Chapter 1: A Knife in Darkness

[Scott308]

Ishbak Arus

Aye. The rest of us haven't even started to play yet. You'd best move along, says the pirate, drawing his other sword as he moves up the steps to get closer to Lathi.

Ishbak will ready an action, attacking anyone that begins attacking Lathi, bonus action to attack offhand.
Shortsword: [1d20+7] = 10+7 = 17; Damage: [1d6+5] = 5+5 = 10; Sneak Attack: [1d6] = 1
Shortsword (Offhand): [1d20+7] = 1+7 = 8

[ravenn4544]

Og smiles at the upcoming battle as he tests the edge of this blade with his finger .. and leaves a trail of blood as he eyes those standing in his way.

[tibbius]

"Let us down the stairs," said an old man furthest from Lathi, "and let us bring Nigbau away with us!" He tried to demand these things, but his voice shook and it was more like a plea. The red gold light from the back window threw shadows across his face. His beard was bushy grey, his nose was large and crooked, and his left eye socket looked empty.

[Rex]

Lathi

"Go and take him." Lathi clears out of the way and signals the others to let them through.

[tibbius]

In the kitchen, Xara found empty shelves and bare floor. No furnishings. In one corner stood a tiled cylinder about three feet across with a wooden lid. Lifting the lid she looked down a well, dark in the last twilight of the day, dark even in the glow of the crumbling goblet she held. It was deep.

- - -

What do Og and Ishbak do in response to Lathi's directive?

[ravenn4544]

Og just grumbles and nods as the others back down and flee, "That's what I thought."

[tibbius]

The four surviving beggars sheathed their daggers and shuffled slump-shouldered down the stairs, two of those not holding clubs carried the body of the crazed woman Nigbau. As they exited the open front door of the house into the twilight, they left behind a reeking mess in a house emptied of valuables. Lathi, Ishbak, and Og surveyed the disaster.

In the kitchen, Xara noticed handholds indented into the inner wall of the well. As if it might be possible to descend the shaft into the damp darkness.

[Monsieur Rose]

Xara

Xara watches as the unwashed masses shuffle out and shuts the door behind them. "That seemed to work out nicely. Anyone hurt? I found something a bit odd in the kitchen, a well maybe?"

[Scott308]

Ishbak Arus

Well, this is turning out to be a pile of shit...literally, it appears. I hope that we end up getting something half-way decent out of this, but I'm not gonna hold my breath. We'll have to see what the warehouse has.

[Rex]

Lathi

Lathi will search the room he thinks is his then take a look at the well. "It looks like it is at least meant to look like a well. I think we should check it out."

If he finds anything of interest in the room he will check that out before the well.

[Scott308]

Ishbak Arus

Wandering into the kitchen, Ishbak examines the hole. Doesn't seem like the place to put a well, does it? And handholds...interesting. I might fancy a trip down. First, though... Ishbak begins tying his rope to the handle of his lantern. After lighting it, he will carefully lower the lantern down the well to see if anything of interest can be seen.

[ravenn4544]

Og looks down the well and back at the discussion of going down to investigate, "You first.."

[tibbius]

The lantern was brighter than Xara's crumbling goblet. Lowering the lantern a few feet into the well, Ishbak could see by its flickering yellow glow a hook on the inside wall of the well about a foot below the rim. A chain hung taut from the hook, stretching down toward the bottom of the well. The bottom was shadowed by the base of the lantern so that Ishbak could not see what was down there. However, he smelled fresh water. He lowered the lantern further, trying to count feet of the silken rope as he passed it through his hands. After about twelve feet he noticed a lumpy shadowy shape on the side of the well where the handholds were. After another few feet he felt the load on the rope lessen and faintly heard a "splat" as the lantern touched water. A moment later the lantern went out.

[Monsieur Rose]

Xara

After getting the rundown on what was seen in the well, Xara thinks for a bit. "Well, let's pull up on the chain. See what's attached. Probably a bucket." Xara starts pulling the chain up after the lantern is retrieved.

"How's the upstairs look? Any better than down here?"

This is a three-story house, right? Have we seen all three floors yet?

[tibbius]

The chain indeed carried a weighted bronze bucket, and hauling it up was a hassle. The bucket was filled with water and nothing else.

There still was the mysterious shape near the bottom of the handholds ...

Lathi remembered that the "upper room" where the beggars had squatted was on the second level of the house, immediately above the entry hall and two rooms that Xara had explored. That room was where Akhtesh had slept and lived, while the room across from the kitchen had been where he did business with the better class of merchants. For the lesser merchants he had kept an office in the warehouse district.

Above the upper room, Lathi believed there was an attic, but he did not know how to access that.

[Rex]

Lathi

Lathi will climb down the well and take a look once they get a light source going for him to use. After that he will go back upstairs and try and find access to the attic.

"Time for a bit of exploring in the house I think."

Observant Feat
Passive Perception (20)
Passive Investigation (18)

[Monsieur Rose]

Xara

"Here. Take this goblet. It should still give some light for a while longer." She hands the goblet over and waits for the reveal.

[tibbius]

Lathi gingerly takes the goblet, though the skin of his palm crawls with the sensation of its surface crumbling into light. Another option, easier to manage while climbing down the handholds, would be to simply re-light the lantern and lower it carefully. A few minutes later that's set up and Lathi relievedly sets down the goblet on the floor next to the well.

Climbing down the handholds is not difficult. The wall of the well is barely damp with condensation. About a foot above the still dark water, Lathi reaches down and lifts the heavy bundle off a bronze hook that had been roughly hammered into the clay brick wall some time ago. Now he just has to climb back up one-handed while carrying the bundle.

If that's your plan, make a climbing roll, DC 15. Open to other ideas.

[Monsieur Rose]

Xara

"Will it fit in the bucket? We could pull it up." If it would, Xara empties the bucket out the window and lowers it to Lathi.

[Rex]

Lathi

Lathi will place the bundle in the bucket. "Go ahead and pull it up." He then climbs out.

Climbing (Acrobatics) [1d20+6] = 17+6 = 23