Fenster seems cowed and truthful, though you doubt that you've seen the last of him.
Oren weighs the man's words and actions before he turns away with the others. "You're more persuasive than I'd have guessed, Master Auron."
Auron pats his warhammer, before keeping it free on on his belt.
You dwarves got it right, learnin' t'use 'ammers fo' war and work. 'ever needs 'ny love. But does w'at's needed jus' t'same.
Auron leaves the hovel, joining the rest of the party, heading to the underbridge's south east corner.
Kua waits for his companions to file out of the partially-collapsed warehouse. Once they've gotten ahead by a few feet, he turns back and flicks another gold coin to Fenster.
"Thanks." he adds with a nod before catching up.
Hopefully that's enough to stop him from tipping anyone off.
Fenster curls his lip, letting the coin fall unbidden to the ground. His wheezing coughs send you off, back into the Shadow. Once again, you crisscross the muddy lanes and reeking alleys of the urban blight to finally reach Natalya's supposed hideout, near the stark wall of the Seacleft. The scattered scree of minor rockfalls lay scattered about the boardinghouse's southern face. The boardinghouse has certainly seen better days: its clapboard sides are dark with mildew and marred by scorch-marks. In places, fire has gutted portions of the roof's moss-covered tile shingles, but the building appears to be structurally intact. The windows are heavily boarded over.
A rough pathway runs to what appears to be a storage shed leaning against the western side of the building. A similar path runs to the southern side of the building.
Oren slows in his step and gestures to the others. "Assuming our target is actually here, which seems unlikely, we'll want to move more carefully. She's surely aware that people are looking for her."
He looks at the shed and the two pathways. "Angradd has little need for me to act in silence and thus I am not one to do so. Perhaps it'd be better for me to wait here whilst those who are lighter of foot investigate more closely."
Kua nods to Oren. "Agreed. Perhaps sister Mara and I should scout around the buildings first. Probably shouldn't approach from the front."
Kua is going to scan the areas surrounding the main building to see if there is a way to approach from behind or the side.
"My thoughts are that perhaps if we announce our desire to talk and avoid sneaking, she may talk more willing. But if we are quiet, she may think we mean her harm."
Sister Mara joins Kua in scouting around the building, whispering a prayer to invoke a bit of her Goddess' divine guidance to aid in her inspection of the area.
Yang waits with Oren and Svetlana, not being teh stealthy type either.
Seeing Kua and Mara skulk silently ahead, Auron stays behind, as not to hinder the two scout's progress. He casually loiters around the two new members of the group and watches the icy beauty make small talk with Chen.
He instead kneels down and pets Jhaik, handling the dog a morsel of dried meat he takes from his pack. Pinching off a small chunk, he starts chewing a small portion, before casually offering Oren a piece.
"I would not say 'together'. We had job together some time back, and then went our own way. We recently discovered we were all invited here to Magnimar, so good frtune let us travel together."
Kua's stealth:
DM Screen:
Kua and Sister Mara approach the building as quietly as they can, the inquisitor a ghost through the shadows. Kua, however, seems to have over-estimated how close he could get to the building without being seen. A shout rises from within the attached shed and two Varisian thugs step outside into the muddy street, each wearing a suit of slightly worn chainmail and brandishing spiked cudgels.
"Hey! Get lost, ugly! Nothin' for you here!", they shout.
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"I would not say 'together'. We had job together some time back, and then went our own way. We recently discovered we were all invited here to Magnimar, so good frtune let us travel together."
"Always good to work with people you know and have worked with in the past even if you aren't tight the rest of the time, the last job went ok then?...oh what's that?" Svetlana notices the commotion, and let's out a quick sigh "Back to work eh?" she starts heading towards the disturbance.
Oren takes the offered strip of jerky, smells it, shrugs and chews. "Thank you."
At the shout of the thugs, he sighs and moves a little closer, though still keeping back a way to keep an eye out for a fleeing figure.
Auron crouches and pats Jhaik's back. Wolfing down another chunk of meat, the hound tails Svetlana as his master hangs back with Oren surveying the scene from a distance.
"I would not say 'together'. We had job together some time back, and then went our own way. We recently discovered we were all invited here to Magnimar, so good frtune let us travel together.""Always good to work with people you know and have worked with in the past even if you aren't tight the rest of the time, the last job went ok then?...oh what's that?" Svetlana notices the commotion, and let's out a quick sigh "Back to work eh?" she starts heading towards the disturbance.
"Yes, OK." At the commotion, Yang also begins heading closer, but hangs back part way near Auron.
Kua slowly draws his bow (if it wasn't out already) and locks his gaze on the one that called him ugly.
"We are just here to talk to Natalya. Peacefully." Kua emphasizes the word "peacefully", but his stare lets the thug know that he's willing to entertain other avenues.
"Yes," Sister Mara says, ghosting out of the shadows behind the two Varisian thugs and pulling back the string of her crossbow with an audible 'CLICK'. "As my companion said, we're here to talk to her peacefully," she reiterates, before adding more in the Varisian tongue.
"Yes," Sister Mara says, ghosting out of the shadows behind the two Varisian thugs and pulling back the string of her crossbow with an audible 'CLICK'. "As my companion said, we're here to talk to her peacefully," she reiterates, before adding more in the Varisian tongue.
** spoiler omitted **
** spoiler omitted **
Sister Mara:
The thug behind the speaker taps on his shoulder, nodding down the street toward the rest of the party.. and both startle when Sister Mara appears all of a sudden, close enough to touch. The man in the rear mutters something to his partner while sweat starts beading his brow.
Varisian:
The clatter of their morningstars hitting the ground says more than words, but they speak anyways.
"Fine. We've had enough of this place either way...", says the lead tough before turning to Sister Mara.
Varisian:
"Like we said, we just want to talk to Natalya," Sister Mara replies in the Common tongue. "There's five gold for each of you if you secure us an audience with her."
Not understanding the local language, Kua stands back keeping a watchful eye as Sister Mara negotiates.
The thug scratches his neck.
"That... doesn't sound like it'll be good for our health. She's not gonna be happy we gave in without a fight. She'll like it even less that you've found her."
"We could rough you up a bit, if that would help," Sister Mara replies, a hint of a smile twitching her lips. "But you seem like nice young men. How about you take us to Natalya for eight gold each, and we promise to protect you from her wrath?"
Oren idly fingers his holy symbol, waiting and watching as Sister Mara works to persuade the roughs to her way of thinking. He keeps a constant lookout for a woman trying to sneak away, as well.
The thug spreads his hands out.
"All right, all right. You made yer point. Just give us a moment to make sure she understands the situation before you come in, right?"
"I'm beginning to think you don't trust us," Sister Mara replies to the thug's suggestion that the companions wait in the open street while he and his accomplice warn Natalya of their presence.
"Here's an alternative. My friends and I will go with you to see Natalya, but we'll keep our weapons sheathed. If my friends agree, we'll promise not to attack your people unless they attack us first. By the holy radiance of the Dawnflower, you have my word," Sister Mara solemnly swears, placing her right hand upon the holy symbol of Sarenrae on her leather armor.
"Or they're buying time for Natalya while she sneaks out a back door," Oren mutters back.
"I'm beginning to think you don't trust us," Sister Mara replies to the thug's suggestion that the companions wait in the open street while he and his accomplice warn Natalya of their presence.
"Here's an alternative. My friends and I will go with you to see Natalya, but we'll keep our weapons sheathed. If my friends agree, we'll promise not to attack your people unless they attack us first. By the holy radiance of the Dawnflower, you have my word," Sister Mara solemnly swears, placing her right hand upon the holy symbol of Sarenrae on her leather armor.
"All right, all right. But I'm telling you true, the place is dangerous and unpleasant. You gotta hold yer nose and watch yer feet- and we need to go just two at a time in places."
He holds up his hands, expecting your rebuke."Seriously, cousin. This place sits over an open sewer and there ain't many stable crossings."
To emphasize his point, the talkative thug walks over to the front door and pushes it open. A horrific reek of sewage assails your nostrils.
Peeking in, you can see that the entire floor of the chamber has collapsed into the pool of water five feet below. The earthen walls of the subcellar ooze with foul rivulets and the smell is abominable. Two oozing sewer pipes protrude through the east wall of this pit just above the level of the sewage. Part of the ceiling above the entrance has collapsed, revealing an attic crawlspace above; a rickety ladder leads up from the water into the crawlspace. A door stands in the far wall across the sludge pit. A wooden plank balanced between both doors makes a precarious bridge between the two doors.
"Smells worse than the Warren in here. This thing doesn't seem too stable, maybe we should go one at a time here." Kua puts his arms out to the side to balance himself as he carefully traverses the wooden plank.
Sister Mara offers a brief prayer to her Goddess and follows Kua's example after the half-orc traverses the wooden plank.
Yang shuffles to peer in the doorway, uncertainty crossing his face. "I am not sure I can make this crossing," he says worriedly, shaking his head.
Kua pulls out his bundle of rope, ties off an end to a sturdy looking pillar near him and tosses the bundle over to the other side.
"If you tie off this other side, you can make a hand rail for yourself Yang."
DM Screen:
Goblin stealth:
Foe initiative:
Perceptions
Sv:
K:
Y:
SM:
O:
A:
Kua steps out onto the plank, making steady progress across. He happens to glance down halfway through... spotting a grinning and malicious little face in each of the pipes. With its small beady eyes and too-wide mouth, it doesn't take a genius to recognize a waiting goblin. The half-orc has just enough time to bellow a warning before each sends a noisome sack flying at him on the beam, while a third swats at the beam with a broom handle!
Initiative- Round 1
Goblins- 19 (Pushing the beam, throwing nightsoil)
Thugs- 13 (stealing weapons)
Sister Mara- 10 (x)
Kua- 7
Svetlana- 6 (x)
Yang- 5 (x)
Auron- 5 (x)
Oren- 4 (x)
The little brute smacks the crossbeam, shaking it precariously but failing to dislodge it.
Two burlap pouches full of filth and broken glass strike Kua squarely, covering him in the noisome concoction. It smells disgusting and feels even worse and the Duskwarden begins to feel ill.
The two unsavory thugs, sensing an opportunity, try and grab weapons from Svetlana and Sister Mara.
Even surprised, Svetlana holds firmly to her prized weapon and shakes off the thug's clumsy attempt with ease.
But the other acts just quickly enough to grab the Sister's sheathed weapon and draw it from her belt before she can elbow him away.