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<blockquote data-quote="Greenfield" data-source="post: 5896257" data-attributes="member: 6669384"><p>*** </p><p>Seeburn decided to "clear out" by taking a walk around the property. His path took him to the end of the street, then up the alley behind.</p><p></p><p>The house looked good, but the property was ill maintained. He could see the green over the low wall and see that the olive tree was untrimmed, its leaves wind-stacked against the outbuildings, uncleared an undisturbed.</p><p>*** </p><p>"They aren't inside.", Seeburn said, as the group gathered. </p><p></p><p>"There are six of them.", Prolifica argued. "I saw another man join the first five."</p><p></p><p>"There are no lights in any of the windows", the Barbarian countered, "and the outhouse hasn't been used in weeks. The leaves are swept up against the door, and there are no tracks. If there's anyone living inside there, they're blind and they never use a chamber pot."</p><p></p><p>Sylus nodded in approval. "Good spot. So now what?"</p><p></p><p>"We go in. Obviously the house is an entrance to someplace else, possibly catacombs or smuggler's tunnels."</p><p> *** </p><p>Seeburn produced a crooked iron bar as he approached the door, much to Prolifica's amusement.</p><p></p><p>"Where did you get that thing?", she asked with a smile.</p><p></p><p>"Sailors use them to open crates.", the burly highlander replied defensively.</p><p></p><p>"uh huh.", the Elf nodded. "Since when do sailors open the crates they ship? Except to steal from them, that is?" Then she realized that baiting the quick-tempered ruffian was not the best plan she'd ever had, and changed tactics. </p><p></p><p>"Keep that out of sight until we need it.", she advised, glancing around to see if they'd been observed. "The door might not even be locked."</p><p></p><p>It was, but she was still determined to avoid the brute force solution. "Sometimes you can jiggle these old locks loose.", she explained, as she drew forth a small handful of thin metal implements. </p><p></p><p>Her frustration became obvious as she worked, however, for no matter how she tried, she couldn't manage to "jiggle" this lock. It was well made and well maintained.</p><p></p><p>"There are no lights in the house, and the second floor windows aren't shuttered.", Prolifica observed. Then, seeing the look on Seeburn's face, she elaborated. "If we break in the front door, the night watch will notice, and we're back to dealing with the guard. If one of you will give me a leg up, I'll see if I can slip in through one of those windows and unlock this from the inside."</p><p></p><p>Penn volunteered at once, to the amusement of some and the surprise of no one. To their amazement the slightly built Fey managed to lift the lady without staggering, though the strain was evident in his face.</p><p></p><p>"Eyes forward!", she commanded. "And if your hand moves another inch, I'll take your fingers off.", the lady added, only half joking. She knew the reputation of the Bard's blood line.</p><p></p><p>"It would be worth it.", Penn grunted, as he heaved her the rest of the way up.</p><p></p><p>Then she was inside. The room was unfurnished and unlit, but the night holds no secrets from the Elves, as the old adage goes, and she was able to see perfectly. Her sharp eyes quickly spotted the places where the floor boards were pegged in place, and like the steps of a formal dance, she moved from one firm point to the next without evoking the slightest creak from the aged timbers.</p><p></p><p>The hall was equally clear, and she moved swift and silent to the stairwell, growing confident as she moved. The house was deserted and dark. Nothing lived here, nor had lived here in months.</p><p></p><p>Thus the shock of the attack drew a surprised shriek from her when it came. A slight scratching sound on the stairs above, then ripping pain down her back as claws sought to rend flesh from bone.</p><p></p><p>The iron pry bar was cast aside as Seeburn and Cassius threw their shoulders into the door, tearing it from its hinges and crashing to the floor.</p><p></p><p>Above them they saw Prolifica, bloody and torn, cornered on a landing above, trying to fend off a small bony horror. It was a large cat, or perhaps a small tiger, though none could say for certain since all the flesh had been stripped from its bones. Empty eye sockets gaped above the lipless snout, and fangs gnashed as it strove to tear at her flesh. Fresh blood stained halfway up its forelegs, and it seemed invigorated by the carnage.</p><p></p><p>Seeburn roared with rage and charged up the stair, all but hurling the bloody Elf to the ground as he shouldered his way past. His blade sank deep into the minute nightmare, but it had no flesh to slice, no blood to spill, and remained essentially unharmed.</p><p></p><p>Cassius followed, his blade slightly hampered by the tight quarters. His blade chipped bone and drove the undead beast back a step, but again the iron would not truly bite.</p><p></p><p>"Behind me!", Penn ordered with an authority he didn't really command, stepping between Prolifica and her attacker as he unlimbered his sling. The heroic effect of his pose was much diminished by the fact that she was now a good ten yards from the danger, having fled from the beast as soon as she was able, and the harmless rattle of stone on bone emphasized the emptiness of the gesture.</p><p></p><p>"You never give up, do you?", asked Marcus with a weary shake of his head, as he tended to the lady's wounds. </p><p></p><p>The battle on the landing was quick and brutal, for while the undead beast was hard to kill, there were two hearty warriors on hand who were quite willing to put in the extra effort, and being dead the cat had no instinct for survival. </p><p></p><p>The madness left Seeburn's eyes once the skeletal beast had been reduced to bone shard, and he sank to one knee in exhaustion. </p><p></p><p>"Are you hurt?", asked Cassius, surprised by the sudden collapse.</p><p></p><p>"No.", panted Seeburn, waving his friend away. "I'll be fine in a minute. The battle madness... it takes it out of you, you know?"</p><p></p><p>Cassius didn't know, but nodded agreement anyway. </p><p>*** </p><p>The initial search of the house was quick. No one was there, and there was no sign that anyone had ever lived there.</p><p></p><p>Prolifica found a hatch that opened onto an underground pantry or root cellar, but the room was cramped and tiny. Still, there was something about it.</p><p></p><p>Then she smiled. "See here?", she said, indicating the floor along the north wall. "Scrape marks. These shelves move."</p><p></p><p>She pulled and she pushed, poked and probed, but even though she could feel the shelves shift, she couldn't move them nor discover the mechanism of their release.</p><p></p><p>Penn joined her in the cramped quarters and looked at the grooves they had worn in the floor. "They open from the right...", he muttered, running his fingers along that edge.</p><p></p><p>"I checked there, there's nothing.", Prolifica said, even as she continued to search.</p><p></p><p>"Then maybe over here...", Penn agreed, shifting his search to the other side of the frame. His fingers found a knot hole that seemed more worn than it should be, and he pressed inside. </p><p></p><p>The left side of the shelves pushed in slightly, and the right side now yielded to Prolifica's pull, and the door swung open.</p><p></p><p>A torch was lit and passed down, for even Fey eyes need some light, and a large chamber was revealed.</p><p> *** </p><p> [FONT=&quot]They advanced slowly through the chamber, eyes peeled for trouble, but like most of house above it was unfurnished, and in fact remarkably clean.</p><p></p><p>The door on the far side was closed but unlocked, and they opened it carefully, revealing a corridor beyond. It extended in two directions, ahead and to the right. Cassius took the lead, and moved into the corridor. </p><p></p><p>Almost at once he felt the floor begin to collapse beneath his feet, and he scrambled forward frantically, managing to catch the edge and haul himself up. The floor had given way to reveal a deep pit lined with spikes.</p><p></p><p>The pit was avoidable though, and once everyone got past they advanced.</p><p></p><p>The way continued in a series of narrow tunnels and small, dark chambers with arched roofs and heavy stone buttresses to support the weight of earth above their heads. And at each door the approach was the same: Prolifica would check for any more surprises, then one of the warriors would lead the way.</p><p></p><p>After checking one such door, the Elf paused. "I hear something on the other side.", she advised. "Be ready for trouble."</p><p></p><p>Cassius lips drew back in a death-like grin. He and Sebran had been waiting for something to do. He opened the door sharply and moved down the narrow way. Ahead of him he could see it opening into a larger chamber, lit by a wavering blue luminescence. </p><p></p><p>The room was long and contained an oblong pool, not unlike some of the Roman baths. Some radiant source beneath the surface illuminated the room, despite the murky nature of the pool. To either side crouched men with slick green skin and faces like frogs. They sprang to their feet and advanced quickly, one to either side of the pool.</p><p></p><p>They bore no weapons, but instead attempted to wrestle with the dark skinned warrior, a plan that met with little success, but a lot of cold iron.</p><p></p><p>"Look out!", cried Marcus, as a huge form swooped down on shadowed wings to join the fray.</p><p></p><p>The tenor of the conflict was soon set. The frog-like men were trying to drag people into the water, and the huge bat was simply trying to feed. As quickly as the companions could find places in the room, they joined the battle with blade and bow, staff and sling.</p><p></p><p>The bat was the most immediate threat, but the wet, clingy grasp of the frogmen carried a more fearful threat, for once in the water the air-breathers would surely be dragged down to their doom.</p><p></p><p>But iron, grit and sheer numbers prevailed, and the enemies fell, one by one. First one frog, then the other, then finally the winged monster that flitted about so madly.</p><p></p><p>"Well, that was fun!", grinned Cassius, making a playful cut at the pool to splash a bit of water onto the blood-click stone, washing a way a bit of the gore.</p><p></p><p>"You have the oddest idea of fun.", Prolifica responded dryly. </p><p></p><p>"They have a few coin, but nothing worth getting excited about.", Penn observed, after checking the bodies. "Anything worth mentioning is probably in the pool. Somebody help me here. I've got the lightest armor, so I'll go in. One of you grab my staff and be ready to haul me out in case there's trouble."</p><p></p><p>Prolifica eyed the Bard dubiously. "Are you a good swimmer?", she asked, noting the absolute absence of athletic build. </p><p></p><p>"Well, I hate to brag, but, well... no.", the Fey admitted. "But I dated a Water Nymph for a while."</p><p></p><p>The Elf made as if to slap him, but stayed her hand. "I'm probably better equipped for this than you are.", she said. "Be ready, in case there's trouble."</p><p></p><p>She lowered herself in carefully, feeling the cool sensation of the water on her still sore back. Taking a breath, she descended a few feet, then immediately darted back to the surface.</p><p></p><p>"There's something else in here!", she cried, grabbing hold of the proffered staff. With Cassius on one end, Penn' on the other and her grasping the middle they heaved her out of the water just inches ahead of a small, bony set of jaws. The skeletal remains of a fish, one that probably had more jaws and teeth than body when it was alive, had tried to take a bite from the Elf maid, perhaps attracted by the bloody aftermath of the cat's attack earlier.</p><p></p><p>Marcus stared into the water, now alive with motion. "I've never seen anything like this. How do they swim?" </p><p></p><p>"Quickly!", Prolifica replied. "I guess if you don't feed your fish for a while, they get hungry."</p><p></p><p>"Well, let's give them something to eat.", Sebran suggested, heaving the bodies of the fallen into the pool. The water all but foamed as the tiny but ravenous creatures tore into the bat's flesh. The frog-like men's corpses sank slowly and unmolested out of site.</p><p></p><p>Prolifica's gaze darkened as she turned upon the Bard. "You just wanted to see me in wet clothes, didn't you?" Penn's guilty look was all the reply she needed. "You have to stop these stupid pranks. You're going to get someone killed!"</p><p></p><p>"That wasn't the only reason.", the Half-Satyr protested. "And it was your idea to go in instead of me."</p><p></p><p>The Elf all but snarled her fury as she stalked away, shaking the water from her hair and clothes.</p><p></p><p>"You set her up.", Apelenea said quietly. "You knew she'd want to find any treasure first."</p><p></p><p>Penn began to protest again, but saw that it was useless and simply threw his hands up. He knew he would always be guilty in such situations, even when he wasn't.</p><p> </p><p> [/FONT]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Greenfield, post: 5896257, member: 6669384"] *** Seeburn decided to "clear out" by taking a walk around the property. His path took him to the end of the street, then up the alley behind. The house looked good, but the property was ill maintained. He could see the green over the low wall and see that the olive tree was untrimmed, its leaves wind-stacked against the outbuildings, uncleared an undisturbed. *** "They aren't inside.", Seeburn said, as the group gathered. "There are six of them.", Prolifica argued. "I saw another man join the first five." "There are no lights in any of the windows", the Barbarian countered, "and the outhouse hasn't been used in weeks. The leaves are swept up against the door, and there are no tracks. If there's anyone living inside there, they're blind and they never use a chamber pot." Sylus nodded in approval. "Good spot. So now what?" "We go in. Obviously the house is an entrance to someplace else, possibly catacombs or smuggler's tunnels." *** Seeburn produced a crooked iron bar as he approached the door, much to Prolifica's amusement. "Where did you get that thing?", she asked with a smile. "Sailors use them to open crates.", the burly highlander replied defensively. "uh huh.", the Elf nodded. "Since when do sailors open the crates they ship? Except to steal from them, that is?" Then she realized that baiting the quick-tempered ruffian was not the best plan she'd ever had, and changed tactics. "Keep that out of sight until we need it.", she advised, glancing around to see if they'd been observed. "The door might not even be locked." It was, but she was still determined to avoid the brute force solution. "Sometimes you can jiggle these old locks loose.", she explained, as she drew forth a small handful of thin metal implements. Her frustration became obvious as she worked, however, for no matter how she tried, she couldn't manage to "jiggle" this lock. It was well made and well maintained. "There are no lights in the house, and the second floor windows aren't shuttered.", Prolifica observed. Then, seeing the look on Seeburn's face, she elaborated. "If we break in the front door, the night watch will notice, and we're back to dealing with the guard. If one of you will give me a leg up, I'll see if I can slip in through one of those windows and unlock this from the inside." Penn volunteered at once, to the amusement of some and the surprise of no one. To their amazement the slightly built Fey managed to lift the lady without staggering, though the strain was evident in his face. "Eyes forward!", she commanded. "And if your hand moves another inch, I'll take your fingers off.", the lady added, only half joking. She knew the reputation of the Bard's blood line. "It would be worth it.", Penn grunted, as he heaved her the rest of the way up. Then she was inside. The room was unfurnished and unlit, but the night holds no secrets from the Elves, as the old adage goes, and she was able to see perfectly. Her sharp eyes quickly spotted the places where the floor boards were pegged in place, and like the steps of a formal dance, she moved from one firm point to the next without evoking the slightest creak from the aged timbers. The hall was equally clear, and she moved swift and silent to the stairwell, growing confident as she moved. The house was deserted and dark. Nothing lived here, nor had lived here in months. Thus the shock of the attack drew a surprised shriek from her when it came. A slight scratching sound on the stairs above, then ripping pain down her back as claws sought to rend flesh from bone. The iron pry bar was cast aside as Seeburn and Cassius threw their shoulders into the door, tearing it from its hinges and crashing to the floor. Above them they saw Prolifica, bloody and torn, cornered on a landing above, trying to fend off a small bony horror. It was a large cat, or perhaps a small tiger, though none could say for certain since all the flesh had been stripped from its bones. Empty eye sockets gaped above the lipless snout, and fangs gnashed as it strove to tear at her flesh. Fresh blood stained halfway up its forelegs, and it seemed invigorated by the carnage. Seeburn roared with rage and charged up the stair, all but hurling the bloody Elf to the ground as he shouldered his way past. His blade sank deep into the minute nightmare, but it had no flesh to slice, no blood to spill, and remained essentially unharmed. Cassius followed, his blade slightly hampered by the tight quarters. His blade chipped bone and drove the undead beast back a step, but again the iron would not truly bite. "Behind me!", Penn ordered with an authority he didn't really command, stepping between Prolifica and her attacker as he unlimbered his sling. The heroic effect of his pose was much diminished by the fact that she was now a good ten yards from the danger, having fled from the beast as soon as she was able, and the harmless rattle of stone on bone emphasized the emptiness of the gesture. "You never give up, do you?", asked Marcus with a weary shake of his head, as he tended to the lady's wounds. The battle on the landing was quick and brutal, for while the undead beast was hard to kill, there were two hearty warriors on hand who were quite willing to put in the extra effort, and being dead the cat had no instinct for survival. The madness left Seeburn's eyes once the skeletal beast had been reduced to bone shard, and he sank to one knee in exhaustion. "Are you hurt?", asked Cassius, surprised by the sudden collapse. "No.", panted Seeburn, waving his friend away. "I'll be fine in a minute. The battle madness... it takes it out of you, you know?" Cassius didn't know, but nodded agreement anyway. *** The initial search of the house was quick. No one was there, and there was no sign that anyone had ever lived there. Prolifica found a hatch that opened onto an underground pantry or root cellar, but the room was cramped and tiny. Still, there was something about it. Then she smiled. "See here?", she said, indicating the floor along the north wall. "Scrape marks. These shelves move." She pulled and she pushed, poked and probed, but even though she could feel the shelves shift, she couldn't move them nor discover the mechanism of their release. Penn joined her in the cramped quarters and looked at the grooves they had worn in the floor. "They open from the right...", he muttered, running his fingers along that edge. "I checked there, there's nothing.", Prolifica said, even as she continued to search. "Then maybe over here...", Penn agreed, shifting his search to the other side of the frame. His fingers found a knot hole that seemed more worn than it should be, and he pressed inside. The left side of the shelves pushed in slightly, and the right side now yielded to Prolifica's pull, and the door swung open. A torch was lit and passed down, for even Fey eyes need some light, and a large chamber was revealed. *** [FONT="]They advanced slowly through the chamber, eyes peeled for trouble, but like most of house above it was unfurnished, and in fact remarkably clean. The door on the far side was closed but unlocked, and they opened it carefully, revealing a corridor beyond. It extended in two directions, ahead and to the right. Cassius took the lead, and moved into the corridor. Almost at once he felt the floor begin to collapse beneath his feet, and he scrambled forward frantically, managing to catch the edge and haul himself up. The floor had given way to reveal a deep pit lined with spikes. The pit was avoidable though, and once everyone got past they advanced. The way continued in a series of narrow tunnels and small, dark chambers with arched roofs and heavy stone buttresses to support the weight of earth above their heads. And at each door the approach was the same: Prolifica would check for any more surprises, then one of the warriors would lead the way. After checking one such door, the Elf paused. "I hear something on the other side.", she advised. "Be ready for trouble." Cassius lips drew back in a death-like grin. He and Sebran had been waiting for something to do. He opened the door sharply and moved down the narrow way. Ahead of him he could see it opening into a larger chamber, lit by a wavering blue luminescence. The room was long and contained an oblong pool, not unlike some of the Roman baths. Some radiant source beneath the surface illuminated the room, despite the murky nature of the pool. To either side crouched men with slick green skin and faces like frogs. They sprang to their feet and advanced quickly, one to either side of the pool. They bore no weapons, but instead attempted to wrestle with the dark skinned warrior, a plan that met with little success, but a lot of cold iron. "Look out!", cried Marcus, as a huge form swooped down on shadowed wings to join the fray. The tenor of the conflict was soon set. The frog-like men were trying to drag people into the water, and the huge bat was simply trying to feed. As quickly as the companions could find places in the room, they joined the battle with blade and bow, staff and sling. The bat was the most immediate threat, but the wet, clingy grasp of the frogmen carried a more fearful threat, for once in the water the air-breathers would surely be dragged down to their doom. But iron, grit and sheer numbers prevailed, and the enemies fell, one by one. First one frog, then the other, then finally the winged monster that flitted about so madly. "Well, that was fun!", grinned Cassius, making a playful cut at the pool to splash a bit of water onto the blood-click stone, washing a way a bit of the gore. "You have the oddest idea of fun.", Prolifica responded dryly. "They have a few coin, but nothing worth getting excited about.", Penn observed, after checking the bodies. "Anything worth mentioning is probably in the pool. Somebody help me here. I've got the lightest armor, so I'll go in. One of you grab my staff and be ready to haul me out in case there's trouble." Prolifica eyed the Bard dubiously. "Are you a good swimmer?", she asked, noting the absolute absence of athletic build. "Well, I hate to brag, but, well... no.", the Fey admitted. "But I dated a Water Nymph for a while." The Elf made as if to slap him, but stayed her hand. "I'm probably better equipped for this than you are.", she said. "Be ready, in case there's trouble." She lowered herself in carefully, feeling the cool sensation of the water on her still sore back. Taking a breath, she descended a few feet, then immediately darted back to the surface. "There's something else in here!", she cried, grabbing hold of the proffered staff. With Cassius on one end, Penn' on the other and her grasping the middle they heaved her out of the water just inches ahead of a small, bony set of jaws. The skeletal remains of a fish, one that probably had more jaws and teeth than body when it was alive, had tried to take a bite from the Elf maid, perhaps attracted by the bloody aftermath of the cat's attack earlier. Marcus stared into the water, now alive with motion. "I've never seen anything like this. How do they swim?" "Quickly!", Prolifica replied. "I guess if you don't feed your fish for a while, they get hungry." "Well, let's give them something to eat.", Sebran suggested, heaving the bodies of the fallen into the pool. The water all but foamed as the tiny but ravenous creatures tore into the bat's flesh. The frog-like men's corpses sank slowly and unmolested out of site. Prolifica's gaze darkened as she turned upon the Bard. "You just wanted to see me in wet clothes, didn't you?" Penn's guilty look was all the reply she needed. "You have to stop these stupid pranks. You're going to get someone killed!" "That wasn't the only reason.", the Half-Satyr protested. "And it was your idea to go in instead of me." The Elf all but snarled her fury as she stalked away, shaking the water from her hair and clothes. "You set her up.", Apelenea said quietly. "You knew she'd want to find any treasure first." Penn began to protest again, but saw that it was useless and simply threw his hands up. He knew he would always be guilty in such situations, even when he wasn't. [/FONT] [/QUOTE]
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