(02) The Moat House

[waysoftheearth]

The night passes uneventfully in the moathouse. There was a light rain shower, but it was pleasant, even, to sleep under a roof in dead men's hammocks (as their bodies grey and stiffen under the arch and out on the causeway) rather than on the hard ground under a few trees.

But as dawn breaks there is work yet to do. The nearby ruins (scouted by Witherun the previous evening) await...

What now, adventurers?

[sully]

Thanis restrings his bow and climbs to the roof of the moathouse. He peers uncertainly into the distance, wondering if he can see any movement by the ruins.

Assuming none, he returns to the ground.

Might as well proceed the same way as before. Let Tass and I take the lead and scout the approach?

[ehiker133]

Goldwen nods as she eats a handful of dried fruits and nuts from a small pouch she pulled from her bag. "It seems to work well so far. Like that armour Flin and Stern are wearing. I thought for SURE we would be binding some terrible wounds from those crossbow bolts, but once I examined them more closely, they were really just minor scratches that almost disappeared as soon as I wiped the blood away!"

Goldwen finishes breaking down and stowing her camp gear. While waiting for the others, and using the morning light, Goldwen does a more thorough examination of the officer's moathouse room and then heads up to the rooftop observatory to see what she finds there.

Going to try my best to not leave treasure behind in this game. Or at least to not leave it unexamined!

WOTE, what is the most common currency in these parts? Just so we have an idea of what is "common" treasure and what might be "better" loot.

[mgtremaine]

Tass is up bright an early and amuses himself by looting the dead, searching for hidden caches and generally annoying the sleeping heroes with inane chatter. Once the group is ready to go is will happily scout with Thanis

[mushgnome]

Stern's mood is quiet and brooding. He forgets to say thank you for tending his wounds to Goldwen. He stands guard at the moathouse entrance while waiting for a signal from Thanis and Tass.

"Hmmm," he grumbles.

[waysoftheearth]

WOTE, what is the most common currency in these parts? Just so we have an idea of what is "common" treasure and what might be "better" loot.

Great question. In the background info I wrote that there are standard gold, silver, and copper pieces for ease of integration into other people's campaign settings. I'm assuming a silver standard, so 100 CP = 10 SP = 1 GP <--> 10 XP.
The foreign coins that Tass snatched in the forest earlier were prolly all copper and silver equivalents.

[waysoftheearth]

The company finish up breaking their fast, and preparing for the day's travails.

From the rooftop Thanis surveys the lands about. It is a brisk, damp morning. The forest through which the party came lies mostly in the east now, with morning mists blanketing the wetlands to the west. He can just about make out the shape of the ruins in that direction, gaunt shadows in the curling mist. Peer though he may, there is no sign of activity out there... yet. Below, he sees Tass moving out onto the bridge to check over the bodies left there. They will make a grim warning for any wood cutters that dare pass the corpses left in the first moat house.

Downstairs, Tass the hobbet has squeeeezed through the portcullis bars without raising the gate, and skipped out onto the bridge. The slain men there aren't great conversation makers, he decides. But probably, they never were. More foreign mercenaries, it seems. There is little of interest beyond their sturdy spears and knives. There is a small purse with a few coins here, a serpent tatoo there. A couple of them have pouches of strange smelling tabaco. But that is all.

Meanwhile, in the barracks, Goldwen throws open the small, narrow window and takes a good look around the officer's quarters in the morning light. She lets her hand run along the stone wall as she circles the room slowly, searching for any seam or ridge... casts her critical eye across the floor to the tiny desk. The loose sheaves of parchment scattered there account for quantities of lumber, in a tidy hand, but scarcely of interest. In the single, shallow drawer there are a fill used quills stuffed to one side, and a vacant space which surely could have accommodated a journal or book. Taken. She squats to gather the few parchment sheets fallen to the floor and looks under the bed... nothing. Whoever was here cleaned it out when they left.

A couple of dice clatter on the ref's desk, out of sight...

What next?

[sully]

Thanis goes back to the roof of the moathouse and looks for something sturdy to which he can attach his grappling hook and rope.

The idea here is Thanis assumes that the sound of the portcullis will carry to the ruins and alert the occupants that we're coming. If he and Tass can sneak over there without needing to raise the portcullis, we can catch them by surprise.

[waysoftheearth]

Mudmap:

. . . . . . / . . . . . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . .Mire . . / .Portcullis . . . . . . +-/-----+ . . ------------|+. . . | . . . bridge. . ||. PCs | . ----> to ruins ------------|+. . . | . . (east) . . . . . . +-------+ . . . . . . . ./. . . . . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . .

Thanis could do that, but it isn't really necessary. The portcullis only prevents access to the bridge itself. The moathouse and all the players in it are already on the eastern side of the bridge, and can freely move further east (toward the misty ruins) without raising the gate.

In any case, a couple of strong heroes present could conceivably man-handle the gate to raise or lower it gently, if you really wanted to. The blanket of mist presently over the wetlands would somewhat mute any noises too... so there is minimal risk of alerting anyone at this distance (a couple hundred yards?). Moreover... it's probably the normal morning ritual to raise the gates.

[sully]

Thanis lets the others know that he's going scouting. Then he grabs Tass and heads out quietly toward the east.