"We'll find him, Culum," Aerie reassured the boy again. "We're adventurers after all. Heroes! But I'm sure everyone would feel much better knowing that you're back at in the castle, safe and sound. Including your dad, when we meet him."
Alora will go through the door marked 'Employees Only' and listen and check for traps on the next door (just in case the minitaurs have spent the last two days preparing against intruders!). She will then drop back behind the big guys when the open the door.
"We should go and see what the cows are doing then we should go and see the little giants and tell them they don't have to be frightened anymore because we killed the sharks. Everyone is going to be so happy!"
The doors are neither locked nor trapped. Inside, the Minitaurs have toppled the crate, but as the meat is packed in salt, they have rejected it as unfit to eat. They are in the process of trying to topple a barrel. To your eyes, they definitely look thinner than the last time you saw them.
To reiterate: This is a crowded room that smells of salted meats. It is lit by a glowing crystal ball attached to the ceiling high above… somehow. A small wooden table sits in the middle of the room, surrounded by several chairs, in the corner of the room is a wooden desk with a plaque on top of it reading, "Zando- Office Manager". Stacked against the far wall are several dozen crates and barrels, labeled "Meat". Two creatures are struggling to tip over one of the barrels. They are three feet tall, with bodies like men and heads like bulls.
The Minitaurs are whining in distress, and are about 3' tall. When you just look into the room, you can see two more doors- one leading south, the other east.
You can see why they rejected the meat- each piece is covered in a thick layer of salt. If you wash the meat in the water from the stream, it would probably be a lot more palatable to them. Or, if you have meat in your rations, you could offer it to them and wash the rest…
The Minitaurs snort and paw the ground. It's like they want to defend the meat, but with the number of you they see, they are uncomfortable with doing so...
"We're not going to hurt you." Aerie carefully approached the minotaurs, ever the diplomat. "Um... You don't like it because it's so salty, correct? We could wash it for you in the stream..."
Though she spoke sure of herself, she really wasn't. She glanced once at Minsc, as if to draw upon his immense strength. "Do you think they understand?" she whispered.
They are Neutral and they eagerly snarf down the steaks, then sit up on their knees, as if begging for more. With how quickly they finished the meat, you can tell that they were very hungry indeed.. Playfully, they nudge Anomen's legs, as if rubbing their faces on him like playful dogs.
OOC: Unfortunately I had no time today to post something in-character, hopefully tomorrow I can be around more often and actually participate. Also, what a good move to befriend the minitaurs! I hope they can find a sustainable food-resource after we are gone.
Alora goes and fetches more shark steaks. to give to the minitaurs.
Once they have eaten them, so long as they seem to be full, Alora will explore the room. She will start with the desk, then look at the other crates and barrels (so long as the minitaurs aren't threatened by this). She will then ask Minsc to lift her up on his shoulders so she can look at the crystal ball. Does it appear to be attached to the ceiling?
"That is not your decision to make," Jaheira injected, locking a relatively hostile glare on Anomen. He was hardly her favorite person (neither was Alora, for that matter), so her tolerance for him was lower than it might otherwise have been. Sliding nearer to the Half-wit and the Rashemenite idiot, she asked, "What have you found?" She wanted to find the father of the brat, and then discover a means to restore the balance to this afflicted place.
"Minsc is right. Whether you like it or not, we are allies in this. We must work together if we are to succeed!"
Aerie tried her hardest to glare, and hoped that with the muscular Minsc by her side, she at least appeared a little more imposing. Then she looked to Alora.
"But Anomen is also right, Alora, in that we did not come here to steal."
Scanning the room again, she noticed the desk in the back corner. "Zando - Office Manager." Zando was definitely a name, and although she didn't have much idea what an "office manager" was, it sounded official enough. Maybe they could find some clue as to what this place is and what happened to it inside the desk's contents.
"Although... Alora, could you help me check this desk here? In case it's trapped? I think it might be important."
OOC: I wrote all of this assuming the desks have drawers or some secret compartment. *crosses fingers*
The Minitaurs seem to be downcast by Anomen's refusal to play, but they gladly eat shark steaks until their little tummies bulge. Afterwards, they curl up together in the corner and fall asleep, nestled together like puppies.
The Crystal ball is indeed affixed to the ceiling, but even when standing on Minsc, Alora cannot tell how. The desk is filled with the most boring paperwork Alora has ever seen- Employee records, tax release forms and requisition forms. Behind the desk, on the wall, features a bunch of humans pointing and laughing and falling on the floor laughing. A caption reads, "You want it WHEN?!?!"
The barrels and crates are all full of salted meats and are pretty much the same as the broken-open cask- mainly pork with some beef thrown in. Mostly the fatty, gristly parts of such animals.
Alora gives a weary sigh and looks at Anomen: "You just came through a door that is clearly marked 'Employees Only' so you are trespassing and you should probably turn yourself into the authorities right now. Or go and pray for forgiveness or something."
She then turns to Aerie: "I wasn't stealing, I was only looking. And anyway you can't steal something you can't reach."
She then whispers to Jan, "We'll come back when the others aren't looking and try to get the crystal ball. Do you know a levitate spell?"
Finally, she turns her attention to the doors to the south and the east. She checks for traps on each of them, listens to see if she can hear anything and, if they are locked, attempts to unlock them.
"Which way do you want to go Aerie?"
Without waiting for a reply, Alora heads down the east corridor. "I'll go and check if this way is safe," she calls back over her shoulder, "And if it is you can decide if we should go down it."
Alora discovers that the corridor is not trapped, and the door at the end is not trapped. Inside this room, when she peeks through the door, she sees a dry moat with a cage in the center. The cage is empty but for a few bones. A sign on the side of the cage says, "Danger! Do Not Feed Meat!"
She can't recognize the type of bones, but they are very clean and white.
Comments
The Minitaurs are whining in distress, and are about 3' tall. When you just look into the room, you can see two more doors- one leading south, the other east.
*Anomen slowly walks into the door with his shield up and holding his mace in a non threatening posture.*
Do you want me to get the barrel for you little guys? *he asks pointing to the barrel with his mace while attempting to make eye contact*
"I've got chocolate cake. Anomen ask them if they want some chocolate cake?"
The Minitaurs snort and paw the ground. It's like they want to defend the meat, but with the number of you they see, they are uncomfortable with doing so...
Completely OOC: Do you think they eat shark or goblin meat? We've got plenty of that.
Though she spoke sure of herself, she really wasn't. She glanced once at Minsc, as if to draw upon his immense strength. "Do you think they understand?" she whispered.
Alora goes back to the other room, cuts a couple of shark steaks and brings them back to offer the the minitaurs.
OOC: While Aerie is washing the meat, I cast detect evil on them.
*Anomen backs away slowly from the beast.*
Alora goes and fetches more shark steaks. to give to the minitaurs.
Once they have eaten them, so long as they seem to be full, Alora will explore the room. She will start with the desk, then look at the other crates and barrels (so long as the minitaurs aren't threatened by this). She will then ask Minsc to lift her up on his shoulders so she can look at the crystal ball. Does it appear to be attached to the ceiling?
I will have no part in looting this establishment and will inform the authorities of your actions once we leave this place.
Besides it isn't like Culum's father is going to be on one of these barrels... well maybe, but that beside the point.
Aerie tried her hardest to glare, and hoped that with the muscular Minsc by her side, she at least appeared a little more imposing. Then she looked to Alora.
"But Anomen is also right, Alora, in that we did not come here to steal."
Scanning the room again, she noticed the desk in the back corner. "Zando - Office Manager." Zando was definitely a name, and although she didn't have much idea what an "office manager" was, it sounded official enough. Maybe they could find some clue as to what this place is and what happened to it inside the desk's contents.
"Although... Alora, could you help me check this desk here? In case it's trapped? I think it might be important."
OOC: I wrote all of this assuming the desks have drawers or some secret compartment. *crosses fingers*
The Crystal ball is indeed affixed to the ceiling, but even when standing on Minsc, Alora cannot tell how. The desk is filled with the most boring paperwork Alora has ever seen- Employee records, tax release forms and requisition forms. Behind the desk, on the wall, features a bunch of humans pointing and laughing and falling on the floor laughing. A caption reads, "You want it WHEN?!?!"
The barrels and crates are all full of salted meats and are pretty much the same as the broken-open cask- mainly pork with some beef thrown in. Mostly the fatty, gristly parts of such animals.
She then turns to Aerie: "I wasn't stealing, I was only looking. And anyway you can't steal something you can't reach."
She then whispers to Jan, "We'll come back when the others aren't looking and try to get the crystal ball. Do you know a levitate spell?"
Finally, she turns her attention to the doors to the south and the east. She checks for traps on each of them, listens to see if she can hear anything and, if they are locked, attempts to unlock them.
"Which way do you want to go Aerie?"
Without waiting for a reply, Alora heads down the east corridor. "I'll go and check if this way is safe," she calls back over her shoulder, "And if it is you can decide if we should go down it."
What is your father's name, Culum?
She can't recognize the type of bones, but they are very clean and white.