"I will be happy to take point with you." The fighter also cleans his weapon and asks the others, "Anyone know how to tan these furs? Could be worth a few coins."

Sereyna looked at Thaylan and smiled at him with a wink. "Flaherty will get you everywhere." she looks at the others. "Be that as it may, my healing skills are used up until I can rest for a bit, so try not to make it a habit of trying to kill yourselves."

She looks at Sylvy with a nod, happy the halfling had her back. "Lets let the boys play....we can stick back."

Now that the group is a little closer to the front of the house--and not under attack--you can see the building a little more clearly.

It's a big, two-story structure--over a hundred feet long on the front side, which is what you're facing. A single door sits at the center, and there are five windows more or less evenly spaced along the front of the building, to either side of the door. Ten windows laid out more or less the same can be seen on the second floor as well.

OOC: I have Thaylan down 1 HP, everyone else at full HP. Let me know what you'd like to do next.

<OOC: I used healing word on Thaylan and healed him 6hp, so is at 7hp now

I used my second and last spell slot healing him.>
This message was last edited by the player at 15:51, Mon 28 Dec 2020.

In reply to Sereyna (msg # 46):

Oops. For some reason I thought he had 9 HP rather than 8. My bad. He is at 8/8. Thank you!
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:23, Mon 28 Dec 2020.

"So, try the door or check the windows and see if we can see anything? Or walk around back? Not sure any idea is better than the others, I sort of favot the door but I can be talked out of it."

OOC: Above was my intention before the ambush. I'd still like to follow along with it. If you want me to do new rolls or anything please let me know. Otherwise I think whats there should work.

Also thanks for clearing up the HP . I must have mis counted when I updated it.

Sylvy retrieves her crossbow and whatever bolts she can from the weasels and terrain then steps in close to Sereyna while watching the scouts approach the creepy, large old house.

Sylvy recovers half the bolts she fired.

Thaylan approaches the door, with Preston close behind. A check shows nothing of concern, so Thaylan gently tries the door. It isn't locked and easily pushes it open.

The front door opens onto a large, musty, dirty entrance hall that is about 25 feet by 35 feet. The windows may be grimy, but they allow enough light to pass so that you can see the entire room. The interior looks generally dilapidated and damp, with much of the woodwork gone rotten. Cobwebs and dust are thick, and the rubbish of years is scattered about. Plaster fallen from the walls and ceilings lies strewn across the floor, along with the remains of vandalized furniture. The walls are bare.

To the left, a a corridor leads into the west wing of the house. Ahead of you, another corridor leads toward the rear of the house.

A staircase on the eastern wall climbs to the next story, reaching it at a balcony that overlooks the entrance hall along its north and west sides; the stairs appear safe to climb, though the balcony rail is broken in several places. Under the stairs at the north end of the hall, a third corridor leads east.

Thaylan peers about the room from the doorway and notices what look like two separate sets of tracks in the dust. One set leads from the front door, through the room and into the corridor leading toward the rear of the house. The second set of tracks leads from the foot of the stairs across the room and into the passageway to the west.

"Two sets of tracks. Each going separate ways." Thaylan whispers to Preston as he points them out. He looks to see where they came from as well as takes a closer look to see how old hey may be.



18:50, Today: Thaylan rolled 22 using 1d20+6.  Investigation. (age of prints)


18:53, Today: Thaylan rolled 13 using 1d20+7.  perception. (check where the prints came from)

Sereyna, standing behind Thaylan and Preston and beside Sylvy, listened to the mans softly spoken comments. "Just be careful...you get stabbed, bitten or anything and I can't heal you until i rest a bit." The half elf had a look of concern on her face.

Sylvy eyed the tracks for the space of a few minutes then kicked the dust on the floor. "Aye, two sets but nothing saying one person what made them. Care should be taken. Aye. much care..." She was just adjusting her crossbow with another bolt loaded and scanning the room as she spoke. There was surely something worse than rabid weasels in this house to explain what had happened to the unfortunate soul caught in the nets. whether that was bad men, monsters, or something more spooky remained to be discovered.

"Can we tell how old the tracks are? if not we might as well go in and see what we can find. Cautiously, but we need to find out what is going on here."
Looking around with one more glace at the animals dead in the yard he shivered.
"Definitely cautious, but we won't learn anything out here."

Upon further inspection, both sets of tracks have very little dust in them (as opposed to the rest of the floor), so you surmise that they are pretty recent--definitely within the last few days. It's not possible to tell anything specific, such as whether they are from different people, other than that they are humanoid and roughly human-sized. The tracks going toward the back started right at the front door (where you entered). The tracks going west start at the bottom of the stairs, and you can see faint remnants of tracks on the stairs as well.

OOC: Let me know if you want to follow tracks or otherwise head in any particular direction.

After looking the tracks over Thaylan stands up. "The tracks are a few days old. Both from humanoids. The ones heading to the back came in the front entrance. The ones at the stairs I can't make out where they came from but it looks like the stairs are used enough to leave faint impressions. I would suggest we start up stairs and work our way down. Perhaps we could secure a bedroom upstairs for a short rest as well if one is needed." Thayln allows time for the group to decide what they would like to do.

Thaylan takes the lead as the group heads upstairs. The steps creak ominously as Thaylan first tests them, but they appear to be solid. He arrives at the top of the stairs to see corridors running in both directions, with doors on the south side and windows on the north. At the northwest corner of the balcony another corridor runs north toward the back of the house. The hall at the top of the stairs is part of the balcony that runs over the entry area below on its north and west sides.

The floor creaks a little and you can hear the wind moving outside - it seems to have picked up speed.



So plenty of doors to choose from. Let's say that left to right the doors (on the south wall) are Doors 1 through 5. There is also the corridor going off to the north/back.

If it helps with visualizing the place, the overall shape of the house is like an upside down T. Sort of like this (Not to scale, just a general sense):

                            ____________
                            |          |
                            |          |
                            |          |
                            |          |
             _______________|          |_______________
            |                                          |
            |                                          |
            |                                          |
            |                                          |
            |__________________________________________|

Sereyna followed after Theylan, each step measured and slow. She looked up the corridor left and right. She looked at the others and shrugged. "Look at each door one at a time?" she offered.

At the top of the stairs, Sylvy's practiced eyes scan up and down the corridor. A chill sweeps up her spine at the wind and she purses her lips. She directs her eyes to the floor looking for the tracks again.

Looking at the floor, Sylvy can see that tracks head down the corridor to the east. It looks like they head toward the door that is furthest east. She can't be sure but it looks like there may have been more than one person.

Seeing the tracks, Sylvy looked up to the group and nodded, "Yes, explore the doors, but I vote for starting with that one. The tracks seem to lead to it. Yeah?"

With a nod of his head Kerrek gave his assent. "Ayr, that makes sense. Check that one first and work to the others if need be."

Sereyna, holding her scimitar, nodded staying at sylvy's side. "After you." she muttered, looking atKerrek and Thaylan

Kerrik gives a nod and a bit of a grin. "Fair enough, I'll go first, just promise to kill the beasties that come out of the floor behind me will you?" Withthat he starts to make his way down the hall and quietly as possible.


OOC: 21:38, Today: Kerrek rolled 17 using 1d20+2.  stealth, stealth, stealth down the hall to the door.

Kerrek moves quietly down the hall to the door on the far east of the corridor. The door is closed, as are all of the doors along the corridor. Otherwise, all is quiet other than the moaning of the wind and the occasional creaking of the  house.

Sereyna let's Kerreck lead the way, the half elf a few steps behind him, her scimitar in hand. She looks around at the creaking house with a furrowed brow