Grim Deed Part 7

In the dark corridors of Manor Umbergloom...

The adventurers in their quest to find the deed (and kill a vampire) had gone upstairs to hunt for Lady Blythe; but her tracks wound up short in the dusty corridor.

Instead, they came across the irate Butler of the manor in the desolate upstairs, promptly tarred and stickified by Skyler. The butler was in search for a recipe for apparently man-eating plant feed.

One interrogation later, the adventuring party is left to decide a direction - to continue to find the way to basement, to hunt for Lady Blythe, or return for more cookies and tea and enjoy some relaxing lounge music.

The ranger has already expressed their desires, and thus remains distracted as they finish their tar-geted interrogation.

Instead, she continues to strain her perception to localize where the vampire may have retreated.

"I'm with Carver." Skyler interjects, glowering under the lacy bit of veil on the moth-eaten hat he had previously stolen from the vampire's parlor, "I have a sneaky suspicion that the mimic is a red herring and the cheap floozy with the blood fetish has the deed." Beat. And he glowers at the Butler some more, "Or this guy has it. Seriously, this job has been a pain in the *ass* and not in a good way."

"Any sign?" Culix asks the ranger as they head out. She nods emphatically in agreement with Skyler's assessment. "I mean, it was fishy from the get go. It's only gotten worse. If we can bag the vamp, pretty sure we can get paid by /someone/ even if this whole thing was a setup. Still reckon we should go for both, though. But vampire first." she agrees.

"Weeeell, if the vampire is here, then if we get the deed and just leave, I reckon that the owner's gonna arrive and get all the blood sucked outta their skull. Sketchy as they are, I don't think they deserve that." *The egalrin shrugged. "So I think dealing with them before anything else is probably ideal."

GAME: Carver casts Acute Senses. Caster Level: 13 DC: 15

<OOC> Carver says, "is trying to get a whif of perfume, any chance?"

<OOC> Aelwyn says, "Roll for perception!"

GAME: Carver rolls perception+18: (2)+19+18: 39

"Stop whining kid, at least it ain't your day job! Try digging graves for brains for a shift!" The butler calls out from his stickified situation. "And it ain't like he didn't invite her!" Then there's additional cursing and muttering as the man attempts to free himself from the tar.

Meanwhile, the corridor remains silent beyond the group of adventurers. One door remained at the very end, but the other side of the corridor just had a wall.

Carver sniff. Sniff-Sniffs. Her eyes narrow in thought before moving to the blank wall, fingertips brushing the oak panelling. "She slipped back through here, still in her gas form. I can still pick up the scent." She grits her teeth, letting fingertips fall away. "A trick I sadly cannot imitate."

<OOC> Aelwyn says, "Roll for perception!"

GAME: Culix rolls perception: (13)+13: 26

<OOC> Carver says, "I will look as well."

<OOC> Aelwyn says, "Go for it!"

GAME: Carver rolls perception+10: (13)+19+10+10: 52

Culix follows Carvers lead, making her way up to the wall. She traces her fingertips along the wall, and then presses her ear to it and taps in a few spots, seeing how the sound travels through the wall or if there are any tell-tale seams or breaks in the plaster. Finally, she taps one that gives a hollow sound, and grins. She brings a finger to her lips to indicate to the others to be quiet, and then kneels next to the hollow panel. Pushing it to reveal a keyhole. She fetches her picks and tensioners from her pouch and kneels before the lock to get to work.

<OOC> Culix says, "I'd like to attempt to pick the lock."

"She is not that way." Carver says, but allows Culix to work. She will even aid the goblin, with a surprising deft hand, securing one of the pick placements as she works.

<OOC> Carver says, "I will roll to aid."

GAME: Carver rolls disable device: (2)+13: 15

<OOC> Culix says, "And I have masterwork thieves tools."

GAME: Culix rolls disable device+2+2: (15)+15+2+2: 34

<OOC> Aelwyn thummub. "Lock begs for mercy and yields. Anything else from anyone?"

"Well, guess we know where we need to go, then, bit obvious, but never hurts to know for certain." The egalrin chuckles, heading off with the others and waiting patiently for the others to track and make their way through the doors.

"So are we gunna ignore the fact that Sticky over there," And Skyler jerks his thumb towards the Butler contemptuously, before pulling the veil down a little further, "Just admitted that the Golem-fucker knew about Carver's new girlfriend?" Beat. "She's a shitty poker player, so it can't be that he kept her around to play cards."

He then moves to stand beside Carver and sniffs, before wrinkling her nose. "I smell her too, Carver. It reminds me of when Jarik eats beans."

Culix nods once, "Deed might be, or some more comprehensible way of figuring out what this places whole... deal is. And... not ignoring, filing away for later." she whispers back to Carver and Sky as she works. Keen ear turned towards the lock as she works the picks along, setting each of the pins in turn, easing off on the tension once when she finds a false set, before finally getting the last pin and turning the barrel of the lock. With that done, she swiftly puts the tools back into the pockets on the well worn leather roll she carries them in, rolls them up and tucks them back into her pouch.

She draws her dagger, and then prepares to open the chamber she has unlocked.

The hidden lock, now exposed to the deft picking, lets out a quiet 'BANG!' and a puff of smoke when it is opened. It was harmless, though.

"I got the damn key here!" The butler calls out. "Bah, just wipe the damn lock clean!"

Meanwhile, the hidden door opens - it was quite large door - to expose the really plain room. The most prominent thing in it was the winch and pulley and the metallic ladder leading down below.

Strangely enough though, the floor was covered in black slime, that felt quite like oil in some senses. It was pooled on the floor, leading down into the hole.

And there was a dust covered statue of a dragon leaning against the wall in the corner, go figure.

Carver anxiously rubs knuckles to cheek at Skyler's description, "Anyone could have invited her in, or she coul' be holding the deed and thus 'own' the estates. Which would allow her free entrance." Which of these is the most likely? Hard to say. The butler's annoyance is ignored. She gives one look to the room, its slime covered innards, and then down to Culix. "Still interested?"

Reithak shrugged again. "Not worth thinking about for now. Either he let her in and so he'll pissed we got rid of a literal vampire, or he actually didn't know. Seems fine either way to me."

Reithak looked at the room. "Well, I don't think that's too normal, wonder what caused that? Not that anything in this place is normal, mind you."

<OOC> Reithak says, "roll to identify slime?"

<OOC> Aelwyn says, "Sure, I think it's k/dungeoneering"

GAME: Skyler rolls knowledge/dungeoneering: (19)+1: 20

GAME: Culix rolls knowledge/dungeoneering: (5)+11: 16

GAME: Reithak rolls knowledge/dungeoneering +2: (7)+6+2: 15

<OOC> Carver says, "I will roll to aide skyler."

GAME: Carver rolls knowledge/dungeoneering: (10)+13: 23

While the party stood around the room, something else starts to creep up to them.

A horrible, stomach churning smell. Long gone are the days of fancy cologne and perfume - now it was soul wrenching putrid odor that assaults one's nostrils, emanating from down below.

Skyler wrinkles his nose, and pulls his shirt up over his nose. "Heard the alchemist I use talking about those buggers." Skyler's voice is muffled, but he's not exactly a soft spoken sort, squinting at the slimes, "Something about mixing pitch and some other shit to create living alchemical fires. Highly flammable and extremely toxic to ingest." Beat. "Tasty as they look, don't eat'm."

He pauses, and then calls back towards the butler, "Take your key and sit on it! The only thing we want from you is *silence*, you dumbass!" And so continues Skyler's campaign to make his frustration at this entire job everyone else's problem.

Culix wrinkles her nose, and mouths to the rest of the party, 'Ooze.' before looking back at the slimy puddle. And eyeballs the dragon statue suspiciously. Flammable oozes. Dragon statue. Definitely a trap. But traps usually hide valuables. She moves to begin sneaking into the room carefully, keeping her dragger out and eyes peeled for signs of a trap trigger, expecting a gout of flame from the dragon at any moment.

<OOC> Culix says, "I'd like to sneak into the room and search for traps."

"Well, that sure is a pleasant smell." *Reithak huffs. "Might be a black ooze, whatever those are. Seems you all know more about them than I do."

"So, you think it's supposed to burn us alive if we go in here? Lovely addition to this wonderful home, isn't it?"

"Good if you wanted to dispose of something, but not sure how'd you control the fire in here." The house itself is flammable to the best of her knowledge. As Culix slips inside, her frown grows a little more. This isn't really getting her closer to finding the vampire.

<OOC> Aelwyn says, "Roll for it! Sorry, had to step afk for a moment."

GAME: Culix rolls stealth+4: (20)+19+4: 43

<OOC> Aelwyn says, "Also looking for traps?"

GAME: Culix rolls perception+1: (1)+13+1: 15 (EPIC FAIL)

<OOC> Culix says, "Oof. Yeah"

<OOC> Aelwyn paged! "Feel free to keep poking around. ._."

<OOC> Culix says, "I'll sneak over to the ladder shaft and take a peek down."

<OOC> Aelwyn says, "You had darkvision, right?"

<OOC> Culix says, "I do, out to 90'"

Culix sneaks over to the ladder and peers down for a moment, before coming back to the group and shaking her head. In low tones, she whispers, "Wine cellar, looks like. More ooze down there. No sign of the mimic or the vamp or the deed. Say we double back here if we don't find what we're looking for elsewhere."

"Not a dead end, but at least not somewhere we need to check right this instant, then." Reithak nodded, turning their attention elsewhere. "So, there's gotta be another way upstairs, just one door to check, right?"

"Should we beat the butler up for the key so we can lock the door behind us?" Skyler asks brightly, pale grey-green eyes bright as he considers the idea with relish. He frowns, and adds, "We could always drop a torch down the hole, light'm up and let'm burn out while we're killing the skank." Beat. "Did it look like a cave? Or was it wood down there?"

Carver moves to the last door, opening it quickly. She rather doubts that her quarry is here either but for sake of being thorough...

Culix shakes her head at Sky, "Cobblestone. Probably a basement level. I'm not entirely against burning this place down at this point but I'd rather not be fighting a vampire while it happens." she says, and scratches her cheek. "So maybe one thing at a time. We could chuck her down there with a lit torch before we leave."

<OOC> Aelwyn says, "Which door are you opening Carver?"

<OOC> Carver says, "the one behind us"

As the party discusses the implications of setting the manor on fire, Carver opens one of the plain rooms - and it opens easily. It reveals a somewhat comfortable looking room without windows, but plenty of bookcases and a large mahogany desk. Papers are scattered all over the place however, and another bed lies in the corner. It was a bit of an anomaly in the chaotic room, its sheets completely straight and pillows ordered just so. Scrolls, opened books, sketches and various diagrams of symbols and animal parts litter the room.

<OOC> Skyler says, "I'm gunna join her and go through the paperwork to see if mebbe the deed is in there"

<OOC> Culix says, "I'll help look."

<OOC> Aelwyn says, "Roll for perception! Also if you have any appropriate profession."

GAME: Skyler rolls perception: (4)+12: 16

GAME: Culix rolls perception: (3)+13: 16

GAME: Reithak rolls perception: (17)+19: 36

"I don't think this is going to lead upstairs." The egalrin huffed loudly as she stepped into the room. "Just leaves one last area to check after this, then. Still, if they've got documents here, maybe there's something that'll shed light on whatever in the hells is happening in this place?"

Carver mutters to herself, irritated at yet another room. Complete with its own nonsensical rules. Least the butler is not yelling at them any longer.

"Nothing." Skyler sighs, after rifling through the papers like a clingy girlfriend that's managed to break into her boyfriend's correspondence. He pauses, squinting down at an treaties on interbreeding with the fey. "I'll take this one for Telamon." He mutters, "He deserves nice things. And a warning."

On the desk there was a piece of paper with just the words 'bored bored bored bored' repeated all over before what looks like tea or coffee was spilled over it.

Culix leafs through a few of the documents laying around, and shakes her head. "Nothing." she sighs. "Alright, lets move on. I could try climbing up the outside and running a line." she suggests to the others. "If we can't find a way upstairs. I'm decent at climbing." she says. "You think the vamp is up?" she asks Carver. "There's also another door, right? Just by the stairs when we first came in. We skipped it because we checked out the master bedroom first."

Reithak was looking through the room quickly, and where better to start than what was looking like the oldest stuff in the place. Reithak perked up suddenly, and deflated just as quick. "Don't think this is the right deed, and I think it's still invalid for a different deed,, too." Reithak muttered. "That's odd, I don't think I see anything on this diagram showing a way up above this floor though. "They're missing pieces, though, you see anything on that wall Carver? Looks like one of those bits is there that matches up with this."

<OOC> Aelwyn says, "Any knowledge on engineering by chance, or some other architecture/building applicable profession?"

<OOC> Culix says, "I have engineering"

GAME: Culix rolls knowledge/engineering: (1)+6: 7 (EPIC FAIL)

Carver raps on the wall, where the perfume disappated. Knock-Knock. She keeps an ear against the wall, as if listening for a different note.

Carver says, “Some sort of sealed room past the wall, perhaps. I can retrieve Deathless and start trying to break our way in...”

"Blood hells, don't!" Butler, who has been quietly working at his own predicament, suddenly calls out. "I'll have to fix the wall 'en! Give a working man a break!" He hefts up his tarred hands and then smacks them. Welp. Stuck.

Culix considers the options and goes to look at the map again. She scratches her head then, "So, the vampire got in, right? So there must be a crack or crevice. I don't think even gassy she can go through solid walls." she says then. She considers for a moment the placement of the room. The butler yelling is considered. "Tell us how to get in there then, 'fore we make a door."

"If that chucklefuck doesn't want us to break down the wall, I say we break down the wall." Skyler says firmly, with a stubborn jut to his chin, pitching his voice to carry, "I think I have some bombs! Or we can lure one of the pitch oozes and light it on fire, and napalm our way in." Beat. "Unless *someone* wants to tell us how to get in."

"Either there's another entrance, or all the actual entrances were removed, and they can only get there through magic." *Reithak grumbled.* "Alright! Then just tell us how to get up there without and property damage, and we'll be more than happy to oblige you in that regard."

The butler curses and attempts to free himself, with the bolt stuck on his neck bulging out threateningly. "Hells bell's, get up where? You lot came here screaming deed and vamps and everything else in the lot. I do not get paid to figure out where the damn guests disappear all the time." He jerks his head at Reithak - about only remaining freedom he has left. "You got wings, don't you? Why don't you take a look?"

"Make a door it is, then." Culix says and turns back towards the wall in question. "Should have brought a sledge, didn't think it would be this kind of job." she sighs. She pulls her goblin army knife out of her pouch, and begins twisting, bopping, pulling and spinning various gizmos on it until a pointy jab saw pops out. She knocks the wall a few times, looking for a spot that seems weakest, and then stars banging on the handle of the saw with the pommel of her dagger, hoping to find wood and plaster rather than brick.

"Well, you'll have to forgive me for not being entirely keen on going up to another floor with an uncertain exit and a fairly certain vampire lurking up there all on my lonesome." *Reithak grumbled loudly.* "But, hey, I can probably do that, and I'll drop a rope down, or something."

"If it is plaster and stone, I might have a spell..." Carver says as she observes Culix begin to work. "Though, I hope you are hungry..." She looks back to the butler, her empathy for working class quite frayed. "You will manage."