Toma: the City After the War [IC]

[RS14]

Dawn breaks slowly above the eastern hills. You have survived your first night in the ruins – uneventful, temperate, and as comfortable as can be expected of any place which deals in rock. The structures looks somewhat worse for wear in the dawn light. Between the holes in the thatch roof of the warehouse and the scrap lying in the yard, your mine looks abandoned far longer than would seem likely. It is just the same as last night, save for the tents – a visitor might now mistake it for a circus of vagrants. No, that's not quite right. There's one difference, hardly visible in the dawn light, but significant now that this plot of land is yours. A light shines in the warehouse window, thin and shaky, but a light nevertheless.

[hr]

As for the mine itself, it is approximately one acre in size (180ftx180ft), features two buildings: the warehouse, with a small shack attached, and a canteen, currently shuttered. The warehouse is an enormous building, featuring three large carriage doors on the Eastern side, a small door to the south (All locked), and a short set of tracks to the mine shaft, located just to the north-east of the center of the plot. A hexagonal roof covers it from the rain, and also provides cover for anyone operating the large, mechanical winch and pulley system. There is a ladder along the side of the shaft, but the large cage hanging above it looks as if it was used to hoist workers more often than not. Either way, the water now reaches to within 15ft of the top. Nobody will be descending soon.

A road runs East to West just to the south of the mine. Some wagons are out on it already, some even hauling ore. The buildings all around seem fairly nondescript warehouses, though to your immediate west lies a walled off compound with no apparent buildings. The only topography of note is the small increase in elevation to the north-east, into which the mine-shaft crane has been dug.

Map:
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee241/RS14_photo/tomamine-1.png
5ft squares. Contour lines represent 3ft elevation, increasing to the north-east.

Characters:

{table=head]Player|Character|Character Description

Chineselegolas|Kithzin (http://www.coyotecode.net/profiler/view.php?id=3526)|Githzerai Rogue/Monk

Ryuuk|Telma Abrica (http://pifro.com/pro/view.php?id=562)|Human Psychic Warrior

Snowfall|Mourdin Forge (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheets/view.php?id=46938)|Dwarf Cleric

Solophoenix|Varwann (http://www.campaign-blog.com/view.php?id=8036)|Whisper Gnome Beguiler

XenoGeno| Urk Redshirt (http://www.playrpgonline.net/3eprofiler/view.php?id=2085)|Orc Paragon/Barbarian
[/table]

OOC thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=4130952).

[Ryuuk]

Telma

The surface of the waters in the mine shaft was beginning to send off a few small ripples. These could have gone unnoticed at first, were it not for the fact that they were getting larger. Eventually, with the faint splashing of water, a tiny creature emerged, climbing along the rock wall. “Almost there…” It moved slowly and diligently, taking great care to only grab hold of the most secure pieces of rock. It resembled some sort of black spider, not a live one really, but some sort of decorative obsidian tarantula with very little attention given to the finer details.

“About time…” As it finally crawled out of the shaft, the first thing it saw was a familiar human sitting down by the crane and starring directly at it. She looked young. Short brown hair, just long enough to cover the length of her ears and touch the bottom of her jaw, framed a misguidedly gentle expression. She lowered one of her hands to the ground in an open palm, and the spider obediently climbed aboard.

“So how’d it go?” The little creature seemed to respond by with a jitter, but it remained silent. “What do you…?” Telma’s look changed to confusion, disbelief, But you where down there for more then an hour what were you doing? disappointment Just “had a look around” but you were supposed to… and finally acceptance. Fine, fine, next time I’ll explicitly say, “look for air pockets”, I got it

With a touch from Telma’s hand, the small spider’s legs suddenly reverted back into its body. The small piece of obsidian-black crystal stopped moving. With a sigh, she shoved it into her pocket, stood up and started on her way to the warehouse.

[Solophoenix]

Varwann

Varwann yawns and stretches as he awakes to the small ray of dawn slicing into his tent through the entrance-flap. The gnome arises and pulls back the flap, wincing slightly as the full light strikes his eyes. He stands at the entrance and surveys the area, catching sight of an oddly flickering light in the warehouse window. He calls out to the others.

Rise and shine tall folks! I think someone's trying to move in on our claim!

[Snowfall]

Mourdin Forge

Mourdin turns at the sound of the gnome's voice, looking away from the window he has been silently studying for the last several minutes. "So much for surprising them" thinks the dwarf, but then he shrugs, sometimes it was better to let the unknown know you're coming.

Mourdin had woken up as usual, before the sun, spending his early morning moments communing with Heironeous. He still wore the chain shirt that he always used as his night clothes, and had been debating putting on his armor when he noticed the light in the window. Now with axe in hand and shield across his back, he makes his way across the camp site to his companions.

He still didn't know much about them, but months fighting underground during the war had taught him the value of being open to new friends, and besides, they had worked well enough together bringing down the land scam. Plus Mourdin's intuition told him to trust them: the magic user, the monk, the blacksmith, even the giant warrior... of whom Mourdin has his suspicions, but that his gut told him to trust.

"Good morning, Varwann" Mourdin greets, "Looks like this site needs a little more cleaning than we thought it did." Gesturing with his head towards the light in the window, he adds "Shall we get the others and take a look?"

[XenoGeno]

Urk Redshirt

Hearing Varwann's shouting, Urk wakes up, and grabs his sword. Pausing for a minute, he adjusts his hat, and focuses on the illusion he has been using, a human warrior from far-off barbaric lands, large but otherwise indescript. Opening his tent, he looks at the gnome.

"Whatizzit? Whuz goin' on? Who's tryin' ta take our claim?" he says, stifling a yawn.

[Solophoenix]

Varwann

"Makes no sense to let them get comfortable up there. Ideas on how to approach it? Perhaps if we let Telma send her spider-thing up to the window to have a peek inside, and give us an idea of what we might be facing? I'd hate to barge in a a bunch of guys as big as-"

Varwann hears Urk's sleepy mutterings

"-...him, unprepared."

[RS14]

Note: The warehouse is a single story building with a high ceiling. The windows are close enough for the ground (4ft) for all of you to look through, although they are filthy with dust, cobwebs, and grime on the inside. If you choose to peer through a window...

Two figures are barely visible by lamplight. Both look too tall to be Dwarves. They are at the northern end of the room now, and appear to be walking in slow circles. One carries a lamp

Darkvision provides a +4 circumstance bonus to spot, Low Light Vision +2.

Spot DC 4
The large shapes along the west wall look like piles of earth or rock. Given the absence of outside light, the south door is probably still closed.
Spot DC 9
The intruder with the lamp wears full armor and carries a flail. His companion appears unarmed.
Spot DC 16
A large, gently-glowing lizard follows the two figures.
Spot DC 26
A shorter cloaked figure is crouching beside a pile of ore to the south-west corner of the room. He has no light.

You might choose to smash a window, decreasing all spot DCs by 2.

[Snowfall]

Mourdin

"Hmmm, why don't we go take a look."Mourdin walks carefully over to the window and attempts to see inside.


[roll0]

[Ryuuk]

Telma

"Morn-... There's someone in the warehouse?" Telma was just arriving at the campsite, having decided to change to her day clothes before taking a better look over the rest of their claim. She was just barely noticing the light in the window. The news caught her by surprise.

Part of her saw the irony, realizing that a psicrystal really is one of its master's dominant traits. The rest of her tried to ignore this first part as best it could and instead worried about getting to her equipment. She agrees with Varwann though, and she hastily digs her hand into her pants pocket and pulls out the small black crystal. She taps it and drops it a few feet beside her, where it catches itself with its newly formed legs. She gives it a piercing stare, You heard him, get a look inside and find out where that light's coming from, and don't look for a candle, you know what I mean.

The little spider seems to nod at the mental command and scurries off to the window, while Telma keeps herself busy putting her greaves and breastplate on over the pants and buttoned overshirt she used to sleep with. Lastly, she picks up the peculiar crystal blade she'd picked up during the invasion. She wasn't satisfied with her armor, feeling she'd donned it too hastily, but just tries to follow the others as soon as she can.

Just going to have the psicrystal go up to the window. If it can't "see" anything within its 40ft sight, it'll just try to get in like most other rodents.
Spot: [roll0]

[Snowfall]

Mourdin

Turning from the window, Mourdin whispers urgently to his friends, "We've got trouble." and he describes quickly what he had seen. "We need to find a way in there. Where's our stealthy friend, is he up yet?"


OOC: Meant to post that as an edit after the spot roll rather than double posting, but didn't do it in time...

[Solophoenix]

Varwann

"I believe I am the stealthiest among us actually." whispers Varwann as he walks up to stand beside Mourdin. He stands up on his tip toes to get a glimpse through the window to see for himself what Mourdin described

Spot [roll0]
This is assuming the bonuses for darkvision and low light vision do not stack, otherwise it's +11.

EDIT: And just at the threshold too


"So what's the plan? You want me to sneak in for a closer look? I'm not too sure how well that would work with opening a door. Although if it's the full charge we want, those locks won't be any problem for me. Perhaps we should wait and see if the spider can sneak in first. If that doesn't work, I have a spell that will tell us what these fellows are thinking."

[RS14]

The little crystal spider ignores the conversation around it. It pauses only briefly at the window before making its assessment, and it proceeds across the sill and up into the eaves.

Inside the warehouse, the light-bearer sets down his lantern. He gestures, says a few words, which are completely unintelligible from where you stand, and with his companion begins to climb one of the shadowy peaks of rubble along the west wall. Stones cascade to the floor in a clatter. He maintains his balance, but only barely, and only by clawing at the slope with his hands. At the peak, both seem to disappear into the rafters. The absence of lighting makes it impossible to distinguish any structure.

OOC:
Do not stack Darkvision and Low-Light vision for the spot checks, as the figures are within the range of Darkvision.

[Chineselegolas]

Kithzin

Standing up, his morning mediation complete, Kithzin walked over to the others, his robes flowing strangely round his inertial armour.
Peering through the window, he watched the strangers inside disappear into the rafters
"I'm for the sneaking plan, but knowing what we are facing is always of use."

[Snowfall]

Mourdin

The dwarf thinks for a moment, nodding his head.

"Let's see what the spider has to say, but we don't need to wait on the locks." Mourdin turns to Varwann and says, "You, Urk and I can head to the south door and see if you can get it unlocked. Kithzin, you've got good eyes, keep watching what's going on while you wait for the spider. Signal us if we should go in hard or soft by waving high or low. If things get dicey for us in there..." the dwarf grins, "come through the window."

Looking down at himself, Mourdin realizes he hasn't had time to switch his chain shirt for his armor, so he says a quiet prayer to Heironeous for protection and then waits for Varwann to lead the way.


Casting magic vestment on his chain shirt (+2 to AC, 5 hours)

The above is all assuming the party is not on the north side of the building.

[XenoGeno]

Urk

Urk stands behind the rest of the group and glances through a window and grins. (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1548644/)

"Alright, I have dibs on the lizard. Anything that glows is sure to put up a good fight, right?"

[Solophoenix]

Varwann

"OK then, let's get going"
Varwann leads the way around to the south door. Reaching into his magically enhanced pack, he retrieves his set of thieves' tools and attempts to open the lock on the door.


Taking 10 on the Open Lock check for a total of 16. If he is unable to get the door unlocked with that, he will return the tools to his pack and cast Knock

[Ryuuk]

Telma

"Glowing lizard?" Telma squints her eyes as she peers into the window (1d20+5=6) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1548747). She was starting to worry about her sight, but this wasn't really the best time to delve too far into it. As she backs off, she sends a few more orders to her envoy. Good, follow them and stay out of sight. Keep me informed on what they're doing.

Telma steps back slowly and tries to spot a pair of heads (9) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1548767/) above the warehouse (if she sees anything, she'll hurry back to the side of the warehouse so that they don't spot her). "It says they're climbing onto the roof... What the heck are these guys doing?" As the group gets going, she follows, her eyes still scanning the roof.

[RS14]

Mourdin, Telma, Urk, and Varwann hustle to the south door, keeping their heads down below the windows as a precaution. Kithzin remains at the first window, but warehouse remains as dark and inscrutable as ever.

Even from the south end of the building, nobody can be seen on the rooftop. No ladders have been abandoned here either. You find the south door unlocked, however. The large padlock which secured it last night has not been harmed, but has been hung on a small brass hook beside the door. The door will swing inwards with just a strong shove. Will you go in "hard" or "soft"?

[hr]
OOC:
The roof is fairly steep, thatch, and peaks at the middle. Anyone on it would be hidden from at least one direction.

Yes, I was assuming you were on the east side. I thought I'd marked your tents on the map near where the rails are. Sorry for not catching that sooner.

[Solophoenix]

Varwann

"Alright, it doesn't look like Kithzin has seen anything new, so I say we stick to the soft approach. Do one of you want to go and check the roof? I have a spell that will let you climb right up the wall with no difficulty...you're not going to like the way it's cast though."

[Ryuuk]

Telma

Really? OK, just keep an eye on them for now. Warn me if they try to leave the warehouse. Telma felt like she was trying to solve a puzzle while blindfolded and while someone whispered instructions in her ear. Nevertheless, it started to make some semblance of sense. She tightened her grip on the blade on her side though, she didn't like the conclusion.

"You might want to hold onto the spell Varwann. They stopped bothering with the roof. It says they're back on the loft and... talking to someone about how they "missed their chance". Unless the lizard can talk we're dealing with at least 4 trespassers." She looked a bit preoccupied, splitting her attention between the planning, her crystals recon and drawing her own conclusions.

[Solophoenix]

Varwann

"Alright then, soft it is. I'll slip inside and see if I can find out a bit more than the spider. If you hear me yell...or Kithzin come crashing through the window, we'll switch to coming in hard immediately. Otherwise, if one of you waits by the door, I can use a message spell to relay any other information"

His plan explained, Varwann as quietly as possible, slips through the door and into the warehouse, leaving the door ajar just enough for a message spell to reach the others. On entering the room he looks around, his vision now unobscured by grimy window.


[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

Spot roll is assuming I still get a +4 bonus for darkvision
Assuming there is no obvious sign that he has been detected, Varwann will whisper through the door to the others:

"You know, I've just had a thought. The lock was undamaged, they're talking about 'missing their chance', and if they were intending to sneak around, they didn't do a very good job of it. What if these are the original owners of this mine, and we just got here before they could claim it back?"

[RS14]

Varwann slips through the door silently.

Telma, Urk:

It sounded as if he said something a moment after shutting through the door. The words were brief, just one or two sentences that you couldn't make out.

[XenoGeno]

Urk

Urk hears a few meaningless words, and turns to his companions.

"Did any of you catch that? All I heard was 'Whisperwhisperwhisper,' and I'll be damned if I know what he meant. Should we go in after him?"

[Ryuuk]

Telma

Despite of all that had been happening since she'd started her day, she felt slightly relieved from Urk's comment. At least my hearing's fine, unless its some kind of contagious deafness. She thinks about the question for a sec before answering.

"Heard something too, couldn't make it out either. Well, I've got a feeling that whoever in there nows there's others here. Lets give Varwann a few more seconds, then go in hard. If anything, we'll give him distraction."

While they wait, she draws a long, slick looking crystal with a blue hue. As she closes her eyes and concentrates, the hue becomes a dim glow and she seems to grow a few inches taller. She shares this glow with Mourdin and Urk before putting it away. "That should help, shall we?" She places her hand on the door, ready to push it open as soon as the others are ready.

Used three charges off her Dorje of Skate (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/skate.htm) (think a psionic wand). Mourdin, Urk and Herself get a 15ft boost in movement speed for a bit less then a minute. This doubles when going downhill and drops to +0 when going uphill.

[Snowfall]

Mourdin

Despite the grim situation, Mourdin smiles, "Thanks Telma, a boost in speed never hurt me."

Pulling his shield off his back, he nods, "Let's go. On the count of 3."

"1... 2... 3..."

[RS14]

OOC: Rolling initiative (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1550481/) to resolve order of events.

Varwann 16
Kithzin 12 (unaware)
Telma 10
Urk 10 (Delays for Telma's action, goes immediately after)
Mourdin 9

[hr]

Varwann: Without even a blink, you still the air around you, deadening all outside sounds in an instant. The Dwarf seems to focused on you to notice the sudden absence of audible footsteps on the planks above.

On Mourdin's count, Telma throws the door open hard. It slams against the wall wooden wall of the warehouse without the slightest sound. She dashes in to Varwann's left, coming face to face with a thin, young, black-bearded Dwarf who was just moments before staring up at Varwann from beside a large pile of mithril ore. He wears chain, a large mithril shield, and a leather bandoleer, upon which his hand rests. Urk follows just behind her and flanks Varwann to the right. Mourdin follows, but with little space to maneuver he halts in the doorway.

The trio has just a fraction of a second to survey the room - Just enough to note the large rock piles along the western wall, the lantern in the middle of the room, and the crude loft of wood planks laid down the center of the room across the rafters. The room appears otherwise empty, although the far end is still shrouded in shadows.
[hr]
OOC: I'm going to pause right in the middle of this so you can detail actions for the first round. Varwann has already taken his action, but Telma, Urk, and Mourdin have only moved about 10ft and can complete moves and then take one standard action. As the Dwarf was already alert following Varwann's entrance, no surprise round occurs. Kithzin will act on the next round, on initiative count 12. The Dwarf will act on initiative count 8.
No talking - All but Kithzin are in the middle of a silence effect.
While the open door lights much of the room, there are still some areas shrouded in shadows, which grant concealment.
Map:
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee241/RS14_photo/tomawarehouseletters-2.png
Same colors as you use to post. The Red circle represents the Dwarf.

[Ryuuk]

Telma

Telma feels somewhat off. Part of her mind pitches the idea of contagious deafness again, but it's largely ignored. There were a few, more important things to worry about. The most important of which was a simply question: Where were the others? No lizard, no larger intruders, not even a response from her psicrystal.

She sends a few mental pings, hoping for an answer, but honestly her mind was working on something else. She waves her arm in front of her before gripping her weapon tightly and watching the dwarf's every move. She didn't know if it worked without its usual hum, but if things were as she thought, she'd find out soon enough.

She'll finish her move in B3 and manifest Force Screen. Her AC should be at 23, taking into account the hastily equipped breastplate.

Also, that is a very nice map you got there, much more detailed then th ones I usually see in play by posts anyway.

[XenoGeno]

Urk

Urk tries to yell out a war scream, and doesn't realize nothing's heard. While he's not in a true blood rage, he is still getting quite worked up, to the point of nearing obliviousness.

Urk moves to the closest available square next to a dwarf, and attacks. If by the next turn the dwarf is still alive, Urk moves to the closest available square and attacks. If the dwarf is not alive, Urk moves to the next closest target and attacks. If the lizard is seen, and Urk can reach it in one move action and without recieving attacks of opppurtunity, he heads for that regardless of whether someone else is closer or not. Here are my rolls. (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1550776/)

[Ryuuk]

Doh, I forgot about the rounds in advance. Here it goes again:
Round 1: Move to B3, Manifest Force Screen

Round 2:
- Join Urk in beating him down, but try to knock him out: (Attack: +7 AB, -4 nonlethal, +2 Reckless Offensive) (Damage: 2d4+4, +2d6 Psionic Weapon), 5ft step Away and try to recover Psionic Focus (DC 20)
Round 2
Nonlethal Attack, Damage, Psionic Weapon, Recover Focus (1d20 5=8, 2d4 4=6, 2d6=6, 1d20 13=31) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1550830/)
Swing and Miss... Focus is Back though

Round 3:
- The Dwarf should have been reduced to a smooth paste judging by Urk's rolls. If not she'll try the above again in hopes of leaving someone behind to explain. Only difference would be a 5ft step in rather then out.
Round 3
Nonlethal Attack, Damage, Psionic Weapon, Recover Focus (1d20 5=23, 2d4 4=9, 2d6=8, 1d20 13=21) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1550832/)
Round 3
Crit Confirm, Damage (1d20 5=12, 2d4 4=8) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1550835/</a>)
- If the Dwarf is already down, she'll attack any target of opportunity, giving priority to those in the light. The above roll would work, but she wouldn't be able to recover her focus, instead moving to the foe.

Speaking of which, almost forgot concealment:Round 2: Concealment, Round 3: Concealment (1d100=47, 1d100=15) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1550843/)

[Chineselegolas]

Kithzin

Round 1
Move to stand in front of window

Round 2
Turning to peer in the window to see how his companion were doing, Kithzin noticed the dwarf about to engage them, and then pointing his hand at the window used his innate energies to shatter it, tumbling though ready to help his companions (M9)
Use first of my three daily uses of shatter to break the window (I could just punch it, but where is the class in that?...)
And Darkvision 60ft. From my vantage point can I see anything extra

[Snowfall]

Mourdin

Upon seeing the dwarf, Mourdin's first reaction is to scan the room for the other intruders and the lizards. When Telma and Urk move left to engage the dwarf, Mourdin decides to move to the right searching for the other intruders up above.


Moves to D8

[roll0]

[RS14]

Varwann: 16
Kithzin: 12
Telma: 10
Urk: 10
Mourdin: 9
[The Young Dwarf]: 8
[hr]

Telma halts, and is uninterrupted as she waves her arms and readies her crystal sword before her.

Urk, foam flying from his silent mouth as he skates rapidly around Varwann, takes the Dwarf completely by surprise. With a single crushing blow, his sword crashes down onto the Dwarf's shoulder, but the heavy crunch as the Dwarf slams unconscious and bleeding into the ground is cut short instantly by the aura surrounding all four.

Mourdin, moving at a more plodding pace, but then continuing his dash into the room as Urk halts to swing, comes to a halt atop a tiny mound of rock near the center of the room just as silence gives way to the crunch of gravel beneath his feet. While the lower floor of the warehouse seems as deserted as ever, he sees now some general features. It is clear that there is no ladder into the loft, and a small, wooden, rail-style cart to the north end of the room reveals the utility of the tracks to the mine-shaft.

Kithzin, as he peers through the window, can clearly see the entrance occurring by the south door. He raises his hands to the window sill and...

[hr]
Starting next initiative count, as you'll want this next bit when you act.
Unarmored Figure: 22
Armored Figure: 19
[hr]

Up above, there is a clatter heard only to Mourdin. All, however, watch as two heads pop out over the edge of the loft, one clad in a heavy but open-faced helm, the other in loose robes. With a foul miner's curse, the later figure withdraws, but the former, the grim, armored human, raises in his hand a silver symbol of some form. He nods at Mourdin below him...

Mourdin:
Mourdin feels despair sink into his heart like a thunderbolt. Make a will save...

[hr]


While the unarmored human has withdrawn into the wooden loft, the armored human's head and shoulders still stick out from the loft, thus he has cover as well as concealment.
The body of the Dwarf still lies in the shadows; you can't be sure if he has been seen or not.
All four of the nearest peaks of in the rock-pile climb to within reach of the rafters, 10ft above the floor. Make a balance or climb check if you attempt to ascend one, although you must have both hands free to climb.

Map:
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee241/RS14_photo/tomawarehouseletters-3.png
The armored figure is represented by the red x.

[Solophoenix]

Varwann

Varwann dismisses the silence effect, holding his current position.

Damnit, I was hoping that they wouldn't hear us

"So much for the soft approach then. Vel Karsh!*"


*Traditional gnome battle cry, translating to "Ruin them!"

[XenoGeno]

Due to a clarification in where the armored dude is, Urk is going to try and climb up the closest pile. Judging from this roll, though, I think he fails. (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1553975/)

[Ryuuk]

Telma

Good job, just stay hidden and keep an eye on them. If they see you though, just come back, you've done enough already. Glad to have the sound back, Telma moves aside and plants her sword on the ground next to the dwarf. She had to hand it to Urk, you didn't want to be on receiving end with him.

There was a lot of blood. "I'll be with you in a second, let me just..." Her hands were a deep red within seconds. She didn't had never learned any formal first aid, but she knew enough to try and make the bleeding stop. She uses a piece of the dwarf's shirt as she applies pressure and tries to stabilize him. He might be able to explain things later.

She gets up feeling pretty confident that he'll live. the bleeding seemed to have stopped, one of her best ones yet. (23 on the Heal check to stabilize him) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1553589/)

Free: Move to B2
Free: drop the Falchion
Standard: First Aid
Move: pick up the Falchion

[Snowfall]

Trying to shake off the despair, Mourdin calls upon Heironeous to stun the armored man and his ally.


Round 1
Will save vs. despair (1d20 8=22) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1554027/)

If able, Mourdin will cast Sound Burst (DC 15 or be stunned for 1 round), centered behind the armored man at M4. Burst radius 10 feet.

[roll0]

Round 2
Mourdin will cast Spiritual Weapon, duration 5 rounds. Battleaxe, Damage 1d8+2, Attack 1d8+8 and sends it to engage the armored figure.

[roll1]
[roll2]

[RS14]

Unarmored Figure: 22
Armored Figure: 19
Varwann: 16
Kithzin: 12
Telma: 10
Urk: 10
Mourdin: 9

[hr]

The window shatters and Kithzin tumbles in from the east, a much more graceful maneuver than Urk's dash up the rocks, which ends with a rough tumble as they slide beneath his feet.

In the corner, Telma's hasty bandage seems effective. Though the Dwarf's arm may never be the same, he is certainly alive. Telma leaves him on his good arm as she stands.

Mourdin's will holds, and, with a raise of his arms, a deafening burst rattles the boards and rafters above.

The armored figure shakes his head slowly, as if trying to recover. From above, a voice calls out "Thieves! Where have you hidden it?"

[hr]

Same situation as before, although the armored figure appears stunned.

Sorry I was so late in posting. It's lunch right now, and I don't have time for a second round. Also, I want to see what you say, so lets revert to one round at a time.

Map:
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee241/RS14_photo/tomawarehouseletters-4.png
The yellow and cyan tokens are the armored and unarmored humans respectively.
Ok, I lied about having it up yesterday. My apologies.

[Solophoenix]

Varwann

Hearing the yell, Varwann shouts back.

"In the top drawer on the left hand side!"

Shortly followed by

"And who are you calling 'thieves' anyway?"

Varwann remains where he is, waiting for a response.

[XenoGeno]

Urk

"What in the hells is going on? What did we hide? Did we even hide anything?" Urk shouts. Thinking hard, Urk shakes his head and yells out a battle cry, charging up the nearest pile to the loft. (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1555672/)

To clarify, he's not literally charging, just moving up the pile. If he makes it up there, he stays where he is. If he falls, he drinks a potion of enlarge person.

[RS14]

Varwann: 16
Kithzin: 12
Telma: 10
Urk: 10
Mourdin: 9
Unarmored Figure: 22
Armored Figure: 19

[hr]

This time, Urk manages to ascend the pile; a particularly large slab of rock turns out to be firmly set in place, and only pebbles slip beneath him. He turns and leaps onto the loft, coming face to face with the men.

By this point, the man in armor has risen to his feet and stepped away from the edge of the loft. "Oh, fools, are you? I will rend every one of you limb from limb if I must. Don't interfere here." As the unarmored man, wearing a loose gray robe, gestures and bends to touch the electric blue lizard beside him, the man in armor leans in close beside him and whispers something unheard. He straightens up and holds the flail out before him as if in challenge. "Take care how you act."

[hr]

OOC:


All three, the armored and unarmored men and the lizard, are now out of sight from below.


http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee241/RS14_photo/tomawarehouseletters-5.png
Mistake: Urk is at i3, in the loft, where the green line ends.

[Ryuuk]

Telma

"You have some nerve..." Having given the dwarf's makeshift bandages a last check, Telma looks over piles of rock and rubble, trying to find some sort of path. "Trespassing into our plot, calling us thieves and threatening us... Just who do you think you are?" Following Urks lead, she puts her weapon away at her side and starts trying to make her way up. She curses the rather constraining breastplate under her breath. Sadly, her attempts proves less then fruitful. (0) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1556316/)

Sorry about missing last round, I kept telling myself I'd get to it eventually.

[Chineselegolas]

Kithzin

Looking up and seeing the invaders move back into the loft, Kithzin jogged lightly over and up the slope, dancing lightly from stone to stone barely disturbing any rocks as me made his way up towards the loft

[roll0]
Edit: Nailed it... What a waste of a nat 20...

[Solophoenix]

Varwann

Varwann dashes up to Telma, and without saying anything, reaches up and forces a live spider and a drop of bitumen into her mouth, casting his spell as he does so.

Varwann moves to B3 and casts Spider Climb (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/spiderClimb.htm) on Telma

[Snowfall]

Mourdin

Mourdin looks suspiciously at the rock pile, and then swears under his breath in dwarven. Calling out again to Heironeous, Mourdin summons an ally to aid his companions in fight. A glowing, large winged creature appears in the air above him. "Go help my friends up there, take out that dark priest."


Mourdin casts summon monster III and sends it against the armored figure. Stat block is below. Duration 5 rounds.

[roll0]
[roll1]



Celestial Hippogriff stats

Celestial Hippogriff Large Magical Beast (); CR 2; HD 3d10+9; hp 25;
Init +2; Spd 50 ft., fly 100 ft. (average); Space/Reach 10 ft./5 ft.;
AC 15 (-1 size, +2 Dex, +4 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 13; Base Atk +3; Grp +11;
Atk Claw +6 melee (1d4+4); Full Atk 2 claws +6 melee (1d4+4) and bite +1 melee (1d8+2);
SA smite evil; SQ Darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent, Darkvision 60 ft, resistance to acid 5 and cold 5 and electricity 5, SR 8; AL CG; SV Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +2;
Str 18, Dex 15, Con 16, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 8
Skills: Listen +4, Spot +8
Feats: Dodge, Wingover
Skills(): Hippogriffs have a +4 racial bonus on Spot checks.
Carrying Capacity(): A light load for a hippogriff is up to 300 pounds; a medium load, 301-600 pounds; and a heavy load, 601-900 pounds.
Smite Evil(Su): Once per day a celestial creature can make a normal melee attack to deal +3 extra damage against an evil foe

[XenoGeno]

Urk

Urk looks the unarmored foe in the eyes, and, lowering his shoulders, charges. (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1556865/)

[RS14]

Varwann: 16
Kithzin: 12
Telma: 10
Urk: 10
Armored Figure: 10
Mourdin: 9
Unarmored Figure: 22
Armored Figure: 19

[hr]

As Varwann shoves the spider and bitumen down Telma's mouth, Kithzin bounds into the loft beside Urk. Telma, likewise sheaths her sword and climbs rapidly up the wall to the loft with the aid of the many tiny hooks and claws which spring up on her hands.

Urk steps forward, but the armored man has prepared for this; with a shout, he lunges forward and throws his weight (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1557835/) into Urk, catching him mid stride. He flinches at the glancing blow (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1557843/) landed on his head by Kithzin, but nevertheless Urk is (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1557838/) halted (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1557840/). Angrily, he slashes at the man; it is a good blow that cuts through armor at the waist, but not good enough to be lethal.

As Mourdin begins gesturing, the shape of the hypogriff begins to take form. It will appear next round.

The unarmored man, now looking somewhat panicked, screams at his companion "Just kill him. One of the others will do." Then into the melee, he throws a small cherry tart. As he backs down the loft, he waves a feather frantically in the air. The lizard follows him back and seems to be trying to hide behind his robe.

Urk:
Make a will save.

[hr]

Maps:
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee241/RS14_photo/toma-loft.pngLofthttp://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee241/RS14_photo/tomawarehouse.pngGround

[Ryuuk]

Telma

"What are you-?" The sudden skittering on her mouth and rock going down her throat cut her off. Mercifully, the sensation doesn't last long and with a few words Varwann only leaves behind a hard to forget aftertaste. "Ugh" After taking a look at her hand she gives him a nod and scampers up onto the loft.
---

Taking a sec to appraise the seen, Telma makes up her mind and gets moving. Her steeps seem floaty and they seem somewhat slippery. As she makes her way around the pile of wooden planks and objects, a loud deep pitched hum seems to burst from her direction. As it does, she seems to fly across the loft, readying her falchion during her travel and swinging it more like a club as she throws caution to the wind against the unarmed man (1d20+6=10. 15 nonlethal damage). (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1558099/)

She'll manifest Hustle (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/hustle.htm) for an extra move action. Between that and Skate she should be able to reach 90ft with a double move, just enough to reach O7.

AC 17. HP 36/36, P. Focus: Expended, 11/15 pp

[Solophoenix]

Varwann

His spell cast, Varwann moves to Mourdin and repeats the process.

I don't imagine you're the most talented climber either. Don't chew, just swallow, I don't care how much it reminds you of Dwarf cuisine. Now, if you carry me up, I'll save on a spell"


Varwann moves to B1 and casts Spider Climb on Mourdin



Varwann's Spells
0 level: 6/6
1 level: 5/7
2 level: 5/5

SLAs used:
Silence

[Chineselegolas]

Kithzin
Flipping up into the loft from the top of the rocks, Kith delivered a tab into the back of the soldier head as he ran into the veritable living wall that is Urk.

Doing a quick somersault around the armoured goon, Kithzin struck out at his back while he was still recovering for the collision with Urk

Tumble into position with flanking [roll0]
Swing at the armoured guy
[roll1] (assuming I get into flanking (Either passing tumble or surviving the AoO))
[roll2]
[roll3]

[Snowfall]

Mourdin

Mourdin sheathes his axe and calls out to the hippgriff above "Go lend them a hand!" Turning to Varwann he adds, "I'll be your mule... but I'm definitely cooking the next meal."

He waits for Varwann to climb on and then scrambles up the pile.

[RS14]

Varwann: 16
Kithzin: 12
Telma: 10
Urk: 10
Armored Figure: 10
Mourdin: 9
Hippogriff 5 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1559428/)
Unarmored Figure: 22

[hr]

Urk, seeming terribly amused by these tarts, bursts into laughter and falls at the floor of the loft. Kithzin, reacting swiftly, moves and, with a sharp blow to the weak bindings on the back of the man's armor, knocks him painfully down and out

Telma too moves swiftly, though her movement seems supernaturally fast, and the flat of her blade nearly bashes the unarmored man into the ground. The lizard cowers behind him, flattening itself against the crates as the hippogriff crashes in from the west. Its claws (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1559449/) rip into the man's flesh, and it hisses at him viciously. He staggers back, shouting incantations and waving at the air before him. The lizard, now seeming to realize that it must fight, sparks in anger, and shoots an arc of lightning to Telma. He backs straight into the waiting arms of his master, which appear to infuse him with a new electric glow.

Telma:
7 points of nonlethal damage, or DC12 reflex for 3 points.

Just as this is happening, Mourdin emerges along the wall with Varwann on his back. He crawls gracefully across the rafter, standing only as he arrives beside Kithzin.

[hr]
Map:
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee241/RS14_photo/toma-loft-1.png

[Solophoenix]

Varwann

Varwann drops down from the dwarf's back and immediately starts reciting an incantation, throwing some powdered mica into the air and watching as the spell consumes it.


Varwann casts Glitterdust (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/glitterdust.htm) centered on the top left corner of Q7. 10ft radius spread, DC 16 will save or blinded for 5 rounds.

[Chineselegolas]

Kithzin

Charging (L6 then to P6 using skill trick to turn mid charge) at the robed figure, Kithzin flowing around the hippogriff. Muttering a few words right as he reached the figure, the air seeming to ripple strangely around his fist.

Using stunning fist
[roll0]
[roll1]
Fort save vs DC 15 or be stunned if it hits.

[RS14]

Varwann: 16
Kithzin: 12
Telma: 10
Urk: 10
Mourdin: 9
Hippogriff 5
Unarmored Figure: 22

[hr]

The rapidly expanding golden cloud engulfs both the man and lizard; particles swirl through the air and settle on the loft and the nearby canvas-covered crate. The unarmored man wipes at his face with his sleeve, but to no effect (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1560693/). Kithzin bounds towards them, but as he rushes into the dust, they fade (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1560731/) from his vision, overwhelmed by swirls of gold. He swings wildly, but his fists fail to land (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1560746/).

As the others hang back, the hippogriff lunges over the crate; he blindly claws the air before him, but his claw (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1560879/) connects (http://http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1560880/) and his beak too. It pulls away out of the cloud, taking with it a strip of flesh, and the man collapses beside the crate. The lizard slips from beneath his feet and begins to flail wildly (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1560917/) towards Kithzin - though even blinded, Kithzin manages to avoid the blow easily.

[hr]

Map:
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee241/RS14_photo/toma-loft-2.png
Gold-ish circle is the glitterdust cloud.

[Ryuuk]

Telma

Telma flinches from the shock (10) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1560942/), more surprised then anything else. She stops for a second and regains her focus (21, Psionic Focus is up) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1560947/) before putting her attention back on the unarmed man.

She couldn't help but feel fortunate, it looked like his attention was elsewhere. She simply steps forward and takes a swing, once again making sure that it's mostly blunt force rather then anything lethal. However, she slowly starts to realize that her weapon may not be the most efficient tool (1d20+5=7) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1560956/) in knocking someone out.

Jesh, sad thing is that even I it where lethal there's a good chance of a miss. Anyway, she's currently at P7 actions where:

Move: Regain Focus
Free: 5ft Step
Standard: Swing and miss (most likely)

AC 19. HP 36/36, P. Focus: Expended, 11/15 pp

[Snowfall]

Mourdin

Seeing that there wasn't much space to assist Telma and Kithzin, Mourdin trudges over to the downed armored man to stabilize him... there would be questions.


I'm not exactly sure where the armored man fell, but I think Mourdin still operating at +15 ft boost from Telma.

[roll0]

[Solophoenix]

Varwann

Whoops, slight error in the aiming of that spell, better take note for next time

Varwann stands and watches the battle, taking no action for now.

[RS14]

Varwann: 16
Kithzin: 12
Telma: 10
Urk: 10
Mourdin: 9
Hippogriff: 5
Unarmored Figure: 22

[hr]

Kithzin kicks (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1561925/) blindly towards where he last saw the lizard, and though he hits solidly, the lizard slips from beneath his boot. Telma, though not blinded (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1561899/), brings her sword down too slowly and misses. The hippogriff, however, blindly snatches (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1561954/) it away in his beak; the lizard twitches and then falls limp, the electric glow fades from it, and the hippogriff happily bolts it down.

[hr]

Eventually, the dust disappears, Urk recovers from his laughing fit, and the hippogriff gates away silently. Mourdin's bandages take effect, and all three intruders are immobilized.

While the intruders are not yet conscious, here beneath the canvas-covered cargo-pallet (loaded with ceramic pipes) and beside a small knife and an open draw-string pack are three black hooded robes, a silver holy-symbol in the shape of a gaping, fanged mouth, and a leather pouch containing some sort of orange powder. The canvas cover has been torn free at one corner, but nothing more seems to be concealed in it.

Knowledge (Religion) DC 20:
The holy symbol belongs to a priest of Vara, goddess of nightmares and fear.

[Chineselegolas]

Kithzin

"Nothing like a fight in the morning to get the heart beating and clear the sleep from the eyes" Kithzin said as he wipped the last of the glitter from them "And some other stuff"
Pulling out one the robes and holy symbol, Kithzin held it up to get a better look at it. "Dunno what these are for but they look ominous. Any of you guys recognise the symbol?, might be some sort of cult"

[Solophoenix]

Varwann

Varwaan turns to Mourdin and Telma

"Either of you two want to bring that dwarf up here while you can still climb well? It'd probably be best if we keep this lot together where we can keep an eye on them."

Varwann then takes a closer look at the powder to try and figure out what it is.

[Snowfall]

Mourdin

Mourdin looks at the holy symbol and shrugs: it looks familiar but he can't recall anything in particular about it.

Religion check for holy symbol (1d20+4=8) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1562650/)

At Varwann's suggestions, Mourdin nods, "I'll be right back with my 'cousin', but let's keep them separated. Interrogations always work better that way." Mourdin heads down to grab the dwarf and haul him up to the rafters.

(If he makes it back up without incident) Mourdin lowers the dwarf to the ground and says "Strip them of their weapons and armor and gag each of them." He then begins to do just that for the dwarf at his feet.

[Ryuuk]

Telma

All clear, come back to me. Good job. Telma puts her sword away and looks over creates with the robes. "Wow, cultists? Wonder if they were here before the invasion." She waits until her psicrystal is back before she searches the unarmed man for anything that would be better anywhere else then on his person. Just to make sure, she has her "spider" help her out. (If possible, she'll just take 20 while the her psicrystal aids her for a 31 Search check)

"These guys can't be good news. I'm all for letting the folks over at the Spur take care of them once they answer a few questions."

[XenoGeno]

Urk

Urk had been thinking furiously for the last few moments, counting things out on his fingers. Shrugging, Urk picks up his sword, and thrusts it through the head of the armored man. Looking at his companions' stunned expressions, Urk shrugs his shoulders.

"What? We only had two sets of manacles between us, and there's three of them, right? I counted it up; we wouldn't have been able to bound them all."


Coup de grace.

[RS14]

The powder seems very light and fine; it does not clump at all, and it readily makes tiny clouds when the pouch is tapped. Those with experience in the arcane arts may recognize it as...
Spellcraft DC27
... a poison, commonly, or to be precise, a drug, though one purely magical. It enchants it's users and subjects them to nightmares - it is most insidious when burned slowly, and in secret, so as to last for many days.

Mourdin returns with the unconscious Dwarf slung over his shoulder, and the Dwarf's lockpicks stuffed in a pocket. The bandoleer turns out to be packed almost as an alchemist's shop. One pocket contains glass vials of strong acid (complete with a fine glass pipette), another alchemists' fire. A tanglefoot bag is slung on his back, and the last pocket contains one thunderstone, a tindertwig, and a pair of smoke-sticks. His armor, however, is more valuable: while the fine chain shirt probably won't fetch as much as the now deceased armored man's full-plate, his heavy shield is mithril, which, while more plentiful here than in other places, still carries a hefty premium. Both are unmarked, though quite worn.

Telma's search of the unarmored man yields a very different set of items: A fairly standard spell-component pouch (which smells strongly of baking and contains several small tarts), a pair of silver-trimmed bracers, a narrow scroll, and a silvery potion. Telma's psicrystal also proudly produces a small whistle from around his neck, then hastily disappears into the man's scroll case searching for anything more. Despite the man's wounds, which are significant, he doesn't seem to be bleeding out of control or entering shock.

The armored man's corpse, though, is a mess, thanks to Urk, who's blade cleaved straight through the man's skull. He carried less with him than the others, only a heavy, triple-headed flail, a holy-symbol (silver, and in the exact same style as the one found under the pallet), a signet ring on his left hand (featuring a spiked pillar wrapped in flames), and a small wooden box hanging from a thong on the chainmail tassets protecting his upper legs, which containing a folded parchment scroll, a small iron vial, a block of wax, and, oddly enough, a second signet ring, this one with the initials T.G.A. and an inverted pyramid peering down from clouds.
The armor is also somewhat cryptic. Though externally fairly mundane, the fringes are in impeccably maintained red silk, with white porcelain knobs that seem like finger-bones grasping at the edges.

Outside the warehouse, all is still quiet, though probably not for long. Within an hour, carts will clog the streets. While you don't have a cart yourselves, the stables three blocks north can no doubt provide one if it should prove necessary for transporting the intruders to any other location.

[hr]

I almost forgot experience awards: 850xp per person.

[Solophoenix]

Varwann draws on his knowledge of the arcane...


[roll0]


...but can't seem to identify the powder. He joins Mourdin at the unconcious figure of the dwarf.

"Anyone object to me taking these alchemical items?"

If there is no objection, Varwann will put them in his haversack.

[Ryuuk]

Telma

It takes Telma a few seconds to react to Urk's execution. It's not like she wasn't used to to seeing people die, but it had all been during the invasion, it was open war. She opens her mouth to speak, but it takes her a while for the words to come up. "Well... No, but he was out cold and there are-" She didn't know what to say.

She shows the potion, the scroll and the bracer's to the others, nodding to Varwann to go ahead and take the alchemy mix. "We should get ready for when the other two wake up, cuff them at least. Find out what they were looking for." She takes a few steps towards the lizard, trying to see if it was still breathing.

If it is, she'll take the look for a strong looking crate, large enough for the lizard. If it woke up, there was a good chance it wouldn't like the situation. And keeping it calm afterwards might prove difficult with its sudden shocks. Keeping it in a wooden cage by placing a wooden crate over it might prove to be a suitable momentary solution.

[Snowfall]

Mourdin

The sound of steel splitting flesh causes Mourdin to spin around from where he was stripping the dwarf, instinctively drawing his axe and looking around for other threats. When he sees that the man had no weapon near him and in fact is in the exact same position as before, except now very dead, his eyes harden.

Mourdin speaks in a quiet tone, "This is a mining site, Redshirt, there's plenty of chains and ropes here." He pauses for a moment before continuing, a hint of sadness and pity in his voice, "He wouldn't have been much of a match for a warrior like you, even standing. Now his death debt is ours to pay and we have one less lead to follow."

Mourdin shakes his head and then turns his back on the warrior, continuing to strip the dwarf. Urk's murderous action has reinforced Mourdin's belief that there's something wrong about the giant warrior, something to be figured out as soon as he has a moment.

Turning to the others he says, "Telma's right, tie them up, and gag the spellcaster."

[XenoGeno]

Urk

Urk looks at the others, his grin slowly turning into a shameful frown. He had thought killing the man would've been the right thing to do, but apparently he was wrong. And what was a "death debt"? And why is it okay to kill in battle, but not to make sure they don't break free?

"I, uh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize killing him was a bad idea. Sigh... sometimes I miss the torture. At least things were simple back then. Oh, right, take this," he said, reaching into his bag and pulling out a set of manacles.

[RS14]

The intruders are bound, though the Dwarf seems to be in very bad shape, and likely won't wake for a day or more. The spellcaster, however, stirs slightly as he is moved. His eyes seem to flick open for an instant before snapping back shut, and he twitches at the touch of Telma's crystal.

[hr]
OOC:

Ryuuk, the lizard was killed and eaten by the hippogriff. Post 58.

[XenoGeno]

Urk

Urk noticed the unarmored man start to stir.
"Hey, Mourdin! I think this one's ready to talk! What should I do with him?"

[Snowfall]

Mourdin

Mourdin looks up at Urk, thoughtfully, "Torture? We'll have to talk sometime, Urk." He pauses again before continuing, "Some times killing is necessary... but it is rarely good and almost always final. This one's not likely to come back and maybe it's better that he doesn't. Be hard to find that out now though."

When Urk notices the man moving, Mourdin rushes over with him. "Hold him up Urk, and keep his hands from moving. If he starts speaking in a language you don't understand, shake him." Mourdin tugs the gag around the man's mouth upward to cover his eyes. "We know you're awake, friend. We got off to a bad start back there, but you surprised us. Perhaps you can tell us who you are and what you were doing in our new warehouse. Maybe we can help you find what you are looking for."


If needed [roll0]

[RS14]

The man shifts slightly to one side to face where the voice comes from. "Me?" he says. He pauses for a moment. When he speaks again, his voice seems to shake. "I could tell you. But you bastards took a friend of mine. Maybe it was wrong of me to be here, but I'll... I'll just not abide by that. I don't mean that witless priest. You want to know about him? Pay a visit to his church - I'm sure they'd love to meet you. But Akhas, my lizard, my familiar... he was a friend always, ever since I called him. You can all rot in hell, and if it's my death too, so be it."

[Ryuuk]

Telma

As the man talks, Telma's eyes drift onto her psicrystal. She calls it over and lets it crawl onto her hand. Her expression becomes somewhat somber as the man curses them. The crystal's legs withdraw, turning it from a spider into an obsidian like lump of coal as she pockets it. "Is it such a surprise though? By the way your friends were armed you must've been expecting a fight. Coming here cost you Akhas, and odds are we don't want whatever you're looking for in our plot. Tell us what you wanted and at least you'll know if coming here was worth it."

Sorry about the delay, the week was hectic.

[Chineselegolas]

Kithzin

"People come, people go" Kithzin said, standing a few paces behind the caster. "If a thief dies, no one complains and that is all you are. Breaking into our plot into our warehouse, you are no better than my former self"
Kithzin paused a moment to let this sink in before continuing "A priest who breaks into private property, trys to steal from us. I'm sure his church would love to know his true nature"

[RS14]

"Ah, maybe," he says solemnly. "Maybe I'm just scum, I know, I know. But so is this whole damn city. They take away your home, make you move. Make way for the guards, give them food; if you're strong and young, go break your back in a hole in the ground, if not, go piss in gutters and stab someone else in the back for your food."
"Oh sure, some make it just fine. Pay your master 'til he teaches you to be a craftsman, and you'll be fine. Buy your place under a wizard, and he'll teach you well. But me? Let them know that you didn't pay some ass in a shining tower ten times a miners wage, and you're a nobody. And it's rough, some days."

"You're right though - I shouldn't cry for Akhas. I don't guess I'll ever be able to bring him back. You think I want to know if this was worth it, though? No, not even close to worth it. My familiar is dead, we didn't get paid, and I'm tied up in a dirty, rotten warehouse in the ass-end of the city. I never gave a damn about the clowns Vauldrin wanted. But wait!" he says in a voice of feigned surprise.
"Why should I tell you about them? My fault or no, you've certainly played your part in killing Akhas, haven't you? And you talk like you're offering me some sort of deal. Pah. You let me go, and Hethit, that locksmith, as well, if he's not bled out already. Then we have a deal. The two of us aren't the sort of folks you care about - just hired thugs, bad people, as you would probably say. I can't tell you much, but I know a bit more than you. Is that a deal?"

[Snowfall]

Mourdin

"I'm sorry you lost your companion, especially since his death was avoidable. And I know firsthand what it's like to fight for a place that doesn't recognize your sacrifice, but there are good enough people in this city, even if most are not among the lords and ladies here. I gather your Vauldrin falls among the latter group."

Mourdin rubs his beard before continuing, " The only crime you committed was against us and we're only recent tenants on this land... still, we need to know some more about why you're here before we promise to let you go. So tell us what you feel comfortable with about why you're here and then we can talk about swapping our promise for you telling us everything. At the worst we'll turn you over to the guards."


Some rolls:
To see if he'll accept the tell us more 'deal' [roll0] (17)
Trying to get a read of him [roll1] (12)
Local (untrained) knowledge check on Vauldrin [roll2] (21)

[Solophoenix]

Varwann


1d20+5

[Solophoenix]

Hmm, seems I used a disallowed character in there or something...no idea why it thinks I've messed with the roll though, I havn't even edited the post!

Ok then, we'll try that again, without the fanciness.

Knowledge: Local (Trained)
[roll0]

[RS14]

"Hardly a deal, is that? I tell you a bit," he shouts "and you'll think about letting me go for the rest?" Almost muttering to himself now, he carries on. "Blast it. I'll play along with this lousy deal for now, but you'd better let me go."

"I already told you that I'm just a hired hand. Hethit and I were picked off the street by that priest, Vauldrin, just to help him out here. Come to think of it, that might not be his real name, but that's what he told us. I'd never laid eyes on him before. Now, this isn't what I usually do - usually it's magic for some carnival, personal protection, that sort of thing. Lemme say this - just last month I ran a deal like this with some priests of Kord, too - I'm not out to destroy anything, just to put a silver in my pocket and keep a roof over my head, if I can. Vauldrin wanted our help to find a couple of his people and was sure they'd been here, and that seemed like a reasonable thing to ask, for a few gold. So I'm here. I guess you can see we didn't find them."

Varwann:
The name Vauldrin doesn't seem familiar. The man's complaints seem to vary in validity, from what Varwann has seen. The mines could be quite rough - he has no way to know. Varwann has seen the land-scam in action too, and it didn't lack for participants. On the other hand, the soldiers throughout the city seem professional. Few could be found on the north ridge, save for a small band who seemed to be haggling with a merchant over decorative daggers. These days, most are clearly quartered in tents in Lower Hollow.

[Ryuuk]

Telma

Telma gives their captive an inquisitive look. "No, I guess you don't usually find people hiding out in storehouse lofts these days. Looks like they were here though." She nods towards the robes from the crate. "What exactly were you looking for though, that other man said we'd stolen it, looked pretty angry about it too."

[XenoGeno]

Urk

"I've got a coupla' questions for ya. If you'd be so kind to tell us what exactly some of this loot does, and tha powder. Also, when you told this dead guy to kill me, and that one of the others would do, whatcha mean by that?"

[RS14]

"Not so fast. They were here, we know that, and I know what they were looking for. But I'd like to at least be permitted to stand up and to have this blindfold off before I answer anything more. I'm not trying to make things hard on you all, I hope you understand. I just want to know that I'm a bit less likely to get ditched in the sewers than I was when I started talking, if you know what I mean. Although I will say," he says turning his head to face Urk, "that you shouldn't take my comment too badly. You were waling on him pretty hard, and I just figured you weren't the sort he could catch all on his own - he wanted to catch one of you, see. I guess he figured you were the folks he was here for."

[XenoGeno]

Urk

Horrible memories rose to the front of Urk's thoughts. Grabbing the wizard around the neck, his words came out more as a growl then speech.

"What d'ya mean by catch us? Yer hidin' somethin', and I want ta know what it is. D'y'know what that symbol means? And y'better speak the truth, or I'll rip out your tongue and cut off your hands; then we'll see how good your magic does ya."

[RS14]

The man shrieks in fear. "No, I'm not hiding anything! He said you must be in league with the people he was looking for! That's all he said! And he said he's a Varan, that it's Vara's symbol, and that I'd see no end to pain if I betrayed her, but he never told me more! It doesn't pay to ask a man like that too many questions!"

Knowledge (Religion) DC 20:
Vara is the goddess of nightmares and fear.

[Ryuuk]

Telma

Surprised as anyone would be, Telma can't help but agree with urk's methods, even if she didn't say so out loud (and even if she knew that those weren't empty threats). With a sigh, she goes up besides the wizard and slowly tries to easy her friends grip from the man's neck. Before moving on to the blindfold though, she gives Urk nod and a smile. They were getting the man talking after all.

Carefully, she removes his blindfold and tries to sound as calm and collected as such a situation would allow. "Look, we're just trying to look out for our necks as much as you are. From what you've said, your boss doesn't seem like the type you'd want to anger. Sadly, we might have just done so, or we will as soon as he sees that we stopped you. I for one would rather not spill any blood unless its necessary, I'd prefer if you and your accomplice just walk out of here once this is over. We just want to know as much about your boss as we can while we have a you here. Where were you going to meet him?, for example."

[RS14]

The man says a slightly panicked "Thank You" to Telma and continues talking. "Please believe me - I didn't have anything to do with the temple. I'd never even seen that priest, Vauldrin, before last night. He just found me sleeping under the aqueduct - a friend must have told him I could be hired for this sort of thing - and I agreed to come along. Hethit came along too. I'm not sure where Vauldrin heard Hethit's name, but I'd worked with him before, and trusted him. Vauldrin, of course, threatened us in Vara's name once he'd finished telling us the plan. That was a bit odd, not what you expect from someone you'll be fighting beside, but then again, we didn't want to upset him, as we figured he would pay us at the end of the day."

He takes a deep breath. "I'm glad to have that blindfold off my face. Now, what I know is this: that the two men we were pursuing had taken a relic from the temple of Vara. Vauldrin said it looked like a shaped piece of glass on a short lead staff. He said we weren't to handle it. I know nothing more about it. I didn't want really want to hear about his temple or their rituals, to be honest. As for the two men, all I know are their names: Annisbush and Borge. Not even Vauldrin knew what they looked like, but he said they had been in league with a farrier named Addersmith, who he'd "already dealt with." Addersmith had pointed him to this warehouse, and said he'd left the staff here. The only question was whether it was already gone. As far as we can tell, it is - Vauldrin was mad as hell, but decided we'd find everything we could while we were here, which included those robes, the pouch, and the holy-symbol. They must have just stashed them here when they got the chance."

He lets out a deep breath. "Now before you decide what to do with me, let me just say that I'll be staying out of this sort of job in the future. I'll do what I can to get Hethit patched up, then take some time on the carnival circuit - maybe out of town, though I'm not worried about Vauldrin's threats - he never had the chance to speak with his temple after last night, so I don't think they'll come after me. It's just you all that are worrying me - just please let me go without hurting me anymore."

[Snowfall]

Mourdin

Knowledge Religion about Vara (1d20+4=13) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1575303/)

"This all seems to be a bit convoluted. I'd say drag our two new friends down to the temple of Heironeous, where they can get patched up, and we can see what the other priests can tell us about Vara."

"I'm worried about more of these folks trying to break in here though... we haven't even done a proper inventory ourselves yet."

[Chineselegolas]

Kithzin

Keeping himself stood out of line of sight, Kithzin said "The deal was to let him go, and as little as I like him he has been helpful."
Walking forward and being down to take the manacles off the man, Kithzin grinned slightly "The deal never stated what we are to do with your friend. Don't worry, he will live"

[RS14]

The man frowns. "To be honest, I'd rather not leave him with you, if you understand me. Now, I know this sounds bad, but I'm not even armed, and I won't be pulling any tricks - you leave us at the Petty Tavern, and let us lick our wounds. We'll not be going anywhere, seeing as the proprietor will want to see Hethit well again just as badly as I do. We'll keep an ear out for Annisbush and Borge, and you can check in at your temple and figure out if you need to worry about the Vara - hell, I'd be happy to know that myself, but... oh, I'd better just see Hethit to the tavern and see that he's put on the way to recovery. Deal?"

[XenoGeno]

Urk

Urk looks over at his allies. "I don't like this, but I guess we better let'em go. But we're keepin' everythin' except the clothes on their ruttin' backs... right?"

[Solophoenix]

Varwann

"Sounds like a plan to me."

[RS14]

The man scowls at Urk, but removes his bracers, pouches, and scroll case regardless. "Fine, take these things if you must. You can rob Hethit at your leisure - I'll be getting the blasted cart."

He staggers around the canvas covered pallet and retrieves a ladder from the middle of the loft, which he shoves down to the floor. Upon climbing to the bottom, he takes note of the smashed window and glass strewn all across the floor. "Are you going to do anything to patch that up before you leave? And for that matter, what about the door?" He doesn't wait for an answer and staggers on out into the street.

OOC: Let me know of anything you'd like to do before leaving. Now, assuming no such obstacles are too formidable...

[hr]

The cart the man spoke of turns out to be a small, single-axle vehicle drawn by a scrawny donkey. Hethit takes up most of the cart by himself, and only Varwann can find a seat in between the unconscious dwarf and the cart's rail. The tavern, however, turns out to be only a short walk away. Three blocks to the east and one to the north bring you to a broad alley and a large, whitewashed door in a two-story brick building. "Come on, help me with Hethit," he says as he lifts the Dwarf by the shoulders and staggers awkwardly down the alley towards the door. As he toes it open, however, a cloud of thick, white fog rolls out the door - he takes a step back, looking startled. "Petty! What's this smoke!," he yells.

Spellcraft 22:
The fog is simply a Fog Cloud spell - nothing more dangerous.

[Solophoenix]

Varwann

Varwann takes a careful look at the cloud, and attempts to identify its origins.


[roll0]

[Ryuuk]

Telma

"You can keep the component pouch, I'm sure Varwann has plenty." As she follows the mage, she realized she was rather indifferent at the looting, it was how she'd gotten the blade at her side after all. "Oh, its probably another slap in the face, but we're rather new to the plot, cleaning this place up is on our to do list." Before leaving, she looks back at the warehouse with its new opening. "You're have a point though."

Her hand goes into her pocket and out comes the obsidian colored lump of coal. she stares at it attentively for a few seconds (Stay her and keep watch, warn me if there are any more intruders. Keep an eye on them if there are, but try to stay out of sight. If you're discovered, jump into the mine shaft and stay there until we come back.) before tossing it into the air. It lands on four newly grown spider-like legs and skitters off into the shadows. Be careful

---

She helps the many carry Hethit off the cart. She can't find much explanation to the fog either, and as a reflex, her free hand grabs hold of her falchion's hilt.

[Snowfall]

Mourdin

"It doesn't smell like smoke..." Mourdin keeps a grip on his axe as well, "Careful, friend."


Just loving these knowledge-type checks:
Spellcraft to figure out what the smoke is (1d20 5=12) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1580366/)

[RS14]

The alley is silent, save for the sounds of carts moving by on the main road. There are no windows here at the rear of the tavern, and the fog makes it impossible to see more than a few feet into the hallway. A more narrow alley skirts the building to the south, and appears to lead to the road at the front of the tavern.
There is no response to the man's call. He sets Hethit down beside the wall, but never takes his eyes off the fog. "That can't be natural," he says. "Has any of you ever seen a fog in a building before?"

[Chineselegolas]

Kithzin

His eyes darting around in the fog, Kithzin stepped lightly, his fists ready to rise from his sides if he felt more threatened. "This is not right. Could your former employees have found out somehow and be taking revenge for failure. Some masters are harsh with the whip and never use the feather." Circling round to per down the adjacent alley, looking if it was possible to climb without using his rope. "Whatever the case maybe, I think we need to go in and find out what is going on, might lead to more information why people are interested in our claim"

[RS14]

"It could be," says the man slowly. "It just doesn't make sense, unless Hethit is more deeply entangled with them than I know." He studies the face of the unconscious dwarf, but Hethit's face bears no tattoos, sigils, jewelry, or other marks, nor does the man seem to gain any great insight. "Or maybe this is just Petty. He... he doesn't always shut up when he gets angry about something, and he'd never have tolerated Vauldrin's kind for long."

[hr]

OOC:

The large alley which you entered through (on the west of the building) is 10ft wide, but the smaller alley to the south of the building (and running east-west to the street in front of the building) is only 3ft wide, so would be (relatively) easy to climb. There is a single small window about 25ft up the wall just below the peak of the roof.

[Chineselegolas]

Kithzin

Walking to the alley and jumping up, putting one foot against each wall Kithzin called to the others. "Well something is wrong in there, and whatever it is, I'm curious" as he started to shuffle his way up the walls towards the window. "I'll see you guys inside, I've got another window to break"

Upon reaching the top he stopped and called back attempting to be audible to just his companions "Shall we enter at the same time or I follow when I hear trouble?'

7.5ft a round... 25ft / 7.5 roughly 20 seconds to get up if there. Once I make it past the first floor.
DC for first floor is 25, wall to brace against reduces to 15. I need to roll. Once to 2nd floor it is DC 21. Reduced to 11. I take 10 for 12 to make my way up to get to the window.
[roll0]
[roll1]
Edit: And I make the first two making it 15ft without trouble and out of the tough zone. Yay.
[roll2]
[roll3]

[Snowfall]

Mourdin

Mourdin gestures at the door to say that they all go in, whispering to those nearby, "Let's all go in, if someone's in there, they already know we're out here."

Mourdin makes ready to go in, his shield held up and his axe ready.


If no one else leads, Mourdin will wait for Kithzin to go through the window and then head in the door. On total defense.

[RS14]

Kithzin:
Kithzin has little difficulty with the climb. The window, though a tight squeeze, is sealed only by a pair of unpainted shutters. It takes little effort to jemmy the latch and swing the rusted hinges outwards, even while lodged between the walls. The room inside is revealed to be an unfinished attic. Boards have been laid loosely across rafters to provide some floorspace, but at the moment it is only used to store a tattered, navy-blue rug; a black lacquered rocking chair, placed upside down; and a brass coat-rack. A ladder and an unfinished wooden trap-door seem to be the only entrance, and there are no windows other than the one through which Kithzin has just entered.


Telma, Urk, Mourdin, and Varwann:

The unnamed man hesitates at Mourdin's words, but nevertheless leaves Hethit and tentatively follows the four into the tavern.

Just inside the doorway, a door opens to the left. It smells of cooking, with a metallic hint of blood. The dense fog obstructs any vision far into the room, save for the steady orange glow, which by it's warmth must be a large fire. Just a bit further down the hall, another door, this one closed, appears on the left, just before a staircase which climbs up into the fog.

Of the three paths, only the fog on the staircase seems to grow any thinner, but even at the foot of the stairs, the bright dawn has been all but choked out, replaced by the gray gloom of the fog and its chorus of old, creaking floorboards. Still no answer comes to the man's call.

Map:

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee241/RS14_photo/tavern-interior.png


[hr]

OOC:

Exterior Map:

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee241/RS14_photo/tavern-overview.png
Dark Yellow rectangles are adjacent buildings.

[Chineselegolas]

I suppose as I'm separate I'll go in spoiler
Walking softly through the attic stepping carefully from rafter to rafter making his way to the trap door, Kithzin ignored the belongings stashed up here. Upon reaching the trap do he crouched down and slowly opened it peered down into the room below, attempting to keep out of sight of anyone below

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

[XenoGeno]

Urk

Downstairs
"I'll head up the stairs and meet up with Kithzin. Y'all maybe wanna check out down here?"

[Solophoenix]

Varwann

Downstairs

Varwann turns to his two remaining companions

"I'm afraid I don't have any spells to clear this fog, we'll just have to proceed cautiously."

[Ryuuk]

Telma

Downstairs
Telma reaches into her pocket, but stops when she remembers it'd been left behind to watch the warehouse. As tends to happen with these situations, an "if only" or two formed, but she did what was possible to ignore them.

She nods to Varwann and steps into the building. Hugging the wall, she gets next to the open door and tried to peek in.

Spot [roll0]

[RS14]

Kithzin:
The trap door, though heavy, has no locks and opens quietly. Kithzin lays it down and peers into the second-floor. The fog doesn't appear to have penetrated this floor fully, though tiny wisps reach up from cracks in the floorboards before vanishing lazily in the light of the sun, which pours through the large, open window on the front of the building. This room appears nearly as sparse as the attic, with a bare floor, a single, worn love-seat in front of the window, and a small table beside it.

Not counting the door in the south-east corner, which features an open closest containing a few coats, two doorways lead out of the room. One leads to the north, and is shut, while the other has no door and is open to the south. While nothing can be seen through it, Kithzin can hear footsteps approaching from beyond it.


Urk/Those with Urk:

The fog fades away as Urk climbs the stairs, and it disappears completely by the second landing. Here, there is a small platform and an open door into another room. A small window over the stairs lets in a beam of light, revealing an empty serving cart, a wooden box of plates, and a necklace of strange copper coins, all pierced and strung together, which hangs by the door. The next room is well illuminated, and he can see another door, this one shut, at the far end.


Telma/Those with Telma:

Very little can be seen through the fog. To either side of the room, a counter can be faintly made-out, and there is a rack of pans above it to the east. Before the counters fade into the fog, Telma can also make out a thin board, upon which rests a short knife and what appears to be a half-diced onion.

[Chineselegolas]

Remaining where he lay, Kithzin listened for signs of how many there were, planning to get the drop on them if when they opened the closed door
[roll0]

[XenoGeno]

Urk

Urk walks onto the platform, and looks at the various items scattered about. While the cart and plates are too big for him to carry easily, the necklace is light enough, and Urk decides to put it in his bag, guessing that it's at least worth the copper it's made of. If there's nothing else in the next room, Urk goes through the closed door.

[Ryuuk]

Telma

Telma closes her eyes for a moment and braces herself as she steps into the room. She'll stay close to the wall and make her way north. She'll try to figure out which way the fog is going, hoping to find its source through that.

She'll manifest a 1 pp Vigor (+5 Temp. HP for 5 minutes)
Figureing it out would probably need a Spot or simply a Wisdom check. The roll's the same, so here it is. [roll0]

[RS14]

Kithzin:
By the sound of it, it's only one person, probably 200lbs or armored or both. The footsteps halt just outside the door, and Kithzin hears metal jangling against metal for a moment, as if someone is reaching into a pouch for keys or for money. The footsteps continue across the room, but just as the large, blond man walks beneath the trap-door, he happens to glance up and catches sight of Kithzin - it's Urk.

Urk:

The first room turns out to be very sparse, with a bare floor, a single worn love-seat in front of an open window, and a small table adjacent to it. There is a closet in the South-east corner, but it appears to contain only a few coats.
As Urk beelines for the door, he happens to glance up at the ceiling, where he spots Kithzin staring down at him from a trap-door above him.

Spot (1d20-2) [17] (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1586616/)


Telma/Those with Telma:

As she walks north along the wall, Telma passes various items along the counter-top: still damp mugs, a small pile of rags, an iron spit. The fog whirls in strange eddies around her, and she cannot determine any source for it, but it falters as she approaches the fireplace in the wall. The large, bright fire pierces the fog to a small distance, and Telma finds, sprawled on the floor at the edge of this island of light, the warm corpse of a modestly-dressed young man, pierced by three crossbow bolts. He's quite clearly dead, however, as a single touch reveals the onset of rigor mortis. He seems to have fallen while running to the south end of the kitchen, probably with a handful of the small potatoes which are now scattered across the floor.

[Solophoenix]

Varwann


"Something very strange is afoot here, this is a clear case of murder. We should inform the city guard"


EDIT: Forgot to spoiler my post

[Snowfall]

Mourdin w/ Telma

Mourdin kneels briefly over the corpse to quickly survey it, "Not before we see if the murderer is still here."


Sorry, tried to post on Friday and the board ate the post, then went away for the weekend!

[Chineselegolas]

Kithzin

Urk & DM
Rolling forward to drop out of the attic, Kithzin lands lightly saying "Nothing of interest to be spoken of up there." Moving over to the door, he quickly checks it for traps and if it is locked
[roll0]

[RS14]

Kithzin & Urk:
The door is wooden, and the cream-colour paint has begun to peel around the edges. Kithzin cannot find any traps on the handle, in the lock, or around the jambs, and the lock itself does not appear engaged.

Telma/Those with Telma:

Mourdin's closer inspection yields little of note. The young man was wearing a small coin purse, but it has not been disturbed.

"He must have been an assistant, but I've never seen him before," the man remarks. He kneels beside Mourdin and bows his head.

[XenoGeno]

Urk

Hefting his sword over his shoulder, Urk nods at Kithzin and opens the door.

[Ryuuk]

Telma

Telma stays silent as the others look over the body. That was two today, it had almost been three. "It couldn't have been done more then an hour or two ago..." For a second, she kneels down to check the crossbow bolts, but her mind, working faster then her hands, stops her. The fog would just frustrate her efforts.

Standing back up, she glances to the south and looks for a window. If the change in light shows there might be one, she'll go and open it. The quicker the fog dissipated, the better.

[RS14]

Kithzin & Urk:

The door squeaks loudly as it opens, but nothing else happens. The room beyond is smaller but more comfortable than the previous living area. There is a large, unmade platform-bed with a heavy green quilt, and nearby, a brown leather armchair beside a small brick fireplace on the western wall of the room. A bookcase beside the bed contains a few thin volumes and a tin of tobacco, and the single window on the east wall of the room has been opened wide.



Telma/Those with Telma:

There is no window, but a thin glow around the ceiling turns out to be a thin, open slit all above the counter, which features a small wooden frame-and-shutter assembly. It swings freely at a touch, and at first it seems pointless - it seems like a vent, but hardly moves any air at all. Telma gives it a harder shove, however, and it clicks abruptly - then it swings back inside and begins to cycle all on its own, clicking audibly each time and creating a very light breeze as it does so. The fog doesn't clear instantly, but perhaps this will be sufficient given enough time.
[hr]
OOC: The vent is something like a long thin version of a Kearny Air Pump (http://www.oism.org/nwss/s73p937.htm).

[Snowfall]

Mourdin


Mourdin watches the fog slowly sucking out of the room before saying, "Let's keep looking, someone laid down this magic mist, and they could still be here."

He turns to make his way to another room.




I'm going to be on the road for the next several days, and may not have access to internet, so feel free to NPC Mourdin.

[XenoGeno]

Urk

Urk picks up the books and tin, and puts them into his pack.

"There doesn' seem to be much up here. Le's head on down and meet up with the res'.

[RS14]

Mourdin/Those with Mourdin:

Mourdin makes his way back to the rear hall. He places his ear to the closed door and indicates that he hears nothing beyond it, but waits nevertheless.


Kithzin & Urk:

The tin rattles as Urk picks it up. It sounds like a rock inside it, rather than the "dried pipe-tobacco" that the label advertises.
The books are mostly related to brewery, history, and construction. Titles include Traditional Gruits: the Sophisticated Art of Flavoring, Ancient Leaders, and Manual and Magical Excavation for the Northern Climes.

[Chineselegolas]

Kithzin

Going over to look out the window while Urk examined the tin, Kithzin replied "Sure, doesn't seem to be anything up here"

[XenoGeno]

Urk

Urk fiddles with the tin. Glancing at Kithzin, he mutters, "Uh, mebbe you should go on ahead? I'll be there inna bi'."

[RS14]

Kithzin:
On the street below, carts are moving by as normal. A line of three loaded with lumber are displacing people to the sides, but such a sight is not unusual.
Looking towards the south end of the city, Kithzin catches sight of the few people standing or sitting on benches around the door of the tavern. Two unshaven men in work-clothes, speaking to a middle-aged woman with a thick book under her arm; an officer of the city guard in dress uniform - epaulets, cutlass, and baggy, red forage cap. Above them, a raven sits upon the tavern sign, a clean and freshly painted board announcing "PETTY'S TAVERN: Three Generations - Two wars survived"


Urk:

The tin opens with a pop. There is a tiny silver frog inside, and it seems to try to keep its eyes on Urk.

[XenoGeno]

Urk

Closing the tin shut, a very confused Urk turns to Kithzin. "There was... um... all silver an'... You know what? Le's just meet up with the others."

[RS14]

Urk returns from upstairs, now with Kithzin alongside him. Mourdin meets them at the foot of the stairs and greets them with a stern wave of his hand. He whispers to them "Telma and Varwann are with our friend in the kitchen. Some poor lad got killed. Was there anyone upstairs? Alive or dead?"

[hr]

OOC:
Ryuuk & Solophoenix, can I hear what Telma and Varwann are doing? Just for clarification, the north end of the kitchen is still shrouded in fog (the corpse just happened to be somewhere near the middle).

[Ryuuk]

Telma

Telma doesn't wait for the room to dissipate, she just starts searching the room. Trying to judge from the crossbow wounds, the man's position on the ground and the mess of potatoes he was carrying, she'll try to recreate the murder in her mind. She starts by searching places where the assailant could've shot from and spreading out towards the exit from there.

OOC: She's still in the room, taking 10 on search checks for 19 total, focusing on the squares where the assailant could have been, based on the man's position, first.

Also, sorry for the slow posting. I'm almost done with finals, then I'm out of High School.

[Solophoenix]

Varwann

Varwann strokes his beard as he observes Telma searching and thinks to himself aloud

"One might first think that this cloud was summoned so that the killer would be hidden from the view of the victim, who may indeed have wandered into the strange mist looking for some sort of cause of it. But I'm unsure if that is the case. This seems planned, and one does not plan to kill someone in a cloud of fog with a crossbow, when there is a very distinct chance of missing...so perhaps the fog came after...but why? It does hide the body a bit, but draws attention to the building from the street...and given we havn't been attacked, it doesn't seem like much of a trap. Unless of course they the attackers were waiting for me to discover their plan before pouncing..."

Varwann looks into the fog, half-expecting a sudden and dramatic ambush.

[RS14]

No ambush comes from the fog, which has by now lifted enough to allow fair visibility. The motion of the fans above the west counter is noticable from the east of the room, and the floorboards can be made out without kneeling.

Unless the corpse was moved, the bolts must have come from the north end of the kitchen, which is now empty. A stack of clean plates and mugs has been placed on the countertop on the north wall of the kitchen, beside a serving window, which is large enough for someone to have climbed through. The smell of ale is stronger here, along with the smell of sweat and wine, but so is the fog. Nothing can be seen in in the room but the edge of one table and a bench beside it, and those only faintly.

Telma give the cabinets a quick search, but they seem to contain nothing but pots and plates and knives and rags. If the assailant shot from the center of the room, they certainly let nothing behind. It doesn't seem to have been distrubed at all since it was last cleaned. However... Telma hears the sound of her footsteps change slightly in the center of the room, and, kneeling, she finds a thin square seam and a pair of open knotholes roughly three feet appart each. A gentle tug confirms it as a trap door, although hinges have been ommitted, and it seems to lift straight up from the floor.

[Snowfall]

Mourdin

Mourdin motions towards the trap door, making a suggestion. He points to Kithzin first, then the door, then to Urk and the door again.


Mourdin's military, but I don't know if the crew would have learned some combat signs together or not...

[Ryuuk]

Telma

Smiling, she places the trap door off to the side. “Maybe this is why... After the murder he could’ve slipped through here. The fog might’ve been a contingency, if anyone got inside right after the deed was done, it would have covered the escape, at least kept the escape route hidden a it longer.” She shrugs, it seemed a bit more reasonable in her head. “Anyway, we might still be missing something.”

Her hand goes to her pocket before realizing that her scout was missing. She reaches for a potato or a knife, anything that’s small, but hard enough to make a sound if it where to fall down the passage. Peering into the hole, she calls back to Varwann. “Can you see anything down there? Your eyes might be a bit more useful then mine.”

[Solophoenix]

Varwann

Varwann approaches the hole and peers inside

[roll0]

[RS14]

The door pops open with a little effort, revealing a ladder and a vertical shaft to a dirt floor 10 feet below, where three paths seem to converge from the east, west, and south. Whereas the kitchen floor showed no signs of conflict, here two badly mauled corpses lie on the ground in smears of blood, with an enormous blue-black mastiff gnawing at their flesh. One is a middle aged-man with a neatly trimmed red beard combed over hair; he wears an apron over a starched white shirt and corduroy trousers; the other is face down and is dressed in dirt-covered clothes, like what a miner might wear. The former is also missing all of his lower left-arm, which the mastiff drops from its jaws as Telma opens the door. They are both sprawled wildly on the ground, as if they were simply thrown to the floor.

The mastiff looks up instantly as the door opens. He wears a collar, but it is not tied to anything, and a short length of rope has been left in a tangled pile against the wall. Before everyone's eyes, he simply vanishes into thin air, and a menacing growl rises from the floor below.

[hr]
OOC:
Roll for initiative.
Edit: Chineselegolas, if you beat initiative 20 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1595425/), go ahead and act.

Maps:
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee241/RS14_photo/trapdoor-up.png
Upstairs
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee241/RS14_photo/trapdoor.png
Tunnels

[XenoGeno]

Urk

Why can't I ever roll high on initiative? (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1594977/) :smallfrown:

[Snowfall]

Mourdin

[roll0] (9)

[Ryuuk]

Telma

Initiative: [roll0]

[Solophoenix]

Varwann

[roll0]

[Chineselegolas]

Kithzin

[roll0]

[RS14]

Varwann 14
Urk 13
Telma 13
Kithzin 11
Mourdin 9

Active:
Magic Vestement. Mourdin, ~4 hours remaining.
Vigor. Telma, ~3 minutes remaining.


-=-=-=-=-=-

In the moment after vanishing as all hesitate, a great barking comes up from the tunnels below, rattling nerves as well as pots before reverberating through the tunnels. The dog barks for just a moment before quieting to a low growl.

-=-=-=-=-=-

OOC:
Make a will save, DC 13 (fear effect). On failure...
The barking seems unnatural, as if it came from a creature which could at any moment burst from the shadows to tear one's throat out in an instant. You panic. (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/conditionSummary.htm#panicked)

Listen DC 15:
Judging by the sound of it's barking, the mastiff still has not moved from it's position near the corpses (A6)

Maps:
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee241/RS14_photo/trapdoor-up.png
Upstairs
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee241/RS14_photo/trapdoor.png
Tunnels

[Ryuuk]

Telma

Will Save: [roll0]
Listen: [roll1]

The barking seems to pierce Telma's very soul. "AHhh! Get Away!" She crawls back, away from the trap door, leaving her falchion by the opening.

Stumbling to her feet while her heart races, she runs to the door. It can't be seen, once it climbs out of there... No, I don't want to... One of her hands goes to her neck, shaking violently and expecting to feel a warm vital fluid dripping out. Her instincts had taken over, she wanted to leave this place now.

Darn, hope the others roll a bit better.

[Chineselegolas]

Kithzin

[roll0]
[roll1]

Walking over to the hole, Kithzin dropped lightly down, fists raised, looking for the mastif

[Snowfall]

Mourdin

Mourdin drops his axe and scrambles back quickly from the trapdoor. He grips his head with his freehand, shaking "Get a hold of yourself, this can't be real!"


Will save vs. evil barking (1d20 10=11) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1596446/)

Way to roll a 1 with +10 bonus...

[Solophoenix]

Varwann

[roll0]
[roll1]

Remaining calm in the face of fear, and remembering the results last time he used his glitterdust spell, decides to play it safer and cast See Invisibility. He then proceeds to convey the beast's position to Kithzin.


Varwann's Spells
0 level: 6/6
1 level: 5/7
2 level: 3/5

SLAs used:
Silence

[XenoGeno]

Urk

Ignoring the bark (and everything else) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1597542/), Urk jumps down the hole, sword in hand.

[RS14]

Varwann 14
Urk 13
Telma 13
Kithzin 11
Mourdin 9
Man from the Warehouse 3 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1597598/)

Active:

* Magic Vestement. Mourdin, ~4 hours remaining.
* Vigor. Telma, ~3 minutes remaining.
* See Invisible, Varwann, 50 minutes remaining.

I'm assuming that Varwann simply shouts out the mastiff's location, so all are aware. It is right between the two corpses, and closer to the one that is face down. [A6]

-=-=-=-=-=-

As Varwann calmly relays his directions, Urk and Kithzin rush forwards to the trapdoor. Urk drops through first, and he lands lightly (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1597618/) despite his bulk and armor. He swings (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1597625/) his sword in a wide arc before him, and the dark, wet sheen of blood appears on the edge. The creature yelps, but seems to recoil somewhat as well, for when Kithzin grabs on to the edge of the door and leaps (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1597618/) down to fight beside Urk, his kick (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1597626/) cuts through empty air. Indeed, just moments later, Urk receives a vicious bite (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1597644/) in his leg from his right flank, which threatens to pull him off his feet entirely.

The man from the warehouse seems frozen by the sudden action, but (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1597596/) as Telma and Mourdin rush past him, he staggers forward to Varwann's side. "What was - oh hell, that's Petty!" He looks side to side - "Friend, if this will be of any aid, accept it." Grasping a scrap of leather in one hand and Varwann's shoulder with the other, he gestures and mutters angrily - Varwann feels the unmistakable cozy sensation of intangible Mage Armor enveloping him.

Telma and Mourdin rush through the kitchen doorway and out into the hall. Without stopping, both rush towards the alleyway and the sunlit streets of Toma.

-=-=-=-=-=-

Urk recieves 7 points of damage, and must attempt to resist a trip attempt (DC18 Strength).

Map:
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee241/RS14_photo/trapdoor-1.png

[Ryuuk]

Telma

Autohypnosis (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/skills/autohypnosis.htm): [roll0]

I don't want to... You won't. Go back... But it's invisible, I can't... There's only one, we have six on our side... but it will... It can only do so if you cower. Focus.

Telma stops. She had seen worse, she had no right to panic against a mere sound. Though her hands were still shaking, her instinct slowly subsided as she forced her body back into the building. by the time she gets back to the trap door, she seems much more serene, although it is clear that her mind is fighting to keep the urge to run suppressed.

Now I see why they say that skill is so useful. My sheet only lists a +11 mod, but that's because I forgot to take into account the +2 Synergy from Concentration

[Solophoenix]

Varwann

Varwann delays action, waiting for Urk to move. He readies his mind to begin casting a sleep spell as soon as he can get a clear shot, without affecting his friends.

Delaying initiative until there is a clear shot at the mastiff with a sleep spell, then will begin casting sleep (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/sleep.htm), centred in the appropriate place. Will DC 15 negates.

[Chineselegolas]

Kithzin

Flurrying fists and feet into the space where Varwann said the mastiff was, Kithzin hoped to get lucky.

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2] (High = Good)
[roll3]
[roll4]
[roll5] (High = Good)

[XenoGeno]

Urk

Urk easily keeps his footing, (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1599046/) and attacks where Varwann announces the Mastiff's location. (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1599052/)

[RS14]

Varwann 14
Urk 13
Telma 13
Kithzin 11
Mourdin 9
Man from the Warehouse 3

Active:

* Magic Vestement. Mourdin, ~4 hours remaining.
* Vigor. Telma, ~3 minutes remaining.
* See Invisible, Varwann, 50 minutes remaining.
* Mage Armor, Varwann, 5 hours remaining.

-=-=-=-=-=-

Varwann delays, but before a clear shot materializes, Urk's blow (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1599193/) strikes the mastiff, knocking it to the ground. As if that were not enough, Kithzin lands a solid kick which sounds as if it breaks a rib or two. To Varwann up above, it is clear that the creature is no longer a threat, and quite possibly dead, though Urk and Kithzin still face nothing but the darkness of the tunnels all around - the growling has stopped, and nothing strikes at them, but they can't be sure...

Telma rushes back into the room in time to see and hear Kithzin's strike land solidly in the shadows. Mourdin, however...

...continues his flight out across the street, to where the shadows are few. Here he huddles miserably, still trying desperately to remind himself that his fear is not real, but still undeniably terrified of what lurks in the shadows. People walking by stare at him, but continue moving.

After no more than half a minute more, the fear seems to fade. He no longer feels the urge to flee.

[Ryuuk]

Telma

Telma apporaches the trap door and picks up her falchion. "I'm sorry, it won't happen again." She wasn't amused, that shouldn't have happened, not after her years of study, to let instincts beat reason... No matter, there were more important things to worry about.

She turns to the man from the warehouse. "There's definetly something going on here. Would you happen to know those two?"

Sorry about the delay

[Chineselegolas]

Kithzin

Looking around in the darkness for any signs of movement, Kithzin walked a short distance down one of the passageway (Out the alphabetical corridor)

[Chineselegolas]

Kithzin

Looking around in the darkness for any signs of movement, Kithzin walked a short distance down one of the passageway (Out the alphabetical corridor)

[RS14]

"No, that's not important. You're back, just... That's Petty with the beard down there." Leaning over the edge of the trapdoor, he calls down to Kithzin and Urk "What's going on down there? That man in the apron, with the beard - he owns this tavern. I need to know, is he alive?" He looks to Varwann briefly, then surveys the darkness with his fingers ready for casting.

In the east corridor, Kithzin sees and hears nothing move. He walks into and almost stumbles over the corpse of the mastiff, which, despite being wet and sticky with blood, is still neatly hidden by the shadows like a statue of smoked glass. It feels quite warm and real.
The corridor before him only progresses 30 feet before rapidly dropping away. The roof looks as if it is reinforced with bricks, which must have been in place for ages. Graffiti covers the moist face. Some is simply scratched in the moss growing on bricks, while some images are more elaborate works painted in many colors.

-=-=-=-=-=-

Urk and Kithzin:

Both men are clearly dead, and the blood on the floor has begun to dry. They seem to have been dead only as long as the lad on the kitchen floor.

[Snowfall]

Mourdin

Mourdin rushes back inside after he comes to his senses, cursing magic dogs. Picking up his axe he asks, "Is everyone all right?"

[Ryuuk]

Telma

"Kithzin and Urk seem to be alright, they are looking around the corridors below as we speak" She holds her breath as she climbs down the hole and to check the wounded men. After a few seconds of silence, she turns to the man above with a grim expression and tells him of their fortune. What the hell did we stumble into...

[RS14]

The man from the warehouse looks contemplative as he listens to Telma confirm the death of Petty and the other. "There's a reason I sought out this place. Petty took good care of his friends. He was always a good man."

"I had better go bring Hethit in. Find some blankets. Get him bandaged and out of the way. I'm not going to be any more help to you, I don't think, seeing that tunnel there. I'd never heard about that, and I thought I'd spent quite a bit of time here."

[Ryuuk]

Telma

"I'm truly sorry, there's..." Crouched down at the bottom of the pit and looking up, Telma was at a lose of words for the man. She closes their eyes so they can at least look peaceful.

"Varwann, at this point it might be best to call the guards, if there are any nearby. We are in over our heads here." She'll stay at the bottom of the whole for now, relaying anything she sees down there to those that can't see it above.

[Chineselegolas]

Kithzin

Walking down the corridor to where it dropped off, Kithzin looked down at way lay beneath, ready to move back if he sighted further trouble.

[Solophoenix]

Varwann

"That's just what I was thinking, I'll see who I can find."

Varwann walks outside and begins looking for a guard to alert.

[RS14]

The man nods at Telma's words and looks down at the floor. Without responding further, he turns slowly and walks outside.

Varwann:
Varwann walks out to the street behind the tavern, but it is devoid of anyone from the city guard. It is otherwise fairly busy; a group of four men march by quickly with several large beams; a child pulls a wagon full of flowers down the street, calling "new plants for your new home, jus' four copper." Three women outside one of the houses seem to be examining some small device, and five people are on their way south. People on the street seem aware of something, however, and several stare at Varwann as he emerges from the alley.
The city guard made camp in the ruins of Southern Hollow, which will take at least 20 minutes to reach, even if Varwann takes the cart they arrived in. That, however, is the only place of which Varwann knows where they are certain to be found. He hasn't not been in the city long enough to know if they have a permanent post on the North Ridge, or where it would be found.


Kithzin:

As Kithzin approaches, he finds the drop to be simply a steep staircase which takes the tunnel another ten feet deeper. He can see an enormous, smooth puddle of water across the whole of the lower tunnel, and what seems to be another ladder against the wall. The tunnel looks as if it goes on east, though he can see no sign of movement.


Footsteps announce the return of the man carrying Hethit. He moves slowly and heavily upstairs without any comment.

[Snowfall]

Mourdin

"One minute" Mourdin says to the others as he follows the man up the stairs. He kneels down by Hethit to look over his wounds.

"We never got your name." the dwarf says over his shoulder to the spellcaster. "I'm Mourdin, if you hadn't surmised already, and I'm sorry about your friends. Looks like you mixed up with the wrong crew here." Still kneeling, Mourdin pulls a wand out of his belt and places it against Hethit's side. He whispers a word of command.


CLW Wand on Hethit (1d8 1=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1603168/)


"That should help your friend get started. I wish I could do more, but I get the sense my friends I will be needing all the healing we can get shortly. I don't know what craziness we just stumbled into."

Mourdin places his hand on the man's shoulder and then heads back downstairs.

[Solophoenix]

Varwann

Guards, never around when you want them to be, always there when they're the last thing you want...I wonder...

A brainwave takes hold of Varwann, and in the best panicked and distressed voice he can muster, yells at the top of his little gnome lungs

"HELP! HELP! SOMEBODY CALL THE GUARDS, THERE'S BEEN A MURDER!"

That's bound to attract some civillian attention, but I can't think of a more surefire way to get the guards here

[XenoGeno]

Urk


Below the Kitchen
Going over the bodies, Urk checks the pockets of the dead men, looking for anything that might either give a clue as to what's going on with the cleric and mastiff, or that could be pawned for easy cash.

[Chineselegolas]

Kithzin

Turning and walking back towards the ladder, Kithzin said "Passage goes about 30ft then there is a staircase down. It doesn't go down very far, only about 10ft till it his water. I didn't check the depth of it though, but it certainly is something we could check out"

[Snowfall]

Mourdin

Having come back downstairs, Mourdin listens to Kithzin's report. "Let's follow it, this magic mist couldn't have been cast that long ago, and I'm afraid we'll lose the trail of whoever it is if we wait too much longer.

[RS14]

Mourdin:

"Avard Leclerc," the man says. He watches Mourdin's healing take effect. Hethit doesn't awake, but his skin closes over the open wound on his shoulder, and his collarbone seems to pull itself together. "That's much appreciated. I'll tell him he's finally met a friend who's not a crook." He grins wryly at this, before turning somber again. "But Petty... He was a friend too. I don't figure he was doing anything too awful on his own, so maybe he just got in someone's way. Chalk that up as another evil; the worst fates always come when you're just in someone's way." Anger flashes briefly across his face, but he shakes his head and mumbles to himself. "Got to get those blankets from the attic. Take care, all of you."


Varwann:

Everyone in the street stops for a moment. "Looters or Orcs?" calls out one of the men carrying timber, and is met with chuckling from various people in the street. "Do you know who did it?" he asks much more seriously, as he shifts the timber to speak more easily, " 'Cause even if this is somebody of consequence, I'm not inclined to just drop everything, literally, to help you poke around a casualty. We've all done that ourselves."
-=-=-=-=-
OOC:
If you continue speaking with them, make a diplomacy roll as well.


Beneath the Kitchen [Urk, Kithzin, Mourdin, Telma]:


Neither man carries anything of interest - only an empty burlap sack tucked into the younger man's belt, and he has bled all over it. They seem to have been killed by knife-wounds to the abdomen, rather than by crossbow, like the corpse in the kitchen.

The eastern branch of the tunnel, which Kithzin refers to, is as he described it. As they halt in the darkness at the water's edge, all but Telma can distinguish the individual the flagstones beneath the surface; it is only about three inches deep, barring illusions.

The ladder is roughly 35 feet down the passage, and it seems to be planned similarly to the trap-door beneath the Petty Tavern. No light comes through from the ceiling, but the ladder appears firmly planted in the square frame above.
-=-=-=-=-=-
OOC:
I'd like to know who has a light and who, if anyone, is wearing boots.


-=-=-=-=-=-

OOC:

XenoGeno is right to remind me; the encounter with the mastiff nets 375xp for all involved.

[Ryuuk]

Telma

"It doesn't seem too deep, we'd have an easier time here then at the mine back at the plot." Telma squinted as she tried to make out anything else, but she may be at her eyes could only adapt to so much. "If I'd brought my psicrystal, I could have had it guide me... Mourdin, would you happen to have a torch or a spell of sorts? If not, it might be best if I wait for Varwann, I'd be going on blind otherwise."

She's wearing the boots that come with the Traveler's outfit, but her senses are limited to a human's and she doesn't have a light source.

[Snowfall]

Mourdin

Mourdin reaches into his haversack and pulls out a sunrod, handing it to Telma. "This should do for you and Urk, but hold off lighting it until Kithzin and I check out the ladder and where it goes. We don't want light betraying us if we have to open a trapdoor."

Mourdin grips his axe and motions to Kithzin to take the lead again.

[Chineselegolas]

Kithzin

Nodding at Mourdin, Kithzin walked towards the ladder, and began climbing up cautiously, ready to jump down to his companions incase of trouble.

[RS14]

In the tunnels:

Kithzin and Mourdin trudge through the cold, slimy water to the well-worn and heavily varnished wood ladder. It's firmly planted in the flagstones by a pair of rusty brackets in the middle of the tunnel.

The trap-door above is the same size and shape as the one in the tavern. It has no visible hinges and no visible holes, but unlike the other, has two signs scrawled on it in charcoal, more pictographs than writing. The first is a lock and a broken key; the other two stick-figures joined at the wrist.

[Chineselegolas]

Kithzin

Moving to stand next to Mourdin, Kithzin whispered "I can't make head nor tails for them, think we should go get the others and get there opinion on the trap-door, or should I just give opening it a go?"

[Snowfall]

Mourdin


Mourdin mutters a prayer of insight to Heironeous and concentrates on the door.

(Cast Detect Magic)

[RS14]

Mourdin:

Mourdin detects no auras.

[Solophoenix]

Varwann

[roll0]

Lowering his voice, Varwann speaks to the man.

"The tavern owner," he says, indicating the tavern, "and two others. Please, all I need is directions to where I can find the nearest guard"

[Ryuuk]

Telma

Telma simply waits in the dark for the others, holding the sunrod carefully, ready to light it.

[RS14]

Varwann:

"Ah," he says. "If that's all you want, I suppose it's not my place to stop you. Follow us - there's a dig to the south west of us; I'll point it out" He hefts the beam back to the leather pad on his shoulder, and he and the three other men continue moving southwards.

[Assuming Varwann chooses to follow]

Just before the end of the second block, the man starts speaking again. "Just one block west, and best of luck, though if I may give my opinion, the city guard will be too busy to be of much help to ya. These digs are tough, let me tell you. I can't imagine too many Orcs made it this far up the hill, but just figuring which tunnels they've been using takes damn near forever. "

[Snowfall]

Mourdin

"Well it's not magic," Mourdin whispers to Kithzin, "Hold on, I'll fill in the others, if they have no idea let's see if we can open it."

Mourdin walks back several steps to where the others are and whispers to them what they've seen on the door.


ooc: Hold hands to unlock the door? I'd say check for traps and then try to open it slowly.

[RS14]

Tunnels:

OOC:
I take it that Mourdin is describing the features of the door, correct? For clarity:

The trap-door above is the same size and shape as the one in the tavern. It has no visible hinges and no visible holes, but unlike the other, has two signs scrawled on it in charcoal, more pictographs than writing. The first is a lock and a broken key; the other two stick-figures joined at the wrist.

[Snowfall]

Mourdin

After relating the details of the doors to the others, Mourdin turns back to Kithzin, "Looks like they have no ideas either, let's just try to open it... but be careful with it and check for traps."

((ooc: Move things along?))

[Ryuuk]

Telma

Telma goes with the others still holding on to the unlit sunrod. It made no differnce so she kept her eyes closed until after the trapdoor was opened.

Sorry about the delay ad the short post, free time's been a bit harder to get ahold of lately.

[Chineselegolas]

Kithzin

"Traps aren't my speciality, sneaking around is my forte, but as there is no magic, I'll give it a go", as he climbed back up the ladder, and looked carefully around for any traps, or possible opening mechanism.

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

[XenoGeno]

Urk

Urk heads off with the others, lifting his sword so as to be ready if someone or something is above the door.

[Solophoenix]

Varwann


Varwann continues onward, following the man's directions. Assuming he finds a guard, he approaches and speaks.

"Excuse me, guard, I'm afraid I have to report a string of murders. Petty, the local tavern owner, and two others. There was a very dangerous mastiff at the scene, and whoever put it there is probably still around, maybe with more of them."

Diplomacy roll, if needed.
[roll0]

[RS14]

Tunnels:



Kithzin finds no traps, nor any other mechanisms. The door seems to be simply a solid wood square which doesn't budge.

Mourdin climbs the ladder tries to lift the door open, but it seems fixed very solidly in place. He shoves (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1612037/) with all his strength, but it doesn't even lift an inch, and the rung he stands on gives way with a snap. Kithzin grabs (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1612044/) him and breaks his fall, but Mourdin nevertheless soaks the seat of his pants.

-=-=-=-=-=-

OOC:

The ladder isn't so broken as to be impossible to climb, but if you're going to continue forcing the door, you'd better find a different way to try exert force on it.



-=-=-=-=-=-

Varwann:

The "dig" is a long, two-story building on the north of the road. The western end of it has crumpled to the ground - it's not clear if this is the result of the earthquake which damaged the city weeks ago, or from the excavation below. Regardless, the roof here has been peeled away in places and the rubble piled against nearby structures. The other half of the building has remained standing, despite ground-floor walls being torn down haphazardly, floorboards ripped up, and the cellar excavated. What remains of all staircases have been sealed off, as have many of the second-floor windows.

A gray-bearded Dwarf in a red officer's coat, forage hat, and epaulets is leaning on a combat spade beside the dig. He stops his conversation with the woman in the excavation entrance - a Dwarf with tightly knotted hair and several pounds of surveying equipment - and looks up laggardly to Varwann as he appears. He listens with a look of mild exasperation before speaking. "Son, I've no doubt that this is important, and I'd not hesitate to give aid on another day, but at the moment, my troops are down there [I]fighting through a veritable thicket of half-starved half-mad deserters from the underdark. Now unless these murderers happen to be down in my tunnels, I've not got the slightest inclination to interrupt our mission here to chase after them." He pauses and removes three numbered tin tokens (1380, 1388, and 1397) on strings and passes them to Varwann. "Now I can also advise you to take these and tie them to the corpses - unless we run right into them, we don't have the time to retrieve them now, but these will help us later."

[Ryuuk]

Telma

Eyes still closed, Telma listens as Mourdin makes his way up. Every little creak seemed much more distinguishable in almost total darkness. Even the shoves seemed much louder then they truly were.

With the sudden crack, Telma opens her eyes and looks towards the source. Finding everything much like it was were them closed, she takes a step back and lights the sunrod. Now she squints for a few seconds, but as her vision becomes clear so does the source of the noise. Slightly more serene then before, she steps back towards the group. "Are you alright Mourdin?" While he answers Telma appraises the damp corridor around her as well as the broken ladder leading up.

Spot: [roll0]

[Chineselegolas]

Kithzin

"That worked well", Kithzin said with a slight laugh, before saying "Shall I try and shatter it?"

[Snowfall]

Actually, I thought the past posts seemed to be pretty clear that Kithzin was climbing the ladder to open the door... but oh well. Little bit of water never hurt anyone.


Mourdin

"Well, that was a mistake, no doubt about it. Never send a dwarf to do... that. Now that there's light, take a look at the symbol and let me know what you make of it. We need to be holding hands to open this door?"

[RS14]

Tunnels:

As the sunrod burns brightly, Telma and Urk see the corridor as it is. The symbols on the door are legible; the lock, broken key, and two stick figures with wrists crossed.

Something glistens in the light on the walls to the east, just as the corridor twists out of sight to the north. It looks somewhat patchy and slimy, rather than a unbroken slick of water or a mineral vein.

[XenoGeno]

Urk

"I agree with th' monk. Just blow up the blastin' door!"

[Ryuuk]

Telma

A lock, a broken key and two figures with their wrists cuffed together. The drawings must have had some meaning, and although some of her own quick explanations made her uneasy, the fact that there hadn't been any magic knocked down the worst of them.

The gleam catches her attention, but she holds it off until after the door is dealt with. Even if there was no magic, the encounter with the mastiff left her feeling that it would be best to stick together when pocking around. She steps back from under the door and tries to find a way to place the sunrod on the walls, maybe even on her belt. Anything that would leave her hands free in case they would be needed elsewhere. "Give it a shot Kithzin"

[Solophoenix]

Varwann


"Thanks for your time, anyway."

Dissapointed but understanding, Varwann takes the tags and begins making his way back to the tavern.

[RS14]

Tunnels:

Conveniently enough, the wall is quite rough brick, and Telma manages to wedge the sunrod into a gap in the masonry.

Kithzin focuses on the door above and a harsh sound, rapidly oscillating in pitch, rings out, until a moment later, with a crack, the sound ceases and the splintered door falls inwards, accompanied in quick succession by five large bags of sand which land with a splash atop the wreckage.

The room above is dimly lit. There are more bags that can be seen around the lip of the trapdoor, and the ceiling consists of cracked plaster, with a small patch of dark mold just visible though the door.


Varwann:

"Well, I'm here. I can't very well ignore you," says the officer. He tips his hat as Varwann departs, then returns to his previous conversation.

On the way back to the tavern, people seem to take notice of the tags in Varwann's hand. Hats are tipped, and some people stare. Nobody initiates conversation in the street, but just as Varwann reaches the tavern door, a man behind him interrupts him. "I'm sorry for your loss - were they family? No, that can't be it - you don't look like a local. Rather late too - or did you arrive to care for them?" He extends a hand. "Excuse me - Sondheim, undertaker, at your service. And you would be?"

[Solophoenix]

Varwann


Varwann accepts the handshake.

"I'm afraid I didn't know the deceased. It was a murder, and myself and my comrades were first on the scene. I left to find a guard whilst they searched for the murderer."

[Chineselegolas]

Kithzin

Stepping back as the sandbags landed in the water, Kithzin lent over one of the bags and pulled it open, confirming the contents. "Should we check out whatever that is glistening over there, or leave it till the way back" Kithzin said, brushing his hands off.

[Snowfall]

Mourdin

Mourdin turns his head to listen up above and then tightens his hand on his axe. He whispers "Careful, someone's armed up there and they know we're coming. We don't know if they had anything to do with these murders either."

[Ryuuk]

Telma

Telma nods at Mourdin's words, whispering back "So we're at a stalemate of sorts." She steps away from the dark opening, considering it a prudent action if her ears were right. She signals to the others to do the same, at least until they know how to go about this.

You know, this might be just the place for Varwann's talent... There's probably another exit up there, this could be our only chance... She takes a strange stone from her side pouch, as well as the dorje they'd used in the warehouse. "We could try to get up there quickly, do it fast enough and we might shock him."

(1 minute Skate to whoever wants it, if we choose to rush him she'll use one of her Power Stones for concealment as well as manifest Force Screen)

[RS14]

Varwann
"Oh dear. That seems to be a trend lately. But you know how people are; no sanity; no honor. Most terrible."
He looks down at his feet for a moment. "Not to seem hasty, but we really must take the deceased elsewhere, shouldn't we? Rats are a menace, and, not to boast, but I can provide far superior lodgings for the deceased. You don't mind, do you?"

[Solophoenix]

Varwann

"Follow me inside, then head upstairs, there's a man up there who knew one of the deceased well, I'll let him decide how they're handled. I shall rejoin my companions."

Varwann enters the tavern and heads for the trap door, climbs down and looks around for the others.

[RS14]

Varwann:

Sondheim smiles. "That does sound preferable; it is, as always, my duty to give my respects to the bereaved."

Inside the tavern, the fog has mostly cleared. Sondheim glances into the kitchen as he enters, and gives a brief, two-finger-on-brow salute to the dead boy on the kitchen floor. He moves on without saying any more.

At the bottom of the ladder, Varwann can make out a faint glow in the east corridor. The tunnel drops off before going far, however, and his view down the tunnel is limited to the graffiti covered ceiling above this drop.

-=-=-=-=-=-

OOC:

Due to the timing of this (I basically glossed over the time it took to travel those few blocks), you'll need to wait a few days until the other players have resolved actions such that I know what to tell you Varwann encounters. I'm sorry about this.


Tunnel:

The silence is broken by a shout from above in Orcish. The speaker seems bold, but stutters on the last words. Another speaker, this one weaker and raspier, follows these words; his end in the refrain "Gu ey wass madur. Gu ey wass madur."

[XenoGeno]

Urk

Home... all that person wanted was to go home. Just like Urk wished he could do. Lifting his sword, Urk shouts back in Orcish.

Translation
"Soldiers! Leave the hostage alone! If anything happens to him, I will paint the wall red with your blood!"

Urk turns to his companions, his words somber, a cold anger across his face. "If... if y'all see any orcs up there, don't fight'em unless they attack firs', okay? There shouldn't be more than one anyway. All he wants t'do is go home. Please, leave'im alone."

[Snowfall]

Mourdin


Mourdin takes a long look at Urk, speaking softly "That's quite an accent you have there, Urk. You speak better Orcish than I do, better than one of the captors up there even..." The dwarf shrugs, before continuing on, "Ask them to show us the hostage, then we'll negotiate."

While he waits for Urk, Mourdin stares thoughtfully at the ceiling, running his hand along the wall.

[RS14]

The first speaker shouts back, still in Orcish. Something about Toma; the speaker seems somewhat more anxious now.


"You lost! Go far from Toma. Tell your friend surrender."


Just after this, there is the sound of breaking glass upstairs. Someone, perhaps the first speaker, or perhaps another, calls out in Common "Help! Messenger! 5th reservists fighting off invaders on Auburn and Smitt! Messenger! Messenger! Don't let them take ground again!"

[Chineselegolas]

Kithzin

"Keep him talking" Kithzin whispered as he crept over to the ladder and began to climb up as quietly as he could raising his head so his eyes were just able to see over the next floor.

[roll0]
[roll1]

[Snowfall]

Mourdin


Before Kithzin heads up the ladder, Mourdin asks Heironeous to grant his companion strength.

(Casting Bull Strength on Kithzin... he might need it. +4 Strength for 5 minutes)

[Ryuuk]

Telma

The bantering in orcish was enough to make Telma tense. It takes her a while to get up to speed with what Urk and Mourdin were talking about, it finally comes together when the hostage speaks. "The orc getting hurt or not is going to depend on what happens to that messenger." She gestures to Kithzin as she finishes speaking.

She gets a bit closer to the ladder, ready to sprint up at the monks notice. At this point it would probably be best to let those that knew his tongue handle it.

[RS14]

Tunnels:

Kithzin peers through a gap in the bags, and spots two Human soldiers and an Orc prisoner, all in dirty, sweat-stained uniforms against the south wall, only about 20ft from the trapdoor. They seem to have made a fortified emplacement out of the sandbags around them; a semicircle against the wall, about a foot high, but deeper on the inside. It comes up to the waist of the men standing inside it.

Both soldiers wear only the standard privates' uniforms: long-sleeved brown tunics under red-trimmed breastplate, and black trousers; neither wears the red sashes which are common on parade. The man towards the front of the emplacement grasps his longspear tightly and scans the room with his eyes sighting just over its tip, but although they sweep right across Kithzin, he does not seem to notice the silent Githzerai.

The other man is looking out a broken window onto the street; he carries a crossbow pointed at the ground. He calls out though it again "Do you hear us? We need reserves! Messengers!." He glances back into the room with his eyes twitching around the room in fear, but likewise fails to spot Kithzin behind the frayed bags.

The Orc can be seen sitting against the wall behind the Human with the spear. Only his head can be seen above the sandbags; his hair has been cut short, and he is gagged. His eyes are closed, and he doesn't move.

The building itself seems to be a fat L-shape. This room is 60ft wide and 80ft long, and with a high ceiling. The whole room is with filled sacks, presumably of sand, covering the entire floor to at least a foot in depth, while a staircase runs up into Both the north and south walls have glass windows, though one towards the south is now broken; there is also an open set of double doors leading into a similar room to the west, though it appears totally deserted. A staircase with a chopped and teetering balustrade passes above these doors, and ends on an enclosed landing before reaching the ceiling of this room, presumably to provide access to a second floor of the adjacent room.

[Chineselegolas]

Kithzin

Lowering his head down, he released his hold with one hand, and held two fingers up then pointed at Telma, then pulled a stern face and mimed holding a spear, then put his hand to his mouth and attempting to indicate fangs, then put his hand up by the other and hung his head to the side as though unconscious. Nodding at the others hoping they understood the information, he pulled himself up into the room silently, keeping below the frayed bags and wriggling along the floor moving away from the trap door.

[roll0]
[roll1]

[XenoGeno]

Urk


Urk looked at Kithzin, then back at the others, rage completely replaced with confusion. "Does anyone know what in the Nine Hells that gith is tryin' to say?"

[Ryuuk]

Telma

Slowly nodding as Kithzin sends his message. Telma tries to bring it together, thinking in a whisper to the others when the Githzerai disappears. "Two... soldiers? Someone or something sleeping perhaps? But that doesn't... unless it was overpowered. We would have surely heard it though." She shrugs, she was at least close.

Figuring it would be odd for them not to hear back, she speaks out and goes to the base of the ladder. "Is anyone hurt up there? I'll be right up."

[RS14]

Tunnels:
Initiative:
Kithzin: ?
Soldier[Crossbow]: 19 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1623141/)
Soldier[Hidden]: 19 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1623141/)
Soldier[Spear]: 7 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1623141/)

Those below watch Kithzin disappear over the top. Though he moves slowly, the soldiers must have seen (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1623124/) him, as one shouts out "There's one!" A moment later, crossbows click, and four (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1623125/) bolts (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1623133/) fly through the air. Two come from another soldier, an older bearded man, who appears from behind the edge of the emplacement only long enough to aim and release. The bolts sink into sandbags with dull thuds, except for one, that is; one which happens to strike the bag lightly on an edge and tumble straight into Kithzin's arm. [4 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1623138/) pts lethal damage]

The soldier with the spear holds steady at his position.

-=-=-=-=-=-

If you'll be entering combat, roll initiative.

Map:

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee241/RS14_photo/image11.png

[Chineselegolas]

Kithzin

Room
[roll0]

Before taking action like to know how far away they are and any piles of sandbags that are usefully located

[Snowfall]

Mourdin

Mourdin turns to Urk and Telma, "Get up there, he needs backup... let's take them alive."

(ooc: Mourdin's not a fast climber, will follow behind the others)

[XenoGeno]

Urk

Urk pulls out a potion of bull's strength, and tosses it back. As he feels his muscles bulge, he sneers at Mourdin. "You can spare any you get to firs', but I aim to kill. These bastards are shooting at our friend, have tied an' starved a hostage, an' prob'ly had somethin' to do with that barkeep's death. Why shouldn't we kill them?" Not waiting for an answer, he climbs up as quickly as he can, and hefts his sword in front of him.

OOC: Initiative 17 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1623690/)

[Snowfall]

Mourdin

Reacting fast, Mourdin grabs Urk by the arm, speaking to him in Orcish


"Because Redshirt, we can't get answers from the dead, and the real people who caused all this will get away. If we hadn't killed that cleric back there, we might have been able to stop all this."


He lets go of Urk and calls for Heironeous's blessing on himself, then follows Urk up the ladder.

(ooc: Initiative (1d20 5=22) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1623969/) Beats a 17 :smalltongue: ... Casting Bulls strength)

[Ryuuk]

Telma

As the bolts are fired and harsh words are said, Telma closes her eyes and focuses. A soft, high pitched sound seems to come from her, rising in volume before it peaks and becomes silent. "Because the war's over, that's why..."

She makes her way up the ladder as quickly as she can, moving to the side so that the others can get up as well. Her falchion remains at her side and her right fist is clenched next to it.

---

Initiative (1d20 2=19) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1624053/)

Standard: manifest Force Screen
Move: climb up

AC 24, HP 36/36

Quick question, since the falchion proved less then perfect last time I'm planing on using unarmed attacks now. Would I be able to use Psionic Weapon with them? I know that Psionic Fist is also a feat, but that feat also affects Natural Weapons. From my understanding, unarmed attacks are considered both.

[RS14]

Tunnels:

Initiative
Mourdin: 22
Telma: 19
Soldier[Crossbow]: 19
Soldier[Hidden]: 19
Urk: 17
Kithzin: 14
Soldier[Spear]: 7

Active:

* Magic Vestement. Mourdin, ~4 hours remaining.
* Bull's Strength
*Mourdin: 5 minutes
*Kithzin: 5 minutes
*Urk: 3 minutes
* Force Screen. Telma, 5 minutes

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"Wait, who are you!?" shouts the soldier beside the window as Urk emerges from the floor, and he lowers his crossbow slightly. "Don't stop!" shouts the soldier with the spear; "Intruders, drop your weapons and surrender, in the name of the city!" Two bolts fly forth towards Urk, the forwardmost target, from the crossbowman behind the emplacement. The first merely scratches him him, but the second punches (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1624897/) straight (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1624900/) through a gap in his armor above the waist. [1 and 8 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1624898/) points lethal damage respectively.]

On the west wall of the room, the boxlike construction of the staircase provides total cover, as do the sandbags around the trap-door to anyone who keeps their head below their tops. However, the rest of the room is mostly densely stacked sacks; the few places where they have been piled, shoved, or stacked higher only provide cover to those who are prone behind them.

Map:

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee241/RS14_photo/L.png
Note: Soldier at B6 is the one with the longspear.

[Chineselegolas]

Kithzin

Getting up from where he lay behind the barrier, (move action) and vaulting over the sandbags before him, moved up towards the attackers (C5)

[Snowfall]

Mourdin

Mourdin pulls out his axe and rushes forward, shouting "We could have talked if you hadn't shot my friends, drop your weapons or the big angry fellow's going to rip your arms off!"


Double move to B4, looking to use the

AC 21
HP 36

By the way, magic vestment was cast on Mourdin's chain shirt, which he's not wearing anymore... he should have cast it on his shield to be more useful.

[XenoGeno]

Urk


Urk looks at the soldier with the spear. He lets his hatred completely consume him, the crossbow wounds hurting less, his muscles bulging with strength. He looks up at the soldier with the spear, and with one shout he charges full speed (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1625685/), putting all his strength behind his attack. (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1625689/)

[Ryuuk]

Telma

Telma runs at the sandbag fortification, staying low. Being unarmed, she tries to get close to the soldier with the crossbow and aims to connect a stinging fist to the side of his face. (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1625761/) It would leave a mark, but it wouldn't be anything life threatening. Her reckless approach showed that she was still ways behind Kithzin though.

Attack: 14
Damage: 4 + 6 (Psionic Weapon) nonlethal
AC 20 (-4 Reckless Offensive), HP 36/36
Focus is expended

[RS14]

Tunnels:

Initiative
Mourdin: 22
Telma: 19
Soldier[Crossbow]: 19, delaying to 17
Soldier[Hidden]: 19
Urk: 17
Kithzin: 14
Soldier[Spear]: 7

Active:

* Bull's Strength
*Mourdin: 5 minutes
*Kithzin: 5 minutes
*Urk: 3 minutes
* Force Screen. Telma, 5 minutes

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Mourdin advances first. The soldier beside the window calls out angrily to him "Well yes, that would have been preferable." He ducks, and barely manages to block Telma's fist with his leather bracer as he draws a bolt from the back of his belt and steps against the wall. Urk charges forward; the soldier with the spear stabs (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1625790/) him through the shoulder, [7 lethal damage] but Urk shrugs it off and, with a tremendous blow, knocks him him into the air, then again into the wall in a broken pile of blood and flesh. The speaker raises his bow straight at Urk. "You will halt now! Arthur, stand down, damn you! Miss, please don't kill me, a truce, if you please. I don't want to shoot him." The other crossbowman, despite this plea, snatches a halberd from behind him and supports his ally, as he stands and discards his crossbow.

As Kithzin arrives at the barrier moments later, he seems to waver between him, Telma, and Urk. He backs to the corner and sets the butt of his halberd into the sandbags

Map:
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee241/RS14_photo/L2-3.png


-=-=-=-=-=-

Varwann:

The east corridor reveals itself to be a tunnel, with a puddle of water only a few inches deep spanning it as far as can be seen. It is at a lower level than the tunnel directly beneath the tavern, and the steps grant a good view of graffiti written above them on the low ceiling.

Two things can be seen ahead: a ladder, with a mound of debris at its foot and a trapdoor above, which appears like the one through which Varwann entered, and a slight glistening on the walls and floor farther down the tunnel, which reflects light from a glowing sunrod jammed into the wall.

OOC: Is Varwann wearing boots?

[Ryuuk]

Telma

Telma's face looses its color as the remains of the spearman reach the floor. "I- I think that's enough." She draws her falchion, but before the remaining soldier get the wrong idea she lets it fall on a nearby sandbag.

She closes her eyes for a second (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1626668/) as she takes a step away from the man. "You mentioned a truce?"

Move and free: Draw and drop her weapon
Move (standard): Regain focus
Free: 5ft step to B9
AC 24, HP 36/36

[Solophoenix]

Varwann

Varwann heads toward the light, following the tunnel. He strains his ears to listen (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1627208/) for his companions.

OOC: Yep, Varwann's no halfling, boots all the way.

[RS14]

"Yes," the man stutters. "I did. I'm no leader - we're just regular soldiers, but I'll offer our surrender if you'll spare the two of us." He lowers his crossbow fully to the ground. "Arthur, put the axe down please." The man behind him does so slowly, then backs up against the wall. "Who are you?" Arthur asks abruptly. "We thought you must be Orcs, poking around down there like that. We were just minding our business in here. Keeping the prisoners 'til our Sergeant gets back."

A loud crash comes from the direction of the door at the top of the staircase. It has been filled with all sorts of rubbish - broken furniture, rope, boards - and it is heaving forwards and backwards with a great clattering noise. Someone calls out in Orcish, in a raspy voice, from the other side of the barricade
"Did you killed them all? We're in here, don't waste time talking to the rats, lets leave. Luthic's blessing to you all, we thank you again."
A rope snaps, and the wood barrier goes tumbling down the stairs. An Orc - young, but with rough beard, shaved head, and general underdark grime - steps out, and freezes. "Scit." He steps back into cover and shouts something more in Orcish. "****. Who are you? Did you come to lynch us or what, ****ers? We'll not go without a fight!

Arthur snatches his halberd again. "Watch out, they're not armed, but they're angry as hornets - let the Gith fake peace, then you start back with the hacking and bleeding on them, good?" The first speaker looks to Kithzin. "You've got a planes accent, don't you?"

-=-=-=-=-=-

Varwann:

The water is cold, and just deep enough to drench Varwann's feet. At the ladder, a sturdy wooden thing with two rungs snapped near the bottom, the rubble turns out to consist of mostly sandbags, providing a soft, dry island. Up above, he hears the crash of wood and some shouted words, but he cannot make them out. A fight? A sprung trap? Or normal city sounds?

[Chineselegolas]

Kithzin

"I am not allied with any orcs" Kithzin said, "And any planes accent is merely inherited, for I've not been among my people for many years."
Stepping over the barricades towards Arthur, he continued "And why would I want to fake peace"

[Solophoenix]

Varwann

Varwann climbs the ladder as quietly as he can, peeking into the room above whilst trying to avoid being seen. (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1628215/)

[XenoGeno]

Urk

Urk looks up at the young orc, and shouts back in Orcish.

"No, no, we're here to help you, not fight you! What have the soldiers been doing to you?"

[RS14]

The soldier looks to Kithzin. "Dammit, they're escaped prisoners. They're responsible, in part, for the mess this city is today. You can't let them get away, can you?"

Meanwhile, the Orc upstairs gives no response. Urk can hear splintering wood, as if he has started smashing the walls.

-=-=-=-=-=-


Varwann:

As Varwann peers into the room, a large storage room filled roughly two feet deep with sandbags, he sees his companions arrayed around the room. Urk seems distracted, and is calling up the staircase on the west side of the wall; the others seem engaged in tense conversation with two armed Human soldiers. It looks as if there has been fighting, judging by the blood splattered against the wall.

[Ryuuk]

Telma

It takes Telma a while to speak. Somewhat relieved at first, when the situation seemed to have calmed, that particular emotion leaves here once the words in orcish fill the air. During her quite, her view shifts slowly between the opening to the west, the soldiers and the pulpy remains of the spear man.

"I hate the invaders as much as anyone who lived through it, but for Bleredd's sake, its finally over. If we keep picking at the scabs the city is just going to bleed and carry bigger scars. I'd rather just make peace, even if some seem to have gotten used to living in a warzone." She struggles to get her eyes off the dead man, and while Urk is speaking in orcish, she gives a disgusted look to his back.

[RS14]

"But don't you see?" the man shouts. "They're still mad about the whole mess. Over or no, this one," and he nudges the Orc bound against the wall, "would happily see us all dead. We've been doing our orders as best as we can, trying to recapture them, and you can't just come in here and interfere! We're, as soldiers, authorized directly by the prince. Not that you care about laws, I take it."

[Solophoenix]

Varwann

What sort of mess have they managed to get themselves into now? I leave for 5 minutes...

Varwann thinks as he observes the situation, remaining hidden.

[Ryuuk]

Telma

"Not that you..." Muttering, Telma takes a step back from the soldier. Now it was the quiet coming from the west that made her even more uneasy. Part of her would have preferred the yelling in orcish to come back. "Look, we came up here expecting to run into a murderer! That hole we crawled out of leads to some underground tunnels, one of which is connected to an nearby tavern. We're down here because we've found three bodies at the other end and the freshest one was peppered with crossbow bolts." She points to the recently fired crossbow. "Its easy to hear someone load those things."

[XenoGeno]

Urk

Urk looks the soldier straight in the eye, and growls at the man.

"Where's yer proof? You ruttin' bag of crap, where's yer gosdamned proof? How do you know these orcs tried to take the city down? Some orcs FOUGHT for this ruttin' city. Maybe, just maybe, all these orcs want to do is go home, and y'all won't let'em."

[RS14]

The soldiers cower against the wall as Urk speaks to them. "You don't understand! We captured them three weeks ago, in enemy uniform and fighting! Go ask them, they're soldiers and now prisoners fair and square! And we're not murderers! We didn't even know that tunnel was there! We're just poor soldiers quartering in this storehouse"

[Ryuuk]

Telma

He can really get a point across Telma moves to her discarded weapon and picks it up, putting it away at her side. "Urk, maybe you and Mourdin should see if you can come to an agreement with the them," She nods over to the western exit. "at the very least get some time pass with them at your sight. Either way, Varwann should be back with some authorities soon."

"Look, I know I may regret this later, but I'd rather wait until more people under the city's orders get here.

[Chineselegolas]

Kithzin

Sitting down on one of the sand bags, Kithzin said "Well while we wait one of you guys that can speak orcish may as well go get the orcs point of view"
Scratching his head he continued "And sand bags did fall through when we opened the trap door so that lends credibility to them not knowing about it"

[RS14]

Both soldiers nod and smile at Telma's words. "We're honest. How can we complain? We've been hoping for our commander to relieve us for weeks, anyway - though with those Orcs escaped, we had only hoped it would happen a little bit later."

The quiet one, who was hidden also speaks to Kithzin. "It must have been for crime - it's a pity the owner departed so rapidly after our quartering here. I suppose inconsequential now, and he probably got his fair share of squirming done with when the war was being fought in these tunnels - like having sappers straight into your bedroom."

[Snowfall]

Mourdin

Mourdin leans over the dead soldier and reaches down to close the man's eyes. The man was far beyond what Mourdin could do for him, and he whispered a prayer over the corpse, not for the soldier but for Urk, "Urk's brave and daring, oh Valorous Lord, and I've never seen a warrior like him, but help him down the path to honor... without it I fear he will fall."

Mourdin steps away from the corpse and over to his big companion. Still seeing the rage in Urk's eyes, Mourdin stops in front of the warrior looks straight up at him.

"Let's go see what's going on up there."

[RS14]

Assuming Urk and Mourdin head upstairs...

The staircase leads to a small room, apparently some former office. Most of the furniture, however, seems to have been expended in the barricade, however, and there is only a single, heavy desk remaining.

Three Orcs are clustered around an open window on the south wall of the room - one of them is half-way through, straddling the windowsill. Mourdin and Urk can hear frightened screaming from the outside, and the two Orcs still fully inside the room raise their fists. The one in the window throws his leg over and drops out, to a louder chorus of screams, and the Orc on the left - a fairly short man, in yellow-and green striped trousers, a tattered campaign shirt, and with his epaulets tied to a string around his neck - speaks in Orcish. "Don't make us try to trust you. We've had enough hardship and enough lying chatter from those men down there. You may be their enemies, but you're no friends of ours. We'll make our own way out of this city." Then in common "Will fight, if chased."

[XenoGeno]

Urk

Urk turns to Mourdin, and whispers into the dwarfs ear.

"Lissen, Mourdin, why don' you leave me alone here with these orcs? I'll be fine, and they migh' be more willin' to talk to me."

[Solophoenix]

Varwann

Varwann emerges from his hiding place and speaks to Telma.

"I'm afraid we won't be getting help from the authorities any time soon, they're all tied up with fighting at the moment. All I managed to find was an undertaker, he's back at the tavern."

[Chineselegolas]

Kithzin

Rubbing his temples, Kithzin turned to look at the humans, "You've been here for three weeks while they have been in there." Shaking his head disbelievingly, I don't get war, why keep a whole bunch of orc prisoners inside a battle zone, killing them off and going back to the front lines would make more sense. What is it you are really doing in here, or is the fighting this pointless?"

[RS14]

Upstairs:

The Orc that has not yet spoken glances at his companion, receives a nod, and continues through the window. The remaining Orc watches him go, keeping an eye on Urk and Mourdin. "As commander, I request you apologize to Atun, our companion downstairs, but the retreat is necessary. Furthermore, tell their officer that next time, we will not surrender to privates. Our surrender was meant for an officer, and the neglect of that is unreasonable. Now I must go." He too moves to depart through the window.

-=-=-=-=-=-

Downstairs:

The soldiers look down at their feet. The talkative soldiers starts speaking quickly. "This was stupid of us, but it could have happened to anyone. We're not the best soldiers, maybe, but hell, we're not like those mercenaries lost in Vessu. The prisoners got away - Sgt. Williams had to report back, immediately, and charged us to recapture them, take them to the real prison camp near the west wall. Well, he's not our officer anymore, I suppose, and nobody is coming to check on us, and they've just been up their just praying like mad that they one of the few bands still stumbling around down there would come and get them. We never figured it would; we figured we'd just let 'em get hungry and come out. We're not trying to make them suffer." The other soldier nods to this.

[Snowfall]

Mourdin

"Wait," Mourdin replies in Orcish, "I was a commander once myself, so even though I can't take your surrender, my friends and I can help set things right. Just talk with us for a minute, we promise not to stop you from going out that window."

[roll0]

[RS14]

Upstairs:
"You were a commander? When?" The leader salutes Mourdin. "Some sort of high-guard here? I heard what you did to that soldier down there, and didn't know who was attacking. I take it something special's going on? Or," he says with a sudden seriousness, "are you two bandits now? Because we're taking nothing with us; our food is gone, and we were stripped clean when we were captured." He pauses for a moment. Leaning out the window, he calls out (still in Orcish) "RALLY POINT 8! Regroup at sunset!"
"Now I don't trust you," he says, straddling the window, "but for a bite to eat and some water, I could be persuaded to stay for a word. Don't step too close, just pass it to me. And tell me who you are first." He looks between Mourdin and Urk expectantly.

[Snowfall]

Mourdin

Mourdin reaches into his haversack and pulls out a trail ration, handing it over along with his waterskin.

"I'm Mourdin Forge, my tall friend is Urk Redshirt. I commanded in the tunnels, a priest of the Valorous Host that ended up leading a company when the rest of the officers fell. My friends and I settled on a stake a few days ago, but woke up to some unwanted visitors this morning. After we dealt with them, their trail led back to some murdered townsfolk, which in turn led us to here."

"To be honest, we don't know what we've stumbled into. What happened between you and those men downstairs?"

[RS14]

Upstairs:

The Orc pulls out of a chunk of pemmican and begins chewing on it slowly as he listens. He checks his back anxiously, but listens nevertheless. "Oh, tough, tough, then. I should hope you can sympathize with us a bit - heavy casualties, deep in enemy territory, little hope of relief. A tough assignment. I see you survived."

"We were, of course, taken prisoner. Down in the tunnels, of course, there's less hope of escape, but up here, we figured we would try our luck. We might be killed running through the city... Homcard had a close call when he snuck out to bring us food, and we decided to try to wait it out. The soldiers have been acting like frightened toads; ever since their commander abandoned them, they've been disorganized and lazy." He shrugs. "Time will tell if that was a wise choice."
As he glances over his shoulder, he startles and swears loudly. "So they did get an alert out! I should have left with the others. Quick, where does your tunnel lead!?"

Downstairs:
Through the window, which had seemed silent and empty after the screams stopped or passed out of earshot, a thin man in red peers in abruptly. "87th reserve, reporting, we hear word that Orcs are fleeing, what is your status here!"
"No more fighting, but one corpse. Get in here and help us talk to these people, won't you?" says the crossbowman from beside the window. He looks towards the others around the room, as if waiting for them to react.

[Chineselegolas]

Kithzin

Still sitting on the sandbags, Kithzin shrugged, "My friends seems to be taking care of the talking"

[RS14]

Downstairs:
"Well who killed him!?" asks the man, just now noticing the corpse of the dead spearman. "Those Orcs?"
The soldiers in the room shake their heads. The man outside looks somewhat pale. Looking at Kithzin, he says "I'm backed up by armed men out here. I suggest you come with us, before we need to come in and get you. Do you understand me?"

[Snowfall]

Mourdin

Mourdin looks at the orc for a moment, into the eyes of an enemy he and his men had fought for months, and then sighs, "The war is over, at least it's supposed to be. I don't know what the city gains by keeping you and your men prisoners. The tunnel below leads to an inn, but it won't do you much good, our friend went to call the guards there to deal with some dead bodies we found. They'll think it was you."

Turning to Urk he says, "If those men downstairs were part of the army, we're going to have to answer some questions about the soldier we killed... it could get touchy, so take it easy."


For good measure:
[roll0]

Edit: That roll's directed at the Orc-looking Orc, not the Human-looking Orc...