Jani tries to help the guards, but she finds her own appearance seems to scare them even more. They insist on her to leave the building, leaving a bad feeling on her as they do not even take the time to judge her actions, nor giving them the opportunity to accept the money for repair. Fortunately all of them seem stable, but one who have run away to the streets with unknown motivations.
Reesa performs a convincing diplomatic effort with Buri, but the man does not seem to hear, fighting against the bonds desperately. He only reacts once Eva and Kiti have free him, answering the question.
"I am not hungry, I need nothing more. I know nothing from the other buyers, neither I know what other stuff had Chaim to sell as this was the only statue he seemed to have available. So you say it was a product of thievery? I... I don't have anything to do with it... promise. Can... can I leave?" says the man as he retreats, making space between him and the party.
If no one makes anything to stop it, Buri Buri-Ban leaves soon without much else to say.
And so, the Pathfinders stand in front of the refinery, with a considerable amount of people around looking at what is going on with curiosity.
Where will they go next?
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"Bye-bye Buri! See you later!" Kiti says and waves at Buri Buri-Ban. "That's the kitty. Oh, there was something that no magic with statue? Two of them were at Overmarket was it? Viraj and the other guy? I can cast so better someone no-casty carry cat? Let's go see market, Viraj if we spot and the other if not, she suggests, and rummages through her pack for the cat statue.
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"Well, THAT was a total camel f**$. Would you idiots please refrain from attacking any more innocent guards while we're looking for the other statues? We'll be lucky to get this done without the watch being called."
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Ma’Huuk ignores the crowds as Buri wanders off, focusing instead on drawing out a crooked, beat-up stick and putting it to good use.
Putting up the wand, he nods to Kiti, ”That will be good. Maybe this time someone should approach him unseen?”
Jani’s vitriol gives the big man pause, though the extent of his reaction is a raising of his eyebrows as he re-stows his wand. ”I thought we did well. The man lived. We lived. The guards lived. We have this cat statue.” He shrugs, ”You would prefer we tip toe in and use soft words while that man runs invisible out the back door?” He shakes his bald head, ”It would be much difficult to find him after that, I’m thinking.”
He pats Moto on her scaled side, "This thing was done well, I think."
After wandering around the Overmarket looking for a Vudrani covered with little bells, you practically run right into him.
What Torch said was true—he is unmistakable. Sitting on the rim of a fountain, the man appears to be contemplating the contents of a small intricately carved wooden box. The many pouches of his flowing, bell-covered robes bulge with various small items, and wands and rods stick out from odd folds.
Under his arm he casually carries an item wrapped in shipping linens but by its shape it is almost surely a statue.
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"Injuring the guards was inexcusable. The end results do not justify the sins committed in achieving them. We were the intruders, we were in the wrong, and avoiding unnecessary harm is a moral requirement."
Jani will heal anyone who needs it who lacks a wand.
"We would say the same, regrettably."
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Arthrax has the grace to look ashamed at Jani's berating, looking down and nodding his agreement with the woman's assessment. Too often he let the thrill of battle overtake him and not worry about the consequences. Most of the time it worked out...but that had been a slippery slope back there.
As the group approaches the man, the burly warrior waits for another more friendly character to make a move, not trusting himself to make a good judgment call after the fiasco that just occurred.
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"The gnome spell thingies might do what Torch warned. You had baggies, take it or put on Mimi. She's safe. Oh, and hurt! Wait, I'll stick you with my stick!" Kiti says, giving the statue to Ma'Huuk and getting out her healing wand, touching the tiger until the scimitar wound closes.
When they find Viraj, Kiti joins Reesa in the negotiation. "Yes, you see, they were stolen and Chammy shouldn't have sold them, and we would like to get it back. We got one already. It's not for us but to Ruby, it was stolen from him. So, how about it?" she tries to convince the vudrani.
Viraj Arpani seems unwilling to engage you in conversation. When you first attempt to speak with him, he says "Go away. I have important business to attend to" when you first approach.
When Reesa tries to talk persistent, he pulls out a wand and warns you "I am a powerful magician and not to be trifled with."
Finally, when Kiti tries to question him and Reesa points out the bundle under his arm, he immediately casts a spell on himself.
Gaseous form
Arpani chants and moves his fingers in intricate arcane patterns. His form loses substance and turns to a wispy cloud, but as it does, the bundle under his arm begins to vibrate, crackle, and grow. His eyes widen as his body resolidifies and the statue bursts out of its wrappings, seemingly absorbing the arcane energy from Viraj’s failed spell. Linen, strings, and little bells skitter across the paving-stones. On the ground now, the statue continues to grow, taking on the form of 3 writhing, huge giant centipedes.
Centipedes are vermin, and thus immune to mind-affecting spells. They have a poison in his mouth that damage targets dexterity.
Kiti and Reesa, sit at the fountain while taking, are surprised by the centipedes arrival. Meanwhile, Arpani jumps to the side, and chanting new arcane words he disappears becoming invisible as he runs away of the place.
The crowd around you starts shouting and running away from the center of the square.
The huge centipedes hit some of the stalls. They might collapse easily under their size if they move over them.
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Ma'Huuk is about to respond to Jani when the centipedes manifest. "Idiot messing with what he does not understand," the big man grunts he pushes his way through the crowd, drawing what looks like a iron-encased and spiked skull on a stick from a leather loop at his waist.
"EVERYONE GET BACK!" he roars, "WE WILL DEAL WITH THESE CREATURES!"
Ma'Huuk pushes the crowd as he moves towards the centipedes shouting and drawing his weapon.
Eva casts a spell and steps towards the centipede. The flat-footed creature is unable to react to the fine dancing of the kelishite with her scimitar. The second slash is deflected by the strong skin of the creature, but the first one lands true, leaving a considerable gash and a magical mark on the vermin's body.
Arthrax moves past the rest of the party and jumps over the first vermin holding his battleaxe with both hands and striking true on its back. Despite the great hit, the centipede looks still in fair condition.
At the same time Jani makes some gestures and points towards the huge centipede with the green skin.
But the fortune seems to be on the side of the vermin as she feels her hex has no effect on the creature.
The centipede coils over himself and responds attacking with his huge mouth over Eva.
It hits on the magus shoulder, pressing with a disproportionate strength, the bones cracking with a terrible sound.
Meanwhile the blue and red skinned centipedes move around the fountain, knocking the stalls down and attacking one at Reesa and the other at Kiti.
But both fail to hit the brave females, only biting at some of the stalls around.
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"Wow, these are huge bugs! And mean!" Kiti shouts in amazement as the centipede flails at her. She pulls out her scimitar and closes on the vermin, slashing at it. "Mimi, run around, bite the tail!" she commands and the tiger obeys, dashes around the stalls, trying to push it's way through the crowd. "Whack the green, we'll hold this meanie!"
As Kiti moves towards the centipede she is hit by one merchant who is running away of the centipede. It is enough to give an opportunity for the creature, which surprises Kiti with the long reach of his head.
The bite is powerful, but fortunately far from the gnome's vitals.
She then strikes back with her scimitar, but the damage is small due to her bad position trying to recover from the bite.
On the other side, Reesa moves her wand casting a bolt of arcane magic that strikes over the centipede leaving a small bruise. At Kiti's belt, juest next to Reesa, a small arc of energy jumps out of the bag, but becomes calm again afterwards.
Kiti feels how the poison goes into his organism, making her less nimble.
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Ma'Huuk snarls as Arthrax steps between himself and his prey, blocking his ability to fight. "This will be a harder fight if we step in each other's way!"
He pauses to reconsider the fight, then looks back at Moto as he points at the centipede between Mimi and Kiti with his skull-morningstar, giving his feral companion a kill command.
Moto reacts instantly, circling the fight to close on its quarry for a biting attack. Ma'Huuk circles the other direction, unable to move quickly enough to help with the attacks immediately.
The centipede turns to face Ma'Huuk as he approaches, trying to avoid him to come next to it, but the experienced warrior moves behind the stall just a bit earlier than the bite attack arrives at the corner. Then, it is an easy job to round the stall and set himself in an offensive position.
Moto does similarly approaching the blue skinned centipede but failing to hit it when it moves suddenly its front body.
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"Ugh!" Eva groans as her body is impaled by the giant insect's mandibles. "These things are too dangerous, focus your attacks on the same one. We will lose a war of attrition."
The Magus then engages in Spell Combat and Spellstrike once more, casting Arcane Mark defensively and attacking the same centipede that tried to kill her.
Eva stoically resists the poison, and moves his scimitar with grace scoring a critical hit in the centipede belly. The blade shines with magic and an enormous Uzair mark appears in the same area it stroke.
When he moves out the blade, she still spins over herself but this time the skin is too thick to be penetrated.
Multiple wounds are bleeding the centipede, and even barely, he stands stout.
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Shrugging off the gruff words of the dwarf, Arthrax focuses on the green centipede, knowing some of his companions seem to be in serious trouble. Knowing he has to make this one strike count, he plants his feet and takes careful aim before twisting his body, putting his full body's weight behind the powerful blow.
When the centipede turns to try attack Ma'Huuk, Arthrax boldly gets bellow the creature, just under the softer part of its belly. With a mighty blow he delivers a precise slash on its vitals cutting through the creature with his large axe as if it was no more than butter.
The huge centipede fells to the ground creating a second fountain, this time of violet blood.
Jani then looks at the blue skinned centipede pointing at it and cackling.
This time the fortune goes against the creature, who tries to hit Kiti but only finds the stall on its way.
Meanwhile the other creature tries to eat Reesa, yet again its mouth ends up hitting the fountain.
Mimi and Kiti flank ferociously at the vermin, hitting it with claws, bites and scimitars, striking it in the vitals and other areas.
The creature, full of wounds, barely stands on place, so when Reesa waves her wand at it and another ball of magic cracks over it, the beast just collapses to the market floor.
Kiti's body finally reacts against the poison avoiding further damage.
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Jani shifts their focus onto the remaining centipede, while continuing their grating, metallic cackle.
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Janira feels again how the remaining creature also fails under her hex missfortune.
Thus, when Arthrax tries to approach giving it an opportunity to attack, the missfortune makes it that it bites one of the stalls instead.
While Ma'Huuk approaches the combat, the centipede keeps attacking the clad men who dared to close to him last turn.
Yet again, the missfortune makes it loses foot slipping in the fountain water enough for it to bite the air instead Arthrax head.
Eva lands a slash with her blade on the remaining centipede causing it further wounds!
Reesa lands another magic missile on the centipede causing a magical burn on one of the creature's side.
Then Kiti and it's tiger maneuver to find a good flank, the centipede taking an opportunity of the approach.
But the centipede fails with a lack of fortune and they both use the advantageous position to deal further damage to the vermin.
On the far side of the square, Ma'Huuk hustles towards the enemy calling his dinosaur to do the same.
The first bite fails, but then Arthrax joins the melee with his axe, and claws, morningstar and axe smash the giant beast from all sides. The creature brawls for its life, shrieking horribly, but finally lands over one of the stalls breaking to pieces.
Once the last centipede expires, all the 3 huge creatures suddenly start to reduce and finally disappear with a shiny magical bright, leaving only a 6 inches tall silver statue resembling a centipede curved around a branch or twig.
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"That was exiting! Hurt a bit, but they just came and then poof gone again. I wonder what the cat would do? Tigers? Maybe we can try them all!" Kiti enthuses over the centipedes with gleaming eyes. She cleans her scimitar from the bug juices and sheaths it. She picks up the centipede statue and puts it into her pack together with the cat. "I think it's safer that Mimi carries, I don't want the crawlies to come again if I cast", she continues, and straps her backpack to the tiger's back. "Ouch! It bit my arm, and it was stiff a moment, but it's better now. Maybe a stick or two? Anyone else need?" Kiti pulls out her wand and cures her wound.
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The big Bekyar frowns down at the tiny gnome, but can’t keep an ugly smile from his lips. ”A good fight.” His fierce eyes take in the entire group appraisingly, ”A good fight.”
He waves away the healing stick as he heads over to check on Moto, patting her roughly on the side of the neck as he restows his spiked-skull club.
”I don’t like the spirits of these statues,” he says as he makes a sign against bad spirits. ”Let us keep them separate. I can carry one, also.”
Then he looks at the crowds in the market, "And who was this other man in the Overmarket? Nasir? We should see this man next."