Crowley's Kids [IC]

[JNAProductions]

OOC Thread (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?618079-Crowley-s-Kids-OOC)


It's been less than half a day since your father passed. You've heard the shock and horror, but then the explanations come from the Crusaders. Some people believe them without reservation-probably jealous of your dad. Others are pondering it. Others reject it outright.

Regardless, you don't feel safe. The Crusaders are here, in Indos. And they might be looking for you-with what intentions, gods alone know.

Where are you right now? And what are you doing?

[whiteflash]

Jak sits down in the alleyway and conjures a spiderweb made of tongues of illusionary flame, hoping to calm his sorcery and help himself think. He's well aware that he'd be angry even if he didn't have a little bit of chaos and evil in him (he's pretty sure that's the standard reaction to knowing that your father has been brutally murdered) but that spark of violent monster inside him is not helping him think clearly right at this second.

"We need to find a place to sleep. Someplace they wouldn't think to look for us, in case they're already doing so... Problem is, that's a short list, considering that Dad had a hand in everything. Maybe... maybe we should consider fleeing the city."

He's wearing a plain, human female face right now, hoping that anyone looking for them is looking for an obvious changeling.

"Zoria will probably head to the One Ring, figuring that they're more likely to cover for us than anyone else... they probably are too."

[SquirrelWizard]

The One Ring was jokingly referred to as the most reputable disreputable tavern in Indos. It was a large circular building nestled among back alleys that was a somewhat well known location for vagabonds of an adventuring bent. The main floor of the tavern wrapped around a small central wrestling arena with the bar towards the back next to the stairs leading to the upper floor with rooms for rent. The smell of smoked meat, ale, and pipeweed wafted through the air as a several regulars were talking among themselves growing their tales with each tankard of ale consumed. One Eye Pete, the owner, manned the bar, a human whose past was shrouded in mystery and intrigue, hale in body yet the gray of his hair and weathered look in his eye speak of much wisdom hard earned.

It wasn't ideal but the One Ring was the one place that Zoria could think of where people might actually cover for her and her siblings. Though the Crusaders might have had the run of the city, the patrons took a dim view to holy busy-bodies interrupting their drinks. The centaur's hooves clicked on the stone floor as she entered, weaving around servers as she approached the bar.

"Hey, Pete." She said, trying to sound chipper, but the look on her face belied her apprehension. "So.. got a room free?"

[whiteflash]

"Good choice," Jak muttered as he looked around.

The One Ring was exactly the sort of bar the Golden Crusaders would have spent their hauls in during their early career, but they could hope the Golden Crusaders thought they were above that sort of thing now. Perhaps more encouragingly, there was reason to hope that the patrons here would think of the "Golden Crusaders" as high and mighty basically-lords instead of kindred spirits.

Besides: if Jak was in the position the Golden Crusaders had put themselves in, his next move would be to appeal to their father's higher class allies, putting special emphasis on the fair-weather friends who were glad to see a power vacuum. That task would take some doing, and doing it halfheartedly could alienate some very powerful people, so they'd probably be busy with that for quite some time.

If the Golden Crusaders were out drinking, they'd be doing it someplace far fancier than this, and they'd be sharing a table with people far richer than these adventurers.

Still, he thought it was wise to take a quick look around to make sure nobody was sneaking up on them with a dagger.

[Juicy Kisses]

Yulia sluggishly followed behind her siblings to the One Ring, her normal jovial demeanor replaced with one more despondent and woeful. Not a tear shed down her face, it stood more blankly and broken. Again, she had failed to protect the ones that she loved. Again, she felt weak and pathetic. She slumped in the chair beside her siblings at the tavern, quietly staring away and obviously not paying any mind to her surroundings. Her arms felt so weak, she could not even raise them to order a drink to dull away the guilt of not staying behind to protect her adoptive father, or dying by his side.

[whiteflash]

Jak puts a hand on Yulia's shoulder. "I miss him too. But he'd want us to be strong. And he wouldn't want us to give in to guilt about not dying with him. He'd want us to live. However we have to."

[Valmark]

Kleus was the last to arrive at the One Ring. He had gotten lost in the escape -though he decided to call it 'splitting up'- and it had taken him a while to find a spot to wait and gather his bearings, seeing how he didn't know wether the people outside would try to bring them to the Crusaders or not so he needed to hide which... Wasn't easy for someone that looked peculiar even for a normal tiefling. If it hadn't been for his mechanical butler Kleus might not have even made it to the tavern.

The second he stepped into the building, he winced at the sight of other patrons, subconsciously searching for his weapon- the Defender stopped him, and pointed at a table where Kleus could see his siblings. At least Jak and Yulia, since Zoria had approached the bar. He naturally drifted towards the tables.
"Are both of you unhurt?" he asked the second he sat down.

[JNAProductions]

As you find your way to the table, a scantily-clad server walks over. He's dressed in a well-sewn loincloth, and not much else. From the bruises and his impressive musculature, you can guess he's probably one of the wrestlers sometimes. "Evening folks-anything I can get for you?"

[whiteflash]

"Yeah. We're intact," Jak replies quietly. "Physically, at least."

Then the muscular server-wrestler shows up and takes orders. "Something light. For me, at least. We're... in the planning stage for an adventure? I think. Best to do that sober. The hard stuff's for after you win, right?"

[Juicy Kisses]

A small grin reappeared on Yulia’s face after hearing Jak’s words. He was normally more the quiet type compared to Yulia, but he always had the right thing to say at the right moments.

Yulia mustered the strength to lift her gaze as Kleus approached the table,

”We are unscathed, brother, unfortunately. Would have liked to have gotten a nice scar at least.”

As the server approaches, once the table circles to Yulia she calls out to him,

”Mead please, Cedric. You remember the kind you opened for me on my birthday? A glass of that again, I need to feel like I’ve been hit in the chest with something.“

[Valmark]

"I'm glad. Especially for the lack of a scar" Kleus said, not wanting to add anything mote- the less they talked about what happened the better it would be for them, at least while they were in public.

"A... A beer" Kleus said, almost jumping when the server approached. He was liking that place less and less- and it wasn't the first time he had been there. Probably the added threat of someone coming from the front door to kill him and his siblings.

[SquirrelWizard]

Zoria returned to the table where her siblings had gathered, sliding a chair over as she sat on her haunches in its place, "So, there is a room or two available, and I think we can trust Pete."

She paused, glancing over to Cedrik and added, "A mead as well please."

Letting the waitress finish taking orders Zoria turned back to her siblings her normally jovial demeanor replaced by one of concern, "So do you guys know what is happening? The Crusaders dont just attack people last I heard!"

[JNAProductions]

Cedric nods, and heads to get your refreshments.

The room is loud, and while it's probable that people are hearing you, it's unlikely anyone's listening closely. But, listening to the overall din, you're hearing about the Crusaders. It seems that, even here in the skeevier part of town, they've made an impression.

[Valmark]

Kleus fidgeted in his seat, hearing about the Crusaders.
"Crowley wasn't... Just a random person. They might have been misguided" he offered on the argument "Or maybe theirs is all a false mask" while he had avoided making names, he still tried to lower his voice.

[Juicy Kisses]

Yulia sips at her drink as soon as it arrives. Her hand squeezes the glass so tightly on the table that it nearly begins to crack as she listens to the other patrons boast about how great the Crusaders are.

”Sounds like they’re pretty great to me.” She grumbles angrily in her seat for a moment.

“So. . .what are we gonna do?”

[SquirrelWizard]

A small squirrel poked its head out of the pack before scurrying up Zoria's back and perched on her shoulder. Absentmindedly Zoria fished out a salted nut from the bowl on the table handing it to Mr. Nibbs as she telepathically said, "Go outside and watch the alleyways near the door, if anybody with the crusader's symbol approach," she mentally passed on the image of the crusader's holy symbol, "let me know."

With a nod, the squirrel leapt down from Zoria's shoulder nut in mouth as it scurried out the door.

"I dont think its safe to stay in the city, but I for one would like to know why they did this. I mean, if they can do it to Dad, whats to stop them from doing it to someone else?"

[Valmark]

"Uh... I... Don't think you should say Dad where people could hear you" Kleus mused, checking the surroundings "Anyway... What are we supposed to do? Go ask the Crusaders?"

[whiteflash]

Jak sighed, and steeled himself for a suggestion he did not want to give.

"I... was going to suggest that we should start trying to think of a safe way to do exactly that. Both to ask why they did what they did... and to try and make sure they don't see any need to come for us. If we can put this whole thing to bed, I think that's what... he'd want."

[JNAProductions]

In the central ring, two people are being presented. There's a tall lizardfolk, dressed in pants, with greenish-gold scales. Opposite them, a stout dwarven man, who makes a grand show of ripping his shirt off. A good chunk of women and a few men in the audience whistle appreciatively at the display of muscle, though you do see a few well-dressed individuals shaking their heads at the waste of clothing.

Cedric stops by your table. "Care to place any bets? We've got a newcomer-that flashy dwarf there-and an old hand, The Hunger. No one's quite sure about the new guy, so not sure where the smart money is."

Just providing a little backdrop.

Let me know when you have a plan and are ready to move on.

[whiteflash]

Jak thinks for a second. "Uh... make it one gold piece on the old hand."

[Valmark]

"If that's what you all want to do... I have no idea how though. At least, no idea without any information" Kleus sighed uneasy.

When Cedryc stopped by again the tiefling decided it would have been less conspicous to bet.
"Two gold coins... on the new one, I guess. If he's challenging the known brawler he should have a plan"

[JNAProductions]

Cedric nods. "Will do. Any other takers?" he asks, and regardless of whether the other siblings bet, he takes the money and heads to the next table.

You guys actually would know a decent amount about the Crusaders. Let me edit some info into the OOC thread.

[Juicy Kisses]

Yulia turns to Kleus,

”They murdered Crowley for his demonic heritage, wouldn’t they come for us for the same reason?”

[whiteflash]

"Good point, and my colorful blood won't help matters. The others might have been reasonable on their own, but the one in charge..."

Jak continues much more quietly. "If a peaceful resolution to this is possible, it'll require us to become strong enough to make the rest of the group hesitate to attack us, and maybe find some other reasons to make them hesitate. If we're lucky, they can argue their leader down, or will at least decide they can't continue to follow him."

"I think we'll need to start by following what I'd been thinking of as Plan B: flee the city, maybe even tonight, and gain some experience as adventurers. We should either leave unobserved, or present a false trail that makes it look like we're avoiding anyplace they have any familiarity with... but what we really do is retrace their steps, and search the closets for any skeletons. Maybe we'll be able to gain enough strength or information that the other side will want peace. Maybe we'll get strong enough that we don't need it."

[Valmark]

"In theory it shouldn't be a problem- tieflings and demons have nearly nothing in common, and even tieflings and fiends are hardly connected in the end. Depends if their leader is a blind bigot. Which seems likely" Kleus mused "Being connected to Crowley... That's what could really be a threat" he said.

"There is a third option... If we could find proof that Crowley was innocent... They'd lose any support. Or even find out how they discovered him would be useful"

[whiteflash]

"I agree that if we fight them, we need to destroy the common peoples' support for them... but that won't be enough. They didn't have the permission of the common people to kill him: they did it and sold it afterwards. Destroying their support won't nullify their threat: it'll just mean that the common people won't try to kill us after we do nullify that threat however else we can."

"Finding some way to exonerate Crowley is probably going to be a necessary part of that equation: even if we find proof that they aren't the paragons they pretend, they can just point to our relationship with Crowley and whatabout our evidence into irrelevance."

[Juicy Kisses]

Yulia ponders for a moment over her siblings ideas, grumbling,

”Harumph, as much as I’d like to confront them right now you guys might be right. I don’t know if we could take them. Hell, if theyre misguided I’m still not sure it’s right of us to go and simply slay them. We still don’t really know who these people are. We thought they were paragons, maybe they still are. . . just lost? We could try to get one of them by themselves? May be more willing to talk that way.”

[Valmark]

"Yes, well..." Kleus stammered a bit "They were already considered heroes before attacking Crowley. If we prove their faults... Then they'll be hunted, not simply left be" he said.
"As for talking to one alone... Maybe the healer will have to shop for supplies or something like that?"

[whiteflash]

"Do we want them hunted, though? Even assuming we come to decide they need to go, can an average person take one? Do we really want to try and set them up to fight civilians?"

"I don't know if we can get one alone. Yet. Right now, they'll be on high alert."

[Valmark]

"That's... True. Though, I don't expect common people to go after them- besides, if the Crusaders are good, then they won't harm anybody else and leave- if they aren't, people need to know that they should be wary" Kleus offeref.
"Yes... The immediate plan should be to find a safe spot or leave"

[SquirrelWizard]

Zoria listened to her siblings talk. "Well, I think the faster we leave, the better off we'll be, perhaps going to one of the nearby towns? This doesn't sound like the Crusaders I've heard about. We have to face the fact that someone might be using them against Dad," she said before nervously nibbled on a salted nut. "Or us, I dont know why. But if they're being used, then fighting them might not help, and worse it might play into the hands of whoever is manipulating them. If memory serves, we might want to look into the Starborn family, or visit the Monastery Of The Stony Egg. They seem to have close ties to them"

[whiteflash]

"I... I don't know that they're being manipulated by any outside force. This sounds exactly like their leader, at least to me." Jak noted.

"I don't know that the others would have gone after him on their own, unless they had real proof he was doing wrong... but I'll bet Orin would have. His reputation does not suggest that he's very understanding of those born with evil in their blood. He's the one I'm most afraid we can't settle this with peacefully. He's... he's also the one I least want to, honestly."

"If we go to the monks who raised Orin, or to the Starborn family, they might be able to try to reason with the Crusaders. It's worth a try, at least. But I think the very best we can hope for is to get everyone but Orin to bow out of the fight, and given their personal friendship with him, even that might not be possible."

"One thing I'd want to ask either of those groups, while we were there: if they know of a place called The Planar Library. It's said that you can find absolutely any information you want there. If that's true... then it's the one place that might have information that could vindicate Crowley. And if we want to have the city on our side when we deal with the Crusaders, we need to do exactly that."

Jak perks up a bit as he finishes. "And if we show that the Crusaders were in the wrong, it might help us with the ones who can be reasoned with."

[Valmark]

"Alright so... This is the plan? We leave towards one of these two places to find information and parley?" Kleus asked "Do we want to leave tonight? Or book rooms and leave tomorrow? The latter sounds... Unsafe, honestly"

[whiteflash]

"Yeah, we should probably leave tonight. But at this point, we might as well stay to watch the fight, right? Five minutes won't likely kill us... although if it takes longer than that to start, we ought to forget our money and go. We're not short anyway, right?"

[JNAProductions]

While you've been talking, the fight has actually already started.

[roll0] The Hunger

[roll1] New Dude

The Hunger seems to have been put on a back foot by one of the dwarf's moves, and is trying to recover. But it does not seem to be going well-that being said, they both look like sturdy people. The fight might last a while.

[Juicy Kisses]

Yulia watches the fight intently for a short minute before asking her siblings,

”I know we’re in a bit of a rush, but could we stay long enough for me to take on the winner? That new guy seems tough and I’d revel a bit of fun!”

[Valmark]

Kleus chuckled.

"Should I bet on you?"

[whiteflash]

"I dunno. This is already taking longer than I'd hoped. Unless one of them messes up big, and fast, we might want to just forget the money we've already bet."

[Juicy Kisses]

Yulia laugh and lightly punches Kleus in the shoulder,

”You cannot be serious! Of course!”

She chuckles for a moment and watches the fight, seeing how much longer it will take with anticipation.

[JNAProductions]

[roll0] more minutes is what it'll take.

The fight carries on, but the new dwarf presses his advantage. After two minutes, they're pulled apart for a bit, given some water, but are quickly back at it. The Hunger seems nervous-and the new guy uses that to his advantage, moving hard and fast. A half-dozen minutes from when you asked, the fight is over, and the new guy is declared the victor.

Cedric comes by, distributing the winnings.

[SquirrelWizard]

Zoria glances at the wrestlers and back to her siblings softly saying, "so who are we rooting for?"

[Valmark]

"Whoever you're betting on I think" Kleus said, taking his winnings and massaging his shoulder "If Yulia goes to challenge the fighter, her then"

[whiteflash]

"We're not actually going to stick around that long, are we?"

Jak finishes his drink.

"We might already have stayed too long."

[Juicy Kisses]

Yulia boasts to her siblings,

”C’mon! I’ll have him down in less than a minute!”

She lets out a hardy laugh before taking another gulp of her mead.

[JNAProductions]

Cedric overhears this. "You want to challenge him? Go ahead, be my guest," he says. He walks a few steps towards the ring, and calls out to the dwarf. "You ready for another throwdown?"

The dwarf laughs; a deep, hearty belly laugh. "Of course! That scaly one barely gave me a challenge!"

[SquirrelWizard]

"Go on, kick his ass." Zoria grins as she playfully prods Yulia.

[whiteflash]

Jak double-facepalms, then takes his right hand away from his face and puts it in his purse. "If we're staying for this, I might as well put a gold coin on my sister, right?"

His left hand is still on his face.

[SquirrelWizard]

"It will be fun." Zoria added a gold coin to the pot.

[Valmark]

"Let's see... Maybe I can double my winnings" Kleus said, betting what Cedric had given him earlier.

[JNAProductions]

The dwarf sees Yulia ready to challenge him, and flips her the bird. "Come on, don't be chicken!"

The crowd laughs as they bet and drink.

[Juicy Kisses]

Yulia quickly downs her drink and slams it on the table with ferocity,

”Alright! Let’s do this!”

She quickly jumps from her seat and hops into the ring, offering the dwarf a shake of her hand.

[JNAProductions]

The dwarf, despite his rudeness earlier, seems to just be in the mood of competitive sporting. He gives you a good solid shake of the hand, and then the ref separates you to your own corners.

The ref clears out of the ring, and you're given the signal to start.

[roll0] Yulia

[roll1] Dwarf

[JNAProductions]

He charges forward, going for a low tackle and trying to bring you to the ground.

[roll0] Athletics versus [roll1] Yulia's Athletics

I will edit this post if you use Bardic Inspiration or anything like that to try to gain the advantage, but as it stands now, you're tackled.

Yulia goes down, not held properly, but knocked on her butt by the dwarf's first move.

[Juicy Kisses]

Yulia maneuvers herself in the grapple so that the dwarf’s face is caught in a “particularly flustering” location to try to give herself the edge in gaining control of the grapple now that its on the ground.

Yulia is trying to use her charisma to fluster the dwarf and distract him if possible?

[whiteflash]

Jak's right hand goes right back on his face; the left never left it.

Then he turns away and puts his hands down as he turns to whisper to Zoria. "Hey, uh, does your telepathic bond with Mr. Nibbs work at this range? Or are we waiting for him to report in?"

[JNAProductions]

Yulia maneuvers herself in the grapple so that the dwarf’s face is caught in a “particularly flustering” location to try to give herself the edge in gaining control of the grapple now that its on the ground.

Yulia is trying to use her charisma to fluster the dwarf and distract him if possible?

I meant more to amp the crowd up than the dwarf-he's a professional, so he's unlikely to get flustered easily.

So, feel free to make a Charisma check (with proficiency if appropriate) but more physical checks to handle the dwarf himself.

[Juicy Kisses]

Yulia looks to the crowd with a smile, as if to say “watch this!” as she flexes and tries to overpower the dwarf.

Athletics roll: [roll0]
Persuasion to win over crowd: [roll1]

[SquirrelWizard]

"He's currently outside watching the door." Zoria said. "I mean if I concentrate I can see and hear through him, but I trust he's doing what I asked."

The centauride winced as she saw Yulia take a hard fall. "Yulia! Throw this milk sop out of the ring, Its past bedtime for grandpa!" (casts minor illusion using Performance Oration)

As she spoke, from the throng of people watching someone yelled, "Yeah, kick his ass Yulia!"

Zoria nudged Zak and gave Kleus a look to join in to a chant, "Yulia! Yulia! Yulia!..."


roll Perform Oration to rile up the crowd in Yulia's favor.
[roll0]

[Valmark]

Kleus tried to shrink inwardly when prodded to speak up.
"That... Doesn't sound safe..." he said as if that whole fight was.

[whiteflash]

"You're right, it's not, but it's too late now," Jak whispered. "At this point, there's no reason left not to."

He joins in the chant. "Yulia! Yulia!"

[Juicy Kisses]

Yulia attempts to squirm her way behind the dwarf and to hoist herself on top of him, putting him into a full nelson and pinning him to the ground

Athletics for reposition: [roll0]
Athletics for pin: [roll1]

[JNAProductions]

The dwarf manages to keep you at bay, though he's knocked down in the struggle, leaving you two both wrestling each other prone.

He takes a moment to back off, rolling to his feet (and giving you a moment to do the same) as the crowd begins to chant "Yu-li-a! Yu-li-a!" He looks mad, at the crowd turning against him.

[Juicy Kisses]

As soon as Yulia see’s him taking a moment to back away she seizes her opportunity to charge him and go in for the kill, invigorated by the crowd cheering for her.

Athletics Rolls: [roll0]
[roll1]

Edit: Ooooo nat 20 on the first one 😁

[JNAProductions]

Yulia goes in, faster than the dwarf expected, and drives into him HARD. He goes down, the air whoofing out of him as she hits his chest, and his head clonks against the ring's side.

Not letting up, Yulia smacks him to the ground again, and he gasps out "I yield!" The crowd goes ape, applauding one of the quickest victories they've seen in a while.

She gets up, and after a long few moments of him catching his breath on the ground, he clambers up to his feet. "That was... Whew..." he lets out. "You'll have to teach me sometime, ifin' you're willing."

Zoria, meanwhile, gets a message from Mr. Nibbs.

Um... Old man, well-armored. Crusader symbol on him. Might be Dintly? Nearby.

[Juicy Kisses]

Yulia helps the dwarf up, the two of their biceps glistening and flexing glamorously as she pulls him up.

”Any time, friend! We’ll have to have a rematch soon!”

She quickly begins flexing and posing for the crowd, ushering the dwarf to join her in working them up even more

[whiteflash]

"Great job, Yulia!"

And in an undertone to his siblings, Jak says "Let's collect our winnings and go."

[SquirrelWizard]

Zoria's ears perked as she got the message.

"Guys," She said in a hushed tone. "Mr. Nibbs thinks he saw One. We should start thinking about an exit strategy."

[whiteflash]

"... Oh no."

Jak looks around to see if there's an exit around back.

[JNAProductions]

The building has many entrances and exits-most towards the front.

You would suspect (but do not know for sure) that there's at least one back staff entrance, if not more given the size of the building.

[Valmark]

"Which one is it?" Kleus asked "Didn't we want to talk to one of them?"

[whiteflash]

Jak relaxes slightly. "There... is that? I expect Orin would attack us on sight. Maybe the others wouldn't. (Although their thief girl might: I think her approach to morality is to try to guess what her boss would do, and then do that.")

[SquirrelWizard]

"It might be Dintly." Zoria said quietly. "Look, he might just be alone, or his friends might just be waiting at the other entrances. We'll need some sort of distraction if we want to leave here."

She glanced between her siblings, and finished, "any suggestions?"

[whiteflash]

"If it's just Dintly, he might be here by coincidence, or to talk. My suggestion would be to figure out if that's what happening. If it is, we talk, and try to get the Crusaders to leave us alone. Or if he's here to take us down..."

Jak looks around to see how big the windows are.

[JNAProductions]

The windows are large, enough for a man to be thrown through without too much difficulty.

[Valmark]

"So... Do we go say hi? Literally I mean! Not an euphesism for beating him up"

[SquirrelWizard]

"Um... I'm..." Zoria finished her drink and sighed, "I'm going to see if I can't find out more, if anything happens just shake me."

She laid her head down on the table, resting it on her arms as she closed her eyes; mentally reaching out to Mr. Nibbs outside. The sounds of the tavern became muted as her vision was replaced by the alleyway outside as she now saw and heard through Mr. Nibbs.

Okay, get closer to him. I want to see if he's meeting with anybody and maybe we can hear what he's up to.

With a flick of his tail, Mr. Nibbs began scurrying along the roof that he had been perched on trying, inobtrusively, to get closer to Dintly.

[Juicy Kisses]

Yulia, unaware of the conversation being had by her siblings, wraps her arm around the dwarf and calls to the barkeep,

”One round on this guy!”

She slips a small pouch of coins into his shirt and gives him a wink. She walks back to the table with her family and plops herself into the chair.

”Good fun that was! Did you see me take him down fast?”

[Valmark]

"Doubled my winnings thanks to you" Kleus smiled at Yulia, then went serious "The Crusader's healer is coming by. Zoria's familiar is following him" he explained.

[JNAProductions]

[roll0]

Rolling rolling rolling...

You shortly receive another message from Nibbs.

I'm spotted. Trying to act natural... Not succeeding.

[SquirrelWizard]

Zoria didn't move her head from the table, instead focusing on Mr. Nibb's senses.

Use a roof to obstruct vision to them and try and listen in. Scurry into someplace small if you cant. Your a squirrel, they're common in cities.

[JNAProductions]

You hear the tolling of a loud bell from outside, as well as seeing the armored form of James Dintly approaching the door.

[Valmark]

Kleus nudged Zoria.
"I don't think we need your familiar's help anymore" he said.

[whiteflash]

"Do we call him over, or wait to see if he approaches us?"

[whiteflash]

Jak lightly taps himself on the head. "Or, how about we get out of here, and I maybe show up later looking like a leggy blonde and try to get him talking?"

Jak hears a little bit of a commotion nearby. "Hm... that card-table looks more like a keg of black powder to me... think we could get Ditry paying more attention to them than us?"

[Valmark]

"The last sounds good" Kleus said "Though... I'm not exactly subtle, so maybe somebody else should do something"

[SquirrelWizard]

Zoria sat back up at the table after being shaken and glancing around the tavern as she mentally told Mr. Nibbs to find another vantage point near the entrance of the tavern and keep an eye out for the other crusaders.

"I dont know where the other Guys are, much less if they're here." She said in a hushed tone. "Maybe start a brawl and slip outside? Or we could purchase rooms and maybe escape via the windows up there? I might be able to give someone a nudge into doing things if needed."

[Juicy Kisses]

”If Jak’s comin back later I’d like to stay close, wouldn’t want you getting into some trouble alone. A distraction sounds nice about now though.”

[whiteflash]

"Hey, Zoria, you have a spell that can push people to doing certain things, right? Do you think if you cast it on one of the people at that card table, you could get them to swing on each other?"

[SquirrelWizard]

"Its a little more complicated than that." Zoria said, "I'd need to be able to speak to them and what I say has to make some sense for it to work, or at least work well."

She looked at the gamblers and their winnings, trying to see if anybody was losing particularly bad.

[SquirrelWizard]

Taking her luckstone in hand, Zoria concentrated, calling a spell from the magics that entwined in her blood.


Casting Suggestion with Subtle Metamagic, DC 15, Readying its effect to occur after casting message.
Wild Magic Check [roll0] (Surge on 1)
Wild Magic Effect [roll1] (If Surge occurs)


She then turned her attention to the cardplayers, focusing on the most irate looking in the group and subtly gestured to them as she sent a message to them as they hear a whisper laced with magic intended suggesting that they should start a fight, "Are you really going to take that sitting down? You should stand up for yourself!"

[JNAProductions]

[roll0]
[roll1] Disadvantage for being drunk.

At the nearby table, you see one of the gentleman's ears perk up a little. Listening, you hear him say "Hey, Gamly?"

"Yeah, what-" Gamly starts, before getting decked in the face. "You!" he says before cussing, and tackling the first man.

Soon, all the gamblers are in a brawl with one another, just as the door opens to reveal Dintly.

[whiteflash]

"Oh look, our cue to leave is here."

Has he seen us yet, or is he distracted by the brawl?

[JNAProductions]

Dintly seems distracted by the brawl. That being said, caution would be advised when getting out.

[whiteflash]

"Let's see if the owner will let us out the back, shall we?"

Will we need to make Stealth checks?

[JNAProductions]

The owner seems busy coordinating the response to the brawl, which is expanding by the moment. While he might object to you leaving out the back, it's unlikely he'll know about it till later.

I'm going to call for Stealth checks, using either Dexterity or Charisma. Dexterity is manual stealth, actually hiding in the shadows and behind people from Dintly. Charisma represents blending in with the crowd, not being unseen so much as unnoticed.

You'll be up against James' active Perception check. [roll0]

Being spotted is not the end, of course-it'll make your life harder, but he'd have to make his way through the crowd to get to you.

[Valmark]

"Now's as good a time as it'll get" Kleus said, moving to blend into the crowd while keeping an eye out on his siblings.

I don't have Stealth, but I do have high Charisma and Guidance.

[roll0]+[roll1]

[Juicy Kisses]

”Good to know when it’s time to leave!” Yulia quickly pulls up her cloak’s hood and dashes through the crowd with her head down, prepared to pull the stopper on her eversmoking bottle at any moment.

Stealth: [roll0]
Advantage from Boots/Cloak of Elvenkind: [roll1]
Also he has disadvantage on his perception against me.

[whiteflash]

"Well, no time like the present."

I'll go with Charisma instead of Dexterity, since I'm a Sorcerer with absolutely none of the latter.

[roll0]

Does this count as Charisma (Stealth,) or Charisma (Deception?) If it's the latter, I get whatever the roll above says +3.

Edit: Not that I care much with a roll like that. :biggrin:

[SquirrelWizard]

Meet me at the back entrance Zoria mentally informed Mr. Nibbs, as she slinked off with her siblings.


Using Tides of Chaos granting advantage on Stealth Check. DM may have casting of Sorcerer Spell of level 1+ to Surge to recharge the ability.
Roll 1:[roll0]
Roll 2:[roll1]

[JNAProductions]

Dintly nearly spots Kleus, but Yulia shields him with her cloak and his eyes slide off.

You quickly reach the back of the tavern as the employees/wrestlers start to get involved and restrain people, and (ignoring the looks of the employees) make your way out of a back door.

On the street now, you feel a little safer, as it's easier to run should you have to. What's your plan now?

[whiteflash]

"So, the two best options that occur to me right now: either I slip back in wearing a different face to try and listen in on Dintly, or we all leave town right now. The second one's safer, but we might be able to learn something useful if I do the former."

[Juicy Kisses]

Yulia gives Kleus a fist bump as they sneak away under her cloak. Once outside, she turns to Jak,

”Yeah! You got him Jak, go see what you can find out. I’ll find a spot nearby to tuck myself in case things get too rowdy for you!.”

[whiteflash]

"Thanks."

Jak starts growing a light scar over his disguised form's eye, changing his hair black, and turning into an elf...

... and then a thought occurs to him.

"Hey... he'd probably know I have these abilities. If he's here looking for us and not just here for a drink... do you think he might have True Sight up?"

"Maybe we should have Mr. Nibbs sneak back in, instead? Through the rafters if possible, so that he has a better chance at getting in and out unseen."

[Valmark]

"Mmm... Let's get as far as possible before doing so though. If he spots the familiar inside the tavern he might thing something's up- squirrels don't usually enter taverns. Plus he might see the magic"

[JNAProductions]

Mr. Nibbs is nowhere in sight.

The bell you heard tolling before Dintly entered the bar... Toll The Dead might be what caused it.

[whiteflash]

"Oh... oh no. I think... Dintly might have killed him."

[SquirrelWizard]

Zoria's face grew dark as the bell tolled, "We should leave, if he's slinging spells like that, then we wont be able to talk to him without killing him... probably."

[Valmark]

"Indeed- if he's killing something so easily, he clearly means business. Mr. Dibbs can easily be conjured again, but we cannot" Kleus nodded "Let's go"

[whiteflash]

"I'm with you there. The only way we'll be able to open a dialogue safely is to figure out how to cast Sending."

"Anyway, let's go. Now. He might have already stopped the brawl, and the staff are sure to tell him which way we went. Which route are we taking out of the city?"

[SquirrelWizard]

"Probably want to avoid the main gate." Zoria said thinking about their options. "Maybe a side gate?"

[whiteflash]

"Just throwing this out here... my Cloak of the Bat will let me get over a wall rather than going through it. Do the rest of you have some way of doing that?"

"Also, maybe we should put some more distance between us and the Tavern while we plan, if this might take us a while to figure out."

[JNAProductions]

You start walking, trying to stay unobtrusive.

There are two main gates to the city-north and south. Various smaller entrances and exits dot the walls, and the city has long since sprawled out beyond its original walls, meaning you'll still have urban civilization to trek through even outside them.

You're aware of several exits nearby. Given what you know, only the Crusaders' halfling would be likely to have already pegged the less known exits.

[whiteflash]

"We want one of the less obvious exits, so that only the halfling is likely to notice it's an option... but we also want there to be as few hiding spaces next to it as possible, since the halfling will probably wait in ambush if she's staked out the gate we're using."

Jak hesitates. "Uh... I didn't get out much, so... can any of you think of a lesser gate that qualifies?"

[JNAProductions]

Most of the gates have some manner of hiding near them. The best choice would be the cargo gate near the port, as that's well-watched.

[whiteflash]

"Maybe we could try the cargo gate near the port? She'd have a harder time hiding there. Too many people watching. If nothing else, if she's hiding there we might get some warning before she attacks."

[Juicy Kisses]

”And if she’s hiding there alone we should be able to deal with her should things get too rowdy!”

[whiteflash]

"Assuming we see her first."

[Valmark]

"Well... Even if we get surprised, there is four of us against one. Who cannot presumably cast spell and isn't too tough. I say we try there" Kleus agreed.

[whiteflash]

"Four against one... but I'm afraid she might take one of us down before we can do anything about it if we don't keep our eyes up. Still, we need to do something or we'll wind up against all of them. Let's just go, and keep our eyes open."

[JNAProductions]

You hurry towards cargo gate. It's about twenty minutes away at a good pace, and luckily, no particular ills befall you.

The gate is wide open, as caravans and wagons go in and out, carrying a whole host of diverse goods and materials.

[SquirrelWizard]

"Okay, quickly lets mingle with the merchants." Zoria said moving towards teh throng of people and motioning for her siblings to follow her.

[whiteflash]

Jak follows, trying to keep an eye out for Liliana... even though he doesn't think his eyes are good enough to spot her.

[roll0]

[Valmark]

"You should probably do the talking, sister" Kleus noted, putting a hand on Zoria's shoulder "With a bit of help"

First Guidance on myself for the Perception check:
[roll0]+[roll1]
Steel defender [roll2]

Then Guidance on Zoria, +1d4 to an ability check within the minute!

[SquirrelWizard]

OOC: Readying Prestidigitation for the coin trick, prior to talking.

Zoria approached the merchant and put on her best smile, "Hello, I noticed that you're about to leave, I was wondering if you'd be so kind to let my siblings and I travel with you outside the wall." As she spoke she held up her hand causing a golden coin to dance between her fingers. "Just a short trip and we part ways."

[JNAProductions]

The merchant looks at the coin dancing in your hand, and gives a small grin. "How much we talking?"

A brief bit of haggling later (you ARE in a hurry) and you part with a dozen gold pieces and a sizable ruby. "We've got some blankets we can lay on the crates-should be comfy enough." True to their word, a few of the porters take some thick blankets and lay them on some of the lower-stacked crates, which you perch on, still a bit nervous. A few minutes pass, with you all keeping your eyes peeled, and then the caravan starts moving.

You pass through the gates, no sign of an attack. There's a hefty bump as you go over some construction just past the gates, and then smooth riding.

The caravan you're on is heading for the next big city, Arn. The journey will take about three weeks, and would certainly require more payments to the merchants, but you're out of Indos now. You're safe, from the Crusaders, at least, no need to stay on the caravan.

[whiteflash]

Jak breathes a sigh of relief as soon as they're out of Indos. "Okay, we're clear of the city. We can probably afford to pay a little bit more to stay with the caravan... but we mostly signed up with them to dodge the Crusaders, and we could stand to brush up on our magic. On the other hand... do you think we could stay with them for free (at least until we hit Arn) if we volunteered to help the guards out if it came to a fight?"

[Valmark]

"I mean... Paying has never been a problem has it?" Kleus wondered "Still, checking out Arn is a good idea and if we can gain something from it... Plus, unless we strike out on our own we'd still end up fighting if need be. I think so, yes"

[SquirrelWizard]

"We might want to talk to Dog at the Monastary first." Zoria said. "We might find out more as to what is making the Crusader's tick without the added hassle of having to deal with a large family of skilled magic users. If the caravan is swinging by there, sure it would make sense to stick with them. If not then we should part ways whenever its reasonable."


When she can get the time to do so, Zoria is going to spend some time to ritualy resummon Mr. Nibbs.

[whiteflash]

"Large family of magic users? Is there... Are you talking about the Starborns? I know they've been there, but... they don't have any permanent facilities there, right? We aren't likely to run into any of them there, are we?"

"If we do have the bad luck of running into one of them, we should probably flee the city, but I don't think they're more likely to be there than anywhere else."

"Maybe we should go to the Monastery right after Arn? Maybe we can even find a caravan heading that way, leaving from Arn. It's not like moving west is going to get us appreciably farther from the Monastery."

[SquirrelWizard]

"Do we need to head to Arn though?" Zoria mused. "I mean, if the Starborns aren't there what might we find? Maybe some more information on the Crusaders? Or maybe even Dad? The only reason I'd suggest visiting those close to 'them' would be to get a clearer picture as to why they went after Dad without a direct and... um.. bloody confrontation. What do we know of Arn?"

[whiteflash]

"It's the nearest city worthy of that title, and the easiest place for us to buy the things we'll need for the loooong trip north. (That is worth doing, but we aren't equipped for it yet.)"

"The Crusaders are supposed to still be in the city, so I would worry some might still be there... but what little I saw and heard of..." Jak pauses, and tries to collect himself. "Dad's last... last fight, suggests that they were all there. Anyway, what little information the public grapevine had on their plans suggests they're supposed to be meeting with the head of the city's ruling class soon, but that they're supposed to be gone before this caravan is scheduled to arrive."

Jak takes a deep breath before he continues.

"What I'm hoping, though I don't believe it's likely, is that we'll find out that the Crusaders are still in Arn, and realize someone else disguised themselves as the Crusaders hoping to... put Dad out of the way without drawing a target on their own back." Jak shrugs, and slightly shapeshifts to a version of his ordinary face with a resting-sad-face. "Again: not likely to happen."

"Beyond that, I figure it's the last place the Crusaders will look for us... and that if they bailed on the most powerful man in Arn to go... go kill... Dad, we... might be able to make some trouble for their reputation there by meeting with the official they blew off and playing off of the faux paus. (And while we're there, we might find they hurt someone in Arn who maybe didn't deserve it. I wouldn't have believed that of them before today...)"

[JNAProductions]

In exchange for a few coins and guarding their caravan, the merchants agree to lend you their knowledge of the roads and keep you on till Arn. Luckily, though, the travel is largely uneventful. There are a few passing travelers and another caravan heading to Indos along the way, but no bandits, no animal attacks (though a bit of hunting), and no real danger.

Soon enough, the city of Arn is visible, and within the hour, you bid the merchants farewell as they head for their contacts. What will you do now?