Chaos in the Blood IC

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Waterdeep, City of Splendors and Crown of the North, has not fared well in the six months since the destruction of the Weave and the unleashing of the Spellplague. The city's wards fell, its citizens died, and the splendors that gave the city its name are now but a pale shadow of their former selves. When most of the spellcasters in the city died--or worse, went insane--the city lost much of the magic that brought the city trade, prosperity, and security. Former arcanists who survived the Spellplague sane and in one piece have worked to redevelop arcane magic from the ground up, and these few who have been rediscovering the primal language of magic, as well as the Spellscarred who are using their Spellplague-granted magic for the good of the city, are held in high regard for their service and sacrifice despite the fact that they likely will never return Waterdeep to her former glory.

Those who have learned to draw upon the raw magic left in the wake of the Weave's collapse, however, are viewed in a much worse light. Some are insane arcanists whose Spellplague-induced insanity has given them an instant insight into channeling the raw magic with the same strength as they formerly possessed, the rest of them are normal people who spontaneously gained the ability to work with raw magic instead of the minor gifts of the lesser Spellscarred, but all of them are almost universally loathed and feared. Waterdhavian citizens accuse neighbors and friends of practicing this forbidden "chaos magic," and most of the lawful churches (whose less powerful practitioners of divine magic were shielded from the magical backlash of the Weave's destruction by their patrons) hunt them down to be tried and most likely executed for the good of society. Even the benevolent ones, who discovered their new powers purely by accident and wish only to be left alone, are watched with suspicion for the slightest misstep.

It is this situation in which you all find yourselves. Every week, the churches patrol for newcomers to the city in order to test them for chaos magic ability and question them about any practitioners they might know or have heard of. Waterdhavian citizens are only too happy to comply with the various orders and snitch on newcomers, and they will point out any strangers in the streets to the paladins who make the rounds. You were all found through various means (mostly nosy shopkeeps) in the sector of the city that the Helmites have claimed as their own, and have accepted being turned over to the custody of the paladins of Helm (for now, at least) because you knew that fighting back against the Helmites in plain view of everyone would make you instantly unwelcome and a target for everyone in the city with a blade and a grudge.

You are among a group of three dozen or so non-citizens in the dungeons of Helm's Hall, waiting for the paladins to come interrogate you. Most of the others are humans and elves, though there are a smattering of other races represented here. One dwarf chaos mage, definitely less than sane, tried to blast his way out of the bars an hour ago and brought a full squadron of paladins down on him; since then, everyone is staying clear of the doors. Whispered conversations abound among the small groups that have formed since then, everyone muttering about escape or injustice or unfairness or whatever else they feel the circumstances warrant.

Feel free to introduce your characters, chat with NPCs, whatever, once everyone's character is suitably established, we'll move on with the plot. The OOC thread is here.

[Foryn Gilnith]

A foreign-looking human with two long hair braids sits in a corner, legs crossed in a meditative stance, eyes closed. "Paladins,", he says softly, the words spoken mostly to himself. "And unworthy of the name. Where is their passion? What is their crusade? Any fighter can keep the peace, but divine servants should strive for something better than this dying city." He pauses for a moment, almost as if waiting for something. "Yet their task is still admirable. Some of us are dangerous, and they've left us all our gear. One of the more pleasant prisons I've seen."

Heng isn't (just) insane; he's speaking with his familiar via telepathy. The familiar is ideally burrowed somewhere in the city. The verbalizing helps him focus.

[Nanoblack]

Cade

A scrappy looking halfling with a light beard and a ponytail had been pacing like a wild animal between the various cliques that had developed since their imprisonment. Obviously upset about recent events he was quietly grumbling to himself until the dwarf was slaughtered. Now he's slowly walking around the perimeter of the room, occasionally glancing to the bars as he passes.

Every few minutes he pulls one of the two jugs at his hip and drinks. patting the opposite jug as if to insure it was still there. "How long do they intend to keep us here? I've better things to do than sit here and wait for these pious pigs to watch me die of starvation."

Hopefully they allowed him to keep his jugs, as one is full of ale and the other contains Gru. If not, he's currently communicating with his familiar to check his surroundings.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

You all still have all of your equipment--you're suspects, not prisoners, so they haven't confiscated anything yet. They just don't have any place to keep you all under watch besides the dungeons.

[Noremak]

Ruby

Taking stock of the strange men around her Ruby gently adjusted her three scabbards. These inquisitions were overcrowding the dungeons so much she'd been thrown in with this lot. No matter, she'd been through worse.

Moving to the door of the cell she spent a moment peering up and down the hall (to look for any guards), before turning to the smaller of her two cell-mates, smiling. "Trust me, we all have better things to do, but if experience serves it might be awhile. I expect that sooner or later they will find someone to hang and well be let free, at least till tomorrow."

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Most of the others share your sentiments; mutters of Yeah, paladins shouldn't be on police duty, for the gods' sake! and They had better be feeding us, I'm missing lunch with an important customer for this farce! and You tink 'ey want some 'un t' hang? Lemme at one o' dem prissy elves ov'r 'ere an' I'll give 'em some 'un t' hang 'f it'd get us out o' dis place! reach your ears. Despite the tough talk, however, even those who have been threatening violence shy away from the doors to the cell when a group of seven paladins comes down to begin interrogations.

"Attention, suspects! Suspects will be interrogated two at a time. Suspects will be treated with respect, but there will be order. Any who resist or attempt escape will be punished harshly, with lethal force if necessary." The lead paladin is an imposing figure, a human almost seven feet in height covered in thick plate armor and bearing a massive bastard sword strapped to his back. A bright blue streak, a Spellscar, trails from the back of his clean-shaven scalp past his left ear and down under his collar. "Him, and him," he orders, pointing at random prisoners, and the two are manhandled out the doors to the interrogation rooms.

One prisoner, a gold dwarf in the garb of a merchant of middling wealth, approaches you after the paladins have left. "You lot look like sensible sorts, not like the rest of these wishy-washy do-nothings what can't do nothing more than threaten and whine. I reckon it's a smart move for us canny ones to make friends, ain't it? Name's Dorvar clan Greyslate, but my associates call me Lightfingers." The dwarf's gutter accent and diction are a surprising contrast with his more fancy apparel, but his nickname explains the clash somewhat. "Need goods fenced, gadgets broke, you name it, I do it. Who're all of you and what can you do to get us the Hells out of this here cell? I heard tales of these Helmite stick-up-the-ass know-it-alls, and I ain't trusting to any noble intentions of theirs to get me out of here in one piece!"

[Nanoblack]

Cade
"M' names Cade, Cade Welby, and I ain't been in town for too long. Whats the friggin' deal with these holy tin cans? Roundin' up a bunch of random people just so they can check em for tainted magic?" He flexes his fingers a fex time and takes a seat on the floor, seemingly resigned to let things pass.

[Foryn Gilnith]

Heng rises as Cade sits, turning to face Lightfingers. "I can't imagine how they ever contained actual chaos mages in here," he says casually. "It wouldn't be too difficult to turn into a fly and leave. Or teleport out, I suppose," he continues before clearing his throat. "Assuming raw magic is anything like old Weave-magic, of course. Not like I know any chaos mages personally." The tone in which he says the latter statement implicates him as much as any demonstration could. "So, Lightfingers, you intend to escape? What then? Just avoid the Helmites indefinitely by staying in other parts of the city?

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Lightfingers stares at Heng for an uncomfortable moment. "I were planning to...maybe leave the city...seeing as how now that the paladins are running the place...they ain't too friendly to them like myself," he says haltingly. "Maybe I...." He bites his lip for a moment, then the rest of his words come out in a rush: "Look here, are you really a chaos mage or ain't you? 'Cause you sound awful like you know what they can do." He glances shrewdly over at Cade and Ruby. "And you, Cade, and you, Miss Ain't-Given-a-Name-Yet, are you two chaos mages too? Ain't got nothing against it, you hear," he hurriedly assures you all, "just...like to know for sure, that's all."

[Nanoblack]

Cade

He frowns at the incriminating question with malice in his eyes. "If I could explode stuff with my mind, do ya think I'd be sittin' in here rotting with all these ne'er do wells?" He wasn't going to admit anything to someone he just met, sure as hell not with an army of paladins in the next room. "I could care less about these casters and their 'risks'. I just want to get the hell out of Dodge any way I can."

[Foryn Gilnith]

Heng's jocular grin fades into a tight-lipped frown. "I...had friends," he says, voice wavering. "They had the magic. It's a great thing, but one of them was unhinged by it. And then I had no friends." He slouches, as if dejected, which brings his face closer to Lightfingers. "Do have some magic items, though. Could help," Heng whispers in a cheerier voice before unhooking a thin mithral cylinder from his belt.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Bluff checks
Cade: [roll0]
Heng: [roll1]

Lightfingers' Sense Motive checks
vs. Cade: [roll2]
vs. Heng: [roll3]
"Well, ain't that a right relief," Lightfingers replies. "Well, not a relief, exactly, 'cause if you was chaos mages you could blast us out of here, but 'cause them chaos mages are right tricky sorts." He narrows his eyes and glances between Cade and Hend. "Speaking of right tricky sorts, I don't think you're being straight with me. I asked you a yes or no question, and none of you said no. Now, for serious, are you or ain't you?" He looks over his shoulder toward the cell doors, and moves a bit to better block the view. "No need to say it aloud, just show me...something. You can trust me, y'know."

[Noremak]

Ruby rolled her eyes, typical men, all ready to start breaking things without a plan. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I have no problem having them let me out of this cell." She eyed Lightfingers, "I never trust anyone who says I can trust them, and I especially don't trust someone who has such a misunderstanding for the powers of chaos. Its not all about blasting things aside, a smart chaos mage is much more subtle." Moving away from the rest of the prisoners and closer to these three, she lowered her voice. "If we are going to get out of here what is your plan? Killing everyone in our way will just get us killed."

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Lightfingers' eyes brighten, and he whispers conspiratorially, "So you are a chaos mage! That'll come in handy for sure. And you really can trust me," he adds in a wounded voice. "If we was to meet on the streets before, I might've been inclined to liberate some of your cash--it's just business--but I don't mess with friends. And I do think of you folks as friends, I hope you don't mind." Looking around once again to check for guards looking at them, he lowers his voice and says, "Of course I weren't planning to just walk up to the bars and try to bust my way out of here; that's suicide, and besides I ain't exactly a fight-fair kind of guy. We got to be tricky. That's why I were looking at you folks as likely help. You notice that they're taking us two at a time for to ask us some pointed questions with some pointed bits of metal? Well, I figure there are two ways we can do this, the nice way and the selfish way."

He holds up one finger. "The nice way first: When the paladins come to take people, we stand near the doors and make it convenient for them to grab two of us, and when the two inside the cells make a distraction of some sort--you'd know best what you can do--the ones outside can smash the locks and everyone escapes in the press." He holds up a second finger. "The other way: If we can get two of us next to the doors, when the paladins come to take people, we make it convenient for them to grab the other two, and the two inside just smash their way out when some paladins are inside and some are outside and everyone runs." He smiles for a second, then with a more serious expression adds, "Course, I'm saying we smash locks and stab paladins 'cause that's what I can mostly do; if any of you folks can be more sneaky-like or charm the guards or what have you, that'd be a sight better."

[Nanoblack]

Cade

The tired halfling raises an eyebrow at Lightfinger's earnest show of trust. "What makes you so sympathetic towards these chaos mages anyways? Seems like everybody else around here thinks they should just be wiped out like a plague." As he speaks, he turns his head to face the bars, watching for the presence of any guards and any discernible pattern thereof.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

"We-e-ell...." Lightfingers draws out the word and looks like he's forcing himself not to look around anxiously again and make the guards suspicious. "Since you're being straight with me, I reckon I can tell you." He pulls up his left sleeve, and you see the tail end of a Spellscar trailing down and around his arm. "I got hit by the Spellplague too, and it weren't chaos magic what I got, but when I figured out what I could do, well...I may have kinda suggested...in an indirect kind of way...that I were a chaos mage, as part of a...what some folks might be inclined to call...an extortion racket. So even though I ain't any more of a chaos mage than that Sir Blue-and-Balding in charge of the Helmites, there are a ton of folks in the city who'd be willing to swear that I proved I were a chaos mage, and when the paladins detect they're telling the truth, no amount of claiming I lied about the whole thing is gonna save me."

He fidgets at the admission and says, "So I reckon that I can understand what chaos mages go through, seeing as I got picked up when a friend of one of the ladies I scammed got her panties in a bunch and called the Helmites up right quick as soon as she saw a 'known chaos mage' in the area. A bunch of men--really burly orcs--believed her, no questions, and I'm only here and not a smear in some back alley 'cause when I heard them coming I ran out, blasted the stone behind me, and told the Helmites the orcs were the chaos mages she were talking about, and those paladins weren't powerful enough to detect lies so they hauled the lot of us over here."

[Noremak]

"I suppose that makes sense. Well then I guess you are trust worthy enough." Ruby grins looking back over her shoulder at the cell door. "I have an idea to get the four of us out of here, give me a few seconds, and behave yourselves when the guards show up." She took a few steps toward the door, watching carefully for the guards who were to take them from the cell to arrive. She needed them to see what she was doing, but had to be sure she'd have enough time to cast the weave before they opened the door...

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Ruby makes her way over to the cell doors, and the rest of you meander in that direction as well, waiting for the paladins to return to trigger the plan. A few minutes later the sound of a door opening echoes down the stairs, and two paladins come into view dragging two prisoners who seem a bit the worse for wear. Ruby begins chanting ominously and dancing in vaguely-arcane-looking patterns; the real chaos mages among you know them to have nothing to do with chaos magic, but the rest of the prisoners do not, and they stumble away from her with cries of Look out! Magery! and She's casting something!

The paladins coming down the stairs drop their prisoners unceremoniously and draw their swords while those guarding the cell move to open the door, all of them muttering prayers to Helm and making warding gestures. As the door bursts open, Ruby stops dancing and chanting. One of the paladins moves to silence her with extreme prejudice, but a second one pulls a pair of manacles from his belt and growls, "You're lucky the Lord Commander ordered your release; trying to fool us into thinking you're a chaos mage would earn you a particularly thorough questioning otherwise." He and the remaining paladins have clapped manacles on Ruby and escorted her and the others out of the cell, locking it behind them, before the first paladin hisses, "What do you mean, he ordered their release? Lord Raventhorne said nothing of the sort!" The second paladin looks at the first like he's a bit dim, saying "Yes, Jared, yes he did," very slowly and clearly. The others nod agreement.

"I was standing right there with you, and he said nothing of the sort," argues the first paladin--Jared--and after a moment of thoughtful silence adds, "Hold on, Coland, what if one of them enchanted you? Getting released is exactly what a chaos mage would want, and releasing a group of them would conceal which one's the real mage if one of us--like me--wasn't affected." Jared rolls his eyes. "What's more likely, that you just didn't hear an order or that these mages managed to bewitch three paladins?" "You mean the mages that can perform acts of magic like those that wizards used to be able to do?" "You were in the monastery your entire life before the Spellplague; you haven't seen what those wizards could do. Chaos mages are nothing!" "Right, so 'nothing' that we're charged with executing them because they specialize in death and destruction and, oh, corruption and mental manipulation?" "...ah."

The heated argument has carried you all up the stairs and past the doors, and when it subsides, you are in the main temple complex. The three ensorcelled paladins begin giving the four of you a strange look, not quite trusting their memories, but the subterfuge has gotten you out of the cells, at least. "Tell you what, why don't we put manacles on the others of you and gag you all," asks Jared in a falsely-cheerful voice. "If you're not a chaos mage, your innocence will be proven later, and no harm done in the meanwhile." The others pull out manacles and gags and look to be about to carry out this threat.

You guys get a surprise round to try to Bluff or Diplomacy your way out of things, fight it out, or whatever else; we move into combat rounds after that.

[Nanoblack]

Cade

For a second there he though they were really going free, but now these paladins were really starting to grate on his nerves. "Look, if you guys are just gonna stand around and argue about what your captain said to do with us, one of you and Mr. know-it-all may as well go check with your commander so everybody can be on the same page. We're cuffed and I'm pretty sure you got the last of the mages earlier when that psycho tried to blow the door off the hinges, so I'm pretty sure one of you paladins should be able to keep us lot in line." He frowns at those holy tin cans, especially the ones who didn't resist the spell.

He'll wait for them to walk off before continuing. "And I swear to helm, if I have to sit in that cage with those psychotic bums any longer, I'm gonna report to your superiors that you're putting innocents in danger by forcing them into those tight little cells with the same mages you're hunting down! I don't think endangering all of these people is listed anywhere in your scripture."

Haha, a bit of inspiration that could easily backfire. If the first bit doesn't get any of em to leave, he'll continue anyway. Well lets pray to the RDG.
Intimidate:[roll0]
I'll roll diplomacy if you need me to, but I'm really counting on that last part to sink in.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Note that only Ruby is in cuffs, as she was the only obvious threat; Cade, Heng, and Lightfingers are all unrestrained.

Cade's used his surprise action, everyone else still has a chance to act.

Checks vs. Intimidate
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]

Cade's Bluff (saying that he's sure you all aren't chaos mages)
[roll4]

Paladins' Sense Motive
[roll5]
[roll6]
[roll7]
[roll8]

EDIT: Ooh, Cade, you lucky bastard, you. :smallamused:
The paladins let your comment about the psychopathic chaos mage pass unremarked, though Jared still seems a bit suspicious of you. The other three don't appear to like the thought of this Lord Raventhorne hearing that they mistreated several innocents and endangered still more. Coland hesitates for a moment, thinking, then with great reluctance says, "Well...maybe--just maybe, I'm not saying you are--maybe you're right about this, Jared. You're pretty good with interrogations and such...but this is Lord Raventhorne we're talking about. You two," he snaps to the others, making a sudden decision, "go find Lord Raventhorne and ask him about this. We'll keep an eye on them."

The two paladins indicated look a bit uneasy about leaving Coland and Jared outnumbered, but they salute Coland and march off to find their superior. Coland settles into an easy, confident stance as if expecting no trouble from the four of you, while Jared lifts his bastard sword into a close guard and steps up next to his companion, obviously expecting you to try something even if you aren't actually chaos mages.

[Noremak]

Ruby works her hands uneasily in her cuffs. She hated being bound, it made dancing so hard and reminded her of Thay. Knowing her spell was still going, she decided to try and push them along. "Look, you already know your orders. Why doubt your superiors command? Besides, look at us, do we really look like we'd be that hard to find if you let us go?"

She began to work her hands around in the cuffs, they were constricting her blood flow, she could feel them tightening on her wrists. She had to get them off soon, but getting free from the inquisitors was first. "None of us has caused any trouble, and I was just playing around before. What do we have to hide from you? Just let us go."

A bunch of bluffs and a few weak diplomacy checks latter...

[PairO'Dice Lost]

"Just let you go?" Coland snorts with derision, not looking in the slightest like he cares whether Ruby is telling the truth or not. "Woman, I don't care if you're as sweet and pure as Mielikki herself, I'm not just letting you go if Raventhorne's going to smite me for it later. Though," he adds, looking slightly guilty about cuffing a supposedly-innocent suspect, "I can take the manacles off if that would make you feel better."

Jared looks at you all warily and, without lowering his guard, asks, "Sir, do you really think that's wise?" Coland shrugs as he pulls his keys from a pocket and unlocks Ruby's cuffs. "Look, if those orders are real like I think, they're either all innocent or all guilty, in which case we're either in no danger at all or outnumbered two to one anyway," he says matter-of-factly. "And if those orders are fake like you think, and one of them actually managed to hoodwink three Vigilant Eyes," he adds sardonically as he stows the keys and manacles, "then we're already out of our depth. Besides, you can take the little lady in a fight, can't you?" Ignoring Coland's smirk at that last remark, Jared moves nearer to Ruby to cover her more closely with his weapon.

The circumstance penalties on trying to Bluff or Diplomacize a paladin into straight-out disobeying what he believes to be a direct order are quite substantial, even before adding in the penalties for said bluffs coming from a suspected eeeevil mage. You'll have to be a bit more subtle than that. :smallwink:

[Noremak]

Ruby breathed a sigh of relief as the cuffs came off, smiling she whispered a thank you to Coland under her breath. For all the trouble they caused the paladins where still good after all and it was liberating to be free of the bonds. She gently flexed her fingers and shook her hands freeing up the blood flow to them.

Turning her attention from Coland to Jared she smiled as she spoke, "I don't know why you are so nervous about little old me, a big strong warrior like you needed be afraid of a dancer." She wiggled her hips slightly, showing off her unarmored form. "Besides, once were out of here maybe you two would be interested in seeing me dance? There is a club not too far from where you boys picked me up where I frequent, you are both always welcome." She winked and smiled seductively to both of the guards men. She was doing her best to draw the attention of both of them away from her comrades. The half formed plan she'd used to get them out of the cell was unraveling and Ruby was out of ideas. Not sure what to do next, she looked to the other suspects to see if they were going to try anything as she continued to flirt with the men.
I realized that too late, but at least I got one thing I wanted. *Waves freed hands* :smallsmile:

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Coland rolls his eyes at Ruby. "My wife wouldn't approve." Jared smirks cheekily. "Don't have one." Then he frowns, and adds, "You know, she's been trying awfully hard to convince us to let her leave," with a sidelong glance to the other paladin. "I think she's got a guilty conscience."

[Noremak]

Doing her best to show mock surprise at his statement, Ruby smiles coolly at the guard. "My line of work is one where I get paid for what I do. Every moment I spend in here is one I don't spend out there making sure I can make a living." She moves closer to the guard, gently touching his shoulders, "But if you don't have a lady to keep you company, maybe we can make each other’s time worth it." She smiles, walking around slowly him tracing his armor with her fingertips. Looking over his shoulder, so that the other guard can’t see, she flashes the other prisoners an expression of growing worry. Her spell was quickly wearing off their minds, and she really did want to get going, but it was up to them to come up with a plan.

[Nanoblack]

Cade

No longer worried about being overwhelmed by the guards, Cade was now tired of trying to talk these two stupid paladins down. They asked for it. "Shoulda let us go."

With a quick hop, he sends himself toward the one Ruby wan't fondling and sends a flurry of punches. Each time one of his fists fly toward their target, a small distortion in the air seemingly swells his arm to twice its size.

Swift:Activating mighty boast:+2 hit and damage
Full attack(rapid fist):
Attack2:[roll1]
Attack3:[roll2]
If two attacks hit: Follow through at same bonus as second attack:[roll3]
Damage:[roll4]+1d4+1 chaos damage
+1d4+1 chaos damage
+1d4+1 chaos damage
+1d4+1 chaos damage

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Cade's target manages to dodge the first punch purely on instinct, but the next two connect solidly, driving the air out of his lungs. Coland is caught off-guard by the attack, but going by his expression he isn't surprised that Cade turned out to be less than innocent. He takes a step back and shouts up the stairs "Roram! Aster! It was a trick! Get back here!" Looking betrayed, Jared wrenches himself away from Ruby, mutters "I told you" to Coland, and regains his grip on his sword.

Surprise round: Ruby and Lightfingers can act (Lightfingers after all the PCs), and if Foryn is still around Heng Yi can as well. Then we'll roll intiiative and move into rounds.