October 2019 Recap: Untrained laborers at over a gp a day? We’re getting skinned!

Surveying the room, which was large, but not huge by any stretch of the imagination, the party noticed that Floon is alive but badly hurt.

The mind flayer, having escaped through the door that the pedestal had opened, was gone. The group surveyed the room. Up near where they first saw the mind flayer was a stone chair, with tattered tapestries surrounding.

Culdock examined the stone eyestalk. It was about three inches in diameter, carved to resemble a the eyestalk of a beholder. Its sole function is to open the portal the mind flayer exited through. Culdock and Lauris split up to check the rooms. Upon entering one, Lauris felt a bolt whiz by him and alerted the group. Geth rushed over and checked on Lauris, who explained what happened. Lauris tried to sneak into the next room over and was greeted with a bolt to the chest and was very badly hurt. Culdock charged into the room and swung his Warhammer at the goblin but missed. Geth cast Cure Wounds on Lauris, healing him completely. Renear muttered about how crowded it was, pushed his way to the front and swung his sword at the goblin but missed. Lauris brandished his rapier at the Goblin but tripped over his own boots. Culdock fumbled over his Warhammer and missed his attack. The goblins dropped their short bows and drew scimitars. Renear took a blow from a goblin and Lauris dodged one from the other. Geth and Renear both swung swords at the goblin, and Lauris slew the Goblin with his rapier. Culdock mashed the Goblin with his Warhammer. Renear took a blow from the Goblin’s scimitar, but Geth brought his own down onto the Goblin’s head and cleft it in two. Geth picked up a short bow and Culdock took the goblins’ clothing. Renear swore at the goblins and returned to Floon. Geth examined Floon. He appeared very hurt, and Lauris placed Vole’s hat on Floon. Floon stood up, scared and clingy and thanked the group, explaining that he had no idea what the hobgoblin and the Mind Flayer wanted from him.

Lauris gave a Goodberry to Floon, who was overcome with gratitude. He very much did not seem an adventurer. Floon said that the Mind Flayer really never left the dais during the entire interrogation. Floon was surprised that he did not take more an active role in it.

Geth wandered off to explore, finding more rooms of no interest. Looking over to the dais, he saw a satchel and a chest. Opening the satchel, he saw an unusual book and took it. Opening the chest, he saw 16 gold, 82 silver, 250 copper and two potions, picking it all up. He showed to book to the group and after much bickering they handed it to Culdock who determined that it was in fact a spell book with Shield, Witch Bolt, Unseen Servant, Burning Hands, False Life, and Disguise Self. They checked the one remaining room and found a hidden door under a loose stone. Following it, they found a room filled with the smell of fermenting hops. Following through the room and up a set of stairs, they found themselves in a tavern called Peabody’s run by some halflings. They, apparently unaware of the secret entrance in their basement, wonder aloud if we wanted to bathe. Lauris, taking the lead, said that we were plumbers and were in need of baths. The halflings, somewhat incredulous, remarked that they had never seen plumbers fully armed, to which Lauris replied that there were enormous rats down there that would require extermination in about 2-5 years, and that he could provide his information for a service call and services so far would cost 10 gold, to which the halflings replied that washing would be 11 gold. We all agreed to settle on services rendered in exchange for soap and clean water.

We returned to the Portal, and were settling in when Volo walked in and joined us at the table, ordering food and drink. Volo brought up the subject of our reward, offering a sheepish look and beginning to stutter and fidget. Volo, not wanting to renege on a promise, offered something far more valuable than the gold offered. Volo presented a scroll case and the deed to a property in Waterdeep. We agree to see the property in the morning, after the party has taken a long rest.

We come to Trollskull Manor, a fine estate on Trollskull Lane that is quite abandoned. We arranged for a transfer of deeds and meet with the magistrate to finalize the deal.

Culdock spent most of his time setting up a shrine to his patron god and spends the rest in his skivvies stone working in the back. Lauris found his accommodations not to his satisfaction and spends some time looking for a handyman to assist in fixing up his lodgings. Geth swore up and down that he would fix all sorts of things around the manor and ends up not really doing any of them, instead spending time exploring the city and chasing other animals in Wild Shape and drinking in unsavory establishments.

After a few days’ time, Culdock notices that some things are amiss around the house. Simple things moved around after use, and Lauris’ painting looked wrong. Someone cleaned Geth’s room and he became furious.

Checking over the house, the adventurers find nothing so out of order. Geth, thinking of what could possibly explain all this, concludes that there could be any number of things.

Geth decides to focus on securing the house and cleaning it. Lauris finds that he can get 5 untrained laborers for 5 gold per day for 4 days to get everything clean. Geth and Lauris split the cost for the laborers, who show up with every cleaning implement imaginable.  Geth offers some direction but the laborers say that they would suggest starting at the top and moving down. They sweep the chimneys, mop the floors, clean the roofs, and create an incredible mess of dust, and by the end of the first day have the attic bedroom, the turrets and half of the third floor cleaned. At the end of the day, the say thanks for the help

The laborers show up the next day, showing up with most of the same tools but asking if we wanted them to clean Lauris’ room too. Geth rips up a floorboard, hides the silver bars down there and uses his mending cantrip to seal it back in. Geth pays them at the end of the day and they again say thanks for the help. Geth asks them if Lauris had helped yesterday, and the worker replied that they didn’t want trouble.

The next day, the workers showed up at our door with all manner of cleaning supplies. They get to cleaning the main floor, mopping and sweeping and packing out trash, even attempting to throw away some of Culdock’s stone working product. Around midday, the leader of the laborers approaches Culdock with the question of what to do with the kegs and wine casks in the cellar. Roughly an hour later, Culdock sees the kegs and casks being hauled out of the cellar by the burlier members of the crew.

As Culdock comes in and out throughout the day, he notices on one occasion a cloud of dust coalescing on its own. Another time he sees a worker cleaning a spot, walking back, nodding and then cleaning it some more. On another occasion, he sees a worker sweeping around a stone chair, then the stone chair moved.

Geth attempted to find some information at the local bar and found instead an abundance of strong drink. He came home late and very drunk and dirty. They spent 5 gold from the community gold to pay the laborers.

Culdock says that there seem to be weird self-cleaning parts of the tavern which should be highly profitable. Lauris also thinks this is weird.

The cleaning crew comes back with chemical cleaners to clean and detail the cellar.

Hanging out around the house, abound halfway through the day, Lauris hears a knock on the door of the master suite and readied his rapier. The crew lead asks if someone would walk through with him and see if there’s anything that needs to be cleaned further.

Some of the end got lost because I was scratching my head too much about the haunted house.