(I/C)
Once the group was ready to go on their way, Lyra was seen to eat a small amount of her rations but looked forlornly at her waterskin. Brendon lifted his, shook it to show there was still a little left, and handed it to her without a word. She thanked him and drunk sparingly before returning it.
“Thor’s love muscle, I feel refreshed!” Kovid said, wiping the crumbs from his beard and looking around the room with care. He picked up the corners of beds and scratched his head as if trying to figure something out before turning back to the party. “Back to the mines as the they say. Could use a refill for the old water skin first. Used it all up saving my hands from the worst of the burns. Any objections to going back to the well we saw outside, or should we try to find water in the castle somewhere?”
"We should go to the Well outside for water,” Abraxas answered, folding the bed linens he used and replacing them in the footlockers with care. As he was putting a precision crease on a blanket he had used, laying it with care back in the chest of drawers, he continued, “We can find another source luego. Ahora, we need agua, mas rapido. The Well is the only... how is it said... "Sure Thing" - and even then we don't know 100 percento that it is completely safe. But definitely the safest bet we have."
“It’s early still,” Lyra offered, “We might have some luck exploring at this hour. My bet is we shouldn’t run into too many issues if we have to back track for or further explore for water.” She motioned for Kovid to come closer. “Please, Aine has a blessing for you,” she said, hands out.
“Um…”Kovid sat still, glancing at Lyra. “Thank you, Cleric.” He coughed, clearing his throat. “Do you think…um…do you think I look…um…that all dwarves look alike?”
“Whh-hat?” She backed up surprised. “Who said…I never…Kovid, Why would you EVER think that?” she asked, unable to meet his gaze.
“I had some strange dream and thought that you…”
“Well,” she said with an air finality. “Trust me, whatever you heard in your dream has NO bearing on how things are in the real world. I can tell you.” She flexed her fingers, glancing briefly at the thinning hair at the back of his head, and intoned, “Blessed Aine, cure my dwarven friend that I have and I have all respect for dwarves and am not racists, anyway, cure him of his wounds!” (CLW 1d6+1, White 4: Kovid heal 5 hit points) “There! All fixed in Aine’s name.”
“Thanks priestess,” Kovid replied.
It took the group a few more minutes to clean up the area before heading to the back stairs and down to the LOWER BARRACKS. Picking their way through the mummified elves with caution, they went back to the door to the hall and were going to open it when Brendon held up his hand and listened (<Hear Noise +20% bonus, Red 01). Luck was with him or just the castle was still because he heard no one near by but through a trick of the echoes, he could hear some general low level noise a couple hundred feet away and based upon the length of the echo – most likely coming from near the hall where the kobolds first attacked the party by the room with the dead hobgoblin. Otherwise, no one at all nearby.
The Kovid and Abraxas quietly lifted the stone cabinet and moved it aside before the fighter borrowed the offered prybar and reforced the door open (no roll needed). The party left the Lower Barracks, closed the door again, crossed the hall to the stairs going up, and took them to the long main hall. A look down revealed no one there and the group walked south quietly to the corner. At each opportunity they slowed down for Brendon to look and listen, and each time there was no issue. Eventually they returned to the Sitting Room, where they could see the CLOAK had been moved off the hook to another one, and there was fresh mud on its hem. Some muddy goblin footprints were in the area but they trailed off rapidly and were lost.
Opening the door to the outside they could see the weather was overcast but not raining. Yet? They doused the lantern (knock off 20 minutes of oil) and walked out of the Ispan’s Castle. There were some fresh prints running from the castle to the tomato plants and no one was out here. “Must have gone back to ze plants,” Wyn offered. Weapons drawn and ready, the group circled around the Castle to the east, turning the corner, and heading north to the WELL near the SHED.
“Huh,” Brendon offered, “That’s new.”
Someone had driven a large spike at the base of the well and attached a coil of frayed and spliced rope to it, the other end tied to a battered but serviceable bucket. Whatever broken wood and planking Lyra and Abraxas had cleared yesterday had been taken.
“Do we be dicks and take the rope and bucket?” the scout asked.
“I wouldn’t,” Lannis suggested. “It’s shitty rope, and if we do, they might go back to whatever other water source they were using and foul this one. Better they don’t know we even needed it.” He held the bucket and let it fall to the water below. After is splashed he tugged the rope and slowly began hoisting it up.
“Senor, please,” Abraxas offered, taking the rope from Lannis. “You move, how you say? Like antiguo hombres fuck.” From there the Fighter took over and the group began to refill their skins. About halfway through the process (WMC Red/Black 1 – thanks Kelly!) (Outdoor WMC Distance? 1d6: blue 6 – far.) (Type: 1d20: Blue 2, # Appear 1d6: Steel 4) Brendon and Lyra noticed movement in the nearby streets of Acreage outside the rainbow ward.
“Shit,” the scout cursed, tapping the fighter quietly. “Leave it, duck, hide. Everyone just fucking hide.”
The party dropped low behind the wall of the well as well as what brush and trees they were able to use for cover (<Group Hide Check, Red 05). The group watched as four, 8’ tall animal headed humanoids walked around the buildings, each one wearing a mix of chain and leather, sporting wide steel double bitted axes. Their bodies were covered in scars and blue paints. “Mongrelmen,” Wyn offered. “Very nasty.”
“Berserkers,” Abraxas added, noting the pattern of the blue wode they wore. “Bad hombres, and if hurt, become even badder hombres.” The party waited a few minutes for the patrol to move on and then get lose in the broken buildings and streets of the blasted elven city before daring to go back to the well and quickly refill the last three waterskins (everyone, change your water to 4). “Hokay,” the fighter said, capping his own skin last and hanging it off his backpack. “What now?”
Time is 7:15 am
(OOC)
Where to now? Back to Castle? Where? I saw something about north east stairs down to water dripping sound. – that the case?
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