Chapter 2.1a: Golden Grain Inn (Orlane at night)

load previous
Feb 14, 2025 8:12 pm
Myrtha would also like to take any papers and any valuables from Bertram’s room before locking up in the secret room. They’d tried the trapdoor from below, so she wants to make sure that in an emergency they can exit from the cellar through Bertram’s room.

She would want to have Lhari and/or Hamiff identify the tortured corpse, as well.

She will help with moving the bodies into the tunnel, if needed. Though I’m afraid that might attract vermin and or larger predators that might prowl through the yet unexplored tunnels. After that, she’ll try to clean up Reptile’s body somewhat, and go through his belongings to determine what they should take and what should be left behind.
Last edited February 14, 2025 8:14 pm
Feb 15, 2025 7:18 pm
OOC:
OK, before anything else:
@CancerMan, decrement one use of the healer's kit (only if you restored it from earlier when you tried to use it too soon, though).
@mathias0077 - please FINALLY roll your hit die as Chase recovers it at the end of the long rest and then takes a short rest to use it!!! You wake up and immediately eat one ration, ravenously hungry.
In the process of moving to the secret room, Myrtha retrieves the lantern and uses another flask of oil to relight it as it goes out over the course of the rest of the night. That way, she can see as she performs the rest of the tasks.

During the last hours of darkness, Theran rummages through the kitchen, finding three buckets and filling them from a water barrel in the kitchen (there's probably someone that Bertram hired to refill the bucket from a well or the stream as needed). Theran feeds himself and Lhari and offers water; Lhari sips eagerly at the cup. Hamiff is out cold.

There is no latch on the trapdoor; like with the secret door to the west, it seems that the main defense was being concealed. The only door with any kind of other protection in the hidden meeting room is the barred door leading south into the tunnels.

Aanbo and Myrtha open that door as they use the last hours of darkness taking turns guarding the prisoners and retrieving bodies from all over the Inn to carry them down the flight(s) of stairs and through that door into the cold, foul-smelling tunnel. It's hard work for one person to carry a dead weight such a long distance (especially for Myrtha, who has to keep setting the body down, moving the lantern into the next room, and then going back to move the body), but they take plenty of rests, as they have so much time. They stack the bodies by the door. Myrtha tries to get Lhari (Hamiff, like Chase, is out for hours) to identify the mutilated body, but he shrugs. "That's not anyone I knew. I don't think they're from around here." Myrtha puts the poor unidentified man's body into the tunnel pile and shuts the door again, replacing the bar.

Aanbo retrieves the finely-forged weapons taken from the constable and his henchmen (three longswords, two crossbows) and stows them behind barrels in the storage cellar. To remove further evidence, he does the same with all the weapons that Lhari and his companions (the murdered thugs) were carrying and the ones they didn't use that were still in their room: four short swords, four light crossbows, four clubs.

Having handled so many of the corpses, Myrtha is a little numb by the time she searches Reptile's stiffening body. In death, Reptile had dropped his trademark battleaxe, but on his person, he still had a few other belongings: four javelins, two handaxes, an explorer's pack, a battle horn, a badge, and a money pouch (containing 22 seals, 10 cubs, and 5 eagles).

After the others have finished moving the bodies and stashing the weapons, Theran does his best to barricade the doors and settles down to take his long rest right around sunrise.
OOC:
@MaJunior - take the benefit of your long rest. Decrement one ration. You regain one hit die (if you had spent any), your uses of Wild Shape, and your spell slots. You can also change which spells you have prepared.
As everyone settles down after their labors, Myrtha hurries up the ladder and through the trap door (the effort to shove back the rug would have been too much for any of the other characters, but she manages to do it with a hefty grunt), gathers papers from Bertram's desk, and looks around the room before looting the chest. She can see in the early morning light shining through the shattered back door, so she doesn't need to be carrying the lantern or a torch in this room.
@matmaisan - please roll an INT (Investigation) or WIS (Perception) check.
OOC:
Note that I'm playing a little loose with the order these things happened. I'm saying that Myrtha and Aanbo moved the bodies first, while they're still pliable and less awkward to carry than after rigor mortis sets in. I'm having Chase revive now, rather than after everything else is resolved, because the player has really waited a long time to get back in the game. Similarly, I'm having Theran perform his long rest in parallel with Myrtha's exploration of Bertram's room rather than waiting until afterward, so that he can get his spells/wild shapes back.

On that note, however: Chase has to take a short rest after the long rest to actually spend that hit die. But if anyone else has a hit die and wants to use it BEFORE taking a long rest, declare it, get someone with a healer's kit to use it on your PC, and then roll the hit die. You'll get at least one hit die back again after the long rest.
Feb 15, 2025 8:42 pm
Myrtha attempted to be thorough in her search of Bertram’s belongings.
OOC:
Is Myrtha getting a long rest despite the hauling all these bodies? In any case she is only 1hp down, thanks to Theran’s earlier healing, and still hasn’t used second wind. In case she isn’t getting a long rest due to the strenuous activity, I won’t be spending HD to recover the one hp missing.
Last edited February 15, 2025 8:47 pm

Rolls

Myrtha - Investigation - (1d20+1)

(19) + 1 = 20

Feb 15, 2025 9:09 pm
Chase opens his eyes and quite understand where he is. The last thing he remembers is jumping over Myrtha as she went down to protect her then striking a blow then feeling a sharp pain. Now he has no idea where he is at. He sees the others in the dim light."What happened? I need some water."
OOC:
Woo Hoo glad to be back!! Do I get the +1 for con?
Last edited February 15, 2025 9:19 pm

Rolls

hit die - (1d10)

(7) = 7

Feb 15, 2025 9:49 pm
Aanbo fetches a cupful of water from one of the buckets. "Here you go," he says, handing the cup to Chase. "Easy, just sip, you've had a rough time of it." The monk explains the situation and the plan going forward.
Feb 15, 2025 9:53 pm
Chase will sip the water "Thank you Aanbo, glad the four of us are still together. I might need a bit more time but will be ready to travel when it is time. Even if I have to use my spear as a walking stick for support. We did keep the spear right?"
Feb 15, 2025 11:19 pm
mathias0077 says:
Do I get the +1 for con?
OOC:
Yes. When you spend hit dice to regain HP with a short rest in 5e, you add your character's CON mod to each hit die you roll.
Feb 15, 2025 11:21 pm
mathias0077 says:
"We did keep the spear right?"
OOC:
Darn it; I meant to include that in my post about Aanbo stashing the weapons.

Is someone carrying Donovan's spear now, or did it get stashed with the other confiscated weapons in the storage cellar?
Feb 15, 2025 11:37 pm
OOC:
@matmaisan - if you want Myrtha to take a long rest after this, you can. There's a lot of resting going on, and it would probably be helpful for everyone to have their hit dice in case there's another encounter. She's not resting while moving the bodies, but that's true of everyone. I'm playing a little loose with the timing, like I said. I figure everyone will be finishing up at around the same time that Chase completes the long rest and short rest to recover (although technically Theran would be able to finish hours before the others due to Trance).
Upstairs, in the early morning light, Myrtha does a quick and efficient search of the room. Her suspicions are rewarded when she finds a little niche carved into the underside of the bedframe. Tentatively feeling around in that niche, she feels something metallic: a key! Comparing the key to the huge chest, Myrtha is pretty convinced that they go together...so much so that she uses the key on the chest even though it's not locked. She holds her breath, half expecting there to be a trap. Morning birdsong can be heard in the distance as the world comes alive with the sunrise. There is a loud CLICK that seems loud in the early morning air, and Myrtha swings the heavy lid of the massive chest up and open. The chest is full with three folded aprons, two full sets of Bertram's clothing, and laid across the top of this, a longsword in a scabbard.
Feb 16, 2025 12:39 am
OOC:
I thought Myrtha had the spear at one point after I went down.
Feb 16, 2025 10:15 am
OOC:
Indeed she picked the spear up once combat was over, but I didn’t mention it again.
Feb 16, 2025 10:21 am
Myrtha examined Bertram’s belongings carefully. She takes the sword and its scabbard, and attaches them to her belt. The aprons and clothes must be of some value, if they are kept here, she thought. So she takes the aprons and clothes, wondering whether they might hide something else below. It stands to reason that Bertram must have some coin somewhere, and the probably trapped chest wasn’t just a glorified closet.
Feb 18, 2025 2:30 am
"Glad to see you pulled through. I was out of magic, and I did what I could to staunch the bleeding but I was worried if it would be enough." Theran makes sure Chase has food available. After Aanbo speaks, the wood elf adds, "Make no mistake, we've all had a rough time of it."
OOC:
Was there food in the kitchen we could eat so as not to use our own rations? My intent had been to use their resources.
Last edited February 18, 2025 2:37 am
Feb 18, 2025 8:44 am
Chase will look at Theran"I owe my life then and it is debt I intend to pay. That goes for the rest of you also. Thank you."
Feb 18, 2025 3:52 pm
"Don't worry about it," says Aanbo. "We've a long road ahead of us and dangers to avoid. Rest while you can, before we head out."
Feb 18, 2025 4:07 pm
Theran nods at Aanbo's words. "I don't know what's going on here, but if the past two days are any indication we will all need each other in the near future. Let's not keep track, eh? Now rest up some more. We're going to have to move out soon."
OOC:
Post long rest, does Hamiff wake up?
Feb 19, 2025 5:38 am
matmaisan says:
Indeed she picked the spear up once combat was over, but I didn’t mention it again.
OOC:
My question was whether someone was still holding on to it, since Aanbo was stashing all the "confiscated weapons" and that description includes the spear. I'm inferring from your answer that you intend to hold onto it, rather than hiding it with the other weapons.
Feb 19, 2025 5:52 am
MaJunior says:
Was there food in the kitchen we could eat so as not to use our own rations? My intent had been to use their resources.
OOC:
Mostly the Inn prepares and serves fresh food, as this establishment doesn't have a frost box to preserve food. But rummaging in the kitchen, Theran did manage to find some dried fruit - raisins and currants - that the cook adds to flavor when baking. There is also a covered pot that is soaking beans overnight, which he could cook if he wanted to start a fire in the kitchen. There are dried beans, raw root vegetables, and several varieties of flour in the Storage Cellar off of the basement; everything else must be brought in fresh (from a baker, butcher, etc) and/or prepared each day (like stews from beans). To that end, the cook will probably arrive any minute now, since the sun is already up.

But for your purposes, you can say that you ate all the dried fruit and raw vegetables so that you didn't have to dip into your own supplies. It's a poor meal that's light on fat and protein, but it is just enough.
Feb 19, 2025 5:55 am
After taking Bertram's sword and removing his clothes from the container, Myrtha inspects the interior of the chest. She doesn't see it right away, and so it takes her longer than it should have to find the catch that she strongly suspects is there. Eventually, however, she gets exasperated and just uses a handaxe to chop through the bottom of the chest. Underneath is a hidden compartment, containing more than a thousand assorted coins! Myrtha considers how she is going to transport the coins from the broken chest (which cannot fit through the trap door) down into the secret meeting room with everyone else. All told, the collected coins weigh in excess of thirty pounds.

---------------------

As the hours pass and Chase wakes, so too does Hamiff, though at first he pretends to still be asleep. Theran realizes his subterfuge and nudges him with a foot. With a groan, the battered man rolls over (as best he can with how he's been bound). He puts on a braver show than Lhari did, saying "Killing us won't help you escape Her judgment! She overcomes all in the end!"

Rolls

INT (Investigation) DC8 - (1d20+1)

(3) + 1 = 4

Feb 19, 2025 4:27 pm
Theran turns to Lhari, rolling his eyes at Hamiff's bluster. "You see?"

As much as it pains him to do it, Theran will feed Hamiff and give him water to drink. Having at least one empty bucket he will also ask if either captive needs to relieve themselves.
load next

You do not have permission to post in this thread.