ONE HUNDRED TWENTY THREE
(I/C)
“Nah, ain’t going to happen,” Lannis shook his head and backed around the corner. "I'm of the opinion that we avoid those candles, they'll give us away. We should go around the long ways, catch the slime slingers from behind. If someone wants to volunteer we should do something about that slime we ruined. Volunteers? Anyone? Show of hands?"
“Oui oui, Monsieur Offop, avoid de candles ees a must,” Wyn gestured back down the passage. “My guess ees dat dey put slime at de base of every door en a candle at every intersection... but avoidin dat north hallway ees very important. Everyone just needs to assume dat it’s at every doorway.”
Brendon crossed his arms, a look of displeasure on his face, “The slime has to be removed. I’m not comfortable with growing the slime.”
“Hey, Brendon,” Lyra asked, “Did you pick up any rocks to sling in the Barracks, I don’t remember if I did?”
“Hmm,” Brendon checked his pouch, surprised to find a stone there (add 1 Stone [1] to Inventory). “I did! Must have missed it.”
“Oh!” Lyra looked in her pouch and noted that she too had an extra stone in there (adjust stones to 9 Stones [9] in inventory). “Must have totally missed it and not been someone elses fault to let me know last post.”
“Tell me about it,” Brendon chuckled.
“Hey you two,” Lannis snapped his fingers, pointing at the fourth wall behind him, “Enough of that. Kobolds? Slime? Defilers? Obvious trap in the hall with candles and my nipples falling off, any of that ring a bell?”
Kovid chuckled, "Candles are probably a trap... Or they could be forcing us into a trap. Either way we should be ready for a fight. If you all want to go through the candles great, if you all want to go around to the west side of the castle through kobolds even better. Gowan needs to join his friends in hell."
Wyn continued, “I tink we fix de slime at dis door, leave de slime in dis area, den burn de slime at de kitchen, de storage room, en de top side of de stairs leading up from de lower barracks. Iffin dey come down here, it will confuse them a bit.” He turned to the Scout, “Monsieur du Lac, I tink one of us needs to deal wit de slime at dis door... it’s a ting for nimble fingas like ours. I cen do it iffin you do not want to. Should be as easy as takin grain into a hand and dropping it a little at a time, between the two slime sections, starting from one end and moving slowly to let de slime grow slowly and reconnect, without letting it grow larger than eet alread ees.”
“I’ve got it,” Brendon assured the group. “Instead of using grain I’ll rip up the paper I have into strips and draw the creature out to its final destination. No growth on its part and less of a chance I’ll get any on me. Please make sure the flame close by.” (Reduce Old Paper to 9 pieces).
“I’ll light my torch,” the elf assured him. “It ‘as some life still left in it.”
After most everyone has spoken, Abraxas nodded slowly, "While I'm not much of un embaucador, yo creo Señor Wynsday's plan may work. We set slime en fuego where we won't be. If Hoegone sneaks up behind us, he be confused checking puertos nosotros nunca estuve en. That should slow him down. We try to avoid all candles until we know the Kobolds are dead. Todos muerto! Howon and his ilk need to be eliminated. Then we can deal with the rest of the slimes. Kill the Kobolds, then kill the slimes. The long way back, seems the better path. Tambien, tienemos the protection from the statues,” he held up a Cinnamon sticks from his pack briefly and then continued, “should we come across them again, and know the words to activate them. Maybe we use them to our advantage? Maybe we can rest in that room as our new safe room? I can spike uno, dos, o todos los puertos closed and we can activate the statues should something come in/by. It doesnt seem this safe room has been found out yet, but may be good to have a second spot just in case."
The party just looked at Abraxas. “That is the longest I’ve heard you speak in a single period of time,” Lannis noted.
“Gracias! Perhaps I am tryint to be more like you?”
“Huh,” Lannis shrugged, “I don’t know if I should be insulted or not.”
The group went back down the hall and the stairs to the Lower Barracks where using some torn up paper, Brendon retraced the line for the slime to grow, correcting the smeared section. Wyn’s torch was burning nearby but the Scout’s hand (Dex Thief >11, no roll needed) was steady.
They proceeded down the hall to the door on the west where there was another line of slime, opened the door with care, and then stepped over the slime one at a time without disturbing it. At the top of the steps, Brendon listened hard (<Hear Noise +20% bonus, Red 19) and was sure no one was up there. They opened the door and looked. The only light was the very end of the hall to the north, a single candle burning there as we had seen from the other hall.
The walked north to the Dining hall…where there was a line of slime. Brendon used Wyn’s torch and burned it away, leaving a black smudge. Then went to the next door at the Pantry…where there was a line of slime. And again it was burned away. The next door was the Store Room…and there was no slime there! “Makes sense,” Brendon whispered, “that other anklebiter said they would sneak in here and drink of the hobgoblin and goblin beer stores.”
They went further on south to the Library…and there was another line of slime to be burned away. “This plan makes me feel good,” Wyn said. Abraxas was keeping a steady eye behind us as we walked slowly down the hall. There were no candles ahead of us as we made it to the corner and then turned west on our way to the Sitting Room.
“Ah…shit,” Brendon cursed.
The door to the Ballista room was opened, the handle looked like it had been hit repeatedly and then staved in. A look inside showed that the Ballista itself and its lone bolt was gone. There were some stains of oil on the floor in many places that hadn’t been here earlier. And the bags of food we had placed here earlier if he had to leave? Were mouldering piles of green slime at least 3’ across.
“Well,” Abraxas shook his head slowly, “This is as I had heard on the docks ‘afore, is a grande sack o’ cocks.”
Time now is 7:15 AM
(OOC)
And..right now you are in the Sitting Room and didn’t want to assume so I stopped here to allow for discuss. Ballista is gone. What’s the plan?
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