The group uses downtime between assignments to look around their new headquarters.
17:55 <Tikvah>: I don't want to do the next big mission until everyone is here.
17:55 <bookworm>: Right
17:56 <bookworm>: We could explore the castle for real this time
17:56 <Skid>: Is there anything in particular we want to explore?
18:02 <bookworm>: Is Moontide coming?
18:10 <Tikvah>: Moontide will not be joining the session.
18:10 <bookworm>: Let's poke around the base then
18:10 <Tikvah>: OK.
18:11 Tikvah is now known as Tikvah_GMing
18:11 bookworm is now known as Victor
18:11 Skid is now known as Gromit
18:11 Arkan is now known as Greystone
18:11 <Gromit>: So we're off to poke around the castle.
18:11 <Gromit>: Check all the closets for skeletons.
18:12 <Tikvah_GMing>: Where do you want to start?
18:13 <Greystone>: At the bottom.
18:13 <Gromit>: In the dungeon?
18:13 <Gromit>: Seems as good a spot to start as any.
18:13 <Victor>: I want to go back to my room for a minute
18:13 <Victor>: Forgot something
18:16 <Greystone>: We can start in our room.
18:17 <Gromit>: Okay.
18:17 <Tikvah_GMing>: Ok, You each get a small, small room with a bed and a chest at the foot.
18:18 <Victor>: Okay, then I check over the bullet boxes
18:18 <Tikvah_GMing>: What about them?
18:19 <Victor>: Are there markings?
18:20 <Tikvah_GMing>: There is a marking from the maker. A common bullet making company based in the capital city.
18:20 <Victor>: Okay
18:20 <Greystone>: Where did we leave off?
18:20 <Greystone>: Are we at the castle or...?
18:20 <Tikvah_GMing>: Yes.
18:20 <Gromit>: We left off after visiting the tavern and learning that the alchemist is crazy and disturbing, and that The Count tends to cover for his men if they happen to annoy the local peasants.
18:21 <Greystone>: Ah, that's right. I was sitting in the corner, writing a letter while y'all were talking.
18:21 <Greystone>: I don't know about you, but I want'a meet that alchemist.
18:21 <Victor>: "Well I guess we'll be summoned when they want us. If they want us anymore."
18:22 Gromit chews a few candies.
18:22 <Victor>: "Shall we look around? Haven't actually had a chance to yet."
18:22 <Victor>: "Only been here to sleep so far."
18:22 <Gromit>: "I'm sure we could learn a few things. Lead the way."
18:22 Greystone shoves his paper into his jerkin.
18:23 <Victor>: Have we been told what kind of rooms are around at all?
18:23 <Tikvah_GMing>: Only the introduction when you arrived.
18:24 <Tikvah_GMing>: Also you were told to stay out of the upper stories.
18:24 <Victor>: Right
18:24 <Greystone>: So if we are ever called to the upper stories, we will have to ask the way.
18:24 Victor leaves his hat this time
18:25 <Victor>: "I guess let's be methodical and take a floor at a time."
18:25 <Gromit>: "There's always a dungeon."
18:25 <Victor>: Is this the highest we should be going? Our floor?
18:25 <Tikvah_GMing>: Yeah.
18:25 <Victor>: Then we'll work down
18:26 <Victor>: Explore the rest of this one first
18:26 <Greystone>: In that case, that makes sense.
18:26 <Victor>: I'm looking for a library specifically, if you want to know that.
18:27 <Tikvah_GMing>: Ah.
18:29 <Greystone>: I assume there's a kismet workshop.
18:29 <Gromit>: I think that's the alchemist's domain.
18:32 <Gromit>: Is there a library?
18:33 <Tikvah_GMing>: The Count probably has one in his quarters.
18:33 <Victor>: There isn't a castle library?
18:33 <Gromit>: Books are expensive in this era, I suppose.
18:34 <Tikvah_GMing>: No? Books are expensive. Why would you let all the common folk go rifling through them?
18:34 <Victor>: Because I didn't realize that
18:35 <Victor>: Were books still rare in Victorian times? I thought that was our reference
18:35 <Gromit>: It's well before that if we're kicking around with swords and bows.
18:35 <Victor>: I'll check my notes
18:35 <Tikvah_GMing>: 1600s.
18:35 <Victor>: Oh right
18:35 <Victor>: So a city won't have a library either?
18:35 <Victor>: How are we supposed to find out things
18:36 <Tikvah_GMing>: Maybe, but not a public one.
18:36 <Victor>: Ah
18:36 <Gromit>: Ask people and bribe librarians.
18:36 <Victor>: Well I guess let's see what there *is* here then
18:37 <Tikvah_GMing>: The floor you are on has kitchen, servant's quarters, guard room, guard's quarters, entrance hall, and stairs going up and down.
18:38 <Greystone>: Ookook immediately recommends we check out the kitchen.
18:38 <Victor>: Yes he would
18:40 <Victor>: Anything of interest Gromit?
18:40 <Gromit>: Everything in a kitchen is of interest.
18:40 <Victor>: You can lead the expedition, I'm (bookworm) distracted a bit at the moment
18:40 <Greystone>: Ookook: You could try to sell the bullets to the cook.
18:40 <Greystone>: Ookook: Maybe I could find something to accompany Phil.
18:41 <Tikvah_GMing>: OK, stop playing for the absent characters.
18:42 <Greystone>: I apologize, it just came to me, and I had to put it in. =P
18:43 <Tikvah_GMing>: What do you want to know about the kitchen?
18:43 <Gromit>: Actually, I don't see any need to check the regular living spaces, besides to tour through them quick to get a feel for the building, and note any locked doors on this level.
18:43 <Tikvah_GMing>: There aren't any locked doors on this level.
18:43 <Gromit>: Huh.
18:43 <Greystone>: Then down we go.
18:45 Greystone heads to some stairs going down.
18:46 <Tikvah_GMing>: The stairs go down into a hall, with one door on each side and a ladder going down at the end.
18:46 <Tikvah_GMing>: Oops, I messed up.
18:47 <Tikvah_GMing>: The servant quarters are in the door to your left, not the ground floor.
18:48 <Tikvah_GMing>: The door to the right is sturdy wood with iron bands, and a sloppy sign designating it as "The Lab".
18:48 <Gromit>: "So this is our stop. You first."
18:48 <Tikvah_GMing>: You hear some grinding noises within.
18:48 <Greystone>: ! *Metal Gear Alert Sound*
18:49 <Greystone>: The question is, will the alchemist take unkindly to an intrusion?
18:50 <Gromit>: "You're about to find out."
18:50 <Gromit>: "I mean, I'm sure they'll be delighted."
18:50 <Greystone>: ["Hi, we're here for no reason."]
18:51 <Gromit>: "Can we try drinking your potions?"
18:51 <Greystone>: ["We'd just like to poke around your lab and and say hi for no reason."]
18:51 <Greystone>: ...
18:51 <Greystone>: Yeah.
18:51 <Greystone>: I'll open the door, but you do the talking.
18:52 <Gromit>: Right. Well. Only one way to learn new things.
18:53 Gromit puts on his best helpful assistant face and straighens his uniform.
18:54 Greystone knocks on the door labeled "The Lab", in a polite, courtly fashion.
18:54 <Tikvah_GMing>: You hear some muffled shouting, but you're not sure if it's directed at you.
18:55 <Greystone>: Well, now we are guards investigating some shouting. Perfect.
18:55 <Greystone>: ^_^
18:56 Greystone (attempts to)opens the door.
18:57 <Tikvah_GMing>: It swings open, revealing a vast room cluttered with tables covered in vials and various instruments. Some book shelves line two of the walls.
18:58 Gromit steps gingerly inside.
18:59 <Tikvah_GMing>: The whole room is filled with a thick layer of steam. You see something small dart towards your feet. Somewhere from the room a voice yells at you to "Catch it!"
19:00 Gromit dives and tries to put his helmet over it.
19:00 <Tikvah_GMing>: Roll a speed check.
19:00 <Gromit>: !roll d20 1 effort
19:00 <Dicebot>: Gromit, 1 effort: 15
19:01 <Tikvah_GMing>: You trap it successfully under your helmet. Some angry squeaking comes from underneath.
19:01 Greystone remains in the doorway with silent intent to block any exiting of whatever "it" is.
19:01 <Gromit>: "Got it!"
19:01 Gromit looks around for the voice.
19:01 Greystone glances for whomever yelled.
19:04 <Tikvah_GMing>: A figure emerges from behind a large stack of papers. It's a woman with frizzy hair that looks a bit singed, and a long coat that reaches almost to the ground. She barely glances at you, but lifts up the helmet and plucks a large squirrel out from underneath. "Got you! Now if only I could find the..." Her speech trails of into mumbling as she shoves the squirrel into a cage and open up a giant book lying on the table."
19:06 Greystone is more than willing to stand where he is until she notices him to speak to.
19:06 <Victor>: Does she have any artificial limbs by chance?
19:06 <Tikvah_GMing>: Not that you can see, but she is wearing a long coat with sleeves and gloves.
19:06 <Victor>: I was hoping I could call this episode "Half Metal Alchemist"
19:06 <Victor>: I felt clever
19:06 <Gromit>: "Hello, ma'am. We were sent down to assist with an experiment?"
19:06 Gromit lies.
19:07 <Greystone>: -_-
19:07 <Greystone>: ...
19:07 <Greystone>: -_-
19:07 <Greystone>: >=|
19:07 <Tikvah_GMing>: Roll a deception check.
19:07 <Gromit>: !roll d20 1 effort
19:07 <Dicebot>: Gromit, 1 effort: 12
19:07 <Victor>: Were you making faces at him or me?
19:08 <Gromit>: Both seems appropriate.
19:08 <Greystone>: Seriously Skid.
19:08 <Greystone>: Wait, no, bookworm.
19:08 <Greystone>: You know, what, yes, both.
19:08 <Greystone>: BOTH.
19:08 <Gromit>: You could run now before she looks up.
19:08 <Victor>: I know it's dumb, but like I said I'm trying to name them like a TV show would
19:08 <Victor>: They love pun references like that
19:08 <Greystone>: Well, I'm no better. I love terrible puns.
19:08 <Tikvah_GMing>: She pauses and blinks at you. "Oh. Uh... was that today?"
19:09 <Gromit>: "I was told it was. Unless you'd like us to come back later...?"
19:09 Greystone says nothing.
19:09 <Greystone>: (Still.)
19:10 <Tikvah_GMing>: "There should be a vial of camphor root around here somewhere. Find it for me, will you?"
19:10 <Gromit>: "Yes, ma'am."
19:10 Gromit looks for the bottle by scent.
19:11 <Tikvah_GMing>: Roll a perception check.
19:11 <Gromit>: !roll d20
19:11 <Dicebot>: Gromit: 16
19:11 <Greystone>: Alright, who is most likely to know what a vial of camphor root looks like?
19:12 <Greystone>: I'm thinking Victor with all his traveling around.
19:12 <Gromit>: Anyone who embalms corpses.
19:12 <Greystone>: But Gromit's looking at the moment.
19:12 <Victor>: Yeah probably me if it's a plant
19:12 <Gromit>: You have knowledge: botanical?
19:12 <Victor>: Not specifically, but my primary business is trekking through forests
19:13 <Greystone>: Yeah, Greystone and Victor are likely to know something about plants and their edibility/uses from trekking through woods.
19:13 <Greystone>: Just don't taste the Camphor root.
19:13 <Greystone>: I know your habits Gromit.
19:13 <Greystone>: Camphor is not to be used internally.
19:13 <Tikvah_GMing>: You smell camphor coming from a table a few feet away. You also smell a faint whiff of something that smells like... a pig?
19:13 Gromit gets distracted from looking for the camphor to examine the pig smell.
19:14 <Tikvah_GMing>: It's too faint to tell much. Several weeks old, at least.
19:14 <Gromit>: And not like bacon, but live/dead pig?
19:15 <Tikvah_GMing>: Yes.
19:15 <Gromit>: Okay.
19:15 Gromit gets the bottle, and makes a mental note.
19:17 <Tikvah_GMing>: You pick up the bottle. You also see a diagram sitting on the table next to it with a familiar sword artifact sketched in.
19:18 Victor surveys the room if he's not being instructed to do something
19:19 <Tikvah_GMing>: In one corner of the room is a large wooden cabinet with a bar across the door. Beside it is sitting a complicated contraption made of glass tubing.
19:20 Gromit gives the bottle to the Alchemist.
19:21 <Tikvah_GMing>: She takes it and holds it next to a picture in her book, comparing the two. "Marvellous. Fantastic. Just what I was looking for." She seems to remember that you are in the room and looks up. "I don't need anything else right now. You can go."
19:21 <Gromit>: "Yes, Ma'am."
19:21 <Tikvah_GMing>: She takes the squirrel and the camphor and shoves them both into a large pottery container.
19:22 Gromit absconds.
19:23 Greystone bows, and withdraws.
19:23 <Tikvah_GMing>: The alchemist doesn't seem to notice your departure.
19:23 <Gromit>: "She seems nice."
19:24 <Victor>: "I didn't get the creeps we were described."
19:24 <Greystone>: "I have no complaints."
19:25 <Greystone>: "'The Creeps' are not common to warriors."
19:25 <Gromit>: "It smelled familiar though."
19:25 <Victor>: "Like werepig?"
19:25 <Victor>: Oh I couldn't ask that, you didn't mention pig.
19:25 <Gromit>: "Like werepig."
19:26 <Victor>: "Hmm..."
19:27 <Gromit>: "Not pointing any fingers of course."
19:28 <Victor>: To the next floor?
19:28 <Greystone>: Yiss.
19:29 <Gromit>: "Onward."
19:29 <Tikvah_GMing>: The next floor down has some storage rooms and another ladder going down.
19:30 <Greystone>: I love storage.
19:30 <Greystone>: But I love ladders more.
19:30 <Greystone>: Onward!
19:31 <Gromit>: Ladders seem the place to go. Rooms full of crates are for fighting in.
19:33 <Tikvah_GMing>: You descend into a larger, more open room. There is a locked door in front of you, and on the same wall towards the left is a hall. Another hall lead to the left.
19:34 <Greystone>: o.0
19:34 <Greystone>: We lost.
19:34 <Greystone>: Fork. Me no know what to do.
19:34 Gromit pushes Greystone in a random leftward direction.
19:34 Greystone looks down the hall on his left.
19:35 <Tikvah_GMing>: The hall to the left seems to lead to the dungeon. Cells line the walls on both sides.
19:35 <Tikvah_GMing>: They seem to be empty.
19:36 <Gromit>: All of them? Clean? Skeletons chained to the walls?
19:36 <Tikvah_GMing>: Empty, some old straw on the ground, no skeletons.
19:36 <Tikvah_GMing>: One of them is used for storing cabbages.
19:36 <Greystone>: lol
19:36 Greystone looks down the hallway in front of him.
19:38 <Tikvah_GMing>: It leads to an open area, more natural cave than carved room. The floor is rough, and gradually is covered in water. It extends as far as you can see. You can just make out a sort of island in the gloom.
19:38 <Greystone>: ...?
19:38 Gromit tastes the water.
19:39 <Greystone>: Ooo.
19:39 <Tikvah_GMing>: Roll a perception check.
19:39 <Gromit>: !roll d20
19:39 <Dicebot>: Gromit: 12
19:39 <Tikvah_GMing>: It tastes like mud, snakes, and garbage.
19:39 Victor snaps a flare
19:40 <Greystone>: If we find a Gollum out there, I'm challenging him to a riddle contest.
19:40 <Gromit>: "Snakes."
19:40 <Victor>: We're in a cave now?
19:40 Victor examines the ceiling
19:40 <Tikvah_GMing>: You hear a creaking sound from above you and something falls into the water.
19:40 Victor immediately pulls his bow
19:40 <Gromit>: How far out is the island?
19:40 Greystone steps into the open area and takes a good look around.
19:41 <Tikvah_GMing>: About 50 feet.
19:41 Gromit wades out into the water to test its depth.
19:42 <Greystone>: Fifty feet? I can swim that far with armor.
19:42 <Greystone>: But why would I?
19:42 <Tikvah_GMing>: You don't see anything unusual. The water is over your head about 20 feet out.
19:42 Gromit swims for the island.
19:43 <Gromit>: And here we see the investigative technique called "Having a full HP pool."
19:43 <Tikvah_GMing>: Roll for it.
19:43 <Victor>: What's on the ceiling?
19:43 <Tikvah_GMing>: Cave. You can't see where the object fell from.
19:43 <Victor>: Is anything moving?
19:43 <Tikvah_GMing>: No.
19:44 <Gromit>: !roll d20 1 effort (might)
19:44 <Dicebot>: Gromit, 1 effort (might): 4
19:44 <Greystone>: This is a bit of an odd find under a castle.
19:44 Victor shoots a marked bolt into the island
19:44 <Greystone>: {Oh wait... I remember this from a Redwall book.}
19:44 <Tikvah_GMing>: You manage to make it onto the island.
19:45 <Tikvah_GMing>: It's about 15' across, and seems to be made of garbage.
19:45 Gromit pokes around for dead people/animals.
19:45 <Gromit>: And/or food.
19:45 <Tikvah_GMing>: You smell burnt hair and camphor.
19:46 <Tikvah_GMing>: Victor, your bolt hits the island.
19:46 <Victor>: "What is it?"
19:46 <Victor>: Call to Gromit
19:47 <Gromit>: "Experiments end up down here. I wouldn't swim in it."
19:47 <Victor>: "Oh."
19:47 Victor marks a new bolt to override the one he shot
19:47 <Tikvah_GMing>: OK.
19:48 <Victor>: Can I unmark something without making something else btw? I don't remember
19:48 <Tikvah_GMing>: If you want to.
19:48 <Gromit>: Anything beyond the island?
19:48 <Tikvah_GMing>: Not that you can see.
19:49 <Gromit>: Actually, anything overhead? I'm looking for a garbage chute.
19:50 <Tikvah_GMing>: You see a hole that has been roughly carved into the ceiling.
19:50 <Gromit>: Ah-hah.
19:50 <Gromit>: What's the freshest garbage directly below it?
19:51 <Tikvah_GMing>: It is the source of the smell, and looks like a pile of black slime with lumps in it.
19:51 <Tikvah_GMing>: It's bubbling.
19:52 Gromit considers tasting it, bur refrains.
19:52 <Greystone>: So we wandered into the garbage dump. Tell no one.
19:52 <Gromit>: "You can learn intimate knowledge about a person by going through their trash, good sir. This is detective work."
19:53 <Gromit>: "But I think I've learned what I can for today."
19:53 <Greystone>: "..."
19:54 <Greystone>: "Do you know how many people are in this castle?"
19:54 <Gromit>: "Do you know how few of them boil squirrels in camphor?"
19:55 <Greystone>: "I would hazard a guess of one."
19:55 <Gromit>: "...I hope not many. Waste of a good squirrel."
19:55 <Greystone>: "..."
19:55 <Greystone>: "True."
19:56 Gromit swims back to shore.
19:56 <Tikvah_GMing>: You make it to shore.
19:57 Greystone coughs.
19:57 Gromit shakes some of the water out of his armor and decides that's enough exploring for a night.
19:58 <Victor>: "Did we decide what we want to do about this explosion situation?"
19:58 <Victor>: "I'm still off balance from the reception we got."
19:58 <Gromit>: "Lie low for now. Mark an item in the lab in case we need to make a run for it with all the intel we can gather."
19:59 <Greystone>: "Ask Drindall some questions when we see him next."
19:59 <Victor>: "As I said, I'm not sure we have the leverage now to demand disclosure like we had planned."
19:59 <Victor>: "But my feelings on it haven't changed. Just my perception of our current situation."
20:00 <Gromit>: "No, but we have the means to have several things disclosed if desperate need arises."
20:01 <Victor>: "I guess we'll see where things go."
20:01 <Victor>: "Sleep well."
20:02 <Gromit>: "With my door as locked and barred as I can make it."
20:02 <Victor>: "Indeed."
20:03 Victor offers a marked bolt to each party member as they go to their rooms
20:03 <Victor>: "Just in case. If you want."
20:03 <Gromit>: "Good plan."
20:04 Greystone takes the bolt in his hand.
20:04 <Tikvah_GMing>: If you roll something wrong you'll just show up in their room in the middle of the night.
20:04 <Victor>: Do I roll at night?
20:05 <Gromit>: Only if you do something that takes skill/focus, usually.
20:05 <Gromit>: And I'll only probably hit him with a chair for doing that.
20:05 <Greystone>: Well, I guess if you leave active bolts around, then you have to roll to sleep. =P
20:08 <Gromit>: Okay. That's my exploring done.
20:11 <Gromit>: That it for the session?
20:11 <Tikvah_GMing>: Sure.
20:11 <Tikvah_GMing>: Everyone gets 1 XP.
20:11 <Gromit>: All right.
20:11 Gromit is now known as Skid
20:11 <Victor>: Oh, so the ammo wasn't marked.
20:11 <Victor>: In response to the list you posted Arkan
20:12 <Skid>: And we have to figure out why Drindall's agents are building monsters and blowing up cities.
20:12 <Victor>: I wish we had gone around that corner
20:13 <Skid>: To the storage area?
20:13 <Victor>: In the hideout
20:13 <Skid>: Ah.
20:13 <Victor>: To find whatever information we were supposed to
20:13 <Victor>: We wouldn't be so lost
20:13 <Victor>: And confused
20:13 Greystone is now known as Arkan
20:13 Tikvah_GMing is now known as Tikvah
20:14 <Skid>: Probably plenty of info in the lab. Just need a chance to go through it while the alchemist is out.
20:14 <Arkan>: Yes.
20:14 <Skid>: And take a level of Knowledge: Mad Science.
20:14 <Victor>: Yeah, we will understand what happened eventually
20:15 <Victor>: But we could have had ideas now
20:15 <Victor>: And I would have preferred that
20:16 <Arkan>: We came in the vents, we stuck to the vents. Infiltration 101.
20:17 <Arkan>: The confusion is confusing.
20:17 <Skid>: Next place we go to we can revise our looting protocol.
20:18 <Skid>: Also, if we have to flee /here/ we need to figure out how to hit the armory on the way out.
20:19 <Ark>: ...
20:19 <Skid>: Be efficient, be polite, have a plan to loot everyone you meet.
20:20 <Arkan>: Light-fingered rogues.
20:20 <Arkan>: Kill. A plan to kill everyone you meet.
20:21 <Skid>: And then loot them. It's the murder-hobo way.
20:21 <Tikvah>: I think we found the villains in this story.
20:21 <Arkan>: Like a professional-what?!
20:21 <Arkan>: You dastard!
20:22 <Skid>: A professional adventurer?
20:22 <Arkan>: Greystone would have no part in such tactics of theft.
20:22 <Skid>: It's not theft if they're dead.
20:22 <Skid>: It's just free stuff.
20:23 <Arkan>: Well, yes.
20:23 <Arkan>: Bounty from a fallen foe, slain in noble combat.
20:25 <Arkan>: I do appreciate the TF2 reference.