Daphina creeps through the front door that opens with a soft creak. 

Stealth: 18

The small gnome easily pads around with the ease of a practiced thief, and entering the manor, all you see is a dusty and abandoned house. Looking around the first floor, there is almost nothing of interest or immediate danger. There is the occasional rotten floorboard and moth-ridden furniture, the telltale signs of abandonment.

There are of of course stairs leading upwards to a second and even third floor, but you also find a small stone staircase in the ruins of the kitchen that has multiple footprints scattered around it.

Daphina then exits, relaying all of this information to the party, so it is safe to say you are aware of everything.

What would you like to do?

 "So should we go upstairs to see if there is anything good or just go straight to the place with foot prints?" Kayassa asks as she moves to step into the house.

“I think we should follow the footprints and get this over with.” Daphina says looking behind her to make sure nobody followed her out of the house.

“Into the Lion’s Den?” Duncan asks, then smiles, gripping his weapon adding “Why not? I’m ready if you all are.”

Vulmar reluctantly nods and makes to follow the rest of the party.

Orro nods, oddly distracted during the last exchange. He offers guidance to anyone who could use it.

The party makes their way into the household, soft creaks following each footstep. You pass through the house, entering the kitchen. Thick layers of dust cover almost everything in the abandoned manor, and you hear nothing except your own breathing.

Sure enough, as Daphina said, there is a small stone staircase that leads downwards, and at the bottom, there is a door. 

If opened, one would walk out onto a five-foot-wide landing fifteen feet above a large cellar, with stone steps descending to the floor in two short flights. Another door stands beneath the stairs to the north. A large stone cistern occupies the western part of the room, whose walls are lined with kegs and barrels.

What would you like to do?

Orro goes over and looks at the kegs and barrels to ascertain what might be inside, who made them, and when. Then he looks in the cistern, to see if it's filled with water, if there's anything interesting in it.

Perception: 19
Investigation: 11

Kayassa moves to the door, pressing her ear to it in an attempt to listen for voice that might be on the other side.

Perception: 13

Orro: Making your way to the barrels and investigating them, they mostly contain foods like salted pork and beef, flour, sugar, apples, and ale. Additionally, investigating the cistern, it is indeed filled with cold fresh water. It looks to be about 10 feet deep. There is a small rim about 2 feet above the surrounding floor, and submerged, hanging on a rope about 2 feet beneath the surface of the water on the south wall of the cistern is a small satchel.

(I have also now added a picture of the dungeon to our resource doc, the link to which can be found in the description of the campaign on dndbeyond or on the OOC chat.)

(Sorry, didn’t catch Kayassa’s post)

Putting, an ear to the door, you can hear muffled voices and rustling around. Whoever this is has been alerted to your presence somehow and is going to confront you within the next couple of seconds.

What would you like to do?

Looking around the room Duncan takes a big bite out of an apple and tries to estimate how long these provisions would last a group of 15 for, to see if the information they were given is plausible.

Once Kay gives the alert that there is movement, he drops the apple and immediately moves to block the door, weapon at the ready, waiting for someone to come through.

Orro nearly goes for the satchel, but once Kay alerts the group, he will ready a sacred flame the second he sees someone on the other side of a cracked door. (The spell ignores cover.)

Kayassa is going to move scramble away from the door so that is she is not instantly attacked once it bursts open. As quickly as she can, she will ready herself for a fight. "Get ready to fight!!!"

Vulmar makes sure he is a safe distance away, confirms the location of his arcane focus, and smiles despite himself.  There was good work to be done.

Sure enough, mere seconds pass before three Redbrands burst from the doorway, each carrying weapons. One speaks. “You folks ain’t supposed to be here. Scram before we have to cut you up,” he says with a chuckle. 

What would you like to do?

Daphina pulls out her shortswords. “We aren’t leaving without a fight.” She says looking up at the Redbrands menacingly.

As the first Thug attempts to barge through, Duncan simply stands tall and plants his feet firmly in his stance blocking their path through him. Staring the man in the eye he grips his weapon and waits.

I don’t have time to make a full post, but at this point it seems combat is imminent. Feel free to post initiative rolls, and I will add anyone who may be absent to my post I can hopefully make tomorrow morning.

Kayassa Initiative: 11