Chapter 3: The Lord's House

[drpete]

On donning the mystical mask, Fiemar sees that the landing is *not* bare. A grizzled alley cat, about 15 feet tall, curled up in the back of the darkened landing.

[Marullus]

Flying over the cat, what is seen beyond and within?

"The cat waits to consume you in the darkness," Fiemar tells the others solemnly, circling a loop near the ceiling and staring into the darkness to spy an alternative location.

[drpete]

There is nothing visible in the darkness beyond the cat. There is a landing, about 100x100 at your scale. There is a heavy metal door on the left side of the landing, and walls on the other sides.

[Marullus]

Alighting temporarily on the bannister (assuming it is out of cat reach, otherwise remaining aloft), he relays the situation to the others.

"Knowing what is before you, what is your choice? "

[shaidar]

Shmehk

"The knowledge we have gained is invaluable. Perhaps we should retreat to the middle floor and make plans, and find out what has happened to that other fellow, Hlalf. Getting past the cat is one thing, but how we get through a huge metal door will take some thought."

[Marullus]

Fiemar sets down on the middle landing once more, letting his passengers off to discuss their plan, then going to get Hlalf from the dining room.

[Sapperzz]

Saal stares in awe at the stupidity of the brute standing before him, shaking his head as he walks cautiously past him to pick up his grappling hook.

In low Lankhmarese:

"Verily you are one of the most foolish creatures I have ever laid eyes upon"

Saal anxiously looks for some way out from this situation, scanning the vast horizon of the house for any sign of escape.

[AureoBuendia]

Aurs Bonne

"Those of you with crafts, is the spell that fell on us familiar to any of you? Can we locate the source? Searching this house would be much simpler at a different size."

Aurs keeps his attention towards the direction of the cat while looking around for anything that might seem magical or dangerous in nature. If one street creature made it's way in, another might have done so as well.

Granted, this is a bizarre place to begin with and at our size we can't see much, but is there anything that looks out of place?

[drpete]

Granted, this is a bizarre place to begin with and at our size we can't see much, but is there anything that looks out of place?

I think it's hard to say based on where you've been so far... you've basically been in the stairwell/hallway, so far. There is nothing obviously odd about it (no visible pentagram or anything)

[shaidar]

Shmehk also keeps alert for threats

"I'm Shmehk Scree, of the Eight Cities. I have some skill in wizardry. I have heard of spells that can change your size, but have not come across them before. If we can find the spell then perhaps myself and the northman wizard can unravel the magic....So, the owner is your uncle? Information came our way that he has been having alchemical supplies delivered to this address, and then we heard that he was missing. To be honest we had reason to believe he might be dead, although I can only assume that it was his voice we heard and it was him who cast the spell. As for our predicament, I would guess that our answers are behind the metal door at the top of the house.

[Wintermute]

Do Hlalf and Saal find anything of note on the table?

[drpete]

Do Hlalf and Saal find anything of note on the table?

They found a bunch of rat traps, and a set of (gigantic) tools for repairing things like that...

[Wintermute]

Well, that's not ominous...

[Marullus]

Fiemar drops off Aurs, Schmenk, and Raamiz on the second floor. "Well meet, sorcerer," he nods to Schmenk, his demeanor relaxing slightly at the proper introduction. "I am Fiemar Snowborn," he adds, scratching absently at the half-circle scar above his left eye. "I agree, the metal door likely hides what is of greatest import. If you all can think on the matters of cats and locks, I will retrieve Hlalf and scout out what else may aid us here before my owl must depart."

Having excused himself, he takes off into the sky.

Saal anxiously looks for some way out from this situation, scanning the vast horizon of the house for any sign of escape.

Staring out towards the door, Saal sees a great snow owl gliding towards him on silent wings, a weather-worn northman in a leather jerkin upon it's back. It alights on the edge of the table away from the mechanical devices.

He calls out in Coldspeak, first.

"Hlalf Frostmane. Snow Leopard Clan! Come! Our fates is shared this night. We require your strong arm against a mighty feline before we can hope to restore our size. Come, climb up on my owl and I can carry you upstairs to where others gather."

Then, surprised to see Saal, he continues in Low Lankmarese:

"Identify yourself and your purpose which brought you into this house this night. Our fates are now intertwined... Give your oath to cause no harm to each other this night and we can join together in escaping this predicament."

He paused, looking over the little-armed footpad, then continues, "I care not that you came for robbery as long as your oath is given and kept. You are here by Fate and not chance. Just answer this - a steel door lies above, presumably locked and between us and the end of this curse. If the owl carries those tools, there, could you apply them to opening a lock?"

[Wintermute]

Hlalf, upon seeing such an impressive sight, trots toward the owl mounted Northman.

In North Speak:

Aye, for glory and gold brother, you have my arm!

[Enoch]

Safely back on the first landing, Raamiz turns to Aurs, though he frequently glances in the direction of the stairs to the upper level, and his hand never strays far from the pommel of his sword.

Low Lankhmarese, in a boyish tone:

"I am Raamiz of Horborixen, as you might have guessed from my accent. As my companion said, we have reason to believe the owner of a ring we found might have come to an unfortunate end in this house, though neither of us, I think, expected this strange sorcery.

"But let us look on the bright side! Should we be able to gain that strange metal door, any lock there should be child's play to open--though I may need to call on your strength to help move the mechanism.

"That is our story. What brings you to this ill-omened house this day?"

[Sapperzz]

Saal seems taken aback at the accusation:

In low Lankhmarese:

"You offend me, for I have come not to steal! I work for an organization that runs deep and strong in these lands. My business is my own, but it seems it may be in line with yours."

Calming down now, seeing this as a potential route away from this place, he speaks again:

"As you say, I may well be able to open this door you speak of, should it lead us away from here. But I warn you now, my location is known by my peers, you will invoke great wrath should any ill-fate befall me."

Finally, Saal looks back at Hlalf, and in part concern and part derision, he says:

"I implore you leave this man behind, I fear he has suffered some tremendous blow to head, judging by his acts and inability to speak in coherence. He nearly killed us both, and he won't seem to leave me alone."

[Marullus]

Fiemar Snowborn

Fiemar gives Saal a long, dubious look in response but says nothing. He then assists both Hlalf and Saal both up onto the back of the owl and flies them up to join the others on the landing.

As Fiemar lets them dismount, he tells Aurs, Raamiz, and Schmeck in Low Lankhmarese, "Meet Hlalf, who came tonight to fight ghosts, but is also happy to help slay the cat." After Saal has dismounted, he offers in a bland tone, "And this is a nameless thief who can help open the door, but takes great offense at the implication that he might be a thief, but also wishes us to know he's a licensed member of their Guild and there will be consequences from them should anything befall him."

GM - if it is reasonable for Saal to think that the tools on the table will help with the door, then Fiemar will have asked the owl to clutch them in its talons and bring them along. After a round of dialog here, I'll fly up and drop them on the top landing, then scout the remaining rooms. I'm a little unclear on what the exact layout is so can't be more specific... if you can help?

[shaidar]

Shmehk nods at the newcomers

He smiles are the unnamed man

In Kvarich

"Ah, you look to be a fellow Eight-city man! Please tell me I am correct, this city seems to be infested with Northmen, it is good to meet a fellow Forrester"

He turns to the others and continues on Low Lankhmarese

"Apologies, our new associate is the first Forrester I have met for a while. We met Hlalf when we first entered, I'm not sure he speaks the language of Lankhmar"

Turning to Half he continues in Northspeak

"Friend Hlalf, we meet again! Do know the speech other places, or is this your only tongue?"

[drpete]

GM - if it is reasonable for Saal to think that the tools on the table will help with the door, then Fiemar will have asked the owl to clutch them in its talons and bring them along. After a round of dialog here, I'll fly up and drop them on the top landing, then scout the remaining rooms. I'm a little unclear on what the exact layout is so can't be more specific... if you can help?

Yes, it's reasonable to assume that the trap tools could be used on the door.

There are 3 floors. The front of the house is south, the back is north... there are 2 staircases going from the back, up to the front, down approximately the middle of the house. Next to each stairway is a hallway on the first and second floor. On the third floor, there is open space next to the stairs, no hallway.

On the first floor, at the back, the are open archways going to the east and west. West was the dining room, east is a study type area with bookshelves. The dining room had a door connecting it to the front of the house. You haven't exploited that door, the study, or the hallway to the front of the house.

On the second floor, there is a door east (near the front of the house) and a door west (toward the back of the house). Ther doors are closed, and (so far) unexplored.

On the third floor, there is a small landing, at the front of the house. It is dark. There is a metal door going east, and the cat up there.