Chapter 1c: The Waterfall Gate

[Marullus]

Sorry, I missed that!

Ylves is weeping openly, grasping her open hands at the now barred door, grieving her father's death. You ask her about the key and she shakes her head. "That's with... him," she manages between sobs.

[redwarrior]

Not wanting to run back into the street, and risk more arrows, Hild rushes down the stairs, looking for the exterior door, if she finds it, she will attempt to open it, hoping it will open from the inside. If not, she will attempt to break it down.

[ybn1197]

Piers looks to Olivia. "Bar this door behind me; I'm going for Sigurd. I will call your name when I run back; otherwise don't open the door for anyone else." Piers will then dash out into the street keeping as low a profile as possible. Once he reaches Sigurd's body, he will pull the man by the collar of his shirt or jacket back to the door. Once there, he will knock roughly on the door and call Olivia's name to let him back in.

[Marullus]

Characters:

• redwarrior: Hild Gamlidottir (1 / 3)
• Samwell Turleton: Olivia Linderoth
• ybn1197: Piers
• (NPC): Ylves
• (NPC): Sigurd
• redwarrior: Bork OdinKarsson
• Alethan: Gudmund
• Alethan: Skardi

Hild runs down the stone stairs and finds a large landing dimly illuminated from the stairs above. An open archway on your left reveals a basement cut into the stone below the building. The first doors are storage rooms, but a long dark hallway extends beyond them. "Hey. Hey, is someone there? What's going on?" comes a voice from the hall. "We haven't been fed today, man. Water, at least?" says another. A heavy oak door is barred on the opposite side of the landing, looking to have more stairs going down in the pitch black.

Piers Luck Rolls [1d20+1] = 17+1 = 18[1d20+1] = 2+1 = 3

As Olivia consoles Ylves, Piers charges her with manning the door and dashes out into the street. He is focused and runs straight for Sigurd's body, grabbing the city's locksmith by his shoulders and hauling him back towards the building. He calls for Olivia to open the door and stumbles in, getting Sigurd to safety! As Olivia tries to shut and bar the door, it bounces and rattles, stopping on a heavy leather boot shoved into the doorjam. The serpentine face of a dragonborn guard hisses through the three-inch crack, his foot in the boot and his sword in hand. He calls back over his shoulder loudly in his sibilant tongue for reinforcements.

Actions!

[redwarrior]

Hild stands indecisively for a moment, trying to decide what duty is the strongest. If these people are locked up, surely it is for a good reason. However, the town is on fire, there are dragons overhead, and enemies in the streets. Whatever their crimes, surely, they should not be left to die at the hands of the invaders. Her mind made up, she runs to the door and opens it if she can.

[Samwell Turleton]

Olivia will attempt to hold the door. She calls for someone to help to try to dislodge the soldier and its boot from the doorway so that she can bar the door to delay the soldiers.

[ybn1197]

Piers slams the handle of his club straight down on the foot of the guard.

Piers Attack: [1d20+1] = 2+1 = 3 Club Damage: [1d4+1] = 2+1 = 3

What is the target DC to hit? I may burn luck just to accomplish this so we can close the door.

[Marullus]

Characters:

• redwarrior: Hild Gamlidottir (1 / 3)
• Samwell Turleton: Olivia Linderoth
• ybn1197: Piers
• (NPC): Ylves
• (NPC): Sigurd
• redwarrior: Bork OdinKarsson
• Alethan: Gudmund
• Alethan: Skardi

Olivia calls for help, putting her shoulder to the door. Piers rushes to help, bringing down his club at the boot. The guard has a choice to get crushed by the club or pull his boot out of the door to dodge; he does the latter. The door slams shut and Olivia is able to drop the oaken crossbar into place. The door rattles on its hinges as the guard pounds on it, but you've bought the moment, anyway.

Ylves holds her breath, a moment of hope as her father is dragged in. She lets it out suddenly as she confirms he is in fact dead, and sobs upon him. His dagger and fine tools are still upon his belt, his ring of keys still in his hand. His daughter's grief washes over him, her boyish short-cropped hair on his chest; she makes no move to leave him or take his belongings.

Hild breaking a door [1d20+1] = 19+1 = 20

Hild rushes into the thick darkness of the hallway. Feeling along the stone walls, she finds sconces with the nubs of burnt-out torches and heavy oaken doors inset on the walls. Each of four door has a barred window about 5-7 feet off the floor and though she tries the latches, they are locked. The fetid stench of overflowing chamberpots comes from three of the rooms. Two of the men are speaking to you. "Please, please have pity. I ain't dyin' like this." Already resolved to help them, Hild shoulders the door. She's accostomed to bending large horses to her will and this door will not stymie her. WHAM! To the shock and surprise of the inmate within, Hild's strength actually does splinter the wood at the locking mechnism. A few more hard kicks and the door gives way, allowing the door to swing inward...

In the room above, Piers and Olivia hear hard blows and shattering wood in the cellar below. The dimly-lit staircase downward looms before you and Hild has not returned.

(Actions!)

[redwarrior]

Hild looks in at the inmates. Quickly, the town is under attack! Come with us if you wish to live! So saying, she starts to check other doors as well as the hallway down.

[Samwell Turleton]

Olivia thanks the efforts of Piers in getting the door closed before descending the stairs.

[ybn1197]

Piers will take the ring of keys, the dagger, and the tools. "Come child," he says to Ylves. "We can not stay here. You're father is gone but we are not. You need to press on for his sake." He will guide (or carry if necessary) Ylves down the stairs.

[Marullus]

Characters:

• redwarrior: Hild Gamlidottir (1 / 3)
• Samwell Turleton: Olivia Linderoth
• ybn1197: Piers
• (NPC): Ylves
• (NPC): Sigurd
• redwarrior: Bork OdinKarsson
• Alethan: Gudmund
• Alethan: Skardi

The outer door now barred and temporarily holding fast, Olivia hurries down the dim stairs to the landing below, leaving Piers to collect up the locksmiths' goods and coax Ylves into leaving her beloved father behind. He succeeds in doing so, the girl surpressing her grief and following him down to the landing where Olivia stands.

"Quickly, the town is under attack! Come with us if you wish to live!" they hear Hild yell in the dark hallway to their left, followed by her hurrying footfalls. She already felt around to find the three also-locked doors, which end the hallway. The two doors nearest the landing are open but still too dark to see. A scruffy northman emerges with Hild back onto the platform. "Nobody's got a lantern?" he asks. Behind them the second voice yells frantically from the hallway, "Don't leave me here, please! Please!"

Repeating description:

Hild runs down the stone stairs and finds a large landing dimly illuminated from the stairs above. An open archway on your left reveals a basement cut into the stone below the building. The first doors are storage rooms, but a long dark hallway extends beyond them.... A heavy oak door is barred on the opposite side of the landing, looking to have more stairs going down in the pitch black.

[ybn1197]

"We haven't needed it till now," Piers says guiltily while pulling out his lantern and lighting it.

[Marullus]

The lantern illuminates the dark hallway, confirming what Hild had found there with groping hands. One cell hangs open with a broken lock. Three other cell doors still stand closed. The yelling man's fingers can be seen waving frantically, sticking through the bars of one window. The nearer two unlocked doors hang open, the goods within in disarray as the town guards got ready and departed quickly this morning. One room holds supplies, foodstuffs, and casks of drink while the other holds a handful of leftover shields, swords, maces, and leather armor jerkins.

A loud, splintering CRACK sounds from above.

[redwarrior]

Hild yells out See where those stairs go! Someone, grab some equipment from the storeroom! We'll need it! and turning she will attempt to force one of the still locked doors. Only to bounce off of it!


Str Check [1d20+1] = 4+1 = 5

[ybn1197]

Piers will take the lantern and slowly investigate where the stairs lead.

[Marullus]

Holding for Olivia: Player was AFK and should be back this weekend or so.

[Samwell Turleton]

OOC: sorry, I thought I already made an action and see that I missed some newer posts. Olivia left the door after it was cleared of the soldier and the beam secured. She went down the stairs.

To follow up on that:

Olivia will quickly grab some provisions from the storeroom responding to the directions of Hild.

Olivia will also roll a cask of alcohol near the bottom of the stair and spill a pool of it across the floor along the path at the base of the stairs.

[Marullus]

Characters:

• redwarrior: Hild Gamlidottir (1 / 3)
• Samwell Turleton: Olivia Linderoth
• ybn1197: Piers
• (NPC): Ylves
• (NPC): Scruffy Northman (prisoner)
• (NPC): Braided Sailor (prisoner)
• (NPC): Matted Dwarf (prisoner, unconscious)
• (NPC): Sigurd
• redwarrior: Bork OdinKarsson
• Alethan: Gudmund
• Alethan: Skardi

Hild runs into the hallway accompanied by the scruffy northman and by Ylves. She tries bashing another door to no avail and, between the adult's brute force and Ylves deft use of her father's tools, the cells are dealt with and opened. The waving fingers belonged to a shorter, braided sailor and in the third cell you find a unconscious matted dwarf lying on the floor. Failing to wake him, the northman tells Hild, "He'll need to be carried."

Piers opens the door - barred on this side to protect against what is below, not the other way around - and finds a wide spiral staircase circling down, down into the the darkness. Realizing you're searching for a sally port and this must parallel the cliff face of the waterfall, it is reasonable to assume it is at least 10-15 stories worth of steps going down. As he holds the only lantern, he doesn't descend and plunge his companions into darkness.

Olivia goes into the left-hand storage room and prioritizes provisions. She finds some casks of potent whiskeys and smashes them on the steps leading upwards, then returns to grab waterskins and backpacks filled with dried-good rations for everyone.

CRASH! But there's just no more time. The door upstairs splinters asunder and the sound booted feet and jangling armor are heard rushing towards the stairs...

Decisions and actions!

[redwarrior]

Hild Grabs the unconscious dwarf and looks to the sailor to help her carry him. Quick, light the stairs up on fire and let’s get down the others. Having spoken, she grabs pack, and starts down, hoping others follow.