13 - Exploring the HQ
Previous session: 12 - Infiltrating the HQ
Resuming the exploration...
After finishing to put all the armory's content into the Portable Hole, we're resuming the exploration of the Collars' HQ, starting by heading back into the corridor.
[Stealth] We think we manage to sneak in without troubles.
We notice a corridor with a double wooden door and a curtain door. We're peeking through the curtain door first.
The prying room...
[Perception] We really smell incense, which seems to be a ceremonial/prying room. Upon looking more into it, we see Father Thatch at the top of a podium.
Willum enters normally the room. Someone gasps when he enters. "Don't worry, no one can harm us while we're in the church.", reacts Father Thatch. "Oh, it's you."
Willum mentions that the group is with him, and Father Thatch asks us to let him out of here. Willum asks him to follow him and leave.
"We have a problem here", as Father Thatch shows his shackles. Willum encourages the party to regroup.
Nesvalyn and Persy enters the room, whereas Reylynn waits outside.
[Lockpick check - Unlocked 🔓] Nesvalyn opens Father Thatch's shackles.
Once freed, he explains that his task was to heal Mr. Laughton, as he's paralytic in nature. He indicates us where the mages are (2nd floor on far eastern side (currently we're in the western side)).
Father Thatch warns that the main staircase is protected magically and that we should be passing by the service corridor (we found it when getting there).
We're asking what does Father Thatch want to do, and he mentions he will stay with us.
We crossing the corridor to check the room across.
The reserves...
Nesvalyn uses the Skeleton key to open the door, revealing a reserve room.
[Investigation check - Pass ✔] We find uniforms which will fit to the party.
Persy moves a couple of barrels, and finds 5 Collars that are hiding and deserting.
We're doing a quick interrogation:
- Both rooms of Mr. Laughton and Lord Wringer are on the 2nd floor.
- When asked about the bridge explosion, Lord Wringer managed to figure it out with spies (which means either we weren't that stealthy, or we have a mole).
- The main stairway is trapped (confirming Father Thatch's intel).
As we have no more questions, they ask us to leave them alone. We're changing ourselves into Collars with the uniform, revealing that they're not really confortable (especially for the tall party members.
We're going back to the secret hallway.
The service corridor...
By passing by the main door, we hear the combat got closer.
[Stealth check] We're creeping down the hall, and notice 6 Collars in the mess hall.
Persy mentions that we will be detected once down if we don't deal with them first.
We manage to take them down with a combined attack. Once the threat is dealt with, we're resuming our progression.
We managed to reach the end of the service corridor.
[Perception check - Pass ✔] Persy hears that the kitchen works as usual.
We open the door and get into the kitchen.
The Kitchen...
There's a huge cookpot with 4 women gnomes. They gasp when they see us enter. There's a "life guard chair" for a gnome. We see an elderly gnome woman in chef clothes when looking at us, and asks us what we're doing here. Persy tries to pull out an excuse.
[Persuasion - Fail ❌] Persy didn't seem convincing.
The gnome mentions that she doesn't recognize us and asks for more details.
Persy reveals that we're the group that's taking down the castle.
The gnome presents herself as Momma Wringer, as she refuses to let us through peacefully.
[Intimidation - Pass ✔] Nesvalyn being done with the situation pressures her to stand down if she wants to live another day along her son, and she's letting us pass.
Second floor exploration...
We're going through the corridor, where we notice five doors. We open a big metal door that Father Thatch shows.
We notice ~20 people that not going well, all chained and shackled, who happen to be the magic users we're looking for.
They give us directions to Mr. Laughton as he keeps the keys. We promise we'll be right back, and we notice a really sophisticated door.
[Perception - Pass ✔] We hear a gentle snoring in the opposite door.
We unlock it using the Skeleton Key, and all the locks are unlocking themselves.
We peek inside and we notice it's a vault, containing only a desk in the center of the room, with Jil's asleep on the desk.
We're not freeing Jil at the moment and just close the door, and resuming our exploration.
[Perception - Pass ✔] We notice a trip wire.
[Investigation - Pass ✔] Persy notices it's connected to a tube.
[Sleight of hand - Pass ✔] Nesvalyn disarms the trap.
We're in a corridor with 3 doors. We're investigating the central metal door.
[Perception] We don't hear noise from the door.
We enter as usual in the room.
There's 20 mercenaries inside it, with Creep asleep and Zen awoken.
He asks us what we're doing with Father Thatch, and we're saying we're bringing him to Mr. Laughton.
[Persuasion - Pass ✔] Zen believes us and asks the mercenaries to let us pass.
We're going through the door and get inside another corridor, with two doors on each side. The left one leads to Mr. Laughton.
We're locking the door behind us once in the corridor, so we keep the mercenaries and Zen away.
We knock on the door and hear nothing, and we get in.
Confrontation with Mr. Laughton...
Mr. Laughton is asleep, with a set of keys next to him.
Willum mentions that Zen sent us to help him as we got in.
Mr. Laughton opens his eyes, with an expression of fear. Father Thatch mentions that his condition worsened so quickly.
Persy and Reylynn swore they heard Raina saying "None shall stand in your way".
The party is arguing about killing him or not, and Father Thatch mentions we should kill him, as he's agonizing.
Willum finishes Mr. Laughton.
We notice a potion with a sheet, near the window. We're approaching the window, where we notice someone who made a rope with the sheet, and we see a motionless woman in a blood pool.
[Investigation - Pass ✔] Persy notices a shiny great axe, and takes it.
Resuming the exploration...
When getting out, we're locking the door and we're hearing noises from the opposite door.
Persy opens the door and dodges a book. We notice Grappi searching in a library. The journal thrown away happens to be Henmuri Bonefury's one, with a really well written note. We're asking Grappi to follow us again, but warns us he can't do fancy magic anymore, which will be a problem to pass by Zen. We'll try to pass through by having Grappi as a prisoner.
We're unlocking the door again and we enter the room.
Dealing with Zen...
Once reaching the corridor, we mention that we're bringing Grappi as a prisonner, and Zen encourages us to meet with Lord Wringer directly.
[Persuasion - Fail ❌] Willum tries to say we have to bring Father Thatch first.
Zen looks suspicious, and asks our rank and why we're here. Willum tries to talk his way through.
[Persuasion - Fail ❌] Persy tries to talk his way through.
But when asked his rank, Persy answers Corporal, which raises Zen's suspicion even more, as it doesn't match the rank system, and the combat erupts.
Persy thanks Father Thatch, which coldly asks if he takes pride in killing.
The group talks about what to do with Creep, and we decide to let her here.
We're freeing the mages, a local fortune teller goes to us (Chappell) and mumbles a prayer, and we feel magic healing us.
We identified the Great axe as a Great axe +2 while freeing the mages.
Next Session: 14 - The fall of the Collars and the Tiger