Silver Blade in Invern (IC)

[Zaydos]

It’s your third night in this blighted inn. With Invern’s reputation you would have expected a job to have been fairly easy to find, the Low Lords were always in need of a new bodyguard; the High Lords seem unlikely to look twice at a man of your limited skills they’re more likely to hire true masters of your art. You probably had hoped to find better accommodations while you searched for a patron, as well.
A sound in the common room catches your attention, a table smashing into the wall behind your head. Looking out the door you can see a man far too well dressed to enter a lice-infected dive like this one, well at least if he expected to leave it again on his own feet. Two swordsmen stand, blades drawn, with their backs towards him. From their well-wrought armor, though not as fine as yours, you can guess that they are his guards, but outnumbered by the thugs and ruffians of the tavern, coupled with the shaking of their hands on their hilts, you don’t expect them to last long; at least not without some assistance.

[jamieth]

“It seems the fortune finally turned towards me”, Alrdic thought, “In a city like this, and in a trade like mine, doing a favor for someone of influence… or, at least, wealth… can do wonders for one’s career…”
Drawing his faintly glowing scimitar, the half-elf made his way across the room, keeping vigilant for the thugs. It could be a dangerous move, certainly – stepping amidst people who could attack him without any provocation - but Aldric had some tricks in his sleeve, himself… for one, what looked like a fine, if not particularly exquisite, dress shirt he was wearing was in fact a suit of armor, enchanted so as to trick the enemies into underestimating him. And, of course, properly utilizing a numbers advantage took some training too, training that, as Aldric suspected, the thugs lacked – and that meant he, not lacking the appropriate training, could force them into each other’s way… realistically, the only attack that was truly dangerous was the first one – and Aldric was willing to trust his luck on that one.


As a swift action, enter the Pearl of Black Doubt stance (gain +2 AC every time at attack misses me, resets at my next turn), then move towards the bodyguards or until AoO occurs, whichever comes first

[Zaydos]

The thugs, not yet realizing that you're against them, let you pass; fear leading greed as they are glad to let someone else be the first to taste steel.

The guardsmen, though, seem under the same impression and one does swing at you when you come in reach, though it is a blow you easily avoid showing a lack of skill that makes it seem that this lordling certainly will not escape without your aid.

[jamieth]

"Oy, hold back", Aldric whistles, dodging the swing, "Take it easy, I'm on your side here!" Saying that, she turns towards the thugs and raises his blade, "I'd prefer not to start a bloodbath here, you know - you still have a chance to leave peacefully... fo rnow."

[Zaydos]

"Hey some fool mercenary thinks they can get rich as a lordlings pet," one of the thugs says rushing forward swinging his club in an arc that goes well wide, though not as wide as the lord's guard's had.

[jamieth]

"Oh, well. It seems someone here is even sillier then they look. Well, in that case..." looking over the competition, Aldric feels rather confident in the result of a fight... the problem being, there is always a chance a wild swing can hurt the noble, which would be bad for the business. In that case... well, for one, to settle the matter of who's on whose side: Aldric twists his scimitar in the intricate fashion, reflecting the light from its blade, and the next moment there are two Aldrics in the room, the second standing right behind the thug who was foolish enough to call him a fool. And, while the thug is distracted by the sudden appearance of a new enemy, Aldric strikes, imbuing his blade with the sharpness of the moonlight.
Moon Phantasm to flank a thug, followed by Fickle Favor Lost. The attack roll would be, I believe, at a +12, dealing 3d6+4 damage. (And ignoring DR, but I doubt it matters now)
Speaking of, how do we roll? Just in case, I'll make my rolls here:
Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[Zaydos]

The thug falls, his kneck all but severed. The others appear more hesitant now, but three still rush the guards at once. One of the guards falls as a dagger and a club strike him. The other seems protected by his armor, at least for now. The others are backing away, and one or two slip from the inn in fear.

[jamieth]

"Ok, that settles the matter of sides, I suppose..." Aldric whispers, "And now, sir, if you don't mind..." stepping back towards the noble, he raises his hand and chants a short phrase, touching the man's chest, "Try to keep away from the fray, would you. I'll clear the way for you."

Casting Invisibility on the noble, with a swift action spent to recover Maneuvers

[Zaydos]

The living guard shows himself nearly as inept as the former as he misses the thug completely, and the thug narrowly misses him.

The other two thugs, and two more, turn to you trying to bring you down with sheer weight of numbers. The first two clumsily miss, but the third gets in a lucky blow despite your skill at evasion. The fourth's charge is lackluster and easily dodged even as you reel from the club blow.

7 damage; rolled max damage and would have missed if he hadn't been charging.

[jamieth]

Aldric smirks viciously, the pain making his expression a scary one indeed, and, after summoning his phantom twin again to provide a distraction, launches a quick series of hits on the offender, hits that, while lacking finesse of the Lunar Spirit, make up for that by sheer numbers.
Phantom Twin, then full attack against the thug who hit me; if the first hit drops him, the second is aimed at the one next to him, in which case the attack roll is 2 less due to lack of flanking.
Attack 1: [roll0]
Damage 1: [roll1]
Attack 2: [rollv]1d20+7[/rolv]
Damage 2: [roll2]

[Zaydos]

The first blow goes wide, but the second leaves a gaping wound across the thugs chest which knocks him to the ground.

The remaining guard continues to prove his ineptitude, and the thugs begin their attack once more. You easily dodge the first thug, but the second one's blow is a lucky strike across the back of your skull. The third thug pulls back his dagger as a man in a black suit enters the tavern raising a skull-capped rod. He says a word of magic and five bolts of arcane energy fly out two striking one thug attacking you and three another knocking them both to the ground.

Five guards file into the inn from behind the man in the suit, as the man says, "Where is my son?"

He's evidently in his forties, his black hair not yet graying, and his eyes a grey-blue. He wears a suit of black material, evidently rich even from this distance. His rod, or cane, is capped with a skull of some sort, too small to be human. A large silver ring is evident on his right hand atop his white glove.

[jamieth]

Aldric stops immediately as the thugs fall. The man is obviously a mage, a real one - and of considerable power, too, it seems. The spell he used wasn't a difficult one, as far as Aldric memory sered him, but launching five of them at once wasn't something just everybody could achieve... which, of course, meant it was the time to make an impression.
"Sir", Aldric speaks with a formal bow, "Assuming your son is the gentleman this scum tried to assault, I believe he is there", the half-elf gestures towards the invisible (to others) noble. "Please excuse me, I took the liberty of concealing him just in case. The spell shall wear off in several minutes, though I'm sure you could undo it immediately if you wanted."

[Zaydos]

The man looks you over from head to toe with a single quick analytic glance. "It would seem you save my son, to whom do I owe my gratitude?"

Even as he speaks the guards surround the last thug who has fallen to his knees begging for mercy.

[jamieth]

"My name is Aldric Morbane, sir", the sellsword replies, "and you don't owe me anything - the scums just got what they deserved, and my blade needed some air anyway; there were not many chances to let it out in this city so far, I'm afraid..."

[Zaydos]

"A mercenary seeking work?" the man asks. "I believe I could provide some if that's what you are after. You have proven yourself competent enough to do some of the jobs I require."

[jamieth]

"I am certain we could come to an agreement in this matter, my Lord?.." Aldric gives the man a bow, his voice sounding just a bit inquireing.

[Zaydos]

"Lord Arismyr, a Low Lord of the City" the man says. "Is this where you are staying? If so," he gives the room a contemptuous once over, and then throws down a bag of coins, "Find new accommodations at the Blue Lion, I will see that you are contacted with a job within the week."

[jamieth]

“As you wish, my Lord”, Aldric bows somewhat deeper, hiding a bag into the pocket. Considering it a permission to leave, he heads back to his room to gather his few belongings.

[Zaydos]

When Aldric has finished gathering his belongings he finds the common room empty. It is at this point he realizes he does not know where in the city the Blue Lion is located.

The street is full of people, merchants hawking their wares, thieves, cleaners, adventurers, boisterous mercenaries, etc.

[jamieth]

Aldric approaches the nearest food stall and, grabbing something to bite - and noting to himself that the taste hardly deserves the price - asks the merchant, trying to sound polite, "Oh, one more thing - could you point me to the Blue Lion, please?"
Diplomacy roll if needed: [roll0]

[Zaydos]

"The Blue Lion? That's miles away, not in these slums," the merchant says pointing one hand lazily to the north, "River district, I think, can't say I've ever been there."

[jamieth]

Aldric heads in the indicated direction, leaving the merchant with rather more coins than the latter could realistically expect (but then, had Aldric been any good with saving money, he'd never end up in these slums in the first place).
OK, is there something that would stop Aldric from getting to the inn, perhaps after checking for directions a couple more times? If not, I assume he gets there, and spends the first evening gathering some basic info on his employer. Gather Information check: [roll0]. Would edit into IC after getting confirmation.

[Zaydos]

It takes you a few hours to find the Blue Lion Inn. The Inn's lower story is made of stone, and the innkeeper has been told to expect you. The inn is boisterous, a dicing table is well occupied with several avid gamers. The inn, though, seems an inn second and a dock-worker's pub first, with the smell of the northern sea wafting in.

As you ask about your prospective employer, you find that most who seem willing to talk to you easily are too drunk to converse with. As a fifth failure wraps up, you see a man at the dice table lift a gnome off the ground. "Look there! He's using loaded dice!" The man says.

A gasp runs through the gamblers as their anger rises. Murmurs of vengeance and rage run through them, as they begin to surround the gnome.

You have nothing (obvious) to gain from helping the gnome, and it's quite possible he was cheating.

Was thinking about muggers, but they'd be boring. Decided on some random inn encounter but you can just ignore it if you wish, it doesn't directly concern you.

[jamieth]

Aldric looks at the scene with a mild curiosity. Such accusations are not rare at all, of course, and, from his experience, they tend to turn out true about as often as not… It’s worth checking out, at least to pass some time, he decides, approaching the table. “Does he, really? That’s a pretty big accusation to throw, you know”, he asks the man in a voice that doesn’t sound particularly caring, and, turning to the gnome, “Do you?”
A couple of Sense Motive checks with abysmal modifiers coming up: against the man: [roll0]; against the gnome: [roll1]

[Zaydos]

"Of course I know" the gnome spits out too quickly.

"The dice are right there," the man says pointing to a pair of bone dice, "Where he dropped them when I caught him in the act."

Bad modifiers, but a nat 20. The gnome is guilty.

[jamieth]

“I see…” Aldric picks up the dice and rolls them between his fingers, “Tough luck, little fellow, but you brought it upon yourself.” Saying that, he steps back, apparently losing interest, but keeping relatively close just in case.

[Zaydos]

The gnome is beaten, and his illegitimate winnings (and potentially a little more are taken from him) before he is bodily thrown out of the inn and onto the street other than that nothing particularly interesting happens during the evening.

In the morning you are awoken by a knocking on your door, a servant at the inn explaining that a man in robes has come asking for you.

[jamieth]

"I'll be down in a moment", Aldric says, and starts getting ready. After quick washing up and donning his trusty armor, he heads down, keeping his hand in close reach of the hilt - just in case. Of course, the man in robes would most likely be a Lord Arismyr's messenger... but it doesn't hurt to be careful. "I take it my services are required?" he asks the visitor bluntly.

[Zaydos]

"I would not say required, but requested. There is a warehouse, three blocks to the northwest of here. We have reason to suspect that a band of thieves will be attempting to steal some of the goods within the warehouse and that we have need of increasing our guard upon the premise. As such, his lordship has decided this would be a good task for your blade and skills. I have also been told to warn you that the thieves are likely to have access to magic that will make them invisible and possibly utterly silent as well," the robed man says, his voice making it clear he has little love of mercenaries and their like.

[jamieth]

"Their invisibility shall... not be an issue", Aldric replies coldly, "The thieves would be taken care of. Any idea how long the... goods would remain in danger? Also, is the existing guard on the premises aware of the situation? Are they expecting me to join them?" There were lots of other questions, of course, but Aldric knew perfectly well the messenger wouldn't answer them... if he even had the answers himself in the first place.

[Zaydos]

"Quite possibly until they are shipped, though you only need to concern yourself with this for the next two nights. The guards have been informed there will be reinforcements, but I do not know if they have been informed of your exact skills. I will be taking you to meet them so they know that you are legitimate," the man finishes, his face and voice saying that he considers the answers to these questions to be completely obvious and that they should go without saying.

[jamieth]

"Very well then, I'm ready." Aldric nods, ignoring the messenger's apparent annoyance. His job was to answer the questions - or not answer, according to the Lord's instructions - not to express his opinions. Besides, double-checking obvious things often leads to a longer life. "Lead the way."

[Zaydos]

The man leads the way out of the Blue Lion, where you pick up an escort of more than half a dozen men. Moving to the docks proper you see why the messenger moves with such an escort. While there is a large, main street for transporting bulk goods and while traveling on it you see a strong presence of guards, the area grows far more sinister. As you travel through a narrow shortcut to the warehouse you are expected to guard the group's path is half blocked by the cold, dead body of a man his throat slit and his stomach and chest cut open and his organs removed. One of the messenger's guards sees a tattoo on the man's shoulder, and shudders muttering, "A guardsmen."

The warehouse itself is almost 30-ft tall, and a massive building. Three men stand at each entrance, five at the main entrance, and the messenger takes you towards the main entrance to introduce you to the guards. They are a motley bunch, a half-elf, a human, an orc, a dwarf, and a orc-hobgoblin hybrid.

[jamieth]

Aldric introduces himself to the guards and waits for the messenger to leave, passing time in either meaningless chatter or just staring at nothing in particular, depending on the guards' reaction; than, after waiting for several more minutes, he starts to act. Under the premise of physical need, he walks away from the warehouse and into the nearby narrow alley he picked on the way to the warehouse. Checking that no one is looking, he speaks a few magical words and gets back to the warehouse, hidden from sight by the moon's veil. It never hurts to check, after all, does it?

The first option would be to climb through the window, assuming the warehouse has any and taking 10 on a +12 Climb roll succeeds; failing that, he'll reappear among the guards - namely, behind the hobgoblin's back. In case the Move Silently roll is needed, here's one [roll]1d20+3[/i]; feel free to roll anything else you deem necessary.

[Zaydos]

Climbing into the second floor you can see three guards approaching the window, obviously made suspicious by the sudden opening of the window.

[jamieth]

OK... so it's not gonna be that easy. Not that I actually planned to do something, of course... Aldric dismisses the spell, "Don't mind me, guysa, was just checking some potential security leaks, that's all", he says confidently.

[Zaydos]

The men look at you suspiciously. "Come with us," one of them says, "Got to see if your story checks out." Two of the men move to take you by the arms.

(sorry not sure how I forgot for so many days)

[jamieth]

"OK, OK", Aldric doesn't try to resist, "I see why you are cautious. By the way, make sure to close that window again, or the real thieves might make it inside, after all."

No prob, that's the good thing about 1on1 - I'm sorry I took so long this time :-)

[Zaydos]

They shut the window before escorting you to the lower story, taking you towards the center of the building they take you to a man wearing burnished silver armor and a plumed helmet, apparently their captain. They begin asking questions as to whether you ought to be there, and he sends for one of the front gate guards who confirms your identity before dismissing everyone involved, except you.

"So what exactly were you trying to do?" He asks, his eyes are strange, black with gold centers, and he smells off as well nothing you can consciously single out but if you had to say you'd say he doesn't smell human at all.

[jamieth]

"What I've been hired to do", Aldric replies calmly and slowly, "Trying to make sure no thieves are going to lay their hands on... whatever it is inside. I was informed the thieves are likely to use invisibility, so I wanted to check how your men would handle it. They did good enough, I have to admit."

[Zaydos]

"So were you given any other information?" He asks, "And besides turn yourself invisible, what else can you do? That said I think it was a bit of luck they caught you, not enough men to watch all the windows all the time, if you had waited long enough to learn the patrol regime or had a partner to bait them to another window you could have gotten in."

[jamieth]

"Well, I certainly wish to see the thieves try it", Aldric smiles thinly. "A school of a Silver Blade, you see, teaches, among other things to see things in a subtle light of the Moon, against which most common methods of becoming invisible are useless. That, I suppose, might be one of the reasons I was assigned here. Other than that - well, let's just say when fighting one of the Silver Blade's adepts, it is best not too trust one's eyes too much... nor assume that your position is safe, or that your armor would protect you."

[Zaydos]

The commander nods, and calls a man to the room. "Take him upstairs, and position him by the goods."

He looks at you, "Keep a close eye on them, and make sure no one touches them. Let's see if you earn your keep tonight; I fear many of us won't."

If you follow the man told to escort you he takes you to the upper floor of the warehouse and a locked door. "Want to stay right here or wait in the room with the goods? If you choose the latter be ready to be locked in for the night."

[jamieth]

"Well, it is only sensible to choose one place no thief would be able to avoid, no matter which way they choose - right there", Aldric pointed inside. "And don't worry, I've no intention of leaving my post anyway - it's bad for the reputation. Of course, the lock would also mean I won't be able help should the fight break outside... but if that's your rules, so be it."

[Zaydos]

"Only two keys, to make sure nobody goes rogue on us. Me and the commander are the only ones who carry them."

He lets you in the room, filled with crates, and locks the door. You're fairly sure not all of these crates are important, but which one is harder to tell.

Two crates do have auras of abjuration and evocation around them, they are placed at opposite ends of the room.

[jamieth]

"Very well", Aldric nods, doubting the lack of key would be an issue for someone really inclined on obtaining the contents of those crates... the contents Aldric himself is rather interested in. Not stealing, of course; just finding out what is it... but well, before that, some preparatinos would be needed. Anyway, it was enough suspicious behaviour already... for today. So deciding, he leaned to the wall and prepared to wait... not before setting out some safety measures of his own, though.
I kinda lost the track of time, so, how late in the day it is? Also, is there a window in the room? Other sources of light? Anyway, setting mental Alarm to cover as much of the room as possible; at CL 6, it lasts for 12 hours.

Also, seeing your new signature, are you by chance challenging a NaNoWriMo? If so, feel free to take your time replying :-)

[Zaydos]

The only source of light in the room is an oil lamp which you may light before they close you in, the room itself has no windows and the walls seem to be reinforced with steel. On close inspection you can see patches of magical aura from behind what is a thin layer of lead; in keeping with the stories of the precautions that Lords of Invern are said to employ the walls have been magically reinforced to prevent easy entry.

It is still only early afternoon (at the latest) so your wait is a long one. About ten hours later you hear the sounds of combat coming from the outside, the clash and clang of steel on steel and screams of men as they suffer mortal blows.

Nano shouldn't eat too much time. Done it 2 out of the last 3 years and the year I missed I got 2/5ths done in 2 days when I finally had a story to tell despite classes and upcoming finals and I'm less busy than usual this time. Not happy with my nano this year at all but *shrug*.

[jamieth]

It's a shame - they seem decent enough guys... Aldric thinks, listening to dying screams, Well, it'snot like I didn't warn them... I'm getting paid for protecting the cargo, though, not the other guards... oh well, better get ready... blowing the lamp off, he turns invisible and takes a combat stance among the crates.

[Zaydos]

A few minutes later you hear something moving in the room. No light, but the sound of footsteps. You didn't hear the door open, though, so you aren't completely sure how they slipped in.

[jamieth]

Hm, something's going on here... something strange... Still, Aldric wasn't going to let that stop him. Trying not to make noise, he stepped forward, towards the steps, his hand on the scimitar's hilt...
Move silently roll is [roll0]

[Zaydos]

Suddenly there is the flash of fire. For a moment you can see its red glow, and the blue skin of the humanoid firing it at you, but that moment is soon past as the fire strikes a crate behind you.

They are 10-ft from you.

(remind me if you have darkvision or not)

[jamieth]

No Darkvision as far as I can remember; only the Superior Low-Light... I counted on the light coming through the door, honestly speaking. Also, a lit lamp in the apparently empty room would've been suspicious. Though, now that I read it, my blade doubles as a torch via Moonlight Blade... it is your call as the class creator on whether it is always on, on as long as the weapon is drawn, or whatever. If it only glows while drawn, Aldric certainly wouldn't draw it while hiding :-) So, awaiting your call before I post my actions.

[Zaydos]

Going to say sheathing it would conceal the light; also added clause about being suppressable as a standard action because... that was supposed to be in there in the first place :smallredface:

[jamieth]

Revealing yourself already... under the cover of the spell, Aldric smiled, Poor choice. Slipping into a stance, in three steps he was next to where the intruder appeared, drawing his scimitar on the move. He knew he would probably only have one strike before the enemy gets its game together, and was determined to make that one strike matter.
Swift to enter Stance of Clarity (+2 AC against 1 opponent, -2 against everyone else), move in melee range, draw weapon as part of the move, attack with Fickle Favor Lost.
The way I imagine it, drawing a blade would both let me see the opponent and negate my Invisibility, so it's attack as normal; whether any surprise bonuses apply is wholly within youir call.
Rolls:
Attack: [roll0]
In case of threat: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2], ignoring DR, if any.

[Zaydos]

Drawing your blade in its silvery light you see a blue-skinned man holding a pair of scimitars. He wears a suit of chainshirt armor and your blade slashes deep across him. Inhuman purple blood gashes from his wound as he turns invisible and attempts to pull away from you. It looks hurt.

Your action again now, it's a blue skinned humanoid with the power to turn invisible, of course it doesn't know whether you can see it or not now. Also apparently I'm using a homebrewed creature because I thought this thing had an SLA it doesn't :smallredface:

[jamieth]

"Sorry, won't work", Aldric slightly curves his lips as he thrusts his blade forward - which, logically, shouldn't work, since the blade just isn't long enough... that is, until the glow surrounding it extends, reaching for the blue-skinned creature.
Moonbolt Blade:
Ranged touch attack: [roll0] (I assume the +1 on the scimitar counts, since the maneuver description states it is still an attack with the weapon)
Damage: [roll1]

[jamieth]

Rolling crit confirmation: [roll0]

[Zaydos]

The creature is surprised as the light strikes it, a glancing blow, and turns to face you. It seems to be contemplating its options. Finally it decides floating up to head height as it moves forward bringing a scimitar down towards your head.

It strikes with one scimitar cutting across your shoulder.

OoC: 2 nat 20s and unconfirmed crits in a row. 8 damage from its blow. It is floating 5-ft up and 5-ft in front of you, fully visible now.

[jamieth]

Cursing, Aldric jumps back from the opponent and quickly chants a spell. Going after that creature from below would be ineffective, besides, Aldric needs a moment to readjust his stance anyway...
5-foot, cast Spider Climb, recovering spent maneuvers.

[Zaydos]

The creature steps forward and slices twice with its scimitars, once per blade, the first you easily parry and the latter half wedges into a crate taking it a moment to wrench the blade free again.

OoC: 2 and nat 1, even with the minor benefit from being above it's not doing much.

[jamieth]

With his newly gained abilities, Aldric sets himself atop of the crate, negating the enemy's height advantage, and continues his offense, once again alighting his blade with a silvery glow.
5foot step with a climb speed (these things are allowed by rules, right?), then a Fickle Favor Lost: [roll0]
[roll1]

[Zaydos]

The creature hisses out in pain, dropping a scimitar as its hand moves to the deep gash across its chest; your blade notched bone in the blow and the creature looks more than passingly injured. Suddenly the creature turns into a living cloud, floating 5-ft from you.

Spellcraft DC 18:
Is used Gaseous Form

[jamieth]

Hm, DC 18... here it comes. [roll0]

[jamieth]

Did I get him? Not likely... but for some time it won't be a threat, I hope. Anyway... the job still isn't done... that cargo seems a big deal, though...
Aldric stands still for a moment, trying to hear whether the fight still goes on outside, before pulling a wand out of his pocket and running it over the cuts, whipering magical words he doesn't really understand.
Listen check: [roll0]
UMD check: [roll1]
If successful, heals [roll2] HP

[Zaydos]

Fighting is still going on outside from the sounds of it, you can hear bloody screams from what you presume is both sides, as the mist seeps back out. The wand fails and makes a sizzling sound, it won't be working anytime today.

[jamieth]

With his glowing blade, Aldric steps lightly towards the door, to inspect its condition; after all, most probably not every one of the thieves ciould pass through walls... which meant they would try to open the door sometime. Well, let them try.

[Zaydos]

You can hear a voice outside the door a moment before the door swings open, a man in a flowing robe, and two half-ogres standing on the other side.

Spellcraft DC 17
Knock spell.

DC 22:
Modified for this door in particular, they knew what this door was and how it was protected.