Heroica RPG - Quest #77: Your Elves are Better than Ours

[Sandy]

Ellaria whispers to Alexander and Ahvialyn.

"There's people inside this warehouse, and they are doing something that emits a clinking sound, perhaps smithing or fencing. Prepare yourselves for the worst."

Ellaria drinks her mead.

[Wedge09]

"I got your back." whsipers Alexander preparing his bow fro he battle, before entering he remembers a thing and whispers "Ahvialyn, can you see if they are enemis with your Cloak of the Elven Spy?"

[Brickdoctor]

"I got your back." whsipers Alexander preparing his bow fro he battle, before entering he remembers a thing and whispers "Ahvialyn, can you see if they are enemis with your Cloak of the Elven Spy?"

"Not through walls, no."

The Party at the Warehouses:

Alexander Vandangant (Wedge09)

99 year-old male elven Hunter

Level 15

Power:

22

(Level 15 + WP: 7 +

Power Bonus:

0)

Defense:

5

(SP: 2 + SP: 3)

Health:

28/28

(Base HP: 6 + Level bonus: 14 + Class bonus: 6 + Artifact bonus: 2)

Gold:

100

Equipment:

Fauxthril Crossbow (WP: 7;

Darkness

-elemental; Hollow Blade [nothing stored]), Chevalier of Charis Armor (Max HP +2; SP: 2; bodywear), Tricorne (SP: 3; headwear)

Inventory:

Delfrin Crossbow (WP: 5), Giant Club (WP: 8), Standard-Issue Saber (WP: 5; longsword)

•

Duplovian Helmets of the Guard (SP: 2, Immune to Magic and Healing)(2), Sterile Gloves (Immune to

Poisoned

and

Badly Poisoned

; handwear),

•

Grand Potion, Potions (2), Venoms (4), Smoke Bomb, Dirt Bomb, Ice Bomb, Holy Bomb, Fire Bomb, First Aid Kit (Consumable), Bones (4), Meads (3), Mithril Shard (1/4 of a piece of Mithril), Big Apple

•

Bedroll, Shovel

Ellaria Arbour (Sandy)

22 year-old female human Druid

Level 22.33

*Invisible*

*Immune to

Sealed

*

*Lucky*

*Encouraged*

Power:

35

70

(Level 22 + WP: 10 +

Power Bonus:

3)

Defense:

3

(SP: 3)

Health:

38/38

(Base HP: 9 + Level bonus: 21 + Class bonus: 7 + Permanent Bonus: 1)

Ether:

34/34

(Base Ether: 5 + Level bonus: 21 + Class bonus: 1 + Artifact bonus: 5 + Permanent bonus: 2)

Gold:

28

Equipment:

Ignis Fatuus (WP: 10;

Fire-

,

Lighting

-elemental; staff), Black Bandana (Power +3; pirate lingo; headwear), Robe of the Archmagi (SP:3; Max Ether +5; Immune to

Sealed

; bodywear), Spirit Robe (Wearer is invisible for the first 3 Rounds of battle so they do not take Free Hits; backwear)

Inventory:

Unlucky Horseshoe (WP: 13; inflicts

Jinxed

; throwing weapon), Sylvania's Crossbow (WP: 7;

Wood

-elemental; crossbow), Wizard's Staff (WP: 1;

Fire

-,

Wind

-,

Water

-,

Earth

-elemental; staff), Pongcanis Spear (WP: 7), Standard-Issue Saber (WP: 5; longsword)

•

Tricorne (SP: 3; headwear), Sterile Gloves (Immune to

Poisoned

and

Badly Poisoned

; handwear),

•

Scroll of Inspiration (

Inspired

; costs 10 Ether; 50/50 chance), Scroll of Sealing,

•

Potion, Grand Potions (2), Health Cores (4), Tonic, Grand Tonics (6), Ether Core, Elixir, Remedy, Neutralizer, Tiger Balm, Phoenix Essences (2), Nostrum, Soma, Deadly Venom, Smoke Bombs (2), Flash Bomb, Fire Bombs (3), Ice Bomb, Lightning Bombs (2), Water Bombs (2), Holy Bombs (2), Bones(2)

•

Bedroll, Pickaxe, Telescope, Magic Compass, Magnifying Glass

Ahvialyn (NPC)

Female elven Rogue

Level 17

Power:

37

(Level 17 + WP: 20)

Health:

23/23

(Base HP: 7 + Level bonus: 16)

Defense:

3

(SP: 3)

Gold:

10

Equipment:

Mythril Dagger (WP: 20; may be used as a melee or a throwing weapon), Elven Plate Armor (SP: 3; bodywear), Cloak of the Elven Spy (Wearer may examine enemy stats before a battle; backwear)

Inventory:

Backup Dagger (WP: 5)

•

Health Core, Grand Potion, Potion, Elixir, Remedy, Smoke Bomb, Venom, Deadly Venom

•

Bedroll

[Wedge09]

"If we open a crack in the door, can you?"

[Brickdoctor]

"If we open a crack in the door, can you?"

"Through the crack in the door, yes. Though I should point out that the Cloak of the Elven Spy shows me how powerful someone is if you were to fight him, not whether or not he's an enemy.

[Sandy]

Ellaria agrees to the plan. At least they would get a good look at who was inside.

"Do it, Ahvialyn, but very stealthily, please!"

[Brickdoctor]

At your command, Ahvialyn slowly nudges open the door, taking a peek through the crack for a split second before whipping her head back and her body away from the door.

"Two men, armed and armored, in brown cloaks with blue tunics under their plate armor. One of them has a sword pointed at the door; the other is sitting down with arms nearby. I didn't get a better look than that."

Unknown

Humanoid

Level:

20

Health:

120/120

Defense:

10

Special:

Shielded Retreat

— <unknown> retreats to the Back Row while Reinforcing himself with his shield, taking halved Damage during the next Round and doubling his Defense for three Rounds.

Drops: ?

Unknown

Humanoid

Level:

25

15

Health:

150/150

Defense:

10

5

Special:

Shielded Assault

— <unknown> charges forwards, shield raised, and bashes his shield into the target, Stunning and dealing Damage ignoring Row to the target.

Passive Special:

<unknown> is currently unarmed. After the first Round, <unknown> will pick up his sword and shield, restoring his Level and Defense to their normal values. <unknown> cannot use

Shielded Assault

during that first Round.

Drops: ?

[Zepher]

"Well, seeing as we'll all be meeting at the inn... I may as well stay with Shawe as we go collect the Duke. Which soldier are we bringing along, Shawe - your's or one of the knights? Either way, let's get moving. Soon as we figure out how these elves feel, one way or another, sooner we secure this town."

[Brickdoctor]

"Well, seeing as we'll all be meeting at the inn... I may as well stay with Shawe as we go collect the Duke. Which soldier are we bringing along, Shawe - your's or one of the knights? Either way, let's get moving. Soon as we figure out how these elves feel, one way or another, sooner we secure this town."

"Actually, the Duke should be at the Inn already. Sir Kadarphazân convinced him to stay somewhere more secure tonight. I'll come by myself and accompany those two."

[Zepher]

"Very well. Nerwen, mage, are we ready to head out?"

[Chromeknight]

Nerwen nods.

Very well. Let us go.

[Flipz]

"I'm ready." And also off to class, unfortunately. I still want to talk to Nerwen alone at some point, dang it!

[Duvors]

"I see. What is your purpose here, Ambassador Wineghilm?"

"The clans of Titaan have stayed aloof from the business of the Free Islands for a long time, but the Wineghilm clan has a new king and it is his belief that our future lies with trade with the Free Islands, now, Eubric may be the largest port in the Free Islands, but it is not the nearest, we plan rather to set up trading posts at either Luosh or Shelbric and transport our goods to Eubric by road, that is where you come in.

The Wineghilms have been unable to decide for Luosh is nearer to us than Shelbric, is on a stable road, and what is more the Bric'lin trading post lies on that road, but Luosh is still recovering from the recent Progg invasion and is in a state of dissaray, Shelbric is farther from us, but on a shorter road so there is less chance of being attacked by bandits, however, to get to Eubric from Shelbric one must pass through R'kilf, where we are now, Rkilf is in a highly unstable state, as you well know, and we cannot commit our goods to such a dangerous route, however, if the situation calms down soon we will be able to send our goods through R'kilf, a situation highly beneficial to the Wineghilms, and to the leaders of R'kilf, in short, if the town stabilizes soon we will send our good trough here, I was sent to examine the political situation in R'kilf to determine if such a change was likely."

[Brickdoctor]

Nerwen and Arthur, you head to the keep to speak to the elves.

The Party at the Keep:

Nerwen Calmcacil (Chromeknight)

262 year-old female elven Shaman

Level 20.67

*Restoration*

*Immune to

Sealed

* *Immune to

Water

* *Party Leader*

Power:

35

(Level 20 + WP: 15 +

Power Bonus:

0)

Defense:

3

(SP: 3)

Health:

40/40

(Base HP: 9 + Level bonus: 19 + Class bonus: 9 + Artifact bonus: 3)

Ether:

30/30

(Base Ether: 5 + Level bonus: 19 + Class bonus: 1 + Artifact bonus: 5)

Gold:

106

Equipment:

Magical Staff (WP: 15;

Water

-,

Darkness

-elemental; staff), Robe of the Archmagi (SP:3; Max Ether +5; Immune to

Sealed

; bodywear), White Cloak (Max HP +3; backwear), Barbarian’s Boots (Restoration; footwear)

Inventory:

Mourning Star (WP: 10;

Fire

-elemental; inflicts

Fragile

-effect; mace), Spider Leg (WP: 8; doubled vs. Flying enemies; spear), Bent Crowbar (WP: 8; 3x damage to Mechanic enemies; hammer),

•

Shackles of War (prevents anyone fleeing; accessory), Crocodile Handbag (Max Ether +2; Immune to

Water

; accessory), Lens of Speed Reading (Allows a scroll to be read in addition to a normal action; suitable for scroll users; accessory)

•

Diamond

•

Scroll of Sleep, Scroll of Sealing, Scroll of Blindness, Scroll of Weakening, Scroll of Confusion, Scroll of Frailty, Scroll of Armor Sundering (SP: -5; 50/50 chance of success), Scroll of Poisoning (Grants target’s weapon the

Badly Poisoned

-effect; costs 5 Ether), Scroll of Luck (

Lucky

; costs 10 Ether)

•

Grand Tonics (3), Tonic, Potions (2), Elixirs (3), Remedies (3), Phoenix Essences (3), Phoenix Incense, Essence of Sorrow (50% assassination chance on non-immune target), Venom, Fire Bombs (2), Ice Bombs (2), Lightning Bombs (2), Water Bombs (2), Dirt Bombs (2), Air Bombs (2), Bone, Milk (restores 15 HP and 15 Ether), Carrot (restores 5 HP, 10 to rabbits), Bright Polish, Raw Meat (Max HP +5), Double Rainbow, Dragon Scales (2)

•

Shovel, Bedroll, Magnifying Glass,

Arthur Justus Regulus VII

, a Hero Who is Actually Worth Something

(Flipz)

21 year-old male human Mystic Knight

Level 26.33

*Immune to

Poisoned

,

Badly Poisoned

, and

Fragile

*

*Lucky*

*Encouraged*

Power:

38

(Level 26 + WP: 12 +

Power Bonus:

0)

Health:

26/41

(Base HP: 5 + Level bonus: 25 + Class bonus: 7 + Permanent bonus: 4)

Ether:

31/31

(Base Ether: 5 + Level bonus: 25 + Class bonus: 1)

Defense:

12

(SP: 7 + SP: 5)

Gold:

363

(Owed 128 Gold by Lord Lawrence Boomingham (Zepher) and 70 Gold by En Sabah Nur (Jebediahs)

Equipment:

Sir Roderick's Sword (WP: 12; longsword), Arm Shield (SP: 7), Duke's Coat-of-Arms ( SP: 5; Immune to

Poisoned

,

Badly Poisoned

, and

Fragile

; suitable for Knights, Dragoons, Skirmishers, and Regulators; bodywear), Zap-Tap Badge (1/2 chance to deal

Electric

-elemental Damage to an opponent who has dealt Damage to a hero, equal to the hero's level; accessory), Overkill Gloves (+1 gold for every point of Damage extra when defeating an enemy; handwear)

Inventory:

Staff of the Cultist Battlemage (WP: 7; 50% chance of Fleeing upon being KO'd; staff), Hollow Blade Dagger (WP: 6; Hollow Blade [Mulled Wine]; dagger), Staff of Ennon (WP: 5;

Light

-elemental; +2 Ether on rolls of 2, 3, 4), Healing Staff (WP: 5; Healing effect), Ammit (WP: 6; +5 Ether for each kill; great sword),

•

Scarf of Misfortune (Wearer deals the

Jinxed

effect on every third round; accessory), Shackles of War (Prevents anyone from fleeing battles; accessory), Cloak of Deception (Free Hits against the wearer have a 1/6 chance to be redirected to a random opponent; backwear), Ancient Crown (First successful strike of battle deals

Cursed

-effect; headwear), Sticky Gloves (Increases the amount of gold stolen by 50%, suitable for Rogues and Beast Warriors; accessory), Stingy Gloves (Prevents enemies from ever stealing gold from the wearer; handwear)

•

Opal

,

Amethyst

,

Topaz

,

Diamond

,

Garnet

,

Sapphire

,

Emerald

•

Scroll of Recklessness (

Encouraged

and

Fragile

; costs 5 Ether; 50/50 chance), Scroll of Blindness, Scroll of Sleep, Scroll of Weakening

•

Grand Potions (11), Remedies (8), Elixirs (4), Nostrums (5), Smelling Salts (3), Meads (5), Jinxy Juices (2), Ether Core, Noxious Venom (

Badly Poisoned

and

Confused

; 3 Rounds), Zoot's Plaything, Chaotic Bomb (100 random elemental Damage), Tesla Bomb (20

Lightnng

-elemental Damage), Tonic, Grand Tonics (12), Double Rainbow (

Encouraged

,

Lucky

,

Confused

, and

Poisoned

), Bright Polish, Ambrosia, Exterlate, Phoenix Essences (2), Emergency Essence, Grating Stone, Smoke Bombs (5)

•

Bedroll, Telescope, Shovel, Magnifying Glass, Pickaxe, Magic Compass

"Ai, heri Nerwen. Haryalmë Naucosta mardemmassë."

Ah, Lady Nerwen. We have your dwarf (negative connotation) in our hall.

The Party at the Inn:

Lord Lawrence Boomingham (Zepher)

46 year-old male human Paladin

Level 26.67

*Counterstriking*

*Immune to

Fragile

,

Sleep

,

Weakened

, and

Blindness

*

*Encouraged*

Power:

42

(Level 26 + WP: 11 +

Power Bonus:

5)

Defense:

12

(SP: 7 + SP: 5)

Health:

49/49

(Base HP: 10 + Level bonus: 25 + Class bonus: 11 + Permanent bonus: 3)

Ether:

25/25

(Base Ether: 0 + Level/Class bonus: 25)

Gold:

3

(Owes 128 Gold to Arthur Justus Regulus VII [Flipz], 1 Gold to Bartholomew Docken [brickdoctor], and 75 Gold to Sorrow [Endgame])

Equipment:

Scupperer (WP: 11;

Darkness

-,

Fire

-elemental; inflicts

Bleeding

and

Badly Poisoned

; great sword) Round Metal Shield (SP: 7), Counterstrike Gloves, Heavy Armor (SP: 5; Immune to

Fragile

), Tome of Affluence (+10 Gold if equipped for the entirety of a battle; Immune to

Sleep

,

Weakened

, and

Blindness

; accessory), *Pseudo's Blessing's Blessing (+4 Power; not an artifact)*

Inventory:

Frozen Saber (WP: 9;

Light

-,

Ice

-elemental; inflicts

Stunned

; great sword),

•

Marksman's Monocle (Misses are rerolled), Hood of Belthazar Bluehood (Power +4; Ether -6; headwear),

•

Garnet

,

Sapphire

,

•

Scroll of Blindness, Scroll of Weakening, Scroll of Fragility, Scroll of Sealing,

•

Meads (5), Mulled Wine, Fire Brandy (

Encouraged

, Immune to

Ice

), Emerald Lamp of Summoning, Hamantasch (

Lucky

,

Blessed

), Admantite Shard (1/4 of a piece of Adamantite), Tonic, Milk,

•

Bedroll

Meanwhile, Boomingham, you go with Sir Isaac to the Inn. Duke Bârbêthân and Sir Kadarphazân are already there. Sir Isaac catches the duke's eye and almost imperceptibly indicates with his eyes in the direction of a room. You move into an empty hallway, and the two men of Patuqun join you there a good ten minutes later.

"Sir Isaac, Lord Boomingham, good to see you again."

The Party in the Keep:

"The clans of Titaan have stayed aloof from the business of the Free Islands for a long time, but the Wineghilm clan has a new king and it is his belief that our future lies with trade with the Free Islands, now, Eubric may be the largest port in the Free Islands, but it is not the nearest, we plan rather to set up trading posts at either Luosh or Shelbric and transport our goods to Eubric by road, that is where you come in.

The Wineghilms have been unable to decide for Luosh is nearer to us than Shelbric, is on a stable road, and what is more the Bric'lin trading post lies on that road, but Luosh is still recovering from the recent Progg invasion and is in a state of dissaray, Shelbric is farther from us, but on a shorter road so there is less chance of being attacked by bandits, however, to get to Eubric from Shelbric one must pass through R'kilf, where we are now, Rkilf is in a highly unstable state, as you well know, and we cannot commit our goods to such a dangerous route, however, if the situation calms down soon we will be able to send our goods through R'kilf, a situation highly beneficial to the Wineghilms, and to the leaders of R'kilf, in short, if the town stabilizes soon we will send our good trough here, I was sent to examine the political situation in R'kilf to determine if such a change was likely."

"Then why, Ambassador Wineghilm, were you accompanying an elven hero of Heroica?"

[Duvors]

"Then why, Ambassador Wineghilm, were you accompanying an elven hero of Heroica?"

"Because my mission to R'kilf is only one of my objectives, I am also on Uland to form ties between Eubric and the Wineghilm clan, to this end I have been temporarily attached to Heroica."

Edited August 30, 2013 by Lord Duvors

[Flipz]

As Arthur walks to the Elven stronghold with Nerwen, he grows quiet. "Will this work?" he asks the Elven shaman somberly.

[Chromeknight]

Nerwen nodded at the guard's information.

I am not surprised. He is difficult. I do hope he is not causing trouble?

Hearing Arthur's quiet question, Nerwen replied.

I do not know. Both sides are stubborn, proud and untrusting. But we must try. Neither side is strong enough alone to eliminate the other and would require our help to do so. However, helping one side over the other is an extremely difficult choice. You will see when we get inside what the elves have done to make this place a home.

You looked troubled this morning, as we were meeting. Is there something on your mind?

[Zepher]

"It is good to see you again too, Duke. You should have told me your business was with House Shadeaux, I'm particularly good friends with them. I must ask you, though, sir, what drew you to them? Gold, no doubt?"

[Flipz]

Nerwen nodded at the guard's information.

I am not surprised. He is difficult. I do hope he is not causing trouble?

Hearing Arthur's quiet question, Nerwen replied.

I do not know. Both sides are stubborn, proud and untrusting. But we must try. Neither side is strong enough alone to eliminate the other and would require our help to do so. However, helping one side over the other is an extremely difficult choice. You will see when we get inside what the elves have done to make this place a home.

You looked troubled this morning, as we were meeting. Is there something on your mind?

"Well...yes. I was...sort of asking two questions at the same time. Three, actually. I wanted to know if you thought the meeting would accomplish anything...but I also wanted to know if we would accomplish anything of worth. 'We' as in us, as a party here...and 'we' as Heroes in general. Or, Hel, four questions--what about 'we' as intelligent beings on the face of Olegaia?"

"Boomingham and Barty say that change for the better can happen, it's just too small for the mortal eye to see--they're dead before it can happen. But Boomingham, for all his years, didn't live through them, and Barty, for his divine immortality, has a...shall we say, limited...view of the world--and given their attitude toward the Syndicate, I'm no longer certain I completely agree with their view on the nature of the universe. I need to know--from someone who's lived long enough to have seen it with their own, unfettered eyes--if there's such a thing as reasonable hope."

[Chromeknight]

Nerwen pondered Arthur's questions.

She turned to face the roguish young man.

There is always hope Arthur. But again, I think I understand the word differently to you.

Let me tell you a story.

Three sons of a man went out at night. It was the time of year when the shooting stars fall from the constellation of the dragon and their father had let them stay up late. He promised them if they stood out in the field they would see a star fall.

The first son did not believe his father's promise. "How can he make a star fall for us to see?", He thought.

The second son believed his father's promise, but was not keen to go. "I'd rather be warm in bed.", He thought.

The third son, the youngest was excited. And he badgered his brothers to accompany him. He believed his father and looked forward with joy to its fulfilment.

The travelled a distance from the house so that the lights could not be seen and the sky was bright and clear. They looked up and...

First one, then another and another, then a reddish one, next two together. They saw star after star shoot across the sky.

They returned home, the eldest carrying the youngest, who had fallen asleep, a contented smile on his face.

And it was the youngest who had reasonable hope, a hope that was realised.

For hope is not a wish or wanting or desire, but a trust in a promise and a looking forward with joy to its coming to pass.

But trust can be difficult to find. The surest way to do so is to be trustworthy yourself. Make promises and keep them. Start with small ones and you will find the bigger ones become easier to bring to pass. And as you keep promises, others will extend theirs to you. This is the way of civilisation and the path of Galadrya and Celeborn, who bring order and harmony.

I promise you, this is a understanding that brings contentment and life. Trust me and look forward with joy to seeing it for yourself.

Perhaps that is not quite what you were asking, but I think you will see how it answers all of your questions somewhat.

Edited August 30, 2013 by Chromeknight

[Wedge09]

"What we do, Ellaria? Seeing the stats, these could be the Knights of Pataqun." asks the elven archer.

[Brickdoctor]

The Party in the Keep:

"Because my mission to R'kilf is only one of my objectives, I am also on Uland to form ties between Eubric and the Wineghilm clan, to this end I have been temporarily attached to Heroica."

"You are using Heroica... What is your purpose, master dwarf, here, in my domain? You have not told me why you demanded to speak with me."

The Party at the Keep:

Nerwen nodded at the guard's information.

I am not surprised. He is difficult. I do hope he is not causing trouble?

"Ui, lá atyáriës ulco... an sí."

No, he has not caused evil... for now.

The Party at the Inn:

"It is good to see you again too, Duke. You should have told me your business was with House Shadeaux, I'm particularly good friends with them. I must ask you, though, sir, what drew you to them? Gold, no doubt?"

"I see. You must forgive me for being cautions in speaking about my plans to support a revolution to travelers I had never met before. Gold is not of large concern for me or my king. The Kingdom of Patuqun has been at war with the Pongcanis tribe of Hochirka for a century. We received word of the rise of the Dread Pirate Indiacca, and we have come to the conclusion that he must be stopped before he can also unite the larger tribes north-west of the Free Islands. In exchange for our support of the resistance, the House of Shadeaux has given us information from their spies regarding the movements and plans of the Pongcanae."

[Duvors]

"You are using Heroica... What is your purpose, master dwarf, here, in my domain? You have not told me why you demanded to speak with me."

"There is a power struggle in R'kilf, the situation is unstable at present, if I was to send in my report now I would have to recommend Luosh instead of Shelbric, but if the situation calms down, if one side come out on top before I return to Eubric to send in my report, I wuold not only recommend to my superiors that we build our post in Shelbric, but also an alliance with the rulers of R'kilf, unless the Poncanae win, in which case the town would be in ruins, in which case we would be forced to build our post in Luosh after all."

[Sandy]

"What we do, Ellaria? Seeing the stats, these could be the Knights of Pataqun." asks the elven archer.

"Knights of Patuqun, you say? So they keep their base here... Let us leave them be for now, and head to the third warehouse that we haven't visited first."

Again Ellaria checks the surroundings and listens at the door before even attempting to enter the warehouse.

[Brickdoctor]

The Party in the Keep:

"There is a power struggle in R'kilf, the situation is unstable at present, if I was to send in my report now I would have to recommend Luosh instead of Shelbric, but if the situation calms down, if one side come out on top before I return to Eubric to send in my report, I wuold not only recommend to my superiors that we build our post in Shelbric, but also an alliance with the rulers of R'kilf, unless the Poncanae win, in which case the town would be in ruins, in which case we would be forced to build our post in Luosh after all."

"That does not answer the question, master dwarf; my patience wears thin. Why are you here to speak to me? What do you try to convince me to do? You have established the situation that you claim to find yourself in; now speak of why this should concern me."

The Party at the Warehouses:

"Knights of Patuqun, you say? So they keep their base here... Let us leave them be for now, and head to the third warehouse that we haven't visited first."

Again Ellaria checks the surroundings and listens at the door before even attempting to enter the warehouse.

You move to the last warehouse. You see nothing out of the ordinary. Listening at the door, you don't hear anything inside, either.