Dungeon crawl: Wine with your sandwich?

[Weremensh]

Brother Forge, seeing Kinzie covering the trapdoor, watches it as well.

Back outside the mayor and the tapster (who is carrying a crossbow) come around the corner after a few seconds, followed by the abbot and a couple of monks. The mayor shakes his head and says "Yes. A troll and an elf. Easily mistaken for the humans who live here." The locals look a bit embarrassed at that, though one mutters something about magic.

Meanwhile, the abbot asks the two adventurers "Where is Brother Forge?"

[CCC]

"Right behind us, sir. In the cellar." Cloverleaf turns around and calls "Brother Forge?"

[Dom/SlimKop]

Teddy looks solemn as he shakes his head at the crowd.

"Don't worry. I get mistaken for a human all the time."

[FreakyBoy]

Kinzie finds some cover (if she can) and covers the trapdoor with her pistol.

[Weremensh]

Cover is fairly easy to find down there; Kinzie winds up crouching behind a heavy table.

The mayor glances over to Teddy. "Yes, I see the resemblance. I guess there's no one in the basement besides you folks?"

Meanwhile, Brother Forge comes over to the ramp. "Yes? Ah, good day, Father. Are you well?"

The abbot grins. "As the gods will it, Brother. So, what have you found?"

Brother Forge shrugs. "One mystery was unraveled. What of those upstairs?" The abbot replies "No one saw anyone leave, and the doors and windows are barred. It seems rather quiet, though."

[CCC]

"Not that we saw." says Cloverleaf. He looks over the back wall of the general store, and then looks up at the roof, to see if there is smoke coming from the chimney. Smoke or not, he then suggests "If a really pungent fish were to be dropped down there, they'd probably open a window. That, or try to escape through the trapdoor and the tunnel to your cellars."

[Weremensh]

There is some smoke, but it looks like a fire that is going out rather than a hot one.

The mayor considers Cloverleaf's statement for a second. "I don't think we have a fish that smelly in town."

[CCC]

"Hmmm. There's always another way in. Would you like us to help you get the doors open before we go back to explore that other tunnel?"

It's polite to ask; the mayor may well have plans for getting into the store that their group would just get in the way of.

[Weremensh]

The mayor looks at Cloverleaf for a beat. "Other tunnel? What other tunnel?"

[CCC]

"Ah - I'm sorry, I'd assumed you knew. The tunnel from here to the monk's cellar splits in two halfway along. We have not yet explored that tunnel. It slopes downwards at first."

[Dom/SlimKop]

"Some interesting writings as well, I'm to understand."

He gestures towards the monk accompanying them.

[Weremensh]

Brother Forge pauses for a second, then says "The writing accuses the humans who live here (indicating the building) of cheating the writers. What bargain they made in the first place isn't said. As for the other tunnel, it could lead down to the halls of the tunnelers. Or it could be closed off and flooded with brine somewhere down below. I don't know."

The mayor looks thoughtful for a second, then shrugs. "First things first. Can you men force the trapdoor from below while we make our way in from the front?"

[CCC]

"I guess we could give it a try," says Cloverleaf agreeably, "but if they've got something heavy enough on top of the trapdoor, which they may well have by now, then we simply won't be able to shift it."

[Weremensh]

The mayor shrugs. "If so, at least they won't get away through the basement."

[CCC]

"Oh, we can definitely prevent them from getting away through the basement. We can be loud and obvious and distracting and force them to watch two fronts at once, but I don't think it's likely that we'll actually get in that way. Would you like us to start immediately, or to give you a few minutes to get into position first?"