PREAMBLE: NEVER try to out-drink a Dwarf!

[Trogdor]

"Not if all he thinks happened was that he got drunk and passed out," Kalen quips. "Then again, he might well be pissed that you out drank him. Nothing we can do about that." He takes a few steps towards the door. "But you're right. The sooner we start, the sooner we'll finish."

[arkahm]

Marak opens the door for Kalen and follows the halfling in. After securing the door, with lock and bar, he checks the sleeping Dwarf to make sure he's sound asleep, being careful not to do anything that could wake him. "Check the far door, Haffer. Knowin' that paranoid fooker, he prolly has da damn door trapped too. Be carefull wit it. An' don' ye be tryin' ta swipe nuttin' eidder! We be playin' dis like we agreed wit da priest."

[Trogdor]

Kalen rolls his eyes at the dwarf's admonition. "I said that I wouldn't steal anything when we planned this operation." he mutters. "And whether you choose to believe me or not, I don't lie to my friends about such things." He snorts, shakes his head, and then heads over to the door that leads to the records. "But thanks for the warning about the door."

He begins to examine the door for traps or alarms, then says over his shoulder, "you might think about taking your seat again and pretending to be drunk. Then if anyone walks in they'll just assume you've slipped in to drink with your buddy on guard - not a commendable action; but not as bad as breaking and entering.

OOC

Search for traps; if any, try to disable; if not, try lock; if locked, try to pick it.

[Eanwulf]

Marak quickly bolts the office door shut and begins rummaging about the bookshelves that adorn the tiny room's walls. Likewise, Kalen begins his examination of the door leading into the Hall of Records. The young halfling shakes his head fervently on several occasions as he studies the door for traps '€" the effects of the dwarves' strong mead still plaguing his system. Come on fool, focus! Meanwhile, Borik's dormant form remains fast unconscious. No sooner than the grizzled veteran falls asleep, than the rhythmic sounds of his snoring can soon be heard. Now it would appear that the dwarf's raspy echo is being accompanied periodically by the abrupt resonance of rolling flatulence as the hopeless drunkard repositions himself within his chair subconsciously. As Borik continues to snore loudly, he gradually begins to drool rather incessantly upon the table at which he is seated, alls the while still quite oblivious as to what is going on around him.

Roll

- Part One '€"
[Marak's Search check, Take 20 = 21*]

You fail to find anything pertaining to the Whispering Cairn or the Iron Mine located nearby. The paperwork seems to mainly deal with the daily affairs of Diamond Lake's various independent miners and surveyors. The entire assortment of logs and records appears to be solely compromised of each of the miner's daily claims, prospecting surveys, and other legal jargon pertaining to mining legally within the town's borders. I will allow you the chance to respond with your findings as part of your post.

Several moments go by and Kalen eventually scratches his head confusedly. 'œThe door doesn't appear to be trapped,' he comments to his companion just before giving the door's handle a playful tug, 'œIt is locked however! No worries'¦' Ever indulgent the nimble rogue quickly besets upon picking the lock and in but a few short moments longer has it successfully undone and the door open! As Kalen does so, Marak appears to have become rather tense and rigid yet again as he watches Borik stir in his sleep. On several occasions the dwarf has noticed that it was almost as if his kinsman was starting to come to at times - the poor drunken dwarf simply moving about unconsciously as he mutters about some past exploit or endeavor. Peering inside, Kalen notices that the tiny office opens up into a larger room filled with rows of cluttered bookshelves and dimly lit by short thick tallow candles. An equally jumbled wooden table sits in the center of the room and appears to have several charts and maps scattered about it. Across of the room from where Kalen has entered, another set of sturdy wooden double-doors stands looming in the darkness.

Roll

- Part Two -
[Kalen's Search check, Take 20 = 30*]

After several moments of intense observation, you feel confident that the Door isn't trapped. A simple try at the handle however, soon informs you that the door is indeed locked!

[Kalen's Open Lock check, DC 25, d20 + 7* = 27, Natural 20, Success!]

* includes -1 Tipsy penalties

I really hate the dice that I use for the party '€" but oh well - better you than them I reckon!

---

From the DM

Good job! Pausing for repsonse. Oh yeah btw - the door to the room would most likely be fitted with sliding bolts at the top and/or bottom of it and not a reinforced bar. Those are usually used to guard key breach points of a fortified enclosure or highly revered/delicate regions such as armories, chapels, nurseries, etc. No biggie either way though as the door to the room does indeed sport some spiffy bolts on the inside.

Map

[Trogdor]

"Let's hurry," Kalen says. "You stay here with your friend. Start singing dwarven drinking songs if anyone comes in the door. That should give me the warning I need to hide."

Then the halfling lights a candle and surveys the records room. First he looks for a place he could hide, just in case. Better to find a hidey hole now than look frantically when he might have only seconds to get hidden. After that, however, he begins to look around to see if he can find the information they need."

[Eanwulf]

Kalen soon finds a suitable spot beneath the table to hide under '€" should anyone enter the room. He then begins his search of the records office. Several minutes go by and the clever halfling soon realizes that the room he is in seems to contain a rather enormous collection of the town's more common forms of deeds and records '€" all of which are most fortunately somewhat alphabetized. A quick examination of the U's & F's soon reveal the records of one Ulgo Fant '€" the abandoned mine's previous owner!

Roll

[Kalen's Search check, Take 20 = 30, Success!]

Sure enough, the Chief Cartographer was telling the truth! It would appear that Ulgo Fant had abandoned the mine some fifty years ago or more when its veins ran dry. The highly angered owner promptly shut down his mining operation and moved away in a fit of angered despair '€" his new place of residence unknown. Records also show that the mine's owner died over a decade ago and that the property was left without an owner '€" Fant dying without an heir and the deed currently missing as well. Several notations then go on to indicate that due to these rather unusual circumstances, anyone producing such documents either proving that they are indeed a legitimate heir or perhaps an owner of said deed that - by law - they would be rightfully decreed the owner of the mine and its surrounding properties, should they deem so to be. Minor stipulations also include that there exists some 50 years or so's worth of back-taxes currently owed on the mine for maintaining the records on the property - totaling a sum of 100 gp.

And finally, several maps attached to the documents clearly outline the layout of the mine, its location, and its property lines - its whereabouts being roughly a 2-hour walk from the town of Diamond Lake. The maps also indicate there exists what appears to be a former office - likewise owned by Fant - that lies no more than 15 minutes or so away from where you remember the entrance of the Whispering Cairn to be - just on the other side of a nearby hill. Having read up on the place and after looking at the maps, Kalen suddenly remembers that young children from the town often went up to the building '€" generally on dares much like those of staying the night in the Whispering Cairn '€" and that a few years back there was even an inexperienced thief whom took up residence there before moving on to more lucrative trade routes.

Perhaps the mine office's proximity to the Cairn and remote location would make for an interesting safehouse of their own!?

[Trogdor]

Kalen reads through the papers twice, just to fix the salient details into his mind. Then he carefully, and quietly, puts everything back the way he found them. This being done, he quietly makes his way back to the main door. However, before he opens it, native caution takes over once more and he listens first, just to make sure that there's no sign of trouble in the outer room.

[Eanwulf]

As Kalen puts the last of the records back into place, Marak finishes with his preliminary examination of the waiting room. Having found nothing of use, the dwarf is contented enough to sit on one of the wooden benches and wait for his companion's arrival. The mead's sting still clouds the dwarven warrior's head but not nearly as bad as his still unconscious kinsman, Borik. The old dwarf continues to snore loudly and mutter in his sleep as Marak waits. Eventually, the office door opens once again and Kalen's tiny form is seen entering the room.

OOC

Um, take it from here guys. You're basically done with your portion of the Preamble and have simply to report back to your friends. You know enough already to assume that they will either be amidst the crowd in town square or perhaps playing dragonchess, or even '€" from the interest shown by Arianna '€" amidst the seedy crowd of the Feral Dog.

[arkahm]

"You's about done in der?" Marak calls to the Halfling sounding a bit impatient. " I wants ta get outs o' here 'for someone decides to come back or Borik decides he wants to wake up. 'Sides we needs ta meet up wit da elf an' priest in da squar. Don't ya forgets da keg as well. Do na wanna get Borik in too much trouble. If someone see's a keg in har his arse will be in da chamber pot. We might need him laters. We'll do da cook ting goin' back out. Da gud part fer ya is da durn ting is a bit lighter...har, har, har."

[Trogdor]

"I've got what we need," Kalen says with a nod, locking the door behind him. "Let's go." Then he picks up the much-emptied keg to keep up apperances and follows Marak out.