Into Ivy Mansion [IC]

[kulanah]

As Akmenos pulls the ripcord he tied to the door the group collectively tenses up.

After half a breath a loud explosion goes off in the little room and a cloud of green erupts out of the doorway. The smell through the door was nothing compared to this, it's the rank smell of long rotting food mixed with the musty smell of mold and a long empty room.

The cloud begins to dissipate and everyone seems unharmed, though suffering from various levels of a upset stomach.

As you glance into the room through the open door you can see what was once a pantry. There are small green balloon like mushrooms all around the room, and almost all of them are popped at this point, either from the force of the door or the resulting explosion.

[hend6473]

Grass is just glad the foul-smelling room isn't full of dead children, like she feared. Coming out of hiding, she says, "We should probably burst the last of the mushrooms before going in. I can just shoot them from a distance, unless anyone has a faster idea."

[lordgribbles]

"No better idea, unless Ficus want to collect one or two for their collection."

[secretandsafe]

Ficus manages a half chuckle, trying to wipe the sweat off of his palms onto his pants without being noticed. “You know what, I think I still have enough stashed away. I can do without any from this colony...”

He peeks into the ex-pantry once the clouds dissipate and searches for anything useful or hidden, or, even better, both.

Spoiler: perception

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(1d20+3)[15]

[lordgribbles]

Akmenos chuckles. "Its difficult to enjoy a mushroom with the top of your head missing." He wipes a up a sample of the and compares it to his memory of magical fungi.

Spoiler

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Arcana check for the mushrooms.
(1d20+3)[20]

[hend6473]

Grass shoots the last of the mushrooms.

Spoiler

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(1d20+5)[17]

[kulanah]

Spoiler: Ficus' perception

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You see the odd mushroom poking out as well as various bits of rotting food. There's also a faint green shimmer in the air, presumably of the spores of the next crop of these mushrooms.

Spoiler: Akmenos' arcana check

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There's nothing magical about these mushrooms as is, but you faintly remember hearing a story about mushrooms that they were modified to an explosive potential by an archfey looking to create some havoc in the material plane. The pantry is probably safe, as they were given a little too much oomph by the aforementioned archfey and are thus extremely destructive.

Spoiler: Grass shooting mushrooms

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You take a moment and shoot the last few mushrooms you can see, each giving a small satisfying pop of explosion. You're fairly certain you cleared out the last of them.

[Tiegh]

Shields can't block gas (though Tank wishes they could), so he continues to stand there watching the door that they came in through.

[lordgribbles]

Akmenos pulls out the maps, smudging it with the mushroom spores.

"So, we've seen the library, the guest room and the, hey heh, toilet. Any objections to the bollards room? Or any last minute looking around here?"

[hend6473]

Moving carefully, Grass searches the pantry, looking for valuables and clues.

Spoiler

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(1d20+3)[13]

[kulanah]

Spoiler: Grass' search

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You find a sheet of parchment with what looks like a shopping list in flowery handwriting. At a glance you see cogs and bars of metal listed, as well as a pane of glass among other things. You also find 28 gold and 15 silver pieces scattered near the letter in the muck.

[hend6473]

Grass discretely pockets the silver before splitting the gold evenly between the four of them (7 gold each). She takes a moment to carefully study the shopping list until she's confident she could copy the handwriting, if she wanted to.

Grass then offers the list to Akmenos, saying "You wanted some of Siegfried's notes, right? This is probably his. Billiard room sounds good to me. Tank, Ficus, either of you want poke around here at all?"

[lordgribbles]

Akmenos takes the shopping list from them, mouth slightly open. Did they just... no. That would be bold. I'm standing right next to them. No matter.

Charleston, however, is slightly sharper than his Master but says nothing. Currently embodying all things raven, he appreciates the taking of shiny.

Akmenos ties to unravel the list, seeing what Siegfried could make from these parts.

Spoiler

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Arcana check on the list.
[roll0]

[secretandsafe]

Ficus watches as Grass slips the silver nonchalantly into her pocket and turns to head towards the hall. “No, I think I already got a close enough look. Billiard room it is, then.”

Spoiler: knowledge

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history check (what is a billiard, anyways?): (1d20+0)[7]

[kulanah]

The large room you enter is covered in a variety of plants that have overgrown their plants. A low orb is floating in the room giving off a magical light.

Sitting transfixed in front of the orb is a small... man? He looks human except for a couple of odd features; his nose and mouth protrude slightly and his hands end in not nails but claws. Further his clothing is stretched to tearing if not already torn around his body, as if he forced a much smaller mans clothing on himself.

Spoiler: What ARE billards?

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No you've definitely heard of this. You're pretty sure it's a peculiar hobby some humans have where they take trees and keep them very small, cutting off branches and forming their branches into a pretty shape.

[hend6473]

Grass hides behind Tank and readies her bow. Peeking out carefully, she studies the ratty-looking man, the orb, and the room in general, trying to get a better sense of what's going-on.

Spoiler: Hiding behind Tank

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(1d20+7)[19]

Spoiler: Looking at the room

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(1d20+5)[17]

[kulanah]

Spoiler: Grass' examination

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You notice the plants surrounding the man rustling here and there, though you can't actually glimpse what is causing it.

You also take a better look at the person in there and notice whiskers protruding from his face, as well small tufts of fur that seem to be randomly placed across his visible skin.

[lordgribbles]

Is this the ratman the child was talking about? Charleston peered at him as well. Akmenos weighed his overall skills and abilities and decided to go for the charm offense.

"Hello, sir? Sir? Sorry to bother you, but we've been hired by the new head of this mansion, one Tristan Harpell. Have you heard of him? Likes to commune through paintings, takes some getting use to... anyhow he's under the impression that the mansion has some things that go bump in the night and he's hired us to clear them out.

"Now, I've got the sneaking suspicion you're the ratman we've been warned about, and while that little girl set me on edge, I'm very much not in favor of sacrificing her. I found a different way of getting rid of her, and everyone won!" Akmenos opens his arms in a display of his magnanimity.

"So, our options are to a) kill you, and be done with it, or b) you explain yourself and pray we believe you. And while I think I'm fairly level headed, I don't think my large heavily armored friend here is." Akmenos gestures towards Tank. "So, I suggest you be convincing."

With his speech over, Akmenos readies an action to cast Tasha's Hideous Laughter on the ratman if he makes an aggressive or hostile move. Charleston changes his form to become a rat and darts into the plants.

[kulanah]

The scraggly rat man startles at your voice, freezing up and just staring at the group while he collects himself.

He glances back and forth between Tank and Akmenos before nervously gulping. He then throws himself on the floor between a grouping of plants "The master! I can't-- I'm just here to help find him delicious delicacies!"

He looks up from his hands at the group. "Please I don't knows anymore!"

[secretandsafe]

Ficus stands behind and to the side of the group, keeping distance between himself and the ratman. When he doesn’t appear to be an immediate threat, Ficus casts his gaze along the vegetation and concentrates on their life force.

Spoiler: speech of beast and leaf

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Ficus uses innate firbolg abilities to ask the foliage “hungry?”

[hend6473]

Grass stows her bow away and steps out from behind Tank.

Trying to project an air of authority, she tells the rat man, "You're makin' the right choice, co-operatin' with us. If you become an informant, we'll try to see you get off light but you gotta answer all our questions n' do all we say, got it? To start, who and what is your master, how long have you been operatin' out of this manor, and what exactly you been doin' for him?"

Spoiler: Persuasion

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(1d20+4)[14]

[kulanah]

The man looks up at Grass as she squares up watching her as she speaks. When she's finished he gulps nervously and glances across the whole party before answering. He speaks in a quick, stilted, and high pitched manner.

"It's-- it's-- it's the man on the MOON! HE'S the one that runs this place. He directs all the WICKEDNESS that comes out of here." When he speaks he places emphasis haphazardly across his sentences, hissing or howling out the word.

He again glances at the group, with a pleading look on his face, hoping this satisfied everyone.

Spoiler: Ficus plant talk

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You notice the rustling continues across the plants, moving along a path around the edge.

[Tiegh]

Tank is in a daze thinking, "Wait. What? I'm fairly level headed." He snaps out of it when he sees Grass jump out from behind him (He had no idea that she was there).

Quietly, "I don't trust this rat OR Moon man." He readies his fire breath if the rat man attacks.

[lordgribbles]

This ratman seems to be cowardly, servile... and possibly a liar as well. Let's see he's stupid as well.

"Ratman! Don't make the mistake of lying to us. You will tell us the truth, or face the wrath of the Elder Gods, for they are here!" Akmenos closes his eyes and holds his hands out, palms up. He casts Thaumaturgy and causes his voice to boom three times as loud. "WHO IS THE MAN ON THE MOON AND WHERE IS HE?!"

Spoiler

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Deception roll to trick the ratman into thinking I'm channeling an Elder God.

(1d20+5)[15]

[kulanah]

Spoiler: Ficus sees into the plants

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As you're concentrating on the plants imparting your words to them you notice the rustling is in fact a small group of some small animal.

As the smaller horned man stands in front of the rat man he meets Akmenos' gaze and gives a small grin. He then shrinks down to the size of a giant rat before starting to scurry into the plants behind him.

[lordgribbles]

Akmenos takes a step back, closer to the door, and cups his hands around his mouth. He begins whispering in a low sibilant hissing that nearly sounds like the forgotten language of insects gone mad.

Spoiler

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Akmenos casts Dissonant Whispers. https://5e.tools/spells/dissonant-whispers-phb.html

(4d6)[12]

[hend6473]

Grass facepalms. Things had been going so well. She draws her rapier but not seeing any enemies, decides to take a final stab at diplomacy. Raising her voice, Grass shouts, "It doesn't have to be this way. Come out, be a man, and we can talk one-on-one, without the dramatics."

Spoiler

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(1D20+4)[17]

[secretandsafe]

Ficus keeps his concentration focused on the rustling. He prepares for any ill-intentioned creatures to pop out of the brush.

Spoiler: Readied Action

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If anything comes out of the bush that is hostile, Ficus will cast the cantrip Frost Bite.

[kulanah]

The giant rats narrows its eyes and cringes at the sound echoing in it's ears and immediately turns tail and runs into the foliage in the back corner, shaking the plants as he runs through and shrieking in pain.

He doesn't respond to Grass' shouting either because he can't hear her over his shrieking and the noises, or because the pain has removed that option in his mind.

After a moment of silence the giant rat takes a running leap at Akmenos attempting to bite him.

Spoiler: Giant rats attacks

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to hit (d20+4)[17]
damage (d4+2)[3]

After the giant rat makes his leap a small swarm of regular rats comes crawling out of the brush and follow their leaders footsteps, surrounding Akmenos.

Spoiler: Rat swarm attack

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to hit (disadvantage) (d20+2)[4](d20+2)[9]
damage (2d6)[4]

[lordgribbles]

"He bit me! He jumped out of the bush and bit me! By the gods, you're going to regret that!"

Akmenos stumbles backwards. He can feel his long ancestry of infernal beings rise to the surface, aeons of devils who fought and squabbled and swore revenge on celestial beings. A crown of fire appears over his head, and he points at the treacherous ratman. Akmenos unconsciously spits out a string of curses and a bright Hellfire leaps from his finger and surrounds the ratman.

Spoiler

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Hellish Rebuke! https://roll20.net/compendium/dnd5e/...Rebuke#content DC 13 Dex save for half damage

(2d10)[11]