TWO HUNDRED SEVENTY TWO
(I/C)
In the Barracks, Brendon stretched, groaning as his many wounds popped and ached. Turning to Lyra he said, “I’d like to hold onto my potion for when the mast snaps in two during a storm. Lass could you call upon Aine to heal me a little?”
Lyra nodded coming forward to check the Scout over. “You’ve had a rough day,” she murmured, laying her hand on his shoulder. “Lady Aine…”
“The sun will come, manana…,” Abraxas sung softly.
“Ahem, Lady Aine. Heal my friend of his wounds please.” (CLW 1d6+1, White 6! – Heal 7, Nice) And most of the aches faded away, the bruises turning yellow and the cuts closed up. “How’s that?”
“Right as rain on a summer’s day,” Brendon smiled. “Thanks lass.”
“It’s all good.” She took a wavering breath and continued, “And Goddess, the same again for please.” (CLW 1d6+1, White 5 – Heal 6 Lyra!) She looked stronger and the last of the water in her lungs gurgled away, her color turning healthy pink once again. “That was needed.” She looked around. “So, we should let the jockey know we were here. Does anyone have chalk? We can go back and write where we found his hat maybe a clue to where we are. Something that no one else would really get. Maybe something like. ‘where Abraxas got snatch’ if we’re going to the Butchers.”
Wyn nodded, “De Butcha’s room seems like de next best place. It be on our Offop List Of Assumed Destinations from before, en we cen listen to de scriptorium door en check dat place out on de way.” He looked at the walls and shrugged. “As for de chalk, I cen not tink of a sign to show Offop a message, unless we write sometin obvious on the wall. But he doesn’t have light, so dat wouldn’t matter anyway.”
Brendon rummaged into his bag and pulled out a piece and a half of thick chalk. “I have chalk if you want me to leave a clue.” He chuckled. “Something with a big head would be my guess.” Addressing the elf, “I would think our next step to find the coward would be downstairs at the Goddess room.”
"Donde es Señor de Majik?” Abraxas asked, shoulders rising and falling. “Hoots esta en el West, so what's in the opposite direction? We should probably go that way. Wherever Hoots es, Señor Lannees most likely no es. Or, el es muerto. Muy muerto. Like the MOST muerto."
“I agree, it sounds like we might run into Hoots that way,” Kovid thrust out his chin, his beard bristling from it. “The Ishtari baths might be able to warm us up, yeah? Maybe we’ll get lucky and find Lannis hiding there.”
There was some back and forth on which was the best course of action to take (Combative CHA checks, swaying the opinion, Abraxas Blue 4 (under 9), Brendon Red 4 (under 9), Wyn Orange 15 (over 4), Kovid Yellow 11 (over 1)) but after some talking, it made the most sense to look at the Grotto area with the Goddesses below. “It’s closer, easier for us to at least take off the list, and honestly, far enough away from where we heard Hoots that we could search without too much of an issue or problem. Once we eliminate it, then the western choices make the most sense.”
The group gathered together as Brendon listened to the door out of the Upper Barracks (no roll needed), assuring the group the way was clear. The stone cabinet the group had put there earlier in the week had been shoved far aside when Corfard’s forces had been searching for the party the other day so there was no longer a reason to go back to the Lower Barracks. The hall was clear and Brendon led the party north to the corner.
Echoing down the hall west of here we could hear the Owlbear roaring as it moved about. There was the occasional smashing sound and maybe the resounding blow of a door being flung open, but the Owlbear was focusing its attention that way. “Kill a Robert for us, Hoots,” Abraxas whispered.
After making sure the door was not disturbed or trapped, the Scout opened it up and we proceeded down the long steps to the Grotto of the Goddesses below. The stonework became cruder the lower the party went until they finally made it to the floor and Brendon led us carefully to the larger chamber.
(WMC: Red/Black 1. What? White 2. Morale: 6+5 – Run)
We distinctly heard, “Shit!” whispered in the room and then the sound of soft running feet racing away to the south.
“Who’s there?” Brendon asked, sniffing. “That wasn’t Lannis, was it?”
Kovid shook his head. “Not unless he had his balls cut off. That was a woman’s voice.”
Wyn pulled out an arrow. “We give chase or not or somtin’ else?”
Meanwhile Lannis was floating sadly in the pit. He felt around his backpack until he came up the wooden horse carving within. Floating toward the wall, he felt around until he found an area with a sharp enough edge and smashed the horse statue against it a few times until it broke in two. Concentrating, he floated up to the top and threw one end into the Classroom pretty far, and the other end into the Scriptorium past the tilted floor. He could hear the Owlbear in the distance, still roaring and howling and it made him shudder. "They are looking for me right? What if they're all dead? Maybe Corfard is looking for another mage."
He settled back down towards the bottom of the pit (Owlbear tracking: <Green 5) when from outside he could hear something heavy coming up at a fast run and them SMASH the classroom door open. “HRRROOOOOO-HAAAA!!!” it roared, shaking the walls and making Lannis hold his hands over his ears. Hoots stomped into the room, sniffing about and then proceeded to sneeze and howl and stomp its feet, the crazed ursine choking on the foul stink of the burnt chamber.
Meanwhile Lannis made it his business to say NOTHING, holding his hands over his robe, held over his mouth and nose, muffling and quelling any sound he might make. Hoots stormed into the hall and Lannis could hear it pacing and growling. And then it CHARGED back in, slamming the door open with a mighty reverberation (Owlbear tracking in chamber (-6 penalty), Teal 17), gave another ear splitting, “HROOOOO-HAAAAA!” screech and then HIT the north door of the chamber, scrabbling at the knob and handle until it opened and he FLUNG it into the wall and stalked down the hall at a loping jog, roaring in glee as it continued its search further north in the Castle.
Lannis, feeling faint, flush, and anxious, closed his eyes in the dark and tried to control his racing heart. “I hate, hate, hate the fuck out of this place,” the thought, blood racing through his veins and heart beating wildly.
Time now is Day 7, 4:32 PM
(OOC)
Ok! Hoots is running north, sort of tracked your smell to here but then lost you, so is guessing you went that way. Rest of the group is at the north end of the Grotto, and whatever you heard running , ran south. Never saw anything and only caught the brief curse and sound of rapid steps going away. What’s the deal?
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