As Dak and Wick moved forward, they were able to see that most of the rest of their group appeared to have gone up the stairs.  The open door, flanked by windows, looked like it was the front door which had been left open when the group entered the house.

Upstairs, nearest the stairway, could be seen Westin, Panatix and Telemachus, though Lenelle and Storm were not much further down the hallway, discussing what doors should be opened and how they should proceed.

"Please!" called the voice from the end of the hall, sounding rather faint.

"Did they actually find someone in this place?" Dak said quietly to Wick.  The voice definitely wasn't one of their own.

He waved to those at the top of the stairs and stayed put at the bottom.

His senses alert, Westin heard the sounds of others on downstairs. He glanced back and spotted Dak and Wick.


"They are closer than you think," he responded, gesturing with his thumb behind him and down the stairs at Dak and Wick.

Seeing the others had the upstairs search well in hand, Dak decided to continue searching the main floor.  If he didn't find any books, he at least hoped to find an oil lamp or candle he could use in the cellar.

"I'm going to look around down here some more," he said to Wick as he turned back the way they'd come to check on those doors they'd passed.  He was going to try the one facing the front of the house first to see what he could find.

Wick glances around.  "It's probably best we not get too spread out, I'll go with you."  He also looks around for something to provide some light.  "We just got done shopping and I didn't even think to buy a lantern or a candle.  What was I thinking?"

Lenelle regarded the locked door, where from beyond the voice pleaded.

"We must force our way in, then!  I'm no expert in breaking and entering, any tips appreciated -- or help -- "   She tried forcing the latch, then put her shoulder to it and attempted forcing it open --

Lenelle rolled 12 using 1d20.  open doors  - - 6 or less. Don't think so...

There was still a fair amount of light streaming in from windows and cracks in the walls, so additional illumination did not seem to be an immediate concern as Dak and Wick went back to retrace their steps and look into other doors.

The door at the front of the house was the front door, which the group now upstairs had left open when they entered the house.  There were hallways, one which led to the right, under the hall where the others were now located, and another to the left as well as the doors by-passed earlier.

Upstairs, despite the rather decrepit look of the place, the door stood firm against Lenelle's effort to force entry.

Dak proceeded back the way they'd come to check on those doors they'd by-passed earlier.  He was going to try the one facing the front of the house first to see what he could find.

"Oh well, let me try my friend,"Storm says as he charges towards the door. "We'll save you!

Perhaps it was his brute stength or his desire to save the owner of the voice, his charge forced open the door easily.

OOC: 10:23, Today: Storm rolled 6 using 1d20.  Open Door
This message was last edited by the player at 02:24, Thu 19 Sept 2019.

Upstairs

The door easily gave way under Storm's efforts, revealing a room which looked like a completely decayed bedroom with a fireplace.  On the far side of the room, opposite the door, was a man who had clearly been bound, hand-and-foot, dressed in only his drawers and a patched chemise.  He had been gagged, but had apparently managed to find a sharp point near himself, as the fabric now lay over one shoulder, and there was both dried and fresh blood on that same side.

---

Downstairs

As Dak retraced steps, the layout of the house started to become clearer--he had entered from a side of the rear, and the longer hallway had led straight up to the front of the house.

Opening the first door, which was now on his right, he saw a small room with two windows and could just see the edges of the well's structure.  Within the room were two badly damaged arm chairs--once well stuffed, but now frayed and chewed upon, although the wooden frames seemed relatively intact.  A wooden table was, broken, lying on the floor under one of the windows.  Just to the right upon entry was a fireplace, and a pile of very small bones--likely mice--spilled out of the hearth.

"Who are you? What happened to you?" Westin asks lowering his dagger. He takes a quick glance around the room. The situation seems particularly odd and he wonders if it is some sort of trap.

Dak entered the dilapidated room and searched around the table and chairs for any books.  He lifted them up to see what was beneath them and felt the cushions of the chair for irregular shapes.  He also made sure nothing was attached to the bottom of any of them.

With the door busted open Telemachus turned so that the two remaining doors were in front of him and thus he was guarding their rear in case anything came out from them.  The entire place didn't make any sense meaning he was still well wary...

Storm enters and seeing the man bound, walks briskly over to untie him while keeping look out for danger. Before he approaches the man, he pauses and uses his defect evil ability as he felt worried about an ambush.

Moving across the room, Storm noticed that some of the floor seemed to be sagging, and a bit fell with a bit of a crash to the floor below, although he had moved with enough speed that he, himself, did not go through the floor.

Those not yet entering the room could see that if they moved along the wall to the left, the floor looked a little more stable.

"Name's Ric," he said.  "I thought I be done for.  Was going to Monteci, heard I might get work at the new mine there.  I was just by the gate and I got hit on the head and ... well, that's about all I know, I woke up in here."

While the man looked rather unkempt, a notable lump could be seen on the back of his head.

Lenelle felt internal conflict, as the wish to help someone in distress clashed with the awareness that this was odd, and this man might not be what he seemed.

"That floor is unsafe.  I think the fewer that walk it the better, regardless whether part of it seems more stable. We want to help, sir," she told the man, "but I think you must agree, your story is vague, and suspicious."       She glanced toward Westin.

"Are you able to test for the presence of magic?   That might tell us, at least, if he is more or less what he looks to be."

Storm unties the man and asks if he could stand and move on his own. He agrees that they should not stay in the room for too long. He glances around for any exit or furniture and uses his Detect Evil talent.

New mine?... ran across Telemachus' mind.  He hadn't heard of anything like that considering the towns limited exports but then again it could be something either so mundane or so new it hadn't made the rounds yet even at an event as large as the festival the other day.  Still the revelation of the man, the state of the floor and uncertainty kept him from the room and still keeping wary eye on the other doors that lead to where they were.  For the time being he'd let the other three do the talking.

Ric paused a moment, rubbing at ankles and wrists, and said, "I think I can, thank you.  I didn't think they was going to have anyone come in the house and I was going to die here."

A sense of disquiet comes over Westin as he hears the man's statement. I had just passed that gate a few days ago! If he's telling the truth... He stares at the man wondering if he is what he seems to be.


Westin nods and begins quietly chanting. When done he will look at Ric and see if he or anything on him radiates magic. He will then scan the room.

When done, he looks at the man. "Are you missing anything? Do you have all your possessions?"
This message was last edited by the player at 01:44, Tue 24 Sept 2019.