is following Yalek to the barracks.

As Doozey watches as people leave one after the other -- none of which appear to acknowledge the part about the wagon -- he cannot but look between Villonah and the retreating backs of the others several times, before then slowly raising a hand to facepalm. "Not even a nod or a headshake... my word." He complained lightly. "... Well, hopefully Neya's been gathering intel and setting the stage this whole time with that Rhonda lady. Not's as if she doesn't know we're on somewhat time crunch."

Following those self-assuaging words, he works on shifting some of the supplies around so that Villonah and himself didn't need to hide -in- the supplies again until the others either made their move or return. Though he had not forgotten the stone in his pocket, knowing its limitations, the stoutling yet refrained from using it. Afterwards, he'd take cover, unless Villonah got the bomb together during the interim. In which case, plans may yet just change...

--> Doozey Hiding: 15. (for if/when it next becomes relevant)
--> Taters Hiding: 15.

Neya takes a look around the room to try to get a read on some of the mercenaries by their body language. Save for Rhonda, she doesn't think she needs to try to get a sense of her state of mind.

Insight: 8

(OOC: I'm not sure how you understood that Yalek left the room first, but let's just go with it.)

The group decides they need more intel before acting after Graxx admits his own suggestion would make little sense given that Neya is already at the barracks. Yalek admits defeat and leads Utar and Graxx out of the room. 

Left to their own devices, Doozey and Villonah try to keep themselves busy. The halfling shifts a few crates and barrels to provide them with some cover, while the gnome rummages around for some multi-use supplies (investigation: 23). She states: "There is no wealth of tinkering resources here, but if we put some of this flour inside these bags over here, making sure there is plenty of air inside, and then close them tightly, I figure we can make a few bags to throw about. If we do it right, a flour cloud would puff up on impact... I think."

She begins to tinker (Tinker's tools check: 10). Given some time, she produces three such "smoke-bombs."

@Neya: There are plenty of grunts here. Judging by their demeanor, and picking up a bit of their likes and dislikes via eavesdropping, you conclude that most of the folks in here are actually cultists, including some of Graxx's tribesmen. Mercenaries form a small minority in this room. There is not much else you can gather before the doors open once again and Utar, Graxx, and Yalek walk in.   

@Utar & @Graxx: You enter and see several long tables being occupied by dozens of cultists. Some resemble Graxx in poise. There are more grunts in here than it would be wise to take on a fight. (OOC: Also, read the second paragraph in this post for a description of the room.)

Doozey spares a nod, but is quick to return to work on the cover. Though he stood back proud of his work, when Villonah shows the result of her own, Doozey can't help but beam at her for a moment, before then furrow his brow in deep thought. "Any chances you can also rig one of those little welcomers to a barrel? At least in such a way as to go off if say the lid is open up a smidge to much?" He asked. "Might be going a step too far in me ruminations, but might be a nice little trick to play on these fellows in a bluff sort of situation." Doozey added, then shrugged.

"Anyways, let's hide for now. And if one of those fellows come in for their inspection and spies one of us, we'll see about using one of those in an emergency should we fear we're about to be spotted, yes?"

(OOC: How does the door to the outside open? Does it use a rope or a wooden handle? Does it swing inward or outward?)

Graxx stays standing and looks around nervously and whispers to Utar.

”I’m nervous I’ll be recognized.  There are too many of them to fight in here.”

Graxx looks at all the Tribesman.  Do any look familiar?  Or even the Drow?

Perception: 6

(@Drache: As previously mentioned, the door swings outwardly. As for the mechanism, the handles are heavy, wooden, and fixed in place. There is no locking mechanism but there are four L-shaped metal parts on the inside of the door indicating it can be barred. You do not see the bar used for such purpose near the door.)

Inside the barracks, some anxiety builds within Graxx as he realizes that he might be recognized by some of his tribesmen-turned-cultists. For the moment, he is so taken aback by that realization, that he can't focus on trying to recognize any of them before they spot him. (OOC: And he is not even wearing a cloak...)

For now, there is too much hubbub in here, so no one is paying particular attention to the new arrivals. Yalek shrugs and whispers: "What are we trying to find out? The location of the horn? I have a feeling those hobgoblins wouldn't share that information with the cultists so easily, especially not the lower ranks you see here..."

"Well, there is some coil over there so let's see if I can make a spring out of it" Villonah responds, encouraged by Doozey (Tinker's tools check: 20.) 

Villonah breaks a few of the coils with her pliers before throwing the bits to the corner: "I'm not half the tinkerer my father was..." Any words of consolation may need to wait, though, as Doozey's (now boosted) passive perception picks up some approaching footsteps from beyond the supply room's door.

DM's Screen:

Graxx looks to Utar.

"This just ain't smart.  Get the others and meet back at the supply closet.  I don't recognize anyone in here but they have heard stories about me.  Folks don't often leave the Tribe to go off on their own."

Graxx walks back to the supply room.

"There's too many in there to risk a brawl.  Let's push the wagon against the door when the others get here and get to killin'."

Utar places himself directly in front of Graxx, hoping to provide some cover from prying eyes.

"Let's regroup and start to search. Yalek, can you bring Rhonda over from her drink?"

(Okay, so that gives me an idea to help obstruct the door when the fists start flying)

Neya, seeing the behavior of Yalek and her fellow CRAP members, and believes that they had come to the same conclusion as she had. With all of the cultists, almost nothing productive can be accomplished in the barracks. She then rejoins them.