AMiH Sidequest: Crulmin and Aria's Rendezvous

[inexorabletruth]

Your path gets grittier and slimier as the alleys get more narrow. Grimlock earns a wide berth as he passes through the mean inner city streets. Then after a few blocks, he starts getting subtle nods. Stiletto has seen him…

Several more moments pass quietly. It becomes apparent that it’s much more quiet than it should be until you hear a sultry voice above you. “Well, hello handsome.”

Squatting on the roof, a woman in her early 20s looks down on you with an appraising stare.

“You didn’t tell me you wanted to bring a third party to our rendezvous… kinky,” she says with a teasing smile. She hops down to land about 10 feet away from Crulmin. “She seems kind of frail. I hope she can handle the sport.” She looks to Aria and bites at the air. “Hey baby. Like it rough?” Then, without waiting for a reply, she turns her eyes back to Crulmin, but giving him a conspiratorial wink.

http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20081204165627/dndta/images/5/5d/Human_Rogue_female.jpg

[Vixsor Lumin]

"Hello Talia." Crulmin says with a sigh. "Obnoxious as always I see." He smiles slightly, to take the barb out of his words. "This is Aria. My new business partner." He rumbles while gesturing in her direction. "I've been hearing quite a bit about your friends the last few days."

[RaggedAngel]

Aria keeps her expression neutral as she walks beside Crulmin, but she can't help but grin at Talia's bravado. After being introduced, she cuts in, her brow raised in a slight challenge. "I don't mind rough, Talia. I don't wear this armor because of its seductive powers, after all." She rests a hand on the morningstar on her hip, not as a threat, but to draw attention to it.

"But I'd prefer carrots over sticks, if it's all the same to you. Like Crulmin said, I'm getting into business. Information is my primary coin, but I'm not picky." She looks to Crulmin, curious. "So, I'm here, and she's here. Finally going to open up a bit and tell me what these get-togethers are for?"

[Vixsor Lumin]

"Talia is my contact with Stiletto. She is who we are going to be dealing with when we have anything worth selling." Crulmin says, reaching into his shirt. He pulls out a folded piece of paper and holds it up. "Something like this. Tell me, have you heard of the Ale House's new drink?"

[inexorabletruth]

Talia shrugs. “Of course. He’s on to some new gimmick, trying to add a touch of class to his dump for some reason. You called me out here to talk about drinks? I piss finer stuff than he sells.”

[RaggedAngel]

Aria takes a small step forward; enough to indicate that she's taking the floor, but not enough to threaten the thief. "There's another reason, actually; Solomon Grundyman." She watches Talia's face for any sign of reaction. "He's the living construct working at Master Grundy's forge. I do not know all the details of the situation, Talia, but it appears that the Grundyman has been the target of several attempted kidnappings by an unnamed organization. In that past, the attackers were rebuffed without being too badly harmed."

She shrugs, her smile fading away. "The kid gloves have come off. He's going to start killing anyone who attempts to abduct him, and there are a number of people willing to help him do it. This is by no means a threat, Talia; none of us want anyone to die, or get hurt. I just want to make sure that it is known that targeting Solomon or the forge is not a profitable venture. Grundy's forge acquired a contract today with Harkill's Ironhearts, who have decided to take it on themselves to make sure that their order is not disrupted. Since they requested nearly a hundred units..." She trails off, leaving the obvious conclusions hanging.

She takes a breath and then continues, her diplomatic smile returning. "With that out of the way, I would like to let you know that I am not opposed to the activities of the aforementioned unnamed organization. In fact, I tend to approve; organized... activities have less mess and collateral damage than unorganized ones. I'd like to make a standing offer to trade information. I'm trying to end a plague, you see."

Looking for info from that earlier Know: Local (a 23) to tell me about Talia; after that, a Knowledge check [roll0] to think of something she might be interested in knowing. If that's unsuccessful, she'll back it up with her utterance, her third for the day. That check will be at a +14.

[inexorabletruth]

Talia smiles at Aria. “If information is what you’re selling, then I may be interesting in buying. What happens between your Grundyman and my guild isn’t really my department.”

[RaggedAngel]

Aria nods; she had assumed that Talia wasn't the source of the problems with the Grundyman. She looks to Crulmin, then to Talia. "When it comes to your guild... I'm not much of a joiner; shackling myself to the Paragnostic Assembly is going to sting enough as it is. But I do enjoy working relationships. I can think of one thing of the top of my head that you and yours would be interested in. I can find out more if you ever want me to look into a specific target or topic, particularly things that aren't mundane."

She shrugs. "But I'll be level with you; money isn't my greatest concern right now. I'd be more interested in dealing in small favors, or trading information. For example, right now I'd be interested in meeting with someone who may know more about the guild's interest in the Grundyman."

[inexorabletruth]

Talia looks to Crulmin and issues in a smoky voice, “She’s a chatterbox, isn’t she.” She blinks slowly and grants Aria a truly amused gaze. Her hand is now out in front of her for several seconds before she smirks and says, “If money isn’t your concern, then perhaps you should be more generous with it? Because it means a hell of a lot to me.”

[Vixsor Lumin]

Crulmin glares darkly at the back of Aria's head. "Itake back what I said about letting you speak." he grumbles. "The drinks were a preamble, more of a conversation starter. I have the details of his next shipment, and can trade that for a pittance." He turns back to Talia and rubs his eyes, feeling disappointed at the apparent waste of his next sentance. "The main course was going to be about how you could expect Grundy's material suppliers to be much richer in the coming weeks, making them prime targets. Now of course, the information is worthless." He waves his hands annoyed. "You two sort out your business, and then I have something else to discuss with you." He turns and walks a small distance away to avoid taking out his frustrations on the two women.

[RaggedAngel]

Aria seems oddly amused at Crulmin's disappointment, her mouth quirking up into a grin. Serves him right for giving me the silent treatment, she muses. Looking back to Talia, she relaxes slightly, though her eyes keep watching the rogue with a penetrating gaze. "Looks like I didn't quite follow Crulmin's unspoken plan. I hope you don't fault me for giving you more information than you needed to know, Talia; I would hate to make a woman like you upset." She makes the remark with a similar level of humor and playfulness that Talia is using, mirroring the woman's attitude.

"But don't get me wrong; money is important. Power is more important; and for for myself more than most, knowledge is power." Her sigils flash as she speaks, as if to draw Talia's attention. Aria's grin fades a bit, draining back into absolute seriousness and focus. "Think you can get me a conversation with someone in the know about the Grundyman, or am I asking the wrong person?"

[inexorabletruth]

Talia looks to Crulmin as he rants and stomps away with a lingering interest, but then begins to deal with Aria directly as the sigils flare up.

“You’ve got guts showing your true colors in these mean streets, Illumian.” she says with a dangerously ambiguous smirk.

She doesn’t move much, but her hand is clearly out waiting for a payment. She raises an eyebrow and flashes her gaze to her empty palm.

[RaggedAngel]

Aria shakes her head, the disappointment clear on her face. "And here I was hoping that I had found someone willing to enter into a business arrangement. I thought you were bright, Talia, but it looks like you're also short-sighted. Perhaps I shouldn't blame you; I'm sure most of the people you work with or profit off of are fools."

The Illumian sets her jaw, and the disappointment becomes something closer to distaste, perhaps edging into disgust. "But to threaten me with my race, and then expect me to pay you for the privilege? I'm an academic, Talia, but I put two people within an inch of their lives last night after they targeted me due to my race. If you think I'll roll over to threats, then this meeting is over."

"If you want to salvage the remains of what could have been respect for you, tell me who I need to talk to about Grundy. You've gotten plenty of information to make a name worth your time. Or, continue to be short-sighted and arrogant; I'll find someone else in the Guild to work with."

I apologize for how long this took to write. Even now, I'm unsure, but I've held things up for far too long.

[Vixsor Lumin]

Crulmin turns and walks back over. "Aria, calm down." he says, putting a hand on her shoulder. Turning to face Talia he says in a much nore stern tone. "She may be new to the buisness, but thats no excuse to try and play her. She gave you something useful, may as well start this off on the right foot and return the favor." he reaches into his pocket and pulls out 5 gold coins. "And maybe if we keep this civil, ive got another question for you."

[inexorabletruth]

Talia’s ambiguous grin never fades from her face as Aria continues to speak. Her gaze shifts from mischievous to greedy when she sees the gold and like the strike of a viper, her hand snatches the coin and tucks it into a hidden pocket under her shirt.

“Baby… for the king’s head, I’ll be more than civil. So, you need to speak to someone about easing the pressure off the warforged? Frankly, a little protection money would solve this problem. The Guild isn’t unreasonable, after all. However, if you’re interested in becoming a guild affiliate, I suppose I could set you up with a meeting. Play your cards right, and protection for you and those who work at the forge could be included with the membership. The Grundyman would be off the menu.”

She puts a hand on her hip and changes tone, as if that settled everything, then flips her hair back. “What’s your other question, killer?”

[RaggedAngel]

Aria isn't pleased that Crulmin rewards the thief for her bad behavior, though her expression softens once Talia starts making promises. "No other questions for now; you've given me plenty to think about for now. If we can just get that meeting set up, I'll be grateful."

She pauses, and then sighs. "And yes, I suppose there will be something in it for you if that can happen sooner rather than later. Enough to make it worth your time."

[Vixsor Lumin]

Crulmin sighs, glad that the meeting could be at least somewhat salvaged. "I need a fence. One who can deal with magic items. I recently came across a few that I would like to know more about, and a few that im looking to offload."

[inexorabletruth]

"That's easy enough, Crulmin. Do you have the items on you?"

[Vixsor Lumin]

"I do, and I promise that if any fingers wander in their direction, they will lose them." He says with a laugh, subtly warning against the threat of pickpockets.

[inexorabletruth]

"Let's have a look," she says and gestures to an alleyway behind you. Out of the shadows slinks another member of Stiletto. He's rough looking and shifty eyed--clearly unhappy to be asked to come out of his hiding spot. He doesn't say a word as he moves into position beside Talia, looking at her expectantly for another command.

http://whfrp.weebly.com/uploads/1/2/4/0/12408478/194793082_orig.jpg

[Vixsor Lumin]

Crulmin looks momentarily distracted, then seems to shake himself back into the present. He unslings his pack from his shoulders and reaches into it. He pulls out 3 scrolls, made of something neither vellum nor parchment. He hands them to the newly appeared man, and then slowly unsheathes his blade. A bit of the green liquid drips from the blade and hisses when it hits the stones at their feet. "This one you do without touching." he says with a stony face, and a grip that is almost too tight.

[RaggedAngel]

Aria's hand goes unconsciously to the leather-wrapped hilt of her morningstar when the skulk emerges from the alleyway, but she restrains the impulse and leaves the weapon hanging at her side. She shakes her head, bemused that they had been watched the whole time. "Can we get a name, at least? I'd hate to have to make up a nickname."

[inexorabletruth]

His beady eyes dart to Aria. “Cull me wot ya laik,” he growls in an odd accent, as if he had a mouth full of food as he spoke.

He slips on a jeweler’s loupe and takes a look at the scrolls. “Dawk maigic. Laibows scrowled in sompin diffint dan a usual Draconic. ‘Fiyad to guess, I’m sayin’ some dilect’a Yonti.”

He sniffs calmly and makes a generally uninterested expression. “S’worf mawket price. Give ya fitty each fuda scrows. Issa noice knife ya gotteh. Ain’t got da gowld f’it dow. But I can get ya fi’tousand f’it.”

Talia looks at Crulmin with a smirk. “Well, do we have a deal? Fifty gold each for the scrolls and five thousand for the knife?”

[RaggedAngel]

Aria looks at the scrolls with interest, raising her brow at Crulmin. "You should have mentioned those; I could have taken a shot at identifying them. May I?" She says a word after she accepts the scrolls; to those with her it sounds complex and confusing, but if they have spell-knowledge they know that she didn't cast anything.

She reads over the scrolls for half a minute or so, frowning slightly as she attempts to discern what they are. Then she nods, handing the scrolls back to Crulmin. "Unfortunately, they're not my area of expertise. If you're not in a rush to sell them, I'll have better luck at the library. If you are in a rush to sell, then fifty each is fair for first level spells."

Truespeak, DC 21 [roll0] and [roll1] if she fails.

Spellcraft to Identify scrolls is DC 20 + spell level, full-round action.

[roll2]

[roll3]

[roll4]

[Vixsor Lumin]

Crulmin closes his eyes as if deep in thought. He plays with the dagger, before settling it in his hand in a back handed grip. Without opening them, he takes the scrolls from Aria and holds them out to the man. When he reaches a hand out to take them Crulmin opens his eyes which are now reptilian slits with green instead of white. Without warning lashes out with the dagger and sinks the blade into the strangers outstreched hand. His nose shrinks back into his skull leaving two glaring holes where it once was.

Leaving the dagger deep inside the mans hand he begins speaking. "Di ithie meh I sir si hesehsh hiis? Ih ithie I ixih meh ithiel sithehsh i ri sishsieh, e zess fi mi ssis mehsh ithie vi." He hisses. His tongue has become snake-like and flicks out from between his lips as he speaks.

attack roll using a point [roll1d20+3[/roll]
Damage [roll0] not sure of any modifiers so just gonna roll this

Will edit in the rest of the action after i see the results. Gonna assume an hit from the IC roll.

[inexorabletruth]

The man shrieks in pain as acid pours into the wound and eats away at his hand until it falls free from the body. Pulling back a steaming stump, the man seems on the verge of madness with fear and agony. Talia leaps back, whipping out her dagger and crouching low, ready for a defensive spring. “What madness is this?!” she hisses back at Aria and Crulmin.

[RaggedAngel]

Spellcraft: [roll0] On what the hell just happened to that man's hand.

Aria moves back at nearly the same instant as Talia, and she draws her morningstar. She rolls the weapon in her hand, adjusting her grip, but her eyes never leave Crulmin. "I have no idea, but I think that dagger is a cursed item. There is a strong chance it is possessing Crulmin. We need to disarm him or knock him unconscious."

Her voice comes out about five degrees calmer than she feels. In a way, the madness is almost comforting; everything is more direct in a dangerous situation. There are problems, and solutions. Deadly problems, to be sure, but the problems are obvious rather than insidious.

[Vixsor Lumin]

Crulmin flicks the blade downwards and away from everyone, sending blood and acid spattering to the earth. He looks as relaxed and carefree as it is possible to look without a nose or normal eyes. "Eh ithiel shiehsh i sis sei si meih, mih I'r shiehsh i lisi ithie sei ihi." He says, before letting out a rasping laugh. He rolls his shoulders as if testing them out. Then he flicks the dagger back up and points it at Talia the way a teacher would point with a ruler. "I'xi zsilhiv ithie rsihith eris sifie lithehsh i smisi ri. Tmes fssivi sisihi es zilm rili msih sihith ih ithie zess sii eh ithiel sehi eris! He gently scolds, the way someone might to a small child who had misbehaved.

[RaggedAngel]

Aria moves carefully, pacing around Crulmin to put him roughly between herself and Talia. She keeps her weapon in hand, and she stays at least ten feet from Crulmin at all times. She then addresses Crulmin in draconic, and the language gives her words the weight of an edict. "Put down or sheathe the dagger. We cannot understand your language. I do not appreciate you possessing Crulmin, and I will knock him out if you don't return control of his body."

[inexorabletruth]

“To the Abyss with this!” Talia spits, then turns and runs like the survivor/coward she is. The man with the acid screams until the air has fled his lungs then passes out on the ground, unconscious.

Roll Initiative please. Battle Map is coming.

[inexorabletruth]

Please forgive the hasty construction. Aria, you are in blue. Crulmin, light gray. All terrain is usable.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/50887717/Personal%20Folder/Hepmonaland/BattleMap2.jpg

[RaggedAngel]

Aria's sigils grow slightly brighter, and when she speaks again it is with an authority that Aarco has not yet seen in her. The strength comes in part from fear, of course; but he needn't know that. Her draconic rips across the plaza, harsh and sibilant. "I warn you once, and then no more. Drop the dagger." She raises her morningstar slightly, her grip tightening.

She readies an action to attack him if he does anything other than drop or sheathe the dagger next round.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[Vixsor Lumin]

Crulmin cups his hand over his ear, clearly mocking her and revealing that he can't understand her. When she raises her morning star though, the threat is obvious. His relaxed demeanor melts away almost instantly. He twirls the dagger back into a proper grip and drops into a combat stance.

Then, strangely, he stops moving lost in though for the briefest of moments. Then angrily he sheathes the dagger, but before anyone could react, he dives towards Aria with arms outstretched.

Aarco can still communicate with the dagger, and the dagger knows this isnt a permanent control, so it is still trying to make Aarco happy. Hence putting away the dagger and the grapple attempt. I realize that looks sort of meta-gamey, so i think the prepared attack should be used as the AoO.

I also have a question, if Aarco uses all of his inspiration points on will saves, does that mean that Crulmin cant use any to fight?

Attack roll [roll0]
Grapple check [roll1]
Damage [roll2]

[RaggedAngel]

When Aarco sheaths his dagger, Aria thinks for a moment that the fight is over; but then he lunges at her, and she brings her morningstar down on him with a crunch of impact. He then attempts to grab her, and she lashes out again on the backswing, attempting to hit him hard enough to decisively end the fight.

Her readied action goes off, and hits for 4 damage, and then she gets an attack of opportunity because he doesn't have improved grapple.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

If that hits, no grapple. If it doesn't, grapple check: [roll2]

Changelings don't actually become different people when they shift, so his Inspiration is still expended.

[Vixsor Lumin]

The morning star crunches into Crulmins head, the metal spikes digging visciously into his scalp. Crulmin, continues the assault almost oblivious to the damage. The tackle brings both of them to the ground, and as he notices the blood leaking onto Aria from his head, a new rage fills his eyes. Deep behing his eyes there is a fear and a sadness, but this new anger overwhelms all. He reaches down and towards the dagger, attempting to draw it.


grapple check to draw dagger [roll0]
Attack roll if successful [roll1]
Damage [roll2]

[RaggedAngel]

Despite appearances, Aria is the stronger of the two. She is also better armed and armored, and as far as she knows she is fighting for her life. More importantly, but turning the combat into a wrestling match he played to the strength of her utterance, which was on its final dregs. It did not help her in a fight; the skills required to attack and defend were beyond its scope. But escaping a hold was another story entirely. She twists like a snake, slamming her hip into his stomach and wrenching away from his grasp. She the steps back, rolling her morningstar in her hand, preparing to strike again.

Opposed Grapple so he can't draw a weapon: [roll0] She wins no matter what, since he got a 1.

Escape Artist check to leave the grapple, opposed by his grapple check: [roll1]

Shift away 5 feet.

[Vixsor Lumin]

Crulmin tries to keep ahold of Aria, but his fingers seem to slip wherever he grabs, almost as if even her clothes refused to be contained. As she slips away, he quickly jumps to his feet and pulls his blade from its sheathe. He retreats, clearly becoming outmatched. His face scrunches in concentration, and his skin forces itself closed over the holes in his head. It won't repair the damage, but it should keep the blood out of his eyes.

move action to draw amd move action to step back 10 feet

[RaggedAngel]

Aria draws her crossbow with her left hand, taking another step back. She raises the weapon steadily, apparently as dextrous with her left hand as she is with her right.

She takes a moment to aim; it's the first time she's fired the crossbow in a conflict. "Giving me space was a mistake." She then fires, aiming for Crulmin's chest. The bolt hits him dead center, but the shot is weak; leaving it loaded all day seems to have degraded the tension in the line. Even so, Crulmin now has a bolt loosely hanging from his torso.

Move action to draw her crossbow.

Standard action to fire: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

Shift back another step, there's either 15 or 20 feet between them.

[Vixsor Lumin]

Crulmin hisses visciously, and it became clear that the retreat had just been a pretense to get a running start. He begins sprinting headlong at Aria, the blade leaving a green line as it blurs towards her.

Then, the slits that are his eyes widen back to normal. He seems to miss a step, and falls to the ground. He skids to a stop and looks around panicked. He backs against the wall, still sitting and notices the bolt sticking from his chest. He begins breathing heavily and pulls it from his chest. His eyes are wide and dart from side to side, while his face forms back into his normal shape.

[RaggedAngel]

Aria hesitates for a moment, unsure if she can trust the transformation. She then hangs the morningstar back at her side; in the same motion, however, she draws another crossbow bolt. She loads her crossbow, the motion a little more comfortable than before, and she levels the weapon at Crulmin. Her voice is still steady, but her eyes belay the fear she feels. "Set the dagger aside. I don't want to hurt you. Please, don't make me shoot you, Crulmin. Don't make me do this."

[Vixsor Lumin]

Seeing that he still held the dagger, he threw it across the alley with trembling hands. His form shrank, and Crulmin melted away. In his place was a frail gray creature, with teary eyes and blood stained hands. The creature grabbed its bleeding head and began quietly crying, whispering quietly to itself. As sobs shook its body, it curled into a ball and fell on its side. This was Aarco in his true form for the first time in years.

[RaggedAngel]

Aria jams her crossbow in its holster, and it takes a tremendous effort of will to keep herself from running to the injured changeling. Instead, she walks over to the dagger, fishing a handkerchief out of her pack as she does. Very, very carefully she drapes the clothe over the dagger, and then she picks it up by the handle. She wraps it up completely, and then she sticks the bundle through the front of her belt where she can keep a good eye on it.

Then she rushes over to Aarco, concern plastered over her face. "We need to get you to a healer, or to Grundy. Your injuries shouldn't be lethal, but we still need to clean and dress them. Then we need to get to someone who can identify this dagger." She glances over to the body of the fallen criminal, a pang of guilt washing over her. He had been creepy, but he hadn't deserved his fate.

"I'm so sorry, Aarco, but you need to be Haftan again, for a little while. I can carry you." She kneels down and then does just that, gently lifting him up in her arms like a knight might lift a princess. "I'm going to make it all better. I promise."

She doesn't have "handkerchief" on her sheet, of course, but I assume that it isn't unreasonable for her to have a scrap of cloth on her. If for some reason it is, she'll tear a chunk off of her sleeve. She's not touching that thing with bare skin.

She has nearly her peak light load with her, so she can only carry Aarco if he weighs less than 100 pounds. Since he can change that weight, I'm going to assume she can. Her speed is 20ft per round while carrying him.

And Aarco can object, of course. She just isn't inclined to listen unless he really raises a fuss.

[Vixsor Lumin]

When Aria gets close, she hear what it is that Aarco is is whispering. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." when Aria first picks him up, he tries to stand on his own but quickly gives up. He throws his arms around Aria and holds her as he quietly sobs into her neck. His form blurs yet again, and Haftan appears in Aria's arms. "I'm so sorry Aria. I... he... I'm sorry." he tries to say more, but its all the words he can force out before being choked by his tears. His form moves unnaturally for just a second, as he makes himself as light as possible.

[RaggedAngel]

And with that, Aria makes the wordless trip back to Grundy's place, trying desperate to think of what lie she is going to tell. By the time she arrives, she has it figured out.

Unless something else jumps us, I think we can go back to the IC. I'll go fire off a reintroduction there.

[Vixsor Lumin]

agreed, and just before they get back to Grundy's Haftan puts all of his usual weight back on to avoid looking emaciated.