THREE HUNDRED TWENTY EIGHT
(I/C)
Giving the hall a second look, Wyn backed up and whispered, “I don’t think we cen deal wit any hobs right now, mes amis... let alone more den a dozen.”
“No, and shit,” Lannis groused.
“Best we beat feet to level 1 en wash de bandages now en give dem all deze hobs time to cool off.”
From the back of the group, Abraxas was nodding vigorously, “Si, Señor Wyncenzo, going down for now is un idea bueno. Let the hobs settle down a bit. They are more dangerous when they are on edges.”
“Ok,” Kovid muttered, looking at his map. “I suggest we go carefully to the garden room and make our way back down the chimney.”
Looking over his shoulder, Brendon was pointing at the lower floor marking. “I can set the rope and we can make the trip quickly and safely.”
The other four looked at the two of them and the Magic User shook his head. “Seriously? Put the map away, Drunkard McNally. The Garden is THAT way,” he pointed down the hall to the hobgoblins, “where we can get two asswhoopings for the price of one.
“Aldough, we cen always climb back up through de chimney in de garden if we need to sneak back up to dis floor later.”
Looking at the map and the hall again, Kovid grumbled, “Thor’s Balls, I thought we already made it down the hall.”
“I have got to stop relying on the mapmaker,” Brendon frowned. “Thanks, I’ll take my position as we head back THAT way to the stairs.”
The party turned around and made their way north towards the hall leading to the Watchtower. He clapped Wyn on the shoulder and said, “That bath must have made me loopy. Let’s follow the elf to the stairs.”
“Oui, let’s go disaway.”
The Magic User pitched his voice very low, “You are filling me with such confidence, both of you.”
“I can listen to the lab as we pass it just to be safe,” Brendon offered, the party nodding in agreement.
“Hmm, I suppose delving into de lab also be an option... if we feelin particularly crazy this morning but going to de first floor is the safe and responsible ting to do I tink.”
“I’m personally not feeling crazy this morning,” Lyra offered.
“That I don’t believe,” said Lannis sarcastically.
“Go suck a lemon,” she replied. “Not sure the alchemy labs are a good idea. If there’s something in there we run the risk of attracting the Hobmob.”
“Si, we can always try to come up the stairs as normal later today, then check out the Lab then.” The Fighter kept looking behind us, the distant sound of the hobgoblin voices echoing back to him. “Si hay guards, then we can climb through the fireplace. Let's get the ban-dah-ges clean'ed up por ahora. Then we can Scry on La Dyke-chess en paz. Then we can chase her down, antes we start the ritual. Vamonos amigos."
At the door, Brendon stopped a few seconds to listen (no roll needed), hearing nothing. The portal was closed and there was no sounds coming from behind. With the hall to the north and south distantly sounding with Hobgoblins, we moved further down the hall and climbed the stairs towards the Watchtower. “The first floor might be pretty quiet,” Lyra observed. “We massacred or fucked pretty much everything down there.”
“Si,” Abraxas sighed wistfully.
“Ugh, bad choice of words on my part.” She continued, “If we feel fresh enough we can go take a peek at those locusts.”
“Si, I would like to do that.”
Lannis shook his head no. “They look like a shit load of locusts. Boom, time saved.”
“You are a killjoy, you know that?”
“You have hoof and mouth disease, you know that.”
“Shhh,” Kovid hissed at the top of the stairs. Brendon stepped up and listened (no roll), hearing nothing from beyond the door. He stepped back and the dwarf looked at the door and whispered, “Blessed Corfard…is a fucking loser. Hawhawhaw,” and then opened the portal.
The ceiling had only pictures of scimitars on it and the group entered the trap hall quietly and without worry. The door at the end of the hall was opened a tiny bit and the thief motioned the group to be quiet as he inched closer and listened (>Hear Noise, +15 bonus, Red 99 – haha – fuck no), hearing nothing. Outside of a sliver of sunlight shining through the jamb, he could see nothing with risking opening the door. He gave the dwarf a thumbs up and stepped back in place, sword at the ready.
Kovid pulled the door open (Surprise check: Red/Black 6 – no) and stopped after it swung open only a foot or so. The room was NOT empty. There was a large black panther lounging at the top of the spiral stairs going down, tail flicking back and forth and it looked that way. There were also (2d6: 5+2=7) a half dozen or so goblins in here, unlike the menials we had seen many times earlier, these had stone tipped spears and were sporting wooden shields and leather armor. But it was the two 6’ tall hideously ugly large nosed women looking wistfully out the Glasstone windows, each one sporting the lower half of a vulture, that gave the dwarf pause.
Clamping his teeth shut he pushed the door closed (Sense/spot the party? >Black 9 – MISSED BY ONE), he managed to close it just in time as one of the vulture women was turing her head to glance at the door, maybe seeing the movement out of the corner of her eye. “What is it, Greisee?” a raspy female voice asked.
There was a long enough pause that the group was concerned before an equally repugnant voice replied. “Nothing. Just seeing things.”
“Pay attention, you two,” a goblin voice snapped. “Rampant is convinced the scum are going to try and come back up this way again.”
“Stuff it, maggot,” the female voice replied with a sneer. “Smallpox figures they have a dimension door spell which is how they’ve been getting away from everyone.”
“Smallpox don’t know shit.”
“You don’t know shit!”
“Silence!” the other female screeched. “I don’t care who says what. Our job is to wait here and stop them. You want to end up like Alha? Like the Jailer? Like Travis? These are fucking murders, and they will fucking murder all of us.” There was the sound a snapping finger, “So pay fucking attention.”
“Damn Greisee,” the other female said, “On edge?”
“Yeah. And you should be too if you want to make it through this bullshit alive.”
The sound of conversation ended but now the party was able to hear the occasion rustling sound of something moving now and again. Kovid turned to Brendon, eyebrows lifted high and pointed back at the door to the Watchtower, “How the HELL did you miss hearing them before I went to open the door,” his voice strained but barely above a whispering breeze.
The Scout shook his head as the group backed up down the hall to the other door again at the top of the stairs. “I have no idea. They must have been having a quiet moment.”
Wyn rubbed his forehead and clenched his jaw. “Ok. I am open to ideas. Cause dis is shaping up to be fucked up and we can’t just stay in dis hall.”
Time now is Day 8, 10:30 AM
(OOC)
This was NOT a wandering monster but a placed set of guards after the party’s murder spree. 2 harpies, a panther, and 7 goblins. And you will not get a surprise on them, the dice check was too close so they are on somewhat alert.
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