Mayon sighed a bit at the failed attempt, stepping up to try and blast the rat one more time, but failed yet again. He smiled sheepishly. "I suppose my patron doesn't care much for fighting rats as opposed to madmen."

Trying to shoot  R4 again, missing horribly as I do. Dice roller, why, I thought we were friends now.
08:36, Today: Mayon Graycross rolled 9,9 using d20+5,d10+3 with rolls of 4,6.  Agonizing blast R4.

Dwee finishes off the remaining conscious rat.

The nearby dead bodies catch Dwee's eye. All of them appear to be in similar states of decay. The rats have made quite a hearty meal out of them, as much of their exposed skin shows signs of gnawing bites. She also notices that each of the three have a familiar looking symbol cut deeply enough in their foreheads to mark the skull - the mark the Bringers of Woe bore on their armor.

Morg moves to investigate the crevices in the walls. Though there are no secret doors, there are many large cracks littered with detritus of rodents and potentially other small animals.

---

Out of initiative! Though there are still 2 sleeping rats in the room.

I reposted the zoomed-out map.

125 XP for the rats - 31.25 XP each.


This message was last edited by the GM at 13:20, Sat 05 Aug 2017.

"So, we've found the moving stones, and the "delvers" were probably those skeletons on the slabs." Morg says. "Do we now go tell Harburk about this place, and that Mellikho, and possibly Braelen's dad,
Buckler, Waelvul, and, I can't remember the other name, are all mixed up with this Bringing of Woe thing? Oh, and the now dead pickle making half-orc."

Dweeble hurries to the rat she'd killed with her tossed dagger.  Retrieving the weapon and sheathing it again at her belt, she knelt down and examined her kill.  The mangy, flea-bitten hide was hardly suitable for a robe but an intact tail could mean all sorts of things she could do!  Using Reszur, she quickly cut the tail off at the base and moved to the second dead rat and did the same to that tail.  She pocketed the trophies and moved back to her personal kill.  Pulling some of the rope off of her pack, she cut a large enough piece to quickly lash the corpse to her backpack and shoulders while ignoring the blood seeping down from the corpse.  Satisfied once the corpse was fastened to her, she stood up straight with some work and looked at the others.  "What?  You didn't think Dweeble was lying, didya?  Let's hurry back to town before dinner gets spoiled!"

The group quickly leaves the sleeping rats behind before they can wake and retraces their steps. The darkness of the cave retreats in front of Bram's glowing orb. Though they had been underground for several hours, dawn was probably at least another hour away.

No movement or noise breaks the stillness of the wee hours until the party reaches the roughly piled stones just inside the cave entrance. "Who's there?" a muffled voice calls out ahead from the quarry outside. The flickering light of a torch becomes visible.
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:19, Tue 08 Aug 2017.

Quickly pulling Reszur from her belt, Dweeble falls into a readied combat stance as a nearby pile of stones calls out to them.  "Oye, that's none of your business!  And even if it is...  Well Dweeble ain't much of a fan of rocks anymore.  So she ain't saying nothing to a bunch of stones!"

Dweeble quickly jumps behind Morg, ducking down a bit further than usual to make sure the bulk of the rat corpse tied to her back can be hidden behind the dwarf.  Quietly, she whispers to the others, "Morgy, you should go check the rocks.  Make sure it's not a talking rat who wants vengeance for his dirty cousin or some such!"

Morg smiles at Dwee's request and takes out a javelin, but waits for the nice-talking folk to reply.

---

Action: ready attack in case things turn fighty.

Asano gestures for peace, hands parallel to the mine floor. "Merely a group of weary adventurers recently attacked within the dwarven ruins below," he replies to the hidden  speaker. "We are not looking for any further complications, but we will defend ourselves if necessary. We would like to speak with the constable." His tone is firm, the cultured tone of someone used to having his voice heard and heeded. His body language echoes his tone, he looks, for all the world, as though he belongs exactly where he stands.


OOC:
Persuasion- 11
And wasted my inspiration, too. Sigh...

Jak kept silent. He had hoped that there wouldn't be anyone outside to greet them, but he half-expected there might be. He let the others talk as they were in front of him and spoke up first. He pulled himself behind the group, wary.

"I knew they'd try it again!" the haughty voice of Albaeri Mellikho barks from the quarry. "Those meddlesome adventurers have been skulking around my quarry in the dead of night! It was good you roused one of the constable's trusties, Elak."

"We will certainly call for the constable, trespassers," the other voice calls out smugly. "I've sent his man for him already. We were waiting here for you, with his man, you see. Now come out so we can have a look at you. You'll be banned from Red Larch for sure after this."

Mayon stiffened a bit at that, but smiled to himself and stepped forward, holding his hands up so they could see he wasn't holding a weapon. Not that it made a difference in his case.

"Oh yes, by all means, we'd be happy to tell the constable. I'm sure he'd be delighted to know." He kept his eyes on Mellikho as he spoke, all with that calm smile on his face.

Morg whispers at his friends "We should probably wait in here for the constable, in case they have an ambush ready outside, and not let on that we talked to Harburk."

---

Action: ready attack in case things turn fighty.

"Or not..." Morg says as he follows Mayon out.

---

Action: ready attack, but try not to look hostile while doing it.

As Mayon and Morg emerge from the tunnel, Mellikho grins wolfishly at them, a mixture of fury and triumph in her features. A collection of other men and women stands behind her, some holding torches. Among them, several of the stonecutters give Morg and Mayon wry, almost apologetic looks. A couple of Harburk's butchers stand impassively to the side, rubbing their eyes blearily.

A plain faced but well-dressed man stands near Mellikho, and regards his prisoners archly. "Come on out, the rest of you," he says, raising his voice to the rock-clogged passageway. "There's no use dragging this out."

"You'll all be under very heavy guard as you're marched by these men back to the Constable's house, so don't try anything," he continues to Mayon and Morg. "After that I'm sure you'll all be marched out of town for your crimes, at the least, maybe after paying a fine, maybe something much worse. I heard from someone in town that you're guilty of other things, terrible things, but I might keep my mouth shut if you leave town quietly."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:40, Wed 09 Aug 2017.

"We'll wait here for Harburk to come inspect the rooms - we've uncovered evidence of the stone mask wearers who intimidated the stonecutters, and we've found skeletons possibly used in necromancy." Morg says, now trying to look like someone you don't want to mess with, not hiding the drying blood from the fights inside.

---

Action: ready attack, and try to look like heads are gonna get knocked in if anyone comes at the party.

01:48, Today: Morg Danforge rolled 19 using 1d20+2 with rolls of 17.  Intimidate those outside the cave who want to march us away.

Jak stepped out and walked forward. He then gave a low, flourish of a bow. "Ah, our dear adoring public awaits us once more!" He grinned widely as he straightened back up. "Oh? You think so?" He gave a bit of a chuckle, which increased a bit more, then became a laugh. After a moment he subsided. "I think you may be in a rude shock I'm afraid. If you've summoned the constable, we are happy to wait here until he arrives."

Dweeble mumbled something nonsensical to herself as she reached back to the rope that had secured the rat corpse to her backpack and shoulders.  She undid the strands and set the trophy kill on the ground near to Bramwell.  She motioned for him to lean down enough for her to quickly whisper to him and say, "Make sure not to leave dinner behind, okay?"  Pointing to the rat corpse one last time, she crouched down even lower and began to slide forward towards the cave mouth.

She stuck to the walls and any loose terrain and stones as she lurked behind Jak before cutting away to move away from the cave mouth.  She did her best to give the group waiting for them a wide berth as she sneaked by.  She'd do her best to get behind them before looking around for their numbers and positions.  Dweeble wasn't quite sure what she was supposed to do but she knew she had to try something.  The constable meant jail, possibly, and a jail was just a big, elaborate cage.  That alone was enough of a motivation for Dweeble.

---

OOC:  Dweeble is going to try and sneak around behind the group.  She mostly wants to see who is leading or if there are any major people of interest who are clear enough for her to get to without having to pick through other people.

20:12, Today: Dweeble rolled 26 using 1d20+9 with rolls of 17.  Stealth.

At least one of the stonecutters looks visibly relieved at news that the stone masks have been found, but several members of the group take a step backwards at Morg's open hostility. Mellikho blanches and looks worriedly at Dornen.

Dornen however smiles thinly and speaks in low tones. "We most certainly will not be waiting here for the constable to arrive. The prisoners", Elak injects the word with derision, "will be marched to Harburk's house and presented to him for judgement." He nods to the deputy. "See to it." The deputy, now fully alert, motions the group towards the exit of the quarry.

Nobody appears to notice Dweeble moving at the outskirts of the quarry.
This message was last updated by the player at 14:54, Thu 10 Aug 2017.

"No, we will not be going anywhere until the constable has arrived," Asano asserts loudly. He looks Dornen up and down, eyeing the man critically. "My name is Asano Killbreath, son of Baron Daerik Killbreath. I have been charged by my father to investigate certain occurrences in these lands. These folk With me are my companions and aides in said investigations. If you have allegations to lay at our feet, voice them now for refutation. Otherwise, we shall ALL wait here for the constable's arrival." His face takes on a haughty air as he speaks, his voice hardening with the tone of one who was born to command. He stands fully upright, taking on the carriage of nobility, and he looks around at the mob facing them, daring them to challenge his authority.


OOC:
Insight on Dornen- 12
Persuasion- 24

Also, leaning as heavily on my Position of Privilege as I need to here.

Bramwell squints, frowning as some new fellow smoothly attempts to persuade their group to leave town willingly.  Very suspicious.  As he listens to the exchange, Dweeble drops a turkey leg or something of the sort (it was hard to tell without spectacles) near him and requests that he keep an eye on dinner.  He nods absently, privately wondering where she'd gotten such a large chunk of meat and why its defense was suddenly a priority, but he was becoming accustomed to the halfling's eccentricities and decided not to think on it further for now.

The Glyphscribe nods in response to Asano's well-delivered assertion of authority, impressed by his friend's noble gravitas.  He adds, "With all due respect, sir, you haven't the authority to take us prisoner.  We have acted in the interest of Red Larch's safety, and that will be evidenced in the course of the Constable's lawful investigation."  Bramwell levels a bleary-eyed glare at the man's ear and adds, "You wouldn't be opposed to a proper investigation in the interest of Red Larch's safety, would you, sir?  If you refuse such, one might wonder if you have something to hide."

"Investigation!" Mellikho explodes, her face turning red. "What investigation is needed? You're standing in my quarry, after I explicitly warned the constable you had been trespassing before and were likely to try again!"

"You've been caught red handed!" she ends triumphantly.

"The village council - of which both Albaeri and I are members - don't recognize your authority here," Elak smiles at Asano. Mellikho looks less certain, but nods her head. "But perhaps an investigation is warranted. We can have the constable look into what other dark deeds you've been committing in this quarry."

"By all means, if you wish to remain at the scene of the crime and actively demonstrate the fact of your trespassing, I suppose we can accommodate that." Dornen looks thoughtful. "I doubt Harburk will enjoy getting roused from bed and going to the other end of town to confront criminals who refused to go to his house. I doubt he'll look more kindly upon you all as a result." He looks questioningly at Harburk's trusty, who was waiting a little way up the path out of the quarry. The man tiredly shakes his head.

"But it's up to you. Stay, or go with Harburk's man."

---

This message was last edited by the player at 13:36, Fri 11 Aug 2017.

"Ah, yes, because we've committed SO many terrible deeds since coming to this town." Mayon said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Those bandits were clearly just delivering their stolen goods to orphans! And I'm sure that necromancer was intending to start a traveling circus with all those zombies, certainly not planning to harm innocent people and create more of them."

He tilted his head lightly as he studied Elak with unnerving intensity. "But by all means, please, tell me what terrible rumors have been circling about us. The constable has been happy with our work thus far. I'm sure he'll be more understanding when we mention those masked madmen lurking in your quarry. We were just clearing out an infestation so that your workers could feel at peace."

Not sure if it actually applies, but it felt fun to roll:
08:21, Today: Mayon Graycross rolled 18 using 1d20+5 with rolls of 13.  Intimidation.

Dweeble listened to the others talk, their smooth words explaining the situation and the group's deeds with a edge of grace she herself didn't really see.  Then again if it wasn't shiny, Dweeble didn't have eyes for much at all.  And while the others could talk their way out of a situation, Dweeble had never been all that great at such a feat.  She much preferred to take action, whatever that meant, and do something about her predicaments.

So she slid behind the nearest man she could see behind the majority of the group.  Pulling out some of the metal string she'd used to make Bram's glasses before, she wrapped the wire about whatever secured a weapon to the man's body.  Whether that was a sheath, his belt loop, or anything else, she tied the weapon to it.  It wouldn't hold up for long, she was sure, but it might give the others the hesitation needed to make a move sooner.  Dweeble was nothing if not cautious.

---

OOC:  Just trying to secure weapons so that this man, and any others she'll have time to do, would have a problem drawing them.

09:18, Today: Secret Roll: Dweeble rolled 15 using 1d20+7 with rolls of 8.  Sleight of Hand.

Dornen waves away Mayon's objection, as Dweeble moves apparently unseen amongst the onlookers.

"I've heard all sorts of things about you. Maybe you were working with those bandits and they tried to double-cross you. Nobody actually saw the necromancer, I wonder if he really existed? No doubt there's other things you're responsible for through the cave opening."

He smiles, turning to the waiting deputy. "I guess they're not going to be cooperative, so go ahead and bring Harburk here." The man turns to go.

---

If you'd like to do/say anything else before the deputy leaves, or before Harburk arrives, go ahead and post that; otherwise I can move things along.