Strange Fortune

[lando_zeus]

He also puts the three darts into the backpack.

[Aeti]

Valette grabs the locket and puts it on with a relieved sigh, then turns to call to the dwarf heading up the stairs. "Hey Thårin, don't take both of those knives; I bet the thief here is probably experienced in their use."

[Shakedown]

Thårin returns to the chest, grabs both knives, swaps out his dirty, blood-stained clothes and shoes for anything in the chest that fits,

*wolf-whistle*

[Aeti]

Pretending to rummage in her pack, Valette leans close to the hidden bat and whispers to it. "Go look up ahead. Return if you find danger, a branching path, can't go farther, or get too far away. And wait ten seconds after we start heading up the stairs before you fly up, I don't want anyone to know about you." Placing Eyne gently on the floor, she ties up the drawstrings on the backpack and follows the group up the stairs.

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Bat Hide - (1d20+14)[34]
and for when he passes us on the stairs: Move Silently - (1d20+6)[12]

[jm_jazzman]

The hunting knifes are not in great condition, but they're usable.

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Treat them as regular daggers.

The theify-looking guy is oddly silent.

At the top of the stairs is a large, round room. In the centre of the room, a chimney descends from the ceiling and rests over a large fire pit with glowing embers but no flames. Next to the pit is a small pile of dead branches and a couple pieces of chopped wood. Four cots (one flipped upside-down) and a stone table surround the fire. On the table sits two dirty cooking pots and three dirty wooden bowls with wooden spoons. Next to the table is a barrel, and on the floor nearby is a forth bowl and a spoon nearby. There are 8 other doorways leading from this room, all evenly spaced around the perimeter. Every doorway has a wooden door (except for the one the party just passed through. The remains of that door are leaning against the wall nearby after apparently rotting off its hinges). One of the other doors is unique in that is has a bolt lock and a sliding spy-hole cover. Another door has a target roughly painted on it (perhaps in blood), and is heavily pocked with knife-marks.

A mouse sticks its head out from one of the pots, squeaks, and then happily returns to eating the scraps inside.

[Aeti]

Valette begins to search the room, starting with the bunks.

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Additionaly, she moves Eyne into a position above the bolted secure door, to use his blindsense warn her of anyone within 20 ft. DM can roll my search for me; +3 modifier.

[Shakedown]

Jacinth listens at the doors for anyone or anything approaching.

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I didn't know we were supposed to pick equipment before we started the game. Whoops. Jacinth: peein' on shirts & stealin' your quarterstaffs

[Aeti]

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Whatever willl I do without my thwackin' stick?? Also I think I enjoy picking equipment too much. I spend like an hour going "well, if I take five sheet of parchment I can get two silver bells!

I have never used a bell, but I'll be damned if I'm not going to be carrying one for the one time that we need a bell.

[jm_jazzman]

Nothing is heard behind any of the doors.

Searching the room, Valette finds 3 copper pieces hidden among the beds, a daggar, a couple strips of dried meat, and 2 flasks (both filled with some strong, foul-smelling liquid), and what appears to be a ring with a spike set in the place of a jewel or other ornamentation.

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The bat's blindsense technically needs to have line of effect in order to work. Since we're talking about sound and wooden doors though, I'd say that maybe it's effective to 10ft on the other side of the door? Correct me if I'm totally in the wrong.

[Aeti]

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I hadn't actually read the entry on blindsense! I was thinking blindsight. It says it needs line of effect, so a door should stop it completely I guess! But if there are any cracks or anything between the door and the floor then I'd say the bat could detect feet approaching? Your call.

Valette pockets the loose change and puts the dagger carefully into her belt. She then uncorks one of the flasks and takes it over to the jar with the mouse happily eating scraps. With a grimace about the smell, she leans over the jar to pour the foul smelling liquid over it.

[lando_zeus]

Thårin goes back down the stairs, searches the barrel beside the chest, goes back up the stairs and searches the barrel next to the table, and goes to the door with the peep-hole and looks through.

[jm_jazzman]

The mouse tries to make a getaway as Valette approaches the table, but it is unable to escape the high walls of the cooking pot. Drawing closer, she sees that this mouse is also wearing an adorable little backpack.

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Not sure if this would cause her to change her to act any differently.

Thårin removes the lid on the barrel downstairs, and is punched in the head by a sickening cloud of invisible fumes rising of the foul liquid within.

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Make a fortitude save vs poison.

[lando_zeus]

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(1d20+5)[13]

..............

[lando_zeus]

Cough hack cough hack

[jm_jazzman]

Thårin feels for a moment like he is about to slip back into the nightmares again, but is then able to collect himself and the feeling passes.

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Hurrah!

[lando_zeus]

"Ah, so this is the foul brew that's responsible for our state."

Thårin goes back upstairs, and flips the other barrel's lid off using a knife, and standing as far away as possible.

[Shakedown]

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A spike ring? Very Fall 2011 statement jewelry of you James, I approve.

If Valette doesn't want it I'll take it, I'd wear that in real life. But I'm not going to put it on right away.

Jacinth wanders over to see what Valette is doing. "Hey, another backpack-wearing mouse!" She eyes Valette. "You can search it this time."

[Dodge Magnum]

The thiefy-looking man finally breaks his strange trance, dropping the strange cloth he found in his cell.

"Woah. Did I miss something?"

[Dodge Magnum]

"Seems like I missed out on the goodie bag. Anybody got a spare blade to throw my way?"

[Aeti]

Valette carefully seals the flask and sets it on the dark wood of the table. She takes her dagger from her belt and tosses it to Sam. ''Might be you can use this better than I," then searches the mouse's backpack.

[Dodge Magnum]

Sam, still a little groggy from the poison, misses catching the dagger.

"Huh. Okay, I'm just going to sit down for a bit."

He picks up the dagger and walks carefully over to one of the cots and lays down.

[DrunkyTheClown]

Whiskey and Arf trot up the stairs after the rest of the party, and snuffle about the room here and there, taking everything in. Whiskey approaches Thårin and inspects his wounds, the smell of blood drawing his apparent concern before he moves on to curiously searching the room with perked ears and a hard working snout.

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Search - (1d20-1)[3] and Scent, if applicable

[jm_jazzman]

The mouse's backpack contains a note almost identical to the one containing the secret message, except this note doesn't have the strange symbol and this mouse is identified as subject #181.

[jm_jazzman]

Whiskey finds another mouse with a backpack chewing on something in a corner, but nothing else of interest. The room smells absolutely terrible, but nothing special can be discerned by scent.

[Aeti]

Valette pours the poison on mouse 181 and watches with interest.

[jm_jazzman]

The mouse is visibly upset. It looks and smells like the contents of this flask could possibly be the most foul liquor Valette has ever come across... if that is indeed what it is. Hard to tell.

[Shakedown]

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Oh! I forgot. Bardic Knowledge check on the skull logo in the other room. (1d20+1)[9] and add 1 to that because I am level 1, so it should be 10

[Aeti]

Valette turns from the distressed mouse, curiousity sated. "Shall we start opening doors and seeing what we find?"

[jm_jazzman]

Inspecting the faded design, Jacinth recognizes it as a symbol famously used by the fabled pirate raiders of the Low Dunnluns. The pirates were defeated and disbanded by a fleet of Helmo ships several generations ago, and flags with the symbol were brought back by the sailors and hung from the city walls as a warning to all who would make trouble with Helmos. The occasional replica flag can still be found hanging in the Helmos region, especially on certain holidays and days of celebration. This is very commonly-known local history in that area, but Jacinth knows nothing more about it.

[Shakedown]

"Hey everyone, I think we're in Helmos." Jacinth fills them in on the pirate symbol. "If we're still in the city I can probably find us somewhere safe to stay, but we have to get out of here first. Lead the way!"