She nodded once, slightly, at Telemachus' whispered words, figuring it was sound advice.    Then glanced to Storm over at the fireplace, seeing if he might find anything unusual or informative.

"Checking the fireplace is a worthy idea. I'll join in looking with you," Westin says. He will walk over to the fireplace and begin examining and careful knock on the stones on the outer and, when he gets a chance, on the inner part of the fireplace. He will also check the areas adjacent to the fireplace for any hollow sounding walls or secret compartments.

Wick gives a nod and moves along to the other door that Dak talks about.  He's a bit surprised at Dak having opened the door without even a quick glance, but then there didn't seem to be anything worth protecting around here.

"See anything?" Wick asks form the corridor.  Dak had done most of the scounting and Wick was certainly willing to do his share, but it wouldn't do to have both of them barge into something.

Downstairs
Dak made his way back towards the kitchen, turning to the short hall, and opened the door to see outside.  The edge of the ruined well could be seen--and this was the way that Silas and Karel had taken, yet they were neither heard nor seen here.

---

Upstairs

The fireplace was cold and dusty--even the ashes were covered in a layer of ordinary dust--revealing no loose stones or other such hollows.  The window sill, on closer examination, had slightly curved scratches, as though something metal with a circular base had been set there rather carelessly.  The chimney did show signs of spiderwebs, however.

"We should go," said Ric, bouncing from foot to foot.  He was wincing less, suggesting that normal feeling might have returned to his extremities.

"Just an old well outside," Dak replied to Wick's query.  "Let's head back to the front room and see if there's anywhere else to look."

He closed the door and headed back to the main room where they'd seen the others up the stairs.  He wanted to make sure they'd looked in every room on this floor.

Telemachus glanced at Ric and then back over to Lenelle quietly adding, "I don't like leaving since his captors may be here hiding and waiting for us to leave but perhaps we should get him back to the church since it isn't that long of a walk from here.  Then return and finish this search up.  If we find his clothing we can return them to him at the church when we are done...something feels off...that or I'm getting way too paranoid." he ended with a self-deprecating smile.

He then glanced towards the room and spoke up so that Ric, Westin and Storm could just as easily hear him, "When you're done looking let's get out of here and get Ric to the church...it's all of a little bit away and he can be in safe hands.  Then we can return and finish looking into this strange home and if we find your clothing Ric we'll make sure to get them to you."

In reply to DM (msg # 50):

"I wonder what could be wrong. The fireplace is cold and dusty--even the ashes were covered in a layer of ordinary dust, and I think it hasnt been used for a long while. The chimmey too, has spiderwebs, indicating little useage. So I assume no one was here. However, the window sill has slightly curved scratches, as though something metal with a circular base had been set there rather carelessly. I wonder if someone used a contraption to climb out or in," Storm informs his friends.

In the meantime, he looks outside the window to look above and below the window for clues.

((Upstairs characters, please roll d20))

---

Downstairs

Returning to the large chamber, the two wings on the first floor could be seen, as well as the stairs leading up to where the others had been seen before.  However, the group was no longer readily visible from the ground floor, although their voices could be heard in the hallway above.

OOC: 10:16, Today: Storm rolled 13 using 1d20.

"This way looks good," Dak said, leading Wick toward the left to explore that wing.  "We'll see what else is on this floor while the others explore upstairs."

OOC:
18:10, Today: Westin na'Belva rolled 17 using 1d20.  DM request.

"I do not think you are paranoid," she whispered reply to Telemachus, "This does feel off."

"Telemachus speaks good sense," she said to Storm and Westin. "Let us deliver friend Ric to Father Niall's church.  And then plan anew what to do here.     Perhaps we should request an investigation by this isle's constabulary, seeing as an innocent traveler was assaulted."   

She wanted Storm and Westin off that damaged floor, now.

Lenelle rolled 19 using 1d20.  The mystery roll....  If we need high, great.   If it was a wisdom roll, even I fail that. 

Telemachus glances in the doorway and towards the window.  Looking to the left and right sides of the room before looking back he murmured, "Storm, get back on this side, perhaps Westin too...don't want too much weight on the floor so I can slip on by..."

--->ooc: if they do I've got a PM to the DM here that they can un-PM.

"That's a good idea," Westin chimes in.

"Ric you may not recall anything now, but if we get you someplace safe like this Father Niall's church, some things might come back to you," Westin says. "The town's not very far away, just an hour or two walk."

"An hour or two?" echoed Ric, sounding rather dismayed by the prospect.  "And me barefoot?  Mebbe could be looking 'round a bit first, see if whoever it be left something close what I could wear."

Downstairs

Moving to the left, which put Dak and Wick in the hall beneath the others, the way was fairly light, as sunlight came through the filthy windows which seemed to have lost their shutters over the years.  There were two doors to the right, one nearly even with the first window of the passage, the other just a little further than the second window.

---

Upstairs

Finding little in the fireplace other than indicators that led to more questions, Storm and Westin found little reason to remain in the room as Ric had made his way into the hallway.

Keeping to the edge of the room where the floor was solid he took a closer look before nodding, "It's a lantern.  If this place has been abandoned as long as it looks like it has someone likely was using this window to signal someone else out there...or something else similarly that would make someone move a lantern back and forth to cause the scratches."

Westin's usually friendly face changes to a frown. "If I was kidnapped by unknown assailants and was rescued or otherwise got free, the last thing I would want is to stick around that place and look for clothes, especially if the kidnappers were still on the loose."

His hand goes to the hilt of his dagger and he glances at Telemachus. "I was hoping to save my ESP spell but maybe this is a good time to use it. I should be able to verify Ric's story and if he is lying, determine who or what he really is and what his plans are. Should I cast it?"
This message was last edited by the player at 22:05, Mon 14 Oct 2019.

"I supposed you had better leave this place. I cannot seem to find any clues and it will be useless if we hang around here while your asyet unknown assailants are on the loose,: Storm says gently.

He uses detect evil again.

Dak moved to the first door on the right and pushed it open to see if there were any books laying about.

Wick gives a nod, continuing to follow Dak about the house.  At this point, though, he's wondering if it's worth a lot more time and effort, not having found anything really worth the effort as yet.  "How long do you think this place has been abandoned?  it's holding up pretty well, I don't think it's been all that long."

Lenelle wasn't certain what an 'ESP' spell was, but she was fairly sure the elf was attempting to bluff Ric into being truthful, after his suspicious comments.

She nodded her encouragement.    "Yes.  It worked well on that scheming bandit who tried to dupe us, that last time."     

"Maybe five years or so," Dak mused over how old the house was.  "Perhaps it wasn't that nice when people lived here at the end."

Downstairs

The door to the room opened with only a small amount of effort, as the hinges had not been well-maintained since the house had been truly abandoned.  The room itself was empty, although there was a fireplace which did not boil forth with spiders, but on the floor in front of the fireplace, in a semi-circle were some tiny mushrooms of a brilliant red hue growing from the floor.

---

Upstairs

While Ric seemed to be growing increasingly uneasy, his weight shifting from one foot to the others while those in the group voiced their suspicions of the man, the group remained in the entry of the room, except for Telemachus who had gone to examine the window sill.