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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Greyhawk" data-source="post: 3858309" data-attributes="member: 40355">Skull-Dug-er-Ee !"Where's the Skul-dug-ereee ?" says a disappointed GrralMercy spins round to see what Grral has revealedTalwin climbs up on the counter for a better view and Reinhardt rises from his chair and draws his sword, a smile lighting up his face. "Now, now Keygan Ghelve, what seems to be worrying you? I hope you do not intend to leave us unexpectedly?""Why are you so scared?" he whispers in gnomish to the locksmith"Talwin, Col - keep yer eyes on Mr Stilty, here - I'll front up with Mercy and Graal" Reinhardt tells the two shortest members of the party. "Careful chaps - there may be a good reason for his stilts - acid 'n suchlike poured on the floor."Col gulps "Acid?" he asks as he looks around for something to stand on "Perhaps it would be better to call the watch...  We'd better be very cautious; I wouldn't want anyone to get hurt."Silas walks round the counter to the curtains, on his way passed Keygan he says in a quiet but steely voice "You be a good fellow and talk to two friends here...and if I were you I would not plan on leaving just yet"The monk continues until he stands next to Mercy "Would you like me to take a quiet look my lady?" he asks her"Nice n' smart, Silas" interjects Reinhardt "Let's all be alive to rescue the kiddies and receive the thanks of a grateful city, yae?"In the other room Col approaches Keygan warily.  "If you know anything that would help protect my friends from what lies beyond the curtain, tell me now" he whispers urgently "You help us and we'll do our best to make sure things turn out well for you.  It's the best deal you'll get" he concludes.  The halfling looks around, prepared to quickly jump on a chair if any acid appears from the gnomes stilt-like legs."Sometimes the tall ones or the short ones are here" he points to beyond the curtain, clearly frightened..Just then the door opens and Giacomo appears in the doorway to the shop..Meanwhile Mercy looks at Silas, touches his chest, and points up the stairs. She smiles, points at herself, and signals that she intends to move to the window alcove.  She steps cautiously into the room and makes her way across to the curtain covering the window. As she moves she looks up to see where the stairs lead to- can she see anyone?The stairs go up to a landing but she spots nothing..Reinhardt fronts shield and grasps his sword, peering through the curtains ready to aid MercyMercy moves more slowly as she approachs the curtain and uses the end of her sword to pull the curtain aside from the window niche.  More ornate locks and complex locking mechanisms are neatly displayed in the niche..Mercy turns to Reinhardt and shrugs her shoulders. She crouches and lifts the edge of the rug, looking for a trap door"The tall ones and the short ones?" Col asks Keygan in a whisper "Can you describe them better, are they human or something else? We need to know what we are up against".  He pauses "Mercy be careful!" he says in a quiet but urgent voice.Keygan looks nervously at Mercy as she creeps into the room "I know not what they are" he replies to Col."If you don't know what they are perhaps you know where they might be?" asks Col in a low voice "Will they be upstairs or below, and where is the entrance to your cellar, if there is one?  Quick!! Lady Mercy is at risk and we may be able to help you, if we act quickly"Suddenly, appently out of nowhere a creature appears and fires a crossbow at Mercy.  It hits but does only a small amount of damage.  As Mercy is hit by a bolt...she spins round... standing at the foot of the stairs is a naked, hairless humanoid.  Its greeny-grey skin seems to change hue, making it blend in with its surroundings... The creatures deep blue eyes lack pupils.."Ugh! That's revolting!" Mercy exclaims"Grral, it's a skulk-dugaree!" says Mercy thinking quickly.The creature is completely naked except for a slim belt that holds a rapier.  It holds a light crossbow, its pupil-less eyes focused on Mercy."What a strange and unwholesome sight - lets see if our blades may bite it's hide".Reinhardt says with a grin."Quick Keygan, there may be more of these creatures, where do they emerge from?? - you must know!" Col asks the gnome urgently in the other room, concerned that his friends may be attacked by more of the monstrous abominations.At this point the front door opens to reveal the group's cleric "Sorry I'm late chaps. I thought I saw a damsel needing saving from her virginity" Giacomo says from the doorway "But she was just being mugged instead. Never mind, an opportunity missed. So what's going on here?"  Then looking round he exclaims "Eew. Is that a monster?" he pauses "Oh. It's just a big ugly gnome. Where's that growling coming from?""At last we find Skull-Dug-er-Ee!" roars Grral his eyes alive and wide, revealing much of the whites, pupils massively dilated, he begins to tremble in anticipation. "Yaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrggggggghhhhhhhwwwwwwwwaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrr!!!!" he screams in challenge at the creatureSilas rushes in to face the weird beast, his hands blur as he attempts to strike the creature but it dodges the blows."Welcome back Giac..." Sorendal says with a smile to the figure in the doorway "Just in time for the action..." and he turns back to the elevated gnome "How manys are there?  C'mon, quickly, we need to know"Keygan looks at Sorendal "I don't know how many there are" and he looks scared out of his skin.. "Why are you so frightened Keygan?  I'm sure that we will teach this naked fellow a lesson in good manners" says Col in a soothing voice to the locksmith "Or is there something that you aren't telling us?"The gnome looks toward the curtains...he is obviously very distracted.  Now does not seem the best time to get information out of the gnome..Col shrugs "Don't worry my friend, I'm confident that we shall deal with this fellow and then we will see if we can help you with your worries....   If you help us, that is.""Don't let the Gnome leave - I'm not sure he is as innocent as he makes out!" calls Reinhardt as he prepares to charge."Yuk yuk yuk!" says Mercy  "You'd think it might have heard of underwear..." and she wrinkles her nose in disgust and her eyes scan the room, seeking out any other partly hidden monsters, with or without undergarments"Yeah" says Reinhardt agreeing with Mercy "Guard yer backs - they hide well and may try an ambush." and he too looks for hidden assailantsTalwin moves so that he can see the creature "Ughh, what a horrible creature" he agrees"Oh good. A fight!" Giacomos tells the others "I was beginning to think thinks were getting a bit too touchy feely for comfort. I felt more like a social worker than an adventurer for a minute back there in the orphanage."Giacomo moves further into the room, he raises one hand into the air with an index finger pointed skywards. His other hand he places on his hips and with a rakish glint in his eye and a sensual thrust forward with his hips he shouts: "Olidammara I want you to BLESS these good people. I REALLY do. UH-HUH-HUH.". Unable to contain himself any longer Grral draws his great-sword forth, spittle now flies from his mouth and his body appears to be taut as if suffering from rigors, he quickly closes the space between himself and the creature"Hgnnnnnarrrrr!!!" he roars as he brings his sword to bear and it smashes down with all his might onto the creatures head.Col pales at the sight of Grral's massive blow and the spray of ichor that erupts from the creature receiving it…"Nice shot, Grral!" gasps MercyGiacomo agrees from the back of the party "I say. That hit sounded like a corker.""Oh dear a fight, I have never been in a fight before" admits Talwin facinatedSorendal sees Grral run behind the curtain.. Then hears a sickening thud.  He winces at the nervous looking stilted gnome then stares directly into his eyes.. "Information .... We want information... whatever it iss in there now has Grralss axe ssplitting itss chest open ... how did it get here ?"Col looks nervously towards the combat but sees his duty to guard the tall gnome.  "Look" he says "You really don't have much of a choice!  If you keep silent then your hairless associate will still believe that you betrayed them and we will be sure that not only you were helping them but you did so willingly.  If you help, by giving us useful information, like for starters, 'where these creatures emerge in your shop', we may be able to help you.  It's decision time mate, what's it going to be?"Keygan looks at Col  "There is a secret door... in the staircase"The skulk sways but Grral's blow is decisive.  The skulk slumps to the floor, bleeding badly..."A secret door!" cries Col with delight "Golly, this is just so exciting, just like in the stories!!! Well done Grral, well done!""Well done guys" Talwin joins in the congratulationsAs the creature falls some tension seems to leave Grral and his eyes appear less wild, he thumps his chest with the hilt of his great sword"Grral are mighty killer of Skull-Dug-er-Ee!" he roars at the dying creatureGrral wipes his hand down his blade and laps some of the creatures blood from his hand before producing a cloth from his bag and wiping down his sword properly before resheathing it"That thing is just dying, maybe we should save it, tie it up and get it to the temple, maybe they can get some information out of it" suggests Talwin but, for the moment, nobody approaches the dying creature.Col talks quickly hoping to catch the locksmith before he regains his composure and clams up. "Well done Keygan, you have done well to throw in your lot with us, but although this fell creature is dead it may not be the end of it.  You will be in deep trouble with the authorities if your part in the abductions becomes known.  To avoid this you will have to give us your full and undivided support in our endeavours.  It is obvious that you are not kind of person that goes adventuring but we expect you to aid us none-the-less with information at least.  First tell us if there may be others of this monsters kin abroad in the city and then show us this secret door of which you spoke.  Then tell us fully about this affair, or what you know of it and also where the secret door may lead."  He looks sternly at the frightened gnome and waits for him to answer.Silas wipes a splash of the beast's blood from his face...."Well Grral I think you certainly made your point" He says nodding to the bloody mess that is all that is left of the beastSorendal looks at Keygan.. "Thank you... and is there a trap on the door? " he asks as he jumps over the counter and sweeps the curtain aside. He walks up to the stairs and looks intently at the structure.."Eew. That thing really is horrible" says Giacomo, giving a theatrical shudder "I hope we won't have to kill more. It quite turns my stomach. And the stench." Says Giacomo as he moves forward to look at the body. He then realises that the smell isn't coming from the dead beast. He gives Grral a distasteful look and pulls out a perfumed Hand Kerchief and dabs his nose.  "Oh. What an interesting aroma."  Giacomo moves back into the room with the Gnome.  "So Mister *cough* Gnome. What was big ugly through there doing in ya house? You invite him in for tea?""Well done Graal! The hunt is up! Let's have at them!" laughs ReinhardtCol listens with interest at the sounds of searching coming from the other room as he maintains his guard vigil, from time to time he glances with longing at the pot of smoking leaves on the mantelpiece, they look amazingly like 'Olde Tobin'..Keygan moves round the counter, the 6ft tall gnome puts his hand over his mouth in shock as he spots the creatures corpse.    "Those are the tall creatures" he says.  "The short ones have pallid skin, large noses and black hooves.  They wear black cowls that help them hide.  Both creatures talk in a language I do not know"  He moves over to the staircase in the room "Here is a secret door.  This is how they came into my shop"  He presses on the wood and a secret door springs open.  "There is a staircase here that leads underground... It leads to Jzadirune.  This used to be a small enclave inhabited gnomish spell-casters.  The enclave was abandoned 75 years ago after a magical plague swept through it"  He reaches in his pocket and pulls out a map "This is all I remember of the place"  He looks at the party, and exhales deeply. "As for my part in the missing orphans... The tall ones and short ones kidnapped my familiar, Starbrow" Keygan sniffles "I do hope he's OK"  He looks up pleadingly "They made me make skeleton keys!!!  I had no choice!"Col goes pale "A magic plague?" he asks "Just, just what were its effects and does it only touch on gnomes?" he turns to Giacomo, "Are you senior enough to deal with diseases?" he asks the party cleric."Senior enough to deal with diseases?  What you talking about you funny little man?" replies the cleric testily "Do you mean can I cast remove disease? No I can't. Not yet. But if you wash your hands regularly I'm sure that will help protect you from them.""Do you have any idea why they are kidnapping, and how they decide who or what to take with them?" asks Mercy, striding up to the gnome and looking him directly in the eye. It's not often she can do that with a gnome.  "Keygan - do they use this doorway just to visit you to demand keys or is this the route by which they also transport the kidnap victims?  And do you know anything about doors with teeth?"She takes a look at the map. "So I assume we enter via the staircase in the middle of the map.  How far is it to the enclave? And how well do you know it? Can you give us help by marking any traps or features onto the map?"  She bites her tongue for a moment, to give Ghelve a chance to answer.  He appears to be a gnome on the verge of a nervous breakdown (as well as a pair of stilts) and she doesn't want to be the one to push him over."We probably should just take a peek through the door and see what's downstairs" says Col hesitantly, his Halfling curiosity overcoming his natural caution for a moment "When Keygan has answered our questions, that is. We need to know what to expect, but we must be very, very careful, I don't like the sound of the black hooded creatures with cloven hooves that he says down there and the thought of a plague sets shivers running up and down my spine"The halfling stops and thinks for a moment, then he turns to the party's female fighter, (who seems to be emerging as the party leader) "Lady Mercy" he asks, head cocked to one side "I think that the first thing we should do is look downstairs but I also believe that it will be no simple task to release the captives and we may need to make many such trips.  As this shop may be the only way that these creatures can enter the city to gather their living harvest, perhaps if we move our base here from the Inn we could guard the exit and stop further raids?  When we aren't exploring that is." he pauses "We would also save hard-won gold from being frittered away on room and rent" he adds as an afterthought"We can worry about finances and bases later," snorts Silas "I think the day is still young and we should press on and take a look downstairs"Grral prods the Skulk with his foot to make sure its no longer alive before turning back to the others  "There are more Skul-Dug-er-Ee?" he enquires sounding disappointed."I am very much afraid that there may be more downstairs Grral" says Col looking worried "And congratulations" he adds "That is the mightiest blow I ever saw struck" he adds sincerely."We go quick then and save the little children, we stop Skul-Dug-er-Ee... Grral even let friend Col kill next one" Grral says with a broad grin as he heads towards the open secret door.  Col looks alarmed rather than pleased at Grral's offer…"Aye, let's go. I'll lead if someone can make some light." suggests ReinhardtCol casts a light spell on Reinhardt's shield, but warns the warrior that it won't last that long.  By now he is grinning at Grral's suggestion that he kill the next one.  'Fat chance of that' he thinks.  "Let's be off then" he calls from the very back of the party.Mercy turns to Sorendal - do we need to take the gnome with us or does someone stay here?""Do you want to come and see if we can rescue Starbrow?" Col asks the locksmith "Um, and just what manner of beast is he to have such an elevated name?""Damn rats are not worth a kid's life!" mutters Reinhardt angrily. Sorendal looks at Mercy and then the gnome.." I think Keygan hass been most helpful, but it would be eassier to just get ssomeone to go to the door and shout 'GUARDSS' and let them look after him... The guardss could then let our employerss know where we are going... they could also guard the sshop whilst we go below to get the children.  That is unless Keygan here hass a reasson to come with uss..?? " he looks again at the elevated gnome.. " Tell me of Starbrow.. what manner of creature is he? .. Can you sensse him ?"While waiting for the gnome's response Sorendal takes a brief look at the map "Hmmm, itss a large complex. What are these evil minionss doing with their captivess? .. How many are there in there number I wonder... and is there another way out of this  enclave?" he ponders out loud.At this point Eddy, the lizard, wanders into the room and shins his way up Sorendal, arriving on his shoulder he pokes his master in the side of the face with the end of his tail.  Sorendal looks round.."No mate, I won't let 'em capture you alive.." he giggles.  "Jus' kiddin' Ed.... I won't let 'em capture you at all...honest"The lizard tries to frown ... Na, its definitely a mammal trick he thinks.. as is humour.Reinhardt fronts shield and grasps his sword, leading the others down the stairs."Let's be off then, if we are going to explore below" Col advises "While we have light..." and he will follow behind the others"Oh goody!" says Giacomo with a sigh "A subterranean lair built under the city with spooky cave dwellers who harvest the city inhabitants for food. Well at least they've been added back into the food chain."Silas muses almost to himself  "Maybe we should have had a look first, we may not need a light. The place may already have torches after all it looks a pretty well established place from the map. Mind you the amount of noise Rienhardt makes they will hear him long before the light attracts attention"A sudden thought strikes Col and he scuttles over to the body of the dead skulk.  Quickly he removes the rapier and crossbow and places them to one side.  He starts to search the body, turning it over carefully to avoid getting covered in gore "Where there is a crossbow" he mutters to himself "There must be bolts, and where there are bolts, if you don't want to stab yourself, there'll be a container.  And who knows where there's a container there may be other things of interest!" he finishes with satisfaction, but finds nothing.Reinhardt snaps at Silas "Want to go first? Be my guest. dead heroes draw less wages than live, canny fighters.  I thought, since I was wearing the harness, I'd take some hits for the folks that are too poor to afford armour - however, it jingles!""Whoever who wants to can go first" cals Col in a low voice "But get on with it.  That light spell won't last long and if that thing" he shudders "Has mates down there then they may have heard something of the battle anyway.  Grral's Yaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrggggggghhhhhhhwwwwwwwwaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrr!!!! was enough to waken the dead!""That traditional battle cry of my people, it are challenge to the other fighter" growls Grral defensively "Also scares the hells out of  'em" he adds with a wry smile"Scared the hell out of me"  says Mercy. She smiles quickly, in case Grral gets angry again"I'm more scared of an empty purse at the end of the month" jokes Reinhardt "That and the betrayal of someone who was supposed to guard your back - still, we all react differently to the world, no?"Snaps out of his daydreaming and turns to the party "I really think we should get out eleven-sees first, who knows when we may get our next meal and my tummy is already rumbling" he says seriously.  Seeing the faces of the others he quickly adds with a sigh " Oh, if we must go exploring lets hurry up, maybe we can get back for lunch is I don't starve by then""I noticed some nice pipe-weed in the other room" mentions Col "I think it looked like Olde Tobin...""And is it yours Col? I think perhaps it belongs to someone else" Shakes his head at the light-fingered Halfling"I was - ur - hoping - that Keygan might want to share it with his new friends...." responds Col, "I didn't – harrumph – borrow any…" he adds in an undertone.</blockquote>

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