Morrigan bends down and after making sure the man is still breathing, quickly searches the Dottori thug that she knocked out. She's not really sure what she's looking for. Possibly anything incriminating that can be used against them. But she'll settle for coins if she can't find anything else. She assumes she's going to need to flee this scene soon and won't be able to check later.
Quickly Morrigan. There's got to be something I can use here. I hope the rest of them are okay. I'm not much of a fighter.
If possible she'll try to stay concealed near the ground as well, using her cloak and the crowd around her as cover.
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Wilhelm
The crowds have abanoned the immediate area, leaving open ground between Wilhelm and the Dottari attacking Voreni. He charges forward, driving his spear into the man's side, tearing a bloody gouge in his armor. The Dottari's morale doesn't break as quickly as the thug's, however, and he merely grits his teeth and turns towards his new attacker.
Valleria
The female Dottari blocks Valleria's second blow with ease and steps up to follow her, keeping close distance between them.
Dottari
The female Dottari swings at Valleria with a forehand volley, hoping to beat down her defenses.
The other Dottari focuses his attacks on Wilhelm
Ignati
The female Dottari sees Ignati circling around her and sweeps her heavy mace behind her, parrying his rapier with perfect timing.
Voreni
Voreni takes a full-round disengage, as he is helped away from the fray by Lily, who is visibly concerned.
"They've killed him! The Dottari have killed him!"
Corian
TBD
Morrigan
The man that Morrigan is searching is clearly not a dottari; he is dressed in black and red studded armor, and wears a Chelaxian Cross on a chain around his neck. Besides his light mace (clearly not of the same quality as the heavy ones the Dottari use) he carries a pair of manacles and a light purse containing 4GP. The pendant might sell for more money, however.
Round 5, Initiative Count 24 (first)
Wilhelm once again uses the haft of his spear to block another mace thrust, though this time he barely had time to recover in time after leaving himself relatively open from the charge. Still, the charge had had the desired effect and this Dottari wasn't going to be attacking civilians while Wilhelm was there with his spear. A hardened veteran wouldn't be so easily forced to retreat, Wilhelm would expect nothing less of his colleagues, but he would also not be stupid enough to ignore such a threat.
He takes a tactical step away, once again regaining the reach advantage. With a more experienced foe, however, he takes a little extra caution.
- Cavalier's Banner: +2 morale on saves vs fear, +1 morale on attack rolls when charging (all allies within 60')
- Longspear: 10' reach
- Combat Reflexes: Up to 3 AOOs/round
- Bless: +1 morale on attack rolls & saves vs fear
- Fighting Defensively: -4 to hit; AC 18 for 1 round
"I'm fine Miss Lily, I will recover, but you must get to safety before the crowd panics and begins trampling people!"
Voreni tells the woman while taking a potion bottle from his pouch.
Round 5: Initiative 3, Last
Morrigan hears the girl crying, "You've killed him." and recognizes the man as the tiefling she'd been speaking with before Bacon ran off. Damn it! Curse the Dottari and the Thrunes!
"Come on Bacon! We've got to step up and end this before anyone else gets hurt."
Morrigan yanks the chain from the Citizen's Group thug's neck and rushes over to where the Dottari are engaging Valleria and Wilhelm.
"Care for some flare! Color Spray!" A vivid cone of clashing colors springs forth from Morrigan's hands bathing the Dottari in its light.
Morrigan will try her best to catch the two Dottari in the spell area and avoid any allies.
Color Spray - Will DC 16
Round 5 Init 23
Reasured by the presence of her alies once more, Valleria can now fight freely, trusting her shield will protect her.
"You could be fighting by our side, but you chose to betray your people... I pity you!"
Valleria turns her attention to the last dottari.
His deffense with the right hand is slow, even more now that Wilheim hit him, this is his weak spot!
Round 4, Init 11
"...yes, er..." Corian isn't sure of Ignati's name, but the nobleman is familiar.
He also moves to strike the dottari threatening Valleria.
Round 5, Init 11
Corian smacks the female dottari again.
"Odsblood, she's a wizard!" Corian utters mainly to himself as Morrigan's spell goes off near him.
Round 5 - Init 16
As Ignati continue to fight the female dottari, he casually responds to Corian.
"Truly, you don't recognize the blacksheep of one of Kintargos major noble families? I don't know if I should be honored or offended, but in an event, I'm Ignati Vashnarstill."
"Nobility was never my strong suit," says Corian apologetically. "I've been underground worshipping something or pretending to, in the last few years."
Wilhelm
The Dottari swats Wilhelm's spear away with his shield and pivots to his left, seeking an opening to exploit.
Valleria
The female Dottari in front of Valleria is struck down from behind by a bald man in Asmodean robes. Free to seek other targets, Valleria steps into the other Dottari's guard and drives her blade deep into the man's ribs. He staggers back, seriously wounded.
Dottari
The last Dottari in the area turns briefly to watch Lily and Voreni fleeing ruefully, then refocuses on Wilhelm.
Gah! a possible crit
Crit does not confirm vs AC 18
The Dottari's attack breaks through Wilhelm's guard, but the wound is not life-threatening.
Ignati
Ignati's rapier draws a small red line across the forearm of the Dottari menacing Wilhelm. The man turns briefly to Ignati with more irritation than real anger in his eyes.
Voreni
Voreni and Lily move further away from the violence, and he is free to drink his potion at will.
Corian
After finishing off Valleria's initial target, Corian adjusts his positioning and cracks his mace across the back of the last remaining Dottari
Wilhelm grimaces a bit after being struck by the mace. It hurts, but he gets the distinct impression that it could have been a lot worse if he weren't being so defensive.
At least the Dottari's focus on him gave Valleria, and a small knot of other armed protesters.
"Thanks for the assist," he says to all of them. His banner, which had started the day white is now spotted with bloodstains. As the heat of the conflict begins to wear off, it serves as an obvious reminder that the day could have gone so much better.
By now it looks as though the chaos is starting to die down as those from both sides who could retreat have been doing so. This group should probably do the same.
"We may want to leave before the Lord-Mayor receives more Dottari reinforcements, or worse the Rack. Discretion being the better part of valor, and all that."
His stance, though, makes it clear that he intends to stay as long as it takes to ensure that everyone makes it out, and he drinks one of the potions he brought with him to help with the wound he received.
Morrigan retreats to the shadows and watches the others. She'll follow them when they leave the area.
"No, thank you for recognizing where your duty truly lies, with the people."
Ignati looks around, to see if there is anyone who may need his help, he remembers someone shouting about a death and hopes it wasn't an innocent.
If anyone needs help he will rush to their aid, offering to mix up a curative, if not he will do a quick search of the bodies and then address any defenders remaining.
"You're right, we should leave, but where to? Typically I would retreat to my family estate but even this may be too much for them to handle, we're not exactly on good terms as it is. We should stick together long enough to make sure no one is being followed at least."
Voreni drinks the potion and feels his broken bones and contusions knit instantly, though his head still aches. Where is Lily? Where is the woman who aided me? Is she wounded or safe? I owe her my thanks? he thinks as he scans the street.
"Miss Lily, you really must go. There are other who need my help," he tells the woman before heading back to ensure Valleria is safe.
"...I was looking for someone. I am not sure they ever showed," he says to Ignati, shaking his head. He refocuses.
"Yes, we should leave. The next round of Thrune's enforcers will be larger and better armed. A public house would do the trick--large enough to not be noticed, and we can talk amongst ourselves. Morrigan! Blast it, where's that pig farmer?" He looks around and notices Voreni nursing his wounds. "Hoy! I never got your name! Come with us! Oh, you are with us now. Hm," he looks around at the group.
"Come on, friends, we'll find a place to figure out what's next for our fair Silver City. We've got a pig, and that means more manure to throw at Thrune," says Corian with a distinctly devilish grin.
Valleria looks around, making sure that the civilians are save before adressing her new 'frinds'.
"Agreed, lets get out of here... my house is not far from here, in Old Kintargo, there we can talk and decide what to do next, without risking more fights if the dottari looks for us in taverns or ins. Please, follow me."
Saying this, Valleria starts to walk towards her house, leading the way.
I hope they do not ask a lot of questions about that armor...
"Well Bacon, what do you think?" Morrigan whispers. "This entire protest was a bust. It's obvious now that Barzillai Thrune has no intention of listening to the people of this city and has no qualms about murdering anyone who disagrees with him. Another peaceful protest will only result in innocents getting hurt. On top of that, our hells blasted contact didn't even bother showing."
Are the Silver Ravens actually still operating or is it all just smoke and mirrors? Illusions and deception are my specialties and I see right through their tricks. Whoever this man is, is going to get a harsh speaking to once I find him.
"Do you think we should follow these people?" Morrigan glances in the party's direction. "They seem alright to me and they were fighting for Kintargo. And it's not like we have any other leads. What does your nose tell you?"
Bacon just snorts.
"Well it's settled then. We're going with them. You'd best be good and not run off again. People don't like it when you eat their food without asking."
Morrigan scoops Bacon back up under her cloak and timidly follows a good distance back.
"Uh...they call me Voreni," he offers Corian his hand in friendship. Damn! I need to use an alias in the future.
"Is everyone alright?"
Wilhelm waits until he's the last to start following Valleria, both to make sure that nobody gets left behind and to make sure the rear of the group is protected. He stays quiet at first, listening to the others and gathering names to go with faces when he can. Mostly he's wondering how events will play out going forward. The decision to step in to protect the citizens was an obvious one at the time, but how to proceed in the aftermath is quite murky. They've won a small, albeit important, victory in preventing mass arrests or slaughter, but otherwise nothing much has changed. The city is still under the iron fist of Cheliax in general, and Barzillai Thrune in particular.
He looks down at the spot on his arm that had intercepted the blow coming for his face. It's sore, but after the potion the only evidence of the blow is the stain on his armor where the skin below had ruptured from the blunt force. Judging by the look of Voreni, he'd found similar treatment for the blow to the head that he'd received. The Tiefling likely had a monster headache, but would probably be no worse for wear.
"I'm fine, physically," he says in response to the question. "Mostly, now, I'm just confused. I've always used law to protect people. I'm not really sure how to protect people from the law."
Hustling away from the melee in the square, you all follow Valleria towards her home. Only a few yards into your journey, however, you can hear scuffling and the ring of clashing steel coming from a nearby alley.
"Sounds like we have more people to protect," says Corian. He draws his mace, still bloodied from the fight in the crowd.
Regardless of the events of today, Wilhelm still considers himself a city guard. The sounds of fighting are therefore something to run toward, not from, even now. This close to the square, it's likely that this is some spill-over from the events of the protest that had moved beyond the main lines of sight. Probably to avoid people like Wilhelm doing exactly what he's about to do: rush and and put a stop to whatever is going on.
"I'm going to help."
He grips his spear tightly and moves to the alley from which the sounds come. He's not sure who's fighting who, or why, but he'll decide what to do when the situation becomes apparent.
he shouts as he rounds the corner to bring the melee into view. Getting the attention of both sides seems the easiest way to know what he's dealing with and how to proceed.
"Right behind you," Voreni draws his rapier and falls a step behind Wilhelm.
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As you burst into the alleyway, you see five people dressed identically to the other Chelish Citizens' Group thugs you saw earlier. They are circled around the unconscious body of a well-dressed man wearing a single glove. Strewn around the alleyway are the unconscious bodies of four more Chelish Citizens' Group members. One would surmise that the man did not go down without a fight, but he is clearly beaten now, and the five who remain are preparing to cave in his skull.
One of the attackers, a tall lanky man with pale, freckled skin and reddish-brown hair, turns to you as you enter and waves his mace threateningly.
"On your way, gents. This doesn't concern you."
"Attempting to murder a helpless man? I would say it concerns the entire city," Voreni says from behind the scarf covering his face. "Leave, now!" He raises his rapier with his right hand and dips his left hand into the pocket holding the reagents for a shock shield extract.
"Do you not recognize us from the protest? The one where your comrades fled the scene? Put down your weapons and maybe we'll let you live too."
Ignati brandishes his sword with a confident smile.
"That's the man we've been looking for, Bacon." Morrigan whispers into her cloak excitedly. "Let's help out. We can't let those thugs harm him any further. We need answers."
Morrigan moves up behind the others and scowls.
As she was the one leading them to her house, Valleria was the last to enter the alleyway. She saw the man on the ground and the group of bullies.
I don't know why, but I feel they will not leave without a fight... Lets see, the one in the front, looks like a good fighter, but the positioning of his feet is just wrong, he has no balance...
"Please, leave this man alone and you can live. I'll not warn you twice."
Valleria draws her sword.
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Wilhelm seethes quietly, as much at the notion that anyone could see this happening and consider it not their business as the actual events occuring. He holds his spear ready to make a move, the blood-stained pennant serving as evidence of it recent, effective use.
At least they're civilians and not Dottari. We should have little trouble dealing with them since we outnumber them. I hope they retreat, I'd prefer to avoid any more bloodshed.
"There's a bounty on vermin in this town, you know. If you'd like to try our patience, we can see if we'll get a few coppers for the likes of you."
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The five men look down at their falley prey, then back into the hard, determined stares of Ignati, Valleria, and Wilhelm. Their hands tighten around the hafts of their maces while they consider their numbers against your's, and ponder the red stains on your armor and the cold, unflinching steel facing them.
The first man, the one who spoke, starts to dive forward towards Ignati, but a strong hand on his shoulder pulls him back. An middle-aged man with a salt-and-pepper moustache shakes his head at the younger man silently. The five do not stow their weapons, but lower their heads and gather up the bodies of their fallen comrades and exit the alley (assuming they are allowed to do so)
"That's right! Go home with your tails between your legs like good little doggies!" Morrigan shouts.
Then realizing she's brought attention to herself, she blushes bright red and fidgets. "Oh hello everyone. I followed you...I hope that's okay."
But without bothering to get an answer, she remembers the man on the ground and runs to his aid. "Please don't be dead. Please don't be dead." She holds his head up off the ground and pours a cure light wounds potion down his throat.
Wilhelm watches them gather up their comrades carefully, just in case it's a ruse, but makes no move to stop them. In his mind, retreat is a much preferable way to win than to be forced to slay more sons of Kintargo, misguided though they may be. He winces a little at Morrigan's sudden outburst, hoping that it does not provoke them the change their minds.
I just hope whoever they were about to destroy can be saved. He put up a good fight, it seems. He could be another ally.
"As long as you did not follow us with hostile intent, you are welcome by me, lady."
As the men gather their fallen and retreat Ignati sheathes his sword chuckling as Morrigan shouts them down. He adds his own voice to the call.
"Remember our mercy, maybe it will help you consider which side you should be on."
Ignati approaches the young woman as she pours a potion into the gloved man's throat. He kneels beside them trying to identify the man before he wakes.
"Do you know him? He seems awfully formidable."
"I know her. We were both told to meet the man who lays here," says Corian.
Voreni relaxes his grip on his reagents and returns his rapier to it's scabbard. He slinks into the shadows and watches the men depart. After they have all left and the excitable half-orc woman tends to the assault victim he speaks to the rest. "I am quite glad to see you are men and women of strong conviction and clear morals. Too few these days have such commendable qualities. Most would simply pass by and tell themselves exactly what the boy told us to do; that they were going to mind their own business. I believe that-" with a blush, Voreni realizes he is falling into his habit of being overly verbose. "It does not matter. What does matter is that this city cannot tolerate the pressures of a tyrant. Men and women will become more and more violent unless something is done."
Valleri watches as the men retreat.
"Some of them had clear intentions to fight us... Better to take this man with us to my home... We can ask him questions there, away from any reinforcements those men could muster. Wilheim, can you help the girl to carry the man?"
Corian smirks at Voreni. "I do enjoy taking a break from oration," he says, helping the man up with Wilhelm's and Morrigan's help.
Wilhelm nods and moves forward to assist the others with either returning the man to his feet, or lifting him into a position to be carried, depending on how effective Morrigan's potion turns out to be.
As the last few drops of potion pass through his lips, the man gasps and sits upright, reaching around for a weapon that isn't there. Realizing that the danger has passed, he sighs with relief and slowly rises to his feet.
"The gods are good! To think that I would be rescued by the very people I was seeking when I was attacked. I was watching you during the protest, and you are clearly formidable, the kind of heroes that Kintargo needs in these dark days. I would introduce myself to you, but not here...there are ears and eyes everywhere in this city. I am in desperate need of your help, but it is not safe for us to speak out here. I know of a place where we can talk privately, unless you have a more agreeable location...?"
"You need our help? You left almost as many men in this alley as we left at the protest. We may have scraped you off the road, but I feel much safer with you!" Ignati laughs heartily and clasps the mans shoulder. "Lead the way friend."
He turns to the rest of the group with a smile.
"As has already been said, it's good to have found a number of fellow minds today. We may all be dead if it hadn't been for our impromptu teamwork. Let's keep it going for a while longer, yes? I for one am particularly interested in what he has to say."
Valleria nods.
"Any place away from the eyes of the Thrune is a good place. Let the way and we shall follow you. Go ahead, I'll protect the rear."
Morrigan punches the man in the shoulder. "You have a lot of answering to do! You were there in the square the whole time and let me believe that I'd missed you. I thought I'd lost my last chance to find Robin. Do you know him? He was one of you. Please tell me he's not dead!" Morrigan is unable to hold back her tears.
"Morrigan...he is not responsible for the deaths of our loved ones." Corian gently steers the weeping wizard away from the man. "Certainly the Rose is reduced in number," he mutters.
"No. Robin is not dead... He was a Silver Raven. I need to find him. He's the only one left..."
Much of Corian and Morrigan's conversation goes over Voreni's head. He shakes his head and moves toward the rear near Valleria.
"Thank you, m'lady, for saving Lily's and mine lives. I thought I had finally bit off more than I could chew. I need to find time and money to develop some new tricks. Every day is a learning experience. I'm sorry, I tend to get, uh, 'chatty'."
Wilhelm keeps an open, although cautious, mind about this man. The fact that he was an enemy of the thugs speaks well for him, politically. It remains to be seen what sort of person he actually is. Mostly, Wilhelm feels a little strange about being called a hero. As far as he's concerned, he's just doing what any good person would do. Perhaps Kintargo is just suffering a shortage on good people. That wouldn't be surprising with the crackdown by Barzillai Thrune. The general goodness of people often seems to be inversely proportional to the amount of trouble one can get in for displaying it. Sad, but true.
With Valleria taking the rear this time, Wilhelm stays to the front. He lets the others, some of which seem to have been expecting to find this man, ask their questions for the time being. Sometimes it's better to listen, and this fellow doesn't seem too keen on saying anything until they get to wherever he's taking them.
The man shakes his head at Morrigan sadly. "I'm afraid I know nothing of your friend's fate, but perhaps together we might discover something."
He then leads you all away from the area around the square and into a shop called Crissali's Fine Tomes. He exchanges a furtive nod with the proprietor and heads into a reading room in the back. There is ample seating there, and he takes a seat and begins to introduce himself.
“My name is Rexus Victocora, and until last week’s Night of Ashes, I was one of this city’s nobles. My parents’ estate burned to the ground that night — I escaped simply because I was studying at the Alabaster Academy during the fire. There were other fires that night, as you know — fires that many believe were started by Barzillai Thrune or his agents in an attempt to squash any spirit of rebellion Kintargo might have.
Now more than ever we need that spirit of rebellion to stay strong, but Thrune’s actions have driven into hiding those who would stay strong and resist. Those who could once rally the city to a cause, such as Lord-Mayor Jilia Bainilus and my parents, are missing at best, and are more likely dead. I cannot do this on my own, but with the aid of talented citizens such as yourselves, I have hope that we can."
Ignati sits back in his seat, kicking his feet up onto a spare one, as he listens to Rexus introduce himself. Despite his casual position his mood darkens at the mention of the mysterious disappearances throughout the city.
"I was curious to see if you would use your real name, Rexus, I hope my presence here didn't force your hand in that regard. I know we mostly just exchanged pleasantries over the years, but I'm glad to see you survived, it gives me hope that Fausta may have lived as well. Have you seen her, or any other member of The Rose?"
Still reclining Ignati starts rocking his seat on it's legs as he considers what he's been told.
"It seems we displaced nobles are bound together in rebellion. I can't offer the full power of the Vashnarstill network, but all my siblings and I were taught to ply the information trade, and before my incident father had notions of making me his spymaster."
He smiles wryly, and stands, offering a hand to Rexus.
"You'll officially have the help of The Firebrand himself, which makes us a duo, what about the rest of our motley band?"
Valleria nods as the man speaks.
"You can count with my sword then, Rexus. My name is Valleria, former Grey Maiden and former dottari. I had already been on the other side of a rebelion and know how it can get bloody. Now I know for sure which side I should be, if you think I can be trusted, besides my former choices."