Casting off her cloak, Jordanna snarls with fury. Her teeth lenghten into jagged fangs as she bites and claws at the deputy attacking her.
Casting off her cloak, Jordanna snarls with fury. Her teeth lenghten into jagged fangs as she bites and claws at the deputy attacking her.
Jordanna savages her opponent, tearing rents in his leather armour. His blood seeps out although he is still standing for now.
Alyssa winces as ribs crack under the impact. Stepping back, she casts to heal herself and studies one of her assailants.
Betha targets the same deputy that Jordanna attacked.
Frustrated at her ineffectiveness, she expends some of her Ki to strike again.
And is rewarded with blood.
Jordanna and Betha's tender ministrations lay one of the deputies out on the floor, bleeding copiously. This appears to have been the sign Staelish was waiting for and she looses an arrow at Betha, but can't find the mark.
The remaining deputies continue their blows.
Betha and Alyssa both take blows from the weighted saps, leaving them a little dazed but still functional.
Staelish leaps down from her perch and approaches, drawing two short axes.
"Stand down, or we will pull no more punches." She demands.
Jordanna's response is to assault the next deputy attacking her!
"How many more of you are willing to die to fuel this woman's ego? She cares nothing for you!"
She slashes at the ex-deputy in front of her.
She draws on her energy again to continue her assault.
Alyssa snarls, all semblance of good manners disappearing as she fights for her life. Stepping to one side she attacks the deputy.
Betha slashes at green, but cannot land a blow. Jordanna slices blue's arm and Betha drives her sword into pink's leg. Both men yell, drop their saps and pull out short swords before fighting on. The pain throws off their blows however.
The one fighting Betha continues with her sap, catching the winja a heavy blow near her temple.
Unfortunately for Jordanna, Ex-Sheriff Staelish does not appear inclined to leave her men alone and closes, slashing at the witch with a hatchet!
"Fall back Ladies! Quickly!" Comes a familiar voice from the ship behind the coven. Ingoe is standing by the rail, a fearsome looking crossbow in his hands. "I'm warning you Rhonda!" He calls "This is going to be your end!"
Her bloodlust raised, Jordanna continues to attack, trusting to her magical defenses to keep her safe.
"Jordanna!" Betha calls, tugging at her sister's arm. "Time now to regroup!"
She then makes a dash towards the ship.
Blue is still standing, barely, after Jordanna is done with him. Green seems unsure of what to do and looks to Staelish for guidance.
Attack, attack, attack. Take them down with you, even if it's just out of spite.
Alyssa slashes at the nearest enemy.
Blue and Pink stagger backwards, trailing pools of blood as Staelish waves Green into the fray with her. The deputy circles behind Jordanna as Staelish unleashes her hatchets!
Jordanna is battered from both sides despite her magic shield.
"Jordanna! Alyssa! Now is the time to leave!" Betha insists, standing on the pier.
Battered and angry, Jordanna withdraws from the fight, falling back to Ingoe.
Jordanna lands a slash on Green as he circles her and as she ducks past him in return he misses high.
Alyssa grumbles a curse and ducks back into the night.
Ingoe shoves the boat away from the dock with a long pole, Betha helps and a rapidly expanding ribbon of water appears between the dock and the boat side just as Alyssa leaps for the boat. Her armour is very nearly the death of her, but Jordanna is able to grasp her sister's arm and pull her over the side.
The boat sails downstream in silence as Ingoe sets course, then he looks forward to the bedraggled coven.
"So ladies? What now?"
"We regroup, lick our wounds, then return and tear them limb from limb," Jordanna snarls.
Alyssa taps everyone back to full health with her wand of Infernal Healing as she considers her answer to Ingoe's question.
"The ex-sheriff, the deputies and the priestess. Cut their heads off and everyone else will fall into line. But there's no sense in fighting our way through the town. Time was, I'd only have to raise an eyebrow and a village like that would fall into the Abyss." She sighs, feeling every one of her years. "Oh well. No sense going on about the good old days. If we seized the church of Iomedae, the sheriff would feel obliged to come and get us out,cso we'd be choosing the fight."
She looks at Ingoe. "Is there a way into the church without going all the way through the streets?"
"Don't cut their heads off," Betha chastises. "That would be silly. Then no one could see who they were. Just cut their throats. Then we hang them up by their feet, naked, in the town square."
"And I think a straight up fight won't end well for us. They'll just bring a mob and we'll be back to where we started. We need to find out where these people sleep and deal with them then."
She smiles at the thought of finding the ex-sheriff asleep in bed and what could be done to her while she was helpless.
"That seems like a sensible move." Ingoe agrees. "The priestess is spiritual leader of the town - her support will mean a lot to the people. I don't think you need to kill all the deputies though - Staelish will be the ringleader. If you take her out, publicly, then you might have to deal with reprisals from her deputies - but they were deputies for a reason. She's always been the brains of Longacre law enforcement. I'll put in at the bay downstream - it'll be about three miles back. Do you want to go back in tonight or wait? I might be able to get some of my people together if need be."
"We should strike back before they can consolidate their defenses," Jordanna opines. "They won't expect us to return so swiftly. I say we slaughter them tonight."
"Yes, let us return," Betha says with a grin. "Silent, Stealthy, and Savage."
She turns to Ingoe. "Yes, Love. Some of your people would help, but only those that can move quietly. And perhaps someone that can open a locked door, just in case."
She looks back at her sisters. "So? The jail or the temple?" she asks.
"Then it will be my honor to accompany you." Ingoe says with a courtly bow. "I know my way around a lock. Customs, you understand!" He adds with a sly grin. "Sometimes we have to inspect things and the owners are mysteriously absent..."
He pilots the boat a little further downstream before the waterway widens and an area of slack water makes it easy to pull up to the stream and secure the boat.
The trip back to Longacre is much slower on foot, nearly two hours and by the time the town walls appear it is midnight or shortly after.
With the town gate barred (by you on the Archbarons) order. There are two ways into Longacre - the main road, which should be patrolled, or trying to slip in from the docks and wharves at the riverside.
"I'm sure you know all the secret ways in and out of the docks," Betha coos to Ingoe. "Let's go that way."
"Yes, let's get in there and f*~% shit up."
Ingoe is able to lead the coven through the maze of the dockyards without too much trouble. Unfortunately two of the sheriff's deputies have been posted there and are making regular patrols with a small bunch of militia members.
Fortunately the cover of darkness is enough for the group to sneak by.
"So?" Ingoe whispers, "Where to? I imagine Allamar will be in her temple. Staelish may well at the jailhouse, or up on the hill in the old ruin if she's not at home. Where do you want to go first?"
"Let's take out the cleric first. We don't want Staelish running off to her in search of healing," Jordanna replies.
She uses her arcane focus to recall mage armor and casts it on herself.
"Yes, the temple first," Betha agrees. "I think eliminating her will increase the chance that we'll lose control of the town, but if we don't ... We can't have her constantly speaking out against us with impunity. If we don't remove her, we're guaranteed to lose it."
She sighs, but then grins.
"You're earning yourself a big reward after this is all done, Ingoe. Think you'll be able to handle it?"
"Yes, quite big indeed, if you can handle it," Jordanna purrs, rubbing her naked belly.
Ingoe simply grins at the promised 'reward' and leads the coven through the backstreets to emerge in the town's small graveyard. Flickering light burns in the temple, indicating that someone is still awake and presumably at prayer.
The front door is the only door unlocked and since the town square is quiet the coven move in. Inside, the space is airy and open with a number of folksy crafts decorating the walls — mostly carved or woven pieces featuring the holy symbol of Iomedae. The chamber’s most impressive features are its stained-glass windows, the largest of which depicts a giant, golden figure bearing the sunburst and sword symbol of Iomedae floating skyward while small, blue figures below exalt her. A small door leads north, while another, larger, pair of doors leads east presumably into the chapel itself.
Jordanna drinks an extract, causing her arms to lengthen until they drag on the ground like a gorilla's. She casts a spell and four illusory duplicates of herself appear. She gestures towards the chapel doors.
Throwing open the chapel doors the coven hears the rhythmic chanting of a spell being cast! Numerous pews face a raised altar in the sanctuary
of Iomedae’s church. A coffin placed before the altar is clearly a recent addition to the furnishings and Allamar kneels in front of the open coffin, where one of her sons lies.
As the coven enters Lorcan sits up jerkily and reaches out for his mother with awkwardly clawed hands. Allamar stands and backs away nervously.
"Lorcan, it's your mother! What's happening? Why won't you talk to me?"
Jordanna smirks at the scene. "Ah, a family reunion. Doesn't it just warm your heart? How about I warm up your flesh as well?" The changeling withdraws a vial from her cloak and hurls it at the priestess!
Allamar is still scuttling backwards as Jordanna throws her bomb, so the throw goes right over her and hits the side of the coffin, splashing Lorcan in fire.
He doesn't react at all to the fire licking across the side of his face and Allamar throws a glance backwards and screams. "Lorcan! No!"
Alyssa isn't much of a student, but she can tell something has gone wrong, which is always nice to see.
"Well now, my dear, you have been busy. But maybe you need to look to a different Goddess for help, because your current one hasn't done much for you, has she?"
"Looking for a son and you get a ghoul instead," Betha says with a shake of her head. "Isn't that always the way it goes." Her smile belies her supposed sympathy.
She charges forward to strike at the woman, drawing her blade in the process.
Betha trips on a pew and comes stumbling to an ignominious halt - but at least she didn't fall flat on her face and look REALLY STUPID as well.
Lorcan the ghoul steps forward and, seemingly feeling perhaps a tiny ounce of filial piety, ignores his mother in favour of Betha. He bites into Betha's succulent flesh and she feels a creeping numbness in her veins...
Betha stands there unmoving and wonders what her first mistake was.
"Young man, I see that being dead has NOT improved your manners. Alyssa's tone is severe. "You do not bite a lady without her permission."
Stepping forward, she strikes at the undead thing.
Although the ghoul wheels on Alyssa (Betha doesn't provide a flank now), the witches short-sword none-the-less cuts deeply into the undead flesh and her potent magic sears it! The creature shrieks in pain as Allamar flees towards the doors at the back of the room.
Jordanna grows extra-long horns, and her arms stretch to impossible lengths as she assaults the ghoul!
Jordanna rips Lorcan's head off, returning the young cleric to the embrace of death for the second time.
Wanting to keep moving while her spells are still in force, Alyssa moves to open the door.
Alyssa opens the door to find Allamar, standing defiantly before her. "Are you here to arrest me witch?" She asks, "My sons are dead - I have nothing left to lose!"
At her words a gleaming longsword appears in mid-air and strikes hard at the changeling!
Behind Alyssa, Betha feels life returning to her limbs.