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@mrz84
Zataka, you check your pack for a lantern, or at least you try to. It seems you misplaced it in the room with the first machine when you were rescuing the engineer! You resort to enchanting your blade with flames, filling the chamber with a gentle orange light.
You catch a glimmer from the corner of your eye, but as you approach it is consumed by the light of your blade. Sancireph tells you to quiet your blade, and when you do so the walls of the passage reveal blue runes, faintly glowing in the dark.
You cannot discern their purpose. Still, you follow them until you come upon a screen door, blocking off a study. Papers and books are scattered across the desk and floor and there is an ominous circle of these runes in the center of the room.
You presume that the chieftain of the ogres is not--in the traditional sense--a beast. You also realize that you have reached a dead end. Is there another way out of this place?
What do you do?
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@Tamamo
Rossaria, your dinner guest begins to speak:
"I'm a surveyor, actually." He talks with his mouth full. Uncivilized.
"The baron sent me out here to assess the value of this property so it could be relisted. So you can understand my trepidation when the two of you were here. I was led to believe this place was abandoned."
You ask why he would bother knocking then.
"Well, you know how it goes with old buildings like this. Sometimes they get used by squatters, and I didn't really want to come in if there were any vagrants living inside. Not without some soldiers, at least."
You ask if he considers you to be one of these 'vagrants'.
"Oh, no, of course not. Two lovely ladies offering a veritable feast? That doesn't say transient to me."
He yawns. The herb are beginning to take effect.
"Dear, I'm terribly sorry. I should get going, I have a long ride back and I need to inform the baron that his records are-"
He slumps over into his meal. Red approaches.
"Well then, they're trying to repossess my manor, are they? This city has gone too long without feeling the sting of my power. I hate to waste a perfectly good dinner, but he might make a useful spy. How should we proceed, my dear?"
She places her hands on her hips, waiting for a response.
What do you do?
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@TheDarkOne
Sancireph, as you cling to the darkness you notice the ominous glow of blue runes on the walls of the passageway. Zataka's blade ignites and scares these symbols away with the touch of light, so you ask him to quench the flames so you can examine the symbols. They are blatantly magic, but not of a manner with which you are familiar. You can feel power radiating off of them, though; they are more than directions or secret messages. The passageway lined with runes leads to a screen door, which conceals a study. Looking inside, you see a ring of these runes on the floor and various research papers scattered on a desk and floor. It looks as if they have been knocked away forcefully by an unfamiliar party: this place was recently ransacked.
You recognize this as the den of some manner of wizard. Initially you assume Telivar is working more dark magic, but upon examining the notes you ascertain that it is not his handwriting, or even his purview of magic. The text is written in code but you are easily able to break it; the writer has swapped vowels with vowels and consonants with consonants.
Most of these seem to be orders addressed to the ogres. Which means that their leader probably isn't just some other ogre. If the dwarves of Audamar have this person prisoner... are they aware of just how threatening a wizard like this might be?
This spot is a dead end. You can go back and look for another passage, but you feel you might fare better with a little light. The cave is cold, after all, and your infrared sight is only barely differentiating walls from walkways.
What do you do?
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The runes draw my interest, as on my world there were those who could use them as a means of combat called Rune Knights. However, these runes are clearly different and serve a different purpose I can't tell without careful study. I glance over the notes for anything of interest as quickly as I can and then proceed to exit the room with my greasword drawn, ready to reignite the flame enchantment. There must be another way out and unless my companion and I can find one, we are sure to be overrun by the ogres once they find their way through the rubble. Not to mention the safety of the gnomes who seem to have disappeared.
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(Just an FYI, the gnomes are still following you. I just didn't feel the need to mention them because you were guiding them and they weren't doing anything)
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I was unsure so I made mention of them just to be on the safe side. Disregard the disappeared part of my post then. :kitty:
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If we don't send him back, they'll get suspicious. And will have a lynch mob with stakes and torches on our asses before tomorrow at sunrise most likely. So yes it would be best to enthrall him; he can serve more then just a spy though. We have access to a full alchemy lab hidden in the basement here. Let's see. I managed to get some glow caps while out exploring. We'll still need to find wolfsbane. Not to mention purchase 3 units of orichalcum. From what I've heard wolfsbane actually grows in this region although it's not common plant by any means. Those who know where to look, can find a plentiful supply. I say we use him as reconnaissance and an information broken. He's native to this reason it seems so he should be able to help us find some. You do your thing honey. I'm hitting the hay. I turn into my wolf form and curl up in front of the fire place.
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As I am not a wizard, the notes and runes are of little more than academic interest to me. I instruct the gnomes who are still following Zataka to hide in the far corner of the lab. Judging by the looks of things, we will have to make our stand against the ogres here. At least we have advantage of not being able to be surrounded--there is only one entrance to the lab, and if there were a secret door, my elven senses would have detected it. I call to Zataka to join me in the doorway, so that the ogres will have to face us one at a time.
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(Because everyone responded so quickly, here is a bonus update)
@mrz84
Zataka, you cast a flame enchantment on your sword and make your way back to the chamber with the second extraction engine (that big machine they were using to drill). Looking around, you are able to locate a second passage you could use to escape, but the exit would have to be single file. You can feel the cold night air blowing in from this crack, meaning it leads outside. It also looks too small for the ogres to follow, but they might be able to approach from another direction.
Sancireph has recommended you set up an ambush in the study. You return to him and tell him about the exit, as well as your concerns about engaging several dozen ogres in combat.
You can hear the rubble shaking from the collapsed passageway. It is only a matter of time until the ogres are upon you.
What do you do?
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@Tamamo
Rossaria, you watch your Lady in Red prick one finger with her fang and draw a smiling face upon the forehead of the sleeping man. The blood seeps through his skin and vanishes, leaving no trace of her touch. He smiles, drooling, as you fall asleep by the cozy fire.
(During the day, you will control the surveyor Edvart)
Edvart, you awaken in the manor you were meant to survey with a comforting coolness on your forehead, as if you were holding lemonade against your brow on a hot day. Your heart is racing, though you cannot explain why. Your meal remains half-eaten, with your host--the lovely pale lady in red--gone from the table. You are rather embarrassed by the meat on your face... for some reason you feel this incredible urge to impress her.
As you rise and wipe the sauce from your brow, you see a wolf curled up by the fire. This makes you flinch at first, until you ascertain that your host may have been a huntress or perhaps some manner of druid.
Taking your leave of the mansion, you set out to head back to town and tell your employer that the residence is inhabited. As you open the doors, the sun stabs at your eyes. Odd, it's never been that uncomfortable before. You've got a stinging headache. Still, the clean winter air is fresh and you decide to pick some wildflowers on your way back. For some reason you are drawn to Blue Rocket, even though they're wildly poisonous. Why would you want to gather wolfsbane?
As you enter town, you feel a shiver on your neck. Someone is watching you.
What do you do?
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@TheDarkOne
Sancireph, you begin to prepare an ambush for the ogres. As you set up barricades and corral the gnomes into the safest corner, you notice that Zataka has left the room. He returns after a few minutes, telling you that there is a passage that can accommodate your escape but not the pursuit of the ogres. He says he can feel the night breeze coming through the opening; it most certainly leads outside.
You insist it would be better to kill the ogres here so that they cannot stage further attacks, but Zataka is less confident. There are three dozen of them, after all, and it was an ordeal taking on handfuls in earlier situations. You explain that the terrain will be an asset in the fight, something you might lose if they catch you on your way back down the mountain.
The sounds of shaking rocks can be heard from the other chamber. It's only a matter of time before the ogres breach the rubble.
What will you do?
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Edvart is no fool. He knows when he is watched, and he doesn't feel comfortable taking the wolfs bane back to the mansion I decide to play this person's game for a while I find a carrier pigeon and send the wolfs bane back to the mansion with a letter. "I'm being followed, be on guard." I wonder why I would say such a thing and why I would send them the wolfsbane back in the first place. I shrug and go out to the village to continue with my daily business. Only to be stop by a man decked out with a leather hat and a long coat. He stares deep into my eyes. As if he was trying to stare into my soul. He asks me where she is, and I tell him where's who. All of sudden pain and agony feels my body and my legs collapse. THE ABANDONED MANSION! NOW MAKE IT STOP! Now that wasn't so hard was it. Have a nice day. The strange man heads out towards the forest and disappears.
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I think for a moment and realize the safety of the gnomes is our main priority. I instruct them the follow Zataka, then quickly set the barricades from the study in the passageway to impede the ogres. I see the first one round the corner and he is not an ogre-made, so I use some flint and tinder to set fire to the barricade, furthering our chances to escape, then follow Zataka and the gnomes to the exit.
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The gnomes take priority above all else. I lead them to the exit I found, taking the lead with my greatsword at the ready just incase. I take great care to keep an eye out for anything suspicious while in the tunnel. Once we exit I survey the immediate surroundings to find our way back to our other comrades and to the town, preferably in that order.