Rescue at Rivenroar (Game Thread Continued)

[Melblen_Cairn]

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You can hear a woman yelling for help. Nothing else makes a sound beyond the door beyond the cries of the woman.

[VennDygrem]

"Hmm... nothing that I can tell. Let's do what we can..."

Dunor motions for Galadren to follow through with his kick as he begins readying his weapon, just in case.

[Inspectre]

At Dunor's motion, Galadren delivers a firm kick to the door . . . which isn't saying much given that Galadren is scrawny even by an elf's definition.
Wincing at the shivers that the kick sends up his leg, Galadren grimaces further as the door doesn't seem to budge much.

"Maybe pushing it open was a better idea!"

The elf gasps as he limps over to the door, and this time pushes it open with his shoulder rather than trying for the more dramatic entrance.

[Melblen_Cairn]

The sturdy door does not budge even when shouldered, but you find that it opens completely unhindered when the latch is attempted.

The sunrods banish the rooms darkness and reveal room of three slightly raises sarcophagi on the floor. Beyond them chained unceremoniously to the wall is a young woman in a silken shift, torn here and there. Her long blond hair is a mess of tangles now her face is tear streaked as she cries out until the door is fully opened and she squints at the bright light to make out those beyond it.

"Oh thank the Moon Maiden!" she sobs and collapses against the wall.

[VennDygrem]

Before entering fully, Dunor calls out to the woman, "Are you alright, Miss? Is there anyone else in here with you? Any... thing?"

Dunor attempts a cursory glance with the revealing light of the sunrod.

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Perception: 1d20(20)+5=25

[Melblen_Cairn]

"No, no one else." she responds tearfully. "When the fighting sounds died I feared I would remain here in the dark."

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It is quite clear that nothing is in the room with her. The small chamber hold three sarcophagi each with a different relief carved in the top. Some spots here and there on the sides of the stone show scrape marks as though attempts were made to open them previous.

Like the other prisoners you have rescued so far, the chains are heavy attached to a ring that has been crammed into the stone wall. A stout but rusty lock holds her manacles closed.

[Nanshork]

Tanthalus nudges the others aside as he strides up to the woman.  "Are you alright?  Are you hurt in any way?" he asks, visually checking her over for injuries.

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Just rolling what I think might be relevant.

Perception: 20
Heal: 22

[Inspectre]

Standing side-by-side in the doorway with Dunor, Galadren does his best to suppress the tingling blush spreading across his face over the difficulties in opening the door.

Maybe you should try knocking next time too . . .

The elf thinks as he surveys the room, likewise cautious despite the damsel in distress over yonder - they had all nearly gotten eaten by rats the last time they came upon a room like this.

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Perception:

Rolled 1d20+9 : 14 + 9, total 23

Once Tanthalus shoulders his way past them and approaches the woman to examine her with apparently no ill-effect, Galadren relaxes slightly. 
(I'm assuming those 100 goblins you have waiting in the wings aren't dropping by just yet . . .  )

Slinging his crossbow across his back, Galadren moves up to join Tanthalus by the woman, digging inside of his pack as he does so.

"Could someone check out these sarcophagi, make sure there's nothing interesting nor untoward except bones in them?  Shandien - mind guarding our backs by keeping an eye on those other two doors and the stairway?"

Joining Tanthalus, Galadren finishes pulling a small rolled-up leather bundle out from his pack, unfurling it to reveal a standard set of lock picks and various other tools of - in some places - questionable legality.  Spreading the bundle out onto the floor in front of him, Galadren stretches as he waits for Tanthalus to finish his examination and treatment of the girl.  As the cleric is finishing up, Galadren undoes the clasp holding his cloak, and drapes it over the girl's shoulders.

"Here - why don't you hold onto that for now, while I work on getting you out of this tacky jewelry."

Forcing what he hoped was a confident smile, Galadren looked over the set of tools and eventually selected what he hoped was a lockpick.  While he could remember picking locks on several occasions, those memories didn't necessarily confer knowledge of how to *actually* pick a lock.  Galadren could only hope there was some sort of muscle memory involved as he carefully inserted the tool into the keyhole of the chains' lock.

Come on . . . you remember how to shoot gobbos in the face.  How hard can undoing one of their locks be?

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Thievery: 

Rolled 1d20+9 : 10 + 9, total 19

[Melblen_Cairn]

The woman's eyes stay on Tanthalus throughout his attentions, "They were rough with me." she says tearfully. She has a number of bruises and her shackles have cut deeply into her wrists.

Shandien nods at Galadren's request closing the door down a bit after everyone has filed in, keeping an eye through a crack he leaves.

The feeling has not left the elf's fingers. As soon as the pick touches the tumblers and he begins his work it begins to come back to him. "Its all about the tumblers" he remembers someone in the distant past saying to him

As soon as Galadren releases her bindings, she throws her arms about Tanthalus, "Thank you, oh thank you." hugging him fiercely, like a clinging toddler and not wanting to let the cleric go.

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You were successful with the lock.

[Nanshork]

"There there, everything is alright now." Tanthalus says soothingly.  "What is your name?  Were you also taken from Loudwater?"

[Melblen_Cairn]

Still clinging to the cleric, "My name is Jalissa. Yes, I was taken from Loudwater. I was asleep in my room when the goblins burst in and dragged me from the temple."

[Nanshork]

Tanthalus does his best to soothe Jalisa, assuring her that everything is alright and letting her know that they have rescued others.  Nothing will hurt her now.

His goal is to get her to stop clinging to him, while part of him wants to stay and help her Tanthalus knows that there are still dark places in this den of evil that need his light to be shown into them. 

A thought occurs to him.  "Do you know how many others were taken?"

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Diplomacy: 19

[VennDygrem]

"Jalissa... Yes! I remember! You are a priestess of the temple back in Loudwater, right? My group was told to seek you out, but you were missing and everything was thrown around."

Dunor rummages in his pack for a moment, then pulls out a tiny, delicate-looking item. It glints in the light of the sunrods, a broken chain holding up a silvery symbol of a moon with several stars surrounding it.

"Would this, perchance, belong to you?"

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I almost forgot about this thing.

[Melblen_Cairn]

"I know others were taken and are down here." she answers Tanthalus, "But I don't know how many more. I was held here briefly with the Guard Captain's son, Thurnan. They took him away some time ago. I heard him shouting from nearby more recently."

"Yes, that is mine, a symbol of my faith." but before reaching out to take it she first looks to Tanthalus, as a child seeking approval from a parent before taking something from a stranger, as if asking if it is safe. "To be honest, I am no priestess, I am merely an acolyte of the Moon Maiden. Delnor, was the priest of our temple until his death several years ago. I have done my best to tend Selune's followers in the area since." addressing the elf more than the rest of the group with the admission.

[Nanshork]

Tanthalus nods and smiles at Jalissa, wanting her to take the holy symbol.  "And I am sure that you've done a fine job as Selune's representative.  We haven't rescued Thurnan yet, but we will.  There is another woman that we led to safety but she is ill, most likely from filth fever.  Could you watch over her while we help the others that are still trapped here?"

[Melblen_Cairn]

"I will do my best, but wouldn't we all safer with you?" taking back the symbol and gently putting it around her neck again, "Where is this woman?" she says.

[Melblen_Cairn]

"Are we going to hold up here, or should we pull back to where the stashed the other woman?" Shandien asks from the door.

[VennDygrem]

Dunor checks over his wounds. Thanks to the cleric's assistance, they're not bad. He was, however, rather exhausted. "As urgent as it is that we continue on and find the other townsfolk, I would be glad of a breather..."

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Two more healing surges means I'm good for one more battle, two as the max if I don't get hit too much (experience has taught me I get hit a lot regardless, however).

[Inspectre]

Once Jalissa is free, Galadren rolls his tools back up and restores them to his pack.
While the group - or rather, Tanthalus as Jalissa only seems to have eyes for him - has a conversation with the rescued acolyte, Galadren watches and tries to hide his smile.  Good for Tanthalus to get his first groupie - the invaluable cleric certainly had earned it.
At the mention of Thurnan being possibly nearby, however, Galadren decides to get back into the conversation.

"You heard Thurnan from nearby?  Do you know where it was coming from?  Which direction?"

Galadren kindly left out the fact that they had been looking for the boy, and had merely rescued the poor woman by accident.

Turning his attention back to his comrades, Galadren frowns as he considers the benefits and dangers of taking Jalissa along with them further into this horrible place.

"Can we at least check out what's behind those other two doors before we leave?  I am loathe to leave that poor boy alone in here any longer than possible."

[Melblen_Cairn]

Jalissa looks to Tanthalus before answering as if fearing to give an incorrect response, "I'm not certain, but he is close enough to hear."