Rise of the Runelords, Part I: Burnt Offerings [IC]

[Savior]

Caedmon sighed but winked at the half orc. He brushed by, trying to leave right after the young firecracker of a woman. "I have no doubt you would beat him, but if you would allow me the honor to parlay with the brute. I believe he called me a woman." With a short pause, Caedmon turned once more to the woman after stepping outside with her. "Not that being a woman is bad in anyway."

[meemaas]

In a one on one fight? Rellin knows that his sister can take him no sweat. He's just gonna watch.

Rose growls at Caedmon, but doesn't say a word to him, she just heads outside to see how it goes from there.

[lostsole31]

The Rusty Dragon's portal seems to vomit forth nearly all of its bipedal contents outside to the front and the road. A squarish area is formed, larger than might be expected, but bodies packing tightly and cheers go up. People from other establishments around start to head to this spot, making it a wall of bodies that would not easily be overborne by someone inside wishing to get out.

As the elf walks out, escorting the 30-year-old, she talks with him. "Akashic magic, never seen it before ... why you have a helm and no real weapon to speak of makes sense now. Well, anyway, as long as she stays 'holding back' and doesn't pull out any deadly magics. I'd hate to see her get thrown into jail, and with such a nice brother. Which reminds me. I'm an acting deputy, Shalelu Andosana." She touches his arm and whirls him around - not forcefully - but more as a guide. "What's yours?"

It is as it this point that Rellin looks back to really notice her. She is one of those really tall elves - 6'3" - and yet barely a handful or two pounds more over a hundred. She has light green eyes, light brown hair, and she says with a wink and a peck on the cheek, "Don't worry, I believe in you."

Spoiler: Shalelu Andosana

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Rellin realizes that while bodies have filled in behind and to her sides, they have not done so with him. A slow, dawning look around and he sees that he is on the inside of one corner of this 25' x 25' area. He is there with his sister, this well-meaning sell-sword on the one corner ... and a drunken, boastful, half-orc on the other.

"Two silver sails that pansy goes down first!" someone in the crowd calls amidst the betting chatter."

Rellin suddenly feels very, very naked and exposed.

[PSinger]

Pushing her way over to Shale, Celiss looks at the three determined warriors looking inwards ... and the one poor guy looking out at she and Shale.

"Good luck, Caedmon! It was a pleasure to meet you!" she calls with a laugh then to Shalelu. "This dumbfounded guy is nothing to the pool, might even hurt himself or the others. What's the action?"

She pauses and looks at the poor, helmed weakling. "It's okay, there's no shame in faking epilepsy. Just remember, most that have that fit don't have control over their functions, so you have an excuse now to wet yourself."

[Savior]

With a smile, the young knight draws his sword. He has a look down at it and sighs. It's moments like these he hates not being able to use only his fists. Bryce was so adamant on shield and sword, saying that you can hold back with these, more than you can push with just those. Caedmon lifts his trance with a new expression completely. Eyeballing the brute with no emotion, only steel, he draws his left hand against his shoulder blades, dropping his shield to his forearm.

[meemaas]

Rose, unbothered by the fact that her brother has been pushed into the fight alongside her, takes up her stance, leaving her staff strapped to her back where it belongs, as her fists take on the icy glow they had below, a magical aura begins to surround her, almost as if a second layer of armor.

Rellin smiles, after giving a second to gain his bearings. When the other female calls into the fray at him, he just shakes his head and calls back at her. "I'm not so fragile that i'd go down in a simple bar fight. But it's not a problem."

[lostsole31]

Shalelu says to Celiss, "Two and a half ... well, two-and-a-quarter ... still outnumbers him. I'm for upsetting the established order when it comes to these things. I'll take the underdogs for a gold."

[PSinger]

"You seem sure of yourself, and them. How about 2 gold?"

[lostsole31]

Shalelu nods. 2 gold it is ...

R1T22: Rose, what do you do? You are 20' from the brute.

[meemaas]

Rose pivots her body on one foot, a strange energy beginning to cover her fist, she holds out her hand to wave the brute towards her, as if beckoning him to attack.

Spoiler

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Swa: Rose will Initiate her Dizzying Venom Prana boost
Standard: Ready an action to punch him if he comes at her.

Attack roll (1d20+5)[14]
Damage (1d3)[2] Nonlethal
If hit, staggers the target.
If hit, DC 15 Fort save or take 2 points of Wisdom damage

[lostsole31]

R1T22: Rose pivots her body on one foot, a strange energy beginning to cover her fist, she holds out her hand to wave the brute towards her, as if beckoning him to attack.

R1T12: The half-orc calls over, "I saves my dessert for last, girly-girl!"

He trundles forward to Caedmon and goes to swat the man's sword out of his hands ...

Caedmon, you have Combat Reflexes, and he does not have Improved Disarm ..... you get an AOO against him. This cannot be a "martial maneuver" (I don't allow them on AOO), but it may be a normal attack or (normal) combat maneuver. What do you do?

[Savior]

Spoiler

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Take two AoOs
Attack 1:(1d20+7)[8] -4 for non lethal
Damage :(1d8+4)[6]
Attack 2:(1d20+7)[17] -4 for non lethal
Damage :(1d8+4)[11]

Caedmon uses his extensive training and intelligence to try and off kilter his foe before he can grasp the sword. First turning the blade flat to the half-orc's right ear.

[lostsole31]

R1T12: Caedmon uses his extensive training and intelligence to try and throw his foe off-kilter before he can grasp the sword. First turning the blade flat to the half-orc's right ear, but Caedmon fumbles and the half-orc slams the hilt out of the man's hand ... but not before the point goes up as the pommel goes down and gives just the faintest slice to Caedmon's hand for 1 bleed.

R1T11: Rellin, you are 10' from the half-orc (and behind your sister and this other man). Do you do anything?

Caedmon, you are on deck. Actually, your sword is on the deck, but you go after Rellin. The fumble made just a pinprick to your sword hand, and yet it is bleeding steadily for all that ...

[meemaas]

Rellin sighs as he watches the fight before him. So far nobody had really done anything, and all the talk about him going down seemed to have been for naught. He decides to make it just a little easier on his sister and the stranger, and holds up his free hand, summoning up his magic, the ring he wears begins to glow bright, and the Half-Orc begins to glow light blue, his movements starting to slow just a little.

Spoiler

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Using the Slow ability from the Time Sphere.
DC 16 will save or be staggered for the forseeable future. Rellin will make sure to slide so that there is no straight line to him if possible.

[Savior]

Caedmon's usual face of stern kindness has become twisted and angry. His lips part for the grinding of his teeth, and his stature becomes only slightly hunched from pure rage. He bent to lift his sword back into hand, and then unleash an unholy slice upon the half-orc.

Spoiler

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move to pick up sword
Attack (1d20+7)[16]
Damage (1d8+4)[5]

Readied maneuvers:Iron Shell, Primal Wrath, Snapping Strike, Crushing Blow.

[lostsole31]

R1T11: Rellin sighs as he watches the fight before him. So far nobody had really done anything, and all the talk about him going down seemed to have been for naught. He decides to make it just a little easier on his sister and the stranger, and holds up his free hand, summoning up his magic, the ring he wears begins to glow bright, and the Half-Orc begins to glow light blue.

R1T9: To Caedmon's amazement, the man behind him uses a rare ability, rare indeed ... for it is one he shares, and that is the alteration of the flow of time around somebody to slow them. Seems the berobed man, amazingly, is a sphere-caster like himself, and also with powers over time. But Caedmon doesn't have too much time to think about this, as his usual face of stern kindness has become twisted and angry even as he takes another 1 bleed. His lips part for the grinding of his teeth, and his stature becomes only slightly hunched from pure rage. He bends to lift his sword back into hand, but the half-orc kicks his hand with his great strength for 6 NL (6 nonlethal damage). Caedmon is undeterred and retrieves his blade, and then unleashes an unholy slice upon the half-orc, but as his sword falls the half-orc flatly blocks it with his forearm and the blade is thrust aside as if by some unseen source. This doesn't mean he isn't a little surprised by what was obviously a strike meant with deadlier intent. He shouts something in a foul language ... but Rose knows the half-orc is not speaking Orc.

End Round One, Begin Round 2 ...

R2T22: Rose, Rellin is pouring the time-crawl on the half-orc. He is 10' away, but he came at Caedmon at an offset angle so if you want to engage him in melee you would have to go 15'. This man just changed the nature of the game by escalating this combat outside of the province of "bar fight" and into deadlier fare. What do you do?

Thug on deck, Rellin in the hole ...

[meemaas]

Rose looks over at Rellin, who sighs softly. "Make sure he doesn't die. Please."

With Rellin's approval, Rose circles around to flank the drunk with Caedmon, spin-kicking the drunk in the side, her foot turning to ice as it connects, she hopes to hit hard enough to knock the man out.

Spoiler

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Move action: Move to flank with Caedmon.
Standard action: Variable Flux (Spend 1 Animus to Enhance Manuever, adding +2 to her attack roll)

Attack roll (1d20+9)[24]
Damage (1d3)[2] (Nonlethal) + (1d6)[5] Cold damage
Fort save DC 15 or Fatigued
Fort save DC 15 or Staggered

[lostsole31]

R2T22: Rose looks over at Rellin, who sighs softly. "Make sure he doesn't die. Please."

With Rellin's approval, Rose circles around to flank the drunk with Caedmon, spin-kicking the drunk in the side, her foot turning to ice as it connects, she hopes to hit hard enough to knock the man out, and doing 2 NL and 5 NL cold helps, but he doesn't go down.

R2T20: Celiss, you had something you wanted to do?

Shalelu (if any on deck), brawler in the hole ...

[PSinger]

"CAEDMON!" calls Acting Sheriff Nightrom. "Drop your weapon, withdraw directly to me, and stay put. We'll take care of that wound."

Spoiler

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Charm person SLA. Will DC 11 negates.

A commoner has an even chance of ignoring this, but hopefully even if he resists it will make sense and he'll do it. I know it shouldn't matter with PCs, but just as a show of how (in)effective she might be to an NPC without magic, Diplomacy (1d20+7)[27].

Caveat: yeah, I know, Rus. You roll them, but because it is a courtesy Diplomacy roll that can't actually affect him I put it in for flavor.

EDIT: Wow. Here's to natural 20's on pure fluff that is likely to have no effect.

[lostsole31]

R2T20: "CAEDMON!" calls Acting Sheriff Nightrom. "Drop your weapon, withdraw directly to me, and stay put. We'll take care of that wound."

R2T18: The elven woman shouts back at the half-orc in the same, debased-sounding language.

R2T12: The half-orc nods his head takes a five-foot step back from Caedmon, but is still adjacent to Rose. His fists are up in a boxer's stance.

R2T11: Rellin, I am going to assume that you are concentrating on your slow effect.

R2T9: Caedmon, it takes a little bit of willpower, but you realize that while the sheriff is quite persuasive in her own right, there was some type of charm-carrier in her voice. You throw it off, and it's up to you whether you follow her instructions or not, but you suffer yet another 1 bleed from the wound on your damn hand. What do you do? The half-orc is now just out of reach (10').

Rose on deck, Celiss/ Shale on deck (if you even do anything, I won't stop the action), half-orc in the hole ...

[Savior]

Caedmon moves his sword into the ground, attempting to fix his busted open hand by himself. He appreciates the woman's offer, but he can solve his problems himself.

Spoiler

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heal:(1d20+1)[12]

[lostsole31]

Rellin, if there is anything you want to do?

Rose, what do you do?

[meemaas]

While focusing on the Drunkard with one hand, Rellin holds up the other one, his sleeve sliding up to reveal his semi-real gauntlet, and with a quick gesture, a multicolored beam of light shoots from the symbols on the gauntlet, aimed at the Half-Orc. As he does so, he smiles.

Spoiler

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Move action: Concentrate
Standard action: Activate my Storm Gauntlet

Attack roll (1d20+4)[7] (Apply a -4 penalty to this for shooting into melee)
Damage (1d4)[2] Shock, (1d4)[1] Frost, (1d4)[3] Sonic

After the Drunkard backs off of Caedmon, Rose turns on him and launches another powerful punch into his side. Unlike the previous one, while her fist is still icy, the connection appears to slow the man down, even in his already slowed state.

Spoiler

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Standard action: Initiate Sands of Time Approach, spending 1 animus on Enhance Manuever for a +2 bonus to attack.

Attack roll (1d20+7)[9]
Damage (1d3)[1] Nonlethal
If hit, he is Fatigued for (1d4)[3] rounds, no save.
As per Elemental Nimbus, he'll also be forced to make another save against the 1 round stagger. Fort DC 15, for what it's worth.

[lostsole31]

R2T11: While focusing on the Drunkard with one hand, Rellin holds up the other one, his sleeve sliding up to reveal his semi-real gauntlet, and with a quick gesture, a multicolored beam of light shoots from the symbols on the gauntlet, aimed at the Half-Orc. As he does so, he smiles. A smile which quickly fades as he misses.

R2T9: Caedmon moves his sword into the ground, attempting to fix his busted open hand by himself. He appreciates the woman's offer, but he can solve his problems himself. Or, at least he thinks he can ... though he fails to attend to his hand properly this time.

End Round 2, Begin Round 3 ...

R3T22: After the Drunkard backs off of Caedmon, Rose turns on him and launches another powerful punch into his side, but he is faster and ready for the attack and he grabs her and gets her into a powerful grapple for 7 NL and her own hit never lands.

R3T20: Celiss, you're not sure what that gauntlet is, but you did see very deadly energy of three different types come shooting off of it. It misses, and only barely stops short of the crowd on the other side as it sizzles and rumbles and pops near their feet. Do you do anything?

Shalelu on deck, Rellin in the hole ...

[PSinger]

Ahhhh, crap. Celiss casts a spell and the air shimmers all around her briefly before going still again. "Everybody, clear out!" she shouts.

She draws her rapier and steps up to the robed man, threatening him. "Robed man, you will cease and desist all activities, drop all magics, and surrender to me, Sheriff Nightrom of Sandpoint!"

Spoiler

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EDIT: Whoops, sorry!

SA: Cast extended mage armor.
MA: Move/draw rapier.

[lostsole31]

R3T20: Ahhhh, crap. Celiss casts a spell and the air shimmers all around her briefly before going still again. "Everybody, clear out!" she shouts.

She draws her rapier and steps up to the robed man, threatening him. "Robed man, you will cease and desist all activities, drop all magics, and surrender to me, Sheriff Nightrom of Sandpoint!"

R3T18: "Caedmon?" calls the elf. "That's your name, right? Leave the sword, withdraw to me and the sheriff. I am acting Deputy Andosana. Don't make this any worse, son."

She stays where she is as people are definitely clearing the grounds now that deadly magic is flying around. She draws and readies a shot in Caedmon's direction.

R3T11: Rellin, you have no idea what spell is that the sheriff just cast, though momentarily it seems to have affected her. What do you do?

Caedmon on deck (you can tell me your action if you'd like), brawler (grappling Rose) in the hole ...

[meemaas]

"Miss. I cannot just drop my magic. That is my sister there, and I am merely backing her up. If I am not mistaken about what has upset you, I assure you that the attack I used was nothing more than a pinprick. With how my sister is fighting, he may end up injured, but there will be no life threatening injuries. However, if you wish me to stand down anyways. Please break up this fight, and I will submit to your authority." he grumbles softly, meanwhile holding out the hand with the gauntlet, pointed at the ground, as a gesture of peace. "Didn't even want to be part of this fight in the first place."

Spoiler

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Apart from the Move action to concentrate on his spell, Rellin will spend a swift action to remove the Essence invested on his Storm Gauntlets.

[lostsole31]

Caedmon, what do you do?

Celiss, feel free to respond verbally, but you can't take an action yet.

[Savior]

Caedmon sheaths his blade, grumbling. He maintains the hope of setting his hand's wound.

Spoiler

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Heal:(1d20+1)[17]

[lostsole31]

R3T11: "Miss. I cannot just drop my magic. That is my sister there, and I am merely backing her up. If I am not mistaken about what has upset you, I assure you that the attack I used was nothing more than a pinprick. With how my sister is fighting, he may end up injured, but there will be no life threatening injuries. However, if you wish me to stand down anyways. Please break up this fight, and I will submit to your authority." he grumbles softly, meanwhile holding out the hand with the gauntlet, pointed at the ground, as a gesture of peace. "Didn't even want to be part of this fight in the first place."

R3T9: Caedmon sheaths his blade, grumbling while his hand bleeds for 1. He maintains the hope of setting his hand's wound, and he is rewarded when the bleeding stops.

End Round 3, Begin Round 4 ...

R4T22.1: The half-orc continues to press on Rose, doing 10 NL.

R4T22: Rose, you see all of this happening. What do you do/ say?

Celiss on deck, Shalelu in the hole ...