(I/C)
"Someone should jam a chair under that door,” Lannis said, pointing behind him. “In case they find us.” He looked at the wreckage about the chamber. “I suppose taking a few minutes to look around could be wise, but we should be ready to move. I find it very strange that no one has bothered to move these bodies in all this time."
Kovid made his way over to the broken stone cabinet. “This room looks like a tornado hit it. First petrified elves, now mummified elves, were they killed instantly?” He snapped his finger and pointed at the door on the west wall. “Master Thief, please inspect this door for us.” He looked at a crude map he had been drawing, shoving the parchment back in his belt. “I believe that passage will connect around to the other side of the barracks, might be out next move.”
"Is Señor Lamkates a Thief, Señor Kovacs? I thought he was a scout with manos muy bueno, but not a Thief.” Abraxas seemed uncomfortable with the dead elves. “I-I-In any case, perhaps we should set these beings to their eternal rest, if Señor Wynd has no objections? Señor Lame-ness y Señorita Leeroy, do you have a ritual or blessing for these lost souls? S-S-Something quick perhaps, and we can then move along?"
"Monseiur Salazar,” Wyn began. “I would recommend not touching de elves at all. Dey 'ave been 'ere for a long time. Dere ees a reason for dat... en I don want to know why.”
Brendon already at the west door shook his head. “We don’t have the luxury of searching, we are probably being hunted. Let’s get ready to go.”
“I don’t agree,” Wyn replied. “We ‘ave time. As for th’ elves, we avoid... but keep eye on dem." After some thought, he says, "But dat blessin mite be a gud idea. Mademoiselle Ader en Monseiur Offop, wat ye say bout dis? Ye knowledges of oondead en tings lik dis extend beyond me own."
Kovid grunted. “Are there signs of combat or wounds, Wyn? Brendon? Lannis, why don’t you touch one for us and see what happens?”
“No touching!” Lannis hissed.
The dwarf chuckled. “I was only kidding. Lannis won’t touch the mummy... see he’s already showing me his friendship gesture.”
“Senor, that finger is no amigo finger. Trust me.”
The Cleric, still bothered by her feeling earlier, took out a holy water and walked around the bodies with a critical eye. “I would like to also recommend we don’t touch or go anywhere near the elves. Keep as far away as possible.”
Kovid gave the cabinet a good look over, easy enough to do since it was on its back and its doors flung open. (<Wis +4 bonus, Yellow 6) He looked at the cabinet and the nearby walls, as well as the other furnishings in the room. “See these gouges here and here?” he pointed to deep grooves in the stone walls. “Came from this cabinet slamming into the wall at great force. In fact, most of the destruction in here is from everything in this room flailing about.”
Wyn crouched low, looking at the dead elf (<Wis -4 penalty, Orange 5). “If tha’ be true, then the same thin’ I would think dun kilt the elves he’e, yah. See broken ribs a’here? Busted neck, a’there? Was in he’e when wotever dun happened and sent all the furnishin’s all over.”
Brendon crouched low near the door and listened hard (<Hear Noise +40 bonus, Red 57) distant voices talking angrily echoing down the long corridors from far far away. They might have been goblin…maybe kobold. But they were angry and talking fast, and there were many of them. And interspersed were plaintive wolf cries now and again. As for the door (>Find traps, Red 93) there weren’t any, the door opened in to us, and it wasn’t locked. “Alright, no one is nearby here, pretty far away. Let’s go. You guys coming?”
Kovid walked over to the door, giving it a feel as well, seeing how it was fitting awkwardly into the frame. Wyn meanwhile had his hand up, looking around the room and shaking his head. “Moving ‘round and making noise in the hallways may no be the best idea right now, h’ya? If the wolves be hunting, they rely on instincts, dat incense would have mess dem up sometin good, too. My guess is that they will be distracted by ALL that blood we left up there. If we wait about 10-15 minutes, keep quiet an’ the light down low, the blood thirst will have calmed down a bit and we will be able to resume out scouting... just my two coppers, yah?”
Lannis frowned. "I'm inclined to agree with Master Lake on this one. From where we were, there's really only two ways we could have gone, and if they pick the right hallway it wouldn’t be that hard to figure out where we went. The incense may have slowed down the wolves, or not, we don't know, and we have no reason to think things will be any safer in ten or fifteen minutes.”
“P’rhaps,” Wyn shrugged. “’Cept that the bare stone is likely going to carry noise... not muffle it. And it appears that the stairs from the hallway south of the 1st floor barracks maybe just outside this door.”
“Uh…no?” Lannis tapped his foot in aggravation. “If noise is the issue, all this stone should muffle it. Let him,” pointing at Brendon, “do what he must, use that time to do your searching, then we should really endeavor to put more space between us and them as we can. They know this castle better than us, I'd rather not be surprised because we failed to respect that.”
Kovid wiped his hands clean and stood up from the door (<Stonework, Yellow 1). “Frame shifted. Door’s gonna have to be forced open. Hard.” He looked at Brendon and Lannis. “The kobolds ran away, I don’t believe they know where we are. The wolves or what we think are wolves only reached the top of those stairs after we rounded the corner and I think we slowed them further with the incense. Let’s not panic,” he raised his hands placatingly. “We’ve shown we can take the kobolds head on, and that should hold true for the wolves. We just have to make sure we don’t get flanked by both at the same time. We should have bought ourselves a little time. Let’s just be smart and quiet for now. I also don’t want to have trapped ourselves in with only one exit, so I’d like to know where this door goes sooner than later.”
Brendon turned to look at the elf and dwarf. “When I said let’s wait upstairs, you wanted us to move. Now we find a room that is interesting to you we’re no longer in danger?” He turned back to the door. “This maybe the first time you both agreed with each other.”
Meanwhile Lyra had been watching the bodies with care, ready for any movement. (<Wis, White 14) “I agree with Wyn, they seemed to have died from multiple blunt force trauma. But even if that was the case, after 30 years they should have rotted away. But it looks like they’re only dead some 6 months or so. And leads me to my thoughts earlier; I suspect similar to the “pressure” idea we had – the ward actually acted as an entropic ward.” She looked up and only Lannis seemed to be nodding (Highest Int) in understanding. “The Rainbow Ward most likely maintained whatever atmospheric pressure that was in the castle at that time and did not allow the passage of decay to occur on the bodies within. Hence, their mummified appearance.”
She pointed up and to the south. “Now, the ward is down, what? Half a year? Or collapsing at least. And whatever protection is offered is fading, and the bodies within are decaying as normal and as expected. Be all that as it may, I would be a lot happier if we should leave this room. And soon. I have a very bad feeling about this place.”
Meanwhile, Wyn noticed something at the bottom of one of the beds (<Secret door check, Orange 1) and went over to it. With the bed on its side, one of the bottom slats was at a twisted angle and showed something glinting underneath. He pulled on the wood until it shifted and revealed a 10” blade, wire wrapped tarnished but still wickedly sharp silver dagger. “Sacre blu!” he swore, holding the weapon up.
Brendon who was nearby took a quick look over the silver poniard (<Int +2 thief, Red 9) “Nice find. If we were in town could probably get 20 gold coins for that.”
“More importantly, it’s SILVER.” Lannis seemed excited. “We run into demonic, unworldly, or mystical creature, that pig sticker you’re holding is going to be more important than any two of Abraxas’ sword swings.”
Time now is 2:22
(OOC)
Who is going to take the Silver Dagger(10)? Nothing else of value to find in the room. Noises in the far distance, only heard due to echoes. Door needs to be forced open (Str check), tools to open it would help. Once open, where to? What’s the plan? Go now? Wait?
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