Home for Monsters

The Better Home's and Dungeon's mission for you is clear: Explore the dungeon thoroughly and report back what it's like in there. So you stand now before what looks like a ruined tower. The door is hanging off one hinge, and the rest of it looks dilapidated to say the least. This is the location that you were sent to however, there's no doubt about that.

The white-scaled Sith slowly pulls the hood of her robes back, to peer at the door with what can only be a sour expression. She checks a small piece of paper for the umpteenth time. "Thiss musst be the place.", Hetzakoatl rumbles. "Thiss does not bode well. Not an auspiciouss start."

Walery eyeballs the door hanging off the hinge and sighs. "Well, if that's an indication of the style of this dungeon," he says, "I'd say we're in for a fun time."

Niara pushes back the hood of her cloak, her silvery hair running along her back. She glances over at the others and then back, "There are many places such as this." the mul shakes her head and nods. She pulls her scimitar, "We should probably get started." she says softly.

Olav runs up to join the group, a late arrival, despite running quite a bit faster than you might expect of an ordinary fighter. The truth is this is his first job with the Explorer's Guild and he wasn't really sure who he should talk to or where he should meet people or, honestly, what the job even really _is_, which is fine, from what he's heard it always ends up with having to kill something and he's pretty good at that. "Right," he says, agreeing with Niara and pulling a greataxe off his back. "Let's do this!"

GAME: Olav rolls perception: (16)+7: 23
GAME: Niara rolls perception: (14)+12: 26
GAME: Hetzakoatl rolls perception: (18)+7: 25
GAME: Walery rolls perception: (20)+8: 28

As you come up to the door, you can hear the sound of voices coming from within. The voices are all rather low, making it difficult to make out what they're saying, but you manage to make out some of it nonetheless.

"This bread is awful."

"If you don't like it stop eating it! I'll take it off your hands!"

"What's that... did you hear something outside? I think I heard someone talking."

"Nawh. It was just your imagination!"

Olav fusses with some hooks on his left gauntlet, which he attaches to his greataxe as he looks to the others for a clue as to whether the squabbling tower residents are something to kill or talk to. Back in White Bear that was easy... if he didn't know who they were, they were something to kill... but he's gathered that the rules are more complicated here in the civilized world.

Hetzakoatl holds up a hand to get people's attention, and then makes a shhhhing motion by putting a finger to her lips. She gestures inside the dilapidated place and holds up 2, then 3, fingers.

Niara cocks her head to the side as she hears the voices and then nods She looks at the others and then back to the building. She just has to make sure that her steps are soft and stick to the shadows, but she doesn't move just yet.

Walery doesn't understand the rules here, either. He does ready his death ray in case they take the decision out of our hands, but remains quiet, giving Olav a shrug and eying Hetz curiously.

Inside you can hear both conversations heating up.

"Give that back it's my bread!"

"You said you hated it! I'm going to eat it!"

"I swear I heard something. I'm going to check outside."

"Don't let the cold air in! It's bad enough that the door is busted. Don't Javal! I swear to on my mother's grave that if you open that door...."

"She's still alive!" This last is spoken right next to the door.

Olav still isn't sure what the deal is, but, well, whatever it is, it's easier to do from closer in. So he moves towards the door, preparing to greet whoever comes out, one way or another.

GAME: Hetzakoatl casts Dancing Lights. Caster Level: 3 DC: 14

The white-scaled Sith-makar takes a few steps away from the door, muttering under her breath and gesticulating with her hands. Four bright balls of light, green, blue, red and yellow form and then streak from her fingertips, into the doorway and beyond.

Niara watches as the spell is cast, she knows what it is since she has a natural ability to do it herself. She watches to see what the result of the balls of light is.

It only takes a moment for the bright lights to cause a commotion inside. All talk stops as whomever inside makes a much larger commotion over the lights. It sounds... like whomever is in there is trying to /catch/ the lights.

"They came from outside!" States the voice nearest the door which is tugged on. There's several seconds of wrestling before the door pops open and there's a very startled looking goblin staring back at you.

Walery smiles to the goblin. It's not a very sincere smile. He's not good at those. But he's got a death ray, so a lot of people might hope that it's a smile. "Hi there. We're from Better Homes and Dungeons. How are you this evening?"

Niara keeps her blade at the ready. But she lets someone else do the talking since they have already started.

Olav does much the same. Also, he lets someone else do the talking since they might actually know something. He stands next to the door looking rather a lot like a large axe-wielding currently-relatively-calm menace.

Hetzakoatl seems amused at the chaos from inside, and even more so when it sounds like they are trying to catch the lights. When the Gobbo steps into the doorway, she tries to look nonchalant, though the lights inside continue to spin, twirl and dance about. Since Walery kicked things off, she lets him speak. The Sith has a skeptical look on her face though, the schtick is rather flimsy and transparent.. is this dungeon magazine actually real?

GAME: Walery rolls diplomacy: (10)+1: 11

"We're not interested in a subscription!" The door slams - or at least the goblin tries to. The door sticks and remains slightly open.

Olav steps forward to push the door back open.

Walery sticks his foot in the door, which is easier with it stuck. "We're not selling subscriptions. We're here to evaluate your home. If you win, you get to not go on a date with Sandy." A twist to the previous scam, one that's slightly more true.

GAME: Olav rolls 1d20+4: (19)+4: 23

Olav tilts his head to one side, curiously, then blinks. "That's... actually a pretty good deal," he tells the goblin.

Between Olav and Walery, the door pops back open and hits the poor goblin in the back as he's walking away. Irritably he turns back and glares at you. "I am already not on a date with Sandy!" The other goblins are rising to their feet, looking less than pleased at the people standing on their doorstep.

Walery hrms. "Would you -like- to go on a date with Sandy?" he asks, implying it as an offer. Like he could arrange something like that.

GAME: Walery rolls diplomacy: (6)+1: 7

Hetzakoatl lets out a long huff of breath, and shakes her head. "It iss a competition, you ssee. Lasst week, thiss intrepid team invesstigated one of Heth's famous undead dungeons. Intriguing, though sstank of death. Perhapss you might be interessted in fame and prizess by winning the magazine's dungeon competition? Unlesss you want some ooother goblin dungeon to win?"

Olav grins, enlightened, at Hetz's explanation. . o O (Oh,) he thinks, (so _that's_ why we're here!)

GAME: Hetzakoatl rolls diplomacy: (19)+4: 23

"Are you crazy?" The goblins look at one another in surprised horror, but the offer of treasure has one of the goblins whispering to his companions. "Prizes you say?" He grins. "Well why didn't you say so! Feel free to look around!"

Walery was just about to go to plan B, shouldering his death ray, when the goblins invite us in. "Yes, yes, fabulous prizes. Glittering prizes." He doesn't mention the endless compromises that shatter the illusion of integrity. That would just confuse them. He'll head inside, then.

Niara smiles a bit and is glad the others did the talking. She could make them fear her, but other than that....

Olav follows Walery, whistling tunelessly. He likes to believe in the freedom of music.

Hetzakoatl rubs at the back of her neck, eyeing her companions carefully, before gesturing to Walery. "After you, Meisster." She will slip in behind the others, following a few steps behind. "Keep a good eye out for erm interessting featuress of the dungeon.", she says quietly.

Heinrich walks in, too, as if he'd been there all along. He looks around, sincerely trying to get a sense of his surroundings.

The goblin opens the door the door to a room beyond the one where they were fighting over scraps of food. Torches flicker on of their own volition, and you spot immediately several tied-up individuals. None of them look to be conscious. There are however several weapons lining the walls though of poor make and most of them showing signs of having hung in place for years. The goblin ignores the people and points down the hallway. "There you go. Have a look around and just let us know when you're done. Take care!"

Walery shrugs, and will head into the dungeon, pausing to look over the prisoners and weapons.

Hetzakoatl stops near the Goblins, and pulls out several pieces of jerky. "It iss not much, but at leasst it iss tassty.", she says offering the sticks, one each, to the Goblins. "Thank you for allowing uss to look around." She'll turn and fall in step behind the others once more.

Olav looks at the tied up individuals, then at the goblin, then back at the tied up individuals. Opens his mouth, closes it again, and looks to the others for guidance. Is this a common feature of dungeons in the city?

Niara frowns a bit and then looks at the tied up ones too. There is anger rising in her eyes as she looks back at the others.

Heinrich says to Olav, as he also looks at the unconscious tied-up people, "Well, in a narrow sense, a dungeon is a place for holding and often torturing captives, so... yes? maybe?"

Walery shhhhs at his companions until the goblins have closed the door. "Yes, yes, we'll rescue these folks. We can't leave them here. But the goblins might interfere. There ought to be another way in and out, everyone can't traipse through the goblins' living room."

GAME: Olav rolls perception: (17)+7: 24
GAME: Niara rolls perception: (6)+12: 18

Hetzakoatl nods to Walery with her teeth gritted. "We will ssee what else lurkss here first, then we sshall put paid to them and rescue thosse people."

GAME: Heinrich rolls Perception: (13)+6: 19
GAME: Hetzakoatl rolls perception: (13)+7: 20
GAME: Walery rolls perception: (2)+8: 10

The hallway leads down and in a somewhat curved line, and as you move down it a ways to avoid being overheard by the goblins you can hear the sounds of boots against the ground. It's a light tred, but many feet growing closer.

Olav gestures towards the catlike tread of whatever is stealing upon their way. "Are they something we fight?" he asks, genuinely curious. "Or something we offer to date?"

Heinrich grunts at Olav, shaking his head, and draws his falchion.

Hetzakoatl snorts at Olav and shakes her head. "We find out what they want firsst, then we decide what to do."

Walery huhs to Olav. "The last one, we fought everyone past the goblins. Who were much more cooperative, let me say." By his tone, it's still just hypothetical at this point.

Olav nods amiably at the explanations. This isn't how they did things back home, but it's not unreasonable. More polite, certainly.

The footsteps draw closer and eventually you catch sight of a flicker of torch which reveals not goblins but gnolls. The burlier hyena-headed beings eye you and then grin. "More prisoners!" The one in the lead draws his sword, and charges!

GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+3: (20)+3: 23
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+3: (8)+3: 11
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+3: (3)+3: 6
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d8+2: (8)+2: 10
GAME: Niara rolls scimitar: aliased to bab+dexterity+1+1+1: (12)+5+5+1+1+1: 25
GAME: Niara rolls 1d6+5+2+5+1d6: (6)+5+2+5+(5): 23

Niara moves forward past the two in front with grace and whips her scimitar around, electricity crackling along the blade as she deftly and precisely slices into one of the gnolls, causing it to fall gasping its last breath.

GAME: Heinrich rolls Weapon1: (1)+8: 9 (EPIC FAIL)
GAME: Olav rolls melee+1: (5)+5+1: 11

Heinrich was ready for this, or thought he was. He goes to swing his sword and barely misses letting it fly out of his grip.

GAME: Olav RAGES!, gaining +2 to melee attack/damage/Will saves and 4 temporary HP
GAME: Walery activates his Titan Armor, gaining: +4 Dex
GAME: Walery rolls 1d20+10: (16)+10: 26
GAME: Walery rolls 2d6+5: (11)+5: 16

Olav takes a slash to his flank, bleeding heavily, and his amiable nature suddenly changes. He glares and snarls and his greataxe completely fails to get anywhere near the gnolls.

Walery acks at the, to him, sudden appearance of charging gnolls. "I think we definitely fight them," he squeaks as he backpedals just as fast as he can, trading places with Niara. With some space around him, he taps a control on his belt and armor plates shift and a targeting lens flips down from his helmet. He draws a bead and fires his death ray at a gnoll, a fiery bolt striking it dead in the face. It falls over backwards without comment.

GAME: Hetzakoatl casts Hydraulic Push. Caster Level: 3 DC: 15
GAME: Hetzakoatl rolls 1d20+3+4: (19)+3+4: 26

The white-scaled Sith gestures with her clawed hands and mutters a few words in draconic, and a long spuuuurt of water shoots out of her left hand, taking the feet out from under the Gnoll assailing Heinrich. The stream lasts for quite a few many moments, causing the Gnoll to be pushed a bit away. "Bad dog!", Hetzakoatl callss out. "Bath time for you."

GAME: Niara uses an AoO! 5 remaining.
GAME: Niara spends ONE point of PANACHE.
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+3: (8)+3: 11
GAME: Niara rolls scimitar: aliased to bab+dexterity+1+1+1: (5)+5+5+1+1+1: 18
GAME: Niara rolls scimitar: aliased to bab+dexterity+1+1+1: (17)+5+5+1+1+1: 30
GAME: Niara rolls scimitar: aliased to bab+dexterity+1+1+1: (16)+5+5+1+1+1: 29
GAME: Niara rolls sccrit: aliased to 2d6+dexterity+dexterity+4+1d6: (9)+5+5+4+(6): 29

The gnolls try to attack, but they have little luck against the adventurers.

Niara moves her scimitar to deflect the attack coming at her, which she successfully deflects the incoming attack and takes the opportunity it provides to almost cut the gnoll in half with a riposte and a powerfully critical hit taking its life.

GAME: Niara rolls scimitar: aliased to bab+dexterity+1+1+1: (11)+5+5+1+1+1: 24
GAME: Niara rolls scdam+5: aliased to 1d6+dexterity+2+1d6+5: (2)+5+2+(5)+5: 19
GAME: Heinrich rolls Falchiom: (20)+Falchiom: 20
GAME: Heinrich rolls Falchion: aliased to Weapon1: (13)+8: 21

Niara is a blur of grace and speed as she wields her scimitar, it still crackling with electricity as she slashes out to rip into one of the remaining gnolls, taking it down as well.

GAME: Heinrich rolls FalchionCrit: aliased to 4d4+9: (12)+9: 21

Heinrich hacks the last standing gnoll in two, then wipes the blood on the corpse before sheathing his falchion again. He says, "That's more like it."

Olav raises his axe a second time, then sheepishly puts it away.

Niara doesn't sheath her blade but she does pull out a cloth that she uses to clean the blade. The electricity fades from it. She looks around at the others, "Wonder what else might be within."

Hetzakoatl moves to Olav's side, looking him over. "Are you alright? Erm. I did not get your name." She glances to the others, "Is everyone alright?"

Walery ohs, "I expect we'll meet quite the selection of horrible monsters." He smiles vaguely. He ohs to Olav, "Do you need healing? I have a few ampules left..."

"I'm fine," Olav replies, puzzled by the question. "The gnoll cut me, but that'll heal. And I'm Olav, Feyson of White Bear."

Heinrich nods. "Those poor humans didn't wake up, did they?" He looks.

Hetzakoatl shrugs to Walery, "There will probably be monsterss and trapss, yess." She leans heavily upon her staff, looking tired now. "Shall we continue onwardss?"

Hetzakoatl adds, to Olav, "I am Hetzakoatl, shaman of Am'shere."

The people remain unconscious, and the goblins remain conspicuously absent. Seeming inclined to help neither you, nor the gnolls. Thus you have no choice but to continue onward.

Niara dips her head, "I am fine, they didn't come close." she says and looks at the others, "Niara, former pirate." she says and she has no problem saying it after all, people look down on her for the race, what does her former profession matter.

Heinrich hms amd says, "They seem well and truly knocked out." He draws his sword again and heads along the bunny trail.

Olav nods to the Sith, smiling companionably as they proceed. She's not the first sith-makar he's met, but she's maybe the third, and they remain a novelty.

Hetzakoatl bares her teeth, an imitation smile at best, and nods to the others. She looks to Walery, "Lay on then, MacDuff."

-TBC-