Sollus Cornelian's page

Chagrined, after his previous distraction by the quality of the meal, Sollus nods, A wise choice, to concentrate on matters of life and death, over simple comforts.

Knowledge (local) 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24

Sollus stands, a bit more leisurely than the Sergeants abrupt snap to attention, and after the Field Marshall has said her piece, bows to the new arrival,

"Master Orisini, your swordsmanship is legendary. I only hope that the information you have provided us allows our investigation to strike as true as your blade."

"Given that I've spent the last hour carrying a bloody bundle of human flesh that was butchered for human consumption, I find that the sight of meat does not stir my appetite this day." Sollus says drily.

Sollus forks his meat over onto the Sergeant's plate, and eats only the bread and the apple.

Eyeing the less-than-ripe apple, he mutters under his breath, "Hail the conquering heroes..."

Yeah, that's right, first he's unhappy that they are going to break for lunch, now he's unhappy that lunch is meagre! Obviously, there's no pleasing him today. :)

Sollus is unhappy with the disrespect shown to the dead, but swallows his commentary and cleans himself, in preparation for what will surely be a harrowing meal.

What sort of madwoman would think that the proper response to wading through a gore-soaked abattoir, filled with dismembered human remains, is to take a break for lunch? he rants to himself, while scrubbing his hands futilely, attempting to wash away the memories as readily as the tangible remains.

If he can find a messenger, he sends a short missive to the Bank of Abadar, in North Point, alerting his superiors to the need for a *discreet* investigative and funerary presence at the butchery, stating in obscure terms many remains will require removal, and suggesting that the Grand Cathedral of Pharasma may well become involved, as these matters fall within their purview, although it wouldn't be *his* place to contact them directly.

Basically he leaves the decision as to whether or not to foist this off on the Pharasmans to his leadership, instead of taking the initiative and going over his superiors heads and contacting them directly.

Perhaps such matters are already being tended to, but he does not wish to take the chance, as it seemed that punishing the guilty was the primary focus of the leadership, instead of ministering to their victims.

Sollus produces both the documents Panish refers to, as well as a stained cloth containing the most visibly human(ish) of remains, visibly pale as he presents the grisly remains.

I recommend that these unfortunates, and the remains of many others at the scene of the butchery, be given a proper burial, even if we do not know their names, to stave off their possible return as vengeful spirits... he says, his tone suggesting that his 'recommendation' is not, in his view, optional.

Sollus takes a swipe with his morningstar, having given up on nonlethal damage and attempting to brain the mocking miscreant.

1d20 + 3 ⇒ (13) + 3 = 16
1d8 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

Given the force he puts behind the swing, it's hard to tell if he's really got his heart in it...

Sollus accepts that Aliandra has the better idea, and instead attempts to merely harry the foe, distracting him from Drakus' attack.

Aid Other, DC 10, add +2 to Drakus' roll, if successful 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23

Doh. Ain't that a kick in the head!

Attempting to take advantage of his new flanking position, Sollus takes another swing with his morningstar, still pulling his blow, calling upon the patience of the Great Builder to avoid the foes taunts and remain calm.

"Turn yourself in, save yourself needless suffering, both now and in whatever dark place awaits your soul. If you live, you may yet earn redemption in this life from the fires below."

Nonlethal morningstar attack 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (14) - 1 = 13
nonlethal damage 1d8 ⇒ 5

Sollus makes a small adjustment to his position, hoping to at least serve as a distraction, unlimbering his mace and attempting to strike the man a nonlethal blow.

5 ft. step to attempt to provide someone with a flanking bonus. No greater movement, because he doesn't want to provoke an AoO.

Nonlethal morningstar attack 1d20 - 3 ⇒ (1) - 3 = -2
nonlethal damage 1d8 ⇒ 7

Hahahah! I rolled less than zero! I RAWK!

Initiative 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19

Once Sollus can see the straggler, he steps forward to within ten paces of the man and utters a incantation, commanding him in a firm tone to, "Approach!"

Command spell, Will DC 14 to resist.

Sollus dashes in pursuit of the Sgt., hand free for spellcasting as he scans the area for the hiding man.

Perception 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23

Sollus follows, readying himself to call upon the lawful authority of his patron, to find and apprehend this scofflaw.

info for next round

"A good suggestion, Sergeant. We should close up the doors here as we leave."

Sollus makes sure to secure the papers that clear Vancaskerkin of complicity with these butchers of men.

"These papers should prove your innocence, sir. The full weight of the law must fall only upon the guilty."

Sollus grabs up the various items found (marked as party treasure in profile), taking a moment to examine the papers on the desk (particularly the page pinned to the desk by the silver dagger), before adding them to the items collected.

He transfers the humanoid bits of hand and skull he has identified to one of the ratty blankets from upstairs, along with severeal clearly humanoid bones from the boar pens.

Coming back into the room with Sergeant Drakus, grisly impromptu satchel held high, he produces the ledger and the crossed-off names, speculating aloud, "I suspect they were getting rid of bodies for a group of hired killers. Perhaps they even were assassins themselves, although they certainly didn't see so. Still, the one named Parn has escaped, so we should be wary of an ambush as we attempt to bring this information," he points at the bag of human parts, "and evidence, to the Steward. It is in the interests of this gang to kill us, or, at the very least, get this ledger and these human remains away from us..."

He takes the ledger and reads a few names aloud, attempting to commit them to memory, before wedging it beneath his chain shirt, against his belly, so that it will be difficult to wrest away from him.

My fault, really, I jumped the gun on declaring the place a bust, which threw the posts off.

Sollus finds a loose bit of cloth, perhaps the tunic of the guard who killed himself, and uses it to bundle up some of the more recognizable humanoid fragments to present as evidence of what has transpired here.

No worries. I was wondering if we'd miscommunicated something!

"I can check again, but I fear that I have over-reacted."

Sollus will check some of the meat he'd failed to identify earlier, poking at it with a crossbow bolt as he turns it over. He mutters an invocation to Abadar to focus his will, and cuts into it with a dagger, to examine deep within the cut of meat.

Cast Guidance for +1 to roll. 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20

Sollus is probably in a ridiculously long action, what with all the searching. If he finds a dude with a crossbow, he'll go all high-noon on him with his own crossbow. :) Anywho, been almost a week since the search, so time to move on and have Sollus eat some crow.

Sollus returns from his search empty handed, with a sheepish look. "Uh, there's nothing back there. Just dead animal parts and some awful smells and I'm never eating meat again, but nothing illegal at all..."

He seems very embarassed by the whole thing, having made a fool of himself busting in here. "Could the marshal have been wrong to send us here?"

Sollus moves into the larger room, and is drawn to the grill in the floor, peering down, if possible without touching anything, in an attempt to see if anything has been hastily thrown down there.

Perception 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14

Afterwards, he examines the bucket of 'parts,' Perception 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19 doing his best to suppress a bout of nausea, before moving out into the hallway, and towards the hallway again to catch his breath.

He then examines the last set of double doors on the north wall of the largest room. B5 And then into the open paddock to the west, where he flips through the straw in the wagon first, to see if anything is hidden within it, Perception 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20 and then peers into the corral to see if the piles of straw could be concealing anything. Perception 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23

He *knows* that something is missing, because these people just bought some sickly-looking animals not more than ten minutes ago, and they don't seem to be in evidence...

Hearing the call that someone remains, he calls back, "There's no one else in this building, that I can see." before turning back to the individual animal pens, to see if there is some hatch in the floor beneath the straw covering the floor in those rooms. Perception1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14

Sollus checks any meat on the hooks, to see if he can tell what it came from, and then sizes up the room to see if there is anything 'off' about it's dimensions, suggesting a hidden compartment.

Heal to recognize the source of any meat present 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15
Knowledge (architecture / engineering) to note anything hinky about the room 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21

Afterwards, he'll move towards the barred door and, turning towards Aliandara to see if she has any objection first, open it.

Sollus will head into the first door he sees B3 , crossbow re-loaded and at the ready, looking for signs of something that justifies the over-the-top store invasion he's just helped perpetrate...

Having heard the sound of chopping from outside, Sollus assumes that the 'meat' has to be somewhere in one of these rooms, so he continues to look around.

I don't have a clear idea what this building looks like, but he'll stay on the ground floor, assuming that nobody wants to haul animal (or other) carcasses up to the second floor to do any butchering, both because it's unecessary work, and because the blood would seep through the floor anyway.

Sollus peers around for anything that might serve as a rope, and settles on the belt of the man who took his own life, stripping it expressionlessly off of the fallen man and handing it to Marra, to use as a binding.

He continues to look around for any sign to confirm (or refute) his grim suspicions of earlier regarding the source of the 'meat,' and is doing so in a somewhat frantic manner, beginning to think that he has made a fool of himself with these outrageous and sensationalistic assumptions...

Whether the man needs stabilization or not, Sollus will make a gesture, as if wiping away paint, while calling upon Abadar's grace.

casting Stabilize, which will fail if the dude is already dead

He moves forward, peering around for signs of the 'meat' that is being prepared by these men.

Sollus realizes that the others seem to be holding back, but still believes that these men are up to heinous things. He dithers, but finally chooses to fire his crossbow at the nearest man still standing.

1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15 -4 if he can't find a target not already in melee
1d6 ⇒ 4 (my bad, does 1d8)
1d8 ⇒ 7

Having been confused as to the position of Marra, Sollus re-opens the door while muttering an invocation to Abadar.

Move action to open the front door, standard action to cast guidance on the Sergeant again, for a +1 to his next attack roll, saving throw or skill check (in the next minute). It doesn't do crap for a Strength check, but he's not thinking clearly...

Drakus, you realize someone shut the front door also? So Marra would have to open it, but she's gonna have her hands full taking care of the flanker

I posted that Sollus closed the door only after the group had entered, if you want to adjust that and have her inside. If you want her to stay outside, the door will remain open, since Sollus was specifically waiting for all to enter.

Perception 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9

Once the group has entered the room, Sollus turns to the side and closes the door they've just entered, to slow down anyone attempting to come in from behind them.

Sollus is uncertain as to what is going on in the room he is entering, so he casts guidance on Sgt Drakus, and moves in behind him, crossbow at the ready. The Sergeant sounds quite intimidating, and he doesn't want to add his less-gruff voice to the fray and possibly undermine the man's attempts at talking the fight out of them. +1 to his next attack roll, saving throw or skill check in the next minute.

I'll be out of state and with spotty internet access until Saturday, feel free to run my character until then. He uses the command spell to either make a member of an opposing group flee in such a way as to provoke AoOs or to stop a fleeing person we want to capture for a round or so.

Initiative 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 1 = 18

Sollus moves in behind Sgt. Drakus, crossbow at the ready.

I really have no idea where Sollus is supposed to be right now. Is he around a corner from Panish and his negotiations? Down the street? Standing next to him? I'm baffled.

If Sollus is near enough to Panish to hear / view what is going on, there's no way he's comfortable with the man entering alone, so he'd be tempted to wait for him to enter and then charge in before the door closes, either fumbling some lame excuse about getting left behind by his 'friend' or all guns blazing, depending on the situation...

To the Sergeant, he whispers, hand clenched until his knuckles are white on his loaded crossbow. "Enought skulking about. We need to get in there, and I don't care how much violence is needed. I fear that they are butchering people, not livestock..."

Gosh, won't that be embarassing if Sollus has watched too much X-Files!

"Why would they be chopping...Before...the livestock arrives?"

"Oh, I got that bad feeling again..." Sollus says, turning pale.

The first one to say 'long pig' gets his shoes puked on! Sollus is a sheltered city boy!

Sollus exhales softly, relieved to see actual livestock, and not the more sinister fare he was dreading. Silly really, he chides himself, this is Korvosa, not some savage frontier...

Perception 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16

Sollus muses aloud, "Given the state of unrest the city is in, I would expect any livestock being smuggled in would have to come in under some sort of cover, in a wagon, or somehow smuggled in through an underground passageway, from a nearby building."

Present and accounted for.

anything else before we move on tomorrow?

Good to go, here.

"The Inheritor seems a worthy enough patron, but I serve the Lord of Cities, and am more focused on the security and health of the Korvosan community as a whole. My father was taken from me by Gaedran Lamm's drugs and poisons, and I am relieved that his stain has been erased from our city, but we have lost much with the recent unrest, and anything I can do to help restore order, so that we may begin to rebuild, I consider a sacred duty."

Still here. I'll be checking the thread daily, instead of my usual many tiems per day, as I am working a lot of overtime for the holiday.

Eyes slightly widening at the Sergeant's brusque dismissal of the imposing Hellknights, Sollus touches his holy symbol and bows his head respectfully, saying, "Abadar's blessings upon those who would uphold the law, to save our beloved city from chaos." hoping to soften the sting, somewhat.

Diplomacy roll, if needed, taking 10 for a 16, if that's an option, or rolling; 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14

"If occurs to me that we might benefit from bringing a similar 'gift' for the locals he's been bribing. If we can convince them that we've been sending relief supplies that way for him to distribute, and convince the locals that he's given them only the scraps while keeping the lion's share for himself, it might go a ways towards negating his efforts at bribing the people into supporting him."

Sollus looks thoughtful, second-guessing himself already, "On the other hand, it is very unstable out there right now. I would hate to accidentally start a riot that gets him lynched by an angry mob of his own 'supporters,' since our mission is to bring him in alive..."

Sollus regards the two new arrivals and sizes up Sgt. Drakus as a career soldier, particularly at the sight of his imposing legionnaries shield, greeting him with a respectful nod, before turning the young man who preceded him into the room. To Panish, he asks quietly, "And you name, young sir? I am Sollus, an Acolyte of the Fane of the Great Architect."

I have new players, we're just sorting out everything now...please stand by.

Woot!

Sollus is still traumatized by watching that hippogriff and rider die. He probably should be bothered by the guard getting taken off to eat by the otyugh, but the whole plummeting from the sky visual is seared into his brain.

I'm still here, but we do seem to be hemorrhaging players. Just you, me and Pavo/dathom, it seems.

"Those who would seize opportunity in the midst of this chaos and disorder, and spurn their oaths to do so, are the worst." Sollus says with conviction, "I will do my best to see this faithless lawbreaker brought to justice."

Sollus steps forward a single pace while readying his crossbow to fire, and snaps off a single shot at the beast, hoping to at least sting it and drive it back to the sewers.

1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15

1d6 ⇒ 5