"Once the fool finally did the smart thing and talked to me, I told him I'd need a bit of time to scrape the money together. Let him stay in my house and invited him to the festival, of course, but he was too good for, and I quote, 'backwoods hootenannies'." The Mayor spat to the side. "Gave him a locked coffer with the money in it the next morning and he headed off."
"Wow! Didn't he take any guards with him or anything? If not, that sounds really dumb." Fae actually stops and looks at the mayor for a moment. "Hmph." she says, "Why would anyone be that way? So rude!" she explains.
"Well, main roads aren't too dangerous." the Mayor said, nodding slightly. "Might be trouble out in other parts of the world, but 'round here, it ain't the monsters you need to worry about. Can't say I like them very much, but they do keep the peace. Wouldn't be surprised if a fellow like that just took the money and ran, though." He nods to the other villager as they set down the log. "You planning to stick around here 'till the festival begins?" He actually seems to welcome the idea - another pair of hands is always nice to have.
"Of course!" she says, brightly. "Im hoping to stay at your house, after all, and I'm interested in seeing this festival, so I don't know where I'd go, exactly." she adds, cheerfully.
Curious. she thinks.[i]I wonder if he's a good liar, the collector was a jerk, or that brother of the mayor's knew something more than he let on. Interesting.
Time ticks by, and you're able to see the area transform into a place of fun and excitement. Once midafternoon arrives, the preparations are complete - a massive bonfire is lit, and an impressively high number of tables and cloths are spread throughout the area. A space in the center has been cleared and surrounded by benches, while a fence has been set up to keep in a pig that's been herded inside. The Mayor tips his head to you as things get underway, and over a hundred villagers soon fill the area to partake in the games.
You may participate in any (or none) of the following events:
Dreamer's Leap (over the Bonfire) Falling Stars (Knife-throwing Competition) Raven Fights (Throughout the festival - multiple opportunities for minor wagers) Three-Legged Race (With a villager, since there are no other PCs) Greased-Pig Catching
Huh. Hexy has: 0 ranks of Acrobatics = -4 to a jump check, +2 to ranged attack rolls, no idea (but so far only rolling a natural 1) on gambling, 0 ranks of Acrobatics = -4 to balance check, and +4 grand total CMB (v. a greases +10 additional bonus against grappling). This place is rather thoroughly designed to not be up Hexy's ally, it seems. :) EDIT: It's pretty great! ;p
Fae looks around at the different events and decides to try her hand at all of them!
She's predictably atrocious at the dreamer's leap, but very pleased by the folk that come to help her. She is notably average at the Falling Stars, but does surprisingly well as the Greased-Pig Catching (though certainly isn't guaranteed success)!
Over all, regardless of anything else, she laughs, has fun, and enjoys both herself and the town.
Still, she keeps a careful eye out for anyone doing anything suspicious, but mostly just enjoys herself.
...you're not able to hit any of the further targets.
The rest of the day seems to move by in a blur, until you're finally ready to go after a greasy pig, grappling a creature as it tries to squirm, smacking its flesh agai- no, no, that is not the Proper. ...Probably.
Entering the ring, your natural talent for getting close to things serves you well, and you quickly manage to dive onto the pig and grab it. As you do, however, something changes... the frightened animal staggers slightly, then slumps downward, the light fading from its eyes.
An instant later, vine-like growths explode out of its body and the creature suddenly lashes out with a ferocious bite!
The hog's teeth sink into you as it thrashes, and the angry squealing is darker... more unnatural... and outright abyssal. Unfortunately, you don't have much in the way of knowledge about its type of being at the moment...
"I think something's seriously wrong with your pig!" she informs the rest of the town.
"Stay back! This thing's diseased somehow!" she warns.
Rolling over, she stands smoothly, taking a guarded position, and preparing to swing at the monstrosity the pig had become.
She carefully stays back (keeping her distance to avoid AoOs, if possible) and augments her wards with a shield of faith, AC now 20, divine favor, and weapons against evil and then moves forward, feintingly, only to bring Lucy to bear with all of her might!
If the pig gets another hit off on her, she's going to heal herself. 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4 If she needs a Concentration checks:
Concentration:1d20 + 2 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 2 + 4 = 11 shield of faith, total 20 AC
Concentration:1d20 + 2 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 2 + 4 = 11 divine favor, increase the attacks above by +1
Concentration:1d20 + 3 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 3 + 4 = 17 weapon against evil, ignore its DR, so long as it's not DR/epic
The pig glares, its beady little eyes focusing on you, before charging and biting for all it's worth. Unfortunately for you, your attempts at casting defensively aren't being very helpful...
By the time you're done casting your spells, the pig has struck you once - and you take a moment to heal before lashing out once more and attempting to bring it down. 18 HP
Fortunately, dodging is not the beast's forte, and a pair of solid hits manage to smash it into the ground, leaving you panting and injured. 7 HP.
400 XP.
The villagers look both shocked and disgusted by the event - though those on the far part of the festival don't seem to realize that anything happened, there were perhaps thirty witnesses to the event.
I'm not going to presume to do this again without permission, but given it's the least of the qlippoths, she's actually a reincarnated qlippoth, and I'm spending two mythic points to do so, I'm going to presume this and this (used on the cythnagot) will allow me to figure out what it is, exactly. I figure this is tied strongly enough into her back-story that otherwise it would feel like it breaks credibility.
Fae's eyes narrow, as she kneels down, and touches the creature, expending a portion of her power to gain insight into it.
"A cythnigot?!" she spits the word, ancient memory flooding back to her once more.
"Stay back!" she warns, "This... this thing is corrupted. Something - or someone... infected it with an extraplanar spore. It died and was... transformed... into... this." she mutters, squinting at it.
"Who did this to you...?" she asks the pig, softly, glancing around to ascertain anyone who may have been watching.
"Who did this pig belong to?" she asks, looking around.
If no one stops her, and she has time, she pulls out one of her vials and a dagger, and carefully attempts to scrape some of the spores from the now-deceased snapping jaw into a vial.
“We get things like this around here now and then — there’s bad magic in the ground here that the Dream Tender normally protects us from, but now and then, animals get the badness in them.” One of the villagers says... and with a few nods, they quickly gather around and drag the beast over to a fire before tossing it in and using the purifying power of flame to cleanse its body instead of leaving it to fester. Unfortunately, fire doesn't seem to do much to the body... and eventually they drag it to the river instead and simply toss it in, letting the current take it away from their lives.
The sun is starting to go down now, after the events have taken place - and from in off in the distance, you can hear the mayor yelling for people to gather together for the feast. The villagers seem to be recovering from the shock well enough - it's clearly not the first time they've seen such a thing happen.
As sundown approaches, the villagers light the bonfires lining the perimeter of the festival grounds, illuminating the area as the various preparations are drawn to the central tables, outspread quilts, and scattered benches. The feast itself begins without fanfare, as steaming-hot platters of the day’s labors are distributed among the families.
The Mayor eventually invites you to sit up at his table, along with the members of the council of elders and the others who won an event - despite the trauma of what happened with the hog, you did technically win in that event. Before anyone eats, however, the Mayor stands and bows his head. "Let us give thanks to the slumbering dreamer whose gossamer cloak protects us." he said, clearly and loudly enough for everyone to hear. With that, the night's feast begins.
Fae delightedly dives in, celebrating with the townsfolk, and enjoying being a part of them! It's nice, because it feels like home.
If Hexy is supposed to be doing something else, I really don't know what - the Perception and Sense Motive checks, the Knowledge checks, and the Charisma checks have all been made, right? Do you need me to re-roll stuff or leave it alone?
Various treats are soon brought out, and the villagers seem to take special delight in showing them to you, apparently trying to approve that "country" food is just as good as anything found in the city. There's a selection of delicious black mushrooms, crispy fried silkworms, smoked tick legs (from some truly large insects, it seems), and blood sausages made from the stacks of stirges. All in all, it's surprisingly tasty.
Once you've eaten, however, a beautiful young woman comes forth from the crowd, flowers decorating her shimmering blonde hair. Smiling, the girl begins to speak - and it isn't long before you realize she's relating the history of the village. One of the others at your table introduces her as Shel Lupescu, but your attention is soon drawn in.
The village of Ravenmoor was founded during the initial burst of colonialism when Tarsel was expanding, and families put down roots even before the Countess took over the lands. Yet where other cities flourished, Ravenmoor never progressed far beyond its rural beginnings, for in the early years the town was ravaged by what appeared to be a supernatural blight. With the villagers close to starvation, the town’s founder, a priestess of Desna named Iola Kriegler, decided to undertake a sort of vision quest to seek a solution to her village’s problems. After numerous trials and tribulations, she finally succeeded in obtaining the attention of the goddess, and the village was blessed with a comfortable degree of prosperity as a reward for Iola's efforts.
The villagers applaud as she finishes her story, and the girl smiles a bit bashfully before coming up to the head table. Another woman - apparently Shel's mother - bustles forward and grabs her daughter's arm. "Never a more deserving Feast Queen." she says. Shel just laughs.
"Mother! Come now, it's just something for the village." she turns to you a moment later, eyes sparkling. "I'm afraid I was in the barns earlier. Did you really fight a monster during the pig-catching contest?"
"Weirdly enough, yes!" she says, happily. "Unfortunately, I've had to learn how to defend myself on occasion... but I never expected to have to do so from that poor piggy!" she says, somewhat worriedly, but also with a hint of amusement in her eyes.
"Fortunately for me, Lucy brought me through!" she explains about her hammer. "She's been the only thing keeping me alive for... well, ever!" she says, readily.
She looks the girl up and down, smiling. "So... is the Feast Queen just for being pretty? If so, I might be jealous... if I didn't see you here, now!" she says.
Shel just smiled widely. "It's mostly just for being a good storyteller." she said - though her mother butted into the conversation a moment later.
"It's far more than that!" she said proudly. "The Feast Queen is selected by the mayor himself, and it's a fantastic position to hold! We couldn't be more proud of Shel." The girl in question just smiles... but keeps glancing towards you as she's literally dragged away to go talk with others. However, numerous villagers look like they're already preparing to leave - especially once the food is done.
"It's said that the Dream Tender is unusually active on nights of the feast, so we like to go to bed early." the Mayor explains as he finishes up his own meal. "If you're ready, I'd be happy to show you to your bed."
She gladly heads down to the house with the mayor, greeting people, shaking hands, and generally being quite jovial.
She genuinely liked the place, despite their fallacious claims of 'bad magic' - and she certainly planned on helping out around here. Nothing deserves an infestation of qlippoth.
She would gladly head up the mayor's house, greet his brother, and head to... whichever room... he suggested she... sleep in.
EDIT: the above is not to head off conversation along the way, but to give a general overview. Fae is energized, excited, and over-all quite pleased to be here. She doesn't go to sleep yet, however, as she has lots of things she wants to do before resting. Also, I'm probably going to die again. XD
Spells are daily things, so if you have any you'd like to use... like the Oracle's Cure Light Wounds... you could certainly put those into effect.
Eventually, you're lead to the Kriegler Manor (Map now at the top of the screen) and shown inside. The mayor shows you up the stairs (area J9) and nods calmly. "You can have any of the rooms here. They're all the same." he explains... and a quick check reveals this to be true. There are some framed beds covered by thin quilts, wooden wash basins next to pitchers of slightly smelly water, and four of the rooms have small windows looking out towards the river. None of them have locks.
She smiles, broadly. "Thanks!" she says, as she quickly hugs the mayor in a moment of impulse. "Oh, geez, I'm sorry!" she says, backing off the barest hint of a moment later. While she'd dried much during dinner, she was still slightly damp and still had a faint sheen left over from the pig, giving her a minor pearlescent effect, and slightly oily feel. Certainly pleasant feeling, and the 'slick' look could do wonders, but perhaps it was not quite as appreciated on others' clothes, exactly.
She examines the rooms.
"Red is definitely a great-looking color for me to wear." she says to the mayor, offhandedly. "And the room is more spacious!" she delights. "Would... I don't want to be rude, and I'm not entirely certain of the moors of the local customs here, but... would it be rude to take the larger room? I mean, sure, it'll be a bit lonely all by myself, but it's... nice, too,... especially to have... larger quarters..." she shudders involuntarily, briefly, thinking of how much time she spent in the small, small box, "- and I love the coloring!" she explains, enthusiastically, finishing.
Presuming it's okay - again, conversation can ensue before-hand
She squeals with delight, and runs over and leaps on the bed, causing it to squeak when she lands, heavily, and bounces a little.
She grins and snuggles into the bed, delighted in the feeling.
"Oh! ****-me! Right!" she says, and hops up, starting to remove her armor and loosen her belts.
Then, of course, Fae suddenly remembers. She glances at the still-open door with a mayor who is, by this point, probably quite shocked, or perhaps working on avoiding looking as much as possible. Maybe.
"****-me, ****-me, ****-me! I'm so sorry!" she explains, worriedly, and hastily heads over to the door to close it. "Soooorrrrryyyy~!" she explains again, as she closes it in his face. "Right! Weeeeellll... uh, g'night! Yeah! I'm just gonna sleep and not die of embarrassment in here or anything. Thaaaa~nks!" she calls out, unconvincingly. Stupid the Proper. It makes no sense!
Anyway, she locks her door, and continues getting mostly undressed, though she leaves a little on for emergency's sake, and takes the time to prepare everything to grab and put on quickly, regardless.
She then begins stretching and exercising... while giving the room an exceedingly thorough search-down, going through all her drawers (to put stuff away, of course), behind the dresser ("Oh, ****, my paper!"), under the bed, "Here's a good place for you, Lucy, right below me.") and every inch of the floor. She takes 20 on Perception to get 27.
While she does so, she uses infernal healing and inflict light wounds.
Infernal Healing: regain 10 hp over the course of a minute. Inflict Light Wounds:1d8 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6 Inflict Light Wounds:1d8 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10 Dang it! One point away from full healing with a sleep! Ah, well, at least she only needs to trance four hours, as she doesn't plan on lazing about, unlike when she rescued Marmael. Too much exciting and potential danger! Potential murder mysteries! How fun!
The then uses the last of her power to grant herself the abiltiy to keep watch even as she rested.
And then, delighted by the day, she flops onto the bed, content in the knowledge that, at any time, she could be assaulted by a creature from her home realm. It... was almost like being home again. Almost. So... sweet? Something like that, certainly.
The room is almost as it appears... almost. During your exceptionally thorough examination of the room, you uncover a small piece of paper. One side of the paper contains an order from the office of the Countess for the collection of 500 gp in back taxes from Ravenmoor, while on the other is a crude map of Ravenmoor with several buildings circled— the trading post, the weaver, the ferry, and Kriegler Manor.
Eventually, however, the door creaks open... and the Feast Queen, wearing little more than a thin, semi-transparent gown, sneaks in... looking delighted to see that you're still awake. "Oh, good." she whispers, grinning widely. "The mayor's such a prude... want to head out to the barn for some fun?" she asks, giggling quietly. "I want to see just how good at... wrestling... you really are."
Right! I forgot that there were no locks! You even said that right up there. Reading Comprehension! I have it! ... sometimes. (... oops.) Also, am I supposed to know anything about "the barn"? I don't really recall it, if I'm supposed to. Also, has Hexy rested for the night, or not?
Fae's eyes shine for a moment. "****-me, yes." she says, softly, hungrily, standing.
She blinks, then grins, coming to herself a moment later. Still speaking in a low voice, she adds, "But, quickly, close the door, and help me get some of my stuff together. I got attacked by the pig earlier - and apparently that just happens sometimes or something? -, and I wanna make sure that if anything comes after you, I can protect you. I'd be... delighted... if you helped me dress." she says, suggestively, starting to gather her pants and boots. She chuckles. "It may be weird foreign paranoia, but I believe in making sure my lover stays alive long enough to have fun." she jokes.
She stops, then steps close to the young woman, a hand on the small of her back. "Of course... on the other hand... we could just have fun now, and, if stopped, try to convince the mayor to join in here... I've heard that it's the quiet ones that can be the most crazy." she leans towards the girl's lips with her own, suggestively, hungrily. She also uses the opportunity to search for signs that she's been chemically altered in some way - Fae wants no surprises from this girl like the pig.
"With that old man? Ew. You're the only one in this house I want." Shel whispers hungrily - and you see no sign of illness or infection on her. "Anyway, I don't plan on leaving you with enough energy to carry heavy tools around... just take the light stuff, okay? Even if you are going to forget it in a few minutes." she says, wrapping her arms around your stomach before helping you get at least minimally dressed.
Fae actually laughs aloud. It... uh... it could be sexy. If you're, uh... into that sort of thing. (Most people would think it's a bit creepy, though.)
She grabs the girl, pressing up against the wall in a full-bodied kiss, before finishing with her pants, her boots, her switchblade (though subtly), and, of course, Lucy. Finally, she fishes a few bottles of some substance or another - "For some fun." she explains, winking, and tucks them in.
Sleight of Hand:1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20
So, can I tell anything about how she's feeling other than healthy? Beyond spells and mythic power being restored or not, I also need to know if Fae's rested to adjust her hp or not. I already adjusted her hp, but it needs to be three lower if she's not had the time. Also, Fae is substantially less worried about some sort of trap or ambush than I am*... or than Hexy, for that matter*. It's interesting that Hexy is kind of letting 'Fae' lead, here. So very dead. >.>
* Could be genuine, or just simple RP, but it's something about the way she went from "he's such a prude" to "ew, he's an old man" that kind of feels like this is "get the stranger alone and away from everyone" kind of situation. While I don't actually have any reason to suspect her, it's just one of those things that tingles at the base of my neck. "Danger! Warning! EEEHN! :D
She works on carefully sneaking down stairs with the girl.
It's close to midnight - you haven't restored your spells or any other daily abilities, though you have gotten two points of HP back.
Shel helps you sneak out - and even through the door to the bedroom, you can hear the loud snores of the mayor. Quickly and quietly, she brings you away from his house and a little further to the south. "The old barn is the best spot for some fun. More than half the village has used it, so nobody asks any questions if they see you going there." Shel giggled, sticking close to you and leaning over to whisper in your ear. "But that hammer's not the weapon I want you to pound me with." Before too long, however, she has managed to bring you closer to the barn in question. (Area K1 on the Chenowitz Place map up above.)
... what... is... that... brown...? Also, thanks for the info!
Fae laughs again, more freely this time. "Gracious, no!" she says, "I'd suspect not - not unless you've got some very unusual tastes!" she says.
DANGER! DANGER! EEENNHH! EEENNHH! WARNING! DANGER WILL ROBINSON!
Hexy (as opposed to Fae, who is almost fully controlled by H'ecks-pha-czu'whaugh at present) keep an eye out for raging qlippoth suddenly showing up from nowhere. Fae, on the other hand, is thoroughly entranced by the storyteller, the night, and the heat of the moment.
Perception:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23
EDIT: I know why it sets off so many alarms! It's exactly like something Hexy would do! That's it! That is totally why! Hah! Got it. Okay, carry on.
Growing plants. Think corn - taller than you and too dense to easily run through, very normal in a farming village.
"Well, a girl's got to entertain herself somehow." Shel whispers as she wraps her arms around you. Her arms tighten a moment later - and a faint buzzing sound is all you're able to hear before four creatures slam into your back.
One of the flying creatures quite literally bounces off, but the other three grab on tightly and lash out with their stingers, stabbing into you and starting to drain your blood. "Sorry, but someone has to die tonight... and I don't want it to be me." Shel whispers, letting go of you and leaping backwards.
And in your head, you can hear a little temptation... Need a hand?
Il’surrish tempts you with the ability to cast a Still, Silent Elemental Aura... but only if you use fire. Casting this will improve your relationship with chaos and decrease your relationship with Law.
Your move. Also, three points of constitution damage!
To be clear, unless the Stirges leave, this is pretty much what she's committed to doing no matter what. Stirges gotta go down, and then, sadly, the girl, and, in all probability, her parents.
The fourth stirge darts in again, attempting to grapple you the way the other four had.
Attack Roll (Touch):1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23
It connects solidly and injects its stinger, joining the others in working to drain your blood right in the middle of your first two-round assault...
Four points of constitution damage, seven points total - half your score. Are you sure you'd like to continue attacking instead of doing something else?
Yes. Hexy is in a state where... she really doesn't care right now. She's down by -2 hit points per level, or -4. She doesn't have any ability other than to tick creatures off to avoid this. She exists in a general state of weird acceptance - she works at not dying, but she's not going to be withering other gods for the privilege. She likes people too much.
As you flail about, trying to get the beasts off, they simply keep sucking away at your blood and rapidly draining you until, finally, your vision starts to go dark... and you collapse to the ground, unable to move anymore as your constitution is drained away.
000000000000000000000000000
So, they'd taken the outsider after all... not surprising. He'd been worried about the village for a long time, but this was the first time anything quite so overt had ever happened. With a sigh, Viorec looked down at the bow in his hands. It was an old weapon - and required considerable strength to use, so much so that very few men in the village could even bend it. What his father, and his father's father, and all his ancestors hadn't mentioned was that this bow was very special indeed.
If anyone asked him why he cared tonight, cared about an outsider... it wasn't her looks or her strange manner that drew him in. No, she'd been attractive, but so were many women - and he was more than satisfied with his wife. The problem was that the Feast Queens tended to leave the village or die in accidents soon after they got their position, and other people had been known to disappear as well.
One day, it could be him that vanished... and one day, it could be his son. The outsider - Fae - was strange, but she'd killed the monster that he knew hadn't been natural. She'd been kind enough to rescue Applesauce as well... and maybe, if he could help her recover from the kidnapping, they could expose the rot in this village and put an end to Ravenmoor's problems once and for all.
He wasn't a hero. He wasn't an adventurer. But nothing - nothing - would stop him from being a father and protecting his family.
Viorec Korzha
Male human brawler 4/slayer (sniper) 4/gestalt 4
CN Medium humanoid (human)
Init +4; Senses Perception +7
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Defense
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AC 17, touch 14, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +3 dexterity, +1 dodge)
hp 48 (4d10+8)
Fort +6, Ref +8, Will +1
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft.
Melee unarmed strike +7 (1d8+3)
Ranged +1 endless ammunition composite longbow +9 (1d8+4/×3)
Special Attacks brawler's flurry, sneak attack +1d6, studied target
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Statistics
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Str 17, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 10
Base Atk +4; CMB +7 (+8 disarm); CMD 22 (23 vs. disarm)
Feats Deadly Aim, Far Shot, Improved Unarmed Strike, Point-blank Shot, Rapid Shot
Skills Acrobatics +7, Bluff +7, Climb +6, Disguise +7, Escape Artist +7, Handle Animal +4, Heal +4, Knowledge (local) +4, Perception +7, Profession (farmer) +7, Sense Motive +7, Stealth +10, Survival +5
Languages Common
SQ ac bonus, accuracy, deadly range, knockout, martial flexibility, slayer talent (deadly range)
Other Gear wooden armor, +1 endless ammunition composite longbow, 130 gp
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Special Abilities
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AC Bonus +1 (Ex) When a brawler wears light or no armor, she gains a dodge bonus to AC and CMD.
Accuracy (Ex) Halve range penalties with bows, crossbows, and firearms.
Brawler's Flurry +2/+2 (Ex) Can make full attack & gain two-wep fighting, but only with unarmed strike, close, or monk wep.
Deadly Aim -2/+4 Trade a penalty to ranged attacks for a bonus to ranged damage.
Deadly Range (+10) (Ex) Increase the range at which you can make sneak attacks. (Second Bonus)
Deadly Range +10 (Ex) Increase the range at which you can make ranged sneak attacks.
Far Shot Halve the range increment penalty for extended range.
Improved Unarmed Strike Unarmed strikes don't cause attacks of opportunity, and can be lethal.
Knockout (1/day, DC 16) (Ex) Declare before attack, if hit then foe is unconscious 1d6 rds (Fort neg), resave each rd.
Martial Flexibility (Move action, 5/day) (Ex) As a Move action, gain a combat feat for 1 min. More gained for greater actions.
Point-Blank Shot +1 to attack and damage rolls with ranged weapons at up to 30 feet.
Rapid Shot You get an extra attack with ranged weapons. Each attack is at -2.
Sneak Attack +1d6 Attacks deal extra dam if flank foe or if foe is flat-footed.
Studied Target +1 (Move action, 1 at a time) (Ex) Study foe as a Move action, gain +1 to att/dam & some skills vs. them.
Viorec Korzha leaned down to the ground, watching.
He carefully aims at one of the stirges, regretting the necessity of the death of the beast - they knew little other than how they were raised, but these were meant to kill, and he needed to prevent this.
He stays hidden, and, ever-so-slightly, shifts to the right immediately after his attack.
5-ft. step, shouldn't apply any penalty to stealth.
Looking at Perception, and Stealth, as it's night time (unfavorable conditions for a perception check, so +2 to the DC to find him), and he gets a +1/10 feet distance bonus as well. It's a -20 to remain obscured with his stealth, due to sniping, but moving 5 ft. away from the location should be a solid "evade attackers" thing.
Stealth:1d20 + 10 ⇒ (1) + 10 = 11
Possibly with a +2 for night, and +1/10 distance; he's hiding in the brown stuff unless it's weirdly toxic or something - I'm guessing it's something like tall grass, fallowed fields (corn seems like it would be eerily appropriate ^_^), or burrowed fields.
EDIT: I HATE YOU STUPID ANTI-STEALTH DICE ROLLER. >:(
EDIT: For grammar, clarity, and minor editing of annoyance. EDIT: I just realized I don't know how far he is, and that affects whether or not he can get a good sneak attack off. I added the damage just in case. :/ (With that lousy attack and lousy stealth, I'm not sure this will be a longer fight than Hexy's.)
The arrow moves through the air and plunges through one of the stirges, carrying it away from the others and sticking it into the ground. Of course, the humans are quite preoccupied with dragging the body, and it's quite dark out on the whole...
Perception:1d20 - 1 ⇒ (14) - 1 = 13
...And they didn't actually notice the quiet takedown of one of their pets. The only real question that remains is whether it's worth trying to take them all down by force (your own villagers!) or sneaking into the building and trying to rescue the outsider when she's not quite so well-guarded...
He quietly settles back in, frustrated by his own mistakes, but now even interested. What could be so focused that they missed that? Most creatures would already be gone - long gone. Instead they seemed... obsessed.
The Chenowitz Place is an old, unhappy building... one that probably should have been torn down long since, even if it was a popular spot for lovers to meet. The three villagers - Shel and two in long, strange masks - drag Fae inside after no small amount of effort, locking the front door behind them. Fortunately, you've been in the area many times in the past, and know your way around. That front door is the only easy entrance to the building, but there's a hidden door out back that's not public knowledge in the village. That might be a good choice for sneaking in if the front door isn't an appealing option.
When the coast looks at least somewhat clear, Viorec carefully and slowly creeps up towards the the old Chenowitz place, to carefully check out what's happening within. Sure it was supposed to be haunted*, but that's child's talk... and possibly meant to keep folk away, now that it occurs to him. He heads around the back.
Still, he's going to get to the bottom of this... his wife and children would not be taken.
Perception:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24
* I hope you don't mind me filling in some back-story. I'm just guessing as to why it's not investigated more, and feel free to correct this misconception in an ooc, if that's what it is. :D
EDIT: SEE?! SEE?! The dice roller hates me stealthing! ;P :D
A small patch of reddish-brown plants grow here, reaching heights of nearly six feet in places. The plants grow thick, and periodically something within rustles the leaves and chitters.
However, you are able to locate the small, hidden door on the back of the house, which you know leads inside to a place where many mushrooms are grown. Most people haven't asked too many questions about that, since you haven't seen people looking like they're partaking of the things... but it does mean you'll need to be careful once you head inside. Fortunately, the door's never been locked.
To the south, this long room is empty save for a large mound of compost covered with tiny black mushrooms heaped nearly to the ceiling in the southeast corner of the room, while to the north, an old kitchen seems to have been repurposed into some sort of indoor garden. A workbench cluttered with pottery stills and glass alembics stands below small alcoves filled with vials and beakers. Dozens of clay vessels rest haphazardly on wooden boxes, each sprouting neatly-pruned shrubs or large, exotic mushrooms. They appear surprisingly well-tended, given the state of the rest of the building, though the roots of several have burst through their pots.
Also present here are four strange puffball-like spore cases, gray and the size of a man’s fist. A fifth case - empty - sits nearby.
He carefully, quietly moves by, giving most everything a wide berth, if possible - plants, pots, and devices of any kind.
He moves quickly, yet very carefully - he works at neither disturbing anything, nor getting too close. In the meanwhile, he carefully looks for any sign of what was done to the stranger.
A few sounds of movement can be heard from the next room - though, fortunately, your cautious stealth means that you're able to get right up to the side of the door without being noticed and glance into Room K3.
A cold hearth dominates this large room. Between the mostly collapsed internal walls and separate jumbles of crumbled furniture, it seems that this large room may have once been several smaller rooms. A rickety ladder leads to what looks like an upper loft above, visible through several large holes in the overhanging ceiling above. A large wooden cage sits in the southwest corner of the room - and inside of it, tied up and gagged, is the kidnapped visitor. She's looking healthier than before - stirges have been pets in the village for a long time, and people had long since figured out what to do for anyone who'd had too much blood absorbed.
There's one other person in the room - it looks like Shel, the Feast Queen, who's standing facing the cage. Her shoulders are a little drooped, and she seems far more listless - and distracted - than she usually is.
Sorry, but I'm having trouble reconciling what I'm seeing (there may be a few cues missing from the map). Where exactly is Korvec? It seems that he snuck into the building through K9 outside, entered K5, and is now in the "empty" area of K5 (on the right, aka NE) looking into K3? ... but the only stairs that I can see on the map is in K6? Is the cage near K4 or is the cage actually K4? Sorry - I'm just really having trouble visualizing what he's seeing!
He watches the girl carefully for a few moments, then, cautiously taking aim, attempts to quietly take her down without killing her.
This is a "non-lethal" attack against a flat-footed AC; this should suffice to hopefully take her down quietly but without killing her.
You're at the door between K5 and K3. K4 is the cage itself. The ladder is the small brown line in the middle of K3, leading to K8 - the stairs are back the other way.
The arrow strikes Shel - going barely above her head and knocking her without actually striking into her, an excellent shot by any measure. The crumples to the ground with a thump... and you hear a sudden hiss from up the ladder as a cultist - wearing a large, stirge-faced mack - looks down into the room, then lets out a sharp cry before quickly moving down the ladder and rushing over to her.
Carefully, he tries again. This time, he allows himself to hit the mark a little more solidly, though still going for a non-kill. He didn't know what capability these masked folk have - or even if they were villagers at all.
The Sneak Attack damage shouldn't be non-lethal, but the main arrow damage should be.
Stealth Snipe:1d20 + 10 - 20 ⇒ (16) + 10 - 20 = 6 EDIT: He should have at least partial cover, a +2 bonus due to bad circumstances for Perception, and a +2 to +4 bonus due to distance.
I just noticed that ranged weapons can't be switched to deal non-lethal... oh, well. Let's just say Viorec's a good shot. XD Or his bow can optionally form blunt, non-lethal arrows. Magic! It solves EVERYTHING! =D
The arrow stabbed into the cultist's shoulder, and you hear a sharp - and familiar - cry of pain as they whirl around.
He quickly whips his bow around, aims for the meaty part of the thighs, the better to ensure they don't kill. He takes several steps into the room to gain a better shot.
"Now here's how things're gonna work." he explains, evenly, with no bravado or other attempts. This was simply how things were. "You're gonna drop th' mask and weapons, lay down, and do some talkin'. I ain't int'rsted in killin', but I ain't gonna let you do somethin' that we're all gonna regret." he warns, evenly.
The words might have been more helpful if the lady in question hadn't fallen unconscious after the second strike - too much nonlethal damage can do that to a person, and those arrows are quite effective. Had they failed, a good punch might've done the trick to drop them down. The room is clear, though the outsider is still bound up in the cell... and there's no telling how long it will be before more cultists arrive. ...How many of them are in this village, anyway? It couldn't possibly be just Shel and her family...
Oops! Somehow, despite it being the character's name I'm playing now, I read "Viorc" as the mother's name, and interpreted "the Enemy" as another one. My bad! (In case you couldn't tell, my concentration is still a little "off".)
He grimly and quickly heads over to the downed girl and her mother, checking for any weapons or other tools, and removing the mask to be sure he was correct in his presumptions of whom, precisely, he was dealing with.
If he finds anything to open the cage with - keys, or something else similar, he'll use it to do so immediately. EDIT: Any weapons he finds, he'll keep, and he'll quickly unlock mancles or cut through any ropes binding the foreigner.
It doesn't take too long to find the keys to the outsider's cell - they may not have been planning to keep her very long, and it's definitely Shel's mother beneath the mask. In just a few moments, the cage had been opened... and she's definitely alive right now, if still less than totally conscious. It would be best if you could wake her up so she could move on her own - especially if there are more cultists to face - but either way you're going to need to get out of here relatively quickly. Sadly, the broken sickle doesn't seem like much of a weapon... and it's probably not worth keeping when your bare hands are deadlier.
