The party, led by Lucky, heads carefully back down the hallway, through the entrance hall, over the remains of the balcony, up the north hallway, through the kitchen, and into the room off the kitchen containing the stairs down.
It's an old scullery - a utility room where dishes were once scrubbed and brooms and mops once probably stored. The room displays the effects of damp and decay more than most. Mold grows in patches on the floor, walls, and ceiling. A large copper cask, split, discolored and empty, stands under the window, with a small heap of crockery shards on the floor beside it. Stairs lead down into what is presumably a cellar.
From the top of the stairs, Lucky can see very little below, as it is only illuminated by whatever fading gloomy daylight filters through the boarded window and reaches down the short stairway. However, Katernin and Fianna, standing behind him, can see a junk-filled basement below. (Does anyone have a light source for those without darkvision?)
(Is everyone prepared to head downstairs? Lucky leading? Any light?)
((Fianna has torches, but truthfully they were recovered from the shipwreck and may not be easy to light... And she is likely not of a mind to think to light one right now anyway))
Kelnan follows with enthusiasm. When they reach the stairs, he holds up his hand. "Hold now, I'm sure I sensed some kind of magic here earlier. An illusion maybe, could be another alarm. Or a trap. No ghosts, but maybe..." He trails off and tentatively pokes objects in the room with his staff, looking for anything odd or suspicious.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Kelnan uses his staff to probe the large stained copper cask, the crockery shards, and even the mold, and finds nothing notable about them. Investigation: 18
Kelnan does find some fresh boot prints. Somebody must have come in from outside, through the kitchen, and walked down these stairs, skipping every other step, within the last few hours. The tracks are still slightly damp and a tiny bit of fresh grass clings to one.
Lucky looks around, unsure how he ended up at the front of this group. Still, he is extremely curious to know what is going on and, as usual, his curiosity overrides his sense of self preservation; just. Taking out his glasses he pops them on his head, allowing further Investigation of the stair case. Moving down carefully, using the light of Fianna's torch to see, he will check out every step, mindful to only tread where the original foot prints tread, in case one of the missed steps is rotten or trapped - though he will check each one carefully to look for traps.
Though there is a light suddenly appearing, Lucky tries to ensure his shadow does not throw itself out into the basement and moves as quietly as he can down the staircase, trying not to squeak any floor boards. Listening carefully he's alert for any sounds in the basement too.
Hunched over with his glittering glasses, and treading carefully on every other step where this booted person recently tread, Lucky makes his way stealthily down the stairs. He finds nothing unusual about the steps themselves.
Using the light from the magically-lit torch he borrows from Fianna, Lucky finds himself in an old wine cellar of some sort. Shoulder-height wooden bottle racks line the north and west walls here. There appear to be no intact bottles left in the racks and shattered bottles cover the floor. Against the east wall, at the foot of the stairs, rest two large metal storage bins that appear to be empty. In the center of the room lies a human corpse clad in plate mail; a longsword lies by the corpse’s right side, and a large shield covers its legs.
Lucky will signal to the others to follow him down. "It seems all safe," he whispers loud enough for the others to hear. "Though I suggest you only tread on every other step, starting with the second one down, same as I did. Just in case."
I wonder what killed that man? Probably someone like Katernin will know better than me, I'll leave it to them. No exits from the room? Got to be a secret door here somewhere.
He will wait until he sees others beginning to follow down and then will move into the room. Leaving the body for now he's going to inspect the shelves and walls, initially for general interesting (valuable?!) stuff and then start seeking out any potential secret doors or catches.
Fianna will slowly, carefully and reluctantly follow Lucky’s direction and make her way down to the basement.., she’ll peer around looking for the source of the voice but seeing nothing will inspect the body. More for loot than for medical reasons. But so long as the body ain’t moving of talking she sees no reason to be fearful of that...
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Lucky spots something on the south wall, between the fireplace and the metal bins - a tiny sliver of light. There is a panel here camouflaging a hidden door, and a lit room beyond.
Molo pulls the shield off the corpse just as Fianna approaches. Two swarms of pinky-sized grubs spill out of gaps in the armor, unnervingly similar in appearance to curdled milk being squeezed from a bladder, and attempt to wriggle through Molo's leather leggings and into Molo's legs. Grub stealth: 6
Molo just manages to see them coming and avoids a sneak attack.
(Apologies for the manipulated dice banner! Edited that one too many times, evidently! Then it got all messed up. I'd be curious to see how your mouseovers read those rolls!)
Everyone may act before the grubs, starting with Lucky, Kelnan and Reed.
Lucky back pedals rapidly away from the grubs, unsure what he can do about these squirming things. Yuck! How disgusting! I've not seen anything that horrible since Alfred got the wasting disease. Now that was putrid when the maggots started eating him. No, on second thoughts, this is worse.
Moving to what he hopes is relative safety far from the body and grubs, Lucky will draw his trusty knife and look around him, a worried countenance across his face.
Mouseover shows 7-2, 11+1, 14+1, 19+3, 19+3, 17-1 and 18+3
Looks fine except for the warning. *shrug*
On her turn, Fianna lets out a loud, involuntary "Disgusting!" as she jumps back from the grubs and unleashes an Eldritch Blast Attack: 19 Damage: 8 at the disgusting creatures and continues backing away...
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Lucky backs away and prepares himself for whatever comes next.
Kelnan gets uncomfortably close to the body and its aggressively wriggling occupants and investigates. Investigation: 9
Kelnan becomes confused by the jumble of tracks on the floor, but this guy has been dead several weeks and is pretty mangled with obvious slashing wounds. His plate mail is all banged up.
Fianna blasts the nasty grubs with a beam of crackling purple energy. It strikes them easily, and fries several to smoking crisps. There are many more, however. They will take some time to exterminate.
Reed, Katernin, and Molo may act next. The grubs are boldly advancing on Kelnan and Molo.
((Fianna is a reluctant follower...))
(With a Molo now clambered up to her hip, carried like a toddler lizard)
Molo doesn’t want to go down there but his eyes are wide and watchful
Paladin - warforged - orange
The party, led by Lucky, heads carefully back down the hallway, through the entrance hall, over the remains of the balcony, up the north hallway, through the kitchen, and into the room off the kitchen containing the stairs down.
It's an old scullery - a utility room where dishes were once scrubbed and brooms and mops once probably stored. The room displays the effects of damp and decay more than most. Mold grows in patches on the floor, walls, and ceiling. A large copper cask, split, discolored and empty, stands under the window, with a small heap of crockery shards on the floor beside it. Stairs lead down into what is presumably a cellar.
From the top of the stairs, Lucky can see very little below, as it is only illuminated by whatever fading gloomy daylight filters through the boarded window and reaches down the short stairway. However, Katernin and Fianna, standing behind him, can see a junk-filled basement below. (Does anyone have a light source for those without darkvision?)
(Is everyone prepared to head downstairs? Lucky leading? Any light?)
((Fianna has torches, but truthfully they were recovered from the shipwreck and may not be easy to light... And she is likely not of a mind to think to light one right now anyway))
((Katernin can cast Light at will so she could light the tops of one of the torches))
Elra Skylash - Human Cleric | Vanzaren Tanidoni - Half Elf Wizard
Mindartis Liadon - Eladrin Barbarian | Naivara Siannodel - Half Elf Ranger
Arrila Evenwood - Half Elf Paladin | Callaphe of Setessa - Human Rogue
Katernin Nemetsk - Aasimar Cleric | Melody - Tiefling Bard
Kelnan follows with enthusiasm. When they reach the stairs, he holds up his hand. "Hold now, I'm sure I sensed some kind of magic here earlier. An illusion maybe, could be another alarm. Or a trap. No ghosts, but maybe..." He trails off and tentatively pokes objects in the room with his staff, looking for anything odd or suspicious.
Kelnan uses his staff to probe the large stained copper cask, the crockery shards, and even the mold, and finds nothing notable about them. Investigation: 18
Kelnan does find some fresh boot prints. Somebody must have come in from outside, through the kitchen, and walked down these stairs, skipping every other step, within the last few hours. The tracks are still slightly damp and a tiny bit of fresh grass clings to one.
Lucky looks around, unsure how he ended up at the front of this group. Still, he is extremely curious to know what is going on and, as usual, his curiosity overrides his sense of self preservation; just. Taking out his glasses he pops them on his head, allowing further Investigation of the stair case. Moving down carefully, using the light of Fianna's torch to see, he will check out every step, mindful to only tread where the original foot prints tread, in case one of the missed steps is rotten or trapped - though he will check each one carefully to look for traps.
Though there is a light suddenly appearing, Lucky tries to ensure his shadow does not throw itself out into the basement and moves as quietly as he can down the staircase, trying not to squeak any floor boards. Listening carefully he's alert for any sounds in the basement too.
Investigation (+6, adv): 24
Stealth (+5): 20
Perception (+4): 22
My Author Page: www.peterjblake.com
Novels Published: Reynard's Fate, Kita's Honour, Okoth's War and Callindrill
Hunched over with his glittering glasses, and treading carefully on every other step where this booted person recently tread, Lucky makes his way stealthily down the stairs. He finds nothing unusual about the steps themselves.
Using the light from the magically-lit torch he borrows from Fianna, Lucky finds himself in an old wine cellar of some sort. Shoulder-height wooden bottle racks line the north and west walls here. There appear to be no intact bottles left in the racks and shattered bottles cover the floor. Against the east wall, at the foot of the stairs, rest two large metal storage bins that appear to be empty. In the center of the room lies a human corpse clad in plate mail; a longsword lies by the corpse’s right side, and a large shield covers its legs.
(Switching map styles...)
Lucky will signal to the others to follow him down. "It seems all safe," he whispers loud enough for the others to hear. "Though I suggest you only tread on every other step, starting with the second one down, same as I did. Just in case."
I wonder what killed that man? Probably someone like Katernin will know better than me, I'll leave it to them. No exits from the room? Got to be a secret door here somewhere.
He will wait until he sees others beginning to follow down and then will move into the room. Leaving the body for now he's going to inspect the shelves and walls, initially for general interesting (valuable?!) stuff and then start seeking out any potential secret doors or catches.
Investigation (+6, adv): 18
My Author Page: www.peterjblake.com
Novels Published: Reynard's Fate, Kita's Honour, Okoth's War and Callindrill
Molo peels back the shield to see if there’s anything weird underneath
Paladin - warforged - orange
Fianna will slowly, carefully and reluctantly follow Lucky’s direction and make her way down to the basement.., she’ll peer around looking for the source of the voice but seeing nothing will inspect the body. More for loot than for medical reasons. But so long as the body ain’t moving of talking she sees no reason to be fearful of that...
Lucky spots something on the south wall, between the fireplace and the metal bins - a tiny sliver of light. There is a panel here camouflaging a hidden door, and a lit room beyond.
Molo pulls the shield off the corpse just as Fianna approaches. Two swarms of pinky-sized grubs spill out of gaps in the armor, unnervingly similar in appearance to curdled milk being squeezed from a bladder, and attempt to wriggle through Molo's leather leggings and into Molo's legs. Grub stealth: 6
Molo just manages to see them coming and avoids a sneak attack.
Initiative:
Grubs: 12
Molo: 8
Fianna: 10
Lucky: 7
Kelnan: 19
Katernin: 8
Reed: 4
Katernin follows behind Fianna.
Elra Skylash - Human Cleric | Vanzaren Tanidoni - Half Elf Wizard
Mindartis Liadon - Eladrin Barbarian | Naivara Siannodel - Half Elf Ranger
Arrila Evenwood - Half Elf Paladin | Callaphe of Setessa - Human Rogue
Katernin Nemetsk - Aasimar Cleric | Melody - Tiefling Bard
(Apologies for the manipulated dice banner! Edited that one too many times, evidently! Then it got all messed up. I'd be curious to see how your mouseovers read those rolls!)
Everyone may act before the grubs, starting with Lucky, Kelnan and Reed.
Kelnan examines the body. Could this be the one who left the footprints? And how did he die?
Lucky back pedals rapidly away from the grubs, unsure what he can do about these squirming things. Yuck! How disgusting! I've not seen anything that horrible since Alfred got the wasting disease. Now that was putrid when the maggots started eating him. No, on second thoughts, this is worse.
Moving to what he hopes is relative safety far from the body and grubs, Lucky will draw his trusty knife and look around him, a worried countenance across his face.
My Author Page: www.peterjblake.com
Novels Published: Reynard's Fate, Kita's Honour, Okoth's War and Callindrill
Mouseover shows 7-2, 11+1, 14+1, 19+3, 19+3, 17-1 and 18+3
Looks fine except for the warning. *shrug*
On her turn, Fianna lets out a loud, involuntary "Disgusting!" as she jumps back from the grubs and unleashes an Eldritch Blast Attack: 19 Damage: 8 at the disgusting creatures and continues backing away...
Lucky backs away and prepares himself for whatever comes next.
Kelnan gets uncomfortably close to the body and its aggressively wriggling occupants and investigates. Investigation: 9
Kelnan becomes confused by the jumble of tracks on the floor, but this guy has been dead several weeks and is pretty mangled with obvious slashing wounds. His plate mail is all banged up.
Fianna blasts the nasty grubs with a beam of crackling purple energy. It strikes them easily, and fries several to smoking crisps. There are many more, however. They will take some time to exterminate.
Reed, Katernin, and Molo may act next. The grubs are boldly advancing on Kelnan and Molo.
Molo scrambles back with a shriek and tries to fling a stone at the creatures with his sling.
Attack: 13 Damage: 4
Paladin - warforged - orange