"No, those were here when we... I first went in. Over four thousand gongs ago, now."

"How long is a gong...?" She has no idea how long these people live. 

"There were supposed to be two gongs a day-cycle, but it drifted over the years because we didn't always have a cleric to tell time. Now we have Dyra so we fixed it so it's two gongs for every time she gets spells, but the ones we counted right before then were too short by as much as... one part in six?"

"But it's supposed to be two a day, got it. --Is Dyra the first--sorry, not urgent. Anyway, if the goat heads aren't new, that's what matters." 

The next door is closed, but proves to be unlocked. There are lit candles in sconces on the other side, suggesting recent occupation, but their light doesn't cover most of the room.

"That hall is several times longer than the part we can see," Wenduag warns.

"Now that probably really is an ambush."

"There's a crusader saying I've heard," Lucette murmurs, "that an ambushed ambush isn't very nice." 

"Say more? You have Light as a spell, right - do you want to do the old trick with throwing a lit pebble and then seeing which side can out-shoot the other?" That's not exactly a counter ambush, just forcing the fight on equal terms.

They could also try to lure them out with illusions if Lucette has those, or just by talking to them. If there really are human cultists of Baphomet they might be susceptible to lies, bribes and slander.

"Or I suppose one of us could step out and pretend to be unaware, so they come over here and into our counter-ambush, but that rather assumes they won't just shoot us on sight."

"Lann, Wenduag, do you expect to be able to shoot through a relatively narrow door-opening?"

"If we can see the target and have a clear line of sight, sure, but if there's only one place we can stand to hit a target we'd get in each other's way, so we might not both get a shot off. And we can't hit the near corners of the room from here, but those are practically in melee range anyway."

"Well, this door isn't stuck, so we can close it after they've coherently reacted to the first shot or shots. It's a chokepoint for us as well as them, so if we control the door..."

"We can try it. It might not work if they take more than a couple of arrows to kill and move out of range or something. But it'd be an easier shot for us than for them."

Lucette grabs a pebble, Lights it, and hurls it through the doorway. 

This reveals two men with crossbows kneeling outside the circle of candlelight (to present a smaller profile).

They fire as soon as they have a clear target, but the opening is small and they're not great at aiming; one bolt thwacks into the door and the other flies by Lann's ear. 

Lann's response arrow doesn't miss.

(Wenduag tries to figure out some kind of smooth shoot-and-move, but it's actually really hard, they haven't practiced for this!)

How about a magic missile from each of them, those don't miss.

Thaaat is maybe a great reason to switch out with Wenduag actually!

Now the first enemy has a second arrow sticking out of him.

Shooting from behind a half-open door? That's a great strategy actually, how about we try it.

The two men flee through a side-door in long hall, leaving it half-open.

By the pebble's Light, they can see a big pile of rubble blocking the long hall, just past where the two men tried to ambush them.

"That rubble wasn't there... it must be from the earthquake." Indeed, the ceiling above it has a big rent in it. "The hall is about as long again on the other side. There are several doors; the one I think leads to the city is on the far end, there are stairs."

"They could get reinforcements, prepare a bigger ambush or try to rush us. What do we do?"

"Well, I should be able to fly over the rubble just fine...I bet we could move enough of it that everyone else could get through." 

"They could hit us from behind if we do that. Wenduag, what's past that door?"