Rukn is witnessing the scene, mouth open. Someone to control? Defeat? Banish? What is all these? He's never been a magic nerd, and it seems he'll never be...
All he made clear from the scene is that there's some internal struggle, and they must take the chance to strike at the creature. Which he's intendind to do...
From somewhere unseen behind their possessed foe Kilarra calls out in response to Zhalet "No Erizi, This man will not be held for long by anything that we possess, we must knock him out and then destroy the puppet master below the church. Nethys and Sarenrae both came to me in a vision that I did not understand but I think that this is what they were trying to warn me about. They both gave me the spirit, Vardishal who resides in me now, strike and strike true but not at anything that will be lethal. I will disarm him while he still has some control!!"
Stepping up beside their conflicted opponent she says "Kardswann, my old friend, let us save you, release your axe!"
From the veil of obscurity, she tries to slip his axe from his hands.
Round 3
Solomon leans around the corner of the wall and unleashes a trio of darts, striking Kardswann solidly each time.
Zhalet summons the power of Sarenrae to pin Kardswann in place, but it seems his momentary rebellion is incomplete and he rips his shadow free from the spell.
Rukn fires two arrows at Kardswann, but the are deflected by his armor.
Kilarra steps up to Kardswann, unseen, and attempts to relieve him of his axe. The huge man is not fully cooperative, and yanks his axe free of Kilarra's grip.
With a roar, Erizi charges Kardswann, slamming his earthbreaker into the Jann's ribs.
As graceful as a dancer, Haleen closes the distance to Kardswann, her rapier piercing deeply into his left thigh.
Kardswann roars in pain, and though his axe comes up again he checks the motion as his muscles stand out clearly straining against each other. His teeth are gritted with pain and the strain of not swinging, "Yes! .. Hurry! .. I cannot .. hold!"
E
H
Round 4: Players up!
You can tell by his movements that Kardswann is losing control. He is starting to make defensive movements when threatened.
Solomon kept up his barrage.
Rukn waits till everyone has assaulted the Jann. After all, it might be that his arrows are not needed...
It is against what she feels is right, but Zhalet aims a slash with her blade at Kardswann. After all, she must admit she does not understand very well what is happening with him, and it is under his direction that she does so.
"Faugh. I am a Wizard, not a Monk, to stun men with my bare fists," Alexander growls.
That said, the old man does speed-limp forward and swings at Kardswann's head with my sword cane -- sheathed, in deference to Kilarra's words.
Kilarra finally breaks her invisibility to strike. Using her ally as a distraction she strikes fast and furriously but aims her attacks to avoid being too lethal.
Non-lethal Att 1 1d20 + 8 + 2 - 2 - 4 ⇒ (20) + 8 + 2 - 2 - 4 = 24 Flank - 2 weap - Nonlethal
Non-lethal Att 1 crit conf 1d20 + 8 + 2 - 2 - 4 ⇒ (18) + 8 + 2 - 2 - 4 = 22 Flank - 2 weap - Nonlethal
Non-lethal dmg 1 1d4 + 5 + 1d6 + 2d6 ⇒ (4) + 5 + (2) + (2, 6) = 19 normal + fire + SA
Additional Non-lethal dmg if crit 1d4 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6
Non-lethal Att 2 1d20 + 8 + 2 - 2 - 4 + 42 ⇒ (14) + 8 + 2 - 2 - 4 + 4-2 = 20 Flank - 2 weap - Nonlethal + total bonus gained for debilitating injury - broken weapon
Non-lethal dmg 2 1d4 + 5 + 2d6 ⇒ (3) + 5 + (5, 2) = 15 normal + SA
Round 4:
Solomon's darts continue to streak in, but only two find their mark as Kardswann begins to take action to protect himself from the attacks.
Zhalet slashes across Kardswann's flank and a bright red line edges her scimitar.
"Faugh. I am a Wizard, not a Monk, to stun men with my bare fists," Alexander growls. His attempt to hit Kardswann with his sword cane bears witness to his words, and Alexander's strike does no damage to the big man as Kardswann deflects the attack.
Kilarra finally breaks her invisibility to strike. Using her ally as a distraction she strikes fast and furriously but aims her attacks to avoid being too lethal. Her first strike is perfectly aimed, though it lacks the power of a perfect follow through.
Kardswann gasps in pain as the tension leaches out of him. "Thank .. you .. Vardishal ..." he gasps as he topples onto his face, unconscious.
Kilarra's second strike is pulled off course as though the broken blade of her icy kukri were following a path of its own choosing. Kardswann's belt pouch is neatly bisected by the curving blade as the Jann falls, and there is an odd silent concussion to the air as the bottom of the belt pouch falls away. A crinkling sound fills the air as the temperature plummets by nearly thirty degrees.
Laying in the severed belt pouch are several fragments of a blade that seem to be carved from ice.
Combat is over, and the Battle Market is clear!
"Now what?" Alexander asks, bluntly.
"Uh... I don't know." Rukn shrugs, looking at Kilarra. "You said something about a church?"
Solomon held his very last dart loosely in his hand and exhaled slowly, letting the focus and fury of the fight fade from him. He tucked it back into one of the slots on his bracers.
"What was that all about?" he asked Kilarra.
Zhalet kneels down beside the fallen Kardswann, checking to see his condition.
Looking at Kilarra, she asks "I don't understand, what are we to do about him?"
The huge man is still alive, but injured and unlikely to recover without help. Erizi and Haleen glance at each other with a nod, before Haleen speaks for them both, "We can watch over him and ensure that he does not cause any more trouble."
"Let's go to the church, the rest of us, then."
He hurries downstairs, decided to end everything once and for all.
"Wait, what? Why would we leave him here? Why would we leave anyone here?" Solomon said, looking over his shoulder at Rukn. "Can't we just make a liter and carry him with us back to the church?"
Solomon held his very last dart loosely in his hand and exhaled slowly, letting the focus and fury of the fight fade from him. He tucked it back into one of the slots on his bracers.
"What was that all about?" he asked Kilarra.
Kilarra rushes to Kardswan's side and begins to try and stop any bleeding. "Help me stop the bleeding and I will explain. When we were back on the monastery do you remember me digging the big hole in the courtyard?"
After waiting for her allies to acknowledge she continues, "I had a dream. In this dream I had a vision of both Sarenrae and Nethys arguing over me. It was as if they were in disagreement as to which of them would use me to do something that they needed done. It was unclear to me which one won the argument but at the end of it I begin to have these impressions or feelings that were not my own from time to time the was guiding me to some purpose. The first of which is that I should dig in that courtyard until I found this dagger."[b] Holding the broken dagger made of ice and feeling sadness at its current condition she looks up and goes on. [b]"Just now, when we came face to face with Kardswan, I again was lead by this divine influence. It lead me to say what I said and I am not sure how I know but I do know that Kardswan was a hero for good. Based upon what he said and what I know of him from the past, it seems that he is under some kind of control coming from beneath the church here in town."Kilarra looks to Alexander, "I know that Undrella said to kill him but if we free him from his mental bondage then we would be destroying the man that she knows him to be. In essence, we would be killing the Kardswan that now lies at our feet. Please, help me to save him."
Looking to Solomon and Zhalet, "If ever there was a god that believed in redemption then Sarenrae would be her. Please, for no other reason than to live out the divine example of your patron, help me redeem him."
Looking to the group as a whole, "I will support whatever decision we make but I hope you will consider this alternative"
While she waits upon her friends to make up her mind, she gathers up the shards cut from Kardswan's belt pouch and begins to try and see if all the pieces are accounted for by carefully fitting them back together on a cloth on the ground. [occ] Once she has all the pieces put in place, please let me know if there are still missing pieces[/ooc]
"Wait, what? Why would we leave him here? Why would we leave anyone here?" Solomon said, looking over his shoulder at Rukn. "Can't we just make a liter and carry him with us back to the church?"
"Couldn't we just leave him in one of the cells downstairs under the guard of Haleen and the Lions of Senara?" He would likely slow us down quite a bit if we try to take him with us down into the church."
"If he can be redeemed we should try." Solomon agreed. He took Kilarra's story in stride.
"Even if he is 'redeemed', I want him gone," Alexander says, bluntly. "He does not get to stay and make Undrella relive what he did to her, even if it was under some influence. We fix him, he leaves. Let him seek cleanding in Sarenrae's temples and monasteries elsewhere. Agreed?"
"Even if he is 'redeemed', I want him gone," Alexander says, bluntly. "He does not get to stay and make Undrella relive what he did to her, even if it was under some influence. We fix him, he leaves. Let him seek cleanding in Sarenrae's temples and monasteries elsewhere. Agreed?"
Kilarra nods to Solomon in thanks then turns to Alexander, "I fully understand and agree with your desire to protect Undrella from any hardship. I only ask that we respect her enough to let her make that decision once she knows all the facts. If she decides that he should leave and never return then so be it. Are we agreed?"
The group sets about securing Kardswann, ensuring that he is medically stable, and searching the premises for anything of significant value.
Entrusted to the care of the Lions of Senara, Haleen, and Erizi, the incapacitated Kardswann seems to be out of the picture for the time being.
A thorough search of the battle market takes several hours and yields the following:
Gorundal: This male human has a large selection of mundane equipment for sale, nto unlike what might be found at a general store.
Kalyx: A twitchy, human female manages a stall full of several small racks displaying thin vials flled with multi-colored liquids, crumbs of tarry resin, or bits of colorful plants. All of these are addictive narcotics, ranging from pesh to flayleaf to shiver.
Juluce: A human male with blankets lining the floor covered in all manner of “special substances and items."
Rukn takes some minutes to gain his breathing back. It's been an intense combat... and it is not over yet.
"Guys, what do we do now? Do we go straight for the puppet master, or do you want to rest?"
"I'm sure Alexander will want to return to his feathered ladyfriend before we leave." Solomon said with a small smirk and sidelong look at their resident wizard. "Might as well rest here."
"We will not leave this cesspool before the puppetmaster is dead. But I do need rest to replenish my energies and spells before we face it. I dare say we all do."
"Well, as you say. I can do whichever guard shift you don't like." Rukn is about to start finding a good spot to camp when he remembers a last detail. "Oh, by the way. About what you said, Alexander. I'm with Kilarra on that - Kardswan and Undrella should fix this between themselves. Maybe she understands, maybe she doesn't, but it should be her decision. Just my opinion."
This, and other things that have happened in the last few days, remind Rukn of something his former master Bhishma told him. "Walk your own way."
"She wants him dead," Alexander says, shrugging. "We shall see whether that changes when she hears he was manipulated. We will see whether he even dares face her after we kill the puppetmaster."
When Kilarra recovers the fragments of the kukri, she kneels on the rich carpets of Kardswann's former chambers to see how many she has, and to see if she is missing any. As she turns them this way and that trying to fit them together, she finds that she has all the fragments. There is a thrumming sensation through the kukri and its broken pieces, but they remain broken.
The rest of the day and evening are spent securing the battle market. Bodies of gnolls are carried outside to be burned the following day. Introductions are made for the cleric Oxvard, the last of the three surviving members of the Lions of Senara, and a follower of Abadar.
The Lions have corralled the cowardly bartender, a gnoll named Kurellak, and a goblin named Jank, a former peddler who was involuntarily adopted to be Kardswann's majordomo. They await the group to decide their fates.
The entrances to the battle market have been shut and fairly well sealed, and the Lions offer to stand guard while the rest of you sleep and recover in preparation for the cleansing of the church.
Rukn listens to Haleen's explanations. Of course he was curious about it, but he didn't want to ask until everything is settled.
After hearing the story, Rukn reacts quickly. "Take my share of the loot. It'll help you pay at least a part of the debt. And before you say no... just don't say no." Rukn takes a finger to his lips. [b]"You gave me a home, nourishment, love, a family... some grands are never going to worth all that, but that's a beginning, right? If we're a family, we get to help each other!"
Rukn wakes up quite early. He's tired, like everyone else, and should be resting, but some ideas keep pestering him inside his head.
"The powerful and important people always seem to walk their own steps. They don't follow anyone's. They don't follow a path, they make their own." He starts making some coffee for himself and ends up preparing some more for when the others wake up. "Bhishma taught me some ways... Am I wrong about them? Maybe I didn't understand his teachings." He looks at the big bow, which belonged to his master. "I always thought this was my only memory of him, but I'm starting to understand. My memory of him is right here" he says to himslef while pointing his own head.
He goes to the Lions and offer them coffee as well. They're doing all the guard duties so Rukn and the others can rest, so he might as well be a bit kind to them. "There's always more than meet the eye. Take Almah, for example. Or Undrella, or Haleen. Even Alexander." He sips from his coffee while contemplating the sunrise. "They all have different versions, there's always something hidden, like in Bhishma's teachings."
He notices the others are starting to wake up as well, and he joins them with a cheerful morning greeting.
"I think I should start making my own path."
Upon seeing Kurellak, Alexander's face turns stony, and one of his hands tightens on the hilt of his sword cane.
Jank earns little more than a raised eyebrow in comparison - and a simple question.
"Do you hate the Gnolls, Jank? Would you like to cause them trouble?"
She glances over to Solomon, "I owe Jak five thousand gold scarabs." She makes a motion as if she would spit in disgust, but controls her reaction, "The creature added a one thousand scarab 'administrative' fee. I think he was trying to 'justify' taking me as a slave."
She smiles again, warmly, at her friends, "I appreciate your offer, truly, but let us not be hasty unless the situation warrants haste."
Jank looks back at you, uncowed, and his common is clear and well-spoken if lightly accented, "This one was made into a clown, and not permitted to leave. How do you think this one feels about gnolls. Except for him." Jank indicates Kurellak with a jerk of his head, and his tone and expression are much less sharp-edged, [b]"Kurellak was always pleasant to this one. The others, this one hopes they burn in the nine hells for all time."
"Excellent," Alexander says to the Goblin. "Do you have any information we can use to kill them all? Do you know anything about the temple?"
Jank shakes his head bitterly, "No. This one was not allowed to have knowledge, authority, or freedom."
"Pity. If you acquire any, be sure to let us know," Alexander says, with a respectful nod.
Zhalet helps with Kardswann, and then with searching and securing the battle market. By the time those things are finished, most of the rest of the day has passed.
She would be for sending a progress report to Lady Almah, but it doesn't seem practical to do so. They can't all go back at the moment, and it is still an open question whether anyone traveling alone would be safe. It might also be perhaps a day premature to tell her the town is in their hands.
Zhalet steers well clear of any conversations involving Undrella.
When these other things have been completed and the day's end nears, Zhalet uses what remains of her magic to deal with any wounds remaining among the group's members or their allies.
Zhalet makes an early night of it, planning to spend a little extra time in prayer and meditation before she sleeps. As she mentions to Solomon, "tomorrow I will finally reach the church. All of this so far, from the time I left Qadira to this moment, has been a journey for that one purpose. Tomorrow I will fulfill that purpose."
"Your original debt might have been legal and honorable, but a slaver who tacks on arbitrary increases doesn't get the luxury of being dealt with in a civilized manor. How about we just kill him?"
Kilarra considers Haleen's words for a moment as if the answer was not to her liking then seems to come to some conclusion, smiles softly and says "Well, I must admit that I thought you would respect us enough to know that we would want to share in your burden, not to watch you carry it on your own or worse, never know what became of you. Haleen, we are family, you do not have problems that you must face. No, WE have problems that we must face together, but enough dwelling on the past. You do not want to share your dept with us and you want the self respect to handle it on your own? I can respect that, however, before it gets to the point of run away and hide, come to us, we will help you." Kilarra steps up and gives Haleen a lingering hug "I am so happy to have you back sister."
After talking with Haleen, Kilarra goes and finds Alexander. She finds him just as he seems to have finished talking with Kurellak and Jank. Curious as to why Kurellak looks like he would like to find a way to fit into a pony keg and seal it up but decides that what she came to find him for is more pressing. Alexander, first, let me say thank you for your understanding and considering my request that Undella make the decision regarding Kardswan. That aside, if you have a moment, I was wondering if you can provide your expertise on something magical that I found. Kilarra carefully produces a folded cloth from her pouch and sets it carefully down on a large level surface. Unfolding it so as to be sure that no fragments go tumbling away she reveals an assortment of chips of ice that do not seem to be melting. She then pulls out her broken Kukri that she found at the monastery and lays it beside the pieces. "See, if you carefully arrange then right you will see that all the pieces are here and when you fit them together just so, I can feel them thrumming with power but they won't stay. What can I do to restore it?"
She returns Kilarra's hug warmly, but there is a flinty edge to her voice, "Respect was not in it, as you should well know by now. Were it merely you, Solomon, and Rukn, I would have returned to tell you what passed. But as you also know, there are some for whom I am responsible that are not as capable as you three are. I would not lead Three-Finger Jak, of all the crime lords of Katapesh, to them. The contingencies I always have in place will protect my people, and I will also do so by going nowhere near them until this is resolved."
She smiles at you all again, "I am truly glad to see you all. It warms my heart beyond what I can say that you sought me out, though in retrospect I should have expected it."
fit most neatly together. Almost as if they were attracted one to the other with a rather weak magnetic force. When all are 'assembled', there is a pulsing current of power that you can see (with Detect Magic) as well as feel in your palm.
You know that, normally, it takes a spellcaster at least equal in accomplishment to the creator of an enchanted item to restore it to full function. You are unsure if the weak attraction would make it easier or harder to restore. You would start with the most powerful Greater Make Whole spell scroll you could find were it to be your task to restore this weapon.
The night passes at the battle market with little eventfulness. The first thing that occurs is, around midnight, there is the scream of a hunting cat in the desert near Kelmarane.
As the group rises to begin their day, Felliped has a hearty breakfast prepared complete with, eggs, a delicious hash, bacon and a rich, dark coffee.
Anyone else.. FOR SHAME! ;)
After breakfast, Rukn stands by the courtyard, quiet, watching the Lions drill. "I never wanted... or needed... to try this. I was always carried, and never bothered questioning it."
He picks up one of the weapons looted to the gnolls. It's heavy, more than his bow, but Rukn feels strong enough to wield it. "Like the chrysanthemum, many ways of performing the same thing." He tries a pair of swings, and thanks Sarenrae that no one else is around. "Who knows... a lot of things seem to be relative right now."
Shooing these thoughts for now, he goes back to his friends to check if they're ready. "Alright, I think whoever's in that church has slept long enough. Shall we go?"
"As you can see," Alexander has just finished explaining to Kilarra, "I would require a scroll of power to attempt the act. Preferably two scrolls, one of the base level and one surpassing my own accomplishment; that way I could scribe the spell for a retry if the first attempt fails."
At Rukn's question, the old man nods curtly. "Yes. Let's go kill it."
"As you can see," Alexander has just finished explaining to Kilarra, "I would require a scroll of power to attempt the act. Preferably two scrolls, one of the base level and one surpassing my own accomplishment; that way I could scribe the spell for a retry if the first attempt fails."
[/ooc]
Kilarra nods, "When all of this settles down I will see what I can find for you. Thank you again.
With that Kilarra goes to help consolidate all the items that are in the area and scopes out a stall that she temporarily lays claim to with future aims of turning it into a small business for herself. She is careful to take the lessons learned from Katapesh to try and select the one that would have the best chance of being prosperous based upon positioning. Once that is done, she goes to check and see if Kardswan has awoken to where she could speak with him.
The next morning, Zhalet does not appear for breakfast at all. This is extremely odd since she is always up by sunrise for prayer. Nobody could possibility be more surprised by this than Zhalet is herself.
She awakens chilled and disoriented in a room she does not recognize. Frightened and thirsty, she is shaken even more to see that she is on a bare floor, naked and bloody. Her clothes are shredded, and her possessions are nowhere to be found. Worse, her mind is clouded with faint thoughts, or memories, of something terrible happening.
Zhalet stumbles from the room, and the from the building, clutching the remains of her clothing. The sun has risen and she sees she is quite alone, and since the top of the Battle Market is within sight, she realizes she is still somewhere in Kelmarane.
Zhalet makes her way to the river, constantly looking about in case whoever has done this to her might be returning for her. She sees nobody though. At the river Zhalet drinks for a long time, then washes herself as best she can.
No longer so thirsty, and with some time passed for her mind to clear, Zhalet is still convinced something awful has happened, but she realizes she is unharmed physically. In fact, except for some fatigue, she feels quite well. She does what she can with her clothing, tying together pieces so she is at least a little covered.
I must find Solomon.
Zhalet walks to the battle Market and slips inside. She doesn't feel ready to see the others, and cannot imagine what she might tell them to explain herself. Instead she quietly makes her way to Solomon's place and waits, knowing he will be unwilling to be without his weapons for long.
When he returns, Zhalet rushes at him. With disheveled hair and some blood still streaked on her face, she grabs him and asks him over and over "What happened last night? Who else is hurt? Is anyone dead?"
"What? No." he said tensing at being unexpectedly accosted, then relaxing as he started to realize the nature of what was happening. "Everyone is fine as far as I know."
"What happened to you?"
Zhalet sobs for a moment before she can answer. "I don't know. I woke in a building on the edge of town. I don't know how I got there. I was alone."
She lets go of Solomon and backs up a step, holding up her hands as she continues. "My clothes were shredded and cast aside. I had blood on me, mostly my arms and hands, but also my face. I could taste blood in my mouth. I don't think it can be my blood though. I'm not injured, and I used the last of my Gift before I slept so I couldn't have healed myself."
"Also, I can barely remember... But I had dreams, or... maybe memories. I can't be sure. There were lights, and screaming. I was chased. It was like I was being hunted. It's vague now. But if they were dreams, why am I like this now?"
"If they are memories, someone must have seen what happened. Others had to be there. I think something terrible happened. I think I might have been the cause. There was some meat caught between my teeth along with the blood in my mouth.... I don't eat meat."
Solomon listened, his face becoming grave. He thought back to the cat-man they had fought in the insanity mists of the dungeon of Nethys.
Reaching into a pouch he fished out a coin and handed it to her. "Hold this a moment."