Cora
```The old man slowed down before reaching Uggy when Maximus came up and stood between them to defuse the situation. He was calm for now, but didn't let his personal ward vanish.
Then the Fog Seed comes out and blankets the area in smoke. The old man backs off a bit to get out of there. After some time the smoke clears and Uggy has vanished (per now-deleted OOC), leaving Maximus on his own.
The elder sighs and turns to Maximus. "He your friend or something?"```

** Maximus sighs**

 "Well it's umm complicated I ummm kinda just met him in the street" 

** Maximus says slightly chuckling** 

"Anyway is anyone hurt or anything, like help ya before I go"

```The man looks over to the Felinid mother, who is still calmly cradling her baby - now crying due to the sudden turn of events - but otherwise seems fine, just slightly moved over to be more behind the fire barrel in case of stray projectiles during combat.
Everyone else was completely fine as well, though Maximus may notice a couple glares directed at him momentarily before each pair of eyes eventually turns away.
"We're fine," The man says. "Thank you."
He now goes back to the Felinid mother and child to help calm the baby down.

Now back to business; looking around with knowledge of the Fire Macen now makes it obvious that there is an actual path of lit contained fires, be they fire barrels of campfires. Where the Fire Macen has gone, these fires are burning, and where he has not, there are none. Better hurry and follow them before people start spreading the fires to other spots for warmth.```

** Maximus one again cast speak plainly to be able to better understand his surroundings while following the path of lit barrels**



Upon casting the spell, the caster can understand the speech of anyone within 50ft of themselves as though the user were standing right next to them. This is selective, can translate from any language, allows the caster to comprehend any accent, and amplifies the volume of the target only for the user. This does not make the user learn the accent or language, and has no lasting effect after the spell ends. The caster's eyes glow when this is used, and it may last for 8 turns.

** Listening carefully and using his enchanted hearing and sense of smell to try and get anymore leads on where the man could of went**

```While Maximus follows the 'path' of lit flames, he hears random conversations throughout the area. Some of them seem to express gratefulness for the Fire Macen who lit the flames for them. Maximus is quite lucky that one of the conversations is talking about the direction the man went.
"Where'd he go after he lit the fire?" Asked one, who was answered with "Down that way. Think he went into that old house on the edge of town."
Sounds like a good place to start. The fire paths seem to point in that direction too.```

** As Maximus approach's the edge of town he begins to slow down and slowly goes from a a walk to a crouched slow pace to create little noise as he gets closer to the house** 

** Maximus draws his bow and puts an arrow in getting ready if he needs to use it** 

** Luckly for Maximus he casted speak plainly so he can hear if there is any conversation in the house and any noise due to his Felinid sense of hearing**

```The old house was quite some distance away, but Maximus gets there eventually. 'Old' is an understatement for this building. The wood is dark and rotten and the entire thing looks like it's going to collapse on itself.
Was the runaway Macen really here though?
Maximus couldn't hear anything coming from within. This suggests that either nobody is inside, or whoever may be isn't talking. Oughta check it out regardless though, right?```

*Uggy will be able to rejoin as of now.*
Mildred
*"Hello friend!"* Uggy would whisper to Maximus when Uggy finally caught up to him! Uggy had escaped the sticky situation earlier thankfully to Maximus. That old man seemed scary. Blocking both war dart and plague bolt? Uggy didn't think Maximus or Uggy would have an easy time sending that old man's family to meet Mommy and Daddy. Uggy had been following Maximus this whole time till they were at the edge of the town and Maximus slowed down his pace. 
*"What're we doing?"* Uggy asked still in a whisper. *"Why we going to the broken house?"* He'd say as he crawls up on Maximus' shoulders again. *"Oh by the way, sad we lost 10 gold. Bye-bye trick the family plan didn't work. Sad. It's okay. Everyone make mistake Maxy."* Uggy would say comforting the Felinid with pats on the head.

*"New plan?*" Uggy would say pointing to the old house. Does the fire bad guy live in there? *"Uggy has ideas! What're your ideas?"*
Cora
**Uggys random arrival startles Maximus causing him to jump a little, but he is able to hold back a shout due to being so close to the objective**

"Damn you need to not sneak up on my like that" **Maximus whispers as he is crouch near the rotting building**

"Our bad guy might be in here so we need to be quiet and find out if he is or isn't"

**Maximus slowly approaches the door begins to open it slowly**

```When Maximus and Uggy enter the room, they find that the door falls off entirely.
The duo starts in the room located below the player in this image (source: Darkwood, google search 'darkwood screenshots'). On their left they can see partially into the next room through tiny gaps in the old rotten wall, a room with very old beds and objects strewn about the floor where they haven't fallen into the floor gaps.
The whole place went dead silent. Quiet, to the point where the pair can hear the blood rushing through their ears with every heartbeat. This place makes them nauseously anxious.
If they proceed into the next room they'd see the window was completely destroyed with glass and wood splinters on the floor near it, and the door on the left is barely hanging off its hinges. There was some furniture in here though (not pictured); an old couch with many rips and tears in it, a table shoved in the bottom corner, and a pair of very damaged and bad-condition cupboards nestled in the corner near that door.
They could check them out, or just proceed... And hopefully decide soon before something falls on them or they drop through the floor. The boards creak with every footstep...```

I intend for it to go until all parties agree to end it - you can clear one or two and stop, or go for all three. The convicts who have not been cleared will be carried on to the next instance of Deliverance hosted by me or another staff member deemed appropriate to handle the characters I've created.
Mildred
Uggy would *Not* Like the vibes coming from this dump. Why was this place abandoned? Is it used for anything now? Why didn't the people who left here come to his Jibbler instead?
In any case, Uggy couldn't imagine big bad fire guy to live here. Maybe. "Check to see new things! If fire guy here, then he would've moved stuff! Or added decorations! I would've." 
Uggy summons a **Spirit Wolf**. The wolf would be summoned and land to the right of Maximus, silently standing there. "We use my baby to check for traps or freaky deeky old stuff. I like to put traps in my home." Uggy commands the wolf to cautiously walk to the left room and inspect the bed.
"My baby will see if too danger." Uggy tugs on Maximus' hair in anticipation hoping his baby won't get hurt.
`Cast Spirit Wolves for 15 mana. 85/100`
Cora
**As Maximus is standing there he is Cautiously looking back and forward listening and observing his surroundings due to his dark vision any ill light areas become visible and he begins to move towards the couch**

"Ok Uggy, but stay light on your feet I feel like I could fall through this floor at any moment"

**Maximus draws his claws just for precautionary measures**

```Creeeeak... Creeeak... Crack! The floorboards are very unstable, yet they are barely holding the weight of each individual character. Uggy would have weighed the pair down too much if he were still on Maximus' shoulders, and the wolf is fortunately ahead of the pair.
The walls seem like they're crawling. Well, correction; it's actually the copious amount of termites and maggots infesting the rotten wood, crawling around.
The table in the corner creaks and groans loudly, before the leg gives out and it slams against the ground. In the process, it also destroys the floorboards and falls even deeper down, smashing through the floor and dropping to the solid dirt below. Damn that was loud, especially given how silent this place was.
The summoned wolf seems to take interest in the cupboard next to the door, over actually trying to pass through the door - which it cannot given that the door is ironically blocking the doorway.```

** As he slowly puts his foot down and hears the loud echoy creeping of the floorboard he just gives up on being stealth due to the floors and walks quickly around the room searching for anything unusual until he come soon the door way and try's to moved the door out of the way** 

"Hmmm, hey uggy this door seems to be stuck do ya have anything that could ummm open it maybe?"
"Or could u see if this room has a window to go through?"
Mildred
Uggy would gently and carefully lower himself off of Maximus and back onto the floor. This forsaken place gave him the heebie-jeebies! He'd flinch as the cupboards loudly collapse onto the floor! Uggy was getting even more anxious than he already was. The roof might just cave in on both of their pretty heads in any second and Uggy couldn't hear anything except for... Nothing! He found it hard to imagine bad guys hiding here. Or maybe they like this sort of place? 
Looking at Maximus as he asked his question, Uggy would also see that the doorway was blocked *By the door. Keke funny*. Uggy changed the wolf's command to probe the couch. The wolf would approach the couch and presumably get on top of it to feel and poke around with its paws. Uggy shook his head at Maximus' question. "Uggy not strong. Uggy also don't want splinters." Uggy would **Summon another Spirit Wolf**. "Maybe my babies lightly push the door away." 
After summoning the second wolf, it'd start sniffing and pawing at the doorway. Uggy himself goes to scan the area of the fallen cupboards trying to see if anything was suspicious. 
`Summoned Spirit Wolf for 15 mana. 70/70`
Cora
```Uggy commanding the wolf to check the couch resulted in something rather entertaining. When the summoned creature jumped onto the couch, it literally vanished in a plume of dust. You'd hear several sneezes before it runs out, trailing silver particles behind it while it moves and sneezing a few more times.
Uggy can just barely inside one of the doors of the cupboard, the one that the first wolf was checking out. He feels compelled to open it and see what's inside.
Meanwhile, the door really wasn't as stuck as Maximus claimed. With a little bit of pressure, the hinge snaps and the door goes tumbling down to the ground on the other side, loudly colliding with the wood and breaking some planks. He'd see partially into the next room - a knocked-out wall directly in front of him, and a spacious area to the left, but not a whole lot. There is a corner, which may prompt him to take care approaching in case something is hiding there.```
Mildred
While Maximus was doing his own investigating, Uggy's finding had led him compelled to want to open the cupboard! Still, Uggy didn't want Maximus to be hurt. Uggy commanded one wolf to accompany Maximus and that wolf would presumably obey Maximus' commands in the meanwhile. The other wolf, the one still shrugging off all the dust and sneezes, would hobble over to Uggy and help him carefully open the cupboard.
Cora
```Uggy and the wolf open the cupboard door, with a loud metal groan where the hinge's rust is grinding together. The door feels like it's about to come off entirely, but fortunately it doesn't make any more loud noises.
What Uggy finds inside was... A dead large rat. A huge, huge rat, two foot long from head to tail. It has some wounds on it, suggesting the creature was injured and dying before it took shelter in this cupboard and died.
Must be why the summoned wolves were interested in it - tasty dead meat. How long it's been dead for though? No clue. It isn't maggot-infested yet and there aren't any flies either.
Well now that that's been discovered, Uggy can move on. The summon wolf that expressed interest earlier may try to eat it though, unless Uggy shuts the door again so it can't.```
Mildred
Uggy would be disappointed in only finding a rat. Actually he didn't know what he expected. Maybe a cursed finger or maybe the decapitated head of a noble. In any case, Uggy would notice the wolf having an interest in the dead rat. He couldn't understand himself but picked up the rat with two fingers and gave it to the wolf as a chew toy or snack.
Uggy waddled back to Maximus that had been doing his own investigation. He'd be back with 2 of his wolves now and retook command of the wolves. *"What're we looking at?"* Uggy would whisper to Maximus. Uggy would use his darkvision to spot anything, especially that inconspicuous corner.
Cora
** Maximus looks around slowly, really eyeing that corner and as Uggy waddles up to him and whispers he reply's** 
" Hmmm there is just something about that corner that doesn't sit right"
** Maximus begins to move over to the corner being pulled in by its suspension and inconspicuousness**

```The corner was around the left, past the wall, and led into another small area. As Maximus got closer and saw further around the corner he'd see an old stove and fireplace. The stove is rusted and decrepit, and the inside of the fireplace was black as pitch with soot.
Telltale signs of the presence of furniture are here too. A dozen or so spots on the ground where chairs and a table used to be. It seems as if this room used to be the kitchen-dining area back when the house was in its 'prime'.
There's another door ahead. Judging by the structure of the house so far, it's possible that this door leads into the room that the pair could see through the rotten cracks in the mud room (the room they first entered, from the front door). They could take a look at the other stuff here if they wanted before proceeding on, or just go.```

** Maximus being interested in why this building has soo many doors decided to go and check the next door carefully and slowly trying the nob**
Mildred
Uggy and the two wolves would stand behind Maximus as he touched the nob. They'd curious and nervous to what might happen if they enter the room.
Cora
```The cold made way for warmth as the pair came closer to the door. The doorknob was warm, as if it was either recently touched, or there was a fire on the other side of it.
Was it the Fire Macen on the other side, emitting heat or burning something? Was he in the middle of the room, or right next to the door? Unless they have a spell that allows them to sense life or magic, or see through objects, they won't be able to know what it actually is.```

** Having know spell to know exactly what behind the door Maximus instead retracts his claws and readies his bow** " You ready little guy?" ** He whispers**
Mildred
Uggy would position his two wolves in front of himself and nod in a yes! He took out his dagger just in case.
Cora
** Maximus then slowly opens the door making sure to peak into the opening before fully opening it to reveal the room**

```The slow opening of the door gradually reveals the room within. There's an old bed in the corner of the visible room so far, and the windows seem to all be boarded up... With relatively new wood, much better than that of the rest of the house. It's a recent job too, which means somebody is in fact living here.
Before Maximus could fully open the door, it slams shut on him, knocking him back out of nowhere and closing. Then a voice sounded.
"You're here to take me back to death row aren't you!" A male voice calls out to the group from the other side of the door. "I'm innocent, damn it, leave me alone!"
Maximus didn't suffer any injuries but the sudden shove did surprise him. Luckily the floor boards that he landed on didn't fall out from under him either.```