The Dragon Empire IC, Part III

[RandomWombat]

Crossing the intersection, the party carries on through the alley. Things are oddly quiet and there is no detectable resistance as they reach the back door of the inn.

[H. Von Studley]

Edmund studies the door and hinges quickly for any sign of traps. If he finds none, he stands to the side of the door and tries the handle, keeping his arm outstretched and his face and body clear.

If it's unlocked he pushes the door open and moves inside, shield raised in front of him.

[RandomWombat]

Edmund examines the wooden door carefully, but doesn't see anything out of place. He grips the knob and tries to turn it, but finds the door locked. Edmund tries to pull away, but his hand is now stuck to the doorknob.

[H. Von Studley]

Spoiler: OOC

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Lol. Oops. Magically stuck, or does it feel like adhesive?

Edmund stares blankly for a moment in confusion, before relaying the news to the others. He drops his shield to free his other hand up and scans around with Detect Magic. As he casts the spell, he tries pulling his hand away with more force.

[RandomWombat]

Edmund attempts to pull away, and feels like the knob is sticking to his hand. He senses no magic within the door.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Edmund can attempt a Strength check to pull free.

[Aeryk]

Crossing the intersection, the party carries on through the alley. Things are oddly quiet and there is no detectable resistance as they reach the back door of the inn.

River looks around suspiciously as Ed struggles with the door. His pulse quickens a little as his instincts kick in. "Sir. It's too quiet...too easy... I think this is a set-up. I'm going to check on those guys we just saw."

He goes to a stealthy position where he can have eyes on the dice rolling guys and the homeless man (back to the intersection if he must, peeking around the corner perhaps), to see if they are doing anything of interest, whether it's keeping lookout, passing signals, or changing position.

[RandomWombat]

River skulks back to the intersection. The two men playing dice remain as they were, one of them smirking as he collects his winnings. The homeless man is carrying his sign into the alley. He will pass by River soon. The homeless man has scraggly brown hair flecked with grey and a scruffy beard that looks like it's been shaved (poorly) with a dull razor. River can see his sign, which reads 'seeks wizard for my dreams'.

[H. Von Studley]

Edmund looks over at River incredulously. He glances down at his hand, stuck to the door and then back up at the monk. Easy? All well and good when you're not the one stuck to the door!

Still, after a moment Ed gives him a gruff nod, relenting to the wisdom of River's words, then turns his attentions back to the door. He unclapses the buckle holding on his gauntlet, and after some careful wriggling manages to free his hand from the door. The gauntlet remains comically attached to the handle.

Ed crouches down and examines the handle more closely, careful not to touch it this time. He draws his dagger and tests the door for stickiness as well.

After a moment he turns back to the others to relay his findings. "If the handle is a diversion, perhaps there is a catch concealed nearby that opens the door. The Asmodeans must have some way to get it open without getting stuck. Come, help me look."

Spoiler: OOC

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Perception isn't exactly Ed's forte, so I'd appreciate some help.

(1d20+2)[3]

EDIT: Ha. Called it.

Failing that, does this door look like it could be kicked down RW?

[RandomWombat]

Edmund's dagger sticks to the door as if it were glue. Now the gauntlet and the dagger are stuck to it. The door does not look especially durable.Edmund guesses it could be kicked in.

[H. Von Studley]

Feeling the stickiness of the wall, Edmund tries to wrench the dagger back.

Spoiler: OOC

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I didn't really make it clear enough in my post, but I used the dagger because the point will have minimal surface area to stick to the door. I'll try strength to free it back.

(3d6+4)[20]

If you'd prefer a d20 I'm happy for you to roll for me RW.

Ed searches the wall next to the door, but his quick glance reveals nothing of interest. Frustrated, he steps back into the alley, leaving it to the rest of the party. A thought occurs to him, and he begins searching the ground around the alley.

Spoiler: OOC

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Can Ed find anything flat with a large surface area, like a blanket, or piece of cardboard, or bin lid? I'm looking for something to stick to the door so Ed can kick it in without getting his boot stuck.

[RandomWombat]

Edmund spots a large, scrapped together sign being carried by a homeless man. It reads 'seeks wizard for my dreams'.

[brandnewb]

Olivin watches the scene being put on by his captain at the door. He struggles to repress a smile, he thinks this would be comical, if they were not likely to be attacked at any moment.

He takes a moment to approach and see what he can spot as well. (1d20+3)[12]

[RandomWombat]

Olivin looks over the door. Its surface has a rough texture, like it's been poorly sanded down, but otherwise the door is unremarkable.

[H. Von Studley]

Not particularly eager to rob the strange old man of his sign, Ed continues looking, wrinkling his nose and checking inside the garbage bin as well.

[RandomWombat]

Inside of the wooden bin, Edmund finds the refuse from the various businesses here. The two gamblers look up at him strangely as he goes dumpster diving.

Please roll a d% to determine the quality of trash you find.

[H. Von Studley]

Spoiler: OOC

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Ah, the glamorous life of an adventurer.

(1d100)[35]

[RandomWombat]

Edmund finds some only slightly moldy bread. It's stale, but could hypothetically be edible if the moldy parts were picked off.

"Y'gon eat that?" the hobo asks as he approaches Edmund at the dumpster.

[H. Von Studley]

Edmund glances at the man quizzically, then turns to face him and hands over the bread. "It's all yours friend. And while we're at it, I'll give you a silver piece for that sign of yours. Interested?"

[Archemist]

Meanwhile, Azrin also studies the door, intrigued.

Spoiler: Engineering

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Knowledge (Arcana): (1d20+7)[15]
Knowledge (Engineering): (1d20+11)[16]

He adjusts his glasses and says, "Hrmmm."

[Aeryk]

River skulks back to the intersection. The two men playing dice remain as they were, one of them smirking as he collects his winnings. The homeless man is carrying his sign into the alley. He will pass by River soon. The homeless man has scraggly brown hair flecked with grey and a scruffy beard that looks like it's been shaved (poorly) with a dull razor. River can see his sign, which reads 'seeks wizard for my dreams'.

River frowns, oblivious to the struggles of the rest of the party for the moment, then decides to check things out in the other direction, looking to the rooftops as well to see if anyone is observing them.

Spoiler: OoC

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North of the sticky door, according to the map. Thanks for that ;)

[RandomWombat]

Spoiler: Azrin

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The door seems brand new, as if it were just added. It is newer than the rest of the building.

"Thanks pal'o," the homeless man takes the bread and starts digging out the moldy sections. The stale bread cracks and crunches under his fingers. "Ya got a wizard?" He asks as he stuffs a piece of clean (if barely edible) bread from the center of the loaf into his mouth. He bites into it with a grimace and some effort, swallowing it after grinding it down. "Ya get a wizard to lissen to me, I give ya the sign. Won't need it anymore."

River stalks up the alley and past the Running Waters inn. Around the corner here is the main street, where he sees nothing suspicious. People walk by on their business. A rat has sequestered itself in a small nook in the wall of the inn, where it chews on what looks like a severed human finger.

[H. Von Studley]

Edmund sighs inwardly, already regretting the time wasted at the door. They needed to move on, and quickly.

"I know a few actually, and I have some understanding of the craft myself. I'm in a hurry right now, but if you wait at the docks tomorrow morning, I can come and try to help you then. Deal?"

[RandomWombat]

"Yeah okay," the hobo hands Ed his sign. It's just some wooden planks tied together with the words scratched into it, but it should make a good nonadhesive surface for Ed's boot.

[H. Von Studley]

Edmund thanks the man and accepts the board. He gives River a quick wave to let him know they're moving and then heads back to the door.

"Be on your toes. That glue might not be the only trap here." Ed leans down and sticks the board to the door, just next to the handle. He mutters a quick prayer to himself, then picks up his shield in his left hand and draws Orcsbane with his right.

Finally he steps back, breathes out, and launches forward with a hard front kick to the board.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Casting guidance and then...

Strength: (3d6+4)[18]

[RandomWombat]

The door swings open as Edmund kicks with all his might. The sudden absence of his target causes him to lose balance and fall down onto the ground. The door swings shut once more, and the board falls off of it.

Spoiler: Mechanics

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Edmund falls prone.

[H. Von Studley]

Spoiler: OOC

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Ha, that's rude.

RW, given that Ed has launched himself forwards to kick the door, is it possible he could have fallen partially inside the door when it opened? Could I make a save or something to try to keep his leg inside and prevent it from closing?

[RandomWombat]

Spoiler: OOC

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Sure, go ahead and make a Reflex save to determine where you land.

[H. Von Studley]

Edmund lunges forward as he falls, trying to catch the door before it can slam shut

Spoiler: OOC

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I'll use the Guidance bonus for this save.

Reflex: (1d20+4)[8]

[RandomWombat]

Edmund catches the door with the side of his face. Instead of being prone, he is now stuck to the closed door. He feels it vibrating very slightly against his skin.

[H. Von Studley]

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Uh oh. That's an embarrassing roll to fail.

The door pulls painfully at the skin on his cheek as Edmund sits dazed. After a second or two, he recovers sufficiently to blush furiously and growl through the door at whoever is behind.

"This is the Stalling Guard! Open the door right now, or we'll open it for you!"

He glances back at rest of the party. "Not a word, you lot. See if you can tell how they managed to unstick the board."