"Uh, wow, far out, man. Let's go out the secret exit, so we don't have to deal with the whole cauldron thing."
Jym looks sharply at Uro for growling, but when he's met with the orc's blank stare, sudden realization dawns on his face. He self-consciously pats his belly as the growling dies down and turns back to Nameless Thug.
"A cauldron, you say? What's that for? Is there a cultist pot luck going on?"
Could Jym be having second thoughts?!
"No, man, the water pit with the croc that you guys came in. Never mind."
He grabs a stepladder from the corner, obviously used to hang the practice dummies from the ceiling here, and starts back towards all the "secret" circular rooms. Inside one of them, he opens the ladder and says, "It's, like, really hard to open from down here -- usually we come in that way, and go out by boat or something past the devil rays. But if one of you guys is strong enough--" eying Uro-- "You can shove the whole ceiling block up. It opens into the back room of the Taxidermists' hall."
Uro rolls up his non existant sleeves, climbs the stepladder and begins to push.
The burly orc has no problem moving the slab -- looking at the thief's spindly arms, it seems that rum is obviously no substitute for protein, when it comes to building muscle.
It opens into a narrow hall built of rickety old pine boards; the "secret" door at the end is almost painfully obvious from this direction.
Jym notes the location of this new secret door and will follow Face-Smasher up the ladder, leaving nameless thug down below with Gut-Ripper and Death-Wizard.
Once into the hallway, Uro will push the secret door open. "Hopefully this will get us straight out of here."
It opens into the main Guild hall. There's a sneer-y looking guy in a green hat (he looks like THIS), working on mounting a stuffed mongoose; he frowns exaggeratedly as the secret door opens and knocks over a crate full of stuffing. Upon seeing you, he starts to babble something in an unknown language. However, it's quite clear the opening of the secret door from your direction was totally unexpected, and his reaction to it is almost comically slow.
Jym's eyes narrow in concentration as he tries to discern what language the sneer-y looking guy is speaking and what he is generally saying.
"Hi! Our friend is escorting us through here! He's coming up, right now! You might know him since he lives here, too!"
Calling back through the doorway, "Hey! Send our new friend up!"
Elebrin trundles along somewhat unknowingly as far as what to do next...
Jym's impression is that it's some kind of fake Latin or something. Combined with the silly hand gestures he starts a moment later, your money is on it being a spell of some kind.
Jym's impression is that it's some kind of fake Latin or something. Combined with the silly hand gestures he starts a moment later, your money is on it being a spell of some kind.
!!!
"Is that a great northern mongoo... Hey, what is this guys saying?"
Jym's impression is that it's some kind of fake Latin or something. Combined with the silly hand gestures he starts a moment later, your money is on it being a spell of some kind.[dice=Spellcraft]1d20+5
Jym has no idea what the guy is babbling about.
Elebrin peeks around the others to consider the casters actions...
The elf scrunches up her face, Oh ah he is um about to...
Elebrin figures out that the guy is turning invisible a second before it happens. At that point, Jym is still explaining what good friends you all are with your new friend and therefore his friend, too -- Jym probably finds this interruption a trifle rude, but at least the man in the green hat provides a polite response:
"Who are these very nice people you've brought up, Young Tom? Is it an important message they be bringing? Please forgive my appearance -- er, lack of appearance -- 'tis not often we receive guests up the back way! Nemien Roblach, Master Taxidermist, please-ta-meetcha."
Gwlybwr is at the base of the ladder behind your captive, to ensure he doesn't escape or try anything tricky.
"Jym Wythawye, and the pleasure is all mine! It's always exciting to meet someone who is an expert in their field of work! Halflings don't make very good taxidermists, I'm afraid. Too much empathy! Although my Great Step-Aunt Pelvis Grandgibbs once hired a traveling taxidermist to preserve her beloved yet departed jackalope named Johnwood. That 'lope was the orneriest antlered hare you ever saw, but Great Aunt Pelvis loved him despite all of the attempted shin stabbing. Johnwood died from complications related to demonic possession. Not his own, but still... tragic.
"Anywho, we've already delivered our message down below! We're being escorted back out. Tom did mention that this is more of an entrance than an exit, but he accidentally implied that my friend here might not be strong enough to move that ceiling block all by himself, and, well... orcs will be orcs! Ha ha!"
Or a result of 22 for what's actually become a fairly audacious Bluff...
"Oh, haha, what whimsy! Never dare an orc -- that's how we got the baby elephant over in that corner..."
He becomes visible again, and adds, "Sorry for the over-reaction; can't be too careful. The deuced Lotus Queen keeps putting us on high alert, then taking it off again... It is off now, right? Because I understood that Vanthus had trapped those meddlesome kids under Parrot Island. Ha ha!"
Elebrin raises a finger as though to ask a question and then puts her hand down, suddenly realizing it would be a bad time to do so.
"Oh, haha, what whimsy! Never dare an orc -- that's how we got the baby elephant over in that corner..."
He becomes visible again, and adds, "Sorry for the over-reaction; can't be too careful. The deuced Lotus Queen keeps putting us on high alert, then taking it off again... It is off now, right? Because I understood that Vanthus had trapped those meddlesome kids under Parrot Island. Ha ha!"
"Yes, it's off, I believe. But I would think everyone knows by this point not to trust Lord Vanthus. Is that the way Tom is taking us?"
Jym points to the most apparent (only?) way back to the streets of town.
Nemien 'Green Hat Guy' Roblach purrs, "Why, it must be so. Where are you headed, anyway, Young Tom?"
The kid with you finally loses his temper and yells, "I'm BRANNAGAN! Young Tom got stationed in that closet with Nasty Luke. Dude can't even talk right; he sounds like a freaking pirate or something. He's probably sleeping on the job right now, the lucky bastard."
"Ah, well, whatever. You lads all look like catamites to my eye." Master Roblach begins to look Jym up and down in a disconcerting manner.
Gwl finally reaches the room as the petuant thug has his little outburst. Cautioned by the mage's assumption of their Parrot island imprisonment, he took a moment to secure his hood before entering. He folds his arms in his sleeves and stays silent, though he does give Green Hat an inquisitive stare that lingers as he passes, watching for any sign of recognition.
One peek past the hood indicates Gwl's nonhuman appearance, and you can see the surprise replaced by fear in Roblach's face, before he struggles to get it under control. All this interferes with his ability to react quickly to this unexpected development...
The young punk, on seeing Roblach's face, is instantly aware that the ball is about to drop, and tries to jerk his sword.
Gwl reacts as fast as he can, lunging at the finger wiggler with his spear.
Master Roblach begins to look Jym up and down in a disconcerting manner.
Quickly plucking a few key notes on his fiddle, Jym casts vanish, and then moves to stand 5 feet behind Nemien Roblach.
Jym reacts very quickly and very stealthily. However, he underestimates how hard it is to perform proper somatic gestures while moving around a battlefield, and settles for becoming invisible and then being very quiet.
Uro attempts to lop off the arm of young Brannagan before it can draw a sword.
RAGE!!
Jym is the first to react, making himself invisible -- possibly for defense, or maybe just to sneer at Roblach for cancelling his own? Anyway, he's soundless and, in the general press of things, will be very hard to detect.
Brannagan draws his rapier, something like determination on his face. His aim was to kill Jym, but with the halfling gone, he settles for the terrifying apparition that Gwlybwr represents to him:
His fear -- or change of target -- interferes with his aim, and he fails to connect.
Gwl wastes little time attempting to stab Roblch in the face, but the latter's inadvertent recoiling in shock at the fish-man's appearance also saves his life. In response, he quickly babbles a spell, trying not to be killed as he does so:
A discordant spray of brilliant color erupts from Roblach's hands, catching Gwl and Jym (who had the misfortune of facing the guildmaster before things went south) in its cone.
Uro, with a quick chop of his axe, removes Brannagan's arm - and the impetus thereafter is sufficient to lodge the axe in the boy's torso. Young Brannagan most likely be dead in less than a minute.
Elebrin had stood back, watching the mayhem, but can now act as she chooses.
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Without a sound, Jym slumps to the ground. Uro, I know he's invisible, but please don't step on him.
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"Flrbl!"
Gwl drops like a poled ox.
Elebrin goes a bit wild eyed in the chaos but nonetheless has the presence of mind to spit at Rolbach and push at him with an arcane gesture of her own as acid flings at the man...
Roblach starts at the acid to the face, but is at least intelligent enough to realize that Uro represents a more immediate threat to his life. He tries to babble a spell despite the menace looming over him:
Ripples of colorful light, like the aurora borealis, begin to swim through the air around the orc, and stretch back to fill the air around Elabrin as well.
Uro growls then begins to look at the pretty lights..
As he realizes what is happening, Uro locks eyes with Roblach and bares his tusks. A look of fury hardens his face.
"GIVE. UP. NOOOOOWWW." The orc screams at the man.
The tricky guildmaster very nearly shrugs it off, but having seen Uro demolish the young thief with so little effort, he's cowed by the mighty orc. Holding up one hand, he carefully removes a small pouch from his belt with his other and places it on the floor, saying "Very well; these are my spells. Spare me and refrain from using me as I'd have used Young Brannagan over there, and I'm sure we can work something out. The midget and the sahuagin (or whatever it is!) will wake up soon, and the pretty lights will dissipate in a few seconds."
Elebrin moves with haste to take up the pouch, offering a sharp look at Uro to guide their next actions...
"Good choice" the orc growls. "We won't be taking chances though." Uro pulls out his rope and ties up Roblach. If the man is foolish enough to resist; lights out.
Roblach makes no complaint. Uro's skill at survival has given him some insight into Boy Scout knots and the like -- handy for wilderness craft and tying up hogs, but he's not really adept at knowing whether they're escape-proof for humans.
Overall, the threat of instant cleaving death by axe seems more likely to keep the wily guildmaster from getting loose.
Elebrin, glancing into Roblach's pouch, sees that it contains a bunch of silly stuff that you'd expect to find in a child's arts and crafts box: wax crayons, sand dyed in bright primary colors, a prism, a few sticks of incense, some gum arabic (whatever that is), a few handfuls of wool.
Once Roblach is all tied up, Uro whacks him in the back of the head with the haft of his great axe.
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"Zzzzzzzz..."
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Elebrin scrunches up her face at the contents but decides to keep the pouch. She could perhaps ask her mother about...and then potentially suffer some sort of protracted disdain for the next five years that her daughterly magical acumen did not account for such a thing being oh so common to certain wizarding types and...
Elebrin shakes her head back to the here and now and looks over at her unconscious companions and tries to feebly rouse them.
The orc shrugs and says a bit sheepishly, "Sorry Roblach."
Uro looks to Elebrin. "This is a taxidermy shop, right? Lets look for any large sacks or crates. Maybe something that stuffing and supplies might come in? Looking for something big enough to fit 'ol Roblach here, so we can bring him somewhere less populated for interrogation."
Looking around the guild hall, you see a big front room where they can greet patrons and so on, which doubles as a showroom -- Jym was correct when he identified that as the way out. You're currently in back, in a work room, and there's an adjoining supply room -- which has everything Uro was looking for an then some.
As you're looking around, a bunch of bells chime from the direction of the front, and you hear a door opening. Someone yells, "I say! Is anyone about? I'm here to pick up my giraffe!"
The halfling and the half-fish groggily come to their senses. Unfortunately, those senses include only four rather than five; they seem to be blind.
Luckily, that seems like it will go away soon.
Comically waving his hands in front of his face like he's a terrible mime, Jym murmurs, "Uro! Elebrin! One of you guide me to the customer!"
Elebrin blanches at possibility of a blind Jym but takes up his arm and guides him out to the main shop...