Blood gushes freely from the held Hellknight, even though her skin is dark - Mwangi blood no doubt - she's developing an ashen paleness. Her partner screams, the words are either in a language you don't understand, or it is blind and incoherent anger. The young man still apparently has enough sense not to charge in without thought, he's careful in his approach and solidly connects with his morning star - but the hide of the monster completely absorbs the force of his attack.
The otyugh tries to tear at the threat, but the Hellknight has no trouble avoiding the rotten teeth. But he's not so lucky when a tentacle creeps up on him from low on the street. It strikes him hard and wraps around him tightly, squeezing what air he has from his lungs. "Noa you food too!"
Up next: Esmerelda, Ten, H&O
"If you have a shot on the one with the stolen goods, take it," Caulder commands as he limps quickly toward the looters. "It's our only chance of recovering what was taken. "
Pagrip drops his war hammer and grabs his crossbow. He loads it, muttering, "You're not getting away, punk. Not if I can help it."
1d20 + 0
1d20 + 3
1d20 + 1Up next: Pagrip, Caulder, T&L[/ooc]
Most of the looters already round the bend, somebody is shouting, "Hurry up!" Two still straggle behind, one still carries the sack while the other does not want to speak, but urges his companion on. The sack seems heavy; its weighing the looter down a bit, but he takes a couple of moments to swing it around on his back and carry it across his shoulders - he'll have little trouble with the weight now. His grin is riding an adrenalin rush of success, "A pleasure doing business with'ya! Ahah!hahaha"
Somehow the impression you get is that the sack cannot merely contain money. It just seems to cumbersome. Perhaps there is more to it.
Caulder limps uselessly after them, cursing.
"Get back into the hole you came from!" She closes the remaining distance and swings at the mass landing a solid blow.
Ten strides over the boxes and crates and thrusts his spear at the otyugh once he gets within 15 feet of the beast.
The otyugh greets the paladin with a searing bite that leaves a horrible burning sensation on her. But in retaliation Esmerelda's brute force leaves no room for subtlety as she ruptures the massive hide of the beast where she connects; Ten on the other hand only manages to tentatively poke at the otyugh, barely enough for the creature to even acknowledge his existence.
The aberration bites at Esmerelda again, leaving a sickening smack noise as the sewer infested slimes cling to her. She barely is able to keep her eyes steady; she's not got much time. The Hellknight on the other hand manages to slip the tentacled bonds and steps in deep, trying to get through the thick skin - but still no luck.
Up next: Esmerelda, Ten, H&O
Up next: Caulder, Pagrip, T&L
Ten attacks once more!
"Hellknight! Try to distract it - give me an opening!"
"Abadar, give me strength!" Esmerelda feels the power of Abadar course over her wounds and they begin to close. She pirouettes into flanking with the hellknight, her hammer of justice arcs into the vile tentacled creature before her.
On his turn, Pagrip moves forward a bit to get a better shot, then lets loose the bolt in the crossbow.
Up next: Caulder, Pagrip, T&L
"F$%$! Are you crazy!? Abadar man! Arrest him!" Pagrip's shot strikes, causing the carrier to clutch his side where the bolt lodged in the fleshy parts of his side. Painful, but not life-threatening. He and his fellow opportunist dash around the corner and their footsteps are rapidly receding.
The trader looks bleak, his expression shows some signs of gratefulness - but clearly the loss of the sack weighs heavily on him. His, probably, son stammers, "Poppa, poppa! What about momma's medicine?"
"Food don't eat me!" The otyugh roars and bites and slams at Esmerelda and the Hellknight respectively, but to little effect. The Hellknight shouts something, but its still not clear if he's saying something meaningful or just raging. His attack at least is not any more effective.
Up next: Esmerelda, Ten, H&O
Protecting her face with the shield, Esmerelda attempts to bring the hammer down on one of the otyughs tentacles where it connects to the mass but her swing flies wide. She lets out a scream of agony as she starts to feel the pain from her wounds.
Ten lunges forward once more! With a mighty roar, he (hopefully) plunges his spear into the otyugh.
"Gods damn them to the Abyss!" Caulder spits, furious at his inability to stop the theives from getting away. "What were you thinking, being out on the streets on such a night, citizen, with no means of defense?" he goes on, turning his anger toward a still-present target. Spinning around toward where he sent Esmerelda to battle the otyugh, he starts to stump in that direction as quickly as he can.
Ten's spear thrust strikes deep, making the otyugh yelp in agony. "Aaarr! Stop! You stop! You no food." The giant tentacles flail protectively before him, forming a crude X shape. "Oota go! No pointy. Here, you can have food. Oota go." He drops the body of the Hellknight and cautiously withdraws.
Ten, not letting his guard down yet, asks Esmerelda: "Are we letting it go?"
"Oota! Go back underground! No food for Oota here. If Oota come back, Oota get hurt. Oota stay below and no get hurt." Esemrelda shouts at the otyugh.
Esmerelda keeps an eye on the otyugh to make sure that it retreats back into the sewers without incident. She collapses near the fallen hellknight and checks if he will survive.
"Ten, my how you have grown." She shakes her head to clear it a bit "Has Caulder taken care of the thieves yet?"
"Oota good! Oota gone!" The otyugh vanishes down the crater in the street considerably faster than one would give credit for a creature of such bulk. Certainly much faster than the hobbling cleric that and dwarf that just arrived. The surviving Hellknight blusters up as much as he can in the circumstances, but his morale is severely shaken; and breaks dwn completely when Esmerelda proclaims the other Hellknight dead by severe physical trauma. He hastily excuses himself when he sees an opportunity to wave a second patrol nearby, they come to retrieve the body; leaving the four would-be heroes by themselves amidst a time of chaos.
Surprisingly, nothing requiring immediate attention interrupts their way to Castle Korvosa this time around. Caulder and Esmerelda both note with grim expressions the significant damage caused by fires in some districts. But for now, at least, the madness has abated a little.
Two guards spot their approach to the castle gates and immediately snap to attention. Their stance is clearly aggressive, without being outright hostile.
It is not too hard to figure out that the castle has seen its fair share of supplicants, troublemakers and people trying to claim safety inside. None of which are welcome currently.
The trader looks bleak, his expression shows some signs of gratefulness - but clearly the loss of the sack weighs heavily on him. His, probably, son stammers, "Poppa, poppa! What about momma's medicine?"
Pagrip looks sadly at the trader and his son. He reaches into his pack and pulls out 4 sp. He tosses the coins to the man and the boy. "Don't know if that's enough, but it should help out. Now get inside away from trouble."
"They're not interested in any sob stories and not letting anyone in out of pity, and rightfully so," Caulder mutters to the others. "Darkbane, you've a way with words. Make it clear we're here to offer help, not to seek it."
Esmerelda half grimaces half smiles at Caulder "Very well...Cleric Baradin."
"Calm yourselves guards. We mean no harm nor do we seek aid. On the contrary, we have come to deliver our aid to the queen. As a show of good faith we have brought a bauble that she has been seeking. Pagrip show them the jewel."
Belatedly Esmerelda realizes she is covered in otyugh slime and attempts to clean the blood (some of it she suspects is hers) and bile off herself with a dirty rag. "To the nine hells with that otyugh! This is never going to clean off." Making a motion to spit into the rag, she stops herself as she realizes she is in company and continues to try cleaning the worst off her armor.
Pagrip pulls out the bracelet and holds it up so that the guards can see.
The guards are mistrustful of Esmerelda and her speech; but their eyes widen broadly when they recognize the bracelet. One of them quickly turns to the gate and raps on to it loudly, "Captain Horace! Captain Horace! Come quick!"
It only takes half a minute and a small retinue of guards approaches, headed by a man with a roaring beard that covers much of his face. He lifts his hand and the guards around him stand stiff to attention. He exudes an aura of authority and confidence. One of the gate guards hurriedly moves over and quietly briefs him, pointing to Pagrip. The captain of the guard then turns to the four, "Good evening. I have been informed that you are offering your services to the queen. I must disappoint you in this regard, the queen does not hand out license to vigilantes. However, I am told that you may have in your possession the stolen bracelet. May I see it, and can you tell me how you acquired it?"
Caulder bristles at the captian's words. "Vigilantes?!" he protests. "Darkbane and I are with the Bank of Abadar, sir!" Should have known something like this would come from mucking about with Harrowers, dead or otherwise.
The captain raises an eyebrow at Caulder. "So you are here representing Abadar, on order of the Bank?" He looks doubtfully at Caulder's companions. The paladin, obviously, but a dwarf and a... a brutish dabbler?
"No, ... sir," Caulder stumbles. "We were away from the Bank when the unrest began. I wanted to return there for orders, but we had just recovered the Queen's property; my companions felt we ought to return it to her at once. If anything happened to us in the tumult, we didn't want it to go missing again." He explains it in a way he hopes will shine a favorable light on the party's motives in not following the chain of command. "We seek no reward, sir. From the news we hear in the streets, the Queen will hardly rejoice over a recovered bauble. If you have no use for us here, I will gladly return to the Bank and serve Korvosa there."
"Captain. We always represent Abadar. But in this case it is not on direct order of the Bank. We were given a lead as to the whereabouts of an underground crime lord known as Gaedren Lamm. Most notorious for his criminal dealings with children. The lead proved to be accurate but he would not come quietly and perished in the ensuing battle. Abadar smiled on us and we found the queens brooch amongst Lamms treasures. We suspect Lamm had it stolen."
"Also, our companions may not be from the Bank but they are able warriors that helped defeat Lamm and his men and his crocodile."
In her attempt to clean the otyugh slime, some of the slime lands on the Captains boots.
Seeing the paladin making a bad impression on the Captain, Caulder rolls his eyes. "Give him the brooch, and let's get back to the Bank where we belong. He'll get it to the Queen."
Pagrip hands over the brooch to the guard captain. "Honestly, sir, we're not trying to be vigilantes. We're just interested in the welfare of Korvosa. We happened to find this brooch and thought it best we return it. The queen must be going through a difficult time right now and this brooch must be pretty tiny compared to everything else, but we hoped a small kindness might just add a touch of brightness to her day no matter how small."
He ends his elegant speech with a sudden, loud sneeze. "Oh my, excuse me," he mutters, backing away from the captain.
The captain grimaces, but nods. He takes the brooch and examines it carefully. He studies it for several minutes, smiling apologetically to the four, once or twice before resuming his assessment. At length he nods. "You are fortunate indeed. This article appears to be genuine, beyond any doubt I can shed on it." He peers into the gloom beyond the castle gate, then nods again. "Okay, I think you deserve this. Here, I will speak to Sabina Merrin. She will be able to determine appropriate course of action." He returns the brooch to Pagrip and enters the gate, "Follow me." His speech is curt but genuine.
He leads the party into a large antechamber, one that holds a rather splendid gothic beauty. Captain Horace salutes briefly, "These four upstanding citizens of Korvosa have retrieved the missing brooch." He nods a quick farewell and is gone again.
The woman before them now has the intensity of a warrior as depicted in legends of old. A beautifully adorned fullplate accentuates her physique. Her poise is alert and she studies the arrivals with steady ease. She smiles, "I hear you've recovered something that belongs to the queen, is this correct?"
The woman is Sabina Merrin, confidant, bodyguard and closest companion to queen Ileosa. Her official title is the queen's handmaiden; but she's one of the highest ranking officers in the Korvosan Guard - and her quick rise in rank in just a few years is testament to her extraordinary combat prowess.
Caulder has no idea who this woman is, but Captain Horace saluted her so he answers smartly, "Yes, ma'am." He glances to Esmerelda to do the talking again; surely she has most of the otyugh slime off by now.
Pagrip holds up the brooch. "The Queen's missing brooch, Lady Merrin."
Caulder smirks at the dwarf's apparent affinity for "royals gossip" -- first the story of how the brooch was lost and now his intimate acquaintance with palace staff -- but continues to stand respectfully silent.
Esmerelda gives up on the otyugh slime with a sigh. It seems some of it has gone hard already. How am I going to explain this? Oh by the way, a tentacle monster slimed all over me. Don't worry. I took care of it. Roughly and thoroughly. Speaking of roughly, Captain Horace does have a nice beard. I should stop daydreaming, they want me to perform now.
Taking the lead from Pagrip, Esmerelda hopes he has the name correct
"Lady Merrin, Esmerelda Darkbane Paladin of Abadar at your service. These lads are my companions: Baradin Cleric of Abadar, Staurmbar and Arentz. Fine warriors all. I do not wish to waste your time more than we have already. As Staurmbar has already indicated, we have come to return the Queens brooch. And offer our services in aid of the city."
Sabina Merrin's sharp eyes fall onto the jewel in Pagrip's hand, she's satisfied with its authenticity with just that. "Excellent, your forthrightness is noted." She momentarily opens a large double-door and says a few indistinct words into the room beyond, before returning her attention to the four before her. "The queen is pleased to hear of the recovery of the item. She will see you on short notice, but before that, would you do me the kindness to detail the specifics of how you have come about it?"
Caulder waits to see how the paladin will chronicle their misadventures so far. This should be interesting.
"I believe Ten can chronicle the tale much more adequately than I could. Though I would suggest we wait until the audience with the queen to give a proper recounting or I fear we would be re-telling the tale, yet again."
"Ten. Indeed, we shall hear his account then." There's a soft rapping from beyond the room, causing Sabina to nod. "Please, enter." She leads the way into the throne room, where the queen awaits. Queen Ileosa sits upon the Crimson Throne, she is a vision of celestial beauty despite the black mourning dress and veil she wears in honor of her husband’s death.
Sabina takes the brooch from Pagrip and offers it to the queen with a flourish. She then takes to standing left of the throne.
The queen takes the brooch, and flickers of joy dart across her face - still torn from mourning. She examines it as tears well up in her eyes. "This, was a gift — from my late husband. The first token he gave me, when I arrived in — back then — a foreign city." There's a touch of nostalgia that rims her voice. Then her voice strengthens resolutely.
"This brooch was stolen from me some time ago — I had not expected to see it again, truth be told. And yet, here on my darkest day, you come before me with kindness. The return of this brooch is much more than an honorable deed. It is inspiration. It is hope."
"I love Korvosa, as my husband did before me. His death has shocked the city as it has me, but I will not see his legacy destroyed in death, and I shall not see my city torn apart. All Korvosa stands at the precipice of a disaster wrought by her citizens — these riots cannot continue. You have already done my heart a great service in returning this bauble to me on this dark day, and you shall be rewarded. Yet, perhaps you can serve me, and your city, more."
"If you so choose, I shall have Sabina see to it that you have an escort of guards when you leave here — they can see to your safe journey to Citadel Volshyenek. I shall send word ahead of you to Field Marshal Cressida Kroft to let her know you are on the way — the Korvosan Guard is stretched thin, and it can certainly use the aid of heroes such as yourself. Now, I need to retire to my personal quarters — my grief has drained me. Again, I thank you for the kindness you have shown me, and I hope your days of serving the crown are only just beginning."
As the queen leaves the throne room, Sabina produces a small silver-rimmed casket. Despite its size it is quite heavy. She hands it to Esmerelda with the soft words: "The queen has suffered so much recently, despite what some poisoned tongues say — she has been stricken with the news of riots and looting. I do hope you take the opportunity she has offered."
The casket is itself worth 50 gp, and contains 12 gold bars; each worth a 100 gp.
Caulder goes down on one knee with as much grace as his injured leg will muster when he is shown in to see the queen. His eyes light up with eagerness when she mentions sending them to join the guard. He waits until she has left the room to reach out awkwardly for Pagrip's help back to his feet. "Absolutely, your ladyship," he responds to Lady Merrin. "Speaking only for myself, I am most grateful for the opportunity to assist the Guard."
Esmerelda kneels with Caulder before the Queen when she arrives. Her face radiates pleasure at the Queens words while her eyes show sympathy for the Queens recent loss. After the Queen leaves, she stands and graciously accepts the chest. "Thank you, Lady Merrin. I shall see this put to good use. When do we depart for the Citadel?"
Pagrip bows deeply when they are shown in to see the queen. When he notices Esmerelda and Caulder kneeling, however, he shifts to copy them.
Once she's left, he helps Caulder to his feet.
"I'll be...uh...happy to help the guard," he says to Sabina Merrin, "and I thank the Queen for giving me this opportunity."
Ten, thoroughly out of place, spent most of the visit to the castle in silence. Ten visibly paled when Esmerelda said that he would have to give their report to the queen. Thankfully, the queen did all of the speaking. Ten let out a huge sigh of relief once the queen left the audience room and only then noticed that he was the only idiot, amongst his companions, still standing.
"Right, yes... opportunity. Good. Thank you."