Chapter One - In Search of Vanthus

[Eanwulf]

"Me thinks we found Penkus mon!" Shumba promptly exclaims as he begins to try and shoulder down the wooden door. Leaving enough room for Berek and his trusty axe to aid him in the endeavor, the half-orc quickly turns to the others and adds playfully. "Come on then peoples, what in the hell are you all waiting for!?"

[Vardaen]

Daerith stays back out of Shumba and Berek's way once the situation with thet door is clear. Either Berek is goign to turn it into kindling with his axe, or him and Shumba are going to smash it off its hinges. Either way there isn't much room for Daerith.

He glances at John, "Perhaps some door bashing music is in order? To lift our companion's spirits!" He lifts an eyebrow at John hoping man knows a rousing little chanty just right for the occation.

OOC

I doubt 3 of us can get in there, so stay clear.

Perhaps John can Bardic Music for a bonus?

[mackaber]

After having thorougly examined the door Berek hefts his axe firmly and gives the others a grim look, happy that he now at least has something to vent his aggresion on. "the things barred so I'm gonna open it the good old way with that he burries his heavy dwarven battleaxe hilt deep in the door before withdrawing it and reading another powerful blow...

[Trogdor]

Frustrated by undead pirates, poisonous sea urchins, and a seemingly inescapable prison, Berek finally confronts something he's totally at home with - bashing down a door with an axe. It was simple; it was straightforward; and it was satisfying. In this case, the door proves to be no problem at all. It was a solid oak door when it was made a century or two ago. And it remains fairly solid. But over a hundred years of damp have left it weaker than it might be. And Berek has a strong arm and a sharp axe. The result is never in doubt. The only question is how many swings of the axe it will take.

As it turns out, the job takes a few more swings than he'd expected. But the cause of this is not any lack of strength on his part. Rather it can be blamed on the incredible stench that comes out of the room beyond the door as soon as Berek makes a few holes in it. The smell coming out of the chamber is horrific, a cloying stink of rotten meat. And when Berek finally pulls the last of the door away, you can see the source. A bloated, seeping body lies slumped in the middle of the floor. The corpse's dark, almost black flesh bulges against its armor, ready to burst at the slightest touch. An intricate tattoo of a dragon clutching a flower is barely visible on his shoulder against the diseased flesh, and clutched in one hand is a crumpled scroll.

Visible on the far side of the door are the remains of a rough barricade. Clearly whoever it was who died in here didn't want anything coming through that door. After meeting the other residents of these caverns, you're not all that surprised.

OOC

The door is just a regular wooden door. And Berek does 1d10+6 when he usees the axe two-handed. It never had a chance.

Tattoo

Map

[mackaber]

"Whew... " gasps Berek as he enters the room shielding his mouth with a piece of cloth. He shivers a bit at the whole scenario, less so at the smell than at the sight of the tatoo on the bloated body... "He was a Lotus thief Berek remarks plainly before carefully taking the scroll from te man's fingers.

[Eanwulf]

"Heh," comments Shumba mischievously, "Now he's a festering pile of zombie shit!"

The wary half-orc then advises Berek to use the utmost of caution whilst handling the dead man's belongings.

"Be careful there Berek," Shumba proclaims, "You don't want to go and catch anything, should the body indeed be contagious..."

[Trogdor]

Holding a cloth to his mouth and nose, Berek moves into the room and pulls the scroll from the body's bloated fingers. Then, after withdrawing to the slightly better air outside the door, he taps the scroll against the wall to get rid of a few flakes of the gods know what from the outside of it, and opens it for all to see. Looking through, you all finally learn the true fate of Penkus - and the true depravity of Vanthus Vanderboren.

The Scroll

[Vardaen]

Daerith gags at the foul smell coming from the chamber as the door is opened piece by piece. The elven wizard does not head into the room, and for once he seems against looting everything in sight. Pleased that its Berek that fetches the scroll he holds down the crabs they had for dinner as he gazes at the note. "Taxidermist's Hall? That's easy enough to find. Who or what are these Lotus? Pirate organization?" He keeps his own cloth to his face to keep the smell away still.

He gazes into the room, he was hoping there might be an exit there to the surface. Then something else comes to him, "Sounds like he was diseased by one of the zombies, we are going to need to get ourselves checked out throughly before we go to far once we get free. Would hate to meet that fate." His eyes land on the corpse of Penkus.

Waiting the thoughts of the other Daerith still eyes the chamber.

[mackaber]

As he reads out the scroll Berek smirks before rolling it up again. "Lotus Cartell's a thieves guild stinkin dirty lot has comes into town two years ago and has taken over the whole buisness..." he leaves the explanation at that and heads back into the stinking chamber where after a bit of inspectio he notices that something is not quite right at the far end of the chamber...

[Cattywumpus]

Knarra endures as she must. The stench will not fell her. She solumnly says a few words of benediction over Penthus.