The Crimson Echo IC - Season Two [Archive] - Giant in the Playground Forums

Inspectre

2020-03-29, 02:05 PM

Act 1: Edge of Anarchy

http://pathfinder.zhmp.net/uploads/Magic/HarrowDeck_TheUprising_small.jpg

Prelude

Theme Music (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nlw4qquymU)

Far beneath Castle Korvosa, a stone door that had remained shut for many years slowly ground open. This door was a secret one, flush with the wall it had been built into, and gave no sign that it even existed. Only one who knew where to look would be able to find it, and even that would prove useless were one not to also possess the door’s only key. A large iron key, bigger than a man’s fist, decorated in macabre fashion with screaming skulls and runes from some long-dead language. A key like the one now brandished in one hand by the woman who stood in the open doorway, illuminated only by the light of the candle that she held in her other hand.

Queen Ileosa Arabasti stood in front of the open doorway for several long moments, nervously examining the room beyond. It was an intimidating sight, resembling a tomb rather than a hidden off-shoot of the treasure vault she currently stood in. Runes similar to the ones adorning her key skittered along every surface beyond the door, forming vaguely menacing patterns across the floor, walls, and ceiling. Save for the runes, the room itself was featureless except for the pedestal jutting up out of the floor at the exact center point of the room, the runes racing along its surface until they reached its peak, atop which sat a large stone coffer wrapped in thick iron chains, held in place by a screaming iron skull, a keyhole just barely visible at the back of its yawning mouth.

Reaching out her magical senses to detect sources of magic in the room, Ileosa saw no immediate threat, as the room’s rune artwork was entirely defensive in nature, focused on suppressing whatever was inside the stone coffer – and despite that Ileosa could still faintly feel the presence of magic within it. There was no doubt whatever was inside, it was powerful – and that it was what she had come down here for. And despite that, still Ileosa hovered in the doorway, her fears holding her back – she was down here alone, with no one to stand between her and danger. If there was still some hidden trap within, if she was injured . . .

Ileosa gathered up her frayed nerves and brought the memory of why she was down here at all to the forefront of her mind.

Kneeling beside the bed of King Eodred Arabasti the Second, her head in his too-frail lap, tears staining the fur of the thick blanket separating them. Wishing there was something, anything, that she could do to make him stay at her side. She’d pay any price – her wealth, her youth, her very soul if it would mean they could be together again as they had been, not like this as every passing moment took her Eodred farther away from her. But such pacts only existed in fairy tales, and in reality there was no cure for old age, nothing else she could do but lie beside him as the spark of Eodred’s life flickered out.

“Stay with me. Please”

She begged, and was rewarded with a shuddering groan as Eodred stirred.

“Are you there my queen?” Came the hoarse whisper, at which point she lifted her head to look at her king’s withered face, and raised one hand to gently caress it.

“Yes. I am here my love. Always.”

To her surprise, with sudden strength Eodred reached up and grasped her hand. With his other trembling hand he fumbled the blankets aside and reached inside his robe to remove a key that had been hanging around his neck. A key that Ileosa had often seen hanging around Eodred’s neck, but never received an honest answer as to its purpose. An iron key decorated with macabre designs of screaming skulls and runes from a long-dead language. Eodred pressed the key into her outstretched hand, and then closed her hand around it with his last strength.

“There . . . might be a way . . . for me to yet live. But it will require . . . breaking a promise I made long ago. And I am too weak . . . to go myself. You must . . . you must go down to the treasure vault . . . castle basement. At the back . . . behind the fourth brick from the top . . . seventh from the right . . . key. Go alone, take no one with you! Hurry . . .

Ileosa had flown from her husband’s side that moment, and despite the strangeness of his request, she had done as asked. She had come down here alone, she had found the hidden keyhole at the back of the vault, and now that the item that could save Eodred’s life was in her sight, she hesitated? She would pay any price!

Ileosa took a step into the rune-covered tomb, and then another, the iron key held in front of her like a shield. With growing determination to match her mounting sense of dread, Ileosa crossed the remaining distance to the pedestal, and once there, hesitated only a moment more before ramming the key home into the gaping mouth. There was a soft, raspy click, and then the key was torn out of Ileosa’s hand as it sank into the mouth, which closed around the key as gears groaned into motion. Ileosa jumped back, narrowly stifling a startled scream, although that scream died on her lips as she glanced up to check the ring on her hand that clenched the candle holder, only to see the emerald set into its face had gone completely dark. A magical ring that was part of a pair, its singular purpose was to inform its wearer of the condition of the one wearing its mate. And if the stone went as completely dark as hers was now, then it meant . . .

“No . . . no no no no, please no!”

Ileosa breathed, switching her grip on the candle holder from one hand to the other so that she could stare more easily at the ring’s gem – and more safely shake her hand, hoping to fix the magical fluke responsible for this news. But the stone remained dark no matter how vigorously she shook the ring, and Ileosa sank to her knees onto the merciless stone as the truth of it washed over her. She was too late . . . if only she had been faster, less afraid, maybe she could have done it. Ileosa’s vision blurred as hot tears began their race from the corners of her eyes, and it was a struggle to keep hold of the candle holder as her body was wracked with sobs.

But sorrow turned to terror a moment later as the iron skull finally finished its meal, and with a final rattling click released its hold on the chains. Chains which flew away from the coffer, unfurling from where they had been tightly wrapped a moment before like a hunter’s snare. One such length of chain lashed across Ileosa’s hand, sending the candle holder tumbling out of her hand and plunging the room into total darkness. Wincing at the sudden stab of pain from her hand, Ileosa nonetheless crawled across the stone floor, flailing at the floor out in front of her with her other hand while clutching the wounded one to her chest. Where was it, where was it!? There! Ileosa’s fingers brushed against the length of the candle, and pain flared in her other hand as her outstretched fingers raked through still molten wax. But after another moment her fingers finally found a solid grip, and she drew her prize back to her, already stumbling over the necessary arcane words.

One after another, sparks briefly appeared from her hands to illuminate the tomb for one brief moment before expiring – she couldn’t find the damn wick to light it again! And then suddenly she saw where the wick was, and reflexively lit it, before she realized that she only found the wick because she could see it. The room had slowly been filled with a dim light, coming from all of the warding runes throughout the room – but the brightest light by far now shone from the coffer, through the narrow slit between its lid and body.

The glow of the coffer was hypnotic, and Ileosa slowly felt her terror, her sorrow fade away, to be replaced by a burning curiosity about what was inside. What had Eodred sent her down here to retrieve, with what had been essentially his dying breath? And why had he been convinced that it could save him? Pushing herself back up to her feet, Ileosa ran her fingers across the face of the lid, trying to find purchase with her fingers so she could lift it up. The stone coffer swung open at her touch of its own accord with a low hiss of grinding stone.

Within the coffer was a crown, made of some twisted, jagged shards of black metal with pieces of . . . bone? . . . slid into metal sheaths along the rim. A mote of deep blue light floated above the crown, dancing and twirling in mesmerizing patterns within the coffer’s narrow confines. It ceased its pacing turns a moment later, hanging in place a moment before it shoot upwards – towards Ileosa’s face! The queen jerked her head back, but it was too late as light enveloped her.

The bright light became searing as it poured into her eyes, her nose, her ears. She tried to move but found she could not, held immobile by the light as firmly as if by chains. She opened her mouth to scream, and the light poured itself into the new opening, choking her. She couldn’t move, couldn’t see, couldn’t breathe – she was drowning in the light. No. It was crushing her. And then just like that, the light winked out, the room plunging back into total darkness as the wards all went out and the candle again fell from Ileosa’s lifeless hands. She crumpled to the floor like a puppet with its strings having been cut, and as she fell her hand caught on the edge of the coffer, pulling it off of the pedestal. It shattered as it touched the floor, and the crown skittered across the floor, free at last.

For what seemed like an age, Ileosa lied still on the floor, not moving, not making even a sound. But then she stirred, throwing a hand out to steady herself and push herself up onto her knees – and found the crown. Reflexively, she reached up and set the crown onto her head, adjusting its position to make sure it was firmly in place before wiping the tears from her face.

“Everything will be alright.”

Ileosa promised, and then got to her feet, leaving the tomb behind. She did not collect the extinguished candle on her way out.

--------------------------------

Theme Music (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUygLPPfZxo)

In one corner of the upscale Three Rings tavern, the conspirators met for the final time. The tavern had been chosen as a meeting point for its dedication to discretion in regards to its clients’ privacy. It seemed unlikely, however, that the group’s privacy would be respected if it was known what they had met here so many times to discuss.

“A toast to our future fortunes. Soon the roster will be dead, if he isn’t already, and then the henhouse will be ours.”

Their leader declared, earning a murmur of approval and clinking of wine glasses. It was all so tedious and juvenile to the eldest member of the conspiracy, who had spent years bitterly wishing he was able to kill the king and topple the city’s monarchy. Well now he had finally done it, with the help of these others interested in regime change, and the accomplishment only tasted like ashes. Much like this piss weak wine he was drinking, and finished in one long swallow. Time to leave – let these sycophants bathe in their leader’s afterglow if they must, but he had better things to do with what time was left to him. As he rose to leave, of course the leader’s chief toady chose that moment to open his fat mouth.

“Sulking back to your hole already? The night is young – you might as well enjoy the quiet while it lasts.”

The punk was lucky that they’d never have to see each other again after this. Otherwise he might have learned the painful lesson of respecting his elders while picking the shards of this empty wineglass out of his neck. But attempting to murder one of his fellows would undoubtedly jeopardize his payment, and that was the only important thing left here.

“I’d rather collect my, heh, “commission” and leave the playing with farm animals to younger men, Junior. The streets aren’t going to be very safe in a few hours, and I’d rather be safe aboard my ship as it arrives to take me away to the rest of my life as a very wealthy man someplace far away from here. Unless, of course, the plan wasn’t to kill just one old man.”

All those assembled tensed at his bluntness, but their leader remained stone-faced, betraying nothing about what the real plan was for covering their tracks. Not for the first time was he grateful that he had arranged for some insurance ahead of time to prevent a double-cross. After a tense moment of locked eyes and everyone else holding their breath, the conspiracy’s leader produced a bulging purse and tossed it over to his side of the table. Cautiously, the old man picked up the top of the tied-shut bag with thumb and forefinger, and then let it drop back to the table – just in case there was something else in there instead of coins. But no, the rattling jiggle of coins was the only thing he heard as the bag smacked back down onto the table, and so he scooped the bag back up and shoved it into his shirt, giving an exaggerated bow to those assembled.

“Pleasure doing business with you all. Hope I never see any of you again. Because if I do . . .”

He let the threat of deploying his insurance hang in the air, but the leader’s face remained expressionless, until a disdainful hand waved a dismissal. He was free to go, released from service as if he was no more than a cheap porter, easily replaced and quickly forgotten. The gall of it made his blood boil, and yet he was seasoned enough to not do something rash and irrevocable, like he would have done in his youth. Some battles were not winnable, and some were not even worth fighting in the first place. He had his payment, and now it was time to leave and turn his thoughts to the future. However much of that he had left at this point, anyway.

And so he left, leaving the conspirators to their trite little party on this last evening of peace. While he still half expected a knife to appear in his back at any moment, he nonetheless walked along the docks back towards his “hole”, breathing in the thin mist rising off of the Jeggare River. It would be the last time he would get to do that, for as soon as he collected his things from his stash, he was on the first boat leaving Korvosa. With any luck, the ship would be able to clear its moorings and be at sea before everything went to hell. But first, he had to deal with the ******* coming up behind him. He slowed his limping gait to a stop, reaching for the knife tucked at the small of his back, underneath his cloak, as the footsteps drew closer.

“I don’t like being followed.”

He announced, and then extended his offer to his pursuer.

“So why don’t we skip to the end, where you **** off and I don’t give you a new mouth three inches below your old one.”

Theme Music (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLt2gM52wF8)

A dry chuckle that sounded like dead leaves scraping over the cobblestones was the only reply, and then came the whispered counteroffer.

“So this is how the great Gaedren Lamm ends. A broken old man crawling off to die in safety and comfort, while his city changes hands from one parasite to the next, achieving nothing. And all he has to show for his life is the pittance doled out to him by his masters, a far cry from what he was promised. What he is owed.”

Gaedren Lamm spun about on his good leg, producing the dagger from its hiding place as he snarled at the mocking interloper, who was little more than a silhouette a dozen feet back, concealed by the mists. If this was an assassin sent by his “masters”, he had bungled the job by announcing his presence. Or perhaps not, considering with his limp Gaedren didn’t have a prayer of escaping. Hoping to buy himself some time, Gaedren tried to keep the figure talking – and unleashing some of his simmering resentment felt good.

“You don’t know **** about me or what this city owes me! And this “pittance” is more than enough for me to live the sort of life I was promised!”

Again, a dry chuckle from the figure as it advanced closer. Now instead of a silhouette, it was a cowled figure – another few steps and Gaedren would have a clear throw of his knife at its head.

“For as long as that life lasts. But then you will be gone. Forgotten. All your dreams and efforts for naught. Korvosa will go on without you, unchanged. Is that the result you fought for, sacrificed so much for, clung to these past thirty years?”

The figure continued to draw closer, and as it loomed out of the mists, coming within six feet, Gaedren sneered and made his move.

“This conversation bores me. But however long my life will be, at this point it’ll be longer than yours.”

The knife scythed through the mist and night air, and yet when it flew perfectly into the darkness of the interloper’s cowl, the figure winked out of existence entirely. Lamm swore as he heard the soft plop of his knife continuing on into the Jeggare River beyond, the perfect throw wasted on some kind of illusion. The interloper’s voice chided him from all sides within the mist.

“This doesn’t have to be how your story ends, Gaedren. I can provide you with the means to rewrite your ending. You can still do everything you wanted to do – what you were born to do. All you have to do is accept my invitation. Take some time to think about it if you must. Just know that you are short on time to change your fate. So what’s it going to be, Gaedren? Is your life going to end as a failure, or as the fire that will sweep Korvosa clean?”

From the mist, a card fluttered out to land at his feet. Looking down to examine it, Gaedren saw that it was a Harrow card, much like one from the set he had stolen from that fortune teller bitch some time ago – oh, the irony.

“Harrow, really? What’s next, you going to tell me that in addition to fame and fortune, I’ll find the woman of my dreams?”

Gaedren taunted, but there was no reply from the mist – whoever he had been speaking with, they were gone now. Cautiously, Gaedren picked up the Harrow card, flipping it over to reveal that an address had been scratched onto the back. Apropos, given how ridiculous this whole night had been. And yet . . . the figure in the mist’s offer did hold some attraction. He had forgotten how fiercely that spark had burned in him, forgotten himself. He could always retire to Magnimar later, after things calmed down again. It couldn’t hurt to at least see what this lunatic was really offering him, right?

But first, he was going to need more men – he was going to need a *lot* more men. Which wouldn’t be a problem, thanks to his newfound wealth. Gaedren set off down the street again, but this time his destination wasn’t home, but instead a few local watering holes he knew where the patrons didn’t ask questions, and were rather fond of money.

Inspectre

2020-04-01, 10:57 PM

Stelio Kontos & Darvin

Theme Song (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_4aWTAkCFY)

Having dealt with the guards, you all turn your attention to what they were guarding – the sewer entrance into Lamm’s latest Shudder den. Miz gives the door a swift check to ensure there are no more surprises waiting anyone who attempted to open the door, and upon finding none sets to work on the lock. After only a few moments of working on it with her set of tools, she steps back and nods to Silas, who takes the lead again, grasping the door with one hand while the other awkwardly cradles his falchion. Just as he moves to pull the door open, however, it happens again.

Whatever bizarre shift in the universe pitched the four of you into a similar but different series of events following Eodred’s death in a similar but different Korvosa happened again. Only this time, instead of waking up in your world, it happens while you are awake, in the space of one heartbeat to the next. Silas and Miz blink out of existence without warning as your vision swims, replaced by three other figures – two halflings and a varisian man wearing the heraldry of the Order of the Nail. The disorientation continues as a pressure painfully builds up inside of your forehead, feeling for one intense moment as if your brain was pushing its way through your skull, before the pain mercifully fades as events and names to these three new faces flow into your mind.

Miz and Silas were still part of your circle, but personal concerns had pulled each of them away for now. There was also the fact that neither one had seemed to appreciate the idea of having to tolerate the presence of the Hellknight, an Armiger Gavin Dimir, who had showed up with Rhev, apparently assigned to the case by Field Marshall Kroft as a collaboration with the Order of the Nail on bringing Gaedren Lamm to justice. He had proven to be useful so far though, and deadly with that rapier of his, after skewering the fleeing wererat through the heart when it attempted to dash past him.
The beefier of the two halflings, Jakkin Longshanks, had shown up the night of Zellara’s Harrow reading, not drawn there by one of Zellara’s planted Harrow cards but instead apparently memories of doing so in another life. That certainly sounded familiar, and so the two of you along with Silas and Miz had raided Lamm’s Fishery base with similar success to the last time – Lamm got away aboard his repaired ship, and you spent the rest of the night dealing with the fallout of Eodred’s death. He’s been tagging along with your group ever since then, and has proven to be no less lethal with his fists in a fight than Miz. Case in point: pummeling the bed that had been animated in Andaisin’s house before kicking the splintered remnants down the stairs into the basement, triggering the broken stairs trap (rather than Dalen’s poor unfortunate summoned horse).
The last new member of your group, Atavian Goodbarrel, was like Dalen a former student of the Acadamae, who was adept at conjuration. He has a particularly strong bond with a creature known as Tallox, a hulking grey-skinned outsider who had thus far defied Dalen’s attempts at classification into one of the more common outsider races such as devil, daemon, or demon. The two of them had been introduced to the group by Field Marshall Kroft (technically just Atavian at the time – Tallox introduced himself later) as potential extra muscle while escorting Ambassador Andaisin to the castle, and then of course the queen’s handmaiden Elliana around the city. Tallox had given the poor girl quite the fright when he popped into existence inside the ambassador’s house, a fact which seemed to amuse the disturbing outsider greatly. Like Jakkin, Atavian eventually owned up to having memories from another world, although his memories were particularly disjointed and fragmented compared to yours. He seemed especially driven by them, however, as if he were attempting to outrun an impending catastrophe. Whatever he had seen, whatever world he had come from, it seemed to be an even darker world than this, and he was desperate to prevent those events from happening all over again.
Despite some mild differences due to the presence of these new traveling companions, events thus far had largely played out in the same manner as they had before. Lamm was still at large, Trinia was a guest of Queen Ileosa, Ambassador Andaisin still had many literal skeletons in her closet, and if not Queen Ileosa, then certainly her handmaiden Elliana was a staunch ally of the party. And you were all still about to break into a drug-producing laboratory of Lamm’s, hopefully to bring about an end to his growing Shudder empire.

Captain Jak
Theme Song (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IIkaH2pY50)

It had certainly been an interesting couple of weeks. You had finally tracked down Gaedren Lamm with the help of some people and that weird ghost fortune teller, and got revenge for your sweetheart by literally beating the old coot’s head in. Then the king died and Korvosa went straight to the Hells, as everybody and their angry old dog (like the one you had punched out shortly before Lamm) came out of the woodwork to try and re-enact the Great Fire that nearly burned Korvosa to the ground a few hundred years ago. Here’s where the story gets really weird though – you remember all that and the events of the past several years leading up to that wild night, but that wasn’t the way it happened.

No, you had never gotten together with that buxom barmaid, although you had flirted a time or two with each other – nothing wrong with that, but it had certainly never gone past that. Which also certainly made all those pleasant and intimate memories you had of her now rather awkward. But at least she was still alive, having never run afoul of Gaedren Lamm either, so that was a good trade-off really.

Instead you had learned Gaedren Lamm’s name from a friend and fellow halfling of yours, an indentured servant of House Jeggare that had turned to Shiver as something to cling to. Only one bad dose of Shiver sold to him by that bastard Gaedren Lamm had left him first in a coma, and then crippled with a perpetual jitteriness in his hands - a common side effect of bad doses or repeat abuse, hence the name. That was when all of this had started, as when you jumped ship to track down the man responsible, you somehow already knew where you had to go.

And so you showed up that one dark night at the fortune teller Zellara’s house, knowing right where it was and when to be there despite not getting a signed invitation on the back of a Harrow card this time around. Even the fortune teller had seemed confused by that one, but took it as a sign from Pharasma or something that you were meant to be here so there you were. Completely different group this time – playwright bard named Aliani, wizard shopkeep that went by the name of Dalen, a tiefling named Silas, and a ratfolk named Miz. The five of you had gone down to Lamm’s Fishery again, and again you had kicked the **** out of that mangy old dog Lamm’s associate Yargin kept around the place.

But this, too, was different. Instead of killing Lamm he got away aboard that rickety old boat he had out back, only this time the boat was sea worthy enough to float down the river with him and several of his boys. You weren’t able to follow because you were all kept busy by the mercenary Lamm had left behind, some punk named Brendan who downed another vial of Lamm’s drugs. Only this wasn’t Shiver, this was a new drug Lamm was making now called Shudder, and true to the rumors on the street it gave Brendan legit magic powers. Of course, it also caused his right eye to burst and ooze black blood down the side of his face and drove him stark-raving mad, but for some idiots there was never any price too high for power.

Anyway, after dealing with him, there was the little matter of the city collectively losing its mind over Eodred’s death all over again, and you and the others spent the rest of the night dealing with that. Including rescuing some lady friend of Aliani’s that had gotten kidnapped by a gang in a case of mistaken identity with her twin sister? Or something – any way, the poor lass had gotten carved up pretty bad by some nutter and had her face burned with acid, so it was looking pretty grim for her despite the rescue. After all that, the whole group pretty much holed up in Dalen’s home-turned-shop and waited for morning to come, along with the injured lady friend, her sister, and the dozen or so orphans Aliani insisted on taking care of from Lamm’s Fishery business.

The next morning saw Dalen getting visitors, in the form of Field Marshall Kroft herself – apparently, he had pretty good connections for an Acadamae dropout. She had some work for the group that for whatever reason couldn’t be handled by her own guards – oh yeah the city was still clinging on the edge of civil collapse – which seemed simple enough on the surface: escort the ambassador of Cheliax from her private residence in Old Korvosa to the castle. The Field Marshall did have some help that she managed to scrape up, however, in the form of a fellow halfling named Atavian. A bit on the scrawny side, even for a halfling, but apparently he was some sort of arcanist too and had gone to Kroft to volunteer, so she was putting him to work by hoisting him off onto your group. You weren’t sure what good Atavian was going to be in a fight, but it turned out no open violence was necessary. Things weren’t quite as simple as they seemed though, as Lady Ambassador Andaisin of Cheliax immediately rubbed everyone the wrong way and just generally gave off an air of someone with dark secrets.

Anyway, nothing went wrong (for once!) with the job, and you safely saw the ambassador to the castle, whereupon you got introduced to the Whore Queen herself, Queen Ileosa Arabasti, widow of the late (not so) great King Eodred. Surprisingly, the so-called Whore Queen was actually pretty nice, and not just to look at – she asked you all about your experiences in the city with the riots, requested that you escort her handmaiden around to quietly investigate some of the worst-hit areas, and listened intently when Aliani vented up a whole lot of pent-up frustration instead of having her bodyguard Sabrina Merrin throw Aliani out (possibly straight off the castle walls given some stories about how the nobility dealt with uppity commoners). She even had her personal doctor go back with Aliani to treat his friend of her injuries, fixing her right up.

That seemed to generate enough good will from the group that collectively you all decided (begrudgingly, in some cases) to escort the queen’s handmaiden, an elf woman by the name of Elliana, around to several of the worst-hit areas of Korvosa. The tour itself featured a few unpleasant run-ins with Hellknights, Lamm’s men (calling themselves “Lamm’s Liberators” now, what a laugh), and one drunk guardsman who seemed to have a connection with Aliani and Silas based off of their reactions, but was relatively uneventful. At least, it was until Aliani floated the idea of breaking into the Ambassador of Cheliax’s house while she was away at the castle, evidentially expecting to find some evidence of wrong-doing.

It seemed like a bad idea the whole way through, especially with the queen’s handpicked woman there, but somehow Elliana was convinced to go along with the plan and you broke into Ambassador Andaisin’s house. At which point the furniture came alive and tried to kill you all, including the ambassador’s four-poster bed. That was certainly a new experience – it’s not every day you get to hop up and down on a bed raining punches against the headboard until the entire bed snaps in two.

After the furniture was all broken into submission, you discovered a secret door leading down into a basement. Concerned about a trap being set up on the stairs leading down, Dalen and Atavian debated the merits of one of them summoning a creature to walk down there. While they were busy debating, you dragged the remnants of Ambassador Andaisin’s fancy bed over to the stairs and kicked the damn thing down them, revealing that they were rigged to collapse as most of the stairway fell into a small pool of green slime. With the trap now definitively set off, it was easy enough for the group to climb down after making an improvised rope out of the bed sheets.

Investigating the basement finally paid off what the group had suspected about the ambassador – she did indeed have dark secrets. Within the basement was a shrine to Urgathoa, and the bodies of a half dozen men – members of Lamm’s Liberators apparently. The bodies were important because as the group reached the basement floor those corpses became animated, attacking the group and attempting to force you all back into the pool of green slime.

That was when Atavian finally got to show off his skill, summoning some sort of towering monstrosity of muscle and claws that sent Elliana screaming and cowering in fright after it appeared and ripped the zombie right next to her in half. The undead proved not to be a major inconvenience, but when the shrine to Urgathoa self-destructed, triggering a patch of oil that set the entire house above you ablaze – and summoned a giant fire elemental just for kicks – that was a good deal more serious. Fortunately, the ambassador had prepared her own escape from this fiery death trap via a secret door that led into the sewers, which the group availed themselves of while Silas fought a rearguard action against the elemental, the tiefling not especially bothered by even its intense flames.

Unfortunately, while scandalous the worship of Urgathoa was not expressly illegal, and all of your actual evidence for such went up in literal smoke. Setting her own house to go up like that was certainly a *very* serious crime in Korvosa, but unfortunately would likewise be difficult to prove especially when any story would have to begin with “and so we broke into the ambassador’s private residence”. Yeah, and as usual the nobility played by different rules than the rest of you. At least Elliana now seemed convinced that Queen Ileosa’s good friend Ambassador Andaisin needed to go, and apparently she managed to convince the queen of that as well since Queen Ileosa had asked you all to continue to look into Lady Andaisin’s activities – discretely – not long after.

On the way back to the castle you ran into a group of Hellknights who were conducting public executions of citizens they had caught in the riots. Maybe those unfortunates were actually guilty of something and maybe they weren’t, but they were certainly all about to die in a sadistic and bloody display by a trio of Hellknights while a crowd of people just watched. At least that seemed the way things were going until Elliana walked up and challenged the Hellknight’s legal authority to do this, and even seemed to be making some actual headway with her argument. Which is when *he* showed up to solve the problem in a much more direct way – the legendary vigilante and hero of the people Blackjack, swinging in from a nearby rooftop to declare that the Hellknights had failed Korvosa. He cut the people free and dueled the lead Hellknight, and all Hells broke loose at that point as Aliani and the others kept the lesser Hellknights busy while their prisoners fled. It was about that point when things really heated up, literally as the chief Hellknight detonated a Fireball spell in the middle of the crowd, presumably trying to kill Blackjack. Elliana got caught in the blast due to sheltering a child from the flames, but she was surprisingly unhurt by the magic. Good thing too, given the furious expression on Sabrina Merrin, the queen’s personal bodyguard, when you met her a short distance away from the castle after getting away from the Hellknights.

After that, everyone sort of did their own thing with the party splitting up to tackle several problems at once. You looked in on your friend, and helped Aliani and Miz check out one of Lamm’s older drug dens. Apparently this was where the Shudder had been made initially before Lamm took over the business, and judging from the corpses left behind gave the previous creators a retirement shiv in the guts for their trouble. The lab had clearly been shut down and moved elsewhere, but there were still some disturbing things left behind, including some sort of magical sigil burned into the floor and a strange mass of alchemical goo that nearly devoured all three of you before you were able to get away from it and flee back down into the sewers.

While you were dealing with that, Dalen, Silas, and Atavian were apparently checking up on one of Kroft’s lieutenants, who had gone undercover with a number of other corrupt guardsmen in an attempt to get a lead on Lamm. Apparently that plan of Kroft’s hadn’t gone well as the other guards discovered the man’s duplicity and were going to kill him before the others intervened and rescued him. There was also something about these guards running some sort of body disposal business on the side, hacking bodies up and distributing them out to the city’s desperate as “free meat”. Real piece of work that bunch were – too bad their ring leader Baldrago had managed to get away through the sewers while his buddies held the group off.

Once everyone was back together, Aliani revealed to the group that he was part of some sort of secret society of revolutionaries, of which Gaedren Lamm was also a former member. Apparently the snake was trying to get Aliani’s group to throw their lot in with him, and Aliani wanted everyone at the meeting to testify about what a worm Lamm was. This everyone did happily, but things got rather dicey when Lamm showed up unannounced to argue his own side. There was some nonsense about Lamm apparently having a thing with Aliani’s mom back in the day, at least implying that he could be Aliani’s father. Whatever, you didn’t care about any of that, nor the fact that Lamm had somehow managed to talk a Hellknight into tagging along as his bodyguard – the old sack of ****te was right there in front of you, and you were going to take your shot. The only thing that ended up stopping you was Atavian’s beast – Tallox was its name, apparently – grabbing you by the scruff of the neck and holding you back while that old bastard laughed. The only good thing that came of the night was the fact that Lamm’s proposal got vetoed, so at least somebody in this city was willing to tell him to get bent.

It was around this time that you all got invited back to the castle to have lunch with the queen, which was certainly a surreal experience. The food was nothing to get too excited about – just finger sandwiches really – but the manicured garden terrace you ate in was pretty impressive, and the queen brought gifts – one magic item for each of you, as thanks for escorting her handmaiden. The only sour note there was Ambassador Andaisin showing up to piss all over the mood, and leave the queen in tears over the suggestion that King Eodred had not died of natural causes, but instead had been murdered.

This in turn led to a rather bizarre tangent about some painting that King Eodred had commissioned as an anniversary gift for Queen Ileosa, and the painter girl he had hired to create it. The group later brought you up to speed that in the previous world (although some of the details they mentioned didn’t quite line up with your memories either, so what the Hells – were there THREE worlds all mangled together now? MORE?), this painter – Trinia Sabor – had been framed for King Eodred’s murder, possibly by the queen herself. Which made things even more confusing when Silas blurted out that he knew where Miss Sabor was, and petitioned the queen to offer sanctuary to her until this conspiracy around King Eodred’s death could be unraveled. You could see why the others thought Queen Ileosa was behind the framing in the other world though, as she went cold when Trinia was brought up. But then when she saw Trinia’s half-finished work, which was just a picture of some stone bench from the garden you had just had lunch in, Queen Ileosa did an about-face and promised to offer shelter to the girl. Apparently the queen had just thought the king was back to his infamous polyamorous ways, but seeing the bench convinced her otherwise because it was from some intimate moment the two of them had shared together or something. For whatever reason that was enough proof for the queen, so Silas fetched the girl later that night and she wasn’t immediately thrown into the dungeons so maybe this would work out after all.

More good news followed with an announcement from the queen that she had cut some sort of deal with the Hellknights, contracting them to patrol the roads leading from Korvosa to its various holdings out in the countryside and ensure order there, a large enough job that virtually all of the Hellknights would be required. That got all but a handful of them out of the city, the remainder staying behind to hunt down Lamm’s new pet Hellknight – apparently, they were taking his defection rather personally. That was all fine and dandy for you as you had all been seeing too many Hellknights lately, but unfortunately your luck wasn’t that good.

The following day, the investigator Kroft had assigned to hunt down Lamm’s businesses and tendrils throughout the city – a man named Rhev, who apparently also had past dealings with Dalen and Aliani from that other world – showed up and asked the group if they would like to quietly bust up Lamm’s latest drug lab. This could possibly be even the new one Lamm had set up to produce Shudder, and rather than risk Lamm getting tipped off by any more dirty guardsmen, Kroft had requested all of you go with Rhev and secure the lab ahead of the guard. The catch was that the Order of the Nail had assigned one of their armigers remaining in the city, a man named Gavin Dimir, to hunting down the traitor Hellknight and had specifically requested that he be brought along to anything dealing with Gaedren Lamm. So rather than one babysitter in Kroft’s investigator, you had a bloody Hellknight tagging along too.

Rather than let Lamm’s Rats slip out through the inevitable sewer exit, Dalen had recommended going into the place through the sewers to seal up that exit first. Not a terrible plan, although it had gone a bit sideways when the group encountered a pair of wererats Lamm had hired to guard that particular entrance. No matter – you, Miz, and Silas had worked over one of them while Tallox batted around the other one. When he managed to slip out of Tallox’s grip and make a run for it, Gavin was waiting for him, and the Hellknight armiger had pierced the wererat through the heart with his rapier. You had then made short work of the lock on the door, and your group was now ready to enter into the drug lab proper.

THEChanger

Theme Song (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cP0e3-4CfDw)

As the wererat slides off of your rapier, with a little help from your boot, the contrasting and opposing voices echo in your head again. You had never suffered from such things before, even in the darkest moments within Longacre or during your training within the Order, but without warning your mind had became a battleground between these two. And with the voices came those strange false memories, memories of a different life, and a different path you had followed after Longacre. Was this the onset of madness, or simply some bizarre new test the Order was inflicting to test your loyalties?

The first voice was no more than a soft but warm whisper, bringing to mind the image of a butterfly, touching down on your shoulder to offer its advice before fluttering away.

“Protect the dreamers, the would-be heroes. You are one yourself, still.”

The second voice was a ragged, grating howl that simultaneously froze and tore at your soul, threatening to overwhelm you with the image of an immense shadow towering over you, one cobalt blue light burning high above and skewering you with its gaze.

“A seed of darkness lies in all life. It consumes, and consumes, and consumes all it touches. You, too, will consume everything in your path.”

Focus. This was no time for the idle musings of madness, you were representing the Order of the Nail in front of outsiders on a mission of considerable importance. At least it certainly seemed important, given you were about to shut down Lamm’s latest drug lab, and hopefully the one producing this new drug of his, the so-called “Shiver”. Most of the Order hadn’t believed in the rumors that this drug could bestow magical powers upon those who drank it, but now you were not so sure with these new false memories or whatever they were.

Unfortunately, you were not assaulting this lab with a unit of your fellow armigers, but instead adventurers and one of Kroft’s hand-picked investigators, as if her judgement in lackeys was sound! You had Queen Ileosa to thank for that, as she apparently favored this group of “problem solvers” while simultaneously commissioning the Order to fruitlessly expend all of its strength patrolling the kingdom’s borders, in a transparent attempt to banish the Order from Korvosa. Fortunately, Lictor DeVries had seen through this betrayal and left a small detachment behind to continue the hunt for the traitor Xerxes, who had apparently forsaken his oaths in favor of throwing his lot in with Lamm. That treachery had to be punished first, and with any luck you would be the one to carry out his sentence.

So far, this group of adventurers hadn’t made a complete mess of things. The wizard Dalen had suggested approaching the lab from the inevitable sewer entrance, blocking it off to prevent any escape. A sensible plan, although it had nearly gone wrong after you encountered this pair of wererats guarding said sewer entrance. The group’s other arcanist Atavian also seemed competent, as he summoned a towering fiend that nearly ripped one of the wererats in two, but it slipped away and nearly escaped had it not unfortunately run straight onto your rapier instead. The other halfling besides Atavian - you think his name was Jakkin – had unlocked the door while the bard Aliani tended to the group’s minor injuries. Now all that had to be decided was who was going to go through the door first.

SanguinePenguin

Theme Song (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vadMH2PZv7c)

Today had began like any other since you summoned Tallox and discovered this uncanny sense of déjà vu – with a nightmare. It was always the same – you drifting away from a circle of light into darkness, while within the circle two figures fought. One figure kept its back to you the entire time, his features permanently obscured by a black cloak, while the other was unmistakably Queen Ileosa Arabasti, equally beautiful and terrible to behold in equal measure. The queen dueled with this cowled figured, their swords flashing back and forth almost faster than your ability to follow, and yet throughout Ileosa’s cold, cruel smile never wavered. Finally, inevitably, the cowled man is skewered through the heart with one final, almost bored thrust from Ileosa, before the queen turns her fathomless blue eyes onto you. Even as you fall away past the point where the circle of light has shrunk down to a mere candle-sized glow, the queen’s words follow you.

“Run, coward, and flee as far as your feet may take you. But know that you will never be able to run far enough. Your world shall burn, and all shall quaver and fall before the Eternal Horror!”

And then, as always, you awake in a cold sweat, uncertain of whether this dream was caused by your perpetual sense of dread since summoning Tallox or the source of it. You had been busy since then, ingratiating yourself with the city guard, waiting for a group of adventurers to catch Field Marshall Kroft’s eye. Your hard work eventually paid off as the day after King Eodred died you were contacted by the Field Marshall. But rather than anything of seeming import, she wanted you to escort the Ambassador of Cheliax, Lady Andaisin, from her private residence in Old Korvosa to the castle. She had apparently hired an entire group of adventurers – a playwright named Aliani Rose, a wizard named Dalen Rittle (you think you had met him a few times back at the Acadamae, although it was years ago so who knows?), a tiefling named Silas Rata’da, and a ratfolk known as Miz.

It seemed like a rather benign mission given the chaos that happened throughout the city just the previous night, and you didn’t get a sense of familiarity with any of these adventurers Kroft wanted you to essentially baby-sit, but seeing Lady Andaisin triggered something. Like your dreams, it was only a phrase spoken in Andaisin’s voice, but even that was more than enough to chill your soul to the bone.

"And at last they come, desperately seeking salvation, struggling to fight, willing to die, and all for something greater. But there is nothing greater. There is only death, and she comes for all."

That non-sequitur memory bubbling up was enough to convince you that this was the right track, however. But if meeting Lady Ambassador Andaisin was chilling, then the follow-up meeting with Queen Ileosa herself was absolutely frigid. And yet . . . there was nothing of your dream in this young queen. She was polite and interested in speaking with the group, asking all of you in turn about your experiences in the city with the riots. Furthermore, she requested that you escort her handmaiden around to quietly investigate some of the worst-hit areas, and listened intently when Aliani vented up a whole lot of pent-up frustration regarding an injured friend, which prompted Queen Ileosa to have her personal doctor go back with Aliani to treat her.

That seemed to generate enough good will from the group that collectively you all decided (begrudgingly, in some cases) to escort the queen’s handmaiden, an elf woman by the name of Elliana, around to several of the worst-hit areas of Korvosa. The tour itself featured a few unpleasant run-ins with Hellknights, Lamm’s men (calling themselves “Lamm’s Liberators”), and one drunk guardsman who seemed to have a connection with Aliani and Silas based off of their reactions, but was relatively uneventful. At least, it was until Aliani floated the idea of breaking into the Ambassador of Cheliax’s house while she was away at the castle, evidentially expecting to find some evidence of wrong-doing.

It seemed like a bad idea the whole way through, especially with the queen’s handpicked woman there, but somehow Elliana was convinced to go along with the plan and you broke into Ambassador Andaisin’s house. At which point the furniture came alive and tried to kill you all, including the ambassador’s four-poster bed. You considered summoning Tallox, but while you mentally debated with him over whether fighting furniture of all things was a waste of his time, the rest of the party dispatched the animated woodwork.

After the furniture was all broken into submission, you discovered a secret door leading down into a basement. Concerned about a trap being set up on the stairs leading down, you and Dalen debated the merits of one of them summoning a creature to walk down there. While you were busy debating, the hafling Jakkin dragged the remnants of Ambassador Andaisin’s fancy bed over to the stairs and kicked the damn thing down them, revealing that they were rigged to collapse as most of the stairway fell into a small pool of green slime. With the trap now definitively set off, it was easy enough for the group to climb down after making an improvised rope out of the bed sheets.

Investigating the basement finally paid off what the group had suspected about the ambassador – she did indeed have dark secrets. Within the basement was a shrine to Urgathoa, and the bodies of a half dozen men – members of Lamm’s Liberators apparently. The bodies were important because as the group reached the basement floor those corpses became animated, attacking the group and attempting to force you all back into the pool of green slime.

This was when you finally brought Tallox out to “play” as he called it, as he seemed to enjoy ripping ambulatory corpses in half. His sudden appearance unfortunately left Elliana screaming and cowering in fright after he appeared and ripped the zombie right next to her in half. Ultimately the undead proved not to be a major inconvenience, but when the shrine to Urgathoa self-destructed, triggering a patch of oil that set the entire house above you ablaze – and summoned a giant fire elemental just for kicks – that was a good deal more serious. Fortunately, the ambassador had prepared her own escape from this fiery death trap via a secret door that led into the sewers, which the group availed themselves of while Silas fought a rearguard action against the elemental, the tiefling not especially bothered by even its intense flames.

Unfortunately, while scandalous the worship of Urgathoa was not expressly illegal, and all of your actual evidence for such went up in literal smoke. Setting her own house to go up like that was certainly a *very* serious crime in Korvosa, but unfortunately would likewise be difficult to prove especially when any story would have to begin with “and so we broke into the ambassador’s private residence”. However, Elliana now seemed convinced that Queen Ileosa’s good friend Ambassador Andaisin needed to go, and apparently she managed to convince the queen of that as well since Queen Ileosa had asked you all to continue to look into Lady Andaisin’s activities – discretely – not long after.

On the way back to the castle you ran into a group of Hellknights who were conducting public executions of citizens they had caught in the riots. Maybe those unfortunates were actually guilty of something and maybe they weren’t, but they were certainly all about to die in a sadistic and bloody display by a trio of Hellknights while a crowd of people just watched. At least that seemed the way things were going until Elliana walked up and challenged the Hellknight’s legal authority to do this, and even seemed to be making some actual headway with her argument. Which is when *he* showed up to solve the problem in a much more direct way – the legendary vigilante and hero of the people Blackjack, swinging in from a nearby rooftop to declare that the Hellknights had failed Korvosa. He cut the people free and dueled the lead Hellknight, and all Hells broke loose at that point as Aliani and the others kept the lesser Hellknights busy while their prisoners fled. It was about that point when things really heated up, literally as the chief Hellknight detonated a Fireball spell in the middle of the crowd, presumably trying to kill Blackjack. Elliana got caught in the blast due to sheltering a child from the flames, but she was surprisingly unhurt by the magic. Good thing too, given the furious expression on Sabrina Merrin, the queen’s personal bodyguard, when you met her a short distance away from the castle after getting away from the Hellknights.

After that, everyone sort of did their own thing with the party splitting up to tackle several problems at once. While Jakkin, Aliani, and Miz checked out one of Lamm’s older drug dens, you, Dalen, and Silas were given another job by Kroft to check up on one of Kroft’s lieutenants, who had gone undercover with a number of other corrupt guardsmen in an attempt to get a lead on Lamm. Again that dark sense of prophecy bumped up against your mind as you recalled the grim secret of the butchery the gang was operating out of – they were disposing of bodies on the side, by hacking them up and distributing them out to the city’s desperate as “free meat”. You managed to rescue Verik, but Baldrago, the apparently ringlander of the gang this go around had managed to get away through the sewers.

Once everyone was back together, Aliani revealed to the group that he was part of some sort of secret society of revolutionaries, of which Gaedren Lamm was also a former member. Apparently he was trying to get Aliani’s group to throw their lot in with him, and Aliani wanted everyone at the meeting to testify about what a worm Lamm was. This everyone did happily, but things got rather dicey when Lamm showed up unannounced to argue his own side. There was some nonsense about Lamm apparently having a thing with Aliani’s mom back in the day, at least implying that he could be Aliani’s father. Things were about to explode into violence thanks to Jakkin, who clearly only wanted to punch Lamm in the face, consequences be damned, and that could not be allowed given the narrow confines of the room and the fact that Lamm had compromised a Hellknight, who was now serving as his bodyguard. Unfortunately the only way you could think of to prevent Jakkin from doing that was by summoning Tallox, who snatched the halfling brawler up by the scruff of the neck and holding him back while Lamm laughed. At least Lamm’s proposal got vetoed.

It was around this time that you all got invited back to the castle to have lunch with the queen, which again was an unnerving experience given your dreams. And yet, again the queen was kind and respectful, gifting each member of the group with a magical item. The only sour note was Ambassador Andaisin showing up briefly, but not before causing the queen to break down over the suggestion that King Eodred had not died of natural causes, but instead had been murdered.

This in turn led to a discussion about a painting that King Eodred had commissioned as an anniversary gift for Queen Ileosa, and the painter girl he had hired to create it. Again, this story all started to sound disturbingly familiar to you – the painter Trinia Sabor, framed for King Eodred’s murder, possibly by the queen herself. The story you knew got twisted, however, when Silas blurted out that he knew where Miss Sabor was, and petitioned the queen to offer sanctuary to her until this conspiracy around King Eodred’s death could be unraveled. Queen Ileosa went cold at the mention of her name, but then when she saw Trinia’s half-finished work, she did an abrupt about-face and promised to offer shelter to the girl. Apparently, the queen had just thought the king was back to his infamous polyamorous ways, but seeing this incomplete painting of a stone bench convinced her otherwise because it was from some intimate moment the two of them had shared together. This was apparently enough proof for the queen, so Silas fetched the girl later that night and she wasn’t immediately thrown into the dungeons so perhaps things would go differently than you expected.

More good news followed with an announcement from the queen that she had cut some sort of deal with the Hellknights, contracting them to patrol the roads leading from Korvosa to its various holdings out in the countryside and ensure order there, a large enough job that virtually all of the Hellknights would be required. That got all but a handful of them out of the city, the remainder staying behind to hunt down Lamm’s new pet Hellknight – apparently, they were taking his defection rather personally.

The following day, the investigator Kroft had assigned to hunt down Lamm’s businesses and tendrils throughout the city – a man named Rhev, who apparently also had past dealings with Dalen and Aliani from that other world – showed up and asked the group if they would like to quietly bust up Lamm’s latest drug lab. This could possibly be even the new one Lamm had set up to produce Shudder, and rather than risk Lamm getting tipped off by any more dirty guardsmen, Kroft had requested all of you go with Rhev and secure the lab ahead of the guard. The catch was that the Order of the Nail had assigned one of their armigers remaining in the city, a man named Gavin Dimir, to hunting down the traitor Hellknight and had specifically requested that he be brought along to anything dealing with Gaedren Lamm.

Rather than let Lamm’s Rats slip out through the inevitable sewer exit, Dalen had recommended going into the place through the sewers to seal up that exit first. Not a terrible plan, although it had gone a bit sideways when the group encountered a pair of wererats Lamm had hired to guard that particular entrance. Jakkin, Miz, and Silas dealt with one of them while Tallox batted around the other one. When he managed to slip out of Tallox’s grip and make a run for it, Gavin was waiting for him, and the Hellknight armiger had pierced the wererat through the heart with his rapier. Jakkin had then made short work of the lock on the door, and your group was now ready to enter into the drug lab proper.

Captain Jak

2020-04-02, 09:26 PM

Jakkin absently rubs at the skinned knuckles of one hand before folding up his Anytool and hooking it back onto his bandolier. The lock had yielded to his persuasions, and it was time to get a move on.

"I'll go in first, get the lay of the land?" he confirms, looking back and generally up at his predominantly larger companions. A fair assumption; while prone to being loud and in your face by nature, when he puts his mind to it the petite pugilist is the next best thing to a ghost. His bare feet don't even leave tracks on the dirty floor, somehow....

THEChanger

2020-04-02, 09:44 PM

Gavin flicked his rapier, letting the tainted blood splatter to the floor. The voices echoed in his head, and Gavin felt something shiver inside him. For a moment, his thoughts raced. False memories rattled in his mind, and the Armiger forced them down. Now was not the time. Now was not the time to think on the voice that sounded like a goddess he once gave praise to. He had a mission to complete, and a demon to put down.

Taking a deep breath, the Armiger nodded to Jakkin, and took up position on the left of the door. "Right behind you, Mister Longshanks. Moving on your signal."

Stelio Kontos

2020-04-03, 10:19 AM

Aliani took a moment to straighten the brooch holding the shirt of his top together; as he did, a familiar wave of healing energy filled the room, closing the small cut on his face (and incidentally healing the others as well). He picked up the dagger he'd sent sailing well over its target and found himself examining it, as if hoping that there was some defect other than the throw itself that might have explained his failure. He found none, though he searched for it for quite some time.

"Miz, do you mind trying the door?" he whispered cautiously, before hearing the telltale click of a lock. He turned back to face the group. "Well! That was fast, well d--"

She was just gone -- strange, that, as he distinctly thought he had remembered casting a spell on her just a few moments prior. So was Silas for that matter. His head went to his temple, as if trying to ward off some sort of a headache or hangover. He scanned the room carefully, warily. Dalen was there, that at least made sense. The others, he vaguely remembered one way or another, though 'remembered' wasn't quite the right word. If this was a dream, he would wake up from it soon enough.

"Right. Sorry. I just... I ... it doesn't matter. We're... yes. Yes, you lead, please, and well done on the door, um, Jakkin, yes?. I'll just... I'll be right behind you." Still seeming to try to get his bearings, he moved away from the door so everyone that mattered could take the positions they needed.

SanguinePenguin

2020-04-03, 12:24 PM

Atavian looks in confusion at Aliani's fragmented speech. He looks with concern at the man, "are you alright, did you get hit in the head?"

Tallox leaned against the wall while Jakkin picked the lock. He would have preferred to do it, but contented himself with cleaning werechunks and weregoo off her spinly sharp fingers and his cloak. "I don't see why you call dibs, mortal. If you dally and I trip over you..." he leaves the barely serious threat unsaid.

Atavian looks to the door, "if at a glance it looks rough in there, I will haste us, so brace yourselves."

Stelio Kontos

2020-04-03, 05:31 PM

"Hit in the head? No, I don't think so... I wasn't knocked out again, was I?" Aliani replied, a bit crestfallen near the end of it. "I thought it was just a small cut, but I took care of it. I'm just having some memory issues, apparently. Again. Please, don't trouble yourself worrying about it. I'm sure it'll be fine."

Darvin

2020-04-07, 02:06 AM

Dalen collected himself after the conflict. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was off, but right now the prevailing gut feeling was directly associated with the noxious mix of burning rats and raw sewage. As his halfling compatriot popped open the lock he set aside the original plan. Though he preferred the approach of sealing off the sewer escape and making the raid from the surface, he wasn't opposed to this sort of entry given the numbers they could bring to bear - provided someone else was going in first.

"Lead on, good sir, I have your back," he ensures he has his wand at the ready before they proceed.

Captain Jak

2020-04-08, 12:59 AM

After a quick glance inside to confirm that there had been no one on the far side to raise an alarm – while effective, their assault had certainly not been quiet – Jakkin once more employs his Anytool to quickly jam the lock, sealing the door from easy escape.

Should their quarry try to escape through this bolt hole, they were in for a rude surprise.

"Let's be at it, then," the gruff little Halfling says, cracking his knuckles. "Their asses ain't going to kick themselves, aye?," Not waiting for his longer-legged compatriots to get started, he leads the way back towards the surface with the typically long, quick strides that carry him along at the same pace as his companions and earned him the sobriquet of 'Longshanks'.

Inspectre

2020-04-08, 07:02 PM

With the sewer entrance blocked by Jakkin jamming the door's lock - a tactic that admittedly wouldn't stop someone with enough time and energy to kick the door down - the group returns back up to street level to hit the laboratory from its front entrance. As the group approaches the side alley that leads to the lab's business front entrance, they discover a new and unexpected snag. The alley is largely blocked off by a carriage that had been pulled in front of the alleyway, its driver slumped up in his chair as if asleep but his eyes still moving underneath his hat. Clearly a lookout of some sort, but he proved to be no match for Jakkin's sneaking expertise or Rhetoric's ability to fly about unnoticed in the city as just another bird.

Hidden from casual sight by passerby on the street, a group of six men labored to smash through the reinforced iron door that served as the lab's front entrance. Two burly men took turns hammering out a beat against the door's surface, while three more worked together to force a prybar into the bending metal to weaken it further, while the last man held up a shield over the murderhole slot built into the door to prevent any arrow fire. The group was already most of the way through the door, and it was only a matter of seconds before the tortured door finally gave way and granted the six men admittance. This was no random smash and grab from a group of strung-out junkies, despite the brutal-force approach they were taking - these men were clearly professional breakers who had been hired to get into this laboratory. Who else had a beef with Lamm in the criminal world that would be willing to make such a move in broad daylight despite the precautions, however, was unknown. Likewise, whether or not there were any reinforcements waiting within the carriage for the way to be opened before pouring out to join the carnage, as the carriage's curtains were tightly pulled shut.

"Well, this is certainly an unexpected development!"

Rhev grumbles quietly, his mind clearly sifting through possible explanations for this.

"Shall we go over there and ask these gentlemen for their names and what they're doing here, or hasten to return back to the sewers, and hope to catch any of Lamm's men that do manage to get flushed out by them, once they've circumvented their own door?"

Stelio Kontos

2020-04-09, 06:46 PM

Aliani pondered for a moment, before nodding to himself in apparent satisfaction at his own conclusion. "Both? Let them fight a bit, these fellows are certainly winding up for one. Whoever they are, they're doing us a favor, enemy of my enemy and all that -- and if we do have to fight them, at least they'll be softened up somewhat?"

"And that time would let Mr. Rittle coax some information out of their lookout, in his own special way. One of you should go with him, just in case, and I believe Mr. Dimir might be especially well suited as his accompaniment, but otherwise, I say we wait and listen for the sound of battle dying down, then go inside and see what we find."

THEChanger

2020-04-10, 06:40 PM

As the mysterious second group of criminals came into view, Gavin's muscles tensed in expectation of sprinting forward and confronting them. Biting down on the inside of his cheek, Gavin resisted that urge - he was here to support, not to take charge, and if the little band of adventurers wanted to take things slow, then so would he.

The Armiger nodded as Aliani outlined his thoughts at how to proceed, and drew his rapier. "I would be happy to serve as Mister Rittle's escort. I also happen to have a way with convincing people, though it isn't particularly special."

Captain Jak

2020-04-10, 11:50 PM

Eying the carriage and its unknown contents, Jakkin grunts his agreement.

"Better get at least a few of us back down to the bolthole," he advises, his gaze roaming over the structure in search of an alternate way in – a second level window, perhaps?

"With all that racket they're making, the bloody bastards are giving fair warning that they're coming in. Lamm and his cronies might be desperate enough to batter their way through their exit door and rabbit into the sewers." The Halfling scowls, clearly not pleased with that particular possibility.

SanguinePenguin

2020-04-13, 10:36 AM

Atavian looks to Tallox for a few seconds, then the two nod in succession. Atavian says to the others, "alright. We support this plan. Maybe we should go un-fasten the back door. If that eel Lamm is here, he will certainly flee if things go against him. It might make sense to move in and join the fray a bit into their... altercation. It could make the losing side view themselves as indebted to us for a timely rescue."

"But we'll kill them, anyway," Tallox adds.

"If it is Lamm's side, yes," the halfling corrects. Tallox says nothing in reply.

Inspectre

2020-04-16, 06:25 PM

While the main group of interlopers continue to make progress against the locked front door of Lamm's drug lab, Gavin and Dalen quietly move in on the carriage.
Although the lookout is keeping an eye on the street, he clearly is more concerned about guard patrols than two individuals, and his position up on the carriage looking asleep leaves him with several blind spots that Gavin and Dalen are able to exploit while closing in on the back of the carriage.
From there, it's simply a matter of moving around the side of the carriage up to the front quickly before the guard can react.

The lookout is further distracted by a quiet but urgent whistle from the alleyway - a signal that the group had broken through the door.
There is a brief moment of panic for Gavin and Dalen as the carriage door facing the alleyway opens to disgorge four more members of this team, heavily armed and armored who charge into the alleyway to join their fellows inside the drug lab, from which the sounds of fighting are audible even at this distance.

It seems that this leaves the lookout finally alone out in front, and while he is looking back towards the doorway Dalen moves up again and snags the man's arm with a polite, magically-induced suggestion to come have a word with him and his associates. Startled, the man pulls his arm away from the wizard and tells him to get lost (1 use of Beguiling Touch used and failed as the man rolls a Nat 19 on his Will save). It's at this point that Gavin makes himself useful by revealing himself, rapier point first, but he doesn't even have to say anything to the man as his heraldry does all the talking for him. The man pales and scrambles down from his seat atop the carriage, hands raised above his head. He does, of course, try to play coy at first, protesting that he was doing nothing wrong, he was just sitting here waiting for his master to get back from an errand at a nearby business, and nothing could be more innocent. A second use of charm magic from Dalen (I think you can continue to use Beguiling Touch on a target so long as combat doesn't break out, so we can assume he uses a second Touch unless you want a longer-term Charm in which case I do see he has a Charm Person spell as well, your choice which Dalen uses) is more successful - it's the rare target that can resist such magic for very long, and this man was certainly not that person.

The lookout is then escorted back to the rest of the group, and seeing his situation (and perhaps some more persuasion, magical or otherwise) explains himself.

"Alright, you folks don't want to get mixed up in this. I'm part of the Ironworks Hammers, a group of folk who'll do whatever kind of breaking you need done, if you've got the coin for it. We got hired by the King of Spiders himself to come in here and send a message to Gaedren Lamm that he doesn't control the drug trade in Korvosa; the King does. And that's a very bloody message we're supposed to be sending."

The King of Spiders . . . Devargo Bravarsi, an infamous crime lord familiar to most members of the party, who can all call to mind memories of dealing with him in past lives if not the present world. Such business was rarely pleasant, although here it seemed, he was at least on the side against Lamm. That didn't mean, however, that his hired goons would appreciate you barging in on this squabble within the underworld. Then again, although barely audible here on the street outside, there is suddenly a pair cacophonous booms from within the drug lab, one immediately following the other, and the sounds of fighting from inside which had been slowing down come to an abrupt halt. It seems whichever side won, did so in a rather short and direct manner. You may have less time than expected to move in to deal with whoever was the winner.

Stelio Kontos

2020-04-17, 06:24 PM

Aliani's expression went from a slight smugness to concern to outright dismay as the explosions went off in the room. He hadn't expected the extra men, nor the probable explosives. Did they have more? Would it be a lost cause? He had no idea.

"Fight, or follow them?" he asked uncertainly.

SanguinePenguin

2020-04-18, 11:06 AM

Atavian turns to the charmed man, "did your people have the capacity to make those explosions?"

Either way, we should move in," Tallox adds, stretching his claws and moving toward the entrance.

Captain Jak

2020-04-18, 03:22 PM

Jakkin is already moving, his distintive rapid long strides carrying him toward the destroyed door.

"Sounds like that was a bit more decisive than was expected," the bearded Halfling calls back over his shoulder. He clearly expects to duck in first and take a quick look around – and, arguably, he’s one of the best suited to taking cover from things that go ‘boom’, should it become necessary.

THEChanger

2020-04-18, 06:37 PM

As soon as the explosions rock the air, Gavin dashes around the wagon, heading for the door at a full sprint. His training taking over, Gavin begins to shout to his companions. "Dalen, secure the driver! Atavian and Tallox, the sewers. Aliani, Jakkin, with me!"

Bursting through the door, Gavin shouts into lab. "Attention! This is Gavin Dimir of the Order of the Nail! This compound is surrounded. By the authority of our holy order, you are ordered to kneel and surrender. Any who resist will be met with a swift execution!"

...Bluff?
[roll0]

Darvin

2020-04-20, 03:28 AM

Dalen collects himself after the explosion. He rolls his eyes at the order, not at all wanting to be alone with a knave who could quite easily bludgeon him to death. He turns to the driver and casts a spell of sleep before ducking inside the building with his allies and hoping they hadn't gotten too knee deep in trouble without him.

Sleep is a 1-round casting time, so the spell completes at the start of the next round. DC 18 will negates. Success or failure, Dalen is going in with his allies afterwards.

Inspectre

2020-04-21, 03:47 PM

As Gavin springs into action with a call for Dalen to remain behind with your newfound prisoner, Rhev steps forward to clap a firm hand down onto the man’s shoulder.

“I’ll take care of this fellow – you hurry up and provide magical support. I suspect that they’re going to need it.”

(Dalen does not need to use his Sleep spell if he does not wish to at this time. If you’d prefer that he use it to ensure the thug-for-hire doesn’t somehow overpower Rhev and escape, you are welcome to say that happens as well.)

Gavin is the first person to enter through the smashed-in door, although the rest of the party is right behind him. What is waiting beyond the wreckage of the door is not one, but two slightly separate scenes of carnage. Immediately beyond the doorway is the service counter, around which two figures are slumped, one behind the counter and one in front of it. The one in front is slumped up against the wall to the right of the doorway, his chest a bloody mess of slash wounds and a repeating heavy crossbow still clutched in his hands. Devargo’s mercenaries were a bit more gentle with the second man behind the counter, who is crumpled up just behind it with a purple bruise across his jaw and his hands manacled behind his back, but seemed to be merely unconscious rather than dead.

And then over by a back door opening to the stairs down to the basement is the second, far worse scene of carnage. Scattered amongst the battered bodies of Devargo’s entire mercenary force are the shards of the door, both wood and flesh tore apart by the twin explosions of magic power that had ripped through them as they were bunched up on the stairway down into the basement proper. Drifting up from the basement below are the sounds of frenzied movement – crates being opened and glass clicking – and voices, several raspy ones chattering amongst themselves in some tongue unknown to anyone in the group and one human voice weeping and pleading in terror.

At the sound of Gavin’s loud announcement, there is a short pause in sound from below, and then comes a chorus of mad cackling before a voice calls up in heavily accented Common.

“No no no, it is we who have you outnumbered and overpowered!”

“Yes, yes! Come down, lackey of a lesser god! Come down and see for yourself!”

Another voice interjects, followed by another bout of mad cackling, before a third adds its own opinion.

“What’s a few more lives snuffed out today in the cruel machinations of destiny!?”

Before a third bout of cackling can ensue, a fourth voice cuts in loudly over the others, speaking in that same disturbing, lilting language that you had heard before – the intents is clear if not the words, however, as all three voices immediately fall silent, and the sound of clicking glass resumes.

Meanwhile, further down the street, Silas appears, hurriedly making his way onto the scene after attending to his personal business – “business” being the operative word here.

You may make any final preparations you wish and determine the order that people will be carefully picking their way down the stairs over all the bodies scattered about on them. I will have a battle map set up with my next post where you will be able to place yourselves at the start of Round 1, and I imagine that we will be going rather shortly into combat, rather than parley.

Stelio Kontos

2020-04-22, 05:51 PM

"Mr. Dimir, we shall speak later, please" Aliani said, a hint of disappointment and reproachment in his voice. "Until then, I'd rather suppose you're about to go diving down into that basement. Do try not to die, please? I pray this may help a bit."

He brought his right hand to his collar, adjusting it and clearing his throat somewhat theatrically, while laying his other on Gavin's shoulder.

"Warriors of man and nature share akin
The fragile nature of their skin
Of mighty armor they all bespoke
Borne by the tall and mighty oak
Though without bite, they did remark
Upon the power of its bark."

As he finished his spell, Gavin's skin began to turn brown all over, crusting with thick mottled flakes of what appeared to be tree bark, though these didn't seem to impede his movement at all. "Good luck."

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the glimpse of his old tiefling friend and smiled broadly. Worlds colliding, it seemed. "Silas! It's about time! We could use another blade, I think."

Casting Barkskin on Gavin (+2 natural AC for, well, long enough for this to be over I'd think).
Will shuffle toward the basement opening enough to be able to take a 5 foot step to see down. But no, I'm not going first.

For those of you new to the party, you can make a spellcraft roll if you want. It might give some insight into this bard fellow. We can talk about that in Discord.

THEChanger

2020-04-22, 06:24 PM

Gavin looked down at his arm as the bark began to spread across his skin. His mind flitted briefly to a memory of another life, where a similar transformation took place.

“Protect the dreamers, the would-be heroes. You are one yourself, still.”

Shaking his head, Gavin shrugged the hand off his shoulder. "When we have finished our business here, Mister Rose, we can discuss as much as you like." The former guardsman lowered his voice, attempting to prevent it from traveling down the stairwell. "Our quarry believes they have the upper hand. We can afford to take our time at this point. These men were killed with a Sonic Blast spell. I've seen the effect once before. Brother Aster was a skilled cleric, we should be expecting at least one caster-"

Gavin turned as the new arrival came into view, a scowl growing larger on his face. "An associate of yours, Mister Rose?"

Stelio Kontos

2020-04-22, 06:26 PM

"A friend" Aliani corrected simply.

PiccadillyPi

2020-04-23, 06:47 PM

"Just a friend?"

The jovial inflection gave away the facetiousness of Silas' chiding. Once he arrived at everyone's feet he took a moment to pat some air into his chest.

"But I don't think we've been informally introduced. Silas Rata'da, at your service. Here, my card!"

The tiger-striped tiefling wrestled a card from beneath his breastplate, immediately displaying the front of it to Gavin and any other party memembers that might have been interested. Reading the card quickly surmised what possible business could have held up the cat man. 'Bi & Large, The Purrrfect Gentleman' However, before anyone could read further, he snagged the card back with a reflexive yelp.

"Oop! That's not the right one. Not unless any of you...? Right, we're busy. Let me just..."

He circled himself, padding down various pouches with his tail and hands alike. After a few more seconds of general baffoonery, he sighed audibly.

"I must have left them in my other coat. Hells, I was rather proud of that one - I just had it printed. Bone paper with a Sillian type."

Silas' eyes fogged with disappointment only briefly before he shook himself into focus. He quickly removed his falchion from its home and readied his mind for the likelyhood of violence. Though his next question named a friend, he asked it to anyone listening.

"Aliani, what needs to be done?"

Darvin

2020-04-25, 12:20 AM

"Well, if it isn't one of my most dependable and trustworthy associates," Dalen jibes at Silas as he arrives, "you keep disappearing on me, and just when we need your skills to clean up this botched raid. But I think you'll agree that disappearing can be very useful for striking ahead," Dalen gives a slight flicker of illusion magic on his finger, hinting to the tiefling of the invisibility spell he has prepared.

PiccadillyPi

2020-04-25, 05:23 PM

"I am sorry. I was just in a meeting with a client when I had the most delirious of headaches. Suddenly, there I am with a d... hrmm. There I am, holding my head from splitting apart, when I remembered we had planned to come here. Luckily my... vocabulary helped end the meeting quickly. Strangest thing that I would forget about tonight. I didn't quite have time to groom - too much hair, you see - so disappearing would be welcome."

The tiefling tapped his head with a toothy grin.

"I still have a bit of pain, but I should be fine as long as I don't see any mace-wielding bastards from one of our last outings. Gave more smarts than they had to give."

Inspectre

2020-04-25, 07:40 PM

More or less ready to take the voices up on their offer to come down and see how well you do, the leading members of the party advance downstairs into the basement, carefully picking their way over the bodies (and pieces of bodies) carpeting the stairs now.

The basement of this building would be disturbing even without the gore-soaked entry by stair, as it is set up as a cramped alchemical laboratory dimly lit by patches of bioluminescent fungus much like the passageway Aliani and Miz encountered beneath House Jeggare’s storehouse. In one back corner over by the makeshift doorway leading out into the sewers (now locked shut by Jakkin) there sits an equally crude torture chair, a heavy wooden thing with strips of leather nailed to the frame, which currently holds the lone survivor of Devargo’s mercenaries, his head lolling from side to side as black blood leaks out of the corners of his eyes.

Administering to this man is a squat, gangly humanoid with blue skin and greasy white hair, dressed in long flowing black robes. Two more flit about the alchemical work benches scattered about the room, picking up and loading into crates numerous stoppered vials of a liquid that shimmers between different colors: black, cobalt blue, orange, and then black again. When Dalen finally sees them, something about the way their dark robes flutter about their arms as they move cause the image of a harrow card to appear in his mind – that of a murder of crows badgering and stealing items from a terrified man – The Crows. A fourth creature, perhaps a head taller than his fellows but clearly of the same species, stands in the back corner of the room opposite the torture chair in the middle of a runic circle burned into the floor that faintly glows with its own malevolent light, adding its own shade to the disturbing ambiance of the room.

This leader labors feverishly over a frame of twisted metal that seems designed to hold the central piece in place over the metal collection pan that sits in the exact center of the runic circle, and which is adorned with its own runes scratched into the side of the pan all the way around. This central piece is little more than a long, thin metal spike about the size of a kabob skewer upon which a normal human-sized eyeball has been impaled. Bright orange blood oozes out of the pierced depths of the eyeball to flow down the length of the spike to its tip, from where it slowly drips, drop by drop, down into the waiting collection pan below. While such a sight would ordinarily be disturbing to most, there is something deeply wrong with this impaled eye that stirs a sense of primal fear in the back of everyone’s mind who looks upon it (it could do with the fact that the eye seems to always be looking directly at the observer, no matter their position relative to the spike). As the lead member of your group reaches the bottom of the stairs, the leader looks up from his work with a rictus grin.

“Yes yes, more puppets of the Usurper Queen, here to witness the coming glory! More fuel for the fire! Gaze in awe before your savior, the Bleeding Eye! Kneel and accept the Gift, or continue to struggle against the inevitable and perish! It matters not! City shall burn!”

“City shall rot!”

The apparently Shudder-afflicted man screams in reply, struggling against the crude restraints holding him to the chair, which suddenly snap and allow the man to stagger up to his feet, the same rickus grin on his face as black blood continues to ooze down his face from his eyes.

Battle Music! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwC0fBAm22k)

Battle Map (https://imgur.com/a/SPyNrj5)

Our party of heroes has the initiative and therefore you all go first – you may post in any order. If you want to go after a particular person, you are welcome to add something along the lines of “after (insert PC name here), my character will do X” rather than waiting for (insert PC’s player name here) to post.

Current light-level within the entire laboratory basement is Dim Light – if you have Low-Light or Darkvision, you can see perfectly well. If you have only Normal vision, then everything down here has Concealment (20% miss chance). The street is Bright light due to it being midday, and the upstairs shop is normal light.

Anyone entering the basement (A1 – H8) – either due to starting there or moving downstairs on their turn must make a DC20 Will Save vs. magical fear. Failure causes the target to be Shaken until the Bleeding Eye is no longer in line of sight/effect.

By the power of the Harrow, Dalen enjoys a +2 bonus to all d20 rolls for the duration of this fight, including caster level checks to breach spell resistance (this includes items such as wands with a fixed caster level). He’ll find that handy here, I’m sure. :smallamused:

(Atavian, Jakkin, Vreeg, and the three Derro are all Small-sized. Didn’t want to monkey around with different sized tokens for this map. Maybe the next one I’ll adjust the token size for Jakkin and Atavian.)

Pink Border – PC Starting Area, wherever you choose:

A6-B8 is downstairs basement
A9 – F12 is inside door
A13 – F14 is street outside

Red Border – Alchemy Workbench. Impassable terrain, save choosing to go over or under the workbench covered in dangerous chemicals. You may also attempt to make a DC 15 Strength check as a Standard action to flip one of the tables over and dump the contents onto targets standing on the opposite side of the table if you wish.
Over – Acrobatics DC 20, Failure = Reflex DC 15 for half damage as something bad happens.
Under – Acrobatics DC 15, DC 10 if Small, Failure = End Movement as you bump your head, can try again.

Light Blue Border – Crate of alchemy supplies (mostly vials of Shudder). Difficult terrain, can also be picked up as a Move action and/or Thrown as a Standard action. Unwise to do so with a box of volatile magical chemicals, but wisdom is not a strong suit of anyone here. . .

Captain Jak

2020-04-27, 02:28 PM

Scrambling down into the basement over the mass of bodies isn't anything resembling a good time, but Jakkin isn't about to let that stop him from doing what needs doing. Upon reaching the dim-lit basement, an unreasonable feeling of unease sweeps across him at the macabre spectacle. His hands tremble slightly, and a sick feeling sinks into the pit of his stomach.

Growling at himself – get it together! – he rolls under the nearest bench and comes up on the other side, facing one of the exotically strange blue creatures. Rushing his punch in an attempt to get this over with, his blow unfortunately misses by a large margin.

Will Save: Fail. Acrobatics: score higher than DC. Knowledge: Dungeoneering: Fail. Attack: Fail. Starting in B6, moving to D5, attacking Darrow2.

PiccadillyPi

2020-04-28, 03:04 AM

Silas followed suit as best he could. His hesitation was heavy as his eyes met the eye. Perhaps it reminded him too much of the consequences of past actions. Too much of the child he unwittingly doomed. He could only pray his Vjala was nowhere near such machinations. He hardened his grip on his blade to silence the rattle it made as he stepped into a duel with what might have been the ugliest halfling he'd ever seen. His unease lent him no favours in this fight.

Start at A6. Move to D4. Target Derro 1.
Rolled in Discord.
Attack: 12
Damage: 7

Darvin

2020-04-29, 02:30 AM

"Yes, yes, the city shall burn. That's old news, a tired catchphrase of a lazy mind. I mean, just look at the enormous cobwebs you louts have left about," Dalen's hand sweeps out of his component pouch carrying a tiny strand of spider web and as he whisks it through the air an enormous web stretches across the room.

Rolled 14+6=20 to save vs fear
Rolled 8+12=20 on knowledge (local) to know about Derros

Casting Web to catch Vreeg and Derro 1 and block them from entering combat. The room is exactly 40 ft across, meaning the 20 ft radius spread of web can anchor to both sides of the room.

Stelio Kontos

2020-04-29, 07:14 AM

Aliani tried to be calm, but felt the eye staring penetrating, in this dark basement remarkably like the one where his death had been foretold... he averted his gaze. Better to not let it see into his soul.

"Stay calm, work together. The people of Korvosa and indeed the very gods themselves watch over us and protect us, as we shall protect this, our city" the actor intoned, his breath catching in his throat as his hand rose to loosen his collar slightly. Silently, he prayed that she would do just that. He didn't engage for now, drawing his morningstar with his other hand as he positioned himself a few feet back from the fray.

Move to, oh, let's call it B6, while drawing weapon
Activating Defense domain ability to create 20' emanation surrounding me wherein all allies (currently: everyone) get a +2 deflection bonus to AC and a +2 CMD bonus while in it. This lasts for four rounds.

SanguinePenguin

2020-04-29, 12:21 PM

Atavian scowls at the scene, where the impaled eye is the icing on this morbid cake. No Lamm, but the whole place is tainted with that man's disgusting footprint. Grabbing a shaving of licorice from his component pouch, the halfling mutters something to himself, and with few motions of his fingers, the shaving vanishes in a sliver of bluish flame. Tallox, Alaini, Jakkin, and Silas are granted preternatual quickness from the magic. "Go Tallox, kill them," the halfling states in tone lacking empathy.

Tallox is more disturbed by the eye than Atavian. He shakes off his disdain for the totem as best he can, and blitzes across the room to attack the recently shuddered individual.

Sorry for the delay, life has been crazy.

I also realized I never cast mage armor on Tallox officially, but that is how every day normally starts for them, so I've added it. If that is a problem, I can remove it.

Atavian: start on stairs at A7, cast haste, move down stairs to B5,
Tallox: start at B7, move to F8
Attack (Shudder): Power attack (bite) (+9+1-1-2 =+7) [roll0] Damage: [roll1]
Atavian Goodbarrel (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=2162435)
M TN Halfling Summoner, Level 4, Init 2, HP 28/28, Speed 20
AC 18, Touch 13, Flat-footed 16, CMD 12, Fort 4, Ref 4, Will 5, CMB 0, Base Attack Bonus 3
7/day, Dam: 1d6-1+lvl/2, touch Electricity Ray +6 (1d6+1, x2)
Sickle +2 (1d4-2, x2)
Chain Shirt +1 (+5 Armor, +2 Dex, +1 Size)
Abilities Str 6, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 19
Spells Remaining 2nd 1/2, 1st 3/4
Condition None
Tallox (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=2162476)
M TN Beyonder Eidolon, Level 4, Init 2, HP 21/21, Speed 30
AC 23, Touch 12, Flat-footed 20, CMD 19, Fort 4, Ref 3, Will 3, CMB +7, Base Attack Bonus 3
(All attacks get +1 haste, -2 shaken)
Bite +9 (1d8+6, x2)
Full (1 bite / 2 claws) +9/+8x2 (1d8+6/1d4+4x2, x2)
Full (1 bite / 2 claws) PA +8/+7x2 (1d8+9/1d4+6x2, )
Natural Armor, Mage Armor (+6 Armor, +4 Shield, +2 Dex, +1 Haste)
Abilities Str 19, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 7, Wis 10, Cha 11
Condition Haste 4/4 rounds (Atavian), Mage armor 3/4 hours (Atavian), Shaken (bleeding eye)

THEChanger

2020-04-30, 10:29 PM

Gavin managed to steel himself against retching as he made his way over the bodies into the room. The strange eye in the corner exerted a pressure on the armiger, but there would be time enough to deal with whatever that thing was. One of the men from Devargo's band might yet live - if they could save him, they had to.

Dashing around the corner, Gavin lunged at the surgeon derro with his rapier, attempting to skewer the blue-skinned freak before any more damage could be done.

Failed my Will Save, so that's cool.

Starting at B8, Gavin moves to F6, where he can make an attack against Derro 3.

Rapier To Hit: [roll0]
Rapier Damage: [roll1]

Inspectre

2020-05-03, 01:17 PM

The heroes rush down into the basement, all but Dalen and Atavian greatly disturbed by the existence of the strange bleeding impaled eyeball but heading into battle nonetheless.
As the group's front-line fighters rush forward, Atavian increases the speed of their movements with a Haste spell (save Gavin), Aliani protects them with a shielding magic, and Dalen hurls a web against the back wall, ensnaring one of the derros and Vreeg, and only narrowly missing snaring Silas as well, who was standing just at the edge of the Web. Dalen meanwhile, ponders what he can remember of the strange blue men.

(OOC: unless Dalen has some spell-shaping magic that I am unaware of, he can't change the radius of the Web spell from 20', so while he can center the Web such that only "half" of the spell is in the room by centering it on the "north" wall, that still covers the top 4 rows, and sadly there's nowhere else Silas can stand and still attack Derro 1, otherwise I would adjust his positioning by DM Fiat so Silas wasn't caught in the AoE because I know tracking everyone's positions in play-by-post is a pain in the ass. Fortunately, Silas made his Reflex save, so provided he doesn't move from his current square I don't think he risks getting caught in the Web, and can continue swinging away at Derro 1 while it futilely tries to escape its fate. Also, I put Dalen up at the top of the stairs since he needs to be somewhere in the basement in order to see to cast, but I don't think Darvin specified a spot for Dalen.)

Long considered a mythical inhabitant of Korvosa's underground (OOC: much like Bigfoot or Nessy IRL), the derro are strange blue-skinned humanoids that certainly exist in other parts of the world, just never proven to live beneath Korvosa's streets. They are magically adept and quite mad, existing underground for the sake of survival as their flesh literally burns and melts in direct sunlight. Their magical aptitude also grants them some resistance to magic, although it is generally not exceptionally strong (i.e. they have moderate SR). Like many underground denizens, they have some skill at taming vermin to serve them as pets and test subjects, as well as skill at concocting and utilizing poisons to coat their weapons. They have a great deal of alchemical skill, and are constantly experimenting - often on whatever creatures, sentient or otherwise, that they can catch.

The strange creatures prove more wily and nimble than they appear, however, and manage to dodge all of the attacks that the shaken party unleashes in their direction. The unfortunate man-turned-Shudder monster remains unlucky, however, as Tallox delivers a vicious bite that tears a chunk out of his side despite the chain shirt he is still wearing. While the grave wound might have felled a normal man, the newly-made Shudder addict simply grins as black blood flows out of his side and drips off of his face.

"YOU ARE TOO LATE TO STOP WHAT IS COMING!"

The man screams as the air crackles around him, streamers of lightning popping into existence all around Gavin and Tallox as the energy flows into the man's upraised hand, forming a jagged blade of lightning which he chops down at Tallox's head a moment later, the blade disintegrating on contact against the wall as the beyonder ducks away from the blow.

Move - Gather Power (-1 Burn)
Standard - Metakinesis Kinetic Blast (Empower, +1 Burn) using the Kinetic Blade Form Infusion (Treat as Melee Rather than Ranged Touch Attack, +1 Burn) along with the Synaptic Substance Infusion (+1 Burn Reduced from 2 by Infusion Specialization, Will Save DC 15 or Staggered for 1 Round, can use a move action to end condition early - which is probably a waste given it only lasts 1 Round)
Melee Touch: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1] Lightning x 1.5 = 15 Total Damage
Hit: Will Save DC 15 or Staggered for 1 round

Meanwhile, the derro Jakkin threw a punch at draws a primitive-looking club with metal hooks pounded into its business end which glisten with some sort of shimmering goo, and swings wildly at him with a mad shriek. Despite the primitive weapon and the wild swings, the derro manages to catch Jakkin in the face with the hooks, and its only by virtue of the halfling's Hasted speed that he is able to twist away before the derro can use the hooks to rip a nasty gouge down the side of his face. The wound burns as the goo seeps into the wound, but despite feeling light-headed for a moment Jakkin remains upright and unharmed (Fort save passed!) The tiniest of scratches appears on Aliani's face as his Shield Other spell shares the damage.

The derro stuck in Dalen's web struggles feebly to escape, making no progress in getting out of Silas's reach. The derro leader despite being stuck, seems more amused than concerned, and begins intoning the words to a spell before realizing that the strands of webbing block his hand from making the exact movements necessary to form the spell, causing it to fizzle. No longer amused, he barks something to the last derro, who nods and cackles as he jumps back out of Gavin's reach. That derro then casts a spell, unleashing a cacophonous blast of sound in the middle of the Web that disrupts some of the strands, but fails to break the web completely. In the bargain, the derro currently stuck in the Web screams and goes limp, reeling from the blast while the leader simply grimaces a bit. Finished with its spell, the derro cackles to itself for a moment, and then turns and tries the door to find it jammed, leaving him trapped up against a wall with nowhere else to fall back to. That brings its laughter to an abrupt end.

Derro #1 - Tries to get free using Escape Artist, fails. Also fails its save against Derro #3's Sound Burst and becomes Stunned, losing its actions in Round 2.

Derro #2 - Move Action draw Akyls, Standard Action swing at Jakkin - almost criticals, Jakkin passes Fort save and only takes 3 damage
To-Hit: [roll2]
Damage: [roll3]
Hit: Fort save DC 14 or Poisoned

Derro #3 - 5' step back away from Gavin, Standard Action Sound Burst, dealing 2 damage to Dalen's web in E1 - H4, 2 damage to Derro 1 (Stunning him), 1 damage to Vreeg. Web's escape DC/Reflex DC is now 2 lower in E1-H4.

Standard - Attempts to cast a spell, fails the concentration check, remains Stuck in Web, but manages to avoid getting Stunned by Derro #3's sound burst.

-Good Guys-
Aliani: 1 Damage - Shaken, Hasted (3/4), +2 Deflection AC
Dalen: +2 Deflection AC
Gavin: Shaken, +2 Deflection AC
Silas: Shaken, In Web (But Not Stuck), Hasted (3/4), +2 Deflection AC
Jakkin: 2 Damage - Shaken, Hasted (3/4), +2 Deflection AC
Tallox: Shaken, Hasted (3/4), +2 Deflection AC
Atavian: +2 Deflection AC

-Bad Guys-
Vreeg: 1 Damage, Webbed
Derro 1: 2 Damage, Webbed, Stunned (Will Lose Round 2's Action)
Shudder: 17 Damage, 2 Burn

Battle Map (https://imgur.com/a/fjzJvsi)

SanguinePenguin

2020-05-03, 02:44 PM

The lightning blast from the shudder-infused thug narrowly misses Tallox. Knowing that would have been... inconvenient, Tallox snarls with rage and hopes to avoid another dangerous attack. He sets into the recently enhanced individual with unnatural celerity, his gnashing maw lashing out along with powerful swings from his claws, granting him multiple opportunities to connect.

Atavian surveys the battle. Although he knows that these derro could potentially shake it off, he decides to gamble. Holding up his hand, blue-white bolts of electricity jump from between his fingers until the channeled energy arcs across the room toward the derro trying to escape.

Atavian: Knowledge (local): 15+10 = 25
Atavian: aelectricity ray, ranged touch attack (Derro 3) [roll0] SR [roll1] Damage [roll2]
Note: caster level is at -2 for this attack, which I think would mean SR check is +2 instead of +4. Also, I think for the ranged touch attack, the Derro may have cover.

Tallox: Full Attack on Shudder, if killed, 5ft step to G7
Full Attack (Shudder): Power attack (bite) 1: [roll3] Damage: [roll4]
Power attack (bite) 2: [roll5] Damage: [roll6]
Power attack (L claw): [roll7] Damage: [roll8]
Power attack (R claw): [roll9] Damage: [roll10]
Atavian Goodbarrel (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=2162435)
M TN Halfling Summoner, Level 4, Init 2, HP 28/28, Speed 20
AC 18, Touch 13, Flat-footed 16, CMD 12, Fort 4, Ref 4, Will 5, CMB 0, Base Attack Bonus 3
6/7 remaining Dam: 1d6-1+lvl/2, touch Electricity Ray +6 (1d6+1, x2)
Sickle +2 (1d4-2, x2)
Chain Shirt +1 (+5 Armor, +2 Dex, +1 Size, +2 Deflection)
Abilities Str 6, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 19
Spells Remaining 2nd 1/2, 1st 3/4
Condition +2 Deflection (Aliani)
Tallox (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=2162476)
M TN Beyonder Eidolon, Level 4, Init 2, HP 21/21, Speed 30
AC 25, Touch 15, Flat-footed 20, CMD 19, Fort 4, Ref 3, Will 3, CMB +7, Base Attack Bonus 3
(All attacks get +1 haste, -2 shaken)
Bite +9 (1d8+6, x2)
Full (1 bite / 2 claws) +9/+8x2 (1d8+6/1d4+4x2, x2)
Full (1 bite / 2 claws) PA +8/+7x2 (1d8+9/1d4+6x2, )
Natural Armor, Mage Armor (+6 Armor, +4 Shield, +2 Dex, +1 Haste, +2 Deflection)
Abilities Str 19, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 7, Wis 10, Cha 11
Condition Haste 3/4 rounds (Atavian), Mage armor 3/4 hours (Atavian), Shaken (bleeding eye), +2 Deflection (Aliani)

Stelio Kontos

2020-05-03, 03:29 PM

Aliani winced as the derro clubbed Jakkin in the face, instinctively drawing his hand to his face. Not so bad. He could handle that. The others seemed unlikely to be effective, or caught in the web... but the man possessed by the shudder, that was another matter entirely. He had seen firsthand what those could do, or remembered it as if he had, which was more or less the same thing?

He slid along the side of the room with his feet practically dancing, and began hurling a stream of invective at the Shudder-infused man, even slipping occasionally into Elvish as his speech borrowed the cadence of the taunt of the enemy. "Buildings may burn. Wood may rot. Corruption may take hold in the mad and the power hungry, but the people in one voice are too strong, too powerful, and though our bodies may one day fail, not this place! Not today! Join us, or leave us forever!"

A beam of light flashed from his hand, flying toward its target.

Move from B6 - C8. Note: my deflection aura comes with me, so it's now 20' emanating from C8.
Cast Admonishing Ray at Shudder Guy. Attack [roll0] (includes +1 Haste, -2 Shaken, -4 firing into melee) vs touch
Damage, if applicable: [roll1] nonlethal

PiccadillyPi

2020-05-03, 06:29 PM

Silas flourished his blade as various magical energies boosted his resolve. He still felt a remote unease as the eye followed his vision through thick strands of web. Had that barrier not appeared, he most certainly would have thrown something - perhaps a box of chemicals - at it. Raising his blade once again, now in double-time, he slashed twice at the derro held helplessly at the edge of Dalen's silken trap.

Attacking derro 1 (E3).

Shaken (-2 atk) + haste (+1 atk) = -1 to atk.

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

Attack 2: [roll2]
Damage 2: [roll3]

Crit check 1: [roll4]
Crit check 2: [roll5]

THEChanger

2020-05-04, 12:08 AM

Gavin's focus narrowed on the derro attempting escape, his training as a duelist blocking out the cacophony around him. "Ah, is your door jammed, freak? A pity." Taking a quick step back into reach of his target, Gavin once again thrust with the rapier, hoping to ram it through the creature's neck.

Gavin moves to F5, then to G5. He also makes an Acrobatics check to avoid an AoO from the Shudder patient, if necessary.

Acrobatics - [roll0]

Then, he attacks Derro 3 once again.

Rapier To Hit - [roll1]
Rapier Damage - [roll2]

Captain Jak

2020-05-04, 12:30 AM

Blood trickling into his beard from the stinging cut, magic singing in his veins and pushing him on ever-faster, Jakkin unleashes his fists upon his club-wielding opponent. While he'd like to place his attacks more carefully, the uncertain light makes this problematic and he settles for rattling blows off flesh and armour alike.

Full attack vs Derro 2: 19, 14. Concealment defeated. Damage: 6, 7

Darvin

2020-05-05, 11:34 PM

"Such an adorable misconception. We will not 'stop' what is to come, any more than a bullfighter stops his adversary in a direct charge. No, he lures it into his red cloak and then-" Dalen flourishes his cloak, tossing the small clump of dust kept in his component pouch just for this spell, "stabs it as it passes without harming him,"

Cast Glitterdust, catching Shudder and Derro 3 in the area of effect. Ideally it should resolve before Gavin moves.
Will DC 18 negates blindness
SR: No

Inspectre

2020-05-06, 05:19 PM

The party has mixed success in capitalizing on their initial success - Jakkin manages to return his facial scratch with a black eye and Gavin's rapier leaves a long scratch in the arm of his opponent, but Silas sword gets tangled up in the strands of webbing and fails to harm his immobile, drooling target and Atavian's arc of electricity dissipates harmlessly over the derro's flesh (that -2 caster level really hurt you there - normal level 4 check would have beat the SR :smallfrown: ). Things return to swinging in the party's favor as Tallox rips open another deep gash in the Shudder-infused man's chest and Aliani sends him staggering back a step with a magical blow of fatigue, right before Dalen puts out the man's lights entirely with a blinding flash of glitter (along with the nearby derro's, just before Gavin gets in the area of effect . . . somehow).

And that's when the derro attempt to cheat, as their leader - who is still struggling in the midst of the web - barks out an order in the derro language and both non-drooling derro cackle back a reply before both start to cast a magical spell. The one dueling Jakkin attempts to adopt a defensive stance while casting before reaching out its non-weapon hand to touch a flask on the nearby alchemy bench, while the blinded derro, unable to effectively see the angle of Gavin's attack simply casts blindly and trusts in his armor to protect him. Nothing happens as the derro Jakkin is fighting touches the flask, and the creature looks confused a moment before spitting something in its native tongue that could only be a curse as the magic fails due to its haste.

Vreeg attempts to escape the weakened web, and fails. He's rather annoyed about his piss-poor dice luck thus far.

Derro #1 is Stunned this round, and doesn't get a chance to escape the Web.

Derro #2 attempts to defensively cast Darkness. If this succeeds, he will attempt to move away from Jakkin to go bother someone else - probably Aliani. FAILS
Concentration: [roll0] vs. DC 19

Derro #3 attempts to cast Darkness non-defensively, provoking an AoO from Gavin. If hit, he will need to roll concentration to keep casting. If he succeeds, he will also run off in the darkness to go bother someone else.
Concentration: [roll1] vs. DC of 10+Gavin's damage+2

Meanwhile, despite being blind the Shudder-infused man looks up directly at Dalen as his parting taunt hangs in the air, his face still frozen in that rictus-grin as black blood continues to streak down it. A hint of something else shines through as the man speaks with sudden eloquence, sparks of electricity again beginning to arc towards his hand as he stumbles forward.

"BULL FIGHTING, YOU SAY? SHALL WE TEST THAT THEORY, MASTER WIZARD!?"

In a blur of motion, the man stretches his arms wide as lightning arcs between his hands, and then the energy is washing across the room towards the stairs, not as an aimed bolt of lightning but as a wide arc of energy that will hit Dalen right in the chest if he does not manage to get out of the way in time! As the wave of magical lightning subsides, the Shudder-infused man is now surrounded by a crackling corona of energy, adding its own menacing light to the basement's eerie illumination.

Move Action: Gather Power
Blindly take a 5' Step foward towards Dalen - 1 he goes F6 putting him next to Gavin, 2 he goes to F7 keeping him still next to Tallox. This is a ranged blast this time, so it will provoke an AoO from one of them (assuming Gavin hasn't already used his for the round on Derro #3). This AoO will not interrupt the attack since it's a ranged attack rather than a spell I believe, similar to how AoOs don't interrupt ranged attacks from a bow/gun - assuming the AoO doesn't kill the archer.

Standard Action: Metakinesis Kinetic Blast (Empower, +1 Burn) using the Spindle Form Infusion (Treat as AoE Blast in 2 adjacent squares rather than aimed ray attack - Reflex Save DC 15 to Negate Entirely, +2 Burn, -1 Burn from Gather Power, -1 Burn from Infusion Specialization)
Damage: [roll2] Electricity x 1.5 = 21 Electricity Damage, Reflex Save DC 15 to Negate entirely

-Good Guys-
Aliani: 1 Damage - Shaken, Hasted (2/4), +2 Deflection AC
Dalen: +2 Deflection AC - 21 DAMAGE PENDING DC 15 REFLEX-
Gavin: Shaken, +2 Deflection AC
Silas: Shaken, In Web (But Not Stuck), Hasted (2/4), +2 Deflection AC
Jakkin: 2 Damage - Shaken, Hasted (2/4), +2 Deflection AC
Tallox: Shaken, Hasted (2/4), +2 Deflection AC
Atavian: +2 Deflection AC

-Bad Guys-
Vreeg: 1 Damage, Webbed
Derro 1: 2 Damage, Webbed
Shudder: 26 Damage, Blinded, 14 Non-Lethal 3 Burn, +2 DEX/CON from Elemental Overflow - PENDING TALLOX AOO
Derro 2: 6 Damage
Derro 3: 4 Damage - PENDING GAVIN AOO

Battle Map (https://imgur.com/a/yMD4tSR)

Darvin

2020-05-06, 07:22 PM

The surge of lightning from the shudder-infused man catches Dalen nearly by surprise, and he reflexively ducks down and shields his face behind his cloak. It glows momentarily as the sparks of lightning strikes exactly along the seam of spell-diffusing enchantment placed along the cloak. The spell crackles all around Dalen, but leaves him almost completely unharmed.

"I'm afraid you only singed my cloak sir," Dalen extends his wand as he rises to his feet, takes a casual aim, and unleashes two bolts of magical energy, "but by all means, keep trying and see just how futile it is,"

He then slinks away from where he stands as silently as his feet will carry him.

Bluff check to try to get him to blast Dalen's current location again: [roll0]
Use Wand of Magic Missile (now at 18 changes): [roll1]
Stealth check to move away from Dalen's current location without him hearing: [roll2]
Move to A5 behind Atavian

SanguinePenguin

2020-05-06, 11:19 PM

Mostly infuriated that the drug-addled man was still standing, Tallox emits a low bestial growl, vaguely resembling some form of sinister purr. Again, the quickened monster gnashes his toothy jaws and windmills his powerful claws into the man.

With Gavin engaging the escaping creature, Atavian adjusts targets. A blue-white bolt of lightning arcs from his fingers, but this time just over the table at the closest Derro.

Atavian: electricity ray, ranged touch attack (Derro 2) [roll0] SR [roll1] Damage [roll2]

Tallox: Full Attack on Shudder, 5ft step to G7
Full Attack (Shudder): Bite 1: [roll3] Damage: [roll4]+14 = 30 if 24 hits
Bite 2: [roll5] Damage: [roll6]
L claw: [roll7] Damage: [roll8]
R claw: [roll9] Damage: [roll10]
Atavian Goodbarrel (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=2162435)
M TN Halfling Summoner, Level 4, Init 2, HP 28/28, Speed 20
AC 18, Touch 13, Flat-footed 16, CMD 12, Fort 4, Ref 4, Will 5, CMB 0, Base Attack Bonus 3
5/7 remaining Dam: 1d6-1+lvl/2, touch Electricity Ray +6 (1d6+1, x2)
Sickle +2 (1d4-2, x2)
Chain Shirt +1 (+5 Armor, +2 Dex, +1 Size, +2 Deflection)
Abilities Str 6, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 19
Spells Remaining 2nd 1/2, 1st 3/4
Condition +2 Deflection (Aliani)
Tallox (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=2162476)
M TN Beyonder Eidolon, Level 4, Init 2, HP 21/21, Speed 30
AC 25, Touch 15, Flat-footed 20, CMD 19, Fort 4, Ref 3, Will 3, CMB +7, Base Attack Bonus 3
(All attacks get +1 haste, -2 shaken)
Bite +9 (1d8+6, x2)
Full (1 bite / 2 claws) +9/+8x2 (1d8+6/1d4+4x2, x2)
Full (1 bite / 2 claws) PA +8/+7x2 (1d8+9/1d4+6x2, )
Natural Armor, Mage Armor (+6 Armor, +4 Shield, +2 Dex, +1 Haste, +2 Deflection)
Abilities Str 19, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 7, Wis 10, Cha 11
Condition Haste 2/4 rounds (Atavian), Mage armor 3/4 hours (Atavian), Shaken (bleeding eye), +2 Deflection (Aliani)

PiccadillyPi

2020-05-07, 05:44 PM

"So kind of you to stay still!"

He couldn't help but mock his own inability. Letting out a sigh as he glanced back to see if there were any witnesses to his embarrassing display, Silas rolled his shoulders before attacking again.

Shaken + haste attacks vs Derro 1
Attack 1: [roll0]
Damage 1: [roll1]

Attack 2: [roll2]
Damage 2: [roll3]

Crit 1: [roll4]
Crit 2: [roll5]

Stelio Kontos

2020-05-09, 01:07 PM

Hearing Jakkin's annoyed call for assistance, Aliani looked briefly around the room to see who else he might be talking to... no, he was needed. At least the Shudder-infested creature was down for the moment.

Wordlessly, he advanced on the derro Jakkin was engaged with, taking a swing with his morningstar. The footing wasn't the best, but that couldn't be helped.

Move to flank with Jakkin, standing on the crate south of the derro he's fighting
Attack! [roll0] includes +2 from flanking, damage [roll1]

Captain Jak

2020-05-09, 04:35 PM

Frustrated by being hemmed in on two sides by tables and no real opportunity for taking advantage of his admittedly excellent mobility, Jakkin bursts out angrily even as utter blackness closes down like a wall to his left.

"If someone can come distract this bloke, I'd blasted appreciate it!" the bearded pugilist bellows – and to his amazement, one of his allies heeds his call! As the blue-skinned freak’s attention is momentarily taken up by a swung morningstar, Jakkin takes advantage of the distraction to place his blows a lot less sportingly that he has been.

Despite landng blows that would have flattened another Halfling, something about these creatures’ skin made them much tougher targets and he failed to even make a mark.

Inspectre

2020-05-11, 07:49 PM

Gavin snarls quietly to himself as all fades to blackness around him.

"Hiding in the dark isn't going to save you, freak."

He growls, thrusting out with his rapier where he still believed the derro to be.

To-Hit: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
Blind Miss Chance (51 or Higher): [roll2]

"Who said anything about being saved? We are all damned to destruction!"

A voice hissed off from the hellknight armiger's right as the derro shifts in the darkness, pulls out a hooked club of his own, and swings away at the blind Gavin. Meanwhile, the derro caught in Dalen's web finally manages to pry himself free and charges back into the cover of the darkness with a shriek, just barely managing to avoid Silas's falchion and becoming stuck in another portion of Dalen's webs (Silas AoO barely misses and the derro barely succeeds at his Escape Artist to avoid becoming ensnared in Dalen's weakened webs.) The final derro, flanked now by both Jakkin and Aliani, decides that discretion is the better part of valor and dives under the alchemist bench separating him from the relative safety of the darkness. Or at least, he tries, banging his head on the underside of the table which slows him enough for Aliani to clip him with his mace - Jakkin's fist still failing to find purchase against the derro's surprisingly tough hide before the derro scrambles the rest of the way underneath the table and into the darkness on the other side of the alchemy bench.

Derro #1 - Succeeds at Escape Artist from the web, moves into the darkness, provoking from Silas (missed) and succeeds on the Escape Artist to avoid becoming Webbed again in his current square.
Derro #2 - Fails all of his acrobatics checks to avoid AoOs from Jakkin (miss) and Aliani (hits), and then succeeds on his second move action to tumble underneath the table, provoking a 2nd AoO from Jakkin (also misses).
Derro #3 - 5' Step to the south, Move action to pull out aklys, Standard Action to attack the blinded Gavin
To-Hit: [roll3]
Damage: [roll4]
Sneak Attack: 2
Hit: Fort Save DC 14
Gavin's Fort Save (Using Charmed Life if necessary): [roll5]

Elsewhere, the battle against the Shudder-infused man finally comes to an abrupt halt as Dalen produces a wand, blasting him with several magical projectiles before creeping down the stairs to join Atavian. The man staggers at the edge of the darkness (we'll assume Dalen was able to see enough of him to still target him with magic missile, as while it does always hit I believe you still need to see him to target him, and he's just inside the Darkness radius now, but I'm not particularly enthusiastic about going back now), two new small holes pockmarking his chest and yet he remains standing.

"DANCE ABOUT ON THE STRANDS OF THE INFINITE WEB AS MUCH AS YOU WISH, INSECT, BUT KNOW THAT YOU WILL STILL LEARN AS SHE DID THAT THE FUTURE IS IMMUTABLE! CITY SHALL BURN, CITY SHALL R-"

Tallox finally manages to shut the man up by clamping his teeth down around the man's windpipe, breaking his neck and tearing a sizable chunk out of his jugular (it appears that first bite attack was a potential crit even, so yeah . . . super dead!), although the beyonder still doesn't quite manage to rip his head off. Nonetheless, that finally seems to shut the man up and take him out of the fight as there are limits to the human body that even Shudder cannot overcome, and he collapses into a bloody heap in the darkness. As Tallox debates what to do about the sizable chunk of the man's flesh lodged in his teeth now, that decision is taken out of his hands as the man's blood seems to move of its own accord, flowing down Tallox's throat and into what passes for his stomach. Although his mental link with the beyonder does not convey all sensations - a fact which Atavian is probably grateful for right now - the summoner can nonetheless pick up on the beyonder's sudden confusion as dozens of different versions of the basement become superimposed on his vision. People are in different places in the room - no, multiple places at once, and the battle plays out with subtle differences all around Tallox. The effect is really quite disorienting, but fortunately the outsider hunter has honed enough of his other senses - which don't appear to be affected - that they can compensate and help inform him of which image is an illusion and which is "real".

(Tallox suffers from a minor case of Shudder poisoning, and is somewhat disoriented by all of these other battles playing out in front of his eyes. All targets are now treated as under the effects of a Blur (20% concealment) spell.)

Finally in the darkness, the derro leader manages to finally free himself, and there is the rasp of metal on darkness as he seems to extract the skewered eye from its frame.

"It is not yet time for our confrontation, pawns of the Usurper Queen! Let us see how you handle something a little more . . . robust. ODIUM!!!"

The leader shrieks, and suddenly there is a rumble and a muffled crackling shriek from the ground in reply to the last word he bellows out. A few moments later, and the ground over in that corner, packed earth and stone all, erupts upwards in a geyser as some sort of centipede-like thing emerges from the floor. Although it is partially obscured by the Darkness spell, enough of it can be seen to know that it is a centipede-like creature as big as a horse, with crystals jutting up out of its flesh like painful lesions, which glow with a bright fiery red light. Blackish blood oozes out from around the crystals embedded in its flesh, and flickers of flame wink in and out of existence on the surface of the gooey drool coating its massive pincher mandibles. Clearly the derro haven't been just experimenting with Shudder on human subjects (Knowledge Arcana to identify the base creature).

Kool-Aid mans up out of the floor, burning away the webs in its four squares as it does so. It does not seem to take the fire damage from the web burning away in its squares.

-Good Guys-
Aliani: 1 Damage - Shaken, Hasted (1/4), +2 Deflection AC
Dalen: +2 Deflection AC
Gavin: 6 Damage - Shaken, +2 Deflection AC
Silas: Shaken, In Web (But Not Stuck), Hasted (1/4), +2 Deflection AC
Jakkin: 2 Damage - Shaken, Hasted (1/4), +2 Deflection AC
Tallox: Shaken, Hasted (1/4), +2 Deflection AC (Targets have effects of Blur)
Atavian: +2 Deflection AC

-Bad Guys-
Odium: PISSED
Vreeg: 1 Damage
Derro 1: 19 Damage
Shudder: DEAD
Derro 2: 16 Damage
Derro 3: 4 Damage

Battle Map (https://imgur.com/a/6B7fVEM)

Stelio Kontos

2020-05-11, 08:27 PM

Aliani squirmed as the giant Cytillipede was summoned; he'd read something about this... somewhere. Mutated centipedes with huge pointy jaws dripping with poison, or some such. "Everyone! New target! I'll distract the others! Work together! Oh, and don't get bit, it's poisonous!"

Now, for a distraction. What could be more distracting than a crash of God-only-knows-what nasty liquids in a dark area? They'd surely have to step carefully to avoid that mess, wherever they were. That table didn't look that heavy...

Why not, I'll take a table flip attempt on the table to my right. Maybe there will be an earth shattering kaboom. Maybe that will even be GOOD!
Strength check: [roll0]

If successful move to C2. If not, 5' step to C8.

SanguinePenguin

2020-05-11, 11:13 PM

Atavian stares wide-eyed at this new monstrosity, peering at what pieces extend out of the darkness. "By the myriad unmentionable parts of Rovagug... I think its a Cytillapede! They can shed magic with ease and that carapace is going to be rough... curses," he did not like this turn of events one bit. The halfling starts working with a pinch of iron filings, and moves a bit closer to Tallox as he does so. The incantation that rolls off his tongue and the delicate motions through his fingers cause the filings to spark and vanish, then, Tallox begins to grow...

The beyonder, still gagging from the foul blood that forced its way down his throat, but he rises up to his new full 14' in height. He momentarily tests his enlongated arms and opens his now massive jaw before bellowing a chuckle, deeper and more sinister than his usual utterances. He strikes with full fury at the two - or is it four - wobbly blue men nearby.

Atavian: move to C8
Cast Enlarge Person on Tallox

Tallox: If Alaini's action put toxic chemicals near Tallox, he will first step away to G7, then occupy G7-H8 on growth
Otherwise, he will occupy F7-G8
Full Power Attack on Derro 2, if Derro 2 dies, attack Derro 3
Full Power Attack (Derro2/3): Bite 1: [roll0] Damage: [roll1] (Blur miss on 1-20 [roll2])
L claw: [roll3] Damage: [roll4] (Blur miss on 1-20 [roll5])
R claw: [roll6] Damage: [roll7] (Blur miss on 1-20 [roll8])
Bite 2: [roll9] Damage: [roll10] (Blur miss on 1-20 [roll11])

Note: Tallox has darkvision, 10' attack range, and his mouth is made of greatswords
Atavian Goodbarrel (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=2162435)
M TN Halfling Summoner, Level 4, Init 2, HP 28/28, Speed 20
AC 18, Touch 13, Flat-footed 16, CMD 12, Fort 4, Ref 4, Will 5, CMB 0, Base Attack Bonus 3
5/7 remaining Dam: 1d6-1+lvl/2, touch Electricity Ray +6 (1d6+1, x2)
Sickle +2 (1d4-2, x2)
Chain Shirt +1 (+5 Armor, +2 Dex, +1 Size, +2 Deflection)
Abilities Str 6, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 19
Spells Remaining 2nd 1/2, 1st 2/4
Condition +2 Deflection (Aliani)
Tallox (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=2162476)
M TN Beyonder Eidolon, Level 4, Init 2, HP 21/21, Speed 30
AC 23, Touch 15, Flat-footed 20, CMD 19, Fort 4, Ref 3, Will 3, CMB +7, Base Attack Bonus 3
(All attacks get +1 haste, -2 shaken)
Bite +9 (1d8+6, x2)
Full (1 bite / 2 claws) +9/+8x2 (1d8+6/1d4+4x2, x2)
Full (1 bite / 2 claws) PA +8/+7x2 (1d8+9/1d4+6x2, )
Natural Armor, Mage Armor (+6 Armor, +4 Shield, +2 Dex, +1 Haste, +2 Deflection, -1 Size, -1 Dex)
Abilities Str 19, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 7, Wis 10, Cha 11
Condition Haste 1/4 rounds (Atavian), Mage armor 3/4 hours (Atavian), Shaken (bleeding eye), +2 Deflection (Aliani), Enlarge person 4/4 minutes (Atavian), Shudder madness (diet)

THEChanger

2020-05-11, 11:40 PM

Gavin cursed under his breath as a club struck him in the darkness. There were very few times he regretted not having a bit of magic on his side, but not being able to see where to put his sword frustrated him like little else. Then, from behind him, a rumble, crash, and the clacking of mandibles.

"Cytilapede, eh? Maybe you'll be easier to stab."

Pulling away from his previous dance partner, Gavin carefully made his way through the darkness to where he could hear the monstrous insect, and stabbed as best he could into the dark.

Gavin moves from G5 to G3 at half speed, attempting to avoid AoOs with Acrobatics. Once there, he stabs in the general direction of monstrous centipede sounds. And I think I read we're no longer shaken? Which would be great?

To Hit - [roll0]
Miss Chance - [roll1]
Damage - [roll2]

PiccadillyPi

2020-05-12, 11:06 AM

"We'll cytillipede later! Get that blasted mage!"

Silas threw his sabre into the muddy floor. With one hand he grasped a chakram from his waist, quickly throwing it at the magician on the far side of the room. As the weapon flew from his hand, his tail handed him another disc of death. Circling back, he launched it into the darkness in pursuit of its twin. Rarely did he count his blessing gifted to him by his father, but his eyes would prove useful that day. His aim however...

Free action to drop falchion. Move action to draw 1 chakram. Swift action with prehensile tail to grab 1 chakram. Hasted + shaken = -1 to attack.

Chakram attack vs Vreeg (+4 AC from cover):

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

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

Crit check 1: [roll4]
Crit check 2: [roll5]

Darvin

2020-05-12, 11:05 PM

Dalen gives a nod towards Silas. This centipede creature was a distraction. Even if it was a long-shot, attempting to nab the real prize here and now as worth the risk. He turns his attention to the Derro leader and gives a calm but mocking derision, "Oh, don't run away now. Stay and talk, and we might end up seeing things... eye to eye,"

Ready an action to cast Hideous Laughter on Vreeg when he leaves the darkness (Will DC 19 negates)
Spell Resistance [roll0]

Knowledge Arcana to identify any details my allies haven't: [roll1]

Captain Jak

2020-05-13, 12:55 PM

Jakkin curses as his unwarrantedly difficult opponent manages to scramble away despite his best efforts.

"MAYBE IF WE CAN HAVE OUR GIANT MONSTER DEAL WITH THEIRS?" he bellows, digging into his bandolier and withdrawing...a handful of fire?

Casting this ball of flame into a tight orbit about his head, it proceeds to illuminate his immediate area as the divinely-bestowed eternal flame spell burns merrily away like a shooting star.

Slipping past his ally Jakkin rolls under the next table and comes up beside one of the remaining blue-skin, a fierce grin on his bearded face despite the close proximity of the mutated bug thing.

"Hello, ducks!" he cheerily greets the foe, his gnarled fists coming up to strike.

Withdraw Item and start Ioun Torch spinning, move through Silas’ space and Acrobatics under table (bonus to Acrobatics exceeds DC). End in E3.

Inspectre

2020-05-13, 07:27 PM

Drawing a magical stone, Jakkin lets it loose to fly around his head and then moves close into the darkness. The stone begins to emit magical light as it spins around the halfling's head, and the magic crackles against the derro's summoned darkness until it collapses and the derro and their pet are once again exposed to view, this time in bright light.

(OOC: I believe that the effects of the darkness spell are merely suppressed not dispelled currently, as you would need to cast the Continual Flame spell directly on the object enchanted with the Darkness spell to dispel it for good - which wouldn't work short of Jakkin pressing his ioun torch up against the door, and I've seen some suggestions that such an interaction would dispell *both* objects, so I assume he won't want to do that. Regardless, it's an academic difference anyway since until Jakkin puts the ioun torch away or it's somehow destroyed, and the darkness spell is suppressed and it will only last a few minutes anyway.)

This exposes the derro leader to view, who immediately collapses to the ground laughing uproariously at Dalen's pun (man, the dice REALLY hate him with that Nat 1 on the first save.). This along with the cover provided by the massive centipede blocks the leader from Silas's dual chakrams. The leader falls to the floor, clutching the bloody dripping eyeball skewer to its chest as it rocks back and forth on the floor, rolling about for only a few moments before its laughter suddenly stops (Vreeg passes the follow-up save, using a full-round action on his next turn - which, sadly, is "right after" Dalen's turn with how we handle initiative order. He remains prone and visible in the combat area for this next round instead of fleeing this turn, at least.) Unfortunately, now that the Eye is exposed to view again the shiver of fear returns to everyone affected by the Eye's presence.

Spends full-round action laughing to get his second and final save against Dalen's Hideous Laughter, which he narrowly makes, leaving him Prone but able to act on his next round of actions instead of having to continue laughing uncontrollably for 3 more rounds.

For just the briefest of moments the massive cytillipede turns its head quizzically to look at its apparent master, and then with a shriek of rage surges forward, bowling over Gavin with tremendous force and sending him and the derro who had just escaped from Silas - who was also unluckily in the way - backward toward Tallox, and it is only the creature's now-massive chest which stops Gavin's tumble. As the creature rushes past, Jakkin's fist flashes out reflexively, and it clearly penetrates through the monster's armored hide - an act not entirely without price as the intense heat from the creature's skin burns Jakkin's knuckles. A moment later the monstrosity shrieks again as the crystals embedded down its back begin to glow much brighter, and the space immediately around the creature quickly becomes uncomfortably hot.

Standard: Bullrushes Gavin & Derro #1, getting obscenely high numbers over and above each's CMD, allowing it to push Derro #1 two squares and Gavin three squares. It stops pursuing Gavin after moving two squares, and uses the final square of push to send him into G6, where he is flanked by Derro #2 (in F6) and Derro #3 (in H6). This bullrush movement provokes an AoO from Jakkin, who hits Odium for 8 damage, and takes [roll0] Fire in return for using a natural attack.
Swift: Actives Molten Core, boosting Fire damage for attacking with natural weapons up to 1d6. Additionally, all creatures that end their next turn adjacent/within 5' of Odium take [roll1] Fire damage. This damage has already been applied to Derro #1, and Derro #3.

This heat will also remove the rest of Dalen's web in the E2-H4 region at the start of Odium's next turn, dealing Web burning fire damage to anyone in E2-E4, and H2-H4. Only Jakkin and Vreeg are currently affected by this, I believe.

Move: Pose for the camera like an insectile Godzilla.

Getting knocked so far backward is unfortunate for the armiger, as that position puts him directly in between the two derro that Tallox is currently attempting to rend to pieces. The one shrieks as the beyonder's jaws close on its shoulder, but it manages to twist about and tear itself free from his grip, only narrowly escaping death this time (although given the bloody mess the derro's chest is now, death is closing in on swift wings for the tough little blue abomination). Despite the obvious danger that Tallox poses to them both, however, the two derro cackle maniacally as they pummel Gavin from both sides with their hooked clubs - until a moment later the less wounded derro steps back, leaving its seriously injured comrade to face Tallox's wrath alone. The last derro turns back to face its tormentor Silas, focusing on its magic before pointing an accusatory finger at the tiefling and sending a jolt of magical chaos into his mind.

Derro #1
Standard: Defensively Cast Daze at Silas, making the roll to do so. Silas must make a DC 13 Will Save or be Dazed for his next turn.
Move: 5' step to G5, getting burned by Odium for its trouble.

Derro #2
Standard: Attack Gavin with flank
To-Hit: [roll2]
Damage: [roll3] plus [roll4] Sneak Attack

Derro #3
Standard: Attack Gavin with flank
To-Hit: [roll5]
Damage: [roll6] plus [roll7] Sneak Attack
Move: 5' Step to H5, getting burned by Odium but escaping from Tallox (he doesn't know about the Reach from being Tall & Large yet, poor guy).

-Good Guys-
Aliani: 3 Damage
Dalen:
Gavin: 17 Damage
Silas: In Web (But Not Stuck) - WILL SAVE DC 13 OR DAZED FOR NEXT ROUND
Jakkin: 4 Damage
Tallox: (Targets have effects of Blur)
Atavian:

-Bad Guys-
Odium: 8 Damage, Molten Core 1d6
Vreeg: 1 Damage - Prone
Derro 1: 22 Damage
Shudder: DEAD
Derro 2: 29 Damage
Derro 3: 7 Damage

No more Darkness- yay!
Everyone who was Shaken is now Shaken again - boo!
Dalen's web from A1-D4 is still intact. It is completely gone in colums F-G and will be gone from all but E1 & H1 on the monsters' next turn.
Ending your turn next to Odium will cause you to take 3 Fire damage - more if you're standing in a webbed square that burns away (E2-E4, H2-H4).
There is a large hole left by Odium in F1-G2 now. You can still stand in these squares if you wish to avoid jumping down the hole, but it will require making a DC 15 Acrobatics check to remain standing up top. The hole itself is 10' deep.

Battle Map (https://imgur.com/a/0DgQctY)

Captain Jak

2020-05-13, 08:49 PM

Jakkin's intended target is swept away by the giant glowing bug's abrupt rush, and the Halfling lands a blow on an exposed portion of its carapace for its presumptuousness. The contact is a great deal hotter than expected, and he shakes his scorched fist with a grimace as the beast's attention turns his way.

"Nae," he says, and tumbles away even as the massive pincers come stabbing down at him. He doesn't escape entirely unscathed, but his mail shirt turns the blow even if he does end up sporting a new tear in his clothing as a result.

Scrambling agilely along the edge of the floor near the wall to avoid the gaping hole left by the monster's emergence, he fetches up near the corner right beside the fallen blue-skin and his admittedly gut-turning extracted eye. Not wasting words, he stamps one bare foot down hard at his opponent's head...and barely avoids falling as rubble shifts underfoot. Suffice to say, he keeps his footing but at the expense of not curb-stomping the leader of the opposition.

Tumble to avoid AoO for leaving a threatened square, successful. Tumble to avoid falling in hole, successful. End up in G1. Attack Vreeg, miss horribly.

Stelio Kontos

2020-05-13, 09:31 PM

Things had certainly changed for the worse. Even if the enemy could again be seen. Despite Aliani's outward confidence, he worried that there was no way they could handle such a large beast as this -- certainly not with the derro around as an additional distraction. And he clearly wasn't enough to deal with that.

Silently casting a prayer for luck, he picked up the small crate in front of him and hurled it through the air to land at the giant centipede's feet. He wasn't sure what would happen, but hopefully there would be something painful in there that would damage the beast or the derro nearby.

Move action: pick up blue crate
5' step to D7
Attack! Launch blue crate to target square G4. Rolled a 12 on d20 in Discord. I think that hits AC 10 (+3 BAB, +1 Dex, -2 shaken, -4 improvised weapon), which should be good enough to hit a square. I've no idea what I just threw, so uh, you can take care of the damage.

THEChanger

2020-05-14, 08:00 AM

Coughing up a little blood, Gavin struggled back to his feet from the sudden onslaught of centipede and clubs. This was, admittedly, not how he imagined his day going when he began it. "Feeling a bit rough, if anyone has a spare potion toss it!"

Gavin's eyes widened as he saw Aliani pick up and throw a crate of mysterious origin at the large monster the derro summoned. "Not what I meant, not what I meant!" Taking a step back, Gavin made yet another attempt to skewer the derro who had been taunting him, and prepared himself for the inevitable assault.

Gavin takes a five foot step into H6, and makes an attack against Derro 3.

To Hit - [roll0]
Damage - [roll1]

I am also declaring...conditional actions.

Gavin will attempt to Parry the first attack against him. If the Parry is successful, he will spend his immediate action to Riposte. If the Parry is unsuccessful, and he is attacked a second time, he will attempt to Dodging Panache into an unoccupied adjacent square that puts him further away from enemy attacks.

Parry Attack Roll - [roll2]
Riposte Attack Roll - [roll3]
Riposte Damage Roll - [roll4]

SanguinePenguin

2020-05-14, 09:29 AM

Atavian scowls at this new monstrosity, especially when Jakkin's flesh burns. Knowing what it would do to Tallox, he shouts into the void. "if anyone can shield Tallox from that thing's heat, please do!" He burns up another shaving of licorice to grant another bout of celerity to his allies.

Giant Tallox shakes his head at the spinning world. He steps to a bettter vantage point and continues his onslaught against the six derro at his feet. He hopes that both the swashbucklers in his midst can help to even the odds.

Atavian: cast haste again - Tallox, Gavin, Silas, Jakkin

Tallox: 5ft step to occupy G7-H8
Full Power Attack on Derro 3, if Derro 3 dies, attack Derro 2, if Derro 2 dies, attack Derro 1
Full Power Attack (Derro 3): Bite 1: [roll0] Damage: [roll1] (Blur miss on 1-20 [roll2])
L claw: [roll3] Damage: [roll4] (Blur miss on 1-20 [roll5])
R claw: [roll6] Damage: [roll7] (Blur miss on 1-20 [roll8])
Bite 2: [roll9] Damage: [roll10] (Blur miss on 1-20 [roll11])

Since he's got 10' reach and half a dozen enemies in range...
Bite AoO: [roll12] Damage: [roll13] (Blur miss on 1-20 [roll14])

Note: Tallox has darkvision, 10' attack range, and his mouth is made of greatswords
Atavian Goodbarrel (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=2162435)
M TN Halfling Summoner, Level 4, Init 2, HP 28/28, Speed 20
AC 18, Touch 13, Flat-footed 16, CMD 12, Fort 4, Ref 4, Will 5, CMB 0, Base Attack Bonus 3
5/7 remaining Dam: 1d6-1+lvl/2, touch Electricity Ray +6 (1d6+1, x2)
Sickle +2 (1d4-2, x2)
Chain Shirt +1 (+5 Armor, +2 Dex, +1 Size, +2 Deflection)
Abilities Str 6, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 19
Spells Remaining 2nd 0/2, 1st 2/4
Condition +2 Deflection (Aliani)
Tallox (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=2162476)
M TN Beyonder Eidolon, Level 4, Init 2, HP 21/21, Speed 30
AC 23, Touch 15, Flat-footed 20, CMD 19, Fort 4, Ref 3, Will 3, CMB +7, Base Attack Bonus 3
(All attacks get +1 haste, -2 shaken)
Bite +9 (1d8+6, x2)
Full (1 bite / 2 claws) +9/+8x2 (1d8+6/1d4+4x2, x2)
Full (1 bite / 2 claws) PA +8/+7x2 (1d8+9/1d4+6x2, )
Natural Armor, Mage Armor (+6 Armor, +4 Shield, +2 Dex, +1 Haste, +2 Deflection, -1 Size, -1 Dex)
Abilities Str 19, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 7, Wis 10, Cha 11
Condition Haste 4/4 rounds (Atavian), Mage armor 3/4 hours (Atavian), Shaken (bleeding eye), +2 Deflection (Aliani), Enlarge person 4/4 minutes (Atavian), Shudder madness (diet)

PiccadillyPi

2020-05-16, 04:46 PM

Silas watched as a crate flew past his view, crashing into the oversized vermin. Wishing the actor good luck - without saying it, thankfully - the dandy grabbed his sword from the ground and made his way carefully over the crate in front of him, snugly moving between a dangerous ditch and a crazed cytillipede until he was well against a wall facing Vreeg. The heat was not overwhelming as it might have been for the others, so he dealt with it as he would have a small fire elemental: ignoring it until he could no longer bear the loss of textiles. Not desiring a quip in that moment, he swung away at the discoloured halfling on the ground.

Pick up sword and move past cytillipede to H3. Attack Vreeg (if caught in web, ready action to attack Vreeg when the web burns away).

CMB to avoid web: [roll0] (shaken -2)

Attack: [roll1] (shaken -2, haste +1, flanking +2)
Damage: [roll2]

Darvin

2020-05-18, 03:03 AM

Dalen wastes no time in fetching a scroll from his case. He draws it out and unfurls it, but does not cast and instead waits for the right moment.

Move action to withdraw my scroll of Expeditious Construction, and then take a Readied action to prepare to cast it. If Vreeg attempts to escape, Dalen will create a low barrier to disrupt the movement and block his movement.

Inspectre

2020-05-18, 07:22 PM

As the magical haste fades from his companions, Atavian summons forth the magic again, this time targeting Gavin, Silas, Tallox, and Jakkin with the beneficial magic.
In a blur of magically enhanced motion, Gavin strikes at his foe twice, his first thrust glancing off his target's armor but his second managing to draw blood from the strange humanoid's armpit.
Tallox rends into the same target a moment later, his fangs taking that shallow wound and ripping it into a deep gash that gushes blood.
Still, like it's bravely wounded compatriot, the derro remains standing . . . which is when Aliani hurls a crate filled with vials of Shudder into the swirling melee.

At first, it seems like nothing of note really happens - the wooden crate shatters apart on impact with the floor immediately beneath the modified cytillipede, sending glass vials filled with a crackling orange liquid rolling across the floor.
But then the heat emanating from the monstrosity washes over the vials, they start to bubble and fizz, and then after a moment's pause, explode.
A violent, multi-hued eruption of fire, electricity, frost, and liquid droplets of acid fly in all directions around the crate's immediate vicinity, partially vaporizing the backs of the two nearby derro and causing the cytillipede to rear back with a shriek of pain. Both derro collapse face first onto the floor, and while they appear to still be breathing for the moment, it seems unlikely that they will be breathing for much longer.

(OOC: Aliani's thrown crate of Shudder explodes for 1d6 of Fire, Cold, Electricity, and Acid each - DC 15 Reflex for half. Odium seemed to take none of the Fire damage, and slightly more damage from the Cold).

Stunned at the sudden devastation of their impromptu battle-line, the last derro looks back over its shoulder to see the swirling melee around the hole Odium had made in the floor - the derro's sole path of escape at the moment, and reluctantly moves to stand over his fallen ally and attempts to defensively cast a spell at Tallox. Unfortunately for the derro, either its injuries or its sudden awareness of its fleeting mortality leave its motions as nothing but wild flailing as the magic fails.

#1 & #3 make stabilization checks as they are in negatives but not DEAD just yet.

#2 - 5' steps into G5, over top of the body of Derro #1, and attempts to defensively cast a spell, which fizzles.

Meanwhile over by the hole left by the newcomer Cytillipede, the last vestiges of Dalen's magical web in the immediate area around the flaming cytillipede burn away. The thick webs evaporate in a brief but intense flash of fire, which lightly burns even Silas' flesh, although it is naught but the lightest caress. The tiefling notices that the derro leader burns, but a tracing of faintly glowing runes appear on his skin, seemingly to absorb the fire's abuse and leaving his skin unblemished. The leader barks out another command in his native tongue to the cytillipede, which obediently turns and moves back over the hole. It seems to have no difficulty in hanging off the side of the pit it had made as necessary to reach Jakkin as it lunges forward to snap its mandibles at him. Seeing the beast diving head-first at him, and despite the fiery pain he experienced the last time he struck it, the mighty halfling tries to repeat his prior success but this time his fist glances off of the more heavily armored head-plate of the beastie, perhaps due to that split-second of fear and pain-driven hesitation. A moment later, and its mandibles have locked around Jakkin's waist, although rather than attempt to bite him in half the cytillipede merely lifts him aloft, holding Jakkin up and out of the way. Even more intense heat billows out of the cytillipede as the crystals embedded in its flesh begin to glow with a blinding intensity, and even the creature's own flesh begins to crack from the pent-up energy. As the heat washes over the remaining crate of Shudder and the nearby alchemical bench, both begin to hiss and fizzle as a similar run-away alchemical reaction begins similar to the one that Aliani caused by throwing the crate. Presumably they will likewise explode in the next several seconds.

5' Steps back into E2/F3, and since it has a Climb speed it has no difficulty in avoiding falling into the pit for having one of its four squares over the pit.
Standard: Attempts to grapple Jakkin, provoking an AoO. Jakkin narrowly misses due to that Shaken condition. Odium gets a ridiculous amount over Jakkin's CMD, and thus they are both now Grappled.
Swift: Activate Molten Body again, increasing the Fire damage for natural attacks/ending one's turn adjacent to Odium up to 2d6. Odium also takes [roll0] irresistible Fire damage as the heat within its body reaches unsustainable levels . . .

Seeing the halfling now contained, the derro leader flicks his eyes over to Silas, as he begins to intone a low, menacing chant, working his fingers in strange symbols as he lies on his back. A moment later, and he grins as the magic succeeds. Pointing his finger at the tiefling, the derro speaks only one word in Common - "FLEE." The terror lingering in the back of Silas's mind flares as the derro's magic stokes it to unendurable levels, and Silas is suddenly overcome with fear of the derro leader and his strange eyeball-on-a-stick. Despite the fear threatening to overwhelm his mind completely, Silas still keeps a level-enough head to swing wildly at the derro leader as he twists back up onto his feet, and the runes adorning his skin flash out of existence as the tiefling's falchion traces a bloody line across the derro's chest. The leader leers at Silas, and his bravery flees him completely as the leader attempts to slip off the edge and into the pit . . . only to run smack into a wall of dirt that wasn't there a moment ago. The leader's eyes flick over to Dalen now cradling a blank scroll and he hisses some sort of curse in his native tongue.

Standard: Casts Cause Fear on Silas, who fails his Will save and must now spend his next 2 turns fleeing from Vreeg. He retains enough of his mind to choose his own path to escape, although he does have to flee using his Haste-boosted speed for his next two turns.
Move: Stand up, provoking an AoO from Silas, who despite being Frightened does retain enough will to still take the AoO. Silas hits, dealing enough damage to remove the last of Vreeg's temporary hit points - his damage line now reflects the actual amount of damage done to his real HP.
5' Step into the Pit - Interrupted by Dalen using a scroll of Expeditious Construction to partially wall off G2, and forcing Vreeg to either spending a move action next round circling around the 10' long wall around G2 or have to make a DC 5 climb check to scale the waist-high wall and tumble down into the pit on the other side.

-Good Guys-
Aliani: 3 Damage
Dalen:
Gavin: 17 Damage, Hasted (3/4 Rounds Left)
Silas: 1 Damage, Hasted (3/4 Rounds Left), FRIGHTENED (2 ROUNDS)
Jakkin: 4 Damage, Hasted (3/4 Rounds Left), GRAPPLED
Tallox: (Targets have effects of Blur), Hasted (3/4 Rounds Left)
Atavian:

-Bad Guys-
Odium: 18 Damage, Molten Core 2d6, GRAPPLED
Vreeg: 7 Damage
Derro 1: BLEEDING OUT, -3
Shudder: DEAD
Derro 2: 29 Damage
Derro 3: BLEEDING OUT, -5

A1-D4 remain Webbed at full strength. H1 is still intact but weakened (DC 16), and E1 will be burnt away at the start of Odium's next turn.
Creatures ending their turns adjacent to Odium, or attack it with natural weapons, will take 2d6 Fire damage.
The fire damage from last round that Odium did to his surroundings has caused the crate of Shudder in E4 to Ignite. It will detonate (dealing 4d6 of various elemental damage to everyone adjacent to it at the start of Odium's next turn.)
The fire damage from last round that Odium did to his surroundings has caused the alchemical workbench in E5-E7 to Ignite. It will detonate (dealing a lesser 2d6 of Fire & Acid - 1d6 each - to everyone adjacent to the bench at the start of Odium's next turn).

Battle Map (https://imgur.com/a/lmYRO3Q)

PiccadillyPi

2020-05-18, 07:43 PM

Nearly dropping his sword in fear, Silas did not have time to appreciate the fireworks that Aliani had set off, but rather he rattled in his armor across the basement. Leaping over the burning crate as he deflected whatever opportunities the enemies took against him along the way. Thank goodness he was hasted - he couldn't stand another second with such a terrible presence. Soon he would be even further away and all the better for it.

Standard action: total defense. 21 AC -> 25 AC
Move action: speed of 50ft. Move between derro 2 and odium, over chemical crate, to A7 (or further if possible).

Stelio Kontos

2020-05-18, 07:55 PM

Aliani giggled with a mixture of wonderment and sheer delight as his impulse yielded results beyond his wildest dreams. At the same time, standing next to even more of the volatile chemicals seemed a poor idea.

There was one of the weird looking creatures still standing, and Gavin and Tallox looked as if they had larger prey in mind. Moving around the table with his morningstar raised, the actor let out a battle cry as he tried to smash down upon the creature's skull...

Move to G6 (via E8)
Attack: [roll0] including shaken penalty, damage [roll1]

THEChanger

2020-05-18, 08:55 PM

As Gavin turned away from the explosion, he locked eyes with the derro that spoke as the leader of the drug makers. The creature was attempting to slip away, dive down into the hole its monstrous creation had left behind. Gavin could feel his blood pump faster, his rage building. That thing had harmed his allies, harmed innocents. That thing had allied itself with Gaedren Lamm, who even now skulked somewhere else in the city. And that thing had the gall to try and get away, to evade the consequences of what it had done?

No. No one got to escape consequences.

Gavin rushed forward, leaving behind the last of the derro he had been fighting, letting the magic enhancing his speed carry him to where the derro waited. The armiger's eyes glinted in the firelight as his rapier flashed out, attempting to deal the final blow to his target.

Swift Action, Vindictive Smite on Vreeg. Until Vreeg dies, Gavin gets +3 to hit and +2 to damage against Vreeg, as well as +3 Deflection to AC against Vreeg's attacks.

Full Round Action: Charge from H3 to H6, and Charge Attack Vreeg. +2 to hit, -2 to AC.

To Hit - [roll0]
Damage - [roll1]

Captain Jak

2020-05-18, 10:15 PM

Despite his best efforts (and the influence of acceleration magicks) Jakkin was unable to avoid being captured in the monster's giant pincers and hoisted off the ground. The heat pouring off the monstrosity increased if that was possible, and it was clear the only possible chance for survival would be to wrest free of the beast's clutches.

It was also just as apparent that such an attempt would likely be entirely futile for someone of Jakkin's size.

As Gavin came charging in to menace the blue-skinned spellcaster, Jakkin's eyes widened as that worthy was distracted as a result. Perhaps he couldn't gain his freedom before the life was crushed and burnt from him; he accepted that.

But perhaps he could take the bastard with him.

"Shut yer yap, ya mewling quim!" he bellowed, and awkwardly lashed out with both feet in a one-two. One blow thudded harmlessly off an armoured shoulder, but the other thumped satisfyingly against that stupid blue head, tingles running up his leg from the impact. Being chewed up by a giant, flaming multilegged monster robbed the attack of some of its force, and...it didn't seem to affect the creature much at all.

Pity.

Grappled, full attack vs Vreeg. 21 & 13 to hit. 4 damage, 8 sneak attack damage to flanked defender.

SanguinePenguin

2020-05-18, 11:12 PM

Atavian, annoyed at the fear and nausea eminating from his link with Tallox, glares at Vreeg and that damnable eye. He grabs a pat of butter (an item any self-respecting halfling would have within reach at all times), moves a bit closer and with an arcane intonation and gesture (followed by a lewd one for effect) coats the eye in a thick layer of grease, hoping the stupid thing will roll under foot and get crushed.

The two explosions took down four of the enemies at Tallox's feet, and the two swashbucklers ran to the other part of the battle. Still he couldn't get past the two remaining derros to the more exctiing part of battle, so Tallox attacks them hoping to clear the way to the rest of the fray.

Atavian: move to B4. cast grease on the eye (Vreeg reflex vs DC 15 or drop it) - no issue with spell resist

Tallox:
Full Power Attack on Derro 2, if first attack drops derro 2, move to G4-H5, if not, then 5ft step to G6-H7 at the end of turn
Full Power Attack (Derro 2): Bite 1: [roll0] Damage: [roll1] (Blur miss on 1-20 [roll2])
L claw: [roll3] Damage: [roll4] (Blur miss on 1-20 [roll5])
R claw: [roll6] Damage: [roll7] (Blur miss on 1-20 [roll8])
Bite 2: [roll9] Damage: [roll10] (Blur miss on 1-20 [roll11])

Since he's got 10' reach
Bite AoO: [roll12] Damage: [roll13] (Blur miss on 1-20 [roll14])

Note: Tallox has darkvision, 10' attack range, and his mouth is made of greatswords
Atavian Goodbarrel (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=2162435)
M TN Halfling Summoner, Level 4, Init 2, HP 28/28, Speed 20
AC 18, Touch 13, Flat-footed 16, CMD 12, Fort 4, Ref 4, Will 5, CMB 0, Base Attack Bonus 3
5/7 remaining Dam: 1d6-1+lvl/2, touch Electricity Ray +6 (1d6+1, x2)
Sickle +2 (1d4-2, x2)
Chain Shirt +1 (+5 Armor, +2 Dex, +1 Size, +2 Deflection)
Abilities Str 6, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 19
Spells Remaining 2nd 0/2, 1st 1/4
Condition +2 Deflection (Aliani)
Tallox (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=2162476)
M TN Beyonder Eidolon, Level 4, Init 2, HP 21/21, Speed 30
AC 23, Touch 15, Flat-footed 20, CMD 19, Fort 4, Ref 3, Will 3, CMB +7, Base Attack Bonus 3
(All attacks get +1 haste, -2 shaken)
Bite +9 (1d8+6, x2)
Full (1 bite / 2 claws) +9/+8x2 (1d8+6/1d4+4x2, x2)
Full (1 bite / 2 claws) PA +8/+7x2 (1d8+9/1d4+6x2, )
Natural Armor, Mage Armor (+6 Armor, +4 Shield, +2 Dex, +1 Haste, +2 Deflection, -1 Size, -1 Dex)
Abilities Str 19, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 7, Wis 10, Cha 11
Condition Haste 3/4 rounds (Atavian), Mage armor 3/4 hours (Atavian), Shaken (bleeding eye), +2 Deflection (Aliani), Enlarge person 4/4 minutes (Atavian), Shudder madness (diet)

Darvin

2020-05-20, 02:54 AM

Dalen cuts Vreeg a smug grin as he tosses the expended scroll towards the fires. His eyes narrow as he sees the Derro's choice of magic, and widen as it becomes apparent that Silas has fallen victim to it. Dalen has no direct means of counteracting it, but an enchanter knows that emotions can be manipulated indirectly; fight or flight ceases to be a consideration when flight isn't possible. He draws his scroll of Silent Image and casts it. Illusionary iron bars materialize around Silas and Vreeg, creating the impression that the two are caged together.

Silas should hopefully now believe he cannot flee, which according to the Frightened condition means he can fight!

PiccadillyPi

2020-05-20, 12:47 PM

"No, no, no! Why did you do this?"

Silas did not have time to run as bars magically appeared around him. He had to remove the source of his fear. That was the only logical course of action for him now that escape proved impossible.

Reverse last post.

Attack Vreeg with full round action.

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

Attack 2: [roll2]
Damage 2: [roll3]

Crit check 1: [roll4]
Crit check 2: [roll5]

Inspectre

2020-05-20, 07:45 PM

As the second crate of Shudder begins to smoke and bubble along with the contents of the nearby alchemy workbench, Aliani wisely decides to be somewhere else and menaces the last standing derro with his mace.
But it is Tallox who eliminates the threat as the enlarged eidolon simply reaches over the playwright's head to seize the underworlder by the wrist with one beefy claw.
The other claw clamps down around the derro's neck, and then the beyonder pulls, ripping the derro's arm off.
With a final shriek the strange humanoid collapses in a bloody heap, still breathing but clinging only faintly to life.
Focused on the kill, Tallox then leans down just past Aliani's shoulder and rips the derro's stomach open, spilling its entrails about and leaving no doubt now that it was quite dead.

"Better move aside and keep out of my way, little man."

The beyonder hisses into Aliani's ear, clearly a bit annoyed that Aliani was now in his way to get at the leader. His clear warning, however, is partially drowned out by the massive explosion that shakes the basement and building above as the crate of Shudder explodes, followed a moment later by the alchemy work bench shattering and spraying fiery acid all about. Odium again recoils, but keeps Jakkin locked in his mandibles, whipping the poor halfling about as the giant centipede writhes in pain from the Shudder explosion's magical backwash. That leaves Jakkin's desire to stick his foot down in the derro leader's eye all but impossible, although as he swings overhead the tip of his boot frustratingly swings close enough to tussle the leader's hair in passing.

(Tallox misses with Bite #1, hits with both claws which is enough to drop him, and then since he can't do anything else and it seems like a Tallox thing to do, uses Bite #2 to continue ripping into the derro, who now unconscious has a noticeably lower AC and the damage from that finally drops it past negative Con. He cannot move forward with a 5' step however because Aliani is occupying G6. Given that H6 would also block Tallox and any other letter column like F would result in Aliani getting blown up by the exploding alchemy bench, which he moved to G/H specifically to avoid. So Tallox stays put for this round, unfortunately.).

Fire: [roll0]
Cold: [roll1]
Electricity: [roll2]
Acid: [roll3]

Odium Reflex: [roll4]

Headless of the intense heat that he is charging right into the middle of, Gavin's eyes remain locked on the leader as he charges forward, summoning all of his hatred and disgust at the leader's clear cowardice. His rapier strikes home, leaving a bloody hole in the cretin's shoulder, a moment before a cage springs into being around the derro and Silas at Dalen's command, trapping the two of them together before the tiefling can flee. In desperation, the tiefling swings wildly at the leader, leaving another bloody gash in his chest as his falchion carves off more flesh. For his part the derro simply growls, looking at the bars suddenly surrounding him and rolling his eyes before passing a hand through it with ease, letting everyone present see that it is a mere illusion. The leader then brings the same hand up, quickly intoning the words of a spell before extending it outward at Gavin and Silas. A blast of multi-hued colors flashes into existence directly into their eyes, threatening to momentarily overwhelm their senses. The derro cackles and follows its magic up with a rambling rant in Broken Common.

"Eager you are, rushing blindly into the Future! You may be the ones to spill Vreeg's blood, but it is not his time just yet! Yes, yes, much yet to do before Vreeg can sleep!"

Move Action: Interact with the illusion, clearly pointing out that fact to everyone present and granting them a Will save to disbelieve that the "cage" is real. The only one who actually needs to roll the Will Save is Silas, since it doesn't particularly matter to anyone else whether Vreeg is in a cage or not.
Vreeg's Will Save: [roll5] vs. DC 17
Standard Action: Defensively Cast, With Combat Casting - [roll6] vs. DC 17
Success = Color Spray on Gavin & Silas, Will Save DC 14 or Blinded and Stunned for [roll7] Rounds

The intense heat continues to pour out of the massive Shudder-infused centipede, scorching Jakkin and Gavin and starting the next nearby alchemical workbench to begin smoking and bubbling.
Odium seems about to tighten its grip on Jakkin when it suddenly begins emitting a series of pained trills and drops Jakkin without warning.
Whatever is going on, the leader seems to recognize what this is a signal for, as it begins urgently waving its arms about, chattering the same words in its native tongue repeatedly while pointing at Tallox in a clear "no no no, not over here, over THERE!"
The doubly mutated centipede obediently turns to face Gavin, Silas, Aliani, and Tallox, and spreading its jaws wide unleashes a tremendous gout of flame that washes over all four of them in a searing torrent that lasts for several seconds before it finally fades and the crystals on Odium's back return to their original dull inner glow, the fiery energies raging within the abomination apparently spent for the moment. The dead derro and his still two breathing companions are also caught in the conflagration, and are all instantly turned into ashes and dust by it.

Deals [roll8] fire automatically to Gavin & Jakkin for ending their turns adjacent (not Jakkin's choice).
Free Action: Releases Jakkin from the grapple
Standard: Unleash fire breath at the intersection of F2/G3, and then going across and down, catching Gavin, Silas, Aliani, and Tallox in the 30' cone of fire. Reflex DC 18 for Half. Failure causes the target to catch on fire. If on-fire, at the end of each round making a new Reflex DC 18 save - success = fire is out, failure = take an additional 1d6 Fire. If a full-round action is spent attempting to put out the flames, a bonus Reflex save is granted which does not cause damage on a failure. Being prone while making the save grants a +4 bonus to the Reflex save. Odium's Molten Core drops back down to its base 1d4 level, and only triggers when struck by natural attacks. Standing adjacent no longer deals fire damage.
Fire Damage: [roll9]

-Good Guys-
Aliani: 21 Damage, ON-FIRE - TAKING 6 FIRE DAMAGE AT THE END OF HIS TURN IF REFLEX DC 18 FAILED
Dalen:
Gavin: 27 Damage, Hasted (2/4 Rounds Left), BLINDED & STUNNED (4/4 ROUNDS)
Silas: 4 Damage, Hasted (2/4 Rounds Left), FRIGHTENED (1/2 ROUNDS)
Jakkin: 5 Damage, Hasted (2/4 Rounds Left)
Tallox: 17 Damage, ON-FIRE, (Targets have effects of Blur), Hasted (2/4 Rounds Left)
Atavian:

-Bad Guys-
Odium: 23 Damage, Molten Core 1d4 (Natural Attacks Only)
Vreeg: 22 Damage
Derro 1: DEAD
Shudder: DEAD
Derro 2: DEAD
Derro 3: DEAD

The alchemy bench in E5-E7 is no more, leaving that space effectively free of obstacles.
Odium's shift to the left from last round has now ignited the alchemy bench in D1-3 and cleared Dalen's webs in D1-4 as well. All that remains of his web is now A1-C4 & H1.
Vreeg and Silas are trapped in an illusionary cage. Silas is the only one who may have a problem with this.

Battle Map (https://imgur.com/a/3xHVBcS)

Stelio Kontos

2020-05-20, 08:37 PM

Aliani turned, looking over his shoulder at the eidolon. "Yes, of course, I'll be right out of your--"

It was just then that a searing heat unlike anything he ever felt before racked his entire being. He probably shouldn't have taken his eye off the ten foot long centipede, in retrospect. His skin itself was seemingly melting off his body, held in only by the clothing that was currently engulfed in flames.

"Ow."

He staggered against the wall, clutching at his neck and fumbling for the brooch at his collar, sending forth a wave of healing energy before collapsing on the floor in an effort to roll around in the dirt to extinguish the flames.

Utterly failed reflex save, taking 17 damage (down to 2 HP)
5' step to H6
Channel Energy, healing 6 damage to everyone within 30' (this is everyone but Dalen and Atavian), but excluding Vreeg and the cytillipede and the shudder guy ashes just because I can
Move action to drop to prone so I can not be on fire any more
made reflex save, for Inspectre is kind and merciful, and thus do not burn more

SanguinePenguin

2020-05-20, 11:56 PM

Those little things were finally dead. Then flames wash over Tallox. Despite the extensive damage to his body, he steps over Aliani as if nothing happened, and walks toward Vreeg. "You run over here, stand in my way, and then you just lie down... you things are so strange," the beyonder mutters during his sojourn. Once in range, his body lunges forward and his enlarged jaw snaps at the little man.

Atavian, low on options, lets another bolt of lighting crackle from his fingertips across the room to strike the cytillipede.

Atavian: Electricity ray touch [roll0] Damage [roll1] SR: [roll2]

Tallox:
Move to G4-H5, Attack Vreeg (flanking)
Power Attack (Vreeg): Bite: [roll3] Damage: [roll4] (Blur miss on 1-20 [roll5])
Reflex for fire: [roll6] Damage: [roll7]

In case it comes up...
Bite AoO: [roll8] Damage: [roll9] (Blur miss on 1-20 [roll10])

Note: Tallox has darkvision, 10' attack range, and his mouth is made of greatswords
Atavian Goodbarrel (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=2162435)
M TN Halfling Summoner, Level 4, Init 2, HP 28/28, Speed 20
AC 18, Touch 13, Flat-footed 16, CMD 12, Fort 4, Ref 4, Will 5, CMB 0, Base Attack Bonus 3
5/7 remaining Dam: 1d6-1+lvl/2, touch Electricity Ray +6 (1d6+1, x2)
Sickle +2 (1d4-2, x2)
Chain Shirt +1 (+5 Armor, +2 Dex, +1 Size, +2 Deflection)
Abilities Str 6, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 19
Spells Remaining 2nd 0/2, 1st 1/4
Condition +2 Deflection (Aliani)
Tallox (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=2162476)
M TN Beyonder Eidolon, Level 4, Init 2, HP 6/21, Speed 30
AC 23, Touch 15, Flat-footed 20, CMD 19, Fort 4, Ref 3, Will 3, CMB +7, Base Attack Bonus 3
(All attacks get +1 haste, -2 shaken)
Bite +9 (1d8+6, x2)
Full (1 bite / 2 claws) +9/+8x2 (1d8+6/1d4+4x2, x2)
Full (1 bite / 2 claws) PA +8/+7x2 (1d8+9/1d4+6x2, )
Natural Armor, Mage Armor (+6 Armor, +4 Shield, +2 Dex, +1 Haste, +2 Deflection, -1 Size, -1 Dex)
Abilities Str 19, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 7, Wis 10, Cha 11
Condition Haste 2/4 rounds (Atavian), Mage armor 3/4 hours (Atavian), Shaken (bleeding eye), Enlarge person 4/4 minutes (Atavian), Shudder madness (diet), On fire (Cytillipede)

Captain Jak

2020-05-21, 01:04 AM

Unexpectedly spared from death by the big bug's bellyache, Jakkin twists like a cat and lands atop the low wall that had somehow come out of nowhere. He shields his eyes briefly from the jarring rainbow of colours that spew forth from their foe, then launches a pair of bare-footed kicks that thud solidly but ultimately futilely against armour and supremely tough skin.

Acrobatics to land well. Full attack vs Vreeg, both attacks fail to do damage.

PiccadillyPi

2020-05-21, 07:59 AM

Upon seeing the bars fade before him, Silas let out a variety of blasphemies as he began making his way out of the basement.

"An illusion!? Hells bells, I could have been out of here by now!"

He didn't bother defending himself. Instead he laid his confidence in his hasted feet that he might be carried right out of the building. As he decided his best course, he knew that Dalen might try to stop him again, so Silas instead went behind the wizard. The stairs were open with only a string of corpses between him and safety.

As hard-pressed his steps were, Silas could only just overcome the future cadavers as he reached the top of the stairwell.

Avoiding Odium's adjacent squares, Silas double-moves along south wall to stairwell, ending movement on A10. If Odium looks like he threatens a 10ft reach, Silas will instead move with total defense to A7. AC 26 (21 +1 haste, +4 TD)

THEChanger

2020-05-21, 05:02 PM

"The colors..."

Dazed and confused, Gavin's rapier clattered to the ground as the rainbow played itself in the back of his eyes. It reminded him of something, something he had seen long ago...

Darvin

2020-05-23, 02:18 AM

With the illusion's purpose having been fulfilled, Dalen clears his mind and allows it to dissipate. He dashes around the alchemical workbench, and grasps his wand under his cloak, carefully concealing it from Vreeg, but ready to unleash the bolts at the Derro if he should try another trick.

Cease concentration on the illusion; the spell ends
Move to C8
Ready an action to use the wand of Magic Missile on Vreeg if he attempts to cast a spell or move.

Inspectre

2020-05-23, 09:55 AM

With only the derro leader and his pet left to confront them, the party begins to falter in the wake of the cytillipede's devastating blast of fire.

Aliani staggers over to the wall and collapses against it in a sitting position, weakly slapping at the flames still in existence on his pant leg while struggling to remain conscious.
He fiddles with his brooch, releasing a wave of healing energy over almost everyone present and unblurring his own vision somewhat.

Jakkin and Tallox both engage the derro leader but the combination of the Eye's unsettling presence, the magical armor (i.e. Mage Armor) the derro has enchanted himself with, and his seemingly prescient ability to twist and dodge out of the path of their blows leave them both frustrated.

Atavian is similarly frustrated by the failure of his magic to breach the skin of either the cytillpede or the derro, as demonstrated when his latest bolt of lightning splashes harmlessly over Odium's carapace.

Silas manages to reach the top of the steps, and whether it's seeing daylight again, leaving the disturbing basement, or simply Vreeg's spell ending its duration, he suddenly feels much better and can think clearly again (he will be Shaken again when/if he re-enters the basement so long as the Eye is still present and visible.)

Dalen moves down into the basement proper off the stairs now, discretely readying his wand of magic missile in an attempt to catch Vreeg unawares and interrupt his next spell.

Gavin sees nothing, his mind still awash in the multi-hued rainbow of Vreeg's last spell. The rainbow of colors across his vision triggers a similar memory, which plays through his mind as he stands there still reeling from the after-effects of Vreeg's magic.

There was something about the light metal shield that Gavin has just purchased that bothered him. Although the workmanship had been exquisite, the emblem painted on the face of the shield - two pseudodragons coiled about a rapier on a field of vert - didn't fit with the rest of the design. A closer examination had confirmed that the design didn't fit indeed, and had been painted over another, older emblem. With great care Gavin had scraped and peeled away the paint of the first image, destroying it but allowing the shield's original design to be seen - a breathtaking depiction of Shelyn's rainbow-tailed songbird. From there, it had been a given who he was going to give the shield to - although, admittedly, at the time he hadn't fully thought through the implications of giving such an item decorated with the symbol of the Goddess of Love to the Noblewoman, he was focused entirely on the prank-like nature of gifting an object of Shelyn to the Asmodeus-worshiping Chelish noblewoman. But it wasn't irritation or disgust that flickered across the Noblewoman's face when Gavin finally presented the shield to her . . . it was regret?

"Thank you, Mr. Dimir, I appreciate the thought . . . I appreciate the thought."

The Noblewoman replied, before accepting the shield, taking one last long thoughtful look at the rainbow-tailed songbird before storing the shield for later-use.

Clenching one hand into a fist, Vreeg points the skewered Eye at Tallox, and then while chattering in his native language brings his fist down through the air as if smashing the beyonder like a bug. Obeying the clear command from its master, the giant bug turns and lunges at Tallox, putting its full weight behind the blow as it seeks to clamp its mandibles around the beyonder's neck. The blow tears the beyonder's head off, causing his summoned form to immediately vaporize into fading motes of magical energy, but despite a moment of concern Atavian still feels Tallox's presence through their mystical bond, as well as an Ouch . . . well, that hurt.

Power Attacks Tallox (-3 To-hit, +9 Damage)
To-Hit: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
Hit: Tallox is set on-fire (again, but since it doesn't stack he doesn't need to worry about this bit)
Swift Action: Activate Molten Core, increasing Fire damage to 1d6 again (standing next to or attacking with natural attacks causes this damage)

Takes 4 Acid damage from a workbench explosion.

His bravery fading despite his mounting success, the derro leader tucks the skewered eye into the rope belt holding his robe to his body, and then turns and scrambles up the crude earthen barricade blocking him from the hole, doing his best to avoid Jakkin's blows as he scales the surface. He only gets partway up before the earthen surface crumbles beneath his weight, sending him sliding back down to the ground. The derro leader growls and turns to face the halfling warrior who had just elbowed him in the kidneys.

"Very well. You insist on being a barricade to Vreeg, and so Vreeg shall have to go through you instead. But your life is connected to the playwright, yes? Are you sure that you are prepared for him to give his life for yours? Either stand aside, or he will most assuredly die."

As if to punctuate the statement, the massive cytillipede turns its head back towards the halfling, giving a shrieking roar as the crystals on its back begin to flare to life again.

Move Action: Stow the Eye into his belt
Standard Action: Attempt to climb the wall, provoking an AoO from Jakkin. Gets a "4", fails. Since he's effectively falling only a foot or so off the 3-foot high wall, Vreeg remains standing and takes no fall damage.

Standard: If Tallox is still standing, Vreeg will defensively cast a spell in an attempt to eliminate that threat to his life. Otherwise, he'll stand back up whether that's at the bottom of the pit or in his current square if
Concentration: [roll2] vs. DC 17
Magic Missile: [roll3]

Move: Vreeg will attempt to scale the low earthen wall off to his west in order to reach the hole. Scaling the wall requires a DC 5 Climb check, and will provoke an AoO from Jakkin, who gets to apply sneak attack damage if he hits, as he will be attacking Vreeg's flat-footed AC while he is climbing (stupid Climb checks denying Dex bonus). Regardless of the damage, Vreeg only needs to make another DC 5 Climb check to remain climbing and get up over the slope. He will then immediately dive down into the hole on the other side - assuming he makes those two Climb checks. Since he is deliberately jumping down, he gets an Acrobatics check to try and negate the damage entirely, otherwise it's non-lethal for this 10' drop.

Climb - [roll4] vs. DC 5
Damaged Climb - [roll5] vs. DC 5

Acrobatics - [roll6]

-Good Guys-
Aliani: 15 Damage, Prone
Dalen:
Gavin: 21 Damage, Hasted (1/4 Rounds Left), BLINDED & STUNNED (3/4 ROUNDS)
Silas: Hasted (1/4 Rounds Left)
Jakkin: Hasted (1/4 Rounds Left)
Tallox: DEAD
Atavian:

-Bad Guys-
Odium: 27 Damage, Molten Core 1d6
Vreeg: 39 Damage
Derro 1: DEAD
Shudder: DEAD
Derro 2: DEAD
Derro 3: DEAD

Battle Map (https://imgur.com/a/2qq0dnl)

Stelio Kontos

2020-05-23, 12:22 PM

Aliani twitched a bit as Vreeg pointed out the obvious. The actor let out a silent prayer, and one more wave of healing energy filled the room. It wouldn't be nearly enough.

He spat out a gob of something red and disgusting as he staggered to his feet braced against the wall, and looked up across the room at his colleagues. "He's right, you know." It was a sad, apologetic phrase. "My life for yours, Jakkin, I would give it. But I fear that it would be my life for nothing. If you know you can finish it, quickly... otherwise, let him go.

Let him go."

Standard: Channel energy to heal for 5 more HP, I'm now at 13 HP
Move: stand up
Free: beg for mercy.

PiccadillyPi

2020-05-23, 12:32 PM

Silas grimaced at the embarrassment he just endured as he reached for the exit. If he had the talent to turn back time even once, he'd probably have done it then.

"Right, now you've done it!"

Summoning his infernal fury and perhaps his fated role in this encounter, Silas let a shiver of fear run over his spine as he easily bound down the stairwell. Thanking Dalen for the delay in passing, he gripped his sword as steady as he could with that eye in view once more. Though he did not witness the felling of Tallox, Silas felt the wave of energy roll over him along his path around the cytillipede. It was at the end of this that Silas faced Vreeg once more. Once more he had a chance to strike at the shin-kicking sinner. The tiefling raised his blade, a fiery glint in his eyes as if to bring forth hellfire upon the derro. However, as he prepared his attack, Silas laid out a dirty tactic. A too-viscous projectile of saliva and (hopefully) mucus launched from Silas' mouth. Its' target was not only Vreeg's eyes, but also his pride.

Somehow he did not give time to watch the impact as he turned to Aliani with great concern.

"Get up the stairs, Al!"

Turning back to face the derro, he flinched at the clearly untouched eyes. He almost choked on whatever ammo he had left.

"W-w-well, no reason to continue this, I think! What say ye? A gladful ceasefire, eh?"

Acrobatic harrow point to full-speed down the stairwell to Vreeg. (20ft + haste + speed harrow)

Dirty trick (blind Vreeg): Improved dirty trick + flanking - shaken

[roll0]

SanguinePenguin

2020-05-23, 03:12 PM

Atavian feels the connection with Tallox jolt, but Atavian allows the beast to sever the beyonder's head. With a grimace he thinks, Ehhhh, he'll be fine... pretty pissed about that though... With the link severed, he opens a new link, manifesting a fiendish eagle into the world. "Kill that thing," he commands the lone bird. "No mercy, no quarter," the halfling adds in anger.

Atavian: Summon Monster II for 1d3 eagles [1], put eagle at D3. Atavian move to A4.

Eagle L Claw: Attack: [roll0] Damage: [roll1] (Damage if hits [roll2])
Eagle R Claw: Attack: [roll3] Damage: [roll4] (Damage if hits [roll5])
Eagle Bite: Attack: [roll6] Damage: [roll7] (Damage if hits [roll8])
Atavian Goodbarrel (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=2162435)
M TN Halfling Summoner, Level 4, Init 2, HP 28/28, Speed 20
AC 18, Touch 13, Flat-footed 16, CMD 12, Fort 4, Ref 4, Will 5, CMB 0, Base Attack Bonus 3
4/7 remaining Dam: 1d6-1+lvl/2, touch Electricity Ray +6 (1d6+1, x2)
Sickle +2 (1d4-2, x2)
Chain Shirt +1 (+5 Armor, +2 Dex, +1 Size, +2 Deflection)
Abilities Str 6, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 19
Spells Remaining 2nd 0/2, 1st 1/4
Summon Monster II (6/7 remaining)
Condition

HP 5/5, Speed 80 (fly)
AC 14, Touch 13, Flat-footed 12, CMD 11, Fort 3, Ref 4, Will 2, CMB -1,
Condition

Captain Jak

2020-05-23, 03:36 PM

The obvious pain the sorcerer is in from Jakkin’s admittedly underhanded blow inspires far more confidence in the Halfling than would otherwise be expected; despite mounting evidence to the contrary, they are susceptible to his efforts!

The bitter ultimatum delivered is certainly ominous for their side, however Jakkin isn’t ready to slink away with his tail between his legs just yet. While he’s a devotee of kicks, punches, and elbows by inclination, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have more tricks up his sleeve. Taking a breath, he recalls other lessons learned at the hands of a more experienced fighter, and when Silas provides a crucial moment of distraction he acts.

"Yon buggie is going to eat me, is that it?" he declares, and writhes like an eel. While they are about of a height the blue-skinned fiend is about twice the mass of the Halfling; this seems to matter little as he gets the sorcerer into an uncomfortable-looking wrestling hold.

"If buggie is gonna eat me, he’s gonna eat you too! Call it off, or I break your stinkin’ neck," he snarls. Trusting to the creature’s good graces doesn’t strike him as a safe plan; this gives them far more leverage.

Move action to use Martial Flexibility: Agile Maneuvers. Grapple attempt vs Vreeg: 24] Prompts an AoO from Vreeg.

Darvin

2020-05-25, 03:00 AM

Dalen keeps his wand pointed at Vreeg, waiting patiently in his vantage.

Maintain same readied action as last round; if Vreeg attempts to move or cast a spell, MM him

Inspectre

2020-05-25, 10:20 AM

With the party's morale wavering, Jakking resorts to desperate measures by grappling the derro leader and issuing a threat of his own.
The derro leader's only response is to grunt and raise a hand, a dark energy forming into being around it like an ethereal coating of slime a moment before Vreeg attempts to grab hold of Jakkin's leg.
This does not appear to be a spell - Vreeg speaks no words of arcana power to activate it, and while Dalen does not recognize the magic, he sees it as a similar sot of technique as his own Beguiling Touch.

Standard: Activate Grave Touch and attempt to touch Jakkin (-2 for being in a grapple already applied).
To-Hit: [roll0] vs. Jakkin's Touch AC of 14 (due to -4 Dexterity for also being grappled)
Hit: Jakkin is Frightened for 1 round because he is already Shaken, and is lower level than Vreeg's wizard levels.

The spell winks out of existence at the last possible second, prompting a curse from Vreeg a moment before Odium drops the hammer on Jakkin, setting the halfling on fire.

Inflicts [roll1] Fire damage to Jakkin, Gavin, and the eagle automatically for ending their turns adjacent.

Standard Action - Power Attack vs. Jakkin
To-Hit: [roll2]
Damage: [roll3]
Hit: Set On-Fire

Swift Action: Activate Molten Core, increasing damage for natural attacks and ending turn adjacent to 2d6. This also deals 3 irresistible Fire damage to Odium.

-Good Guys-
Aliani: 24 Damage
Dalen:
Gavin: 17 Damage, BLINDED & STUNNED (2/4 ROUNDS)
Silas:
Jakkin: 14 Damage, ON-FIRE, Grappled
Tallox: DEAD
Atavian:
Eagle 1:

-Bad Guys-
Odium: 30 Damage, Molten Core 2d6
Vreeg: 39 Damage, Grappled
Derro 1: DEAD
Shudder: DEAD
Derro 2: DEAD
Derro 3: DEAD

Battle Map (https://imgur.com/a/05dyYA6)

SanguinePenguin

2020-05-25, 11:30 AM

Curses, I only got one! Forming a different link, he pulls three fiendish eagles from the aether into the world. The existing eagle vanishes in a puff of smoke. "Kill that thing," he commands the birds. All three lash out with beak and talons at the Cytillipede with a flurry of feathers.

Atavian: Summon Monster II for 1d3 eagles [3], put eagles at E4, D2, G2. Atavian move to A4.

Eagle 0 flails ineffectually before ceasing to exist.

Eagle 1 L Claw: Attack: [roll0] Damage: [roll1] (Damage if hits [roll2])
Eagle 1 R Claw: Attack: [roll3] Damage: [roll4] (Damage if hits [roll5])
Eagle 1 Bite:Attack: [roll6] Damage: [roll7] (Damage if hits [roll8])

Eagle 2 L Claw: Attack: [roll9] Damage: [roll10] (Damage if hits [roll11])
Eagle 2 R Claw: Attack: [roll12] Damage: [roll13] (Damage if hits [roll14])
Eagle 2 Bite:Attack: [roll15] Damage: [roll16] (Damage if hits [roll17])

Eagle 3 L Claw: Attack: [roll18] Damage: [roll19] (Damage if hits [roll20])
Eagle 3 R Claw: Attack: [roll21] Damage: [roll22]+1=5 if 18 hits (Damage if hits [roll23])
Eagle 3 Bite:Attack: [roll24] Damage: [roll25] (Damage if hits [roll26])

Atavian Goodbarrel (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=2162435)
M TN Halfling Summoner, Level 4, Init 2, HP 28/28, Speed 20
AC 18, Touch 13, Flat-footed 16, CMD 12, Fort 4, Ref 4, Will 5, CMB 0, Base Attack Bonus 3
4/7 remaining Dam: 1d6-1+lvl/2, touch Electricity Ray +6 (1d6+1, x2)
Sickle +2 (1d4-2, x2)
Chain Shirt +1 (+5 Armor, +2 Dex, +1 Size, +2 Deflection)
Abilities Str 6, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 19
Spells Remaining 2nd 0/2, 1st 1/4
Summon Monster II (5/7 remaining)
Condition

1 (F6) HP 5/5, Speed 80 (fly)
AC 14, Touch 13, Flat-footed 12, CMD 11, Fort 3, Ref 4, Will 2, CMB -1,
Condition

2 (G6): HP 5/5, Speed 80 (fly)
AC 14, Touch 13, Flat-footed 12, CMD 11, Fort 3, Ref 4, Will 2, CMB -1,
Condition

3 (F3): HP 5/5, Speed 80 (fly)
AC 14, Touch 13, Flat-footed 12, CMD 11, Fort 3, Ref 4, Will 2, CMB -1,
Condition

PiccadillyPi

2020-05-25, 04:55 PM

Witnessing Jakkin's unrelenting methods, Silas gathered his courage to strike at the derro. It was a hard sell with the burning behemoth between them and safety. However, with limited options before him, the dandy had little interest in watching anyone martyr themselves. He thought he could end it right there.

"Sorry, Al! negotiations are failing!"

With his last word, Silas swung his sword at the disadvantaged derro before looking back at the bruised human hybrid.

"Exit the stage!"

Falchion attack on Vreeg: [/roll]1d20+9[/roll]
Damage:

Just in case it's a crit: 1d20+9[/roll]
Damage: [roll1]

Captain Jak

2020-05-25, 09:28 PM

Jakkin is hard-headed and stubborn, but with the failure of his last, desperate gambit even he can see where this path leads. He abruptly releases his hold on his opponent and steps back, falling into a wary stance; few things are as difficult to get a hold of as a Halfling who wishes otherwise.

"None win at this rate; you and your bug go down your hole, we go up ours, we settle this when next we meet, aye?" Discretion and negotiation aren’t particularly in his usual toolset, but…well, this is hardly the usual situation, now is it?

Move action to use Martial Flexibility: Cautious Fighter. Total Defense (total AC increase: +6).

Inspectre

2020-05-27, 05:26 AM

Vreeg stares at Jakkin for several long moments, twisting his head back and forth at odd angles without saying anything. It seems that the derro leader was merely sizing the halfling up as to whether the offer was genuine as after the pause the derro leader snaps, "Agreed!"

The moment of peace is broken by an angry trill from Odium, as Atavian's newly summoned eagles dive bomb off the cytillipede's carapace, inflicting several new minor wounds, each one erupting in sparks and flicks of flame as the alchemist fire-like substance that seemed to serve as its blood made contact with the air. The trills increase in urgency again a moment later, in the repeat warning of what happened the last time just before the cytillipede belched a geyser of flame. Vreeg seems to sigh, tiredly waving in the general direction of Atavian and Dalen and saying something in the derro tongue before addressing the two of them.

"Call off your own pets and step back, Atavian. You won't like standing there in a moment."

No sooner has the halfling summoner move aside than Odium unleashes another gout of flame, turning the several bodies at the base of the stairs to ash and igniting the remaining two alchemy workbenches. This in turn causes Dalen to have to beat a hasty retreat as the workbench he had been using for cover a moment ago became a danger to him, and Atavian had to quickly move out of the way again. Seemingly satisfied with this, Vreeg limps his way up to the top of the earthen ramp, and then pauses at the edge of the hole to regard Gavin, who is still reeling from his earlier spell. Making a show of holding his hands out and up to be plainly visible (presumably to show that he was not casting another spell), the derro leans in and whispers something into the hellknight armiger's ear.

(Jakkin and Silas, Perception DC 15 to listen in, Everyone else Perception DC 18 as you are further away than they are.)

"Out of all these fools, I pity your fate the most."

The derro then sweeps his gaze across the rest of the group, pausing briefly to lock eyes with Dalen before spitting a bloody wad of phlegm onto the mound of dirt at his feet.

"We will meet again."

The derro leader then slides down into the pit left by his pet, calling out a moment later, "Come, Odium!".
The cytillipede obeys, the intense heat it had been generating slowly fading as the creature seems to calm itself now that its master is no longer threatened, and turns and climbs down the hole after Vreeg. A few moments after that, and silence reigns in the utterly destroyed workshop as the derro leader has made good on his escape. Gavin finally snaps out of his magically-induced daze as well, just in time to miss Vreeg's exit, although his words still ring in his ears.

From the top of the stairs, Rhev's voice calls out.

"Hello? Is everyone alright down there? Gods, what happened here!?"

The detective exclaims, just now catching sight of the stairway still carpeted in bodies.

SanguinePenguin

2020-05-28, 06:39 PM

Atavian scowls throughout the entire truce. The grimace worsens when the derro and cytillipede finally make their escape. His three eagles flap idly about the room when Rhev enters. Still scowling, Atavian replies first, "what happened? It was a draw, I suppose. This macrabre carpet is the charred remains of the Ironworks Hammers. Well, might as well look for some more clues..." The halfling looks around for any documents, ledgers, or clues about Lamm's operations or anything else of note.

Perception: [roll0]

Stelio Kontos

2020-05-28, 07:16 PM

"A draw? No, no, you've got it all wrong. It was a victory" Aliani shouted, after checking briefly to make sure Gavin knew where he was, and balefully eyeing his charred and blood soaked clothing. "A magnificent victory, perhaps not as complete as you might have liked, but a victory nonetheless. We're all still alive, for one, unlike these poor sods. That counts for quite a lot. Don't ever forget that."

He poked his head around the corner of the stairs, looking quite a lot the worse for wear. "And there's evidence, of a sort. Those gentlemen on the stairs were quite dead before we got here, likely killed by the, er, blue things, whatever they were. But I think you'll find, sir Rhev, that there's one laying behind the counter that looked like he took a simple knock on the head. Might be able to bring him around and have a chat with him. So there's that. And we saw ample evidence of a Shudder den, though as it happens the stuff turns out to be quite volatile and flammable, so it's a bit of a mess down here at the moment..."

"Were you aware that there were people with ten foot long fire breathing centipedes as pets involved in this, this, whatever it is?" he asked as he stared up at Rhev, his tone turning severe. "Because that would have been a nice thing to mention. We might have been better prepared. I hadn't realized we were to be your sacrificial lambs. If they hadn't fought as brilliantly as they did, it would have been a lot worse."

SanguinePenguin

2020-05-28, 07:31 PM

Atavian gives an impassive flat glare at Aliani during his rant. Once he finishes, the halfling pedantically informs him, "the blue guys were all derro. From what I've heard, the best of them are mad as hatters raised in a sanitarium. The centipede was actually a cytillipede - although infused with shudder somehow... I... don't think the dragon's breath comes standard on them."

Stelio Kontos

2020-05-28, 07:40 PM

"Derro! Yes, yes, that's the... I knew I'd heard that name before. Strange, I pictured them shorter somehow. And yes, you're quite right... ten foot tall Cytillipede. With fire breathing that doesn't come standard. I stand corrected. You had no idea about those, right?" He sounded completely sincere.

Darvin

2020-05-29, 02:30 AM

Dalen folds his arms as he backs up against the wall, the sting of defeat not helped in the slightest by Aliani's warped re-contextualization of the outcome. The feeling of powerlessness nagged at him, like an imp riding on his back tugging at his hair. A small bird flits over Rhev's head and lands on its master's shoulders, and the two silently set about searching over the room, looking for any undamaged equipment that was missed in Vreeg's hasty retreat.

Dalen and Rhetoric will take 20 on perception to search the room.

Rhetoric has +12 perception, so on a take 20 will get a result of +32

Dalen will cast Detect Magic as part of his search; he has +5 perception, for a result of +25 on a take 20

Captain Jak

2020-05-29, 10:20 AM

Jakkin spits out a wad of bloody phlegm, grimacing at the sight.

"Well, we sure as the nine planes of hell weren’t expecting that," he observes, perhaps a bit of an understatement. Scorched, bloody, battered, and in pain, he nonetheless seems undiminished.

"Any scrap with a giant, mutated, fire-breathing monster you can walk away from is a win in my books, ‘specially if the bugger comes at you outta nowhere like that." With that, he philosophically shrugs off the lack of decisive finish to that battle; the next time they go up against these punks, they’ll know what to expect and be ready for it.

Plus, not a total loss.

"And look! We just made sure that how much of that Shudder ßhise won’t ever see the streets? Or more ever be made here? I’m satisfied," the Halfling declares, baring his teeth in a bloody grin.

He stays in the basement, not so much to search for anything himself but rather to keep the light source for those who do, and to exert his efforts in making sure the incidental fires don’t spread to become a threat to the city.

PiccadillyPi

2020-05-30, 04:39 PM

And stay out!

Silas couldn't muster the courage to say it, but he waggled his sabre at Vreeg and his pet as they disappeared into the dirt before sheathing the blade. It was a quiet consolation for their stalwart efforts. As he gathered his thrown weapons, the tiefling spit a slew of curses under his breath. A layman might've been concerned he was casting a spell just by the colour of the words he used.

As Rhev called down and the others conversed, Silas patted the dirt from his vestments. He considered the last words Vreeg spoke to Gavin, his eyes lingering on the derring-do bastard. Not that they knew each other, but Silas was ever the more curious of the three new faces added to memory. Averting his gaze as it became obvious, Silas changed his focus to the scorched threads of his clothes. There were hardly any and nigh imperceptible thanks to his quick actions. However, he still needed to remove them. Focusing his energy, his placed his hands on the fabrics. To any knowledgeable onlooker it appeared that Silas was casting a spell to mend his frayed textiles. His voice became whispered and breathy. Auran words came out in the form of a quiet hum. However, he stopped after only a few moments. No aura of magic had appeared around him in that time.

Why is it not working? Ah, never mind. There are people to heal.

Shaking his head, the tiefling walked over to Aliani while entering the conversation's foyer.

"What's this now? Derro? Of all things to exist, they are certainly an oddity of mal-intent. Now stand still, dear..."

Silas hovered over the actor as his fingers wriggled with magical energy. A celestial hymn was softly sang to Aliani as if he were a child being tucked into bed - albeit quickly. Pressing his hands onto Aliani's back, the performer felt a brief reprieve from his pain, but then... nothing. No wounds healed, no pain fully receded. Silas' efforts were no better than a mother's kiss.

The tiefling stepped back wearing a face of concern. His hands held in front of him, he clenched them as if to squeeze magic from his palms. It was only then that he remembered... he never had magic. Well, not beyond his abilities as a rakshasa-spawn. Not one to embarrass himself further, he decided to ignore the last few seconds of his life - to treat them as if they never happened. He hoped everyone was too busy digging around to notice.

"Never mind that. Here, we wouldn't want you to develop any scars, would we?"

Grabbing a potion from his bandolier, Silas handed it to Aliani to mend his less grievous wounds.

"I suppose we should consider a wand, aye gents? Rhev darlingt, is that in the budget? A few less bodies for the morgue, eh?"

The dandy gave a quick scan of the basement noting the charred remains strewn about. He whispered a jest to those in the basement that might hear him.

"More or less, who's to say?"

P-P-Piccadilly Pineapple here with the latest Silas news! Hold that dial because I've got a breaking story I know you'll want to hear! Just moments ago, Silas Rata'da, infamous slut about town, just tried casting magic! This temporary lapse was slated as a blow to the head by a GIANT FLAMING CENTIPEDE - I've just been told it's a cytillipede - and I've been informed it never happened. Well, he's still inside the building, but as we all know: the only magic Silas has is in his ****. . . . What? Cancelled?! What do you mean I can't say ****?! It's my show! Get-MMFF!

*sounds of struggle fade into an echo*

Hello. We apologize for the technical difficulties. And now: the weather (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=2216607).

**** - previous character sheet.

Stelio Kontos

2020-05-30, 06:34 PM

The playwright leaned back into the hands. Magic or not, he was sore as hell, and any port in a storm right? He was pretty sure he heard his spine audibly 'clack' into a different (probably better?) position, and his involuntary grimace -- followed by a sigh -- confirmed it.

"No, Silas, you keep that for yourself. I'll be fine, so long as we don't run into any trouble on the way home. You'll need that for some time when I'm not around anymore. But thank you."

PiccadillyPi

2020-05-31, 03:01 AM

Silas tucked the vial back into his belt.

"'Anymore'? Well, don't think you've time to retire just yet. It'd break at least a few hearts, not including my own."

It was at this point that Silas tested the penetrability of the door nearby - mostly by way of the push/pull method that only a few (million) could boast to have mastered.

"Gents, I do believe the door is stuck."

Inspectre

2020-06-01, 07:23 AM

"Yes, because I totally expected Lamm to be allied with a band of creatures that don't exist, and a fire breathing . . . Cy . . . Cytill . . . what did you say it was again?"

Rhev remarked in a distracted tone, looking around the destroyed basement with an intense frown on his face. Finally the detective sighs.

"Oh, Kroft isn't going to like this. I don't doubt that it was a hard-fought battle given the state of the room here, but managing to preserve more evidence than a scattering of ashes would have been helpful for the follow-up investigation. And in convicting the unconscious gentleman upstairs, although since I found this under the counter upstairs getting him a nice new home in Longacre shouldn't be any problem."

Rhev produces a small wooden case from his jacket, flicking it open with his thumb to reveal several vials of Shiver nestled into the padded interior . . . along with a pair of by-now familiar orange vials of Shudder. The detective looks around at the destroyed basement for a moment longer and then shrugs.

"Well, nothing for it now. I'm glad to have brought you all along rather than a squad of city guardsmen - no doubt they would have been slaughtered to the man by what was lurking down here, much like these fellows decorating the stairs. This is the sort of thing that the Hellknights are supposed to be here to deal with, but since in her infinite wisdom the queen sent them all away, we will simply have to make do without them. I'll have a unit of guardsmen come here to do some cleaning up after I've got our unconscious friend upstairs and the one outside back to Citadel Volyshenek for questioning. Maybe one of them will know something more that we can act on. Even if they don't, we have certainly struck a serious blow against Lamm's Shudder operation today, and I still have a few other leads from his ledger that I can pull on. I'm sure Kroft will want a full accounting of today's events from you as well. You can either come back with me and explain what happened now, or wait for her summons in a day or two after I make my own report. I'm sure she will be unhappy about the lab being totally destroyed, but then Kroft is always unhappy about something - pay her no mind. As Mr. Rose mentioned, survival is a victory in-and-of itself. But if Lamm has minions that are capable of something like this, then his threat to the city might be more credible than I first thought . . . derro, eh? Who would have thought."

Rhev mutters to himself as he turns and ascends back out of the basement, apparently satisfied that all of you are alright and there is nothing further to find downstairs. Given the near-total destruction of the basement and the ashes and scorched bones are all that remain of the derro, that assessment is probably the correct one. Short of diving down into the hole in the floor after Vreeg, who almost certainly is far away from here by now, there was nothing else to see here. But that image of the skewered, bleeding eye that the derro leader carried away with him lingers in your minds, refusing to be banished. Whatever that thing was, it had been important enough for Vreeg to risk his life to keep possession of, and now he and it were still at-large somewhere beneath the city. This was far from over, but for now it seemed the only thing you could do was rest and recover your strength for the next challenge. It wouldn't be long before arriving, as when Dalen returns back to his shop later that day he finds not one, but two messages waiting for him.

One is a calling card featuring the silhouette of a spider wearing a crown on one side, and the other side blank save for a brief note.

The King of Spiders would like to meet at your earliest convenience to discuss a joint business venture in lamm-skewers. Please present this card to the safety advisors at Eel's End for an audience.

The other is a scrap of paper that looks like it was torn from a larger sheet, which Greg confirms was torn from the shop's ledger book by a woman who looked suspiciously like Sabrina Merrin in a hood, who hastily scrawled the note before running out of the shop. That note simply read.

We need to talk. Palace. NOW.

(OOC: So! We're now in a tiny bit of downtime which should last basically the rest of the day. Everyone is free to do whatever they wish if they have personal matters to attend to, and the next three bits of plot hook are essentially listed below. The party can all go together to investigate these plot hooks, or you can split up into smaller groups to tackle them all at once.)

Go report to Kroft about what happened at the Shudder Lab
Go talk to the King of Spiders about a potential business opportunity
Go see what Sabrina wants

PiccadillyPi

2020-06-01, 07:41 PM

"Who indeed!"

Silas clumsily stepped over the scorched remains and fresh bodies as he made his way up the stairs to Rhev.

"It'd be best if I - or we - briefed Ms. Kroft on the situation with haste. We wouldn't want her to wait on us unnecessarily, aye?"

The dandy tiger sought a mirror to check his features. As he twirled one set of whiskers, he inquired to the party on how he looked.

"Darlings, am I not too presentable? Ne'er a scratch thanks to you lot. Perhaps an injury or two might help convince our dear field marshal the gravity of our combat. Jakkin, you wouldn't fancy a go at my cheek, aye? Nothing deadly mind you. I would like keep use of my jaw for supper."

He winked at Rhev knowing full-well that the guardsman might be confused by this request.

"That derro had me running up and down, dear. Frightful magician, he was. No time for bluff chested injuries like our Jakkin or Aliani - and that thing Atavian ordered about... whatever it was."

Silas shrugged at Atavian with tightened lips and raised brow as he was unsure of what name to give the summoner's familiar.

SanguinePenguin

2020-06-01, 09:46 PM

Atavian ignores the antics from both Silas and Aliani that are tangential to his own goals. "Tallox is his name. I'll join you to go speak with Kroft. Come along my fine feathered friends," he motions for the three eagles to follow after him. On his way up the stairs he mutters to himself, "Gods, Tallox is going to be pissed... he hates getting decapitated."

Captain Jak

2020-06-01, 10:42 PM

Still showing the signs of a fairly thorough beating, Jakkin grins wryly up at Silas.

"Don't think I won't scale your fuzzy arse for the privilege of popping you one in the kisser," he replies dryly. Those...Derrro had been frustratingly tough opponents, shrugging off blows that should have broken bones or crushed flesh – and not much bigger than he was, those bastards! His injuries ached, the burns fitfully feeling as if the flames still licked at them, but he knows that the matter would be taken care of soon enough.

It's good to have friends and allies of exceptional means.

PiccadillyPi

2020-06-01, 11:48 PM

Silas purred at Jakkin.

"Ooo-hoo-hoo, you won't sweet talk your way into a discount. I do know of a viscount that might - Ah, no, he died years ago. Right. Lovely wife. Both very... eccentric."

He continued to mumble on about the deceased viscount's wife as he tried to recall the last time he'd seen her while perhaps pouting at the thought of another lost client. For a while longer he circled the room as if cursing the sky.

"Must be sixty-and-some by now. Gods, she dropped me. I've been kicked! Well, she only joined in the one time."

Darvin

2020-06-02, 02:55 AM

As the others chat, Dalen opens his notebook and makes a quick but detailed sketch of the eye from memory. Upon finishing he turns to address Rhev, "I would be happy to provide a full report to Ms Kroft of what transpired here. With that said, we did not come away completely empty-handed," he flips around his notebook, "We all caught a glimpse of this magical focus, and from the way the Derro leader treated it I suspect it's something he needs as part of this ongoing operation,"

Dalen slams shut the book and stows it safely, "I believe you're likely familiar with the old diviner's adage: if I've seen it before, I can find it again,"

Dalen will be interested in learning the Locate Object spell at the next opportunity. 560 ft radius and 4 minute duration can sweep a lot of area. It's always possible Vreeg invests in a lead-lined box, or just lives in a really deep hole, but it's worth a shot to track him down. Resist Energy would also be useful, but Aliani can cast that so not a high priority. Next time we fight, Protection from Evil is in the prebuff list.

As an aside, Dalen would have prioritized Sabrina's summon if he'd known about it, but he won't until he returns home after reporting to Kroft.

THEChanger

2020-06-02, 01:05 PM

Gavin lunged forward as the effect of the illusion ended, almost catapulting himself into the pit. Shaking his head in frustration, he knelt at the edge as the others discussed next options. The armiger knocked a piece of rubble into the pit, trying to get a gauge of how long the fall would be.

Gavin really, really hates the idea of Vreeg getting away, for a few reasons. He's not going to go blindly jump into a pit, but if it might be reasonable he will likely float the idea to the rest of the group.

Of course, his Perception checks are abominable, so...

Perception - [roll0]

Stelio Kontos

2020-06-02, 07:23 PM

Aliani gripped Gavin by the shoulder as he stared off into the abyss, whispering a single word. "Patience. Patience."

Waiting until Rhev had left the room before unleashing one last wave of positive energy, he addressed the group. "I know, you wanted them utterly vanquished. It feels like a failure that we did not leave them all in smoldering ash. But we really did win. We know more of them than we did yesterday, and of the forces in alignment against us. We knew nothing of creatures from the underground assisting Lamm in his machinations. They always knew that there were forces against them here in Korvosa. We have now seen this Eye, and know a thing or two of its power. They know nothing of our artifacts, for we have none to offer. We will be better prepared next time. They were as prepared as they could ever be, laying in wait for us in a battleground of their own choosing, and they could not vanquish us. Take cheer in that: this was their best, all that they had, with all the advantages, and they could not beat us, not working together as we did. They retreated, not us. Their people are dead, not a one of us, and barely a scratch left save for some clothes, and if that's a bother you can leave them with me as I know an excellent tailor. 'City may burn and city may rot', but we shall survive, for that was all that they've got."

"So when you go to sleep tonight, you can do so knowing you did make a difference. If any of you are lacking a proper place to sleep, my door is always open."

"But yes, let's go and deal with Kroft, much as I'd like to give it a miss. Nothing like a good second-guessing after being sent to your near-death."

"And Gavin: I hope I speak for us all when I say this: we welcome you, and your skill, with open arms. We welcome you, your sword and your spirit, for you. But I will ask that you please not invoke the name of your organization when we are acting in these matters. I have not signed up for membership, nor have I the desire to do so; furthermore, I have a reputation to keep, and I would rather not have it tarnished in such a manner. If this bothers you, I am more than willing to discuss matters further over a beverage of your choice."

And one final post-Rhev channel, for 7 more healing, which should provide everyone to full health save for Gavin's being down 3 HP. Sleep it off bub.

Inspectre

2020-06-03, 07:37 PM

While the group conversed and debated the merits of going back with Rhev to report to Field Marshall Kroft, Gavin examined the hole that Vreeg's pet entered and exited (along with Vreeg himself) by. The drop down to the bottom of the tunnel would not be a particular problem - the sides of the hole sloped down at a reasonable angle to a depth of about ten feet. With a bit of caution over the loose earth forming the sides of the shaft down potentially breaking away at the wrong moment, it would be a relatively simple affair to climb down.

From the bottom of the hole, the tunnel led off to the north, and just within range of the dim illumination provided by the few patches of bio-luminescent fungus remaining and Jakkin's ioun torch, Gavin can see the actual problem - the tunnel has been collapsed. Not a complete collapse, but enough of a 5' long section or so that excavating it back out would require time and the proper tools without risking a more thorough collapse of the tunnel. Additionally, given the twisting nature of Korvosa's underground, the tunnel probably only went another 30' beyond the collapse or so to some sewer passage or ancient tunnel, which would connect to five more in an ever expanding maze that would make Vreeg all but impossible to pursue without the proper magical aid. Much like Gaedren Lamm, the slippery derro was beyond Gavin's reach no matter how galling the thought was.

With minimal evidence to collect from the basement save perhaps a few scattered and scorched fragments, the group and Rhev return to the surface streets of Korvosa, collect the surviving two thugs that serve Gaedren and Devargo respectively, and return to Citadel Volyshenek.

************************************************** ******

The group returns to find the city guard headquarters an odd juxtaposition between deserted and a hive of activity. True, there are fewer guards here than were present at any other time save the night of the riots, but those few guardsmen who are visible are quite visibly busy, as no less than three prison wagons sit waiting in the courtyard of the citadel. Likewise, three lines of shackled prisoners are being directed one-by-one into their armored interiors by the guardsmen. A few of the faces in the prisoner lines are recognizable by the group as former city guardsmen themselves – Malder among them.

At the back of one of the lines is the heavily muscled form of Kynndor Thok, who is in quiet conversation with Nadine Engel. Sergeant Grau Saldado who seems to be directing this operation drifts over to join them, and after saying something to Nadine gently urges her back away from the massive Shaonti as it becomes the end of each line’s turn to begin entering the wagons. Nadine steps away, and then turns and steps back in for a moment, standing up on her tiptoes to kiss Kynndor’s forehead. Kynndor then shuffles forward and disappears into one of the wagons while Grau and Nadine begin to move away before noticing your arrival and turn to meet your group.

“Looks like Kroft is finally making good on her promise to clean up the Guard.”

Rhev observes, earning a dry chuckle and shrug from Grau.

“Well, it’s a bit less corrupt at least after today. The Field Marshall finally gave the order to round up all the guardsmen we know of who had connections to Gaedren Lamm, and fired the other half of the guard who would have if he had just asked them!”

The sergeant flashes a smile, but it quickly falters as he gets closer and sees the overall condition of the group’s clothes.

“What happened to all of you?”

“Let’s just say that Gaedren Lamm has more than just a few corrupt guardsmen for friends out there. Tell you more over a drink tonight at the Bailer’s Retreat?”

Grau is about to reply to Rhev’s offer when his eyes drift over to Silas and the guardsman immediately pursues his lips, and then shakes his head.

“Afraid not. I’ve got, ahhh . . . paperwork! Yeah, paperwork up to my neck over here after today, so . . . raincheck?”

Rhev shrugs an affirmative and starts moving on towards the Field Marshall’s office, but stops with a sigh as Grau holds up a hand, looking at Aliani.

“Hey, uh, Mr. Rose – while you’re here, do you have a minute to talk? I’ve found out some more information about our, uh, mutual interest that you might find interesting.”

“I need a minute of your time as well, Aliani.”

Nadine says quietly, wiping lightly at her eyes.

Grau’s eyes then drift over the rest of the group’s faces, and when they reach Gavin’s the sergeant freezes, squinting intently for a moment before breaking into a wide grin.

“Gavin? Gavin Dimir!? Is that you buddy!? C’mere!”

Gavin immediately finds himself under assault from the sergeant, who attempts to wrap the hellknight armiger up in a crushing bear hug, complete with a pummeling on the back with his left hand (Gavin can decide how successful Grau is in accomplishing this.)

“Ahaha, where ya been, partner!? I heard a crazy rumor that you went and joined the Hellknights!”

“Ser Dimir is currently on loan from them, as a matter of fact.”

Rhev remarks off-handedly, and Grau’s brain clearly overloads as he simply looks Gavin up and down, clearly struggling to rectify Gavin’s choice of colors in favor of however he once knew the man. Of course, Rhev’s appellation of “Ser” in this case is in error since Gavin is still only an armiger, a knight-in-training, but it also seems to help Grau’s brain turn over the information as the sergeant dumbly nods and smiles at his old friend.

“That’s . . . uh . . . that’s great, Gavin. Real, um . . . happy . . . for you.”

His patience apparently at an end, Rhev starts walking towards the Field Marshall’s office within the citadel proper. As he goes, the detective calls over his shoulder, “Feel free to catch up after you’re done here, Mr. Rose, Ser Dimir. Let’s not keep the Field Marshall waiting any longer.”

(OOC: Aliani is welcome to stay and talk with Grau & Nadine and join the Kroft conversation afterward, or put off the conversation with them and join the others in talking to Kroft immediately. Gavin likewise, assuming that he doesn’t just sock Grau in the jaw and keep on walking.)

****************************

As the group ascends the final set of stairs to the Field Marshall’s office, they catch the tail end of a loud conversation being held within.

“ – if you decide to reconsider.”

“That won’t be necessary. Recent experiences have only made it crystal clear how my contributions are valued here. My resignation is final. Now if you excuse me, I have an appointment at Arkona Manor in an hour. Good bye, Field Marshall.”

The door to Kroft’s office swings open a moment later, and Verik Vancasterkin, now clad in a simple tunic and breeches rather than his lieutenant’s uniform, steps out, nods wordlessly to all of you, and pushes his way through the group before descending the stairs. In her office, Kroft watches her former lieutenant go with a befuddled expression. She opens her mouth as if to say something to the departing lieutenant, closes it, opens it again, and then finally sighs and drops a piece of paper onto her desk where it is undoubtedly lost immediately amidst the sea of other papers covering every square inch of her desk. The Field Marshall looks blankly at your group with bloodshot eyes for a moment, and then motions you inside the office.

“So, how did the raid go, detect – *yyyaaaaaaaawwwwnn*. Oh, pardon me. I’m afraid that the cleric of Abadar is running an hour late for our daily appointment. I believe that I have some coffee around here . . . somewhere. Please continue.”

While Kroft carefully sifted through piles of paperwork in a vain search for her coffee (assuming that stained cup next to the small messy cot in the back of the office was what she was looking for, she would be searching the desk for that coffee for a good long while), Rhev cleared his throat and shrugged.

“Well, Lamm’s Shudder operation is closed down . . . for the moment at least. And we have several individuals in custody that I will be questioning for information on Lamm’s other businesses within the hour.”

Kroft stopped her search for the absent coffee and straightened up in her chair as she affixes Rhev with a bloodshot stare.

“Rhev, what do you mean “for the moment”? Was there something you found there that suggests Lamm’s Shudder operation is larger than expected?”

The detective gives the Field Marshall an unconvincing smile and shrugs.

“Well, we believe that some members of Lamm’s Shudder operation eluded us, and –“

“What!?”

Kroft growls, punching her desk to punctuate the next statement.

“Damnit, Rhev! I told you if we had sent a squad of hand-picked guardsmen along, we could have set up a perimeter, and –“

“I doubt it would have helped, given they escaped us via an underground tunnel that was created by the giant Cytillipede pet of the ringleader.”

“WHAT!?”

At this point Rhev shrugs and turns to gesture at all of you.

“Well, I did not witness this creature personally, so my description of events is likely to be rather sketchy. Perhaps our plucky band of mercenaries would like to cover the order of events.”

SanguinePenguin

2020-06-04, 11:38 AM

Atavian feels no small measure of sympathy for the exhausted Kroft. He could half-remember her as she was - competent, clever, poised - in a different... life. She is still those things; she has just beaten by the wight of fatigue daily. While his relationship with her here - in this life - has been positive, it has not been overwhelmingly so as it had been in that branch. Moreover, many of his current allies viewed the woman with a measure of disdain, an opinion he could hardly even fathom. Since his once allies were not around at all, nurturing this relationship, arguably his most positive from that branch, was a priority for the halfling.

"Field Marshall, at the entry, we encountered the Ironworks Hammers - a gang who had been hired by Bravosi to damage Lamm's operations," as Atavian talks he walks over to where he spied her coffee mug. "We saw no reason to intervene, initially. The Hammers were obliterated in moments. We then entered the basement down a staircase carpeted with with their corpses," he hands her the mug without comment and returns to standing in front of her desk.

"In the basement, we found what was certainly a drug lab. In addition to one of the Hammers being..." his facial expression and hand motions bely his frustration as he grapples for the right word, "infused with shudder, en-shuddered, turned into one of those magical lunatics. This was done by four derro. Derro are blue humanoids - about as tall as I am - native to the darklands and very sensitive to sunlight. The lore says they are for the most part insane, but have moments of ingenuity. They reportedly capture and experiment on surface dwellers. The leader of this particular group, Vreeg, had in his possession an eye that had been skewered that... well it was obviously magical and very creepy. We killed the three derro that were with him, and the enshuddered abomination. It was not long before his shudder-infused Cytillipede appeared.

"This thing was like an enormous centipede, over 10 feet long, with a heavily armored carapace. I had read about these creatures once before, but this one seemed different - while my lore may be inaccurate, I suspect the variance was due to the shudder flowing through its system. It was capable of breathing fire, and radiated a tremendous heat. The battle was close, and victory was far from certain. We offered this Vreeg and his pet an opportunity to flee, and they took it. Had the deal not been struck, I suspect few if any of us would have survived the encounter. The lab was destroyed though, and their numbers thinned. A victory, if not total," in the last bit he takes his inspiration from his earlier conversation with Aliani. Although thinking back on the strange exchange, he can't help but wonder if the man might have some derro ancestry.

THEChanger

2020-06-04, 12:41 PM

Outside

Gavin's whole body stiffened as Grau went in for a hug, and the Armiger stiff armed his former partner to keep from committing to the embrace. "Not Ser, not yet." Gavin mumbled, eyes downcast, as competing memories played for him. One world where Gavin dragged Grau back from the brink of alcoholism, where the two worked closely together, Grau serving as the liaison with the Guard for the strange group of people Gavin had found, Gavin serving as the blade of the Guard where they could not go. A world where the Guard hadn't abandoned him quite as thoroughly as this one, where Kroft was kind, firm, but stretched far, far too thin, with enemies besetting her on all sides. Another world, this world, where Gavin languished in Longacre, alone, for a year before seeing anyone. Grau had been the man to free him in both worlds, but in this world, Grau hadn't been able to stay. Gavin was once more abandoned, this time to the streets of Korvosa.

Dragging himself back to the present, Gavin stood to attention, meeting Grau's eyes. "Yes, Sergeant Saldado, I've found my place with the Order of the Nail. A place I think I can do some good." The armiger offered the sergeant a hand. "Thank you, for everything you did. When things have calmed down, I would very much like if we could catch up. It's been too long."

Inside

For Gavin, moving through the Citadel was a study in looking nowhere in particular. Not looking down the empty halls, where he had once patrolled. Not meeting the eyes of Verik Vancasterkin, the prick, and biting down the urge to trip the man on his way down the stairs. And certainly not looking anywhere near Cressida Kroft, exhausted, distracted, confused Cressida Kroft. It was bad enough that he had to be here at all. Better for the others to do the talking.

Stelio Kontos

2020-06-04, 01:16 PM

Aliani looked at the ex-guardsmen and current criminals being sent off with a small, satisfied grin and a "hmmph" of pleasant surprise. "Any of you gents lose a knife in my house perchance? Look me up when you're out, I'll give it back to you" he shouted in the general direction of Malder.

The sight of Nadine put and end to his smile and temporary moment of happiness... and then Grau wanted a piece of him too. He gave a nod to the group and said "Why, uh, why don't you all go ahead and deal with that other business in there... I need a few minutes. At least. Tell her I said sorry about blowing up the room and if she doesn't like it she can come with us next time."

He led Nadine and Grau away from the group, to wherever an at least mostly private conversation could be had. Looking mostly at Nadine, trying to judge if she looked well and why the hell she was here in the first place, he said "So... who wants to go first?"

PiccadillyPi

2020-06-05, 01:21 AM

Silas clicked his tongue as he winked to the sergeant. He trusted Grau wouldn't disappoint his family again. Well, mostly. The tiger-stripe lemon of a father knew too well the eternal maze of addiction.

Once inside Silas was taken aback. Not by one thing or two. The whole room was in disarray. It looked worse than his wildest romp - although it only smelled half as bad. He spent only a few seconds on the room before realigning his focus to the mess at the desk. Not just the paperwork, organized by chaos, but the field marshal herself. Knotty hair that hadn't been properly kept in a week. eyesbags so black one might have assumed they were holes into the void were it not for the red suns lighting them from above. He squinted against the vision of her in an attempt to see the stench she exuded likely having not bathed properly for the past week. Her pale skin looked gaunt and starved from a workaholic's. In many ways she looked like a victim of a coffee from the desert lands that the courtesan had tried once. Very expensive mediocre coffee. Silas eyed her mug as Atavian handed it to her. Beyond the physical, Kroft had a strained aura about her.

Silas had vague memories of a time when he avoided sleep, and he was an absolute disaster. Kroft had the benefit of restorations, but the magic being used could only put it off for so long. While everyone relayed information to the field marshal, Silas pondered what could be done to help the bull-headed woman. His time in the shackles led his thoughts. There was a drug he took on a regular basis there. Usually it was combined with a slurry of other narcotics, but he felt confident he could make it work alone as long as he had the cooperation of Kroft. His other option was the tea he kept on his person, but to trick her would only prove to antagonize himself to the entire city guard.

"Excuse me, I need a word with Rhev. It's rather urgent. Shall we? Excellent summary, Atavian! Good meeting, aye? Aye, indeed!"

Silas didn't wait for a reply as he hustled the guard out of the room to an isolated corner of the building.

"I need you to delay our dear Kroft's daily dose of restoration. Her health is in decline and she is bound to make a terrible mess - people could bloody die - if she continues as she has been. You saw her! She couldn't even find her bleeding coffee!"

Silas adjusted his whiskers while flicking his outward agitation away with his tail.

"Sorry for my outburst, dear, but as you well understand it has been a week. she needs to sleep. You and everyone in this building knows she would not take to such a request without addendum. Therefore I will need you to gather support among the men to encourage her to rest her eyes for one hour - only one - after I return with a alchemical solution: midnight milk."

The former addict allowed Rhev to react. He did not break eye contact with the guard. His bluff chest and windowed eyes capitulated his intent to Rhev. Silas was concerned for the woman. He had a great respect for her even if they were at odds some of the time. She was hard working beyond anyone he'd ever met. She reminded him of his wife in a way. Her bullish behaviour. There was however a different motivation between the two. He imagined it was much like an "X" wherein perhaps each woman's soul touched the other.

He spoke again to calm Rhev. His plan was revealed. What else could he do but continue.

"I assure you it is safe. Well, mostly safe. As long as I am there, she will be unharmed! I promise I would not encourage this as a regular technique. I have enough knowledge of it to administer properly. To describe the effect... it hastens the sleeping process eight-fold. The effect is lessened with each dose, but I will only be giving her one. As long as we have the cleric on hand, we can minimize any chance of addiction. Thankfully, she's a stronger person than most. Now, I will be visiting an old friend in... perhaps it would be best you did not know the details. So long as we can convince Field Marshal Kroft to take a single dose she will be more herself in only an hour. The guard can last an hour without her, no? Again I say she will not survive another week if this keeps up. We must convince her. Do you trust me?"

Silas did not want to dally, so he attempted to wrap up their conversation quickly - assuming he was not arrested for conspiracy.

He began to leave only to turn around and add another request.

"Ah! Some fresh clothes and linens would be good! Your nose was present in her office, yes?"

The tiefling hastily made his way out the building, waving cheerily to anyone he needed to, letting them know he was just heading out for a quick errand while mumbling something akin to 'in the name of her majesty Queen Ileosa, I dub thee Ser Silas Rata'da, idiot lord of poor ideas'.

Darvin

2020-06-05, 03:55 AM

"Well, you did see the gaping hole the creature made in the floor," Dalen remarks to Rhev as he describes the Cytillipede, "it's very clear that Lamm has deeper connections than we first suspected, and while I am as disappointed as you that we could not apprehend the ringleader it is fortunate that we were able to ascertain the true extent of this problem without losing any men,"

Diplomacy check to smooth over the reaction to our failure: [roll0]

Captain Jak

2020-06-07, 11:02 PM

Jakkin had another of those strange, dischotic moments; while on one had he knew for a fact that Sergeant Grau had never been other than polite in dealing with him, he also had undeniable memories of the man's laughter and relentless short jokes – 'All in good fun, little man!' – that flew in the face of that. It was the oddest feeling, and it left him subdued and struggling with the concept as they eventually made their way inside to report to the Marshall.

Who, truth be told, was looking even worse than the last time they had seen her, if that could be believed. The story of the altercation came out, between official investigators and his own companions – his own contribution merely needed to be his torn and bloodied presence, really – but everyone did seem to tiptoe around the dire bear in the room.

"Begging your pardon, Marshall, not wantin' to stray from the topic here but honestly," he shrugged, spreading his hands. "You're distracting as hell."

The Halfling followed up on this decidedly blunt statement.

"I know ya think you can keep going at this pace, and if you have the support of the clergy you just might be right. Foolish and not thinking clearly, which is pretty damn apparent…but right." Shaking his head, he hopped up on a chair so he could drive a finger into her desktop for emphasis.

"What you're doin' is flat stupid," he says diplomatically. "Sure, you can keep going and going and use a blessing of the gods to keep going, but you're not going to be thinkin' straight as if you'd just gotten a damned night's sleep," he points out. "Think of what y'd do if you saw one of yer men driving himself like this – you'd order his arse to bed and come back when he's not dead on his feet! An' if yer not careful, that's what yer going to get with this example yer settin'," he exhorts, his common accent thickening in his intensity.

"Your people see you pushin' yerself like this, and some soldier is gonna feel like she has to do the same, since yer doin' it. And she ain't gonna be able to pay a cleric to make it all go away, so she'll just be exhausted and making mistakes," he tells her mercilessly. "An' worse; by never taking a bleedin' moment off for yerself, you send a message that you can't trust any of them to handle things while ya do something as necessary as sleep. I'm surprised no one's got their britches in a twist and stormed off." He paused a beat, then smirked.

"Oh. Right." He bared his teeth in a smile, then hopped back down from the chair and gestured for the debrief to continue. He's said his piece; if she can't respond to simple, diplomatic language, that can't be helped.

Diplomacy to point out that she can't keep going like this without everything falling apart: 28

Inspectre

2020-06-08, 11:08 PM

Stelio Kontos

As the three prison wagons, now fully loaded, start to pull away for the trip down to the Longacre Building – and the colorfully named Death’s Head Vault that lies beneath it and serves as Korvosa’s primary long-term prison – you, Grau, and Nadine walk over to a shaded corner of the courtyard. At your offer the two exchange an uncertain glance, and as Nadine starts to take a step back Grau motions her forward again with the flash of a smile.

“Please, ladies first!”

That seems to be all the encouragement the ballerina needs, as she nods at Grau and then turns to face you with a sorrowful smile.

“I just wanted you to know that Beautrice is well on her way to making a full recovery . . . although her face . . . it’s not looking like that will heal any time soon. I also wanted to thank you – I don’t know what you said to Kynndor, but apparently it convinced him to turn himself in. He’s already agreed to testify to the guard against the Dusters . . . and against Marlessa, his new lover and the Dusters’ true leader . . . and the one who . . . hurt Beautrice. Sergeant Grau is confident that with all of the information Kynndor has already provided, the guard will be able to locate and arrest all of the Dusters’ membership over the next few days. So you don’t need to worry about us anymore – once Marlessa and all the Dusters are locked up with Kynndor, we won’t be in any more danger. Although I suppose I will need to find some work again soon – prices are still up and now that we will be staying in the city, we’ll have to find another flat to rent. Maybe in another couple weeks, when all of this madness is just a bad memory, we can get together again for some . . . coffee? Or I guess tea, in your case.”

Leaning forward – and down a bit, given the statuesque ballerina was nearly a head taller than you – Nadine gives you a quick peck of a kiss on the cheek, and then gives you a genuine smile as she pulls back.

“Until then, Mr. Rose. And thank you again . . . for everything.”

And with that the ballerina glides off, exiting the citadel’s courtyard and gradually disappearing into the crowd churning about on the street outside Citadel Volyshenek. Grau also watches the ballerina depart, and then turns back to you with a bemused smirk.

“Well, looks like your luck with the ladies is still holding up, Mr. Rose! Although I suppose this is just another day in the life of a famous playwright!”

The sergeant seems to realize he may be stepping over a familiarity line here, and quickly recovers with only a hint of a stammer as he bites some other comment back.

“Uh, anyway – so I discovered a new wrinkle in the Ms. Silverlight case. The Field Marshall has had us pouring over everything the Guard has on Gaedren Lamm – even old case files from thirty years ago! Uh . . . the records from back then are pretty spotty, especially in regards to Lamm, but I did find an old arrest report for him that had been misfiled. Turns out the Guard had launched a joint raid with the at-the-time brand new Order of the Nail and picked Lamm up along with several other dissidents. There’s not a lot of other details in the file – quite a bit was missing – but there’s enough there to suggest this was a raid on a full-blown terrorist cell! Guess Lamm’s back to his old tricks, eh?”

Grau takes a moment to beam at his own little joke, or perhaps in pride at his next bit of sleuthing that he reveals a moment later.

“So, that’s not much to go on, but I figure if there’s paperwork of Gaedren’s arrest at the Guard, maybe there’s records from his sentencing at Longacre, right? I have a friend in the clerk’s office there, and while it cost me a cask of some dwarven swill he likes, it actually paid off. Same deal as here – misfiled paperwork all over the place – somebody really didn’t want this put together later, eh? But get this – the paperwork over at Longacre was almost complete, after my friend spent the better part of a day tracking down all the pieces scattered about the records office! And the listed charge for Gaedren Lamm and company was treason, of which he and all the others were found guilty, sentence of death by slow torture. I’m sure you’re wondering what the bloody hells Lamm’s doing still walking around in the land of the living then, but get this – included in the paperwork was a full pardon and commutation of the sentence, signed by the Infernal Queen, Queen Domina herself! Makes sense now why this was all scattered to the Hells and gone - this would be quite the pretty scandal for the crown if Domina wasn’t dead for nearly as long and her son Eodred hadn’t just passed away as well. The arrest and sentencing report were pretty sparse on the names of Lamm’s associates – guess he was the ringleader even back then – but Queen Domina’s pardon listed every name in full. There’s several names on this list that I’ll have to check out further, but one of the other names . . . Mr. Rose . . . one of the other names was Rose Silverlight. Now, I don’t know what that all means yet, but it *does* establish a connection between Ms. Silverlight and Gaedren Lamm. Maybe he did have her killed after all, or someone else did to silence her about all this! Now, I haven’t tracked down Ms. Silverlight’s whereabouts in the intervening years yet, but my guess is that she left the city for a number of years shortly after being pardoned and released, only to return a short time prior to her murder five years ago. The timing of it all certainly seems curious to me . . . any ideas about who else I could talk to about this, other than the other people on that pardon? Do you know anyone else she was close with that might know about this incident or this terrorist cell she and Gaedren Lamm were involved together in? I’m kinda hitting a brick wall again after all this and . . . Mr. Rose? Mr. Rose . . . can you hear me right now?”

(OOC: Assuming Aliani doesn’t need more then ten minutes or so to recover from his revelation, and doesn’t have any more than passing commentary back to Nadine/Grau, he can move up to Kroft’s office and show up at the tail end of her reply at the end of the “Everyone Else” section below. You can choose the exact place in Kroft’s response if you’d like.)

PiccadillyPi

Rhev studiously follows you out into the corridor outside Kroft’s office, and when it becomes clear that a quiet and private place is required, he beckons you to follow him. He leads you down into an isolated room on the ground floor of the citadel that looks suspiciously like an interrogation room, although it is much plainer, spartan, and more vanilla than you imagine the Order of the Nail has in their own Citadel Vraid outside the city’s borders. Nonetheless, Rhev at least seems confident in the room’s ability to keep your conversation confidentially, and so you begin pitching your idea with all the care of coaxing your most recalcitrant client into compliance. Rhev listens impassively to the beginning of your pitch, nodding along at points but otherwise keeping his face neutral and unreadable to you. When the subject of midnight milk is brought up the detective’s eyes flicker, but he again nods.

“I am . . . aware of such drugs. Also, that they are considered controlled substances, and therefore illegal without an apothecary’s signed approval or the appropriate vice tax paid out. I therefore find it unlikely that you will be able to convince our straight-laced Field Marshall to bend enough to make this one concession to physical realities – I suspect she would rather break. Which I agree that we cannot allow - at least at this juncture. Leave the distraction of Kroft’s pet cleric to me, while you fetch the appropriate . . . accoutrements. I’m not sure how many of the men I will be able to approach on this topic, as it’s going to be rather . . . delicate . . . but I’m sure we all would appreciate the good Field Marshall taking a nap, to say nothing of a bath, sometime this month. Once my part in this plan is finished, I will await your return just inside of the citadel gates. We can discuss the particulars of convincing Kroft to actually partake then.”

Your conspiracy compact with Rhev sealed with a farewell handshake, you hurry out of the citadel to locate your old source for such supplies within Korvosa. It’s not especially far away, but as it is located above the city streets in the ever-shifting maze of catwalks and tightropes connecting roofs in Midpoint known as the Shingles, it does take you the better part of an hour to navigate your way to his rooftop shop. Only for your journey to end in disappointment, as you discover only the half-burnt out ruin of a rooftop apartment, with a note carved into the flame-scorched door frame that the business could still be found, only now within the confines of Eel’s End. Eel’s End – Devargo Bravarsi’s territory. Was this destruction a move by the crime kingpin at consolidating all of the city’s crime as part of his squabble with Lamm? Or had your own friend been simply yet another unfortunate victim of the riots’ blind fury, and now had to seek shelter at the one place his business would not be treated with scorn and the harassment of vice taxmen? Unfortunately, both of those answers – with your promised midnight milk – lay within Eel’s End. The only question now was whether you were going to turn back to Citadel Volyshenek and admit defeat for today, or press on alone into the Spider’s parlor?

Everyone Else

Prior to the meeting with Kroft, Grau briefly frowns in disappointment at Gavin’s polite refusal to embrace, but forces a smile back onto his face as he takes the armiger’s hand into his own and gives Gavin’s arm a quick pump up and down.

“Sure, pal! That sounds great.”

************************

Inside Kroft’s office, the field marshall gives Atavian a quick glance and nod of gratitude as he retrieves her cup of half-dried sludge that was evidentially coffee. She takes a quick sip of it, wincing a bit as the taste manages to eventually be processed by her dulled taste buds – but then, perhaps that is how she manages to down the foul remnants at the bottom of the cup at all. She manages a studious, composed expression as she listens to the beginning of Atavian’s report, but as she takes a second hesitant sip of coffee-sludge the summoner reaches his description of Lamm’s newest allies. And *that* revelation leads to Kroft spewing black droplets all over her paperwork desk-covering as she stares at Atavian as if he had just demonstrated the ability to have Tallox’s head sprout from his shoulder.

“I-impossible! Derro in Korvosa are a myth! If they weren’t just some Shiver-addict’s fantasy, then why haven’t they been reported . . .”

Kroft’s mind finally manages to catch up with her outburst of disbelief, and apparently the order given was “shut up”, as the Field Marshall simply purses her lips, biting back any further denial as she nods at Atavian.

“My apologies. Please continue Atavian.”

Kroft listens quietly to the rest of Atavian’s descriptions of Vreeg, Vreeg’s pet, and Vreeg’s strange skewered eyeball, and the derros’ obvious connection to Gaedren Lamm. Although the Field Marshall was ostensibly a politician by necessity if nothing else, either she didn’t have a good poker face or exhaustion had sapped that capability as well. Kroft’s facial expression flickers from disbelief, to dismay, and finally to despair as Atavian outlines the full strength of Lamm’s allies. When Atavian is finished with his report, Field Marshall Kroft is quiet for a long time, clearly working through all the implications as fast as her mind could sluggishly sort through them. It takes Dalen’s comment on the group’s accomplishment of surviving such a confrontation to stir Kroft out of her reverie.

“Yes . . . I had thought Lamm was merely organizing the city’s criminal and corrupt elements, but it appears he is gathering the city’s supernatural elements as well. The Guard is not well trained or equipped enough to deal with such threats, which is why we typically turn to the Sable Marines, the Order of the Nail, or adventurers such as yourselves to handle threats to the city beyond the criminal element and occasional otyugh. But with the Order of the Nail largely unavailable now, and with adventurers such as yourselves barely capable of surviving a confrontation with these . . . derro and cyttil . . . . centipede-things, I am not sure what can be done to stop Lamm. Nonetheless, I am glad that all of you and Detective Rhev were able to escape unharmed . . . Detective Rhev?”

Kroft looks around the room for Rhev, who had stepped out with Silas a few moments before. She even seems to be considering looking under her desk for Rhev before she stops herself, drains the last dregs from her cup, and sets it aside apparently dismissing the detective’s presence here as some sort of hallucination. The detective goes even further from her mind as she finally notices the earlier coffee splatter across all of her paperwork, and is pre-occupied for several seconds trying desperately – and futilely, given the time elapsed – to blot out the stains on her select pieces of paperwork . . . with other pieces of paperwork. It takes Jakkin finally speaking up about her conduct to get Kroft’s attention back on the group again – and it does not take very long at all for her full attention to be focused on the halfling during his diatribe.

A look of mounting self-righteous anger builds on Kroft’s face during the first half of Jakkin’s argument, and she seems ready to burst in with a rebuttal at several moments – likely starting with a “how dare you” – but can’t quite seem to string the words together fast enough to interrupt him. Then the topic changes to setting an example for those under her command and what a dangerous example she was setting, and Kroft’s anger abruptly winks out, replaced with self-conscious guilt. Again, Kroft turns her attention back to her desk and busies herself with shuffling papers around quietly for a long few moments, but when she speaks up again it is barely above a whisper.

“I . . . had not considered that possibility.”

Kroft admits, pausing to awkwardly shuffle several papers about her desk again with no particular design save to seemingly keep her hands busy.

“I wanted to set an example, yes. I am the Field Marshall of Korvosa. When I took command of this office after the disgrace that Field Marshall Jeggare had made of it, I swore that I would set a different example for the Guard and for the city of what the Guard could be. That I would be better, and work harder, than any Field Marshall of Korvosa since Field Marshall Korvosa himself. I . . . sacrificed too much, made too many compromises –“ Here Kroft’s eyes briefly flick up to Gavin’s face before returning to her desk, “- to allow anything else. I am willing to give up everything, including my own life, for this city and while I had hoped to inspire that same dedication in every member of the Guard under my command I never expected anyone to do something that I was not willing to do myself.”

A quiet, bitter laugh slips out of Kroft’s lips as she finally stops shuffling papers about and looks up at the group, meeting each person’s gaze with a bloodshot stare devoid of hope.

“That was the naïve dream of a little girl. The Guard is broken beyond repair, and I suspect if Lamm’s mythical abominations don’t kill us all, then once the Council of Nobles is finally done with its game of selecting this city’s new monarch and seneschal, they will get around to asking for my resignation. And once I am gone, the Council will seek out a more conservative, “dependable” candidate to ensure that my “embarrassment” of the office is never repeated again – and that the Guard can quietly slide back down into the muck of corruption so “business as usual” can resume.”

Kroft sweeps her hands out across her desk to encompass the entirety of the paper covering it.

“All this paperwork? This is *all* from today, when I had a sizable portion of the Guard arrested for corruption, connected somehow specifically to Lamm’s web of corruption, which I only finally had enough proper evidence for thanks to the ledger you recovered – thank you again for that. Oh yes, and the other half of the paperwork is from the other sizable portion of the Guard that I am dismissing from service today under various suspicions of corruption that I cannot yet prove, but have sufficient evidence for suspension in light of Lamm’s tendrils slithering ever deeper into this organization. Combine the casualties from the riots with today, and the Guard is now at less than half the strength it had two weeks ago! But that strength was only an illusion anyway, since apparently the majority of the Guard are too busy lining their own pockets or resigning in conscientious protest to be inspired by the example of their Field Marshall.”

Still chugging along on her own exhaustion-fueled rant, Kroft now focuses her eyes solely on Jakkin.

“And damn you Jakkin for holding up those few rare souls who do look to me as an example despite all that. I am so godsdamn tired right now, and the only two things keeping me going right now are my desire to be able to still look at myself in the mirror after all this is done and say that I gave everything I had for Korvosa, and that somewhere, maybe, there were still a few members of the Korvosan Guard who I could inspire. And you just took that away from me because you’re right. Instead of inspiring them to give Korvosa the best of themselves I am probably inspiring them to push until they make a mistake that gets either themselves or others killed.”

Kroft drops her gaze away and lowers her head onto her hands, now propped up on the desk by her elbows. She keeps her head like that, slowly grinding the heels of each hand into her eyes as she quietly admits defeat, all bitterness and anger now finally vented away, leaving only exhaustion and despair.

“But you’re also right about one other thing, Jakkin – I don’t trust anyone else to do this job, and certainly not after everything that has happened over the past several weeks. So there’s just me here to do the job, and until my Watch is over I can’t stop to sleep, or eat, or – gods yes please – bathe, because the time I take to do those things is all time that I can’t spend on being the Field Marshall of Korvosa. And Korvosa needs its Field Marshall right now more than ever for whatever little good I can actually do.”

And then just barely audible, Kroft concludes her rebuttal with a final question.

“And how can I look myself in the mirror if I allow myself to stop, and something else happens while I’m relaxing?”

(Extra psychology information on Kroft from narrowly exceeding her Bluff score with your Sense Motive)

Throughout her exhausted rant, most of Kroft’s emotions are plainly visible on her face, and she certainly seems to be speaking plainly about her beliefs and motivations. She certainly seems to believe in what she is saying, and is adamantly in favor of cleansing Korvosa of corruption and enforcing the rule of law, and of holding herself up as an exemplar of what a city guard should be.

In fact, she seems to have a fanatical desire to live up to those ideals, although neither of you are able to determine why she clings to that ideal with such determination. There’s some context there that you are missing, although you do also suspect that Kroft believes she has not lived up to her ideal, and that’s only pushing her harder.

As an additional aspect to that, there’s her last sentence, whispered almost like a mantra to herself. “Something else happens while I’m relaxing” – in the context of the conversation that sounds like an admission of recent failure, but as far as you know the night of the riots Kroft was out in the thick of it all night as the start of her no-sleep-ever marathon. “Something else” implies that there was a previous, initial event that happened while Kroft had her guard down, but like the rest of whatever is driving Kroft you don’t really have the context to determine whatever that is, merely that there *is* something there, and her guilt over it has turned her into a workaholic.

THEChanger

2020-06-09, 12:20 AM

"I would never have picked pride as your sin, Field Marshall."

Gavin still couldn't bring himself to look at Kroft. But listening as she rambled on, proclaiming that only she was qualified to do this job, that only she could save the city. It was all too easy to see how she had left him to the dogs, how she could have abandoned-

Gavin gritted his teeth, as another flood of visions shot through his mind. Blessedly, this one was shorter. Another world, another Field Marshall. One who still could stand upright, could still think, who showed him that she had tried, that she had done her best to keep him safe in Longacre. Gavin couldn't know if it was true here, or if it had been true at all. But, what was it Aliani had said? That hate was a terrible thing to carry?

“Protect the dreamers, the would-be heroes. You are one yourself, still.”

Maybe there was something to that, if Gavin's hate distracted him like this. Kroft was still the lynchpin of the Guard, and for better or worse, they needed to help her.

"What if something happened while you relaxed? What if something happened now, Field Marshall? What if Gaedren Lamm launched an attack on the palace this very moment? What is your plan? What would the Guard's response be? Can you even lift your damn sword?" Gavin strode to the Field Marshall's desk and slammed his hand down on one of the stacks of paper work. "I don't care what happened that makes you think you need to martyr yourself, but that is not what Korvosa needs right now. Korvosa needs a Field Marshall that can actually think, that can actually stand on her own two feet without calling one of the bankers to magic away the problem for another couple hours! You are in derelict of your duty, Cressida!"

Gavin bit his lip. That's what was on his official sentencing. Dereliction of duty. They hadn't been able to pin the kidnapping of that girl on him, in the end, so they charged him with dereliction of duty. Saying he had allowed it to happen, that by inaction he was to blame.

"You've cut away the rot. Now you only have the strongest left. The ones who can actually pick up your slack. Sargent Soldado is competent, trustworthy, and intelligent. You can lean on him for the ten hours it would take to put yourself back in fighting shape. You're already working with this group of mercenaries. They've shown themselves to be capable of putting out fires."

Gavin's mind went to another memory, this time one of the few he knew happened in this world, to him. Maralictor Vulso, after pulling him off one of the bridges to Old Korvosa, and the words that put Gavin on the path he currently walked. They fell from Gavin's lips, almost without thinking.

"You said you would give your life for Korvosa, but what you really meant was that you would give your death. Throwing yourself at the work until you make a fatal mistake. Can you actually give your life? Can you commit to living, to taking care of yourself and making sure what you give your city is the best version of yourself you can be? Giving your death is so much easier.

Can you give your life, Field Marshall?"

PiccadillyPi

2020-06-09, 05:19 PM

"Pooh."

Silas stared at the note on the door in the same way one might look at a piece of food they'd just dropped in the mud. He'd just wasted an hour of his search. That meant more time in which the field marshal would be awake. Annoyed, he nearly took the note down from the door. It'd mean confusion for returning patrons. Unfortunately, it would also mean that there might also be more customers for Lamm rather than any other dealer in town. Instead, he lightly kicked the door frame before turning back to face what he presumed would be a terrible day. Eel's end was, after all, the Spider's territory.

As he began his descent of the shingles, he was privy to a view that reached across the whole of Korvosa. Certainly a sight to behold. Each building that stuck out invoked memories of a past life. One where he did what he had to to survive. As he neared the end of his break from shopping, Silas viewed the spire of one of the many shrines of South Shore.

"Ah! I am truly the idiot lord of bad ideas!'

Genevieve LaBelle. A dear friend of his frequented the shrines of South Shore, and a few others across the city, as a Calistrian courtesan. She was the one that helped him get through the worst of his remission. She herself had access to a slurry of alchemical liquids and powders, but hardly ever used such things. Typically, those were reserved for more rigorous clergy. In many ways she acted as a mentor to Silas, not only as a courtesan, but as a kind soul in a time when he needed one. Her being Calistrian, they had no secrets behind the curtains. It was an odd friendship between them.

With a name in mind, Silas' plan changed from doom to groom. He'd have to stop by his house to grab a brush and perhaps doff his violent appearance. He took whatever shortcuts he could as he made his descent from the rooftops. Climbing down was always easier than the reverse, especially with his new boots. Time being what it was, Silas started into a run the second he touched the street level. As he ran, he debated on whether a horse-drawn carriage would be faster than simply hustling through to South Shore.

Darvin

2020-06-12, 02:10 AM

"They lurk in the shadows beneath the city, and what few sightings may have been reported were likely dismissed as a shiver addict's fantasy. The only reason that our report has even reached your desk is because we're associates in your direct employ. I understand your incredulity, and frankly I was fully expecting to not be taken seriously," Dalen responds to Kroft's remarks about the Derro.

He waits for the discussion of Kroft's health to finish before speaking, "Ms Kroft, it would seem to me that even with the aid of restorative divine magic your efficacy is waning. I fully understand that the guard is stretched for resources, and truthfully I have a great deal of confidence in your ability to juggle this precarious situation, but I hope you would not allow your personal zeal to compromise your professional judgement. You are the most valuable asset of the guard, and I fear that you are spreading yourself out too thinly. Ultimately the most competent must delegate to those less able than themselves so that they may redouble their efforts where the impact will be most substantial,"

Stelio Kontos

2020-06-12, 01:27 PM

"Nadine..." Aliani sighed, clenching his jaw at the mention of Beautrice's scarred face. There was probably no use in trying to change their mind, seeing as they'd already run off once. "You should leave, you really should leave. It's probably going to get worse for a while, and even if they do manage to round up those Dusters people, it's ... they're not the only ones burning things and killing around here."

"But it's your life. If you need any money, I've come into some, or a place to stay -- you can have the upstairs if you want it -- you know you can come to me no questions asked, right? If any of the others are having trouble... I've fallen out of touch lately and I haven't been as attentive as I should be... you send them to me, all right? Please?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Grau's comment about a day in the life brought back a withering glare as Aliani thumbed at his scorched clothing and watched Nadine walk off, probably never to be seen again. "Yes, well, it's not all it's cracked up to be, apparently."

He listened to the sergeants tale; there was some more than interesting information in there, to be sure, but just the sort that it wouldn't do to have investigated further.

"Forgive me, Sergeant Saldado, but I think your efforts are headed in exactly the wrong direction. It's certainly interesting enough that the two knew each other some years ago, but what I think should interest you is what the hell happened this time, in what should be a cut and dried murder case. The treason is... well, if I had to guess I'd say someone trumped something up to intimidate them and run them out of town. Most crimes are easy enough: someone got stabbed, or punched in the face, or money went missing. There's actual harm. Treason is, well, it's usually basically a thought crime isn't it? And monarchs aren't in the habit of pardoning people who are actually threats against them, after all, specious charges or not, else they wouldn't stay monarchs for long.

"So someone runs a questionable charge up the flagpole, this group get convicted, but actually executing them would draw too much attention, so she 'pardons' them of their 'crime' and makes them leave town. That'd be my best guess, if you're asking me. History is replete with such cases, in Korvosa and elsewhere, as I'm sure you are aware." Aliani was fairly sure the sergeant wasn't aware, and perhaps he himself was imagining it a bit, but it seemed good at the time, and certainly there were all manner of at least semi-historical stage works alluding to the topic that could be fallen back on...

"Frankly, it seems a little bit like victim blaming to say 'aha but they knew each other', to wonder what she did to deserve bleeding out on the street. Why does the 'why' matter, other than your personal edification? The interesting part is the lengths to which someone in the Guard and elsewhere has gone to cover it all up, but that's easily enough explained by 'Lamm probably paid them off to hide the trail, or intimidated them into doing so' -- both now and in the past. He does that, you know. You've at least read the letters I turned in on the subject, I assume, unless those got 'misfiled' as well."

"Your big worry ought to be this, besides the really obvious bits: are those people still in positions of power? Do you think you can really trust what you're being told?"

Captain Jak

2020-06-12, 05:36 PM

Jakkin grunted his approval; he'd said his piece, it had struck true, and his companions had run with it -- it didn't all have to come from him. But seeing this woman driving herself into distress and exhaustion, trying her best to do a potentially impossible job?

That was just...wrong.

He didn't have anything further to add with regards to their cellar encounter than had already been said, so he stood on the balls of his bare feet and let the others have their say.

He was patient.

Lamm would eventually be in his hands. One of these days.

Inspectre

2020-06-14, 06:10 PM

Stelio Kontos

Nadine nods at your offers, but otherwise doesn’t reply as she turns and walks away. It may be irrational, but after their last attempt to leave Korvosa resulted in Beatrice’s injury it seems the sisters would be staying in the city for better or worse. Hopefully if you can put a stop to Gaedren’s plans, that stubborn decision will turn out to be for the better.

As for Grau, the guardsman seems more surprised by your reaction to this unexpected revelation than anything.

“I mean . . . I guess you have a point, Mr. Rose. It was thirty years ago, after all, and that’s plenty of time for Ms. Silverlight to have made new enemies. I just thought since we’ve been looking at Gaedren Lamm as responsible for her murder, and here I found a connection between them – something very serious in fact that would be worth deliberately targeting her over, rather than just a random mugging gone wrong. It also could open up other potential suspects than just Lamm, given they weren’t the only ones on this list of pardons, and someone may be attempting to keep this whole pardon quiet by eliminating witnesses. I suppose the whole thing could just be a forgery, but if it was then why go to all the trouble scattering it about the records office? And I trust my friend – I don’t think he would try to make this forgery himself, nor frankly do I think he’s good enough to make one that looks like this. I suppose you’re right that it could just all be Lamm again. Guess the only way we’ll find out is if we manage to bring him in alive, and I get the chance to question him about this directly. I imagine this time around, those treason charges are going to stick though, and Queen Ileosa isn’t going to be interested in writing a new pardon for him.”

The sergeant shrugs and wanders off, clearly a bit crestfallen at your objection rather than elation at poking around in your mother’s past. But if he wanted praised for a job well done, then he’d have caught Gaedren Lamm already and stopped harassing everyone else in your social circle.

PiccadillyPi

After the near hour-long trek up into the Shingles to your friend’s abode, it was quite vexing to be left with nothing but a change in address. Fortunately, you do know of another friend who might have what you’re looking for, although her aid would not be free and she tended to take her payments in “favors” rather than coin. Not an unpleasant arrangement really - save for that one incident involving her dwarf “manservant” – but it had been a number of years since you last seen her and you really didn’t have the time right now to do all the “catching up” that she’d probably like to do. A woman’s life and career were in danger here, and you could only hope all these delays weren’t going to result in you being too late to be of assistance.

Getting down from the Shingles was considerably easier than ascending to their heights, as it merely required carefully lowering oneself from one catwalk to the next, until a jump down to street level was not such a painful and life-threatening experience. Those new boots courtesy of the queen also certainly helped in this matter, and it was only a few minutes before you were down at street level. Unfortunately, once you were down at street level a new complication revealed itself in the form of three shadows disgorging themselves from a nearby alleyway and making a beeline for you. As they get closer, the lead one pulls its cowl back a bit, to reveal an unwelcomely-familiar scarred face.

“Hey Hornface, remember me?”

Tark the Fishmonger growls, while behind him one minion sighs and hands over a pouch of coins to the other who chuckles while muttering “Told you that scroll was worth every copper.” To your surprise, however, after that aggressive greeting the half-orc would-be kidnapper holds up his hands.

“Much as I’d like another go at ya after the mess ya caused me, Boss just sent me to fetch ya for a nice private little chat. Don’t cause no trouble again, and ya won’t get a hair of ya head hurt. Uhh . . . oh yeah, and the Boss told me to tell ya “Save ya mercy for those that deserve it”, whatever that means.”

The half-orc grunts, repeating the phrase that Vjala spat at you right after pulling her blades out of a child who had unfortunately been exposed to Shudder. Seems unlikely that anyone but her could have known she had said that to you, although sending Tark and his gang after you certainly seemed like an unusual method of communication. On the other hand, the idea that Tark and his men were working for Vjala in some capacity, at least enough to call her “Boss”, was a confusing turn of events given what had happened at Trinia’s flat in what now felt like years ago ( :smallwink: ).

“So what’s it going to be, Hornface? Ya coming with us to see the Boss quiet-like, or is this getting physical?”

Everyone Else

Kroft blinks in surprise at Gavin’s initial challenge, and then scowls as she undoubtedly starts to parse out various arguments – that she could still swing her sword just fine, that there were plans in place to protect the palace (of questionable worth given Lamm could have had those plans given to him by the corrupt members of the Guard), and so on all until the man dropped the “dereliction of duty” phrase. Her eyes went wide at that remark, and she looked at Gavin as if he had just full-on slapped her across the face. To Gavin, it was clear that she had made the connection to the exact charges that had been placed around his neck to hang him with.

The Field Marshall is quiet throughout the rest of Gavin’s argument, as well as Dalen’s logical appeal for delegation after the armiger’s pathos argument is complete. She finally seems to muster the strength to look up at the group, her gaze sweeping across everyone to eventually settle on Gavin.

“I have missed your insights and passion, Mr. Dimir.”

Kroft says truthfully, and then turns her gaze back down to her desk with a sigh, clenching her hands together into interlocked fists.

“But I don’t think I can be that person again.”

Those words trigger another memory in Gavin’s mind, of that other world, where he sat in this very office, soaked to the bone after swimming out to rescue a Sable Company marine from the Jeggare River, and exhausted from fighting through the riotous streets the night of King Eodred’s death. In frustration he had vented five years of pent-up anger at his former captain, who had simply taken it in stride before revealing she had always had faith in him after all. That had been the start of that Gavin’s rebirth as an unofficial member of the City Guard, and that service had started with that exactly same phrase uttered by Gavin to Kroft – “I don’t think I can be that man again.” An odd reversal of fortune, here, for that same phrase to be repeated back to him.

“As for Sergeant Saldado . . . I find it very hard to trust him with anything important these days.”

Kroft gives another weary sigh, which segues into another exhausted yawn.

“There’s no sense in arguing against the truth, though. I am not fit for duty in this state, and if I am unable to function after my scheduled visit by the Abadarian clergy is delayed by even an hour, then I am of no use to Korvosa. So alright, I suppose the paperwork can be finished and sent on to the arbiters at Longacre tomorrow. Which, assuming nothing else goes wrong in the city for the next eight hours, means that I can return home for a quick bath and a night of sleep before returning to finish the paperwork tomorrow morning. Would that be satisfactory to you all?”

The Field Marshall waits a beat, and then with a slight smile slaps her palms down onto her desk.

“Then, it’s settled. Now then gentlemen, unless you have any further business to discuss with me, the sooner you get out of here the sooner I can lock up my office and go home. Except you, Mr. Dimir . . . would you mind staying behind for a minute? I was hoping that we could have a brief – and private – conversation.”

Stelio Kontos

2020-06-14, 08:24 PM

Staring off after Nadine, Aliani finally snapped back into the sergeant's conversation, just in time to hear... well, something incredibly stupid. Was the man daft, or merely egging him on?

He let him walk away, a fair distance. It was all he could do, his face turning red the whole time; the alternative was to punch the man, and that wouldn't do right now. He waited for him to just about turn a corner before shouting after him; it wasn't intended, but it was probably loud enough for everyone to hear, even through the closed door of Kroft's office... which as it happened was just opening, anyway.

"I already KNOW who did it, and I have for five years! You would too if you read everything I turned in to you people! The QUESTION is why you haven't arrested him yet! Chase after those wagons, why don't you, maybe there's still time to let you on!"

A visibly angry half-elf greeted the party, putting on an obviously phony smile, and saying in the sweetest tone, "So, how was the meeting? Everything as meticulously recorded as usual, I assume?"

THEChanger

2020-06-15, 12:24 AM

Gavin twice resisted the impulse to raise an eyebrow, once at Field Marshall Kroft asking him to remain behind, and once at the anger coming off of Aliani. "We'll ensure the paperwork is finished in the morning, Aliani. We've just finished convincing the Field Marshall that repeated visits from one of Abadar's bankers is a poor substitute for actual sleep, and that she'll be of far more use to everyone after she makes up for the few days she's gone without. And, yes Field Marshall. If it is important, I can certainly remain for further questions."

Darvin

2020-06-17, 03:30 AM

Dalen tips his head respectfully, "then I'll take my leave Ms Kroft. Until you next require my services,"

The wizard is caught in reflection on his walk home. He'd also underestimated the threat substantially. Given the manpower at their disposal he hadn't even prepared his full complement of magic, leaving some in reserve for other applications later in the day. Even a single additional spell would have likely tipped the scales, and allowed them to apprehend Vreeg and confiscate that eye. It was not a mistake he'd make twice. Next time, he'd bring his full power to bear.

Dalen arrived at his home ready to get to work, stopping only quickly to check what correspondences had arrived. His eyes widen as he finds Sabrina's note and he goes rushing out the door. With a flash of magic he conjures a steed and sets out without delay.

Inspectre

2020-06-17, 09:42 PM

PiccadillyPi

Tark the “Fishface” scowls as you beg his pardon and request a raincheck of several hours on your meeting with their Boss, who you can only assume is Vjala. Tark’s lackeys tighten their grip on their weapons but the half-orc waves them off with a nasty laugh.

“Boss said you wouldn’t have time to talk. Guess that’s typical for you then, because I also got this note to give to you.”

Reaching into his jacket, Tark pulls out a slip of paper, crumples it up into a ball, and then bounces it off of your forehead. You stoop down to retrieve it from the street, expecting this as some sort of distraction pre-amble to an assault upon your person, but by the time you retrieve the paper and look back up Tark and his crew are already gone, with only a few swirling bits of detritus as sign of their hasty retreat. You uncrumple the note to find a message that is unmistakably in Vjala’s handwriting, terse and to the point as many of her recent communiques have been with you.

Lamm meeting with Underworld leaders to recruit. Tonight. Beneath Kendall Ampitheater. Going to attack Devargo this evening to stop him from arguing against Lamm.

And that’s it – while informative, there are no further directions as to what you should do with this information. And from the looks of it, Vjala would not be available to provide further detail. But you certainly wouldn’t be able to do anything about this by yourself, which meant getting back together with the rest of the group at all haste.

First though, you needed to complete your original task or this whole side trip would have been for naught. You rush back to your residence, make yourself presentable, and then hurry on to where you could only hope Genevieve was still holding court. You had kept innocent tabs on your friend over the years since you had last needed her help, and while still a small congregation the CalIstrian church was doing *very* well for itself. Well enough, in fact, that Genevieve now managed a small chapel converted from a private residence located just outside South Shore’s walls for . . . private worship.

Now properly groomed for the occasion, you go up to the front door of the residence and knock. A few moments later and the door swings open to emit a faint puff of pleasant perfume. The interior is darker than the street under the fading afternoon sun, but still lit with a welcoming glow that shines off the oiled skin of the lithe elf now standing in the doorway trying not to squint at you due to the aforementioned sun in his eyes.

“Welcome to the House of the Unquenchable Fire, sir. Our formal service is not until this evening, but if you are here for private worship, I am sure that we can accommodate you.”

The boyish elf states smoothly, adding just enough suggestive pauses at just the right points to suggest he’s had a lot of practice at delivering that greeting just so. He’s a bit lacking in experience all the same though, as he oogles you a bit too openly as he steps back to allow you admittance. Stepping into the immaculate foyer – decorated to resemble a garden – you find yourself with little time to enjoy the scenery – furniture or otherwise – as before you can even explain that you wish to see the Lady of the house, you hear a quiet purr from the balcony above.

“Well, hello there, stranger.”

You glance up just in time to see Genevieve LaBelle descending the second-floor stairs, clad in an elegant yellow dress accented with patches of black translucent fabric that show just enough of the skin beneath to be enticing rather than tawdry. A half-elf, the Mistress of Callistria appeared untouched by the passage of time since you had last seen her, and likely would remain so for another couple decades at least. Arriving at the bottom of the stairway, Genevieve smiles and gives you a curtsey that is just low enough to give you a better but brief glimpse of her decidedly human-sized assets.

“It’s been much too long, Silas. I trust you are well?”

Although she maintains her playful smile, Genevieve’s eyes flash with concern as she examines you intently – no doubt looking for any sign of relapse. She was sure to love it when she heard what your request was, as your former part-time dealer, then former nurse. With a gentle tilt of her head, the Mistress indicates for you to follow her out of the foyer and into one of the small side rooms curtained off from the rest of the ground floor. The boy-elf greeter simply stares after you as you follow, a clear expression of surprise and envy flitting across his face. But this visit was for business, and not for pleasure, and as soon as you are both behind the privacy of the side room’s curtain Genevieve’s smile fades away completely.

“Why are you here, Silas? I hope that you have remained free of your various addictions, because I do not know how much aid I will be able to offer you this time. As you can see, I am a very busy woman these days, and while business is good my responsibilities have likewise increased.”

Everyone Else

Kroft is about to reply to Gavin’s question when she glances at the visibly irritated Aliani, and seems to think better of her request as she swiftly does an about face. It’s unclear if her change of heart has anything to actually do with the playwright’s outburst, or if she simply reconsidered the request after her tired mind had another few seconds to mull it over.

“Nevermind, Mr. Dimir . . . or is it Ser Dimir, now? Simply a personal inquiry, nothing more. It can wait for another time. Perhaps one in which the city is not in imminent danger, and tempers are not so short.”

The Field Marshall concludes, glancing at Aliani before turning her attention back to her desk, arranging the papers with purpose now and clearly dismissing the group as she returns her attention to her work.

Some of you know Kroft from having worked closely alongside her before, in this world or the last, some of you are just good at spotting bull**** when you see it, and Kroft’s ability to keep a straight face is still just as compromised as before. Whichever of those reasons is true for you, it enables you to notice several things that Kroft probably hoped to cover up by her sudden reversal and renewed interest in her paperwork.

Earlier, while perhaps goaded by near-delirious exhaustion and frustration at the Guard’s situation as a whole, Kroft had spoken plainly to the group. Not as the Field Marshall of Korvosa but as Cressidia Kroft. And Cressidia Kroft was intensely curious about whatever she had wanted to ask Gavin. But when Aliani came storming in, his angry arrival had been enough to “shock” Kroft back into Field Marshall-mode. The professional wall was back up now, as best as Kroft could manage a professional demeanor in her current state.

But despite her best efforts, Kroft still couldn’t stop that faint blush from spreading out from the bridge of her nose to the top of her cheeks. Cressidia Kroft was embarrassed by this whole conversation and her brief moment of “weakness”. Not so humiliated that she wasn’t going to ignore the whole conversation and go back to quickly working herself to death, but this “failure” in her eyes was likely due to be added onto to the pile of whatever baggage was driving her to this in the first place. This battle for Cressidia Kroft’s soul was a victory, but the war would continue.

The group slowly files out of Kroft’s office, and with the sun starting its slow trek down towards the sea it seems as if everyone in the group would have a quiet evening to do whatever they wished for once. Since Dalen’s house/shop was relatively close-by, however, the entire group agreed to accompany him back there first before splitting up for the evening. Which was a good decision, as it turned out that a quiet evening apart might not be in the cards after all – Sabrina’s note was urgent and while her level of humorlessness might surpass even Kroft’s, neither did the queen’s bodyguard seem like the type to exaggerate the seriousness of a request.

So Dalen taking the lead in flying back out the door before Greg has even really had time to say “hello”, the group hustles up into the Heights district of Korvosa, and at it’s center the black stone ziggurat known as the Grand Mastaba, atop which the white marble spires of Castle Korvosa had been constructed as one final insult to the Shaonti who surrendered the ancient structure last of all. Whether the guards manning the gates had been told to expect you or by now were familiar enough with the group to know you belonged here, they let you through into the entry courtyard without question. And that answer as to why they just waved you through was pretty self-evident in the fact that Sabrina Merrin was waiting for you just inside the courtyard, pacing back and forth like a wild animal caged by the walls of the courtyard.

“Finally! Where the Hells have you been!? I sent that note hours ago – never mind! Follow me.”

The queen’s bodyguard grouses, certainly giving the impression that she had been down here in the courtyard pacing while she waited for you literally for hours, even if that was not factually the case. Sabrina leads you all up into the castle proper, but you don’t get far inside before she changes course and leads you into a small waiting room. Judging by the furniture, it’s intended to be a small waiting area for dignitaries prior to meeting with the queen, but you’re pretty sure it was chosen just because it was the nearest empty room Sabrina could think of.

“So, how’s your day been? Because mine started sucking this morning, and only got better from there!”

Sabrina snarls, and then pauses, looking around suspiciously at the walls before taking a deep breath and continuing in a much quieter tone of voice – evidentially to frustrate any would-be eavesdroppers who would have to be deaf to miss her statements thus far.

“Queen Ileosa is missing. I can only assume that she sneaked out of the castle early this morning, probably on some daft quest to personally avenge Eodred. Now, she’s occasionally sneaked out of the castle before, so I know that’s what happened and that this is not some kidnapping plot. And I know from those prior . . . adventures . . . that she knows how to be discrete. But those previous trips only lasted a few hours, it’s been the better part of a day, and oh yeah, none of those previous trips involved hunting down a murderous psychopath! Oh, and her stupid handmaiden is with her, so that’s something right?”

Sabrina adds as an afterthought, and then after a moment’s further thought, vents some more of her rage by punching the nearby stone wall with a loud CRACK! as marble meets her steel gauntlet – and gives way slightly as a thin crack is visible in the marble pillar after Sabrina pulls her hand away without even a wince.

“Oh, but it gets better! Y’see, later today I received a message from the Council of Nobles! They’re finally getting off of their butts to meet and select who Korvosa’s new seneschal should be since Seneschal Neolandus up and disappeared the night Eodred died – yeah, that’s not suspicious at all is it!? They’re meeting TOMORROW! And they sent a formal letter to Queen Ileosa to present the list of candidates that the various noble houses would be putting forth for consideration. Because as is tradition, despite not being Korvosa’s official sovereign, Ileosa does get to nominate her support for whoever she wants to turn around and order her dragged off the Crimson Throne and thrown into exile or worse! But with or without her seal of approval, the Council is going to select a new seneschal. And guess who is the current forerunner for that – gee, could it be the person at the top of the list in bold print!?”

Sabrina spits as she yanks a rolled-up piece of parchment embossed with gold filigree out of a pouch at her belt and practically throws it at Aliani. Unfurling the scroll, the playwright reveals that the parchment is a letter that states what Sabrina just summarized, albeit in considerably more flowery speech. And in the middle of the letter were a list of half a dozen names, which indeed had the name at the top of the list in double the size print as all of the others: Lady Ambassador Andaisin of Cheliax.

“So, maybe you’re starting to understand why I’m so alarmed, and why Queen Ileosa needs to stop playing adventurer and get back here so she can DO SOMETHING with her last day as Korvosa’s queen! NOW! And I would be tearing this city apart with my own two hands except that I would not be subtle about it, and oh yeah, there’s a regicidal maniac on the loose who would just love to add a second notch to his name! So instead, I’m STUCK HERE, and forced to rely on the lot of you to find her, convince her to return to the castle instead of playing at vigilante, and get her back here ideally without anyone else discovering the fact that Korvosa’s interim monarch likes to take long walks in the slums without her bodyguard! Oh, and bring her handmaiden back safe too, I guess. Oh, and you have until tomorrow afternoon to do it, or else we all get to bow down and grab our ankles before SENESCHAL ANDAISIN!”

Sabrina gives an exasperated sigh, finally out of breath now that her tirade of an explanation was finished. With that expenditure of frustration finished, Sabrina’s expression mollified from somewhere below “furious exasperation” but still above “annoyed concern”.

“Look. I know some of you have issues with the nobility – I’d like nothing better than to punch the smug grins off of most of their faces myself – and I can’t say that this was anything but blatant stupidity on Ileosa’s part. But she wants what is best for Korvosa which a damn sight more than what most of those nobles want. If she or her handmaiden has gotten into trouble, you’re the only people I know of that might be able to get her out of it, and do it without making it a front-page scandal on the Korvosa Gazette. If you need anything to get this done, I will try to give it to you. Please.”

Darvin

2020-06-18, 03:11 AM

"My apologies, I was performing contract work for Field Marshall Kroft today and had only just received your letter," Dalen conscientiously greets Sabrina, "you may consider myself at your disposal,"

Dalen listens to Sabrina and his eyes widen as she describes the situation. He pauses to think, then nods, "Do you know if Ileosa is capable of casting a non-detection spell on her own power? If not, any such spell cast on her before she left the castle would have expired by now, and it would be possible to find her with the proper divination magic," Dalen bites his lip, "if you could forward me seven hundred gold pieces, I can rush to the goldmarket and procure a scroll of scrying. I'd need only a few hairs from her pillow to serve as a focus in locating her. Alternately, if you can narrow down a search area we could perhaps find her more quickly with a Locate Object spell. I crafted those sleeves for her, and can use them as a focus for the spell, but it has sharply limited range so we'll need to have a narrow search area for that to work,"

Inspectre

2020-06-18, 05:27 AM

Sabrina, now considerably calmer but still with an edge in her voice shrugs and shakes her head.

"I'm not an expert on this magic stuff, but I do know that Queen Ileosa - and by extension her handmaiden Elliana - do have magic items to block scrying and various information-gathering magicks (i.e. Amulet of Non-Detection). Many of the nobles do as well, I would guess as a hold-over from the days when they liked to play assassination tag with each other. I would say it's a pity they don't still play those games, but it tended to spill over into open violence that got a lot of innocent people killed as well, so I guess things are better now? Of course, once they get rid of Ileosa, who knows how bloody it'll get again to pick the next person to sit on that damned chair."

Captain Jak

2020-06-18, 12:44 PM

Jakkin grunts as the situation is laid out for them in refreshingly plain language – as if Kroft’s exhausted caginess as to why she’s pushing herself so far isn’t bad enough, the monarch is running about ‘incognito’?

"While you’re mucking about with your scrolls and spells, I’ll get a start on trying to track them down on the streets," the Halfling observes. "Just in case one magic screws with another," he adds dryly. As they all too often seem to do. It might not be quick or glamourous, but he’s not feeling hopeless about his ability to track the pair of women by nosing around and asking questions.

...after he procures a change of clothing, mind. At the moment, he still looks like he stepped out of a slaughterhouse.

Stelio Kontos

2020-06-18, 01:31 PM

"I'm sorry we're late" Aliani replied a bit testily, still harboring some leftover anger from the end of his meeting with Saldado, and further flushed with the lovely news about the ambassador. He picked at the charred remnants of his own clothing. "We were a bit indisposed attempting to do the guard's job for them, and as you can see it was rather unpleasant. But yes, it will be good to speak to Her Majesty; that little gift she gave me proved quite useful about an hour ago."

Meeting Sabrina's eye before flashing a brief smile to let Sabrina know he was still on her side despite the near-death experience that that little gift had prevented, and that eating his face off wasn't a necessary action right now, he continued. "We'll do what we can do. I know some people. Jakkin's right, we put our noses out there and see what we come up with. At this point we've got enough people hiding from us in sewers and basements and whatnot that I think mathematically we're bound to bump into somebody we're looking for or that's looking for us. But honestly, if it comes to another scrap, speaking for myself .... I've got nothing much left of value to give. I won't be much help, if people get hurt. I rather suspect Mr. Rittle, behind his enthusiastic exterior, is rather well spent as well judging by the parchment he burned through. And as capable as my colleagues are, without that support... if it comes to a scrap, people are going to die. So we're going to have to figure something out."

"And if we haven't done so by noon tomorrow, you take the ambassador and throw her down a deep well so nobody can find her, and buy us some time."

"Oh! I almost forgot. How is Miss Sabor holding up?"

Darvin

2020-06-18, 03:28 PM

"Those amulets are far from foolproof... but it will take me an hour to perform the casting, in addition to however long it takes to procure the scroll. We can't afford to expend that much time on a longshot. Perhaps if all else fails it will be our last resort. I think a better course of action may be to attempt to make contact with a scroll of sending. With luck, the church of Abadar may have just such a scroll in stock. Normally an arcane caster such as myself would not be able to wield divine magic as such, but bards are somewhat notorious for getting these things to work," Dalen turns to Aliani, "do you think you can handle a divine scroll of sending if we were to purchase it?" Dalen's tone makes clear to all involved that he firmly believes this is within Aliani's capabilities.

Dalen nods at Jakkin, "there is no reason we can't pursue all available avenues simultaneously. A scrying spell would take an hour to cast anyways, and it would be a waste for you to be idle during that time,"

He turns to Aliani, "I expended a great deal of parchment, yes, but I still have a little over a third of my own magic still at my disposal. Suffice to say I was more prepared for street thugs than giant fire-breathing centipedes," he stops, then turns to Sabrina, "by the way, Lamm's allies have a giant fire-breathing centipede,"

Stelio Kontos

2020-06-18, 03:56 PM

”Could I pull it off? Yes... oh, yes, probably... Aliani replied, seemingly convincing himself as he spoke. “It’s worth a shot, at least. Just a matter of getting the mind and soul in tune with whichever deity one plans to, well, partake of the benefits of, same as any other specialized item. If the church of Abadar have one, I think... let’s see, ten minutes standard senior clerics casting fees, rounded up to the hour minimum, waivers of liability and materials thereof, secretarial acolyte processing and handling, filing fees... I’m sure it would all be quite reasonable. Above and beyond the cost of the scroll of course...”

“Maybe we should try the Sheylnites first, might be easier. But yes, we’ll make it work somehow. And I’m glad you’re not totally spent... but all the same, perhaps we can go into this more fully prepared than one third of your mind. I’ve a feeling we shall need much more than that.

Darvin

2020-06-18, 04:03 PM

"You'd need to cast it; we need Ileosa to hear from someone she trusts so she feels confident in telling us her current location. The Abadarites will doubtlessly try to upsell you on the casting services, but they will sell the scroll stand-alone if you make clear. I suggested them because they're the most likely to have it in stock, but if you'd prefer to try the Shelynites first, be my guest," he sighs at Aliani's comment about his preparedness, "What we need more than anything is time. I'd prefer to be at my peak as well, but that is not a luxury we have,"

THEChanger

2020-06-18, 04:05 PM

Gavin pinched the bridge of his nose, taking a deep breath in. "Now, hold on a moment. You mean to tell me that you-" Gavin motioned vaguely to the rest of the band of mercenaries fate has seen fit to throw him in with. "Know Queen Illeosa Arabasti, First of Her Name, appointed ruler of Korvosa personally. And that the queen is currently running about the city in an attempt to murder Gaedren Lamm, in a disguise, with no training, and possibly a handmaiden to accompany her. And you-" Now Gavin motioned more specifically towards Sabrina. "Want us to go convince her to come back. The Queen. The current highest authority in Korvosa. We're to convince her to listen to us."

Gavin threw up his hands in disgust. "This is not even the strangest thing to happen to me today.
Close, but not the strangest. If she has no training in investigation she's likely going after the most obvious leads, because those are the ones she'll have been able to find. The Order has been doing their best to track down Gaedren, and have already unsuccessfully raided several locations. Aside from the other options already discussed, which are sound if you have a rapport with Her Majesty already, we should check those sites first. There's a fishery in Midland that was the first we uncovered. Might make a good place to start."

Stelio Kontos

2020-06-18, 04:30 PM

Aliani nodded along. “About time... yes, quite right, very little of it. We shall make it work, somehow. Time and resources both, in more or less equal measure. But if we’re needing to go in with arrows nocked, I should at least like to have some arrows in our quiver.”

At Gavin’s revelation of the fishery, Aliani gave Dalen a sideways, knowing glance.

”I think you can cross that off the ... never mind, we can talk while we walk.”

SanguinePenguin

2020-06-18, 04:57 PM

Once the factual recounting ends, Atavian stands back and lets his allies put into words and threats the spirit of how he feels about Kroft's drive. Her ultimate submission under their onslaught bring about a mixed array of feelings. Pity most of all. Sleep she desparately needs - but what could bring her to this point, what lies underneath it all that is crushing her so transparently? Once dismissed, Atavian is the last to leave the room. Though perhaps too colleagially for this Field Marshall, or really even for the one he half-remembers, Atavian says with more depth than the idle platitude conveys, "take care of yourself, Cressidia."

-----

Atavian was tired and his resources spent. Tallox was gone for many, many hours still, and when he did come back, he would be possessed by a crankiness that only a beheading could instill in the beyonder. So when Sabrina beckoned them to the palace, Atavian went reluctantly - he had hoped they would get a fancy meal to celebrate a job well done. Sure - they had failed... but his stomach didn't need to know that.

In the courtyard, Atavian vapidly endures the woman's frustration and energy. While it would be surprising news for a more alert Atavian, the Queen's noctural activities were none of his concerns. Seeing the list snaps him to life. "You know Andaisin is bad news, but I believe the reality is far worse than any of you could possibly imagine," fuzzy memories of corpses in the street haunt him, but will not come into focus. Thinking through the consequences of voicing the thought only far enough to speak it quietly, he says, "could we just kill her?"

PiccadillyPi

2020-06-20, 03:19 AM

Silas held the crumpled parchment that Tark had gifted him in his hand as he waited for the elf to finish his line. If Silas could be called patient, this was certainly the least interested he had ever been in allowing anyone to finish speaking. His hand circled, and he mouthed the last few words of the sentence he'd heard so many times before as if it might've quickened the speech of the creature twice his age and only half his maturity.

He placed the boy's chin between his thumb and forefinger, gently covering his lips to quiet him.

"Marvelously said, darling. Better than any other before you. However, I am in need of-"

Before he could finish, she appeared. Genevieve. The tiefling cupped the boy's cheek as he walked past, tracing the tips of his fingers against the young elf's lips without a glance. It was a fun thing to do, but ultimately unnecessary. They'd likely never meet professionally, and Silas didn't wish for spiritual guidance. He headed immediately for his old friend, twirling for her playfully to show how healthy he looked. With a wink, he assured her he was better than ever. Of course he spoke sprightly until they could find privacy.

"Fantastic day we are in, are we not? You look enchanting as always, dear. Is that a new robe? It's gorgeous!"

Once behind the curtain, he dropped his gut and lit two stick of incense while his friend gave him a few choice words.

"Just a moment, Geney. I've come to love cheese - I couldn't not have a nibble before stopping by - but I fear it's not reciprocated."

With the incense behind him, he sat on a chair while contorting his face. For only a moment it looked as if the ash flowing down the sticks burned brighter. Genevieve was about the only person he could be completely honest with, in all ways.

"Right, you know me. When it comes to my past, I've only ever spoken in half-truths. You are... how do I put this... I don't want to disappoint my dearest friend - perhaps only friend. You were there for me when I had no one. You helped me stand when I had no legs. This is why I came, but it is also why I hesitate to answer."

The addict cradled the back of his head while his fingers scratched at his guilty mind.

"I... have come for what you suspect - but it's not for me! I'm stronger than I used to be. I am! I'm sleeping as well as I could hope for, and I even... I saw Vjala. Actually her! No trick of the mind nonsense. She's alive - and certainly hates me - but alive! If I relapse, I don't think... well, you know. That'd be the end of me."

Silas' eyes grew listless at the thought of death. The notion of dying so pathetically before even achieving a single bond to his current life was utterly depressing. It was only a brief glimpse, but he blinked back into the room with Genevieve. He stood from his seat, standing tall and bluff chested. He still hadn't pocketed the note. It remained crumpled in his hand as if he might be able to channel his thoughts directly to his daughter. His entire life's worth of words could not express the depth of his regret and rage. Regret that he had failed so completely as a father and husband. Rage beyond any other that he allowed himself to fall so far. These emotions attempted to breach his stoic face, and caused his lips to quiver and voice to shake.

"There are people depending on me. Not clients. Maybe friends. Certainly citizens. Definitely the queen - she's very nice, by the way, if a bit naive. I think she needs a mother, if ever you're looking for an 'in'. Either that or a tool for her lonely nights... but I'm getting distracted. You know of the field marshal, Cressida Kroft? She hasn't slept in at least a week. I mean to say she has been fully awake through uneven restorations for possibly two weeks. Unless by some miracle she has been convinced to get some rest by my current companions - yes I said companions - then she could very well die. Worse, she might get someone else killed. Her faith in her staff is less than ideal, and I can't say I disagree. Now, she has access to magic, so as long as I administer a controlled dose, she won't have any adverse reaction to the milk. I just... I know this is not ideal, but it is an unfortunate specialty of mine. I'd rather her live longer than a tenday if I can help it, even if it's a **** way to help. She's an astonishing woman. I swear, if either of us worked as hard as she does, I'm sure we'd be dead. If only she wasn't so bloody pig-headed..."

At last, the tigerstripe tiefling teased his whiskers.

"If you have any other suggestions, I'm open to them. Ah, she also needs a good bath. She smells worse than this room without the incense. I suppose I'll have to grab some less exciting oils from the market."

Inspectre

2020-06-20, 04:50 PM

PiccadillyPi

The growing unease that Genevieve had been expressing as you meandered your way through an explanation of why you had come to her abruptly fades into a bark of a laugh as you finally reach that it is not for you, but rather Field Marshall Kroft. Genevieve is quick to recover, smoothing out her skirt with her hands while smoothing her own face back out into that carefully neutral expression.

“I will admit that I was concerned you were here for you, Silas. I met the Field Marshall once, back before she was the Field Marshall and just a normal guardswoman. She tracked down and arrested one of our . . . visitors who had gotten a bit too violent with some of the girls. And then she turned around and wrote out a fine to me for – oh, it was something or other to do with our signs not matching city guidelines! So yes, I know all about how hardworking and bullheaded our Field Marshall can be. The lack of sleep is concerning though, especially for so long, but . . . Silas, you know how addictive the milk can be. One use on its own is not dangerous, save that it can lead to a second, and then more. And while the Field Marshall does need sleep, one night is not going to solve the problem. In fact it might even make matters worse, if the Field Marshall comes around to seeing the milk as an alternative to sleep, just as she seems to think magicking it away with the power of the gods is an workable plan. That is even assuming you can convince her to take it in the first place.”

Genevieve frowns at the likely end result of that conversation and shakes her head.

“Your case was different, Silas, as you also needed the peace that the milk can bring to escape . . . mmm . . . “him”.”

Genevieve adds quietly, referencing your father, which you had spoken of only briefly as being the source of your recurring dreams, although you left out the bit that he was actually speaking *to* you in those nightmares, alternatively cajoling and taunting. Still, given your heritage the nature of your father probably had occurred to Genevieve at some point, hence her oblique reference to him. Genevieve shakes her head again and tightens her delicate hands into fists.

“No Silas, I don’t think I can help you on this unwise course of action. But . . . I think I may have a lesser alternative that I can offer. There is a plant known as Dreamer’s Star whose petals can be dried and ground to produce a mild sedative tea. Consuming it prior to sleep will shorten the necessity for a night’s rest by a couple of hours. Better still, it is non-addictive as far as I know, and thus not an illegal substance by Korvosan law, so your Field Marshall should have no objections to using it. I think that will be a better long-term solution. We even have a number of packages already made, as it is a somewhat common item that we make available to our clientele. Why don’t you try that, first, before we resort to drugging the poor girl. I’ll go get you a package of it on the house, for old time’s sake.”

Genevieve gives you a soft, reassuring smile as she stands up, but before she turns to go she steps forward and runs a hand down your cheek.

“It is good to see you well still, Silas. I must admit I am curious about why you care so much about whether or not our Field Marshall is getting enough sleep, but well . . . I think I can guess one possible reason!”

The Mistress of the House teasingly scratches you under the chin, and then pulls her hand away as she turns and moves over to the curtain. She stops before passing through to make one final remark.

“You know, Eodred never seemed to have any use for us, despite his proclivities when he was younger, but then I suppose the king does not often have to ask for someone to lie down beside him. I know what the city’s nickname for his bride and our queen is, which always seemed rather tacky, but . . . perhaps I will see if Her Highness would like any lessons on how to behave as the city expects.”

Genevieve gives her lower lip a mischievous bite as she looks back at you, and then she ducks through the curtain and is gone. A few moments later the elf boy is there to escort you out, handing you a well wrapped but plainly decorated bag of a half-dozen tea bags.

It is well towards evening by the time you get out of the House of the Unquenchable Fire, and later still by the time you manage to make it back to Citadel Volyshenek. There, you learn something both reassuring and rather vexing – apparently, our allies had managed to convince Field Marshall Cressidia Kroft to go home for the day and get some rest. Unfortunately, that meant that you would either need to wait until you saw her again to provide the tea, or go to her residence directly and gift it to her. Which might be a problem as you don’t know where Kroft called home (save for her office), and both Grau Saldado and Detective Rhev seemed to be away from the Citadel right now as well.

Everyone Else

Sabrina snorts in either amusement or indignation – it’s hard to tell which – at Aliani’s explanation as she eyes the crisped playwright up and down, followed by the bloody-shirted Jakkin.

“Oh, Kroft threw you head-long into danger, did she? Did she blame you afterwards for things going sideways – she’s good at that, you know. Never seems to bite her personally in the ass, either.”

Again, there is a note of pure bitterness in Sabrina’s tone that makes it very clear she does not consider the Field Marshall a friend or ally. Looking over the group again, Sabrina quirks an eyebrow.

“So, what happened? Your friend, the tiefling with the sword cane, er . . . Silas! He’s did here with you – did he . . .?”

Sabrina blinks at Dalen’s brief summary of what you found waiting in Lamm’s drug lab.

“A fire-breathing . . . centipede? That’s a thing now . . . damn, I want to fight a fire-breathing centipede.”

Sabrina mutters to herself as she mentally reflects on what that fight might look like, and from her little grin a moment later you get the feeling that such a fight wouldn’t end well for Odium. Then the moment passes, and with a quick shake of her head Sabrina returns to the matter at hand.

“If we had more time, I’d say we could go down to the vault and shift through all the magical items Eodred collected over the years in lieu of taxes from various adventuring parties and nobles, but as far as I can tell keeping an accurate record was never a priority for him. So the place is a mess with random items piled up about the place with no rhyme or reason. It could take hours of sifting before we could find something actually useful for this situation. Hrmm . . . here, take my bag of potions. It’s not much, but it’s what I’ve got to offer. I also put together some money to cover possible expenses, including this scroll Dalen’s talking about. Get two if you can – that way you can contact me if Queen Ileosa *is* in trouble but you manage to find out where she is. I’ll take care of whoever is holding her hostage.”

Sabrina shrugs off a small satchel which she hands over to Aliani, and then hands off a very heavy sack of coins to Dalen. Looking in their respective containers, Aliani finds half of a dozen potions, all clearly labeled – three potions of Cure Moderate Wounds, one potion of Protection from Arrows, one potion of Barkskin (+2), and one potion of Invisibility, while Dalen finds 250 platinum pieces.

“As for where to start looking, this guy –“

Sabrina points at Gavin.

“Has the right idea. She’s going to go where there are people to talk to and bribe – so that rules out the Grey given there’s only corpses and Pharasmans there, and neither are a talkative lot. We can make a lot of jokes about the nobles being the real criminals living in South Shore, but it’s a fact that street-level criminals don’t operate there due to all the private security. Unless Lamm is living out of some noble’s basement, he’s not there either and neither is Ileosa. But even if Lamm is living out of some noble’s basement, nobody is going to talk about it so Ileosa will still have to look elsewhere. That rules out the two southernmost districts of the city. Similar to South Shore, between the Bank of Abadar, Longacre, and all the various city administrative offices North Point is probably also unlikely.”

Sabrina sighs and shrugs.

“That just leaves the other two-thirds of the city – Old Korvosa, The Heights, Midpoint, and East Shore. I don’t have access to the city guard records anymore, so I have no idea where Lamm’s businesses are set up these days. Which means that’s all I have by way of advice.”

Sabrina turns back to Aliani and nods.

“No need to worry about Miss Sabor. I believe she spent most of today working on finishing that painting she was doing for Eodred. Although I believe that “Lady” Andaisin may have caught sight of her, as I overheard her asking one of the servants about “the queen’s new guest”. I’ll keep an eye on the “good” Ambassador while you’re out looking for Ileosa. As for pushing her out of the nearest window . . .”

Sabrina glances at Aliani and Atavian both and shakes her head.

“Making the Ambassador disappear for a few days won’t stop the Council of Nobles from debating who gets to kick Ileosa off of the Crimson Throne, and when they find out their new seneschal is missing there will be hell to pay. To say nothing of what will happen when Cheliax gets wind of it. No, you want Andaisin gone, you need to get somebody else selected to be Korvosa’s new seneschal, and then you need to get her ambassadorship revoked. Touching her before then is going to only cause worse problems than it solves . . . and I hate that, but trust Ileosa’s assessment of the situation. You should as well.”

Sabrina concludes, her tone making it clear just how strongly all of you should heed her advice regarding Ambassador Andaisin. Given that the ambassador had access to high-level clerical spells given the defenses of her small home, an assassination attempt also seemed fraught with peril, especially without Sabrina’s direct aid.

“Anything else you need to know? Otherwise, I won’t keep you given time is precious right now.”

Sabrina says, clearly hinting that it was time for the party to get out and start searching for the missing queen.

***************************************

(OOC: The party has acquired the following items courtesy of Sabrina (just to re-list them here outside of the larger conversation). You are free to go shopping at the Bank of Abadar, which is open even into the evening – just ask for whatever items you wish and I’ll check to see if they are available for sale.)

250 PP (2,500 GP) – for purchase of supplies/new clothes/general expenses
3 Potions of Cure Moderate Wounds
Potion of Protection from Arrows
Potion of Barkskin (+2)
Potion of Invisibility

Darvin

2020-06-23, 02:40 PM

Dalen smiles as Sabrina's mention of wanting the Cytillipede, "in the unlikely event that we can subdue the creature alive, I'll be sure to bring it back just for you,"

He turns to the party members, "That fishery is as good a place to start looking as any. I suspect Lamm's operation abandoned it that night, but Ileosa may have still been scrounging there for clues. Take Atavian and my familiar, Rhetoric, with you. If you find anything, do not hesitate to send him back as a messenger,"

He then turns back to Sabrina, "I will be procuring a scroll of Whispering Wind for contacting you. It is quicker to cast than Sending, but the drawback is that the message is delivered to a place and not a person. You will need to leave a servant at the prearranged location to receive the message and relay it to you, but it will be much faster than contacting you via sending,"

He then turns to Aliani, "we'll make haste by horseback to see if we can procure the scrolls we need. I'll provide you a horse for that very purpose," Dalen opens his pocketwatch and it flares with magical light; not missing a beat he channels the newly-refreshed energy into a Mount spell for Aliani, "You will look for a divine scroll of sending, while I'll head to the Goldmarket to pick up some arcane scrolls to hedge our bets. We'll rendezvous with these two before casting the scrolls,"

Dalen uses his pearl of power to refresh his Mount spell slot, which he promptly casts for Aliani.

In terms of purchases, Dalen wants Aliani to buy a Scroll of Sending (700 gp), while he wants to pick up a scroll of Whispering Wind and Locate Object (150 gp each). That leaves 1500 gp for other purchases if other party members have any ideas.

Dalen will carry one potion of Cure Moderate Wounds if no one objects, otherwise he'll leave the potions for the others.

PiccadillyPi

2020-06-24, 04:00 AM

"Scratch my chin? She knew what she was doing!"

With brief mutterings, Silas left the company of Genevieve with a similar issue one might have after attending a large dinner. Even his hindsight was measurably identical. His trip home was less than ideal thanks to this, and while he didn't mind the gawkings of his neighbours, it would have been nice to advertise in more accommodating trousers.

Upon arrival at his abode, Silas placed Vjala's note on a table as he prepared himself for the field marshal. While he did not spend an especially long time redressing, the dandy did his best to be called uniform adjacent. Something that he assumed would please Miss Kroft. He didn't know why he dressed up for her, or what Genevieve had meant when she asked him of his interest. He just knew it would make an impression. He told himself that she would be a welcome addition to his clientbase. With his breastplate secured, and gear prepared, he exited the building. Of course, a few minutes later, he would reenter it to retrieve the note. It being more important than the tea he had repackaged with strings and bows as to look more like the gift it was intended to be. He had even written a note into a small parchment that said something to the effect of "go the **** to sleep," written in elvish. Given its place among the aristocratic, he assumed she could speak it well enough to read a few common words. Inside the box was also a simple instruction with the intended effect of the dreamer's star tea, and a small block of soap from Silas' personal collection.

His later disappointment upon hearing the news of his companions' success seemed plain for anyone around him as he stood in the . Of course he was well accepting of her decision to sleep, but he was a selfish kind of cat. Of all the times for her to listen to reason, it had to be then.

"I could have seen my daughter today!"

He of course didn't yell this. That would have been embarrassing. Instead, he said it in a powerful exasperated exhale. As the words escaped his mouth, he fell against Rhev's desk chair. He looked up at the man, clearly annoyed at the situation.

"I was counting on you! What do you mean you couldn't stop her? Ah well, she's sleeping and that's all that matters I suppose."

Beyond these examples, the tiefling gave a slurry of indignant questions - displays of character that while not damning were rather embarrasing, and he had no plans to repeat the encounter to anyone. With an apology, Silas finally explained the tea he had procured for the field marshal, that it was not a drug, and that he would appreciate Rhev to hand the tea bouquet to Kroft once she returned to her office. Perhaps even leave the box tied to her door. With no chance to talk business with the field marshal, Silas settled his chat with Rhev before heading over to Dalen's where he expected to find the wizard hunched over a hundred unfinished scrolls of horse summoning.

"Knock knock, darlings!"

Stelio Kontos

2020-06-24, 08:11 AM

As Sabrina continued on in her discussion of the queen's possible whereabouts, Aliani poked his head into the bag, letting out a low whistle and turned a bit red-faced -- but did his best to keep his opinions on the matter to himself otherwise. He likewise tried to not think about the lives that could have been saved with such things, if they weren't laying about the castle like a spoiled child's toy room. That satchel had the wealth of, what, two or three people's lifetimes in it? Not that he wasn't turning into a walking treasure trove himself...

It was only when Dalen addressed him that he snapped out of his reverie and back to life. "Y -- yes, of course, of course. A horse? Of course, yes, that makes sense. Get the sending scroll, meet you back at, what, at your place and we'll figure out what to say? I think I've got enough, you said it'd be what, six hundred right? I... you'd better lend me some of that coin in there to cover the difference."

That the coins in the satchel Dalen had been handed turned out to be platinum -- of course they'd be platinum, why would someone in here trifle with handling mere gold and silver, they probably let the servants throw those into a fountain or something -- and Aliani choked a bit, again. "On second thought, you'd better give me the full sum." He shoved the second bag, the one with the potions in it, into Dalen's hand as well as soon as he had counted out the cash required. "You plan out what to do with these, please? I figure there's six of them and six of us so everybody should get one I think?"

"Well, I'm off, good luck with the clue gathering and such, I'll try not to get robbed on the way." He placed a foot in the stirrup and hopped up -- well, most of the way up -- onto the horse, which shifted just a bit and caused him to lose his balance just enough to abort the mission. After the false start, he managed to ascend the saddle on his second try. He flashed a self deprecating grin to the group as he said "Never work with children or animals, they told me..." as he caressed the horse's neck. "Come on, now, let's go, gently now, good horse, please don't kill me. That's good, yes!" was his command to the horse, which set off on a docile pace while the actor wrapped his arms around its neck and held on for dear life.

The bank of Abadar and the sanctuary of Shelyn were quite close together, no more than a few blocks apart up in North Point. He figured he'd hit the Sheylnites up first -- definitely his type of people, less paperwork for sure, and all around a more pleasant experience -- if they happened to have anything on hand. The bank was a surer thing but he was hoping to not stand in line for half an hour and he knew his wrist would be sore from all the paperwork to be signed. No pressure either way he thought to himself, you screw it up she probably just dies or something. Would that even be bad right now? Probably?

THEChanger

2020-06-26, 06:34 PM

Gavin raised an eyebrow at the awkwardness of Aliani's departure. Something was clearly making the man uncomfortable, though Gavin had no idea what it could be.

"Alright. Well, unless there's any objections, the rest of us will head over to the fishery, see what we can find. I don't suppose you have any more of those fancy horses, Dalen?"

Taking one of the potions of healing and slipping it into a pouch on his belt, Gavin cracked his neck. "Best get moving, then, if we want to try and catch up with her before anything else terrible happens."

Captain Jak

2020-06-28, 03:43 PM

Filching the rough-textured potion bottle out of the bag and tucking it away in a pouch on his bandolier, Jakkin plucks ineffectively at his stained and scorched clothing.

"I’m going to have to learn that little spell that magickers use to clean their things; how hard can it really be?" he grumps, only halfway kidding.

"I’m going to have to detour to pick up some new clothes; I’ll meet you at the fishery, it’s a good place to start the search," he agrees, then sets off into the city at a pace and route only an urban-experienced Halfling could manage; and not even many of them at that. Darting around cart wheels, bounding over upended barrels, and weaving in amongst a throng of moving legs like they were no more than tall grasses, he heads for his preferred shop that caters to client of his stature that require clothing.

He’ll have to salvage a few of his less replaceable items, but the rest of his outfit is for the rag bin. No one ever said revenge was good for the wardrobe, that’s for certain.

Claiming the Potion of Barkskin; will quickly shop for a basic Traveller’s Outfit, since there’s no need to go overboard on clothes that will most likely get wrecked again.

Inspectre

2020-06-30, 05:18 PM

PiccadillyPi

You are starting to feel like the world is conspiring to give you the run-around today, as not only is Kroft already gone but you get a bunch of noncommittal answers to inquiries regarding Rhev’s location as well. You finally run into him in one of the hallways of Citadel Volyshenek, and before he can complain about you wandering around the place unescorted, you shove the bag of tea into his hands, explain its nature as non-addictive tea, request that he deliver it to Kroft on the morrow, and vent a bit of your frustration over the situation under your breath. Rhev assures you that he will take care of seeing the tea to Kroft, but not without venting a bit of passive-aggressiveness of his own over being made your “delivery boy”.

The runaround continues when you arrive at Dalen’s house, only for just Greg to answer the door when you call. Apparently, some sort of note from the castle had been delivered a few hours ago, and as soon as Dalen read the note he hurried everyone else out of the house and off to the castle. Presumably he wouldn’t have done that if it hadn’t been important, but yet again you are forced to move on to the castle.

Only for the cycle to repeat yet again, as the guards eye you strangely before informing you that the rest of your group had just left. But the queen’s bodyguard Sabrina was still in the courtyard, so she waved you in and quickly explained the situation – Queen Ileosa had run off to go hunt down Gaedren Lamm by herself, she hadn’t come back yet, and she needed to be back at the castle by tomorrow morning, because the council of nobles was meeting tomorrow to decide the new seneschal and that Urgathoan Bitch was at the top of their list!

Unfortunately, Sabrina had no idea where everyone had run off to, although she does recall them mentioning “the Fishery”, which does ring a bell in your mind. There’s only one “Fishery” that could mean, and so you set off at a run again, and this time you finally manage to catch up with the two new guys – erm, the hellknight Gavin and Atavian.

(Welcome back to the rest of the party, pal! You may check the “TheChanger & SanguinePenguin” section below as well!)

Everyone Else

“Bah, that thing sounds dangerous. Better just kill it if you get the chance.”

Sabrina replies with a slightly wistful tone to Dalen’s offer to capture the highly dangerous Shudder mutant centipede – she clearly really wanted to fight that centipede.

“As for your message . . . hrm. Do you remember that garden where we had lunch the other day? It’s right outside where the painter girl had her studio set up, and we’ve set her up in there with a cot. It’s in an out of the way corner of the castle so nobody but Andaisin will ever bother her, and just in case she tries something tonight I’ll be set up in the garden outside “admiring the stars” or whatever you artsy types call it. Might as well bodyguard someone tonight.”

Sabrina says gruffly while waving at Aliani to provide the example of what she thinks of “artsy”, although the slight curl of her lips suggests that it’s a bit of a joke, given the state of Aliani’s current attire. Her expression returns to being cold and grim a moment later as she says her way of good-byes to the group.

“I’m counting on you to find her. Don’t screw this up. Please.”

From there, everyone splits up to go their separate ways – Dalen to purchase arcane scrolls, Aliani to purchase a scroll of Sending, Jakkin to purchase a change of clothes, and Gavin and Atavian (with Rhetoric in tow, who is uncharacteristically silent about all this) to the old Fishery to see if Ileosa and Elliana checked there first.

(OOC: Individual sections below!)

Darvin

You head back out alone into the city as it settles down into its evening as the sun disappears beneath the sea and the moon rises in the night’s sky to take its place. Fortunately, several shops near the Acadamae are still open even at this hour, catering to late-studying students, and you have no trouble finding copies of the scrolls that you are seeking.

Still, despite managing to get the requested scrolls at the first shop you check, the detour over to the Acadamae from the castle takes up valuable time, and without a Mount as Aliani has it takes you the better part of an hour to get from the castle to the streets surrounding the Acadamae, pick up the scrolls, and then travel to Midpoint to the old Fishery down on the docks. Fortunately, the group is still having a look around the place by the time you arrive – even Silas is somehow here (because Sabrina contacted him).

Captain Jak

With a bit of experience on Korvosa’s Midpoint docks – and a bit of cognitive dissonance over having two sets of memories involving the docks and businesses along them, which didn’t always match exactly when it came to what business was located where – you knew of a small adventuring shop that catered to adventurers coming into Korvosa off the docks. And since they were catering to adventurers new to Korvosa, they tended to keep odd hours, which definitely included the evening hours just after the sun set. The more important bit here, however, was the fact that the proprietor was also a halfling and a tailor, and so to fill in the often lean-times that came with catering to adventurers in-between the windfalls, he also managed a clothing shop specifically for halflings. And since the shop was nearly located on the way to the Old Fishery, it was the perfect stop to get some new clothing before moving on to the business at-hand. Wouldn’t do to go saving the city’s new queen in these torn and bloody rags, after all!

When you come into the shop, the proprietor – Seamus – seems to be in an unusually good mood. The halfling tailor is normally pleasant enough with all of his customers, but today he greats you with a big smile.

“Jakkin my boy, what happened to you!? You look like you’ve been in a fight with a horse-drawn carriage, and the carriage ambushed you by running you over first! Come in, come in! Least I can do to help one of my favorite customers is to get him a clean shirt!”

Given his good mood, Seamus probably would take the time necessary to tailor you a custom-fit suit of new clothes, even at this late hour, but you certainly don’t have the time for that so it’s over to the pre-made selection of clothes which will fit well enough for tonight. As Seamus is helping you pick through the jackets and shirts, he leans in conspiratorially.

“I know I shouldn’t talk about other customers when they’re not here, but Jakkin my friend I’ve had another run of wonderful luck. Earlier today I had one of them come in – one of those adventurers with too much money and not enough time. Elven lass, and I swear to you she must have swam the rest of the way into port because she was soaked from head to toe. Must have gotten attacked by a reefclaw or shark on her little swim too, because there was a long bloody tear in her dress. It was almost a comical sight, but judging from the look on the lass’s face if I had started laughing, she’d have either burst into tears or burned the shop down – maybe both! So I made her a cup of tea to warm her up and got a fresh change of tall-folk clothes picked out, but she was rather tight-lipped on what she was doing. I didn’t press her on it – adventurers can be a weird lot, so I’ve learned not to ask too many questions. But here’s the best part – after she got changed in the private room and it was time to settle up, she dropped ten platinum crowns on the counter! Said it was a tip for helping her out! Adventurers my friend . . . more money than sense, the entire lot of them . . . although I suppose you might know a bit about that yourself, eh?”

Seamus teased, gesturing at your ruined outfit.

“Ah well. It’s been a good night my friend, my expenses for the week have been covered. Don’t worry about the change of clothes – it’s on the house for being a repeat customer instead of one of these crazy adventurers that are in and out, gone, never to be seen again.”

(OOC: If Jakkin wants to hurry on, you can move down to the “TheChanger & SanguinePenquin” section, or he can stay here and try to press for more details.)

Stelio Kontos

Between Dalen’s conjured horse – which had an eerie level of obedience to your commands compared to a “normal” horse – and the relative proximity of North Point to Castle Korvosa, you arrive at the Sanctuary of Shelyn in record time. A small but regal looking chapel of white marble, the sanctuary encloses a relatively large (for the building’s size) courtyard garden that traditionally is full of sculptures, tapestries, flowers, and other less conventional forms of art. It’s usually quite pleasant to visit, so long as you don’t mind all the artists working within who will ask you to critique their work.

Today, however, the open courtyard has a somber air to it, and it seems that there is some sort of evening vigil being held as when you arrive the courtyard is mostly full of people holding a dizzying array of lanterns, candles, and other light sources. Indeed, scarcely have you clambered down from Dalen’s horse and awkwardly tied it to a hitching post (although you have a strange feeling that the horse will be exactly where you left it) before an acolyte is casting a Light spell on a small piece of carved wood and handing it to you.

“Are you here for the vigil, Mr. Rose?”

The acolyte quietly asks, gesturing at a nearby wall which has been plastered with sketches depicting a mousey half-elf woman with a nervous smile. Although the sketches vary widely in the woman’s facial proportions and overall drawing skill, they do consistently depict her as wearing acolyte robes with an abalone-shell holy symbol of Shelyn hanging from her neck. Many of the sketches are labeled “Jostilina Susperio”.

Although you don’t recall the half-elf woman depicting on these sketches, under normal circumstances you may have stayed out of politeness until the vigil was over but this was looking like a several hour affair and you simply did not have the time tonight. So with apologies, you explain that you were just visiting here on business, and the acolyte frowns a little but nods and leads you around the outskirts of the courtyard and into the chapel proper, handing you off to a half-orc woman whose acolyte robes seemed to be serving as a billboard for all manner of bone scrimshaw. This acolyte was notably cooler than the one that greeted you at the entrance – must not be a people person, hence why she’s back in the chapel – but she was professional and quickly found a scroll of Sending from the chapel’s stores which she sold for the standard fee of 700 gold pieces. 700 gold pieces . . . all so you could have a brief 25-word conversation with a woman who had deliberately slipped out of the safety of her castle and guards to go on an ill-conceived quest for revenge. And yet the alternative of Senaschal Andaisin was far worse, so you smiled, thanked the half-orc woman, and went on your way.

Dalen’s horse was indeed exactly where you had left it, and less than five minutes after arriving at the Sanctuary of Shelyn you were off again, this time heading down along the docks to Midpoint . . . and the old fishery that you had hoped you would never have to see again, in this world or any other. But it seemed like it was going to be a night full of you not getting what you wanted, so what was one more sacrifice?

(You may skip down to the section below for “TheChanger and SanguinePenguin”. Feel free to enter into the scene whenever you like as you are certainly the first of the group to arrive after Gavin, Atavian, and Rhetoric.)

TheChanger & SanguinePenguin

It doesn’t take long after the two – well, three of you counting Dalen’s familiar – arrive in Midpoint to realize Lamm’s old base of operations may be a dead-end. Where the Old Fishery once stood, there is now only a burnt-out ruin, a charred skeleton of a building that was unlikely to offer any clue to the criminal mastermind’s location. This was not a recent destruction, either – judging from the lack of smoke or ash hanging in the air and the absence of any smoldering fires, the Fishery’s destruction had happened a number of days ago. Possibly even later on during the riots, during the second night if not the main night of carnage following the announcement of King Eodred’s death.

That being said, you were not here to look for clues for Lamm’s whereabouts – rather you were seeking clues to the whereabouts of the one blindly chasing after him. And there was ample evidence of that, as a trail of gingerly-left footprints in the ash leads directly into the interior of the structure’s remains. There was only one set of footprints in the ash, and more worryingly, there does not seem to be a trail of footprints leading back out of the ruined fishery, and while nothing intelligent would seek shelter in a ruin of nothing but burnt support timbers, there are any number of dangerous vermin who would not be so picky of new tenants.

Memories from his time investigating crime scenes are close to the surface of Gavin’s mind as he takes point in stepping across the building’s now wide-open threshold, eyes scanning the wreckage carefully for additional evidence or potential danger. It doesn’t take long to find both, for as soon as the two of you move halfway through what was the entry office, the blackened floorboards beneath your feet being to creak ominously. Through the remaining charred beams, the two of you can follow the meandering path of footprints into the next room, where the inevitable happened, and the footprints end in a fairly sizable hole in the floor where the Fishery’s structure began to jut out over the Jeggare River, and there was no solid ground beneath the burned planks to provide support.

It would be dangerous even for the lighter Atavian to venture out that far to examine the hole in close detail, but here the third member of your team proved his worth as even as a prime member of his species, Rhetoric still had all the weight of a thrush. But perhaps a bit more intelligence, as the thrush flew out unbidden to land at the edge of the hold, peer down around in it for a moment, and then peck at something snagged on a broken timber jutting out into the hole just beneath the level of the floorboards. The thrush returns a moment later with a long strip of blood-stained cloth that had apparently gotten snagged on the outstretched point of the beam as the would-be investigator crashed through the floor.

That blood was not a good sign though, given the occasional flash of a fin reflecting moonlight out in the Jeggare River beyond the furthest remains of the old Fishery. Jigsaw sharks would frequently come up the river, following the fish boats and cargo trawlers in from the sea, and find themselves a new home dining on the frequent scraps – and occasional bodies – thrown into the River. A bleeding human would be no different than any other scrap of food tossed into the River to them, to say nothing of the always ravenous Reefclaws that were probably only kept from overrunning the city by the fact that they were just as viciously hunted for their delicacy claws by the same fishermen luring them in with the offal from the day’s catch.

It was definitely not looking good for the would-be investigator at this point, but a quick circle around the sides of the property revealed a light trail of trampled earth where someone had clambered their way back out of the River, bleeding more heavily than when they had gone in. The blood trail ends rather sharply a short distance from the water line, however, implying that curative magics or at least bandaging was applied to the wounds, and then whoever it was walked off into the streets and disappeared once more.

While the two (sorry, three) of you ponder what other areas could be explored for more information about where this investigator went next, other members of the party started filtering in – first Aliani, then Jakkin, then Dalen, and finally Silas somehow found his way to you all as well. The only question now was, having failed to find any answers here, what was the next step?

Captain Jak

2020-07-01, 01:43 PM

As always, it was a treat to deal with Seamus; their professional relationship had begun with stops for supplies when Jakkin's ship was in port, and had only expanded when he had come to town indefinitely to deal with the whole Lamm situation.

"Hardly a homicidal carriage, my friend," as always happy to be able to speak a proper language for a time rather than the cobbled together mess that was the common tongue. "Merely a spirited discussion with some friends of mine and the more belligerent members of an underground movement," he quipped. Given that a large portion of Seamus' clientele were dyed-in-the-wool adventurers, he would likely believe the story if Jakkin were to tell it to him; however, he didn't want to give the shopkeeper the idea that he was one of such a group of unreliable people.

He wasn’t on an adventure. This was vengeance.

His fellow Halfling's explanation of why he was in such a good mood set his pointed ears on more pointed points, however. That description sounded familiar – could it be, the Queen's handmaiden?

"You know I don't go on adventures, Seamus," he replied dryly. "But I do have to thank you for your slight indiscretion; that sounds like you were visited by Elli! Oh yes, I'm familiar with the lady in question," he says with a grin; he's made it no secret of the appeal he finds in the ladies of the larger races, much to Seamus' scandalized acceptance. "How could I not? Tall, beautiful, fiery, and with absolutely no head for money?" No stretch at all to imagine he was pursuing this 'adventurer' – in other circumstances, he might be doing just that.

Wet and injured, however, doesn't sound good; and being alone didn't bode well either. Surely the queen and her handmaiden hadn't decided to split up; but if not, where had her Majesty been?

"Sounds like she's run herself in a spot of trouble; maybe she needs a clever fellow who's good with his hands to help her out of it?" he mused aloud with a grin. "How long ago was this? Did she perhaps say where she was heading? Do a good customer a solid, describe what you sold her to wear so I can spot her more easily in amongst the rest of the trees out there?" he suggested, laughing.

A fortuitous stop indeed; if he'd been thinking, he would have come here or somewhere like it apurpose to see if the ladies had stopped by for supplies.

Stelio Kontos

2020-07-02, 05:53 PM

Aliani winced at the sight. Someone in acolyte robes... ugh, some sort of funerary memorial, likely of one of their own, not good, and if it were any other night... well, at least he'd had endless nights of practicing small talk designed to get him out of such situations.

He whispered to the acolyte greeting him at the door, trying his best not to disturb the ceremony. "I am truly sorry that I cannot stay. If it were any other night, of course, you know that I would, but an ... inspiration, for lack of a better word, has struck, and I am quite afraid it must be struck immediately. Would it be inappropriate to come back at a later date to pay my respects? I hadn't heard, with all that has been going on in the city ... how did Jostilina pass?"

Beyond that, he did his best to keep his head down, and leave them to it. He thanked the half-orc most kindly for the scroll, tucking it carefully away in his breast pocket. "I thank you. You have no idea how important this may be..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sight of the fishery, burnt to a crisp... was that how they'd left it? He didn't really remember, didn't seem right, there was a fire on the dock maybe? It was hard to go so far as to trust his own memory of these things, reality blurring with dreams as it had. At least Gavin and Atavian, two familiar sights, were there. He hopped off his horse (truly a good horse it was, he had to admit) before making his reintroduction from near the front door.

"Hello again!" he announced, making a point of not stepping anywhere near anything even remotely rickety-looking. "I, that's what I had meant to tell you earlier... you're days late on this. We were here, the night of Eodred's death... we almost had him. We were this close... but he got away on boat." The memory of that seemed to cause him a great deal of discomfort. "I don't remember it being all burned up quite like this though. There was a fire out on the docks, one of his shudder-infused minions was possessed with a similar sort of magical distemper as the one you saw earlier today.... was enough of a distraction... but I didn't think it had burned the whole place down.

"So, this is the room they had the kids working in. A dozen or so, shoveling around fish slop all day. We got them out at least. So that's something, right? Oh, be careful, there were a few soft spots in the floor even before it burnt up, and I'm sure it's even less sound now. Downstairs Lamm had a pile of trinkets, mostly trash really, they were loading up onto a wagon when we interrupted them. I think that's still tucked away over at Dalen's come to think of it, not that there's anything of value except to whoever he stole it from.

"And, I've got the scroll!" he finally remembered, patting his shirt pocket. "I just need a bit, to figure out the right words. Fortunately, that's one of my few actual talents. If you need anything let me know!"

He found a spot to lean against one of the outer walls, one that seemed like it wouldn't collapse under the pressure of his back, and began to scribble idly with a charcoal stick on a piece of cheap parchment he'd pocketed, crossing through things with an occasional grunt and grimace of dissatisfaction. Finally, he produced something that seemed to please him, and showed it off to all that would look:

Need your location and status. Sabrina insists immediate return to prevent Seneschal Andaisin. Are you harmed? Captive? Provide relevant information, will attempt rescue. Stay stationary!

"What do you think? She'll know it's coming from me. I think it covers all the relevant points, including the urgency of the situation... anything else we need to address? I could perhaps take out the questions, they're perhaps repetitive, but I thought it best to be clear so we can be prepared for any eventuality..."

Darvin

2020-07-03, 03:20 AM

Upon hearing Aliani's proposed message, Dalen speaks up, "Utterly insufficient; you must provide the time of scheduled council meeting. There's every possibility the queen may blow us off - much as she already disregarded her own bodyguard - if she doesn't believe the problem is imminent, and we have no second scroll with which to reply if she does so. Furthermore, for the love of every god under soon and moon do not give orders to a queen. I assure you, that will never end well. We will request to rendezvous with her and offer to assist with whatever task she is undertaking. Council meeting, seneschel Andaisin, we're here to help, let's meet up; use your own words, but cover those points and don't be overbearing,"

THEChanger

2020-07-03, 06:49 PM

Gavin chuckled, surveying the damage. "So that was you. We had figured Gaedren burned down the place because he knew we were onto him. Good to know there wasn't a rat on our team."

The Hellknight shook his head at Aliani's first draft. That was not how you spoke to a superior, even with only twenty five words to work with. "Dalen's right. She already has demonstrated she does not want to be told what to do, and that is not how one speaks to a member of royalty regardless." Picking up a piece of broken lumber, Gavin found a relatively undisturbed square of ash to write in as he tried out a few different phrasings. As he did, he relayed some of the information he and Atavian had discovered. "Someone was here, recently. Their prints in the ash suggest some careful investigation, until they found their way to a portion of the floor that wouldn't support their weight. Into the Jeggare they went, where they had a brief encounter with some aquatic wildlife. Rhetoric, who is an excellent bird and should be rewarded Dalen, found a bloody scrap of cloth over there. The investigator then exited the river there, and the trail of blood ends a little ways up the road, where I suspect they applied some healing magic to deal with their wounds. There's no tracking them after that point - if they had followed the riverbank they would have left footprints, but across the cobblestones there's nothing to work with."

Gavin stepped back, looking at his revised version of the message. "Maybe something like this?"

Majesty, Aliani. Council meeting tomorrow, elect Andaisin Seneschal. Would appreciate rendezvous, discuss solutions to mutual problems. Can provide assistance if danger. Reply twenty five words.

Stelio Kontos

2020-07-03, 09:14 PM

Aliani shook his head rapidly at Dalen's insistence. "No, no, we can't tell her it's tomorrow! If we tell her it's tomorrow, she'll think she doesn't have to worry about it until tomorrow. You have to remember, she's... well, if I had to guess, she wants to be anywhere BUT in that castle dealing with things at the moment -- else why would she sneak out like this? I've half a mind to tell her it was happening tonight, but outright lying would, as you so eloquently put it, not end well. Leaving it to her imagination, on the other hand... and that's the reason for the urgency of the language, you see. Immediate return is, to my mind, the most essential phrase in the entire missive. And you'll note that it is not I who am ordering about the queen; Sabrina insists it, not us. We are mere messengers, you see?"

Still, he pondered Dalen's words even as Gavin piped in with his own thoughts, seemingly in a trance as Gavin talked about birds and something or other... before making a quick slash with his charcoal at the start of Gavin's written suggestion. "Well, we can strike the first two right off; the nature of the magic itself will inform her absolutely as to who is sending her the message, so no need for introductions. There's a time for fluffing it up with the 'Your Majesty' and the 'Your Royal Highness and Grand Poobah', but not when we are forced into an unnatural economy of language. And" (he struck out a few more words) "I am quite sure she would be at least roughly acquainted as to how the seneschal is elected, so no need to mention the council specifically. Seneschal Andaisin should provide all the encouragement she needs on that front."

"I do rather like the 'rendezvous' you both came up with though. That's nice, very nice actually, let's include that. It leaves us open to anything from a daring rescue to a quiet dinner; Elliana will like that if nothing else, I dare hope to suggest. And if you both think the language needs to be softened, we can certainly do that, though I truly believe we do need to use words of power, of urgency of action, to convey the vitality of her at least replying regardless of her circumstance, so I think I'm going to need something stronger than 'request' but short of 'demand'...yes, rendezvous is very good!"

The charcoal flew across the page once more at lightning speed, with a few more crossings-out and circles around words, before he brought out a fresh sheet of paper, snapped it tidily in the air to remove all the creases, and began to write once more. Within a few seconds, he had produces a new suggestion.

Sabrina concerned, insists immediate return for preventing Seneschal Andaisin. Requests party rendezvous forthwith. Can provide rescue, safekeeping, companionship. Provide location? If endangered, details of threat?

"I know 'companionship' may seem a bit out of place, but again, leave what can be left to her imagination and fill in the blanks from there. I rather suspect she feels quite alone at the moment."

Darvin

2020-07-03, 09:30 PM

"I am well aware that Rhetoric is an excellent bird who will be rewarded," he smiles as the familiar returns to his shoulder, then turns to Aliani, "I would prefer 'assistance'. The queen is doing something, and we can help. Speaking of unnecessary words, there is no need to ask specifically if she is in danger and needs rescue. Doubtlessly if that is the case she will appraise us of such in her reply," his tone is more composed than his previous objection, no longer concerned with the possibility of causing great offense to a sitting monarch.

Stelio Kontos

2020-07-03, 10:51 PM

”All right... how about if we drop the ‘rescue, safekeeping, companionship’ and replace that with ‘assistance’? Saves two words. What would we do with them?”

Inspectre

2020-07-04, 01:43 PM

Jakkin

Seamus waves you off as you insist that you are not an adventurer, a tinkle in his eye as he declares.

“Well, we are all on the adventure called life, are we not?”

This was a running joke between you two, as he often teased you about going out on adventures, even when you were just going on a short voyage to Palin’s Cove to unload and pick up cargo for some merchant. Seamus is one to talk though – he was an actual adventurer for about a year before nearly getting eaten by a pack of ghouls convinced him that was not the life for him, and he should take up tailoring instead. The tailor/shopkeep raises his eyebrows as you mentioned knowing his latest gorgeous adventurer patron.

“You . . . know her? Really? Ha, if you had asked me I would have said she was much too good for an old seadog like you, Jakkin! But I suppose that’s your famous charm working its magic – still too leggy for me personally, but I’d wager you’d be the envy of every man in Korvosa!”

Seamus had revealed his own preference for gnomes, of all things, after the one and only drinking night he had gone out on with you. So it was not faint praise that he was offering here – unfortunately, those notable looks could also attract the wrong sort of attention in the shadows as well. Seamus mulls over your questions for a moment, not answering as he sifts through his memories rather than trying to hold anything back.

“Come to think of it, she did buy a dagger as well. Didn’t need the scabbard though, as she already had an empty one . . . I’m thinking your “friend” might already be in a spot of trouble if she “misplaced” her first pigsticker. Afraid that you’ll not be able to pick her out of a crowd on account of my clothes though – I don’t have the fanciest clothing here, and she picked out a simple tunic and pair of pantaloons to replace her frilly dress. Oh, and she bought a dark grey cloak to replace her sodden one. She left the dress behind though – figured I’d try to patch it up and I dunno, kept it in the back in case she ever came back?”

So saying, Seamus went into the back of his small shop and returned with “Elli’s” abandoned dress, which was indeed still quite damp, and had a long, jagged tear down most the length of the skirt – a tear ringed with what appeared to be bloodstains. There were several other smaller rents in the fabric as well, which look like some sort of tooth marks. Seamus was going to have his work cut out for him trying to repair all of this damage, but you’d seen him work miracles before so perhaps he could pull it off. The major concern right now was finding the girl, who indeed must have run into some sort of trouble between the torn-up dress and missing dagger. Seamus adds more cause for concern with his next revelation, delivered after he sways on his feet for a moment, and reaches a hand up to rub at his temples.

“Ah, sorry Jakkin. Got dizzy there for a minute. I just remembered something else. While we were having tea, she asked if I had heard about any dens of criminals from the other adventurers that stop by. I didn’t want to tell her, figured she had already gotten into enough of a scrap for one day, but well . . . she was *very* persuasive! Unfortunately, the only real “den” of criminals that I know about is in Eel’s End. And you know who runs Eel’s End.”

Everyone knows who runs Eel’s End - Devargo Bravarsi, the so-called King of Spiders, who ran everything from drugs to gambling to prostitution out of his ship-bound lair at the end of the docks, the ancient scuttled dreadnaught Eel’s End.

“I think I may have given the young girl very bad directions to follow, Jakkin. Probably should have led with that, but well, she asked me not to tell anyone about our conversation, and she was very persuasive! Not sure why that seemed so reasonable a request five minutes ago . . .”

Seamus trails off, lost in thought as he replays the conversation in his head, then shrugs.

“Afraid that’s all I have to offer you.”

(OOC: You can move on to the next section as well, since I imagine Jakkin will be joining the others at this point.)

Everyone

Meeting up at the Fishery, the group shares what information they have gathered thus far. From what everyone has collected, it seems clear that Handmaiden Elliana came here to the Fishery, fell through the floor, damaging her dress and injuring herself on the jagged timbers before falling into the water below. She was then attacked by something, likely a Jigsaw shark, but managed to fight it off or otherwise get away from it at the cost of her dagger. She then healed up and went to Seamus’s shop where she got a change of clothes, a new dagger, and directions to Eel’s End. But where was Ileosa in all of this?

There was a way of getting an answer to that question, and after getting recommendations on the exact wording to use in his message, Aliani unfurled the scroll of Sending and began attempting to activate it. Which he had some trouble doing, between stumbling over some of the unfamiliar magical wording of the magic and the fact that the Shelynites had decided to “beautify” the scroll by adding in flowery script that was hard to read and blended in with some of the sketches of flowers and birds doodled around the margins. But he manages to activate the scroll finally, and as the words on the paper burst into arcane flame and melt away to leave only an empty page with doodles around the edges, he speaks out his message to Queen Ileosa.

Sabrina concerned, insists immediate return for preventing Seneschal Andaisin. Requests party rendezvous forthwith. Can provide assistance. Provide location and status? If endangered, details of threat?

There is a long pause as Aliani awaits to hear a message back from the queen. A pause which stretches out into seconds, and then minutes, until finally he is forced to conclude that wherever she is, Queen Ileosa Arabasti has either chosen not to respond or is unable to do so. Which leaves the only real lead as Handmaiden Elliana, who seems to have gone into Eel’s End as her next stop in this ill-fated hunt for Gaedren Lamm.

Stelio Kontos

2020-07-05, 05:02 PM

"Nothing. NOTHING. Either she can't reply for some reason such as we're too late and she's dead, or I've gone and pissed her right off somehow."

Aliani sat, shoulders slumped.

"Either way, that was a waste of an obscene amount of money, wasn't it?"

"But, I mean, Elliana has some quite useful healing powers, and if they got out of the river she should be -- wait, Mister Dimir, were there two sets of footprints or just one?"

Darvin

2020-07-06, 02:48 AM

"Ominous. But let us not jump to conclusions, not yet" Dalen furrows his brow, "one cannot know ahead of time what avenues will bear fruit, and which will not. If this endeavor is successful as a whole, the scroll is simply part of our overall supplies cost. It's only a waste if we fail. I Now then, if Eel's End is our best lead then that's where we should be headed,"

He turns to Gavin, purposefully interrupting Aliani's question, "if you don't mind, could I hold on to that cloth from earlier. I may have a use for it... later,"

THEChanger

2020-07-06, 10:01 AM

Gavin tossed the bloody cloth to Dalen, muttering under his breath as he started getting his bearings.

Bloody Eel's End, with the drug dens and the spiders and that pretentious little..."

Once Gavin had established the direction of their destination, he realized Aliani had asked him a further question. "What? No, one set of footprints. Sabrina didn't say she had gone out with her handmaiden, so I had assumed the Queen was travelling on her own. No doubt Her Majesty has access to magical artifacts which could provide healing. Or maybe she has a bit more personal power than she's let on. From the little study I've made on the subject, I understand rulers are often trained in assorted magical arts, just enough to help protect themselves if the worst should happen."

Darvin

2020-07-06, 12:28 PM

"I'm not particularly fond of visiting such a den of infamy either, but at this point Eel's End is our only recourse. It matters not whether the tracks we're following are queen or handmaiden, as either way this is our best avenue of investigation," Dalen then quickly adds about the healing, "I'd also be unsurprised if the queen or Elliana were carrying a small apothecary worth of potions on their person,"

Captain Jak

2020-07-06, 04:05 PM

Jakkin shakes his head. He'd shared everything he had learned from Seamus – including the odd way he had behaved with regards to providing that last little bit of information regarding Eel's End, whatever that was all about – and it appears they're at a dead end for leads...except for one.

"Unless we're gonna abandon this one lead and start searching for the Queen afresh, we're going after the handmaiden," he points out. "Sure, they weren't together here, but surely the Elf lass knows where her mistress is, aye?" The petite pugilist spreads his hands.

"Not only that, but the girl will likely need some help, running around alone in there," he adds. "We go haul her pert arse out of the fire, and she tells us where to find the Queen. Simple," he says dryly, knowing it will be anything but; but it's the best lead they have, for now.

PiccadillyPi

2020-07-07, 10:01 AM

Silas juggled the crumpled note in his pocket he'd received earlier that day. Lamm meeting with Underworld leaders to recruit. Tonight. Beneath Kendall Ampitheatre. Going to attack Devargo this evening to stop him from arguing against Lamm. Having done his usual greetings and facetious courting with whomever he saw fit, Silas spent a great deal of time weighing the possibility that his daughter was playing both sides. Could she have been coerced? He was uncertain of her intentions, but her moves to inform her undeserving father of Lamm warmed his soul. Still, he couldn't tell everyone of the amphitheatre meeting just yet. Perhaps the effects of the eye lingered, but Silas was afraid. Once for what strong enemies could arise from such a meeting, and again for what might happen to the people around him if they were to be discovered prematurely. He didn't wish to see himself nor his companions cut into chum or black blooded. It was this fear that left the otherwise ostentatious outsider catatonic as, irrespective of him, scrolls were used up and investigations proceeded. Rather, he joined the dialogue only when he heard that Elliana - and, in all likelihood, the Queen with her - had set course for Devargo's territory: Eel's End.

"Balls."

Starting with that.

"If our queen is wanting to deal with Lamm, assuming she and her handmaiden are able to navigate the Spider's web, they'll be headed... they'll be in even greater danger. We must intercept them at Eel's End. Mustn't delay, aye?"

At his hesitation, he glanced between a few of the people with him. There was the distinct glint of a lie in his eyes. A bastard's omission!

Silas clasped at himself to ensure he had enough equipment to say with confidence he was prepared for most any nonsense Devargo might throw at everyone. He was most assuredly not prepared, and he knew it, but that didn't stop him from putting on airs by sticking out a bluff chest and twirling his whiskers while motioning everyone to scheme as they walk. This was not to be the scary part.

Stelio Kontos

2020-07-07, 01:19 PM

"Well, when all signs point the same direction, it will be hard not to follow them" Aliani said quietly, before something in Silas's remarks triggered a memory (were they even memories?) in his mind.

"Spider's web! Right! We should make a quick stop on the way, pick up some insect repellent. My treat.

And, uh, does anyone have a crossbow I can borrow? If it gets ugly, as things seem to do these days, it might be useful."

Inspectre

2020-07-07, 07:40 PM

After a brief stop at Aliani's insistence to procure several (3) doses of vermin repellent and a light crossbow with a 10-bolt quarrel, the party continues on to Eel's End.

Located at the south-eastern tip of Old Korvosa's portion of the docks, the infamous den of Devargo Barvasi is relatively isolated but quite easy to find.

In the waning light of evening, most of the docks is deserted save for a few fishermen repairing their gear and lit only by a scattered few ships' running lights and the moonlight.

By contrast, the Eel's End portion of the docks is brightly lit by paper lanterns that several men in clothing patterned with brightly-colored spiderwebs are just finishing up with lighting for the evening, and a sizable crowd is milling about.

Clustered around the end of the docks are five ships with diverse construction and origins - a small Chelish merchant vessel that has seen better days, a Tien junk, a barge of indeterminate origin, a small Andoran yacht, and finally at the end of the pier and easily double the size of any other vessel here, the long-ago decommissioned Korvosan dreadnought Eel’s End.

The rundown merchant vessel is relatively dark with few people walking about on deck, but the other three smaller vessels are quite crowded and noisy. The sound of rolling dice, shouts of victory and defeat, and the calls of card dealers to “place yer bets!” echo loudly from the Tien junk. Thin tendrils of smoke waft up from the interior and deck of the barge, and a gnome can be seen moving about on, pushing a wheeled hooka while shouting “Git smoked!” at seemingly anyone nearby. The yacht is more sparsely populated the those two, but half a dozen young women in silk robes call down at the crowd and beckon demurely to passing visitors to this den of debauchery.

At the end of the pier is the Eel’s End, which is also deserted save for half a dozen men in armor – two down on the pier by the gangplank leading up onto the deck of the ancient warship, and four more lounge about on the deck. With a bit of time and effort, the group can also see another half dozen men in similar armor and gear – clubs mostly – circling about the pier keeping a wary eye on the crowds. It does not look like anyone is allowed to wander about on Devargo’s pride and joy, an abject example provided a moment later when the doors to the large aft cabin burst open, two of the guards on deck nearby grab the man who comes stumbling out, and they swiftly frog march him over to the side before pitching him overboard, laughing as the man flounders and curses in the surf before sullenly climbing his way back onto the pier.

Darvin

2020-07-09, 02:05 PM

Dalen sighs and withdraws the invitation from his pocket. It was a matter he'd put aside earlier given the imminent importance of Sabrina's request, but it seemed one way or another he was walking through that door tonight. He turned to the others and flashed the card, "I'm going in, and I'll try to get as many of you as my entourage as possible. If any of you would prefer to remain outside and relay to Sabrina if we don't return then do so, but I'm going in,"

He walks towards the front entrance, flashing the invitation and speaking plainly, "we are expected,"

Stelio Kontos

2020-07-09, 06:15 PM

Aliani gave Dalen a puzzled glance.

"Come here often, do you? I hope you know what you're doing..."

Darvin

2020-07-09, 07:06 PM

"I always know what I'm doing," Dalen lied.

PiccadillyPi

2020-07-09, 08:40 PM

Silas elbowed the space above Jakkin.

"What kind of sandwiches do you think they have on the yacht? Gavin'd enjoy the meaty ones, no?"

Chuckling to himself, he followed along with Dalen.

"If we are to be separated, I'll wait outside. If those two come after your entrance... might as well give them a warm warning, aye?"

Captain Jak

2020-07-09, 09:08 PM

Ignoring things that went on above his head, Jakkin said his piece.

"Definitely best if we avoid getting split up in this sort of cesspool," he observed. "If we can’t avoid it, best we not leave anyone alone."

As for himself, he remains small, quiet, and unobtrusive, generally keeping the larger members of their party between himself and the doormen. He’s found the larger races are prone to overlooking him at the best of times; when he’s trying to keep out of sight, it works even better.

Using Stealth to not draw attention: 20

Inspectre

2020-07-09, 10:22 PM

The party follows Dalen as the wizard slowly cuts his way through the crowd, clearly having some sort of plan in mind for getting you all in to see Devargo.
As the mage reaches the gangplank leading up onto the dreadnought, the two guards waiting there sneer a silent greeting at him, but before they can tell him to "piss off" or similar Dalen produces a small card - blank on one side save for some small writing on it, but the other side was decorated with a spider wearing a crown.
The two guards seem to immediately recognize the card's meaning, as they both abruptly stand up at attention and look at each other.

"Right this way, gentlemen."

One of the guards mumbles, leading the way up the gangplank while the other one maintains his vigil.
Having just clambered his way back up onto the docks, the sodden thug who had just gotten thrown out of Devargo's confidence leers at the group as you file on up onto the old dreadnought's deck.

"Hmph. Good luck, flies. You're headed into the spider's den now."

The thug draws a finger across his throat and laughs (or chokes on some lingering river water, perhaps more accurately), starring envious daggers at the group's collective back.

From their positions around the deck, the four guards keeping watch eye the approaching group with interest, two looking up from their dice game to follow your progress across the deck while one lifts his head up from his hammock, careful not to make any sudden movements, while the last one seems to pay you no mind at all . . . quite possibly because he appears to be sleeping while pretending to be on watch, slumped up against the upper railing.

Your guide leads you back to the aft castle of the ancient warship, where a large door leads into the back of the ship - probably what would be the officer quarters or mess hall when the warship was an actual seafaring vessel.
A fresh layer of cobwebs around the top of the doorframe causes your guide to make a disgusted face as he pulls at the door, causing the webbing to emit a quiet but wet ripping sound before the strands finally part.
He pauses to glare up at the fist-sized spider just barely visible in a crack above the doorframe before he pushes it the rest of the way open and steps inside, beckoning you to follow him.

For the lair of a crime lord, Devargo's lair turns out to be surprisingly well-lit, with what must be a half-dozen everburning torches set up around the perimeter of the chamber inside the aft castle - most of which are coated in a thick layer of webbing that sparkles and shines from the back-lighting of flame rather than burning away. Thick cobwebs coat most of the walls and corners of the space within, but the space within the center of the room is conspicuously clear of any such debris. Several couches seem to mark the outer boundaries of this space closest to the door, the back of each decorated with only a few stray strands. Further into the room, a pair of large circular drinking tables have been set up, although only one is currently in use, four men standing around the table shouting out bids while two others wrestle on top of the table, one of their arms lashed to the opposite arm of their opponent, both struggling to scoop up coins with their free hand from the surface of the table to deposit into an open pouch hanging from their waist faster than the other one. As you enter, one of the men attempts to reach for a dagger embedded in the surface of the table, only for the other man to take advantage by bodily picking up his off-balance opponent and slamming him into the table head-first. Apparently there's not many rules to this game, as the man proceeds to follow this up by stomping on the back of the man's head until he goes limp, to a cacophony of disappointed curses and victorious cheers from the four onlookers. Meanwhile, at the very back of the room, seated on a high-backed wooden chair re-carved to resemble a throne sits a flinty-eyed man watching the proceedings with bored disinterest while another fist-sized spider skitters up and down his arm. An arm which he raises up into the air when he sees all of you, the spider tumbling down to his shoulder before skittering back into the darkness and webs behind the throne.

In response, your guide takes the card from Dalen and extends it out towards Devargo like a shiled.

"Begging your pardon, sir, but these gents had one of your cards. Said you was expecting them."

Devargo's annoyed flinty-eyes flick over to examine Dalen up and down, and he slowly lowers his arm with a grunt.

"Ah, the twiddlefingers and his friends. Gave it less than even odds that you'd show - tck. Well, you're here now, so come on in! Plenty of room here for you all to sit down . . . although I didn't expect you to have so many friends."

Devargo's eyes flick over to Gavin, and a slight frown crosses the man's face, causing all of his toadies in the room to briefly freeze before relaxing as he speaks a course greeting.

"Didn't expect you had friends in the Order, either. I've paid my vice taxes, Hellknight. You can't touch me. But . . . I suppose if you're here, then you're interested in seeing Gaedren Lamm gone too. I guess you can stay too."

Devargo now turned his attention to your guide, who he waved dismissively at, prompting a nod from the man before he hurriedly fled the room and closed the door again, leaving you alone with Devargo and his six sycophants.

"So, I'll get straight to the point. Word on the street is that none of you care for Gaedren Lamm. I can't stand the man myself, which is why I'm planning a very messy and public funeral for him, very soon. If that's something that also interests you, we can talk about the details. But if it's not, then you can kindly leave here and stay out of my way when I make my move . . . if you know what's good for you."

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/bswupathfinder/images/d/d0/Devargo_Barvasi.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/340?cb=20120217014437

Darvin

2020-07-10, 03:00 AM

As Silas remarks to staying outside to watch, Dalen nods and casts a message spell, "we'll keep in touch as we are able," then stride's towards the spider's lair. As he walks through the den of infamy he keeps his eyes peeled for Elliana.

"Fair odds," Dalen agrees that the odds of them showing up were not particularly high though he is careful not to even hint at the circumstances that lead them here tonight, then continues, "I suspect you're aware of my existing clientele, and in this particular matter your interests are aligned with theirs. I would much rather collaborate than have our operations inadvertently disrupt each other," he turns around and gestures to his companions, "and that's precisely why I have so many associates with me tonight. These are some of the individuals working directly with me on this project,"

PiccadillyPi

2020-07-12, 01:25 AM

Silas latched onto the spell as it came to him.

"How long was it again? Ten minutes? Be swift if you can. If I disappear, assume your shop first."

While the group entered Devargo's headquarters, Silas made his way along the street into an open area. One where visibility was present for both himself and anyone worth seeing. This had a secondary benefit of possibly catching a glimpse of Vjala - even if he wouldn't know it. Occasionally, he would hand out a business card to a passerby, but only if they seemed wealthy in both cash and kinks.

Inspectre

2020-07-12, 03:04 PM

PiccadillyPi

While the others go into the spider's den, you stay outside to keep an eye on the rest of Devargo's men . . . and you suppose be safe enough to scurry off and fetch Sabrina if Devargo proves more aggressive and better prepared for intruders than expected. Unfortunately, keeping an eye out for clientele was not going to be very possible here for two reasons - one, most of the passerby here and ascending up onto the pleasure yacht were not among Korvosa's wealthy. Those clients took advantage of private individuals such as yourself, or the Callistra's flock, while the people here were just looking for a quick bedding for a handful of silver. Two, one of the guards must have caught sight of you offering one of your cards to one of the very few people who might meet your standards, and you were told in no uncertain terms that freelancers were not welcome here, and you could either go talk to Madame Halvara if you were looking for work, knock it off, or get escorted off the premises. You opt for none of the above, but are a good deal more discrete about offering your services while you continue to wait for the others to get done with their little chat.

One curious thing does catch your eye, though . . . out on the Jeggare River. While there were a few boats still out on the river willing to risk the dangers of night fishing, this was a small three-person rowboat, and as far as you could tell it had no lines out into the water. Being about a hundred feet out from where the Eel's End was moored (permanently, apparently, as it had underwater scaffolding to keep it afloat these days), you couldn't make out much, but there was definitely people moving about on that rowboat. And they didn't seem to be moving off, either, instead just sitting out there in the river. Vjala's written warning comes to mind then - could this be part of Lamm's attack on Devargo? But what were they doing there so far out from the Eel's End? There wasn't much that they could do that far away from Devargo's home . . . could they?

Everyone Else

Devargo smirks as his eyes flick over each member of the group before returning to matching Dalen's gaze.

"Quite the motley crew you have there. I'm sure you're quite confident in your chances of squashing Lamm, but he's as tough as a cockroach, so you'll have to forgive me if I don't share that confidence. I can provide you with an opportunity to take your shot, but it has to be tonight and we've only got the one shot before Lamm goes to ground again. Convince me that your crew is the one that I should be granting this opportunity to."

Devargo then leans back in his throne and simply watches the group, clearly waiting to see what all of you will do in reply to his open challenge.

Perhaps it's just your lingering unease from past visits to this place - you seem to recall in another life (or was that two lives ago now?) that Devargo rattled off your home address with the unspoken threat that you had better provide for him, or you would be getting a very unpleasant wake-up call some night - but you were having a hard time getting a good read on Devargo.

It occurs to you, though, that perhaps there's just not very much to read, either. The man was dead on the inside, comfortable in his life here in this little rotten kingdom, but too hardened by his experiences to be able to enjoy it. But no doubt he didn't want to lose his comfortable life, either, and would dispose of any threat to that life - like Lamm. He would certainly lose no sleep in killing any or all of you, and his only interest in any of you at all was because you had a mutual enemy in Gaedren Lamm. On the other hand, unless and until he felt threatened by you, he probably wouldn't have any interest in killing any of you either. So, provided you didn't threaten him, you would probably be able to get out of here with an intact skin. The only question was how could you motivate him to give you what you wanted without pushing him, and when he already seemed to have everything he wanted aside from Lamm?

You've been keep a discrete eye out for any traps or possible hidden sources of death in Devargo's throne room, but aside from Devargo and his wanna-be lackies in the room you don't see any immediate dangers. Well . . . aside from that patch of floor just in front of Devargo's throne that looks a little too swept clean of cobwebs and debris. You're pretty sure there's a trap door there, probably activated from some concealed switch on Devargo's throne so he could dump any unwanted visitors down into the ship's hold below. What sort of deathtrap was down there waiting, however, you couldn't tell, not with the trap door currently closed.

THEChanger

2020-07-12, 09:54 PM

Gavin grit his teeth at the mention of the vice tax, working very hard to keep from drawing his sword.

If it were not for the Queen, this would be a colossal waste of our time.

This was Dalen's show, and Gavin trusted the wizard to get them to the point where they could find out if the Queen was, in fact, here. But by the Hells, Drevago rubbed him the wrong way. Almost more than Gaedren Lamm, Drevago was everything that was wrong with Korvosa - the easy going, polite, almost kind sort of evil that dug its roots in and made itself useful. As if that excused its presence.

Gavin glanced over at Dalen. "Should we tell him about the centipede?"

Stelio Kontos

2020-07-12, 10:36 PM

Aliani took in Devargo's words, putting his hand ostentatiously to his chin in an obvious mockery of deep thought. When he spoke, it was in earnest. Extreme earnest. Excessive earnest.

"It has to be tonight, you say, or the opportunity's lost forever? And unless I'm mistaken the sun was just setting over the horizon when we came in? Hey, everyone, do you recall seeing a long line of less-motley groups standing outside lining up in application for this exciting opportunity? My eyes aren't what they used to be. But I could have sworn I saw no such thing."

He turned to Devargo, and all the over-earnestness was lost from his voice, replaced by dead seriousness, the kind that said 'knock off the bull****'.

"Mr. Barvasi: you should grant us this opportunity, as you put it, because you don't have anybody else. And you need someone else, and you know it, because if your men could handle this themselves discreetly, you wouldn't be desperate enough to be reaching out to outside forces that aren't under your control."

"If you want to know the truth, I think you're a smart businessman who's a little bit scared of what Lamm might do to put an end to this nice comfortable operation you have going here, and you with it. And I think you should be, because we both know he's well financed, well equipped, and gathering allies by the day." He gave Gavin a sideways nod of his head. "No need, Dalen, I'm sure the man will find out about the ten foot long fire breathing centipede soon enough. Centipedes eat spiders, don't they?"

He couldn't actually remember whether that last bit was true, or whether it was the other way 'round, but it sounded good at the time.

"The good news for you, is you're right about one thing: every one of us really wants him out of the picture. So, let's cut to the quick, shall we: where, and when, and what resources can you bring to bear against it? And, dare I ask, what's in it for us? We can go try to kill him on our own schedule, without your help, you know."

All the while, an odd little song his mother sang him ran through the back of his mind...

There was an old lady who swallowed a fly

I don't know why she swallowed a fly - Perhaps she'll die!

There was an old lady who swallowed a spider;
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her!

She swallowed the spider to catch the fly;
I don't know why she swallowed a fly - Perhaps she'll die!

There was an old lady who swallowed a bird;
How absurd to swallow a bird!

She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly;
I don't know why she swallowed a fly - Perhaps she'll die!

(The song went for several more verses, until she swallowed a horse, he remembered that much.)

So, were they about to swallow a spider to catch a fly? And if so, what next?

PiccadillyPi

2020-07-13, 05:53 PM

Silas squinted against the waves off the dock. Unsure of what to make of the dingy a hundred or so feet out, he made it a point to look for unusual activity or lack thereof for the few shadows he witnessed move about it. While he himself was dressed rather flamboyantly, he hoped he could bluff away his interest in the watercraft. If it was indeed his daughter on that boat, Silas had no intention of getting in her way for fear that Gaedren (or whomever she answered to) might hold her accountable for her presumed failure.

The dandy, rather than immediately call to his allies, waited an appropriate time of suspicious stillness from the vessel - and only if he could not dismiss it as ingenuous inactivity. If such an alert were warranted, he would simply warn them to quickly quit quietly without question or queerness.

Darvin

2020-07-15, 02:16 AM

Dalen quickly checks his pocketwatch for effect, letting his compatriots finish speaking before he responds, "Devargo, I'm not here to play games. If you've other men for the job who you believe better suited, then by all means use them. I won't be personally offended, and will pursue this matter through other means. I've another associate I hope to be meeting shortly, a lovely half-elf woman who is quite determined to bring down Lamm," he alludes to Elliana.

Diplomacy check [roll0]

Dalen's not bluffing about walking. If he walks out of here with an opportunity for a clean shot on Lamm that's a bonus, but his primary purpose for coming here is to fish for any clues about Elliana's whereabouts.

Here's hoping that if Devargo knows anything about Elliana that he lets on about it.

Inspectre

2020-07-15, 05:37 PM

PiccadillyPi

Starring intently out at the small rowboat, you idly wish that your inherited ability to see in the dark extended out that far, as it would presumably make picking out details much simpler even at this long distance, but then if your wishes were being granted right now there was a whole list of other things ahead of that in line. You are able to make out a few long thin shapes at the back of the boat which appear to be fishing rods, although neither of the two figures you can make out on the rowboat seem to be minding them at all. Rather they seem to be dumping something into the water, judging by the faint shimmer of a splash alongside the boat. Perhaps it's just a trick of the moonlight, but you could swear that a few moments later there is a glow under the surface of the dark water and a swirling pattern forming in the water immediately around the boat. Then it's gone, replaced a moment later by a faint wake, left by something moving just beneath the surface of the water. You can't make out what is causing it, but you can definitely see its passing, and it's definitely coming ashore, directly in a line towards the Eel's End.

Everyone Else

Devargo snorts and raises an incredulous eyebrow at the fire-breathing centipede claim, but when Aliani speaks plainly at him the crime lord cracks a smile and spreads his hands.

"Well, you certainly tell it like it is, don't you kiddo?"

Devargo gives a brief self-deprecating chuckle, which is mirrored by his sycophants for a moment before his laughter stops and his gaze shifts over from Aliani to them.

"But you're right. I did have a group I hired to bust up one of Lamm's drug operations on behalf of the people of Korvosa, but ah, apparently they all got slaughtered earlier today, save for a couple of 'em that found their way into the hands of the Guard. Seems you also might know something about that, given the comments about the centipede - that's something new I did not know. So alright, guess I need to rely on you all to get the job done. I know that tonight is your only shot at Lamm, however, because he's gone to ground and nobody seems to know where he's holed up. I can only assume if you knew *that*, then you wouldn't be here talking to me unless you were here to ask for a reward. And I wouldn't offer you one because private bounties offered by the citizenry against other members of the citizenry is illegal, right Mr. Hellknight? But I digress - the point is, I know where Lamm is going to be, tonight."

Devargo pauses here for a moment, clearly savoring the delay as he watches everyone expectantly. He clearly enjoys being an information broker and being able to hold onto information that the other party wants from him, but he doesn't let the pause linger overly long - a seeming admission that he's not completely confident who holds the power in this dynamic. It's at this point that Dalen applies some more light pressure to the conversation in the hopes of getting Devargo to finally spit out the exact where that he keeps alluding to, but when he brings up the queen's handmaiden, even so obliquely, Devargo's face darkens.

"This wouldn't happen to be a dark haired elven bint, pretty face, none too bright, who calls herself "Elliana", would it?"

Devargo muses, and then gives a rather nasty chuckle that is again mirrored by his toadies present.

"I'm afraid that you won't be meeting her today, and maybe not tomorrow, either. Y'see, she needs to learn some manners when in front of her betters. Came in here asking about Lamm uninvited, made a bunch of promises about payment without having the gold up front to back those promises up, and when I told her to get lost she tried to cast a spell on me."

Devargo's face gets darker still, and all of his toadies go very silent and very still as the crime lord continues.

"If there's one thing in this world that I hate more than anything else, it's a twiddlefingers who thinks they can just hand wave their way through any argument. I get Acadamae brats coming in here all the time, thinking they can skip out on payment for services rendered because they know a bit of magic. And for all of them, I refer them to *my* associates who tend to be really good at explaining the reality of their situation to them."

Devargo nods up at the spider now perched on the top of his throne, a good six inches over his head, and the spider obediently hisses and waves its forelegs menacingly.

"But how about this. You take care of Lamm, and I will make sure that *your* associate finds her way back to you in perfect health, and perhaps a little wiser and more respectful for the experience. How does that sound, Master Rittle?"

PiccadillyPi

2020-07-16, 10:06 AM

At the sight of such strange machinations, Silas strode swiftly and spoke softly into the wind. He could only hope Dalen would hear.

"Leave quickly. Ambush coming from the Jeggare."

Stelio Kontos

2020-07-16, 10:34 PM

Aliani's face remained as impassive as he could make it during the revelation. There was a similar concept in one of those farcical capers he'd read a few years back, everyone falling over themselves in order to get to the prize at the end... would it make sense to mention that a couple of Devargo's men were only alive because of their efforts? Probably not; they were likely just pawns on a chessboard to him, to be sacrificed on the way to the king... aha.

"Well, see, that's a big problem. Associate of ours, yes. Aforementioned date, also yes. She's a bit of an individualist, but, if we're to have a proper chance at defeating Lamm, we'll need her along. She's an essential part of the plan. So it'd have to be the other way around, you give her to us, we go take care of Lamm together, and we'll make very sure impress upon her the importance of never, ever, darkening your door again. That'd be a fair deal, right? I mean, you can torture a random twiddlefingers any day of the week, but like you said, it's tonight or never for Lamm, and we're going to need all the firepower we can get to make our best effort... bints included."

"Isn't that right, Master Rittle?"

Not sure what Dalen's plan will be, but either a Diplomacy roll from me, or using this to aid another if he's going to try something suitably diplomatic, would make sense.

Darvin

2020-07-17, 01:52 AM

As Devargo speaks Dalen maintains a straight face. Dalen maintains a straight face through Devargo's story about Elliana, finding it wholly believable and in character for her. If he twitches at all, it's from Silas message. He sighs in exasperation when Devargo says that she attempted to cast a spell on him and shakes his head, whispering under his breath, "she's here," while providing the barest of mental focus to allow the whisper to carry to Silas.

"Yes, I understand your position. Rest assured, I share your irritation with such flagrantly incompetent use of magic," Dalen pauses to let Aliani speak, then sees his opportunity and turns back to Devargo, "suppose we were to leave collateral, then? If we succeed it's all the same to you, and if we fail you'll have been compensated. I'm sure this is the kind of finger twiddling you approve of, yes?" Dalen rubs his fingers together as if there were a coin between them.

Inspectre

2020-07-18, 01:20 PM

PiccadillyPi

You send out your warning, and get back a soft whisper in your ear from Dalen "She's here."
An instant later, and pandemonium breaks out as there is an eruption of water from the side of Devargo's dreadnought facing out into the Jeggare, and then ship begins to list as Devargo's men on the deck stumble and drag themselves up onto their feet as there is a series of smaller eruptions from all around the ship. The crowd on the docks watches this with curiosity for a moment, and then starts to scream and panic as Devargo's scuttled warship clearly begins to sink!

Everyone Else

Devargo is silent for a moment, clearly considering the offer, but nods with a slight frown.

"You're right I'd rather have Lamm dead than another lesson doled out to an Acadamae brat. Fine, I'll go have a word with my pets, and see if I can return your friend to you. Might need a bit of anti-venom to get her back on her feet again though - my pets tend to be efficient at disabling prey. You'll all want to stand back for this next part."

Devargo waits half a beat for everyone to take a big step backward, and then taps the right armest of his throne. A soft click is heard an instant before a sizable portion of the floor in front of Devargo's throne swings down into darkness, a massive trapdoor that is clearly designed to dump unwelcome visitors down into the depths of the ship's cargo hold below. Reaching under his throne, Devargo pulls out a rope ladder, dropping it down into the hole and then climbing down out of sight. His voice can be softly heard below as well as another hissing, clicking voice, but for most this is just barely audible noise, drowned out by Silas's sudden urgent whisper that an attack on Devargo's boat was imminent.

An instant after that warning, the ship lists hard to port, nearly sending several people stumbling off their feet, as a massive impact jolts the ship from some of her moorings. Additional jarring impacts follow, and the deck begins to buckle and shift under everyone's feet as what is no doubt Devargo's worst fears are realized - the underwater scaffolding around the Eel's End is starting to break, causing the warship to sink. The dreadnought is probably big enough, and the Jeggare shallow enough along the edges, that it won't sink under the water completely, but the lower decks of the ship will certainly be flooded and rendered unusable.

A few moments later and Devargo rapidly hauls himself back up the rope, a look of mild panic on his face.

"We're under attack! Prepare to abandon ship, lads!"

He announces, which prompts the toadies to start stumbling their way back out to the double doors. For his part Devargo turns away and starts stumbling his way over to the door in the nearby wall, presumably to either a side room or a set of stairs leading to the crew quarters below decks.

"Your friend's down there in the hold! Good luck getting her out before it fills with water though! I've got some packing to do!"

And it seems, just like that, you're being left to rescue Elliana from the spider-infested hold, while the entire ship slowly sinks to the bottom of the river.

(Because this is essentially a timed exercise - get down into the hold and get Elliana out before it becomes flooded and you all drown, with potentially hostile spiders down there as well, we are now basically in combat initiative. Given we do group initiative this should have little effect on posting order, but it is something to keep in mind that you will probably able be able to move and do one thing with each round of posting. You can all easily reach the open trap door into the hold and drop down this round as basically a full-round action: move up to the edge of the trapdoor, standard action to swing down/use Devargo's rope ladder if you wish, or stay upstairs and cast buff spells/Light spells (it's pitch black down in the hold). Will post a Battle Map for the hold once someone is down there with a Light and can actually see what there is to see.)

Your sharp ears, despite the overlay of Silas's voice warning of an impending attack, are able to make out what is actually being said by Devargo and this mysterious stranger - apparently named "Chittersnap" with a throat condition. You are unable to see down into the hold, in part due to your angle relative to the trapdoor, and largely due to the fact that it's pitch black down there save for the tiny bit of light around Devargo's rope ladder, which just reveals a musty, web-filled cargo hold.

Devargo - "Oi, Chittersnap! Need to let the girl go - her friends are here and they want her back.

Chittersnap - "*click snap* NO! SMELL NICE! MINE NOW!"

Devargo - "Oh for the love of - I'll get you a new one, okay! Someone that smells just as nice. We don't have time for this argument, they're right upstairs and I've got the sneaking suspicion that if I go back up and tell them "no", then they're going to come down here and take her by force! We need to do tis!"

Chittersnap - "*click snap* LET THEM TRY!"

At this point, the ship lists heavily, and the argument is interrupted by the sound of a loud hard impact and timbers breaking.

Devargo - "What the devil was that!?"

Followed immediately by another hard impact and the sound of more timbers breaking, along with a wet crack! this time, and the sound of water pouring in as the ship lists more heavily.

Devargo - "Damnit! Sod this!"

Captain Jak

2020-07-18, 03:06 PM

Jakkin swore; because of what his sharp ears had picked up from below, and from the clear signs that the ship was going under.

"She’s down there, and not alone; they don’t like bad smells," he snapped out rapidly to the others as he retrieve his cooly flaming sphere and sent it spinning about his head.

Darting forward he simply stepped off the edge of the trapdoor, trusting to his skills in taking a fall to see him through this. Of course, if the drop is farther than he was estimating this would hurt regardless.

Landing with a thud, he didn’t waste any time. "Chittersnap! This room is filling with water; flee, or you will drown!" he exclaimed urgently.

Move action, draw and start Ioun Torch spinning. Move action, move to trapdoor and step off. Acrobatics to reduce effects of fall by 10’, DC 15: 29

THEChanger

2020-07-18, 04:27 PM

As soon as Gavin had recovered his footing, he was moving for the open trap door, drawing his rapier in anticipation of what was below. "If she's incapacitated, we'll need some help getting her up and out. At least one person needs to stay topside."

The Hellknight grabbed hold of the rope ladder as Jakkin dropped down, swinging under the deck into the darkness below. This is ridiculous. I am literally performing feats of derring do aboard a sinking ship to rescue the handmaiden of a queen. Like some copper dreadful swashbuckling hero. Gavin landed with a small splash, letting go of the ladder as he scanned the darkness. "Alright, anyone who is down here, make your way to the ladder if you can, the ship is under attack and sinking. We will make sure you get to safety, please do not panic."

Gavin moves to trap door, drawing rapier as part of his move action, and swings down with his standard. He then makes a Diplomacy check on anyone/thing down here that understands Common and is awake - the last thing we need is panicked fighting.

Diplomacy - [roll0]

Darvin

2020-07-20, 03:02 PM

Dalen strides briskly towards the hold behind those rushing ahead; he turns to Aliani and withdraws a scroll of Enlarge Person, "not to discount them, but halfling stature may make it difficult to bring her up quickly. We need someone with much greater height to lift her up. Climb down into the hold, and I'll cast the spell on you,"

Only casting with Aliani's consent. Spell can be dismissed. Once we have Elliana lifted safely to surface level Dalen will dismiss the spell to allow Aliani to climb back out.

Stelio Kontos

2020-07-20, 05:14 PM

”Are you sure I’m the b—“ Aliani began, before realizing that yes, he really was the best (probably the only) option. The others would be useful for fighting things.

“Right.”

Gingerly l, he made his way into the rope ladder and began to climb down.

Inspectre

2020-07-20, 07:59 PM

Jakkin dives down headfirst through the open trapdoor, followed only a moment later by Gavin who decides on a bit more prudent of an entrance via swinging down by the rope ladder. As the ioun torch clears Jakkin’s hand and begins to spin around his head, the downstairs abode of Chittersnap is illuminated . . . perhaps to the eternal regret of the two would-be heroes’ stomachs.

There is a cloying mélange of scents down here – the musty smell of slowly decaying wood, the vaguely salty tang of the Jeggare River, the putrid smell of rotting flesh and moldering bones, an acrid scent that those familiar with the drug would associate with Shiver, and yes, mingled in with all those a pleasant though faint floral perfume. But it is the sights within this former cargo hold that are truly dismaying, as the floor is sprinkled with old bones, at least some of them from humanoids as at least one broken-open humanoid skull can attest to. At numerous spaces around the room, thick gooey strands of web stretch from floor to the hold’s ceiling, serving as anchor points for thin, delicate sheets of an eerie pale blue webbing stretched between the heavier strands. Just shy of half a dozen dog-sized (Small) spiders sit in these webs, the ghostly skull-like patterns decorating their backs also in that same eerie shade of pale blue.

Off to the right, the hull has split open to allow a gurgling rush of water to spill out across the floor, rapidly beginning to deepen and spread a pool of water on that side. Off to the left, a misshapen blend of human and spider (Medium) crouches, pulling on an old door leading out of the hold that has been webbed over after it had already warped shut with age and exposure to the sea. It turns to look over its shoulder, revealing a face that is decidedly more arachnid than humanoid at the sound of Gavin and Jakkin calling out not to attack. The creature seems to hiss to itself “YES, ESCAPE, YESSS” before returning to its work on the door. Sadly, the mutated hybrid’s pets don’t seem to get the message as the pale blue spiders begin to descend from their webs and skitter towards Jakkin and Gavin. (Diplomacy enough to convince Chittersnap to keep working on the door, but not enough to call off its “pets”).

But the real terror is at the far back of the room. Partially concealed by shadow and a thick sheet of the gooey webbing, a truly immense spider (HUGE!) lurks, watching. Far bigger than anything the group has collectively ever heard of existing within or beneath Korvosa, the hulking mass of chitin must have grown up within this cargo hold, as it seems impossible that the thing could leave through even Devargo’s sizable trapdoor in the ceiling. Like the humanoid/spider hybrid by the door, this gigantic brute also has a vaguely humanoid face, although its dripping fangs and eight glittering eyes show no sign of any humanity.

Next to the immense monstrosity, strung up on the back wall like some sort of macabre trophy is Elliana – at least, the figure is wearing clothes matching the description that Seamus gave to Jakkin. But the figure’s arms are stretched up over its head, and used as anchor points for a pale blue sheet of webbing that is wrapped around the arms and head, obscuring the figure’s face and leaving long curls of flame-red hair to stick out from the webbing here and there. Several thick gooey strands of webbing secure the queen’s handmaiden(?) to the wall, although a third, much-thinner thread-like type of webbing is wrapped around her wrists and legs, keeping her completely immobile as she occasionally twitches and reflexively struggles, with about as much success as a fly wrapped up for a later meal.

As the immense spider in the back gathers itself up to defend its lair, and its five much smaller cousins rush forward, a man-sized centipede appears next to Jakkin from a cloud of magical smoke. It immediately lashes out at one of the spiders descending the web, narrowly missing scissoring it in two with its mandibles but still managing to snip off one of its legs before the spider retaliates with a bite to the side of the centipede’s head. It’s companion in the webs also jumps at the centipede, but its fangs fail to find purchase on its armored hide.

“Figured I’d check out whether Aliani’s claim is true!”

Atavian calls out from above, having joined Aliani and Dalen at the lip of the trap door. At Dalen’s urging Aliani descends down into the hold as there is another loud crack from the wall as it further gives way, allowing a fresh gout of water to push into the empty space. A fresh gout of water that suddenly rears up, forming a fist that comes crashing down on a nearby spider and splattering it against the wall of the cargo hold with as much effort as it would take one of you to swat a fly. As the watery arm continues to grow and form a towering vaguely humanoid figure (Large), the immense spider surges forward with a roar, burying its fangs into its side and injecting a stream of venom that seems to harmlessly dissipate inside the elemental’s watery body.

While these two titans brawl it out along one side of the cargo hold, and Atavian’s centipede holds off two of the dog-sized spiders, the last surviving two finally skitter across the floor to leap at Jakkin and Gavin. With practiced ease Gavin swats the one leaping at him back down onto the floor, twisting his rapier and driving it partway into the beast as its own momentum impales it on his blade. As the creature crashes back down to the ground, it rolls back up onto its feet, leaving a trail of ichor wherever it goes but still snapping its fangs at the fencer’s feet (Parry and Riposte successful, but not dead yet!) Jakkin meanwhile, manages to duck under the creature's lunge, grabbing it and throwing it back down to the floor in front of him in preparation for his own follow-up attack.

Elliana has been bound in webs by each of the three spideroids present, each of which has different effects on her and DCs to cut/remove. They can be burnt or cut away to remove them, or ripped apart via Strength checks although I will note that even without the -4 penalty due to being caught in the web yourselves, these are still very high STR checks (requiring 15+ to remove, most likely). The webs can be damaged by Bludgeoning/Piercing damage as well, although they do have DR 5/Slashing.

Thick Gooey Strands – Strongest, Hold Her to the Wall and She Cannot Be Moved Until These Are Gone
Thin Wire-Like Strands – Second strongest, these are the ones actually Binding her and she will be helpless until they are removed.
Pale Blue Sheet Around Face/Arms – Least strong, may have unknown strange effects?

Good Guys
Aliani
Gavin
Jakkin
Dalen
Atavian
Celestial Giant Centipede 1 – 2 Damage
Elliana – Immobile, Helpless (Tied-Up), Unconscious

Bad Guys?
Devargo
Chittersnap
Ogre Spider
Dream Spider 1
Dream Spider 2 – 6 Damage
Dream Spider 3
Dream Spider 4 – 2 Damage
Dream Spider 5 – 10 Damage, DEAD

Bad Guys!
Large Water Elemental – 8 Damage

Battle Music! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZpDgK-SW0o)

Battle Map (https://imgur.com/a/ZoO3Fbo)

THEChanger

2020-07-20, 10:18 PM

"I am - by the Hells - thoroughly done with - get off me you - DONE WITH ALL THESE INSECTS."

Dropping back for just a moment, Gavin lunged forward, attempting to skewer the spider with his rapier to open a path to the erstwhile handmaiden. As he did, under his breath the Hellknight whispered a prayer, though to what deity or power he could not have told you.

Let me get this one right. Please, let me get this one right.

Gavin attacks the Dream Spider he parried, in an attempt to clear a path to Elliana. Based on the description of events and positions on the map, this should be Dream Spider 1, which is directly in front of him. However, under status, Dream Spider 2 is marked with 6 damage. Gavin attacks whichever the damaged spider is.

To Hit - [roll0]
Damage - [roll1]

If this opens a path for him to do so, Gavin moves to F2, to begin freeing Elliana. Otherwise he takes a five foot step to square G7.

PiccadillyPi

2020-07-21, 03:02 AM

Unsure of what to make of Dalen's message aside from the obvious, he hoped they'd have negotiated their point and already be on their way out. Unfortunately, the attack came too soon. The moment the ship bowed toward the river, Silas ran to the vessel. He pleaded fate on his side as panic struck the people around the dock. Devargo was likely already finding a route in which to escape, but Silas had the opposite of goals until he could see his companions alongside the queen.

"Dalen! Where are you?!"

He thought to himself that if the great old bastard king of spiders happened by him, he might consider demanding the location of his company with a steel tongue and then cutting down a wart on his city. However, with the rate the ship was sinking, Silas didn't expect to have the extra thirty seconds it might've taken, so he knew he'd have to settle for a quick query and let them go.

Stelio Kontos

2020-07-22, 10:06 PM

Here we were again, in another basement (or basement-like vessel), with another set of foes; surely one of these times the warnings would come true. At least Aliani had been given the gift of foresight to apply the insect repellent... though he wasn't at all sure it was designed to work against spiders larger than himself.

Quickly he cast a shielding spell, one of the few he had left for the day, before looking uneasily up at Dalen. "I'm not sure I'm the best choice for this plan..."

Cast Shield, because why the heck not.

Darvin

2020-07-23, 03:31 AM

"Not the... well, there isn't exactly anyone else, now is there?" Dalen sighs as he peers down into the illuminated hold when he hears Silas.

"In the spider king's lair. He's gone and run away and left us to recover Elliana from his pets," he rushes to the doors to open them, hoping to find Silas on the other side.

Captain Jak

2020-07-23, 05:34 PM

Having spent several years plying the ship-born trade up and down the coast, Jakkin is well familiar with the dangers posed of getting caught in the hold of a sinking ship. They need to get the handmaiden and get out of here, fast; and that means clearing the way, fast. No time for anything resembling civilised behaviour; rescue and get out, by any means necessary.

Stiffening his fingers, Jakkin smashes his hand through the thorax of the spider menacing him, ripping it free in a spray if ichor. Drowning in a sinking ship is high on his list of ways he has not planned on dying by, and today will be no different.

Move action, Martial Flexibility (Bleeding Attack).
Standard action, attack Dream Spider 1: 19
Damage: 7 Plus 1d4 Bleed: 1

Inspectre

2020-07-23, 06:58 PM

The battle rages between the group struggling to rescue Elliana and the dream spiders, as does the battle between gigantic spider and the immovable force of water off to one side.
Taking careful aim with his outstretched hand, Atavian summons a jolt of electricity to arc down into the hold at the dream spider that his centipede had wounded, while the summoned bug presses the attack against its hated foe.
The two dream spiders attempt to prove their side of the argument by working together to kill Atavian's summon.
Unfortunately, no one manages to gain an advantage on the other, with spell and fang glancing off chitinous armor.

Electric Arc at Dream Spider #4
To-Hit: [roll0] vs. Touch
Damage: [roll1]

Giant Centipede at Dream Spider #4
To-Hit: [roll2]
Damage: [roll3]

#3
To-Hit: [roll4]
Damage: [roll5]

#4
To-Hit: [roll6]
Damage: [roll7]

Jakkin delivers a brutal hand spear to the spider attacking him that ruptures its carapace, causing it to pump out more and more of its precious lifeblood ichor with each passing second.
With its dying breath, however, the spider lashes out and sinks its fangs deep into his arm as he wretches his hand free of the gooey mess. (Jakkin takes 3 damage and needs to make a Fort DC 11 save or be poisoned).

(Dream Spider #1 is now Bleeding for 1d4 each round.)

Counterattack at Jakkin
To-Hit: [roll8]
Damage: [roll9]
Fort Save DC 11

Gavin skewers his spider again, kicking it off the length of his blade before stepping over the body to dash towards Elliana, heedless of Jakkin's spider whirling at the sudden movement near it and attempting to bite his heel.
Unfortunately, the Hellknight-in-training does not notice the noose of spiderweb carefully concealed on the floor in his path until it is wrapped around his legs, and pulling him sideways off of his feet and up into the air, flinging him into the nearby webs stretched from floor to ceiling. The sticky strands of the web immediately hold him fast, and his skin starts to grow numb where the pale blue webbing touches.

(OOC: Gavin kills Dream Spider #2, and then attempts to move up towards Elliana. When he steps into G4, he steps on a noose trap, which hits his CMB and drags him 10' into the web in E4. He is immediately Entangled in the poisonous webs, but makes his Fortitude save for this round.)

Over by the doorway, Chittersnap continues to tug and pull at the webbing coating the door, managing to clear the doorway of webs but failing to pull it open just yet (OOC: Next round Chittersnap will succeed in opening the door.)

And over in the corner of the hold, the titanic brawl between spider and elemental seems to only be a fight from the perspective of the spider, as it continues to bite at the elemental while the massive surge of water simply absent-mindedly swats back at the creature with one arm, a hellacious blow that sends the massive spider flying backward and upward, smashing into the ceiling before crashing back into the water. Meanwhile, the elemental continues to hammer away at the side of the ship with its other fist. The repeated blows crack and splinter the wood further, allowing more water to rush in at a faster rate. As the water surges in, it flows over the patch of webs closes to the break, which still contains the splattered remnants of the dream spider that the elemental swatted upon entry. As the waters rush up and over the spider webs, they begin to dissolve and melt away, leaving the remains of the dream spider to tumble into the growing surf within the ship's cargo hold. As if in response, lesser impacts come from outside the ship's hull, working their way closer to the breach that the water elemental has created.

Upstairs, Dalen throws open the doors that has swung closed behind Devargo's would-be thugs, revealing Silas just climbing up onto the deck. The tiefling hurries to join his adventuring companion at the doorway, now able to speak face-to-face (Silas has arrived, and is now on the board at EE3!)

To-Hit: [roll10]
Damage: [roll11]

Fist #1
Attacking Boat, Power Attack, Water Mastery
To-Hit: [roll12]
Damage: [roll13]

Fist #2
Attacking Spider, Power Attack, Water Mastery
To-Hit: [roll14]
Damage: [roll15]

Good Guys
Aliani
Gavin - ENTANGLED, CMB or Escape Artist DC 18 (-4 STR to Burst Self Out), POISONED WEBS (End of every round until escape, Fort Save DC 11)
Jakkin - 3 Damage, Fort Save DC 11 OR POISONED
Dalen
Atavian
Celestial Giant Centipede 1 – 2 Damage
Elliana – Immobile, Helpless (Tied-Up), Unconscious

Bad Guys?
Devargo
Chittersnap
Ogre Spider - 18 Damage
Dream Spider 1 - 8 Damage, 1d4 BLEED
Dream Spider 2 – DEAD (11 Damage)
Dream Spider 3
Dream Spider 4 – 2 Damage
Dream Spider 5 – DEAD (10 Damage)

Bad Guys!
Large Water Elemental – 13 Damage

BOAT - 23 Damage

Battle Map (https://imgur.com/a/f70XXfU)

THEChanger

2020-07-24, 04:44 PM

Gavin cursed under his breath as he was suddenly pulled into the mass of webbing. Twisting about, Gavin managed to find a broken piece of deck to grab hold of, and pry himself out of the trap. Note to self. Get a dagger for cutting things

Having successfully escaped his own sticky demise, the Hellknight continued towards the woman they were here to rescue, not daring to look towards the giant spider and even larger mass of water, lest he draw the attention of the two battling titans.

After successfully removing himself from the webbing, Gavin continues to F2, where next turn he can hopefully begin freeing our friend.

PiccadillyPi

2020-07-24, 08:59 PM

Silas stopped only briefly to confirm with Dalen the whereabouts of Elliana before plunging himself into the mess of webs below, weapon drawn, only asking that his boots take the brunt of his landing.

"Hello, darlings! What have we - ugh!"

As he turned to face the disgusting creatures around him, the uncouth slayer attacked the nearest eight-legged freak while still in the process of getting his bearings.

Move and drop to F7, attack dream spider 1.

Attack: [roll0]
Crit check: [roll1]
Damage:[roll2]

Captain Jak

2020-07-24, 11:44 PM

Knowing the spider is already dead, even if it hasn't dropped yet, Jakkin dives forward to get past it even as Silas drops through the hatch to join them. Weaving away from the arachnid's dripping mandibles – that bite had hurt! – with feints and rolls, Jakkin comes up on the far side of the doomed spider and scurries toward the enwebbed Elfmaid. He himself isn't the best suited to try to haul her down...but he can provide cover to those who are so.

Acrobatics rolls to avoid AoOs from leaving threatened squares E7, E6, F5: 26, 21, 31
Double move, avoiding blundering directly into webs, ending up at E2…hopefully.

Stelio Kontos

2020-07-25, 02:00 PM

"Where are you... the spider! ... oh, nice moves." Aliani commented to Jakkin as he outmaneuvered the spider on his way toward Elliana. Just as he planned to step forward himself, Silas appeared out of, well, above he guessed, and took a swat at the spider. "Nice of you to drop in..."

That left two spiders for one centipede, and Gavin and Jakkin were clearly handling things with Elliana better than he could himself, and Silas could surely handle the other...

Nothing to do but go for it. He drew his morningstar and lunged at the spider nestling in the corner of the room.

5 foot step to D8, attack Dream Spider 4 in the corner [roll0]attack, [roll1] damage. Make witty comments with my move action.

Darvin

2020-07-26, 03:31 AM

Dalen moves to the edge of the opening behind Silas, kneeling down to peer at the battle. He stands quietly before reaching into his pocket and withdrawing a vial of alchemist fire. He turns to his familiar, "take it to whoever is closest to Elliana; a last resort if they can't break the webs by other means,"

All Dalen can really offer is a vial of alchemist's fire, and Gavin/Jakkin are in a better position to use it

Inspectre

2020-07-26, 12:28 PM

Pausing his attempts to aim his arm for a moment as Silas jumps down and Dalen sends Rhetoric down into the hold, Atavian takes more care in lining up his next shot.
This time the arc of lightning wizzes past Aliani's ear as he goes charging in at the spider with his morningstar, and still manages to strike the dream spider dead center.
There is a sharp crack and a lingering sizzle as the spider jerks about spasmodically within its web, before hanging limp, quite dead.
The one remaining spider chooses to continue attacking the conjured giant centipede, giving it another nick as its fangs find purchase between armored plates of chitin.

At the other corner of the battle, the spider that Jakkin had injured and Silas narrowly managed to avoid cutting in two rolls over onto its back and curls up its legs as it too bleeds out.

That leaves just one of Devargo's dog-sized pets left, and of course Chittersnap and the gigantic monstrosity engaged in furious combat with the equally massive water elemental.

This time its the giant spider that gets the better of the fight, as it drives the water elemental to the bottom of the boat, savaging its form with its fangs before it manages to flow out of its grasp.
Of course, the heavy impact of the water elemental against the floor of the cargo hold has secondary effects on said floor, and the power of the impact sends shudders racing across the floor of the cargo hold that crack several of the floorboards.
At the weakest point left by this impact and the mounting damage on the ship's hull, water begins trickling up beneath the webs Gavin had been caught up in.

Perhaps its this water that gives the Hellknight fencer the advantage he needs, or perhaps its simply pure skill and raw strength, as Gavin manages to untangle himself from the web and tumble across the wall over to Elliana, joined by Jakkin a moment later.
A few seconds after that, and Dalen's pet thrush, Rhetoric, flies down between them, a flask of alchemist's fire clutched in his claws.

"Use as last resort, to free the Queen's consort!"

The thrush trills.

Meanwhile, Chittersnap manages to finish prying the door open, and just in time as the trickle of water beneath the webs that had been holding Gavin erupt into a geyser as something breaks through the weakened spot in the hold. The water fountains up, and then resolves into the form of another elemental, this one smaller than the first, about man-sized. It lashes out a psuedopod arm at Chittersnap as the creature flees out into the hallway, but the elemental's arm only crashes harmlessly into the doorframe.

Electric Arc at Dream Spider #4
To-Hit: [roll0] vs. Touch
Damage: [roll1]

Giant Centipede at Dream Spider #4
To-Hit: [roll2]
Damage: [roll3]

#3
To-Hit: [roll4]
Damage: [roll5]

#4
To-Hit: [roll6]
Damage: [roll7]

To-Hit: [roll8]
Damage: [roll9]

Fist #1
Attacking Boat, Power Attack, Water Mastery
To-Hit: [roll10]
Damage: [roll11]

Fist #2
Attacking Spider, Power Attack, Water Mastery
To-Hit: [roll12]
Damage: [roll13]

Good Guys
Aliani
Gavin -
Jakkin - 3 Damage, Fort Save DC 11 OR POISONED
Dalen
Atavian
Celestial Giant Centipede 1 – 2 Damage
Elliana – Immobile, Helpless (Tied-Up), Unconscious

Bad Guys?
Devargo
Chittersnap
Ogre Spider - 15 Damage
Dream Spider 1 - DYING (11 Damage), BLEED 1d4
Dream Spider 2 – DYING (12 Damage)
Dream Spider 3
Dream Spider 4 – DYING (13 Damage)
Dream Spider 5 – DYING (13 Damage)

Bad Guys!
Large Water Elemental – 26 Damage
Medium Water Elemental

BOAT - 33 Damage

Battle Map (https://imgur.com/a/CFdo1Xh)

Captain Jak

2020-07-26, 01:56 PM

Pulling his Any-Tool from his belt, Jakkin quickly unfolds, extends, and adjusts it until he’s holding a long, curved scythe that’s almost twice as long as he is tall.

"Here," he says, awkwardly holding it up to Gavin before accepting the flask from the cheerful familiar. The arrival of more Elementals isn’t good; they’ll break up the ship even faster.

They might just have to engage them in order to distract them from that end....

Retrieve Any-Tool and turn it into a Medium sized scythe, give to Gavin

PiccadillyPi

2020-07-27, 10:36 PM

"Al, dear, maybe leave the spiders to the leak on the boat?"

Silas abandoned the actor as he navigated around the dying arachnids to approach Elliana's silk prison. He couldn't do much about the elemental if it attacked, but he did his best to avoid it.

"This ship is going down faster than anyone I know."

Quick as a cat, the dandy began cutting at the layers of web between him and the handmaiden.

Move to E6, F5, to G2.

Acrobatics to avoid AoO from water elemental moving at full speed: [roll0]

Attack on web: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]

THEChanger

2020-07-27, 11:31 PM

Gavin took the Anytool from Jakkin, holding it somewhat awkwardly. "Better than what I had.
Thank you, Mister Longshanks."

Being very careful not to harm the entangled elf, Gavin began to cut away at the webbing, doing his best to sever the thin blue strands he knew would sap her strength. Better to have her assistance in getting her free.

Gavin sheathes his rapier, taking the Anytool scythe from Jakkin. With the improvised weapon penalty, that's...a flat d20 roll. Huh.

Gavin targets the pale blue webbing, which he knows from personal experience is poisonous.

To Hit - [roll0]

Damage - [roll1]

Stelio Kontos

2020-07-28, 12:55 PM

Aliani had a plan. Always dangerous, that, but with the centipede handling the job of distraction well enough, and the others retrieving the maiden well enough, it seemed like a good option.

Moving away from the living spider, he took a short step away and crashed his morningstar down on the one that was already laying unmoving on the ground.

5 foot step to E7, coup de grace spider at D6 for [roll0] damage (auto crits), it needs a fort save DC 10+damage or dies, and the damage may just murderface it anyway.

Inspectre

2020-07-28, 06:52 PM

Working together, Jakkin providing the tool and Gavin providing the muscle, the two manage to carefully slice through the sheet of pale blue webbing covering the handmaiden's face, the stickiness of the webs working against it as parts of it cling to the sides of the scythe as they are cut through and allowing Gavin to start peeling the webbing off with minimal loss of skin for Elliana. At least, that was the process until Silas came in and made his own contribution. Heedless of the danger of standing right next to an elephant-sized spider while it is fighting for its life against a living tsunami, Silas rushes in and hacks wildly at the thick strands of webbing holding the handmaiden aloft. His falchion easily bites through the thick gooey strands, until the last of them rupture of their own accord from Elliana's weight, ripping the last of the pale blue webbing off of her face and sending her unceremoniously crashing to the floor.

The water that has continued to relentlessly spread across the floor's hold laps up against the handmaiden's face, and she stirs weakly, her movements sluggish and instinctual as she blinks and attempts to focus her eyes at her surroundings. Feeling the webbing still wrapped tightly around her wrists, the handmaiden pulls and twists, and whether due to natural skill or a weakening of the thin strands from their brief contact with the river water, her right wrist slips free of the bindings before reaching down to unwind the thread from her ankles before she staggers up to her feet, swaying back and forth and holding her hands up defensively in front of her as she continues to blink at Gavin, Silas, and Jakkin, clearly unable to focus well enough on them to identify them at this point. With the webbing covering her face removed, this is clearly the queen's handmaiden, although she has definitely seen better days with her make-up smeared and her crimson-flame colored hair sticking out in all directions, pulled every which way by tufts of surviving webbing.

Wakes up at 1 Wisdom after the removal of the dream spider webbing.
Standard - Attempts to escape the webs binding her.
Escape Artist: [roll0]
Move - Stands up
Free Action - Attempts to figure out where she is and who these people in front of her are.

You pride yourself on being a lady's man when the mood strikes you, but unlike those amateurs trying and failing to spend the evening with the local barmaid, you have a secret technique. It's quite simple really - rather than rely on some "irresistible" pick-up line, you pay attention to the lady. Seems like they almost one and all love it when someone notices the little details - how they're wearing their hair that day, that new perfume they're trying out - even trivial details seem to disproportionately please them if you notice. So you've developed an eye for picking up those little details, and just now your attention to detail has delivered a doozy to you. The woman standing in front of you is supposed to be Elliana - she's dressed in the clothes described by Seamus, she has the rough appearance of an elf, but it's not her. It's Queen Ileosa, and it has to be her because the evidence in favor of that is overwhelming.

Elliana's hair was raven black, yet this woman's hair is flame red - just like Ileosa's.
Although you don't think the others have noticed it as yet, when "Elliana" fell off the wall the last of the pale blue webbing ripped free of her face, and took with it one of her pointed ears. That gave you quite a momentary shock of horror, until you realized that the ear trapped in the webbing was a prosthetic, and that there was still a perfectly fine, perfectly round-shaped human ear still attached to that side of her head.
While "Elliana's" face is a mess of smeared make-up, and while the odd patches of different skin color could be passed off as smeared make-up and dirt, you don't think that's it. Rather it looks like make-up was applied evenly over the skin to alter and darken the skin tone, and now that it's smeared everywhere there's patches of darker, heavy make-up and patches where the the make-up has been largely scraped away, leaving Ileosa's flawless alabaster skin.

Meanwhile over by the rope ladder, the battle against the last dream spider continues to rage. Atavian re-summons his giant centipede as his first one begins to fade away after yet again failing to hit the dream spider. The newly summoned one doesn't have any better luck, and in fact is rather unlucky in that it appears just as the dream spider lunges at the fading out centipede, and since they disappear and reappear in nearly the exact same spot, the newly summoned centipede is not prepared for a spider to suddenly be sending its fangs into the side of its neck.

Atavian resummons a giant centipede, both his previous summon and his new summon miss due to rolling "2"s to-hit.

To-Hit: [roll1] vs. Giant Centipede
Damage: [roll2]

The gigantic spider takes one last lunge at the water elemental, and then either frustrated as its lunge leaves it splashing face first into the surf or dismayed at the water starting to surge up around its body, beats a nasty retreat back into its corner lair. The water elemental is largely content to let the spider flee, turning its full attention to the boat as it brings both fists together over its head and then delivering a blow to the floor that sends broken boards flying in all directions. The water surges and bubbles, geysering up into a second man-sized elemental while the first flows forward to deliver a hard punch to Aliani's sternum that is deflected only at the last minute by the magical shield of force he had conjured a moment earlier. Just before that, the playwright had stepped forward to smash in the curled up chest of one of the dream spiders, decidedly splattering it into a gooey mess that no longer resembled a creature so much as a smear of ichor.

To-Hit: [roll3]
Damage: [roll4]

5' Steps backwards

Large Water Elemental - Continues to wreck the boat
To-Hit: [roll5]
Damage: [roll6]

To-Hit: [roll7]
Damage: [roll8]

Medium Water Elemental #1 - 5' Steps to D6 (Water Walk), and tries to punch Aliani
To-Hit: [roll9]
Damage: [roll10]

Medium Water Elemental #2 - Enters the boat through the hole that the Large Water Elemental just bashed in the hull.

Good Guys
Aliani
Gavin -
Jakkin - 3 Damage
Dalen
Atavian
Celestial Giant Centipede 2 - 2 Damage
Elliana - Awake (1 Wisdom)

Bad Guys?
Devargo
Chittersnap
Ogre Spider - 15 Damage
Dream Spider 1 - DEAD
Dream Spider 2 – DYING (13 Damage)
Dream Spider 3
Dream Spider 4 – DYING (14 Damage)
Dream Spider 5 – DYING (14 Damage)

Bad Guys!
Large Water Elemental – 26 Damage
Medium Water Elemental #1
Medium Water Elemental #2

BOAT - 70 Damage

Battle Map (https://imgur.com/a/HIZcZRY)

Stelio Kontos

2020-07-28, 08:34 PM

"You've got her!" Aliani exclaimed joyfully as he smushed a spider's skull. (Do spiders have skulls? He supposed they did...) "Gavin, YOU grab her, and Dalen can do his magic on you and then we can -- ah, crap!" It was just about then that the water decided to take a swing at him, splashing against the shield inches in front of his face.

"Uh, little help here please!" was his next cry, as he took a halfhearted swing at the elemental, as much to keep it at bay than actually to do any meaningful damage, before skedaddling up the ladder to relative safety.

Attack fighting defensively (AC 19, for the moment): [roll0], damage [roll1]
Move: away from the elemental (provokes AOO) and up the ladder

PiccadillyPi

2020-07-28, 10:03 PM

"Elliana, darling! Silas et al forever for our queen. No time to rest! Sights to see, scourges to slay. Take Gavin's hand so we might leave this pit unerringly."

He had to speak quickly as water filled his pantaloons. He could only Wade away into the shallow tides as he made his way to assist Aliani, leaving the heavy lifting to the duo behind him.

"Bloody tangling tides! Off with ye!"

With his words, Silas swung at the water weight as if it were a metaphor for his personal diet.

THEChanger

2020-07-29, 08:07 PM

Gavin placed his shoulder under Ellianna's arm, helping her to get steady as the water filled the hold. "Ellianna, my name is Gavin. I'm a friend. We are here to help you get to safety. The ladder out is across the room. Can you make your way up and out, or do you need assistance?"

Conditional actions!

If Ellianna makes some manner of reply that she can make it out on her own, Gavin allows her to go first, and moves behind her to cover her escape.

If Ellianna does not reply, or replies in the negative, Gavin hoists her onto his back and moves to F7, where hopefully Dalen and Atavian can assist him in getting Elianna out of harms way.

Captain Jak

2020-07-30, 06:40 PM

Taking back the Any-Tool, Jakkin began to fold it back into a more portable form.

"Go, get out of here before the water gets too deep," he urges those who have a lot more height with which to avoid it. "I'll cover your backs; get her out of here no matter what."

He’s no stranger to the water, but being trapped in the hold of a sinking ship with several hostile Elementals isn’t anyone’s idea of a good time.

Darvin

2020-08-01, 12:44 AM

Hearing his compatriots ready to make their escape, Dalen kneels by the lip of the hatch to assist anyone in bringing Elliana up.

Inspectre

2020-08-01, 05:31 AM

As you all struggle to escape the hold, the massive water elemental dives beneath the surface of the water and seems to exit the hold to find another spot in the ship's hull to smash apart as you don't see it again.
That still leaves the man-sized elemental to continue its assault on Aliani, while the second one dives beneath the surface of the water in the hold in preparation of some sort of ambush.

Seeing the playwright under assault, Silas explains the situation to Elliana before charging across the increasingly flooded hold to attempt to assist Aliani.
This movement sparks a reaction from the house-sized spider in the corner, which blindly lunges at Silas, ripping a gash across the back of his shoulder with its fangs, before the creature recoils back into its corner.
Reaching the confrontation, Silas swings his falchion into the side of the humanoid mass of water, but it seems to only harmlessly splash through the back, sending droplets of water flying but doing little less than to catch its attention from the glancing blow. But not its full attention, for as Aliani withdraws the water elemental lashes out a fist at him.
Even so, it can't stop the playwright's retreat, and he manages to ascend up into Devargo's throne room again without further difficulty.
Atavian covers Aliani's retreat with another arc of lightning, which passes into the water and gives Silas a not-entirely unpleasant tingling in his legs.

Lighting Arc on Water Elemental #1
To-Hit: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

Centipede vs. Dream Spider
To-Hit: [roll2]
Damage: [roll3]

Dream Spider vs. Centipede
To-Hit: [roll4]
Damage: [roll5]

Provokes an AoO from the ogre spider, takes 13 damage but passes the Fort save vs. poison.
He misses the water elemental.

Aliani moves back to the rope ladder and climbs, provoking an AoO from the water elemental as he leaves his current square in E7.

Water Elemental AoO - [roll6] vs. Defensive AC of 19
Damage: [roll7]

Elliana stares blankly at Gavin for a moment, until Silas's voice seems to startle her, and recognition dawns in her eyes.

"Y-yes. I can walk."

She replies softly, following Gavin's pointing finger towards the distant rope ladder across the hold. The handmaiden takes a step forward and nearly pitches forward onto her face as the deck sifts and tilts slightly from all the water the ship is taking on one side, causing it to list more and more. She manages to catch herself from her stumble by crashing into Gavin, leaning up against him for support.

"I could probably use a shoulder for support."

She confesses, and Gavin reflexively offers her his shoulder to brace against as the two stagger over to the rope ladder. They are nearly there when a man-sized shape of water looms out of the rising surf and threatens to crash into them both. Gavin reacts by shoving Elliana the rest of the way to the rope ladder before turning to confront his new threat, buying the handmaiden time to struggle her way partway up the ladder. But that's all the farther she needs to get before Dalen and Aliani both kneel down and offer hands up from above, helping the queen's handmaiden ascend the rest of the way up to safety.

With Gavin's aid, walks across the non-flooded portion of the hold, and manages to get 5' up the rope ladder on her turn. On her next turn, which is coming around after the water elementals punch people, she climbs the rest of the way up to safety. With Dalen and Aliani there to help pull her up, she manages to climb up without provoking an AoO from the water elemental attacking Gavin

A few moments later, a new complication appears in the form of Devargo tromping up the stairs off to one side of the throne room, a heavy wooden trunk slung over each shoulder.
He freezes as he sees everyone clustered around the hole down into the cargo hold, including Elliana.

"Well, looks like you managed to save your friend! So, our business is concluded then, aye?"

Devargo says boisterously, eyeing both the group and the door out onto the deck.

Meanwhile still down in the hold, Silas, Gavin, and Jakkin are surrounded by two water elementals and trapped with a truly gigantic spider.

The spider, at least, seems more interested in escape than battle, as it flounders in the rapidly rising water.
Desperate, it turns and begins slamming its bulk against the northern wall, clearly intelligent enough to realize there is something on the other side of the wall, which is hopefully not more water.

Attacking northern wall
To-Hit: [roll8]
Damage: [roll9]

Double moves down into the water and out of the cargo hold through the hole it's bashed.

The water elementals remaining in the hold deliver punishing blows to both Silas and Gavin.
The fist of water upside the head to Silas leaves him swooning and seeing stars (not sure if Silas is at 22 HP at the start of the fight or after the ogre spider bite, but if he started at 22 HP, looks like he's at 0 and Disabled).
Gavin also takes a punishing blow from the wall of water rushing into him (unless he parrys and ripostes it, anyway).

#1 - Swinging back at Silas
To-Hit: [roll10]
Damage: [roll11]

#2 - Swinging at Gavin (Charge)
To-Hit: [roll12]
Daamge: [roll13]

With the two water elementals in the way, Jakkin's escape looks potentially cut off . . . although there is the open door that Chittersnap used to escape, now allowing water to flow out into the hallway beyond.
That's closer and easier for the halfling to reach, although he just has to hope then that there is nothing else dangerous waiting out in the hallway if he takes that route, separating himself from the rest of his allies.

Good Guys
Aliani
Gavin - 7 Damage
Jakkin - 3 Damage
Dalen
Atavian
Silas - 22 Damage
Celestial Giant Centipede 2 - 2 Damage
Elliana - Awake (1 Wisdom)

Bad Guys?
Devargo
Chittersnap
Ogre Spider - 15 Damage
Dream Spider 1 - DEAD
Dream Spider 2 – DYING (13 Damage)
Dream Spider 3
Dream Spider 4 – DYING (14 Damage)
Dream Spider 5 – DYING (14 Damage)

Bad Guys!
Large Water Elemental – 26 Damage
Medium Water Elemental #1 - 2 Damage
Medium Water Elemental #2

BOAT - 86 Damage

Battle Map (https://imgur.com/a/fiUtcZ1)

Darvin

2020-08-02, 02:36 AM

Dalen gives Devargo a cold glare before ignoring him and turning to Atavian, "dismiss your existing summons and replace them with Dolphins. If our compatriots can't escape through the hatch, they can escape through the hole that's been torn in the hull,"

Stelio Kontos

2020-08-02, 08:38 AM

Even as he extended one hand down to try to help Elliana up the hold, he took a moment to straighten out his oft-askew brooch, sending forth a wave of healing in all directions -- including, importantly, downward.

He had but two words for Devargo: "For now." What that meant could be left to the imagination.

Channel Energy for 10 points of healing goodness, rolled in Discord.

Witty banter.

Captain Jak

2020-08-02, 10:29 PM

Gritting his teeth, Jakkin eyes his likely escape routes, the number of potentially hostile opponents in the hold, and his companions about the ladder. He needs to hold position to ensure the others have sufficient light to fight their way clear, but the waters are rising far too fast for comfort.

Holding his action until everyone is up the ladder; if/when, head out the door at B4, B4 the water gets too deep.

THEChanger

2020-08-02, 10:47 PM

Seeing the pulse of divine energy flow from the deck above, Gavin shouted towards his smaller companion. "Go, Mister Longshanks, we're fine!"

Once Silas was clambering up the ladder, Gavin followed suit, eager to escape the flooding hold.

Once Silas has made it to safety, Gavin ascends the rope ladder.

PiccadillyPi

2020-08-03, 09:16 AM

"Thank ye, kind bard!"

Silas only recouped his senses as Aliani's magic channeled through him. With that and a quick twirl of his sabre, he dashed away leaving at least one of the elementals unable to easily follow.

Withdraw action. Shortest route up the ladder as quick as he can.

Inspectre

2020-08-04, 06:57 PM

Much like only a fool fights in a burning house, staying down in the flooded cargo hold where the elementals were in their, well, element was madness.
And with Elliana safely extracted, there was no reason for Silas to stay and so with a quick leap backwards he bid adieu to his current watery sparring partner and splashed his way over to the rope ladder.
As he began to ascend the ladder, the other elemental took exception to this and swung a watery fist at his head, but a quick duck saw him safely out of harm's way for that one, save for a few droplets of water that sprayed down onto his head.
As the elemental gathered itself up for another lunge, the tiefling rapidly ascended out of the hold, followed immediately by Gavin.
Seeing both of his lumbering allies get to safety, Jakkin likewise made his escape from the cargo hold via the doorway, allowing the spreading water to pull him out into the hallway beyond before starting to ascend the nearby steps back up to Devargo's throne room.

Up in the throne room, Atavian nods at Dalen's suggestion, but pauses to see if further reinforcements would be necessary - and thus does not bother sending in a wave of dolphins after all, as everyone escapes from the cargo hold smoothly.
At Aliani's comment of "for now", Devargo smirks and takes this as permission to leave.
Still hefting a large trunk over each shoulder, Devargo staggers over to the door leading out onto the deck of the listing ship, and kicks the door open.

"Oi! I could use a hand 'ere!"

The crime lord calls out, frowning as no one answers his call due to the deck of the ship now being completely deserted.
Growling a curse under his breath, Devargo starts struggling to simultaneously slip out through the doorway with both trunks still on his shoulders, but freezes when Elliana calls out after him, "Wait!"
The crime lord glances back over top of the trunk on his right shoulder, eyeing the queen's handmaiden who has to brace herself against his throne in order to keep on her feet.

"What about Lamm?"

Devargo gives a short bark of a laugh at that, shaking his head.

"You certainly are one single-minded lady!"

Devargo glances over the rest of the group, clearly weighing his options.
He must not have liked his odds, because after a moment he speaks up again.

"Lamm's meeting the other heads of Korvosa's underworld at midnight beneath the Kendall Ampitheater. Security at the theater itself is likely to be tight, making an attack on Lamm there suicide - hence why I figured you could deal with him afterwards when he's on his way back to whatever rock he lives under now. But since I'm not going to be at that meeting now, you're welcome to take my place, try to convince the other syndicate heads not to throw their lot in with him, or just shiv Lamm the moment he shows his face. There's a compartment in the left armrest of my throne there - should be a small silver spider bracelet inside. That'll let them know you're there on my behalf. And now, our business is done."

Without hesitation this time, Devargo smoothly twists and slides through the doorway, disappearing out into the night.
By the time the group has made it to the doors after him, the crime lord is out of sight, lost in the panicking crowds dashing every which way on the docks beyond Devargo's sinking base of operations.
Although still a bit unsteady on her feet, Elliana seems to be becoming more focused with each passing moment as she gestures out at the docks.

"Well, shall we be on our way to the Ampitheater? If we get there early, we may be able to get there before Lamm does and set some kind of trap for him!"

Darvin

2020-08-06, 03:43 AM

"First things first, let's get off the sinking ship," Dalen deftly strides towards the crime lord's throne and opens the compartment to grab the bracelet and quickly stows it.

Once the party and Elliana has reached a safe respite, and Dalen is reasonably certain that there is no one snooping, he speaks, "an ambush is useless against someone expecting it, and if Devargo's description of this affair is accurate then just about every attendee will be prepared for such chicanery. You were lucky with King of Spiders; if you tried something like that beneath the theater tonight you'd have a dozen daggers in your back before you were halfway through the incantation," Dalen raises his finger to preempt the protests he fully expects from Elliana, "subtlety and patience, handmaiden. When the time is right, Lamm will be cornered and surrounded and can be eliminated at our leisure. Acting before our opportunities are ripe will only waste them,"

He then turns to his allies, and back to Elliana, "and just so you know, we are acting on Sabrina's behest. Her majesty's political opponents are moving against her, and she needs to return before dawn. If I am reading the situation correctly - and I usually do - then her majesty is in relative safety right now. She would want us to do as much damage to Lamm as possible before safely returning you to the castle to appraise her of what has transpired. I'm not wrong, am I?"

Stelio Kontos

2020-08-06, 09:08 AM

Aliani's face reddened visibly at Devargo's information. "****" he muttered, in the tone of a man who had just been told his replacement wasn't coming in to work and he'd have to stay another few hours. He slumped against a wall in the alley, trying to gather his thoughts, or at least get the beginnings of a will together in his head. He really should put that to paper soon.

He looked at Dalen with a mix of incredulity and anger. "Have you lost your damn mind?"

"First of all, we have no damn idea where the queen is and if we don't find her we're screwed that way. Second, she is obviously in no condition to be wandering into ANOTHER death trap, so someone needs to take her directly back to the castle, now, which we don't really have time for. but it has to be done. Third, we either need an entire goddamned army, in like an hour, or we need to somehow get in there and stop this thing before it happens, tonight, and the best idea I have for that is only probably suicidal so it's an improvement on the army plan. Fourth... I don't even know if there's a fourth, but it feels like there should be. Start thinking about who you can get down there at short notice. We're putting a stop to this, somehow, because it's not happening, not in my theater of all places, so start walking and we'll come up with a plan on the way."

"I don't know, maybe I can sneak in there, in disguise, if you give me the bracelet, and make the argument or probably take TWO dozen shivs to the back, that'll be fun. Do we have anything that we can use that can act as proof that Lamm was behind that, I mean we know he was, but we need more than that, need to make them fear him more than the profit of what working with him would give, right?"

Darvin

2020-08-06, 02:56 PM

"As I said, subtlety and patience. That applies equally to you, by the way. No, we will not be fighting, and none of us are getting shivved in the back; any battles to be fought will be with words," Dalen retorts to Aliani, "as to the question of the Queen's safety, I am certain that would be Elliana's highest priority if it were an imminent concern. The fact that she is still focused on Lamm tells me all I need to know. I am certain that Sabrina would want us to return with Elliana promptly, but I suspect the Queen would disagree, and much as I don't relish crossing Sabrina I am not in the habit of denying the wishes of royalty. What the royal guard doesn't know, can't hurt her. Elliana can correct me if I'm wrong, of course,"

THEChanger

2020-08-06, 10:20 PM

"If we show up at this meeting, there will be fighting."

Gavin emptied the second of his boots of the water it had collected fighting in the hold and straightened up. "From what I have gathered, Gaedren Lamm has a decent enough bead on each of us to know if we're waltzing into the meeting, it's bad news. Frankly, I doubt he intends on keeping the meeting peaceful even if it's just a meeting of criminals. He attacked Eel's End. With summoned elementals. This isn't Gaedren's normal way of operating. From what I knew of him, he was a coward. He wouldn't take a risk unless he knew it was a sure bet. This...this isn't that. This attack was reckless. He's confident enough in his position that he thinks he can attack another boss' base of operations without suffering repercussions. Or he just doesn't care anymore, and I have no idea what he will do if he found his spine. As much as I hate to say it. And I hate to say it. We should let this go. Maybe, maybe do some reconnaissance. If Lamm's sloppy enough, one or two of us might be able to trail him from the meeting, get some information about where he's staying. But we're spent. We've been working, what, since sun-up? Didn't we just have an argument with Cres-with Field Martial Kroft that pushing oneself that hard was foolish? We need to rest. Marshall our resources. Come at Lamm with an actual plan, instead of running from one crisis to another like a bunch of chickens with our heads off."

Gavin sighed, and turned to Elliana, bowing. "My lady, I appreciate your zeal for apprehending the criminal scum plaguing this city. But, as impressive as what you accomplished tonight was, my associates and I are not in a position to keep you safe, and I am concerned if you attempt to seek Lamm out alone it could end in your death. If, as Dalen suggests, the Queen is in safety, it would be my honor to serve as your escort back to Castle Korvosa."

Stelio Kontos

2020-08-06, 11:52 PM

"So he hired some goons to do it, or spent the ambassador's coin on something that could produce it. It's only reckless if he was here. Hiding behind others is pretty much the definition of a coward, isn't it?"

"But you're right, both of you. If WE go in, looking like this, there's going to be a fight, which we are spectacularly ill-prepared for. And if Lamm sees us, there's going to be a fight, which we are spectacularly ill-prepared for.

"So we send one of us in, in disguise, with the bracelet, as Devargo's representative, and battle with words, and put a stop to it. We have to try; this is not the time for 'bide our time and wait for the right moment'. If we ignore this, tonight, he gets stronger, everything gets harder. Maybe this is the right moment."

He looked pointedly at Dalen. "So, are you going to do it or am I?"

PiccadillyPi

2020-08-07, 08:44 AM

"No need to be so formal about our Cressida, m'dear."

Silas limped behind Gavin, pulling a stray hair from the former hellknight's armor as he passed him by only to have it cling to rather than drop from his sopping fur. After a moment of shaking his hand to rid himself of the foreign object, Silas chimed in again.

"Elliana, you're a capable sort. Now that we are all aligned, I see no reason we cannot... tally forth together? Fealty to our queen aside, I do promise Gavin will follow through with his word - before dawn."

The tiefling winked at the vengeful servant before turning his attention to Aliani. Silas gave him a soft look as he took up one of the actor's hands.

"Darling, you are a wonderful talent. You know we all admire your abilities. Having said that... you'll botch this performance before Lamm opens his cursed gob. I can see the thumping of your heart through your sleeve already."

With a final squeeze, Silas released Aliani from his grasp. He twirled a set of whiskers as he turned away to feign deeper thoughts.

"I too am ill suited for that reason - if not also for my unquestionable good looks that no disguise could diminish... But you're right!"

The dandy attempted to wring the river water from his clothes while awkwardly avoiding any disturbance to his more serious injuries.

"If we don't intervene now, Lamm will gain a significant foothold in select sections of the underworld. If that happens, there will be no stopping the current course he has set this city on. I expect, given his latest efforts, that he may use this attack as leverage to threaten or otherwise show strength to the other leaders. He's already consolidating power in ways none of us would have ever thought he could. Unfortunately we do not have the privilege of time, so our rest will have to be brief."

Captain Jak

2020-08-09, 11:27 PM

Jakkin stand quietly as is his wont when he doesn't have anything particularly pertinent to add to the discussion at hand; below many people's line of sight, he can often hear a surprising amount of things if he doesn't draw attention to himself. He himself is good to go should things get dicey, but he can understand that those of his companions that tend to tell reality to go stuff itself sideways are pretty tapped out from the day's events.

Going in boldly in disguise and trying to manipulate matters with honeyed words? Not really his skillset.

However.

"Security will be tight, but no security is perfect," he inserts into the pause. " Sounds like this is our best bet for making a difference; but going in alone could be hugely dangerous, should things go sideways – or if this is a trap of Lamm's. I can slip in, be there as backup should things go wrong," he offers, absently touching one of the vials looped into his bandolier. Could be this is the time to use that particular elixir.

Or, should the opportunity present itself, a chance to end Lamm once and for all. He keeps that to himself, however.

Darvin

2020-08-10, 01:21 AM

Dalen sighs as Silas finishes talking, understand all too well the tiefling's subtext, "yes, it should be me to go. I don't relish taking the stage there without knowing the disposition of the others present, but I can wear a mask better than any others here. We have some time; let me make my preparations,"

"Yes, I would appreciate having someone to back me up," Dalen nods at Jakkin, "and as for the rest of you, don't be idle. Keep a watchful eye. I'm sure every party involved here will have lookouts. Don't pick a fight, just observe,"

Inspectre

2020-08-10, 07:09 PM

"You don't need to worry about Her Majesty, Mr. Rose - she's safe! Queen Ileosa is not stupid enough to go charging into a den of thieves, so she sent me in her stead!"

Elliana interjects, chuckling airily for a moment before she stumbles over a loose board, which seems to jar her still somewhat addled mind back into focus.

"Unfortunately, Devargo was more stubborn and surly than I expected! Should have known he’d be too thick-skulled to appreciate my offer.

Elliana seems to note the state of her hair at this point, and spends the next minute or so fussing over it, running her hands through it while muttering incantations to remove all of the remnants of spiderweb out of it while also changing the color of her hair from the odd flame-red back to her customary raven black. Perhaps it’s merely exposure to the night air as your group continues to move away from the ongoing chaos at Eel’s End, or perhaps it’s the small vial of liquid that Elliana extracts from a satchel under her cloak that she sips periodically on, but the handmaiden also seems to become more clear-minded with each step you take further away from Eel’s End. She finally speaks up again as the relative merits and dangers of interfering in Lamm’s plans again tonight are discussed.

“If we do nothing, Lamm wins. Again. We can’t just let that happen! We just can’t, or today . . . today will have been for nothing!”

Elliana argues, touching her side with a wince as perhaps she recalls the apparent shark attack at the Old Fishery.

“I know that we’re all tired, but there has to be something we can do to stop him! I . . . I was going to kill him, at least try to, but I will admit that seems much more difficult in the midst of a meeting with all of Korvosa’s underworld! But if we try and get the Guard involved, I’m sure they’ll either bungle it or tip off these criminals somehow, and they’ll just go to ground and hold the meeting somewhere else, somewhere that we won’t know about. And then Lamm will convince them to join him or kill them all or whatever he’s planning. No, if we are going to stop him, we need to go to this meeting and stop whatever he’s planning.”

Elliana nods at Dalen.

“You are a brave man for volunteering to go in alone, Mr. Rittle, but are you sure that you and Jakkin will be able to handle this if Lamm has further violence on his mind? If we’re outside the Ampitheater, I don’t know if we will even be able to know that you are in danger, let alone be able to reach you in time. Surely it would be better if we all went together?”

Elliana pauses, and then blinks as she seems to suddenly realize something.

“Wait, Mr. Rittle – didn’t you say something earlier about her Majesty’s political enemies moving against her? What did you mean by that – I’m afraid I was a little distracted during out departure from Eel’s End.”

Elliana looks around nervously, suddenly on high alert.

“Perhaps we should get off the street and discuss this in some dark tavern back room. That’s where clandestine matters like these are always discussed, aren’t they? Does anyone know a discrete tavern nearby here that would work for that?”

(OOC: Streetwise DC 15 to know of a nearby tavern that would be seedy enough, and yet safe enough, for such a task.)

You are aware that, being in Old Korvosa, only a few blocks away there is the Sticky Mermaid, where you and Miz in a previous life had met Jack to plan your raid on Jeggare’s warehouse. Given that you are now recognizable by the barman, you should be granted entry, but you don’t know how Jack will feel bringing your whole motley crew into his would-be hangout. It’s also not really the sort of place that you think a lady like Elliana would appreciate, but it certainly matches the seedy, discrete requirement Elliana is looking for.

Darvin

2020-08-11, 01:51 AM

"I can't say there's much selection in tavern in this part of town, but there is something nearby that should suffice. Beggars can't be choosers," Dalen responds to Elliana's request for a tavern by leading her to the Sticky Mermaid follows the party to their destination of choice for a quiet conversation. Once they have sat down, Dalen recounts the situation in detail, explaining the events of the morning raid, the summons from Sabrina, everything the royal guard related to them, and the circuitous path that lead them to finding Elliana.

"... needless to say, 'Seneschel Andaisin' is a worrisome prospect. The Queen would know better than I what her aims may be, but given what we know I find such an appointment... problematic, to the say the least. As odious as Lamm is, he is not the only threat at the moment," Dalen tents his fingers as he leans over and continues speaking quietly to Elliana, "and Lamm's Derro allies are another matter entirely. Possibly the tip of the iceberg, it really just reveals how little we know. As it stands the best we can do is to continue disruption and try to corner him at an opportune time,"

Stelio Kontos

2020-08-11, 07:16 PM

Aliani, with his stomach leading the protest, quickly demurred at the mere mention of the Sticky Mermaid. "Please, let's not. That's the place you'd like to go if you want to be seen discussing things without others knowing. Look, I live but a few blocks from the Ampitheater; if we're to discuss matters privately, that would be a much better place."

"But Dalen's right, as he often is. We need you to tell us where the queen is so we can get her back to the castle, unless she's already gone back there and this is truly a wild goose chase we've been sent on. And you as well, because I would rather Sabrina not kill us when we return without you. And we will do what we can with this, this ... convention of criminals. At the minimum, you need to stay here in my apartment until we return. I do appreciate your enthusiasm, I really do... but it's not going to be safe in there, and one wrong word and it's big trouble, and if the queen's handmaiden lurking about doesn't arouse suspicion and alarm, nothing will, so you need to stay out of sight, like ACTUALLY out of sight. And Dalen and Jakkin can get inside, work the verbal magic and keep an eye on things. I can think of nobody I have ever met that would be better suited for such a task as they."

"And the rest of us can try, somehow, to get some clue as to who's attending this thing, and who maybe isn't."

Captain Jak

2020-08-14, 12:54 PM

Already mentally half-planning a stealthy approach, Jakkin nonetheless has a little more to contribute to the debate.

"As much as the Queen relies on you to get things done that she can’t, I don’t think she ever meant for you to put yourself in, ah, this much danger," he tells the tall, attractive elfmaid.

"You know you can count on us to get the job done and keep quiet about it," he goes on, taking her hand and folding it around something. "You also have to trust those with the right skills to employ them; whether it’s diplomacy, stealth, or even just authority." He shrugs and steps back – unless they’re going to tie her up and stick her in a sack, she’ll do what she wants to.

He smiles slightly. Headstrong women are always the most entertaining ones.

Jakkin gives her back the missing prosthetic ear that he pocketed while everyone else was scrambling to get past the elementals and up the ladder.

THEChanger

2020-08-14, 09:25 PM

Gavin snorted. "Well, if nothing else, you're right about the Guard, my lady. I have made my objections clear, but if it is the consensus of the group that we must act, then I will do my part. I agree with Mister Rose that it would be best if you remained somewhere safe, Lady Ellianna, but far be it from me to issue commands. If you wish to accompany us, you have my word I shall do everything in power to keep you safe."

The Hellknight took the potion he had received from Sabrina and passed it to Silas. "Drink up, Mister Rata'da. We must all be in as close to fighting shape as we can get, for what is about to happen. Mister Rose, you know the lay of the land better than anyone else. Do you have any suggestions for where a few of us could remain hidden nearby, while Misters Rittle and Longshanks engage in diplomacy?"

Stelio Kontos

2020-08-15, 10:35 AM

"Well..." Aliani mused in response to Gavin's question, crunching his brow in thought.

"Forgive me, I haven't given the matter much aforethought, but it seems there would be a couple of adequate hiding places on opposite corners of the Ampitheater, we could pass for homeless or drunkards and sit down in the alleys -- it'd be good enough to keep at least a decent view on anyone entering from all four sides. From a distance, of course, so you're not going to see a whole lot, but enough to catch comings and goings. That would leave one person free to rove about if need be, because the other two won't be able to communicate anything to each other. Inside... can't recommend that. It's all a maze of interconnected hallways down there, half the doors are in disrepair... not exactly a lot of good hiding places. I haven't really gone down more than to the second basement storage a few times, and it goes a fair bit farther down than that."

"And I think, if you want a part in this Elliana, keeping watch from my bedroom upstairs here could be quite useful as well. There's a great vantage of my street down a good two blocks both ways; it's not very heavily traveled but there's a chance you could see something coming, from a rather closer distance. You could keep the curtains mostly drawn and there should be a few candles by the nightstand; if you spot a large gathering coming you could open the curtains and the light should be visible and we'll know to be alert. And I have a first aid kit in the kitchen drawer, you might want to get that ready just in case we need it. Keep the door locked, I just had a new bolt system put on, and don't open it for anyone."

"Understand, this would be for observation only. No fighting, okay? Just hide, watch, and report back once the meeting's concluded. Because if you go looking for trouble you'll probably find it, and I don't think I've much left to patch you up with. It would be an awful waste of your respective talents to be cut down on this."

He paused to stifle a yawn; it had been a long day already, and wasn't about to get shorter. "I'm going to put some tea on. Anyone want some?"

PiccadillyPi

2020-08-16, 05:46 PM

Silas lurched onto a chair once safely within the confines of l'Appartement Rose. Having run around the city and been beaten beyond the endurance of most others, he was thankful for the moment of reprieve. He was not attuned to the theatre as the folk around him, so he left the planning largely to them. Rather, he needed time to centre himself so that he might not feint from his extended activities.

He hardly noticed Gavin's gift until after he had drank it. They could have given him sewer water and he would have downed it all the same. Immediately he felt a surge of relief. His mind came back to him, and his body felt more itself again.

"Tea sounds lovely."

Inspectre

2020-08-16, 05:47 PM

By the time you have all arrived back at Aliani's house, Elliana seems fully recovered from her ordeal. She even manages a sly smile at Aliani as she steps inside, remarking quietly to him.

"Well, Mr. Rose. It would appear that I am the latest of your fans to view the inside of your home. Alas, I will need to return to the castle in a few hours, else poor Sabrina will have a nervous breakdown."

The handmaiden quickly returns to a serious expression as Dalen explains the entirety of your long day, starting with the revelation of the derro supporting Lamm and ending with why Sabrina sent you out to find her and the queen. Elliana sits quietly for a minute or two before she speaks up, her tone carefully neutral.

“Perhaps this news is actually a blessing in disguise. Her Majesty knew that the Council of Nobles would be convening soon to determine a new seneschal, and by extension her own fate, but Andaisin being a frontrunner for seneschal is a surprise. In light of recent revelations, I can understand you all having reservations about Ambassador Andaisin becoming Senaschal Andaisin, but she has always been an ally to Her Majesty. Given the widespread sentiment in Korvosa against Her Majesty, it seems likely that if anyone else is elevated to seneschal, their first action will be to officially depose Her Majesty. Then the civil war between the Noble Houses to determine who next gets to sit on the Crimson Throne can begin in earnest, and Lamm won’t even have to lift a finger to watch Korvosa burn. Weighed against that, surely whatever abuses of power Senaschal Andaisin might do are an acceptable risk?”

The way Elliana trails off into silence at the end of her argument makes it clear that question is rhetorical – even she has strong reservations about what sort of “bright future” Senaschal Andaisin would bring to Korvosa. Perhaps in an attempt to convince herself, she adds another argument a few moments later.

“It doesn’t matter anyway. While Her Majesty is allowed to speak on behalf of her preferred candidate to become seneschal, the Council of Nobles won’t consider the opinion of a trophy wife “whore queen”. Why would they, when most of them are already plotting what to do the moment after she is officially deposed by the new seneschal? We do not have any evidence to support such an accusation, and . . . Lady Andaisin knows devastating secrets of Her Majesty that, if brought to light, will ensure Lamm won’t have to lift a finger to end her life. The Council of Nobles will do it for him by tearing her apart right there in the council chambers!”

Elliana sighs and rubs her eyes, speaking quietly to herself at first, and then louder as she returns her attention to the group.

“I just wanted to do one more good thing before the end. Taking revenge on Lamm seemed like the most fitting thing I could do, and yet today has been a complete disaster. I simply can’t do what seems to come naturally to all of you. Can’t investigate – I fell through the floor and nearly got eaten by a shark. Can’t coerce people – Devargo laughed at me and told me to get lost, before he just shrugged off my magic and dropped me into the hold, anyway. Can’t even fight – that spider . . . man . . . thing toyed with me before it finally just tied me up and hung me off the wall like some godsdamnned trophy! I’m useless . . . maybe I should just return to the castle and wait for tomorrow to end it all.”

It’s at this point that Jakkin interjects and folds the handmaiden’s right hand around something, which she glances at briefly before slipping into one of her pockets. She nods her thanks at the halfling, and seems to reach a decision as she turns to Aliani.

“Mr. Rose, do you have a powder room or similar where I could have some privacy? I’m a mess and would like to touch up my make-up. Some tea would be lovely, although I’m not sure watching and waiting for your return from your bedchambers is entirely appropriate.”

She flashes a dazzling smile at the playwright, and then turns her attention to Gavin.

“Sir . . . Gavin, was it? When I come back from touching up my appearance, I will be sharing some closely guarded secrets of Her Majesty. I need to know that you can be trusted to keep those secrets, otherwise I would ask that you step outside for a few minutes until I am finished.”

Gavin’s reply that he will keep them so long as they don’t either endanger the Order’s interests or break the law seems to satisfy the handmaiden who nods at him.

“Very well. Stay here then – I will be right back.”

The handmaiden retires to whatever room in his house Aliani directs her to, and is gone for the next several minutes while Aliani works on heating up a pot of tea and the group discusses various minutiae of keeping watch on the Amphitheater without leaving the outlooks completely exposed. When she returns, it is not Elliana who steps back into the room, although she is still wearing the handmaiden’s clothing. The flame red hair and flawless alabaster skin, now cleaned of the smeared darkening make-up would perhaps be enough, but the jagged metal crown now resting on her head leaves no question as to her identity.

“Allow me to re-introduce myself. I am Queen Ileosa Arabasti of Korvosa. Pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

PiccadillyPi

2020-08-16, 07:20 PM

Silas stood from his seat abruptly, both spitting and spilling tea all at once.

"I knew it - ah! Hot!"

Shaking the tea from his fur, he placed the cup down to greet the new presence in the building. His greetings were usually violent as certain members of current company already knew. However, perhaps because of the regal title, or perhaps because he was not fully recovered, he approached her with soggy grace.

"I am so glad you felt you could trust us, dear queen. You honour us."

If someone didn't chime in quickly, the tiger was likely to pounce in excitement. Aliani had experience in this when he was grappled and shaken by the dandy.

Darvin

2020-08-17, 01:56 AM

Dalen avoids sighing as Ileosa makes her appearance, "a pleasure as always, Queen Ileosa Arabasti, the hope of Korvosa," Dalen gives a courteous bow, "I appreciate your desire to speak plainly and directly in these circumstances, and I hope you will allow me to indulge in the same"

Dalen walks into the center of the room, "You are brash and idealistic, my queen, but perhaps too impatient. Your mishaps today all follow from your zeal, reaching too far and too soon, grasping at unripe and sour fruit. You are not a merciless or brutal despot, I have seen as much, and this means that in present situations you act from a position of weakness. If Seneschel Andaisin is inevitable, then perhaps the solution is to embrace her. Speak honeyed words into the schemer's ear, let them erroneously believe the Queen a naive and useful pawn. It will at very least buy you time, if not giving you opportunity to put your ears to their conspiracy,"

Dalen sighs, before continuing, "if you give me no other instruction, I will seek to thwart Lamm tonight and blunt him. But there is another path available, should her majesty deem the consequences acceptable. You could make a counter-offer, give Korvosa's underworld a reason to be vested in the continued reign of Ileosa Arabasti,"

PiccadillyPi

2020-08-17, 02:44 AM

"A chel on the throne? I'd sooner lynch myself than allow others the pleasure."

Silas gestured widely to his hair and horns to remind his fellows the possible future for his kind under Chellish rule.

"Oh, you ruined the moment! We couldn't have one round of celebration? Hardly six seconds go by and - oh, blast! Mr. Rose, some tea for our queen!"

The cat huffed at the situation more than Dalen. He wished for a moment's reprieve with the revelation, but this day was not so easy.

THEChanger

2020-08-17, 06:34 PM

There is an awkward thud as Gavin Dimir plummeted to one knee, face bowed as low as it was possible for him to do so. While his body was still, if anyone could see his face, they would see it had gone paper white, and his eyes as wide as dinner plates.

Oh gods oh gods I've laid my hand on the queen I've touched the queen of all the terrible things that could have happened she's going to have my head oh gods I called her my lady-

The kneeling knight to be coughed, raising his head slightly to address Her Royal Majesty Queen Illeosa Arabasti. "My most sincere and humble apologies, Your Majesty. Had I known to whom I was speaking, I would never have been so familiar. I-" Eyes peeking up just a little, Gavin looked around and saw his companions were...not doing this. "You. You all should. She's. She's the queen. You should bow."

Stelio Kontos

2020-08-17, 09:28 PM

"Not so many as you might hear" was Aliani's initial reply, given with a broad smile that indicated he knew well the rumors of his ... fans.

That smile soon disappeared.

"No, no Elliana, that's all wrong! Look, yes, the nobles are a danger, but ... I mean, you've seen her basement. You know what kind of person she is. Furthermore, she's not... she's an official representative of a foreign government! How is... how is anyone supposed to be able to represent Korvosa's interests in such a position? It's not possible, is how! Frankly, you should be suspicious of whichever of those nobles nominated her in the first place! Who are THEY working for?"

He drew back slightly, before continuing. "Look, I... I think you're a good person, with a kind heart, and so has the queen from what I've seen so far. Your actions speak volumes. But... well, let's put it this way: if anyone came to you and suggested 'hey, let's have an undead worshipping representative of a country that heartily endorses slavery and cruelty against its citizens be the person in charge of deciding if the queen gets to stay in power or not, oh and did I mention she's PERSONALLY FUNDING THE PERSON TRYING TO TAKE OVER THE CITY THAT YOU JUST TRIED TO KILL TODAY', and that person WASN'T a close personal friend, you'd think it was a terrible idea.

"You know what the right thing to do is. And it's not that. If she has to have the crown, find another way. There's always another way."

At the request for a powder room, Aliani pointed to the stairs. "The master suite's upstairs, help yourself" he replied, a bit more curtly than he usually spoke.

He sat while waiting for her return, sipping slowly at the tea, which was more a device to avoid having to speak than to serve as an actual mechanism of refreshment. His face was turning redder and redder as he continued to sip, and it wasn't even particularly scalding.

When she returned, he looked up and slowly put his cup down, looking her up and down and finally putting the pieces together. "Well. I see. Very clever." He let out a huge, soft sigh. "Well for whatever it's worth, I hope Elliana relayed my last message to the queen before she 'departed'. I believe it to be important."

"And Dalen, I know you're a smart person, but that is the stupidest thing I have ever heard anyone say. It's not inevitable. There's always another way. And you might stop to consider, both of you, whose honeyed words are manipulating who here."

"Now, if you'll excuse me, if I'm to go running out into the night, as a lowly citizen of Korvosa unworthy of actual representation, to risk my life for the third time today, I think perhaps it best if I lie down for a while before I say anything that shall get me beheaded. And forgive my lack of genuflection; the day's events and my hospitality shall have to suffice in showing my allegiances, and my back is rather sore."

He got all of about four steps up toward his room before returning to the bottom of the stairs. "You know what the right thing to do is, both of you. So do it."

Captain Jak

2020-08-17, 09:49 PM

Jakkin snorts.

"Not my Queen," he points out with a shrug.

The others can all have their plots of politics and concerns for the city and suggestions regarding Seneschals; but when it comes right down to it, he couldn’t give a damn about the politics of this one particular nation.

"You all can wrangle over this as much as you want, but don’t be forgetting our immediate objective. Lamm," he hisses, his eyes hard. The drug-dealing criminal scum is why he's missed his ship and is running around getting into fights instead of being out on the ocean where he belongs.

Politics. Phaugh – he’s here for the man.

Darvin

2020-08-18, 12:23 AM

Dalen chuckles as Aliani calls his idea stupid, "this morning we very well could have ended one of the greatest threats to Korvosa; we had him cornered with our blades, an opportunity we shall not soon have again, but should we have pressed them you would have almost certainly died. There may be a way to stop Andaisin here and now, but there will be a price - likely the queen's own throne, from what she has said. And then what? What happens if Andaisin's conspiracy is merely temporarily delayed? What if, with the queen removed, the nobles decide that this populist 'Lamm' fellow sounds like a dashing idea?" Dalen scoffs, "the so-called right thing to do is never as clear as you'd like, but blindly charging into a situation with unrelenting zeal is liable to get you thrown into a dungeon filled with crawling arachnids or worse. We are not acting from a position of strength, we are continually reacting from a position of perpetual weakness. That must change,"

PiccadillyPi

2020-08-18, 12:43 AM

Silas rolled his eyes as he poured a fresh cup from the pot. Handing it to Gavin, he pooh poohed the overt formality.

"If she wished us to bow in the privacy of Al's abode, she would not have gone about as she did. Our due respect tonight is to treat her as a friend - as she has treated us. Come now, serve the queen her refreshment. She's been through a great deal more than most these past few weeks. And Jakkin, we shall avenge our losses tonight."

His demeanor turned sour as he watched the halfling. Their politics would decide the fate of the region. Allowing Andaisin to become Senaschal was akin to turning the city into a hellmouth for Avernus in Silas' eyes. The tiefling fumed at Jakkin's disdain. He huffed at Dalen's measured considerations. Even Gavin's face annoyed him for whatever reason in that moment. He considered going up the steps to spoon Aliani as one might a large dog under a thunderous sky. Thinking again, he instead sat back down and sipped what remained of his cup with a wistful expression overtaking him entirely.

Inspectre

2020-08-18, 06:48 AM

*Earlier*

Elliana flinches at Aliani’s outburst, but merely listens and nods along. She quietly thanks Aliani for indicating which room she can retire to and quickly flees the room. Those particularly attentive might have heard what sounds like a sob as she leaves.

------------------------------
*Now*

A red-eyed Ileosa smiles at Silas’s flattering greeting, but the smile quickly fades when the tiefling expresses his opinion on having a Chel on the throne.

“You realize that I am a “Chel”, Silas? But I have seen how people like you are often treated in Cheliax, so I understand your concern.”

Ileosa says with a pained expression, before her eyes drift over to Gavin who is kneeling with his head bowed, causing the queen to gape with surprise.

“Oh, please, Sir Gavin . . . that’s really not necessary here. You saved my life today. Perhaps in public such displays are proper, but here in private they really are not needed. Please, stand!”

Ileosa urges, reaching down to grab one of Gavin’s hands and gently tug him back up onto his feet. Her attention is then taken up by both Dalen and Aliani, and she looks back and forth between them as one might perhaps gaze at the angel and devil sitting on each shoulder, one urging to do the right thing, and the other the smart but self-serving thing.

When Aliani turns to go and retire upstairs, Ileosa again adopts that pained expression as she steps after him, reaching out briefly as if to grab him by the hand as she had done with Gavin a moment before, but she stops well short of actually touching the playwright.

“Please don’t go! Um, there is something that I wish to speak of to the entire group here . . . a confession, you might say. And . . . I don’t know if I will have the strength to speak of it again. So, would you mind staying here for a few more moments? Please?”

Whether Aliani agrees or not, Ileosa then retires to the kitchen table that the group has loosely gathered around, gratefully accepting the cup of tea offered to her. She daintily sips at the tea for a few moments, her other hand idly reaching up to pull out the small medallion tucked under her tunic, running her thumb over the symbol of a little girl surrounded by wolves emblazoned on its face. Finally, she speaks.

“Everything I told you that day in Ambassador Andaisin’s basement is true. I was born an orphan on the streets of Westcrown. I would have died an orphan if not for the kindness of three people – the acolyte of Lorris the Savior Hound who gave me this medallion, my good friend Elliana – whose face and name I now use as a disguise to honor her memory – and . . . Lady Andaisin.”

Ileosa grimaces and pauses to take a large sip of tea, wincing at the heat or perhaps at the idea of what she is about to say next.

“So, with that confession alone, Andaisin – and now, you if you so chose to reveal this publicly – holds the power to destroy me. There is not a drop of nobility in my blood – I have no more right to sit on the Crimson Throne than Gaedren Lamm. And if the nobles of this city were ever to learn this, while there may not be a specific law against a “common-born whore” sitting upon the throne, they would never accept it. I would be deposed in an instant, and probably dragged through the streets in disgrace to my death as an example of those who would dare humiliate the nobility. But that’s not the worst of it!”

Ileosa’s voice breaks, and she pauses to take another sip of tea, struggling to get the next words out. As she does manage to eventually force the words out, she picks up speed, bringing the final awful truth out in a rush.

“I . . . I am everything . . . that they say I am. I am . . . I’m a whore. Lady Andaisin . . . she raised me to be a proper lady - how to sing, how to dance, which fork to use when during a meal. But she also taught me how to seduce, how to . . . please . . . someone, which honeyed words to use when needing to manipulate or coerce. I suspect the intent was always to find a rich noble to fleece of their money and power, but one day Andaisin spoke of a great opportunity she had been made aware of, across the Great Sea, in distant Korvosa. And so we came here, and I . . . I put all of my training to work. I seduced Eodred, got him to become infatuated with me, to marry me, and eventually, to listen to my council. And all the while, the words I whispered into his ear were first whispered into my ear by Andaisin. So you see, the idea that Andaisin is the one funding Lamm, the man who killed my husband, is ludicrous to me, because she already had the ear of the king through me. And if it is true, that she is the head of a conspiracy to murder King Eodred and overthrow Korvosa, then through my intimate link to her, I too am part of this conspiracy. I too, am responsible for my husband King Eodred’s death.”

This final confession seems to take the last of Ileosa’s strength, and she sweeps her tea cup aside to make space on the table to place her arms before burying her face in them and sobbing uncontrollably. It’s quite difficult to make out whatever she cries out next between being muffled by her arms, but with a bit of effort one could probably make out bits and pieces like “Please don’t let it be true”, and “I can’t do this anymore”.

Captain Jak

2020-08-18, 12:30 PM

While there isn’t much he cares to offer for a political discussion, this is a matter in which Jakkin has an opinion. Hopping up to balance on the edge of her chair, he ignores the propriety between commoners and royalty – even royalty from common stock – and stretches his arm about her shoulders.

"There, lass, it’s all right," he tells her soothingly, giving her the comfort of another’s touch. "There’s no harm in letting it all out, you’re wi’ friends here." After such a confession, she will clearly need the release before she can think about anything logically.

THEChanger

2020-08-18, 07:17 PM

As Queen Illeosa Arabasti reached down to pull Gavin back to his feet, the young man's face went from pale white to beet red. He quickly pulled back, stammering. "I, ah, as you will, Your Majesty."

As Illeosa confessed the tragedies of her life, Gavin slowly relaxed, the look on his face going from one of discomfort and embarrassment to concern. As the monarch fully broke down and spilled her tea, Gavin took Silas' advice and, looking to Aliani for permission, set the cup down beside her. Standing at her side as Jakkin comforted her, Gavin looked away from the sobbing monarch. "If it is Your Majesty's wish we conduct ourselves as friends, then let me first say...I can understand a part of your pain. To feel as though your life is outside of your own control, that you have caused harm to people you cared deeply about. To feel like a fraud. Those are all things I have felt, and suffered by. I think everyone here, to some extent, has. But you cannot hold yourself responsible for the actions of others. If Andaisin is, as these gentlemen suspect, responsible for funding Gaedren Lamm, then that is her choice, her actions. It seems that you cared a great deal for Eodred. I doubt he would lay blame for this at your feet. As to the rest..."

Gavin took in a deep breath, and set down the tea pot. "You are Queen Illeosa Arabasti of Korvosa, Sovereign of the Crimson Throne, Regent of the Bloodsworn Vale, First of Your Name. Whatever else you were, that is true now. What matters now is what you do with what you have been given. If you wish, later, we can discuss what can be done about Andaisin, and the other nobility. After what I have seen tonight, I can confidently say I would much rather have you on the throne, who is willing to take decisive action to help her city, than any of those bloodsuckers. And I suspect that Lictor DiViri would feel the same, if you wished to avail yourself of the Order's aid."

Darvin

2020-08-20, 04:03 AM

Dalen sits down opposite of Ileosa and snaps his fingers to get her attention, "you know what the difference between a whore and a noble is? The former gets ahead by sleeping with powerful people, the latter got ahead because their parents slept with powerful people. Let them have their notions of what is proper and right, and pretend that their obsession with pedigree is any more refined than dog breeding. Keep up appearances as necessary to placate their delicate sensibilities, but in the solitude of your own mind give them only as much consideration as they deserve, which is none," Dalen tents his fingers and looks her in the eye, "and as for our ambassador, I do not know to what degree her schemes overlap with Lamm's, whether they are tangential or merely related. But do not think for a moment that you are responsible for any of their actions. Even as monarch there are precious few things in this world under your control. You are not an omniscient god, nor even a powerful archmage. To fault yourself over things beyond your sight or knowledge is to descend into useless self-flagellation,"

Stelio Kontos

2020-08-20, 08:10 PM

The scowl that Aliani shot in Dalen's direction at the mention of the basement could have killed most normal men, or at least made them question their choices of words. He was in no better a mood when Ileosa asked him to stay. "Fine" he snapped, leaning against the corner wall at the base of the stairs with an air of *well, get it over with*.

He softened somewhat as she spoke, though he was clearly by no means happy. It was only as the others chimed in, one by one, that his face began to de-color from the angry red he had sported a minute before. "That's more like it" he murmured at Dalen's words, or at least the first of them.

When he finally spoke, all the anger had gone, and his voice was calm and steady and powerful, almost practiced in its measure.

"Nobility" he began, with a slight pause for effect, "has two meanings, of course. The first, the one that those who hold much power attempt to demand, is of course the aristocracy, the wealthy. That they would suggest that a leader -- be it a king, or queen, or a simple appointee -- be one of their own is nothing but a self-serving grab at power. There is no requirement that a leader be one of them. That they suggest the conflation of the nobility required of a leader with the mere title is merely a usurpation, to protect their increasingly unearned status.

"There was a time when the 'nobility' meant something, perhaps, a time long gone in our world, when the second meaning held sway. A nobility of character, of purpose. When the content of their soul meant infinitely more than who their parent was or how much money they had laying around going to waste. When what refer to today as the noblesse oblige was taken seriously. So if you want to show yourself to be noble -- be noble of spirit. Do that, and you shall have twenty thousand Korvosans behind you, and what the noble houses say won't matter."

He let those words linger, before giving a quick nod to Dalen. "And what he said about dog breeding rings true. I know it is difficult to accept, from the inside, that Andaisin has done little but use you, with the honeyed words you are all fond of speaking. But you must, you simply must. There's... well, you are familiar with the song I'm sure. I often find that, well, the reason I enjoy what I do is that if one strips away all the grimness and the machinations, and breaks things down to the simplest moral level, it's easy to know the right thing to do.

When you look in the mirror, you do not see yourself. You see her pet. Something she owns, by virtue of what was to her a simple investment that took you out of that gutter in Westcrown. You see yourself guilty of her crimes. It's is forgiven, though, you must understand. It is forgiven. You were young. You didn't know the truth, the chains of servility that she wrapped you in tight as any slave in Cheliax.

But you aren't that child any more. From here on forward, you are guilty of your own crimes.

That mirror, that stands between that what you know to be true, and the feelings you have for her? Only you can shatter it. But we can help, if you'll but listen. This royal test that she has put to you need not be a burden. It can also set you free of her, once and for all, and you can just be that girl with the decent heart. Don't let her possess you any longer."

He bowed his head. "I'm not good for a whole lot, especially in present company. I'm not strong, or fast, or especially bright, and I find I bleed quite easily when it comes to a fight. But what I am is a good judge of character and talent. You've no idea how long I've sat, and watched, and prayed that someone with decency, no ... nobility is the only word for it, would come along. And I believe you to be noble. But if you can't break that mirror... well, will she let her pet be noble? I rather doubt it. It's against her interests.

"I believe you can, but, if you can't... well, I shall be most disappointed, is all I can say, for the best opportunity Korvosa has had in a century or more lies on your shoulders. That's all it is, an opportunity, and I am but a bit player in the decision. If it's wasted..."

He stopped, and shrugged. "Just, please, don't waste it. But I'm not going to surrender. And neither should you.

It's your life, not hers, not those nobles. Do something with it. Do what you know to be right."

PiccadillyPi

2020-08-21, 05:23 PM

Silas mimicked the wiping of tears from his face as the humming of his purr became increasingly audible. Rather than approach the queen with a hug, he left that task to Jakkin. Instead, he grappled Aliani as tightly as he could without hurting the man.

"Oh, darling! That was beautiful!"

It was a brief moment that the actor could feel a low vibration rhythmically fill his body. Whether calming or distressing, it ended abruptly as the dandy released him from his grip.

"But you cannot expect nobles to have a heart so golden as yours. I'm afraid the news is dark if that chel has dirt on our Illeosa - and yes, my queen, I know you were from there, but Korvosa is our home now. You and I might call ourselves refugees, but we are also citizens of this fair land. Our histories are not too dissimilar - granted, you're a queen and I'm a prostitute - but..."

Silas' words trailed off as he strode past Aliani, a graceful hand brushing his handsome shoulder. He placed himself behind Jakkin and the queen as his hands embraced their waists. The rumbling in his chest traveled through his palms into the two of them, lightly filling them with a low hum.

"We have to discuss our course of action for our queen just as she needs to consider what she truly wants. Does she... Do you believe in yourself? She is at a disadvantage that may feel insurmountable given the time frame. However, this secret would surely also destroy Andaisin, no? It would paint our queen as both conspirator and victim under the guiding whispers of an enemy agent - as long as we have a voice in the room. If this shared secret is revealed, both Andaisin and her would be incapable of taking the throne. That would leave it bare for another. The secret itself is somewhat a lit fuse that even if we were to rid Korvosa of chel influence, it might still slip into the hands of mal-intent. I hesitate to say continuing queenhood is the wisest of choices for you, my dearest, but I will support you for as long as you might call me friend. i'd rather not see the curse fulfilled again when one I call friend is sitting on the throne. Whatever your decision, as the woman you are now, you will have us beside you."

Just as he was more tightly wrapping his arms around the two in front of him, he released them and stood to pace the room.

"As I see it, we have few choices in the event that our queen cannot proceed. We could get ahead of the secret and reveal it in a dangerous manner for Andaisin, ensuring Illeosa is safe. As for who might take the throne in the event that we fail, we should consider not ourselves, but our people. I fear we are better council than we are kings. I would hope it to be an individual that we could convince to not punish our Illeosa for her unfortunate role in this conspiracy."

He could only think of so many that stood out, but there was only one he favoured above the rest. A duty-bound individual that could hold her own against court and council. Silas hesitated to say her name only because he thought he might blush through his fur.

Inspectre

2020-08-22, 05:32 PM

Ileosa cries for several more minutes, but it's clear that she has been listening to what each of you have to say. Gradually the tears slow, and then stop as Ileosa sits back up, helping Jakkin dismount from the side of her chair with a brief smile and untangling herself from Silas with a squeeze of his hand.

"Thank you . . . all of you."

Ileosa croaks, wincing at the sound of her own broken voice and reaching for the tea cup that Gavin has refilled for her. She spends another minute alternatively sipping at the tea and dabbing gently at her face with a handkerchief to wipe the tears away before she finally speaks again, her voice steady this time.

"I am tired of being treated like someone else's pawn, to be used as they see fit. This life is mine, this throne is mine, and I will not surrender either. Andaisin is - was, my whole world for so long that I believed I was nothing on my own. Maybe that was true once, but I am Queen Ileosa Arabasti of Korvosa now, at least for one more day. And I cannot and will not allow her to ascend to a position as powerful as Seneschal of Korvosa - if I must, I will damn us both with the truth!"

Ileosa nods at Dalen.

"Mr. Rittle, ordinarily I would agree with your council. For better or worse, I am more practiced with honeyed words and taking action only indirectly. If we had more time, I might attempt to reconcile with Andaisin and learn her intent discretely over time, until I know the truth of her involvement with Lamm and see an opportunity to strike. But we do not have that time, and the amount of harm she could do as seneschal is immense. Furthermore, while I have desperately sought to convince myself that she has my best interests in mind, that is not the truth is it? Once she has the power of seneschal, she could easily turn on me and have me deposed, thus removing any voice that could reveal the truth of her actions in coming to Korvosa. Then she could use her position as seneschal to arbitrate the following civil war and help ensure whichever noble invited us here initially was elevated to the throne. Maybe that has been the plan all along, or maybe it is simply the fears of a foolish girl who can no longer trust anyone outside of this room - aside from Sabrina - I don't know. But it is a dangerous possibility, and if eliminating me is part of the plan then cooperating with it even to maintain appearances is tantamount to suicide. But Silas has raised a good point."

Ileosa turns in her seat and gestures at Silas.

"Andaisin can't expose me as a commoner without endangering her own position - we are too tightly associated for suspicions that she knew of my true nature not to arise, and she can't control what else I may confess under threat of torture and death. Not even an ambassadorship could protect her from the nobility's wrath if it were revealed *she* brought a commoner to seduce the king for her own personal gain. So, despite how devastating this secret might be, neither one of us will reveal it except as a last desperate attempt to destroy the other."

The queen turns to Aliani with a frown.

"I am afraid that also means that we can't back Andaisin into a corner politically just yet. If it is necessary to prevent her from becoming seneschal then I will do it, but I think I have a way to convince the council of nobles to reject her without destroying us both. That does not prevent her from revealing the truth, however, and well . . . I know her well enough to know that she will destroy everything if she feels she has nothing left to lose. I don't know if losing the chance to become Korvosa's new seneschal will be that point for her, but I imagine if she loses all standing within Korvosa including her ambassadorship that would be enough. I hope you can forgive me for seeking an intermediate position that, essentially, maintains our current status with me as queen and her as the Chelish ambassador for now, until we can figure out a way to prevent her from destroying me and plunging Korvosa into a civil war as a consequence."

Ileosa turns her gaze back to Gavin, who she favors with a bedazzling smile.

"Sir Gavin, thank you again for saving my life, and for your kind offer of the Order of the Nail's aid. However, you are unlike many members of your order who I have met thus far, for unlike them you seem more concerned with protecting the innocent than punishing the guilty - or those you believe to be so. You protected me in the hold of that sinking ship and ensured I made it to safety, rather than pursuing Devargo or that spider thing he had as a pet. Most of those other members of your order that I have met would have done the opposite, abandoning me to my fate. Can I call upon you to again set aside your desire to see criminality punished in favor of doing what is best for Korvosa and its people? Your assistance may yet be needed tonight.”

Ileosa turns to Jakkin and Silas, offering each of them one of her hands.

“And I will need your help as well, both of you.”

Finally, Ileosa turns her attention back to Dalen.

“Mr. Rittle, I believe that exposing Andaisin as a worshipper of Urgathoa will be sufficient in convincing the council of nobles to reject her. But we will need evidence to back up such a scandalous claim, and the evidence we found was destroyed in the fire that consumed her house. However, there is undoubtedly evidence available elsewhere, somewhere in Korvosa. I believe that if we can enlist the aid of someone in Korvosa’s underworld, we will be able to get a lead on that. I would ask Devargo, but I rather suspect he will not want anything to do with us. Fortunately, we know where a large number of Korvosa’s underworld are going to be in a few hours. So – I would like to come with you to this meeting, in the hopes we can . . . convince someone there to aid us. Reckless, perhaps. But we have little time left for a more discrete plan that will also ensure Ambassador Andaisin does not become Seneschal Andaisin.”

Ileosa looks at all of you.

“Will you help me with this attempt, and ensure that I survive the night to attend tomorrow’s council of nobles meeting?”

Secret message from Ileosa via Bluff to Dalen: (She Takes 10 on her Bluff and auto-passes the check)
“Yo, I want to frame Andaisin for being an Urgathoan. Only someone in the underworld can probably come up with “evidence” of that overnight, so I want to make friends with someone at the Underworld meeting, charming or bribing them if necessary, into doing it.

Captain Jak

2020-08-24, 12:41 PM

Taking the Queen’s proffered hand, Jakkin squeezes it for a moment.

"If yer willing to level such a charge, I’m sure the evidence can be unearthed," he replies dryly.

"Now!" he exclaims, releasing his grip and stepping back, "we’ve got a bit of time yet before the meeting, and it wouldn’t do to give my position away with an angry stomach. What have you to eat around here?" he inquires of their host with a grin.

Darvin

2020-08-25, 03:16 AM

Dalen bows his head to Ileosa as she explains that she will directly engate with Andaisin, "it is your decision to make, your majesty, and if this is your chosen path then I will wholeheartedly support you in the endeavor," he listens on, "I see where you're going with this, and I concur with this course of action. Any leverage you could provide would be appreciated, otherwise I'll improvise something. I left instructions with Sabrina as to how I would contact her magically should we find you; should I have anything imminent to report I will use that method to do so. One last thing, though; would you prefer me to deliver the evidence directly to you... or circulate it anonymously among the noble houses so you can be... 'surprised' by the revelations?"

Presuming no further changes, Dalen will use the downtime before the meeting to scribe Whispering Wind into his spellbook, prep it in a 2nd level slot, and prep Disguise Self in a 1st level slot.

This gives Dalen the following spells: Charm Person x1, Sleep x1, Disguise Self x1, Whispering Wind x1, Invisibility x1

PiccadillyPi

2020-08-25, 04:49 PM

"As your majesty asks. I shall follow you through the dark so that we may restore the light."

Silas spoke with the slightest of cavalier undertones. He had concerns regarding her presence at the meeting, but did not mind her choice since it meant one more ally if a fight were to break out. The fear that the queen would be targeted in an underground encounter would come to him later. More than anything, he was preoccupied with the thought of where his daughter might be in the meeting, and how she fit into the current events.

Stelio Kontos

2020-08-25, 06:20 PM

Aliani could do little but shake his head at the idea that Ileosa was proposing. "I've said my piece. If you're bound and determined, I'll wish you the best of luck. But your going in there is a stupid idea."

Jakkin's request brought a strange look to the actor's face. "I, um, well let me see. I wasn't planning for visitors, I'm sorry..."

Going into the kitchen, he returned after a bit of murmuring with plate holding a number of apple slices, all of which appeared to be well past their proper eating date. "It's what I have. It doesn't look like much, probably won't taste like much either, but I assure you you'll find them perfectly edible." To offer a form of proof, he popped one into his mouth and chewed it down. "If you've need of more, I did pick up a number of trail rations, the type that travelers would pack. I have them upstairs. Probably would hold more nutritional value. Do you want me to get a few? Anyone?"

Happily, purify food and drink is among my memorized cantrips for today. ;)

Captain Jak

2020-08-27, 10:38 AM

Jakkin’s bearded face is split with a smile.

"Do you forget I’m a sailor, friend?" he asks with good humour, taking the proffered plate. "I’ve eaten apples stored in brine to keep them from the rot before; this be no issue," he assures their host before tucking in.

Certainly, not a feast; but as anyone who actually works for a living knows, food is not to be scorned when the belly is empty.

THEChanger

2020-08-30, 08:07 PM

For the briefest moment, Gavin's eyes narrowed as he watched the unspoken message pass between Dalen and Her Majesty. He understood the threat that Lady Andaisin posed, but this was beyond the pale, beyond what the Order would consider correct.

Yet, not illegal, not technically. It was within Her Majesty's right to do such a thing, it was in the end merely words. It stung, in a way Gavin would not have expected it to. If the Lady was what Her Majesty claimed, why would she not dispatch agents to acquire legitimate evidence?

Greater, more immediate need. One voice in his head whispered. While our forces are divided, Lamm slips away, or worse, strengthens his foothold. Yet Andaisin cannot go unanswered either. What does it matter if the evidence is legitimate or falsified, if the crime is real?

Expediency. A poor excuse. Another voice whispered. Order is what separates us from beasts and madmen. If the proper protocols cannot be followed, the evidence would be dismissed, and all gains made by it called into question. It is laziness and fear. It is unacceptable.

Gavin blinked, and pinched the bridge of his nose. He would need guidance on this, later. Right now, Lamm had to be his priority, and this was their best chance at disrupting his plans. The rest of this would have to wait.

"I am at your disposal, Your Majesty, whatever your feelings on the rest of my Order." Gavin allowed himself a grim smile. "I am charged with bringing the criminal Gaedren Lamm to justice, and given broad discretion in how I choose to pursue that goal. If this is how Your Majesty believes that is best served, who am I to gainsay you?"

Inspectre

2020-09-04, 10:44 PM

“I am grateful for your assistance – and for your friendship.”

Ileosa replies, watching Aliani’s return with the proffered slices of apple with no small amount of interest. When he offers trail rations as well, the queen enthusiastically nods by reflex, then seems to catch herself and blushes.

“I . . . um, haven’t eaten today. I had expected to return to the castle after only a few hours, but then I nearly got eaten by that shark, and sort of lost track of time. And then . . . I don’t want to think about how long I was a prisoner of that thing in Devargo’s ship! But I certainly don’t want to inconvenience you further today, Mr. Rose, so these apples would be fine too . . .”

The queen picks up one of the apple slices, and after a brief examination of an overly ripe spot with her fingers, delicately pops it into her mouth and chews without a hint of revulsion. Given her station this might be remarkable, save that you all already know her childhood on the streets of Westcrown likely shaped her palette towards survival. She takes a few more of the apple slices available before leaving the rest for Jakkin, favoring the halfling with a slight knowing smile over his comment to their mutual host. She spends the next little while in contemplative silence, seemingly content to just quietly soak in the peaceful ambiance of Aliani’s home, but eventually she rises and moves towards the back room again.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes. Just need to go ensure I look my best for the meeting.”

Ileosa offers, and sure enough ten minutes or so later Elliana is the one who returns to the kitchen table.

“I believe that I am ready whenever you are, Mr. Rittle. One thing though . . . I lost the only dagger I had to that spider thing in Devargo’s hold. Do you think I should have some sort of weapon so that I can try to defend myself in case we are attacked? I will admit that I’m . . . not very good at fighting, but if I’m unarmed won’t these criminals think that I am weak and am an easy target?”

**************************

With final preparations made, the group sets out for the Kendall Amphitheater shortly before the midnight assembly of Korvosa’s underworld. The group fractures shortly after leaving Aliani’s house, with Dalen and Elliana moving ahead on a direct course for the amphitheater, Jakkin a short distance behind them, and then followed by the others going to stand lookout at a greater distance.

At this time of night, the streets are all but deserted completely, with the party only encountering one other soul on the way to the Amphitheater. This being a middle-aged woman with long strawberry-blond hair who is sitting on the front stoop of a house along the main thoroughfare, and who bites off a sizable chunk off of the juicy fresh apple she is holding to noisily chew it while the group passes by in front of her, one small sub-group at a time. However, the immediate area around the Amphitheater proves to be notably more populated as Korvosa’s underworld has set up lookouts of its own.

There are no obvious guards standing at the building’s entrances, of course, but the trio of vagabonds playing a dice game in the mouth of the nearby alleyway, with a clear line of sight to most approaches to the Amphitheater itself, seems awfully convenient for someone aware that a secret meeting was about to be held beneath said Amphitheater. So too the young couple at a different street corner that appear to be having a quiet, intimate conversation with each other . . . and yet are looking everywhere but at each other. Or that pair of burly workers at the far side of the Amphitheater who appear to be working on replacing a wheel to a broken-down wagon, and yet seem to be making shockingly little actual progress towards fixing it. No doubt each of the disparate organizations that make up Korvosa’s patchwork underworld had their own people out here to keep an eye out for trouble while their chosen representative met below, and any groups that the party had not seen yet were simply better at concealing themselves in the shadows or were set up on nearby rooftops with crossbows.

For Dalen and Elliana, all of these discrete guards pose no issue – they simply go up to the front door where a man in the uniform of the Amphiteather’s private security (whether corrupt employee or criminal imposter) is waiting, Dalen displays the silver spider bracelet, and the man wordlessly escorts them inside. The group of lookouts likewise has no issue here, paradoxically, as all they have to do is find their own isolated point within sight of the Amphitheater and stake their claim to it – even if noticed by one of the groups of guards, the natural assumption will be that they’re just another bunch of lackey criminals here to cover their boss’s back. Instead, it is Jakkin who has by far the most difficult task this night, as the sheer number of eyes around the Amphitheater make an unnoticed approach a very difficult, if not impossible, task.

Fortunately, the sailor-turned-vigilante has several things in his favor – years of practice slipping beneath taller folk’s notice, a good bit of gloom to hide in with the moon waning to half-full this night, and a knack for scurrying up surfaces with surefooted confidence. To wit, Jakkin simply walked along down the main street openly to get close to the Amphitheater, while giving off the appearance of a halfling hurrying back home after a night out on the town. Seeing only a lone halfling who seemed more interested in getting home than the oddly-high number of people just milling around near the Ampitheater, no one seemed to pay him any mind even if they did see him. Then, once he was just past the Amphiteather and everyone’s attention fell off of him, Jakking ducked into a nearby dark alleyway that was thankfully deserted and bided his time. When a bank of clouds next rolled across the moon, darkening the night even further, he dashed across the intervening distance between the alleyway and the outer wall of the Amphiteather, easily scaling the rough brick exterior of the building. Waiting just above him along the second floor of the Amphitheater was an open window, too narrow to easily permit a full-grown man to squeeze through but which Jakkin’s trim frame had no trouble sliding through.

From there, he carefully followed Aliani’s descriptions of the amphitheater’s interior, which were lacking in details below ground but were quite detailed for the Amphitheater proper. Including most importantly, a likely unguarded route down into the catacombs beneath the Amphitheater – a trapdoor on the stage leading down into the crawlspace beneath it. Which in turn had a locked trapdoor that presumably led to the area beneath the Amphitheater. It was a simple matter to pick the old lock holding that secret trapdoor shut, but here was where Aliani’s knowledge ended and Jakkin would be completely on his own going forward. Still, even though he no longer had Dalen and Elliana immediately in his line of sight, he knew the meeting was going to be held somewhere down below, it was simply a matter of finding the right chamber, and managing to do so without blundering into any guards.

With everyone now in their designated positions, it was only a matter of time before the meeting between crime lords commenced, and the fate of Korvosa’s underworld would be decided . . .

Darvin

You and Elliana are led inside the Amphitheater by your uniformed guide, but it’s not until you’re actually going down into the basement of the structure that the man finally speaks up.

“So Devargo couldn’t be arsed to come himself, eh? Boss’ll be pissed about that.”

The thug-in-guard’s clothing opines, but doesn’t offer any further conversation as he leads the two of you down into the depths beneath the Kendall Ampitheater. It was common knowledge that many years ago the Kendall Ampitheater had been damaged by an infestation of ankhegs that burrowed into the foundations of the building and caused a partial collapse. What had been clearly exaggerated since then was the ongoing threat of a potential re-infestation as rather than crudely dug tunnels beneath the Amphitheater you found yourselves in still traveling through well-built and well-lit stone corridors. No doubt Korvosa’s underworld found the cover of monsters beneath the Amphitheater useful for establishing this secret haven, which culminated in a large circular chamber complete with large circular table and richly upholstered chairs.

Five of the six decadent seats were already filled by people – a stern-faced portly man in a sapphire-hued tunic, a red-haired half-elven woman in long duster coat idly picking at her nails with a dagger, a richly dressed halfling with a sea captain’s tricorn hat set down on the table in front of him, a weasel-faced man who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here and was consoling himself with frequent swings from his small hip flask, and finally a Varisian man whose face seemed vaguely familiar to you but was at this moment unplaceable. All five sets of eyes turn to regard you and Elliana with a mixture of surprise and suspicion – your guide had already melted away into the shadows and fled.

“Who the hell are these two people!?”

The weasel-faced man exclaims, a moment before taking another nervous sip from his flask as he awaited an answer. The stern-faced man glowers even more as his eyes catch sight of the spider bracelet, and after a moment gestures for one of you to be seated at the last empty spot around the table.

“It would appear, Wilhelm, that Devargo cannot be bothered to attend tonight’s meeting personally, and so he has sent these two . . . associates . . . here in his stead. I trust that you have been empowered to speak in his stead, as well as listen and report back?”

“Does it really matter one way or the other, Boule?”

The halfling captain speaks up, openly admiring Elliana and sizing Dalen up just as openly.

“I thought we were just here to listen to some nobody’s grandiose offer of splitting Korvosa up between us, despite the fact we’ve done just that already.”

“Not all of us can enjoy the stability of your smuggling business, Leblanque. For some of us, it’s crucial to remain aware of current events – like the fact that this nobody you are speaking of is on the cusp of igniting a revolution that could shake Korvosa to its very core.”

The Varisian man retorts, earning a snort from the half-elven woman.

“Some of us probably don’t even deserve a seat at this table, Vilas. Weren’t the Scarzni supposed to have abandoned Korvosa by now, given the crackdown led by Field . . . Marshall . . . Kroft!?”

Vilas winces, and then smiles as he fires back.

“It’s true that the Family has fallen on hard times recently. Much like the Dusters or so I hear, Marlessa. Betrayed by one of your own to the guard, no less. Such a shame.”

Now it’s the half-elven woman’s turn to scowl, as she stabs the tip of her dagger into the table and slaps both hands down against its surface in anger.

“My sweet Kynndor would never betray me willingly! He must have been bewitched! Or . . . or seduced by that harpy Field Marshall to –“

“Enough.”

Boule says quietly, and evidentially he holds the most power amongst the crime lords as all of them stop squabbling immediately, Vilas and Marlessa contenting themselves with trading glowers across the table. Boule, meanwhile, patiently observed both Dalen and Elliana, awaiting an introduction.

https://pathfinderwiki.com/mediawiki/images/thumb/d/dd/Boule.jpg/250px-Boule.jpg

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/fd/0e/fa/fd0efa63dbfc011a00390dea60c2f784.png

https://media2.cgtrader.com/variants/h3Wfg8u4BbGnmMDLUydMSVKx/40073f86dea5cc27b3e46b911284f10ff35833da74046da55f 55f229c8993de7/e025dd29-8fd8-454a-8d04-0a41a050962a.jpg

https://paizo.com/image/content/PathfinderSociety/PZOPSS-Guaril.jpg

http://www.killershrike.com/Fate/Fae/Pathfinder/Content/Characters/People/Sczarni/SczarniShooter_small.jpg

Captain Jak

Now down beneath the Kendall Amphitheater, you were truly on your own as you sought to catch up to Dalen and Elliana. You weren’t entirely sure how you were going to manage that, but what you did know now was that the stories of monsters still lurking beneath the Kendall Amphitheater were just that - stories. Instead of winding crude tunnels dug through the earth by inhuman claws, you were exploring smooth tunnels of worked stone. And there was what saved you, because the hard stone walls did a good job reflecting sound, and though faint you could hear the echo of speech ahead of you. Using that as a guide, you eventually find your way to a large circular chamber, where a number of people – including Dalen and Elliana – were seated around a large circular table.

You nearly collide with your allies’ guide as he comes hustling around the corner out of that chamber, and only just manage to slip back into the shadows in time to allow him to pass only a few feet away from you. Unfortunately, you couldn’t just continue to sit right here - there was no guarantee that someone else wouldn’t wander past (Lamm didn’t seem to be here yet, for example), and while you were aware there was conversation going on in that chamber you couldn’t see or hear very well. You had a solution in mind for this, however, as you creep forward again to the edge of the room before hopping up and scaling the wall to quietly clamber up into the rafters. From up here above it all you would be able to easily peer down into the chamber, seeing and hearing everything clearly that was going on while remaining out of sight (nobody ever looked up, and even if they did, the heavy shadows up in the rafters should keep you unnoticed). The crimelords seemed to be done bickering amongst themselves and were looking to Dalen and Elliana for introductions now as you settled up in the rafters . . . only to discover that you were not alone after all.

Across the chamber from you, a shadow separated itself from the gloom – a tall folk in all black garb was likewise up here with you! But although he loosely brandished a handcrossbow in one hand, the figure made no hostile movement towards you – indeed, instead it playfully raised a finger from its other hand up to its mask-covered lips in a silent “ssshhhh” motion. Although black was a common color for those slinking around the shadows, you can think of only one person stupid enough (aside from yourself) to sneak into a meeting of the largest crimelords in Korvosa, and skilled enough to pull it off – the famous hero of the people, Blackjack!

https://corwyn.wdfiles.com/local--files/blackjack/BLACKJACK.jpg

Everyone Else

You are keeping watch on the outskirts of the Amphitheater, hoping there would be no trouble and yet keeping an expectant eye out for any all the same. Everything seems to be calm, and all of the disparate criminal groups are keeping to themselves – so, of course, things go pear shaped without warning several minutes after Dalen and Elliana enter the Amphitheater. One minute everyone is just sitting around minding their own business waiting for the meeting to be over, then a sharp whistle cuts through the night and suddenly every group of thugs is under attack by their own small group of cloaked figures. This includes your own group as just shy of half a dozen figures come out of literally nowhere (Invisbility!?), only to stop at the last possible second before their staves met your flesh after their leader calls out sharply, “Hold!”

The leader then turns to Gavin and addresses him.

“Armiger Dimir, wasn’t it? What are you doing here?”

Meanwhile, the other cloaked figures stand around awkwardly, tensely clutching their quarterstaffs and glaring at you all with open hostility. The only thing each of them seem to be wearing for identification purposes is a small pin holding their cloaks shut, a heavily stylized eye gazing out lidlessly from the pin’s face.

That pin of the lidless eye stirs a memory in you, of a story that Maralictor Vulso once told you. Of a second secretive order of Hellknights headquartered in Korvosa - the Order of the Eye. Originally a branch of the Order of the Nail, the Order of the Eye schismed off a short time after the death of the Order’s founder. Rather than openly enforce the laws of civilization, the Eye kept a close watch on the darker corners of society. And when threats to Korvosa, emerged, the Eye would act quietly but decisively to end them. Of course, they were supposed to be just a story – what the hell were they doing here, and why the hell did this Hellknight of the Eye, if that is what he was, know your name!?

(OOC: It would be reasonable to assume that if the Order of the Nail is special forces – something like say . . . Spetznaz, for example, then the Order of the Eye would be spooks – something like the KGB.)