Using the door is mannerly. Mortimer drops to the ground and gingerly pokes in his beak.
Post 101!
If that is a sneaky gesture give us a d12 roll. If not let me know!
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“Subtle as a Sussex axeman”. No, I meant the post straight: poke a beak into the doorway in a friendly manner, so that if whoever it is doesn’t want to be intruded on, I can pull back.
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The first thing you notice is the smell - ripe and pungent with a back taste of ammonia.
It is dark inside. There appears to have been two floors, but the upper floor has broken down and collapsed on to the lower floor, creating a broken, precarious looking ramp to the upper.
It’s looking up when you finally notice them hanging from the rafters. A troupe of bats, sleeping whilst upside down.
Or at least all but one of them are sleeping. The largest one cocks and eye open, stretches his long wings to an impressive length, then asks ‘What are you doing here?’
[quietly] “I followed the lovely song. Who is making it?”
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‘Bloody Bert!’. He laughs! ‘Bert I told you to shut up!’
Another bat looks sheepish. ‘Cant help it boss! How else is I going to getting to sleep without a lullaby?’
The boss bat turns his attention back to Mortimer, as other bats start waking at the commotion.
‘So yer a music lover are ya? Is it just yet appreciation of the finer arts that brings ya here, or are yer after our treasure?’
[Hubert can hear this dialogue from his burrow outside. The boss bat is not particularly quiet.]
“I’m not here for treasure. Won’t say I’m not partial to a shiny thing if it falls into my beak, but I’m just passing through. Us as don’t sing, well, we can still enjoy the music, right?”
[he moves to withdraw, unless the bats want to say something more.]
(from the Messe at Essen)
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“Just hold on a minute there, black-feather. Is you venturing through these ere sycamores alone? Or is anyone else with ya?”
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“Yes, I have a friend with me. It would take a foolhardy bird to travel alone. He wishes no harm to bats either.”
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“Anover birdie, this friend of yours? Too timid to poke about us brawny bats?”
He sniffs pridefully.
“Well just you move on. We don’t want your sort of trouble here. This is our turf for pillaging and treasure, right? You got that?”
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“Got it. Your pillage, your treasure. I’ll stop bothering you now.” (And do so.)
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The last thing you hear from the building is “That’s right!”
You head back to where you saw Hubert going but there is no obvious sign of him.
Hubert you see Mortimer circling back. Do you want to come out of your burrow?
How do reunite, and are you moving on or are you intrigued by the bat’s treasure?
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Hubert waits until Mortimer is close, then emerges to find out what he saw and who he was talking with.
“Bats, you say? I’ve never heard one sing so well. It sounds like they’re pretty protective of something, but unless their ‘treasure’ is the Half-sight ink, we have no cause to bother them. I suggest we continue past them and be on our way.”
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“Sounds good to me. And we have no reason to think it’s here, do we?”
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@DJCT, we know that we are looking for the Half-sight ink in the Greenwall beyond the Bristley Woods. We have flown over the Bristley Woods, and are now in the Hunting Grounds. Are the Hunting Grounds a part of the Greenwall (and hence a possible location for our goal)? Or are we yet to reach the Greenwall proper? Moreover, were we told anything more about the specific or likely location of our goal, or have we made a terrible blunder by not asking before we departed?!
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@Phil good question! Looking back I see I have not been clear on that: apologies.
Flashback!
You are about to leave when Toto the Overseer impresses the quest on you one last time.
“Remember you seek the Half-sight ink. We need it to accentuate the dark in the All-Craft. You will know it form it’s vivid colours. Unfortunately we think it currently lies in Reginald’s nest on the edge of the Greenwall. Be careful, he is a vicious swine!”
Flashforward …
Leaving the bats behind you head onward. Mortimer you know from your roving that you are not far from the edge of the Greenwall now - just through these sycamores is where you think Reginald’s nest is. Hubert you have heard that Reginald is a vicious and dangerous creature. You are of course ready for a fight if need be, but it is in a nest ….
Feel free to ask for more elaboration!
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“So we can negotiate, or we can sneak in and steal it, or we can fight. What do we know of Reginald?”
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Reginald is a Tawny Owl, a collector of fine things. They live alone in a nest filled with Titan relics and goods from all over Bristley Woods.
Reginald is a proud raptor, and believe they have more knowledge than any Knower.
You know that Reginald will hold to their word, but is a tricky customer. And they have a temper! As an owl they can be dangerous too, they have been known to win negotiations by eating the opposition…
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“Never a sudden bright light about when you want one…”
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