Cain looks over the empty (or so Karl claimed) graves, and in case there are any names on them notes them down for later. Maybe some of them had relatives or friends they could ask some questions to? For now, he joins in on the general snooping, even casting a detection spell in case there is any magic around.

Detect Magic.
22:36, Today: Cain rolled 27 using 1d20+11.  Perception.

Galus and Constantine poked around the grave site a bit, but Cain was able to perform a much more exhaustive examination. There were no earthen mounds that would indicated something buried there, and the sod did not look as if it had been disturbed except to plant the markers.

There were six small stone markers, a larger flat marker carved from a rough block, and a granite obelisk. The smaller stone markers bore the names Emmeline Papescu, Soo Mihai, Branden Marin, Maye Hearthhill, Ilia Rusu, and Pyotor Stanciu.

The larger marker, set somewhat apart from the others, was artistically rough cut and smoothed on the front. Its inscription read "In memory of the patients of Sanctuary" in an ornate script.

The chest high obelisk was inscribed "Stanislaus Brada, Healer and Mender, He sought in mercy for the light, 4644-4711."

The ruins themselves were particularly difficult to navigate, only a few months old and still not in their final phase of collapse. Leaning timbers and charred beams were in constant danger of collapse. The foundations remained solid enough, but moving through the wreckage was hazzardous.

---

You can move through the ruins with a DC 10 Acrobatics check as you search. Failure has a chance to cause a collapse, failure by 5 or more automatically causes a collapse.

“Does it look like we can skirt the edge of the remnants and maybe find easier entry?”

Just in case
Sir Constantine Godalming rolled 18 using 1d20.  Acrobatics
This message was last edited by the player at 18:41, Wed 29 July 2020.

"Workers?" The goblin takes off his hat for a moment as he goes to each one. He then puts it back on "Nothing else? Mark for the other patients? Sad. Yes sad...." He glances at the others, and pets the gecko before stopping in his tracks. He tries to dart and go over some beams and debree as he tries to find the basement area.

Worse luck.
15:50, Today: Galus Gluak rolled 10 using 1d20+8.  Perception.

15:48, Today: Galus Gluak rolled 10 using 1d20+7.  Acrobatics.

"Let me try something.  We can ask, perhaps, of creatures who would find wreckage a welcome home," Shade says, and brings out some bread from her bag, purchased this morning along with some meat for Nook's breakfast.  She hadn't finished it all, figuring that this investigation would take all day again.  "Hold back a bit, I'm going to try to talk to some rats."

Shade will scatter some chunks of bread at the periphery of the ruins and then step back a bit, waiting for some kind of opportunistic scavenger to come out to get food.  She tried to put it far enough underneath so that birds wouldn't see it, as she figured she needed to talk to whatever beasts were inhabiting the ruins.  Whatever poked their noses out, Shade would then use the mental twist that let her talk to creatures, and approach cautiously, holding more bread and saying, "I have more food if you'll talk to me." Or, given the intelligence of rats and their ill, likely a very simple version of that.

OOC: Using feral speech.

Cain waits for Shade to try talking to rats before he enters the ruins himself, easily navigating the burned ruins.

07:01, Today: Cain rolled 19,21 using 1d20+11,1d20+11.  Acrobatics, Perception.

“Take caution Caine, I can not get to you quickly through the unstable structure.”

"I'm Galus! Gleeman! Call me a rat, no no...." Galus starts to get upset but realizing she was talking about the actual rats, he winces and slowly goes over to Shade, pulling her cloak "Sorry sorry. I can make it up?" He pulls out his violin for a moment, putting it under his chin.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:24, Thu 30 July 2020.

While Constantine and Galus managed to poke through the wreckage without causing anything catastrophic to happen, Cain moved nimbly about stepping sure footedly on solid looking posts or bits of exposed stone. He did a brief sweep of the section closest to the grave markers and then moved to the other side of the ruins.

He didn't find any overt clues, but a misstep on a charred plank made it crack and shift beneath him. He reacted in time to leak back to safety and the broken board fell away to reveal a dark space beneath the ruins. From the light above he could see that it was only about ten feet deep. The bottom was even, worked stone.

At the periphery of the wreckage Shade waited patiently, trying to tempt one of the inevitable scavengers who inhabit spaces like this. She waited for long minutes before Nook rolled his eyes and flicked his tail. He prowled off, moving his predatory scent away towards the river.

Some minutes later Shade caught slight movement in the ashes and a white and brown wood marten darted out to snatch up the morsel that she had left. It was dashing back to safety when she spoke. The little creature cocked its head, tufted ears swiveling, its head darting back and forth. It took a hesitant step forward.

"Got food? Give food. Share." It squeaked.

“Is everyone alright? Wave or say your ok...”

"Got food. Will share. Want to know this place. Deal? Tell first, then food." Shade says.  If the rat is amenable, Shade will ask, "What like below? Anything alive down there? Anything wrong?"

"Now?" The goblin seems intent on playing the violin. He glances at Shade, a glint in his eyes.

Shade nods at Galus, "Something calm, if you please, Galus." Certainly some pleasant music might help negotiations, and Galus was nonthreatening, as long as he kept his gecko at a short distance away.  For certainly a gecko of that size would find a rat to be a tasty snack!  Likely Nook was off snoozing in the gecko's saddle or other such mischief. Such a difficult life for a cat...

The goblin starts to play but because of where he is-he definatly doesn't dance or sing, flowing with the melody at his fingertips.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdkWFPrrZVQ

01:35, Today: Galus Gluak rolled 24 using 1d20+10 ((14))

"Huh. Guess we found that laboratory Karl was talking about." Cain reports to the party before sending glowing lights down below, and trying to move some debris to get a better view at what's under him.

Dancing Lights. Is this just one room, or a part of something bigger?

“Hopefully Shades rat, is not eaten by her cat, can tell us if anything dangerous is about or headed our way, before we try the basement”

Today: Sir Constantine Godalming rolled 10 using 1d20+3 ((7)).


“Any one else see smell or hear anything ominous?”
This message was last edited by the player at 12:04, Fri 31 July 2020.

The wood marten approached cautiously, shying back whenever anyone but Shade got near, and snatched the little morsel from her fingers. Its pink nose jittered over the treat and its whiskers trembled delightedly.

"Good den-place. Lots of little spaces. Lots of little tunnels. Big hunters stay away. Little hunters, little eaters wander in. Easy to catch."

It nattered on in the way of animals, a conversation more rooted in instinct and impression than concrete information. She probed gently and phrased her questions in a way that the little creature would understand. What she gathered after a brief conversation was that the marten and his litter lived in a burrow in the ruins, which were home to field mice and a raft of otters that hunted in the nearby river. While it did speak of predators and prey Shade got the impression that it was more concerned with wolves and foxes than the paranormal. It didn't mention anything that it considered dangerous or unnatural living in the ruins.

Cain worked gingerly to clear out the collapsed patch of rubble, which turned out to have been charred floorboards. His mobile light was easily able to illuminate the small chamber below. It was sturdily constructed and would have been a high ceilinged basement while the Sanctuary was still standing. Timbers had collapsed in many places and the stairwell was impossible to traverse, with wrecked mounds of equipment and slanting desks scattered over the floor. From  his high vantage point he was able to get a good look into the room itself, and while the rubble could have hidden anything he didn't see any immediate threats. It appeared empty.

---

“Good work we knew the basement existed, so now just to get to it.”

SCG begins the plodding progress of an old grey mule
Taking 10 on acrobatics
To make his way through the rubble

"Be friends? Ride? Me good!" Galus tries to make 'friends' with the rat and then seeing the paladin climb down, he grins. The goblin glances at Shade, salutes and tries to get to his gecko before climbing up on it and scampering down the hole after Sir gets down.


06:34, Today: Galus Gluak rolled 21 using 1d20+8.  Perception.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:35, Sun 02 Aug 2020.

Cain takes his rope and ties it to the strongest looking piece of debris he can find before throwing the other end down the hole. They will need some way to get out after all. Finally he protects himself with a spell, in case not everything down there is as it seems. "This looks to be the only place we might find some answers. Maybe. If the whole thing doesn't just collapse on us."

Mage Armor up.

SCG opens his continual flame holy symbol and walks the edge of the hole to check the room before they go down.

“Right you are about the rope lad we will need a way back out.  The rope of climbing may be needed below should we need to go lower or up in a place above.”

Looking before leaping.....we literally have no idea how big the “basement” is
This message was last edited by the player at 12:04, Sat 01 Aug 2020.

Shade crumbles a bit more bread for the rat.  "Good hunting, good hiding to you and your kin," she says in thanks.  Turning to the others, she says, "Well, the good thing is there seems to be no monsters or spirits within the basement, so that in a vast improvement on yesterday.  At least our foes only seem to be the building, time, and our own powers of observation."

She'll move to where Sir Constantine is sorting out the rope, knowing she'll need a hand or three to get down without breaking an ankle...

Constantine led the way into the underground laboratory. The fire had spread through the chamber just as it had the sanitarium above and, although the roof had fortunately held firm, little survived of what seemed to be the remains of a medical theater.

One side of the room was devoted to the charred remains of a large oak desk and crumbling mounds that might once have been shelves. The walls were lined with large glass vats, some large enough to fit a man. These had all been shattered by the heat, their contents burned or boiled away. The center of the chamber held several broad flat tables like workbenches. Around these were smaller cabinets, burnt to ruin now, that may have held tools or medical implements.

It was clear to see that the room had once been both a medical laboratory and a research library, although nothing so fragile as a book had survived the fire.

After a brief examination of the basement chamber for enemies our heroes got down to the task of sifting through the ashes looking for clues. The search was frustratingly unenlightening. They spent a great deal of time sifting through the charred remains of the desk looking for papers or notes, trying to glean information from the melted medical implements, or reassembling the furniture to get some clue to the doctor's activities.

The afternoon seemed to drag on until by chance Shade, who was examining the desk, leaned a bit too hard on one of the fragile charred panels. This broke open to reveal a small hollow compartment shielded from the worst of the fire by the solid oak. Inside was an iron lockbox that seemed mostly intact. This she drew out and set on the most solid seeming part of the desk's surface. It was locked and the key was nowhere to be found, the construction sturdy and the hinges still intact.

---

I rolled Perception checks on your behalf and totally whiffed them. I rolled two nat 1s. I re-rolled and got a good result, but the search takes you two hours.

"Lemme try." The goblin fiddles around in his pack on the gecko, grabbing his tools and goes over to the box. He tries to get it open, tilting his head. Galus tries to work his magic but probably fails.

15:13, Today: Galus Gluak rolled 12 using 1d20+9.  Disable Device.

15:56, Today: Galus Gluak rolled 14 using 1d20+8.  Looking for traps?
This message was last edited by the player at 19:57, Mon 03 Aug 2020.

“Alrighty, be careful we have located perhaps the only clue we are going to get.”
This message was last edited by the player at 19:52, Mon 03 Aug 2020.