[D&D 4e] Halls of the Thief Lord (IC) (Group 1)

[Drakeburn]

At the sound of a splash, 3 unlikely adventurers awake to find themselves around a small pool of sewage that flows through a set of rusty, metal bars. The human, the elf, and the dragonborn regain consciousness to see a tiefling and an eladrin fall into the pool, along with some raw sewage.

They also see that there is an opening in the wall that isn't blocked off by bars.
http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2013/255/5/7/level_1_sewers_by_darkcyberdude-d6m0ewy.jpg

[Jarl11]

With a quick shake of his head and a glance around to gather his bearings, Ares will assume that these other folks are no immediate threat... for now.

If the tiefling and eladrin do not appear to be conscious or can't get out, he quickly makes his way to pull them out of the sewage, beginning with the closest one. However, he tries to not get any sewage on himself and just dumps them unceremoniously on the side.

If they appear fine, then Ares moves with his back to the wall, away from the sewage and takes a moment. Then he straightens his large frame and just glares at the strangers with his powerful hands flexing at his sides.

Who are these people? he thinks to himself, keeping an eye on the others and studying his oddly foriegn surroundings.

[Ardurious]

"Get your hands off me, cur!" the tiefling shakes free of the human's grasp. He attempts to make his way to his feet, but a wave of dizziness overcomes him and he collapses back to the ground. Nine Hells, what's happened?!

"Where in the Hells are we?!" he demands, red face flushed with anger and confusion, "Where is...where is..." he trails off. It comes to him suddenly that he can't remember anything prior to waking up beside the sewer channel with the human standing over him.

I am...I am Czern ea'Udal, he struggles to remember. Something tugs at the corners of his mind and he instinctively reaches out towards it. He finds it readily enough and his mind is flooded with emptiness. Something isn't right. Something...The void within his mind drowns out all other thoughts.

His vision swims before him and he struggles to retain consciousness. "What has happened?" He repeats.

[Gavran]

Tybalt the magnificent

Darkness. Wet?

Tybalt's eyes dart around the room taking in the surroundings and assessing it for threats when he spots the human, hand stretched toward him.

Danger!

There is a brief flash of emerald light as the wizard vanishes from the canal and reappears on the ledge across from the man. He raises his hand, arcane formulas running through his mind when --

Unarmed. Not a threat. Find answers.

He finishes his assessment of the room, noting each of the strangers and seeking any evidence of the magic that must be responsible for his condition. He then returns his attention to the man on the other side of the sewage.

"You will tell me why I am here. If you seek my favor you must know there are better places to beg for it than in... this filth." He gestures expansively at the filth staining his viridian attire, magically cleaning it. His gaze passes from one stranger to the next, searching them for answers.

OOC:
Fey Step to D3.
Arcana - Detect Magic [roll0]
Prestidigitation - clean robes

[FujinAkari]

Shay's eyes darted open. It was impossible to say what had awoken her... but she had been quite abruptly aware that something was decidedly wrong and had worked to rouse herself in a matter of moments.

She surveyed her surroundings. There were a number of others, all seemingly just arriving on the scene (some of them literally in the process of arriving immediately as she began to look!) but none of them seemed to be any sort of authority. They all seemed to be sporting quite a variety of garb, the only true consistancy was that each person could be generously described as being dressed badly.

This realization brought the elf maid's eyes back to herself and to the... well... burlap sack with holes cut in it for arms an a head... which she seemed to be wearing. She sighed and rather quickly brought herself up to her feet. She had absolutely no idea what, if anything, she might be wearing beneath the coarse fabric, but she certainly wasn't going to remain prone until she was good and sure!

One of the strangers was introducing himself, while another one teleported about and started making strange demands. The elf sighed a again, planting her hands on her hips as she spent a moment pondering, and then she turned to the demonling that had actually behaved civilized.

"Well... waking up in a strange place without clothing on and with a bunch of strange men around may not be the... best thing I've ever done..." She chuckles a bit, then frowns slightly, realizing she isn't actually sure what she has done previously. She shrugs quickly, however, extending a hand, palm down. "I'm Shaylee, at least to non-elves. No disrespect, but other languages just don't prepare your tongues for the syllabic gymnastics required to pronounce my actual name properly!"

[Philemonite]

Regaining consciousness the dragonborn looks around the room. It is dark and damp, but not in a good way. The sewage system was not really one of his favorite places, and he was still disoriented. The presence of a tiefling didn't really help.
Well, papa always said when in trouble find allies where you can.
The dragonborn shook his head and felt the emptiness inside. The words were familiar, but he couldn't remember a face. He couldn't remember anything. Except his name.
"Do you seriously think that we are the once who brought you here? We are in the same situation as you are."

[Gavran]

Tybalt the prestigious

The eladrin's confidence begins to visibly falter. Not... responsible. His mind races, re-assessing the situation more completely in light of this new information, mapping out the blind spots in his memory. "My apologies. I seem to be under some glamor wrought to rob me of my memories and... it seems that you all were caught in it as well. Wrong place at the wrong time, I suspect. Then we were all dumped... here. Strange. I'd have expected my enemies to be more thorough when they made an attempt on my life." He paused Whoever my enemies may be...

Recovering his tempo, the wizard continues "Nonetheless, their negligence shall be their undoing. I shall find a way to break this charm's hold on me, and then I will release you all as well. For now, however, by way of apology..." And as a requirement for sharing the same air as me... he adds, silently, before repeating the gesture that sends his magic flowing through the tiefling's clothing, once more eliminating the sewage.

"It seems there is but one way for us to go. We should begin immediately, before they have time to realize their folly in leaving me alive." He immediately sets off towards the chamber's one exit. "You may call me Tybalt, by the way, though I can't tell you much more than that."

[Ardurious]

Czern wrinkles his nose in disgust. "Arcane magic?" he mutters, "I think I'd have preferred the sewage."

He makes it to his feet successfully this time and turns in the direction the wizard is walking. "You, elf, where are you off to? Know you the way out of this cesspit?" he truly doesn't remember how he had come to this horrible place. This uncertainty troubles him. "I would suggest you do not lie to me, arcanist. My own mind shrouds the truth from me at the moment. It would be very unwise for you to do the same."

He finds himself suddenly overcome with the urge to thrust a wedge into the wizards mind, to crack the shell and drink deep of whatever knowledge he may possess. Let him answer first. Then we'll see how truthful he is.

[Drakeburn]

As everyone regains consciousness and introduce themselves, Tybalt cleans some sewage off from himself, as well as the tiefling. Then he walks over to the opening in the wall, only to find himself in a small room with what appears to be a pile of dirt.

http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2013/256/f/e/1st_sewer_level_by_darkcyberdude-d6m0ewy.jpg

OOC: Tybalt: You don't detect any magic within the area.

Everyone: Now what will you do?

[Gavran]

Tybalt the magnanimous

"Elf? Ah, but perhaps I shouldn't expect one of your... impure blood to grasp the finer details of pedigree. I am to elves what your demonic masters are to your ill-begotten lineage. An unattainable ideal. Minimal offense to present company." He adds, smiling wanly at the elven female. "It is not your fault, wild one, that your ancestors strayed from the true path."

The wizard steps completely into the new room, calling back to the group "As for knowing the way out, I've used only logic and basic observation. We arrived from above, and this is the path open to us. Standing around inhaling the fumes won't get us any answers. However..." He trails off, standing in room's only visible entrance and eying the mound of dirt suspiciously.

And I only just got myself clean... perhaps one of these others will be eager to go pawing through it. I can't recall anything that would make it dangerous to do so...

[FujinAkari]

Shay wrinkles her nose and tilts her head to one side "Feh! So far as I hear, your great claim to fame is that you lot never bothered to leave the Feywild... though how a man can claim supremacy for always being too scared to come out from behind his mommy's skirts is a mystery to me!"

She chuckles and takes a number of steps forward, towards the mound of dirt and frowns, sniffing slightly. "Mrmm... well this is a bit of a problem. Lets approach this logically.

Point one: We have a pile of dirt.
Point two: Dirt, typically speaking, is dirty.
Point three: There is one amongst our number capable of cleaning himself with a thought.
Point four: SHOVE!"

At point four, Shay attempts to push the Eladrin forward towards the dirtpile, a ploy that may have been more successful if she had not announced her intention...

[Philemonite]

"That is enough!" The Dragonborn screamed.
"Like it or not we are all stuck here so you should stop acting like spoiled children and start working together, because that might be our only chance to get out of here." His gaze passed all four humanoids.
"Unless you like it here and you want to stay." He added, trying to make it sound like a threat.

[FujinAkari]

"I dunno..." Shay mutters, grinding one of her feet into the floor self-consciously. "I'm starting to think that I live here. I mean, look at me! I'm dressed in a bloody sack like a bunch of potatoes, where else would I live? And this puffed up Feyfleer is insulting my dirt! It took me a really long time to build up that dirt pile!... you know... probably?"

[Ardurious]

"I'm surrounded by fools and madmen..." Czern mutters. He opens his mind slowly to his surroundings, taking in the sights and subtle sounds of the room. Perhaps he can find some clue as to where he is and how he can escape.

Perception[roll0]

[Gavran]

Tybalt the ever-so-slightly humbled

Tybalt spins to the side at the elf's warning, narrowly avoiding an acquaintance with the ground. Sliding a few steps back he gives the elf a chastising glare. "I suppose you feel that I deserved that... impetuous creature..." his tone is sour but his smile shows genuine amusement. "Still, if it's important to you that I handle this... and the lizard - ah, dragonborn - is correct that we ought to focus... then, with your blessing I shall get to work on your... lovely pile." With that, the wizard channels his magic into the shape of a tangible hand and begins to sift through the dirt, searching for anything in or under it.

OOC:Mage Hand. Yeah, I like cantrips. x3

[Ardurious]

"My, with the fetid stench of this place, I had very nearly forgotten we had an Arkhosian in our presence," with the eladrin's mention of him, Czern looks at the dragonborn. His eyes burn with hatred, "Wherever we may be, it seems that the filth of your kind has yet to be purged from it." He gives a derisive snort before pushing past the eladrin.

"We'll be about this all day if we do it your way, conjuror," with but a moment's concentration, a large shimmering mass appears before Czern. It spins and warps and quickly begins to take on the form of a hulking greater daemon. Within seconds, the infernal beast has been given full form. It looks to Czern with dull, wicked eyes.

"Search the pile," Czern commands the daemonshape, "and do it quickly."

OOCShaped Consciousness, Mage Hand's crazy older brother =P

[Jarl11]

Feeling overly shy, Ares just gives a big grin as the little elf tries to push the taller one.

These people are crazy... I... I don't remember anything either...

My name is Ares. Nice to see I'm not the only one that feels brainless right now. Let me know if you see who put us here, I am going to pummel him.

He glances at the little elf that just made him smile Or her.

I will take a quick look in here first. Though I have no idea what I'm looking for.

With that, Ares examines the room that they woke up in. Specifically, looking at the bars and beyond, and the walls/ceiling briefly. He avoids the sewage as much as possible, then joins the others by the dirt pile.

[roll0]

[Drakeburn]

So as our survivors get on their feet and try cooperate, Czern and Tybalt search through the pile of dirt, finding nothing more but a few small stones, two copper pieces, a pearl, and bent spoon.

Meanwhile, Ares looks around the room, but doesn't seem to see anything that could be helpful.

OOC:
6 sling bullets
1 pearl
2 copper pieces
A bent spoon

[Jarl11]

His displeasure rising, Ares' face becomes a little flushed and his deep voice rumbles angrily

What the hell is going on here? There has to be a way in and out!

The veins in his neck and arms pulse and strain with rapidly rising frustration and barely contained anger as Ares paces around the room looking for an exit. After circling the dirt room, he comes back to the flowing sewage and his eyes focus on the tunnel beyond the grate. His breathing deepens as he walks to the wall on either side of the grate and gives a push, feeling for an opening at first, then trying to create one. When that fails, he takes a breath and aims at the bars, stepping into the sewage if need be to get the best angle on the weakest looking bars. First he grips and pulls to test each one. Then he picks one and squares his shoulders, raising one foot up to anchor it against another bar and begins to heave against the rusty metal, growls escaping between clenched teeth. He tries first one bar, then the next.

OOC:Strength+4 vs bars
[roll0]

[Gavran]

Tybalt the mighty

Leaving the others to play in the dirt and its paltry treasures, Tybalt wanders back to the first room where he finds the human testing the strength of the bars. He pauses for a moment to analyze the bars before walking closer and tapping one of the lower bars. "Here. Try this one. It's been corroded by the... liquid... and it isn't directly load-bearing. It should be slightly easier to work with." He smiles encouragingly at the muscled human, then peers into the space beyond the blockade.

OOC:Hope you don't mind my unorthodox fluffing of the check. I'll still roll STR for it. [roll0] Also, just what can we see beyond there anyway?

[FujinAkari]

[color=purple]"Oh? You all want to get out? Well... hrmmm... that shouldn't be too hard. See, since I live here and all, it should follow that I would have built a way out, right? I mean, otherwise, this wouldn't be very much of a house now would it? More of a cell really, and prisons are supposed to have manacles and muscled men with whips, right? So yeah, definitely not a prison."

Shay begins to pad around the room, first the larger, water-filled room, and then the smaller dirty room, looking for anything which the others have missed, particularly in the water. I mean, this water had to be coming - and going - somewhere, right?

Perception in the big room: [roll0]
Perception in the dirty room: [roll1]

[Drakeburn]

With a mighty effort, Ares the human attempts to push on the bars, the rusty things start to creek in protest as Ares manages to slowly bend the bars.
Tybalt attempts the same as well, only without the same progress Ares had.

As the High Elf and the Human try to break the bars, the elf inspects the place where she awoken, and then to the room with the dirt. While she sees that the bars are rusty and weak, she notices that there is something about part of the wall (at c10) that seems odd. It looks as though the stone bricks look looser than the rest.

OOC:
Well Tybalt, you can only see up till where the river of sewage turns.

[FujinAkari]

"Ah hah! See, I knew I would have put something like this here! See, I am incredibly brilliant, I totally even impress myself from time to time. I'm also, like, so astoundingly modest, you all don't even know!"

Shay keeps on talking to herself while she begins pulling at random bricks, trying to find the secret trigger tunnel maker thing... There was always a brick-trigger that caused the entire thing to slide out of the way in all the stories, so CLEARLY there would have to be one here. If there wasn't, then she would eventually make a passage simply by tossing bricks to the side...

[Philemonite]

"You can stay here and spout your pointless insults, and everyone knows that words of a fiend-blooded are pointless, or you can actually try to be useful. Personally, I would leave you here, but I'm not in a position to turn down potential allies, even if they are of your kind." The dragon born shivered slightly with the last words.
"Now, where in the nine hells am I?" he mumbled to himself. "Stuck here with this bunch. An Elf with a metal capacity of a 4 year old and a attention span to boot. Arrogant Eladrin. Well that is nothing new they all have the stick...And that human is just about to break. And to top it all a Tiefling ready to stab me as soon as my back is turned. I can feel my honour waning from his presence alone." He continues his rant while searching through the room.

Perception
[roll0]

[Gavran]

Tybalt the poor physical laborer

The illusionist distances himself from the bars, wandering over to watch the elf working the wall apart. He mutters quietly to himself, crouching in the corner with his back against the wall. "Never said I was an architect..." a few moments later he closes his eyes, resting and searching within for any clues to his missing memory. Do I even know a spell that could do this? And to what end...

OOC:Arcana (for arcane knowledge about memory altering) [roll0]

[Jarl11]

Ares pauses for a moment to watch Tybalt and unsure whether to chuckle or get more angry, he turns back to the bars that bent slightly and tries again.

I'm gonna break you like I broke that... that... bloody hell!

OOC:
Strength [roll0]
and again [roll1]
Not sure if I can do it twice like that, but I just did :smallbiggrin:

[Drakeburn]

As the dragonborn takes a glance around the place, the elf attempts to pull away the loose stone bricks. From how it looks, the wall looks as though that its purpose is seal the dark room that was uncovered. However, you also notice that most of the barrier was eaten away by something.
Meanwhile, the eladrin tries to remember how memories can be tempered with, only to remember the word "ritual".
Ares continues trying to break the bars, successfully managing to rip out one of the rusty bars, having half of it snap and fall into the sewage water. But it isn't wide enough for everyone to slip through.

[Ardurious]

Czern chuckles, a low and menacing sound. "You'll be at this all day. We've got the human trying to pry solid metal apart with his bare hands, the little elf pawing at the wall like a caged rat, the arcanist sitting idly by trying to think his way out of here, and the Arkhosian, doing what Arkhosians do best," his silver eyes gleam with malice as he they survey the room, landing on the dragonborn, "Nothing at all."

He shakes his head. His eyes glow with a silvery light and a round object about the size of a melon appears in his hands. It is made of what appears to be clay, deep tan in color and with a crimson rune inscribed on it's side. A long fuse protrudes from a shaped hole at its top.

"Stand aside, primitives," Czern grins as he holds his creation, "Let's be out of this place."

[Gavran]

Tybalt the luminous

The sound of tearing metal brings a jolting end to Tybalt's reverie. He identifies the source of the noise, then scans the room to check the progress of the two at work. Coming to a decision, he rises from the grimy floor and crosses over to the elf's pile of removed bricks. He casts out his hand towards the sewage, and his magic summons the broken bar to him and imbues it with dazzling white light. Plucking it from the air, he offers it to the elf. "It would be wise to have a look inside before making any rash decisions." he says grimly "We do not know enough about this place to be reckless." He gives the explosive device in the tiefling's hands a brief, accusing glance.

[Jarl11]

Grunting as the bar snaps, he squares up to the next bar. Breathing deep, his massive shoulders rise and fall while a queer smile plays across his flushed face. He registers Tybalt's acquisition of the broken bar with an eyebrow raise. Sounds like maybe they found another way out...He glances back at Czern. Or maybe not.

You'll need 2 more of those if you plan to juggle your way out of here. I'll be done with this in just a moment. If you see anything come at me, toss your ball at it.

Ares' eyes alight in amusement as he grins to take any sting out of his words and purposefully turns back to the bars. Furious energy replaces his amusement in a blink and he slams into the bars to widen the opening.

[Philemonite]

A smile appears on the Dragonborn's face as he listens to Tiefling's insults.
"You know what? I'm just gonna ignore you. I'm just gonna wait for you to get hurt and beg for me to help."
He takes another look around the room.
"There must be something I missed."

Perception
[roll0]

[Drakeburn]

As the tiefling, the human, and the dragonborn are busy with the bars, the eladrin illuminates the room the elf has uncovered, only to have some of its inhabitants squeal in protest. They don't seem to like company.

Starting Area
http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2013/264/b/5/1st_sewer_level_by_darkcyberdude-d6m0ewy.jpg

The Nest
http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2013/264/2/9/rat_nest_by_darkcyberdude-d6n8hlb.jpg

Giant Rat 1 (C5), Giant Rat 2 (D5), Giant Rat 3 (C4), Giant Rat 4 (C1)

Note: The space the C is in is the same space as C12, just to clear that up.
And roll for initiative. :smallamused:

[FujinAkari]

Shaylee of the Housing Commission (I can do it too!)

The Elf tilts her head to one side as she appraises the scene, frowning deeply. She glances towards the Eladrin, her short black hair swaying from the quickness of her head turn.

"Now... this is just a mockery of justice! Look at this, how is it that a quartet of squeekers get a massive room like this, while we're stuck in the sewage-equivalent of a closet? No. NO! We're trading."

She moves forward into the Rat-room and gestures towards the door, looking at the rats with her sternest impression. "Out! Go play in the disgusting water!"

OOC:
Move to D0 (that shouldn't invoke a AoO as I never leave a threatened area) and hold initiative. From an RP perspective, Shay has no reason to think the rats are hostile rather than surprised, so she won't attack them yet.

[Jarl11]

Ares the copycat

As the squeeling echos off the walls, Ares snaps his head up and spins around, the bars forgotten. I don't think that was the tiefling. Or friendly in general.

He calls out softly, but urgently, What is it?? and quickly heads into the other room collecting his thoughts and rolling his massive shoulders, particularly noting his lack of gear...

OOC:
Ares heads into the other room and should make it to about C7 or 8. If someone is being attacked, then he will charge and strike. However, if not, then he will just move as close to the entrance as possible and maintain his readiness

[Gavran]

Try new diet Tybalt

Grimacing, Tybalt peers into the room, he steps back, brushing past the elf and standing his ground before the pile of dirt. "Filthy creatures..." He focuses inwardly for a moment, and the illusion of a sea of feywild beetles begins to pour from the cracks in the walls around the beasts, their iridescent shells glimmering in vibrant colours that are wholly incongruous to the dingy sewers. The illusions swarm the rodents, mandibles clacking greedily. "... but simple ones, posing no real threat to a being with true intellect."

OOC:
Move: Walk to Starting Area C10
Standard: Winged Horde, burst 1 at The Nest C4
Free: Monologue a bit

Rolls:
Attack (in order) Giant Rats 1-3
[roll0] vs Will
[roll1] vs Will
[roll2] vs Will

Damage:
[roll3]
Targets hit can't make opportunity attacks until my EONT.

Contingency:
If the rats move before Tybalt, he will target the greatest concentration of rats he can see from his square.

[Philemonite]

Queldion

"Where's a good club when you need one." The Dragonborn mumbled. "Good thing it's just a bunch of rats." He moves next to the closest rat and strikes with his fist.

Move Action: Move to C3
Standard Action: Demoralizing Strike (Vs AC)
Attack [roll0]
Damage [roll1]
Hit: -2 to all defenses until the end of my next turn

[Drakeburn]

Round 1

The human fighter, Ares, rushes into the rat nest, ready for any rats that bites out at anybody.

Tybalt the eladrin wizard attacks one of the pack of rats with one of his spells, killing off two of them, but one of them managed to survive the spell.

The elf comes into the room as well and gestures for the rats to leave the area.

And finally, the dragonborn comes in and kills off the last rat of the pack.

The lone rat squeals in fear as it runs off to the other side of the room. (J1)

[Gavran]

Tybalt bane of rodents

The illusionist allows himself a small smile as he makes his way deeper into the room. With a thought, he commands a portion of his illusionary swarm to pursue the fleeing enemy. Upon reaching the middle of the room, he quickly kneels to touch the stone beneath him, causing it to glow brightly.

Move: Walk to The Nest F2
Standard: Winged Horde, burst 1 at The Nest J1
Minor: Light at the stone beneath him

Rolls:
Attack Surviving Giant Rat
[roll0] vs Will

Damage:
[roll1]
Targets hit can't make opportunity attacks until my EONT.

Contingency:
Tybalt will target his burst on the rat, wherever it is (within range.) If it is not in range, or if it is defeated before he can act, he will move to K2 and search the ground nearby for small objects (rocks, bone, debris etc.)

[Jarl11]

Ares

The large human moves quickly into the room. Seeing the last rat fleeing and Tybalt pursuing him, Ares looks around for a weapon while keeping an eye out for the remaining rat.