Foxglove is momentarily stunned, as the eccentric gnome he is (thus far, unsuccesfully) courting ricochets around him and into the playhouse, leaving him to trade barbed words with her elvish chaperone. The young nobleman is clearly torn between maintaining his pleasant facade in front of Natalie's companions and telling Serax what he really thinks of him.
"Hahaha," he forces a laugh and waves your insults away as though they were naught but bothersome flies, "I'm relieved to say that since you slaughtered the last group of goblins to make my aquaintance, I haven't bumped into any more of the loathsome creatures. Perhaps you and I just don't move in the same social circles."
"As for 'inviting' you, I fear there may have been some miscommunication. Certainly, I asked Natalie to join me tonight for an evening of theater and fine dining - alas, I did not purchase enough seats for the whole SOS - "
Here, he pauses and glances down at Quiddling.
" - and their hangers-on. Perhaps you might find entertainment more to your liking at the Pixie Kitten. I am prepared to extend you a line of credit, if only you do not ruin my evening."
Reaching into his pocket, Foxglove withdraws a jingling pouch of gold and silver coins.
Thorgrund scowls slightly at Foxglove's tone, then snatches the pouch out of his hand.
"As long as there's no singing..." he grumbles, giving Foxglove a dirty look.
He turns to Natalie. "Gnat...behave yourself". He leans in to whisper to her. "But keep an eye on this fella...I don't think Serax likes him very much..." He pulls away and winks at Natalie.
"Well, have fun, wee one!"
"Do not trouble yourself about the lack of a seat. I can protect Natalie from 'predators' while standing. As for social circles, you are probably correct. My lineage can be traced back through hundreds of generations of high elf wizards none of which have had much of an interest in socializing with humans...No offense intended, Foxglove.".
Tired of the verbal fencing with the petty noble, Serax moves to the back of the theater and finds a wall to lean against.
Despite his words with Foxglove he is not worried about Natalie's ability to protect herself. Serax simply enjoys tweaking the noble because of his excessive vanity. . Once the performance finishes, Serax will force his way through the crowd to Natalie's side to annoy the noble once again.
Quiddling walks up and shakes the nobleman's hand studiously. "My name is Quiddling Cane, at your service!" the halfing says and bows. "It is most generous of you to invite us to the opera. Do you enjoy theatre and operas often? I my self have a sweet tooth for the craft. It is a marvelous way to create and retell a story, don't you think?"
"Lord Aldern Foxglove," the young nobleman replies, carefully extracting his own hand from your enthusiastic grip, "As greatly as I would love to stay and chat, I really should be getting to my seat...."
It seems a lot of other people are taken by the same notion. Soon the auditorium is full to capacity and the lights are being dimmed in preparation for the first act. The curtain rises on the famous diva Allishanda (cast as the harpy queen Avisera) - the volume of whose voice is rivalled only by the volume of her unfeasible bosom. When she begins to sing, the crystal chandeliers overheard begin to rattle ominously, as she pitches her impressive vocals higher and higher.
Serax tries to enjoy the diva but he finds her voice grating and annoying.
Serax is obviously distracted by the over the top performance.
Thorgrund happily marches off to see what thus "Pixie" place is all about, especially with someone else's money...
@ Serax: You do not hear anything over the caterwauling of the fat woman on stage.
& Quiddling & Natalie...
Thorgrund quickly runs to where he believes the collapse took place, scanning the site for any victims.
Quiddling sits glued to his seat, entranced with the performance.
Natalie jumps up noticing that something is happening on the street.
"Something's happening! Gotta go!" she tells the nobleman with hushed excitement.
Running outside the theatre, the gnome looks about excitedly.
"The prisoner!" Hemlock shouts over to you, gesturing with his one free hand as Tsuto and his greenskin allies disappear into a narrow crevasse in the wall of the sinkhole, "You have to stop him getting away!"
It's obvious that the Sheriff would go after Tsuto himself, but he is busy ensuring that the men of the Sandpoint militia make it out of the garrison alive - which was no doubt the purpose of such an extravagant diversion.
As Allishanda's voice reaches towards an ear-splitting crescendo, the entire playhouse judders alarmingly, causing plaster to drift down like a fine dusting of artificial snow. A moment later - [!] - the bottom drops out of the auditorium and you find yourselves plunging into the hungry darkness beneath the town.
Serax see Natalie stand up suddenly and be grabbed by the dandy Foxglove. Oh you will pay for that.... Just then, the floor under Serax's feet begins to collapse. He tries to jump to a more stable area:
but as he lands on the new area it gives way with a mighty crash sending him falling...
Quiddling manages to pry his eyes from the stage as Natalie talks of a raucous outside. "What.." he starts as the floor disappears beneath him. Fortunately the halflings quick reflexes saves him from plunging down.
Quickly assessing the situation, Thorgrund nods to Sheriff Hemlock, and draws his axe as he takes a running leap onto the ledge...
"That was unexpected..."
@ Thorgrund: Perhaps your depth perception was a bit off, but when you initially looked at the gap between the ragged brink of the sundered road and the narrow ledge along which Tsuto and his goblin saviours made their getaway, it didn’t look too far. It is only as you hurl yourself out over the abyss that it dawns on you that may have been a little optimistic as to your own athletic prowess. Dwarves, after all, are not renowned for their grace and dexterity. As you sail through the air with all the majesty of a cabbage ejected from a jury-rigged trebuchet, you realise with cold certainty that you are not going to make it to the other side. You do spot a second ledge another 10 feet below the one that you were aiming for….
(Assuming that you are still conscious) When you manage to stand, you find yourself standing on a crumbling ledge overlooking the pit. The climb up to the outcrop where you last saw Tsuto is around 10 feet. Climbing up requires a STR roll (with a -10% bonus if you have any climbing gear/rope/etc).
--
@ Serax: You find yourself falling 10 feet into the sinkhole that has suddenly opened in the Sandpoint theatre. Several other members of the cast & audience also tumble into the pit. You only take half damage: /2, as Lord Foxglove breaks your fall. As satisfying as that may be, your comeuppance arrives a few moments later as the fat diva lands on top of you in turn. When you do manage to extricate yourself from her extravagant costume, you find yourself in a dark tunnel somewhere beneath the playhouse. It seems that the roof of the tunnel has fallen in as part of the theatre collapsed on top of the opening
--
@ Natalie & Quiddling: Clinging to whatever within reach is not sliding into the hole in the centre of the auditorium, you both have a front row seat as Serax and Lord Foxglove tumble like ragdolls into the darkness. An ominous groan precedes the collapse of the stage, dumping Allishanda in after them, then clogs the hole through which they fell with rubble and debris.
Quiddling clambers to safety then looks down the hole. "Is everybody OK down there?" he asks cautiously.
Thorgrund's ungraceful leap is a sight to see, but still the valiant dwarf manages to grab hold of a beam jutting from the wreckage of the building to maintain his footing (getting scraped up in the process )
Not wanting to waste time with climbing gear, Thorgrund slings his axe and begins a treacherous climb.
Serax manages to roll out from under the heavy, sweating woman that landed on him. He wipes blood from his face caused by the fat women's elbow striking his nose when he landed.
By the dim light that filters down from the rubble he sees a tunnel stretching out ahead of him. Realizing it may be too dark in the tunnel for even his Darkvision to work, he casts Low Wizadry on a piece of the rubble and then throws it as far down the tunnel as he can.
Low Wizadry (no skill roll required) - create 5 space globe of light
Serax then moves slightly forward in the tunnel after telling the others to stay put and looks and listens. . Faced with danger, Serax feels as if all his senses are heightened.
Sorry DM must have been typing my post while you were posting. Serax would pretty ,uh ignore Quiddling's yelling anyhow.
Thorgrund's ungraceful leap is a sight to see, but still the valiant dwarf manages to grab hold of a beam jutting from the wreckage of the building to maintain his footing (getting scraped up in the process )
Not wanting to waste time with climbing gear, Thorgrund slings his axe and begins a treacherous climb.
[dice=STR(70)]d100
You clamber hand over hand and soon reach the ledge that you were originally aiming for. A short distance to your left, you see a narrow crevasse in the side of the sinkhole, through which Tsuto and his goblin friends made their escape.
--
Serax manages to roll out from under the heavy, sweating woman that landed on him. He wipes blood from his face caused by the fat women's elbow striking his nose when he landed. Current BP is 27
By the dim light that filters down from the rubble he sees a tunnel stretching out ahead of him. Realizing it may be too dark in the tunnel for even his Darkvision to work, he casts Low Wizadry on a piece of the rubble and then throws it as far down the tunnel as he can.
Low Wizadry (no skill roll required) - create 5 space globe of light
Serax then moves slightly forward in the tunnel after telling the others to stay put and looks and listens. Perception Logic(79): 1d100 ⇒ 4. Faced with danger, Serax feels as if all his senses are heightened.
By the arcane glow of your magical rock, you observe that you have fallen into some sort of disused storeroom that has not seen use in many years. Large mounds of rubble lie strewn on its floor. The wall to the west has been torn down to reveal a tunnel leading to the west. There is a second exit, partially buried by debris in the northern wall of the chamber.
Suddenly, the still, musty air is torn by an inhuman scream of fury. Never before have you heard a sound so saturated with sheer, bloodthirsty rage. The terrifying sound bounces around the tunnels, it is almost impossible to tell which direction it originated....
"What was that?!" Aldern asks, failing to hide the tremor of fear that rattles his voice. The young nobleman reaches for the rapier he wears at his hip. From the way his immaculately manicured hands are shaking, you doubt he's ever had to draw the thing in defence of his own life. Until now, anyway. "Hey, you. Serax, wasn't it? You're supposed to be some big shot hero, right? Can you get us out of here? I'm too rich and handsome to die!"
Serax's heart speeds as the horrible cry of rage echoes through the tunnels. He quickly decides that discretion may really be the better of valor.
"Hush Foxglove, hero thinking here...
Serax mentally reviews his options, as satisfying as it would be to charm foxglove and send him to distract whatever is making that horrible noise it probably wouldn't be prudent. I think I better get us all out of here instead.
"You lot, move away from the rubble pile and crouch against the wall, covering your heads. I'm going to create a way out of here."
Serax kneels on the ground of the storeroom and focuses his will. Come to me earth friends, last time I fed you goblins, this time I give you earth to move.
Cast Summon Earth Elementals
Serax feels his will reach out to through the earth. The elementals are larger and more powerful this time. /2=5
Five earth elementals in the shape of massive gorillas rise up in the storeroom. "Carefully move the ruble to make a ramp out of this room. Then carry without injuring each one of the people in the room out of here to the surface depositing us safely on uncollapsed ground in the town square."
The earth golems quickly do as you have instructed, clearing the mound of rubble blocking the hole in the floor of the playhouse and carrying the wounded audience to safety. Allishanda is so hefty that it takes two of the powerful constructs to shift her vast weight. Once everyone is safe, they reward you with a round of uproaring applause, louder even than the diva received at the end of the first act of the opera.
"Natalie, where is Thorgrund? Did he get out of the building before the floor collapsed? There are tunnels under the theater and there is something bad down there. Really, really bad. We need to find Thorgrund and find out what is down there. Oh hello Quiddling, you probably should come with us."
Quiddlings tries to call out into the hole once more before giving up. "I think they might have been knocked out by the fall", he tells Natalie carefully chosing "knocked out" instead of "dead". "I think we need to go down there and see what we can find." The halfling then looks around for somebody he can send to get the sheriff, but before he can start he is interrupted by summoned working crew.
Greatly impressed (to say the least) by the show of arcane might Quiddling stands dumbfounded, just watching the elementals work. But it only takes Serax to mention that there's something unknown down there to trigger the halfling's nature and Quiddling snaps out of his trance. "Of course! I just need to get my gear. Be right back!" he says and runs back to the rusty dragon to collect his adventuring gear.
While Quiddling is off gathering his equipment, Sheriff Hemlock approaches you with a grim expression on his dust-plastered face. You had thought that his normal expression was pretty grim to begin with, now it is, like, super grim.
"Bloody goblins have undermined the whole town! I don't know how that is even possible, unless the tunnels were already there to begin with. We can explore that possibility later, right now we have to apprehend Tsuto Kaijitsu before he gets away. Thorgrund has already headed after him alone. Some of the men are trying to find a safe way down, and I've sent others to keep a loookout for the prisoner, in case those tunnels come out beyond the town limits."
"My earth elementals should be able to forge a safe path down for us. Did you see which way Thorgrund went?"
Armed with directions from the Sheriff, Serax quickly directs the earth elementals to construct a ramp to the crevice that Thorgrund disappeared in to.
Serax knowing that the elementals will not be useful in combat instructs them to reinforce the foundation of the buildings that threaten to collapse into the sinkhole.
Once the ramp into the hole is constructed and Natalie and Quiddling are ready, the group will set off after the missing Dwarf.
In all the chaos of not falling down a pit, a piece of parchment came free of the gnome's oversized and overstuffed backpack. As she caught it, she saw that it contained her doodles of a "Super Dooper Catching Scooper."
For the next minute(s) after that, while the others were focused on important tasks, Natalie began modifying the still skeletal arm of her gnome into a web shooting cannon.
As Serax and the others escape and come to the surface, she skips over to them, "Lookie what I made! I forgot I even designed it! But it can catch stuff!"
"That's great Natalie. I'm sure that it will come in useful. We better catch-up to Thorgrund before he gets himself in to trouble."
Thorgrund peers into the crevasse, assessing whether he can even attempt to squeeze through. Realizing that he may be in over his head, he turns to shout out of the sinkhole.
"Serax!! Gnat!! Down here!"
Oh good, there you are. Lets find that half blood and finish him and his precious mistress for good. Can you lead the way, I'll come second followed by nat and then Quiddling."
Under Serax's supervision, the earth elementals create a steep - but traversable - ramp down to the ledge where Thorgrund is waiting for you.
The narrow crevasse through which Tsuto escape is a bit of a squeeze, but you are all able to make it through and into the dark, dry tunnel beyond. Although their is evidence of recent excavation, the passage itself appears to be much older than the town of Sandpoint itself!
The tunnel leads into a large chamber, which must once have been used as a prison, as testified by the nearly two dozen cells that line the room’s perimeter. You emerge onto a rickety wooden platform overlooking the room, with two flights of stairs descending to the prison floor ten feet below. A five-foot-wide wooden walkway runs from the northern edge of the platform to a passageway to the east.
Quiddling comes running down the street as fast as his little legs can carry him. Once again equipped with the tools of his trade he comes to a stop next to the hole. "Did i miss anything? What did I miss? What? Tsuto escaped?! We need to move after him!" he speaks excitedly eventhough he's out of breath.
A horribly deformed humanoid, hairless and emaciated, drops down from the shadowed ceiling of the ancient prison. Its unnaturally long arms end in three-fingered talons, and its legs bend like those of a dog. A writhing network of bulging veins form dark blue patterns across its pallid skin. But worst of all is its face—its nose is little more than a pair of slits, and its eyes are bulging and red. The lower jaw splits in half at the chin into two wretched arms that end in tiny three-fingered hands to either side an open gullet with a lolling tongue.
Its' 'mouth' splits opens and it voices a screech if murderous rage, showering your front rank in bloody, red saliva.
Another of the creatures drops down to the rear of the group, blocking off your retreat. You can hear more wrathful shrieking from deeper within the dungeon, but growing louder....
{ooc]I'll wait to see what the Sinspawn does.[/ooc]
Oh no, my plan of being in the back has backfired.
"Die nasty mouth thing!"
Cast Offensive Strike x2 against the closest thingy
Serax is obviously shaken by a monster getting so close to him.
Quick to react Quiddling spins around with a yelp. He tries to gather his focus to catch the room’s many spiderwebs and gather them on the hideous creature, but sadly the stress of the situation causes the spell to fail.
@ Serax: The thick, sticky cobwebs that have accumulated over the centuries that this buried prison has been sealed begin to sway in tune to Quiddling's bardic powers. They reach for the elven spellcaster and quickly cocoon him in a straightjacket of sticky, white thread.
The sinspawn at the back of the group pounces over the struggling spellcaster and attempts to sink its teeth into Quiddling's shoulder.
Having failed to do that, it lashes out with its claws!
(and misses)
The other creature, charges at Thorgrund, making two attacks against the steadfast dwarf with its clawed fists.
(hit)
(miss)
Quickly deciding to take the blow, Thorgrund grunts as the creatures claw scrapes against his armor.
He swings at the creature:
As he hacks with the first blow, he returns with a vicious backswing.
Your first attack parts the hideous creature's head from its body, the backswing strikes the (now headless) monster in the chest. Foamy red gore geysers from the ragged stump of its neck, as the Sinspawn topples over the edge of the wooden balcony and falls to floor of the prison 10 feet below.
Oh no...oh no...oh no...trapped
You can all hear frantic cries coming from the webbed Elf.
"Get me loose!! What's happening??" "I'm going to kill that fool of a halfling!!! Help!!! Get me loose!!!!!!"
Natalie hurries over to where Serax lies cocooned in spider silk and begins to awkwardly hack at the sticky threads with a lot less care than the elven wizard within might wish for.