CH. 14: Darkest Hour

[JadedDM]

Haahqae (Prefect's Mansion)
Haahqae checks the room on the left first. It's just an empty room. Oddly, there's no decoration or anything. Is this one still under renovation? In any case, it's completely empty.

The room on the right appears to be a storage room. It contains chests and barrels full of mundane items like tools, rugs, towels, bedsheets and so forth.

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Kendra Synclair (Grand Market)
"How would you do that, though?" Pen asks. "I don't think the prefect's going to just let a prisoner go for no reason."

Kendra notes that the soldiers have finished building the gallows. It's another hour until the execution will begin.

Gobax and Shima (Central Haven Sewers)
Ignoring the gully dwarf colony, Shima leads Gobax past it entirely and toward the exit. After moving north for awhile, they reach an entirely new area, somewhere around the middle of the city.

Central Haven Sewers 20.jpg (53.83 KiB) Viewed 7809 times

[TristenC]

So... you know where all of this goes? What do you think is above us right now?

[Chris1234]

Would the Wayfinder know this?

[HorizonsDream]

Kendra glances over to the gallows, and her heart sinks a little bit. She isn't sure she can execute someone. "I...I kind of made a deal with the prefect. Providing that today goes well, and I agree to stay at the mansion from now on, he'll release Norris."

[Haahque]

Nothing at all in a room strikes Haahqae as extremely suspicious. Even if it was a room used for training or exercises or even for magical experimentation; there would be decorations on the walls (or blast marks). The idea that it could be an illusion to hide whatever is truly in the room springs to Haahqae’s mind; however he has already expended his detect magic for the day, so he’s unable to check it this way.

Instead he tries the manual check to see if it’s an illusion, carefully edging around the room seeing if he runs into anything. Then he’ll cross the center of the room once or twice before he’s convinced that the room is truly empty.

Should he find the room is as empty as it looks; Haahqae will move to investigate the room that’s south of the empty room and west of the staircase.

[JadedDM]

Haahqae (Prefect's Mansion)
Searching the edges of the room, Haahqae finds no obvious illusions. He does find, however, a faint outline of a door in the north wall. It's barely perceptible, and probably not noticeable at all to someone who was not looking closely.

Kendra Synclair (Grand Market)
"At the mansion? Why?" asks Pen. "Is he going to make you his bride or something?" He shudders as if horrified and disgusted by the thought.

Gobax and Shima (Central Haven Sewers)
Shima would guess that at this moment, they are somewhere beneath the marketsquare--or close to it, at any rate.

[Chris1234]

Shima leads his companion west, across the bridge and then south.
WHen they reach the ladder he says, "Stay here. I'm just going to check."
The dwarf silently climbs the ladder and has a peer through any grating to see what he can see. (Intent to to check their position.)

After climbing back down the ladder Shima leads the way west an then through the door to the north and up to the western door. He tries the western door, unlocking it if necessary.

[HorizonsDream]

"I don't think so," Kendra says. " I think he feels safer with me around. He has come to depend on me."

[Haahque]

A faint outline of a door in a completely empty room can only mean one thing. Someone is trying to conceal something. And when something is trying to hide something, that means something is worth finding.

Haahqae redoubles his efforts, attempting to poke and prod the door, around the door or looking for any sort of opening mechanism like a doorknob, keyhole or lever. Failing this, he'll attempt to force the door open with his shoulder to see if it budges.

[JadedDM]

Haahqae (Prefect's Mansion)
Pushing on the outline, Haahqae reveals the secret door. Beyond is a small nook that contains a single locked chest and an expensive rolled up rug.

Kendra Synclair (Grand Market)
"I see...well, is there anything else you need me to do?" Pen asks.

Gobax and Shima (Central Haven Sewers)
Shima climbs up the ladder. There is no grate, but rather a trap door. Pushing it open, he peers inside and finds himself in a shabby looking building--possibly a residential one. There are a gang of four men sitting at a table about five feet away, playing cards. They are wearing leather armor and have naked blades on their belts.

[Chris1234]

Assuming he's unseen, Shima quietly goes back down and a little distance away from the ladder tells his goblin companion what's up the top. ""Armed ith knives.* Want to take them on? Or ignore them and move on?"

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*@Jaded naked blade = knive ?

[TristenC]

Gobax remains as quiet as possible in his response. "Take them on?" He asks, a little surprised. No. No, i just want to find a way to get around the city; not stir up trouble. We don't even know who they are, why would we fight them?

[Haahque]

Magic flying carpet! Is the first thing that jumps to Haahqae's mind. But it occurs to him that he doesn't really have a way to verify if it is such. Don't magic carpets usually have a complicated activation word? He could just take the carpet and try out different words until he finds it, but that seems like an excessivly slow process when he's busy with something much more important right now. Although a magic carpet would be very useful to escape and hide with....

Maybe the activation word is in the locked chest!

(Search for traps; pick the lock on the chest + open it.)

[Chris1234]

"Sure. Onwards then," shrugs the dwarf who heads west and then through the door to the north and up to the western door. He tries the western door, unlocking it if necessary, then opening it and looking around to see what he can see.

[HorizonsDream]

"Hmm," Kendra tapped her index finger on her lips as she thought about it. "Maybe keep your eyes open for any trouble?" she asked. "This would be another prefect time."