Greyhawk Game Blog

The Rescue begins [25 Apr 1211]

Filed under Tar's Company Storyline » 11 Taking the Amulet Trail by Steve | | Bottom

It’s about 8:00 PM and Tar and Firena are worried—they have not heard from either Vanith or Yalinari for hours. Tar’s beginning to think that something has gone wrong. Dreune suggests that they do some astral searching to see if there is anything magical they need to consider before entering.

Morven agrees and Drathon suggests they move in in full strength during the wee hours. Firena, for once, agrees, but mentions that there is still a possibilty that they were simply detained in gathering information.

Drathon opines that Yalinari isn’t particularly trustworthy. It’s possible that he simply picked ua woman and forgot all about what he was supposed to do. Vanith may not be able to get him out.

Firena:

Possible—but even likely. Vanith is more level-headed however. If she could, she’d come get us.

Dreune (admitting that he is not a military strategist) asks if we need to storm the place and cause trouble, when they may just be late. Drathon also points out that if we storm the place and they are captives, their life may be forfeit. This requires stealth.
Tar nods and (through Firena, says):

OK, here’s what we’ll do. It’s a village not a a castle, we don’t know what to storm. Morven check it out astrally. If you find anything tell us. Then we’ll move in together.
Morven nods and settles in to do the Astral thing.

Dreune:

I didn’t mean we should storm the place, rape the chickens and kill the women and all, I was under the impression that’s what you wanted to do. Why don’t we just ask the sentry that we are looking for two people that should have returned by now.

Drathon:

If so, we’d go now. We should wait. Cover of night. Silence and stealth.

Firena

We probably needn’t explain anything to the sentry. If we enter legally, he shouldn’t stop us.

Morven nods and settles down. It’s fourty-minutes before she opens her eyes again and describes the layout of the place. The large evil-smelling building is warded from her looking into it—she suspects that it is another damned temple. There is also another building with wards and locks on it to the West. It is smaller, but she didn’t see anything of astral interest. She could find no trace of either Yalinari or Vanith.

Dreune:

Why don’t we just ask the sentry that we are looking for two people that should have returned by now.

Tar is concered that if something kidnapped two of the Company, then sending two more into the town is the wrong number. They’d need to go in force, but he’s not enthused about assaulitng a Temple of some random evil God.

Drathon:

We wait. At night, we move in. Take “the damned temple” first. The other building second.

Morven:

Wouldn’t help. They’re not visible to me so they are being held somewhere. He saw them go in, but undoubtedly, they were captured somewhere else.

Firena:

If Morven can’t see them Astrally, they’re either in the Temple or the other building, hidden from out sight. That can’t be a good thing.

Dreune asks Drathon if he wants the company in the town or not, because for Morven to search magically will take at several hours. Drathon says she should do the ceremony now. It will be at least three hours before they can move in, so they may as well know what we’re looking at before they get there. The Company continues the discussion on what to do while Morven leaves Tar’s tent to prepare for the ceremony.

Morven:

If we were to move much closer, I could do the search with a much shorter ceremony. Time may be of the essence.

Tar:

We’w ‘ea’ cwosah doo de awea, yoo wan’ seashed, bud stiw outside da moad.

Morven:

That would help. The closer the better.

Drathon:

Move closer to the moat. Alert the town. May as well enter. No difference.

Tar nods:

OK, Do id. We’w camp in da town. Less move.

It’s 8:30pm when the reach the gate of the town and when they do, they find that gate are closed.

Firena:

Shall we knock?

Tar nods and Dreune kocks on the door and asks to talk to the sentry, before Firena can walk up to the gates. With a fire in her eye that Tar hasn’t seen recently, she glares at the older mage’s back and, after a moment’s hesitation, looks back at Tar. Tar simply raises an eyebrow and Firena shakes her head, but nothing is said. In fact, the night is quiet and not a sound can be heard. The Company waits.

Firena [loudly]:

Gateman! We need to pass these gates. Open to us!

Silence. Dreune proceeds to look for hinges or whatever is the easiest way to open the door and says:

I can do something magically to open the door.

Drathon:

We have other means.

Firena sighs, then nods.

Drathon:

Dreune, open the gates.

The Company can hear a creaking soud by one of the doors, causing Firena to stay Dreune. Shortly, the smaller man-sized door next to the main door opens slightly.

Firena:

Never mind. It seems we have company.

Dreune:

Aw, I was looking forward to it too…

A man pokes his head out:

“Aye, Hello?”

Firena:

Gateman, we require entry into your town. I realize it is late, but this is an emergency.

Gatemen:

Oi, it is? Well, now what be th’ ‘mergency?

Firena:

Two people disappeared into this town earlier. They were expected back hours ago. We’ve had no word and fear for their safety. Let us pass.

Gatemen:

Them’n‘s yours? No doubt at the Goat, but iss no a large tawn.

Firena:

Then we’ll check the Goat. Stand aside.

Gateman:

Oh? ah. You take care of it, you mean? Why, I don’t know …

Firena:

Yes. We’ll take care of it. You needn’t stir yourself further. Company, move out.

Drathon gives the proper order.

Alonso throws open the door into the guard. Cust and Shasivin burst through and the rest follow. By the time Tar, ducks his head on top of his horse, the guardsman is dusting himself and getting up looking a little set out.

Firena:

It’s okay, Gateman. You did everything you could.

Morven directs them to the place to the West of the temple and North of Rakim’s. Tar watches, astride his horse, as Drathon barks out the order to set camp, directing that Morven’s is the first to be set up so that Morven can get to work. Dreune orders Plynsen and Korkyn to help Morven get settled in so she can get started on the ceremony. By the time, Gustuv and Ladbrooke get her tent set up over her, she is already kneeling and her implements are laid out. Drathon places Cust and Shasivin as guards on the tent, and shouts orders to the others to get the rest of camp set up.

As this is occurring, Cust calls Tar over to him. There is a crowd of about 40 people watching the Camp set up. One man in particular is standing next to Cust wearing an extremely unpleasant expression on his face. Tar finds out that the man is Anoush, the mayor of the town and he is demanding to know the Company’s intentions. Tar assures him that the Company want no trouble, but they are searching for two of his men that entered the town two hours ago and have not been seen since. Once they find their people, they will be leaving. Anoush isn’t pleased, but is unable to do anything about it. He warns Tar that he will send for the Baron’s men if they step out of line. They are not to leave the camp. Tar agrees to the condition and the short meeting his over. Anoush shoos the people away, though they aren’t willing to disperse. Something about a group of 20 experienced warriors in their town has set then ill at ease. Especially, ill at ease is a man, darker than the others and looking arabic. Tar tells Hanar to have him watched.

Three hours later the crowd has dispered. Hanar has Benito and Tovish watching Rakim’s house from the camp. They do so by playign a game of Tonk on the Southwest side of the camp. Hanar and Cust have joined them for the moment. The rest of the Company are milling around, when Morvn exits her tent and walks into Tar’s. Most of the Company turns to watch her as Drathon, Dreune, and Firena silently follow her into the tent. Once they are all assembled, she starts:

They’re in the Temple. Each on beds that looks to be iced. Both are naked and bound. They’re at the end of the hall. Below the ground, maybe a level. Maybe two. There’s a stairs nearby.

Tar:

Duh-ree-oon , I wan’ doo know wad dat spew on da Tempwe is. Drafon prepare to moof in.

Drathon nods and exits the tent, his orders starting before he even leaves his tent. The effect is instantaneous. People drop what they are doing and start to form up. Dreune exits after Drathon and calls for Nyra, who looks at him with displeasure. He then asks her and Morven to go astral with him to determine what the wards are and how they can remove them

Nyra:

One minute, Dreune. (She then kneels and picks up some dirt. She then molds the dirt in her hands and then blows it out of her hand.) Spirits of the Ground, Come to me if you will. I wish to speak with you about matters most urgent!

Dreune is a little miffed but watches with great interest as the dirt blows from her hand and before it falls to the ground it starts to swirl around and around and before long the very ground rises up to form a vortex of spinning ground about 8 feet in height. For all the wind, though, nothing is getting sucked into it. All activity in the camp has stopped as the Company stares at the vortex. At least they do until Drathon chastises them.

Nyra:

O great one, from beneath our feet there is a Spirit most evil in the temple near us, we wish to know what foul magicks are on it shell, will you help?

She then smiles as a sound, not unlike the earth moving itself is made, and says:

I’m ready!

The foursome close their eyes and concentrate on their astral bodies. It isn’t long before the are viewing the world through eyes that see into the power flows and ebbs of the world. Dreune looks around and sees Morven’s even more beautiful form—although he doesn’t look long at it. She seems to reflect all that is wrong in him back to his eyes. He moves over to Nyra thinking of his luck to be around two such lovely creatures, when he is shocked to find a a hideous creature in her stead. He recognizes the badger easily as Nyra, but her claws and teeth are sharpened to a razor-fine edge. Even more disturbing is the massive, solid force of earth that sits by her right shoulder. He chuckles to himself as his avatar is virtually the same as his physical form—that of a older man walking with his staff. Nodding to them he sets off toward the Temple.

Where the rest of the town is alive and teeming with life, the temple is devoid of it. The darkness and lack of life is distrubing, but not as distrubing of the last Temple he was in. He tries to ignore the Temple and focus on the green crackling wall that surrounds it’s massive and oppresive bulk. He focuses his view on the wall and watches as his vision zooms in like a microscope, his mind twisting and testing strands of magic that are being held together. Clearing his mind f everything else and allowing the spell to invade his soul he stars to get an impression—that of a wall…a wall with an eye. His mind starts to match complex patterns and soon, the patterns start to unfold and overlapping patterns start to fade away. He’s left with two large ones intertwined. “Ward” and “Sense”. He’s rather proud of himself when Morven speaks:

It looks like a Ward, spell and a Sense spell.

Spirit:

(growling, they think), Yes, Warding and Sensing Humans.

Nyra:

Dear Spirit, If you will, can you create for us a passage through you’re substance into this unholy place?

Spirit:

(Again growling):

As my last act, dear lady of the Moon.

The solid form disolves into nothingness and the remaining three mages leave the area and return to the camp. When they return their sight to their bodies, they are surprised to see a 4 foot diameter hole in the ground right outside of Morven’s tent. The Company is up and armed, gathered around the hole waiting for something dark and deadly to come out of the hole.

Dreune congratulates Nyra for her accomplishment, however, in the future, he would prefer a suggestion instead of action.

Nyra (under her breath and with contempt):

Of course, master!

Dreune:

No, no…it’s not like that. I’d like to talk about it later

Nyra (out loud and with enthusiam):

Tar, you’re cariage awaits…around the warding spell! (Again under her breath) Yea, you do that.

Dreune just gives her a smile and says, “sounds good.”

Drathon:

Marky, Alonso, then me. Hanar you follow, then Cust, Edmund, William. You choose the rest.

Dreune:

Nyra, follow me

He cannot see the look of contempt in the eyes of Nyra, not the hand that Morven places on her shoulder to stay her. Tar mentally sends to Firena: “Meluvia, Parnalam, Plynsen, Korkyn, Benito, Ladbrooke, Orvin, Tovish, and Miles stay.” Firena turns to Hanar and repeats the instruction. Hanar nods and issues the order. Miles looks put out and mumbles something about babysitting and insulting. Firena mentally makes a note to talk to him about it later.

Below the ground, the tunnel only last about 100 feet and it ends in the dark corner of a dirt courtyard behind a six-foot wide column. The courtyard is about 90 feet wide and 50 feet long. There is a set of steps that go upward in the middle of this courtyard. This exits onto a 6 foot wide perimeter walkway that ultimately ends in the main doors in the middle of the sourth wall. Sets of stairs lead from the platform to a third level above this “main” level of the building. On the center of the North wall of the courtyard is a set of large 4’ doors. All of this is poorly illuminated by torches in the wall cressets. A large chandalier of candles remains unlit, but it would not be capable of bathing the room in brightlight in any case. It seems that the Priest of Iuz prefer darker temples. Drathon directs Marky and Alonso to the double doors with Edmund and William to support. Cust and Hanar are to watch the stairs. Dreune directs Nyra and himself to stick with Edmund and William. Nyra says nothing, but follows.

Marky and Alonso open the doors so that Edmund and William can see into the hallway beyond. The doors open up to an east west hallway that each turn North. Directly ahead of the group is a room, about 20×10 with an altar on a small step on the far wall. That black altar is draped with a black cloth and the area is dimly lit by torches in wall cressets.

Dreune to Nyra:

Can Fuaireamir illuminate places if conjured?

Nyra:

No.

Dreune:

“Do you have any spirits that can? That may come in handy down here”

Drathon:

Captain, Marky, Edmund, Shasivin, Gustuv, Alonso, with me. We’ll go right. Lieutenant, Hanar, Shasivin, William, Cust, Dreune, Morven to the left.

Nyra:

In this, I’m not sure of what will respond to my call. It’s best that I not try.

Dreune:

“You know your trade madam.” he says with a small bow

Nyra (dryly):

Yesss, I do.

Drathon:

Captain, Marky, Edmund, Dreune, Cust, Alonso, with me. We’ll go right. Lieutenant, Hanar, Shasivin, William, Gustuv, Nyra, Morven to the left. No further spllitting. If you run into alternate corridors, take them one at a time.

Tar lets Drathon lead the battle team and Firena, the Lieutenant takes command of her team. She makes another mental note to talk to Dreune about Nyra as well. She sighs mentally and thinks that controlling this number of people is a lot of work. She is brought back to the reality of the situation when she turns the corner and sees that the hallway ends in a door. Beyond the door is another hallway. This short hallway goes about ten feet before it turns to the right. A small door set in the wall before the Company (about 15 feet away) and there is a large 4’ door that sets in the wall to the Company’s left. Firena silently tells Hanar to have the double doors watched as she and the rest will head onto the single smaller door. Hanar nods and positions Gustuv and Alonso on that door.

Shasivin opens the small door and the Company finds a yet another short hallway. This one, however is only about ten feet. On the wall before them stands three stout oak doors without windows. The doors are unlocked and, sure enough, on the walls behind them are the keys. Each door opens into a six foot by six foot room. Each one is empty. Next is the 4’ door. From her vantage point in the hall of the cell area’s door Morven can see that there are steps going down at the end of the hall. She looks at the 4’ door and as she’s about to push it open, she shakes her head and takes another look down the hallway to the stairs. She looks at Firena and points down toward the stairs.

Firena looks, quizzical. Morven whispers in her ear. “Down there…I think.” Firena nods and motions the group forward and down. The group heads towards the stairs. The stairs go down about five feet and then turns to the left, going down further. Heading down the stairs, the Company finds themselves at the bottom of the stairs. A door sets in the wall to their left and the hallway turns left after that. A door can be half seen on the far wall. Morven turns to Firena and nods quickly. She whispers again, “They’re down there.”

Firena:

Morven, open the door.

Morven looks questioning at Firena, but then turns to push open the door. As she does, the Company, can see into room. The room has several chairs in it and along, the back wall are racks of cloaks hanging. A door lies in the wall on he opposite side. Hanar enters first, followed by Gustuv, Shasivin, Edmund, Firena, Dreune and Morven. Though the room has little in it but chairs and cloaks, there are two exits. One opposite the door that they entered from and one to the left of them. Firena points to the door to the left. As the Company heads toward the door, Firena’s Amulet starts to go off.

Firena hisses:

Enemies! Beyond the door.

As the team starts to take up they’re positions; Shasivin and William are set, Gustuv and Marky are set; Firena is waiting with Dreune, when Morven starts to enter in the room, she yells and falls face forward—limp—a dagger in her back. Both Dreune and Firena are sure that they could see someone in the hallway behind her, but there’s no one there now.

Dreune rushes to her [Morven] side, arrows at the ready and Firena, already moving toward Morven, yells:

Cover! (to Dreune) Dreune—check astrally. We need to be able to spot our attackers.

Firena then blocks out the world as she sinks down into her healing trance—the pain of hte dagger infusing her body and seeimngly stopping her heart.

Dreune heads to a corner, out of the way and switches to an astral view and looks around the room. He can see Morven’s life force failing as he can see Firena’s starting to infuse with Morven’s. He casts his sight out the door and heads into the hallway. There is nothing living there. As he follows the hallway to the left he can see many more doors, Two on his right and two on his left, and one at the end of the hallway. Nothing living is in the hallway. Suddenly, one of the doors to his right opens and woman steps out. She whispers “Conglacior sum” and a wave of cold overwhelms Dreune. His body starts to shiver and he starts to turn blue. His astral vision fades as he sees her gleeful smile.

William is the first to call out, “Dreune!” Shasivin looks and yells, “Damn!” and starts toward Dreune. He taks off his cloak and covers Dreune trying to figure out why he is so cold. Firena, with the dagger in her hand, exits Morven’s body and looks around. When she looks over at Dreune, she sees him slumped against the wall shivering uncontrollably, his extremeties and lips, a deep shade of blue. His eyes have rolled back into his head. Shasivin is doing his best with him, but isnt sure what to do. Firena brusquely tells him to keep wathing.

Shasivin looks at Firena as she approaches

“I don’ un’erstan’ it, Lieutenant, E’s Hypthermic, ‘e is!”

Firena agrees with his assessment.

Firena:

Shut up and watch. I’m a healer. I know he’s hypothermic.

Shasivin looks at her confused. Didn’t she teach him how to heal people to assist her? Feeling put out, he turns his attention back to the door. At the same time, Firena, once again, enters her healing trance and starts to shiver uncontrollably and can feel Dreune’s cells starting to stich themselves together. In short order, they are both able to stand again. She helps Dreune to his feet and prepares to go down the hallway.

Firena:

The hell with this. Let’s get Yalinari and Vanith and get the hell out of here.

Dreune:

You think she’ll let us walk out of here?

Firena:

No.

Hanar:

Gustuv, Shasivin lead

Dreune:

So we’re attacking then?

Firena:

No.

Hanar:

Myself and Edmund, the rest behind. Mages prepare something useful!

Dreune:

(Thinking to himself) I wonder what we are doing. (to Morven) Welcome back. We might need to take down the cealing…or make a wall…or something.

Firena:

Morven, you know where they are, directions please.

Morven:

Down the hallway. Near the end. Doors on the left.

Firena:

From this point on, we move as quickly as possible. Stealth is no longer an option. But for all the gods’ sake, keep your eyes open and stay together. Hanar, Edmund, you heard Morven. Let’s head out.

Dreune:

She came out of the second door on the right. Be ready!

Firena:

Gustuv, I want you at the back. Watch our asses. Watch that door [pointing to the door Dreune indicated].

The Company quickly heads to the first door that Morven pointed out—a mass of organized confusion exploding into a ball of activity. Morven reaches for the door handle with Gustuv and Alonso at the ready when three doors open simultaneously and three identical women step out of each door, daggers in hand. Hanar is the first to move and quickly strikes the woman nearest to the Company. Her mace flashes up from the floor and into the woman who dissapates in a swirl of black smoke. Gustuv yells, “One behind. Tighten up.” He watches her carefully, but doesn’t move, deciding that sticking with the group is better than advancing on the sorceress.

Firena slashes with her stilleto at the woman in front of her and she, like the other changes to whispy, smoky haze. At the same time, Dreune fires three arrows which go straight through the women breaking on the wall behind her. Where the woman was is now, nothing but smoke.

Firena:

What the hell??? Ok, let’s get Vanith and Yalinari before they come back!

Shasivan quickly tries to open the door, but it won’t budge. The handle is ice cold. He turns toward Firena and shakes his head.

Firena:

Morven, Dreune, I need those doors open now!

Dreune:

Morven, make a door.

Morven:

I’ll try to block the door with the wall. You’ll need to get out of the way.

Dreune looks impressed and says (quietly):

Excellent work Morven! And a good idea too!

With that, a portion of the wall next to the door starts to slide out of the way. Like a snake charmer, she gestures and the door follows until it is covering the nearest door that one of the illusions came through. Unfortunantly, the Company cannot enter the room, as the hole in wall has exposed a block of ice, floor to ceiling, and thick enough to be very hard to see through blocks their passage. Before Firena can exapseratedly speak again, Dreune is chanting in that unfamiliar language of his. He breathes him a large amount of air and exhales it. They others notice that they can see his breath and then they realize that they can see their own breathes as well. It is getting colder—very cold. Before a portion of the blocking ice starts to bubble and melt away to mist, the temperature in the area has dropped a good twenty degrees.

Before long, the temperature has dropped precipitously and before very long everyone’s fingers are starting to hurt and they are loosing feeling of them. Finally, they can see inside the soom. Vanith is laid out before everyone, nude tied to a frozen block of ice.

Firena:

Ok, we have to move fast. Shasivin and Gustuv—watch the door. Morven, work on making a hole in the southern wall, Dreune, William prepare to help Yalinari. Hanar with me to help Vanith. Firena can see that Vanith’s underside is a deep, deep shade of red. It is likely that she has frost bite and may loose some layers of skin. She shakes her head regretting the damage that will be done to Vanith, but they have no choice. She tells Hanar that they will have to pull her off the ice. Vanith will most likey feel so much pain that she will pass out. Hanar nods grimly and the pair start to tear her off the block. Vanith’s eyes open and she screams in pain but, as Firena predicted, it is short lived. With a fleeting recognition in her eyes she looks at Firena. Her eyes then roll back in her head and she goes limp.

At the scream, Dreune turns toward Vanith:

What a horrible use of magic. We need to kill that bitch!”

Morven moves toward the wall and starts to intone again. At that same time, the group can hear someone trying to open the door behind them. There is a loud banging. Suddenly, the group hears Cust’s cry out in pain and Tar’s yell:

“Fin’ ‘er now!”

Dreune:

Sir Tar! We are on the other side. (He thinks) Damn you morven!

By this time, Morven has moved the wall between the two rooms out of the way, allowing Dreune and William into Yalinari’s ice-accoutered cell. Dreune and William are both able to see that being tied to a block of ice does indeed lead to massive shrinkage … or maybe it’s just Yalinari’s natural state.

Dreune to Morven:

Get them through the wall.

Morven nods and calls out to hang on a second. For a third time, she lapses into the heavy concentration of spell casting and prepares to move the block of stone that she placed in front of the door so cleverly less than five minutes prior. As she is moving the rock portion, she can hear Yalinari’s scream of pain as he if lifted up, leaving about 70% of the skin on his back to the block of ice. The banging on the door is more insistant and as soon as the stone block is moved far enough the door veritably is ripped from the hinges as Tar and Company head through, pulling the barely breathing body of Cust.

At this point, both Vanith and Yalinari are swathed in cloaks, their own clothes being a ruined mess in they’re repsective rooms. Yalinari’s amulet is gone.

Tar:

Da Da’ woma’ a’ears and dia s’ears like da nighd. We need do eaf and quickwy!

Drathon:

Hanar, our backs. Gustuv, Shasivin—Cust. William, Alonso—point.

Dreune thinks:

Of all the buildings that we’ve burned down, this will be the most fun!

The Company quickly exits the Temple with Hanar and William looking behind them as they go. At one point, she thinks she can see someone following them, but the feeling goes away when William’s arrow crashes against a wall. It isn’t long before they are back in camp. Firena immediately sets to healing Cust.

Dreune asks to no one in particular, “We can still burn it down later right?” Unfortunantly, no one in particular chooses to answer him. On the other hand, Tar is furuious.

Tar:

We stiw nee’ to dalk do ‘Akim! Drafon, I wan’ ‘akim in ma’ dent in den minnudes!

Drathon, face set in a grim frown nods and calls: “Hanar, Dreune, Nyra, Shasivin, Edmund, William, Alonso, Marky, Ladbrooke with me.”

Without delay, the group forms up and moves out. Ladbrooke’s surprised that no other member of his team has been called and then he realizes why. Drathon first wants to break down the team so that they are Tar’s Company. “Very smart of him”, he thinks, “I wouldn’t have thought of that.” The second thing that he realizes, and not without some pride, is that of all the people he could have chosen, Ladbrooke’s sword was in need. While the rest are fairly green, Drathon values his sword. Ladbrooke stands himself up a little straighter. He’s not certain what chased the others out of the Temple and he’s not certain that he wants to know. What he does know is that the massive hulk of a bodyguard of the Captain’s was near death, the other two were none better, and the Master Sergeant wants him by his side. He’s further surprised when he’s paired with Sergeant. Hanar as a swordmate. He promises himself that he will impress her. The other pairs are MSgt. Drathon and Dreune, Edmund and William, Nyra and Shasisvin, and Alonso and Marky.

On the way, Drathon inform’s Dreune that he will likely have to deal with magic and that Dreuns should be ready. They head toward the stable doors and open one of them. The horse inside whinnies, but the Company finds no other ways into the house. Assuming that the left stable door holds a horse and nothing else, they move to the next door. The door on the Eastern wall is a normal, unassuming door that is both unlocked and leads to a kitchen.

The Kitchen is long and thin, the south wall full of shelves and forming the larder. There is a door in front of them. Heading through the door, they find themselves into a formal dining room—also empty of people. The door from this room is set into the wall to their left and leads into a sitting room. The sitting room contains the typical furnishings one would expect. A door leads form this room to the outside, while an archway leads from the den to the hallway (presumably leading to the front door). As they are passing underthis archway they can hear the sounds of someonw coming down the stairs.

Drathon:

Alonso, Marky, clear the stairs. Edmund, William, in support.

Voice:

I…I…I have a sword. You should leave now!

Drathon:

Don’t kill anyone! We need them alive.

Marky (calling out and then rushing the stairs):

I think not. I think ye’ll be coming with us.

Drathon:

Surrender or die. Do it now. You have one chance.

Down below, they can hear the chase. Alonso and Marky start running up the stairs (Alonso in the lead). Someone else running away. Soon, the sounds of a woman screaming and the sounds of a scuffle can be heard.

Drathon:

Gather them all. Don’t hurt them. Sitting room.

In short order, Marky comes back down frog marching the same man that Tar told them to watch. Alonso is still by the stairs.

Drathon [To Marky]:

Anyone else upstairs?

Marky:

a hole brood—the screaming wench, a yo