"I believe that she lives on the premises, Maester Jakrynn," Asano says, looking toward the house they'd originally approached. "Maybe some of us could secrete ourselves away here, and spy if the mistress of the mines does indeed have a guilty conscience after the others leave?"

"Laboring for hours to excavate a collapsed tunnel on a hunch then being thrown in the Constable's dungeon for trespassing does not sound like a fun evening.  Jak, perhaps you and Asano and anyone else who cares to might keep a discreet watch for suspicious activity at Mellikho's abode or the quarry itself?  In the meantime, it seems most fruitful to me to further consult the miners at the Helm.  If either party discovers anything actionable we report back to one another."  Bram looked preoccupied with thought as he rolled the situation over in his mind.  At some point he absently walks off in the direction of the Helm at Highsun, too focused on his own musings and the task at hand to more nicely part from the discussion.

Heading over to the Helm at Highsun!

"I can keep watch, if necessary. My darkvision is likely a fair bit better than most others, so unless there are other creatures of the Underdark about, I will be able to see better than they."

He goes his head. "And if I am caught, I am but a mere rogue drow. The rest of you shall be spared the consequences."

"I'd rather that none of us face such consequences, Verthel." Mayon says softly, glancing over as Bram walks away, then back to the others.

"I would agree that it's perhaps better to ask around a bit. See if she has any sort of, less than reputable companions seen lurking about. Sneak back once we know a little more."

He pauses a moment. "I also don't think checking out that treasure cave she mentioned is a particularly good idea either, even once this is over. If she's lying about this, she could be lying about that, and I'd rather not run into any cursed gold or a trap or something of the sort."

"Indeed. It may have just been me, but she had a slight undertone of sarcasm. Like... what is the expression that sailor used? 'Go take a long walk off a short pier?'"

He shook his head. "Besides, if the treasure were actually that great and easy to access, it would be long gone by now. So it is a distraction, or a trap. Either way, our focus should stay here."

Bram reaches the Helm just as Stiofan is leaving. As he's looking down, the stonecutter doesn't recognize Bram until he walks up and addresses him.

---

Yes, Mayon had a private room. Also, I've summarized the 'bill' for Day 1, so once we close out the thread I'll ask you all to update your inventories.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:41, Sat 05 Nov 2016.

The tall, bespectacled half-elf returns to the Helm at Highsun looking quite preoccupied.  Finding the stonecutter outside the tavern, he approaches.

"Greetings, Stiofan.  My companions spoke to you earlier about the strange sightings you've had at Mellikho's quarry.  We've just made a brief investigation and found very little, but had questions about the collapsed tunnels.  If I might ask, when and how did those tunnels collapse?  What were the tunnels used for prior to their collapse, and has there been any strange activity at them before or since?"

---

Stiofan answers slowly, glancing about as others exit the tavern. "They haven't collapsed recently," he begins, thinking. "They're just used to store equipment and things to keep them dry from rain. They usually collapse as we dig deeper into the hillsides, but we plan for that and move everything out first. We try to avoid losing stuff in rockfalls."

He looks at Bram finally. "I can't remember any strange activity near any of them. The masked figures are usually on the hills, in the shadows."

"Hmm... interesting." Verthel says, simply, watching the man for any sign of falsehood. There was something unnerving about a Drow turning his attention on you, even if the Drow in question was a priest. Or perhaps, especially because he was a priest. That might have muddied things a bit.

OOC: 18:16, Today: Verthel Go'Van rolled 6 using 1d20+4 ((2)). Insight.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:51, Sat 05 Nov 2016.

Morg clomps south, joining the others talking with Stiofan.

Hungry and tired from the day's travel, he then heads across the road to the Swinging sword.

"Tastes a bit explody." he says, washing down a crumblecake with an ale.

---

"In the shadows..." Mayon murmurs, having been listening quietly after his brief conversation with Verthel. He thinks for a moment.

"Excuse me, sir, have you ever heard the story of, what was it, Tricklerock Cave? I heard it mentioned earlier and I'm curious if it's a common tale or a recent rumor." May as well see just how many lies we've been told tonight.

Stiofan raises his eyebrows. "Mellikho tell you about that, did she? Sure, all the locals know about Tricklerock Cave. I've heard of some who've gone there searching for treasure, but I've never been to it."

Asano watches the others wander back to the inn, blowing out a small sigh. "Well," he says, turning to Jak, "shall we find a decent vantage point? Perhaps we've worried the mistress of the mines enough to motivate her to cover some tracks."


OOC:
If Jak agrees, I guess we're on a stakeout!
Stealth- 5
Perception- 12
Well, it's official, this is going to a short-lived buddy-cop movie if the Dice Roller has anything to say about it.

Jak gave a nod. "Yah. I don't trust that woman, and the quarry workers seem t'think there's somethin' out there, so I wanna find out what. They may not show up t'night since we were pokin' around out there but..." He gave a shrug. "We'll see!"

He headed away from the path to take a more circuitous route to the quarry so they wouldn't immediately be visible to the owner.

10:15, Today: Secret Roll: Jakrynn Redgate rolled 19,15 using d20+4,d20+4.  Stealth and Perception checks.

Mayon nods quietly. "Alright, I was just a bit curious. Thank you." He steps back politely. Alright, so the cave did exist. Didn't mean the treasure itself was legit.

Asano and Jak make their way north on the road through town, duck between two houses, and make their way to the edge of the quarry from the north. The twilight has deepened into night, and the moon combines with the light from the distant houses to provide scant illumination to their surroundings. Asano travels quickly despite kicking several unseen rocks, yet Jak struggles to see much as they move further away from town.

---

Any plans for illumination, like a lantern or anything?

Asano's darkvision grants him 60' vision in the darkness but he takes perception checks at disadvantage. Jak is effectively blinded without a light source.

Are you staying at the lip of the quarry, or are you descending into it?

Jak will be using his hooded lantern and trying his best to keep the light only shining where he needs instead of pinpointing them for anyone to see. He will be finding a place he can see in to the quarry from but also the surrounding hills where the potential bad guys were said to be if possible.

Bram nodded and scrawled a quick note in his journal, which he then closed and stowed.  "Our thanks for the information, Stiofan.  Good evening to you."

Turning to Mayon and Verthel, Bram shrugged and said in a low voice, "Although it's been an intriguing evening's investigation, I'd hoped for more interesting results.  It seems these masked figures may well have been imagined after all.  I think I shall join Morg at the Swinging Sword to await any reports from our comrades, unless you gentlemen have any other ideas?"

"Mostly I don't trust that woman. She was acting so strangely, and the miners themselves seem sincerely spooked by this." Mayon says softly. Perhaps there's some sort of cult or organization that behaves like this?


Okay, kind of going a weird place here, but I felt it was worth a shot:
16:41, Today: Secret Roll: Mayon Graycross rolled 22 using 1d20+2.  Religion check. (WHOO NAT 20)
Basically to see if there's any sort of cults or religious sects for dark gods/demons that could match up to the descriptions we've been given, that Mayon would have knowledge of
Alternatively,
16:42, Today: Secret Roll: Mayon Graycross rolled 20 using 1d20+4.  Arcana check.
Similar reasons, but for any sort of necromancy/dark magic/other masked shadowy non-religious groups/entities he could imagine would involve people behaving in this nature.
Basically he's looking for anything he could use as a reference for these people telling the truth.
Gotta try all our options :P

After perhaps an hour or so, Jak and Asano hear footfalls making their way down into the quarry from the opposite side. While their lanterns are hooded, flashes of light are still occasionally visible. The figures seem to be traveling together, yet they don't appear to be trying to conceal their approach. Small rockfalls and curses in Common announce their arrival as they make their way to the bottom of the quarry.

From a distance, Asano can see one of the figures at least is humanoid in shape, but is wearing some sort of horned mask that looks to be made of stone. Strange horns twirl upward from its sides.

None of the figures seem to notice Asano or Jak. After a time, the movement ceases and the quarry goes quiet again, as the figures stop moving. No more light is visible. Jak and Asano estimate they've seen and heard at least five figures in the darkness.

---

I guess the dice roller doesn't discriminate - I had some pretty horrible rolls! =D
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:29, Tue 08 Nov 2016.

"Hmm, I don't think we thought this through, Jak," Asano whispers. "How do we alert the others? Do you have any ability to send a message over a distance?" His voice is pitched in a lower register, as he tries to stay as quiet as possible.

Jak glanced at Asano with a strange look, perhaps a look of incredulity or overconfidence or both, but it was gone quickly. He grinned widely and spoke in a quiet voice. "Heh. You worry too much." But he didn't appear to be moving forward to go after the masked men. "If you want, you can go back an' gather our friends while I keep watch. Or I can run back while you keep watch. But I'd sure like t'find out who these guys are an' what they're doin'. Yeah?"

OOC: Can we tell where they went in the quarry? Did they go to the collapsed tunnels or somewhere else?

"I doubt dividing our strength further would be wise," Asano sighs, watching in the last known direction of the masked figures. "Lead the way, oh sneaky one. Perhaps our luck will hold."

OOC:
Stealth- 9
Perception- 16
Well, that was mildly better. Sigh...
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:01, Tue 08 Nov 2016.

Jak thought it over for only a moment and fed a bit of food from earlier dinner to the little mouse that crawled out of his shirt.

But then laid a restraining hand on Asano. "No, no, you're right." He shook his head. "You stay here an' keep watch in case they leave. I'll go see about gatherin' up the others I can find as quick as I can."

He took off as quickly but quietly as he could towards the inn.

The quarry remains still as the minutes pass. Asano thinks he hears a cough echoing up from below, but otherwise he sees and hears nothing.

---

The figures were in the quarry itself, not on the sloping banks, when you lost sight of their lights. You don't think they went into the tunnels, but it's hard to tell now that their lanterns have gone dark.

Jak, you'll need another stealth check, at disadvantage this time since you're trying to move quickly in the dark.



This message was last edited by the GM at 19:10, Tue 08 Nov 2016.