Rubies of Eventide IC Thread (D&D 5e)

[Psychie]

1.) Athaclenna and Pheccty -- in search of a cellar door or something to infiltrate from a bottom floor -- no stealth roll needed -- you both come across not a cellar door, but a crawlspace that leads under the floor, blocked by wires that can require a bit of finesse with thieves' tools. From here you can see primitive connections of dwarven engineering, where water drains toward a manhole of a sewer system, but it is wide enough for one person and there seems to be light peering from within. Heavy footfalls creak overhead, and the voice of something that was making those footfalls in a low, low, low rumble talking about another failure.

Backward, some of the windows are clouded from outside soot and grime, but the windows lead to the room where that voice was coming from, and those heavy footfalls. Continuing forward, there is a once-solid back door that has clearly seen better days, rust built up and eating away at any exposed metal prone. The wood seems warped and mottled with grime like the windows, just serving as a portal entrance instead of anything decorative or splendid in appearance.

Athaclenna does her best to be silent as she leans up and puts her ear closer to the floor above her to try and listen to the speaker.

Listening carefully, I have a total of an 18 on a Perception roll.

 

[Shadeofshade]

Psychie jaydude Sherwood Felis D. Rex

At times Phectty both loved and hated his job. He could get a good idea about the stable hand but didn’t know as much as he would have liked about Genasi.

As he heard what Toryk said, he commented without looking and in a more serious tone than his normal jovial one, “No need to worry about that. I don’t think we’ll need to fight so long as we stay quiet and out of sight.” He then added, “Besides, we might be able to get a bargaining chip if things go horribly wrong.” He nodded his head towards the Stable hand, “That boy there, he doesn’t want to be here working. He just want's to be out with his friends. Considering his age, that’s understandable but also a coin flip. DUE to his age he is either a Nepotism hire or a ‘keeping up appearances’ hire. I bet the former.” He then turns around to face everyone and says, changing his tone again from a serious to a warning one, “And he KNOWS we’re here. If anything, he could become a problem, useful or not even bother us.” Opening up his Bag Of Holding, he placed his Lute in there and added, “Let’s hope for the latter.”

As they explored the back of the mansion, Phectty and Athaclenna came across the crawl space. Taking a closer look Phectty thought he could get it open. He opens his bag, diving his hand in and says, "This looks simple enough. Give me a moment." Grabbing and pulling out his Thieves' Tools he asked Athaclenna, "Would you mind keeping an eye and ear out while I handle this please?" And he got to work.

Skill check with Thieves' Tools...Nat 1. Dang it.

 

[Felis]

(Stealth check: 9+7=16)

Ivvie took a few steps, then leapt in the air and let her wings carry her up to the roof. As she and Toryk made their way to the attic window, Ivvie cast a glance back in the direction of the stablehouse. A bargaining chip, Pheccty had said? Hm... For the moment, though, she had other things to focus on.

Peering into the window, Ivvie's now magic-sensitive eyes caught two things that stood out (and her nose a third, but that was neither here nor there). So she had been right!

D. Rex
"Toryk?" she whispered. "There's a magic orb inside, and it looks like some sort of warding or so. And another magical something is downstairs, and moving, so maybe a guard's weapon."

 

[D. Rex]

Toryk cracked his knuckles and twisted one of his rings on his right hand. Immediately he could feel a restless energy surge into his legs like the compressing of a spring. A spring he most certainly would do. (Casting Jump)

With one hand to hold his gear, he leaped with the practiced grace of an acrobat. Landing at an angle to account for the slope of the roof and bending his knees so as to soften any noise his landing might have made. Clearly he has done this before.


Felis
"Do there be?" He asked in a whisper. Interesting. "Well... they do be prepared. But alarm or trap? Thats the important thing."

His nose wiggled as he took in the scent. "It no mind movement. Else the bats would be triggering it. Can you tell anything about what it is?"

He edged close to the window. And even though it was filthy and hard to see through, he still took caution, and peaking his head around to try and see through it.


Thanny
Stealth +11: 18
Perception +4: 11

 

[Shadeofshade]

Psychie

As Phectty worked, he only seemed to make the lock worse. With a frown he muttered under his breath, “Dam it, so it’s not that type of lock.” Stopping for a moment, he took a deep breath and tried again.

Rolling again and we have 4+3 (Dex modifier)+3 (Proficiency Bonus)=12

 

[Felis]

Ivvie tilted her head and squinted at the orb again. If she wanted to enter someone's house, she'd usually try to invite herself in rather than just... let herself in, so who knew what people preferred to place behind windows and other alternative entrances these days. But Ivvie also felt quite competent with magic matters in general, so she searched her memory for anything that had given her the same impression as this one.

(Arcana check: 13+4=17)

 

[Psychie]

Psychie

As Phectty worked, he only seemed to make the lock worse. With a frown he muttered under his breath, “Dam it, so it’s not that type of lock.” Stopping for a moment, he took a deep breath and tried again.

Rolling again and we have 4+3 (Dex modifier)+3 (Proficiency Bonus)=12

Athaclenna does her best to keep from distracting Phectty as he works, keeping an eye and ear out for any signs of trouble coming their way.

Perception roll of 22

 

[Thanny]

jaydude Sherwood
With the door knocked, an echo resounded in the surrounding area, and what little conversation the two could hear that just barely started on the other side was cut short as the speaker was alerted to the door. If either of the two outside the door were paying attention, a brown eye shone from within the peephole, remained there for a few seconds, then withdrew. A trio of deadbolt and chain locks could be heard being withdrawn within, and the door opened to a surprisingly effeminate human man in his late thirties with cropped hair, long lashes, powdered rouge-tinted cheeks, and a blend of padded and metal armour. A wide-brimmed metal helmet lay on his head and almost got caught in the door when he braced his hand against it. He looked over the dragonborn and human with confusion and brought a bony finger to his chin, likely surmising what business they had here.

"Hello. How can I help you?" he voiced in a boisterous contralto, simpering towards the two guests of the doorstep. He was mostly behind the door, and if one had to be honest susceptible to a good kick of the door to be launched backward. A good alibi might lure him into a false sense of security as well, and keep him there for a couple of minutes at the most to allow the others to have a sporting chance. Of the others inside, you have no idea who else was around, though you do know that he was talking to someone. Was he perchance talking to himself? Unlikely, but possible.


Psychie Your silence does you wonders as you listen in, keeping a good ear pressed close to the opening while Phectty started upon his gifted use of thieves' tools. The speaker seemed to grumble something in a language unfamiliar to you as he cleared his throat, his voice extremely low. A flash of a shadow indicated something quickly swaying back and forth in a metronome fashion. A hand? A tail? The footfalls were heavy as well, though he seemed to be focused on his work all in one room. Of what you do not know, but the tinkling of glass against something solid was unmistakable, as well as the crunch of pressed or moving parchment.

With your second act of scanning the environs, you can hear with your sensitive ears the prowling of rats in the back alleyway you are in, further down. The creatures did not seem to mind you any, especially when you look down and see one bravely cross Phectty's planted foot and scurry past you both.

Shadeofshade Your idea, Phectty, bears fruit as you pull out thieves' tools and start to work on the snipping of the metal wires that block you from further in. Snip snip snip. This was slow and methodical, and you search for something a little less meticulous. A lock catches your eye and the bolt cutter quickly comes out. Grind. Grind. Grind. Crick! (DC10 vs Nat 1 = Critical Fail) Your set of bolt cutters slip in an awkward manner as it bends under the whim of the strong metal lock, but you as a merchant if every trade do not wither away by small things. Trying again, even though you know that it is not the best performance you have accomplished, achieve your goal by putting the pressure on the right points and -- CHINK! -- snap the metal. (DC10+2 vs. roll of 12 = Pass) The lock no longer protecting anything, you are now able to remove the screen of wire that covers the crawlspace and enter.

Psychie The hole you see lit on the other side leads to a trap door. The stocky being is still in the room. You could still hear the creak of his feet on the floorboards.


With Ivvie's capacity for flight and Toryk's impressive jumping capabilities thanks to the Ring of Jumping, both sprang to the roof while simultaneously keeping impeccably silent, Toryk hardly creating a groan of wood and a soft crunch of shingles, while Ivvie was lightweight enough to scitter over the tiled roof slates with ease. This left the situation with that strangely glowing orb -- only to Ivvie's sight -- within the window to worry about.

Ivvie, as you search your memory banks for clues as to what this is, you come across only one possible solution: an Alarm spell. It was as small as a Scrying orb, and yet not divination magic. It also seemed to be guarding that particular entrance, but not firing off from the bats (as selected creatures can be not targeted by the Alarm spell), but there was one other on the other side of the atticspace, not even eight feet away. Looking in, Toryk, you can see that this is a cupola, but it is not recommended to stick one's head through the window, else that would trigger the Alarm spell. A latch was on the other side of the cupola's other entrance, openable from the inside but also possible from the outside using clever finagling. Another option exists.

"Me! Me!" squeaked the familiar from inside Toryk's clothing/pack, popping his little eldritch head free. "Me turn into bat? Spy for treat? See spell. Me no be detected."

 

[jaydude]

Jalana suppressed an instinct to raise her eyebrows at the man's makeup and demeanour, wondering if it was in the nature of high society to look and act as silly as possible. She did however take note of the man's armour, and guessed that he had a weapon of some sort on his person as well.

She then glanced at Braz, letting him take the initiative on what they were going to do. Whether that be talking this man into staying here, or just trying to subdue him.

 

[Sherwood]

Brazamal stands up straight and looks the fellow that has answered the door with a friendly smile on his face. "Greetings, my good man. Is the master of the house available? The two of us would like to share a message with him of some import."

 

[Psychie]

Athaclenna silently taps Phectty on the side and motions for him to get closer to her. She whispers, "There is a trap door there, but I can hear someone in the room above us."

 

[Shadeofshade]

Psychie

When the lock no longer became a problem, Phectty smiled. Feeling a tap on his shoulder he turned to see Athaclenna motioning for him to come closer. When he did so, he heard what was to be expected. He closed his eyes for a sec to think for a moment. Putting his tools away, he nodded his head to indicate that he heard her.

Next Phectty removed the cover and took a look down the crawlspace, seeing if he could find anything else that might make their day a little easier.

Investigation 4+5=9.

 

[Felis]

D. Rex
"It's an alarm for sure," Ivvie informed Toryk, nodding to herself. "He probably cast it so that the bats are excepted from it, he'll want to be able to sleep at night, won't he. But I don't doubt we'd trigger it." She frowned - seeing the spell was one thing, but getting past it another. Maybe they should just look for another way in, or...

"You can do that?" Ivvie perked up at the familiar's remark. "Turn into a bat?" Well, wouldn't that be handy! If she had been any more cautious of an owlfolk, she might have thought it was a little too good to be true, but to her ears, it sounded just right. "I can give you some food, or..." Did familiars even eat? Ivvie had never had one of her own.

 

[Thanny]

Jalana suppressed an instinct to raise her eyebrows at the man's makeup and demeanour, wondering if it was in the nature of high society to look and act as silly as possible. She did however take note of the man's armour, and guessed that he had a weapon of some sort on his person as well.

She then glanced at Braz, letting him take the initiative on what they were going to do. Whether that be talking this man into staying here, or just trying to subdue him.

Brazamal stands up straight and looks the fellow that has answered the door with a friendly smile on his face. "Greetings, my good man. Is the master of the house available? The two of us would like to share a message with him of some import."

The slender man with makeup looked at the two quizzically, not exactly sure what to make of them. Rugged individuals as they were, seemingly strong in spirit and body, he had no idea why they came to the doorstep of someone who was more of a scholar than anyone else. Suspicion easily flowed between his eyebrows as he changed his stance and leaned in on the door ever so slightly.

"The master of the house is not in at the present, but I can give him the message. I assure you that I can be trusted with such information, warrior to warrior." He looked between the two before him, all business but still with a smile on his face. "May I ask for your names, or the name of your employer if you were hired to deliver a message?"

"Jerry," came warningly behind the door, a man's voice (Passive Perception 14, Jalana can hear it), "who are they? A message is very broad."

A slight movement of the guard's, Jerry's, eyes shifted to the right for a moment before continuing to look at the guests before him.

Athaclenna silently taps Phectty on the side and motions for him to get closer to her. She whispers, "There is a trap door there, but I can hear someone in the room above us."

Psychie

When the lock no longer became a problem, Phectty smiled. Feeling a tap on his shoulder he turned to see Athaclenna motioning for him to come closer. When he did so, he heard what was to be expected. He closed his eyes for a sec to think for a moment. Putting his tools away, he nodded his head to indicate that he heard her.

Next Phectty removed the cover and took a look down the crawlspace, seeing if he could find anything else that might make their day a little easier.

Investigation 4+5=9.

Silently removing the cover, Phectty peered into the darkness and could not tell much of the surrounding area except that it was for the most part safe. A few dessicated leavings of rodents and old spider webs greeted him, but after travelling five feet in the trap door can be lifted. If peering through the hole, there was only an empty ceiling and a few phials and beakers to be witnessed on wooden tables, some of which were filled with some organic matter. Of the creature within you found no trace, as he went into the hallway to see what the commotion at the front door was. Any other sign of life in the room did not seem to make itself clear. Chances are that the room was only occupied by said creature, but be warned that lifting the trap door can be a little noisy (Dexterity (Stealth) DC 10) and would require finesse. If one has it, a little oil or other suitable substance to lubricate the joint could come in handy (roll with advantage).

D. Rex
"It's an alarm for sure," Ivvie informed Toryk, nodding to herself. "He probably cast it so that the bats are excepted from it, he'll want to be able to sleep at night, won't he. But I don't doubt we'd trigger it." She frowned - seeing the spell was one thing, but getting past it another. Maybe they should just look for another way in, or...

"You can do that?" Ivvie perked up at the familiar's remark. "Turn into a bat?" Well, wouldn't that be handy! If she had been any more cautious of an owlfolk, she might have thought it was a little too good to be true, but to her ears, it sounded just right. "I can give you some food, or..." Did familiars even eat? Ivvie had never had one of her own.

The familiar beamed a smile that did not quite suit its warty exterior. It seemed quite certain of itself and gave a little bow.

"I am spirit, but can eat. I am quasit! Walk normally, but change shape, yes. Creepy crawly, bat, toad -- me versatile! But first, bat. Munchies later! What do I do when in?"

It peered into the gloom, unsure of what to do afterwards, but its eyes drifted to the other door. Its intelligence, sadly, was very much limited to easy things, but that is what it has a master and accomplices for.

 

[jaydude]

The slender man with makeup looked at the two quizzically, not exactly sure what to make of them. Rugged individuals as they were, seemingly strong in spirit and body, he had no idea why they came to the doorstep of someone who was more of a scholar than anyone else. Suspicion easily flowed between his eyebrows as he changed his stance and leaned in on the door ever so slightly.

"The master of the house is not in at the present, but I can give him the message. I assure you that I can be trusted with such information, warrior to warrior." He looked between the two before him, all business but still with a smile on his face. "May I ask for your names, or the name of your employer if you were hired to deliver a message?"

"Jerry," came warningly behind the door, a man's voice (Passive Perception 14, Jalana can hear it), "who are they? A message is very broad."

A slight movement of the guard's, Jerry's, eyes shifted to the right for a moment before continuing to look at the guests before him.

Jalana gave Brazamal a look, nonverbally asking what he was going to say. They could probably drag this out a bit through some bluffing, but the human woman didn't trust herself to be able to pull such a thing off.

 

[Sherwood]

Staying polite but insistent, Brazamal says, "Perhaps I can speak with whomever is present in the house. I do have a very important message to impart to you, one that would be foolish to overlook."

 

[Shadeofshade]

Psychie

“Well, this is going to be fun.” Murmured Phectty as he looked down the new hole into the building. As he looked, he thought he noticed something. Turning to Athaclenna and leaning in closer so she could hear him whisper, “I think I might know something about those hinges on that trap door. Just give me a minute to check.” With that he got onto his back and began to shuffle towards the trapdoor.

When there, Phectty began to inspect them...and smiled. He knew about these hinges and knew their quirks, after all his farther made those hinges. With that knowledge, he began to slowly and carefully open the trapdoor.

Stealth roll with advantage:
9+6=15
6+6=12

 

[D. Rex]

The slender man with makeup looked at the two quizzically, not exactly sure what to make of them. Rugged individuals as they were, seemingly strong in spirit and body, he had no idea why they came to the doorstep of someone who was more of a scholar than anyone else. Suspicion easily flowed between his eyebrows as he changed his stance and leaned in on the door ever so slightly.

"The master of the house is not in at the present, but I can give him the message. I assure you that I can be trusted with such information, warrior to warrior." He looked between the two before him, all business but still with a smile on his face. "May I ask for your names, or the name of your employer if you were hired to deliver a message?"

"Jerry," came warningly behind the door, a man's voice (Passive Perception 14, Jalana can hear it), "who are they? A message is very broad."

A slight movement of the guard's, Jerry's, eyes shifted to the right for a moment before continuing to look at the guests before him.




Silently removing the cover, Phectty peered into the darkness and could not tell much of the surrounding area except that it was for the most part safe. A few dessicated leavings of rodents and old spider webs greeted him, but after travelling five feet in the trap door can be lifted. If peering through the hole, there was only an empty ceiling and a few phials and beakers to be witnessed on wooden tables, some of which were filled with some organic matter. Of the creature within you found no trace, as he went into the hallway to see what the commotion at the front door was. Any other sign of life in the room did not seem to make itself clear. Chances are that the room was only occupied by said creature, but be warned that lifting the trap door can be a little noisy (Dexterity (Stealth) DC 10) and would require finesse. If one has it, a little oil or other suitable substance to lubricate the joint could come in handy (roll with advantage).



The familiar beamed a smile that did not quite suit its warty exterior. It seemed quite certain of itself and gave a little bow.

"I am spirit, but can eat. I am quasit! Walk normally, but change shape, yes. Creepy crawly, bat, toad -- me versatile! But first, bat. Munchies later! What do I do when in?"

It peered into the gloom, unsure of what to do afterwards, but its eyes drifted to the other door. Its intelligence, sadly, was very much limited to easy things, but that is what it has a master and accomplices for.

"Oh, il be sure to be seeing to Gorbo gets ya them good treats i will. Extra helpings and will even sing your praises to him."

The gnoll peered into the window again. "We be needing that orb to be put out. I can get us in, but it won't do us no good if that thing sounds the alarm. Let's see..."


Toryk would rack his brain, remembering all his burgling lessons and times he plundered ships and homes. He has a good wealth of experience getting into places, and enchanted alarms and traps weren't so uncommon that he hasn't seen them before.

Thanny
Between the heads of Ivvies arcane knowledge, and Toryks rougish talents, would they know how to best remove the obstacle of the alarm orb?

 

[Felis]

"Lovely, then it's a deal!" Ivvie beamed at the quasit. "So, once you're inside, hm..."

She tilted her head towards Toryk and nodded. "Well, yes, we can't get through the window unless we dispel it or the like. But it looks like the spell is cast on that window in particular, so if we found another way in, I think we'd be fine. So in that case..."

Still nodding to herself, Ivvie addressed the familiar again. "Once you're inside, see if there's something to get rid of the spell on the window, or a way for us to go around it. And you said you can see spells, too, right? So if you see another spell while inside, tell us! Oh, and best don't touch anything with a spell on it! And be as quiet as you can!"

That should be all, shouldn't it? Ivvie glanced at Toryk for confirmation. Get inside, one way or the other, and watch out for other spells Ivvie might have missed (unlikely as she found that). She'd even said to be careful!

 

[D. Rex]

"The window do be our most ideal way in. But it ain't our only. The top up there. The thingy." He said pointing to the cupola. Most certainly a word he did not know. "We can get in that way. Will just do be gotting to be extra gentle. A loud landing could announce as well as any alarm. But e should be having some leeway if the front door team be doing their job."

"So, my sprites friend, see about going up there and undoing the latch. I can handle the mesh. It do be meant to keep out bats, not gnolls."

 

[Thanny]

jaydude Sherwood

Jerry frowned with his lipsticked lips as he recognised the persistence of this warrior duo before him. Perhaps there is something to this that was important and defined, and he relaxed his posture and opened the door a little further. A man behind the door dodged backward wearing studded leather armour, though a little tattered, colourful, and with a rainbow-hued flamberge greatsword that suggested mercenary-for-hire. He cursed under his breath, realising that they had already seen him, and answered for Jerry.

"Perhaps it would be best to accept their message," he said, stepping into view. A scar replaced much of his right brow and trailed jellyfish-like down his face. "I can speak for everyone here while the house's master is away. Say your piece and we can iterate it."

Behind him the heavy footfalls of a twisted form of a minotaur came closer. The minotaur seemed to have lost the right part of his face and had it replaced with scaled, smooth pumpkin-coloured skin that would make Brazamal itch just by proximity. He would be reminded of the hide of a devil, and a little horn on the minotaur's head replacing one of his own seemed to agree with this idea. His right arm also seemed covered in patches of pumpkin-hued scales, though that seemed to be the end of the strangeness. The creature looked uneasily at the newcomers, unsure of their intentions more so than the others, perhaps out of fear of destruction.

Shadeofshade Psychie

Phectty's knowledge of the fine art of machinery and physics assured him an easy access to the upper rooms, dabbing a little bit of a healing potion on the hinge's rusted form and dissolving it for the most part, but most importantly lubricating the metal. The slightest of squeaks sounded, but caught nobody's ear, allowing for the two to crawl through the hatch if desired.

Once inside, the two would find a makeshift laboratory. There were many beakers and phials in wooden holders to secure their location, and the most eyecatching thing of all were the scrolls that seemed particularly foreign, as they were scribed in an almost unrecognisable language. Athaclenna, being from the forests of the land, would recognise it as the Minotaur language. Several other scrolls abounded, some older, some newer, written in the usual Draconic.

[A Perception check is needed to find anything else out in the room.]

D. Rex Felis

The familiar appeared overjoyed at the subject of food and the potential for eating some sort of delicious ort. He loved the possibility of praise as well, but food was more important. The shifting of a lower-grade Polymorph spell allowed him to shift into the form of a bat, and he trilled and squeaked as bats do in answer to both Ivvie and Toryk before taking off into the opening. Ivvie's eyes would detect that the Alarm spell . . . did not go off! There was no pulsating, no sign of magic leaving the area, nothing.

As you either or both peer in, the familiar bat crawled about on the wire screen after landing, its goal that dainty little latch that held shut the other side of the cupola. It had a hard time figuring out what to do. Teeth were out of the question, and so were his feet. After a few seconds of figuring out what the heck to do, it tried using its little claw-finger on its right wing. Wiggle wiggle wiggle, and success! The hook left the eye that secured it. The door, mesh and all, did not yet swing open, however, stuck on some jam that a bat's weight would not be able to force the door ajar. The creature trilled happily.

But that was not all it was supposed to do to get praise and food. It had to make sure that there were no other spells in the area. To be honest, it did not see the Alarm spell. It just figured that bats could be allowed in from the others' discussion earlier. However, nothing seemed to be amiss. Just bats that were sleeping upside-down undisturbed for now above and below, not knowledgeable that there were two large creatures that were going to possible enter the cupola and drop to the attic. The Polymorph spell ended with a whirl of white wind as he still clung to the door.

"Nothing but sleeping bats. A bit of a drop. Please carry me with you! Too tall for me."

Inside the attic space seemed to be six feet tall at the very center, trailing down to about one foot as the sloped roof continued outward. Thatching and makeshift insulation of hay and dried moss went between boards and clay shingles. Down below you would find a hatch leading down into the first floor. This is it. You would be inside.

[Roll Stealth checks at advantage to ensure a good landing. It is not much of a drop, but it can make noise.]

 

[Psychie]

Athaclenna moves as silently as possible as she looks around the room, trying to take in all that she can with her keen eyes. Looking at the scrolls, she whispers to Phectty, "I can't read any of these; can you? They might be important."

Perception roll coming up. Total of 22

 

[Shadeofshade]

Psychie

As Phectty looked around the room he wondered what they were doing. As Athaclenna asked him a question, he took a look. After a while he shook his head and said, “No but we should probably take them with us. Might become useful later.” He then proceeded to open his bag of Holding and place the scrolls in there.

Perception check 4+5=9...I think the dice just hates me right now.

 

[Psychie]

Athaclenna keeps a nervous watch as she works with Phectty to pocket all the scrolls for later examination.

 

[Sherwood]

Brazamal looks at the various beings there, and asks, "Are there any others here? I would not wish my words to be relayed to them with the potential of getting the message garbled. I assure you, this is and important message to you all."