Chapter One: Welcome to the Tavern

[PowerGamer]

Upon 3 more gargoyles entering the room, Azoth backs up to Liam. A studious psion does not belong in the front of the group

[Gildedragon]

This is looking less good... says Liam. So Mister... he pauses to allow Azoth to give him his name. ...what's your specialty? Because it seems we might be in a pickle. Upon hearing Enrik he turns his head. Come over here and show it to me, spell-caster; maybe we can help each other.

[Rjanag]

Enrik

"Busy here!" Enrik shouts back to Liam as he rifles through the room. A moment later, he puts his fingers to his lips, whistles, and shouts, "Oubliet!" Surprisingly, the bird obediently flutters back over to him. Enrik holds the bag out to the bird and speaks to it in Infernal,

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"Give this to the doctor."

The raven takes the bag in its beak and then flies over to Liam's position. It alights on the floor next to the professor and drops the bag on the ground.

[Gildedragon]

An empty pouch? Really? says Liam irked. Seeing the gargoyles are not behaving aggressively he levitates the pouch to his hand. The doctor lets a pleased. Yes. escape him; the amulet worked. Handling the pouch he examines it.

[PowerGamer]

"I'm a kineticist. I study the flow of energy. I'm also able to control it somewhat as well." Azoth tells Liam without taking his eyes off the statues

[Dark Hawk799]

Lindara moves north to the other door leading to the East,

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Move to AL-10

and opens the door if possible.

[artofregicide]

Enrik, having sent his raven on its way, opens the door to the next room. What he sees is a ruined bathroom, the pipes sticking out of the walls, the tiling broken with large gaps plummeting out of view. Worse yet, a roaring gust of wind sprays shards of broken glass towards him, dangerous to his unprotected skin.

Glass Shards

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DC 15 reflex save to close the door, or 1d4 slashing damage + blindness 1 round

Lindara attempts to open to the next door, but finds it to be both locked and far more secure than the last one. She can either attempt to pick the lock, find a key, or simply bash it down.

But there are more pressing matters. So far, any attempt to communicate has failed with the Gargoyles, and they now number five. All have moved closer, their movements heavy but determined. They seem as curious as they do wary, but their movements seem to imply they aren't afraid of you.

Hostile Intent: Azoth

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While you do not pick up full hostility, it seems that the Gargoyles are becoming more defensive, and frustrated by the communication issues. This could break into actual hostility with even a small misunderstanding.

[PowerGamer]

"Liam, my good sir," Azoth says ina slightly worried voice, "Tthey sseem to be slightly upset with our little problem communicating wwith them... I fear any mistakes nnow... Won't end well for either of us"

[Gildedragon]

What do you propose we do? he asks, looking at the bag before tucking it into his belt. I can try to parrot things back at them, but not sure how that would be received if things are as tense as you say. With a sigh he begins to walk up to them, hands open, showing himself to be unarmed and without hostile intent.

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Int check to try to repeat their speech at them. (1d20+5)[23]
What knowledge to recognize the symbol on the bag?

[Moonwolf727]

Gull notices the approaching and increasingly talkative gargoyles have added another three to their group and reacts in the way you would expect of him, or any sane man, and ducks lower behind the desk in an attempt to not be noticed. "You have been many different people over the centuries, none of them were sane."

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Yeah, sorry I didn't post sooner. My only excuse is that I had laptop troubles.

Hide check: (1d20+11)[24]
Search check: (1d20)[7] (If I can't search and hide then I will just hide instead.)

[Dark Hawk799]

Lindara, seeing how strong this door is, tries to kick it down.

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Str Check (1d20+2)[18]

[artofregicide]

Once again, Gull disappears behind the desk, and but tries to continue his search, but the squeaking drawer scares him from pursuing that course of action further. Regardless, the Gargoyles seem to have little interest in the strange skittish man.

The Doctor seems to have a little more success. He seems to get the gist of the Gargoyle's speech, which is very primitive and repetitive, and is possibly able to parrot words back at them.

Liam Morgan:

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You understand this from the Gargoyle: You are intruding/breaking into their territory, and they want to know if you want to challenge/fight one of them in order to prove that you're brave/strong enough to warrant letting through without hassle. Otherwise, he seems to want tribute of some sort.

In order to speak to them, it'll be another INT check, but an additional +2 for being able to comprehend some of their words.

The Angelic woman smashes into the door, but it holds firm, though the frame seems to weaken and you can hear the lock bend. Nevertheless the door stands.

Enrik pushes open the door, only to receive a face-full of razor sharp glass shards, cutting his skin, and powdered glass dust blinding him. Luckily, he is holding the door frame, or he could have stumbled into the pit before him. He closes the door, embedding with four small glass shards and bleeding in several more places, but nothing life threatening.

[Gildedragon]

They want gifts or one on one combat? I think. Fairly certain anyway. Anyone feel up to the challenge? I am afraid I have no gifts, really. I might not be the best warrior but I don't think I'd do too badly; I fared fairly well in duels. Liam asks his team.

[Dark Hawk799]

I don't have any gifts but I would fair well in one-on-one combat, if it came to that.

[Gildedragon]

Liam beckons Lindara closer. I dont think any of us came with treasures on hand. Now, I don't expect it is supposed to be lethal combat. That is to say, don't kill it. he says before returning to his pidgin negotiations, trying to understand the rules of engagement.

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(1d20+7)[25]

[PowerGamer]

Azoth stands by, ready to defend himself if needed.

[Rjanag]

Enrik

Enrik stumbles back into the room, momentarily stunned with surprise at the sight he had seen in the other room. He leans against the wall and blinks the grit out of his eyes until he can see again. Then he goes back out into the main room.

"You really want to fight that?" he says to Liam and Lindara, gesturing to the nearest gargoyle. "Well... better you than me." He lets the others discuss their plans a moment longer, then he interjects, "Do you know what's outside this inn? Absolutely nothing. In that room there are holes in the floor, with a pit of nothing below. This is no ordinary place."

Finally, while the others try to negotiate with the gargoyles, Enrik opens the envelope he found in the bedroom and tries to read its contents. He tries his best not to destroy the seal, just in case any of the others want to see its design.

OOC:

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Waits one round and then goes out to AC16.

[Moonwolf727]

Gull stays hidden and otherwise does nothing.

[Dark Hawk799]

Lindara moves to AB-21 and waits to find out the rules for the "duel".

[artofregicide]

The room shakes, and you hear more movement on the roof. This is louder, and heavier than the other movements. In a moment you realize that the sound is coming from inside the roof, inside the building, between the floors.

Bits of tile fall from above as a large creature crawls out a well worn hole the ceiling and drops down behind the other gargoyles. This creature appears to be a fellow Gargoyle, but is much larger than its kin, with long sweeping horns and tusks, made of out stone. Without further inspection, it is hard to tell why the creature is larger and stronger: size, gender, related race, or some sort of magical condition.

Regardless, this seems to be their leader, and it speaks to the others, assessing the situation, before seeming to give approval.

The talkative Gargoyle moves forward, it apparently accepts the challenge. It waits for the others to clear the way between it and Lindara.

Enrik

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Since your sorcerer was basically blind-sided by the faceful of glass, it makes sense that he didn't get a proper look at what was below. Obviously, it's a long drop, but you will eventually notice there is something at the bottom. That said, Enrik won't know that until he gets a better (hopefully non-painful) look.

Liam

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You successfully nominated Lindara as the challenger, and the Gargoyle motions that you need to all move away so the two can fight uninterrupted. As far as you can tell, this isn't a fight to the death. You also pick up from the "Leader" that the others seem to all refer to it by the same name, and it clearly is dominant. It seems to be very okay with the duel.

Azoth

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You notice that the talkative gargoyle has hostile intent, but not towards you. It seems to be waiting on you to move out of the way before it fights, likely Lindara

[Gildedragon]

He looks at the large gargoyle and turns to the paladin. You go him them lady Lindara. cheers on Liam, stepping away. No one intervene, it is not to the death, and insulting them would be unwise. he calls out, loudly, so all his companions can hear. Thrilled at the idea of seeing such a formidable gargoyle fight he squats at the edge of the circle, making quick sketches of the gargoyle on the loose paper.

[Rjanag]

Enrik

While he is still hestitant to give up any of his things if he doesn't have to, Enrik also begins feeling apprehensive about the consequences of dueling. "What happens to us if she loses?" he asks Liam.

[Gildedragon]

We get to give a gift, tribute, which I doubt any of us has, or we fight he speculates, quickly jotting down his notes in his pidgin Terran. If we're lucky they allow us to try someone else one on one. But this is, as far as I understand, a test of our mettle and bravery.

[PowerGamer]

"Mi'lady, only the one is hostile. But only towards you. I assume it's because of the duel. I wish you luck" Says Azoth as removes himself and hides behind a fallen pillar.

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Move Y22 (I think)

[Dark Hawk799]

Initiative:(1d20+0)[15]

[artofregicide]

The talkative Gargoyle howls, and the others join in unison, a primitive sort of encouragement or boasting.

Then it begins to circle Lindara, its long arms grasping, but not yet attacking. It tries to keep the higher ground, using the terrain to its benefit.

Luckily, the angelic woman is by far more swift than the creature, whose bulky frame and sluggish reaction leaves it open to attack.

Mechanics:

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Initiative (1d20+1)[4]

The Gargoyle is considered flatfooted for your first attack.

[Dark Hawk799]

What is the penalty for doing non-lethal? Subtract this number from the attack to get real result. Lindara strikes her target. 1d20+5-2 (power attack-2 attack +4 damage) (1d20+5)[17](22)

edit: I forgot to add in the -2 for power attack so I'm a -2 to the attack (20 attack)
Edit 2: Move to AA-24

[artofregicide]

Lindara charges forward, swinging the flat of her blade against the creature's head, a curving arc of steel that ends in a resounding clatter of metal against stone. She has effectively closed the distance between the two.

The creature reels as the blow strikes it, completely unprepared for Lindara's swiftness and precision, even while using the blade in a non-lethal fashion.

Mechanics and OOC:

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If you don't mind, please hide your mechanics in spoilers. Keeps with the spirit of things.

Regardless, you hit. The penalty is for nonlethal with a lethal weapon is -4, so you're at 16, but you still hit (he's flatfooted, for one).

Roll damage normally. The Gargoyle has damage reduction magic, and I think your weapon is only masterwork, so it will be subtracted from your damage.

The other Gargoyles emit the same howl from before, it seems they are quite enjoying the fight.

Emitting a half snarl, half trumpet-sound, the Gargoyle launches itself at Lindara with both its arms ending in hammer-like closed fists. The creature moves incredibly quickly for its clumsy appearance.

Unfortunately, such speed did not come with balance, and the creature stumbles as it attempts to strike Lindara, providing her with a second chance to strike it.

Mechanics and OOC:

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(1d20+4)[5] AC 14: Miss, Fumble

(2d6+6)[16] Missed: Ignore

Lindara get's a free AoO.

[Dark Hawk799]

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Damage for first attack:(2d6+6)[9]

Taking advantage of the Gargoyles attack she makes another attack

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[roll]1d20[/roll]
Damage if attack hits
[roll]2d6+6[/roll]

OOC

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Edit: So I rolled my attack on the OOC thread because this die roller seems to be down.

[Rjanag]

Enrik

Considering the skittish way he had behaved when first arriving in the inn, and when threatened by Jade, and again when first arriving here... Enrik looks surprisingly calm as Lindara and the gargoyle come to blows. While does not leave the cover of his pillar, he also is not sweating or losing control like he was before. Apparently combat or dangerous situations don't bother him as long as they're sufficiently far away from his person.

With a flick of his wrists, Enrik sends the floating balls of light south, until they are hovering several feet above the combatants, shedding light on the arena.

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Putting the dancing lights at AA24, 5 feet above Lindara's head (so I guess in the 3rd square up.

Oubliet flies over and, with the usual noisy flurry of feathers, alights on Enrik's shoulder. "Like watching Jeanne fight again?" the raven says. "And will you abandon her as well?" Enrik swats the bird, causing it to flap its wings to keep its balance, although it remains on his shoulder. "You cannot mention her name," he barks. "Besides," he adds after a moment's thought, "this creature seems perfectly manageable."