A Hard Time in Harrowdale: The Cavernous Cellar Caper

[Arkhandus]

(Continuing from IC: A Hard Time in Harrowdale.)

The Story So Far, In Brief:

Evanar, Storn, Abrielle, Selua, Abde'ragman, and Fayne have been in Harrowdale Town, port and capitol of rural Harrowdale in the Dalelands of central-northern Faerûn, for a little over a week now. They first met shortly before responding to a middle-aged candlemaker's pleas for help, as a band of bloodthirsty gnolls demolished his cart, slaughtered his horse, and carried his teenage son away. This small group of disparate foreigners came to young Eckhart Chandler's rescue before the gnolls could eat him or sell him into slavery, battling several gnolls in the dangerous Velarswood after first fighting off stirges and bonebats.

After triumphing over the gnolls, with a few of the party members and both of the Harrowdarran guards who accompanied them (Tarven and Merrick) nearly perishing in the battle but narrowly surviving, the ragtag group of adventurers returned Eckhart to his father Rickard in Harrowdale Town, to many tears of joy and heartfelt thanks. A quick visit to the House of Mystra saw Eckhart's injuries mended, and then the group returned to the guard barracks and gaol-house to speak again with Constable Ellarian Dawnhorn, a stern sun elven woman with apparently little regard for adventurers. The party received a modest bounty from her for the dead gnolls, but most of their profit came from selling the gnolls' armor and weapons in town.

Storn, the dwarven battlerager from distant Mithral Hall, departed with Evanar's uncle Niles and his caravan, continuing his guard service for a little longer until he could find better opportunities for glory in battle. Evanar stayed behind to find his independance and further adventure. Selua, the peculiar wood elven cleric of Sehanine Moonbow, departed as well, as soon as she received her initial payment of gold from the Constable. She said Sehanine was calling her elsewhere that night, and she would follow Sehanine's guidance as she had before.

And Now, The Present:

Constable Dawnhorn gave the adventurers one piece of information before telling them to leave and not bother her again, after some harsh words were traded between Dawnhorn and the adventurers: that the merchant Garret has recently run into a problem with his cellar, when expanding it to store more trade goods. His workers unwittingly dug their way into a natural cave, from which many large vermin have invaded the cellar and begun tearing into Garret's stored goods.

Garret refuses to re-seal the cave, expecting to use it for even more storage, but Dawnhorn will force him to seal it anyway if he doesn't stop the vermin from spreading beyond his cellar to infest other homes, businesses, or ships in Harrowdale Town. Dawnhorn is giving him a few days to take care of it, so he's looking to hire someone to clear out the pests, and Dawnhorn says that Garret pays well, simply lacking any mercenaries of his own.

It is close to noon on the 9th of Eleint, the Fading, and the group has just departed Ellarian's office.

[Scott DeWar]

Originally Posted by Scott DeWar

the human lad catches up with the human and gives a big grin, "shall we do some extermination? Have you ever seen R.O.U.S. 's?

Originally Posted by Rhun

Fayne cocks his head at Evenar's question. "Rodents of Unusual Size? I don't believe they exist."

Originally Posted by Scott DeWar

"I hear thay are origanlly from the the calimshite fire swamps"
says the youngster, not caring who else may have heard.
" I believe the hose with the rat problems is just right up there."

"So to the rat cave we go"

[Rhun]

"Be wary, my friend," says Fayne in response to Evanr's words. "Vermin does not always mean rats."

[Scott DeWar]

Evenar stops dead in his tracks for two paces behind the other human, then steps lively to catch up. "Would gnolls be considered vermin, are are you thinking of something else?"

[Rhun]

Fayne laughs and shrugs. "Perhaps, but I doubt it. No, I was thinking more along the lines of beetles or spiders, maybe? I've heard some such creatures grow to truly enormous size, though I've naught seen one."

[Scott DeWar]

"I.O.U.S.'s rather then R.O.U.S.'s. I see" the young lad nods sagely.

[Rhun]

"As long as my glaive kills them, I care not for what they are...only that we get paid." It is clear that the mercenary is in something of a bad mood after the discussion with the constable.

[Arkhandus]

A little asking around directs you to Garret's house and place of business, the Porter's Trade Consortium. It is a simple two-story building, square, stout, and wooden. It lies about a block away from the docks in the east and just a bit further from the south edge of town, on a short hill, not far from the main road out of Harrowdale Town. The eastern side looks to be the business side of the building, and has a few doors large enough for wagons. The western side of the building looks to be a living space, with just one normal door and more windows than the eastern side.

It looks reasonably busy, with people occasionally entering or leaving the eastern side of the Consortium and some bringing carts or wagons through the larger doors, as others leave with carts or wagons of goods. A large sign on the eastern wall has the business' name written in Common, Damaran, and Chondathan. Evanar recognizes the business' name as someplace that Uncle Niles occasionally trades goods with.

Inside, you find several people in the large front room bartering and trading coins or goods with a few men behind a counter at the back of the front room for other goods, coins, or trade notes. Mostly, porters haul goods inside and, after being checked by a guard in one corner, head into a back room, then leave, while others head back there and leave with different goods as directed by the men at the counter. The middle of the counter has a name engraved in it that reads 'Garret Porter' in Chondathan. The man behind that spot is a middle-aged human of average Harrowdarran features, a short beard, close-cropped brown hair, and brown eyes. He wears the fine clothing of a successful but not grandiose merchant: a white silk vest over forest-green shirt, bright blue pantaloons, a black cap, and a few bejeweled gold rings. After about a minute, he finishes a deal with another merchant, who departs with a new bag of coins.

[Rhun]

Fayne steps up before the merchant. "Beg pardon, sir, but would you be Garret Porter? Constable Dawnhorn informed us that you might have some work available?"

[Scott DeWar]

Evenar steps up behind Fayne, the height being between the humans being the same, but the young lad, evenar, being much more solid. He looks the man behind the counter and says, " yes sir, there are a few of us that are o n our way to take care of the work it is rumored that you have. My Uncle Niles speaks highly of you, so I know that you are a fair and efficient man."

[Arkhandus]

(OOC: Abrielle, Abde'ragman, you still with us?)

The merchant looks to your small group and assesses your appearance, then replies "Indeed I am he, and I must assume from the looks of you that you're inquiring about the little cellar problem that nag was harping about earlier. Well, I'm certainly looking for a few exterminators so I can clear out the pests, but I hardly think it's something the Constable needs to worry over. Just a cleft into some dingy old cave with a few critters in it. Still, they're a little too big for a simple stomping or a housecat. Tried that, can't get the tabby t' go back into the basement 't all now."

Garret leads Evanar, Fayne, Abrielle, and Abde'ragman to one side of the room and through a door into the basement stairway. "Be prepared to deal with rats and bugs, and don't be surprised if some few're bigger'n a housecat. Just means an easier target fer stabbin' or the like. We can discuss payment after you've done some exterminatin' down there and proven yer chops." He picks up a hooded lantern and checks its oil reserve, then holds it up for one of you to take if you need it.

[Rhun]

Fayne looks at the others. "I need my hands free for my glaive, if someone wouldn't mind taking the lamp."

[Scott DeWar]

" and I need both of my hands for my sword. sorry." then to the merchant, " so your cat is too scared, eh?" he draws his steels blade, "then by all means let us go to this task."

[Rhun]

Fayne turns to consider the others. "Abrielle? Abde'ragman?"

[Voda Vosa]

"It wont be neccesary" The wizard chants a few elven words and magical light emmanates from Fayne's Galvie. "That way you can handle your weapon and our surce of light." the mage remarks.

[Scott DeWar]

"that works"

[Rhun]

Fayne grins, not the most pleasant of sights. "Well done." He points his glaive toward the opening. "Evanar, do you mind leading the way. My glaive is more beneficial from the second rank."

[Scott DeWar]

[ooc]oops: double post [/ooc]

[Scott DeWar]

"With pleasure" the sword is drawn carefully from the scabbard as the young human enters the cave carefully.

[Arkhandus]

Evanar leads the way down into the cellar, Fayne close behind, Abrielle and Abde'ragman following last. The merchant Garret puts away the hooded lantern, seeing Abde'ragman's magic trick. "Knock three times like this when you want me t' open up. Can't leave the door open fer pests t' crawl out," he says, closing the door behind them and locking it. He knocks three times, the third knock a few seconds after the first two.

The basement stairway is lit only by Abde'ragman's magical light on Fayne's glaive. The stairs are broad and shallow, and after about 20 feet they reach the bottom. The stairs end in a corner of the cellar, so at the bottom you have to go around the corner to see the rest of the cellar. It's a fairly large cellar, at least as big as the glaive-light reaches, with stacks of crates, barrels, chests, big sacks, beer kegs, and wine bottles, along with various shelves and racks. There are various food-related scents down here, but also a slightly unpleasant smell you can't place. Nothing unusual is apparent to you so far, at the bottom of the stairs.

Map

Garret's Cellar
F EX R O ? ? ?
asXX R X R O ?
AsOX X X X O ?
s ? X X O X X X
s ? O X O ? ? R
? ? O X R ? ? ?
? ? ? ? X ? ? ?
? ? ? ? ? O ? ?
Map Key: A = Abde'ragman, a = Abrielle, E = Evanar, F = Fayne, X = empty 5-foot space, s = stairway, R = rough terrain (small boxes and such), O = obstacles (piles of stuff you can't cross or see past), ? = areas you can't see yet, yellow areas are lit up, blue areas have shadowy illumination.

I really need to get some way to post actual maps....ASCII maps are tough to deal with.