Happy Easter!
And yeah. Still stalled.
:(
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Anna takes her mind off the tragedy unfolding by talking the trade with Ramoska. There's obviously an instinct to remain cagey about Guild business, but this is different. Living underneath the law, there's always an undercurrent that it could all come crashing down in an instant. The forces of law, the rich and powerful, one wrongly-placed word and you could open yourself up to total destruction. Ramoska had lived that unspoken fear. But then, so had Anna. She found camaraderie with him that she hadn't felt since her old crew had suffered a similar fate. Sole survivors -- except that Ramoska, too, was dead. He just needed to finish the job. Anna steps back after exchanging her favorite stories, the ones she couldn't let a paladin's ears hear, and listening to his. When the rays of the sun crest the horizon, she looks away.
Rannik's last post was December 11. :(
still here
Thank you! Merry Christmas!
Yeah, sorry to hear that. Hope you get better soon!
"Takes a liar to know a liar. And he is, just not right now," Anna observes. She glances over at Andjela. "And besides, he's asking for death. The real one. Doesn't seem like a 'save your own hide' situation he's in."
Anna's eyebrows go up. "They destroyed the thieves' guild? That's so sad." She takes a side step away from her companions. "Say, uh, before you see that sunrise, you got any hideouts that aren't compromised? Or, you know, rainy day stashes?"
Oooh, botting the game master! Welcome back! Andjela found a holy avenger and Tolvan recovered a staff of the magi since you were gone! And as for Queen Anna, you'll never guess... (Seriously, get feeling better!!)
Anna folds her arms and scowls. "Did 'they' include a woman vampire?" She describes the vampire spellcaster from their vision. Not inclined to believe even a chained-up vampire, she studies him for signs of falsehood and to see what he's thinking.
"My vote is we go to Stenen's place to rest up real quick, then we hit the Abbey before the sun sets. He's already had his place attacked once; I'd hate for him to face reprisal while we're not there." She collects and reloads her crossbows. "Last door first, though." She goes up to it and checks it for traps, then opens it if it's clear.
"Yeah. They give parasites a bad name." Anna takes part in the proper disposal of the vampires, then goes through the loot with joy. She tries on the circlet of persuasion, liking how it seems to enhance her way with words. "Lovely."
Anna's got a cloak of elvenkind and three rings -- the ring of limited invisibility, a +1 ring of protection and a ring of mind shielding. She wears the ring of mind shielding during social situations and the ring of protection during combat. Swapping cloaks seems a lot more cumbersome, so I haven't tried that because Anna prefers being sneaky. So I don't mind if Andjela takes the +2 ring.
Huh? It's a circlet of persuasion. It gives a +3 bonus on Charisma-based checks. I don't think it adds anything to smite or saves. You might be thinking of a headband of Charisma.
If Sonny doesn't want it, Anna'd love to have the circlet! She'll use it more for Bluff and Intimidate, but those are the best ways to persuade people! (In her mind)
I'd say a rest would vastly improve our chances of surviving the upcoming fights.
"Stake first, ask questions later," Anna says as she squeezes through the hole the instant it's wide enough.
She then gleefully drives a wooden stake through each vampire's heart. "Okay. I feel much better now." She then follows Sonny's suggestions and searches the bodies for valuables and checks out the sewer grate.
Anna perks up a bit after Sonny uses the wand. "Better. I don't want to sleep for a week anymore. Just a day or two." She points to the place where the opening should have been. "Look here. This spot's been walled over. Doesn't look very sturdy. A few good whacks should knock it in."
With her wounds healed, Anna feels marginally better but she still moves lethargically. "Sure, secret walls. Lemme look."
Anna leans against the wall and pants in her supernatural exhaustion. "This is... this is gonna go away, right?"
Anna looks for a cloud of mist to follow.
Anna hisses as she drops back away from the burning line of fire. She swears mentally as she's cut off from their foes, and she's forced to decide whether to jump through the fire or wait for the damned thing to go away. She whispers through the message spell. "I'm on the other side of the fire! What should I do?"
Remember Danica gets a +4 to flank and shares it.
Still thoroughly exhausted but under the invisibility of her ring, Anna laboriously cranks her heavy crossbow and sets a silvered bolt into its notch. She steps to the side so she's not in the spot where the cranking took place.
Anna wheezes, suddenly thoroughly exhausted. Her muscles feeling like jelly, she doesn't feel up to wading into the thick of combat. She decides to be sneaky instead and activates her ring to go invisible. She scoops up her heavy crossbow as she rises to her unsteady feet.
Talking to them might work if they were the old establishment vamps, but I have a strong suspicion that these are the Way vamps so they won't be interested in parlaying. I hope our ally Quinley pulls some weight because an exhausted Anna is a ineffective Anna. I won't be of much help from here on out.
Anna falls down and is fatigued twice (or is that exhausted?) "Gaah! Give me... a minute..."
Anna suddenly recognizes the apparition as something out of her nightmares. She glares daggers at the vampire spellcaster. "Oh, I will KILL you for that!"
"Oh, gods! It's the vilkacis!" Anna shrieks in abject terror. In a blur her mithral dagger is in her hand and she slashes desperately at the spectral undead hallucination, hoping desperately to keep it at bay before it possesses her again and turns her into a ravening beast.
Anna lets her crossbow clatter to the floor and she points at the vampire directly in front of her with a quick spell. An icy blue ray shoots the vamp before he can react.
Anna nods and checks the door quickly for traps. Assuming it's safe to open, she does so as her magical sandals activate. She doesn't waste time, firing off a bolt at the nearest figure without hesitation.
Anna checks her heavy crossbow and motions for the others to join her at the door.
Happy 4th. I'm spending it in the country from which we broke away.
Voices arguing is too much for Anna's curiosity to ignore. She moves down the corridor so she can overhear the words being said.
Anna brings up her shield as she steps lightly down the corridor. She peeks around the corner deftly while listening for signs that the underground chambers are occupied.
Anna stares into the darkness and curses mentally at her lack of an ability to see without light. She slips back to the others. "Found the way down. It's not lit, so I'll need a torch or something. So I might as well have the rest of you come along." She guides them in through the same path she took, and stops at the stairs leading down. She brings up her magical shield and gets ready in case they're detected as soon as they start descending the steps.
Anna studies the entrance for traps first, then makes an effort to bypass the lock if she spots none. Her first effort doesn't work, but she centers cracks her knuckles, and gives it another go.
Anna smirks, then flips up the hood on her cloak. She steps into the long, deep shadows created by the last light of the day and moves up to the museum.
She then listens at one of the windows for signs of anyone being within nearby, and if she hears nothing, she'll check for traps, bypass any lock or hazard, and slip inside.
Anna reluctantly nods, realizing that she's risking a lot on the chance that these people would know anything. She still hated taking the risk that the vamps would float in here and suck their blood, but she forces her imagination to stop running wild. Sighing, she thinks about the document that gave them a secret Whispering Way location. A part of her wonders if she shouldn't keep that secret for just a little while longer, so they could go fight some of the "established" vamps as part of payback for not agreeing to her deal. Or kicking up her heels and letting the Way take out a few more for whatever stupid reason they have. "All right, fine. But then we're taking that tapestry. And the magical footwear. I know I've already got my own, but come on. What girl doesn't need shoes for every occasion?"
Well, I'm trying to not do it on purpose. The problem I'm seeing looming very soon is our next move. I mean, we've looted the place and maybe there are clues somewhere in the documents to our next target, but I'm concerned that we need the info from the thralls to keep the AP moving. Because I'm worried that if we don't have a clear next target, we could take another month or more trying to decide if we hit a Way location or a vamp spot. And we'll be guessing, crossing our fingers that we pick one the AP has set up for us.
Anna points to the unconscious people, shaking her head. "And if the temple is a front for vampires looking to keep their little operation secret? They're dead." She scratches her chin in thought for a moment. "Can you teleport them to the old mansion we cleared out? That would be a good place to lay low and figure out our next move. Safer than Stenen's, for sure. At least, safer for Stenen."
Anna chews her lip in thought for a moment. "Shouldn't be hard to carry them with us. This is a clothing store. Wrap them up in some cloth and carry them out like you just made a purchase of a bunch of fabric." She walks over and grabs the arm of one of the frightened customers and drags her into view of the room with the charred demon corpses. "Bad stuff has been happening in this store," she tells them, "and it's worse in the basement. You want to live? You stay quiet. And shop someplace else" She turns back to her companions and gestures to the unconscious store workers. "We need to know what they know. We should take them with us." Anna then starts combing through the store's ledgers for more information about the vampires' operation.
Anna smirks as powers of pure Good incinerates the demons. She spits on the charred corpse, then heads out to check the sales floor. "That's weird. What's going on with them?" If there are any people left standing, she'll eye them suspiciously.
"Ow!" Anna yelps when the demon bites her. Without a flanking partner, she's not as effective but she still tries to pay the demon back for biting her.
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