Against the Cult: Suspicion in the Starlight 1.8b

Arriving at the small back door of the Golden Grain Inn (just across from the barn), Chase and Aanbo find it locked.

Chase slams his shoulder against the door; it shakes in its frame and the ranger rebounds. The door is crafted to open inward so that the hinges are not visible/accessible. But observing how the door shakes in its frame, Aanbo gestures to Chase and points at a point a few inches above the latch. Chase nods, steps back, and leaps forward, stomping on that part of the door. The ranger's weight and forceful kick combined slam the door into the bar on the other side, which in turn punches into the bracket holding the bar in place. There is a splintering crack, and the door comes to rest a finger or so deeper in the frame than it was. Aanbo nods encouragingly. They both hear voices, muffled by distance and intervening walls, having what seems like a heated conversation inside, but it isn't loud enough for them to make out the identities of the speakers, much less actual speech. Chase hauls back and stomps again, and this kick breaks the bracket on the latch side of the door. The door is ajar about a hand deep; Aanbo reaches into the gap, finds the plank used as a bar by touch, and yanks it out of the remaining brackets. It falls inside the room with a clatter and Chase pushes the door open.

Aanbo steps into the room first, as the room is unlit and the interior is dark. Chase can just make out the dwarf's back in front of him, but the meager starlight does little to illuminate the interior for him.

Aanbo looks around; there are no obvious threats. It's a gaudily-decorated bedroom; there is a door in the south wall across from him. It looks like the sort of decor that a bumpkin might think looks "rich:" there are thick, colorful, mismatched carpets laid across one another on the floor. A four-post bed with intricate scrollwork, velvet bedclothes, and an overstuffed mattress is pushed up against the wall to his right, while a desk carved in a completely different style stands next to it, covered with papers. Various pictures crookedly adorn the walls, each with a different frame and style of artwork. A large brass-bound chest over a yard wide rests against the wall by the southern door. The murmur of heated voices can still be hard, slightly louder, coming through that door.What do you do next?

Now that the door is closed, Chase hears his dwarf companion's voice, but he can't see a thing in the complete darkness.

Chase can hear Aanbo moving away from him in the darkness by the clink of the swords he carries. But his footsteps are muffled, and Chase can feel that there is something soft and pliant under his feet: wool carpets, or perhaps springy green turf.

Being careful of the sharp blades, Aanbo shifts the swords in his grip and tries the door cautiously. It opens easily; the room beyond is much larger, albeit less ornately decorated. It's a parlor or den, with a few chairs arranged around a fireplace (unlit) in the eastern wall on his left. Various containers (sacks, crates, barrels) are stacked along the southeastern wall across from him. A table with chairs stands in the southwestern corner. The noises continue, slightly louder, from Aanbo's right. A short passage leads around the corner there back north to a door; faint light can be seen under its edges.

Chase taps his way through the room - clack! that's a chair...thud! that's a large chest...whack! that's a doorway. Through the doorway is a much larger space; looking around, trying to see anything, Chase sees a glimmer of light showing where the bottom of a door is, and the shadow moving in front of it is probably Aanbo. The sound of conflict is semi-audible from that direction, muffled by the thick door.

Aanbo creeps up to the door and hears an exchange of blows (wood and metal and flesh) that confirms that mortal combat is underway nearby. As he puts his ear to the door, he hears someone saying "Now I'll show you how I treat little girls like you!" followed by a thud and a grunt.

@mathias0077 and @CancerMan - At this point, I'd like you both to roll initiative for Chase and Aanbo.

"This way!" Aanbo says, throwing open the door. Aanbo (and Chase right behind him) have a split second to see the common room backlit by the light of a fire burning low in the southern fireplace and illuminated somewhat ghoulishly by a lantern that was left on the floor by the door to the kitchen.

What they see: Myrtha is furiously exchanging blows with a robed brute wielding a club, while Theran is waving his hands to maneuver a glowing disembodied hand which keeps trying to clutch at the brute. There are two apparently dead bodies on the floor: one is Bertram, lying just a pace away from you, the other is lying on the floor on the other side of the table (but those boots look familiar)...



This will be continued in the "Meet Me at the Bar Fight" thread...