March 2-3: The Old 19th and Events Thereafter

[Inferno]

Zaent Darkhand, rogue:

Zaent was angry. Once this job was over, he'd cut bait. Disappear. Slip away from these men who worked hard to shorten his lifespan.

Zaent will shoulder his bow and hide outside the church, with a view into it, waiting to see whether the Captain comes to investigate, and what the casters will allow him to find.

He glanced at the rope and thought about leaving right now.

[Pulpatoon]

Zacharias Tar, henpecked by ravens

The seagull flaps away from the raven, back up and out of the pit. Dropping the scroll on a clear spot, he perches a short distance from it to see what Poe does.

[Mister-Kent]

Zaent
From your view of the room you see no one descend the staircase or appear in person, and hear no sound from upstairs. You observe Mathias, still in full gray Penitent garb, veil and all, conceal the body, and approach the staircase.

Mathias
When you drag the corpse from the altar you notice that the blood-splashed candles are now turning a deep, burgundy color, sopping the blood up like a sponge. The wardrobe is roomy enough and will serve to conceal the body. There are a trio of dusty brown robes hanging from hooks. In the bottom of the closet, nestled in a moldy plaid blanket, sit two golden candlesticks, their blunt bases tipped in dried blood.

When you approach the staircase you find a similar gold candlestick on the wooden table, along with some writing scrawled on it, partially obscured by melted wax: "Jovah Hear Our Prayer".

There is no noise from upstairs, but a voice from the cracked descending stair calls up, rather annoyed. "Calm down up there, Rolf! We can trash things on the way out--just give us a moment to do this---"

Zachariah
The raven flutters around the scroll, which remains curled. He scratches at it to open it but, apparently deciding such work is best left to those with opposable thumbs, he snatches the scroll up in his feet and flies down to the pit. He winds in tightening circles until he finds his master hidden among the rubble, dropping it at Biblo's side before perching atop a pile of debris.

Everyone, but especially those outside, hears a faint sound echoing through the wrecked neighborhood. A pair of long, low moans…"Huoooooooo"…

[Marullus]

Gul-Marach watches Mathias clear the body and head toward the stairs, the scroll get delivered to them, and then the howling start. He turns to Biblo, whispering between them, "What is the nature of the scroll? I can silence our group if near me... if you need to cast, just get far enough way." He glances back up at the moaning. "We proceed into the church?"

[Pulpatoon]

Zachariah Gull follows Poe, perching near the group of adventurers to watch what they do with the scroll. He does not make any effort to hide from the adventurers, but neither does he do anything to indicate that he is anything out of the ordinary.

[Grognardsw]

Biblo, libriomancer



The former scribe unfurls the scroll and reads.

[Mister-Kent]

(I really wanted to make a visual aid for this! I still will, but unfortunately got stuck at work this evening :/)

Biblo
The scroll is a flyer, with text in black ink. By the stamp in the bottom-right corner you can tell it was hand-copied by a member of the Firm of Advertorial Scribes, a rather wealthy guild. There is a roughly-scrawled symbol in the lower-center of the page--an open circle with eight writhing legs attached.

The words read:
"The Theater Rondo proudly hosts:
THE COILED QUEEN OF THE ATRAMENTOUS DEPTHS
A Breakthrough in Oracular Entertainments
Fearday Eve, the 13th of March

There is some hasty writing in charcoal on the back. It reads:
"Rolf--DON'T FORGET
- No looting until we have it--Lady Christiana's orders!
- Keep alert for 'sounders'--do not engage
- Ask Captain Gilhorn about raise

Good Luck

- Rolf

[Grognardsw]

Biblo passes the scroll around.

"Does anyone know what 'sounders' are?"

[Enoch]

Mathias runs a spindly hand over his scalp. "Perhaps people like us, 'sounding' out the depths. I worry more about those candles--did you see the way they absorbed the blood? Most unusual. These candlesticks will fetch a decent price, I daresay; but it sounds like they are close to finishing whatever they came here for, and if it's a ritual we may want to disrupt it."

[Inferno]

Zaent Darkhand, elvish rogue:

Zaent handed the scroll to the priest of Vorn."In work like this: measure twice, cut once."

He said to Biblo: "I'd wager that sounders are the ghosts or men that haunt this ward... The sound of their eerie moans."

He said to Mathias: "I agree they may wish to cleanse this sunken church. But what do you think the "it" is that they must have before they loot the church, as per Lady Christiana's orders?
We'd best continue to follow and find out."

[Fulci]

Ballar Uh; fighter/assassin

Ballar Uh leaves his cover and swiftly walks over to his companions. The ululating sounds hit a nerve deep in the back of his head - he doesn't like it, no.

"...if it's a ritual we may want to disrupt it," he repeats Mathias' last sentence in his usual echo-y tone. "I'm not sure - what if this ritual is something to defend the whole city from sudden ghastly death? I know that the Regent's men are..." he has a hard time explaining this, "something we oppose, but we do need to learn at least a bit more about their operation. And who knows, the interrupted ritual might lead to even worse results than a finished one."

"Let us sneak up to the next floor and see what's what."

[Enoch]

Mathias nods and creeps over to the stairway, peering down into the darkness below. He cranes his head, turning it to the side to listen for noise below.

Do I see or hear anything below? I do have infravision as well.

[Mister-Kent]

Mathias
You hear the casually retreating footfalls of the guard who just called up to chastise Rolf, but don't hear his comrades, who may be further in. You see the stairs descend into darkness. Closer to the bottom, the stairs twist and crack, and the staircase winds around so you can't readily see where it leads from here.

It may occur to you that whatever basement this church might have had would likely be demolished by the creation of the crater, yet these stairs remain, and they lead somewhere.

[Marullus]

"If the rituals are of the White Way, no good can come from their completion," says Gul-Marach. "We must continue below to find what these inquisitors are seeking. The words here imply that the 'sounders' will not act if not acted upon. Let us bar the doors and continue below with our two groups to deal with the Inquisition first. If any disagree, they can remain here at the door as a rear guard. Yes?"

(Biblo has the scroll, not Zaent, right?)

[Mister-Kent]

Biblo did pass it around, so I'll assume everyone gets their hands on it to give it a good once-over. Zaent was giving it to Gul-Marach when he was done looking at it.

[Pulpatoon]

Zacharias Tar, hitch-hiker

The seagull flaps up and lands on Gul-Marach's pack, hoping for a free ride down the spiral stairs.

[Enoch]

Glancing back at his companions, Mathias slowly begins to descend the stairs, keeping to the inside edge and moving as carefully as he can. When he reaches the turn, he crouches down and eases his head around, hoping to catch a glimpse of whomever may be down here...

[Marullus]

"The hells..." growls Gul-Marach as the bird tries to land on him and accompany them into the depths. "You are no natural bird." He turns abruptly and swipes with his arm to knock the bird to the ground, intoning an abjuration against it in the name of Vorn.

(Cast Dispel Magic on the seagull.)

[Grognardsw]

Biblo, bibliomancer

"I suspect the Regent seeks an artifact rather than complete a ritual," Biblo confides. "I would expect to see a priest or wizard if there are magics to perform."

Biblo stays with the second group, letting those with stealthy tread move forward. He picks up and pockets a candle if it can be done quietly and safely out of sight.

[Pulpatoon]

"The hells..." growls Gul-Marach as the bird tries to land on him and accompany them into the depths. "You are no natural bird." He turns abruptly and swipes with his arm to knock the bird to the ground, intoning an abjuration against it in the name of Vorn.

(Cast Dispel Magic on the seagull.)

Zacharias Tar, unBirdman

The vagrant falls, sprawling, onto the ground, his ragged clothes disheveled, his rail-thin arms and legs bare and sticking out at odd angles.

"Squark!" he calls, still speaking Gull. Switching to human language, he adds, "I offer my tenderest apologies for landing upon you, uninvited. But we are pulled by the same tide, you and I, and I would lend my hand to the till."