The City of Doors

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Caer

After what has been the start of a rather boring day at Balthazar’s office, scribing and organizing paper work, Caer finds himself (as is usual) in the Great Bazaar of the Clerk’s ward. Balthazar didn’t have much work left for Caer and decided he could take the afternoon off as long as he ran a few errands in the Bazaar for him and stayed out of trouble. Caer spends most of his afternoons and other free time in the Bazaar. You get an interesting mix of people in the there: from your Devas and other infernal types to the hoighty toighty rich folks down from the Lady’s Ward for an afternoon on the town with the “lower people”. If a cutter’s looking for adventure, he doesn’t have to look very hard in the Bazaar. After palming a snack from one of the nearby vendors, distracting him with some voices just behind him as Caer passes by, Caer continues on through the marketplace, looking for something worth his time. Out of the corner of his eye, he catches a glimpse of what could be his next mark.


A crotchety old man waddling down the street with that looks of amazement and complete rapture. It’s pretty easy to spot the new ones, especially for someone with a sharp eye like Caer. Those sharp eyes also happened to spot a rather stylish looking phanny pack, clearly over laden with coins resting under the old man’s paunch.

Miibaax

After countless years of study and searching for the portal, he and the archmage Yuthan discover the secret to unlocking a portal to Sigil, the City of Doors. The door was in the crammed attic of a castle just outside of Chugal. The key to the door was said to be “The most precious gift we all forget”. Wracking their brains, eventually Miibaax stood infront of the door and let out a great sigh of resignation when all of a sudden the portal lit up. Realizing his brilliance, Miibaax rushed to Yuthan, exclaming the great news. Yuthan was shocked and excited. However, Yuthan was old, veeeeery old at this point and never had any great ambitions of exploration. He was one of study and prefered the library. So, they both decided that the adventurous, (comparitively) young Miibaax would venture forth on his own. Exhaling infront of the portal once more, the little cupboard in the attic lit up once again with a deep crimson, as if to invite Miibaax on the adventure of a lifetime.

On the other side of the portal, Miibaax finds himself crawling out of a sewage grate (he can tell by the smell) onto the streets of Sigil. After dusting himself off and stiffy rising to standing, he looks around to see what these streets have in store for him. But this is not any ordinary street. This street is jam packed with carts, stalls, caravans, huts, and every other imaginable structure selling just about every imaginable thing. From the mundane to the wondorous to the strange, this market place had it all. Foods, magic, tools, and gadgets out of a wild day dream plastered to the sides of wagons or on display in grand showcases. Looking down the street, he sees that this bazaar stretches out down the street as far as the eye can see with tents and canvas covering all of this fairytale market. Chants and calls from the nearby carts catch his ear, “Keep your case free of Razorvine. 5 gold for a bottle. Best you can buy for your jink! Don’t be peery, ain’t no peel here!”. As he continues down the street he hears more of the same, “Best deal, no peel!”, or, “Only a berk could refuse such a price”. All of a sudden, he bumps into a large, horned creature with red skin and spines all down it’s back. It snorts at him and says something to him in some unidentifiable language. As if blinded by the pandemonium of the markets, he begins to notice the whole myriad of creatures that bustle to and fro down the crowded streets. Some looks more recognizable like dwarves and elves. But some looks like wild storybook fantasies. Tiny faeries, towering ogre-like monstrosities and everything in between pass down the streets, stopping at stalls and arguing loudly, ostensibly heckling for the best deals they can get.


Raith

Take a second to think about the power of a favor. I'm not talking about someone paying for your lunch, and you paying him back the next week. I'm talking about the kind of favor that unless someone helped you out, you'd be left sweating for a while. We all have people we owe real favors to. When they call them in, you would drop everything you had to help them out, ‘cause without that favor you wouldn’t be there. Not to mention, if you owe that favor to the Five Omens, it puts quite the spring in your step when they finally call that favor in. The Five Omens were one of Sigil’s many criminal families. This would make them quite forgettable within the City of Doors, except for the fact that its membership consisted mostly of rakshasa, a race of shapeshifters who fancied the taste of humanoid flesh. Unfortunately for Raith, he was quite deep in the red as far as the Five Omens were concerned. They broke Raith out of prison after he ran afoul of the Harmonium. Without their help, Raith would have would have found himself on the way to the infamous Harmonium prison on Carcari, or an early grave if the Mercykillers had their say.

The Five Omens’ courier had been brief and to the point. “The Grinning Gentleman is a threat to our business. Eliminate him and your debt to us will be repaid. If you do not accomplish this task, we will repossess the life that you owe us.” The courier did not say much else, except that the Grinning Gentleman was a criminal who operated a rival gang out of the Hive.

That was how Raith found himself outside The Watering Hole, a tavern within the Hive that had the peculiarity of catering to clientele from the Elemental Plane of Water. The courier said this where he could find his quarry. The entrance revealed a damp staircase that led to a damp room with a bar. The lower level was filled with an ankle deep layer of water, with half of the room dropping off suddenly into a deeper pool filled with murky water. Raith could barely make out tunnels in the pool that led deeper underground. This partof the tavern was clearly meant to cater to the customers that were not able to breath water. The tables and chairs were all made out of stone, as most other materials would be ruined by the water. A few coral decorations are on the walls, and the dim light in the room is provided by bioluminescent moss on the ceiling. Manning the counter is a Sahuagin, who passes a sealed flask to an amorphous mass standing inside the pool. A prehensile tentacle emerges from the mass and takes the flask, after which the being dives into the pool.

There are a few humans around, most of them look like laborers from the lower ward. They faint smell of brimstone permeates the air around them. There is another group sitting at their own table. Three thuggish looking men are sitting around a table. Also at their table is a man who matches the courier’s description of the Grinning Gentleman. He is older man who looks around forty, and is dressed in a well tailored suit, with a cane at his side. They are drinking and are engaged in casual conversation. They pay no attention to you when you enter the room.


Reylin

Fortunately for Reylin, the association of Sigilian merchants known as the Free League had an outpost in Maraaviaavar. Between the cold disposition of the inhabitants towards outsiders, and the city’s architecture being designed for a race capable of flight, the city had very few inhabitants of the Elemental plane of Air. The outpost was a rare exception. Trade with Sigil brought goods that one could not find anywhere else. During Reylin’s brief time in the military, he was involved in a sortie to rescue some Sigilian merchants who had gotten stranded in a massive storm. Reylin breifly became acquainted with one of the merchants. When Reylin went to her for help, she told him about the portal that she used to travel to Sigil. She warned that it was not the safest part of the city on the other side.

Armed with this information and the gate’s key, a feather from an adult arrowhawk, Reylin travelled through the portal. The first thing that struck him was the smell. The constant winds through the Plane of Air dispersed most odors and kept them from accumulating, here he smelled the grime and wastes of thousands. The other thing that struck him was the sky. All of Reylin’s life he was used to having open spaces as far as he could see in any direction. Here everything was confined and compact. When he glanced straight up, he did not see a great void like he was used to, but the distant lights and shapes of building on the other side of the torus that Sigil was built in.

When Reylin drags his attention back to his immediate surroundings, he notices that the portal opened about one hundred feet above the city streets. He is above a dirty street paved with broken cobblestone. Around him are broken down homes, closely packed together. He notices a young human boy and girl playing at an intersection in the street. They are dressed in worn, ragged clothing. In the distance, there are two men walking towards the children. A second look shows that they are quite dead, the flesh is torn and they pay no heed to their injuries. Bronze amulets rest on both of their necks. The children have not yet noticed the zombies.

Ermina

After hearing about the mishap in the Grove of the Unicorns, Ermina decides she would be best suited to investigate the goings on in Sigil that lead to the deaths. Hopefully, her success would be acknowledged by Ehlonna with her good favor. Eagerly, she sets out to the large portal by the grove where the incident occurred and hopped through the portal. Ermina doesn’t know too much about portals but enough to know that you need a key, and for this particular portal, that key is a wild flower, a pink fox orchid. Fortunately, these flowers grow all around the portal so anyone may use the portal as they need, with the permission of the guards surrounding it of course. Since no one gave her permission to use the portal itself, she put her own skills to use, putting the guard on duty to sleep and slipping through in the dead of night. On the other side, she found herself in Sigil: a city of stone and dust and dirt and steel. Yet, in this city of the unnatural, she found herself in a grove, a quaint, quiet and natural place, home to the priests of Ehlonna. In contrast to the serenity of the grove is the fence that surrounds it. It is a high metal railing covered in strange, spiked vines that give Ermina an vibe that they are unnatural in origin. The fence appears to be a recent addition to the area. The varied Sigilians seem to found the grove off-putting, as they quicken their steps to pass by. A statue of Ehlonna that once stood outside the gate is defaced, as some person crudely carved across her chest the words “PIKE OFF”. Around the portal grows another ring of pink fox orchids, dancing in the wind just like in the Beastlands. In front of her stood the small temple of Ehlonna, where a small group of priests come out when they notice your arrival. “Peace fellow servant of the Goddess Ehlonna, what brings you to Sigil?”.

[WyvernBlade]

Some cracking sounds are heard as Miibaax straightens from out of the sewer. "Ohh my back's sore.

Once Miibaax has recovered and regained his focus he is truly awed by the sheer size of Sigil. "I have read about this size of Sigil but I did not fully grasp the seer enormity of it. Well there is nothing for it now, I'll just have to force these old bones to go farther. But I better mark down this manhole in case I ever decide to go back." Miibaax says seemingly to his pocket as he pulls out a old leather notebook from his phanny pack. "Well that should let us recognize this place. Now what's next on my list. Ah, check. Hmm, yup. Umm, Alrighty Psidkik we best be finding an inn if we want a roof over our head by nightfall."

Miibaax starts shuffling down the street, then stops. "Hrm, I best ask someone where a good inn is before I walk any further." Miibaax looks for an individual who looks to know their way around and seems to have a good disposition. "Ho there, would you be so kind as to help an elderly man find a good inn to stay at? I am looking for one that is not too pricey, but nice. Oh and preferably relatively close by. My knees tend to disagree with distances.
Diplomacy roll:[roll0]

[The Big Orc]

Stumbling towards the bar, Raith slams down a handful of copper onto the counter and spits out a word "Bub". Before the Sahuagin can react, Raith is already staggering away. He eventually gets to the Gentleman's table, swaggering in, barely keeping his feet as he gets to the left side of the Gentleman. Placing a hand on his left shoulder as a distraction, Raith asks, "What's the Chant?" as he buries the knife concealed up his right sleeve into the Gentleman's neck.

yay action!
the handful of copper would have been 6cp
Bluff for appearing drunk [roll0]
Bluff for distracting the Gentleman [roll1]
Sleight of Hand for the concealed dagger [roll2]
Attack [roll3]
Damage [roll4]
Sneak Attack Damage [roll5]
Initiative [roll6]

[Arkady]

Reylin observes the scene for a few more moments, and then leaps from the portal. Locking his wings, he begins to glide in a tight circle that will land him between the children and the shambling zombies. While still in the air he pulls free his quarterstaff. Upon landing, he takes a non-threatening stance, and waits to see how the zombies and the children will react.

Reylin also makes a knowledge check against the zombies, and more particularly about their amulets. Let's hope this first roll attempt works... [roll0] (as a note, I added the Int modifier myself this time, would you prefer we just give you the die rolls and let you decide the mod next time?)

[Arkady]

Dang, I don't know if that roll worked or not, if it didn't here is my attempt at trying again.... [roll0]

[ErminaPix]

After the initial effects of absorbing her new surroundings wore off, Ermina shook herself from her stupor and faced her fellow followers. "Greetings, fellow worshipers of Her Grace. I come bearing news of the utmost of tragedies, yet it appears as if you are not without your own. As of late, a great surrow has engulfed the Grove of the Unicorns, for the killing of innocent children is forgotten not and forgiven never. A mere two days ago, rampaging night beasts came through the portal from Sigil and 3 young fae were trampled to death. I am here to bring word, and to bring the mastermind(s) behind this heinous act to justice." As she speaks, Ermina flies around the grove, examining the fence and thorns.

Knowledge nature check [roll0] on thorns
Knowledge arcana check [roll1] on fence
Knowledge spellcraft check [roll2] on fence

"I came seeking justice, and yet I cannot ignore the hatred surrounding us. I shudder just looking at the atrocious acts committed against Her good name. Good friends, what in the name of the Balance has occured in this place of peace?" Ermina's hand hovers inches from the surface of the fence. "Oh, but first, tell me... what type of metal is this?"

[Daphoa]

Sizing up the old man, Caer immediately ducks off to a side alley. This should be fun goes through his head as Caer quickly casts and illusive spell on himself.

Now disguised Caer walked up to the old man about to introduce himself, when the old man spoke up. Ho there, would you be so kind as to help an elderly man find a good inn to stay at? I am looking for one that is not too pricey, but nice. Oh and preferably relatively close by. My knees tend to disagree with distances.

Oh... the berk. He's making it too easy

Ho there yourself! he starts off playfully. What luck a sod - erm, human - like yourself came across me. I happen to be just in the business of showing new people around. Oh by the way, my name is Reac. What's yours?

(Assuming no detailed response to the name question:) So I could bring you to the nearest inn, but are you sure you don't want a look around? The Cage is a mighty fine place to be and there's so much going on. We're in no rush of course. he finishes looking at the old man's knee.

Disguise Self - disguising myself as a slightly very attractive short human male
DC 17 to disbelieve (if physically interacted with)
Lasts 1 hour

Also as he's speaking he'll be doing his best to evaluate how well guarded the money pouch is.

[Rofltrollcopter]

Raith

As you approach the Gentleman, you begin to feel an overwhelming sense of camaraderie with him and all thoughts of harming, much less killing, the gentleman quickly leave your head. As you approach the gentleman’s table, you overhear him say to the other men at the table “... Or we can all sit down and sort this out like civilized folk”. He glances up at you and face breaks into a smile.“I don’t think I have seen you around here before, tell my friend, what brings you to The Watering Hole? Besides the fine bub of course, which you seem to have over-indulged in. Please, take a seat.” The Gentleman motions to one of the large men sitting across from him, and of them stands up and offers Raith his seat.

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Reylin:

Though Reylin has little personal experience with the undead, he can tell that the corpses are zombies. he is not sure of much else regarding their nature. The amulets are each inscribed with a single symbol that you do not recognize. There legs are caked in a layer of mud and other refuse. The scent of the waste mixed with the rotting flesh results in a very unpleasant smell. The zombies appear to take little heed of your presence and continue to approach the children. You notice they are carrying rusted metal spades and are dragging them behind themselves as they walk, grinding along the cobblestone with a dull screeching sound. As they get closer, you hear them mumbling to themselves incomprehensibly.

The boy points up at you " 'Ey Trish, that cutter is flying he is." The girl responds him "keep yourself peery, 'e likes like he's out-of-touch".

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Ermina

Ermina cannot determine if the fence contains any magical properties, or if its structure is meant to interact with magical energies. As for the vines, Ermina recognizes them as razorvines, a plant native to the lower planes. It is a twining climber whose lush, glossy black leaves conceal blade-sharp stems. A person cannot touch it with his bare hands without getting slashed. Once more, the razor edges are so fine, they'll slice through cloth and cheap leather, too. Properly cured leather or something like a chain mail mitt's the only safe way to pick the cursed weed. Anybody really wanting to grow the stuffs going to suffer for their folly at the least. When the vine is severed from the roots, it quickly dries and becomes brittle. Its only good for fuel at that point.

The priests exchange nervous glances Many of the people in Sigil have not taken kindly to the message of Ehlonna. Some of them have seen fit to attempt to desecrate the grove. It was nessecary to install the fence in order to ensure the sancity of this sacred space, and peaceful worship for Ehlonna's petitioners. As for the statue... The priest frowns. "I suspect that it was not a native who was responsible for desecrating her image. The cult of Malar, the evil god of the hunt, they have been harassing us since we arrived in the city. We are going to be bringing in a stone mason at the end of the week in order to restore her image. This fence is a composite of many different materials, meant to discourage a diverse range of intruders. It consists mostly of Silver and Cold Iron "

Having answered her questions, he goes back to what Ermina has told him "I am truly sorry for your lose, can you tell me what transpired? If the creatures came from Sigil, then it may be difficult to trace where they came from. Our portal here is not the only one to the Beastlands"

[The Big Orc]

Taking the seat, "I see why you are called the Grinning Gentleman. My apologies for the unpleasantries that must take place, but I owe my life to a Rakshasa and I'd rather offer them yours. I assume you know why I am here then?" Smiling the whole time, Raith raises the displaced mans drink to his mouth. "Unless you have an alternative."

[WyvernBlade]

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Reac. My name is Soar." Miibaax says in a friendly tone, even though Reac's slip of the tongue, which may be missed by less practiced ears but not Miibaax's, made him suspicious of Reac's true intent.

"Huh, the Cage, is that what it is called now or is that just what you youngins call it? (waits for a response). "Well it is a magnificent city and I would love to know all about it and go exploring. However I fear my knees may become angry with my if they must lift my feet one more time than is required to reach an inn, so I must decline your invitation for now. But I would enjoy it greatly if you spoke to me about 'the cage' as we walked." Miibaax says as he start to move in the direction he assumes an inn will be.
Also physical description of Miibaax: Old man, slightly over 5 feet, white hair, green eyes, has a cane, green sweater vest, etc.
Sense motive: [roll0]

[WyvernBlade]

Oh and the phanny pack has belt loops. It is being held on by a leather belt, which is also securing his pants.

[Arkady]

Reylin is very confused as to the seemingly unconcerned children and the unresponsive undead he sees before him. He steps aside, out of the path of the zombies, and calls out the children, "Young masters, do you not see the danger you are in?"

Reylin also casts Detect Magic and focuses primarily on the zombies and the children. He readies an action to leap to the defense of the children should to zombies prove to be hostile, though he does not want to start a fight unnecessarily

[Daphoa]

(In response to Cage comment) Not just the 'young ones' as ya say. It's a common term for Sigil - what with the city all around us. I've been trying to keep our 'native talk' out of the conversation - but I do slip up here and there

Wow this is one ol' berk Caer thinks to himself I bet I could practically steal his money off him. No - I don't want to leave the berk without a coin to spare. 'esides, there's no pride in wrenching some coins off a poor old man.

Well it's nice to meet your acquaintance Soar Caer say smiling. I understand about the knee - I'll just walk you over towards an inn like the one you requested. There's one not too far away. Caer gestures as if to start walking.

(Assuming he is followed) So - how'd you end up in Sigil? There's a lot of sods - sorry, I mean people. (Notices a large bipedial beast walking by) erm, creatures - around here and they all got a story to tell. So friend, what's yours?

Fine, I'll bluff. If I must.
[roll0]

[WyvernBlade]

"Well you could say that I came here do to the loss of a ship, a death of a friend, an oath taken, and a sense of adventure! But for now I must learn. You would think that at this ripe old age you would know so much, but then I climbed out of that sever and now it feels like I don't know a thing... So what is your story then?" Miibaax asks as he shuffles along behind Reac.

[Daphoa]

Me? Well I've grown up in this city. Been here since I was a child. Worked right here in the the Clerk’s Ward, under my - father. Caer says, hesitating a fraction of a second on the word father. He does boring scribe work. Spend my evenings here - often getting the new ones to Sigil acquainted and introduced. Seen a lot of folk come in through 'ere. Bunch of different types of planes all around. What type of plane do you be from?


At some point during Soar's response Caer will point off to a random sight and attempt to grab a small handfull of coins out of Soar's money bag. (Logistically he will aim for roughly 3 - 5 coins and his profit will depend on generally the type of coins Soar caries.

Bluff to distract (please :) ) [roll0]
Slight of Hand [roll1]

[WyvernBlade]

Ahh a scribe. I've know many good scribes, most have great stories to tell. I myself come from the material plane. Have you ever been to the material plane?"
Sense motive for distraction [roll0]
Also not sure how pickpocketing works but I think you need a 20 to take a small item off some one.

[Rofltrollcopter]

Raith

As Raith finishes his sentence, the atmosphere in the room becomes tense. The conversations amongst the various patrons suddenly collapse to a dull whisper, as several hasten to make their way to the exit. The barkeeper glares at Raith and reaches down under the counter. He pulls out a club made out of some sort of bone. The Gentleman waves him away “no need for that, the lad and I were just enjoying some conversation”. “Still owes me for scaring the customers”, the Sahaguin grumbles, glancing around at the near empty room. “I will cover the cost for him, I would hate the thought of this fine establishment suffering because others have business with me” the Gentleman replies. He turns his attention back to Raith. “Honesty is too rare a virtue to find these days. Now, you say your only option is to offer those oversized kittens my life or they will take yours? Tell me more about this. You do not strike me as an average cutter, you seem to be a gifted man of many talents. What hold do they have on you? Maybe there is some way I can be of assistance. Regardless of whether or not I can help you, I propose this alternative: instead of involving yourself in grisly business, you can share a drink with pleasant company”. The man who had his drink stolen from Raith stiffens at that statement, and the Gentleman laughs “or at least tolerable company, Fernz is not much of a conversationalist. Then you can walk away from this, and owe nothing to anyone” He looks at Raith “What do you say then?”

[WyvernBlade]

"Well that is an interesting shop there, but I feel asking for a tip would be a better way to obtain some money. I will gladly let you keep those three silver pieces but I ask that you return the green one." As Miibaax says this Reac feels one of the green coin sprout spidery legs and attempt to get out of Reac's hand.

"Lift this finger or I'll bite it off!" Reac hears a voice, which is not Miibaax's, in his mind.

"Well I may as well introduce him now. This," Miibaax holds out his hand to receive the green disk, "is Psidkik, my companion. The green disk climbs into the phanny pack and sits back down on top the coins.
Not sure is Psidkik would get this because he was just on the hand, but here it is anyway. (it is a will save right?)
Psidkik's chance to disbelieve Reac's illusion: [roll0]

[The Big Orc]

As the bartender turns away, Raith blows him a mocking kiss. Turning back to the Gentleman, Raith's eyebrows raise at 'gifted cutter'. "And your not a common mark. Few can hold sway over me without visibly casting a spell. Is that why the Five Omens want you dead? So that you cannot influence them or is this really just some gang war? You must understand that once whatever it is that is messing with my mind, worse than bad bub it is, wears off I will have to complete my contract," Raith gives a sad smile, "It's bad for business to leave a job unfinished. Unless the employer ends up dead before the mark." By the end of this Raith is grinning from ear to ear. "And you may have stopped me now, but I will succeed. It's what I do." Looking at the mug still in his hand, he puts it down, "Now, you suggested pleasant conversation. Where shall we start?"

[Daphoa]

Caer paused for a second. Then he laughs. Well that was new, he said with a smile. Can't say many of those who walk 'round Sigil have had walking coins Caer hands back the green coin. Though I certainly have seen some strange things 'round here.

Oh, I certainly could ask for a tip. But that would be far less entertaining. It's the thrill of chase, if you will. And unfortunately I lost this one.

(After giving time for a response) Well let's carry on then. I'll get you to your inn - just as you suggested no tricks. Caer smiles genuinely.

Hmm... no tricks is a bit strong. No harmful tricks. We'll leave it there, Caer thinks to himself.

Also as a note the illusion is most strong on his face. Everywhere else it matches my body quite closely (except giving light hair on his chest). Doesn't really matter in this case, but for future reference I probably should've said so.

[WyvernBlade]

Well it helps to have Psidkik around, especially when people try to take advantage of an old man, hehe." Miibaax elbows Reac's ribs in jest.

"Yes we best be carrying on, my knees are already aching for a chair. Would you mind giving me a beginners guide to Sigil as we walk? I wouldn't want to run into folk who would wish me harm, eh."

As they continue to walk Miibaax seems to be focusing on Reac, perhaps a bit more than normal, but it is very hard to tell. It would seem that he is interested in the beginers guide to Sigil.

Miibaax manifests Psionic Charm augmented so it will last longer and he expends his focus on greater psionic endowment. Will save DC 21 or be charmed.

After a moment Miibaax's eyes begin to shine with a silvery fire and a colourful flash of light sweeps toward Reac and then dissipates. Even though Miibaax's eyes are still a silvery fire he shows no discomfort or any signs that he is even aware of them.

[Rofltrollcopter]

Reylin

The boy looks around quizzically "Danger, what do you mean?"

[Daphoa]

Sigil huh? Well most of the Clerk's Ward - where you be is the Clerk’s Ward. If you're looking for safety this is it. You definitely get the occasional berk who'll take your money, but they generally be cons over physical thieves.

The Lower Ward is similar, but you got tradesmen over merchants and there's definitely a nook or cranny you may want to avoid. And if you're trying to avoid harm, you'll definitely want to avoid the Hive. Nothing good there and a bunch of ruffians.

Anyway, here's the inn I was talking about. I should probably leave - you should be fine on the way in.

Got a 12 in the OOC
YAY FOR BEING CHARMED!

[Arkady]

Reylin stares at the boy. "Do you not fear the undead that walk towards you?", Reylin says as he gestures towards the two shambling creatures. Thoroughly baffled by now, Reylin has stepped completely out of the path of the zombies, allowing them to pass him by. He calls past them to the children again, saying, "It may be that I am not used to the ways of other lands, but where I come from the sight of zombies is cause for a little more concern." Still slightly anxious for the children's safety, Reylin follows closely after the zombies. No harm shall come to these young humans while he can do something about it.

[ErminaPix]

Sense motive check 1d20+6 on priests

Ermina's hand is withdrawn lightning fast at the mention of cold iron. Turning back to her new comrades, she hovers around their eye level. "You say you know nothing of which I speak, so I shall enlighten you on what little I know. The celestial beasts came through this very portal two days ago. They were uncooperative (to say the least) and incapable of communication, magical or not. You understand when I say there was no other option but to put them down. It is wrong to take a life unless absolutely necessary. Their savage nature did not condemn them to their fate, NO!" Ermina's hand slices the air in front of her. "They were a means to an end. TOOLS!!! Used in someone else's plans and mark my words I will get to the bottom of this." Ermina's eyes blaze with determination as she faces the gate to the outside world. "If you good folk cannot think of anything else of import, I shall be off in search of the scoundrel(s) responsible for the lives of innocents."

[WyvernBlade]

Thank you Reac for the assistance in getting an old man to an inn. I would give you a tip but you already have it, so I thank you again. Miibaax turns to leave then stops and turns back to face Reac. "One last thing if you dont mind," Miibaax says with a smile as he pulls out a note book from his phanny pack, "would you mind sketching a quick map of Sigil, just listing the wards and a quick description of each. I would really help an old man out." Miibaax holds out the note book towards Reac.

Also the charm lasts for 5 days :)

[Daphoa]

Grinning at the tip comment, Caer reaches for the notebook and flips through it looking for an open page (and also trying to get a rough glimpse of whatever else was in the notebook)

Well, I can do a rough sketch. Hang on.Caer's practiced hand starts quickly but methodically going over page and writing rough details about the wards. It'll take him about 20 - 30 minutes if uninterrupted

Well, 5 days is a long time. Meh, I can live with being charmed though. I treat you as a friend. The horror!

Also I've copy & pasted stuff from Dan & Peter's report. So... DM^TM

So... try not to read it if Caer is going to be interrupted. Also I would advise other players to avoid reading it too - get the information in your own way.
The Clerk’s Ward
The Clerk’s ward is the hub for all trade, commerce and business through Sigil as well as the home for most of the Bureaucrats, scholars, traders, shopkeepers and servicemen of the city. In this ward is also the Great Bazaar, the gargantuan open market place, filled with tents and carts. The ward also manages all incoming food and basic living necessities for the city. It's generally considered one of the safest wards.

The Lower Ward
The Lower Ward constitutes the largest industry in Sigil and is the home for the best tradesmen in the city. Thieves and scams are plentiful and as such the residents are always on guard. This ward is home to the roughest and foulest Sigil has to offer.

The Hive
A giant slum. Death and violence are as common in this ward as anything and any kind of work or honest living is hard come by. Many gang lords thrive in the Hive, and turf wars constitute a large part of the violence down there.

The Lady’s Ward
This ward house the highest and most powerful members of Sigil’s society. It also is home to the prison, the courts and armory of Sigil along with the headquarters for many of the most powerful and prestigious factions of Sigil.

[WyvernBlade]

As Reac flips through Miibaax's note book he notices that the book is a few years old but well kept. The first few pages seems to be filled with rumours and stories about portals, some of the entries have been scratched out or edited. Later pages seem to be filled with a list of objects, actions, thoughts, and a whole lot of things that seem unrelated. The last on the list is "a sigh". The very last entry contains a description of the area where Reac met Miibaax.

Thank you very much." Miibaax turns to survey the inn, letting Reac sketch the map.

Miibaax also starts concentrating attempting to regain his focus.
concentration: 1d20
"OUCH!" Miibaax rubs his back and mutters "I think I tried a bit too hard there. I best have a sit down before I try again. Miibaax finds a chair and stays there for about two minutes.
I take 20

[Rofltrollcopter]

Raith

The Grinning Gentlemen turns to the other men at the table “With regards to what we were discussing earlier, I think forty-seven is an appropriate number”. He turns back to Raith. Raith notices that the Grinning Gentlemen has been becoming more nervous over the course of the conversation, and he has been trying to hide it from Raith. His left hand is shaking very slightly, and his voice has become more strained. Raith also noticed what when the subject of magic was brought up, the Gentleman’s right eye twitched. The Grinning Gentleman chuckles “Unless you are referring to my charming personality, I am not sure what you implying when you suggest that I use spells. I could never trust spellcasters, with them always walking so high and mighty, thinking that they are better than everyone else. No, for my business I don’t bother with that mumbo jumbo, nothing can replace the individual touch of a dedicated professional who lives his work. Now as for your intentions here, integrity can be a valuable asset in the cross-trade, but continued and steady employment is more important. I assume that the Five Omens brought you in as an outsider? Once they are done, they will not have much use for you. I could you give you steady employment. My business partners and I” he looks around at the other men at the table “could always use capable cutters such as yourself. I would strongly encourage you to think about your long term career” He looks back to the barkeeper and calls out “Can you bring over a couple of the house specials?” The barkeeper grabs a couple of mugs from under the counter and fills them with a dullish grey liquid. Once they are brought over to the table, they steam slightly. The Grinning Gentleman says “Its an interesting drink, made from distilled seawood in the far reaches of the plane of water, it has a unique flavor and is quite palatable to us humans.” He takes a sip from it to demonstrate and then offers Raith a toast. “To the future”.

[Rofltrollcopter]

Reylin

“Undead? what do you mean?” the girl replies. “I think he’s talking about the Bodies Trish”.“Oh. Well mister they ain’t exactly a sight for sore eyes, but considering the other things that a sod can run across here, they’re alright. I mean, they don’t try to peel you and they don’t turn stag if the hardheads want to give you the rope. Without em’ the whole place would smell worse then the Bodies themselves if you catch me drift. Now what someone as out of touch are you are doing around the Cage eh?” “Bar that talk Trish, Ma told us not get it in on a stranger’s business” The girl makes a face at the boy “Your no fun” As they are saying this, the zombies reach Reylin. They move around to keep their distance from him and the children, then they continue on there way

[Rofltrollcopter]

Mibaxx and Caer

As Miibaax and Reac move towards the Inn, you feel a large pressure against as your eardrums as you hear an inconceivably loud harsh voice inside the tavern scream in abyssal

“BAATEZU SCUM!!!"

Suddenly, the Inn explodes with a thunderous roar as two gargantuan monstrosities burst forth, both a great deal taller than any of the buildings in the ward. A large devil emerges wreathed in flame, with charred black skin and massive skeletal wings, and launches a fireball at its opponent from the flames engulfing its body. Immediate afterwards it unfurls its massive wings and flies headlong into the red skinned demon who is now drawing his sword and flame whip, bracing for the impact. A tremendous shock wave bursts out from the collision them as citizens begin to flee in terror from the scene. In the wake of the explosion, nearby buildings collapse, spewing detritus and debris, crushing many of those caught too close to the collision. All of a sudden, dozens of Harmonium guards begin running into the fray. One stops near to the two of you and shouts to the nearby onlookers “Everyone, back now!” and charges at the two combatants. Assuming the two of you flee, this is what you see as you retreat.

The two infernal creatures seem to take little heed of the guards and continue their brawl as they jostle in one another’s grip, trading blows with swords, whips, claws and barbed tails. The guards try helplessly to bring down the demon but to no avail. Many are caught in the crossfire and thrown back into the rubble of the adjacent buildings, or engulfed by the flames surrounding the devil. The devil breaks away from the demon and teleports high into the air, calling forth a swarm of meteors down on his opponent, setting the whole street ablaze. In response the demon telekinetically rips a roof off one of the few intact buildings, shielding himself from the hail, then unfurling his wings to charge into the air at his opponent who is now diving from his position. A split second before impact, the devil feints to the side, just out of the arc of the demon’s blade, and teleports behind him, seizing his ankles and slamming him into the street. A quake rips through the streets, as the earth itself explodes, sending more debris hurtling at the nearby soldiers and leveling every building in sight still standing.

In the wake of the explosion, you begin to hear loud, regimental thumping off in the distance and you see huge stone soldiers wielding spears and axes on the horizon: golems that serve as the highest level of enforcer for the Harmonium. The devil, still in midair smirks, then summons two massive fireballs from his bodily flames and hurls them at the golems, instantly destroying dozens of them in the inferno. The molten shards of the golems go careening into the accompanying soldiers, their screaming adding another layer to the cacophony in the streets. While the devil was distracted, the demon recovered and lashed out with his whip, snaring the devil as the demon pulls the devil toward him, his sword poised to decapitate the devil. Just before the sword comes down, the devil shouts some incomprehensible word and the demon freezes in place. Shrugging off the whip, the devil wraps its tail around the demon’s torso and seizes its head, ready to tear it off.


Unbeknownst to either of them, a small cloaked figure appeared in one of the destroyed alleyways. The figure is dressed in a black cloak, with no other ornamentation save for obsidian spines extending from the hood. The cloak is drawn such that it is impossible to gaze at whatever form is contained within. The figure glides serenely through the air, its path undisturbed by the flying debris. The figure suddenly vanishes and reappears directly in front of the devil’s face. A look of sheer terror and panic explodes across the face of the devil, making a rather jarring juxtaposition with the face haunted the nightmares of mortals anywhere it walked. The devil drew one hand off of the demon’s head and tries to strike the figure. The blow strikes as if the figure were an obsidian wall and bounces off feebly, not even displacing it, as the devil screams some ancient, inconceivable curse in abyssal. The figure extends one slender, delicate hand to gently caress the devil’s forehead. Massive stone spikes suddenly rise from the street and impale the Devil’s body in numerous places, spraying foul gore and dark ichor amongst the carnage of the street. The demon took the opportunity to break free, and rapidly tries to ascend into the sky. The figure teleports in the demon’s path, and the demon responds by shooting a large barrage of impossibly hot flames from its hands. The flames are not dispersed or dispelled, bend the around the figure as if it was the natural path for them to follow. The figure moves forward with the same serene calm, the folds of its cloak not disturbed by the flames nor its passage through the air. The demon tries to bank to the side, but it is not able to dodge the figure's hand as it lightly touches its arm. A massive stone spike emerges from the street, and impales the demon through its chest and into its head. The demon’s mass causes the spike to break, and the corpse begins falling into the street below. the demon’s body starts to glow and all of a sudden the scene erupts in light as debris from the streets flies out in a cataclysmic burst. In the wake of explosion, a large shard of rock flies out and strikes Reac in the shin, shattering the bone instantly.

[Arkady]

After collecting himself from the odd encounter, Reylin turns to the girl and smiles. "I have only just arrived in Sigil myself, and as to what I am doing-", Reylin looks around his surroundings again, taking in the sights and sounds and smells of this new place, comparing it with the Elemental Plane of Air that was his home... No, not his home, not anymore. Reylin collects himself, remembering that he had been speaking. Turning once again to the children, he continues, "What I am doing is looking for some information. And trying to find somewhere I can stay..." He looks around again, absently putting away his staff, "...and to figure out where I am." Still slightly distracted by all the... newness... around him, his voice trails off slightly. "Where am I?", he asks to no one in particular.

[WyvernBlade]

"Well then! That was quite possibly the best act I have seen for quite some time!" Do these happen often? Where can I see more?" Miibaax blurts in awe, then he turns to regard Reac. "Oh. So this wasn't just some form of entertainment, thats a shame. This means I will have to find a new inn." Miibaax looks rather upset at this.

"I guess there is no need to tell you to stay here while I go get you some help then." A slick translucent material coats Miibaax and shimmers as he moves. An old familiar smell also begins to surround Miibaax. Miibaax moves to Reac and says, I will link our minds so that we will not lose contact. Do not resist this." As Miibaax says this to Reac he hears a chiming in his mind. Miibaax turns to leave and go for help.

first manifestation is vigor augmented. 25 temporary hp
second manifestation is mindlink, if he resists it fails

[Daphoa]

As soon as the demon & devil burst out, Caer freezes into place. Well, they do be a tad bigger than I've seen before Caer whispers. As soon as he hears the command to get away, he pauses for a fraction of a second, eyes rapidly flickering to all of the people in the area - the old man included. Then decisively he goes to the old man and helps him (assuming he needs and wants it) away from the scene.

While running Caer repeatedly looks back at the fight. When eventually he sees the cloaked figure go up to fight he stopped and turns around completely. "So she does exist..." he begins. Almost instantly afterwards his vision blurred and next thing he knew his leg was in agony and he was on the ground. At this point he realized he was screaming and stopped, but he couldn't stop breathing heavily and sharply.

"Well... this is... certainly... a new... experience" Caer speaks out between breathes. Looking at Soar as he offers help, Caer nods. "Yes... help... would be... ... wonderful" Nodding again at the suggestion of linking minds, Caer refrains from resisting.

"Do you... actually... hang on..." Caer begins, then continues through the mental link, Do you actually have a plan? Or do you need directions to a healer?

[WyvernBlade]

"I have found that healers tend to show up to these kinds of events, but if you know of one that is close by I shall go to them and avoid the wait." Miibaax thinks in respons.

[The Big Orc]

Seeing he has his mark on edge, Raith sits back and seems to relax. "Well, I will have to consider what you have said. And as I said, if my integrity were not an issue here we would be feasting and celebrating a successful partnership," Raith grabs the mug, raising it slightly, brings it to his mouth, and hesitating, sets it back down. Frowning slightly, he seems deep in thought.

Raith will attempt to overcome whatever compulsion is guiding his thoughts. Also, just because he feels friendly towards the gentleman does that mean he cannot act aggressively? A good killer would have no problem killing a friend if needed.
concentration [roll0]

[petagee]

Miibaax/Caer

Upon reflection, Caer is aware of a great many healers that occupy the Clerk’s Ward in this region. However, looking around at all of the leveled buildings and ruination from the battle, it is likely many of them have fled the scene or been killed in the cross-fire. However, it is still possible that some have survived and are still nearby to assist those injured in the fray. Alternatively, city guards will likely come to clear the scene and assess the damages. But this could take time, seeing as a great many of the guards were killed in the onslaught.

[petagee]

Ermina

We servants of Ehlonna wish success in your endeavor. If you are looking for a place to start your investigation, perhaps you should speak to the temple’s animal handler, Pytris. It is very possible that he will have some answers for how and why these tormented beasts made there way to the Beastlands and set loose. If you wish to find him, he will likely be in the stables behind the temple on the south facing side. If the priests of Her Grace can be of any further assistance to you in your quest, only ask and you shall receive. Go in peace my sister.

As they finish, all of the priests bow together, then set off back towards the temple. You do not suspect any deception on the part of the priests. Their concern and offers of assistance seem quite genuine.

[Rofltrollcopter]

Raith

Even after focusing on removing the influence you find little changing and your aggression towards the Gentleman is still suppressed. As Raith is paused in thought, the Gentleman takes the opportunity to seize control of the conversation. “I understand your dedication, but my operations have the chance to offer you a quite unique opportunity. Something that most cutters spend their lives trying to attain, whether or not they know of it. I would like to invite you to come with me to check out my operations.” He tips his hat at the other men at the table “I wish you all a very good night, and I look forward to continuing our discussion”. Raith’s read on the Gentleman is that he is quite sincere, and that he is confident that whatever he has will hold Raith’s successfully dissuade his blade. As the Grinning Gentleman makes his way towards the door, Raith feels the block on his mind begin to slip slightly, not enough to outwardly express hostility, but Raith feels that with a bit more time he will be able to overcome it completely. While Raith is considering this, Fernz seizes the drink he left at the table and downs it one massive gulp. The Gentleman lets out a nervous chuckle at this “Well, I guess he did owe you a drink...”. He then motions towards the door and out into the empty streets “shall we?”

[Daphoa]

"Well... there were healers in some of the shops nearby. But they seem to have left..." Suddenly a sharp gasp-like noise comes through the link. "Um... where... right. The healers look like they've left the area... so... wing it?

[Rofltrollcopter]

Kaigen

After a long night of work for Samael, delivering more packages to customers in the Lower Ward, Kaigen is sleeping soundly through a typical afternoon in the Clerk’s Ward. Samael told him to get some sleep and that he would watch the shop today until Kaigen was rested. Unfortunately, this slumber was rather rudely interrupted with thunderous roaring from the streets and the sounds of combat and carnage. Outside of Kaigen’s window, he can see two gigantic red monstrosities battling in the streets of the Clerk’s Ward only a few blocks away. Only just beginning to process the current situation, Samael comes bursting through the door, panting and sweating heavily, terror rampant across his face, “We need to go NOW! Grab what you can, and RUN! I think they’re coming this way!” Not even pausing to see if Kaigen responds, Samael expeditiously waddles out of the room and tumbles down the stairs in all haste to leave the shop.

[Rofltrollcopter]

Reylin

The boy looks at Reylin sadly, his suspicion won over by the strange's creatures sadness There's no need to be so sad Mister The girl adds I'm not sure what that stuff means, I mean you are who you are, your a birdman right? You can fly and see all of the skies. That's something to be She adds bitterly It's more then you can be in the Hive The boy adds Don't be sad Trish He turns back to Reylin Maybe Ma or one of her friends can help you find a Kip

[WyvernBlade]

"Alright I will return as soon as possible." Miibaax starts calling out, Healer! Healer! We need a healer over here!" While Miibaax is calling for a healer Psidkik is telepathically asking any one within 30 ft if they know a healer close by or if they are a healer themselves. Miibaax moves about the surrounding area following his gut instinct.

[The Big Orc]

Glancing amused at Fernz, Raith stands up, whispering into his ear, "Hope there wasn't anything in there intended for me."
Walking towards the door, Raith says, "It can't hurt to see," leaning in close and whispering mockingly, "What the mage," pulling away and returning to his normal volume, "Has to offer."
Raith will walk with the gentleman through the streets, keeping a careful eye out for danger, or one of the street kids on his 'payroll'.

Spot? [roll0]

[Kamiidude]

Kaigen stares at the creatures for entirely too long before snapping his eyes down to his pack. He quickly places his red leather armor that he usually wears under his clothes into it. The pack, containing all of his worldly possessions, is slung across his back. His ofuda in hand, He runs down the stairs of the shaking building and out the door of the shop. Glancing back at the creatures, which are indeed closer than before, he sees blasts of fire exchanged and buildings being smashed and going up in flames. Kaigen clenches his fists as he sees, once again, the destruction that fire always seems to cause.

Looking around, Samael is nowhere in sight. How does he move so quickly? Kaigen joins the fleeing crowd of people moving away from the chaos. He runs for only a short time when suddenly, there is an explosion and a cloud of dust rushes past him. Then, other than frantic screaming people, there is silence. As the dust settles, he can see a circle of destruction from far down the street. Unsure of where to go now since he has lost track of Samael he begins his trek back towards the shop hoping it is still intact as it is his only place to stay.

As he walks, He passes an old man calling out, "Healer! Healer! We need a healer over here!" His voice sounds slightly hoarse. About to walk past, Kaigen sees what look to be tears in the old man's eyes. He stops in front of the man and says, "I can do some healing. Not much though."

[ErminaPix]

Ermina bows her head. "Indeed, I think I shall go and speak with Pytris. Thank you kindly for all of your help and I hope our paths cross again sometime, though under more pleasant circumstances. May Her Grace bless you, guide your actions, and help restore the Balance in this sacred place. Good day." With that, Ermina turns invisible and flies to a spot right above the center of the grove and takes 20 on listen, and spot checks.

Assuming nothing exciting to been seen or heard, she continues on to the stables in search of Pytris. She floats through the threshold and turns visible again so as not to upset the animals inside. Ermina pays careful attention to the animals' moods (ie if they are anxious, etc.). She takes in her surroundings slowly as she searches for the one named Pytris.

[WyvernBlade]

"I can do some healing. Not much though." Upon hearing this Miibaax grabs the front of Kaigen's garb and starts pulling him toward Reac. "My guide's shin was shattered in the fray and he cannot walk. Can you help him?"

(Assuming Kaigen comes along) "I found a healer and am on my way back." Miibaax thinks to Reac.

[Arkady]

Reylin begins to follow the two children as they lead him down the street and away from the shambling... Bodies, had he heard them called? "Yes, I suppose I am a 'birdman'", Reylin says, "and though I thank you for your concern, I am not really sad. Just a little... lost." Reylin couldn't find a better way to describe it.

It had taken him several days of travel to get to the portal, and over that time he had quite some time to think about what he would do when he arrived in the mysterious Sigil. Despite all of his planning, he knew now that he was out of his element here. Remembering his merchant friend's warning about the section of the city around the portal, Reylin kept his guard up, closely watching the shadowed alleyways and the people and creatures that crossed his path. The children walked with sure footing on the uneven streets, betraying their familiarity with the area.

"So what is this place, the Hive I believe you called it?", Reylin asks of the girl.

Reylin will also make a knowledge check for the Hive, to determine if he remembers anything about this section of the city. [roll0] Feel free to fast forward a bit through the traveling bits if you feel it necessary.

[Rofltrollcopter]

Raith

As a disclaimer, we try to avoid being jerks. We do however, have NPCs who are. Dice does get rolled behind the scenes


Fernz shoots Raith a lazy smile and waves as he walks out. Just as the two of them reach the stairway, the Gentleman calls back to his table “No, now I think the right number is 22, though it could easily change soon enough”. The sky is darkening as dusk approaches the Hive. After leaving the bar, the Gentleman begins to walk casually down the street, whistling a whimsical tune as he saunters along, his cane clicking softly against the cold stone. Raith keeps his eyes peeled against anything unusual, but he does not anything out of the ordinary, except that the streets seem to be a fair bit quieter tonight.. Glancing around, Raith notices nothing suspicious until The Grinning Gentleman takes a sharp turn into a dark alleyway a few minutes from the Watering hole. Suddenly, Raith feels an overwhelming compulsion to follow the Gentleman despite, perhaps, his better judgement.

Halfway down the alley, The Gentleman turns to face Raith, grinning widely, cane resting on his shoulder. Suddenly, he feels a large hand rest on your shoulder and a deep, raspy voice behind him say, “Greetings sir, we are from the Sigil health and safety department. We have a quick survey with only a few questions we would like to ask. First of all, does this hurt?", punctuating the last sentence with two swift heavy punches, one to the stomach, the other a hook across your jaw. As this is happening, more shadows move in around you from behind the thug. Your vision swims as you fall to the ground unconscious, and in the distance you hear the Gentleman comment dryly “You might have overdone it”.

Raith comes back to his senses noticing a liquid being poured down his throat, and he steadily feels the aches in his body go away. He hears a voice call out “thats enough of the potion for now”. When he finally opens his eyes, he is greeted by the Gentleman is squatting right next to him, face inches from his, head cocked to the side, smiling as always. Except the jovial smile was gone, and replaced by some large, feral thing that belonged more on a shark then any person. His eyes’ dance with sadistic glee. Behind him, Raith hears the voice of Fernz say “Come on Ruk, pay up. You said it was impossible for anyone to top that Jenkins boy”. From behind Raith comes the sound of grumbling, and he hears coins being exchanged. He still feels the bruise where the punch landed on your stomach and he feels weak and winded from the blow. Blood is dripping from his mouth and pooling beside his face. Raith takes the opportunity to look around, and he notices that he is in a ruined building with the roof has collapsed inwards and through the darkness of the Sigilian night he sees the distant lights of the City above. The Hive is a vast place, and Raith does not recognize where he is. All he notices is that the street and the other buildings around are abandoned and run down. Space and privacy are very valuable things in Sigil, and the denizens of the Hive would not occupy this place unless they had a very, very good reason not to. Raith tries to move, but he notices that his hands and legs are tied with some sort of wet, stringy cord. The gentleman says “I wouldn’t try to to test those bonds if I were you, Remorhaz intestine has the tendency to heat up when overly disturbed”. The gentleman leans down and squeezes the rope. Sure enough, Raith feels a hot burning sensation where the cord touches his skin. Satisfied, he begins to speak, “My apologies, friend. You see, my associate, Ruk, over here”, as a large, uncharacteristically large, beefy goliath steps into Raith’s vision. “is used to less fragile opponents and got a little overzealous just now. You see, I require my subjects conscious.”

Addition, Raith is at three hitpoints. He also suspects, but cannot confirm, that someone has messed with his inventory

[Rofltrollcopter]

Ermina and Xanian

Ermina takes quite a bit of time to thoroughly examine the grove. A groove in the ground near the gate catches her eye. The ground is not made of the familiar rich earth of the beastlands, but more of a resemblance to loam mixed with fine bits of rubble. Tracks do not keep easily in such ground. Ermina suspects that the groove may have been made by a wheel.

As you enter the stables, you are greeted with the grunting, howling, cooing and cawing of all manner of beast. Many you recognize from your own plane, though many still remain foreign to you: a gangly, wingless bird with razor sharp talons, a segmented insect with thin legs and bone-crushing mandibles, and a wolf like creature with silver fur and a face like a goblin that snarls at your approach. Not too far inside, you see a thin, wisp of a man, hands covered in dirt and holding a bucket of feed up to the large, voracious maw of a griffon. Next to the griffon, stroking its fur back, is a tall, dark brooding figure with a pale complexion dressed in full armor. The thin figure says to the man in armor “I am not sure what is wrong with Kage Mr Xanian, the symptoms are quite unusual”.. He notices your presence and calls out, “Hey, who are you and what are you doing here!?”. He rather abruptly sets down the bucket and storms over to Ermina. “I don’t take kindly to strangers wandering into my stable whenever they please!”.

[Kamiidude]

Ummm, I'm not sure..., Kaigen tries to speak as he gets pulled along. It was only a short way to the fallen man. Looking down he sighed internally. "I'm not sure how much help I can be. I'm much better at treating burns than broken limbs."

[WyvernBlade]

"Well you will be more helpful than I can be. Even if it is just first aid I'm sure it will help. If you know of a healer in the area I can go fetch him will you attend to Reac's leg."

[ErminaPix]

Ermina, not used to having to explain her actions, inwardly rolls her eyes. Oh boy, someone woke up on the wrong side of the haystack today.

Diplomacy check [roll0]

On the outside, her face remains empathitic, open, and calm. Ermina raises her eyes to meet those of (supposedly Pytris) and addresses him "I can assure you I mean you no harm. A man who loves/protects his animals is one to be respected. I trust you will extend me the same curtesy. As for my being here, I merely wish to seek your council on a matter of somewhat delicate nature." At this, Ermina looks pointedly in Xanian's direction. "If it would not offend you kind sir..." Ermina gestures to the other side of the stables where the sounds of the animals will mask their conversation.

Assuming there are no hiccups, Ermina waits til Pytris is within hearing distance then begins. "My name is Ermina and I come from the Beastlands. The priests with whom you share this lovely grove referred me to you. This is of course, if you are the famed Pytris..." Ermina looks meaningfully at him and waits for his affirmation before delving into the massicre, mourning, and moral duties that brought her here.

[Daphoa]

When you return Caer has fallen unconscious from the pain.

[NightAngel16]

Suspicious of the self-righteousness blatantly obvious in the diminutive creature before him, Xanian remarks, "What, if I may inquire, is so important that it would draw Pytris away from the care of Kagé?" As the small faerie glances over at Xanian, he breaks into a gentle smile and his eyes appear to flash with the color of crimson.

Xanian uses his charm gaze ability on Ermina. It's a will save of 15, or be charmed.

[Rofltrollcopter]

Miibaax/Caer/Kaigen

The terrible aftermath of the disaster plays out in the the city streets. The cries of the injured ring out through the area, one of the few times that the hustle of the Grand Bazaar has been suppressed. More red-plated soldiers bearing the insignia of the Harmonium go rushing towards the disaster zone. One of the soldiers takes off his helmet and looks around, his face frozen in a shocked expression. “What in the Pits happened here?”. One of the bandaged Harmonium guards rises to his feet “The Blood War” he spits “thats what happened here. Those two bastards thought they were in Acheron.” The fresh Harmonium guards begin sorting through the rubble. “Where in the Nine Hells are those Bleakers? We got too many injured to take on ourselves.” Off in the distance, there is a small group of zombies bearing stretchers and bandages. A black robed attendant approaches the Harmonium captain “This is all we could get on slow notice”. Some of them approaches the wreckage, and the captain curses “keep the Bodies off there, theres still some poor sods trapped down there, the stupid Bodies are going to crush them by stomping all over the rubble”. The attendant waves his hand and the zombies back off, going back to attend to the critically injured. Some of them get taken away on stretchers. “Do any of the neighboring precincts have geomancers? No? Damn, alright men, were going through this all by hand. Keep your ears peeled, there are still people trapped down there”.

Amongst the shocked huddle of the injured carapaces, wings and bodies of the survivors, a common question circulates “That was her.. wasn’t it”

As Kaigen begins examining Caer’s leg, the small, rotund figure of Samael comes bustling and huffing down the street when he spots Kaigen and shouts, “There you are boy! I’ve been looking all over for you! We need to be back at the case, post-haste. Don’t want some no-good, vulture knights o’ the cross trade poaching goods from my shop! What’s wrong with that sod there?” Gesturing towards Caer sprawled on the ground.

[Kamiidude]

"Well sir, I think he's injured. Someone asked me to help and didn't know when you would be back so... I will only be a minute and I can run to catch up." Kaigen is has no idea how hard pressed Samael is to get Kaigen back. After all, nothing like this has happened before as they met only about a week ago. In response to Samael's likely displeasure for this idea, Kaigen, not wanting to lose his only home right, now he quickly adds, "They may be gracious enough to come purchase something."

Diplomacy roll: [roll0]
I don't care one way or the other what the response is. Kaigen is more concerned about keeping his home than helping, after all its not a burn wound.

[WyvernBlade]

Hello there. This man," Gesturing toward Kaigen, "has so graciously offered to aid my poor fallen friend. And if you are concerned about your business than I should say that any and all healers are much appreciated in times like this, and having you and your employee seen aiding an injured man would be excellent for business. You would also have the gratitude of those who you assist.
Diplomacy: [roll0]

[petagee]

Ermina/Xanian


Pytris’ scowl softens as he crosses his arms in front of him. I for one, am no proponent of secrecy, especially when it comes to outsiders and particularly strangers. And while your offer of counsel does not offend me, your uninvited and unannounced entry into my establishment is an offense I do not take kindly to. But if you insist, I will oblige your request only to have you leave me to my work. He begins walking to the other side of the stable. Ermina suddenly feels less worried about the presence of the tall dark man in the conversation, now suddenly feeling he more trustworthy.

See spoiler in post below (since I forgot to put it here)

I am in fact Pytris; I see my friends in the clergy have not yet forgotten my presence and services yet. If you come from the Beastlands, I suspect you, like me, understand the true nature of praise in service to Ehlonna is not in prayer and gardening but in embracing the untamed ferocity of the wilderness and all its feral inhabitants. Reaching his hand up to gently stroke the silvered, feather mane of an ivory horse with massive wings retracted onto its back. So I wonder, young fae, what has brought you so far from home to this land of urban machinations and metal?

Reylin

The little girl opens her mouth as if to answer when the little boy chimes in, Yes birdman! The hive is a strange and mysterious place. If you look yonder The boy points off to the east where you see a larger, windowless black monolith erected in the middle of the scummy streets of the area, You will see the nest of the Great Queen. Wonder why she’s called the Hive. It’s because this bee dominates all of the surrounding streets, commanding tribute to her clan of workers. If you refuse her or oppose her, she sends in her assassin bees in the dead of night. You know when she’s taken someone because you’ll hear a piercing scream: AHHHHHHHHH!!!!! The boy then pauses, and whispers, Then silence. They find the body, the next day, sprawled on the street with a scimitar-sized stinger piercing through his back and out his stomach, blood splattered across the alley way. No one even cleans up the dead, for fear of her retribution. She wants the bodies left rotting on the street to serve as reminders of her power and terror.

The boy then pivots to face you full on, Wait, could he be? He pauses again. The legends of our ancestors tell of a great winged hero who flies in from nowhere, heralding the coming doom of her majesty and the freedom of her slaves! He then grabs your arm Could you be our hero Birdman?

Miibaax/Caer/Kaigen

I knew the Kaigen boy was a sympathetic cutter. Well that poor sod ain’t gonna fix ‘imself. The Harmonium ‘ll be a little more concerned with the lost souls buried here than some berk who scraped his shin, and there are only so many Bodies to spare. We’ll haul ‘im back to the shop, tout suite, and we’ll deal with his lot once we make sure no basher is looting my case! The lad ain’t gonna die from a broken leg and a little rough handling. An’ once we get there, we can see about finding a healer for his lot. No sense leaving ‘im here to lie on the street like some lost animal. Samael hoists Reac onto his shoulder like he were a small child and waddles hastily towards his shop.

[petagee]

Let's roll for Laura

Mike's Caster Check
[roll0]
Laura's Will save (If needed)
[roll1]


We'll looks like Laura is charmed :P

[WyvernBlade]

"Thank you very much good sir. I am sure Reac, the man you are carrying, will greatly appreciate your kindness." Miibaax follows the man carrying Reac back to his shop.

[ErminaPix]

Sense motive on Pytris [roll0]

Ermina regards the stranger and his griffon across the stables with a newfound appreciation. She delicately curtsies and gushes "Oh, how rude of me. I honestly meant no harm, I just overheard Pytris mentioning he hasn't been able to discern the cause of Kane's ailment. If you give me a moment to converse with him, I'll be more than happy to assist in any way I can. I do have a way with animals, If I do say so myself. And I do."

Turning back and addressing Pytrix, she exclaims, "I come with the most tragic of news..." She goes on to explain everything she had just told the priests. "So you see, when the priests pointed me in your direction, I had to investigate. Anything you know would be of great help, I assure you." Ermina looks up hopefully at Pytris.

[Arkady]

"Oh dear", Reylin thinks to himself, "I can't let this get out of hand." He stops and faces the children. "I have not heard of this legend that you speak of", he begins cautiously, "nor do I know if I have any part in it. I didn't actually come here to free slaves." Carefully now, can't let them get too disappointed. "However, if there is some way I can help, I will do what I can."

Not wanting to stay in one place for too long, Reylin encourages them to continue moving. "Let us find your mother, perhaps more answers can be found then." As they continue on, Reylin ponders what he might be getting himself into. Curious, he probes them for more information. "What exactly do these legends say about a winged hero?"

[Kamiidude]

Upon arrival to the shop, the old man is made to wait in the main shop while the injured man is taken upstairs and unceremoniously dropped onto Kaigen's bed by Samael. After, he leaves to tend to the shop and probably convince the old man to buy something. Kaigen sighs and begins attempting the first aid he knows.

The first thing he does is go into the backroom and grab a broom and some cloth. Samael shouldn't miss this, and I'll fix it when I'm done... Kaigen reasoned to himself as you took it. Two short sticks are broken off of the end of the broom and then the cloth is ripped into strips. Used not used to treating this kind of injury, he hopes this is the correct treatment and uses the cloth as a rope to tie the newly created splints to the broken leg.

Looking at what he feels is probably a shoddy job of making a brace, it was his first time doing it, he reaches into his pack and pulls out a short wand. Staring at the wand he debates out loud, " I don't know how long this will last me if things like this are going to be happening every week... But I can't just leave him there... If I use it sparingly then it should be Ok I guess. Glancing once more back to the man and then back to the wand he taps the injuring leg once with the it and then promptly places it back into his pack.

Heal: [roll0]
[roll1]

[The Big Orc]

Letting out a groan, Raith pulls his knees up towards his chest, closes his eyes for a second then slams his feet into the gentleman's face. "Never tell someone you need them conscious."

Attack roll [roll0]
You can determine applicable damage, should be non lethal as i'm not using a weapon, and if sneak attack is applicable it is 3d6. Also, did i take non lethal damage from my beating? most fists and kicks deal non lethal until they have dealt double max health (unconsciousness happens when non lethal equals current health). that being said, i know there are ways to turn non lethal damage into real damage as well, i just need to know for my sheet

[WyvernBlade]

Miibaax follows the the shopkeep, carrying Reac, and the healer to the shop and pauses just long enough out side to get a good look at the shop before following them inside.

"Thank you again for all you have done for him. I am sure he will really appreciate it when he wakes." Miibaax says to both men as he walks through the door.

As the healer is attending to Reac Miibaax attempts to get a good look around the shop. Picking up random objects in his path to inspect them before replacing them. "This gizmo looks interesting! What does it do?" Miibaax exclaims as he picks up an object, roughly the size of an egg. (Depending on what it is Miibaax may purchase the item).

Miibaax continues through the shop and wanders around as much of the building as he can.

Can I get a physical description of the building and what's inside.

[petagee]

Ermina/Xanian

The creatures that attacked the grove were celestial wolves (see monster manual 1 if you like)

As Ermina recount the events in the grove, Pytris’ face continues to darken and by the time Ermina finishes, his head is in his hands, Oh, what have I done.... He lifts his head to face Ermina and Xanian and you can see there are some tears beginning to form in his eyes. It’s all my fault... I should have known!! He shouts in frustration and slams his fist into a pillar just behind him, the noise startling many of the nearby animals.

After a moment’s pause, Pytris collects himself and faces Ermina and Xanian again. You must understand, I meant no one harm. I thought.... Oh, where to begin? He sighs deeply then takes a gasping breath. I was the keeper of these celestial wolves not too long ago. They were brought to me by a man, Samael, who deals in animal trade of all manner of beasts. He comes to me sometimes for animal care and other animal necessities. While I abhor the trade, I would be loath to deny the care of any beast, whoever may be handling them. He told me their former master had no further need of them and wished them released back into the Wilds of the Beastlands, to be free and at peace. I thought this strange, Samael is a businessman so why not simply resell them to a new buyer. But the thought of these bests emancipated was too enticing. So I ignored this detail. He gave them to me in an animal bin, disgusting magical contraption, and asked I return them to their home. When I released them from the bin, they seemed despondent, very little appetite and aggressively protective. I thought this may be from their handling at the hands of their former master. They seemed untrained so this aggression was not unexpected and I thought nothing of it. After a routine check up, they seemed healthy enough, but I did notice some small rashes, especially around the neck and upper back. I ignored them, perhaps they were from some vermin or a fight amongst themselves.

In any case, I brought them back to the Beastlands, past the grove you spoke of en route to a portal to return them to Karasuthra. As we traveled, they began howling, and biting at one another, even beginning to foam at the mouth and scratching the rashes on their neck and back. I thought they were on edge, being home and close to freedom yet still caged. As we neared the grove, we passed a small flock of horse and the celestial wolves went berserk. By some feat of strength, they burst from their cage and attacked the flock. I barely escaped with my life. I warned local authorities of the incident, but they seemed reasonably unconcerned. Many of the nearby groves had wards to repel predatory animals and these celestial wolves were not likely to attack any settlement. They assured me that hunters and rangers would track down and kill the celestial wolves if necessary. And all the while, I still attributed this to ill breeding, but clearly something was amiss with these animals. How could I be so foolish?

Come to think of it... He trails off and begins to approach Kagé. Pulling back from feathers around his neck as if to examine him, Kagé recoils and begins screeching and snapping at Pytris. I remember seeing these when you first brought Kagé in today yet only now do I recognize them. These rashes are the very same, and the symptoms are too close to be questioned. Whatever afflicted those celestial wolves, the very same afflicts Kagé, of this I am sure! But how...? Pytris looks puzzled and disturbed.

Reylin

Of course you haven’t, mister bird man. The legends say that the hero is out-of-touch, not from Sigil, but comes selflessly to vanquish the wrong done upon it and make it his home! The boy strikes a dramatic pose, fist in the air, other hand on his hip, looking triumphant. The little girl beside him rolls her eyes at him, and turns to Reylin, Stop being so silly Beyrin! He think’s he’s going to be a Gatecrasher someday. What a barmie! We should probably be getting home soon anyway. It’s getting dark and no cutter’s safe in these streets at night. Mom’s out working with the Bleakers but we can show you to a kip on our way home if you’d like.

Miibaax/Caer/Kaigen

Arriving back at the shop, Kaigen notices that while the shop still stands, much of the exterior, at least, has seen better days. The windows lining the front of the shop have all shattered, glass now lining the floor of the shop, and the carved ornate piece of wood that once served as the door of the shop is now lodged into the back wall of the shop. The sign still hangs above the door, reading “Samael’s Dyes and Paints”.

Inside, the shop is more or less intact. Many of the jars that once lined the wall on display have smashed onto the floor and many mannequins lie on their side in the middle of the shop, still displaying the many wondrously colored fabrics. A few display cases contain magical looking fabric, dyed with exotic paints of some variety with strange optical properties that dazzle the eyes.

As Samael makes it back into the shop, he rather unceremoniously dumps Reac’s limp body onto the bed of Kaigen, and expedious makes his way back into the main part of the shop to begin searching for any looting on the part of thieves. Bobbing and huffing around, looking frantically for lost goods, he notices Miibaax standing in his shop, examining some of the wares. Putting a rather haughty and proper air, he approaches Miibaax, I do not think we have had a proper introduction my good sir. You may call me Samael, sir, Master of Colours! He says with a flourish and producing a marvelously coloured scarf from his sleeves. I deal in all manner of paints, dyes, and colourants. Please sir, browse the store and see if anything should catch you fancy. Here we have a new, special product: a dye for fabric that changes colour depending upon the angle at which it is viewed and the lighting of the room! Let me show you! He begins fiddling with one of the display cases and produces some marvelous fabric, displaying the properties he describes, going to emerald green to ruby red with a slight changes of angle. And if the fabric is not flat but waved and flowing, all manner of colours are produced, creating a kaleidoscope across the sheet. You like this I think, yes?

Meanwhile, following Kaigen’s attempt to fix the bone, Caer awakes to splitting pain in his leg. There is still significant bruising and cuts to the leg but the bone itself seems to be in reasonable condition now following the procedure.

Hex

It all started as a pretty routine reconnaissance mission. Like the elf merchant said, I need you to watch the crates being moved and tell me what is in them. Simple, right? Well, it would’ve been simple if the look out position you had scoped out the day before hadn’t been occupied by a dozen armed thugs, hired by the very same elf to retrieve the goods in question. The leader, a gruff looking half-orc, knew what it was that the elf was looking for and told you to sit down, shut up and use the ‘pigeon’ you had to find out. Okay, kink in the plan, nothing you can’t handle. A little improvisation is always fun, right? Well, not when those dozen or so armed bashers manage to draw the attention of the 3 dozen armed bashers with bigger clubs. As soon as the fighting started, you managed to high-tail it out of there, but you didn’t get too far before you noticed some of them hot on your trail. After an unfortunate run in with one of the men responding to nature’s call, during what would have been a slippery get away, you found yourself slung over the shoulder of a giant and, with a quick knock on the head, out like a light.

You next awake finding yourself in a dank room by yourself, tied to a chair with some rather vile looking rope that smells like rancid flesh. The room itself doesn’t smell much better, the dank air reminiscent of putrid water and bile. The rope burns the skin touching it quite fiercely. You also notice a gag in your mouth. As you start taking stock of your surroundings, a figure emerges from the edge of the room. Tall and distinctly lanky despite clearly being lean and strong, the man stands tall and carries himself with authority. Outfitted for battle with armor and weapons near at hand, any skin not covered by his leather armor is crisscrossed in scars, some of them recent but most of them are old. He pulls out a chair from behind him, the rusty metal legs squealing as they scrape across the stone floor. He turns the chair backwards and sits, pulling out an etched, worn knife and a block of metal. Like fingernails across a chalkboard, the knife scrapes across the block, slowly sharpening the blade.

He doesn’t even look up as he begins, You owe me your life kid. The Gentleman would have carved you up until you were leather and dog food... And here’s the dark of it He glances up to stare you down, He would’ve enjoyed every moment. He chuckles grimly and continues sharpening. You and your basher friends were awful stupid to try and pull something like that. The Gentleman saw it coming miles away, not that you were awfully subtle in the execution either. Hope you weren’t fond o’ any of ‘em. Already off to the Pits, they are. You were the only berk among ‘em got scragged alive. And I got you out. Gentleman thinks you’re in the dead-book already, courtesy of your’s truly. But I’ve got other plans for you.

[Rofltrollcopter]

Raith

Raith's feet connect straight into the Gentleman’s face, and pass through what appeared to be the wicked teeth in his foul smirk. As you kick, the rope burns intensely from the motion and you sway onto the verge on consciousness again. The image of the Gentleman disappears in a spiral of colours and the standing figure of the Gentleman emerges from the crowd of cronies standing behind him. He smirks “and that little tantrum will make him number seventeen, and yes you are correct in that normally that would be a poor decision, but when I am dealing with someone as pathetic as yourself, I feel that I can afford a few luxuries. Now for that opportunity I mentioned, you see I am the leader of a travelling improv group. Allow me to give you a demonstration: my men will play the role of drunken sailors, and you will play the role of a baby seal” The men standing around him begin to swarm over Raith. They begin liberally landing beatings all over his body, although they do take care to avoid striking Raith’s head, lest he fall into unconsciousness.“Now, end scene”. The men step away from Raith, giving him time to catch his breath. Off in the distance, Raith can hear some sort of high pitched howl. The thugs take notice of this and look at each other warily, while the Gentleman does not seem to take interest. “But in all seriousness, this might have been the point where I would have been willing to offer you employment, but right now none my plans require the involvement of someone as hopelessly stupid and incompetent as yourself. Although you might be somewhat useful in setting up a robbery, I could put you in a basement and in no time at all you would dig yourself into a massive hole. It is quite astounding really, the new depths of ignorance that one can find in Sigil. But as the Sensates might say: it is the nice, strange little ways that the multiverse can surprise you that makes it worth living. In fact, I even keep a list of the most stupid people I have ever meet, and what they did to get on it. It’s mandatory training material for all of my employees.” He continues to smile that same shark-like smile as he comes closer. Two thugs come forward to tighten the bonds and hold you in place.

“You got yourself into position eighty-two as soon as you tried to stab me, with no backup, no plan, on unfamiliar turf. Then, you managed to work your way up to Seventy-four when you realized that you were under the influence of a magic capable of compromising your thoughts, and still kept rattling your bone box about how you were planning on killing me. As a bonus, you threw in who your employer was, without any additional prompting from me. I’m sure the Five Omens will be ecstatic when they hear about this. It was that point when I realized you were going to give us the most fun I had in awhile. Now, I only bother to announce a change to the list out loud when someone works their way up to above fifty. Sometimes, a berk can take the hint that they on the verge of entering a world of pain. You got a solid forty-seven when you went of your way to annoy the barkeeper. The only being, who I may add, who had even the slightest hint of what was really going on and would be inclined to stop it. If not for any other reason than to prevent the Harmonium from associating his establishment with the latest grisly murder. You got yourself to forty-one when you bought my lie that you had me nervous.” He leans down, and a look of deadly purpose temporarily overpowers the grin on his face. “Listen to me Raith, or whatever you choose to call yourself. A piece of worthless guttertrash like yourself means nothing to me. You have no idea what you got yourself into“ He stands back to his full height and continues. “No one has managed to get above thirty in four years, but you showed your unmatched potential when you actually agreed to follow me into the night, earning yourself the position of twenty-Two”.

He reaches out of Raith’s sight and pulls out the dagger that was previously hidden in Raith’s sleeve. He licks it, and sighs in disappointment “Not even poisoned, thats fourteen right there. Honestly, if you're going to blow your cover on a single attack, you should at least make sure that you have a chance of ensuring the target’s death in one strike. So right now you're at fourteen, and based on what you choose to do in the next bit of time you have quite a good shot of making the top ten."

A howl shoots out in the distance, although this time it sounds noticeably closer. The Gentleman’s grin deepens “excellent, they sound hungry tonight”. He turns his attention back to Raith “Now then, seeing as you were so rude as to interrupt me when we were having a nice night at the tavern, it is only fair that you provide our entertainment for the evening.” He walks closer, and you notice the details of his cane. It looks different from the one you saw in the tavern. The handle is a single solid piece of crystal embedded in an ivory grip. The body is made of some unknown wood, and it is carved in a relief of vines and thorns. He holds it up so that Raith can have a more clear view. “From Baator itself, its hard to beat Devils when it comes to craftsmanship. Besides being quite stylish, it has a rather neat trick.” He approaches once again and places his cane against Raith’s foot, pressing both against the wall. Upon closer inspection that the cane has little barbs on the end that puncture Raith’s leg above his boot. As he studies it further, he sees black razorvine begin to grow out of the base of the cane and attach itself to the wall then begin to wind around your foot and leg. The Gentleman and his men back off as the barbs pierce into his skin and breathtaking pain begins to shoot up his legs and root him to the wall and floor. The Razorvine digs deeper into Raiths flesh, and he feels an intense agony as the vines peel the muscles away from the leg. The vines work their way up to the hip, and Raith can feel some of them wrap themselves around the bones in his leg. The waves of pain become overwhelming and nauseating, and Raith must stifle the urge to vomit. When Raith is able to bring his attention back to current affairs, he notices that the vines leaving his leg have embedded themselves into the wall behind him. What is left of his leg bears more of a resemblance to shredded meat, than any sort of functional limb.

The Gentleman takes a moment to inspect his handiwork. "Like I said, there is nothing quite like the touch of a dedicated professional who loves his work. You know, your very fortunate that you have those enchanted gloves on you. Spellscribed leather is one of the few things that can stand up to Razorvine. You're going to need all the help you can get, the stuff hurts a lot more going out then it does going in.” One of the thugs interjects “but Boss, I wanted to have the gloves” The Gentleman is somewhat surprised that someone would interrupt him, but he still continues to smile as he responds “Don’t worry about that, once we are done with our work such paltry treasures will mean nothing to us. Besides, Mister Raith was already courteous enough to pay for our next round” The Gentleman pulls out Raith’s coin purse and shakes it “I am a tad disappointed that he did not have more on him” The Gentleman turns towards Fernz, who hands him two potion bottles. Raith recognizes the potions as the healing potions he had on his person. “I noticed that on your person you happened to be carrying two potions to heal any wounds you would have sustained on tonight’s adventure. Personally, I was shocked that you were capable of this much foresight. We used one of them to revive you, and we have the other one here intact.” He uncorks it to show its contents to Raith. “Lets put the last one to good use. Consider this a personal gift from me to you” He walks about fifteen meters away out into the street, and places in the middle of a particularly dense pile. The pile consists of rubble, nails, and other sorts of other sorts of debris. As he is walking back towards Raith he pauses. He pulls out the half-empty potion bottle and smashes it, scattering glass around the street “Waste not...”. The thugs let out a loud guffaw at the sight.

When he reaches Raith, he leans down once again and smiles. “So there you have it, by my estimation there should be enough of the potion to mend your leg. Not enough to fix it for good, but enough for you to hobble your way out of here. In fact with those enchanted boots of yours, you might be able to hide from them and get away. But you best get a move on, Human blood is considered a delicacy in these parts.” A third howl shoots through the air, and the Gentleman’s grin spreads wider “I can almost hear the hounds”.

He leans down and using Raith’s knife, he swiftly severs the ropes binding his hands and feet and exclaims “Such drama! such struggle! the audience will eat it up, or at least they will eat you.” Waving the rest of his posse away from the scene and out of the room, the Gentleman comes close once again and whispers sharply into Raith’s ear, “Remember friend, this glass, this razorvine, the pain you feel in your leg; hell, this whole world: it’s all in your head” he says tapping his temple.

As he is almost out of sight he calls back “On the off chance that you do manage to survive this, feel free to drop in and visit me anytime. We can reminisce about what fun we’ve had together.”
As he gets much farther away, the wind drops suddenly. In that moment of perfect calm, Raith’s hearing is tuned to perfection, and he is able to pick out words not meant for him.“Now tell me about that job you ran today on that scribe from the Clerk’s ward, what was his name, Balthazar?”

Raith is at 0 hitpoints. Besides his gloves and boots, all of his equipment is scattered around the area

[WyvernBlade]

If one could see past the fires in Miibaax's eyes one would have seen them sparking,"Now that is an extraordinary fabric! Where in the Great Wheel did you come across that?" Miibaax reaches out to feel the quality of the cloth. "Now, now that is as smooth as a baby's bottom." he remarks as he rubs it against his cheek and emitting a low humming sound.

"Aha! I just came up with a brilliant plan that will make you rich and me look wonderful." Miibaax pulls Samael close and points to out the window. "If the people of Sigil could just see this wonderful fabric they will all go mad for it. All you must do is show them this wonder and they will all come running. That is where I come in, I will wear this material while I go about my business and every one who sees it will come rushing to your store to purchase all sorts of garments made of this colorful cloth. So what do you say? You make me a hat of this material and I will be all the advertisement you will ever need.
I manifest suggestion on Samael (expending my focus): DC 20 will save to negate

[NightAngel16]

Xanian's eyes narrow at the mention of the celestial beasts, but he allows Pytris to continue. As Kagé recoils from Pytris' touch, Xanian slowly approaches the griffon. "It appears I owe this Samael character a visit." Before saying anything else, Xanian reaches for a piece of raw meat and attempts to calm his ally.

Handle animal check to calm Kagé. [roll0]

"Kagé has stood by my side through countless ordeals. I would dishonor his camaraderie if I did not investigate a matter that brings him so much discomfort. I require answers from this Samael and should he prove uncooperative..." Xanian picks up his executioner's mace, which is lying nearby, and sheathes it with a grand flourish. "...he shall taste my steel. Pytris, where can I find this man?" Though Xanian appears to project a cold and unfeeling exterior, his words say otherwise, as they carry with them the malevolence of a darker inner flame...

[The Big Orc]

"All in my head? Bull****," mutters Raith. Never the less, taking deep breaths he calms himself until the pain is little more than a physical inhibition. He begins picking the vines out of his legs, screaming in pain each time he has to rip one out that has dug deep. Once he has released himself from the wall, he maneuvers himself until he is on his hands and toes. He begins moving towards the potion, letting out a low growl every time his barren legs touch the group. Chugging the potion, he stands and gathers his gear, leaving the heavy crowbar behind. Slipping into the torso part of his armor, the rest is shoved into his sack and slung over his shoulder. As he begins to run (or limp quickly) in the direction he saw the Gentleman walking off in, assuming he would not lead his men in the direction of the beings meant for Raith.

[ErminaPix]

With significant effort, Ermina has refrained from drawing her bow. She has also refrained from offering further help with Kage. It was evident his master was more than competent. She wouldn't want anyone handling Fritz when she could provide the care he needed by herself, so she extended them the courtesy of distance.

Ermina addresses Pytris, "I cannot relieve you of the guilt you bear for your role in this, but it is obvious you are not the mastermind. When I am done investigating this Samael business, I shall inquire after these authorities and determine whether they were negligent in their duties, or the task was infeasible. I shall get back to you when all is said and done. You're a good person, Pytris. And I hate to see good people blame themselves falsely."

In response to the cold aura Xanian is giving off, Ermina detects evil on him.

Ermina thinks for a second and then offers, "Xanian, might I accompany you to seek out this Samael figure. It appears as if our missions are aligned at the moment, and there is wisdom and safety in numbers."

For the record, Ermina is wearing an eyepatch that covers her left eye.

[NightAngel16]

Xanian raises an eyebrow at Ermina's offer to help. "I wouldn't want to risk the health of someone such as yourself..." It'd be regrettable if I were to accidentally crush this pixie under my heels or something, he thinks to himself.
"...but, if there's no way around it, tag along if you must. Just know that I shall have neither patience nor sympathy if you impede my progress in any way."

[Arkady]

"That would be good...I think...", Reylin pauses with a frown. "What exactly is a 'kip'", Reylin asks as they continue their walk, "and a 'cutter', I believe you called it?"

"I must get a handle on the local dialect if I plan to stay for any period of time", Reylin thinks to himself. He looks towards the 'sky', if that's what you could call it, to see the glowing strip that passes through the center of the torus that Sigil was housed within.

[hexavi42]

Roll for binding Malphas [roll0]
For his two Pact Augmentations, Hex took +2 insight bonus to initiative twice, getting +4 to initiative.
Changes to the character sheet will be made.

[hexavi42]

As Hex wakes up, he mentally probes for Malphas's presence.

When the warrior in front of him pauses and waits for a response, Hex jerks his chin and tries to speak through the gag.

"Mmmmm, m m m m m m m?"
[Sooooo, you know I have this gag on?]

The check for Malphas is partly to check if it's been 24 hours since he was captured.
Also... awkward forgetting spoiler tag on the last one.

[Daphoa]

"Yaaaaaaaaa! Caer wakes up screaming, then immediately starts talking quickly. "Oh look - you're new, now could you please tell me - GAH - what you are doing to my leg?" Caer asks then looks down at his leg "Well actually that seems like a stupid question in hindsight. It looks like you have done well. I appear to be perfectly healed!" As he is saying this, Caer begins sitting up, puts weight on his leg then winces in pain. "Well, on second thought maybe not perfect." Finally pausing briefly to take a look at Kaigen "You don't exactly look like a healer. Who are you?" Caer abruptly stops and waits for a response.

[ErminaPix]

Ermina reacts to Xanian's remark as if someone had slapped her, then bursts into a giggling fit. That's a first. She sobers and assumes her position at slightly above their eye level. "I assure you it is not I who will hold us up, good friend."

Ermina tilts her head to the side and does a sense motive check on Xanian [roll0]

Ermina turns to Pytris, her one visible eye warming as she does so. "Please feel free to Message me if you think/hear of anything. I think we'll be taking our leave momentarily. Do you know where this Samael resides?"

[Kamiidude]

My name is Kaigen, and no, I'm not a healer. Kaigen is not quite sure what to think of this excitable man. Your leg was smashed up by a rock I think. That's what your master told me when i got there at least. What I did should hold it in place until you can get some proper healing. Kaigan pauses, not sure where to go from here. There is a strange man sitting on his bed. He doesn't seem hostile and even if he was, Samael is right downstairs. Ummm, do you want to speak with Samael? He's my master and I'm sure he will want to see that you're alright.

[petagee]

Ermina/Xanian

Kagé calms at Xanian’s words and approach with the slab of meat, but snappishly retrieves it from his hand and retreats to the corner of his stall, lying down, whining softly.

Do what you must Xanian, but let you hand be guided by a level head, not one of rage and retribution. I know the man Samael, and he does not seem wicked to me. Do not be rash and punish wrongs that have not been committed. But I must keep Kagé here for the time being; I must determine the full extent of the affliction and ensure no other animals in my keeping have been compromised. You will find the man Samael somewhere in the Clerk’s ward. He is owner of a shop there under the false pretense of dye sales.

Please return with any information you find concerning the affliction, it may help in Kagé’s recovery. I must go now to consult the clerics of the temple, they may know this affliction or some means to cure it. And I must send word to the Beastlands of what has been discovered and that they are in more danger than they know. I wish you both the best in your investigations. Pytris nods curtly and retreats back towards the entrance of the temple.

Reylin

The little girl Trisha chimes in, A kip is a place you stay when you don’t have anywhere else to stay, especially if you’re not from around the parts you’re staying. Although, you usually have to pay for your stay. And a cutter’s any berk on the street who ain’t so much of a berk! She smiles at the last comment, as if proud of her clever explanation. Getting to the end of the street, Trisha points down the street to Reylin’s left at the intersection. You can go that way. Maybe a dozen blocks down is a kip called ‘The Dodgy Dodger’. It’s probably the nicest place you’ll find anywhere near here, just keep to your own business and most people won’t bother you. Most around these parts are satisfied keeping to their own. The streets between here and The Dodger are a little dodgy so you might want to keep up in the skies Birdman, especially at this time of night.

She glances upwards at the band of light that is now barely visible. Reylin notices that, unlike the Elemental Plane of Air, his home plane, there is no natural lighting at night, only the scattered beacons of illumination scattered through the streets in the form of street lamps. Pointing rightward, the young girl continues, That way is our home, but it’s not too far and we’ll be safe. You should come visit Birdman, if you planning on keeping around for a while and we can play some more! She smiles widely then waves goodbye and takes off skipping down the road, the young boy in tow.

Miibaax/Caer/Kaigen

As Miibaax explains his proposal, Samael’s eyes narrow in suspicion, then when the suggestion is placed on his, suddenly he looks cheery as can be and exclaims, What a wonderful idea! What a splendid notion! He flourishes a bright fluorescent tape measure from his pocket and wraps it around your head. After noting the number, he continues, Please, go check on your young friend and I’ll get right to work on that new hat of yours. Should only take me a few minutes. Bless you sir, this will make me rich! He scuttles over to the till near the back of his shop and pulls out a massive bin of supplies and begins working on your hat.

Hex

You still feel Malphas’ presence.

Responding as if what Hex had said was clear as day, he figure continues, still looking down to sharpen his blade, I’m well aware of the gag. It’s there for a reason. Now, here’s the deal sonny: I need information, you are going to provide me with the aforementioned information, you are not going to ask questions, and if all goes according to plan; you get to go home to mommy and daddy and I won’t have to kill you. Understood? He pauses for a moment, looking up at you as if asking for confirmation of understanding, then quickly returns to his work and dialogue.

Like I said, I need information. I need you to tell me what this is. The figure pulls out what looks to be a small slab of skin and holds it up for you to see. The skin has some sort of brand on it, with swirling lines around the perimeter and barb-like tendrils winding through the interior. While you don’t recognize what it means or where it is from, the size, shape and style of it is quite reminiscent of a binder’s pact making symbol. He then puts the flesh back into a pouch and tosses a piece of folded paper onto your lap. There’s a rubbing of it, figure you’ll need it. We meet back here, this room, in 3 days, same time. You’ll be staying at the Dodgy Dodger down the street so I can keep my eye on you. If I don’t see you back there or you try to run, I will find you and I will kill you. Clear? He asks, almost rhetorically, seeing as you have the gag in.

He rises from his chair and walks over, stopping inches from your face and leaning down into it. I hope you understand the gravity of the situation you find yourself in. You try and give me the laugh, I’ll give you the rope at the hands of that Grisly Gentleman. He holds the knife he was sharpening up to you face, then drops it, handle first, into your lap where it come to rest in the crease between your legs. He turns to walk away, speaking over his shoulder as he leaves, First test. He chuckles again. 3 Days. And walks out of sight. You are tied and bounded to the chair, a rope across your chest, hands tied to the back of the chair, and feet tied to the legs, with the gag still in. You noticed, when he leaned in closer, that while the general facial structure was human, something about the subtlety of the features was off, but in a way you cannot quite place.

[WyvernBlade]

Suddenly bashful Miibaax says,"Oh don't think too much of it, anything I can do to help.

Looking at the stair case to the room where Reac is, "I do not think I will go check on my guide though, for it is a long way to climb and my knees are already aching from all the walking I have done this day."
"Yaaaaaaaaa"
"And by the sounds of it he seems to be awake and well." Miibaax glaces up the stairs at the sound of Reac yelling and jabbering.

Miibaax finds a seat, sits down with a heavy sigh, and pulls out a long wooden smoking pipe. Stuffing the bowl with dried plant materials and lighting it he gives a few long puffs before closing his eyes and tilting his head back.

Taking 20 to concentrate to regain forcus.

[NightAngel16]

As Pytris speaks, Xanian begins to saddle one of the horses kept in the stables. "You misjudge me Pytris. I am going to pay this Samael a visit, maybe browse his wares, engage in some light conversation, and, of course, extract any information pertinent to Kagé's condition. If all goes well, I will return shortly with no harm done in the process. However, if I find any proof of Samael's deeper involvement in the matter, THEN, he will have my permission to die."

Xanian quickly mounts the horse he just saddled and steadies his gaze at Pytris. "Do not chastise me on the merits of justice and retribution. We all have sins to atone for." With that parting remark, Xanian lowers the visor on his helm and spurs the mount forward.

Ride check to spur the horse, dc 15 [roll0]

Xanian barely keeps an eye out to see if the pixie is following him.

[Daphoa]

"Hm, Samael you say... sure why not. Let us meet this man. I see no reason not to..." said Caer as he gets prepared to quickly jump up. Seeing his arm he quickly glances at it then looks up remembering something. "Oh! Right! How long was I out?" Caer asks as he appears to thinking somewhat distractedly.

[Arkady]

Reylin smiles and waves as the children depart, making a mental note of the location. Turning in the direction the girl had pointed, Reylin leaps up into the air and with a few powerful strokes begins flying down the street, about 40 feet above the ground. He glides most of the time, only beating his wings every once in a while to maintain his altitude. He goes slowly, keeping an eye out for this Dodgy Dodger 'kip'.

[Kamiidude]

"It's been no more than a half hour since those creatures fought. I thought you would sleep longer to be honest. And you really shouldn't be walking around much. I guess it should be fine as long as you don't run or put your weight on it." If not stopped he leads Caer carefully down the stairs.

[Daphoa]

"Half an hour huh..." says Caer absentmindedly as he is lead down the stairs. "Well, then that should be... right about now actually" Caer abruptly tries to turn around and run up the stairs but only succeeds in tripping down the staircase. After injuring himself and landing at the bottom Caer turns to the occupants of the room in bruised pain. "Ouch... that was... less than elegant"

At this point Caer's face starts to ripple. Away fades the semi-familiar face of a young attractive human and in comes a smoother face of equally attractive half-elf. The short light brown hair those had come to know as Reac's rippled into long and flowing dark black hair. His clothing remains much the same - the decorations on his dark red shirt changes slightly, and the black vest lost some of it's patterns and became smooth silk - but his cloak changed the most. Where as before it was a smooth dull grey, now it transitioned into a slightly longer night black, stitched with fine patterns in red fabric. Standing the same height at 5' 8", Caer was not initially aware of the change.

"Well I've just got to step to the side for a moment - shouldn't be long" Caer attempts to stand up, but instead manages to again trip and fall - finally noticing his arm on the way down. ""Blasted leg - this totally would've worked if it weren't for the leg." Conceding defeat in the war with his leg, Caer sits down and laughs loudly for a few moments. "So I guess I lose this one" He says with a smile.

[WyvernBlade]

Miibaax half opens one of his eyes at the sound of Reac and the healer coming down the stairs.

"Ouch... that was... less than elegant"

"Hows the leg, Reac?" Miibaax asks. "I see you are at least able to stand." Miibaax trails off as he sees Reac's appearance change. "That rock must have hit you harder than I thought. You've been knocked right out of your own skin and into someone else's. Or is there something that you would like to tell me, Reac?" Miibaax looks at Reac questioningly and putting an emphasis on his name suggesting that he doesn't quite believe the Reac is who he said he was.

[ErminaPix]

Ermina rolls her eyes as Xanian performs his dramatic exit. She respectfully tips her head in Pytris' direction, then vanishes.

Ermina follows Xanian at a height 10ft above his head, 5ft behind.

[Rofltrollcopter]

Raith

As Raith begin to extricate himself from the razorvines encapsulating his lower body, he notices some of the removed vines begin to move back and start to try and wind around him again. He manages to swat these off as he continues his gruesome task. After 5 or so minutes of bloody labor, he is free from the vines and his legs resemble something out of a meat grinder. As he begins to make his way over to the vial, he notices his legs are too battered for proper use and he is forced to crawl through the glass, embedding shards into his shins as he makes his way across the room. Reaching the vial at the end of his rope, he chugs it down in anticipation of the sweet relief of divine healing he’s come to expect in the most dire situations such as these. After a few moments, he notices that nothing happens and he begins to get the sense that something has gone wrong. The tainted potion causes an overwhelming wave of nausea throughout his body. Raith tries to fight agianst it and keep his composure, but he is unable to do so as he is forced to the ground. Raith begins vomiting as he loses all that he has eaten before. Raith is left writhing in pain and anguish on the ground, a last act of petty cruelty on the part of the Grinning Gentleman. What instead greets him is another wave of nausea and he begins to writhe in pain and anguish.

Barely even able to move, he notices that the black tendrils of razorvine have grown far away from their original fixture in the wall and made their way back to his feet.. As he tries desperately to extricate himself once again, he feels his strength failing even to pull the razorvine out. Suddenly, a blood curdling howl is loosed from the maw of some beast that he hears just behind the confines of the ruined building he crawled of it; its wheezing, coarse inhalation all too clearly audible to Raith trapped inside.

Spoiler: Raith in now Nauseated and at 0HP (3 points nonlethal taken from potion).


Reylin

Flying just above the city streets, Reylin can see the state of disrepair that this part of the ‘Hive’ is in. The streets are coated in a thin film of refuse (humanoid or otherwise, it is hard to tell), while dark cloaked figures are hunched against the sides of alleyways, softly moaning in pain or grief. After a while, Reylin notices that even the most desperate people slowly vanish, not wanting anything to do with the section of he city that Reylin is travelling through. After about an hour of travelling on his way to the Dodgy Dodger, a sharp sound punctuates the night: screams of absolute agony. These screams are all too familiar to Reylin. Flashbacks fly through his mind’s eye and these screams become the cries of soldiers gravely wounded in battle; limbs missing, men pierced through with bolts and spears, slowly bleeding to death, in more pain than possibly conceivable. Shaking himself from the fantasy, he notes that the sound seems to be coming from near the ruins of a nearby building on the way to the ‘kip’. The building, with crumbling walls, a missing roof along with missing doors and windows, seems to be one of many such desolate structures in the vicinity. Suddenly, a piercing howl, sinister and bestial, echoes through the streets, seemingly not too far from the moans.

Xanian

As Xanian begins making his way from the temple, he hears the low rumble of a distant explosion and a bright light off in the distance. When he finally makes his way to the Clerk’s Ward, a scene of complete and utter desolation greets him. Streets lined with bodies of the wounded, dying and dead, moans of agony, rubble and debris from what once constituted the walls and foundations of a great many of the houses and shops of the Clerk’s Ward. It takes Xanian some effort to keep the horse on its path, seemingly disturbed by the stench of death. Parts of the ground are caked in a bizarre yet strangely beautiful pattern, made by the vastly different hues of blood that was recently shed. Clearly some catastrophe has befallen here not too long ago. Harmonium guards run here and there, hustling to restore order to the scene while the Bodies of the Bleak Cabal shamble silently, moving rubble and carrying the dead and wounded off to be dealt with accordingly. Xanian overhears some of the guards talking as they go about their work. "How in the Nine Hells are we going to get through all this wreckage without a geomancer?" "We have some coming now?" "How?" "Gatecrashers, apparently they did mining work on the Earth plane" As Xanian makes his way through the chaos, a deranged looking half-elf, covered in dust and dirt, comes running up to Xanian, grabbing at the saddle of his mount, startling his horse a little. He begins rambling in panic at Xanian. He can only make out the odd few words or sentences, “Alyndra... My daughter... She was... Where did she...I can’t... Right by my side... HELP ME PLEASE!!!” He shakes the saddle of the horse violently in panicked desperation, causing the horse to rear, as tears run down his face and he collapses to the street into a blubbering puddle, moaning in pathetic despondency.

Ermina

Xanian is detected as evil

Congratulations, you have access to everything under Xanian's entry

Hex
The Sigil shown to you by the stranger looks like this:

[hexavi42]

Roll to bluff being unfazed as knife drops: [roll0]

No details for the bindings were given. I'm assuming rope is wrapped around chest and torso, with arms behind chair and under rope, and legs unbound. Conventional action movie bindings.

Also, I'm assuming that I know where the Dodgy Dodger is. Otherwise, it takes me some arbitrarily longer period of time to find it, and some asking.


As the man, if that was what he was, turned away, Hex briefly suppressed the urge to throw a dove at that scarred face. While it might be amusing for a few short moments, it wouldn't amount to much and would reveal his hand a bit early - and probably get him killed, he reasoned sadly. Hex contemplated the knife in front of him, mentally dismissed a few options that probably would've taken out an eye or worse, and complained to Malphas rather petulantly <I don't suppose you could allow me to suddenly manifest spiked blades everywhere or turn me into smoke?>. <You're the one that berked it up...>, came the reply.

Hex sighed and willed a raven into being behind him, making sure the coast was clear before settling his consciousness between its eyes. He examined the rope closely, picked out a likely spot, and started worrying away at it with beak and claw. As he worked away at it, he thought <Sodding Sigil and its sodding by-the-book villains... Why not just set a task be, mumble menacingly, wave a knife around, and done with it? Sodding tests.>

---------------- Three hours later -------------------

Hex rubbed circulation back into his chafed wrists, staring at the "Dodgy Dodger". <It looks pretty dodgy, alright.>, he thinks at Malphas. He could've sworn he felt Malphas mentally rolling an eye at him. <I've been in worse places, over the eons. Show them a little jink, but not too much. Try not to drink anything, eat anything, touch anything, or even breathe. Oh, and the whores probably carry every venereal disease known to man, demon, or Outsider, so try to avoid those as well.>

Hex colored a little and gathered the energy to retort indignantly but decided it was probably a better idea to just push open the door and stride inside instead. There was just no arguing with the voices in his head, sometimes.

[Daphoa]

"Ya, that was pretty good, wasn't it" Caer says with a smile as he stands up slowly. "I suppose I have yet to formally introduce myself. My name is Caer. Caer says attempting a bow but only managing an awkward bend as a result of his injured knee. "And you may know me as an illusionist" Caer says standing up.

Abruptly Caer points at Miibaax and chants some quick words. The colour of Caer's body and clothing flying off of Caer and go directly into Miibaax's face. When he looks again Caer is nowhere to be found.

Very soon afterwards an ambient applause starts up.

So... mechanically that's a Blinding Color Surge spell targeting Miibaax (Will Save DC 18 or be blinded for a round) followed by a Ghost Sounds.
I'm invisible for 1 minute

[NightAngel16]

The faceless visage (he's wearing a full helm) of Xanian Pegason turns towards the person whom has halted his progress,"Ahhh, so instead of inquiring for help from the numerous Harmonium guards and other emergency personnel available in the area, you have come to ME? The dark rider, at a loss for any sympathy whatsoever. It seems to me that you have failed in your duties as a parent to your child. I do not have the time to deal with such a foolish sod." Xanian steers his horse in such a way that it knocks the down-trodden half-elf to the hard pavement. As he continues on his way, Xanian has a brief flashback to a time when an innocent boy was left with nothing but the ashes of his former home.... and now a young girl might be caught in similar circumstances.

Xanian sighs, noticeably irritated, and gives the surrounding wreckage a quick scan for any signs of life.
Spot check, he won't be taking 20 since he doesn't want to waste any time. [roll0]
If Xanian sees nothing out of the ordinary, he begins to look for Samael's dye shop instead.

[WyvernBlade]

"Waaah!" Miibaax gives a little hop in his seat as Caer's colour hits him square in the face. "That rock definitely dislodged your skin." Miibaax jokes as he recovers from the light. He also checks that he still looks like himself and that Caer's colour has not gotten stuck on him. Looking up Miibaax notices the disappearance of Caer and mumbles under his breath, "Illusionist indeed."

Using their linked minds Miibaax asks Caer, "Are you still here lad?"

[Kamiidude]

At seeing the man vanish, Kaigen tenses up. Still unsure of whether or not the man means any harm, the reflexes from his sparring matches in the temple take hold. He's seen many people use this strategy before, though not necessarily in this way. Turn invisible to make it easier to catch your opponent off guard. Most people would react by quickly throwing out a large blast of flame and then judge their position by the sounds of pain. This had never been Kaigen's way. Quickly pulling out his ofuda from his belt and opening it in a smooth practiced motion, he reads the contents and dim purple flames wash burst out from where the man was just standing, outlining the floor, nearby chairs and wares. No humanoid figures can be seen. Why should it be any more effective now than when it was back then... he thinks in disappointment. Still cautious he recites a few more words from the ofuda and a slight golden glow surrounds him. He glances around the room warily. Looking towards the elderly man he contemplates his personality. Assaulted by his student and he barely bats an eye. Does the illusionist have him under some sort of mind control?
If it isn't apparent, this is Faerie Fire. It's a 5 ft radius burst and will outline even invisible stuff. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on who you ask, I rolled lower than Aaron on initiative and he reasonably moved at least 5 feet from where he was before. (probably to become visible in some fancy pose, smoking a pipe cross legged or something like that :P)
Sanctuary augmented with the arcanist's gloves is cast on self. DC 18 will save to attack or target me. Lasts 30 seconds.
Also, the invisibility only lasts 30 seconds as well. Mistake was verified with Aaron.

[Daphoa]

Caer smiled. He seemed to be doing a lot of that lately. Well, there was much to smile about. His recent performance for example. It certainly made up for his inelegant limping. Though speaking of his performance it wasn't quite done yet.

Are you still here lad?
Caer considered responding briefly, but that would detract from the show.

Throughout this time Caer was sneaking around the room quietly - though he really didn't need to be overly quite, the illusionary applause took care of that. Eventually ending up in a chair next to Miibaax, Caer crosses his legs and leans back in his chair, one hand holding his smooth chin.

"And here I am," Caer says outloud with yet another smile just as the spell's duration was up. The applause lasted a little bit longer and he made it roar up in the last few seconds.

So that'll be 36 seconds from when Caer first turned invisible. The ghost sounds will be up for another round after that (same duration)
If Miibaax ends up leaving the chair in that amount of time Caer will take his chair instead.

[The Big Orc]

Grimacing as the vines dig into his legs again, Raith turns so that he can watch the pathway from which the growling is coming from. My time is, it? Not like anyone is likely to miss me. Not even Mirrian. Oh Mirrian, if only you understood. If only I could have made you understand. But I guess you never will, as the growling gets closer Raith closes his eyes briefly, imagining Mirrian on one of there many jobs. "Heh, maybe it was all just a spell," her beauty. Raith waits for death to come around the corner.

Delaying action until he sees whatever he's up against

[Arkady]

Reylin angles himself over to the building and lands near where he heard the screams. Drawing his staff, he carefully steps around a corner, from which he can hear scrapping sounds. He also keeps alert as to the location of the growling, ready to leap back into the air in a hurry if the situation should prove dangerous.

[Rofltrollcopter]

Raith

Raith is mostly occupied by his potential demise, but he catches of a glimpse of a strange, feathered figure stepping into the street. He is unable to contemplate the scene any longer, as he is interrupted by the creature as it steps into his sight from around the side of the ruined house. It has the body of a large black wolf, that is where are are resemblance to anything conceived by a sane mind ends. Instead of a head, it possesses a large bloody stump. To his horror, Raith notices that it is still breathing as the stump wheezes, drawing in air as it disturbs the disconnected blood vessels exposed to the air. Instead of paws, each of its limbs ends in a singular great talon, scratching at the ground as it goes. It paws at the ground with its large, obsidian claws, and raises the stump straight up to the sky as it lets loose a blood-curdling howl.

Raith recognizes the creature as a Yeth Hound, a creature that stalks the Hells and preys upon unweary travellers. The beasts, though headless, still can hear, smell and see through various orifices around the stump of their head. They consume their prey using a large mouth-like opening that runs down their underbelly. They are sometimes used as guard beasts or trackers. They are not intelligent, but they do recognize Infernal. Raith is also aware of the following abilities:

Bay (Su)
When a yeth hound howls or barks, all creatures except other evil outsiders within a 300-foot spread must succeed on a DC 11 Will save or become panicked for 2d4 rounds. This is a sonic mind-affectingfear effect. Whether or not the save is successful, an affected creature is immune to the same hound’s bay for 24 hours. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Trip (Ex)
A yeth hound that hits with its bite attack can attempt to trip the opponent (+3 check modifier) as afree action without making a touch attack or provoking an attack of opportunity. If the attempt fails, the opponent cannot react to trip the yeth hound.
Flight (Su)
A yeth hound can cease or resume flight as a free action.


Reylin

Reylin

As Reylin approaches the derelict house, the first thing he notices is a tortured figure lying in the streets, surrounded by what appears to be blood and vomit. He is quite severly injured, and is covered in various cuts, bruises and scrapes. Of particular note is one of his legs. It looks quite severly wounded and from what Reylin can tell, somebody clawed at it and inflicted quite a bit of damage to the limb. From the trail of blood and what appear to be bits of glass embedded in his leg, you can tell that the person dragged himself threw the ground from the nearby building through the debris strewn area.

Reylin is unable to ponder this scene any longer, as he is interrupted by a creature from the depths of his nightmare’s stepping into his line of sight. It has the body of a large black wolf, that is where are are resemblance to anything conceived by a sane mind ends. Instead of a head, it possesses a large bloody stump. To his horror, Raith notices that it is still breathing as the stump wheezes, drawing in air as it disturbs the disconnected blood vessels exposed to the air. Instead of paws, each of its limbs ends in a singular great talon, scratching at the ground as it goes. It paws at the ground with its large, obsidian claws, and raises the stump straight up to the sky as it lets loose a blood-curdling howl.

Creature's appearance:
http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs23/f/2007/353/b/8/True_Yeth_Hounds_by_Verdego.jpg

Hex

After painstakingly extricating himself from the bonds around the chair, Hex collects his possessions sitting in the far corner of the dimly lit room. Looking for the way out, he follows the path taken by the figure as he left and finds a trapdoor that leads out into a deserted building in the Hive, not too far from where he was spying and, shortly thereafter, captured. He also notices that it has not been too long since he was captured; the reconnaissance took place just before dusk and now it is barely dark, street lamps only just now being lit. This part of the Hive is particularly desolate and few buildings nearby look even remotely habitable, much less hospitable. It takes only a little looking (and thankfully no asking of the locals) to find the one building in the region still intact. A rather ragged looking sign, “The Dodgy Dodger”, carved into wood hangs over an equally ragged looking door, with what appeared to be axe, sword and claws marks all over it as if it were besieged not too long ago and about to be breached.

Pushing open the door, Hex is greeted with a pungent musk reminiscent of dried blood and body odour (among other things no doubt). Along with the smell, he is welcomed by the silent stares of many of the patrons, turning to size up the newcomer. All variety of infernal creatures talk quietly to one another in small groups, mumbling unknown secrets and foul plans, and drinking strange brews foaming around the lips of their cups, like milk steaming and curdling at once. Hex also sees many half-orc bashers, a few drow and maybe a fiend or two thrown in for good measure, all packed into the narrow confines of the kip.

Something akin a barkeep stands behind a chest-height wooden counter at the back of the room, directly across from the door. He eyes you warily, and you notice he is holding some spiked metal rod in one of his 4 arms, the other 3 still working on clearing the counter and cleaning dishes from his patrons. With scruffy facial hair and a head of short curly black hair, he stands about 6 ½ feet tall, his features resemble something at least partially humanoid, though the skin colour is a little orangey and shiny to be human while the hands and arms seems too thick and long.

[Arkady]

Reylin moves quickly, running over to the figure on the ground, trying to assess his condition. "Are you alright?", he shouts to the person, keeping his eyes on the beast. At the same he places himself between the... thing... and the poor creature on the ground. He readies himself to defend should the headless beast attack.


Reylin also makes a couple of knowledge checks to try and determine the nature of the foe he faces.

Arcana: [roll0]
Nature: [roll1]
Planes: [roll2]

[ErminaPix]

Ermina is torn. She must seek out this Samael figure, yet the value of a child's life was one thing she was advocating for. Ermina flies a bit higher when they reach the center-ish area of the confusion. On her way up, she searches for the lost daughter (assuming the father is blabbering out a description in some manner). She also focuses her hearing to detect the call of said adolescent. Through this, Ermina remains invisible.

Search check [roll0]
Listen check [roll1]

[The Big Orc]

Looking at the creature that has interrupted his date with the headless wolf, Raith whispers, "Do I look fine? If you wouldn't mind killing that thing before it eats me, yes I know it has no mouth, I would be much appreciative. If you are, unfortunately for me, a bubber, get me my crossbow and run."

[WyvernBlade]

Miibaax waits for a response from Caer, but when there is no response from Caer through their mind link he takes a breath to speak but sucks back in his breath as flames roll across the floor. "Oooh oooh! That's hot?!" Miibaax stops shuffling around in his chair when he realizes the fire isn't hot at all. "Huh that's interesting. Gives off a nice lighting effect, but I still don't see where..."

"And here I am"

"Well that was quite impressive!" Miibaax says as he joins the applause.

After a few moments Miibaax rises from his chair with much complaining and wanders over to where Samael was working. "How is it coming?" he asks nodding to the hat the Samael is making.

[Rofltrollcopter]

Raith/Reylin


As Raith shouts to the feathered figure, another wave of nausea hits him like a boulder to the stomach. Reylin stands before the beast, who growls hoarsely through it’s throat and poises itself lower, ready to strike.

It snarls through its decapitated stump, and charges wildly at Reylin, as if to knock him out of the way onto the figure lying prone just behind him.

Keep in mind Raith, nauseated means you may only take a single move action each turn, and at 0hp meaning you can’t take any strenuous move or standard actions without dropping below 0hp. But with the razorvine restricting you, this means you can’t move yourself with that action.

Initiative:
Hound [/roll]1d20+6
Reylin 1d20+1
Raith 1d20+4[roll]
We screwed these up, they are in the OOC.

Reylin, you have the opportunity to move out of the way of the beast as he attempts an overrun on you.
http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Overrun


Ermina

Ermina/Xanian

Flying higher gives Ermina a greater sense of the destruction left in the wake of whatever catastrophe had befallen. Rubble and dust covers the streets and obscures her vision greatly, but she can make out the hunched figures of fathers over sons, mothers over daughters, and children over their parents, weeping and crying out in woe as they shake the limp, unresponsive body of who once was their dearly beloved. More young run around panicked much as the man she spoke to, looking for their parents to take them home. Through the bustle of guards and geomancers dealing with the rubble and wounded, and the moans of those who have lost it all, there seems to be little hope of finding one child in all the pandemonium.

~~~~~~~

After some searching through the debris and inquiring after some guards in the vicinity, Xanian finds the shop he was looking for: “Samael’s Dyes and Paints”. Though a little better condition than some of the surrounding shops, Xanian notices the door missing and judging by the condition of the hinges, it looks to have been blown off. All of windows are shattered, some of the glass strewn into the street before the shop. There is a hitching post just outside of the shop, and you can hear some commotion and chatter from inside the shop. Then suddenly there is a bright flash of coloured light from inside of the building and further commotion ensues.


Miibaax/Caer/Kaigen

Samael glances up at the call of his name, seemingly oblivious to the action that transpired beforehand, having been too focused on his work. “In just a moment my good man...Aaaaaand... Taaa-Daaa!” From behind the counter Samael emerges flourishes a wondrously coloured chapeau, a very stylish bucket hat made from the marvelous fabric you were shown. “There is even a little chin strap that is adjustable to ensure it shan’t fly away from a strong breeze or thieved from your person by ruff-scallion punks.” He saunters over behind you, clearly quite pleased by his design, and plops the hat onto your head, tightening the aforementioned strap snugly under your chin. “How is the fit my friend?” He says, clapping you on the shoulder, beaming at his creation. He lumbers around front so he can get a good look. “It looks absolutely marvelous on you good sir. This will surely bring me fortune aplenty!” He giggles cheerily, then quickly covers his mouth in embarrassment. Gathering himself and clearing his throat with a deep, throaty cough, he continues, “So, tell us young master, how fares your leg? I figure we better get you off to a proper healer, much as Kaigen seems to have patched that leg up a bit ‘imself.”

In case you don’t know what a bucket hat is...

http://www.hatsinthebelfry.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/outdoor-research-sun-bucket_sand.jpg

[Arkady]

As the beast charges at Reylin, he takes a swipe at it with his staff.
Attack roll for quarterstaff: [roll0]

As it continues its charge, Reylin attempts to block it from getting to the fallen man behind him.
Strength Check: [roll1]

Should his attempt to block be successful, here is the roll for trying to knock it prone: [roll2]

[Daphoa]

"A proper healer would be grand." Caer say. "As much as I'm no longer in agony, it still is quite a bother" and I'm in more pain than I'd like to admit... Caer thought to himself Man, this really gets in the way of things.

[NightAngel16]

Xanian dismounts and ties his horse to the hitching post. His hardened soles crunching on the broken glass, he enters the establishment with an air of confidence. Making his way through the shop, he takes note of the crowd of strangers and begins to browse the wares. Removing his helm, the dark knight begins to speak, "I apologize for interrupting any of your paltry festivities, but I require an audience with the man named Samael. I would like to discuss some private business matters with him." Xanian leans up against a wall, rather nonchalantly, and allows his eyes to wander the shop as he waits for Samael to make himself known.

[WyvernBlade]

"It is truly marvelous, my friend!" Miibaax reaches up to feel the hat. "It is as beautiful to the touch as it is to the sight. And this chin strap is sure to come in handy," Miibaax says as he tightens the strap on his new bucket hat.

When a figure covered in dull metal enters the room and asked to speak to Samael Miibaax turned to Samael and says, "I haven't even left the building and people are already coming to purchase this material to replace their dull colored garb." Turning to face the new comer Miibaax smiles and replies, "Welcome to the only store where you can get this marvelous material (Miibaax gestures to his hat) made into any type of clothing you want. And there is no need to speak to Mr. Samael here in private for it is not a secret that he sells this material. So come and we will have you fitted for a hat like mine, or maybe a scarf, or even a tabard. Miibaax approaches the in a welcoming manner and as he does so a quiet humming sound can be heard coming from Miibaax.

if any of you care its a DC 10 listen check to here the humming if you are within 15 ft.
Also Miibaax manifests suggestion on the new comer expending his focus. DC:20 will save to negate.

[Rofltrollcopter]

Reylin/Raith

Reylin braces himself and holds out his quarterstaff to block the hound's powerful leap. He manages to catch the hound's chest with the middle of his quarterstaff, stopping its motion through the air. The hound attempts to dislodge itself and move aside, but as it does so Reylin takes advantage of the leverage offered by the quarterstaff and manages to overpower the creature, its own momentum now redirected into forcing it into the ground. The creature smacks agianst the ruined cobblestones, with its obsidian claws now chaotically splayed out beneath it.

Hound is now prone. It is now Reylin and Raith's turn. Please mover your character token to where you want him to go and then tell us in the thread what action you want to take

[Arkady]

Reylin quickly checks the fallen man while the beast is downed, trying to decide what his next move should be.

Heal check: [roll0]

[Rofltrollcopter]

Reylin

Reylin is unable to get a good assessment due to the chaotic nature of his situation, but from what he could tell the man on the ground was beaten quite severly. Reylin also notices that the figure is clutching his stomach, although for what reason Reylin does not know. There does not appear to be any injury that cannot be healed by a healing spell.

[Arkady]

Making a split second decision, Reylin decides that his odds would be better if the man he was defending was able to help a bit. He quickly steps over to heal him.

Cast Cure Moderate Wounds: [roll0]

"Do you think you can move?", Reylin asks the man as he stands and turns to face the creature again.

[Rofltrollcopter]

Raith

The jolt of healing magic gives your system another chance to fight off the poison. You manage to overcome it this time, and are no longer nauseated. You are at 15 hp

Raith feels rejuvenated as a great rush of healing magic flows through his system. To his dismay however, the magic seems to have had minimal effect on the leg pierced by the razorvine, and he is still unable to stand.

Reylin
The healing magic flows from your hand into the man on the ground. The wounds covering the man quickly fade away, to his healer's eyes leaving him fully functional and close to the peak of physical health.

[NightAngel16]

Xanian narrows a glare at the elderly man. "I do not have the time to deal with such trivialities as rainbow colored cloth.", Xanian says with a thick tone of mockery in his voice. "I am here to talk to Samael about his alternative line of work...PLEASE MOVE ASIDE." Xanian emphasizes his last statement as if his tongue was as sharp as steel.

[WyvernBlade]

"Well it's your loss, but do as you please." Miibaax does move out of the way to let the stranger pass.

"Alternate work? Samael do you sell other wares that I have not seen? Because if you do I would very much like to see them."

[The Big Orc]

Making a half-hearted attempt to pull free of the vines with one hand, Raith says, "Move yes, use my legs," he points at the vines, "No." Spotting a dagger on Reylin`s side, he snatches it, and prepares to stab the hound if it comes close enough.
Move action: grab the dagger
Standard action readied: stab the yeth hound if it comes close enough
Attack roll (if needed): 1d20+4
Damage (if needed): 1d4+1

[ErminaPix]

Ermina sees her window of opportunity closing and follows Xanian into the shop. Once inside, she summons Fritz outside to continue searching for the child. Through their connection she sends Fare thee well good friend, and may your efforts be successful.

[petagee]

Raith/Reylin

The Yeth hound rather dexterously manages to regain its footing, steps towards Reylin and lunges towards Jared’s leg with his head stump. Just as the stump is about to contact the leg, the throat hole opens to a voracious, vicious maw of razored black teeth, poised to tear off Reylin’s leg. He bites deep, injuring Reylin then begins to shake it wildly, throwing Reylin to the ground beside Raith.


if attack roll successful, will attempt to trip Reylin
Attack [roll0]
Damage [roll1]
Trip [roll2]
Rolls are in OOC cuz I suck...

Ermina/Xanian/Miibaax/Caer/Kaigen

Not even missing a beat, Samael replies, put on an air of showmanship, Of course my good man. You must have heard about my fabulous paints. Not only do I specialize in fantastical dyes and fabrics for them; I have also a myriad of fabulous paints to go with them. He ushers you over to another table across the shop. Please, see here the amazing properties of this paint here. Your armor speaks like you are a man of great stature and boldness in battle. Perhaps a violent crimson would suit your plate! This paint here will do marvelously, striking fear into the hearts of your enemies, if you are so inclined! It appears black to anyone but one you attempt to intimidate, to them it has a dark crimson hue; very frightening! What's more, this amazing cosmetic is yours for 50GP. What a steal?! He finishes with large, flamboyant gesture, swinging his arms out in a wide arc.

[NightAngel16]

Xanian sighs. "You must take me for a fool Samael. As it seems that you are trying to avoid the subject at hand, I will get right to the point. In recent times you delivered a pack of celestial wolves to the animal caretaker Pytris. These 'wolves' appeared to be influenced by the same affliction that affects my griffon Kagé at the moment. I would be VERY grateful if you could elaborate on how you came upon such beasts or perhaps what sickness put them through such anguish. Oh and PLEASE, don't leave out the part about how your dye shop hides a secret animal trade business behind a curtain of false colors." Xanian casually unsheathes his executioner's mace and leans it against the table of paints. Taking a sample of the black "intimidation paint" with his fingers, he continues,"I don't enjoy having my time wasted Samael and my patience is coming to an end. If I were to show any less restraint, this dark crimson color might not be the product of an arts-and-crafts project." With that, Xanian smears the paint in a line across Samael's neck and gives the shopkeeper a quick malicious smile. >:)

Roll for intimidation [roll0]

[Arkady]

Perceiving his danger, Reylin casts Sanctuary on himself while still on the ground, and then slowly stands up to once again block the path of the hound.

[petagee]

Raith/Reylin

As Reylin finishes casting sanctuary, rising to his feet, the hound lashes out once more with its putrid gullet, trying to throw him to the ground again. Despite his spell warding against further attack, the hound breaks through, latches onto his leg once more and sends him plummeting down to the ground next to Raith. The hound, now poised to strike his next victim, begins panting in delight (or so it would seem. Hard to tell without a face... or head).

Attack of Opportunity [roll0]
Damage [roll1]
Trip Attempt [roll2]
Opposed Trip [roll3]

[petagee]

Will save against Sanctuary (DC 14 Will save)
[roll0]
The Hound is no longer under the influence of Sanctuary

[ErminaPix]

Ermina draws her bow with a sleep arrow strung, and alternates who she is aiming at; Xanian or Samael. She readies an action to shoot should either attempt a hostile move towards the other.

Sense motive on Samael 1d20+6

[Rofltrollcopter]

Ermina/Xanian/Miibaax/Caer/Kaigen

Smearing the paint across Samael’s neck, Xanian sees the colour instantly change from crimson on his finger to pitch black on Samael’s neck. He is frozen in terror, his hands shaking, but his voice steady as the earth, as he replies, “I do not appreciate your implications my good sir. I am a legitimate businessman in the eyes of the Guvners and I do not appreciate what you are insinuating.” He points to a crest above the inside of the door to his shop. “Do you see that? That means I am in good standing with the Free League. They do not appreciate their members being threatened. Make trouble here and you're going to wish your father only had enough money to pay for the whores he went through before he got to your mom, understand?"

crest above the door:

http://www.kriegstanz.com/images/freeleague.jpg


Ermina:
Ermina senses that Samael does not mean any harm to Xanian, despite the threat. Although, Samael is clearly troubled by what has transpired. It is unclear why he is troubled, however.

[NightAngel16]

The comment about his parents leaves Xanian a taste of bitterness, but he controls the urge to slam Samael into the table of paints."Honestly, insulting my mother now are we? Pathetic. Like a lost dog grovelling for scraps. And my father?" Xanian gives Samael a quick view of some rather pronounced canines. "I doubt you know anything about my father. But I digress."

The dark knight gives a short sigh. "I believe you are the one who does not understand Samael, as it seems you do not grasp the gravity of the situation at hand. So allow me to make things CRYSTAL CLEAR for you. You may think that the Free League gives you some semblance of protection from 'big bad bullies' like myself. That the 'trouble' I will give you will leave you alive enough to call down their wrath and leave me quaking in my shiny metal boots. This is not the case. If you do not comply with my request, I will have little choice but to separate your person from some rather vital extremities. This may or may not result in your untimely passing..." Xanian gives his shoulders a stretch (rotates them around) and then rests both his hands on the hilt of his mace.

[hexavi42]

Hex takes in the scenery and nods wearily at the innkeeper, ignoring the stares. He stops suppressing Malphas's sign - this looked like one of the few places where blackened tongue and teeth would be more beneficial than anything. Willing a raven into being behind his back, Hex tosses it onto a shoulder nonchalantly, as if he'd just been holding it there the entire time, bidding it to perch there and watch carefully behind him as he jauntily made his way to the bar.

Jingling a few copper pieces in his right hand, Hex asks the barkeep, "Any chance ya got a place for a poor cutter to drink and kip for a few nights? I don't make much trouble" with his best weary-traveler face.

"Oh, and if ya don't mind me askin' - if anyone in this place would know things, who'd ya think would know the most? It might be that I got a thing or two for them to appraise."

The raven takes 20 on spot and listen checks.
Roll for diplomacy on barkeep: [roll0]

[Daphoa]

"Well then," Caer says abruptly following the tall stranger while stepping partially towards the conversation. "I can clearly see you wish information from this man. And I must say, you have peaked my interest; I am also curious as to where your inquiries may lead. However there are no need for such threats. I'm sure Samael would be more than willing to respond without risk of violence." Caer ends with a friendly smile.

Though he projected an aura of calm, inside Caer was terrified. He wasn't entirely certain why he spoke up, except that he knew that he couldn't let this man threaten the man who had helped nurse him back to help. Despite this he was making a quick battle plan - if the man rushed him, Caer would blind him then roll to the side - wait no his knee wouldn't work. Maybe he could distract... no... hmm...

There is no way Caer is getting too close to the scary man. He'll walk towards them, but won't dare get closer than 10 ft
If the man gets within 10ft, Caer is going to back away slowly, and if the man attempts any violent actions (towards anyone) Caer will use Blinding Colour Surge on the man

[The Big Orc]

Laughing, "So, instead of saving me your just going to get yourself killed. I like you," still laughing, Raith readies the dagger as to stab the hound if it gets close enough.

attack roll [roll0]
damage [roll1]

[WyvernBlade]

Intrigued to know the truth about the accusations levelled at Samael Miibaax does not initially interrupt the conversation, but as things get a bit more heated he decides to speak up for he is far more potent with his tongue than his fists.

"Well that escalated quickly. You youngins must always exaggerate things beyond what they are. Neither of you need to be making threats seeing as no one has refused anything as of yet, however Samael I expect a logical and reasonable response from you if you do not wish things to become difficult. As for you, soldier, I think you best do your stretches in that seat over there. Now then let's have a civilized talk."

Diplomacy to attempt to convince Samael to tell us about the animals: [roll0]

[Kamiidude]

Hold Person with Arcanist's glove boost targeted at Xanian. DC 19 Will Save.

The subject becomes paralyzed and freezes in place. It is aware and breathes normally but cannot take any actions, even speech. Each round on its turn, the subject may attempt a new saving throw to end the effect.

What I say in my rant depends on the success and duration of said hold person.
Roll up to 5 times till you succeed.

Mike got 5 fails therefore bold rant about him being a bully!

A small murmer is heard from the boy in the brown robes who has so far been silent since the entry of this man in Black. As he closes his ofuda, Kaigen steps forward towards the now frozen intruder.
This is not the man you are looking for. Samael is a kind soul who took me in when I needed help! He sells dyes not animals, and even if he did, he would never hurt anyone.You think that because you're strong you get to decide how everyone else must act, but you're wrong. Power does not need to be used to harm and control. As Kaigen continues to talk about the falsehoods of the figure's "might makes right" beliefs, with some minor difficulty, he removes the weapon from the dark knight's hands. He walks towards the door and continues, I'm not trying to get you to quake in your boots, I just want you to leave Samael alone! To emphasize that last statement Kaigen throws the heavy weapon out the door where it clanks to the ground loudly about 2 feet from the threshold of the shop.I will make any edits as needed if interrupted significantly.

[NightAngel16]

Xanian feels a sudden pressure and finds himself unable to move or even speak for that matter... Oh wonderful. One of these sods decided to press their little panic button., he thinks to himself.

[ErminaPix]

Ermina continues to observe, bow at the ready. Her main focus shifts away from her 'friend' as he is disarmed and paralized. She also decides that should she shoot, she will immediately move to a different location.

FINALLY, someone who speaks Common!

Ermina briefly checks in on Fritz.

[Arkady]

"Feel free to join the fight at any time now", Reylin groans as he hits the ground again. The pain shooting from his now mangled leg gives him a wave of nausea, but he fights it down. "I don't suppose you have any tips at this point, do you?", he shouts back to the man, who oddly enough is still lying on the ground, dagger in hand.

[The Big Orc]

"Hmmm, well I would say that you should focus on hitting it instead of casting spells. Or, if you have a way to remove these vines from my legs, allowing me to stand..."

[NightAngel16]

Xanian shakes off the paralysis in his muscles. "You are still but a naive boy who takes the many falsities of the world at face value. It would be to your benefit to show a little more wisdom in the future" he replies back to the boy. The armor-clad figure goes out to retrieve his weapon and as he re-enters the shop he leans up against the door frame. " I do not believe I need to press Samael any further. I am sure the rest of you are now equally as curious as to what this dye seller does during his midnight hours", Xanian says, referring to the looks of anxiety and apprehension around room.

[Arkady]

"Lot of good that would do...", Reylin replies, raising his staff weakly to ward off the hound. He looks over quizzically, "And what vines? Your legs look fine to me, seeing as I just healed them."

[The Big Orc]

"What are you talking about, the vines are..." Raith cuts off, "All in my head!" Raith will close his eyes, then attempt to stand normally as though there were no vines in his legs.
during his next action of course, whenever that is
(eyes closed to help with disbelief if it is actually an illusion)

[Daphoa]

After a long and awkward silence, Caer finally speaks up. "Well then. I suppose I'm a little interested. Just a tad though. No one needs to get hurt." he finished with a pointed glare back at the large figure.

If no one else speaks up soon, Caer will look towards Samael and say "Well. Anything?"

[Rofltrollcopter]

Raith

As Reylin mentions that Raith's legs look fine, Raith experiences a moment of cognitive dissonance where he perceives his legs with and without the vines. Closing his eyes temporally shunts it from his mind, and he manages to convince himself that the vines are not real. He gingerly forces himself to his feet, part of his mind screaming at him that he as hurting himself. He opens his eyes, and he is fine. The vision of the vines forces from his mind.

You may take a standard action

[The Big Orc]

Raith moves around the Yeth Hound, careful to keep out of its reach.

[ErminaPix]

At this point, Ermina has settled on a rafter or sill of some sort above the crowd in the shop. She lowers her bow and starts thruming her fingers on the pouch attached to her belt. Still listening to the conversation below, she takes a good look around the store. She takes 20 on a spot check.

[WyvernBlade]

Not wanting to interrupt anyone at this point, Miibaax decides to use this time to regain his focus.

[petagee]

Raith/Reylin

Meanwhile, the hound growls as Raith begins to regain his footing, his kill now no longer helpless. Ignoring the felled Reylin, the hound lashes out at Raith with his severed stump. Seizing Raith's side, the hound throws him to the street.

Attack [roll0]
Damage [roll1]
Trip [roll2]
Opposed Trip [roll3]

Ermina/Xanian/Miibaax/Caer/Kaigen

Puffing out his chest and waddling over to Xanian to face him, You think too lowly of my friends, brazen sir. I have no secrets to hide. Whatsmore, you have no proof of any illicit happenings on my part. If it please you sir, tell me how you know such things to a sufficient degree of certainty that would implicate me in the illegal trade of beasts? It is brash indeed to accuse without cause, wouldn’t you say?

Hex

Without a word, the barkeep moves over to one of the nearby taps, and pours a flagon of some frothy beverage (identity unknown). He then moves back towards Hex, slams the flagon down, and snatches away the copper in his hand. Hex notes the clicking noise as he was walking behind the bar and, with a quick glance, sees that he is a quadruped with sharp, insectile bowed legs of that same colour and sheen that his arms possess. He then opens some cabinet below the bar and emerges with what once was once probably a bronze key that is now black with tarnish and filth. Just beneath the layer of grime, there is a faint outline of the number 7 at the hilt of the key. Five golds for number 7, he says in thick, hoarse voice. The speech is dull and fragmented, clearly not fluent or comfortable in the common tongue. He then sets the key down in front of you and leans in close. Dead are men that ask too many question here. Information, more valuable than life. But give me gold, I tell what I know.He then sets himself upright and crosses his arms, as if waiting for payment.

[NightAngel16]

In an overly smug tone Xanian remarks, "Oh really? I wasn't quite sure if I made my DISDAIN clear enough! Should I have used more paint? Maybe I needed to insult your parentage? Did you just need a good old-fashioned backhand? Thank-you for assuaging those concerns," Xanian gives a short mock bow, "your roly-poliness."

Xanian continues, "Now, hypothetically, if what you say is true, that would imply that Pytris, the resident animal caretaker of Ehlonna's temple, is a brazen liar! The indignity of it all! Was I deceived?! *super sarcastic tone here* Hmmm, maybe he just imagined the entire thing! I guess my griffon isn't actually sick and a pack of rabid celestial wolves never massacred those animals in the beastlands? *super super sarcastic tone* Perhaps, Pytris can clear this little misunderstanding up? Or even an emissary of Ehlonna?"

[WyvernBlade]

Miibaax rises from his chair and starts pacing around the room, as if deep in thought. After going back and forth once a quiet mumble was barley audible as he sits back in his chair, "Uhgh my darn knees."


"Samael, I have not known you long enough to say whether I believe these accusations against you, but you are now involved in this situation, whether you desire to be or not. You say that you have no secrets to hide, so tell us what you know, or suspect, so that you can be cleared of these accusations.

Miibaax will maifest read thoughts (expending focus) when he is near the back of the shop (at least 15ft away from the others, so the mental display doesn't display) and then aim it at Samael (and whoever else is in the 60ft cone). DC 20 will save to negate.

[Arkady]

"This thing is starting to piss me off!", Reylin shouts. Healing himself, he tries once again to stand.

Cure Moderate Wounds: [roll0]

[The Big Orc]

"You and me both," Raith smiles as he rolls to the left, stands and stabs the hound.

So, the way I described it was for flavor, the technical order would be
Move action: stand
Free action: five foot step
Standard action: I am flanking. SNEAK ATTACK!
Attack roll: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
Sneak Attack damage [roll2]

[petagee]

Raith/Reylin

As Reylin heals himself and stands, the hound sits idly by, waiting until Reylin is fully upright. He begins snarling and growling in anticipation of the kill. As Raith strikes out with his dagger, the hound deftly dodges the blow with the grace and ease of a man dodging the unrefined strike of a child. The hound’s throat rumbles and croaks, green, foaming fluid now leaking from the creatures neck orifice, as he leaps at Reylin’s chest.



Attack [roll0]
Damage [roll1]



Ermina/Xanian/Miibaax/Caer/Kaigen

So quickly my new found friends turn against me? You would take the word of this foul and aggressive stranger over mine? Kaigen, surely you trust me! I, who has taken you from the streets and put you to honest work. Samael’s voice continues to rise, and Xanian suspects that Samael is indeed trying to hide something from him.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fritz has been wandering the streets, asking after anyone he(she?) can find about the lost child. The armoured guards ignore him, having more pressing matters than the loss of one poor child. Others in the streets seem preoccupied with their griefs and searches for lost loved ones. Wandering back to where the man lay crying when Ermina last left him, Fritz sees a tall guard carrying a child approaching the man. The child in his arms is pointing at the man, still a puddle of tears on the ground. Daddy? He looks up and sees his most dear child, scrambles to his feet and seizes the child in his arms, tears of joy now streaming down his dirt-stained face. He collapses to his knees once again, hold the child close as the both sob softly in relief.

[WyvernBlade]

"Dear man, we are not turning against you, we are simply trying to get to the bottom of some mysterious activities. We are asking for your help. So will you not help us and have your name up held as one who seeks justice and helps others? Surely that would be a good thing for your business, would you not agree?" Gesturing to the chairs, "Now if we could please have a calm discussion about the matters at hand."

[The Big Orc]

Determined to slaughter the hound and one day feed its testicles to the Gentleman, Raith stabs at it again.

attack roll [roll0]
damage [roll1]
sneak attack [roll2]
Cmon a good attack roll....
Edit: FINALLY

[Arkady]

Grunting with the impact, Reylin pushes the hound off and takes a swipe at it with his staff.

Attack Roll: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[ErminaPix]

Putting away her imagined pan pipes, Ermina telepathically sends encouragement through her link to Fritz. My dearest friend, I am glad you were able to determine the happy fate of the child. We will rest better once this is all over knowing at least one child is safe. Now be cautioned, there is danger in here, and I fear my...companions will not take kindly to you. Mayhap you can stay close by and keep watch on our surroundings?

Miibaax, you are privy to this conversation too I understand.

[hexavi42]

Hex pats his almost empty auxiliary coin purse, worn just for this purpose (it also came in handy for dissuading potential muggers and pickpockets) and looks back to the innkeeper. "Five gold? Listen, friend, I don't got nearly that kinda jink to throw around. I'd like to rent the pikin' room, not buy it! Howsabout three gold for the room, and ya throw the chant in fer free? ". He takes out three gold pieces, one at a time, and lays them on the table carefully, as if parting with dear friends.

Diplomacy check to haggle: [roll0]

After a thorough round of haggling, Hex took the lowest price possible that he could while still getting information from the bugger. He could've paid in full, but his mother would never give him any rest ever again if she ever found out he'd paid the first price proffered.

Hex takes a sip from the flagon, steeling himself to only spit it out if it tasted considerably worse than it looked and smelled.

Given an opportunity, he slips the barkeep the picture of the almost-sigil to see if he gets any reaction. Otherwise, he sits and listens to the latest talk of the town.

[Rofltrollcopter]

Raith/Reylin

The hound deftly dodges Reylin’s spear swipe but Raith seizes this opportunity, with the hound distracted by Reylin, to thrust his dagger deep into the headless neck of the hound. Thick green bile spews out of the wound as the hound gargles screams of pain and terror, almost collapsing to the ground. Regaining its footing, it jumps into the air, attempting to fly away, yelping and whining as he goes.


Scream is Bay ability. DC 11 willsave or panicked for 2d4 rounds
Raith Save [roll0]
Reylin Save [roll1]
Duration [roll2]

Then, you each get an AoO as he takes off, assuming you aren’t panicked afterwards. I’ll let you two roll those.

Ermina/Xanian/Miibaax/Caer/Kaigen

Samael opens his mouth to respond, but just as he would speak, he freezes, his eyes shoot downwards, then flit around the room as if looking for something, or someone. Then he continues, getting more and more riled up, “No, I simply cannot abide that barbaric man’s presence while trying to have a civilized conversation!” Suddenly, the rage climaxes and Samael bursts into a wild fit of rage and begins screaming at everyone in the room, “THIS ISN’T ABOUT BUSINESS OR JUSTICE OR HELPING OTHERS! I WANT YOU TO LEAVE, ALL OF YOU, NOW!!!” Samael slams his fist into one of the nearby tables, causing it to shake violently. Panting and sweating, Samael stands, fists clenched, face red as fresh blood. After fuming for a few moments, he lets out a great sigh and continues panting and shaking, now bracing himself against the table with both hands. His head hangs limply, clearly exhausted after the outburst.

For Mibaax:

As soon as you speak to Samael, his eyes shoot downwards to the floor right in front of him, then flit around the room nervously trying to discern the location of the voice. He thinks, “But how did they find it? It is so well hidden! The illusion is flawless!”


Hex

Despite Hex's near prodigal haggling, the barkeep eyes narrow as Hex talks of having no money. “4 gold. No less. You cannot afford, you leave.” The barkeep taps the countertop with his insectile fingers until Hex relinquishes the last piece. He grumbles something indecipherable about upper city folks and puts away the coins, handing Hex the grimy key.

Bringing the brew close to his face, Hex notes the distinct hints of body odour and burning hair in the fumes coming from the cup. After steeling himself and sipping it, the taste seems to match the smell rather well. The barkeep chuckles as Hex is forced to spit out the foul concoction. “Firewater is acquired taste, friend.” Once Hex restores his composure, the barkeep leans in close once more, “Tell me what you want know. What dark secrets you need know?”

[Arkady]

Taking another swing with his staff, Reylin gapes up at the headless hound. "That thing can fly?", he says in amazement.

Attack Roll: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[The Big Orc]

"How little of the world have you seen? A flying hound surprises you?" Raith stabs the hound one last time hoping he will be able to claim one of the Gentleman's next meals.

Can't remember if I have to beat or tie for saves
Attack roll [roll0]
Damage [roll1]
and yes, we are still flanking :D
Sneak attack [roll2]

[WyvernBlade]

"I see no reason to get so upset, Samael. We were just trying to help, but I can tell when I am not wanted. I would suggest the rest of you accompany me and depart from here, before this man's yelling attracts any unwanted attention."

Turning to Caer,"How's the leg doing lad? We should get you to a healer and then maybe I can find an inn for some quite and rest."

"Thank you Samael for the hat, I shall display it for you. And you, Kaigen was it? (pausing for a nod or word of confirmation) for assisting me and my companion. Now let us be off Caer."

[ErminaPix]

Ermina can't fathom her good fortune. At last!!! These people are inefficient at retrieving information. No doubt he'll be more...agreeable when he believes himself to be alone. Perhaps he'll run like a rabbit into his little rabbit hole of a hidden room. This is the opportunity I've been waiting for...
Ermina readies an action to fly down and follow Samael wherever he goes.

[Daphoa]

Frowning in thought Caer pauses a bit before responding. "Yes, I suppose my leg does need a proper healer. It's still causing me quite a bit of trouble."

Thinking to himself: [I]Hmm... I still would like to know what's going on, but it's probably not worth the trouble. Likely. I'm sure it's far more trouble then I want. Yes. I should just leave and not do anything rash.
Nothing at all. That might cause trouble."

(After giving Kaigen a chance to respond)
Turning to go, Caer begins walking, then stops, turns around abruptly. "[COLOR="DarkRed"]You know I've had the most wonderful time. I do believe it would be a shame to leave without showing our new guest my performance.[COLOR]" Caer says with a twinkle in his eye and abruptly shoots light beams at the armoured knight and disappears in a manor that many in the room will find familiar.

NightAngel: DC 18 Will Save or be blinded for 6 seconds.

[NightAngel16]

Xanian maintains a cold-iron glare and begins to gather himself in order to leave. "What a motley crew of incompetent sods! Only a fool would think you have nothing to hide at this point Samael. I will be taking my leave, but, Free League or no Free League, my return will occur sooner than expected." With these parting remarks, he whips his cloak back and exits the premises.

Xanian will mount up and ride to a nearby establishment to grab a quick bite to eat. Ideally he would like to have line-of-sight to Samael's shop, so if he can't find a restaurant with vision, then he will pretend to browse the wares of another nearby shop. Hopefully not every shop is in ruins :P If he is able to do this, he'll be keeping an eye on any suspicious activity in the dye shop.

[WyvernBlade]

Watching the man in metal mount his horse only to dismount again a short distance away Miibaax shakes his head, "And I thought I didn't like walking."

As Miibaax and Caer depart from the building to find a healer, Miibaax asks Caer, "Samael mentioned the Free League, do you know what that is?"

[Kamiidude]

Kaigen is stunned by Samael's outbursts. His mouth open, he stuttered to say anything. "I.... I..." , and then nothing more. He looked down in shame for being a student who was unable to defend his master. Trying not to meet Samael's gaze, Kaigen went up the stairs to his room and sat on his bed.

Samael was a kind man, was he not? Even if he wasn't, he sold dyes not animals. Where would they be kept? There was nowhere in the shop that he knew about where they could be able to stay.

There was that delivery he made earlier this week late at night though. The package didn't feel like it was full of dyes and he couldn't quite remember what the man he gave it to looked like. It was like there was fog in his memory. It was late though and he must not have been paying attention. Samael had assured him that it was an urgent delivery and that was why it needed to be made at that time. Why would he lie?

[petagee]

Raith/Reylin

Both Raith and Reylin’s last attacks barely miss the hound as it glides away. Before either of them have a chance to respond, the hound takes cover on top of the roof of a nearby house and is out of their lines of sight. Raith and Reylin are left with their injuries in the empty street, and for a rare moment in the Sigil something akin to silence remains.

Ermina/Kaigen

Samael becomes visibly deflated and loses his bluster when he sees Xanian leave the room. He pulls out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his brow, watching everyone leave. As soon as the rest of the party is well out of sight, Samael begins dashing around frantically, gathering things from his shop and packing them away in some bags, as Kaigen makes his way up to his room. Samael begins babbling incoherently, in a sort of nervous trance, picking up and packing away things, ... The Gentleman... very displeased... leave, leave, leave... Then snapping out of it, he looks around for a moment. Then suddenly turns and dashes up the stairs to Kaigen’s bed, grabs him by the scruff of his neck and pulls him so close Kaigen can smell Samael’s breakfast. His voice is soft and intense. His eyes are frightened. Haven’t you heard a word I’ve said? We need to leave. If they find out, The Grinning Gentleman... Samael shivers and squirms quite violently. Grab what you need, and be quick about it! Then wait for me out front. Without even waiting for a response, Samael dashes down the stairs and resumes his hodgepodge dance around the room.

Xanian

Leaving the shop, you see a rather ragged looking “The Flying Blink-Dog Inn” sign hanging in front of a nearby building that, unlike many of neighbors, withstood the assault earlier this afternoon and remains standing. The shop is barely in sight of the tavern, but the front door is still visible from some of the tables near the windows of the inn. A very dim, cold room awaits you inside The Flying Blink-Dog. Clearly, this hasn’t been a good day for customers. A lonely barkeep sweeps the floor of the inn, brushing rubble and clearing items that were destroyed during the incident. Upon your entering, he perks up quite noticeably. In a thick, brutish accent, he chimes, Aftanoon ta ya Sire! What’da be yer fancy tadae?

Miibaax/Caer

Walking out of Samael’s shop, Miibaax sees that the dust is finally settling after the catacylsmic events of earlier. Limping down the road, Caer spots a small tent in the rubble of a nearby building. Harmonium guards are bringing many of the nearby wounded on stretchers into the tent.

Hex

The chant? Not much of late. A large force of Demons have pushed the Devils out of Acheron, first time in recent memory that has happened in the Blood War. Things are more tense with the folks who do business with them. There’s been some rumblings in the Lower Ward, forgeworkers are upset that the Free League might make a deal with the Cabal to get Bodies to work in the Forges, theirs’ been talk of planning a strike. Last, some new crime lord’s been muscling in on the local cross-trade, some smiling man or what not. Make no sense to me, or why simians would place stock in changes in face.

The bartender glances at the paper but does not react, he barely even acknowledges its presence. Paper is horribly common around Sigil. He seems more interested in returning to the needs of his other patrons.

[NightAngel16]

Xanian gives the man a quick glance and replies, "A bloody mary... and whatever the lunch special is should be adequate." The dark knight places an amount of coin on the counter (typical to whatever the average price of a meal generally is at a local tavern) and saunters over to one of the tables near the window to begin his vigil over the small dye shop.

[Arkady]

Heart still pounding from the intense fight, Reylin stares after where the hound disappeared for a few more seconds, listening intently for any signs that the beast could be returning. He slowly relaxes, leaning heavily on his staff and letting out an explosive breath that he wasn't aware that he had been holding in.

Looking over at the man he just fought with, Reylin smiles weakly, "Fun little fight, no?" Stepping closer, he checks the mans injuries. "Do you need any further healing?", he asks.

Heal Check for checking injuries: [roll0]

[The Big Orc]

Pointing out where the hound had bit him, "It wouldn't hurt. So what brings you to this city? Saving berks who bite off more than they can chew?" Gathering his equipment, he puts his leathers back on and slips his weapons back into their sheathes. "I wont be needing this anymore," tossing the borrowed dagger back to Reylin.

[Arkady]

Reylin steps over and casts another healing spell, fixing most of the damage done. As he is working, he responds to the man's earlier inquiry, "Travelling, mostly. I don't really have a firm destination in mind, which has me wandering about a bit aimlessly. My name is Reylin by the way." Finishing his work, Reylin steps back, catching the dagger as it is tossed to him. Sheathing it, he continues, "If you don't mind my asking, what are you doing here? What I mean to say is, how did you get yourself into this?" He gestures to the scene that moments ago was a battleground.

Cure Light Wounds: [roll0]

[The Big Orc]

Stretching his newly healed body, Raith pulls out a dagger and begins flipping it between fingers, passing it back and forth between his hands before sliding it up his sleeve. "My name is unimportant for now, as I have many and the one you need to use will change depending on whom we are around. For now, call me Raith," stopping to ponder the question asked, "Why was I here? I owed a powerful fool a favor and when he called it in, he failed to mention the cutter was a magician." Looking over the strange being in front of him, Raith makes a snap decision, "You busy? I could use some help with an investigation I have just decided to undertake. You can stay at my place while your in the cage as compensation."

[Arkady]

"Raith it is", Reylin replies, looking faintly amused at his companions introduction. He leans against his staff as he thinks about the man's offer. "Depending on what you have in mind, I think I could help you out", Reylin replies after a minute or two. "Shall we discuss the details as we walk? I don't much care for this place anymore." He looks again at their surroundings. "I was heading to an inn just down the road before I was diverted. Shall we continue on to there, or did you have another place in mind?"

Reylin will follow Raith's suggestion as to where they should go, just to speed things along.

[ErminaPix]

It is entirely obvious to Ermina that Samael is making a break for it. A war is raging in her head as to how she should respond. She mentally plans out her options. Making a split second decision, she flies by the doorway that Samael has just passed through following Kaigen. Assuming the area where they are in is not larger than a 40ft radius circle, she'll silently drop a thorn in the two's general direction and dart towards the trap door she'd spotted earlier. But what if it is locked? Magically, no problem. But a good cold iron one? Ghah, this is frustrating.

She righteously draws her bow and shoots Samael in the back of the neck. But there is always the chance it might fail. Or he'd actually pass out and this Gentleman figure could come in the meantime. Surely that would be gruesome, and could she live with that blood on her hands?

Somewhat deflated, Ermina approaches the packed bag which Samael abandoned before going upstairs, and casts an invisible Arcane Mark on the side of it. Then she examines the trap door closer. Pulling down her sleeve, she tries to open the door.

[The Big Orc]

"I would recommend not staying in the Hive if you want to wake up tomorrow morning. With your combat skills, you would be lucky to wake up in an alley naked. I have a place in the clerks ward. We should be able to get there unhindered unless we run into my unpleasant friends of earlier." Leading the way, Raith begins to talk, leaving a lot of... minor details out. "Earlier today, a," switching to thieve's cant "Life favor," and back to common "Was called in on me. I was told I had business with a man named the Grinning Gentleman in a tavern not far from here. When I met with the man, I quickly realized I was under a spell. I began talking more than I should have and soon the Gentleman had me following him and his berks out the door, with the promise of a business offer. After luring me to where you found me and, well, if your any good at judging a persons condition, you know what happened. I overheard him say something about a man in the clerk's ward that his men had pulled a job on. I intend to put the Gentleman down. Well, I had intended to feed him the testicles of the hound that escaped us. But carving his heart out will have to do." Pausing in step to look at Reylin, "The Gentleman is extremely dangerous. I went in uninformed and he could have killed me easily." Continuing forward, "What I propose will end the reign of a major crime gang in the city. And, it will clear my debt to a rather unfavorable bunch."

Raith stops talking as he gets to busier parts of the hive and keeps winding through the city. As he makes his way through the Hive, he signals Reylin to fall back for a second. Having spotted a likely target, Raith moves towards a man wearing heavy armor whose coin pouch dangles visibly from his belt, a lovely target for any thief, with the only weapon visible a sword. Approaching from behind in the midst of the crowd, he slides the point of his dagger out of his sleeve and uses it to cut the pouches cord, catching it deftly with his other hand. Walking back towards Reylin, the pouch already pocketed, he continues towards the clerks ward. "I lost mine earlier. And I will need a small resource until I get a chance to replenish my own."

Arriving in the clerks ward, he leads Reylin to a vendors stall a few doors from his home, "Wait here a moment, I can't be seen walking into my home like this." Raith slips into the alley where he hid his courtiers outfit and quickly gets changed, putting his thieves garbs into his sack after wiping the dirt on his face off with it. Coming back to Reylin, he guides him into his home, whispering into his ear, "What ever you do, don't use my name in front of anyone here." He walks into his home.


I figure thieves cant would have a cool word for life debt
Sleight of Hand check [roll0]
I am going to work on the assumption that (if I managed to snag the purse, I attempted to pick the target the least likely to react if someone bumped into him due to the congestion on the street and who was likely of a fighteresque class, therefore having a relatively low spot/listen check, and who was probably busy talking with someone) the purse didn't have a whole lot in it

[Daphoa]

"The Free League? Nothing too exciting there, they just represent the salesmen 'round town." Caer says distractedly. Noticing the tent, Caer points and says "Hey look - they seem to be healing people, let's go." and without another word hobbles towards the tent.

Looking for the man who looks to be most in charge Caer approaches him (or her) and begins talking. "Sir (or madam) as you can see I have been injured - could I please be seen to. This is causing me quite a bit of pain."

[Arkady]

Reylin follows after Raith, using his staff as a walking stick which conveniently keeps it close at hand. He listens intently, both to Raith and to his surroundings, trying to get a feel for the man and the city. He doesn't ask many questions, but rather keeps his own counsel on what Raith is telling him.

Reylin frowns a little when Raith cuts the man's purse, but otherwise doesn't say anything. He does however ensure that his own coin purse is more securely hidden within one of the several pouches that are a part of his armor.

Upon arriving at Raith's home, Reylin takes a moment to look around the immediate surroundings, making mental notes of the immediate area. Turning, he follows Raith inside, not quite sure what to expect.

[hexavi42]

Hex sighs. <"Where are the pikin' bards when you need them? At least they've no shortage of piddle 'n squeak to fill an ear with.">

Just in case, he commits the sign to memory, then passes the paper to the barkeep. "Well, if'n you know of a cutter who might know what this is about, pass it by them fer me, will ya? It'll be worth a fair bit o' jink, if ye can find me anythin' useful."

With that, Hex turns to leave, mug of firewater still in hand (Who knew - it could come in useful for delousing the bed or something).

If it's not yet dark, he'll wait until it's dark to head out again, making conversation with Malphas in his room to burn time. If it's dark, he'll head out immediately. In both cases -

Hex heads up to the room and locks the door. He melts a little wax, and makes an impromptu wax seal between the door and the door frame before popping out the window (it's always nice to know if someone else is checking up on him). Once outside, he scouts out a neat little secluded niche and sends the raven upwards, watching from its eyes for anything worth his while. It'd been a while since the first time he learned to do this, under Malphas's guidance. It still felt good - the feeling of flying, sensation of air streaming, slipping against feathers, watching Sigil bustle and hustle and skulk below him.

[petagee]

Xanian

The barkeep snatches the money and gives a little chuckle as he retreats behind the bar. Returning a few moments later, he slams a flagon of ale on the table for Xanian. A bloody mary is fer a bloody gerl. I wus unaware I wud be servin’ one tadae en ma establishment. Ef I’da known ahead o’ time, I’da bought sum tomato juice fer ya, mi laday. He gives a little courtesy before he shambles back behind the bar, roaring with laughter so loud that he almost keels over from the exertion. If Xanian doesn't interrupt too much, he returns in a few minutes with a stew and bread. Afterwards, he continues his cleaning.

Raith/Reylin

Deftly snatching the purse, the man hardly even noting Raith as he passes, the duo head towards Raith’s home, Raith now enjoying the extra heft of 5 gold pieces in his purse. They arrive without incident.


Ian, if you would like to describe the area around your house, please be our guest (it is your place after all).

Ermina/Kaigen

The door is of simple make, the latch folding into the floor almost invisibly. Tugging at the latch handle, the door doesn’t give at all. There is no visible lock or other unlocking mechanism on the door itself.

Miibaax/Caer

The chaos of the city streets disappear before your eyes as you enter the tent. An almost military sense of order appears as Harmonium guards assist the grey robbed acolytes of the Bleak Cabal in tending to the wounded. A rather sympathetic (and altogether quite attractive) nurse turns to greet you upon your arrival. In an almost comically high voice, she replies, Of course my dear! Sit over here, and we’ll take care of you! She gestures towards one of the cots in the tent. Start from the beginning of the incident and explain what happened. The doe eyed girl begins tending to your leg as she waits for a response. She begins probing the leg, assessing the extent of the injury. At first the examination sends shooting pains up your leg, but her hands are gentle and trained and can see you wincing where the pain is worst.


Hex

The bartender extends one of his chitinous appendages and slides the paper towards him. He tilts his head, his unblinking stare poring over the symbol and his mandibles start clicking in thought. After a while, he slides it back towards Hex. No idea, could mean many things to many. Need to know context of where it was found and how it was used. Even if I knew, unlikely I would know. Clerk’s ward is where answer may be found. Many scholar there, knowledge from across the planes can be found. In a library perhaps, or in the records of the Fated, if you could convince them to part with such a secret. Eitherway, more likely to find answer there than in hive. Some here give you an answer, do not mean it is right one.

The time that Hex spends until he makes it to his room are uneventful, punctuated only by a rather intoxicated githyanki insisting that the Lady of Pain did not really exist, and is in fact only four squirrels inside a headdress.

When Malphas’ raven takes to the skies, it is quite dark out, sometime just before midnight. There is naught but the bustle of life, some workers who were out late hurrying quickly to their homes lest they fall victim to whatever basher would take them as a mark. There are some of the beggars and the homeless who search for a hiding spot to wait out the night, and the ever present silent Bodies. Hex notices that there seems to be an undercurrent of tension throughout the various inhabitants, and some of them nervously glance up at the sky. About half an hour later, Malphas’ raven flies over an abandoned section of the Hive. Hex hears a unnatural scream, and Hex sees a decapitated dog flying away from the ground and take shelter on a nearby roof.

Fun little fight, no?


Congratulations, If the raven sticks around you have access to the Raith/Reylin exchanges.

[NightAngel16]

As the barkeep returns with the food Xanian breaks into a dark chuckle, "My apologies for earlier. When I prepare a bloody mary, I tend to forgo the tomato juice for something a little more authentic." He breaks into a wide grin (pointy teeth!) and then begins to eat with a disturbing savagery uncharacteristic to his demeanor. He also continues his watch over Samael's shop.

[hexavi42]

Hex ignored the githyanki - he'd heard and argued over crazier. One of his friends was a rather outspoken proponent of the idea that they (all the thinking peoples everywhere) were all meat puppets controlled by sentient beings for their entertainment and, if they were to ever get bored one day, the world could just end.

Plot convenience aside, my character would be much more interested in a headless flying dog. If they happen to stick around though...

Hex was actually almost nodding off when Malphas mentally prodded him.

<Oooh, ooooh, oooh! Can we keep him? I already have a name for him! Nearly Headless Ned! Except he's completely headless, but you know, what can ya do?>

<Wow. First time we've seen that before. Let's get in a little closer, shall we? And what's that even from?>

Hex could almost feel Malphas rolling his eyes in the back of his head. Always with the "Oh, you wouldn't understand. It's an outsider thing.". He banked left and made for where the mutt had landed.

Still taking 20 on spot check. What can the dog do, try to eat me with a neck stump? Hell, it can't even hear...

[Daphoa]

"Well Caer begins dramatically. "I was walking along - showing a newer sod 'round town." He says in his most charming voice. "He was old and didn't know exactly where to go so, out of the goodness of my heart I decided to help him out. Caer flashes his best smile at this point. "I was just leading the sod towards the inn - he asked for a place to spend the night - when suddenly the fight broke out. I didn't see too much, I was running, but suddenly my leg was in pain and next thing I knew I was on the ground."

Caer's voice darkens at this point. "I saw her. You know. It was the Lady - she came and stopped the fight herself." After a brief shudder, Caer was quickly back to his cheerful self.

"In pain, the man I guided managed to get me to someone with some basic healing and he fixed up my leg a bit - it used to be much worse. And now 'ere I am, in more than capable hands." He says with a smile at the woman.

[ErminaPix]

What I wouldn't give for a badger...Fritz, a little help perhaps? Ermina looks intently at the door and casts Detect Magic. If there is something magical locking the door, she'll cast dispel magic. Then, with a little help from Fritz (time permitted) she'll try opening the door again.

[Arkady]

Reylin looks around the house, nodding approvingly as he is shown around the home. When the tour is over, Reylin sits in a chair at the table.

"You mentioned debts and ending gang leaders on the way over. As you may have already guessed I am quite new to this city." Leaning back, Reylin continues while his eyes wander about the room, "You seem to be fairly knowledgeable about the ways of Sigil, so I will defer to your expertise in how you would like to proceed with this plan of yours."

Looking back at Raith, "You do have a plan, don't you?"

[WyvernBlade]

Looking at the massage the Caer is getting and thinking about his own legs, he is becoming quite envious of Caer, as his legs feel as if they had been hit by a giant rock flying through the sky too.

"Yes, young Caer here was kind enough to give me tour around town, but then he got hit by a rock that one of the two titans threw up, when we were on our way to an inn." Looking up and down the women's body he says, "And although I may not know where to find and inn in Sigil, I am quite knowledgeable about other things and I am sure I would find an inn in your body if you gave me a tour. (Miibaax finishes with a charming wink)

[The Big Orc]

"The plan comes latter, first we need information. The Gentleman mentioned a job on a scribe in the clerks ward. The scribes name was Balthazar. I want to visit him personally. Then we follow wherever that leads us. Also, I need to get a message to the people who called in the favor to tell them the job wasn't failed, it's just not done yet. Otherwise this is all pointless. As far as I know they don't know about this place, fortunately, so they shouldn't be able to find me. Your one of two people who have seen me as Raith as well as here." Glaring at a wall, "How could they not mention he was a mage," he mutters just loud enough for Reylin to hear, "Anyways, whatever good it may be, two berks in the Gentleman's employment are Fernz and Ruk, we may be able to get them when they are not near the Gentleman. They may know something of use." Raith sits down across from Reylin, "And if I hadn't pissed off a barkeep, there is someone at The Watering Hole that may be able to help us. The Gentleman, gah I am getting annoyed at calling him that, mentioned that the barkeep was not a fan of the Harmonium looking around his bar so if we can convince him that they are investigating he may give up some information. Hmmm, I am starting to feel some plans coming together." He stands up, "I need to send some messages. I will be back in a few hours, are you planning on sleeping here tonight?"

[Kamiidude]

Kaigen is not sure what is going on though he understands enough that this sounds like fleeing. A familiar feeling of fear begins with him and a flash of memory from what was not more than two weeks ago sparks in his mind.

Kaigen is running through a temple, other acolytes dogging him. Fire landing each time where only moments before his feet were. They are not yet trying to kill him. No, that would be too dangerous as they would risk harming the ofuda that is clutched in his hands. Once they can take that ofuda scroll from him then his life is forfeit. Until then, they are herding him; cornering him.

Kaigen shakes his head as his mind flashes back to the present, but the fear remains. He glances over at his belongings. The sparse few things he has are in his bag as there was never any need to take them out. The ofuda that has become his is still clutched in his hand. He carries that with him always. The bag is thrown over his shoulder as he quickly follows the directions of the man who took him in and exits the building.

He didn't do anything wrong. It has to be a misunderstanding. Kaigen reasons to himself. Even though he wants it to be true he finds it difficult to believe it so.

[Arkady]

"Unless you can think of another arrangement that would work better", Reylin replies. "I will remain here while you are gone. Perhaps get some sleep. It has been a busy day"


I am running under the assumption that it is currently "night time" in Sigil. If this is not true let me know and I will revise my post. Reylin will wait for Raith to leave, use a couple 1st-level spells to heal up completely, and then meditate for an hour to regain spells. If Raith has not returned by then, or if something does not interrupt him in the meantime, Reylin will then sleep for two hours.

[The Big Orc]

Before leaving, Raith will head up to his bedroom alone, and open the secret compartment in the floor where he leaves his jewels and puts them on. He quickly writes a letter to the Five Omens explaining that while the job isn't finished, it hasn't yet failed and that the Gentleman would die as demanded.
He will then leave, heading towards the Lower Ward. Once he arrives, he will search for a group of the orphan kids he normally uses for information.
Handing the last kid who helped him out a gold coin, Raith quietly asks the group, "I need a message delivered and some information, anyone want to get payed?"

also, for future notice, in my characters inventory, things marked "home" are not with me

[Rofltrollcopter]

Kaigen

Samael appears to calm down as he moves about. He gathers documents, a large coin purse and a few other items. As he moves around he says “I have a cousin in the Lady’s ward, he should be willing to pet me up for a few nights... After that we can see. Maybe he won’t find and will see that we haven’t done anything... heh. Well we can start over somewhere else, a shop is fine and good but its not worth a life. Besides, I’ve always wanted to see the prime material...”. He looks at a candle in thought “No, I can’t bring myself to that. Tidy and lock this floor up my boy, I’ll see to the stockroom.” As he moves back down the stairs he adds “I am sorry about all of this”.

Ermina

After casting detect magic, the door, and a great many other objects in the room, including her arcane mark, begin to glow in all manner of colours and shades. Examining the door more close, Ermina sees the aura from just beside the latch, where a deadbolt or lock would be, judging by the location of the hinge. Casting dispel magic on the door, there is a moment of silence followed by a soft click. With the help of Fritz, she lifts the door to reveal a dark staircase leading into the lightless opening beneath the floor.

Peering into the darkness, Ermina’s enhanced visison allows her to see a moderately sized room about two thirds the size of the stockroom above. It is filled with shelves, all of which are quite cluttered and disorganized. They are filled with various containers and bolts of varied fabric. The ceiling is lined with panels of a dark metal, and along the walls there are occasional glass spheres. Ermina picks up a faint aroma of pungent chemicals and hidden beneath that, a trace of animal manure.

Just as the door is opened, Ermina hears Samael thumping and puffing down the stairs. She must make a split second decision, with the door open and Samael approaching.


Miibaax/Caer

The nurse girl eyes are locked to Caer’s face as he beguiles her with the story of his brave injury. She swoons in adoration as he speaks of his aiding the old man. There is a sharp gasp and her hands fly to cover her mouth as he recounts the lady. Her face softens again at the mention of the kind soul who tried to mend his leg, but she shakes her head and gives a ‘tisk-tisk’ at the end. “Well that explain why the bone isn’t healed properly.”

After Miibaax’s comment, the girl blushes beet red. “Oh sir, you are being most improper! I would think that wiser men as yourself would show a little more decency towards a woman!” giving him a stern look of disapproval. Turning back to Caer, she continues.“Don’t worry, I’ll fix it, good as new. All I need to do is break the bone again!” She gives Caer a bright, reassuring smile (that doesn’t do much in the way of reassuring).

The reaches down under the bed and pulls out large clamps and secures his leg to the cot with heavy iron braces. After, she retreats to grab a large pair of pliers, almost as big as she is. While this makes a rather silly juxtaposition, the silly image is not the least bit comforting considering what she plans to do with the wrench. “Be strong my brave sir. This will only hurt for a moment... Though you may not want to watch.” She gives a scarily bright smile as she leans over to secure the device.

Assuming he makes no pleas for repose, Caer is quickly greet with a sharp, sickening crack accompanied by perhaps the greatest pain imaginable. Then, hardly a breath later, the pain from his leg disappears with her touch on his leg, and a numb, tingling sensation ensues, not unlike when blood returns to an extremity that was under some pressure. Though this sensation does not subside as quickly as continues for a while after. The girl is perky and incredibly pleased with herself. “Oh how wonderful! You’re all better!” She leans down and gives Caer a quick peck on the cheek. “Now that you’re all fixed I needn’t keep you any longer. You may leave whenever you feel ready!” Unless he gives her a reason to stay, she gives him a perky wink and a curtsy before she flies off to her next patient, softly singing to herself.

As Mibaax and Caer enter the tent, they notice that the sky is begin to go dark. Nighttime is approaching.

Xanian

The barkeep eyes Xanian’s teeth, then continues on his way. Over his shoulder, he begins speaking as he resumes his cleaning, “Ay’ve seen much scarrier folk tha’ yuh little lordling. Just be keepin’ yer fangs behind thoyse blue lips o’ yurs and we’ll be gettin’ on just fine. You’ll be findin’ no snacks o’ that sort ‘ere though.”

As Xanian sits back and observes the shop, he sees the old man help the injured one move out into the street and inside one of the nearby tents. About five minutes later, he sees a lot of movement just inside the entrance of the shop. He also notices that the sky is dimming as dusk approaches.

Hex

The hound begins to whine softly, licking its wound with an altogether revolting slimy, black-blue tongue from the maw of its headless neck. It remains alert, watching to ensure its assailants don’t look to hunt him down. As Hex’s raven makes its way towards the beast, the hound decides to leap away into a dark alley way a few streets down and disappear into the cold, dark night, loosing one last malicious howl into the pitch dark. The conversation below continues between the two figures.

[NightAngel16]

Xanian takes note of the commotion happening in the dye shop, "Intriguing. It seems that the little pig is preparing for a little trip... He scarfs down the remainder of his food, takes a final swig of ale, and promptly leaves the establishment. Leaving his mount near the tavern, he makes his way through the crowds, towards the shop, with a little more subtlety than before. He takes up a post just on the edge of the door frame, such that he can eavesdrop more effectively on the activities happening near he entrance without being noticed by whoever is inside.
Xanian readies an action to clothesline with his weapon anyone attempting to leave the shop.

[petagee]

Raith

The children jump excitedly at the proposition of gold. There is some shoving in front of the group for first spot in line. One of the more vocal children starts speaking, Pick me, mi lord. Best one fer yer jink! I never peel, turn stag or get scragged! He is quickly elbowed in the side by another of the boys. Bar that Caster, you ruddy cross-tradin’ berk. He’ll take yer jink and bob ya, sure as can be, before he’s even outta sight. Let me handle both, I can get both done in half the time, with the dark o’ the chant fer whateva yer afta! There is more jostling and shouting as the kids compete for the money offered by Raith.

[The Big Orc]

Smiling, So easy, handing a gold coin and his message to the first kid to speak, "Deliver this to the Five Omens, when I have their response, there is another coin. Stick around this area until you get it." Once he has run off, he bends down and speaks quietly to the rest. "The Grinning Gentleman. Any of you with good information on him or anyone who works for him by this time tomorrow gets five gold coins. Meet me here and don't get caught. Any questions?"

Its not a bluff if I expect to have the coins by the time I meet them right? :P
Also, how many of them are there?

[WyvernBlade]

Waiting until they are outside of the tent Miibaax says, "Ahh what I would give to be young and handsome again when those types of lines actually worked." He gives a little chuckle as he thinks of his younger years.

"So where are we going to now? Seeing as this place is mostly in ruins, I might want to find an inn in a more 'upright' place of Sigil."

Miibaax follows Caer and will look over to see if the dark man in armour is still at the tavern.

[ErminaPix]

Ermina mentally screams at Fritz to hide (or leave the shop depending on which is fastest). She slips into the room and closes the trap door behind her. She flies to a shelf by the trap door and hides in the shadows. She looks intently around the room as she mentally explains to Fritz 'I am fairly certain whatever affected those poor animals is not a danger to me, but I would not risk your well being. Her Holiness forbid you contract such an ailment.' Ermina watches and listens through his senses to determine what is happening on the other side of the door.

[Daphoa]

“Don’t worry, I’ll fix it, good as new. All I need to do is break the bone again!”

"Well... I'm sure you know what your doing." Caer says apprehensively. "How bad could it - GAH!!!! @%#$!!" yelling out in pain. This was somehow worse than the original pain of breaking the bone. Then suddenly it was over and the leg felt fine.

“Oh how wonderful! You’re all better!” She leans down and gives Caer a quick peck on the cheek. “Now that you’re all fixed I needn’t keep you any longer. You may leave whenever you feel ready!” Grinning ear to ear Caer responds quickly. "Thank you so much, my kind healer. This was just what my leg needed." Caer pulls all of his natural charisma up to 11 and gives his most dazzling look yet. "So... when you're done here, how about you and I go tour the city. We can always stop off at an inn if you get tired." He says with a grin.

[Kamiidude]

Zombie-like, Kaigen obliges the request and cleans and locks the floor, ignoring his surroundings.

[Rofltrollcopter]

Raith

The kids look quite excited at the prospect of coins and run off in all directions back to whatever place to sleep they can find for the night. No doubt they will begin the search in the morning; few brave the streets of Sigil at night for fear of the wickedness that prowls the streets looking for prey in the dark.

Kaigen/Ermina

Samael begins collecting more paraphernalia from around the room and places them inside the large bag he has. After another minute or so, Samael moves over the latch, whispers something very softly and the door opens. He descends into the depths of the floor and looks around. He walks over to the far wall, and Ermina takes the time to notice what he is looking at. There appear to be several boxes made out of a strange metal which Ermina cannot identify. The top face of the box has two funnels leading into it, as well as several holes in them. Samael hesitates, and then turns back and makes his way up the ladder.


He emerges a few seconds later, after plopping his valuables down inside the secret storeroom. He goes back up to Kaigen and puts a comforting arm around his shoulder, “Come my boy. Let’s forget this incident ever happened. We can put this all behind us.” He gives a weak smile, and leads Kaigen towards the door of the shop.

Xanian

Xanian is taking up position beside the door, and as best as he can tell there is no line of sight that would allow the people inside the house to notice him. Taking his post near the door, Xanian hears, “...wanted to see the prime material...” and the rest of the conversation that follows. He also notes that there is the occasional Harmonium guard squad wandering down this street, still clearing the rubble from earlier. Dusk is quickly setting in as the band of light that illuminates Sigil begins to fade.

Mibaxx/Caer

The healer giggles softly to herself after you ask her to tour the city. When she speaks again, her voice is a little lower and more like a woman would sound normally, “My dear boy, healing is more than magic and bandages, the mind and soul must be tended to as well. I’ve seen dozens of men spring to their after a ‘debilitating’ injury, just to try and capture a pretty girl. Feeling better is more ‘here’ than it is anywhere else.” tapping Caer’s head softly on the word ‘here’. She rises to leave, but hesitates for a moment, then adds, “That being said, you are kinda cute. It’s too bad I have a strict ‘No patient’ policy. I think I've meet you before somewhere, you haven't been to the Civic Festhall have you? I’m Grace by the way” She smiles and winks, then resumes her previous persona with a high pitched giggle in her schoolgirl voice and skips cheerily back to the front of the tent.

[Arkady]

Waking up and finding that he is still alone in the house, Reylin throws on his cloak and takes up his staff. Stepping outside, he takes a deep breath, surveying his surroundings. It might be a good idea to get the lay of the land if I intend to stay here for any length of time, Reylin thinks to himself. Stepping out from the doorway, Reylin begins walking down the street.

Reylin will explore the area around the house (perhaps a city block in each direction, or whatever passes for a city block in Sigil). He will be fairly alert to anyone who gets near him, and he will keep his staff out to use as a walking stick. If nothing should happen to him while he is out for his walk, he will return to the house and remain there to await Raith's return.

[Daphoa]

"Curse those "non-patient" rules..." Caer quietly mumbles to himself - hearing very little of what else she said.

"So where are we going to now? Seeing as this place is mostly in ruins, I might want to find an inn in a more 'upright' place of Sigil."

"Well I do know of another inn. We'll go over there then I should be starting to get back soon."

It had been a very long day for Caer. While ordinarily he'd want to still be doing things at night, his leg injury made him far less enthusiastic about giving tours then usual. As much as he liked this old man, Caer was getting kind of tired.

"Yes, we'll get you there soon." Caer says absentmindedly.

[WyvernBlade]

"Thank you, Caer, it means a lot to an old man." Miibaax follows Caer to the inn.

As the pair of them walk down the street Miibaax decides to speak his mind, "So tell me, who actually runs this city? I have read that it is run by a female being of immense power, but I see that crest (pointing to the design on the tent) on the healer's tents and the soldier's armour, and I hear Samael speak of the Free League as if they hold great sway in the city. So who is actually in control of this city?"

Also how bright is it still outside?

[The Big Orc]

Smiling to himself, Raith heads back home. Finding Reylin gone, he quickly checks to ensure nothing has been stolen and once he is satisfied, he grabs his travelers outfit and heads out to the place he had hidden his clothing before, hiding his jewelry in the secret floor compartment and locking the door behind him. Once he is certain no one is watching, Raith will change and hide his nicer clothing. Spreading a bit of mud over his face as a disguise, Raith will head ten blocks away from his own home and find a home with no lights on and no one watching the door. Picking the lock, Raith slips in, careful to be silent, closes the door behind him.

I need a general idea of the light inside due to exterior lighting, aka,, how far infront of myself can i see
Open Lock [roll0]
Move Silently [roll1]
Hide [roll2]

[ErminaPix]

Ensuring that Samael did not use magic to exit the room, Ermina tries the trap door. Assuming she can budge it enough to get out, she'll wait til the two have left the shop and use a can/container to prop it open.
Ermina sends a quick message to Fritz "When it is safe to come out, might I suggest you discretely follow them? I wish to examine what drew his attention in here."
Using the fading light brought in from the trap door, Ermina takes her time to look/smell/listen in the area Samael recently inspected. She conducts every knowledge test she can think of on the boxes and their contents. She does not touch anything, though, for practical reasons.

For kicks...
Knowledge Arcana [roll0]
Knowledge History (as it pertains to the Beastlands/tales she has heard) [roll1]
Knowledge Local (for Beastlands, though) [roll2]
Knowledge Nature [roll3]
Knowledge Nobility and Royalty [roll4]
Knowledge Religion [roll5]
Knowledge Planes [roll6]
If I completely misunderstood how 'all knowledges are class skills' work (ie it is supposed to be only if ranks are in them do they count) then i suppose the only checks I do are nature and planes. I've assumed I can convey the information to Fritz and he is the one thinking about planar relevance.

After her inspection, she'll look through Samael's recently deposited valuables and seek out a small piece that looks like it would provide the most leverage with him. (Generally something that looks well cherished/personal, etc.) After pocketing the trinket, she'll exit the room and re-hide the trap door under the rug corner and leave the shop.

Ermina would have paid particular attention to how Samael exited the room. If he said a phrase/used magic, she was waiting to observe it. If, however, magic is required, I may have to revise my post.

[Rofltrollcopter]

Ermina

Erimina feels Fritz’s gruff acknowledgement in the portion of her mind shared with the Eidolon. She nudges the trapdoor and notices it is still unlocked. The words softly spoken by Samael were too quiet for her ears to catch but she could tell there was a different word spoken when it was opened from when it was closed. There is a small broken fragment of wood sitting on the floor not far from the trap door, perfect for propping it open just slightly. Examining the room, Ermina notices that the smell of animals is particularly pungent around the metal boxes that line the shelves on the far wall. Examining these more closely, she recalls why they look familiar to her. These boxes are called animal bins, used for the storage and transportation of animals using extradimensional space. She remembers poachers trying to use these to make off with creatures from the beastlands. She counts 7 boxes of this type on the shelves.

The room seems to be devoid of any personal items, all of it seems to be items relating to the sale of fabric and the production of dyes. Some of it is quite valuable to one heavily involved in the trade. In fact, it seems that Samael went to some trouble to ensure that nothing personal was left behind, Ermina is unable to even find a bit of discarded hair. Suddenly, she hears a large commotion from just outside the trap door, someone screaming in shock and fright.

Kaigen/Xanian


Samael’s pace slows down to a calm walk as he continues to lead Kaigen out the door, leading him and looking back as he continues to speak, “ He owes me a favor too, needed some help in getting the local merchants to cooperate in the census, and they weren’t too kind too keen to work with the Godsmen after they wanted traffic from the Astral Gate to be routed close by. Be on the lookout for that thick skulled, brute that we saw earli...” Samael cuts off as a large mace swings at his chest, flipping him head over heels in rather spectacular fashion. Kaigen can see that the figure responsible is none other that the black knight from earlier.

Hex


This post in on Harvey’s behalf (we wouldn’t take control of your characters without your consent

Using his raven, Hex picks up all of the conversation down below between the two figures. His ears perk at the mention of the Gentleman, the same man who owned the cargo that he was spying on, and that led to his unfortunate capture and employment of the dark, scarred man. He follows the duo through the streets, using his raven to spy from above and ensure he doesn’t lose them. After about 30 minutes of walking, he finds himself in the Clerk’s ward. The two enter a nearby house after visiting the alleyway just beside it moments before entering where the one changed his attire.

Raith

The building chosen by Raith is stuck between two others, typical of the the dense construction found in Sigil. The streets are clean and lit with lampposts, which made for a contrast compared to the dirty streets of the hive. The lock on the door is a simple one, and Raith has no trouble with getting it open. Raith has to duck his head a bit to fit inside the entrance. Once inside, Raith is in a hallway. Two side doors lead out to the left and right, and Raith notices a light down the hallway under a third door. Raith hears gentle singing coming from it. There is the scent of rich earth permeating the air, and Raith notices a pickaxe leaning against the wall.

Reylin


Strolling out into the streets of the area, Reylin begins to fully appreciate the differences between where he began his adventures in Sigil and where he finds himself now. The streets no longer stink of filth nor are they coated in that same grime from before. The shops and other building around the house look well maintained and the inns look far more habitable than what would probably have been waiting for him had he stayed at the Dodgy Dodger. Despite the late hour, there is still the bustle of activity as people go about their business. Raith is breifly alerted by high pitch cackling before he is forced to duck to his head. What appears to be half of a giant flying walnut zooms over him. He catches a glimpse of several grey shapes occupying the walnut . A few seconds later, a man dressed in robes and a turban sprints past in pursuit, cursing all the while. Straying a little further away from the house, a scene of utter desolation greets him. Buildings smashed into rubble, streets ripped from the ground and scattered across the shattered landscape. Clearly, some great event happened here not too long ago. A man in shoddy clothing walks up and starts hysterically screaming “ ALL PRAISE TO THE LADY, WHOM BEFORE WE ARE DUST. ALL HONOR TO THE BEARER OF SACRED TORMENT, SHE WHO SCARS THE PATH TO DIVINITY”. He bows down on the ground and starts grovelling to some unseen force. A passerby yells at him “you soft in the head berk?” and starts sprinting away. In fact, everyone around him quickly looks for an excuse to be somewhere else.

Caer/Miibaax

Making your way back into the more intact parts of town, light from the ring continues to fade and shortly it is night. Caer knows an inn not far from his own house in the clerk’s ward: Ignus’s Folly. The inn is decorated with black and red, and a common motif of a man engulfed in flames is on display throughout the inn. There is faint light from inside the inn, quiet laughter and the soft ‘plink’ of glasses, broken up by the occasional primordial bellow.

[NightAngel16]

Dark and towering, Xanian imposes his dark speech to the bumbling shopkeeper and his assistant. "It appears you are taking a rather permanent leave of absence. Closed for renovations maybe? Please, spare me your excuses. Patience and answers are both things I have in very short supply right now. You cannot escape me. Your swords and spears are like chaff to my fury. I don't feel pain, it exists in my VERY BEING... Occasionally, I like to give a little piece of myself to others."

Turning his attention to Kaigen with a steely gaze, "Before you decide to do anything hasty. I want to ask you. Would you trust Samael with your LIFE right at this very moment? Do you believe to the very fiber of your being that Samael runs a guilt-free dye business? No hidden surprises, no mysteries? Do you really KNOW who this Samael is? Be wary when you make a snap judgement young man."

The dark knight proceeds to rest his executioner's mace on the belly of the rotund man, keeping a firm grip on the handle and effectively pinning Samael to the ground.

[Arkady]

As he walks through the streets, Reylin begins to think of Sigil in a different light than before. "This could be a place I could settle down in", he thinks to himself as he walks along.

Upon arriving at the devastated neighborhood, Reylin looks around in the shock of disbelief. Sigil may have its nicer sides, but it obviously was still a dangerous place. Exciting, even. Reylin smiles to himself again, looking around at the destruction, trying to think of what possible force could have caused this kind of damage.

Reylin is startled from his reverie by a man shouting nearby. Concerned by the reactions of those around the man, Reylin takes a defensive posture. Unsure of the cause of the people's apparent fear, Reylin backs away slowly from the raving man.

[The Big Orc]

Raith will test the door on the left to see if it is unlocked. If it is unlocked, he will open it quietly, and slowly until it is half way open, peeking in.

[Rofltrollcopter]

Raith

Raith quietly opens the door to his left and peeks inside. He sees a well furnished room with a bunkbed in one corner. There are what appears to be two gnome children sleeping on each level of the bed. There are a few well crafted toys scattered on the floor, but besides that there appears to be nothing of value.

Reylin

The man briefly stops his ranting and vomits on the ground. When he recovers, he looks around. Seeing that Reylin is the only one left nearby, he runs over to him and grabs him by the shoulder "Did you see, DID YOU SEE". Suddenly, two men in red armor appear from the red corner. "Well there he is". The other one turns to address the deranged man "Alright Grimior, pack it in before we have to bring you in for endangering the public". The first man address Reylin "I'd like to apologize for Grimior, poor bastard hasn't been the same since he went on that expedition to Limbo, he saw something folks were never meant to see. He got kicked out of the Gatecrasher's association and his wife left him shortly after".

[ErminaPix]

Upon recognizing the boxes, Ermina's vision blurs and her rage takes over. Careful to leave the trap door propped open (the smallest amount possible), Ermina exits the room in a storm of wrath. Flying through an open window/door/whatever she flies as fast as she can back to the stables to seek the aid of Pytris. She sends through her bond (with pauses since she is flying all out) "Slight...change of plans...Poor animals...Must...Get help. Keep out of sight...I'll follow when I can." Assuming no issues, Ermina flies as the crow and reaches the stables.

She bursts through the doors and searches for Pytris. If he is there, she'll turn visible and draw herself up to her entire height. "Pytris," she folds over on herself and gestures with a finger to hold on a moment. Then she'll pick up "There are animals being held in the most atrocious fashion in a secret room in Samael's shop. You must help me free them, for I lack the strength to lift them and the time to ensure their return to their home planes. You must hurry, for it is getting dark, and I've left the door open for the world to see should they stumble in." Ermina then goes on to describe the layout. "...You must hurry, please tell me you'll get on it. They might need healing and tender care. I must pursue Samael before he's gotten too far..." Ermina does not wait for a response. She distinctly storms out of the stables and turns invisible when the doors shut. She then lies in wait to see what Pytris will do.

[Kamiidude]

No time to think about the ramifications of his actions, Kaigen attempts to freeze the black knight in place.
"I Trust him more than I trust you!"
Will Save for Mike, DC 17

[The Big Orc]

Raith will cover the mouth of the child on the bottom bunk to prevent him from making noise, then slit its throat. He will then repeat the process with the child on the top bunk.
Raith then moves out of the room and closes the door. He then slowly opens the door of the room across the hall (the one without light coming out from under.)

[Arkady]

"Quite alright sir", Reylin replies, brushing off his cloak, "Poor fellow does seem quite distressed." Reylin looks at the carnage around them. "I've only recently arrived in the city, and I'm quite new to the area. Would you mind telling me what happened here?" Reylin turns to face the first guard who spoke with him.

[WyvernBlade]

After Caer has given a response. Miibaax thanks him for escorting him to an inn. He then dusts off his green sweater vest and enters the inn. Upon entering the inn Miibaax takes a good look around the inn, taking in all the sights and smells of the inn. He attempts to judge the type and quality of the inn before wandering further into the inn and to the barkeep.

Also Miibaax will take this time to refocus.

"Hello good sir, you have quite the inn here, with quite the ornamentation (specifically looking at the man engulfed in flames). It is not often you find a place of comfort and rest displaying such an uncomfortable image as a burning man. So enlighten me, how did Ignus, assuming that the burning man is indeed Ignus, set himself alight?"

[petagee]

Raith

Each child squeals softly, eyes open in terror, just before Raith puts a silent end to their all too short lives.

Opening the second door without any light, Raith comes into a small sweets shop. There are all manner of confectionary, from chocolates to lollipops, from the magical to the mundane, the whole room saturated in a sweet, pungent aroma. A cash register lies open off to the side, but its contents have been moved elsewhere. Looking around the room, nothing looks of particular value or interest to anyone without a hyper-developed sweet tooth.


Ermina

Zipping out of Samael’s shop, she sees the scene in the doorway between Xanian, Kaigen and Samel. Quickly making her way back to the temple, searching out Pytris in his stable, she finds him grooming an ivory pegasus. His face looks concerned when he hears of the animals, but replies in a calm tone, I was under no false pretense that Samael cared well for the animals he sold, but I cannot steal them away without his permission. Much as I wish to save them, they are his property. I will come with you to try and convince him to release them, but I will not rob him.

But I have more pressing and disturbing news from the Beastlands. Before I could even send an envoy, a message came from Elhonna’s high priests in the Beastlands. Whatever afflicted those creatures has spread throughout the plane and have begun assaulting nearby settlements and other wild animals. The clerics have no notion about what the affliction is and cannot seem to find an effective way to cleanse it from the infected; only high level magic seems effective but cannot be administered on such a wide scale. And even Kage’s condition has worsened; he has grown more despondent and violent. I have isolated him from the other beasts I keep but I fear that may not be enough. If it is not resolved, Kage may have to die! We need to find whatever has been done to them so we can solve this crisis before the whole of the plane is consumed! But where has Xanian gone?

Kaigen/Xanian

After Kaigen’s desperate attempt to restrain Xanian, Xanian sees a door in the floor open and close as if an invisible figure just left this secret hiding place under Samael’s shop. Samael’s eyes look panicked as he tries in vain to lift Xanian’s weapon and escape. Xanian keeps his weapon steady and Samael squirms in pathetic futility. His eyes meet those of Xanian and scream of guilt.

Miibaax

The barkeep, a large horned creature with jaundiced skin and red hair turns to face you, Ignus, my good man, was once a man like any other. But hubris and self-righteousness drove him to try and cleanse Sigil of the Hive, planning to burn it to the ground. He was stopped at the last minute by a group of good-willed wizards and clerics. His punishment: a tomb of flame and fire in the Elemental Plane of Fire. Rather ironic, don’t you think? Legend says he never perished, but waits in his fiery captivity for the day he will break forth and wreak havoc on the city and claim his revenge! His rendition of the story was accompanied with many a dramatic gesture or pose. Clearly he is well practiced in its telling. But my friend, I think you did not come to my abode to hear of the legend of Ignus, no? Can I find you a pleasant room for the night, with a soft bed and a warm fire to keep you through the night?


Reylin

Well, my understanding is that it all started in an inn not too far off where a fight started between a demon and a devil who were both visiting Sigil. Words were exchanged and before you know it, the 2 of them were in their full forms, trading blows on the streets of Sigil. Harmonium guards were dispatched in full force but couldn’t seem to quell the battle. And before you know it, the Lady herself showed up to give the rope to those two berks.

Abyssal types aren’t known as the nicest of folk but they usually aren’t so brazenly stupid. The Blood War has been more heated than usual as of late, or so I hear. Fights like this have been happening for months now but never on this kind of scale. Gods, the Fated are going to be shelling out an awful lot of jink for the insurance after this... He chuckles softly to himself then makes his way over to his fellow to carry Grimior out of the streets. The two guards pick the man up when all of a sudden he begins screaming as if possessed by some force.

Praise the Lady, for Her power is beyond the gods. Abandon your false deities and worship she who in power and wrath incarnate!

Bloody Barmie! Do you have a death wish?!?! The first man curses. The second guard gives him a swift punch to the stomach and the two drag him off. An eerie silence hangs in the air. Even in the dead of night, no city is ever this quiet.

[The Big Orc]

Once the knob on the last door has been turned fully, Raith will burst through, dagger drawn, towards the sounds of the singing, and will attempt to stab the first being he comes across.

move silently [roll0]
sleight of hand? (for turning the knob quietly?) [roll1]
Attack [roll2] (target should be flat footed if I manage to attack before they get an action)
Damage [roll3]
sneak attack [roll4]
Initiative for after surprise round [roll5]

damn awful rolls!

[Arkady]

Feeling a sudden chill in this quiet destruction, Reylin decides to head back into the part of the city that is still intact. Still feeling a bit restless, Reylin continues his search of the area surrounding Raith's house.

Should he find nothing of interest along the way, Reylin will return to Raith's house to await his return.

[WyvernBlade]

"Well it sounds as if Ignus's folly is a fitting name then, and you are correct that my purpose in coming here was not to hear of Ignus's tale, but the way you tell it I think that folk should come just to hear you tell it. I am an old man in age but a new man in Sigil, and I have come to start anew here after a tragic loss of a friend and of a business. So what can you offer an old man in need in terms of a room for a few days at the least?"
After haggling down the price as low as the inn keep is willing to go he will pay for the room then purchase a glass of wine (assuming the room and wine are a reasonable price) and have a seat at a table in such a manner that he is able to look out over the room. The old man sits quietly drinking his wine as he observes the room and tries to get a feel for the atmosphere and what type of people are present.

Diplomacy roll for haggling [roll0]

[NightAngel16]

Intrigued by the previously hidden trap door, Xanian picks up his weapon and gives Samael a forceful kick in the groin. Dragging Kaigen with him, he throws the boy to the floor near the trapdoor. Xanian promptly proceeds to lift the hatch with surprisingly little difficulty. " Ah, how original, a hidden trapdoor. Now let us see what dark secrets Samael has removed from prying eyes. This is probably futile to say, but please don't do anything stupid.. " Displaying a menacing glare towards Kaigen, Xanian descends into the depths with Kaigen in tow.

Throughout this entire sequence, Xanian has a readied action to bash Kaigen with his mace should there be anymore attempts to cast spells.

[petagee]

Raith

With the dexterous grace of a true thief, Raith makes his way silently to the door, opening it without a sound. Inside is a small, warm room sits a gnome woman knitting not far from the door. She doesn’t notice the silent bandit in her midst. There is a gnome man, sitting in front of a fire holding a book, back to the door. Over the fireplace mantle rests an antique looking rapier. The dexterous thief strike out at the helpless woman with the deft movements of a drunken bubber, tripping over the leg of her chair sprawling out onto the floor. She screams in fright as the man jumps to his feet, grabbing the rapier and leaping over his armchair. He falls into a practiced stance, holding his rapier out at Raith.Get out of here Kiara. Get the kids and RUN! She quickly rises to her feet and tries to make it to the door and escape.


Raith gets an AoO on the woman. See encounter sheet.

Reylin

Making his way back into the part of the city that is still in reasonable shape, Reylin finds that the silence still hangs heavy on Sigil. Few people brave the streets at this hour it seems. A few inns and taverns still produce faint light and soft tavern noise.

Miibaax

You are too kind my new found friend. He give Miibaax a very theatrical bow, smiling at the praise. A room for any other man in Sigil would be 2 gold a night, but for you friend, I will give you the senior’s discount: 5 silver! A very fair price. He chuckles at the senior’s discount comment, exchanging money for a shiny gold key with the number 4 on it. Serving him the requested wine, Miibaax takes a table at the back of the corner of the inn, giving him an excellent vantage of the room and a window on his left gives him a view of the street (though the night is still quite dark so not much can be seen). The inn is quite empty, only 4 people are in the room around the bar, including Miibaax and the barkeep. The other 2 are half-elves with very fine clothing. They seem quite absorbed in conversation. The tavern is ornamented with a great deal of antique trinkets, ranging from books and tomes to swords and spears. Fine carved wood laces around the upper parts of the room, tracing out intricate patterns.

Xanian/Kaigen

Samael squeals like a little girl as Xanian applies his metal foot to his crotch. Assuming Kaigen does not interfere, Xanian sees the room below the shop: a smaller room filled to the rafters with dye equipment and chemical with fine fabrics and silks. There is a distinct odor of animal manure in the room. Looking more closely at the far wall, Xanian sees metal animal bins, extradimensional means of storing animals.

[WyvernBlade]

"Hoho but it was a good tale, and I thank you for the seniors discount (Miibaax gives a little chuckle at that).

Miibaax will listen in on the conversation of the two half-elves. As he is doing so he he takes out a small green coin with little legs from his phanny pack and places it on the ground. Psidkik skitters quietly across the floor, up the table leg, and comes to a rest on the underside of the table where the two half elves are sitting. It will listen in on their conversation as well and rely anything that is said that Miibaax fails to hear. Miibaax will also carefully look at their clothes, jewellery, and movements to get a good understanding of what they are like and their mannerisms.

[The Big Orc]

AoO [roll0]
Damage [roll1]

Striking the woman as she moves, Raith will then strike at the now armed gnome man, cursing that his initial strike failed so badly. He will then step backwards, blocking the doorway.

The last bit is his action when it is his turn. Attack then 5 foot step to prevent AoO's
attack [roll2]
damage [roll3]

[hexavi42]

Hex watches, rather intrigued as the two men disappear into the house. He jumps down from the rooftop overlooking the alleyway and searches for any clues dropped by the second man as he changed in the alley, telling Malphas to turn him invisible if his raven spotted anything or heard any approaching footsteps.

<The Gentleman, eh? Huh...>
<So... I'm guessing we can't just get out of here before you get us all killed?>
<...>
<Empty night! You lot are always so quick to get snuffed - why do I even bother?>

Hex tuned out Malphas and combing the ground of the alleyway for anything out of place. A few seconds later, he hears a door slam closed and looks up to see one of the men he'd been following heading out into the almost-dusk. He sends his raven high overhead to watch and tail, and then, once the man is almost out of his sight, he follows at a cautious distance.

---------------------------------------------------------

He makes to intercept the street urchin that the fellow sends with a letter, leaving the raven to continue shadowing. The raven-brain gets somewhat distracted by the gleam of gold in the man's palm - Hex can almost hear it going "SHINY! SHINEEEEEEEY!" in the back of his mind.

"Hey, kid! Wanna get paid for the same job twice?"

----------------------------------------------------------

Hex watches with interest as the fellow takes out a set of picks and neatly unlocks the door.
<Damn, I wish I could do that!>
<Well, maybe if you'd done something other than laze around with friends in your free time...>
He sends the raven forward, with a little trepidation - what could he possibly be-
<Huh. Well, that escalated quickly.>
<*retching sounds* "BUGGER! PIKIN' LADY's TITS!" *retching sounds*>

After he recovers from the shock and nausea, Hex firmly resolves never to be physically anywhere near that psychopath. He's still willing to track him the rest of the way - the saying "Damned if I do, damned if I don't." comes to mind.

Hex is flipping and catching a gold coin to get the kid's attention. Diplomacy roll for to persuade the kid to hand the letter over: [roll0]
If he succeeds, he trades the gold coin for the letter, reads it, and passes it back to the kid to deliver. "What he doesn't know can't hurt him - you get my drift?"

If the raven gets caught sneaking in behind, it pretends to be stupid, pecking at non-existent crumbs on the floor. If it is approached in a threatening manner, it turns and tries to squawk "Nevermore!" before flying off.

[Arkady]

Reylin, a little perturbed at the quietness of the streets, walks on. Stopping in front of a friendly looking tavern, Reylin peers inside through a window. "A drink would not be amiss, I suppose", Reylin thinks to himself. He steps inside.

[petagee]

Raith

Lashing out at the woman, Raith fails to hit her but manages to block her way out of the room. The man motions to her to back to the corner of the room. Striking at the man now with his knife, he gracefully parries and then thrusts at Raith, just missing his mark as Raith deftly jumps out of the way of the blow. His face wrinkles with concern as he falls back into his stance.Leave now bandit and your transgression will not be punished!

Miibaax

Miibaax sneakily sends over Psidkik scittering across the floor over to the two elves, not drawing any attention as it finds its place under the table. He begins to hear what the elves speak of. ...another shipment of alchemist’s fire and mines from the elemental plane of fire. Clearly, the Gentleman is planning something big, and our assets will be in danger. What of the boy we sent to investigate, any word from him or Grog? None, must’ve turned stag or maybe the Gentleman got his hands on him. Not to worry, he doesn’t have enough information to do any harm. But I heard from one of Grog’s men that escaped that they got ambushed. Maybe the boy is to blame. What was his name again? Hex or something silly and new-aged like that? Bloody humans, no sense of a proper name. The two chuckle in agreement and continue to drink.

The two elves seem quite well off, perhaps merchant or businessmen, with fine clothing and jewelry. Suddenly, A strange looking figure walks into the room. With large wings and talons, a pointed face and feathers, this species is foreign to Miibaax. The elves cease their conversation briefly to watch the newcomer.

Hex

The boy seems more than happy to make the exchange. All the same to me cutter. He hands over the letter and swipes away the gold coin eagerly, then makes his way off when the deal was done. The letter contains details about the man’s failed attempt on the Grinning Gentleman’s life, but ensuring them that the debt will be paid and the Gentleman killed.


The man Hex follows seems not to notice Hex or his Raven following him during the duration of the trip, and the raven sees all that is happening inside with the gnomes until noted.

Reylin

The inn’s name is “Ignus’ Folly”. Stepping inside, Reylin can see that the tavern is quite empty. Two half elves sit in one corner of the room, sipping blue wine and chatting softly. At the other corner, a wizened old man sits sipping more conventionally colored wine. Behind the bar stands a man with horns, yellowed skin like unkempt teeth and short red hair. Ho friend. What brings you to Ignus’ Folly so late this fine evening?


For more about the room, see the post for Miibaax a little while back.

[Kamiidude]

Kaigen breaks free of the knight's grasp and moves quickly out the door. Helping Samael to his feet, he attempts to hurry the two of them away from the shop after casting a quick spell to mask their travel.

Assuming no intervention, they move in silence for a while. Then the silence is broken by a single quiet question. "Why are people after you...?"

Pass with out Trace is cast on both. lasts for 5 hours.

[petagee]

Kaigen

After stumbling away from the shop, Samael limping a little from Xanian’s blow, Samael looks at Kaigen, enraged, Idiot boy! Run! Do you want that lug headed basher to slice me into bits? I don’t have any time for your stupid questions! Samael gives Kaigen a quick shove forward, trying to urge him on.

[The Big Orc]

Smiling, Raith steps back and flings his dagger at the man, quickly drawing another dagger.

free action: 5 ft step
standard action:
attack roll [roll0]
damage [roll1]
move action: draw next dagger

[NightAngel16]

Investigating the metal containers, Xanian barely notices the escape of Kaigen and Samael, figuring he no longer needs to waste any time on those bumbling fools. Sizing up the bins, he secures what he can carry onto Pytris' mount. He works quickly and then makes haste towards the stables, wary of Sigil's fading light. Xanian would rather avoid any unnecessary risks associated with the flitting shadows of the city streets.

We must make haste! (spurring mount) [roll0]

[Arkady]

Reylin smiles slightly as he walks over to the bar. "Just enjoying the evening air" He takes a seat at the bar. "Quiet night out there", Reylin notes, looking back towards the door. Turning back, he continues, "I just recently moved into the area, and I thought I would get a feel for the local establishments. This is a fine looking inn you have here. I'll take a glass of whatever wine you would recommend."

While his drink is being prepared, Reylin will glance about the room, paying particular attention to the patrons but not so much as to be rude. When the bartender returns with his wine, Reylin will pass over the requested payment.
Wine in hand, Reylin continues his conversation with the bartender, "So, what's new in the area? I have not had much chance to settle in yet, so I'm not too familiar with the local news."

[petagee]

Raith

Expertly throwing the knife, Raith strikes the man square in the chest. He shouts in pain, and Kiara covers her mouth and begins to cry. The man only seems to be more resolved in his task, pulling out the dagger and screaming, DIE VILLAN! He lunges forward, striking right at Raith’s heart. His strike, much like the last, is quite handily dodged by Raith. He is now holding the stab wound in his chest, which is now bleeding quite heavily.

Reylin

Can you blame them of Sigil? Nothing of this scale has hit this city in living memory for many (even some of the eldest). Let us all hope that we may never have the privilege of seeing Our Lady ever again. But enough of this gloom! If you look for a fine establishment then look no further than Ignus’ Folly. Finest wine in the Clerk’s Ward, and I will challenge any man who would disagree to try a glass on the house! He flourishes the glass he was polishing dramatically then laughs heartily.But let me show you first hand my good man! One silver for a glass of the Oklu Fruite, my friend! Expertly pouring emerald green liquid from a nearby cask, he spins and gracefully places the glass in front of Reylin, then bowing theatrically.

Resuming his polishing of glasses, he responds to Reylin’s question, Well, I would think you’ve been around long enough to hear about what happened earlier. All that death and destruction makes me sick to my stomach. Not to mention what it’s done to business tonight. No one seems much in the mood for fine wine and a little mirth. Would’ve thought this kind of barbarian activity would be reserved for the Hive or the Lower Ward at least. I heard that because of strife between the Godsmen and the Harmonium, mercykillers have gotten more and more zealous in their punishments in the Hive and now some Grinning fellow has gotten a following of the gutter slime, looting and sacking all over the place. The Mercykillers have never been a welcome presence, but I have never seen the Hive up in arms like this. I don’t think the Harmonium is as concerned as they ought to be; men with nothing to lose are more dangerous and unpredictable than people give them credit for.

Xanian

Searching the room, Xanian finds a large stack of papers on a small, messy desk. Grabbing these papers, all of the animal bins, he also grabs a little bit of the special paint Samael tried to sell him earlier, and stuffs them in a large bag lying around the room. Fully encumbered, Xanian spurs his mount on towards the temple again through the quiet gloomy streets of Sigil, night now fully settling in. Back in the stable, Xanian sees Pytris speaking with Ermina.

[WyvernBlade]

As the newcomer enters Miibaax first assumes that he could be joining the two half elves for their business talk, but as neither party seems to recognize the other he decides that the newcomer is not here for the half elves, or at least not outwardly so.

"...the Gentleman is planning something big..." That's the second time I have heard that name now. And both times he has been up to something. Quiet the busy little beaver.

Miibaax stands and starts to approach the the two half elves with confidence, "The way I see it the two of you have a problem at hand. And this problem goes by the name of the Gentleman. Now if you let this problem fester, it will grow and eventually consume you. So the way I see it you have two options. One: you must salvage what remains and run. Two: you must pull out this festering thorn and rid yourselves of the Gentleman. And from what I have heard you have already chosen the second option, but you tried to remove a thorn with a hammer. So it is not surprising in the least that the thorn now sits deeper than ever. He had the information on you and was able to easily turn aside your attempt to remove him from the scene. What you need is someone with a delicate touch, who knows how to remove thorns. That is where I come in, I have the delicacy needed to extract this thorn from your side.

[The Big Orc]

Repeating his attack, Raith snickers, "Yes I am a villain, big surprise about the man who broke into your home and is going to kill you."

5 ft step, throw, draw last dagger
attack [roll0]
damage [roll1]

[ErminaPix]

Ermina looks up at arrival of her comrade. She jokes "Nice of you to join us, good friend. I told you it would not be I that held you up." At this, she winks at him good naturedly. "It appears the situation is more dire than we thought..." Ermina continues to explain what Pytris had just relayed to her.

Finishing the recount, Ermina casually asks "What would you suggest as an appropriate course of action?" The word 'appropriate' drips with sarcasm as it leaves her mouth.

[NightAngel16]

Xanian's expression darkens as he hears of Kagé's worsening condition. He removes the large sack from his mount and begins to empty it. "I do have a justifiable cause as to why I have returned later than expected." Carefully removing each metal container Xanian continues, "Samael went to great lengths to hide the contents of his basement from myself and some other adventurers. He appeared to be relocating his business and wares for the long-term, so I decided to take a few souvenirs..."

Additionally, Xanian unveils the sheathe of papers that he had obtained from the shop. "In the time that I had, I have not read these yet. However, I hope they will prove informative as to what afflictions we are dealing with." The dark knight gestures at Pytris to come look over what is contained by ink and parchment.
If Pytris would rather tend to the captured animals first. Xanian will just start reading the papers.

[Arkady]

Reylin listens to the barkeep with interest, sipping at his wine occasionally. When he hears the scrapping of a chair, he turns to see the old man walk over to the two elves and engage them in conversation. Turning back to his wine, Reylin strains to hear the conversation between the old man and the elves.

Listen Check: [roll0]
Just to note, Reylin will probably stay put until Miibaax's stuff is resolved, unless something important happens first.

[petagee]

Miibaax/Reylin

The elves eye you with a great deal of hostility. We do not appreciate old men eavesdropping in on our conversations. But tell us, what do you know of the Gentleman? What makes you so qualified to deal with him? Because let me assure you, he is more than a thorn. And as delicate as your touch may be, I think the gentlest of his touches would knock you into your grave. The two laugh at the joke, high pitched and haughty.

Reylin can hear the conversation

Raith

The man tries in vain to parry the dagger midair but it strikes true across his jugular, spraying blood across the room and onto the face of his wife who screams in terror. The man falls to the ground limp. Kiara is paralyzed in fear, still crouching in the back corner, whimpering and sobbing.

Ermina/Xanian

Pytris looks concerned at the animal bins, Take care, those bins could contain more infected. Do not open them until we are certain they are safe. If they are indeed among the sick, they are best kept in their cage. Pytris’ expression darkens, clearly pained that he cannot liberate the animals, as he is moves the bins off to a smaller room near the edge of the stable. Pytris joins Xanian and Ermina, sifting through the papers. The majority of the papers are documents of sales and purchases made by Samael in the past few months, along with many different orders for fabrics, chemicals, and other supplies ostensibly for his other business. After a few minutes of looking, Pytris remarks, What do we have here?.. And begins to read:

‘Samael,

The boxes I sent you contain animals I wish to have released into the Beastlands. Give them to that naive stable-boy to will free them; it will draw less attention. They play a very special part in my grand performance. Fail me and the punishment you received after you failed to acquire the Vorrs I desired will seem feeble in comparison to what awaits. The prize fight will be occuring on 7th day of this month at nightfall, in the pits of Yvryn. You will be present. I have an announcement to make that you shall see first hand.

The Grinning Gentleman’

Pytris’ face is frozen in gloom, I... I was a tool...This whole time..



It is current the 6th day of the month, so the fight would be on the morrow.

Xanian recognizes Yvryn as a district in the Hive. He also remembers the pits are large gladiatorial arenas where fights (often to the death) occur.

[The Big Orc]

Approaching Kiara, Raith puts a finger to his lips and softly says, "Hush, hush, you will see him again soon," and he drags his dagger across her throat.
Assuming that she dies and nothing else noteworthy happens, Raith will gather his daggers and take a look around the room

[Kamiidude]

After that outburst, the two travel without speaking. They walk moving towards the Lady's ward where Samael's cousin resides.

As they walk, doubts gnaw on Kaigen's mind. Why all this secrecy? Was that man right about Samael?

[WyvernBlade]

"I may not know the Gentleman specifically but I have had a life time of experiences dealing with power hungry individuals, such as this Gentleman, and I have not yet been knocked into my grave. His gentlest of touches may be deadly, but he will have to know where to itch, for it does not good scratching your head when your toe itches. Besides if I fail I will just be another corpse in Sigil and you will have lost nothing, but if I succeed you stand to regain your feet in this struggle against your foes."

[petagee]

Raith

She squeals in terror one last time before the knife slices her throat. Falling to the ground, blood gargling in her throat until she goes limp and soundless. Looking around the room, Raith spots a large ornate chest in the opposite corner. Other than that, the room is filled with a multitude of books and a few antiques like the rapier, that seem to serve more as ornamentation than function.

Kaigen

Continuing on in silence, Kaigen and Samael make it to the Lady’s Ward proper, still en route to the house Samael spoke of. Samael has been maintaining a very nervous posture the whole of the trip, as if bracing for someone to jump out of the shadows of the night and accost him. As they continue through the Lady’s Ward, Kaigen notices the quietest obtrusion in the night: silence. The whole of the Lady’s Ward it seems is enveloped in a sort of eerie nothingness. He has been to the Lady’s Ward a few times before on business for Samael, even in the nighttime, and never has he seen it so quiet. Where are the Harmonium? Or the merchants and nobles, prowling the streets off to secret business deals or to spread the newest gossip from the highest places in Sigil?

Before he can even fully develop the thought, as if fate read his mind, 4 dark figures emerge from an alleyway flanking the street on the right side he and Samael were travelling along. Yoo Hoo! Samael! The voice seems to be coming from the figure on the far right facing them. The voice is clearly from a man, but with a forced high-pitched tone that screams of sarcasm. Though the street is still reasonably dark, the figures are close enough that Kaigen can see that 3 of the figures stand upright, broad shoulders and thick legs. The figure on the far right is crouched in a strange, ape-like stance. The figures continue to approach Samael and Kaigen and their advance is marked by the sound of nails on a chalkboard. As they get a little closer, Kaigen sees the crouched man has a pair of metal gauntlets with razors attached to each finger, and is dragging them across the polished cobblestones. The man continues speaking in that same counterfeit tone, all the while approaching Samael whose face and body are frozen in terror, I was so disappointed when just a little while ago I came by your shop to indulge in your marvelous wares. It seemed that you had closed down! What a pity. Whatever shall Sigil do without your fine fabrics and dyes? I for one was thoroughly disappointed but you know who else was even more disappointed about your capricious departure, hmm? The Grinning Gentleman, who told you very explicitly what would happen if you ever tried to run. A wicked smile streaks across the face of each man, who are all now in view of Kaigen. All bear a great many scars, though the speaking man seems to be relatively less scathed, bearing instead a great many facial and body tattoos of intricate patterns and unfamiliar designs. Samael still stands stock still, moaning softly in terror and shaking.

Quiet night, isn’t it? You would think the Harmonium would be a little more diligent, especially in the Lady’s Ward, following the craziness of earlier. But I hear that there has been a great fire in the house of some Sigilian noble following a robbery of the house. How terrible! All four laugh heartily at the news, all now standing within 10 feet of Kaigen and Samael. Suddenly, the tattooed man stops laughing and the smile vanishes from his face. His voice is now deep, serious and angry. Seize the man. The Gentleman wants him alive. Kill the boy.

As if woken from a frightful dream, Samael jumps in fright and starts to run. Before he can even take two steps, one of the thugs expertly draws and launches a set of bolas at Samael’s feet, sending him face first into the street, his head hitting with a sharp cracking sound. The crouched figure then leaps, as if by some feat of supernatural strength, from where he stood onto Samael, plunging his razored fingers into both of his calves. Samael screams in pain then goes limp and silent. All four turn to Kaigen. The tattooed man speaks again, in his dark, deep voice, Go ahead boy, Run! There is no fun in a kill without the hunt, wouldn’t you agree, Marrack? He asks turning to the man on his immediate left who then looses a howl as his body deforms and mutates into the form of a werewolf. He falls to all four, panting and salivating. The man whispers, just loud enough for Kaigen to hear in the still night, Run!

Reylin/Miibaax

A valid point. Which makes me wonder, why do you offer your services in the first place? What is your stake in the Gentleman’s fate?

[WyvernBlade]

"It's quite simple really, should one not be able to enjoy and relax in ones home? Sigil is my home now and I do not wish to have it become a place of fear and strife. I would much prefer it if Sigil was to remain a glorious city where one can prosper, instead of a city where one must hide and will make you rot. And from what I know of the Gentleman his plans seem to conflict with mine, so I would like him out of my home."

[The Big Orc]

Putting the antique rapier through his belt, Raith goes over to the chest and attempts to open it, picking the lock if needed.

Open Lock [roll0]

[ErminaPix]

Ermina tries to determine whether Pytris's emotions ring true. Was he really completely oblivious to Samael's darker plans?

Sense motive on Pytris [roll0]

If Fritz able to follow Samael and Kaigen when they disappeared without a trace, Ermina will check in on him and their progress. If not, she will release him. Sigil is a dodgy place at night, my pet. Until we meet again...

Ermina is shakes herself mentally and continues to pour over the papers as she comments 'How barbaric. Do you know of these Vorrs?' (she asks no one in particular). 'Tell me more about these fights. How long do they take to set up? Who participates? Who watches? Do they serve as examples, or entertainment?' Ermina continues blurting out questions until someone cuts her off or she can't think of any more. She waits for their reply.

[petagee]

Caer

Returning home, Caer is immediately greeted at the door by a distraught looking Balthazar. Gods be good boy! Where have you been!?!? I’ve been worried sick! Come inside, come inside. He closes the door behind Caer and continues to rant, This day has been nothing but trouble! First I’m robbed by street ruffians, then the whole of the Clerk’s Ward explodes in the wake of those two monstrosities then you go missing! I thought you had been killed or trapped under the rubble! I must’ve accosted every Harmonium guard in the ward looking for you! He plops himself down in a lavish armchair letting out a huge sigh. The looks over at Caer expectantly. Well, out with it boy. What happened to you that kept me waiting in fear for so long!?!

Miibaax/Reylin

How altruistic of you. Foolish, but admirable nonetheless. I suppose if you wish, be our guest, but I hope you know what you are getting yourself into. Men far more powerful, and far less fragile, have failed and suffered fates worse than death at his hands. You should see him at work first hand, I think. There is a fight happening tomorrow night at the pits of Yvryn, followed by something big. Perhaps you should be there. If you wish to find us again, come back to Ignus’ Folly. Adieu. The two rise, leaving a few coins on the table. They both nod respectfully to the barkeep and make their way towards the door.

Ermina/Xanian

After some close scrutiny, Ermina determines that as far as she can tell, his emotions are genuine. Despite Kaigen’s spell, Fritz was able to maintain vision of the two, Samael not being the fastest of walkers (or the quietest). Fritz follows them into the Lady’s Ward, not far from the temple where Ermina is currently. From a nearby alleyway, Fritz sees the scene unfolding where Samael is incapacitated and Kaigen is told to run for his life.

Pytris replies, I know the Vorrs to be fearsome creatures, merciless, taking much glee and pleasure from the suffering of others. They are dangerous and evil and I cannot imagine anyone in their right mind who would want one! They hide in the shadows of the night and bounce freely through the darkness, then strike with no remorse. But I know nothing of these pits. They are a mystery to me.

Raith/Hex

After a few tries at the lock, the chest yields and opens to reveal a large stash of important looking documents concerning shipments, sales, deal and more. Along with it is the register from the front room containing 40 gold.

[NightAngel16]

After a brief silence on his part, Xanian decides to speak, "Allow me to enlighten the two of you on this somewhat gruesome form of entertainment. The pits are a series of arenas located in the Hive district. There, all manner of man and beast fight for money, glory, or just because they have been forced to do so. It is quite a spectacle for those who live in the Hive and gambling also has a heavy hand in the entertainment aspect. I would know, as I have partaken in the odds of certain prize fights. Particularly ones that I was a part of." Xanian gives a malicious smile after mentioning this fact. "In the past, Kagé and I have had to battle opponents in the pits in order to savagely execute them and meet specific contractual obligations. Know this, the pits are brutal, sadistic, and not for the faint-of-heart. I would deign it foolish to execute a venture in the pits without adequate preparation first."

[WyvernBlade]

Before the two halve elves leave they hear, "What are these pits of Yvryn you speak of? I do not wish to walk in without knowing a good deal about them."

[ErminaPix]

Deciding to humor her dramatic side, Ermina stiffens, pales, rolls her eyes back and speaks in a dead voice. "Speaking of brutal punishments and unfair fights, your very own Samael and companion are in a bit of a fix not far from here." Ermina seemingly 'comes to' and continues "If we require any more information I feel obligated to mention this is probably our last chance to get it. I hear the Gentleman doesn't take kindly to suggestions of mercy. What say you, shall we intercede. He is our best source of insider information at this point." Ermina thumbs her leg thoughtfully and asks Xanian. "Unless of course, you are not confident in your skills against the thugs that have them. I wonder...what kind of fighter are you when a crowd isn't watching?" Ermina sits back and looks pensive as she waits for Xanian's response.

[NightAngel16]

"Trying to goad me into helping so that I may what? Defend my HONOR? I scoff at such a sharp tongue coming from a pixie! ...Still, you make a good point. Samael and his young charge may yet be more useful to us alive than dead."

Xanian begins pacing the room and applying sharp accents to his armor with the paint he took from Samael's shop. "Pytris, if a confrontation should occur, will Kagé be battle-ready for me to ride?"

[The Big Orc]

Pocketing the gold, Raith will begin searching the room for valuables that are easily concealed.

Search [roll0]
Edit: ok, Ill take 20

[Daphoa]

In theory Caer should've been surprised his efforts to sneak out of the house were detected by the... overbearing Balthazar, but it had just been too many times. He truly didn't try to hide it any more - there were no consequences for it other than Balthazar's ranting and he couldn't stand to stay home for too long.

"Well, I saw building explode. I was quite close to it in fact - a chunk of rock or two may have gotten into my leg." Caer responds to Balthazar's questioning. "It was fine though, I went to the healers tent and they fixed... wait!" Caer's face lights up with surprise as realizes what Balthazar said. "You were robbed!?! "

[petagee]

Xanian/Ermina

I cannot guarantee anything Xanian. Kage’s condition has only worsened since he contracted the ailment, and I think the only hope for recovery is if you can find out what exactly it was that ails him, then the clerics can hopefully find a solution. His face is stiff and sad, clearly pained by his own uselessness in the situation. But Ermina, what is going on with Samael?

Miibaax/Reylin

I’m sure you’re a resourceful man. Maybe you can use that gentle touch to massage information out of one of the Hive rats. I’m sure they’d be more than happy to help! They both laugh again, haughty like before, and stroll out of the room.

Raith/Hex

Searching the room further, you find very little of note; a great many tomes about the production of sweets as well as house skills like knitting, sewing and cooking.

Caer

Robbed, yes. Right. My goodness, I can hardly believe what happened. So I was minding my own business, walking back from another meeting with clients when a man behind me called out my name. I turned and he and a few thugs approached me. They asked me the contents of the briefcase I was holding. I told them none of their business and to shove off. Apparently they didn’t take kindly to that response and the lead one said, ‘The Gentleman thanks you ahead of time for your generous donation.’ He then grabbed my briefcase and struck me across the face, running off with the rest of his cronies. Before I could even collect myself, those two beasts started fighting and everyone around me seemed completely unconcerned about the robbery and a little more frightened about impending death by rampaging abyssal monstrosity.

As he recounts the tale, he pours himself a glass of wine. Then taking a large gulp followed by a loud ‘Ahhh’, he continues. Apparently this isn’t the first time my employers have had a run in with this Gentleman fellow. He’s been stealing alchemical supplies from them for weeks and they haven’t been able to stop the thieving bugger, nor can they figure out what he has planned. Though based on what he has stolen, it could be something rather unfortunate for all of Sigil. The contents he has swiped are of rather... volatile nature I’m afraid. The Harmonium have been ignoring this because, what is a little petty theft? Not to mention they already have their hands full with the Hive as of late. After the incident with the overzealous Mercykillers and such, the Hive has been ‘buzzing’ with discontent. The documents they gave to me to scribe were more shipment plans, so the Gentleman will know everything and could steal the contents anywhere on the route. What a right, ruddy mess. He sits back, continuing to gulp back the wine, sighing.

[WyvernBlade]

"I'm sure they will be," Miibaax says with a smile. As the two half pointy eared blokes a green disk spirals up Miibaax's leg and climbs into his phanny pack.

I wonder who this winged fellow is? Not too many people are out and about to night, but he is. Why? I should first determine what kind of character he is.

Deciding to find out the disposition of the winged creature...
"You've been poisoned. I do not know why the bartender decided to do it, but that green liquid you are drinking is the nectar of a poisonous plant from the fae wilds. Anyone who ingests it will become unable to move. The plant will then grow to cover them, and excrete a venom just under the skin in order to digest their flesh. This creates a highly nutritious soup for the plant, but is rather unfortunate for the victim. The voice does not come from a particular direction but rather seems to be only in your mind. As this voice speaks you start to feel extreme heat all over your body, followed by a sudden chill, and then your proprioception becomes wildly distorted.

Psidkik is the one "speaking"
Miibaax will stand just over 15ft away from Reylin and manifest False sensory input on Reylin, expending psionic focus. Will save, DC: 21 to neglect.

[Arkady]

Reylin's head droops as his body seems to disconnect and float about the room. "Powerful drink you have there friend", Reylin nods to the barkeep, or at least tries to. Holding his head in his hands, Reylin tries to regain control of his rebellious body. "What kind of trickery is this?", he thinks to himself through the sensational rollercoaster.

Couple of Knowledge checks to see if he can recognize the effect
Arcana: [roll0]
Nature: [roll1]
Psionics: [roll2]
Planes: [roll3]