12.22.2132 - A Saturday Night Interlude

[Dray]

(OOC: Continued immediately after  12.22.2132 - Interview in Utopia

Temmit and Renee quickly made it back to the Library in the School District, the snow continued to fall at a steady pace, but no wind with the threat of a harder storm was forthcoming. Finding the address was easy for Renee, as she had just been there a couple weeks prior looking at the article in newspaper records. Temmit and Renee walked the shoveled paths on their way to the outer gates.

(OOC: Switching Renee to a Sorcerer/Warrior btw)

"We may not want to walk in case we run into harder weather,  are you in for a little horseback riding to Lakeshore?"

[Johan]

Temmit made a bit of a grimmace at Renee's suggestion. It made a lot of sense, but he hadn't been paid of late, and the rental might well consume the remainder of his money. Still, he didn't actually need money for the week. He would be paid soon enough.

"Good suggestion." He answered. "Better day for a ride than a long cold walk."

[Dray]

Renee noted the grimace and seemed to understand it, for when they reached “Horse for a Day”, a livery that leased horses just outside the north gate, she took him aside.

“Temmit, one moment,” she took him by the arm before they entered the small office at the end of the stable. Her face was close to his since she spoke in a whisper.

“Use the money pouch I gave you for all our expenses this night. If it wasn’t for the guild I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to make the coin within it,” she said to him gently, on his nod she entered the office before he could return a rebuttal.

The boy in the office was surprised to have visitors so late on the snowy mid-weekend day, and he was more taken aback by the lovely red-headed girl. Temmit paid the boy for two horses and before they could blink an eye they were on saddles and walking off towards Lakeshore. Temmit held a hooded lantern aloft to give the horses some illumination ahead, despite the boy’s reassurance that the horses could do the route blindfolded.

The ride took almost a hand as the wind finally started to blow and the flakes became smaller and lighter.

The vacation town of Lakeshore was hidden behind the now obvious storm, but as they drew nearer the familiar roadside lanterns guided them the rest of the way in. Soon after passing a disinterested guard checkpoint, they were riding the streets between the houses that hugged coastline of Clearwater Lake.

Renee hailed a soldier standing at his post in what appeared to be the center of town. After a salute she asked, “could you direct us to Cliff Street? My Aunt is staying with friends there and we are horribly late.”

“Sure enough Miss,” he said pointing behind them. “Go back the way you came and keep following the coast line. Eventually the street raises, and the lake doesn’t, with nothing but a drop between them.”

“Hence the name,” she said.

“Exactly Miss, it’s the longest street in the town with a lot of real nice houses, but it’s pretty easy to find an address as it simply follows the coastline below,” he finished.

With polite thanks Renee turned her horse and they headed off the other direction

[Johan]

It was nice to be out on a relatively unscheduled ride and Temmit was comfortable despite the cold and the lantern that he bore. He began to formulate in his mind a contraption for holding the lantern up; something that would rest in a cup the way that a cavalry man would rest his flag or lance.

It might stand up with a hook at the top to hold the lantern aloft, allowing the rider a more comfortable experience. He should attend this perhaps during his off-time on the morrow. He thought that perhaps he should first check and see if there's already one somewhere before he went and invented something that's already been done.

Thus it was the under his contemplation the ride to Lakeshore seemed to take less than a moment (were it not for the continued need to change lantern hands) and Renee was asking some guard directions.

The meager light of the street lanterns bled off the side of the road and down the cliff. He thought that it must be lovely during a clear day. The lighted houses on their left were well light, and lovely in their own right.

Check my directions, Dray (houses really on our right?)

[Dray]

(OOC: The two of you were originally coming from the Southeast (heading Northwest) and stayed on that path as you came into town, then the guard turned you around and told you to start by heading back the way you came, and lets say that the village is in the southeast "quadrant" of the lake, one would surmise that the road would take you counterclockwise around the lake heading slowly East, then Northeast, and eventually North, therefore and hencewith the cliff would be on your left at lake's edge. Now I ask you, what developer would want to put a road between a house (that doesn't have to worry about beach erosion btw) and its spectacular view of said lake...SO....the houses would be adjacent to the cliff on your left with you two riding on the road to their right.)

It was only a bit past 6 night-hand but the storm made it feel later to both riders. Almost every other house had a family enjoying dinner and each rider had their own thoughts about the scenes that played out from each loving home. Almost 15 turns went by and the houses became more and more separated by woodland terrain until eventually they came upon the address.

A board nailed to a tree had the crude address numbers painted onto it, most likely the work of the same construction crew that had already had a new wooden frame in place on the old foundation.

“That’s interesting,” exclaimed Renee from under her snow-covered hood. “Burned down last Summer and they already have half the house rebuilt.”

[Johan]

"Mmm..." Temmit agreed. "Moreso because only half of it is rebuilt. You'd think that if it was just another re-build it would be done by now."

He digested that for a long moment. "I wonder what other shinanigens they're installing?"

...

"I also wonder if it won't be a good idea to stay in touch with young Sally to find out about later?"

[Dray]

“Or we could find out now,” and with that said Renee got off her horse, tethered the reigns to a tree branch and walked over to the house.

[Johan]

Surprised, Temmit followed Renee's example and tethered his own horse.

His senses were taut as he caught up to her approaching the house. He looked about in the darkness for signs of people who might be in the area.

[Dray]

Renee, with Temmit a good many paces behind her, approached the home which was nothing more than a skeleton frame of wood timber. Lacking a roof, the storm merely swirled from above and around the structure, leaving an unbroken blanket of snow.

As Temmit approached, he noted that the two adjacent homes on either side were both a good hundred feet away, and didn’t appear to be occupied as they both lacked light within. ’Summer homes perhaps’ Smokey reflected his thought.

’As long as no one from up the street decides to go into town for milk during this storm, we should be alright’, Temmit said back to him. The light from his lantern worried him though, for it may be detectable by a guard in the center of town across the lake. He was hoping the storm would conceal it.

“We shouldn’t stay too long,” he voiced.

She nodded as she stepped through where the main entrance was going to be, she pulled down her cloak hood so she could look about better.

“Seems like its going to be quite the large house,” she said as she kicked some snow aside to reveal a stone tiled floor. She turned to Temmit. “Shuffle around a bit, let’s see if we can find a concealed door in the floor slab.

As he did as asked, he heard her mutter an incantation as she cast a spell. He returned to his work, knowing it was merely a spell to detect any hidden doors.

[DETECT SECRET DOORS, pg. 220 PHB]

“I will shuffle as much snow out of the way as I can, you look where I have cleared,” he offered.

“Deal.”

He tried to work as quickly as he could, worried about the lantern he held aloft betraying their trespassing activity to the town below. A few anxious turns passed by when suddenly their luck that had carried them through the day stuck again.

“Here it is!” she exclaimed in a shouted whisper.

She and Temmit bent low and looked at the two foot square tile slab. Temmit was happy to put his lantern closer to the ground and out of view.

“Looks heavy,” she said with a smile.

[Johan]

Temmit set the lantern upon the floor and wiped the perimeter of the now-obvious floor-door. He looked for a way to open it...a latch, handle, or some such.

[Dray]

(OOC: Rewriting the last two posts made by Dray and Johan, due to error made by Dray)

[Dray]

Kneeling before the clearing in the snow that revealed the two-foot square stone slab, Renee reached and took hold of one of his arms.

“Hold on Temmit. My spell can detect the opening mechanism, let me just concentrate for a moment.”

After a moment, she smiled in satisfaction.

“We merely need to push in the corners of the slab to the right, starting with upper left and going clockwise. It appears this has two be done in two revolutions in order to release this slab in front of me.”

[Johan]

"An odd combination." Temmit observed. "I wonder whether it's an effect of clever masonry, or magic."

As he spoke, he manipulated the indicated slab and found...

[Dray]

...that the edge of the tile near Renee popped up an inch towards her, the hinge being on the opposite side. She put her fingers underneath and hefted its weight up and away from her, pushing the tile up and away as she extended herself over the opening.

thwang![/b]

....was the sound of the metal trigger as it released, and Renee’s eyes opened wide in surprise as the needle ejected from the trap went straight into her belly.

She spun away from the opening and Temmit and rolled onto her back, clenching her stomach with both hands.

[Johan]

Temmit reacted slowly, not comprehending what happened.

"She's not all right." Smokey said, although he didn't seem too concerned."The spring must be inomplete as yet, and probably hit her."

"Renee?" He asked, turning the lantern upon her. "Are you hurt?"