CH. 6: Nobody Expects the Occupation

[djhyland]

(OOC: Wow, it looks like my busy weekend wasn't the only busy weekend. My apologies for not keeping up!)

Arulia stares at the door with a look of anguish on her face. She goes along with Kendra, allowing the other woman to pull her to the bed. By the time she gets there, her shock seems to be wearing off, and she slips into the darkness underneath. "I'm...I'm sorry," she stammers.

[JadedDM]

Haahqae, Gregeddin and Tulbas (Alley behind Brothel, Harbor District)
Gregeddin thinks hard about any stories he has heard the word 'pax' before. It occurs to him that 'pax' in the elven tongue means 'peace.' This, in turn, triggers an old memory of a story he read about as a child. The Citadel of Peace, or Pax Tharkas, was said to be a fortress built on the border of the Qualinesti forests and Thobardin, the dwarven mountain kingdom. It had been meant as a symbol of peace between the elves, dwarves and humans. But then the Cataclysm struck and the three wanted little to do with each other after that. The fortress of Pax Tharkas was abandoned after that.

(OOC: Gregeddin makes a Local History check [17] (1d20): 9, pass.)

Kendra and Arulia (Toom's Residence, Farmer District)
The two women head into Toom's bedroom and climb under the bed. There's a chamber pot under there, and although it is empty, it still smells a bit. Aside from that, there is just barely enough room for the two of them.

As they lie on the floor, on their stomachs, under the bed, they hear Toom open the front door. They hear several goblin voices, as well as Toom's. It's difficult to make out specific words, but it's clear the discussion is heated. They hear something shatter, maybe a teacup or small vase. There's a lot of thumping around, like things are being knocked over.

[BishGada]

Tulbas tells the others, "You are right. Let's give it another try." This time round Tulbas cast Cantrip in order to detect the presence of magic.

=====================================================
(OOC:

She grab's Arulia's hand, and pulls her along to hide in the man's bedroom. "Quick, under the bed."

Hope it's not his wife at the door )

[HorizonsDream]

Kendra looks about ready to jump out from under the bed and kick a few goblin skulls in, but she manages to remain still. "Shh," she says softly. "You didn't know that this was going to happen, so don't be sorry," she whispers.

[Haahque]

When they search the brothel and the abandoned building beside it one more time, Haahqae will pick up a stick from the street to run along the walls, to see if he can find any illusions that way.

[djhyland]

Arulia shakes her head at Kendra's words but remains quiet herself, unwilling to give the goblins any help in their search. Instead, she tries her best to peer out while still remaining hidden. Feeling responsible for the situation, she tenses, ready to defend the merchant should the goblins try to do more than just search his home.

(OOC: Unless the goblins are violent towards Toom himself, Arulia plans to remain hidden. If they do start beating on him, she'll come out...attempting to fight herself if she can manage it. All this, of course, assumes that she can get a look out from under the bed without obviously giving herself away.)

[JadedDM]

Haahqae, Gregeddin and Tulbas (Alley behind Brothel, Harbor District)
Tulbas casts a minor cantrip, but does not sense the presence of magic anywhere in the alley. Haahqae removes a torch from his pack and starts poking at all of the walls in the alley, but finds them all quite solid.

The brothel itself is completely boarded up. This includes the only entrance, which also has a sign on it declaring it off limits by the Highseeker Council. The only way to get in would be to chop down or pry off the boards with an axe or crowbar.

Kendra and Arulia (Toom's Residence, Farmer District)
The two women lie under the bed quietly. Ironically, a few goblins would normally be no match for them. But without their weapons and armor, they're nearly as helpless as old Toom.

Arulia tries to peek out from under the bed, but due to the angle of the bed and the bedroom door, she cannot see anything outside of the bedroom from her vantage point. She does hear a goblin voice say, "Search the place!" in the common tongue. The bedroom door swings open, and three sets of goblin feet stalk inside, looking around. They all seem to be wearing high quality armor and are brandishing blades.

[BishGada]

Failing finding traces of magic Tulbas says, "We should start over looking for clues. If more evidence will pile up pointing to the brothel we will return."

[Haahque]

"Yes quite. This puzzle seems a rather difficult one to crack indeed. Why would the seekers help cover up a Belzorite hideout? I thought the seekers hated the Belzorites cause they got more popular and faster then the seekers. Well, let's see if any of these other houses are illusionary." And Haahqae will run his torch along all the walls of houses on the street as he searches for any other clues of magic, illusion or another cult.

"Too bad this cult isn't as easy to find and join as the other ones that passed through this town."

[HorizonsDream]

Kendra tenses upon seeing the goblins enter the room. Mentally is is cursing, but she knows it is best to remain as quiet as possible. She knew that the bed looked as if it couldn't really hide two people. They could barely fit under the old man's bed as it was.

[mgbevan]

Somewhat stumped with his plan to enter the old brothel, Gregeddin agrees the party could use some more clues. Looking at the old building he remembers Haahqae is quite the acrobat and suggests, "do you think it would be possible to get in through the roof with some rope?"

[Haahque]

"It would be worth checking out."

[djhyland]

Taking her cue from Kendra, Arulia too remains still. Even so, she looks about under the bed for anything that she might improvise into a weapon, though she imagines her chances of fighting her way free even should she find one are slim. Perhaps it would be best to surrender peacefully. "We have done nothing wrong," she thinks. "Even if this army does march on the elves, we have not yet contacted them...not that doing so is likely anymore..."

[BishGada]

Tulbas is sure the people who vanished from the street didn't take the roof option, but maybe from inside the brothel Haaque will notice something suspicious they missed from outside.

[JadedDM]

Haahqae, Gregeddin and Tulbas (Alley behind Brothel, Harbor District)
Haahqae tests many walls around the brothel for illusions, but finds none.

At Gregeddin's unorthodox suggestion, Haahqae climbs up onto the roof of the brothel. Searching around, he only finds one obvious means of entry--the chimney. It's filthy and doesn't appear to have been used in years, but he is small enough to squeeze through it, if he so chooses.

(OOC: Haahqae makes a Climbing Walls check [55] (1d100): 9, pass.)

Kendra and Arulia (Toom's Residence, Farmer District)
The three goblins move about the room, searching. "Anything?" asks one.

"There's nobody here," croaks another.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" asks the third.

"By the Queen, are you ever going to let that go?" demands the second one.

"Juuuuust askin'," replies the third.

The three then head out, none thinking to check under the bed. There's silence for a moment, then they hear Toom cry out. There's a loud 'thud' sound. After that, there is only silence.