Part 5: Return to the Moathouse Ruins

As the party arrives at the set of doors on the northeast corner of the trashed storage room they notice that a solid wooden plank of about 15' in length bars it shut from this side. The plank is heavy, though likely not so heavy that a couple of strong warriors or ten or so Eltrezars couldn't lift it from its brackets if one were determined to discover what could possibly be worth keeping on the other side of these double doors.

Eltrezar the Medium

cowleyc

Aug 26, 2021 4:07 am

Hrmph! "Do we dare risk what lies beyond this door today? Or do we return in the morning? I do fear that whatever is locked beyond this door must be truly dreadful.
Not even the zombies had this sort of barrier." . The wizard doesn't look scared, but thoughtful. He looks to be weighing options.

Aug 26, 2021 10:42 pm

OOC:

Thoughts to @cowleyc's suggestion of returning to Hommlet for the evening and returning rested vs exploring either the secret door ladder, the heavily barricaded door, or the two still locked doors?

KCC

Aug 26, 2021 11:38 pm

"Couldn’t we set up in one of these old rooms for the night?" she points up at the ceiling to indicate she means a room up there, not down here!

"Worked well enough for those bandits, until we showed up."

Bors

nezzeraj

Aug 27, 2021 6:48 am

Demagor Inactive for 3 months

"And the doors seem pretty resistant to boots. If we barricaded the door we should be relatively safe."

Norris DeWitt

Aug 27, 2021 5:17 pm

Unable to resist the sarcasm bubbling up inside him, Norris replied to Bors' observation. "As long as there's no boot-golem waiting for us in the shadows, we should be fine" he commented sarcastically, admiring his fingernails and clearing one out with the tip of a lockpick.

"Camping out here? Just like the previous lot didn't expect us to stroll on in... how can we be sure that another lot, or the bandits' buddies looking for their friends, don't stumble onto us while we're snoring happily, oblivious, dreaming about riches and plush beds and friendly sheep?" he prodded, grinning slyly as his imagination drifted off.

"We can't Turn cutthroats." added the sardonic thief, "If we're taking votes- I say we go back to town for a proper and safe rest, then come back in the morning. I don't think this guy's going anywhere...." he observes, taking the tip of his lockpick and poking at one of the skeletons on the rack.

Aug 27, 2021 7:33 pm

"Noris has a point, if we stay in the keep it might be better to bed down upstairs where the bandits did, somewhere more defensible."

Mal takes stock of her rations and decides she has enough to last a few days.

"We loose a lot of time going back to town and have no way of knowing if any one or anything is coming or going while we're gone."

Aug 27, 2021 8:06 pm

OOC:

Alright, we have 2 votes for going back to town: Eltrezar and Norris. We have three votes for staying upstairs where the bandits were sleeping: Gilly, Bors, and Maloria.

The Man-at-Arms is a hireling and more or less follows orders, nor does he ever have much to contribute to any discussions ever.

That leaves Angel left, who likely has been thinking about leaving the group as soon as you get to town again, meaning he'd probably vote for returning to Hommlet. But that also means that you two men to aid you in encounters if you did (the Man-at-Arms contract ends when you return to the village, and Angel will wish you all good luck and saunter off into the distance). I assume losing two capable fighters is something the party would wish to avoid, and giving Angel a vote is going to go against the party's best interests in terms of available manpower as a whole, so since I'm NPCing him I don't want to sway the vote one way or the other.

The vote by active players goes 3-2 in favor of staying upstairs in the room the bandits have been using. Give me a bit so I can get some work done and we'll move the party upstairs for the night, assuming nobody has any further input when I check back in in a few hours.

Eltrezar the Medium

cowleyc

Aug 28, 2021 12:49 am

Eltrezar combs his fingers through his beard as he looks around. Hrmph! "It might be safe enough to sleep here, but I worry what may lurk in these walls that might emerge when the sun has faded. The bandits that we slew spoke of strange noises coming from the darkness, and while they may just be superstitious cowards, it might be a real danger. But let us rest here and make that determination for ourselves. And not to worry, I do have a bottle of wine." It's hard to see through the beard, but the wizard might be smirking.

Aug 28, 2021 4:08 am

"Thank Cuthbert for that!"

Mal laughs and raises her hammer in salute to the wizard for bringing the only provision that truly mattered in camp.

"As for the noises in the night, that's what I'm counting on. Might just give us a better notion of what we're dealing with."

KCC

Aug 28, 2021 4:59 am

"The thing that really dealt with those bandits… was me! And I don’t suspect that I’ll be chasing you lot through the halls tonight. Unless the wizard drinks that wine and tells us more about that old book of his, of course!"

Bors

nezzeraj

Aug 28, 2021 11:47 am

Bors shrugs. "Town it is. Maybe I can soak my feet in some nice hot water, then."

Aug 28, 2021 9:59 pm

The party moves upstairs to the room the bandits used as a shelter, once the former quarters of the lord of the castle. The room seems largely unchanged since last time the party entered it, floored in black flag-stones and ebon-colored wall hangings, now burnt and tattered, in addition to the jumbled wreckage of the room. The brigands bedrolls remain pitched in odd corners, and the remains of a fire can be noted in the northern fireplace. In the southeast corner a hole in the moathouse's stonework leads to the outside, though only a halfling or a dwarf could easily pass through this room. The corpses of some of the first slain in the attack on the previous occupants remain lying about the floor, likely stiff now with rigor mortis, and beginning to decompose.

It doesn't take much effort to find some debris large enough to barricade the door with, and even possibly close the hole leading to the moat outside and by around 2pm the party feels relatively safe and secure. Despite it being only late afternoon everyone is exhausted from overall tension and a late morning of battling slimes and undead attackers, and everyone drifts off to sleep, though Eltrezar first uses an hour of time to read his spellbook and memorize his Magic Missile spell.

As you each begin to stir finally, night has fallen on the ruins. From outside you hear the "cheep-cheeping" of crickets, and the various squawks and croaks of frogs desperate to announce their willingness to meet a mate. The room is chilly with the fall air outside creeping through the stonework, and a glance at the moon and stars through the arrow slots in the wall indicates that it's around 11pm at night, dark outside, yet irrelevant in the pitch darkness of the basement below. Luckily the rest was quiet and uneventful as you all realize you drifted off to sleep without posting watches to take shifts.

OOC:

At this point, I think Eltrezar now has his Magic Missile spell re-memorized. Everyone is at full Hit Points with the exception of Bors ( 7 of 8 HP) and the Man-at-Arms who seems to be a bit beat up. It's currently 11pm. If you'd like, you can continue with your exploration of the ruins downstairs as is. Or, if wish to make this a full 24-hour rest you can laze about this room until tomorrow afternoon and both Bors and the Man-at-Arms will get 1d3 Hit Points back before you set out again. I'll leave it up to you all to decide.

Rolls

Wandering Monster roll Moathouse Ruins - (1d6)

KCC

Aug 30, 2021 4:55 am

"Must have been some very soft bandits, to get so worked up over a bit of chirping."

Eltrezar the Medium

cowleyc

Aug 30, 2021 2:50 pm

"It would seem they were as skittish as I had thought. Perhaps you are right, my diminutive friend. Let us take one last swig of liquid courage, as it would seem my bottle has nearly run dry, and delve back into the depths. I am truly curious what hides beyond that barred portal." Eltrezar holds out the nearly empty bottle of wine to his companions as he methodically chews on the remains of a trail ration.

Aug 30, 2021 3:40 pm

It's around 11pm of Day 5, and the wizard has spoken, opting not to sit around in a corpse infested room for longer than necessary. The party makes their way downstairs, back to the garbage-filled storage room with the heavily barred door. Eltrezar and Gilly carry light sources for the party, I presume, excepting Mal of course, and all is as it seemed when you left this area earlier this afternoon.

Aug 30, 2021 6:54 pm

"I wonder if they weren't trying to keep something in rather than out..."

Mal kicks at the door a couple times and then presses her head up against the wood to hear what might begin stirring within...

Rolls

Listen - (1d6)

(4) = 4

Aug 30, 2021 6:55 pm

Demagor Inactive for 3 months

The dwarf waves the others over and motions for them to do the same.

"Can't hear through this helmet, anyone else hear better than I?"

Norris DeWitt

Aug 30, 2021 7:04 pm

"You know..." starts Norris, as he observes Mal pressing her ear to the door. "A friend of mine, who was in the business of home appraisal... once told me how some clever owners used special doors with worms and mites ingrained in the wood. If you press your ear up against the door for a good listen, the worms and mites crawl into your ear."

"They have an insatiable appetite; all they do is eat and lay eggs. So... well... you can imagine the rest" he adds, securing everything snugly onto his pack and making certain all the buckles are buckled and the straps are strapped, ensuring nothing is swaying or clinking. With a jolly little hum, he joins with the others in their curious exploration of the room.

Aug 30, 2021 8:04 pm