"Bloo's going to have to go hungry tonight," says Fredo, standing by the door to which Theron had pointed. He's holding his crossbow loosely at his side, unable to get a clean shot off anyway. His eyes bore into the taskmaster's head, trying to understand. This is no life. That one giving the orders is dried-up kernel of hismelf, and the other children are well on their way.
Speaking of the children...Fredo looks away from the taskmaster, and his eyes soften a little bit. He grins, impishly, willing the children to play along. "If you get over here, kids, we'll let you watch."
Round Turns:
Goffred- 21
Tristain- 12
Child 3- 12
Child 2- 10
Theron- 9
Raseri- 8
Durriken- 7
Child 1- 6
Taskmaster- 4
"You little buggers better not listen to him!" says the Taskmaster, a child as young as the others, however seemingly more wartorn , "Get them or I'll feed you to the dog!"
AC: 16, touch 13, flat-footed 13. . (+3 armor, +3 Dex)
CMD: 16, flat-footed: 13
Fort: +4, Ref: +3, Will: +0
Arrows:
20 Regular
20 Blunt
** spoiler omitted **
As the Taskmaster tries to rile up the other children, he opens the door. Clearly, neither party wants a peaceful talk. Clearly, battle has started.
"That one's a traitor, a straw boss, and a fink. He's not feeding you to any dog while we're around, and you don't have to do what he says." Fredo is struck by an idea, and decides to test it. "You want to get him? Go ahead."
Seeing the door open, Fredo raises his crossbow to cover the entrance. "As for you," he says to the taskmaster, "Get that door shut up again. Now."
Round 1, Init 12
Tristain keeps his 'scythe unsprung, lest he scare (or accidentally hurt) the children.
"Go get him, kids. He won't feed you to any dog while we are around."
Diplomacy.
Tristain takes total defense. (AC 18)
The eldest child (Blue), a boy, climbs up to the table beside him and points his pitchfork filled with rancid fish at the taskmaster.
"You? I'll protect you? You knifed me brother just last week, Hookshanks, and now, you want me to protect you? Bloody t$+&!"
The boy takes his pitchfork and throws it to Hookshanks' face with surprising accuracy, doing ignorable damage, except for a large scratch near the taskmaster's eyes.
"HELL!!" shouts Hookshanks as he covers his eyes with his offhand.
Another child (Yellow) sees her friend retaliate against Hookshanks and is too shocked and surprised to move.
Theron moves in beside the taskmaster "Alright. That's enough .. drop your weapons."
He's just a kid... The thought causes Raseri to pause for a moment. Even though he had probably done many horrible things to the others, she couldn't help thinking about what if it was her sisters on the other side of the sword.
She decides that trying to knock him out would work better than trying to kill him.
AC: 16, touch 13, flat-footed 13. . (+3 armor, +3 Dex)
CMD: 16, flat-footed: 13
Fort: +4, Ref: +3, Will: +0
Arrows:
20 Regular
20 Blunt
Durriken moves up between the boy who threw his pitchfork and the taskmaster. "Trust me boy, you don't want to start down the path killing him lies on."
Durriken swings his axe down, aiming for the boy's weapons.
Durriken sheathes his dagger and checks to make sure the boy is unconscious, then motions for Goffred to bring the rope, checking the open door for threats beyond.
HP:11/11
AC: 17 ff: 14 touch 13
Fort: +3, Ref: +7, Will:+2
CMD: 16
@Theron: "You think I'm stupid?
Raseri failed to hit the boy by a hair, however Durriken managed to disarm his sap. The kukri still remains sheathed.
The last child, just like his peer, is shocked and surprised. He does not move.
The Taskmaster wields his kukri and takes a 5-foot step to H17.
He shouts out "BLOO!!"
Init:
Goffred- 21*
Tristain- 12
Child 3- 12
Child 2- 10
Theron- 9
Raseri- 8
Durriken- 7
Child 1- 6
Taskmaster- 4
*=who's turn next
Map
Init:
Goffred- 21*
Bloo-14
Tristain- 12
Child 3- 12
Child 2- 10
Theron- 9
Raseri- 8
Durriken- 7
Child 1- 6
Taskmaster- 4
Fredo looks at the eldest boy, the one who had struck out at the fink. He had a strong will, overcoming his fear where the others had not. But he didn't bring the others along with him either. Fredo could see why Durriken was cautious about urging the children to violence. There wasn't any loyalty to one another to temper the righteous anger, or to surge past the fear. Nor was there a goal they all shared. There was potential, but no time to temper it and no reason to rely on it.
At the fink's call to the dog, Fredo bounds forward. He'd promised the children the dog wouldn't get to them, and he will keep his word. He stops when he's between the girl and the fink, when he can see Bloo. He fires through the door at the dog. "Stay behind me."
AC: 17 ff: 14 touch 13
Fort: +1, Ref: +3, Will:+2
CMD: 13
The shot missed.
In retaliation, Bloo moves to H16, squirming around to prevent any opportuned attacks. The mere sight of the dog whips children out of their staggered phase and they start to panic. The dog reaches in to bit Goffred.
Round 2, Init 12
Blue? Who or what is 'Blue'? Oh *that's* Bloo.
Tristain will move to G18 and defensively try to help Raseri take the taskmaster down, slapping at him.
attack to aid Raseri's next attack.
Theron hurriedly loads his crossbow and risks a close quarters shot against Bloo.
Seeing Theron aiming for the dog, Raseri focuses on the taskmaster.
She again tries to knock him out.
Frustration shows on her face as she misses a second time.
"Where. Are. My. Sisters."
she bites off every word as she gets close to the Taskmaster's face.
Durriken surveys the scene, looking for an opening, though it appears the others have the boy bottled up.
HP:11/11
AC: 17 ff: 14 touch 13 (+1 if adjacent to two allies)
Fort: +3, Ref: +7, Will:+2
CMD: 16
Tristain scratches his armpit, waiting.
During their turns, the children run in fear of Bloo. Even if they are much bigger than him now in height and in muscle, terror spreads through their eyes as if a past even may have traumatized them. They run towards the northern door.
Bloo spends his attack of opportunity on Theron, thus does not have enough time to do the same to the little girl. Theron's shot was strong enough to disable the dog.
Hookshanks spends his AoO on the eldest child.
Seeing that he has too much problems around him and no options left, the taskmaster draws his kukri, provoking AoO.
If he is still willing to fight after all the AoO's, he will knife Raseri.
Reflexes born from both learning at her father's side and generations of warriors take over. Raseri's sword moves like a striking serpent aiming for the taskmaster's vitals.
AC: 16, touch 13, flat-footed 13. . (+3 armor, +3 Dex)
CMD: 16, flat-footed: 13
Fort: +4, Ref: +3, Will: +0
Rage Rounds: 12/12
Arrows:
20 Regular
20 Blunt
Round 3
Map
Init:
Goffred- 21*
Bloo-14 (down)
Tristain- 12
Child 3- 12
Child 2- 10
Theron- 9
Raseri- 8
Durriken- 7
Child 1- 6
Taskmaster- 4
* * *
Tristain wraps his hands around his 'scythe and tries again to aid Raseri's attack, this time more vehemently.
to aid Raseri.
"I don't like you!"
EDIT:
Seeing the dog fall and the kids start to run, Fredo backpedals out of the melee. For some reason that he was sure had nothing to do with reason, he did not want the kids to go. Oh, he could give reasons. They might wake Lamm or other cronies he didn't know about. Their lives if they kept living on the streets wouldn't get any better, and they'd end up just as stunted as Lamm. But as he was coming up with reasons he was pushing hard against the memory of Tilda, how they'd fought over children.
"Wait," he says, keeping his voice oddly quiet considering that his comrades were still fighting. He holds his crossbow loosely in his hand, the mechanism slack. "You don't have to be afraid. Bloo's not going to chase you. And there's gold in it for each of you if you stay and tell me all you can about Lamm. I'll believe you."
Goffred - 21
Bloo - 14 (down)*
Tristain - 12
Child 3 - 12
Child 2 - 10
Theron - 9
Raseri - 8
Durriken - 7
Child 1 - 6
Taskmaster - 4
Theron keeps his crossbow pointed at the dog .. ready to fire if it moves.
Raseri's fury comes busting to the fore. No longer does she consider this a child. He is now an enemy. Her sword flashes in an almost instinctive movement as she aims to kill, instead of merely wound.
AC: 14, touch 11, flat-footed 11. . (+3 armor, +3 Dex)
CMD: 16, flat-footed: 13
Fort: +6, Ref: +3, Will: +2
Rage Rounds: 11/12
Arrows:
20 Regular
20 Blunt
Durriken's vision narrows as the taskmaster swings his curved blade at the unarmed child fleeing him, then slices across at Riseri. Realizing just how far gone the boy is, he spins the axe handle in his hand to bring the blade to bear. As he does, he sees Raseri swing her sword downward at the boy, unable to act before her blow can connect...
This is no boy. This is an animal, now.
|
Raseri's sudden stabbing catches the child under the arm. He gasps in pain as first his shirt, then his skin, then muscle, then arteries tear. Blood comes spurting out in little, clockwork-timed geysers, wetting the floor and staining the taskmaster's side. His arm shakes, but he manages to keep his grip on his blade, even as he presses his free hand to his wound in an effort to stop the bleeding.
Anger and a hint of regret tinge Durriken's words. "Stupid boy. You could have just walked away. Now?..." He swings his axe at the taskmaster's throat, attempting to end the boy's misery.
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Durriken's practiced kill strike opens the boy's throat. His eyes go wide and he gurgles as blood that was destined for his brain spurts out into the air and splashes into his windpipe. Then it spurts again. And again. And it seeps down from his brain in a slow trickle as well. In a matter of seconds he's drowning in his own blood. He staggers and falls, his kukri clattering to the ground between him in the dog Bloo.
The younger boy scrambles between the others and the splintering railing to reach the bottom of the next room's stairs down first. He lifts the latch and the door swings inward. He props it open with a bit of debris, and his eyes ask the other two children for speed.
Fredo follows the kids, stopping before he bowls over the two remaining on the stairs. "Where are you going? I know you want to leave, but where will you go? And what about your friends? We can help them if you help us."
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Bloo, seeing his master fall, gives into the savagery that's been beaten into him. With no regard for his safety, he lunges up off the ground at the woman who had first bled his master. He snaps at her belly, his filthy teeth digging deep furrows in her flesh, then falls to the ground with a whimper, his side splitting open so that muscle and intestine glisten, bared to the air.
Hearing Bloo fall seems to envigorate the children. They tear out the door and up the outside stairs onto the loading dock. Goffred sees other children curled up on piles of rags or packed into ratty hammocks in the other room beginning to stir.
Tristain's face wrinkles at the split blood and his heart aches for his part in it.
This ain't good.
Gritting his teeth to avoid puking, Tristain reaches down to search the man and look around.
Perception
"Let's keep on moving. I need to find answers," Tristain says......before I lose my stomach.
Tristain looks at Fredo, Cas--urh, RASeri, Theron, and Durriken in turn, as if to measure the weight of the conviction in each of them.
Durriken glances at Raseri, his face cold and unreadable.
He crouches down to clean the blood from his blade, locking his eyes with Tristain's and taking in the slight paleness of his features. "Don't mourn your innocence, you were bound to lose it someday." He stands. "At least you got to hold onto it for a time."
Durriken strides back to the middle of the room, sheathing his dagger and drawing his longsword. "Yes, let's move on. Which way?"
Theron looks at Tristain and nods "Stay focused. Your body's reactive impulses to blood is an inherited defense mechanism that will not serve us now.." and then to group .. "Advantage of surprise is spent .. we should value caution over speed now."
Theron leans in to the door beside him and then points to it in response to Durriken's question, and readies his crossbow.
Tristan stands and nods to Theron and Durriken, still feeling queasy.
"I'll be fine. I just need a few moments." Tristain continues his search to keep his mind of what they've done.
"Raseri," says Fredo in a low voice, "Come and see." His back's to the others, so their having killed a child, albeit a traitor to his own, hasn't really sunk in for him yet. Instead, his eyes are busy scanning the gaggle of children in the next room. He doesn't really know what Raseri's sisters looked like, so he looked for any shock of fair hair that might stick out among the naturally dark and filth-darkened hair of the other children.
In an effort to get a better look, and to keep the remaining kids from running into the streets - hardly a better place than this - before they could tell him and the others about Lamm, Fredo makes his way down the stairs and shuts the door.
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Tristain rips open the taskmaster's shirt to find that under it he was wearing leather armor with rivets driven into it every few inches. He removes it before the blood pooling around the body soaks into it, and lays the sap and kukri on top. Then he empties the taskmaster's pockets. They mostly contain a number of pouches filled with powders, brushes, and sponges. One contains a half-empty phial of a dark, viscous liquid labeled in a language Tristain doesn't know. There is also a brass key that Tristain thinks matches the handle of a cabinet leaning against the west wall, by the door outside.
Durriken hears annoyed grunting, and the sound of boots being shoved onto feet, from somewhere to the east. He knows the taskmaster let the dog in from the next room, and that the room where the dog was had three more doors leading into other rooms, as well as the door out.
Raseri whips her arm up arm down to block, but winds up smashing the dog's head as he bites. Still in the grips of her fury, she swings down and smashes the dog's head in with her sword.
Bloodied, and with no more apparent enemies in the room she calms down. Her breathing is heavy for several seconds and her eyes slowly focus on the kid she just killed. Her knees buckle and she slumps down onto the floor, a look of disbelief and horror etched in her features.
Goffred's voice knocks her out of the terrible trance. She stands on shaky legs and slowly makes her way down into the large room. She looks around.
"Alfhildr? Alfsigr? Are you here, little elves?"
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At Raseri's call, one of the children sleeping next to the trough of slurry on the floor raises her head. Her hair's been mostly shorn off, and her face and scalp are nearly black with dirt and dried fish blood, but Raseri recognizes her as Alfsigr. Her eyes go wide, and she gasps. "Ras?" she squeeks, barely able to get the air out. Tears begin to well in her eyes and splatter down on the blankets of the other children next to her as she shakes them awake.
Tristain holds up the vial and sniffs at it, trying to place any properties it might have.
Perception to ID potion
"Can anyone read this?" Tristain says, holding the vial aloft.
Tristain then holds up the key as he stands up.
"This might go there," Tristain says, walking to the cabinet.
Tristain will open the cabinet.