The Wrong Guys IC II

[Cardea]

Tayet

Tayet climbs down with Audric, looking around at the items. "What purpose for pig skin? Waste of animal. Good animals, for van... vani... vanity. Waste of space. Gathering dust. Armor? Enough metal to make nails for small village. Wasted. Decorative. Gives away location. Is like sitting duck. Sitting metal one. Paladin. This axe. One with rings. Do your damaged eyes see anything? Sorcerer. What know of boots? And cloak to... hide? May see?"

[Jallorn]

Antal says nothing, his ribbing of Audric is not a good idea at the moment. Instead, he searches the room, looking first for dangers, then for value.

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Trapfinding Search (Inspiration point):(1d20+10)[27]
Valuables Search: (1d20+6)[14]

[Ajadea]

Antal

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You're looking for danger? Look no further than the weapons. There are at least a dozen or so round things, about the size of a saucer, hidden under and around them, connected with threads thin as a single strand of hair. You aren't sure what they do, but they look dangerous.

There is an assortment of more mundane traps as well - a razor-wire surrounds the hides and armor, and another surrounds the wool. Each one of the books is attached by a thread to one of those red tiles that apparently should not be dropped under any circumstances. If they were removed from the shelves, the whole thing would explode. The white book has at least three tiles connected, for presumably triple the boom power.

You also notice a sack of coins, stuffed under a sack of flour.

[Jallorn]

This place is one giant trap. Don't touch anything. Antal double checks that the sack of coins isn't trapped before retreiving them.

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Just gonna go ahead and take 20 on this check. Hopefully given the small space it shouldn't take too long.

[Savannah]

Rana backs well away from the trap door while Antal gets to work.

[Strawberries]

“Be careful.” Audric too steps a bit back, so as not to hinder Antal as he works on the traps, but not so far that he wouldn’t be able to grab the Halfling and drag him away from danger, if needed.

[DeafnotDumb]

Jess jerks up in surprise, holding the cloak. "What? Where? when? How?" She asks, a stunned expression taking over her face. "I can't have been away that long!"

[Jallorn]

Well, for starters, there's razor wire surrounding the armors and the wool, the books are all attached to those red tiles, and that white one is attached to three of them, what else... Antal pretends to think for a second before adding, Oh, and there's a whole mess of round things connected together under and around the weapons, and I don't even know what they do.

[Strawberries]

Audric addresses Jess“Are you sure you had turned the place upside down? Including the books?” Given that she wasn’t aware she was in possession of a treatise on demon summoning, he doesn’t think it’s likely. “Could you have simply missed the traps?”

To the Halfling “Antal, do not take unnecessary risks. Leave those things alone” Especially the books, Audric doesn’t want a repeat of last time “What about the potions, and the scrolls? Are they safe to remove?” And the boots too, he supposes... but potions and scrolls have a more immediate usefulness.

[Jallorn]

Haven't found anything, doesn't mean there isn't anything though. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to make certain this isn't trapped.

[DeafnotDumb]

"The razor wire, that's standard," Jess says, before pausing. "Probably should've pointed that out earlier. But that book with the mirror on it and all that - I don't ever remember seeing that here."

[Strawberries]

That’s...troubling. Audric frowns, trying to look at Jess while simultaneously keeping an eye on what Antal is doing. It isn’t the most easy of tasks. “That book that you don’t remember seeing here before is a treatise on how to summon and control demons” he says, with a very serious expression “And it is so crammed with arcane magic that it is painful for me to look at it. If the previous owner left it here, that’s one thing, but if this house is still being used for these purposes...” he trails off, looking worried “Anyway, we cannot just leave it here. I should see about informing the Order of its presence” A letter should suffice, Audric hopes. “After we... after I have dealt with Yistin.”

[Ajadea]

Antal

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The gold is not trapped. It should be safe to grab it.

The tiles fill the air with a humming sound, refusing to let the air still long enough for silence to settle. A potion wobbles in a nonexistent breeze. Overall, nothing seems to be happening.

DC 15 Listen

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There is a faint sound, boots against boards.
DC 20

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At least three pairs of them, and walking none too slowly.
DC 27

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But thankfully, they appear to be going to the other room, rather than into the one above this hideout.

DC 22 Spot

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Something about the paintings looks different.
DC 27

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Was the frame on the winter painting always cracked there? Hadn't the wind in the spring painting been blowing left instead of right before? Where did those shadows come from in the summer? Wasn't there an apple on the road in the fall?

[Jallorn]

Antal grabs the money, but waits to look inside, I hear footsteps, three pairs. We should hide. He begins looking around for the best places to hide.

Search check? (hoping I might give others a small bonus to hide checks): (1d20+6)[20]

[Nanoblack]

Llaars

Llaars had been warily standing near the doorway since the mention of traps. Razor wire, humming tiles, and mysterious disc were all things he wanted no part of since he saw the original result of Antal poking his nose into places like this. He doesn't hear any footsteps, but he's learned to trust the ears of this particular halfling. He tries to find a Llaars sized nook as close to the entryway as possible so he can sucker punch anyone that notices his bulk attempting to crouch out of sight.

[Strawberries]

"By Aldaran’s righteous light, can we ever have a single thing going right? " Audric doesn’t question the Halfling: if even him thinks there’s a danger, it would pay to be careful. Hide, he says. Simple for him, he’s less than four feet tall.

As a tall human in bulky armor, Audric can anticipate some more difficulties. It’s probably better that he simply stays as still and silent as possible – he can just see himself try to duck under one of the overfull tables and sending everything clattering to the floor. He strains his ears, to try to hear something from the room above.

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((Another listen check? Another listen check listen - (1d20+3)[19]))

[Ajadea]

Even with Antal's help, Llaars ends up finding no better choice than to crouch among the barrels of fish. Even in the almost-complete darkness, it is clear he looks nothing like a barrel. Antal fares better - indeed, he almost seems to disappear into shadow. No one enters.

Audric

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You can now hear footsteps, but they are concentrated - wherever the person/people are, they seem to be more or less satisfied with their current location. Only occasionally do you hear the thumping of boots against boards.

[Savannah]

Rana looks up at the ceiling and frowns, but doesn't immediately move to hide. As she looks back down, however, her frown deepens, and she peers more closely at the paintings.

[Savannah]

Rana takes a step towards Audric and whispers, as softly as she can, "Magic?", pointing at the paintings.

[Strawberries]

"What?" Audric frowns, confused for a moment, then understands what Rana wants him to do. He focuses on the paintings, looking for any sign of magic.

[Strawberries]

There is a brief pause, then: "Oh" the paladin says, in a faintly surprised tone. He takes a step nearer to the paintings and studies them for a fair bit.

His frown deepens. "Yes, there is magic. It's not very strong, but it's...a mess. " Quite an understatement, really "There are spells from almost all the magic schools you can think of, tangled on top of one another... it gives me an headache just looking at it. And I have no idea of what its purpose may be... only that it doesn't seem very stable"

He turns to look at the halfling. "Antal, does it seem trapped to you?"

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Spellcraft roll, to see if he has at least a vague inkling of the purpose of all that mess?
spellcraft - (1d20+2)[10] EDIT:
Also, does the magic seem strong enough to make damages?

[Jallorn]

Emerging from his hiding place, Antal takes a close look at the paintings. Then he double checks it. And again.

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Taking 20 on this check. 26 total result then.

[Savannah]

"Keep it down, Audric! There's still unknown people up there!"

[Strawberries]

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((I actually forgot to change size... but let's roll with that, is a lot funnier that way. ))

The paladin grimaces, chagrined. "Sorry!" He had been so intent on the strange, convoluted magic traces that he had almost forgotten.

[Ajadea]

The unknown intruders, whoever they are, don't seem interested in coming down here. Which would be a good thing, except they don't seem to be much interested in leaving either.

Audric

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With that many spells tied together, it's bound to damage something at some point. With such weak spells, the things that are most at risk are the paintings themselves and perhaps anything fragile in direct contact with them.

Antal

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The paintings look different. Somehow. You can't quite put your finger on it, but they look different.

[Jallorn]

Ajadea

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Can I try a Knowledge (Arcana) check to decipher what's different?
(1d20+8)[15]

[Strawberries]

Audric considers the painting for a moment, then looks at the ceiling above him and seems to arrive at a decision. "You all, stay down here and try not to make noise. Llaars, I am going to see who is up there. I'd be glad if you would watch my back." he says, stepping towards the ladder with a resolute air.

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((Yes, I'm anticipating a ton of objections. Yes, Audric has a perfectly good counterargument. Yes, he's still an idiot. Paladins. What can you do? ))

[Ajadea]

Audric bravely ascends the ladder, and opens the trap door...

To find an empty room, dark and quiet. Through the thin walls, he can hear three voices talking in the other room. Occasionally, there is a rattling sound. Perhaps dice in a cup.

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The world doesn't revolve around you.

[Savannah]

"Audric, don't you dare! Let Antal go; he knows about stealth!"

[Strawberries]

Audric shakes his head, taking a couple of steps back on the ladder and turning to Rana and the others. "They are in the other room, the way to the door is clear" he says "Take what we need and get out, and I'll go see what those people are doing here."

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((Again, don't yell at me, please. Yell at the paladin: he deserves it...and you could even manage to convince him! (it's just that 'putting allies in a possible danger' isn't really the first thing that comes to his mind. I'm counting on you all to make him see reason) ))