hey there @Reibello

hola

@Reibello -- now a good time for our dungeon run? :)

How long has it taken historically?

oh, an hour or so...might take a bit longer as I'm thinking Aelar might be doing more exploring than conversing

I'll give it a shot

alrighty...so Aelar's come down an old pack-trail in the Elven woods to an octagonal castle in a clearing. There looks to be an open front entrance and a permanent bridge has replaced the old drawbridge over the moat, though

(Is this before any knowledge of Tax collector man, I assume?)

The town constable has sent you in search of the tax collector, Tharvyrion -- a young elven city-slicker armed with rapier and buckler and rather well-dressed as well

(sorry, after :)

(Sent to find - in trouble or sent to find - is trouble?)

(the constable suspects the former) The constable mentioned that Tharvyrion hasn't been seen for a week and a half, and that there's been a trifle bit more bandit activity than the norm as well

Aelar takes a moment to take a look for any signs of banditry in the area before crossing into the clearing. (Perception + 6)

1d20

There is no sign of banditry in the immediate vicinity -- it seems the bandits stay away from the castle

oooh. dangerous and mysterious. that sounds like something work looking into.

(how tall is the castle?)

a good 15' or so, but it looks like there's a roof on top of what was the courtyard

hmm. that'll probably make a lot of noise. I'd rather be quiet. I'm going to attempt to cross the bridge as quickly and quietly as possible, hiding up against the outside wall once I'm over.

You're able to cross the bridge without drawing any attention from anything you've seen so far, at least. Do you look inside the entrance?

yeah, once I get up there I'm going to peek in to take a look

You see a large, blue-and-tan giant tarantula on the left side of the entrance, a receptionist's desk with a coat-of-arms display hanging behind it and a sign saying "Ralphie" with a left-pointing spider symbol on it, and a machine in the back right corner that looks like it has a rolled-up scroll in it with a slot in the machine that exposes part of the scroll and a pen-and-inkwell next to the slot

(am I aware of aware tarantulas being a feature of the area/world?)

(not sentient/awakened ones, but giant spiders are a thing at least...)

I cautiously step inside

The spider seems to spider-wave at you, as if greeting you.

I wave, and ask the spider what this place is (Common)

The spider looks at you quizzically with beady black eyes, and just waves you on inside

I ask the spider what this place is (Elvish)

I also look to see if there are any written documents on Ralphie's desk

The spider continues to look quizzically at you...as you're looking for documents on the desk, you see none, but what looks like a spot for a different name on the back of the receptionist's sign, as if it's a two-sided one. You also notice a spider symbol on the shield hanging on the wall, along with a longsword, Elven hunting bow, and quiver that are all part of the coat-of-arms display. As your gaze goes to what looks like it might hide another weapon in the desk...

(roll Perception)

1d20

17

You feel a pressure-plate under your foot as you notice that the desk has a sword hidden under it, apparently for use by the receptionist. As you lift off, you are startled by a faint whirring and clunking, from the machine in the corner, along with a voice coming from...who knows where? "Welcome to the Talespinners! Please sign the guest-roll."

(I sign as Ivlis)

You sign that...and then turn to face out over what was the courtyard, which is dug out into a three-tier structure now. The upper tier has doors all around, mostly marked by inconspicuous signs save for one on each side that is marked by a glowing red running-man symbol over the door. Ramps connect the upper tier to the middle tier at the front and back, with seating flanking either side of the front ramp and lecterns backed by partitions further around to either side.

Flanking the back ramp are two inconspicuously signed doors, and in the lower tier, which looks to be a pit, is a giant funnel web that looks like something the size of Ralphie made it

You don't see any signs of people inside though...

I look back at Ralphie

The spider looks back at you with beady eyes, still quizzical about your attempts to talk to it

I move onto the upper tier, listening at the first door (moving around in a clockwise direction)

You see a mortar-and-pestle sign on the first set of doors you find, and hear nothing from the door

I continue to the next door

The next two doors you encounter are unsigned.

is the next door the red running-man?

You encounter the red running-man next, yes. The door has a sign on it that says in several languages "FIRE EXIT -- PUSH UNTIL ALARM SOUNDS -- DOOR OPENS IN ONE MINUTE"

I continue around, checking doors

You come to a door with a book on it next

I check to see if the door is openable

The door is openable, and opens into a library with many racks of bookshelves, but not much else

What languages are the books written in?

Mostly Common, with some Elvish tomes and a few Draconic ones sprinkled in

It's a mix of tomes about magic of various sorts, nature and ecology, and a few miscellaneous things related to religion and even combat

Interesting. Unfortunately, now is not the time. I continue around the upper level examining doors.

You come to two unmarked doors next

I knock at the second

You get no response from the second unmarked door

I attempt to open it

This door is locked, it turns out

I'll try the door previos to this one first

It is also locked up

I'll use my picks to open it (+6, unless Dex bonus also applies)

1d20

You're able to rake the lock open after a couple tries with the Bogota and the first tension wrench you grab

I open the door and look in

It looks to be quarters for a high-ranking member of the organization, or perhaps two or three apartments if you will

signs of recent use?

It does look to be recently used though -- whoever lives there probably lives there part-time

hmm

maybe I'll come back on my way out

close the door for now, check any other doors on this level that I haven't seen

You move onto the next door, which has a symbol of a knife and fork on it, and leads into a great hall that looks like it has a kitchen attached, and tables and chairs inside, as well as another door on the back with a red running-man symbol on it

hm.

back outside - look down - is there anything in the giant web?

You can see what looks like a large drider-like form, with pale skin and a tan, hairy, tarantula-like body, as well as hear voices from down there

You can't make out what they're talking about though

down to the middle level again - quick circut checking any doors or seeing if there's anything on any of the podiums

You can't get to the podiums from here, but one of the doors has a symbol of coins on it, and the other is unmarked

is the coins door open?

opneable*

It is openable, indeed

I open the door with the coins marking

It opens into another quarter with a door off the side and the usual trappings as well

I move towards the interior door to see if it is marked and/or openable

The door is unmarked and locked

knock

No response to the knocking

thieves tools

1d20

+6 (+9 if it's a dex check, but I don't think it is)

The lock does not yield to your attempts to rake it open

disappointing

oh well

I go back outside - can I get a better view / listen at the webpit?

You can get a somewhat better view by going down the ramp, yes

Oh, you're already on the middle tier :) that's right

You do get a better view -- you can see not only the drider-like form, but two elves in the web, one laying back in what looks to be a hammock-like seat in the web and the other sitting more or less upright, rubbing his eyes. The laying elfess is clad in quite simple and practical garb, while the other elf matches the description of THarvyrion you were given

they appear to be not very distressed about their sitting in a giant web

The web has several other hammock-like seats woven into it, even

You hear goings-on about leases and court-cases and tax rates and improper documentation...

"Tharvyrion?"

"Uh...yeah?" You hear the elf's voice pipe up tiredly

"Name's Ivlis. <CONSTABLE> from <TOWN/CITY> sent me looking for you. What are you doing here?"

"Uh...still trying to figure out how this tax stuff is supposed to even work for these folks!"

"Speaking of which - what is this place?"

The elfess pipes up "It's our home, basically....the Talespinners', that is. The tax collector is pretty new to these parts, though."

"Who are the Talespinners?"

"Ah. We're a coven dedicated to the fey spirit Arachne"

"Coven?"

"Of witches, what else?" The elfess giggles a bit at what seems to her like a silly question

"I see. And uh...what sorts of things does witchcraft in the name of Arachne entail?"

"We study her teachings and pass on basic magical knowledge to the populace at large, as well as help keep the roads clear and do other public services"

(Was I instructed to bring T back / Have I heard of Arachne before?)

(You may or may not have heard of Arachne before -- and you are to at least let the constable know of his status. You can try to wrangle T back if you wish :)

(okay)

(I've got to be awake in 6 hours, so I'm gonna call it a night here. At this point my plan would be to head back to town and inform constable of location)

(sure thing, we can continue this tomorrow)

(cool, thanks, adios)