[RoS] Soldiers of Fortune (IC)

[Venom]

Kafar can hear Ruark saying something about a demon. "You hear that?", he looks nervously at Nazir. Signaling Kate to see if they, meaning he and Nazir, should go support the group in the inn or if they should stay put, he continues speaking to Nazir, "Tell me that I'm not the only one that thinks this feels wrong somehow".

[Anyr]

Kate had heard a voice as well. She was too far away to make out the words; But it was definitely louder than it should have been. When Kafar signalled, she signalled back: 'Go take a look in from outside. Nazir and I will stay put.'

[Lacco]

Gerric, Ruark, Urukubarr

The eyes, fixated at them, suddenly blinked. They more sensed then saw the movement, as a quick, small shadow, moved across the room, from under the stairs. As another lightning struck and thunder echoed through the building, they saw a cat - a large, black one, in the middle of the room. As the lightning struck, it stood, eyes fixated at them, and then ran towards the door that were ajar, disappearing from their sight.

They breathed out in relief. They heard of demons, and each country had stories of them, even if they disregarded them. The faint trace of blood still lingered in the place...

Kate

Kate felt her hands getting sweaty. Something was wrong - demons? She remained at her place, though she was torn between going in, to help combat the mystical threat, and to stay in open, to be able to decide the best course possible.

Kafar

Kafar watched Kate's hand move, as she signalled him to go check the window. He understood her, but his lands were full of lore about demons...it was said, a single powerful demon devastated the lands when set free by a mad sorceror - and that previously the Scorched lands were full of life. A cold bead of sweat rolled down his back...

[Mathis]

Ruark's whole body slumped in relief and suddenly he seemed 5 inches shorter. He let out a long, drawn out breath of gratitude that eventually turned into a hearty laugh. "By the gods...I was certain all the stories I'd been told were true for a moment there. Alright, alright let's check out these doors, I'll keep my eyes on these stairs."

He let his shield and sword drop down to a more relaxed position again, and positioned himself a good 10 feet away from the bottom of the stairs. Now ready for the two others to check the other doors.

[Dienekes]

Gerric tries to hold back a laugh, but a few strangled noises escape his mouth anyway. He gives Ruark a grin, while he shakes his head and mutters "Demon," under his breath.

Once he's able to control himself, he nods to Ruark and Urukubarr and waits for the half-orc to get into a good position, before he swings the door open.

[XIII]

Urukubarr tries his best to contain his laughter, he had thought the eyes belonged to a house-cat, or at worst a stuffed animal as some were inclined to furnish these places with. He slapped his hand over his mouth and stifled the laugh as best he could, his torso spasmed with the contained laughter. The snorting resulting from the contained laugh, however, was inevitable. His stoic demeanor melted away, his eyes lightened. He bumped Ruark with his elbow in jest.

After regaining his composure he moved into position, "Beware, maybe more demons?"

Oh mighty band of warriors, giggling like schoolgirls.

[Anyr]

Despite her misgivings, Kate stayed where she was. She'd already sent an extra scout to check on those inside. It wouldn't be wise to focus everyone's attention on one point.

[Lacco]

Urukubarr, Ruark, Gerric

They laughed, but the laughter died soon. There was a commotion below them - movement, rushed sounds. They even heard few words - they couldn't hear what was said, but it was definitely an order. They heard screeching of wood against stone and then - everything was silent again.

---

Kate, Kafar, Nazir

For a moment they thought they heard laughter from the inside. Suddenly there was silence. And then, in few moments, a sound of horn - as if it were coming from behind the cliff. The sound was short and the rain muffled it.

[Venom]

Kafar started across the space toward the inn when he sees the "demon" run off into the night. He snorts a quick laugh, but it's cut off by a horn blast from over the cliff. He runs to the corner of the inn and draws his rapier just waiting for the attack. He looks to Kate, waving her over, "Get to some cover". With his back against the inn he faces Nazir and signals with his free hand if Nazir heard the horn.

[Anyr]

In a trice, Kate was standing beside Kafar. She could feel the back of her armour pressing lightly against the inn wall. Her mind raced as she analysed the limited data available. The decisions made in these early minutes were often the difference between life and death.

"Inside, now! Before any archers arrive!"

Matching actions to words, she rushed around the corner and into the building. As soon as she reached her comrades within, she started speaking rapidly.

"The enemy must have only just become aware of us. If they'd already been lying in wait, then there'd be no need to waste their advantage of surprise by sounding that horn. We should prepare now, while they're still moving into position. Retreat isn't an option with that wagon slowing us down: So we'll have to make a stand."

[XIII]

The rage swelled in his breast, muscles tensed, he gripped his sword and spat orcish curses. "Ambush!!"Urukubarr kicks open the door the three had prepared to break through moments earlier and charges through, scanning the area for enemies rapidly.

[Cavir]

Nazir shakes his head. This was what he was concerned about. He darts over to the group and speaks quickly. "We can't leave the wagon out here as a gift to whoever it is. I'd suggest Ruark and Gerric drive the wagon right into the stable then come back here fast. I can see about covering the stable entrance from inside the inn through a window. They probably know some back ways into the inn too. "

Spoiler: OOC

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Let's see how using tactics/strategy skills will help here. Analyzing the area with their probable attack routes and our possible defensive positions. Not sure which attribute to use, so I'll roll dice and Laco can just take the first x dice as applicable.
Strategy: (9d10)[6][5][9][10][10][1][3][8][2](54)
Tactics: (9d10)[7][2][4][10][4][2][10][1][5](45)
Perception: (7d10)[9][5][8][7][10][7][5](51)
Wow those are a lot of high dice. I think I just channeled one of Sun Tzu's relatives! Is there something about when rolling a 10 or is that just to try to reach a TN over 10?

[Mathis]

Ruark was a little slower to react than everyone else, he didn't spring into cover anywhere or make any fancy hand gestures in military speak. He simply remained in his position by the end of the stairs looking up them even though they had heard no sound from upstairs yet. He put his back against the wall in the south-west corner of the room however, between the stairs and the first window. From there he'd be able to assist should any secret trapdoors appear with enemies springing from all locations.

[Cavir]

Nazir paused after giving his recommendation and that's when he noticed the others having noticed sounds from below. A lesson from Captain Aldarman popped into his head and he thought it through quickly.

"They are down there already? They really know the area then. A horn blew outside so whoever it is is well organized and has reinforcements coming. Barricading ourselves into one room or floor for who knows how long with our supplies out on the wagon is a losing situation against their advantages. Best bet is to move forward and meet them before they are ready. At least some of them are downstairs? Let's go deal with them first before more arrive." Nazir looks at the others for their thoughts, primarily at Kate.

Spoiler: OOC

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PbP gives us advantages, but in this case a disadvantage as I acted before getting the results of my skill rolls.
EDIT: I misunderstood my skill results, sorry.

[Mathis]

Ruark kept his eyes on the stairs as he replied to Nazir, "They could also just be regular people, hiding in their own cellar from armed and dangerous looking travelers like ourselves. Let's find out before we get into more trouble."

[Cavir]

Nazir nodded. "Very true. I just don't want to find out too late that they are bandits, which are well known to frequent these woods. The wagon would be a chest of gold for them. Normally I'd disappear into the woods and watch them to find out. Too late for that."

[Anyr]

Nazir shakes his head. This was what he was concerned about. He darts over to the group and speaks quickly. "We can't leave the wagon out here as a gift to whoever it is. I'd suggest Ruark and Gerric drive the wagon right into the stable then come back here fast. I can see about covering the stable entrance from inside the inn through a window. They probably know some back ways into the inn too. "

Kate noticed that Nazir seemed to be looking to her for a decision. Had she unwittingly become the leader here? She paused briefly, to see if anyone else wanted to take command of this situation. When nobody did, she mentally shrugged, and started giving orders again.

"Good point. Gerric, Ruark: Get the wagon. Nazir: Keep watch for any incoming surprises. The rest of us will deal with whoever's in the cellar."

Wasting no time, Kate lead the way down into the cellar. Hopefully her armour and shield would protect her (and the allies behind her) from any arrows that might fly from the darkness. Her sword stood ready, but restrained. She wouldn't swing it until the people below were definitely confirmed to be enemies. The thought of accidentally slaying an innocent was too horrible to contemplate.

[XIII]

Urukubarr grunted in acknowledgement to Kate's orders and followed closely behind her, sword at the ready to thrust over or around her if she was assaulted from the darkness; he'd learned how to fight with shield-bearers well enough.He took care though, as his heritage had seen more than one "innocent" react poorly to him, attacking without provocation. He also hated the idea of fighting in a basement, as there were many disadvantages. Greatest of which, you're fighting in a damn basement.

[Mathis]

"That's probably a good idea if we're expecting trouble. I'll move it into the stables and unhitch the horses, should take 'em some time to move the wagon then." Ruark sheathed his sword but kept the shield in hand as he ran outside in the rain and moved the horses into the stables. He kept the shield raised high, a make-shift umbrella against the rain. He tried not to rush the horses, in his experience if you ever tried to rush horses that weren't used to you they were as likely to stand still as to move an inch for you. When he gets the wagon into the stable he'll start unhitching the horses from the wagon.

[Dienekes]

This could be terrible, Gerric grimly thought as he followed Ruark. Getting the wagon inside could just as easily split them up and get them all separated, depending on how close the outer forces are. If it's a full raid, and Ruark and him get caught still dealing with horses, they're dead. And on the other side, if Uruk and Kate end up finding 3 or so enemies in the basement, well, that orc could handle himself, but it'd still be a problem.

He hoped it was just a bunch of frightened townsfolk who Kate could talk down. That'd be the best scenario. Still left him and Ruark with their asses out though.

But without comment, Gerric followed Ruark and helped move the wagon inside and deal with the animals.

[Lacco]

Kafar

Kafar stood outside, just next to the door, to be sure he could enter as soon as he saw anyone appear out of the forests, or as his presence was required. While before he reveled in the rain, as it provided him refreshment he so much lacked in the hot and arid lands of his birth, he now cursed it - it obscured his vision, dulled his hearing and tested his patience. The only positive thing was the fact, that it did the same to his opponents.

He heard Kate giving orders - which included him. The thought of fighting in the cellar was quite enjoyable for him - when compared with the rain outside, it was pleasing, and he was quite sure that the close quarters inside will not hinder him, as the thrusting techniques he was taught were not hindered by the need for open space as when swinging a sword. As he entered the inn, Ruark passed beside him and he saw Gerric standing in the doorway of the door behind the stairs. Kate walked towards Gerric, so he followed. In a moment, Urukubarr appeared in the door, and Gerric started walking towards the exit - it seemed that the room was empty. As he was passing the table that lay on the ground, destroyed most possibly in some tavern brawl which are so popular in the northern lands, he heard loud cracking coming from Gerric's direction - and as he turned around, he saw Gerric disappearing in a gaping hole in the floor...

---

Urukubarr

Urukubarr's kick shattered the door and the wood, weakened by rot and time, broke off the hinges. The door flew down to the ground, splinters flying off them. The room behind was dark, but his eyes already adjusted to the shady atmosphere of the inn, so he could recognize the shelf in front of him, which blocked his view, as well as the crates on the right side. The room was silent, dusty and while there were several items on the shelves, he did not pay attention to them - he was a hunter and was looking for prey, not trinkets. He leapt forward, behind the shelf, but his eyes couldn't pierce the darkness in the far corners - he was sure he saw some other boxes, some shelves, an old armoire, but other than that the room was empty. No enemies here.

The smell of blood still lingered, but it was weaker here. And he saw no movement inside - and then Kate stated her orders, and he slowly calmed down, his heart went from racing to beating, and he saw, that this was a storage of some kind. He returned, expecting Kate to lead the way.

And then he heard the cracking of wood and saw Gerric disappear to the floor...

---

Kate

Wasting no time, Kate lead the way down into the cellar. Hopefully her armour and shield would protect her (and the allies behind her) from any arrows that might fly from the darkness. Her sword stood ready, but restrained. She wouldn't swing it until the people below were definitely confirmed to be enemies. The thought of accidentally slaying an innocent was too horrible to contemplate.[/QUOTE]

The decision made and the command stated, she felt the weight fall down off her shoulders. While commanding others was difficult, leading them was relatively easy - she just had to be sure she went the right way. While Ruark left his vantage point at bottom of the stairs, she exchanged her place with Gerric - she walked to the door Urukubarr kicked in, where Gerric stood, ready to fend off any attackers from the room Urukubarr entered. Then he turned to her, with a grim but determined expression, and walked around her to fulfill her command. He chose the way across the stairs.

She reached the back of the stairs, expecting to see the stairs leading to the basement. But defying her expectations, there were no stairs that would lead to the cellar. And then it struck her. Kitchen. The innkeeper wouldn't like guests coming down to the cellar, where the wine and ale was stored. They had to find kitchen.

Before she could state this to the others, she heard cracking - she turned to see Gerric disappear into the floor.

---

Nazir

Nazir's eyes quickly scanned the room. He breathed in - while Ruark's observation was correct, the situation seemed too tense for him to be calm and he expected bandits to come calling at any second now. He moved to the window near the room he observed from outside - from there he could see both the barn and both sides of the road - and the gaps between the planks were a bit larger than at the one Ruark was standing at.

Still, for shooting this would be bad - he needed space for the arrows. His sword still in his hand, he put his left on one of the planks just to see if he could pull it off. Just as he wanted to pull, he heard a cracking sound on his right - he turned around to see Gerric disappear into the floor.

---

Ruark

As Ruark's eyes adjusted again to the darkness in the tavern, he saw that the stairway is rotten - some of the steps were in such bad shape, he was sure they would break under the weight of someone. On the other hand, there were four doors on the walkway upstairs - and a large wardrobe in between the first and second door. It seemed to be quite heavy and also well-built. He watched the stairway, just to be sure they have covered every angle, and answered Nazir calmly, as if his focus was elsewhere. That kid was a smart one.

The sound of door shattered made him move a bit sideways to see what happened. But no sounds of fight came - and he was sure Urukubarr wouldn't be a silent one in fight, so he calmed down again.

As Kate spoke, he shifted his attention towards her. The girl seemed young, but she gave commands clearly, with the calm determination he has already seen in veteran warriors. While she lacked the experience, she had the common sense and the willpower necessary. He decided to accept her command for the present time - and immediately left. The rain attacked him as soon as he left the building, not even the shield helped. The sounds from inside, so clear, were already muffled. As he jumped on the driver's seat and took the reins, he heard a loud cracking sound from the inside.

Urukubarr's opening more door...? He asked himself. He decided to listen for few moments, just to be sure...

---

Gerric

Gerric stood guard as Urukubarr shattered the door with only one mighty kick. While he assumed the half-orc being strong, he never thought of him being so strong - while Gerric was sure he himself could break down the door, it wouldn't be so fast and he considered himself a mountain man. For a moment he was glad the half-orc was on their side.

He followed Urukubarr inside the dark room, just in case he needed cover - but as soon as he entered, he recognized the place's purpose. Shelves, crates and the smell of conservation - storage room. Right in front of him stood a shelf with several small trinkets - he saw empty bottles, few jugs and a piece of rope. On the right he saw crates stacked on each other, forming a small pyramid. Urukubarr moved to see the rest of the room, concealed by the shelf, and returned with calmer expression on his face - obviously the room was empty.

Gerric thought for a moment about the items in the room and the thought of pillage made his heart beat a bit faster, in expectation of opening those crates and seeing what they contain...but then he shook his head. He left that life behind. He heard Kate's order and moved outside the room.

As he walked through the inn, to get outside, he reflected on the choice he made. It would be difficult to leave his former life behind, but he had good companions now. They would help. He let Kate and Kafar walk through the middle of the room, while he chose to walk near the stairs. Ruark was already outside, wasting no time. Gerric decided to move a bit faster.

The wooden floor under his feet creaked as he approached the puddle on the ground. He wanted to avoid it - and so jumped over it.

The floor gave way as he landed. The rotten planks cracked under his weight and he felt that his footing was unstable. The floor begun to sunk in, into the cellar, into the darkness. He only had a split second to react, but he didn't want to lose his weapon, so he just tried to land - and while the fall made him go down on his one knee, he sprung to his feet as soon as he was on the ground. The fall wasn't long - the cellar was not too deep. While his arms and face received few splinters, he felt no pain as he jumped up from the ground. He felt his heart pumping, and quickly surveyed the surroundings.

It was dark inside - the small amount of light coming from above didn't help - he couldn't see nearly anything, just few strange shapes around him - some of these seemed quite sharp. He more felt than saw that there is something moving around - something quite large. He heard metal creaking, which reminded him of the chained battle dogs he once saw - chained so they wouldn't attack anyone, their chains stretched as the dogs tried to escape. The sickeningly sweet smell of decay, death and blood was so strong around here, he felt like he was bathing in it. It made him gag, but he swallowed the lump in his throat - there was no time for this.

---

Spoiler: PARTY OOC

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The timeline is a bit crooked, due to the various response times. So, the timeline as I see it:

Sounds of rushing from below, voices.
Urukubarr's kick. Gerric follows into the room.
Few seconds pass. The sound of horn.
Kate rushes inside, gives commands.
Ruark obeys immediately, running outside. He meets Kafar in the door.
Gerric comes out from the room, also accepts command and goes outside. He passes Kate and Kafar.
The Fall.

As for now, things will get a bit hectic maybe. So, state what you will be doing for next few rounds (let's say in 10-30 seconds time intervals).

[Mathis]

Ruark couldn't be sure what all the commotion was inside so he decided to do what he had come out here to do in the first place, the less time he spent waiting the better. He placed his shield between his legs and squeezed, to hold it here within easy reach. He snapped the reins and drove the horses towards the stable, hoping to get it done before anything too exciting happened.

OOC: These will be my actions:
Drive carriage into stable.
Unhitch horses from carriage.
Go back inside if I hear combat.

[Lacco]

Ruark

Spoiler: IC

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The horses were tired, but they obeyed his command to move towards the barn - he had some time to assess their qualities and while as riding horses they would be terrible, they were used to drawing heavy loads such as the wagon.

Ruark drove the wagon to the barn, oblivious to the sounds from the inn - they were drowned by the rain and thunders. He wanted to get back in, but he was a warrior and as such wanted to act on his orders. He found some peace in that - and if there was more time, he would surely reflect on this aspect of his own personality.

He assumed Gerric would help him open the barn door, but since he did not come, he jumped down from the wagon and opened them by himself. The barn floor was covered in straw, there were few columns with hooks to bind horses, mangers with water, and few hay bales. In the middle, a chopping block, with a hatchet stuck in it. He nodded, satisfied and ran back to the wagon.

It took him only few seconds to lead the horses inside, and from then on it was only matter of separating them from the wagon and binding them to one of the columns. Luckily, there was a manger, already full of rainwater, but he knew they would need some food - and soon. But the safety was more important.

As he walked around the wagon, he noticed something. While he drove it inside, one of the barrels with smoked fish - as they have been told - fell down and opened. There were few fish inside, but most of the barrel was filled with stones. He quickly inspected the iron they should have been transporting - and he found the same arrangement - few iron bars on top, then only rocks, covered so they would see only the former if they peeked under.

It smelled of betrayal. He did not like it.

Spoiler: OOC

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AGI/teamster (7d10)[3][1][7][10][4][4][9](38) TN6
This whole took him around two minutes.

[Anyr]

"Gerric!"

Kate rushed over to the newly created hole in the floor. Though anxious, she forced herself to move carefully: Lest she fall through another hole of her own. She looked down, and saw only vague shapes below. Damn it, her torches were on the wagon! With no means to create light, she couldn't help Gerric to see his surroundings; And if she joined him down there, she'd be just as blind.

She jumped anyway. A dangerous move, to be sure; But it was the fastest way to reinforce her comrade. Kate paused only to find Gerric's outline in the darkness: So that she could avoid landing on top of him...

[XIII]

"GERRIC!!" The half-orc bellowed,as be moved towards the edge of the hole, looking into it. "Hurt? Need aid? Speak!" Urukubarr shouted down into the hole, trying to make out shadows as best he could while waiting for a response. Kate however, would not wait and jumped right in. Urukubarr felt shame for a moment for not jumping first, "Reckless one! Make room for Urukubarr!" The half-orc jumped down into the hole after the two, ready to lash out at any threat.

Unfortuantely, the large half-orc botched the landing, the fall was bad. He landed on something in the darkness and fell forward. He spread his hands to slow down fall, but it was too late; he hit his hip when he fell, felt his sword hit his ribs and then he remembers only stars as he hit the floor with his head. For a moment he felt like he was falling even further... 8 seconds later...

Spoiler: 8 seconds later - situational

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The proud warrior, further embarrassed, jumped to his feet feeling sick to his stomach. He moved to put his back to his comrades first, forming the only kind of defense possible here.

The chains, the shapes in the darkness... The smell... If these are beasts, they may be corrupted, insane even. It was his duty, however, to attempt contact first. Urukubarr postured himself as a dominant and aggressive animal. His eyes bulged, he flexed his considerable muscle mass to make himself look as large as possible; he bared his teeth and unlike humans he possessed large sharp, protruding canines, and his under-bite helped in bringing them all to bare. He then roared as loudly as his lungs could manage in an attempt to dominate the creatures. At worst, he would scare some imprisoned souls.

Spoiler: Rolls

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Animal kin gives 3 bonus dice towards this action

[Dienekes]

"I'm fine," Gerric snarled. He felt his blood begin to grow hot, and the anger that dominated most of his life threatened to break loose. "Though something's down here with me. Don't come-" he began to say, but it was too late, he felt more than saw two bodies fall beside him.

Fine, if the horn meant raiders from outside then it'll be up to whoever was left up top to get them out of here. He certainly couldn't see a way out. Maybe the Orc could see in darkness? He didn't know, he'd have to ask Uruk about it later.

"I was going to say," he said as his companions got back to their feet. "There was rope in the storage room." He clanged his axe and shield together, hoping that whatever he was facing would take the sound and head for him. He couldn't see what they were facing, but if he keeps the enemy focused on him, Urukubarr would likely be strong enough to kill them. "Alright, we know you're there, if you can talk, say something!" He commanded the monsters he couldn't see.

There had to be at least 2, since he heard some sort of command earlier, but he hoped there weren't any more.

Spoiler

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As of now, Gerric will be getting ready for a fight. If he can see enough in the darkness to make out a wall that doesn't have a monster on it, then he'd try and back up toward that, bringing his allies with him if able. He does not want to get surrounded.

[Anyr]

Kate landed gracefully and unharmed in the cellar. From the sounds of it, though, Urukubarr hadn't been so lucky. She hoped he was okay, because she didn't have time (or enough light) to really check. Kate heard Gerric speak to whoever was in the darkness. When he'd finished, she added a few words of her own.

"Know that we are not allies of whomever attacked this place! We're a band of mercenaries who stopped here in search of rest! If you are innocents, rest assured that we will not harm you."

She hoped that her obviously upper class accent would help reassure people. Not many bandits invested in elocution lessons.

[Cavir]

Nazir immediately took a few steps toward the falling Gerric but stopped himself before creating more of a problem. Before he could stop them Kate and Urukubarr went down the hole too, one way or another. He got closer to the hole, feeling with his feet the safety of the floor he was on and looked down from his position using his fey eyesight "Hey! Are you all ok? What's down there?" Nazir heard someone say rope. Nazir's eyes swept around the room. He grabbed the rope, checked its length and usability, then started looking for an anchor. "Hang on, looking for somewhere to tie off the rope up here.

Spoiler: OOC

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Where is the hole? In the room past the door behind the stairs?

I thought about tying a knot on one end of the knot then slip the rope under the door, but I do believe that door was obliterated.

They might have to make a mini-pyramid to help Kate up while I also pull.

[Mathis]

Ruark had left most of his belongings in the wagon before they left town. His backpack with all his things stayed there with the rest of the merchants wares as he walked back outside, wearing only his armor and cloak, carrying only his shield and his sword.

With an angry slam he closed the barn doors, of course getting a job wouldn't have been as easy as it had been if there wasn't a backside. Zhengar, the city of fresh starts, free trade, liars and thieves. He made his way back to the inn muttering curses and foul language the whole way. He didn't even bother to attempt to shelter from the rain, it was already everywhere and he was soaking. Ruark pushed the door to the inn open and strode inside, ready to let everyone know what he had discovered.

OOC: I know I am way a head of everyone know so I'm going to hold off on explaining what I found out until everyone else have caught up. Would you mind just giving me a quick heads up when they do?

[Venom]

Kafar watched as Gerric disappeared into the inky blackness of the cellar unable to do anything about it. Then he saw Kate and Urukubarr leap down into the unknown as well, not knowing if it was a trap, and not knowing what all could be down there. He walks over to the hole to try and get some idea of what he'd be working against, but all he could see was the deep shadows. Torches, they'll need light, he thought. He moved to the store room to see if there was anything they could use as torches, and a fire starter of some kind however unlikely.