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Following Cassia onto the roof, Elene quickly darts around the edges, scanning the streets below. I wonder how many a those things we cleared out?

MECHANICS

[SHOW]

Perception check: 16

Redros looks to the North-west, wondering how much time it will take to get there and back from the tavern itself...
"The back streets seem at least somewhat safe compared to the main roads. Fewer people perhaps. We should also consider how long it will take us to get there without drawing attention, rather than normally. I am sure I am not the only one that noticed how long it took us to move a block trying to avoid the creatures below... Are the roofs an option from here Cassia?"
He looks over at the street urchin, reminded of the broken lock. He wonders if, perhaps, she did something considering her habit of tampering with locks he witnessed earlier...

Marcus notes the damaged locking mechanism on the hatch as he ascends to the roof, curious how something like that could have happened. Busted perhaps? Or sabotaged? Something to look into once we get back. What a day this is turning out to be.

"Not really, Redros. Could probably get around with some difficulty in this district via the roofs, but the larger avenues bar us from making our way north. We'll likely have to go on foot," she says, disappointed. "Of course, we could use-" "The sewers," Weasel interjects, grinning at her. "Am I right, love?" he asks. She narrows her eyes at him and replies: "Yes... you're a jowly, clever little man, aren't you?"

Perking her ears at Redros' comment about the roofs, Elene pipes up. "Th' roofs are easy enough. Bit of a jump, but safer an' faster than th' street." She pauses for a moment, squinting up into the rain. "Th' wet makes it a bit trickier, though. I made it to over there 'fore decidin' to come back." she says, pointing at the taller roof she had been on before. As the suggestion of the sewers comes up, she shrugs. "They're good, too, I guess. Wouldn't wanna get caught down there by one of them creatures, though."

Noticing that the old man is looking at her, she shoots a look back. "What. I got somethin' on my face?"

"Sounds even more dangerous," Marcus says, rejoining the conversation. "There is no guarantee the things won't be down there as well, and if they are we are only cutting off our ability to easily escape. No, we should head out on foot. Perhaps we can check the sewers once we are better equipped for the task."

The coast at least partially clear, in the area around the inn, he begins to descend the vines to the street. "We aren't getting anywhere chatting about this, let's go."

Athena remains fairly quiet, choosing to stay in the inn rather than go outside again. She already had a knife and if the group was successful they'd be stupid not to bring back weapons and armour for everyone else. It should be much safer here. Deciding she should do something while the others are gone, Athena begins searching the inn for anything that could prove useful.

Mechanics

[SHOW]

Perception check to find useful stuff: 14(1d20) +5 = 19

Redros sighs and nods at Marcus' comment.
"Dangerous and our escape would be cut off. The same as if we were on the streets perhaps. We cannot simply stand here debating the benefits of one route over the other. Those creatures could attack again, and we do not have an infinite amount of salve. We need the armor and weapons stored, and we need them now. I propose a vote. I vote for the sewers, provided we space our group out to ensure no ambushes with a forward scout."

"Not the same, no," Marcus says, ceasing his descent momentarily and returning to the roof. "Are the streets cramped and completely linear? No. You can turn down a side street every block or so if need be, or climb on top of things, or enter a building for shelter, or any number of other means of escape."

"In the sewer you can go forward or you can go back, and that is it. There is no way to move up to high ground, or hide, and there are only few branches. There is not much room to move back and forth even, and if we come across something the only option is to fight or turn back. If we become surrounded the only option is to fight. That is not the situation we want to be in. And does anyone here even know the routes of the sewer? Because I don't, and I highly doubt you do either."

He crosses his arms and stares the woodsman down, not willing to budge on the issue. "You are free to head there on your own if you like, but I am not following you down there to an untimely death." Stick to the forest, woodsman, and leave the city to us street dwellers.

"I'm all for whichever route doesn't get me killed. Someone has to run the kingdom after all this if my mother and father... don't make it," she says, a frown on her face. "I'm in a dress here, so I can't exactly move as swiftly and stealthily as you, bear in mind."

"I'm puttin' my word in with Marky, sewers are th' worst place we could go right now. But I c'n keep a lookout from the roof, if ya want." Elene says, fiddling with the torn hem of her shirt. "Done it before. Not hard."

"That would be helpful, but you won't be able to call out to us - they are drawn to sound, as we saw with that door fiasco. You'll have to signal us with hand gestures." Marcus goes through a few with the girl, suggesting different gestures to represent different simple terms. "You got that?" Hopefully she has a good enough memory for this.

"I know I can't shout. I'm not stupid." Elene says, rolling her eyes at Marcus. She copies the mans hand motions as he does them, before nodding to his question. "Course I got 'em." I do this kind of thing regularly with my guild... Well, used to.

"Ok, good." Cool it with the mouth, girl. "Now unless there is someone else who feels the sewer is the better route, and would like to continue wasting time debating that point, I suggest we head out." Once more, Marcus begins to descend the vines to the street, hoping that the others will do the same this time.

Redros, deciding that it's better not to argue any further, follows after the man. It's more trading one life threatening situation for another either way, and it's not like the sewers are a straight line. What does he expect, no turns or second tunnels? But then again, they don't have a map of the sewers or any way to really navigate them safely, so the streets will have to do for now.

"Wait, which way are we goin'?" Elene says, looking around. "What roof do I head to?"

"Alright, but if someone gets injured, I'm blaming you," Livana says to Marcus. "Now then, you men had better not stare as I climb down, or I won't hesitate to slap the filthy pig out of you," she says with a cheeky smile.

Hearing Liviana's comment about peeking, Elene gives her a cursory glance. "Not much to look at, princess," she says, deadpan. "Besides, I doubt any of them would wanna see you anyway. If it tickles ya so much, put on some real clothes."

Turning away from the princess, Elene looks at Cassia. "Anyway, where am I goin'?"

"That's funny, because last time I checked, I had hundreds of men trying to woo me, while you, what? Wash your hair with mud? I've got plenty to look at," Liviana says, pushing up her chest whilst flipping her voluminous hair. "You're much too young to know what real men want, kid."

Marcus watches on as the others climb down once safely at the bottom, partially out of impatience and partially to watch for signs of falling. He makes an occasional glance down either direction of the street just to make sure the coast remains clear, but mostly keeps his eyes fixed on the others.

He inwardly sighs as the two young women begin loudly bickering on the rooftop, hoping that they will settle thinks quickly. The street urchin insults the princess' fashion sense, and the princess presumes to know the minds of men. What a pair of ignorant children. He is comforted in the fact that, while a poor judge of the city, at least the woodsman is mature, and Cassia as well.

Redros stands at the bottom of the vines, listening to the princess and the urchin argue, sighing and shaking his head. When they're in earshot he decides to pipe up.
"Ma'am, forgive me, but I don't see what the fuss is. Your dress is terrible to run in, your body is too heavy up front, and you draw too much attention. I don't see what the deal is, if I took you on a hunt, I would expect you to fall over the first log. And as for you, urchin, you're too young, don't have much strength in your arms, and although you're quick, I feel as if I cannot trust you. In my eyes, neither of you is really worth the effort."

He looks to Marcus and sighs, shaking his head.
"Women... It looks as if we will have to protect them, along with the guardswoman. She has shown to be rather strong-willed in the face of danger."

As the five survivors descend the vines, the Watchman stands guard at the bottom for a moment, taking a look around. There aren't any in the immediate vicinity of the plaza, but you can eye a few down the various streets around you -- too far for them to really notice you, but you think you should be careful. The rain has slowed to a light sprinkle and the sounds of footsteps on the cobblestones aren't masked very well anymore.

"Alright," she whispers. "No more fussing about dresses and hair -- these things are all around us and I don't want to get bit again." She turns to look at Redros, Marcus, Weasel, and Liviana. "Now we have two options, I suppose. This main street around the corner is better lit at night and is almost a straight shot toward the barracks. However, it's probably infested with these walkers, but I'm not sure. Our other choice is another avenue just north of here. It'll take longer and it's usually pretty dimly lit at night. But that's probably better now that we're worried about the dead rather than the living, I guess." She looks at the four of you for a response.

Back in the inn, Athena takes a look around the tavern for anything of interest. The door is still damaged with a large hole in the left portion. You notice that the blood from the creatures is still spattered on the floor near the entrance. "We'll need to clean that up," the tavern-keeper says as he notices your glance.

Atop the roof, Elene has a decent view of the plaza and the four people down at the ground level. You cannot hear them but you can clearly see that they are discussing plans.

"We should check the faster route, at least," Marcus responds, quietly. "Dim light may keep us obscured, but it keeps them obscured as well. If the lit portion is relatively safe it would be our best bet, I think."

OOC

[SHOW]

werdis: weasel

Elene waves to get the groups attention, then signals, asking what street they plan on taking. There's like three here. Please choose one that's easy to jump around.

Redros nods at Marcus' words, agreeing with the man. Low visibility can be a boon, but only when it affects your enemies visibility and not your own.
"Marcus, if I could suggest something. Let me scout the main street. Have the urchin keep close on the rooftops, and I can have her signal to you if there's too many monsters down the road. If the avenue is along the path to the barracks, then perhaps we can meet up further down the road and go straight to the barracks that way. Better than leaving a possible route unscouted."

"Yes, someone should," Athena replies to the tavern keeper, not interested in being used as a servant.

"That works," Marcus replies. "Scouting is not exactly my strong suit, after all. We can remain here for the time being until you've got news." He signals for the girl to watch the woodsman, hoping she can make it safely over the rooftops without getting noticed.

"That sounds a whole lot safer than blindly going into it, so have at it," Liviana chimes in. I hope that dirty little girl is actually useful. Though if she fell from the roofs, it would provide an excellent distraction.

Elene catches Marcus' hand signal and looks across the gap to judge her jump. She quickly realizes that the gap would be dangerous. Shit! Too far to jump. I'll have to climb up on the other side.

She quickly scrambles down the vines to ground level and searches the building across the main avenue for an easy path up to the roof. As she passes by the others she quietly apologizes to them. "Can't make that jump. I need t' climb back up on this side. After that it'll be easy goin'."

Marcus nods to the girl as she passes, though somewhat annoyed that it is taking so long to get started. Once this is done maybe we can finally rest a bit. This is becoming an extremely exhausting night.

Weasel prods Redros along. "Well, c'mon then," he says quietly. From the opposite side of the avenue, Elene stalks up to the corner building. From the ground, climbing up the side seems quite difficult, but she spots the front door wide open. It looks to be some form of shop with possibly a residence in the upper floor or attic.

Redros looks at Weasel for a moment, having been waiting for the urchin girl to climb to her point before he takes off down the street. His footsteps are silent and before anyone notices, he's practically gone, moving down the main street at a decent pace, noticing places he can hide easily enough, and feeling as if the monsters won't be able to spot him in the shadows of the buildings.

Mechanics

[SHOW]

Stealth Check: 20(1d20) +8 = 28
Perception Check to spot threats: 3(1d20) +9 = 12

Elene rolls her eyes as the two men take off down the street. So much for waitin' for me.

Darting into the house, she quietly attempts to make her way up onto the roof.

MECHANICS

[SHOW]

Stealth check, just in case: 15

Redros steps down the large avenue to the north-west carefully, keeping his eyes around for possible threats. Up the road in the distance, he can see a group of figures, squatting over something in the gutter.

Elene slowly makes her way into the house, taking a look at her surroundings. The home is, or was, a pretty well-off residence for what looked to be a family. There is a living room, a small dining room with a kitchen attached. She makes her way up the spiral staircase that she spots. There is dark, fresh blood covering the stairs as she quietly pads up them. As she gets to the second floor, she finds two rooms -- one of them has a closed door. The other room's door is open and she can see the window, overlooking the large avenue.

Back in the Gilded Mare, the other survivors have gathered once again in the main tavern area. Matilda agrees to help mop up the floor of the blood, while Bastia looks through the cracks out the window for possible threats. The tavern-owner sighs deeply, idly wiping down a few dishes. The orcish man is seated next to Burtin and Smock, conversing. The mother, daughter, and Isdren sit at another table.

OOC

[SHOW]

Tavern Lobby: Burtin, the injured laborer, Drozga, the tavern-owner, Smock, the injured brigand, Isdren, the drunk, Athena, Guthrik, The mother and her daughter, Matilda, and Bastia.

The Plaza: Marcus, Liviana, Cassia, and Weasel.

The north-west Avenue: Redros.

The House on the Corner: Elene.

Wonder if there's a way up to th' roof without climbin' on the walls. That's no fun, 'specially in the rain. Elene thinks to herself, looking into the room with the open door. Might even be somethin' useful in here. Stepping into the room, she quietly searches around for anything useful, as well as a way to the roof.

MECHANICS

[SHOW]

Perception check for useful/hidden stuff: 25
If needed, a second for finding a way to the roof from this room: 21

There were very different things happening in each, so I thought I'd have to separate them.

Looking at the lockbox, Elene sighs. All the good stuff already taken, eh? Oh well, moving on. She steps out of the room, and tries the door to the other room. Maybe here?

MECHANICS

[SHOW]

If the door opens, I first want to just open it a crack and check that there's nothing about to murder me. If the room is clear, search it

Perception check: 28
Natural 20, if that matters.

Redros eyes the figures down the street with some worry. If they are more monsters, there shall indeed be quite some trouble, but he moves closer all the same to examine the situation. Perhaps he can circumnavigate them with a backalley or over the rooftops if necessary.

Mechanics

[SHOW]

Stealthily Approaching...: 17(1d20) +8 = 25
Perception to see what they are doing: 1(1d20) +9 = 10
It's still a ten. I'm not sure if that's a natural failure for a skill check here, but maybe I'll still see something.

Redros watches for just a moment longer before falling back, being as quiet as he can. He looks to the rooftops for the urchin girl, but doesn't see her, wondering if she decided to run off. However, he needs to report back to the group. If she decides to stop messing around and pay attention, doing her job ensuring his safety, then maybe she'll notice he left to return to the group and will follow along.

When he reaches the group he looks behind him to make sure he wasn't followed before speaking in hushed tones.
"There's a small group of the beasts down the road. A handful from what I could tell. There was a... Poor fellow there too, unfortunately. He may have been a religious man, there was a broken holy symbol by his body. Based on what I saw however, the road is safer than most of the other roads we have seen tonight. We could easily get around the group through the rooftops and not have to deal with them if necessary, and they are more distracted with the body than anything else. Should we need to, I would recommend that path back, when we have weapons and armor, to save time. Of course, with how few of us there are, I would not recommend we engage even with weapons."

Mechanics

[SHOW]

Stealth Check: 10(1d20) +8 = 18

"Is there enough space we could get around them unseen? Or any side routes we could take briefly to pass them by without being noticed? If there aren't many it is still probably safer than a dark path, assuming we can still sneak by these things." Marcus looks expectantly towards the man, hoping he was observant enough to already have answers to these questions and not need a second look.

Redros looks back down the street as he thinks on it.
"Possibly. They were distracted by the corpse, so it is possible we can slip by silently. They may not even notice us at all, but it is still risky. Some of us aren't as stealthy as others, and we must take this into account, but we have options should we proceed down the main street."

Elene's eyes get big as she finds the shield. Ooh. This'll be useful. She reaches out to take it, then stops herself. That'd be too heavy for roof-hoppin'. I'll have to get it later.Picking up the rucksack, she quickly checks it over for holes, before slinging it across her back, glancing at the other door as she moves past it. This'll be useful, though. And I'll have to check that out later. That impatient bastard is probably wonderin' where I've gotten to.

She moves out onto the balcony, and looks up the side of the building from there. Hmm. Maybe. Couldn't hurt to try at least.
She shimmies up onto the railing and use it to brace herself as she tries to lever herself up to the roof.

MECHANICS

[SHOW]

Athletics check to climb to the roof from the balcony: 18

Marcus hrms for a moment at the woodsman's words, ignoring the back-and-forth about the girl. "I suppose, then, our only real option is to take the dark side alleys and hope for the best. Any objections?" he asks, looking around at the others for their reactions.

Elene makes it up to the roof without too much difficulty, watching the woodsman sneak his way the last stretch of ground to the rest of the group to report what he had seen further down the avenue. She watches for a moment, before noticing Cassia look up and see her.

"Nah, I like the dark better than cruisin' the main roads, y'know?" Weasel says with a grin, showing his gold tooth. Cassia rolls her eyes at him and turns to Marcus. "We'll just have to keep our guard up, I suppose. We can take that alley Marcus led us through last time. That small street with that apothecary on it could work, or we can push our way through the alleys. Look, there's the girl now," Cassia says as she notices Elene, standing atop the residence on the corner. She waves for her to come down and gives her a hand-sign meaning All clear.