Hunting Fiends pt2

Airship sailors are indeed relaxing down below in one of the basement common rooms. Here, they seem to be in the midst of a big old party with lots of booze. Booze everywhere!

Kore has turned down offers of booze and even company repeatedly. She's sitting somewhere near the center of the deck (where the ship moves the least), chznting to herself in a language few understand and keepiing her eyes squeezed tightly shut. The Half-Elf is a little pale, if one can tell with someone whos skin is already rather gray. Airship travel .Got to love it.

GAME: Morgan refreshes spells.

Sasha has been drinking mead...cuz it's better than actual ale.

Down the steps into the basement goes the big Ork. He moves slowly, deliberately, his black spike covered armor making little noise compared to the din of a party. He keeps his right hand on the hilt of his big curved sword. Now, the skull designed helmet has been put in place to make his visage slightly more ugly then normal.

GAME: Morgan rolls diplomancy: (20)+diplomancy: 20

Iskandar walks down carrying a large pitcher of ale in one hand, an amphora of wine in the other. He peers about taking in the sailors and then sets both down on a table. "Who's thirsty?" he calls.

GAME: Morgan rolls Diplomacy: (19)+1: 20

Morgan gets a drink at the bar and starts up to talking to a group of guys "Do you know the owner of the shooting gallery?" she gives off a look like she is generaly wondering if any one knows.

GAME: Iskandar rolls diplomacy: (19)+8: 27

GAME: Serraphine rolls diplomacy: (1)+8: 9 (EPIC FAIL)

GAME: Kore rolls diplomacy: (7)+0: 7

GAME: Baz da Ork rolls diplomacy: (14)+1: 15

GAME: Sasha rolls diplomacy: (9)+16: 25

Serraphine think she had this. I mean, she helped figure out where the sailors are, she was at the bar, she could buy something for the sailors. What is it sailors liked? Oh yeah!

"Bartender! Your finest wine!" Wait, it was wine that they liked, right? Eh, they're sailors. They would like to have any booze, right? She grabbed the bottle of wine, and swaggered her way off to the basement with the rest.

Wait... They liked dogs too, right? Who doesn't!

"MAYRA! COME!"

And as Serraphine walked down into the basement, wielding the bottle of wine on high, "WHOSE GOT THE CHEESE, 'CUZ I BROUGHT THE WINE!"

There was a ruckus upstairs, a shouting and even a few screams, and soon, behind Serraphine the giant slobber monster burst forth into the downstairs area. Chuckling and preening with her tail wagging and head slobbering like the best of puppers!

Chuckle-chuckle!

"The what?"

"Who?"

"no idea what you're talking about..."

It's not that they don't necessarily know, that much is obvioius, but rather they appear to be spending their time relaxing and wasting your time. Supposedly, your target /does/ frequent this place, so they probably know OF him, but they might be looking for something a bit more... palm-greasing.

And that's when Serraphine arrives and so does her pup and they're all staring and bursting out laughing.

... or screaming because that's a hyena.

ALso, one of them is totally trying to flirt with Kore drunkenly.

Morgan gets stared at confusedly.

Iskandar is making a bit more progresds with his 'thristy' questions because let's face it, that's why they're here...

Realizing he is out of his depth, the big Ork goes and sits in one of the side alcoves. After making a few intimately suggestive motions with a leg of mutton he's left alone by the terrified and disgusted patrons. There he contents himself with a pitcher of ale, afore mentioned meat leg and a good view of the room. His helmet and scimitar waiting for the moment violence is offered, or someone takes him up on a mutton ride, whatever monstrous nightmare that might be.

Sasha is staying near the door to upstairs. "I don't need to move...."

Flirting with Kore has her fidgeting and staring at the person in question. She eventually finds herself scurrying away from them in order to find others to interrogate. At least she knows that the drunken flirter was being earnest. They really do like their girls tiny and gray. ...Apparently. What the does for the investigation she is unsure, but rather than pursue it further she'll simply talk to someone else. Just trying to sniff out secrets for now. And avoid embarrassment.

Iskandar pours drinks liberally until both wine and ale are nearly empty. "Yes, yes, have another! I'm sure its better than what you're used to in the air! Say, what ship are you on? I see. And you...?"

Morgan starts to buy the people around her drinks and hopes to get more info from them. She would charm them but why waist a spell.

GAME: Iskandar rolls sense motive+2: (11)+8+2: 21

GAME: Morgan rolls sense motive: (17)+2: 19

GAME: Baz da Ork rolls sense motive: (7)+9: 16

GAME: Serraphine rolls Sense Motive: (2)+1: 3

GAME: Sasha rolls sense motive: (9)+6: 15

GAME: Constantin rolls sense motive: (15)+1: 16

Morgan listens to the ones she are drinking with trying to pay attion to what is being said.

Constantin was distracted in his efforts trying to score their target as a date, and wanders upstairs to see what the laughter was.

Sasha's listening all right....but as far off as she was, she likely wasn't noticed by the sailors as watching her. She certainly kept quiet.

Iskandar gives more attention to how the airship sailors act than what they say. He reads their body language and posture the same way he would if he were playing cards and trying to spot their tells. Or if he were in a fist fight and trying to determine the best place to plant a punch, he realizes with amusement.

You know what?

A friggign hyena is enough to put anyone's party in a weird place and between the probing questions about the owner of the shooting gallery and the fact that they 'd really like to get back to the party without a hyena trying to clown all of them, you're able to extract a room number from one of them who thinks that's it. There are plenty of rooms down here in the basements and you're soon on your way down a set of stairs, down a hallway, down to the sixth door on your left. Or was it fifth? He wasn't sure.

GAME: Kore rolls sense motive+2: (11)+22+2: 35

Serraphine is sure that she is NAILING it. I mean, they laughed with her, they drank the wine, and clearly Mayra is the cutest?

"You are, aren't you? You're stealing the show." Serraphine stares at her Hyena.

Mayra looks back at Serraphine, tilting her head and blinking.

"I'm supposed to be the one getting them to talk. Not you." Serraphine sighs and pinches her nose, maybe Mayra wasn't the best idea.

Chuckle-chuckle.

"What?! No!" Serraphine stares at Mayra who stares back. And then Serraphine leaps at her hyena, grabbing her about the neck and dragging her down. Mayra lets out a rising chuckle and tries to struggle free. "NOPE! NOPE! I GOTCHA!" Serraphine keeps her in a headlock.

"AH... I don't think the hyena is stealing anything. Um. Serraphine? ...Oh." As the wrestling becomes more explosive Kore finds herself backing away and moving into the crowd once more. Eventually, however, she'll find herself heading down the stairs toward the basement. "One... Two..." She counts quietly as she walks along, a finger lifted toward the portals. "Ah. Door six. I wonder what we're going to find here..." First and foremost, is the door locked?

The doors -- bouth doors that he wondered aloud about -- appear to be locked.

Ah, your old worst enemy. The door.

Constantin turns around to follow Kore, since he was already on the stairs. He cracks his neck from side to side. "Well," he opines quietly, "there's a floorshow going on upstairs so at least people will be distracted."

"We got the info?" The Ork says when it seems like the Unit is starting disperse. "Can I kill them all now?" He says as he takes his half eaten mutton leg and pitcher of ale with him down the stairs. As they mount up before the door he chortles and snorts. "Oy, anyone good wit a lock or should I just open it up a bit, ya? Or I can go back and make a sailor key, ya?"

GAME: Kore rolls Perception+2: (3)+16+2: 21

GAME: Kore rolls disable device+2: (9)+18+2: 29

"...Alarm trap," Kore will call out to the others in a harsh whisper after spending a moment examining the frame of one of the doors. "That's the one." She reaches into a pouch on her belt with one hand, removing a goblin army knife. She then begins to pick at the frame, stripping away the paint on the right side of the door and working the knife behind it. "I should be able to get the door open without actually disturbing the seal if I..." After some work, Kore apparently removes some pins and causes the door to open--- from the wrong side. "Careful, kick it hard and the alarm will go." She tucks the knife away. "Let's see what we've found."

Constantin nods slowly, hand on the hilt of his sword -- juuuust in case.

The door opens...

... to reveal a ROOM.

A very clean room, actually. The bed is even neatly made. No adventurer could possibly live here! Okay, so mayben one coiuld. A swordsman too, possibly, as your quarry, Oinig, is said to dwell.

Still, there's a writing desk, a neatly made bed, a couple of footlockers, a couple of books on the desk.

All in all, it's nothing untowards at first glance. There's no bloody demonic scrawl oin the walls, for example.

GAME: Serraphine rolls perception: (15)+3: 18

Iskandar steps into the room, and makes a slow walk around it. "Now this is a captain's room," he looks about. "Should we search for clues?" he guesses.

GAME: Iskandar rolls perception: (10)+8: 18

GAME: Kore rolls perception+2: (20)+16+2: 38

GAME: Constantin rolls perception: (6)+9: 15

Constantin looks around, turning in the centre. "It's not right, it's just too clean." He has nothing more to add.

GAME: Kore rolls perception+2: (1)+16+2: 19 (EPIC FAIL)

"My room is always this clean," Kore replies whilst rapping her goblin army knife against the wall along the window sill and behind the footlockers. She seems to be searching everything with an extreme degree of care.

GAME: Morgan rolls perception: (4)+13: 17

GAME: Morgan casts Detect Magic. Caster Level: 10 DC: 17

Sasha slides into the room and stands in a corner....mostly to watch the door, but also not to get in anyone's way

Morgan points to the lockers "They are traped with evocation magics" said as she makes a few motions in the air. "I bet they will explode in fire or something like that."

GAME: Morgan rolls 1d20: (7): 7

Morgan points to the one she did "go for that one quick."

Constantin moves to open it up, as directed.

GAME: Serraphine rolls strength: (9)+3: 12

GAME: Kore rolls disable device+2: (13)+18+2: 33

Iskandar watches critically, one eyebrow raised. "I don't - I don't understand, why would the captain's locker be trapped?" He looks between Morgan and Kore. "Perhaps by his enemies?"

Morgan says as she backs away from the trap "I traped most of the doors in my house because I could."

"Well, maps are often closely guarded secrets and either the navigator or captain hold them." Serraphine says, she shrugs and shoves her blade into the chest, giving it a good yank - but it stays shut. "Nope."

"To keep us out," Kore replies. She's back to work with her tools, quickly removing the hinges of the box and then the lid. Afterward, the lock is easy to undo and she can just reattach the lid. "The trap was disabled long enough. The second will be harder to deal with. I'll manage. ...You might wish to stand back. But first- what is inside of here?"

Inside the first chest you've opened is a book. Interestingly, it's identical to the book on the writer's desk in shape, color, and script on the sides.

Constantin looks over as the box is opened. "A code book?" He glances at the book on the writer's desk.

Iskandar picks up the other book on his way to crowding the side of the room as far from the lockers as he can get at Kore's warning. He opens the book in his hands and flips through a few pages, skimming.

BOth books appear to be travel logs, stamped with marks from various cities and places.

They are very different, indicating two very different routes and destinations and locales and such.

Morgan looks to Kore and says "YOu ready to do the other one?"

Kore nods and takes a deep breath, approaching the other locker. "Okay..."

GAME: Kore rolls disable device+2: (15)+18+2: 35

GAME: Morgan rolls 1d20+10: (7)+10: 17

Morgan does the finger twirls and says "crap sory this one rebuffed my spell."

"That's alright," Kore responds a bit tersely. She raps the goblin army knife against the footlocker a few times and then begins to work on the hinges. "I think I'll be able to pop the pin..." She's musing mostly to herself as she works. Out come the thieve's tools now, working at the lock without actually disarming it. It might not be clear how she's doing so well without actually tripping the fire trap. "You did well, Morgan. Thank you."

Once Kore has opened the second one after painstakingly scraping the runes of it, it opens easily enough.

The chest appears to be empty -- that is until some poking around finds a false bottom in it, concealing several maps.

These maps are floorplans for several homes in Alexandria, though it's unclear who they beloing to.

It is, perhaps, worrisome. There are also maps of Vandalheim and Tashraan, each with several red dots marked at various points with no clear indication of their meaning.

Serraphine looks over the shoulders of the other at the maps and then points at one, "I think that's Sandy's house." She nods sagely.

Constantin looks over at the maps as well. "What /are/ those red dots?" He peers, in particular, at the map of Tashraan.

GAME: Morgan rolls Knowledge/Geography: (9)+20: 29

GAME: Constantin rolls knowledge/local: (11)+2: 13

Constantin nods slowly. "Tashraan has always been a hotbed of smuggling -- but why leave these here?"

Sasha says, "yeah. I'd take them with us. I don't really care if he knows he's being tracked."