The rancid smell of urine quickly wafts into the air as Fearless full on wets himself as he nearly drops to his knees.
Round 3
Cats moves up to help Mariner, but is unable to find a flank.
to hit;
damage.
AC: 17 (dex + leather)
HP: 31/31
to hit; (+PBS)
damage.
2 alch fire
2 acid flask
Mini Smite: 0/1: Once per day as a swift action, you can add your Charisma bonus to your attack rolls and deal 1 additional point of damage for each class level you have against evil creatures for 1 round. You must have a good alignment to take this trait.
[ooc] Holy crap Pinkie .[ooc]
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The Mariner drops the shield in pain. He was being tossed around with ease by the Fisherman's otherworldly strength, whatever man was there, is now a monster. Breaking the hold and retreating took its toll the last time. Instead, the Mariner looks into the Fisherman's eyes and yanks his broadsword free of the scabbard, and with both hands overhead, drives it straight down into the Fisherman's collar. "We die together!"
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Cats realizes that Pinkie is accross from him when he swings.
precision
Fearless can do little but watch the battle play out as Pinkie charges in and shoves Red Destiny into the Dark Fisherman's back. Such an attack would have killed a normal man, but this one refuses to go down easily.
Nearly passing out from his link to the Mariner, Brother Butterfly channels more energy to keep them on their feet a little longer.
Cats take's advantage of the distraction Pinkie provides to slash the Fisherman again, cutting away bandages to reveal rotting flesh.
Seeing little advantage to withdrawing again, the Mariner commits to the fight at last and runs the Dark Fisherman through with his magical longsword.
The Fisherman groans, his eyes roll back, and his hands grow weak around the Mariner's throat. Whatever powerful force sustained the man ebbs away like the tide after a storm and he collapses to the dirt.
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Huffing and Puffing.
I almost.. almost... had to make a decision on whether to continue to shield that tough son-of-a-sword and risk dying myself, or releasing the magic and letting that THING choke him to death.
I am glad I didn't have to actually show which I'd have chosen.
He gets up and straightens himself from his bended knee. Checking his throat and feeling how tender it is to the touch. Jasper got rocked. He wasn't in the combat, but he got rolled over like he fell into a pit trap. Mariner must be feeling just as bad.
THANK DESNA you had that last bit of ferocity left in you and killed that thing. It wanted you dead so bad, it was going to take the rest of us with you.
Seeing that the Mariner probably needs more reassurance. Reassurance that he rightfully killed this thing for the second time - even if he didn't kill the man it was in a justified manner the first time.
He lays his hand on Mariner to give that Rock of Absalom (Gibraltar) speech.
Mariner - Desna protects you because you protect others. You have been reborn and you embrace the role as a strong armed savior.
Know that whatever this thing was - it was evil. Only Vile Evil could muster that much loathing and hate.
You have freed it's soul. It is better off, and it has not deprived the world of Desna's Watchmen. Let Desna heal and let us go to the Pier. Desna still protects you and mitigates your wounds.
Can anyone store this body somewhere? I need to make a drawing and ask the Clergy what Unholy thing this was.
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"Can anyone store this body somewhere? I need to make a drawing and ask the Clergy what Unholy thing this was."
Cats stops wiping down his new blade to give Brother a quizzical look. He thinks to not ask the question, but then has to ask.
"Brother, where do you think we would store it? In our beds down at the Inn? Do you cat one of us has a pouch where we can store dead bodies?" Cats asks. "I mean, if you want us to wrap it in a blanket and carry it with us, I'm sure we can, but also we can leave it here and let the birds take it. That'll be a lot less mess and we won't need to buy a new bedroll."
When Cats is satisfied that his sword is clean, he puts it away. Overall, he is quite pleased with how the blade worked in the battle...he just wishes he could remember when he learned to use the blade, when he was trained on it. He had heard that the Elven curveblade was a difficult weapon to master, but he knew he could use it from the moment he saw it in the weaponshop.
"Well, anyway, let's get to the Pier. Standing out in the open like this means that more of Mariner's former pirate friends come for him."
After several more seconds fearless shakes a bit less. getting back to his feet he wipes his hands down his pants, trying futilely to wipe away the large, moist piss that now covers his front side.
Dammit. What was that.Not even the Tatterman scared me that bad.
Drawing his cloak tight around him he tries his best to cover the area and clears his throat. Low and filled with shame he says. "Yea, let's get down to the Pier." His head hangs low.
The Mariner lays the Fisherman down easily, "Sorry..." he whispers to the lifeless body. After a silent moment, he unwraps the facial bandages, "I gotta see."
Pinkie gives a quick search of the body once he calms down.
"The pier it is then"
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"Brother, where do you think we would store it? In our beds down at the Inn?
Hearing Cats recite his words back, Brother Butterfly does look a bit sheepish and gives the old " shoulder shake".
Yes, you are right Cats. What I said does sound pretty stupid. I said the first thing on my mind. Obviously we can't do anything about the body.BUT!
You need to acknowledge that you made a serious error in just non-chalantly walking up to that evildead.
We all got lucky. Very - Very- Very- Lucky. One or more of us could easily be dead. The scream from that thing locked up the minds of two of our party. It's claws and primal strength were unlike anything we have seen before. Mariner would be dead without Desna's shield... and......we had an advantage of knowing it was there before you flagrantly disregarded safety and tactics.
He stops right there. Obviously talking to a brick wall.
Nevermind what I said. No one died. You only have remorse and want redemption after your screw-ups hurt and kill people.
With that, he storms off to the Pier. Taking the lead, and not caring if others are with him or not. Cats and Pinkie aren't the only reckless ones in the party. Using another charge of the wand to heal himself.
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"You need to acknowledge that you made a serious error in just non-chalantly walking up to that evildead." Obviously talking to a brick wall.
"Nah," Cats shrugs, "*I* was going to be fine." He replies emphasizing the *I*. "I think maybe because I was willing to make amends and apologize, it didn't cat any vengeance on me. That's probably right. Probably."
The Fisherman's face is a ruin - one side is crushed and sags, eye barely in its socket, teeth shattered or missing. Further examination shows other wounds that should have disabled the man at the least. Broken arm and leg, shattered fingers with the flesh ripped from the bone. Adding insult to injury the wounds are blackening and reek with decay, like a corpse left to rot for weeks.
The Mariner covers the man back up in the rags, then still on his knees, rolls aside and heaves up his stomach. After recovering, he pulls up his shirt sleeve and points at one of the names. "This is Klyn."
"We- I- killed him. Bashed his skull in with a club then burned him alive. And now again." he looks at the magical sword laying on the ground. "I think we've been the source of much misery in this here town, probably other places too. I don't know if we deserve to live but whoever set what-we-were on that path surely deserves to die several deaths like this man. -I'm going to find him and see to it." He picks up the sword and sheathes it.
"We're not going to store him anywhere. I'm going to bury him proper, and Brother, you'll give the rights."
"Cats, your name is on my arm, I don't know what that means...But..." he points at 'Kast' and doesn't guess any further.
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Fearless is still in a stupor. His mind has been broken time and time again that reality is getting hard to distinguish. He has no choice but to play out what unfolds before him though.
A bit more humble than before Fearless speaks up. "Is all of this our past coming back to haunt us? Briarstone? Now this? What were we doing as the Count's men that was this heinous? So bad that Brother Butterfly would want to dispose of a body and Mariner to carve names across his body like some torn lover that hops from woman to woman."
His hand tightly holds the cloak shut, hiding his stain as he still looks ready to cry.
Cats looks *really* hurt by Mariner's words and seeks to comfort the man.
"Don't worry about me, Catiner. We're good no matter what. You said it yourself, we've been reborn and renewed...and so whatever you did to me or we did together, I forgive you and we'll see to atone for what we did," Cats says to Mariner, clapping the man on the back.
"Catiner, no matter what, you and me are good. No matter what."
After saying that, Cats works silently with Mariner to bury the body, even enticing Brother to say a few words over the corpse.
The Mariner nods with regret, simply says, "Yeah..." as if saying Thanks. His thoughts ponder on what Cats And Fearless both said about the past coming back to haunt them as he digs the grave. That the names are all on his arms and nobody else had names on their arms wasn't a good sign. And likely they are not bar tabs.
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Fearless looks up at the sky noticing twilight is beginning. "Getting awful dark Shapeshifter. Let's just wrap the body and take it to the temple. The Pier is going to have to wait til morning or one of us is going to fall in and drown in the dark."
Cats will yield to Mariner and/or Brother Butterfly as to where to dispose of the body. He is happy to have another night of rest before checking out the Pier.
"Besides, they say those noises have been happening for years, right? What's one more cat of waiting?" Cats says, helping with the body.
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Seeing that Fearless is needing to take matters into his own hands he grabs the man's body by his ankle and begins to drag him. Putting everything he has into moving the body little by little, leaving a trail of blood in his wake. "We ain't burying him in someone's damn backyard Shapeshifter. UGh..." He strains a bit as the bodies arm gets caught on a small rock. Pulling harder he hears a small tear as the bodies comes free and begins moving once again.
Fearless looks around for anyone passing by "HELP! HELP!" He takes his trail of blood and twice dead body out into the streets as he is ever the helpful halfling.
Seeing that Brother isn't quite motivated to help yet, Cats joins Fearless in his attempts to help find a suitable priest to provide last rites for the deceased.
He grabs the other leg and begins to drag to town.
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The Mariner doesn't help Fearless with the body for a moment, letting the What would Desna do? embarrassment set into Brother.
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Hearing the clamor behind him, Brother Butterfly turns with disgust at a whole myriad of things. The Watchmen have hit the trifecta of unscrupulous and carelessness and disrespectful.
The Watchmen - or His Watchmen as he views them - were about to call down the garrison on them, or at least take two steps back from all the good will they were trying to foster.
It's hard to portray themselves as pillars of the community while dragging a body by it's pant-cuffs.
With a visible body shudder, he frustratingly turns back towards the group and the bedraggled man/thing.
Please, stop dragging... what was his name?
Looking at Mariner and getting the name Klyn from him.
Yes, let us treat Klyn with more respect. His family and friends and his years on Golorian deserve no less.
Turning to Mariner - he asks.
Was Klyn a seaman or fisherman? If so, then a burial at sea might be the right way to go. We could go to The Pier and I know appropriate rites of passage that would both honor Desna and bequeath Klyn to Gozreh.
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If we want to bury him, The Gibbet is very close. That probably has pre-made coffins near it. Since it is the executioner's stockade.
Also, on the other side of this hill (NE) and near The Gibbet, is a beach type area that is away from homes. From the map- it looks secluded - and might be a good place to bury Klyn.
"If this man was a sailor why don't we go down to the docks and see if we can get a boat to take him out and bury him at sea. If i was a sailor thats what i would want i think. What about you big guy?"
The Mariner looks down upon Klyn with frustration, not remembering any more of the man's history, snaps "Seaman, fisherman, it's the same thing! You'd be buried at sea because there's no ground to bury you in. And dumping a body at the pier ain't burial at sea! Good grief, there's a shovel over there in that cart, Brother pick a spot near the beach and let's do it."
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Cats fake facepalms his forehead as Brother finally wises up and agrees to help. He drops the leg he was carrying and gets more serious.
"Yeah, he's a landlubber for all I know and he'll get a nice hole to sleep in and a nice prayer to Descat...and that's about all we can do for him, I cat," Cats says, helping Mariner do what is necessary.
"The Pier can wait until another day."
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Brother Butterfly moves over to the area he described and starts working with his paints on a TombstoneMarker for Klyn.
It will say something ornamental and fancy and have iambic pentameter in it.
He then marks off the boundaries of the gravesite for Mariner and Cats to use that shovel of theirs to bury the twicedead seaman.
When done, he gives his prayer.
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Despite the Fisherman's terrifying shriek, the violent screams of the fight, and a gory crime scene left in its wake, and Fearless' crazed cries for help, few townsfolk have ventured to windows or doors to witness the event. Those that come along the road scurry quickly away. Of the city watch there is no sign, nor any indication that they have been summoned, so their is no one that interferes as the Watchmen drag the corpse off.
Finding a suitable spot near the gibbet, the Watchmen dig a grave on a rise above the high tide watermark and lay the Fisherman to rest as the last light fades over Avalon Bay. Brother Butterfly keeps his hands clean of the dirty work, but offers a eulogy for the dead, perhaps delivering a peaceful afterlife to a tortured soul.
https://i.imgur.com/w7bosG5.jpg
"Thanks fellas. Let's get some rest and healing, maybe food first at the Stain?"
"Brother B you do realize they call it the "Stain" right."
Cats is happy to return to the Stain or go to the Silver Wagon to get some food, eager to wash the dirt from his body as he is to eat. Heck, he might even shave.
"C'mon, 'Stain' or not, they have food at the Silver Wagon. And I am 'C-A-T'...and that spells 'hungry'! Which is what I am. Let's go eat," Cats agrees, unaware he spelt anything wrong.
While eating, he will chat up the customers to see if he needs to make amends to any of them.
Diplomacy (Gather Info)
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Smiling, the only time in the past hour, BB hears Pinkie.
""Yes, I do know that they call it The Stain.... and there is one thing Jasper is good at ...cleaning things up. "
Before entering The Stain, he says a soft prayer to invoke Aspect of The Nightingale and downs the Charisma potion.
"mi-mi-mi-mi. De-de-de.Sna"
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Fearless continues to argue the entire way back to the Stain as he is of course the voice of reason in a group out to kill him. "Doesn't burying the man we more than likely killed twice look a bit odd if we don't report it. Kind of like we, I don't know, murdered him?"
He grabs a drink from the bar as he ceaselessly hounds Brother Butterfly and the Mariner on the rights and wrongs, to the point that it is no wonder that he thinks everyone is out to get him.
Carrying on the banter with Fearless, the Mariner looks around with a face of doubt, then leans in as if apologetic, "I think we are the law around here, little buddy. I expected to have been arrested five times over by now."
"Brother had a good point about the Fisherman and how he surprised us. Now that we've bought several Desna's healing sticks, let's use it often. We need to be ready and at our best at all times."
"Oh yeah, thanks for sharing the pain, Brother. -Don't do that again." the Mariner adds earnestly to both statements, "You gotta be the last to fall. If you go first, we all die. You were again wise to have foresight with the Fisherman but you gotta be careful."
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The Stain is one of the older buildings in Thrushmoor. Built of rough cobblestone and oak frames, the place was originally a dyeworks later converted to a tavern. A sign above the door depicts a woman dipping red cloth into a tub.
Inside the tavern is a mix of patrons. A few local fishermen and laborers sit a the bar while a pair of wealthy foreigners occupy a table. A weathered man tending the bar takes note when he sees the Watchmen enter the place, and nods warily as they take seats and order drinks and food.
Brother Butterfly is primped and ready to impress but when Fearless speaks openly about burying bodies and murder you notice a few wide eyes and furtive glances, and a couple of the locals quickly pay their tabs and call it a night.
Meanwhile Cats is chatting away to a fellow, not quite realizing that the man is only nodding and smiling because he's a few steins beyond sobriety.
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Brother butterfly goes up to the bar and says the name" Emmon Gulstrand"
He then gives a nod of understanding to the gentleman. Trying to pick up the nonverbal cues to see if this is Emmon, or if he's just the general bartender and Emmon might be someone else in the back.
When he knows that he's speaking to the correct audience, he continues." I know you're familiar with me and my friends. I'm coming here to ask a favor.An easy favor.
Our favor:
Please wipe the past away and give us a clean slate. We don't like what has become of this town and we are here to make good change. Instead of being a problem- we are now trying to be pillars of the community.
We used to be the source of the disease that haunts Thrushmoor. Starting last week, we have done everything we can to change that. For this town needs a Beacon of Hope and Light. The lighting of the lamp starts with you. We need your allegiance. We need information and Deanna the lady of the Silver Wagon said to tell you that we've made amends with her. We've walked into The Stain as we need to make amends with YOU.
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Cats, eager to made amends, is behind Brother as he speaks with Emmon...
Diplomacy
...looking sincere and penitent. He is eager to make things right.