Evil is Too Mainstream IC

[Troacctid]

OOC thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?482582-Evil-is-Too-Mainstream-OOC)



Player
Character
Race
Class


Troacctid
Bartholomew (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=760048)
Half-Fey Illumian
Warlock/Savant


Alanek2002
Hedratis (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html?id=391685)
Darkwing Gelatinous Cube
Monk


Archmage1
Violet (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=134005)
Petal
Bard/Druid


Gaius
Will (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=552170)
Human Werepig
Brawler (homebrew)



"So this is the town we're supposed to help?" says Bartholomew, turning his nose up slightly. "Looks like a dive."

The party has arrived at the gates of Niarva, and it's not exactly the prettiest of pictures. The town's wall is a crude, graffiti-covered vertical slab of stone with a rusted wrought-iron gate. Two sentries in mismatched armor man the gate, looking bored. They wave lazily as you approach.

"Be nice, boss," says Jade. "Let's not get tossed in jail this time."

Your quest to do good deeds has led you to this town, where Jade's contacts have tipped you off that one of the city council, a nobleman named Lord Sain, has gone missing. The rest of the council has discreetly put out the call for heroes to investigate the matter. Jade's eladrin friends have a gut feeling that it may be the work of evil forces—and their gut feelings are usually on point.

Chapter 1: In Which Our Heroes Stare into the Abyss of Madness; or, Asylum? I Barely Know 'Em!

Your first "encounter" involves interacting with these guards. You need to get into town to rendezvous with the contact who hired you, who will be waiting at a place called the Blue Owl Tavern in about half an hour. As a secondary objective, maybe get directions to the Blue Owl Tavern. (Or, alternately, a DC 20 Knowledge (Local) check indicates that you've visited here before and know your way around.)

[Archmage1]

Violet, who had been flying about, having a look at flowers, and other things of interest along the way, clearly hoping to improve her garden, waves back at the guards as she flies up to them, and hovers in front of them, looking harmless.
"Hi! Do you mind if we come in? They're complaining about being tired! So maybe there's somewhere they can rest for a bit, before we continue on?"

[Troacctid]

"Ere, Fred, look it this, it's a fairy lady! Y'ever see a fairy, Fred?" says one of the guards.

"You been drinkin' on the job again, mate? Seein' fairies and nonsense?" says the other guard, who is cleaning his nails and not really paying attention.

"No, Fred, look, there's a fairy, and she's here with some blokes and a ball of light an' this big blackberry jam thingummy! Cor!"

The other guard looks up, rubs his eyes, and blinks. "Oh. Aye. Been that sorta day, hain't it? Well, welcome to Niarva. Toll is..." he squints, looking over the party. (With a passive Spot check of 12 or better, you notice his eyes bulge slightly as he spots your jewelry and faintly-glowing magic items.) He gives a cheerful grin. "...50 gold pieces, each. No problem for you nobs, though, eh?"

[Gaius]

Will smirks. "Well, Bartholomew's not wrong. Looks like it's lacking for some of the, uh, finer things. Still, the local color could be good for a chuckle." For instance, he can spy along the wall several little epigraphs about where one can find, "a good time," written in local colored dye.

He supposes Jade has a point about avoiding jail for a change. That used to be one of his measuring sticks for a successful visit, but variety is the spice of life.

So the brawny man walks up behind Violet with a yawn. "Yeah, what the li'l honeysuckle said. Heard things about some sort of Blue... Hawk place. Like that they've got mattresses. Whereabouts'd we find it?"

Will raises an eyebrow at the toll. "Seems kinda steep. I mean, is this even a one-horse town?" He then eyes the graffiti again. "Though I guess there is a lotta tidying up to do." He begins rummaging around for his coins unless someone gives him a reason to stop. "Where else's the money going?"

[Archmage1]

Violet's smile fades away, to be replaced with confusion, and, after another moment, happiness.
"Oh! This is a human thing! Where you say things that aren't true! Maybe you can explain why? I've never understood why you say things that aren't true!"

[Troacctid]

The taller guard looks indignant. "You 'ear what she said, Norb? She's im-poonin' on me honor, she is! Callin' me a liar! Well I never! I got 'alf a mind to charge 'er double, I do! I'm an honest man, always 'ave been, everyone says so. An' this little fairy lady what ain't even learnt the firs' thing about me comes along callin' me a no-good fibber. It's not right, Norb, 's just not right."

"Oh, aye, that it ain't, Fred, that it ain't," says the shorter guard. "It's disrespeckible to us both, innit? Why, we oughta not let 'er through the gate at all, maybe, dontcha think?"

"Norb, mate, I got 'alf a mind to do just that, if she don't apologize."

"Too right!" says the shorter guard. He leans in and whispers to the taller guard, "But, uh, Fred, how we gonna stop 'er just flyin' over the wall?"

The taller guard closes his mouth, then opens it, then closes it again, suddenly noticing that, in fact, every member of the party except Will is hovering at least a foot above the ground, and that this development might pose a significant threat to his ability to collect tolls. "Ehm...tell you folks what, we'll, uh, let you all off easy today, right? In fact, I just remembered, we're havin' a 90% off discount on the toll today, only 10 silvers a head, our mistake, sorry for any bother!" He smiles.

"10 silvers for the whole party, and my friend here won't punch you in the face," counters Bartholomew.

"Boss!" scolds Jade.

"What? I wouldn't be the one doing the punching, so it's fine, right?"

The guards gulp, and nod in agreement.

[Archmage1]

Violet looks even more confused by the guards indignation. After all, if they decide to tell a lie, they can hardly complain when someone tells them so, can they?
"Maybe if you say things that aren't true, you shouldn't complain about people reminding you? That way, you don't look really silly!"

[alanek2002]

Hedratis hums slightly, a bit miffed by these guards, before a corner droops. "Fine, here is my two silver." He says, fading back into visibility long enough to toss two silver coins at the guards. Bah. 2 silver isn't much, but it is a bit annoying to have to pay to come help these people. he thinks grumpily. ... I hope this inn has tasty food.


I'm assuming I normally travel transparent, as I don't really want to cause a panic. I'm also assuming I've been transparent around everybody long enough for them to be able to see my unique near transparent color - and thus making my gelatinous body language actually be seen. ^.^

[Gaius]

Will pauses mid-count, after Violet and Bartholomew point out the dots to connect. He lets the gold fall back into its pouch. "Hold up, Heddy," he tells the cube.

His eyes narrow at the guards. "So, enjoy the 'I will not punch you' package. Don't suppose I could interest you two in upgrading to the 'I will do you no violence of any kind' offering?" He gives them a chilly smile. "Long travel always gets me feelin' creative. But I might be willing to let it go for a song. Maybe point us toward those Bluebird mattresses I mentioned?"

Intimidating the guards: [roll0]

[Troacctid]

The shorter guard holds up a finger, rummages in his back pocket, and pulls out a crinkled map. "'Ere you are, guv, map o' the town, yours for only a hundred--"

Will cracks his knuckles.

"--ehm, that is, free of charge, complimentary for tourists! Please enjoy your stay!" he stammers.

http://i.imgur.com/6n0tKQZ.png

[Archmage1]

Violet cheerfully takes the map(Almost as large as she is), and darts over to Will, so he can hold it up, so she could see it.

[Gaius]

Will smirks. "Why, thank you, O fine upstanding man of the law," he says, offering a lazy salute with one hand and accepting the map from Violet with the other. If efforts are not yet being made to open the gates, he turns a rather pointed look between first the guards, then the gates, then back again.

"Alright, let's see," he says as he unfurls the map. "Here we are by the West Gate, and ah. Good." Will starts forward if the gates are open. "Just a right turn and it's practically dead ahead." He's taken to reading a lot of things aloud since he started traveling with Hedratis. Not that Will minds: he likes to hear himself talk.

[Troacctid]

The party walks through the gates and sets off for the Blue Owl. The street is covered in potholes and strewn with litter and mud puddles (at least, you hope it's mud). There's a light crowd of peasants bustling about, and a shabby-looking panhandler sits at the corner, rattling his tin cup.

Soon enough, you come to a building with peeling blue paint and a weathered copper owl mounted over the door. The metal bird is more of a greenish-turquoise color, honestly, but the sign says "The Blue Owl Tavern," so this must be the right place.

[alanek2002]

Hedratis sighs slightly, and says "I'll float above the roof for now. I should be able to listen in without too much trouble, but I can't exactly fit inside the building."


While up there, he tries very hard to not let any droplets of acid fall from his transparent, cubical form.

[Archmage1]

As Violet follows Will, Bartholomew, Jade and Hedratis, she waves goodbye to the guards, and she looks around at the new things she sees inside the town. Reaching the Blue Owl, she looks around, but soon realizes that she needs to wait for Will or Bartholomew to open the large, heavy door leading inside.

[Gaius]

As they proceed, Will avoids looking too hard at the litter and mud (?) puddles. There's a decent chance he'll wind up with a closer look than he'd like before they leave town, anyway. Of the tavern, he says, "It could only be so much worse inside than out, right?" and opens up the door for those of the party who are heading in.

As Hedratis begins his lonely ascent, Will chuckles. "Hey, think of it like this: you're our lookout! That's important. We'll fill you in on anything you miss inside, and you'll fill us in on anything we miss outside."

And then he steps on into the no doubt five-star facility. "Alright, Jade," he mumbles, "who're we here to see?"

[Archmage1]

Violet darts inside behind Will, looking around the building as she enters.

[Troacctid]

The interior of the Blue Owl is best described as "tacky." Animal heads and ugly paintings are mounted on the walls, and an assortment of knickknacks and tchotchkes line the back of the bar. The tablecloths are bright neon green, definitely not blue, and they clash spectacularly with the dull colors of the rest of the decor. (The rest of the party, lacking ranks in Appraise, probably doesn't worry about it, but Bartholomew cringes as he walks inside.)

You scan the tavern for your contact. A half-orc barmaid is pouring drinks for a drunken dwarf at the bar, while an androgynous elf appears to be flirting with a human man a little further down. Three raucous gnomes are playing a drinking game at a table near the fireplace. A hooded figure sits quietly alone at a booth in the darkest corner of the room. None of these is your contact, who is supposed to be wearing a red robe.

"I guess we're early," says Jade, as Bartholomew picks out a table, cleans off the chairs with Prestidigitation, and, while he's at it, turns the tablecloth a more tasteful color. Meanwhile, on the roof, Hedratis picks out a comfy spot near the chimney.

Act I, Scene ii: In Which Our Heroes Meet with a Woman in Red; or, Rendezvous, Where Are You, We've Got Some Work to Do Now

Your contact isn't supposed to arrive for another 20 minutes or so, but when she does, she'll explain the situation and give you your quest, and you'll have the chance to ask any questions you might have. In the meantime, you are in a tavern, or, in Hedratis's case, above a tavern. (You can hear okay from up there as long as there aren't any carriages rattling by—this part of town is smelly, but at least it's not noisy.)

[Archmage1]

Violet flies around the room, looking at things, but she seems to be rather disappointed. She looks at the animal heads with distaste, the dull, ugly paintings with dislike, and the rather bland knicknacks with ambivalence.

[Gaius]

Will finds no revulsion with the decor. Not that he thinks it looks nice, as such. It just fits in with what he's come to accept as the look of a tavern. He's spent enough time getting assignments at watering holes like this that he enjoys the finely aged sense of nostalgia. Well, more finely aged than any drink liable to be found at the Blue Owl, at least.

Even so. "May as well wet our whistles while we wait." Will approaches the counter and tries to catch the barmaid's eye.

[Troacctid]

The barmaid is speaking soothingly to the drunken dwarf. "You sure you ain't had enough Tom? You look like you're about to fall off your stool."

"I'll tell you when I've *hic* had enough! We dwarves have mighty conshti—*hic*—conshtahoosums!" says Tom.

The barmaid gives him an as-long-as-the-tips-keep-coming kind of shrug and pours him another. Then she sweeps over to Will. "What'll it be, luv?"

Meanwhile, Jade flies up and phases through the roof to where Hedratis is floating. "Looks like our contact will be a bit longer. Do you want us to order anything for you?"

[alanek2002]

"No thanks," Hedratis says, inclining slightly towards Jade. "I doubt they have anything tasty, and considering what happened the last time i got drunk...."

I... don't think that forest was ever quite the same, and it nearly ruined the nearby logging community!

[Archmage1]

Violet smiles, and nods.
"Maybe some fruit? But I can make this place lots nicer too! See!"
And a moment or two later, instead of the table being in the bar, it finds itself in a meadow, with the sun shining, the wind breezing, and flowers scattered about, cheerfully.
(DC 20 Silent Image)

[Gaius]

Will watches with amusement as the bar suddenly takes a turn for the picturesque. "We'll also have two of whatever you find best pleases travelers after a journey. She's fond of milk and honey, too, if you've got any." He leans in a bit closer to the barmaid and murmurs, almost conspiratorially, "And you know what they say about those who do the fair folk a good turn, ah?"

[Troacctid]

Tom sees a small fairy fly past him causing grass and flowers to sprout up from the floor. "Aaaaand I've had enough," he says.

The gnome girls at the table by the fireplace let out a "WOOOOOO!"

The half-orc barmaid makes her Will save and her Spellcraft check, and snorts in amusement. She goes to get Will's order. A minute later, she returns with two cups of mead, a small glass of goat milk with honey, and a pineapple.

[Archmage1]

Violet looks at the pineapple, her eyes very big as she takes in the fruit that was bigger than she was.

[Gaius]

Will gives a chuckle on spying the pineapple (and the fairy's face), followed by an approving nod. "Good sense of humor. I like that. How much do we owe?" He slides her price across the table, plus a little extra. Then it's back across the vision of lush fields to the table with their bounty.

He sets one cup of mead near Bartholomew -- though not too far Will can't take it back from a sit, should the Warlock turn up his nose at it (as half-expected) -- the milk with honey near Violet's seat (much as she won't likely be sitting in it), and the pineapple as something of a center piece for the table. "First pineapple, then?" he asks the entranced Petal, taking his seat and the first sip of his drink.

[Troacctid]

5 sp each for the three drinks, 1 gp for the pineapple (it's out of season).

"Step aside," says Bartholomew. "I know how to carve a pineapple. Let's see..." he pulls out his dagger and starts slicing into it.

"No, you're doing it wrong, it's like this," says Jade.

"Stop distracting me! I'm a certified genius. I can build jet packs, sonic detonators, and interplanar portals. I think I can handle a pineapple."

"Fine, have it your way, boss," says Jade, as Bartholomew attempts to dislodge his dagger after stabbing the pineapple a little too hard.

After a few minutes, the pineapple has been reduced to uneven, misshapen chunks, and the whole area is splattered with pineapple juice. "There you are, Jade, you see? That's how it's done. A work of art, truly," boasts Bartholomew, taking a swig of his mead with one hand as he Prestidigitates the juice off his clothes with the other.

[Archmage1]

Violet nods distractedly at Will's words, still amazed by the pineapple.
"I've never heard of fruit like that! I thought it would be a pinecone, or something like that! Or maybe a sad apple!"

She watches the cutting operation with clear humor, giggling occasionally, but she dodges the incoming splashes of pineapple juice(Well, except for the ones she swallows), before she snags one of the chunks, and starts munching, looking like she's enjoying it very much.

[Gaius]

Will pays an even 3 gp. And plans to add another, after the show.

"Well, it's probably a bit sad to be hacked to bits," he supposes, as the carving plays out. Aside from keeping it out of his eyes, he lets the pineapple juice and chunks fly where they may, simply enjoying the spectacle.

"Y'know," he says licking some juice off his hand and upper arm, "Was looking forward to watching Violet try to figure it out. But bearing witness to Bartholomew the Pineapple-Slayer? I'm good." He raises his cup in salute, drains it, and then pops a pineapple chunk into his mouth.

[Archmage1]

Violet pauses in her munching, to explain, her voice quite serious.
"They don't mind, so long as their seeds get spread around! That's why they grow!"

[Troacctid]

The pineapple is all gone by the time a middle-aged human woman in a red robe walks into the tavern. Bartholomew hails her over, and she sits down.

"You're the adventurers, I take it," she says, taking note of the group's backpacks and magic items. "My name is Maynath, and I'm here on behalf of the Lords of Enlightenment."

[Gaius]

Will gives the woman a welcoming nod, as he moves from his slouch to a more professional posture. "You've got us pegged. A pleasure, Maynath. Let me run you through our merry little band." He begins gesturing at each as he names them. "The name's Will, this gentleman here goes by Bartholomew, his assistant by Jade, and our little periwinkle by Violet. Got a fifth who'll be workin' with us, but won't be able to join us here."

Will gives her a smile. "Now then. To business? Not to make you feel rushed, you understand; I just don't doubt you've got plenty else on your plate, being with the Lords. So, how can we help you?"

[Troacctid]

"Yes, brass tacks," says Maynath. "It's about Lord Sain. As you may or may not know, Lord Kelim of House Sain is one of the most well-liked members of the council among the common folk because he's always advocating for social safety nets, income taxes, and other forms of wealth redistribution. His most recent crusade was against Witten Asylum. According to him, its owners are corrupt, its business practices are shady, its treatment of inmates is unethical, and its conditions are unacceptable. Up until a couple weeks ago, he was calling for a full investigation, with inspections and audits, the works."

"...But then he disappeared?" says Jade.

"Exactly," Maynath replies. "And without him pushing for it, his proposal to reform the asylum is unlikely to pass."

"Ah," says Bartholomew. "So you suspect he was taken by the asylum's management?"

"Who else benefits from his disappearance? Yes, we suspect them. But we have no proof of their involvement, and their lawyers are stonewalling all our attempts to start an official investigation. That's where you come in: you're the unofficial investigation."

[Archmage1]

Violet drinks the last of her honeyed goat's milk, before she joins in.
"But it could have been someone else too, just making it seem like it was the Asylum's fault! But... why would an Asylum have inmates? Aren't they there to help people?"

[Gaius]

Will answers Violet, "T'hear them tell it, they'd probably say they keep people safe by lockin' other people up. Certainly don't sound upstanding. Probably worth pokin' our noses into."

He turns back to Maynath "But 'who else' is a pretty good question, too. Not exactly Mr. Politics over here, but I know that stuff gets muddy in a hurry. If someone's unusually popular with the common folk, he's usually unpopular with some of the uncommon folk, am I right?"

Will pauses and holds up his hands a moment with a wry smile. "Not that I'm levelin' accusations, o' course. Just seems best to check for thorns before headin' through a thicket."

[Archmage1]

Violet frowns.
"But you don't help people by locking them up! That's just silly!"

[Gaius]

Will shrugs and chuckles without much mirth. "Welcome to the mortal realm."

[Archmage1]

Violet just shakes her head. Being trapped was really not fun at all.

[Troacctid]

Maynath frowns. "I can't imagine any of the other Lords being behind this," she says. "They may have their disagreements, but they've always been civil in the past, even when Lord Sain pushed his most radical proposals. Why now? Why stop the investigation of Witten Asylum, specifically?"

"They could be playing a long game," says Bartholomew. "Off him now, throw suspicion on the asylum, and he won't be around to make any more radical proposals in the future."

"I don't know," says Maynath. "The thing is, the asylum's practices really have been very shady—I'm sure if you canvassed the neighborhood, you'd hear all sorts of horror stories from the people here. On the other hand, the Lords of Enlightenment tend to undermine their political rivals by building coalitions to vote against them, or blocking votes with filibusters. A couple have been accused of giving or taking bribes, but that's the worst of it, as far as I know. Disappearing people isn't their M.O."

[Archmage1]

Violet smiles merrily.
"We can go and look! It'll be interesting! Maybe... maybe someone can go in as an inmate? Then maybe he'll learn something! And the rest of us can look around, and see what we can find!"

[Gaius]

"Hmm..." Will brings a hand to his chin. "Any of the Lords have a particular... connection to Witten Asylum? Rumors, even? Or -- much as I'm sure you'da brought it up -- any third-party hereabouts that'd be glad to see the Asylum as is or Lord Sain outta the picture?"

Ultimately, the former werewolf shrugs. "Anyway. Even if there are other things to check, the job you've got is scopin' out the asylum. Definitely somethin' rotten for us to sniff outta there." Will starts tracing his finger around the rim of his glass. "So, what should we know? Anything you had in mind for this investigation?"

As usual for a Violet suggestion, he smiles. "Well, Bartholomew's probably seen his share of stuff said to drive men mad." Following his half-joke, Will finds a related notion. "Hm. Don't suppose they'd be in the market for a new orderly?"

[Troacctid]

"Genius is often confused for madness," says Bartholomew. "Still, I prefer not to check into a madhouse."

"I'm afraid I can offer you very little information outside of what's freely available," admits Maynath. "Witten Asylum allows patients to check themselves in voluntarily, but they also pick up lunatics off the streets from time to time. Visiting hours are from 8 AM to 8 PM. The chief administrator is named Dr. Heraladus; he's been running the asylum for fifteen years or so now. I can't recall the name of the man who preceded him." She shrugs. "It may be worth your time to ask around and see what you could find out. As outsiders, people might be more willing to talk to you than to me or my superiors."

"Visiting hours are still open. Does that mean we could just walk in?" says Jade.

"Well, uhm..." Maynath coughs politely. "You're not exactly a...well, you know, a normal-looking, low-profile...humanoid team, are you? You might arouse suspicion."

"That's RACIST," says Bartholomew. "I'll have you know Hedratis is the most low-profile gelatinous cube I've ever met. And my wings are glorious, thank you very much."

[alanek2002]

Hedratis, at Bartholomew's words extends a gauntlet with a tendril of gelatin inside, and knocks on the roof above them - though not too loudly.

[Troacctid]

A few heads turn up in the tavern--it's a tin roof, so even a quiet knock is audible. Jade flies to the roof to see if Hedratis needs anything.

[alanek2002]

"Ah, I was just trying to help Bartholomew's point." Hedratis says. "Though... I suppose knocking on a metal roof isn't the lowest profile thing to do."

[Troacctid]

"Okay, just knock again if you want me to pass anything on." says Jade. She sighs. "One of these days, we're going to have to find a way to properly integrate you into polite society. I hope the asylum's corridors are wide enough to fit a 10-foot cube of acid. We might need you in there."

They are wide enough, as a matter of fact. Plenty of space in case two gurneys need to pass each other.

[Gaius]

Will smiles a small smile at the knock from above, but he gives no other reaction. "We're after reconnaissance for now, yeah? No reason we've all got to try visiting hours." He points a thumb at his chest. "I certainly fit the bill for 'normal, low-profile, humanoid.'"

[Troacctid]

"That's true," says Bartholomew. "You could case the asylum alone while we learn what we can from the townsfolk. Although in that case, I'd suggest bringing Jade with you--an extra pair of eyes and ears couldn't hurt, and it would be a good opportunity to field-test the latest prototype of my Dynamic Extradimensional Familiar Compression Device." He pulls a red-and-white orb from his pocket. You vaguely remember Bartholomew building this doodad about a week or two ago--it's supposed to serve as a safe, discreet hiding place for Jade.

[Archmage1]

Violet looks sad.
"It's not my fault that you're giants! And we can ask around! Lots of people like talking to me!"

[Gaius]

Will nods to Bartholomew's suggestion of bringing Jade along. "Ya read my mind. Definitely best for one o' the little ones to come with." He gives a nod in her direction.

His brow briefly creases at the sight of the sphere. "Oh, right, that thing. Sure. So, how does it wor--?" Will cuts himself off. "I mean, how do I use it?" Content he's saved himself from accidentally inviting the warlock to give a long and detailed technical explanation, he reaches for the orb, feeling it out and looking it over. "Was... 'return' a command word? And you said somethin' about... I dunno, holdin' down and... bee...?" He looks around the device for a bit and then presses it gently against the table while making a soft buzzing sound at it.

Will gives Violet an absent nod. "They do at that. Knock 'em dead, Vi." He is primed and ready to throw in a casual, "'s an expression," if needed.

[Archmage1]

Violet looks upset by Will's comment, and she shakes her head.
"I wouldn't hurt anyone!"

After his explanation, she frowns again.
"That's a really silly expression! It's really hard to talk to dead people!"

[Troacctid]

"Currently, the command word only functions if it's spoken by either the familiar or the master," explains Bartholomew. "I'm still working on a way to enhance the reception of the thaumaturgic resonator without inadvertently widening the parameters to the point where it would respond to unauthorized input. Obviously, we couldn't have that! But until all the kinks are worked out, Jade can jump in and out on her own."

Maynath cuts in. "My disguise will wear off soon, so I can't stay much longer, but before I go, I have something you might want." She reaches into her pocket and retrieves a signet ring. "This ring shows the Sain family crest. Lord Kelim has a ring just like it. He also has the sigil tattooed on his left shoulder. So if you should find him, that's how you'll know him."

Bartholomew takes the ring from her. He concentrates for a moment to memorize the sigil (take 10 on Autohypnosis), then tosses it to Will.

[Gaius]

Will's eyes glaze over in the middle of Bartholomew's spiel, starting around, "thaumaturgic resonator." His attention at least drifts back in near the end. He at least understands that he really need do nothing but carry the thing around with him and leave it to Jade. He can do that. He can do that all day.

Setting the sphere on the table, Will nods to Maynath. "Got it, thanks. Should have what we need to get started, now." He catches the ring from Bartholomew and gives it a look (albeit less carefully than the ex-criminal genius) before he pockets it. "'fore you go, any way you want us to get back in touch?"

[Troacctid]

"Don't worry, I'll contact you," says Maynath, rising from her seat. She nods and sweeps out of the tavern.

[Archmage1]

Violet listens to Bartholomew's explanation, but she just looks confused, as if he's speaking nonsense. Fortunately, before she needs to do something about that, the woman leaves, prompting Violet to wave goodbye before she turns back to address Bartholomew and Will.
"Ok! Let's go and ask questions, and see if we can learn things!"

[Gaius]

"That's the spirit," Will says to Violet, after waving Maynath out. "'less anyone's got anything else they wanna do, may as well get started. After 8, we all meet up at the..." He consults the map, "Madman Inn." While he's got it open, the brawler also looks for a couple of random addresses away from the asylum, just in case he needs a cover story.

Will gets up with Bartholomew's doodad, sets another gold piece near the barmaid with a flash of a smile, and heads for the door.

[Archmage1]

Violet too cheerfully flits out, looking for people to talk to about the asylum, or other interesting things.

[roll0] Gather info
[roll1]

[Gaius]

Will, meanwhile, gives a wave to the other group (and to Hedratis, if he spots the cube) and then heads off with Jade for the asylum. "So, first time with us workin' one-on-one, right? Lookin' forward to it. Anything you wanna chat over on the way?"

[Troacctid]

Act 1, scene iii: In Which the Party Splits; or, The Part Where Gather Information Turns Out To Be a Useful Skill After All

This scene is about collecting intelligence so that you can get a better idea of how to move forward. At the asylum, that means getting a look around and seeing what you can learn without raising suspicions. Around town, that means chatting up the locals to see what they can tell you about the asylum.

Violet's Gather Information check modifier is very high. That half of the party should have no trouble getting people to talk—it's just a matter of asking the right questions and deciding which people to talk to and what order to talk to them in.

Will isn't a party face, but he should have enough tools at his disposal for what is hopefully nothing more than a simple discreet reconnaissance mission.

You are, of course, free to read both halves of the scene, and you can comment OOC on the half you're not in, if you like.

On their way to the asylum, Will and Jade talk over the cover story they're going to use, and come up with a plan in case anything goes wrong. (Both of them are Chaotic, so the plan boils down to "Wing it.") It's about ten minutes' walk to get there.

The asylum is a massive three-story brick building, 40 feet tall and built like a fortress, with a tall wrought-iron fence surrounding the grounds. Even in daylight, it looks pretty spooky, and faint anguished wailing can be heard from within. Will can only imagine how much spookier it would be at night.

http://i.imgur.com/MZuh7cp.png
But before the sun goes down, it still overlooks a busy street, with plenty of people bustling past the vendors hawking their wares on the sidewalks.

A pair of heavily armed guards stands at the gates, vigilantly observing the passersby. Two more guards are stationed at the asylum's doors. These men look a bit more competent than Norbert and Fred from the city watch.


Meanwhile, Bartholomew, Hedratis, and Violet set about interrogating the locals. The logical place to begin seems to be in the Blue Owl.

Tom, the drunken dwarf, is too hammered to be coherent. The human and the elf who were also at the bar have already left--together. Seems the flirting worked out. The cloaked stranger in the corner booth appears at first to be lurking quietly and observing the room from beneath his hood, until he emits a noisy snore--and, on closer inspection, he's actually fast asleep.

The gnome girls don't have much to offer. "Witten Asylum? Lawl, that place is TOTES creepy," says one. "Oh em gee, you are totally on point! If it could talk, I bet it would be like 'Blurghurghurgh, I'm an asylum, I have tons of crazy people inside me, BLARGHLE!' It's the worst!" says another. "You're one to talk, Gnatalie! You have crazy people inside you all the time!" counters the third. This sets all of them giggling uncontrollably, and they offer to let you join their drinking game. It's clear that would not be productive, so you move on.

It's the half-orc barmaid who provides the most information. (Hedratis might float down to the window to join the conversation.) "Yeah, I know a little about the asylum," she says. "We have a regular who claims to have escaped from there. Low-life rogue-ish type, goes by Kraaven."

"Not kraven...kraaAAaven," mumbles Tom.

"That's what I said, luv," says the barmaid. "As I was saying, this guy Kraaven, he said he found a secret way out of Witten, used it to escape. You know, he was one of the ones locked up there after the jail overflowed. Just a common thief, not a loony. Although I'll tell ya, he was a regular in here before they caught him, and I'd say he was crazier after he came out. He mostly keeps a low profile, but he sometimes shows up here. If he does, you want I should tell him you asked about him?"

"Sure," says Bartholomew, tipping the barmaid a gold coin. "Sounds like he might have some interesting things to say."

"Cheers, then," she says. "Can't say I know much beyond that, but you might try asking around the Barred Blade. Or maybe talk to Daniel over at Angel Armory—I think he has a brother or a cousin or something who's an inmate there."

[Archmage1]

Smiling merrily, Violet seems to have a fine time flitting about, asking people questions. After the barmaid finishes, she seems almost ecstatically happy.
"Yaay! This is going to be lots of fun! It's like a story, with secret passages and everything! We just need to find out where! So let's go!"

[Gaius]

Will likes the way Jade thinks. He's then reminded of some former employers on seeing the place, which does not improve his opinion of it. 'Oh yeah. Definitely some head-busting here, sooner or later.'

After checking to be sure Jade's all ready, Will tries to look as though he's a man with legitimate business there and simply tries walking through the gates and front door. He gives the pairs of guards a respectful nod as he nears them, but proceeds through unless they indicate he should stop or answer some questions.

[Troacctid]

The guards stop Will. "Hold up there, son. You got some business in here?"


Meanwhile, the other three party members head off to their next location.

You could hit Angel Armory (weapon store) or the Barred Blade (another tavern) next. Any preference? The conversations may be slightly different depending on the order you visit them.

[Gaius]

Will nods to the guard. "I do indeed, sir. Grandma's gettin' up there in years and, well... Startin' to be too much for us to handle, sad to say." He shrugs and shakes his head. "Seems best to start checkin' into all the options, I guess. Any chance I can take a look around?"

[Troacctid]

"Yeah, okay," says the guard. "Check in with Strogg at the front desk, tell him you're here for the tour."

He lets Will pass. Jade, who was hiding in the Familiar Pocket, bursts out of it. "I can't see anything from in there!" she hisses. "It's stupid. I'm just gonna hide in your smelly human backpack instead. Is it okay if I cut eyeholes in it? Okay, cool."

They walk down an overgrown stone pathway to the front doors, which are thick and sturdy, but open. At the front desk, leaning back in his chair, is a thick and sturdy man with a copious handlebar mustache, sunglasses, a crossbow at his belt, and two sizeable dogs lying at his feet. This must be Strogg.

"Howdy," he drawls. "What brings a youngster like yerself 'round these parts?"


Angel Armory's storefront is plain and functional, and features a stylized sign shaped like a pair of feathered wings. It's not a walk-in store, so Bartholomew rings the bell at the front window.

"Coming!" calls a feminine voice from inside. A moment later, a teenage girl with short, black hair, rolled-up sleeves, and a coal-stained blacksmith's apron comes up to the counter. She blinks at the sight of the unusual individuals before her, but quickly recovers. "Hi! Jeanine di Angelo at your service! My dad's busy, but I can help you. What do you need?"

[Archmage1]

Violet smiles at the giant standing before her.
"Hi! I'm Violet, and this is Bartholomew, and that's Hedratis!"
As she speaks, she points to Bartholomew, and Hedratis.
"We were hoping maybe we could speak to Daniel? I think he might be able to help us with something!"

[Gaius]

Will nods appreciatively to the guard and proceeds. He then tries to walk a delicate tightrope: betraying no reaction at Jade's outburst to the guards, while betraying all reaction at Jade's outburst to Jade. "Hey, it's--" a pause to consider the life that backpack has led, "-- not that smelly. And if Bartie's payin' for damages -- and cleanin' -- go for it."

As the duo cross to the front desk, Will's eyes linger a bit long on the canines. 'Ugh. Better not be like last time...' Luckily, the mild unease probably lends something appropriate to the weak smile and nod he gives the presumed Stogg. "'afternoon, sir. And not the happiest of reasons, 'm afraid. Grandma's doin' less than well lately. Was hopin' to catch a tour here, maybe see if this's the right place for her."

I'm presuming the aid another bonus sticks around for all rolls around planned bits of the cover story? If not, I'll be sure to stop adding the 2.

Bluff: [roll0]

[Troacctid]

"A kid after mah own heart," says Strogg. "Mah own dear sweet granny passed away a few years back. Ah jes' wish ah coulda given her the same lovin' care we give our patients here." He reaches into a desk drawer and pulls out a visitor badge, then leads Will to the door into the east wing. (Two doors exit the lobby, one to the east and one to the west.) "Here, kid. Have a look around the ground floor. This'll keep the staff from botherin' ya. Second floor's off limits for visitors."

He hands Will the badge, unlocks the door, and gestures for Will to enter.

The east corridor does not look very pleasant. It looks more like a prison than anything else. The stone floor and walls are decorated with patches of mildew. Two small, barred windows provide fresh air as best they can, but the smell is still unpleasant, with the smoky scent of the torches on the walls barely masking the more unpleasant odors.

Pained shrieks and tortured cries emanate from a number of 10-foot cells that line the south and east sides of the corridor. Each cell is a simple, dank room with an iron bar door, a wooden privy, and a stone slab for a bed. Some of the patients' arms protrude from the bars; other patients are sitting and staring catatonically. Most of the patients wear tattered rags, except for one guy, who's naked.

Four guards supervise this corridor. They all wear chain armor and carry truncheons.


I'm presuming the aid another bonus sticks around for all rolls around planned bits of the cover story? If not, I'll be sure to stop adding the 2.
You presume correctly.


"Oh, like I said, Dad's busy right now. You can probably hear him." says Jeanine. She's right--the sound of hammer on anvil rings out from the building every few seconds. "What do you need? If it's a custom order, I can take it down for you."

"Actually, we were hoping to ask him some questions," says Bartholomew. "About Witten Asylum? We heard he has a relative there."

"Hmm." Jeanine frowns. She looks a little hesitant to share this info with strangers. (Good time to roll Diplomacy.)

[Archmage1]

Violet looks sad as she hovers in front of Jeanine, her lovely voice filled with sadness.
"Aw... but we were really, really hoping to see him. Please? We're nice, and I'm sure he won't mind!"
[roll0] Diplo

[Gaius]

Will accepts the badge with a nod and a word of thanks. Pinning it on, he heads through to the squalor on the other side.

The guards probably catch a look of surprise on his face, as his nose scrunches at the smell. It's not that it's the first time Will's seen the like; his old life often brought him to similar smells and sounds while he had much sharper nose and ears -- and, sometimes relevant to the screams, teeth. But with this area open to the public, he expected they'd at least pretty it up. 'Unless this is the prettied-up version,' he supposes, thinking of the second floor.

Putting aside for later questions about how evidence of poor conditions has been hard to find, Will flashes the guards his badge and looks around. He makes sure to keep beyond arm's reach of the bars as he does, and tries to ensure Jade gets a decent view. He keeps an eye out for a certain tattoo, to. On the off-chance the Lord winds up quite that easy to find.

"So, what brought this lot to your fine care?" Will asks a guard, all conversational-like. "Good to know Granny's potential neighbors." He gestures toward the naked man and adds, "Trouble with clothes?"

Let's see, middle might be unneeded, but rolls for...

Search: [roll0]
Spot: [roll1]
Bluff: [roll2]

[Troacctid]

The guards don't appear to suspect Will, but they also seem to resent having to keep an eye on a visitor. One of them answers tersely. "Three guesses, buddy. I'll give ya a hint: it's cuz they're loony. For whatever reason, they ain't right in the head. Listen to em."

Indeed, many of the patients are muttering, rambling, or raving. "They're in my head! Get them out of my head! Can't you see they want our brains?" one of them shouts. "Can't sleep, clown'll eat me, can't sleep, clown'll eat me," chants another, rocking back and forth in the fetal position. A third prisoner is staring at the wall and humming "Stairway to Heaven." A fourth is talking animatedly to the guards, claiming that she is actually an archon in disguise and will grant them three wishes if they set her free. Another alternates between screaming and sobbing, and yet another is banging his head against the bars with a vacant expression on his face. The naked guy is pantomiming walking against the wind.

Both Will and Jade keep a careful eye out for Lord Sain, but neither of them spots him.


Violet takes a minute to chat with Jeanine, and quickly builds a rapport.

"Okay, so, you want to know about my Uncle Nick, right? The one who was committed?" offers Jeanine. "Dad always said Uncle Nick wasn't really crazy, he was just too smart for his own good."

"Brilliance is often confused for madness," says Bartholomew.

"In any case, he was always a bit eccentric. He would do weird experiments in his room that would smoke or explode or make loud noises or funny smells. The neighbors and the landlord all hated him, so they pressured him to have himself committed. That's how Dad tells it, anyway. I was only a little kid at the time. What was it, ten years ago?"

She ponders a moment, then continues. "We still visit him regularly to check in—or at least we did, until a couple months ago, when they stopped letting us see him. His visitor privileges were revoked, they said, and they wouldn't say why. Personally..." she leans in closer and hushes her voice. "I think he continued his research over there and found out something the asylum guys wanted to get their hands on. I bet they're torturing him right now to get the information out of him, right as we speak."

[Archmage1]

Violet's expression grows more and more horrified throughout the explanation, and by the time Jeanie finishes her explanation, she's half hiding behind Barthlomew, clearly nervous about something.
"But that's terrible! Maybe we could visit him? Is there another way in we could use? Maybe we could get him out too! Being trapped like that is horrible!"

[Troacctid]

"You're like magic fairies, though, right?" says Jeanine, excitedly. "Can you use your magic powers to find out if Uncle Nick is okay? Dad says the torture thing is nonsense, but he's still worried. We both are."

[Archmage1]

Violet shakes her head, sorrow in her eyes.
"I'm afraid not. I'm not that sort of faerie."
She extends her hands, now full of violets, offering them to Jeanine.
"I'm a petal, so I have my garden. If he was a flower, I could, but he's not a flower."

[Gaius]

Will didn't get where he was today without picking up a habit of snarking back. "Oh, sorry. Seems it escaped my notice. Blind and deaf, y'see." He gives the badge a casual polish with a rag he doesn't mind pitching later. Perhaps he could donate it to the inmates' uniform rotation? "Was goin' more for any particulars beyond the obvious.

"Though the bit about clothes has somethin' to it. Makes a grandson wonder how much care his grandma's gonna see." Will adjusts the hopefully shinier/cleaner badge back into place. "So, I'm wonderin', my fine sirs, what's the routine here? Day-to-day, I mean. And when someone new comes in."

[alanek2002]

Hedratis chooses this moment to speak, having been silent thus far. "Though... If you describe him to us, we could go check. I can fly in, and I'm pretty hard to spot. ^.^" He says, briefly changing to an opaque green before returning to full transparency. "Though... I'm kinda blind," He mentions, a corner drooping "So it'd need to be a good description."

[Troacctid]

"We give 'em three meals a day. Magically generated, nothin' fancy. Bland, but nutritious. Mostly they stay in the cells, outside o' therapy sessions, where we take 'em in that room over there." The guard gestures at a closed door on the east side of the corridor. "We also see to their medical needs. Ms. Tetcher is our nurse on staff. She knows healing back to front."

"She knows Doc Heraladus back to front too, if you know what I mean," says a different guard.

"That's just a rumor. Oy! Shut it!" says a third guard, rapping his truncheon against the cell door of one of the patients, whose relatively quiet singing had just grown to a screaming, off-key crescendo. The patient quiets down.


Jeanine tries her best to give a description of her uncle, fumbling a little with her words. He's a short, bald, middle-aged man with skin the same caramel color as hers ("I guess you probably don't see color, though?"), a high, reedy voice, and no eyebrows ("He burned them off when one of his experiments combusted!").

As she's finishing up the description, a gentle cough sounds from behind Bartholomew, and the party suddenly realizes that a ninja is standing next to them. "Good day, Miss Jeanine," he says politely.

"Oh! Mr. Katashi! I didn't see you there! Here for your order of shurikens?" says Jeanine. The ninja nods. "Guys, I have to take care of Mr. Katashi here, but it was good meeting you! I hope you'll stop by again if you find the time. And if you learn anything about Uncle Nick, please let us know! Good luck!"

[Archmage1]

Violet listens to the description of the uncle, but when the gently cough sounds, she darts, moving incredibly fast, and hides behind Jeanine, before she peeks out, and Mr. Katashi speaks up.
After another few moments, she flies back to Bartholomew, and smiles at Jeanine.
"Ok! We'll try to find your uncle! Bye!"
She waves goodbye, before she starts leading the group towards the Barred Blade.

[Gaius]

Will nods along, and gives a wry smirk to the gossipy guard. "Ahh, rumor. O' course. Still, always nice to hear the staff works closely together." He throws in a wink. "This doc and nurse seem worth meetin', long as I'm here. Where can I find 'em?" He then holds his tongue and pointedly does NOT say, "Practice makes perfect!" to the inmate. He'll refrain from antagonizing the guards. For now.

That settled, Will makes for that eastern door they'd pointed out. "Thanks for the primer, boys. Been a big help. Think I'll take a look at the therapy room." He heads through unless stopped, or the guards do or say something fishy.

[Troacctid]

The guard shrugs. Will opens the door. Inside is a small room, only about 10 feet square, with no furnishings except for two chairs, one of which is fitted with iron shackles and leather wrist restraints--presumably for the more violent patients.

"There you go, that's the tour," says a guard. "Rest of the facility is staff only, and the doctors don't do interviews."

"Nah, they leave that crap to us," complains another guard.

One of the inmates reaches out for the guard. "Please, you have to let me out! My head...they change you! In the night, the screaming, the pain!" The guard raps his truncheon against the inmate's hands, looking disgusted.


Violet, Bartholomew, and Hedratis come to an unkempt property amidst brothels and peddlers. It smells like cheap ale and fresh bread, and a large wooden signpost marks it as the Barred Blade.

The double doors are wide enough for Hedratis to squeeze through if he were to so choose, and they lead into a small foyer where a barefoot old man in sweat-stained clothing sits on a wooden stool, clutching an empty bottle. Behind the man is a storage area, where several swords, daggers, clubs, an axe, and a spiked chain are hanging. "Leaf yer wepp'ns...ya...dam basterds...no wepp'ns insah..." he slurs, before passing out and falling off his stool onto the floor.

"Some greeter this guy is," says Bartholomew, rolling the old man onto his side. He starts to walk into the common room, then stops, goes back, and leaves his dagger in the storage area, deciding that it's probably the virtuous thing to do.

[Archmage1]

Violet looks around in distaste at the entrance of the building, but she seems to enjoy the smell of fresh bread, before she follows Bartholomew into the common room, looking around, hoping she could get some bread, and find the secret passage inside.

[Gaius]

Will frowns at the nearly empty little room. "Ah. Not sure what I was expectin', I guess." He figures he'll at least take a look around the little room, maybe see if he or Jade finds anything of note.


Search: [roll0]
Spot: [roll1]
On being told that's all she wrote, Will gets a bit fussy. "Aw, c'mon. Can't just drop in mention o' that with no detail. What kinda therapy?" If the "tour's" over, he decides antagonizing the guards has become a good idea now. "'course, if you're not feelin' chatty... could always while away my time with someone who is. Get to know Granny's neighbors and all, right?" He cheerfully addresses the speaker without paying enough attention to sort out the speaker's sex. "Hi, Mr. or Mrs. Breadbasket. Who changes ya, and how?"

[alanek2002]

Hedratis carefully squeezes in past the doors, and then floats to stick to the ceiling, squeezing himself as best he can without eating away at the wood.

Spiders? Ooh, Ultuan red widows.... *Bloop* Spicy!

[Troacctid]

Will doesn't spot anything especially interesting, although he does notice that there are brownish stains on the walls and floor of the therapy room. Could be either blood, vomit, or feces--hard to tell without the keen sense of smell he used to have as a werewolf.

The inmate in question is an elf, and is too androgynous for Will to easily tell even if he tried. "Can't you hear it? It's whispering, always whispering, sometimes it yells, always it hurts me, hurts us all. You have to get away! You have to get out of here! Wait! No! Take me with you! Please, take me with you, I'll do anything!" The elf breaks down into sobs and collapses into the corner of the cell.

"Oy, don't upset the patients," says a guard.

Suddenly, all of the patients start screaming, crying, or shouting all at once. Will feels a knot in his stomach. The already-unpleasant environment is feeling more unpleasant by the minute.

"See, now you've gone and done it, it'll take ages for us to quiet this bunch down. I think you'd better leave." The guard gestures for two of the other guards to escort Will out.

"Right, off you go, then, hope you enjoyed the tour," says one of the two as they move to flank Will to lead him to the door. "We'll deal with this disturbance. You have a good evening. Grab a pamphlet on the way out."

"I guess we've done all we can here without arousing suspicion," whispers Jade. "I have the layout all memorized."


The other group picks up bits and pieces of assorted tidbits from the clientele at the Barred Blade.

From Professor Bezwick, an elderly gnome wizard: "That Doctor Illhausen's a good man. No one's seen him in a long time, though. I remember the place used to be pretty nice back when he ran it. All gone to hell now, though."

From Lily, the waitress: "I wouldn't go near that place at night. Not even the guards hang around after dark--they all go home when the day shifts end--and there's this strange howlin' and wailin' that you can hear echoing all down Trobley Row."

From Joe, the barkeeper: "I don't trust that Doctor Heraladus. Ever since he took over the asylum, that place has really gone downhill, and I haven't seen Doctor Illhausen since he "retired" two years ago. Rumor has it Doc Illhausen is dead, and they covered it up. I hope that's not true, though. He was always a good man--helped a lot of people, he did. Not like the new guy."

From Bruel, a dwarf merchant: "The asylum, huh? Sure has been a lot of activity there lately. Last few weeks there's been a lot of building supplies shipped to the asylum--big stones, mostly, which is strange, cuz there ain't been any construction there in a long time."

[Archmage1]

Violet, the tiny faerie in a dress, flits about happily, going from person to person, innocently asking them about the asylum. When she speaks to the little giant, the one who mourns Dr. Illhausen, she looks very sad.
"Poor Illhausen! He sounds like her was really nice! But what happened to him? Maybe he managed to escape, and is hiding somewhere?"

When speaking to the waitress, the one without a lot of coverings, she looks worried.
"That sounds really scary! Maybe someone could ask them to be quieter, and nicer? But they'd need to come in some other way, because if they came in from the front, they might get confused for a guard! And then they wouldn't be nice, because the guards aren't nice!"

As she speaks to the barkeep, perched on the side of a tankard, she seems worried.
"Dr. Heraladus? But Dr. Illhausen seemed so nice! But where did Heraldus come from?"

Finally, after working her way over to the last giant, the one with lots of red hair on his face, she seems curious, as she sits on the table in front of him.
"Lots of building supplies? Maybe they're building a tunnel, or something underground! Then, people couldn't see them! But they'd need to take the earth somewhere sneaky! Maybe you know where they could take it?"

[Gaius]

Will again counts his blessings on the olfactory front.

There was another smartass remark he's prepped, but he loses a hold on it as the sudden din sends a chill down his spine.

Will quietly agrees with Jade's advice. "Y-Yeah, yeah. Don't worry, I'm done here." He moves to the door "Good luck quietin' things down here."

Once through, the brawler addresses Strogg, "Er, sorry 'bout that ruckus. Guess my thinkin's not the clearest o' late." Will doesn't intend to stick around much longer, but figures one last shake of the tree couldn't hurt.

"Was surprised the docs aren't big on chitchat. Brainiest guy I know can't seem to shut up about 'his latest breakthrough.'" Will proceeds into a bad Bartholomew impression. "Don't ya see? By bringin' the zoologitaic penumbro together with tha phantasmagorist, it could revolutionize the field o' melodic convergenance." He hopes he can share a smile or chuckle with the man at this point. "Yours like that, too?"

Bluff may not be needed, but eh. Also, for all the good it will do, trying to see if the guards might have another reason to want that inmate shut up. Just in case.

Sense Motive: [roll0]

Bluff: [roll1]
Diplomacy: [roll2]

[Troacctid]

"Oh, you know wizards," says Strogg. "Heraladus ain't no different from the rest. Always wrapped up in research, no interest in socializin'. The man does his job, though."

He takes the badge back from Will. "Anyhoo, you have a good day, now, an' a long life t' yer granny."



"Poor Illhausen! He sounds like her was really nice! But what happened to him? Maybe he managed to escape, and is hiding somewhere?"
Bezwick shrugs sadly. He doesn't know.


"Dr. Heraladus? But Dr. Illhausen seemed so nice! But where did Heraldus come from?"
"Beats me. But if you ask me, he's running that asylum into the ground."


"Lots of building supplies? Maybe they're building a tunnel, or something underground! Then, people couldn't see them! But they'd need to take the earth somewhere sneaky! Maybe you know where they could take it?"
"Nah, if they were tunneling, they'd need to get the dirt out, not in. Although I daresay that wouldn't be too difficult."

[Archmage1]

Violet moves on, away from Bezwick, the waitress, and the barkeep, but the dwarf... he seems to occupy her attentions for longer.
"Earth is a construction material? Maybe they're filling something in? Do you know if there might be anything like that?"

[Troacctid]

"They might be doing construction in secret," suggests Bartholomew.

"You don't think someone would notice if they were building a new wing? You'd be able to see it from the outside."

"Maybe it's something in the basement."

"That building doesn't have a basement level. No, it's a real puzzle, it is."

[Archmage1]

Violet looks surprised.
"It doesn't have a basement level? Aw... but all the good secret passages are in the basement!"

[alanek2002]

Hearing the disappointed petal, Hedratis pipes up: "Don't worry violet! That just means that the basement level is also a secret basement level! That makes the secret passages double secret!"

[Archmage1]

Violet looks at Hedratis, hope in her eyes.
"Really?"
She does seem quite hopeful indeed.

[Gaius]

"They do at that. And thanks," Will answers, after handing the badge over. "Here's hopin' yours went peaceful. Ah, guards mentioned a pamphlet?" He accepts and gives a final nod. "And I'll get outta your hair. A good evenin' to ya." With that, he's out the door and walking through the exit gates, perusing the pamphlet.

At a safe distance from the outer walls, and when he can't see anyone else about, he says, "Okay. So." Will runs down the list with Jade. "We got... The layout. Coupla details. Plenty o' code violations. A little gossip. Some asylum stink. The chills. And didn't cause a ruckus. Coulda done worse."

The former werewolf tries to check up on the time as he heads for the Madman Inn. Even if they're early, he can at least secure lodging and a drink. "Anythin' else you got outta that episode?" A memory then strikes Will and he goes looking over his bag. "Other than a li'l more knack at pokin' holes?" he adds, should he find what he expects.

Naturally, if he spies or hears the other group about, he gives the Inn a miss for now, and just regroups with them then.

[Troacctid]

"I scanned the area. Nobody pinged as evil; those guards might be rude, but they're not villains. I didn't detect any magic auras, either, except for a Continual Flame spell on one of the torches," Jade reports.

Will and Jade reach the Madman Inn before the others, and Will secures lodgings for the group. It's ramshackle old joint. Picture a cheap, seedy motel, and you'll be in the ballpark. The rooms are sparsely furnished, the beds are lumpy, the windows are grimy, the walls are thin, a faint smell of mildew lingers in the air, and a chilly draft whistles gently through the crack under the door. On the upside, at least it's clean, and the innkeeper (a slim, handsome man named Merrik, who could pass as human if not for the pebbly reptilian scales gleaming like emeralds on his wrists and neck) is very friendly, and offers to let the party stay their first night for free if they can share with him some interesting stories from their travels.

Before long, the rest of the group arrives, and everyone compares notes.

[alanek2002]

"So," Hedratis starts. "Pretty clear the the new person running the asylum is pretty evil, right? Can I just go eat him?"

[Archmage1]

Violet nods, before she adds more stuff.
"And he made the old nice person go away, and they're maybe building something in there too!"

[Gaius]

"Easy, Heddy, easy," Will cautions, sipping his drink. "'fore you eat him, gotta make sure you're not eatin' info only he's got, like what happened to Sain or that Nick guy. 's like..." He seeks an example and perks up on finding it. "Like with that nobleman 'n his manor! Be a lot richer if I'd gotten all his treasure hidey-holes outta him first 'n then killed him." He nods as though he's just dispensed sage wisdom.

"Anyway. Good to know the guards skedaddle at night, since they don't seem in on this. But yeah, clearly somethin's up after hours with the big bad wizard doc and the inmates." Will takes another swing of his mug. "I'm all for crashin' through the gates tonight. Buuuuut could be best findin' out a little more, I s'pose. Maybe see if we can track down that KraaAAaven guy first?"

[Archmage1]

Violet seems confused.

[Troacctid]

"I agree," says Jade. "Why don't you guys hang tight here for a few minutes? I'll fly back to the Blue Owl and see if Kraaven is there. It's been a couple hours, maybe he showed up."

She zooms off in a blur of orange light. A few minutes later, she returns.

"Can confirm! We missed him at the tavern, but the barmaid said if we want to talk to him, we can find him at the old crypt in the cemetery, tonight, at midnight."

"Ah, a clandestine nocturnal rendezvous," says Bartholomew. "How cliche."

[Gaius]

"Good work, Jade. And 'classic,' I think you mean," Will notes to Bartholomew with a smile. The smile grows as he adds, gesturing at Violet, "Could always ask Rosebud to give a li'l recital for us out there; that'd take care o' the 'clandestine' bit."

He empties his mug and calls for more. "Anyway, we got our heading. Any thoughts on killin' the... however long 'til midnight?"

[Troacctid]

"Well, I don't know about you, but I think I'll start with some of that fettuccine alfredo," says Bartholomew. "At least someplace in town has proper vegetarian cuisine."

"Actually, the pasta is made out of ground beef," says Merrik, pouring Will another drink.

"What, seriously?" says Bartholomew.

"Nah, I'm just messin' with you. It's semolina. And the sauce is just cheese, butter, cream, salt, pepper, and garlic. My wife is the chef; she won't cook meat anymore ever since she learned how to cast Speak with Animals."

[Archmage1]

Violet smiles merrily at Will's words.
"Singing's lots of fun! I'm sure that everyone would have a great time! But... you'd miss it, and that would be really sad!"

[Gaius]

Will raises his glass in a half-salute to Merrik for refilling it. He has a chuckle at the owner's joke, and takes a sip as he listens to the exchange about the Inn's chef, her cooking, and her other pursuits. 'Huh. Good to know.' He's lately gained an appreciation for knowing someone who can cast that spell. He also finds some relief that pork won't appear on the menu -- both for distant concerns of personal safety and for not liking his meals served with a side of conflicted feelings.

"I can... see how that'd make sense." Will coughs a moment and proceeds: "So, uh, spells an' saucepans. Sound fun together. Which one'd your little lady pick up first?"

Around which time, his stomach rumbles. "Oogh, anything sounds great about now. That pineapple was forever ago..." He thinks a short time, glancing at the menu. "Gimme two big plates: one ratatouille and one... Oh, whatever tasty thing your sweetheart feels like makin'. Potato-y, maybe."

That handled, Violet's comment draws his attention. Will shrugs and gives her a smirk. "Well, some folk like seein' a rehearsal." He inclines his head toward any sort of stage, podium, or the like. "Won't see much complainin' if you go singin' in here and out there, right?"

[Troacctid]

Once upon a time, there was a changeling. This changeling flitted about from place to place, trying new jobs, new names, new genders, new lovers, but each identity was only a disguise; the changeling never truly felt like it belonged. One day, the changeling, in one of its guises, met a handsome rilkan bard, and was immediately smitten. The next day, the changeling took the form of a female rilkan, and, calling herself Ashley, sought out the bard and attempted to seduce him. But as they talked and laughed and got to know each other, Ashley began to feel that something was different this time. Something about being with this man, being in this form...felt...right. For the first time in her life, there, with him, it was like she was finally someone real. And it was the best feeling she'd ever known.

What started as a one-night stand grew into a friendship, and that friendship grew into a relationship. All the time, Ashley never changed her form once. She found she didn't want to. And she dreaded the day when the rilkan man would inevitably discover the truth about her, for she knew that when he did, he would leave, just like all the others.

It was on their first anniversary as a couple that he asked Ashley for her hand in marriage. She stared, incredulously, at the ring, and broke down in tears, running out of the room. He followed, of course, and found her sobbing on the sidewalk. When he tried to apologize, not sure of what was wrong, she tearfully confessed everything--that she had been a changeling the whole time, but she loved him more than she had ever loved anyone else, and that she wanted more than anything to marry him and be a rilkan and live happily ever after, but she couldn't keep lying anymore.

When she had finished pouring out her heart, she looked up, expecting him to be gone already. But he wasn't. He was kneeling. And he said to her, "Ashley, I've known who you are for a long time now."

"You have?" she said, wiping her nose.

"Of course. You're the woman I love."

And, looking in his eyes, she realized it was true. She wasn't just a nameless, faceless changeling. She never was. She had always been Ashley; she just hadn't known it yet.

Two weeks later, they were married.

"...And we've been together ten years since then," finishes Merrik, who obviously loves telling that story. He dismisses the Silent Image spell that he cast as a visual aid. "We settled down in Niarva, bought this inn together. And I'll tell you, she's practically more of a rilkan than I am. I dabble a little in incarnum, you know, cultural heritage and all, but my real passion has always been stories. Her, though, once she decided she was rilkan, she dived right into it. She can shape soulmelds that I barely understand. The one that lets her cast Speak with Animals is one of those. She figured it out just two years ago, and after her first conversation with a chicken, she took all the meat out of our pantry and gave it a proper burial, crying and everything, bless her heart."

"Well, it's good to know that you won't try to cook my boss if he turns into a rabbit!" says Jade cheerfully.

"Jade..." warns Bartholomew.

"Is that likely to happen?" asks Merrik.

"Oh, it hasn't in a while, but you know it's bound to happen eventually! It's all because of this one time when..." Jade says. :smallwink:

Bartholomew sighs. "Here I am, greatest genius in the world, scores of incredible inventions on my resumé, and this is the story my own lab assistant always wants to tell about me."

"Oh, I'm sorry, boss, are you embarrassed? I don't see why! You're so adorable as a little bunny rabbit!" :smalltongue:

"If it's a good story, the pasta is on the house," says Merrik encouragingly, raising an eyebrow and tossing a set of blue dice in his left hand.

"Fine, fine," says Bartholomew, tossing his hands up. "You can tell the story. But this fettuccine alfredo had better be worth it!"

Merrik does his best to wheedle stories out of everyone, and even invites Violet to sing a song. The party passes the evening socializing and swapping tales. It's a slow night at the inn. Another traveler, a weary-looking hedge knight named Sir Jimbil, arrives midway through the evening, pays for a room, and goes straight to bed, too tired to tell the story of how he got his scars--but he's the night's only other customer. Most of the people who visit from out of town are merchants who can afford to stay in richer lodgings.

Around 11:00, Ashley emerges from the kitchen to mind the inn for the night shift. She kisses Merrik goodnight and he heads off to bed, giving the party a wave on his way upstairs. Ashley is not as outgoing as her husband, and doesn't attempt to initiate conversation, although she smiles and responds politely to whatever questions Violet inevitably bombards her with. She's a short woman, and she wears an apron over a blue cotton dress with surprisingly large shoulder pads, and a generous neckline that shows off the polychromatic scales that glimmer around her neck. Actually, on closer inspection, the shoulder pads are not part of the dress at all, and in fact glow faintly and hover slightly above her shoulders. A pair of blue-tinted spectacles, also glowing faintly, is perched on her nose, and her auburn hair is ringed by a silver circlet, which, again, glows faintly. (If you have any ranks in Knowledge (arcana) or Knowledge (the planes), you recognize the glowing accessories as soulmelds.)

[Archmage1]

As Merrik tells his story, Violet watches him, almost worshipfully, clearly enjoying the story. After he finishes, she claps, merrily.
"That's a lovely story! I'm happy for you!"

Over the course of the night, Violet is happy to tell stories, and sing, although her songs often seem to involve snow, and how beautiful it is. After Merrik goes to sleep, Violet tries to get more of the meeting story out of Ashley, but she's quite cheerful about it. Sadly, despite the cherries and strawberries she manages to snag, Violet finds herself growing sleepy, and she even yawns!

[Troacctid]

Midnight starts to roll around. The group sets out for the site of the clandestine nocturnal rendezvous.

The cemetery is just a short walk from the Madman Inn, and the streets of Niarva are eerily quiet at night except for the faint sound of distant howls. A grave mist pervades the damp cemetery grounds. It smells like mud and grass cuttings.

The crypt sprouts from the center of the graveyard like a massive weed, if weeds were roughly cubical in shape and made out of granite. A DC 15 Appraise check marks it as a fine piece of craftsmanship, probably Dwarven, definitely masterwork, with intricate carvings over the door and a stone statue of an angel keeping watch from the roof—although on closer inspection, the angel has its face in its hands, so if it's keeping watch, it's not doing a very good job.

As you approach the crypt where Kraaven said he'd be waiting, a shadowy figure pounces on the party from behind a tombstone! Roll initiative!

...Oh, wait, never mind, it's just a stray cat. False alarm, guys, sorry.

We'll move on to Kraaven's scene because I want to keep the pace up, but if you have any reactions to or questions for or about Merrik, Ashley, and/or Sir Jimbil, post them in the OOC thread and they'll be considered canon.

[Archmage1]

As the group approaches the crypt, Violet hides, sneakily darting from hiding place to hiding place, although she does seem to be grinning, and having a lot of fun.

[Gaius]

Still full and content from meal and drink, Will crosses the graveyard in lazy strides. He wears his usual smirk and casts an unconcerned gaze around the gloomy premises. Even at this hour, his body language is clear as day: "If ya wanna start somethin', here I am." Unsurprisingly, takers seem a bit thin on the ground. In fairness, most of those nearby are in the ground.

Anyway, just for a moment, Will's stance shifts a little at the feline fake-out. He gives the (presumably black) cat a chuckle, and a scratch behind the ears, if it doesn't flee at his approach. "Nice try, kitten. I'd haveta be doin' a lot worse to spook at the likes o' you." He then moves merrily along to the crypt itself.

[alanek2002]

Hedratis is floating above everybody else's head height, fully transparent.
"Ooh, a crypt! I hope that there is going to be undead!" Hedratis says, vibrating slightly in excitement. "They taste cold, but have such a vivid flavor! Like when you guys tried to explain how ice cream tastes that one time." Pausing a moment, he adds: "Oh, and they're also guilt free!"


As he floats merrily along to the crypt, he scrunches his upper corners towards each other in confusion. "... Can anybody see our contact? I'm kinda blind...."





Hide [roll0]

I'm kinda hoping that somebody does attack us out here, so I can drop a gelatinous cube on them. :P

Yeah, I haven't gotten emails about this having more posts until today. >.> Maybe I opened one and forgot to open the site? Bah.

[Troacctid]

The black cat is feral and vicious, and when Will reaches to pet it, it scratches him, drawing blood (23 to hit for 1 damage) before running off.

Meanwhile, Bartholomew peeks inside the crypt. "He's not in here," he says.

"Don't be stupid, of course I'm in here. Come inside, someone might see us. And be quiet!" whispers a voice from inside the crypt, making Bartholomew jump.

[Archmage1]

Violet, still having a good time hiding around, stealthily makes her way into the crypt... after patting a certain black cat, with a smile.

[Gaius]

Will draws his hand back, but not quite quick enough. Mostly out of habit, he gives his little injury an absent lick. He then frowns at the coppery taste. The brawler also gives Violet a look as she pets the cat. "Don't encourage it."

Of course, after one brief calculation about the odds of tracking down the little fuzzball... "... You're lucky; I'm not takin' a life from ya." He hopes Hedratis is right and something does give him an opportunity to punch it.

At the sudden voice, Will jumps alongside Bartholomew. "Yeah, yeah," he whispers curtly, continuing inside, "We're comin'."

[alanek2002]

Hedratis follows, squeezing slightly to fit through the entrance of the crypt. "Aw. If our contact is in there, there probably aren't any undead to snack on...."

"... Though, I wonder if anybody would miss that cat..."

[Troacctid]

The crypt is dark and stale-smelling. Jade glows, illuminating the cramped room. There are some dusty coffins on the floor and in the walls, but nobody appears to be inside (unless you succeed on a DC 38 Spot check). Even Hedratis doesn't detect any vibrations.

Then, out of nowhere, a gaunt, grey-skinned, androgynous man fades into view at the back of the crypt. "You wanted to speak with me. Here I am. Make it quick," he says in a low, husky voice.

[Gaius]

With a roll of his eyes, Will mumbles his answer to Hedratis: "Violet would, but she'd miss anyone. Have at it."

In any case. The crypt and the special guest therein. The strong man nods. "Right, straight to business. We're goin' after the asylum, heard you could help. Secret exit an' entrance, anythin' weird they get up to with inmates, the deal with Doc Heraldus, what they're constructin' in there, uh, other pro tips an' fun facts..." He flashes the presumed escapee a smile. "Really, we want whatever ya got."

[Troacctid]

"Yeah. There's a secret way in and out of the asylum. I could show you." Kraaven's grey eyes dart back and forth. "But why would I do that, eh? What's in it for me?"

[Archmage1]

Violet comes out from behind the coffin, landing on top of it instead, her bare feet disturbing the dust.
"Being really nice? You escaped, but do you really want others to go through that as well? Maybe we could take your revenge for you! Or a song? I know some really nice ones! I could make one about you!"

[roll0] dipomancy

[Troacctid]

"Look, kid, you seem like a nice fairy. But I'm not out for revenge. I'm out for myself, capiche? You want me to put myself out there, help you with this, maybe that helps them find me. So this is a risk, see, me helping you all. Now, nobody ever said Kraaven's afraid to take risks for a buddy, right? But nobody ever said Kraaven takes risks for free, neither. Get my drift?" Kraaven holds out a hand expectantly.

You get the sense that even if you were his best friend, he'd expect something in return for this sort of thing.

With her successful Diplomacy check, Violet can haggle Kraaven's price down by 10%. She could also convince him to accept barter, or maybe a favor, if you can think of something good.

[Archmage1]

Violet looks very disappointed.
"Aw..."

[Gaius]

Will smiles and feigns surprise. "Ah, I thought that woulda been obvious. Must notta been clear enough: we're bringin' that place down. Kinda puts a damper on anyone there goin' after ya." He gives a shrug. "And ya might wanna scale up the value o' that. We've been in town, what, 8 hours? And we're already meetin' ya? Seems to me like they'd know how to get ya if they wanted."

A sympathetic look crosses Will's face. "And make no mistake, big place like that? Lives and dies by its records. You got a file there, buddy. They just ain't gotten to it yet. But if the place gets stormed -- which we're doin', whether you help us or not -- that'll change even quicker."

"'o course," the ex-werewolf continues, stretching idly, "'lives and dies', I said. Once we're in, we could be extra-thorough, for a pal." Will gestures back to the Cube. "I bet you'd love a nice snack o' incriminatin' evidence, wouldn't ya, Heddy?" He's then back to Kraaven, with another smile. "Even if we don't bring 'em down," -- 'Though we will,' -- "we wipe out your li'l paper trail."

Not honestly sure what would be best here. >.> I think Bluff, but let me just put in a few options:

Bluff: [roll0]
(Will doesn't necessarily know this stuff is true, but he's sure trying to make it sound obvious)

Intimidate: [roll1]
(Not sure if this is apt, but I can see some logic: trying to convince Kraaven there's a threat to him if he doesn't act, even if Will isn't really the one to deliver)

Diplomacy: [roll2]
(Seems a sensible standby social skill)

If the +2 synergy from 5 ranks in Profession: Bandit seems apt for persuading a fellow criminal, feel free to add it on in.

[alanek2002]

"Hrmm...." Hedratis says. "Evidence does taste better than normal stuff..." As he talks, a couple drops of acid drip from him and clean the stones beneath.


in phone gotta run .

[Troacctid]

Kraaven chuckles. "Heh. I doubt the asylum is even looking for me. It's the vigilantes I'm worried about. The Arrow and his crew. If the city guard catches me, they'll lock me up and I'll be loose by the end of the week. If the Arrow catches me, he and his gang will put a shaft through my eye, and they won't give a rat's ass about evidence, see?"

"Let me guess," groans Bartholomew. "Self-styled 'heroes?' Work outside the law, attack perfectly innocent so-called 'villains' who are just minding their own business trying to develop new death rays?"

"Sounds like you know the type," says Kraaven.

[Archmage1]

Violet smiles, moving about a bit excitedly.
"We could find them, and ask them to be nice! I'm sure they would be! And then everything would be ok, and you could help us get into the asylum!"

[Gaius]

Will looks perplexed when the town guard gets a mention. Still, a few seconds later, realization dawns in his eyes and he claps his hand over his mouth to stifle a laugh. He's subdued enough to nod along, backing Bartholomew up, but gives a fresh chuckle at Violet's remarks. "Yeah, don't think so, Daisy. Those types tend to be, uh. Insistent." He absently runs a hand over a few old, relevant scars. "Silver hurts, y'know?

"Anyway, the town guard? Heheh, not who I meant. Buddy, ya'd have to really disappoint me 'fore I'd suggest trouble with those speedbumps." Will shakes his head, still kind of amused. "I'm talkin' about the asylum. Savvy guy like you has to know they can really mess ya up over there. Last guy in charge goes poof, with enough funny business to get public talk that new management had a hand in it, but juuuust not enough for Niarva's *snort* finest to pin it? That'd be a concern.

"And I know they ain't lookin' for ya. For now." Will gives a shrug. "But like I said: we're gonna make some noise over there and soon. If we fail, that'll be a wake-up call, get 'em checkin' into any tracks they can cover. And an inmate who escaped is just the sorta loose end they'd wanna snip. That's why your record's trouble."

I feel like there's enough deception in making rumor and speculation sound true, so just in case:

Bluff: [roll0]

[Troacctid]

"Doesn't matter anyway. Whatever they have, it won't tell them where to find me. Look, I'm not an easy guy to find, right? You only found me cuz I agreed to meet you. And even if they could find me, so could the Arrow, and he'd find me first."

Kraaven looks around nervously. "Look, little fairy, I like you, okay? You remind me of my little sis, may she rest in peace. I'll make you a deal. You pay my tab at the Blue Owl, and I'll show you how to sneak into the asylum. Look, I got some gold right here, you just gotta deliver it, right?" He offers up a handful of coins. "My gut tells me I might be layin' low for a while. Might not make it up there in person."

[alanek2002]

Hedratis floats forward, and extends a length of goo towards the man. "I'll take the gold there; There isn't anybody silly enough to try to steal stuff from a cube."

[Archmage1]

Violet looks at Will, and frowns as he speaks of silver hurting.
"Silver's nice! Iron is lots meaner, because it kills people! Silver doesn't like hurting people!"

At Kraaven's words, Violet nods cheerfully, and smiles.
"Ok! We can do that, and then you can guide us!"

[Gaius]

Will nods along to Kraaven. "Yeah, okay, sure. Just pass 'em to Heddy and we'll make sure you're covered." He gestures to the Cube, not checking to see if the extruded acidic tendril is naked or covered in a gauntlet.

As for Violet, he turns to her with a snort. "Hate to burst your bubble, Buttercup, but it's hurt me. And I'm still a person, last I checked."

[Archmage1]

Violet shakes her head.
"Silly, you must have upset it! It's really nice, but it has a bit of a temper sometimes! It doesn't like people who steal from the moon!"

[Troacctid]

"Okay then," says Kraaven. "I'll show you now. Let's go." He sweeps out of the crypt, brushing Bartholomew aside as he goes through the doorway.

He leads the party down the street, glancing around nervously the whole way, to an alley about a block south of the asylum. He stops at the end of the alley, and gestures toward a manhole cover on the ground.

"The sewer? You escaped through the sewer?" hisses Bartholomew.

"I didn't say it would be clean or pretty," whispers Kraaven. "This line goes directly under the asylum. Follow it north, and you should be able to climb out inside the building. Hopefully you won't run into anything nasty down there like I did. And no naked flames, understand? There's flammable gases, you'd blow yourselves up."

[alanek2002]

Hedratis moves towards the cover, carefully pulling it off and setting it on the ground next to him. "Not clean? Bah. Gelatinous cubes are renown for cleaning dungeons to a pristine level!" He then descends into the sewers. "... WHAT DO YOU PEOPLE EAT!?! This is somehow blander than trying to eat stone!" He hollers back up.


Hedratis will be traveling on the ground in front of the party, both clearing a path
He will be fully transparent, and trying to move quietly, in case anything is in there with them. I know some things that are smart enough get a circumstance bonus to the spot check for the disappearing muck, sadly.

Hide: [roll0]
Move Silently: [roll1]

Also, can I do something like this to let people in front of me?
https://rememberingletters.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/usa-z-gerald-cube.jpg

[Archmage1]

Violet smiles merrily.
"Yaay! You helped us! And we'll help you, after we get back!"
With that, she darts into the sewer, behind Hedratis, and promptly darts back out.
"It smells really, really bad in there!"

[Gaius]

As Kraaven leads on, Will tries explaining to Violet about how he would have a) remembered stealing from the moon and b) gotten a lot richer for it than any job he's ever done.

But the stench of an open sewer has a way of pushing those other thoughts out of mind. Will makes a small choking sound as he gets near. Once again, he finds himself thankful for his limited nose. The brawler tries to cheer things up a little. "Well, least it can't be as bad as..." That hangs in the air for a few seconds too long. "... Yeah, never mind. This is pretty much the worst."

Will sighs and starts getting used to breathing through his mouth; he finds it marginally better. As he approaches the manhole opening, he calls down, "Try not ta think about it! Keep doin' that public service, buddy!" As for Violet, he smirks, "What, can't take it if it's not a bed o' roses?"

Beginning his reluctant descent, he stops and whispers back up to Kraaven. "So, where'll we come up?" Will thinks a little further about the escapee's tone a moment ago and arcs a brow. "And I'm guessin' you didn't mean the expected sewer nastiness. Care to expand on that?"

[Archmage1]

Violet looks upset at Will's comment, but a few moments later, she follows one more.
After, of course, getting a bundle of flowers to breathe through.(Older flowers, on their last legs, willing to help the petal breathe)

[Troacctid]

"Ssshh! Right, I showed you where to go. You're on your own from here on out," Kraaven whispers. He fades back into his camo mode and skulks away into the night.

[Gaius]

Will follows Violet down with his eyes, and then rolls them at the vanishing Kraaven. "Right... We'll be sure ta pay your tab. If we survive. And remember." He's sure to mumble that last bit. Then it's down into that foulness with the rest.

"Ugh... A little non-flammable light, if ya please?" he asks of his magic-using colleagues and gets ready to move. Will wants out as badly as anyone.

[Troacctid]

"No problem. I'll just get one of my...oh, Nine Hells!" says Bartholomew, reaching into his back pocket.

"What?" says Jade.

"That son of a gun picked my pocket!"

Jade sighs and casts Dancing Lights.

[Archmage1]

Violet looks at the pretty glowing spheres, and smiles.
"They're pretty!"
She promptly tries to fly up to one, to get a better look at it.

[Gaius]

Will snickers for a bit. "Shoulda figured. Don't see much o' criminals askin' for pay and then volunteerin' a pittance." He then thinks things through a little further. The snickering tapers off as he checks for anything he's missing.

Finding anything gone will play a role in how clenched his teeth are as he adds, "Y'know, Bartie, with all those paintings o' avengin' angels bringin' bloody justice ta the wicked... Seems like killin' a pickpocket couldn't be that evil."

In any case, Will hopes his eyes have adjusted to the light. He looks around this fresh hell so he can start working out how to leave it.

[Troacctid]

Act II, Scene i: The Sewer Level

http://i.imgur.com/suAgauG.png

The sewer is dark and dank, punctuated by occasional glimmers of light from above. It's about 10 feet wide, with a 10-foot ceiling. The walls are made of rough brick and concrete, cracked and stained, and the floor is hidden under a channel of sludge. Narrow, slimy ledges on each side (12 inches wide and lightly slippery, for a Balance DC of 12) offer a place to walk above the muck, but only barely—it looks like one good rainfall would leave the ledges underwater. The ladder is slippery as well, but Will's Climb check is enough to see him safely down if he takes 10. (Everyone else flies.)

The stench is practically unbearable, as you can probably imagine. Anyone with a sense of smell (which I think is everyone, but I honestly don't know about Hedratis) must make a DC 13 Fortitude save or become sickened.

Bartholomew's Fortitude: [roll0]
Jade's Fortitude: [roll1]


Hedratis will be traveling on the ground in front of the party, both clearing a path
He will be fully transparent, and trying to move quietly, in case anything is in there with them. I know some things that are smart enough get a circumstance bonus to the spot check for the disappearing muck, sadly.
The sewage is a good 3 feet deep, which is probably too much for Hedratis to clear out in a reasonable timeframe. However, this appears to be a stretch of sewer where the sanitation workers sometimes do maintenance, so there's enough clearance for everyone else to just fly above the muck. Except Will. Sorry, Will.


Also, can I do something like this to let people in front of me?
Sure. It looks like it would essentially be a more visually interesting (but otherwise functionally identical) version of squeezing.


Will snickers for a bit. "Shoulda figured. Don't see much o' criminals askin' for pay and then volunteerin' a pittance." He then thinks things through a little further. The snickering tapers off as he checks for anything he's missing.
Nothing is missing from Will's pockets. Kraaven must have gotten Bartholomew as he brushed past him earlier. That bastard.

[Gaius]

Will groans as he nears the last rung above the ooze. He's certainly not setting foot in that if he can help it. 'Probably 'bout the only thing worse than smellin' it'd be feelin' it...' He's thankful for the ledge, if a bit resentful of how narrow it is. Will starts edging out on his rung. 'Okay, easy does it... You've done narrower probably...' He hadn't, but it gives him the false confidence he needs. He goes for the ledge...

And makes it! 'Yes!' For several glorious seconds! 'No no no!' Will's footing is just too unsure and the ledge too slick with... substances best unconsidered. Eyes wide, he slides over the edge, trying desperately to keep steady. He makes a nauseating THWUCK as he sinks into the semisolid mire.

About up to his waist in filth, Will re-evaluates: the only thing worse than smelling or feeling it is doing both at once! He spends a number of seconds making strained sounds of revolted aggravation. A few more seconds of silence follow. "... Let's just go," he groans and begins sloshing forward.

For now, the only thoughts that cross Will's mind are those pertaining to not wading through raw sewage. And a hope that they soon run into something he can beat up.

[alanek2002]

Hedraits shivers slightly as he floats above the muck. "I didn't know that it was possible for something to taste blander than nothing... is this what something tasting bad is like?"

For poor Will, however, he drops down a stub cube to start cleaning one of the walkways in front of him. It might not save him from having already slipped into it, but it should stop him from falling in again.

"I'd offer to clean the muck off you... but I think acid would be worse."

[Troacctid]

Jade's lights cast dancing shadows as they swirl hypnotically ahead of you. You can hear the soft scuttling sounds of rats and other vermin in every direction. A pack of dire rats scurry out of a pipe in a side wall and charge at Will with hungry eyes, only for the leaders to smack directly into Hedratis. Blorp. That and a couple shots from Bartholomew's blaster chase the rest of them off pretty quickly.

Not too far along the tunnel, Violet and Hedratis, with their passive Spot checks, notice that part of the wall has crumbled away in a shadowy corner near the ceiling, and there's actually a passage of some sort behind it whose walls are constructed differently—hewn stone, rather than brick and concrete. Huh.

[Archmage1]

Violet flies through the tunnel nervously, especially after Will's entertaining fall, clearly worried about something, but eventually, she spots another passage, and she darts over to it, to have a look inside.
"There's another passage! Maybe it'll smell nicer!"

[Gaius]

Will blinks at Hedratis, shaken from thoughts of how much he hates this. "Huh? Oh. Uh, yeah, an acid bath ain't what the doctor ordered." After contemplating that he actually can think of a worse sense than touch or smell for experiencing this muck, he notes the cube's act of kindness with the ledge. "And... thanks." He clambers up onto the newly cleaned ledge and begins filthing it up again. For a while, his careful advance leaves a slimy trail, not unlike a slug.

Will's eyes twinkle at the rodents of unusual size. "Bring it, you buck-toothed--!" Blorp. "... Right." Well, he's sure something will come along.

A bit of bright purple can be hard to miss in a place like this, so Will follows Violet's path to that other passage. "Hunh, good eye. And yeah, it could hardly smell worse." If nobody advises against or has any other tactics in mind, he proceeds to try knocking down that bit of opening.

[alanek2002]

Hedratis burps. "Ah, nothing like some dire rat to clear out a taste."

At the opening, he tilts slightly. "It does look neat..." He says, "but isn't the asylum further in?"

on phone, so a short post and no color.

[Troacctid]

"Kraaven did say to go straight to get to the asylum," says Bartholomew.

"Hang on," says Jade. "That's funny, I'm sensing something magical over that way. You want me to scout it out?"

[Archmage1]

Violet smiles.
"Let's go then! It'll smell lots nicer!"
With that, she darts into the other passageway, and looks around.

[Gaius]

"Kraaven also stole who knows what from ya," Will reminds Bartholomew. "And as I understand it, explorin' side-paths is a big chunk o' how heroes make money. So maybe we'll come out ahead, now."

He holds off on demolition for the moment and calls through to the faerie explorers. "Anythin' neat in there? Lemme know if there's anythin' valuable or fragile near the wall. And move it, if there is."

[alanek2002]

Hedratis tilts slightly, and stops moving forward, waiting for Jade and violet to talk about what they found.

[Troacctid]

Inside the side passage is what appears to be some kind of tomb. A closed sarcophagus, 9 feet wide, lies in the center. It's made of stone, and heavily detailed, with runes carved on the front. In fact, the runes are written in Celestial, and Jade translates them as follows: "Here lies Senstrom Nightspyre, Champion of the Lord of Righteous Thunder, entombed with his adversaries so that he might guard in death the world he so loved in life."

Wait, entombed with his adversaries? Hang on a second. Jade casts detect evil. Holy smokes! Something in this room has an overwhelming evil aura! The taint of evil is so strong that Jade is stunned for a moment, and loses her concentration on the spell.

"Stay quiet," Jade whispers, in Sylvan, to Violet. "Something horrible is in this room, but it hasn't attacked us, so it must be asleep. Let's get out of here and warn the others."

[Archmage1]

Violet, of course, seems disappointed by Jade's words.
"Aw... but the runes are pretty!"
Still, disappointed, she heads back, and tells the others about what they sad.
"There's a really big stone box, covered in pretty runes, but Jade says there's something horrible in the room!"

[Gaius]

Will frowns a bit. "Ssssso, like, how horrible are we talkin' here? Bartie or whoever, you heard any legends or whatnot 'bout somethin' like this?"

[Troacctid]

Jade explains about the text on the sarcophagus, and how the evil aura in the room overwhelmed her. "...So it's clearly something super nasty, and whatever it is, it's supposed to be sealed in there."

"Well, there you are, then. Sealed up nice and tight. Nothing we need to bother with," says Bartholomew.

"No! Because if this wall keeps crumbling away, then whatever it is might be able to get out! And something that evil is something that should not be out!"

The relevant knowledge here is bardic knowledge or history. Jade already failed her check. Here is Bartholomew's roll: [roll0]

[alanek2002]

Hedratis pipes in at this point, somewhat confused. "Um... If it's bad, can't I just eat it? Or can't we destroy it? What is the point of sealing something away, rather than doing one of those things?" he asks.

Meanwhile, the mini-cube that hedratis had dropped to clean the walkway for will kept going forwards, bumping into hedratis... then backing up, and bumping into him again, and again...

[Archmage1]

Violet looks sad.
"Senstrom was really nice, and he helped inspire other people too! Maybe he might help us, if we do?"

[Gaius]

Will cogitates a bit. "Dunno, Heddy. But sealed evils pop up a lot in stories. Guess it was just the style at the time? ... For a really, really long time? An' yeah, Vi, he does sound like he's the goodie two-shoes type. That'd help.

"But," he adds with a note of reluctance, "much as I wanna head in there and break its face, presumin' it's got one... I'm kinda with Bart. I mean, it's not like it's in danger o' breakin' free right now, right? We're sorta in the middle of somethin' here."

Then he has a thought. It brings a smile to his face for the first time since he slipped in the muck. "'sides, pretty sure Maynath'd pay to hear all about it, maybe give some extra support an' intel. Prolly even hire us to clear it out." Leaving one hand on a filthy wall to keep him steady, he gives half a shrug with the other. "'s like ol' Whitemane used ta say. Why just tear out a throat if ya can get paid for the pleasure?"

[Archmage1]

Violet seems a little disappointed by Will's response.
Especially as it involved more bad smells.

[Troacctid]

"I guess we could come back later," says Jade. What's the worst that could happen?"

[alanek2002]

Hedratis stiffens at those words, and starts vibrating in ways the human ear can't quite hear, cursing in Ooze. "Well, I guess we have to take care of it now, as Jade just jinxed any chance of leaving not going wrong. Please, never say those words."

Having said this, he starts flowing into the room. "So how do we...?" He says, trailing off.

[Archmage1]

Violet, cheering up at Hedratis's words, follows him into the room, planning to start singing a nice song soon.

[Gaius]

"Uuuuuugh." Like Hedratis, Will has Opinions about carelessly jinxing a situation like that. Still, he also has a strong desire not to get sidetracked. So his spirits sink still further when he notices Violet and Hedratis eagerly zipping and not-so-eagerly squeezing into the room. "No! Stop! We don't have ta do this just 'cause Jade said somethin' stupid on purpose! Any fallout from not dealin' with this'll be the best teacher for why ya don't say stuff like that!"

Grasping at straws, he takes a breath and lowers his voice. "I mean, she's worried about wakin' up the evil, right? So we couldn't be noisy checkin' it out first. This wall's not goin' down quiet." He gently knocks on it with his fist, noting its sturdiness. "And how're Bartie an' me gettin' in with it up? Way too big for that li'l hole."

[alanek2002]

Hedratis tilts slightly, saying "Oh, right, you guys can't fit... I can fix this!"

~meanwhile~
The little cube keeps chugging along the sewer sidewalk.

Hedratis raises a little bit further into the air, and takes a run action while flying at the wall, attempting to both break through and hold onto the pieces while he does so. "OOH YEAH"

Sadly for will, he was specifically on the other side of the wall...


Sorry, (but not really!) but Will is specifically on the other side of the wall.

Now, Gelatinous cubes don't float in water... so they are denser than water. I am a 10 by 10 by 10 cube of goo. I mass about 28-29,000 KG if so. >.>

except the SRD entry lists them as weighing about 15k lbs... so I Do float in water. Huh.

Regardless, strength check if needed: [roll0]

However, given that this is a crumbling brick wall, and I weigh 15k lb, can I ask for a circumstance modifier so I can knock Will back into the sewer water? More to the point, waive the need for the roll due to the giant flying ooze?

And another d20 in case a check is needed to try and catch the wall pieces. Generic D20! [roll1]

[Troacctid]

Hedratis attempts to bulldoze his way through the wall, but is slightly embarrassed when it doesn't burst like he hoped. He just smacks against it like a wet sponge instead, leaving an indentation on his front half approximately the size and shape of the hole.

Wall 1, Hedratis 0.

[Archmage1]

Hearing the impact, Violet quickly darts over to investigate, soon realizing what had happened.
"Come on, silly! I thought you could fit through!"

[Gaius]

Will scootches back on hearing the splat of Hedratis against the wall (and spying the bit of tell-tale ooze through the crumbling corner). He sighs heavily. "Ugh, if you guys're so set on this stupid idea, fine. Might as well give up on sneakin' and get on with it."

He stomps over to the small opening and decides to vent some frustration on the surrounding. Granted, this might make more sense to save for whatever evil thing lies on the other side, but Will has decided his stress relief is just more important. Also, while the hole is probably big enough, in a fit of pique, he's decided he wants a bigger one.

Planting his feet and digging in his heels to keep from slipping, he begins smashing at the stone. Barring any new developments, he clambers inside once he's opened it up a little. Warmup complete, he gets ready to punch evil in the face.

Yeah, I'm just gonna roll a round's worth. >.> Will's liable to keep going, though, unless something changes. The attack rolls are against a stationary object, but he's not taking the time to line up a shot, so he could technically miss, I believe.

Attack 1: [roll0]

Damage 1: [roll1] - 8 = 21 HP

Attack 2: [roll2]

Damage 2: [roll3] - 8 = 12 HP

Presumably, 33 HP damage. Take that, Wall!

[Troacctid]

Will punches through two inches' worth of stone, which doesn't significantly widen the opening, but it makes him feel a little better.

"Well, whatever it is in there, I wouldn't be at all surprised if all this noise woke it up," says Jade.

[Gaius]

"Good," Will says with a nod, "Like I said: long as we're doin' this, may as well get on with doin' it."

Cheered by his demolition efforts, he decides the hole is of a decent enough size for his entrance. He begins clambering through. "Good lesson for you, too," he adds, smirking. "Mind your words, or what was just a stupid idea could turn into a really stupid idea."

[alanek2002]

Hedratis simply goes to the great sarcophagus, and presses himself into the ceiling above it, readying an action to simply drop down if anything pops up. As he floats, he changes from his normal green to a near transparent state.



Hide: [roll0]

I should be able to just land on them all, considering that the thing is only 9 ft wide, and probably not more than 10ft long. Unless they make the spot check and a dc 17 reflex save.

I have to say, thank you for clustering all the potential enemies in a nice square for me to squish. ^.^


Now, if I do, it means they take acid damage... but I wouldn't bet a copper piece that they aren't undead. (Also known as immune to paralysis!)
Granted, hitting them all might be crappy for me, if they have touch attacks; So Will: clear a path to the hole so I can book it after Thwomping them, ok? Probably going to be low on hp if something does pop out.

Also, I'm free! I'm free! Finals are over! And I don't think I failed!

[Archmage1]

With everyone getting ready for combat, Violet starts singing, her voice strangely ominous.


Just going to go ahead and start a bard song for everyone but the mind effect immune ooze.
+7d6 lightning damage on your weapon attacks.(Or fists)

[Troacctid]

Bartholomew clambers through the hole and into the tomb. "Okay, where's the big nasty? Is it in the sarcophagus?" he says.

"I don't know," says Jade nervously.

Meanwhile, Hedratis floats up to the ceiling, and Violet starts singing.

"Maybe it's invisible. I'll scan for it."

Bartholomew begins casting detect magic, but finds himself rudely interrupted when a roiling mass of shadows barrels into him from a dark corner of the room, lifting him in the air by his neck and slamming him into the ceiling. This breaks his concentration just a little bit. "Gakkk," he complains.

Hedratis realizes with a sinking sensation that the man-shaped object that was standing perfectly still over there was probably not an inanimate statue of the dead guy.

Initiatives:
Monster: 26
Violet: [roll0]
Bartholomew: [roll1]
Jade: [roll2]
Hedratis: [roll3]
Will: [roll4]

First we have a surprise round, with the monster and Hedratis. Then anyone who rolled higher than the monster may act in any order. Then the monster, then everyone else in any order. (Because of the constraints of the PbP medium, initiative will be a little looser than it would be in a real-time game.)

Hedratis gets to act during the surprise round because he was technically aware of the monster's presence, although I hope you'll forgive me for not letting you know he detected the monster with his blindsight while it was lurking. It was staying perfectly still and giving off no life signs, so as far as he knew, it was just a statue, which wouldn't be out of the ordinary in a tomb; since he's blind, he'd have no way of knowing it was invisible to everyone else. This probably will not happen against living creatures.

[alanek2002]

Hedratis tilts slightly. "Huh." He then launches several tendrils of goo to yank the suddenly moving humanoid into himself!




Attack vs Touch AC: [roll0]
Grapple check: [roll1]

If grapple succeeds, he is being grappled inside me (as we share a space, and similar to being engulfed), and he takes [roll2] damage, plus [roll3] Acid, if he isn't immune.
edit: Sorry for the short post, but it is combat, so not so much I can say.

Also... I am flanking him with Bart? >.>

[Troacctid]

The monster nimbly sidesteps Hedratis's attack. Then it lashes at Bartholomew with a gooey, shadowy appendage. Bartholomew stiffens, paralyzed, and the monster tosses his immobile body to the ground. It turns and slams Hedratis, then roars in pain at the burning in its arm. (22 to hit for 22 damage, and roll your acid damage.)

Jade lets out an "Eep!" and casts faerie fire on the blurry mass of shadows. A pale green glow outlines a horrific humanoid-shaped creature nearly ten feet tall, wearing rotten and rusty leather armor. The gooey appendage it used to paralyze Bartholomew hangs out, dripping, from underneath its helmet—it's the monster's tongue.

Bartholomew twitches silently on the floor.

Turns from everyone.

[Archmage1]

Violet, still ominously singing, works another effect into her song, and a massive amount of gleaming pollen forms in the air around the already glowing horror, outlining it even more, and maybe blinding it.
Before, of course, the frightened petal darts off, and hides.

Casting Glitterdust, DC 21
[roll0] hide
[roll1] move silently(with a -10 for singing included)

[Gaius]

Will starts bouncing on his heels in time with Violet's song, with a satisfying crackle of electricity when he cracks his knuckles. He feels a chill and his eyes widen as Bartholomew is yanked upward. '... Maybe shoulda saved my frustrations for this thing.'

Fortunately, the still damp, disgusting feeling south of his waist leaves him with frustrations enough for all. With the thing conveniently outlined (and glittery), Will makes his move, stepping past the fleeing Violet and around the fallen Bart. Mindful of that tongue, the brawler pulls back his fists to give this ghastly figure the beating of its unlife.

Attack!
[roll0]

Damage
(fists) [roll1]
(lightning) [roll2]

Stunning Fist (DC 19 Fortitude or stunned for 1 round)

I'm presuming Will's close enough for a 5-foot step to close in so he can make a full attack. If not, or if I've goofed on the rules, please disregard the rolls below.

Attack!
[roll3]

Damage
(fists) [roll4]
(lightning) [roll5]

[alanek2002]

After Will punches the thing, hard, Hedratis moves up again, lashing out with his tendrils once more, attempting to pull the undead in. "Hold still, You slimy bastard!" Hedratis says, hypocritically. This time, he doesn't have to pull back to avoid pulling in Bart, thankfully.


Attack: [roll0], vs touch ac
Grapple: [roll1]

I'll get him, this time!

Potential damage: [roll2] + [Roll]3d6[Roll] acid.
Bleh. Heading for work.

edit: T.T Rolls aren't the best...

[Troacctid]

Violet's glitterdust doesn't seem to faze the monster, although it looks very sparkly.

Will runs in to punch the monster, but it sees him coming and slams him with its massive arm, lifting him off the ground in one hand.

Hedratis tries to establish a hold on the monster, succeeding on the initial touch attack.

[Troacctid]

Jade pulls out a wand of resurgence. "Come on, come on," she mutters under her breath, trying to make it work. "Yes!" she exclaims, as a crackle of light flows from the wand into Bartholomew, granting him a new saving throw against the paralysis.

"Grrk!" says Bartholomew, failing his saving throw again. (Edit: Oh, wait, I forgot the +2 from magic circle against evil. He actually succeeds. Phew!)

Bartholomew shakes off the paralysis, climbs to his feet, takes a 5-foot step backwards, and activates his arcanist's gloves before launching an eldritch blast at the monster, which hits it in the torso, dealing 24 46 damage. (Edit again: Forgot the lightning damage, which does apply to weaponlike spells.)

Monster's turn is pending results of the opposed check.

[Troacctid]

Will forces his way out of the monster's grasp and punches it. Its face is too high up, so he settles for its crotch. Electricity crackles from his fist as the blow lands, and the monster doubles over in agony. However, it quickly recovers, and starts its counterattack.

Bartholomew has moved out of its reach, and Will and Hedratis are blocking its way to him. It already found out that hitting Hedratis hurts. That means it's going after Will. First it lashes out with its tongue, attempting to paralyze him. Then it slams him, not bothering to grapple this time. Both attacks hit.

[roll0] damage to Will, and he needs to make a Fortitude save (DC 17) and a Control Shape check.

Turns from everyone.

[alanek2002]

Hedratis (on his turn), forgoes his usual attempts at grappling, Instead attempting to slam the thing with a large portion of his mass while moving closer to the hole.


Attack:
[roll1] + [roll]3d6+ acid


And misses horribly.

[Archmage1]

Violet, still singing from her hiding place, weaves another spell into her music, and, suddenly, everyone else feels like they can make another attack, seemingly seeing an oppertunity.


Violet is casting Mass Snake's Swiftness, and continuing to hide

[Gaius]

After grimacing from the thing's attempt to seize him, Will smirks as it doubles over. "Heh. Like my right? Good news: the left's almost as fun!"

In a few moments, he might regret trying to banter with something that likely couldn't conceive of it. That disgusting tongue lurches out, walloping him. "Urgh!" He feels a pair of unpleasant tingling sensations race through him. One is not familiar, the other achingly so. 'Ohh, come on, not now not now not now...'

Fortitude: [roll0]
Pass!

Control Shape: [roll1]
Not pass!

Actions contingent on save and check results. I'll just make the rolls now. I'm pretty sure Will can't actually pass the skill check, but just in case!
EDIT: Nope!

Attack 1: [roll2]
Damage 1: [roll3]
Lightning 1: [roll4]

Attack Bonus: [roll5]
Damage Bonus: [roll6]
Lightning Bonus: [roll7]

Attack 2: [roll8]
Damage 2: [roll9]
Lightning 2: [roll10]
Attack 1: [roll11]
Damage 1: [roll12]
Lightning 1: [roll13]

Attack Bonus: [roll14]
Damage Bonus: [roll15]
Lightning Bonus: [roll16]

Attack 2: [roll17]
Damage 2: [roll18]
Lightning 2: [roll19]

An unnatural numbness creeps over Will's body, but only for a moment before he shrugs it off. Most of it, anyway; his fingers and toes feel rather stiff all of a sudden. '... Dammit.' An unpleasant warmth floods across both his flesh and his mind as the curse takes hold. Doubling over, he groans in discomfort. Very quickly, this doesn't sound like it comes from a human throat. Even in the relatively poor lighting, the gross physical changes are obvious. Still, it is at least takes no more than a few seconds for his body to finish twisting, shifting, and shrinking.

Another second later, grunting and snorting with aggravation, a pink piglet wearing a collar emerges from Will's neck hole. The animal shakes his head to clear it, large ears flopping about, and turns to glare up at the shade. He paws the tomb floor as Hedratis's assault goes flying by. One would expect a small pig in this position to run; indeed, no few of his instincts are squealing at him to do just that. But right after a change, Will tends to find a certain frustration with the indignity of his state and with the world at large. And sometimes a bit of a Napoleon Complex. Those emotions have to go somewhere.

With a squeal of fury and little thought beyond doing as much harm as possible, the piglet hurls himself at the apparition. Violet's magic only spurs him on.

[Troacctid]

The monster does its best to deflect Will's furious assault, but the final slam sends a shock through its body that knocks it off its feet. It falls towards Hedratis, who engulfs its head with a schlorp. It stops moving, and appears to be defeated.

[alanek2002]

Hedratis tilts slightly towards the re-dead corpse that is partially inside him, and gives it a solid whack. "There. Finally hit it."

[Archmage1]

Violet, the trembling petal, bravely peeks out from behind the sarcophagus, before she hides once more.

[Gaius]

Will turns up his snout at the defeated entity with a snort of disdain. He gives an approving grunt to Hedratis's follow-up smack.

[Troacctid]

A pulse of pure, white light emanates from the sarcophagus, and it slides open of its own accord. The body inside wears a suit of full plate armor with a purple-plumed helmet. Its arms are crossed over its chest, clutching a longsword. Both the sword and the helmet glow softly.

Bartholomew attempts to appraise them. Jade attempts to help him.
Appraise 1: [roll0](+2)
Appraise 2: [roll1](+2)
Aid another 1: [roll2]
Aid another 2: [roll3]

Bartholomew touches the sword and concentrates. "Hmm. Not sure about this one. I don't recognize the metalwork."

Then he touches the helm, examining it as well. "This helm enhances the wearer's charisma," he says. "Fascinating. It looks like if it were imbued with the right divine power, it would also make the wearer exceptionally resilient against fear. Probably a relic of Heironeous—I'd imagine it only functions if you're aligned with his ideals. I value it at about 4,500 gold pieces."

[Gaius]

Will trots over after that pulse of light and balances on his hind legs (or jumps if it's still too high) to peer into the casket. He listens to the appraisal of its contents, and then tries and fails to ask, "Hm, 4,500 includin' historical value?" A moment after, he recalls that nobody can understand him. In case anyone can, they then hear him grunt out a rude word.

Will moseys back over to the pile of clothes he left behind on the tomb floor. Everyone's probably familiar enough with the routine to guess his plan. He's decided it's time he slipped back into something a little more comfortable: his human form. He sits on his haunches, closes his eyes, and tries to clear his mind. 'Okay. Breathe. Just like ol Whitemane taught ya. Curse ain't nothin'. Focus... Human, human, human... Now!'

[roll0]

[Archmage1]

Violet looks at the greedy Bartholomew, and frowns.
"Silly, they aren't ours to take!"

[alanek2002]

Hedratis scrunches up slightly. "I... don't know. I mean, if it was still closed, I would definitely agree with you violet. But it opened for us after we destroyed this thing that I'm currently nomming." On that note, Hedratis pulls the rest of it inside him, to more thoroughly ensure it's re-death.


"So maybe he wanted whoever destroyed this to have stuff?" He continues. "Though, if somebody knew how to speak with the dead, this could be so much easier...."

[Gaius]

Will feels the force of his, er, will drive back the effects of the curse. Body atingle, pink flesh turns slightly tan, baby fat gives way to muscle, and plentiful porcine features become human ones again. "Ha ha! Yes!" All that practice finally seems to be reaping dividends.

Picking himself up off the floor, his back to the party, Will starts to get dressed again. "I'm with Heddy. Probably meant to go ta heroes, and we're... hero-ish, anyway." He waggles a hand. Then smirks. "'sides, if you're that worried, just let Bartholomew be our moral compass. We'll know if takin' 'em is wrong if he starts formin' an opinion 'bout the look o' this tomb from a few inches off the ground. Mine, by the way, is that it kinda sucks. And smells worse than it looks."

By this point, Will has reached his pants and footwear. He makes a face, then perks up. In honeyed tones, he asks, "Viiii, would you pretty please be a lamb and help make these a little less revoltin'?"

[Archmage1]

Violet looks somewhat dubious about Hedratis's claim, even after Will chimes in.
"Well... I don't know... it seems a little suspicious, but they're for giants anyway, so... up to you?"

However, at his second question, Violet shakes her head.
"I'm sorry, but you might fall in again, and there's lots more sewer to move through! After we get out, I'll clean everyone, so it'll be ok!"

[alanek2002]

"I keep telling you guys, if you'd just wear clothing made of wire, I could just clean them in no time flat, but nooooooo... "it's really hard to move in metal clothes", "augh! They are rubbing my thighs raw!". Bah."

[Archmage1]

Violet simply looks at Hedratis. It's a good look, somehow communicating that she thought he was being very silly, with a mere glance.

[Gaius]

Will snorts at Violet's answer, but nods. "Yeah, yeah. Makes sense. Still, hopin' there's not too much sewer left." Resigned distaste plain on his face, he picks up his filthy pants and pulls them on. He gives a shorter, muted encore of the sounds he made on first slipping into the sewage. And then again with his shoes,* plus bonus squelching sounds. "Really hopin'..."

* After holding them upside down to at least let them drain out a bit, of course.

For all that, changing back under his own power has still left Will in a fairly good mood. He chuckles at Hedratis's renewed suggestion with a shake of his head. "Yeah, you keep tiltin' that windmill, buddy."

While they've got the open space, he figures he'll take the opportunity to stretch a bit. "So, we settled on tomb-robbin' yet? Still got a job to do."

[Troacctid]

"Pish tosh. It's not robbery. The sarcophagus opened right up for us. You all saw it." Bartholomew says. "The only possible explanation is that we've been judged worthy of carrying on...whatsisname's legacy."

"Senstrom Nightspyre," says Jade.

"Yes, I was testing you. Now, to prove my theory is correct, watch as wrathful lightning does not smite me when I take this sword," says Bartholomew, taking the sword. Jade winces...but nothing happens. "There you go! See, I'm worthy."

"YOU ARE NOT WORTHY—BUT YOU MAY YET BE." Bartholomew jumps and drops the sword as the voice booms unexpectedly. The sword lands on his toe, and he hops up and down on the other foot, cursing. "AND DON'T TOSS ME AROUND LIKE THAT. I'M NOT ADAMANTINE, YOU KNOW."

[Archmage1]

Violet, startled by the strange voice, promptly vanishes. However, after a few moments to recover her nerve, she peeks over Bartholomew's shoulder, with wide eyes.
"It's a sword that talks!"

[Gaius]

Will likewise jumps at the sudden voice. "Uh. Yeah. Don't hear that everyday."

Wiping his hands off on his front, he walks past the hopping Bartholomew to pick up the fallen sword. He opens his mouth, but isn't really sure where to begin. Eventually, he opts for something basic. "So, hi there, Talkin' Sword. ... Pretty sure I'm not 'worthy' either, so we can skip right past that, if ya like. To... I dunno... What's your story?"

[Troacctid]

"I HAVE NO STORY. ONLY PURPOSE. YOU DEFEATED A GREAT EVIL TODAY. IF YOU WISH TO CONTINUE ON THE PATH OF VALOUR, I CAN HELP YOU TO BECOME GREAT HEROES," says the sword.

It uses the British spelling for "valor" because it speaks with a British accent, natch.

[alanek2002]

Suddenly, Hedratis starts to sparkle in what little light there is. "True Heroes! Really?" He says, quivering in excitement.

[Archmage1]

Violet looks sad as the sword says that it has no story.
"Aw... but then, if you don't have a story, then you don't have any memories, and that's really sad!"

[Gaius]

Will takes a patient breath after Violet bemoans the blade's great sorrow. "'s an expression, Rosie. Means there's a story. Just not one Swordy feels like sharin'."

"But I think another story'd do." He smirks. "So, how you gonna help us become great heroes? We ain't exactly the swordin' types."


It uses the British spelling for "valor" because it speaks with a British accent, natch.Oh, good, my mind isn't alone in working that way. :smalltongue: Also glad it's clear the sword's accent is neither Canuck nor Aussie.

[Archmage1]

Violet frowns, clearly not quite following Will's words, but the mention of a story clearly has her on edge, and hopeful.

[Troacctid]

"NEITHER WAS SENSTROM NIGHTSPYRE," says the sword. "NEVERTHELESS, HE FOUND MY AID AND GUIDANCE VALUABLE ON HIS PATH."

"Boss, isn't becoming a true hero supposed to break your curse?" says Jade, looking at Bartholomew.

"Ahem. Yes. Something like that. But it should be a piece of cake with Heironeous's own talking sword fast-tracking the process, right?" says Bartholomew.

"NO. BECOMING A TRUE HERO IS NEVER EASY, AND IT WILL TAKE TIME, EVEN WITH ME TO GUIDE YOU. BUT I SEE THE POTENTIAL IN YOU ALL, IF YOU ARE WILLING TO TRY."

[Archmage1]

Violet looks sad at the lack of a story.
"Aw... but I don't want to be a hero! I'm already me! I just want Mab to look at my garden, so she'll love it!"

[Gaius]

Will quirks an eyebrow at Jade's question. "Huh... Didn' know Bart had an out..." He files that little nugget away and returns his attention to the sword.

The ex-werewolf rolls the idea around. After a bit, he gives half a nod and half a shrug. "Eh, why not. Long as we're playin' the hero game, may as well try ta do it right. Gods know we could use some pointers." He chuckles. "Other'n 'do the opposite o' what you been doin',' anyway."

[alanek2002]

"Hold on a minute," Hedratis says, tasting fish in the air. (Was that shandallan carp? How did that get anywhere near this town?) "How do we know it is a good talking sword, anyways? We know there was a legend that said he was entombed with his enemies - and I doubt that one monster was strong enough to merit a legend. Have you checked again for evil?"

[Troacctid]

Jade scans again. "I've got no pings," she says.

I've got no pings
To bring me down
To make me fret or make me frown
I had doubts, but now I see
There are no pings on thee!

[Gaius]

Will nods in approval. "There we go. Big Green, you got a good head on your... uh..." He tries to find some way to salvage that. "... Metaphor." He fails.

He diverts! "But yeah, thing didn' take that much to go down." He adds, 'Other'n my dignity,' to himself. "What was it? And what was its deal?"

[Troacctid]

"IN LIFE, IT WAS SALAN ROKA, ONE OF HEXTOR'S DEADLIEST WARRIORS. DEFEATING ROKA WAS SENSTROM'S FINAL ACT. THE TWO WERE ENTOMBED TOGETHER. I KNOW NOT WHAT DARK SHADOWS ROUSED ROKA FROM HIS ETERNAL SLUMBER, BUT HEIRONEOUS THANKS YOU FOR RETURNING HIM TO IT ONCE MORE," says the sword.

[Gaius]

"Ah, Salan Roka," Will nods, behaving as though he's heard the name, regardless of whether he has. "Got it. Closure'd be great on 'why,' but we got enough mysteries for one night.

"Speakin' of," he adds, "Glad we got some extra loo-- er, do-goodin' in, but we got a task to get back to. So, unless ya got some tips to dispense now, Swordy, or anyone's got anythin' else, let's get outta this sewer." The brawler starts toward the hole in the wall and prepares to put their new asset away, when a thought strikes him. "Also, got a name?" Followed by another thought that makes him smirk. "Or an inside voice?"

Does Will have the faintest idea on Roka, beyond what he's just heard? Let's find out if the untrained fellow does!
Knowledge (History/Whatever) : [roll0]

[Archmage1]

Violet seems sad about needing to go back into the horrible sewer.

[Gaius]

Will notes Violet's mood and figures some cheering up is in order. "Look at it this way, Daisy. Sooner we get back in there, sooner we never haveta be in there again."

[Archmage1]

Violet still seems to be sad.
"I know, but... it just smells so bad!"

[Gaius]

"I know; it's still on me, remember?" Will makes another disgusted face at his pants, shoes, and the stench they carry. "Just countin' my lucky stars: bad as it is, 'least I'm not smellin' it with the nose I had five minutes ago."

[Archmage1]

Violet shakes her head.
"It's the same nose, it just looks different! but... if we have to..."
She flies over, near the exit, clearly not eager to go back into the stench.

[alanek2002]

"Don't worry violet! We can't be stuck in there for too much longer" Hedratis says as he flows through the opening back into the sewer, and winces when he sees his cubelet isn't there anymore. "Oh yeah... kinda need to tell it to stop... I hope there isn't anything edible at the end of the sewer. On the plus side, the walkway is clean."

[Archmage1]

The sad faerie follows back into the horrible sewer.

[Gaius]

Will snorts at Violet's, "It's the same," bit. "Yeah, firsthand experience says, 'nah.' 's different. Try it sometime."

After putting the sword away he clambers -- carefully! -- back through the opening. He immediately wrinkles his nose at the smell, setting off to balance down the narrow walkway. "Big plus side, alright," he agrees with Hedratis. Then pauses. "Wait, hold up. Ya can split off little you's to do whatever? An' they keep goin' on their own?" The prideful man actually sounds kind of impressed.

[Archmage1]

Violet shakes her head firmly at Will's foolish words.
"It's still your nose!"

[Gaius]

"Urgh, it ain't my human nose, an'--!" Will takes a deep calming breath. It's a bit less than calming, though, what with all the coughing and sputtering the noxious air makes him do. "... Just meant smells're stronger when I ain't human. Okay?"

[Troacctid]

"Oh, fine, I'll get it," says Jade, cleaning off Will's clothes with prestidigitation.

You all continue down the tunnel, and come to a larger area, about 40 feet wide. Two passageways extend from the north side of the room, although Jade's dancing lights don't provide enough ilumination to see what lays beyond them. Foul water and other detritus swirl in the center of the room, down through a thick iron grate. The sewage drains slowly, however, as if the grate or the tunnel below is severely clogged. The stench in this room is more nauseating than ever.

Suddenly, from the grate, an amorphous mass of eyes and mouths oozes forth, thick with fetid slime and filth. On seeing the party, all of its various mouths begin babbling loudly and incoherently.

Act II, scene iii: Almost Out of the Sewers, or, I Thought Mouther's Day Was Last Week

Hey look, another combat already!

Initiatives:
Bartholomew: [roll0]
Hedratis: [roll1]
Jade: [roll2]
Violet: [roll3]
Will: [roll4]
Monster: [roll5]

Anyone with ranks in Knowledge (dungeoneering) is also entitled to a monster knowledge check.

Bartholomew Knowledge (dungeoneering): [roll6]
Jade Knowledge (dungeoneering): [roll7]

"A gibbering mouther!" says Bartholomew. "Yuck! I hate those things!"

[Gaius]

Will sighs in relief. "Obliged, Ruby. 'tween this and Swordy, you're hereby forgiven for the thing ya said earlier." He then moseys along the wall, hoping the overall sewer situation gets better before it gets worse.

No such luck. His eyes widen at the repugnant thing that surfaces. "Sweet crap! I can see why, Bartie! Did the sewage just get a mind o' its own? Also eyes an' mouths?"

Freshly cleaned as his clothes are, Will's in no hurry to slosh through more sewage just to hurt the disgusting thing. He tries to get it to come to him. "C'mere, Chuckles! Got a present for ya!" He prepares to give it a hell of a kick if it gets close enough.

[alanek2002]

Hope this one goes better than last time... and hope it doesn't taste as bland as it looks.. Ignoring how disgusting the monster looks, Hedratis charges forth, shouting his races' ancient battle cry! "OM NOM NOM!"


Hedratis moves forward, and attempts to grapple the gibbering mouther.
Touch attack: [roll0]
Grapple: [roll1]

Potentially:
Damage:[roll2] + [roll3]




edit: FFFFFFFFFFFFF

[Archmage1]

Knowing the real threat of the creature, Violet starts singing again, but this time, she doesn't sing of the winter, but instead her words seem to reinforce your sanity.
Of course, scared petals rarely stick around, in sight, and this one is no exception, darting off to hide behind one of the buttresses along the ceiling.


Violet's using Countersong. So, instead of your saving throws, you can use Violet's perform check. Which I certain is going to be a lot higher than your will save.
[roll0] Perform, for countersong.
[roll1] hide
[roll2] move silently(With the penalty for singing included.

[Troacctid]

Jade illuminates the creature with a green corona of light, dazzling it, and Bartholomew fires off a shot from his blaster, hitting for 16 damage and leaving the gibbering mouther sickened.

Hedratis successfully grapples it.

The gibbering mouther babbles loudly, but the sound is rendered powerless by Violet's song. It emits a stream of acidic spittle, but rolls a natural 1 and doesn't come anywhere close to landing a hit on anyone. Then it attempts to escape the grapple, rolling a 13 for its grapple check.

While the first mouther struggles, a second one follows it out of the grate, oozing through the bars. Its gibbering is also negated by the countersong, but it spits two streams of acid, one at Bartholomew (17 vs touch, 2 damage) and one at Will (19 vs touch, 4 damage). Bartholomew curses loudly as the acid hits his eyes, blinding him. (Fort save vs. blindness for Will.) Then it sinks under the water (gaining cover), and it starts swimming slowly toward Will.

[Archmage1]

Violety continues singing, her sweet song easily countering the insanity of the mouthers.

[Gaius]

Will makes a new face at the newcomer. "Oh, good, another one. Don' worry! Still got plenty for your--!" He's then forced to raise a hand to his eyes from the acid. "Gah!" He does his best to get it out of his eyes and blink his way back to clear vision, but doesn't quite make it.

Irked and pained by his diminished sight, he decides to focus on detecting its coming. As such, he mostly limits further chatter, other than keeping that second Mouther's attention. Just as well: he does not want to get any of these fetid substances into his mouth. He likewise prepares to throw some crushing kicks at the thing once it gets close enough. Presuming it'll be a slippery one, particularly with so much trouble seeing it, he concentrates on landing a solid blow.

On the blinding acid...
Fortitude: [roll0]

EDIT: A negatory, I think. Blinded for 1d4 rounds.

On the merry havoc he seeks to wreak on it...
EDIT: Contingent on not missing out of hand for blindness, natch.

Attack 1: [roll1]

Damage 1: [roll2]

Wrongly presuming it's an ooze, Will expects Stunning Punch wouldn't work. Instead, he uses Concentrated Punch on the second blow. Just a quick reminder of your tweak, if a Concentration check makes a DC of the target's DC (19?), the next blow is a touch attack.

Concentrated Punch: [roll3]

Attack 2: [roll4]

Damage 2: [roll5]

[Troacctid]

Will is blinded! So is Bartholomew. "Jade! Where did it go? I've got acid in my eyes!" he says.

"No prob, boss! Follow my voice!" Jade flies down to where the second gibbering mouther is swimming slowly toward Will, and hovers just above its square. "Right below me here at your 2 o'clock, boss! It's underwater!" she yells.

"Incoming blast!" shouts Bartholomew, aiming at the indicated location as best he can.

to hit for [roll]4d8+1d6 damage. 50% miss chance: [roll1] (51 or better needed)

Will can also follow Jade's voice, but he has a 50% miss chance as well: [roll2]

Bartholomew fumbles his shot badly and almost hits Jade instead of the monster (but she dodges out of the way). Will's punch would have been a good hit if he hadn't been aiming six inches to the left of the monster's actual location.

Jade sighs and casts faerie fire to dazzle the second mouther.

(Hedratis, then the monsters. Violet can also still take actions if she wishes, as no action is needed to maintain the song.)

[alanek2002]

"OM NOM NOM" Hedratis continues to nom the mouther inside him. Once it was paralyzed, he could move to help the others, but he can only hold one at a time.



Grapple check: [roll0]

Damage: [roll1] + [roll2] Acid

And, IIRC [roll3] Acid for being inside me during the grapple.

DC 20 vs paralysis.

[Troacctid]

Paralysis shmaralysis. The mouther dies. Artist's rendition: X_x X_x X_x_X X_X_x_X_x_X

The second mouther fires another stream of acid at Bartholomew (which hits for 2 damage and blinds him...again), then charges Will (hit for 1 damage), attempting to establish a grapple and pull him underwater (15 on its grapple check).

Meanwhile, Hedratis hears a third gibbering mouther-shaped creature approaching the grate. However, it sounds like it must have started further off than the others, and if it continues at its current speed, it should emerge next round.

Opposed grapple check for Will, and actions from everyone.

[alanek2002]

Hedratis, trusting in his party, turns transparent, and quietly moves over the grate, waiting for the next mouther.


Hide: [roll0]
Move Silently: [roll1] (Note the battle penalty.)
Hedratis is hovering slightly above the water, if he can do so without leaving a gap large enough for the gibbering mouther to slip through. (I'm pretty sure he can, as the sewage is draining...
If not, he isn't completely on the ground, leaving a few inches of sewage to not have an obvious clear spot instead of drainage.


Transparent (Ex): [...] Creatures who fail to notice a cube and walk into it are automatically engulfed.

[Archmage1]

Still singing her sweet song, Violet remains out of sight.

[Gaius]

Will curses under his breath as his blows hit nothing but filthy water. He hears something surge through the water at him, but can't pinpoint it quick enough for it to matter. He clenches his teeth as its max clamps on, and then his expression grows more worried as it tries to use that mouth-hold to ooze over him. "Oh ho, the hells you are!" He wriggles his seized arm and tries to rip the monster off with his other.

[roll0]

[Gaius]

With a grimace, Will wrenches his arm free from the mouther. "Gonna regret that, ya little puke," he snarls, rearing back his fist for a little payback. He tries to concentrate on striking where the awful thing was before it can ooze elsewhere.

Blindness: [roll0]

Attack 1: [roll1]
Damage 1: [roll2]

Concentrated Punch: [roll3]

Attack 2: [roll4]
Damage 2: [roll5]

[Troacctid]

Will's first punch hits the air, but his second punch (by blind luck?) hits the monster, and he lands a solid blow. (Luckily, miss chance is rolled separately for each attack.)

Jade moves with the mouther, continuing to mark its position for Bartholomew, who was just getting the damn acid out of his eyes from the first time, fires another blast and misses again.

Gibbering mouther #2 makes a full attack against Will, bringing to bear a good half-dozen mouths to chomp at him. Blinded as he is, Will is unable to defend very effectively, and four of the mouths taste Will-flesh (1 damage each). Violet's harp starts quickly knitting the cuts closed, but the gibbering mouther gets four more attempts to establish a grapple. (Grapple checks, in order: 6, 21, 23, 18.) It also makes another spittle attack against Will, but this one misses with a natural 2.

Gibbering mouther #3 oozes out of the grate, starts babbling (negated once again by Violet's countersong), and is immediately engulfed by Hedratis.

Four grapple checks from Will, damage from Hedratis, and turns from everyone.

[alanek2002]

[roll0] acid

"Come on will, it's biting you! How can you miss?" Hedratis says, no longer hiding from the gibbering mouther inside him. "You don't see me crying about being blind in combat!" [/snark] As he speaks, he continues to pummel the monster inside him.





Grapple: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2] + [roll3]

[Archmage1]

Violet continues singing her sweet song from her hiding place.

[Gaius]

Will cuts short his celebration at giving the thing a well-deserved wallop as the monster's meal-taking intensifies. He twists and wrests as best he can, grimacing audibly. Hedratis's color commentary proves unwelcome. "Shut up! Dealin' with one mouthy blob at a time!"

1) Target: 6
[roll0]

2) Target: 21
[roll1]
EDIT: Grappled!

3) Target: 23
[roll2]
EDIT: Doubly grappled!

4) Target: 18
[roll3]

[Gaius]

Will finds that two of the thing's maws latch on securely to his side. Heedless of his efforts, it just keeps oozing steadily onto him. He snarls, "Get off!" punctuating it with the fiercest blows he can muster.

Since the second mouth landed its grapple, I think the third's is just redundant. >.> Enh, leaving it open in case I'm mistaken and it's actually able to envelop him from that. Will should still be free to do violence on it, regardless.

Also, whoops, I did miss that last d100 last time. Won't do that twice, though!

Blindness 1: [roll0]
Attack 1: [roll1]
Damage 1: [roll2]

Concentrated Punch: [roll3]

Blindness 2: [roll4]
Attack 2: [roll5]
Damage 2: [roll6]

Whiff, whiff. While on him, no less. A proud day for Will this isn't. :smalltongue:
"Dammit, Heddy! Ya jinxed it!"

[Troacctid]

Bartholomew fires a blast at the gibbering mouther that's grappling Will. The good news is that he rolls a 27 to hit and beats the miss chance for blindness. The bad news is that he does not, in fact, have the Improved Precise Shot feat. 29 damage to Will (yay sneak attacks?).

"Did I get it?"

"No! You hit Will! Don't do that!"

"What? That was a fantastic shot! Dammit, man, clear my line of fire!"

Gibbering mouther #2 attempts to "swallow" Will (19 on the grapple check). It fires its spittle attack at Jade this time—but she dodges it easily.

Gibbering mouther #3 struggles to escape from Hedratis, but its efforts are probably in vain. (15 on the grapple check.) It tries using its acid spittle against Hedratis; this obviously accomplishes nothing.

Grapple check for Will (and Hedratis I guess), then actions. Will's blindness wears off at the start of his next turn, although if he fails this grapple check, that may be a small comfort.

[Gaius]

Will cries out in very real pain as Bartholomew's shot hits home. "The hell!? I am your line of fire, you--!" Whatever choice words he had for the warlock go unsaid as he diverts all his efforts: the mouther is not content with invading his personal space and surges over him. "Grrhk!!" With all these frustrations piling up, his voice has a detectable note of panic. Tightening every relevant muscle in his body, Will pushes with all his might to keep out of the mouther's "loving embrace."

C'mooooon, 7+!

[roll0]

EDIT: ... Wellp.
That note of panic becomes an edge. "AAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Fortunately for those with delicate hearing, the scream is swiftly muffled. Unfortunately for those with delicate sensibilities, this does not make it less distressing.

[Archmage1]

As she sees Will get devoured, Violet looks very concerned, but, despite all her thinking, she can't think of anything she could do to help, so she keeps on singing her song.

[Gaius]

What Will sees as his vision returns is an exercise left for the reader. If he's (relatively) fortunate, he may not yet be aware that he can even see again, for all the darkness. If he's much less fortunate, well...

Moving right along. Its prey captured, the vile beast's many mouths and vile body engage in a vicious feeding, leaving Will feeling a mite faint. Distantly, he can feel his curse beginning to stir, ready to seize the opportunity to make a bad situation even worse. Increasing the volume of his shouts, the ex-werewolf does his frantic best to tear a way out.

Attack 1: [roll0]
Damage 1: [roll1]

Concentrated Punch: [roll2]

Attack 2: [roll3]
Damage 2: [roll4]

[Troacctid]

Bludgeoning attacks aren't much help for cutting yourself free from inside a monster, but Will's punches still pack a punch. He doesn't escape, per se, but he does deal enough damage to kill the gibbering mouther, which is probably just as good.

[alanek2002]

"Heeeeeey" Hedratis calls out. "Will! You still alive?" As he speaks, he continues to thrash the gibbering mouther stuck inside of him, already dissolving at the edges.

[roll0]
[roll1] + [roll2]

And [roll3] for being grappled with acid.

[Troacctid]

The third gibbering mouther does what it does best: it bites it. Thus ends our second combat.

Will pushes his way free and swims to the surface. (Yes, it's deep enough for a pig to swim in.)

[Archmage1]

Seeing that the horrible noise the mouthers had been making had stopped, Violet stops singing, and she looks around for Will.
Sadly, she doesn't spot him, but she does spot something else. Strange bubbling, and something... something moving in the effluvia running through the sewer. She has a moment to consider what humans eat, before something... something strange surfaces.
"Eek! There's another one of those sewer things! And no Will!"
The frightened petal promptly hides once more, behind one of the support struts.

[Gaius]

Will breaks the surface and draws in a deep breath. He then rather wishes he hadn't. Making all sorts of horrible gasping and retching noises, he paddles his way back to the ledge, hauling his stuff with him. He collapses onto his side, sputtering, wheezing, and occasionally coughing up some foul fluid he really hadn't meant to inhale.

After a bit, his lungs burn a bit less and his thoughts clear somewhat. He clambers to all-fours and moves a short distance, leaving most of his befouled possessions where they lie. 'Damn thing musta dragged me under... Who'da thought this stuff'd go so deep?' Will then becomes aware of just how much filth there is coating his body. 'Bleh, gross.' It's a remarkably muted response, given how hard he was avoiding the sewage before. It strikes him rather like the reeking stench of the place: unquestionably worse than a minute ago, but just not as big a deal to him now.

Regardless, it's not exactly unpleasant. Unthinking, Will does something about that. From his head on down the rest of his body, he shakes himself like a wet dog. "Ahh, 'at's better," he grunts in relief. He's still filthy enough to have a very different color than usual, but progress is progress. Woe betide any who'd gone in to check on him, though.

[alanek2002]

"Hrmm." Hedratis vibrates, before extending his chains underneath himself, holding then near each other so that they formed a small metal hammock large enough for a pig. "Why don't you... just stay there until we're out of the sewer? Don't want to run out of ways to clean yourself before we're clear." He says, as he extends two acidic tendrils safely inside his gauntlets, carefully picking up Will's stuff without melting them.