Streets of Atalya Volume Two: Tentacles

[Magnus_Samma]

As Horacio steps over the masks, the group hears a noise like a small child giggling.

It's the most disturbing giggle any of you have ever heard.

[Mike_Lemmer]

Horacio

Although Horacio pauses for a moment upon hearing the giggle, he keeps going, unless he knows that giggle's bad news/means they're on the wrong track.

Listen: 31 to tell the source/direction of the sound.
Listen check (1d20+19=31)

[Mike_Lemmer]

Horacio

Horacio confidently moves forward.

[ExHunterEmerald]

Terry's not at all reassured by the creepy giggle, but on he goes anyway. Given he's toting what might be one of the most powerful artifacts in existence as a bloody cloak, he's probably in more danger already than any trap could put him in.

[Toliudar]

Daewell

Well, at least someone's enjoying themselves.

Keeping that teleport spell top of mind...because, you know, you never know...Daewell trots off after Terry.

[PolkaBear]

Tokugal Ardolin

"Is it too late to change our minds? The last time I heard a laugh like that was when a Splinterwaif was making its nest in Old Randime. It had some sort of deformity that left its neck twisted and its voice high. Unfortunately, that made it sound like a young child. Urchins in the neighborhood would think they were hearing a new playmate, and--spack!--you had a new thornbush growing. Nasty, nasty business. Every time it got another one, it would giggle, just like what we heard back there. Terrified the whole city for weeks."

"Yeah, I'm kind of creeped out right now."

[boxboy582]

Vodette

Vodette spins around when the sound of giggling fills the room. She casts a worried glance over at Horacio. Vodette's hand rests on her rapier. It feels like a small demon child is about to leap out and attack her.

Horacio, are you sure this is the way? It sounds like your church has demon children, or something.

The color drains from Vodette's face as Tokugal tells his story. She mutters to herself about the story "not being what she needed to hear".

[Mike_Lemmer]

Horacio

Horacio just laughs.

"They'll be glad to hear the trespasser wards are working fine."

Horacio keeps a hand near Tahlion, just in case.

"But keep your eyes open."

Spot/Listen: 22/24 for Trouble
Spot; Listen (1d20+17=22, 1d20+19=24)

[Magnus_Samma]

Assuming the party is in fact following Horacio doen the tunnel, they find themselves walking through a tunnel. Largely unremarkable compare to the othetr tunnels they've been through in the past few days, really.

Then they hear voices ahead of them. First a woman, her voice carrying a trace of a lower class accent, clearly perturbed. She is almost yelling at a man with a deep, gruff voice, who sounds simultaneously amused and irritated by the whole conversation.

"You are NOT welcome here!"

"We have to talk. All of us have to talk."

"Not here, this is MY sanctuary, and nobody, least of all YOU, is allowed here."

"You can try to make me leave, if you like, but I think it would be easier if you just listened to what I have to say."

"There's nothing you could say that would-"

"The six hundred and sixty six legions are on this plane."

"... what-"

"A new god is about to be born."

"How-"

"And the poor shmucks I'm counting on to deal with this are right behind us."

"Wh- damnit old man!"

There is a noise like a tiny explosion in stereo, and then silence.

[Mike_Lemmer]

Horacio

Horacio's grin disappears from his face and he walks faster.

(OOC: Did either voice sound familiar to me?)

[PolkaBear]

Tokugal Ardolin

Tokugal's fingers itched to wrap themselves around the hilt of his rapier; but this probably wasn't the place to barge in waving naked steel.

"Remind me to fire our herald," he muttered. "That wasn't the most flattering of introductions."

[boxboy582]

Vodette

Not quite sure what she's about to walk into, Vodette wraps her fingers tightly around her rapier. She glances over at the others and tries to get some sort of read on them. She gets very uncomfortable when she sees that the grin has vanished off of Horacio's face.

We have to take care of an unborn god? Could they mean Guademus?

[Mike_Lemmer]

Horacio

"Perhaps. Question is, is Gaudemus the god or its midwife?"

Horacio is on the verge of sprinting forward now.

[Toliudar]

Daewell

Great. As though we aren't having enough trouble handling the gods we've got. Not You of course, Lord.

No guarantee that it's a god we WANT to have born either. Any god born from tentacled masses...

Grimacing, Daewell also picks up his pace as they move towards the voices.

[WhammeWhamme]

"I don't suppose there's any hope there's another unlikely band of mismatched heroes with an appointment here tonight?

No? I did think that was a long shot."

Dai follows, but with some hesitation - as fascinating as this all is, it's also probably something that rushing into could have negative consequences.

[Magnus_Samma]

[The voices did not sound at all familiar.]

The party rushes forward- and find themselves in front of the temple of Xan Yae.

It is not, despite all the build up, anywhere near as grand as they might have expected. Nothing about the building is obviously magical or particularly impressive- it kind of looks like a multilayer bunker. But the architechture is elegant in its simplicity, and despite the long shadows it casts, it nonetheless seems rather homey. A plump, middle-aged woman in clerical robes is sitting beside the door, holding a polearm and snoring gently. The door is wide open and rather inviting.

[Mike_Lemmer]

Horacio

Horacio rubs his chin, then picks up a pebble and tosses it by the "sleeping" guard. If that doesn't work, he goes up to her and taps her, dodging out of the way of the inevitable polearm thrust. When she wakes up, he bows solemnly.

"Greetings, Lady. We heard some commotion coming here. Is everything alright?"

Sense Motive: 30 on guard's response/behavior
Sense Motive on Guard (1d20+16=30)

[Magnus_Samma]

Myrtle, the temple's guard, usually doesn't have to do much- the temple is really hard to find if you don't already know where it is, so she rarely has to do anything but sit there and look not terribly fierce. Horacio is aware that she's a lot more dangerous than she looks, however.

When he taps her, she immediately wakes up, shaking her head and blinking.

"Oh dear, did I fall asleep? Hello there Horacio. Commotion? No, I don't think so... that would have woken me up, I think. Everything's alright as far as I know."

Her eyes focus on the rest of the party and her grip on the polearm shifts just a little.

"Who are your friends?"

[She seems genuinely disoriented at first, but she snaps out of it remarkably quickly. As far as Horacio can tell she's entirely sincere.]

[Mike_Lemmer]

Horacio

Horacio smiles and relaxes a bit.

"Friends, comrades, and potential customers or converts. We've discovered a few things more... obscure than usual. And important enough for me to take them under my cloak and see what we can find in the shadows."

Horacio grins.

"And it's good to see you, too. You're looking as harmless as ever. We might even have some time to get caught up later. A lot of excitement topside. But for now, we need services and a visit to Vera. In the meantime, treat my friends as you would myself. I don't want any of them barred from entry if we need to check something in a hurry."

After that, Horacio leads them into the temple and straight to Vera's chambers, trying to think of just what might've happened with those two voices...

(OOC: Does Myrtle often fall asleep, or would Horacio suspect that to be an enchantment?)

[PolkaBear]

Tokugal Ardolin

Tokugal looks around the nearly deserted temple, with its lone (apparently sleeping) occupant. Nobody who would have been recently engaged in conversation.

I think the long road has finally marched its way up our own kiesters. Well, well. What do you have in store for us now?

[Toliudar]

Daewell

Looking up and around at the temple, Daewell is openly interested in the unadorned and simple architecture.

Hm. Sincere and earnest, and somehow charming for all that. Not to my taste, but I can see how some would like it.

Glancing over at Terry and his unnerving cloak, Daewell proceeds inwards.

[boxboy582]

Vodette

Vodette raises an eyebrow at what she considers rather 'lackadaisical' guard duty, but decides to just continue on.

How didn't that shouting wake her up? We heard her all the way in the hall.

[PolkaBear]

Tokugal Ardolin

Tokugal nudged Vodette. "You notice that the only person here was sleeping like a stone? What are the chances that we just heard Xan Yae herself talking to that big brainsucker? I have no problems with gods as long as they tend to their own business and don't rope me into their squabbles."

[boxboy582]

Vodette

Vodette nods to Tokugal, and whispers back to him.

Right. How did we get cornered into some god's birth? What if we like this god? We don't know anything about him...her...it. And with all that shouting we heard, don't you think the guard would have woken up? She was out of it until Horacio touched her.

[WhammeWhamme]

"Don't tip our hand. Let's just try and find some context first, okay?"

[Mike_Lemmer]

Horacio

Horacio just stays silent and looking around, although the way he keeps glancing over at you, you supect he overheard.

[ExHunterEmerald]

Terry remains quiet as they venture inside. After his childhood brush with a god of death (LONG story :D) he's found keeping his mouth shut and his suspicions to himself is a good idea,

[Toliudar]

Daewell

Not wanting to be disrespectful in the house of another god, Daewell's curiosity nonetheless gets the better of him. In examining the architecture, he also begins to take in information about auras present.

Spoiler

Show

Starting to use detect-o-vision.

[Mike_Lemmer]

Horacio

Horacio closes his eyes and smiles warmly, for a moment, as he enters the temple. For a moment, he looks like a soldier returning home after years of combat.

"It's good to be back..."

He opens his eyes and gestures for the others to follow him into the back.

"My mentor's in the back. She's waiting for us."

[Magnus_Samma]

The inside of the temple of Xan Yae isn't actually deserted- as you enter, you find a number of brown-robed priests and worshippers in various types of attire shuffling around. A number of them smile and wave or nod at Horacio as he enters.

The architecture inside mirrors the design outside- simple but elegant, resembling more or less any other temple the party members are likely to have been in, with the central sanctuary dominated by a large altar engraved with the goddess' symbol. Horacio leads them towards the back, however, which seems to be composed of small multipurpose rooms and dormitories.