Angel is down there for a long time. Between the age of the locks, their craftsmanship, and the fact that she had brand new tools to get familiarized with it was slow going but eventually all three chests were unlocked and waiting for some brave soul to attempt to open safely...

Once Angel was done with the locks Alyssa moved to the chest on the end. Looking at the lid and then absently patting herself down, Alyssa drew her shortsword and placed the point between the lid and body of the chest. "Well, Ladies, there are three of us and three chests waiting to be opened. I can go first wit this one. Now everyone step back..."

Once everyone is a safe distance from her chest, Alyssa heaves on the swords handle to lift the lid.

---

OOC: Alyssa will stand to the side of the chest as she try to lift the lid with the +1 shortsword.

"Well let's check for traps before we to eager to open these chests." Orila took her time to examine the chests before allowing Alyssa to open her chest.

---

rolled 19 using 1d20+3 with rolls of 16.  Perception

Smiling warmly at the division of labor, she accepted that they could all take a bit of risk to earn the reward. IF she had been worried about more enemies, perhaps not the time to take on such tasks, but that was not this time. Not being terribly knowledgeable about traps but seeing the smart idea Alyssa used, Talia grabbed a dagger and used it to lever open the chest after the other two went. No need to trigger three traps at once just in case they were of different types. IF the room suddenly filled with noxious gas, she'd leave hers closed for now and run.

Her work unlocking the chests complete, Angel moved away — as far away from the chests as she could and still be in the same room — and watched warily, gingerly rubbing the still-stinging wound on her hand where the poisoned needle had stuck her.

OOC: nothing to add, good luck everyone

As it turns out all the chests are trapped in the same way. By standing far enough off to the side the darts fly harmlessly away.

It ends up taking most of the day to get the chests open when but when it is all finished they find more treasure than even from the dragon's horde.

OOC: Including what was already found before:

Treasure: (Grand total): 2,131gp and 215pp

It would seem hiring mercenaries or funding the rebuilding of the castle would not be an immediate problem for them.

Orila asked a question, "With all of this gold, could I use some of it to get the armor resized to fit me?"

”I don’t see why not,” Angel replied, dipping her hand into the chest-full of coins, grabbing a handful, and then letting them all fall lazily back into the chest, a wide grin on her face. ”Hells, with this much, we could even hire a cleric to deal with whatever’s in the old chapel.”

After Alyssa recovered from he initial fright, following euphoria, of stetting off the trapped boxes successfully she began to think more of their future. Both in general and in the castle in the service of Little Lord Spire.

"Agreed. I think a similar portion could go to each of us to help us outfit our selves. Assuming a breastplate stretcher can make the plate accommodate you, Orila! Hiring workers to restore the castle should probably be the priority though.

"Speaking of, If we are to go and sue Edmund's relations for assistance would he be traveling with us? Would we ask Pinna to supervise the laborers as well as our liege?

"What's in the Chapel? "

Talia stared at more gold than most mortals even dreamed existed. She'd fantasized about rooms of gold, sure, but she'd never really imagined what it would really look like. She couldn't. Up until this year, she probably never seen a real platinum piece nor more than a handful of gold each year. Her life had been measured in copper and silver. Now, they had funds. Surely this was dwarfed by what Lord Saxton had to his needs, but it would suit them for now. "Aye, I think some of this ought to go toward our outfitting. A modest amount. Aye, whatever it takes for that armor matched for each of us, I think is fine. The rest... the rest for the village and this place to make it secure and buy a future."

Talia pursed her lips as letting others in on the secret once again raised its head, "Aye, he cannot come with us." She licked her lips. "For now, we are unproven. I cannot see any lord risking his family or position for an unknown. However much Saxton is a tyrant, many would be prepared to wait out the storm. We need to prove ourselves." She looked up toward the ceiling and grunted, "The mayor, the elders, and Pinna must know what we are about. The village, we can tell them part of the truth. The orcs worked for Lord Saxton as did the knights we dealt with. The village needs to work to be safe from him, and this old fort serves that purpose. It's enough to get their help and their silence. Later, I shall be for their forgiveness. But the mayor and Pinna must know. Aye, and my mother. And probably yours as well Yry, Alyssa. If you think it fitting. Alyssa. will you want to invite your parents to this place?"

Even as she spoke, she moved to see about hefting a chest to carry it to the wagon they had brought. There was much to be done, over much, but they had a start of it now. Their foot was set upon the path; there was nothing but to walk it now. "Once we get this project underway, we should see about finding the things we want. Then, we should plan our next move. We have precious little time, I expect, and much to do."

”I dunno,” Angel replied, turning back to look at Alyssa when she spoke. ”The orcs said it was haunted, so a ghost maybe? I didn’t see anything… but I felt it,” she added, her last words shared after a moment’s hesitation and in a much more serious tone than the she-elf’s norm. ”Whatever’s there, it’s angry — like royally pissed off.”

With Edmund wandering around the halls like a ghost himself he somehow discerns that there are chests of gold in the basement and has ideas of his own for its use.

"Sellswords! Mercenaries! With this much we can repair the castle in no time and man the walls against any siege Saxton could muster up. A gift to my uncle will likely result in him sending aid as well. He is a Count you know and could easily match Saxton's banners and then some. Don't you see, this gold is the future of the Barony! Heck with the armies raised and this castle repaired and Spire Keep repaired we can likely petition the Queen for me to be declared Count Spire and you, of course, will be my first Baron. I can parcel off this land for all of you and raise you all into the aristocracy. At the lowest level of course but of time and generations you can build your way up just like my ancestors did before me!"

His youthful exuberance and rosy predictions of the future have cast a spell on him as he talks about the glorious might of his future while walking the halls of a broken abandoned castle in the present.

Talia finds herself smiling in the face of Edmund's exuberance. For a second, a feeling of wasps buzzing in her chest existed as the energy caught on a bit. The notion of being landed aristocracy was appealing to the part of her tired of hard work. However, the feeling was fleeting and she pressed a hand to Edmund's shoulder and looked down into his eyes, "Aye. In due time and with proper preparation. It's like the local famers say, though: "Don't get caught dreaming of gold when there's corn in the field." Your uncle is a good idea, perhaps, but mercenaries and sellswords require more caution. We don't want to hire the wrong ones and we don't want to hire those only loyal to gold. Loyalty should be the crop we are confused on My Lord. Loyalty. And that is earned, not bought or commanded."

"Loyalty." Orila repeated. "It always comes back to that." The goliath agreed and hung on that word. She finally turned to Edmund. "Tell me how many loyal men do you have? Besides those of us who rescued you."

Orila waited for a reply from Edmund before she asked her next question, "Tell us again... how you got here. What happened to your parents? Did you have proof that Saxton is as evil as you made him out to be?

Edmund frowns, glancing at Angel having expected her to relay the story but now that they are free from the orc imprisonment he feels the urge to expand upon things a bit more.

"They came at us in the night. I was woken up to fighting in the halls of our keep. There was no way orc raiders would be able to penetrate the heart of Spire Keep like that undetected and Dorokor even said it herself that Lord Saxton approached them, hired her tribe to assassinate us in our sleep. Saxton's mercenaries were being housed in the castle at the time...they must have opened the gates and kept the alarms from sounding until too late. It is the only explanation that makes sense.

Dorokor said she was supposed to murder us all but she decided to spare my life and kidnap me instead. As the sole heir to Spire Keep she wanted insurance against Lord Saxton's betrayal. When he did inevitably betray her tribe they fled here. She said this had been their base on the way to Spire Keep and she had decided to camp there while she figured out her next move.

She...let slip during a meal that the original plan was going to be to trade me to Saxton for gold but she couldn't figure out a way to make the transfer without Saxton just killing us all. She decided she needed an intermediary after a few weeks of deliberation and that is when they decided to raid your town I suppose. Pinna and the others were captured to deliver Saxton a message and make the exchange with expendables in case Saxton tried to betray them again."

At Orila's second comment a look of anger passes over Edmund's face.

"Of course Saxton is evil. He betrayed my family and seized my throne. What further proof do you need? Is the word of your lord not good enough?"

He puffed out his skinny little chest in indignation but the whole effect looked more like a small sparrow trying to intimidate a hawk.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:26, Wed 08 Dec 2021.

"Usually in my tribe. When one makes an accusation as yours, it would be resolved in the Circle." Orila said while appraising Edmond, "The Circle, was a circle of combat... usually until one side yields. It doesn't usually end in death. Do you think that you'll be able to beat Saxon in single combat?"

Orila wasn't exactly sure how this could be resolved outside of Goliath's culture of honor.

"I'm afraid, Orila, that human society doesn't hold honor to that standard as often as your people do. As our lord said, Saxon hired the orcs to get rid of the obstacles to him claiming power- the whole Spire family. Luckily for us, Dorokor was aware enough to not trust Saxon fully and decided to keep Lord Spire here as insurance." She paused, surprised at herself for going on like that.

Turning to Edmund she finally added, "Yes, we should be able to repair and man the castle with this cache, but until we have one or the other in hand- if not both- we need to move slowly to make sure Saxon or his spies don't get wind that you are alive and are ready to declare your claim."

The group continues to explore the castle and the ruins while messages are sent back and forth to the village to (discreetly) bring out a foreman, a mason, and a carpenter to evaluate the damage done to the castle and assess the repairs the orcs had made in their month long occupation.

There were still many rooms that hadn't been explored yet as the party had halted further exploration while the treasure trove was secured.

OOC: Have you updated the map of the castle? All I can see is the sub level and the region map.

I'm not sure if you are looking for us to RP exploring every room or if the is a room or two with more interesting things to find...

Rooms A, B, C and F are unexplored. We can burn though them fast enough I think but the order does matter...

Room F

Oh, yeah. Those rooms... F makes senses since we're towards the end anyway.

The party opens the doorway to reveal a large hallway and some ruined stairs in the corner. It appears this room was designed to connect to the collapsed southeast tower and was likely the main entrance to the dungeon level based on the grandness of this hallway.

Orila notes the thick layer of dust on the floor. With the collapse of the southern tower there was no need to use the staircase however she spies a set of orc footprints tracking through the dust to a blank spot  on the northern wall where there is clear signs of a large door swinging open. It is easy to surmise that there is a secret door there although how it opens is unclear.

Carefully stepping into the hallway, Alyssa scanned the abandoned space. Following Orila's eyes, the halfling followed the tracks in the dust to the the northern wall. Looking over the wall around the now obvious hidden door, "So the question is, is there a handle on this side or is it only on the other side."

---

OOC: Can we tell which direction the tracks are heading?

11:38, Today: Alyssa Tealeaf rolled 19 using 1d20+3 with rolls of 16.  perception, hidden door "handle".

Eager to put thoughts of the future on hold for justa  few moments, Talia followed the others to the door a bit more meekly than typical. There, her mind followed the tracks along the floor absently while hr mind was far away.

The notion that there was a secret door shook her from reverie and she glanced to Alyssa and frwoned, "Honestly, I know not." Her gaze surveyed the rest of her small group of friends.