Leadership in Clusium

[Raunchel]

You are hard at work in the forge, pushing the bellows with all your strength to feed the hot fires. Artizobanes, the blacksmith who clearly got too close to the fire on several occasions, is hammering hot steel into the desired form. Another sword for the army, new cohorts are being raised for another war. Then, over the fire and the blows of the hammer you hear something outside. There is a commotion of some kind, and your master stops his work, sweat running over his scarred forehead. He says: “Ty, be a good boy and look what is happening.”

Outside the forge it is much cooler, even though it is warm for the month of Laran in the heart of the summer. The street is filled with people, looking at the towering structure on the other side of the street. Then you see it, the building is burning. The large block-shaped constructions housing many families aren’t entirely safe, they catch fire or sometimes they just collapse without any reason. People flee the doomed building, and from the ones next to it you see more people carrying out their most important possessions. Fires sometimes consume large parts of the city. Then a large group of slaves shows up, led by a well-known man, Lucius Vipsanius the beautiful. He is one of the wealthiest men in the city and is the head of his powerful family. He shouts: “Who owns this building?”

An old woman, Phenelia who owns the building and lives from the rest, answers in tears, soonher income will be gone: “Me.”

The rather ugly noble walks towards her and places his hand on her shoulder: “Then I have a proposal for you, I will buy your property for say, five thousand sesterces.”

“But, it’s worth twenty times that much.”, she answers, in shock.

“O yes, it is, but not right now. Now it is on fire, and a burning property isn’t worth all that much. So, do we have a deal?”

Phenelia looks at her building for a few moments before she sighs: “Yes, I’ll sell it.”

“Good, you, pay her five thousand, and you lot, put out that fire.”, the slaves immediately get to work on putting out the fire, they seem trained to do this.

[Trivino]

Ty steps forward, uncovering his hood. He takes a glance at the old woman before looking at the ugly noble.

"Now wait a minute here. If I may, I believe this is something that should be thought about, ma'am. This is hardly a decision that should be made on impulse. Perhaps I may be of help? I would gladly do what I can to ensure you get a fair price, or perhaps help you with the rebuilding of this property."

Ty pauses for a moment, and then looks at the crowd, raising his voice slightly. "Is this really how we want to be treated? Do we not believe that it's fine time that we be treated as humans and not be taken advantage of? And shame on you sir, for using this woman in her time of trouble! May the gods give you your due!"

[Raunchel]

"We had a deal, she agreed to it. Do not stand in my way, I am Lucius Vipsanius, and everything I do is completely legal, and the courts will certainly agree with me. After all, my cousin Tulius is a pentarch. No one goes back on a deal with me.", the ugly man replies. A massive man who stands next to him puts his hand on the sword at his side, glaring at you. He stands like a soldier, but he is dressed in civilian clothes.

Meanwhile the crowd's anger seems to be roused by your words, and they start shouting rather unpleasant things about Vipsanius and his ancestry. Almost a dozen armed men and women who were behind him form a circular formation, preparing to defend their master.

[Trivino]

Ty could feel the energy of the crowd, giving him the boost he needed to continue.

"Good people, are we going to continue to allow these 'families' to treat us this way? Threatening us with who they know and the sort... No more! Let us come together, let us put an end to this madness and give out children true hope for the future!"

Ty took a step towards Lucius and leaned in. "You best be on your way before things get out of hand..."

If I can't take 10 on Intimidate (for a 21), here is my roll:
[roll0]

[Raunchel]

"What? Are you threatening me?", Lucius says as his people form a close circle around him. "This building now is in my possession. I bought it and saved it from the fire at my own expense, and now you claim that I did wrong? You are against the law here!"

The crowd meanwhile starts shouting, and someone even throws something at Vipsanius. When this happens he becomes pale and backs away, to stand between his bodyguards who in turn are surrounded by the people. His slaves emerge from the formerly burning building, and look on without clearly taking a side. One of the veterans is hit by something, a sticky brownish substance which truly disgusts the woman who draws her sword.

[Trivino]

Ty watches as the chaos begins. He simply stares at the noble, challenging him to make his move. He simply stands still as the crowd begins going after Lucius and his guards.

[Raunchel]

Things start to escalate, the crowd is starting to approach the small group around the nobleman, and others are attacking the slaves, who don't dare to strike back at free people, that is plenty of reason for a horrible death by the law. Then it happens, a boy, the son of freedman halflings who live in the formerly burning building, comes too close to the bodyguards and the woman who had been hit previously cuts him down, spreading his blood over the street.

[Trivino]

"No!" Ty yells as he watches the boy's body crumple to the ground. He feels the world around him freeze as the boy's cold, lifeless body lies frozen on the ground.

Ty passes a furious glare at Lucius then runs at the woman, weapon drawn. He lets out a furious yell as he swings his weapon down onto the woman.

Mountain Hammer (in Punishing Stance)-
Attack: [roll0]
[roll1]

Damage: [roll2]
[roll3]

Extra damage: [roll4]

[Trivino]

Confirm Crit on second attack:
[roll0]

Also... forgot to add in the Punishing Attack stance damage...

[roll1]
[roll2]

[Trivino]

Sorry for the triple post... I keep needing more rolls...

If dealing more than 10 damage, I get a free Trip attempt... So using a Free action, I will draw my Scythe for the trip attempt...

[roll0]
*Added Strength and the +4 from Improved Trip. If I missed something, please let me know!

[Raunchel]

Your sword cuts into the woman's face, drawing blood, she steps back and raises her sword to strike back. Two of her fellow bodyguards also attack you with their swords. The others form a much tighter formation around their employer, and you hear general shouts around you, the people are backing away but shouting encouragements to you.

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]
[roll5]

[Trivino]

(Sorry, yesterday was rather busy. Also, did I trip that lady that attacked me?)

Ty watches as people begin to cower. Typical. People backing out when things get difficult...

Ty takes a couple of swings at the other two guards, letting out an aggravated grunt while doing so.

Using Steel Wind on the two adjacent enemies (not the woman):
Attack1: [roll0]
and [roll1]
Attack2: [roll2]
and [roll3]
Damage1:[roll4]
and [roll5]
Punishing Stance: [roll6]
Damage2:[roll7]
and [roll8]
Punishing Stance: [roll9]

If I deal more than 10 damage to either of them, I will try a Trip attempt:
[roll10]
and [roll11]

[Raunchel]

The man to your left falls, his chest reduced to a bloody mess, you would have cut the other, but under his clothes he wears metal armor, protecting him from your blows. You don't see much else than the noble's soldiers, they require your focus now. But you can hear shouts, and screams. The woman tries to stab you, but you turn away from her blade. The soldier who was saved by his armor cuts at you, but now you are the one who is protected by armor. Then you are hit by something, a bag from which a gooy liquid spreads over you, it is sticky, very sticky.

You hear the guard's leader shout like a real army man: "Form up, you two! We withdraw."

You get the free trip attempt with the weapon that you used to attack with, if you do enough damage you essentially knock them down with your force.

You have been hit by a tanglefoot bag, DC 15 reflex safe or you are stuck. Either way you are entangled.(An entangled creature takes a -2 penalty on attack rolls and a -4 penalty to Dexterity)

I also decided to roll elsewhere, so I can actually put the results of their attacks into the post, instead of just giving numbers and then messing up horribly by editing and losing everything. It happened earlier today and I'm not yet over it. And of course there is the added bonus of keeping you guessing about how strong your enemies are.

[Trivino]

(I'll do my rolls off screen as well. Should clean things up.)

Ty takes the hit from the sticky bag and tries to run at the lead guard, but find himself greatly slowed by the strange substance. Seeing it useless to run at guards anymore, Ty plays it coy and looks down at the bloodied corpse at his feet. He then looks back up at the guards.

"You withdraw? Good. Now get out of here, before the rest of you end up like your friend here. Leave these good people alone!"

[Raunchel]

As the small group around Vipsanius clears a path through the mob you get a rough overview of what is happening. Several people lie on the ground, dead and injured, caused by swords. One more soldier also lies on the street, and a group around her is savagely beating the body. The slaves are still beset by the mass, and now are fighting back to escape the fighting.

[Trivino]

A horrifying chill comes over Ty as he sees the bloody aftermath of the scene that had just taken place.

But enough was enough.

Ty sheaths his sword and looks over the crowd. With these people, something great can happen. Ty raises his hands to get the attention of any who will listen.

"Good people, what have we done? We have allowed these people to bully us into submission. We dream for peace and rights, but when we face an opposition, we cower in fear. Well, no longer will we back down from a fight! No longer will we allow these people to trample over us, forcing their will on us. We will fight for what's ours! We will fight for what's right! May the blood shed here be a memory of the beginning... of our revolution! Now who's with me?!"

[Raunchel]

The people cheer, although you now also see people backing away from all this. They're afraid of this talk of revolution. But others raise improvised weapons above their heads, and a few even have real weapons. Close behind you is a goblin, clearly a slave. He asks you: "And how about us, don't we count as people to you? Yes, my grandparents were captured in war, but why should I still remain a slave then?"

[Trivino]

Ty looks down at the Goblin, offering an encouraging smile.

"Everyone deserves a chance at freedom. Will you join me?"

[Raunchel]

"Yes, yes I will. My name is Hypas, and I will help you to win freedom for us all.", he is small, even for a goblin, and wears rags. On his forehead he has a brand, "TULLIA", the name of one of the most politically important of the great families. Branding a slave like that isn't the normal way to do things, it is only done with slaves who have a history of causing trouble but not enough trouble to warrant selling them to the mines or the fleet.

The bodies are stripped of everything that might be worth something, many in the city are desperately poor, and aren't above stealing from the dead to survive. Hypas apparently has a talent for finding valuable things, and carries a dagger that used to belong to one of the dead soldiers, to him it is more like a short sword. Then you hear a commotion, and see people start running. After a few moments it is clear why, you hear the blow of a horn that is all too amiliar to you, the horn of the army. And from what you can see, they don't have good intentions.

[Trivino]

Ty watches as the people spread. After all that, I get stuck with just a Goblin... Ty is slightly disappointed that more people didn't follow him, but is thankful for at least one... even if it was a Goblin.

As the army approaches, Ty tenses. After the scene he just created, there was no doubt that they were coming for him. Ty looks down at Hypas and nods away. "Let's run Hypas. We are not about to take on the army by ourselves!"

Ty will then begin to make his way towards his house amid the chaos, making sure that Hypas follows him.

[Raunchel]

Hypas follows Ty, he might be small but he is quick. He says with his squeeling voice: "I know a place where we can hide, I can lead us there."

You reach your house safely, you go faster than the soldiers, as does most of the crowd. But you hear screams behind you.

[Trivino]

Ty looks down at the Goblin as they approach his house.

"Perhaps hiding in my own house as they look for me isn't such a great idea... lead the way, friend!"

Ty follows the Goblin, slightly nervous about the destination, but even more nervous about the army.

[Raunchel]

Hypas is silent as he leads you through the streets. Then he drags you into an alley which you never noticed, it is between two buildings and you hardly fit into it. Then he speaks: "I found this last year, but I was afraid of what I might find in here."

He opens a hatch in one of the walls. Behind it you see a dark tunnel leading deeper. Hypas can almost walk in it, you have to crawl if you want to follow him.

[Trivino]

Ty lets out a sigh, but trusts that his new comrade has good intentions. He hesitates briefly before following Hypas into the dark, cramped space.

[Raunchel]

While you crawl through the tunnel which goes deeper and deeper there is a horrible smell of rot. Twice there is a rat walking right past you, but then you reach a more open space, where you can actually move and stand almost upright. but it remains completely dark. The air is damp and heavy, the walls are slippery from the fungi growing there. On the floor there is a thin layer of water. "There are tunnels leading further away, but I don't know the way there. This however should be a good hiding place"

[Trivino]

Ty tries to cover his nose from the grotesque smell as they make their way through the sewers. After initially feeling the fungi growing on the walls, Ty cringes and makes a conscious effort to not touch the walls again. As Hypas explains that it goes deeper, Ty's mind begs him to get away from the horrific stench of rot.

"Hypas, I can't see a thing, but I can't stand this stench. Perhaps we should venture a little deeper into the sewer? But take heed, I need some light if I'm gonna be of any use..."

[Raunchel]

"We go deeper? good, but be careful, I don't know where this leads. I once heard strange sounds down there.", he leads you deeper, but you can hear fear in his voice. Occasionally you have to crawl, but these tunnells are more accessible than the one you entered through.

Suddenly you bump into the goblin, he has come to a halt and whispers: "Hush, I see something ahead, a giant mushroom, and several men around it. I think that they haven't noticed us yet."

[Trivino]

"A giant mushroom?" Ty whispered to himself. As he tried to look ahead, he realized he wouldn't be able to see anything in the current darkness.

"Well let's go Hypas. Let's see what this giant mushroom is about."

[Raunchel]

You go further forwards, and you hear heavy steps, Hypas whispers: "The mushroom, it walks." You can vaguely make out a shape of very dim light rapidly approaching you, in your lungs you feel something, very small particles, which also cling to your skin.

Please roll a DC 14 fortitude save. And initiative

[Trivino]

Fort Save:
[roll0]

Initiative:
[roll1]

"Hypas!" Ty whispers loudly as the particles cling to his skin. Ty cranes his neck to get a better view of the walking mushroom...

[Raunchel]

You can see the mushroom approach, but it is hard to make out where he is.

Hypas squeels: "I can't move. Crap! To the right! One of them!"


Sorry, I couldn't help making a scene like this, where the two of you really have to cooperate. Basically Hypas tells you what he sees. You have a 50% miss chance however. The one Hypas points out has an AC of 11.

[Trivino]

[roll0]

"Hang in there Hypas and keep your eyes open!"

Ty looks over to the right, but can't see very well. Still, he rushes over and takes a powerful swing at the figure...


Mountain Hammer:
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3] Mountain Hammer damage
[roll4] Punishing Stance

[Raunchel]

Your sword passes through thin air, and moments later you feel something pushing against your armor, it sounds wet but fails to actually hurt you. Hypas shouts: "Careful! There is something strange with these guys!"

[Trivino]

"Hypas! I can't seem to see anything! Can you give me a light or a better idea of what I'm dealing with here?" Ty yells as he activates the ability of his weapon.

(standard action to activate Smoking weapon enhancement.)

[Raunchel]

"I don't know! There is that big mushroom walking towards us, and those three guys, they don't look normal, they stumble and have white threads over their skin."

You hear him fumble for a bit and suddenly you are almost blinded by some sort of light. You can't see much yet, but you see three people, one of them is next to you, he seems strange, there are threads over his pale skin, and his neck appears broken. He strikes you again, this time he manages to slightly hurt you.

Hypas created light somehow, and you took 3 damage from the creature fighting you. The other two are close to you and behind them there is the mushroom. Hypas hoopla a strange kind of torch, but lies on the ground, shaking.

[Trivino]

"Damn!" Ty yells as he sees Hypas lying frozen on the ground. Finally able to get a glimpse of his foes, Ty takes a powerful swing with his smoking sword at the creature that had just attacked him...

Mountain Hammer (in Punishing Stance)
[roll0]
[roll1]
MH damage- [roll2]
Punishing Stance- [roll3]

Edit- Please keep in mind that I have the Smoking sword activated. :smallsmile:

[Raunchel]

Your sword easily passes through the man, cutting through flesh and breaking the bones of his chest. He falls to the ground, motionless. The other two reach you, but they show poor coordination in their movements, and fail to hurt you. A fine dust of particles seems to rise up from the mushroom, which is still approaching you.