"Look..we can't do anything about the Blot and it hasn't done anything to us. The cyphermages are...strange people but then all mages are with all that finger waving and bending the parameters of reality nonsense. Half of the them are a bit cracked and half of the ones who aren't go around with their heads so far up their arses they can't see daylight...but if anyone can solve it they can..so why worry about something you can't have an effect on"
Mel looks over to the tables does a quick calculation and grins.
"You know given the house odds in here and the amount needed to win your way to the end..I doubt anyone is going to make it.Have to admire the old bastard"..he points towards Saul..."he's made a good comeback from where he was a few years ago"
"Look..we can't do anything about the Blot and it hasn't done anything to us. The cyphermages are...strange people but then all mages are with all that finger waving and bending the parameters of reality nonsense. Half of the them are a bit cracked and half of the ones who aren't go around with their heads so far up their arses they can't see daylight...but if anyone can solve it they can..so why worry about something you can't have an effect on"
Mel looks over to the tables does a quick calculation and grins.
"You know given the house odds in here and the amount needed to win your way to the end..I doubt anyone is going to make it.Have to admire the old bastard"..he points towards Saul..."he's made a good comeback from where he was a few years ago"
"In case ye hadn't noticed, I'm a dwarf - dwarves worry about everything that be unnatural. And yer right about mages," Thumparr snarls and spits to show his distaste for them.
"So...what did Saul need to come back from, lad? He lose his shirt or sommat?"
He staggers away, barely able to control his rage while Saul is around. He cools off for a few minutes, then looks for an opportunity to talk to Vancaskerin.
Since his speech, Vancaskerkin has made his way off the podium and is talking to a middle-aged dwarf with a long, brown beard who seems to be some kind of floor manager. Judging from their body language, the two of them seem to be having a pretty straightforward business talk. Just as Gornak spots them, one of the bouncers brings a large chest of money from the front register to his boss. Before the bard has a chance to get Mr. Vancaskerkin's attention, the two men, accompanied by some other muscle, leave the main floor and make their way through a locked door into unseen offices.
"So...what did Saul need to come back from, lad? He lose his shirt or sommat?"
In his youth, Saul moved from gang to gang, often selling out and old boss to gain a slightly more favorable position with a new boss. He managed to juggle his complex allegiances between multiple crimelords well, at least until his son Orik was involved in a scandal involving local prostitute Lavendar Lil and an alchemist named Falk. The alchemist's body turned up in the river, and several witnesses placed Orik in the vicinity at the time. The fact that Orik fled Riddleport for parts unknown did further damage to the Vancaskerkin name, but the major issue was that Falk was the brother of your employer Clegg Zincher. Saul tried to get his other son Verik to aid him in covering up some key evidence, but Verik had had enough of his father's life of crime and fled Riddleport.
With no allies left but his third wife Bertrida, Saul decided to abandon Riddleport as well, but Zincher was ready for him and cashed in a favor with the Overlord to have Saul's home surrounded. He hoped to have the gendarmes take Saul into custody, but the plan fell apart when it became apparent that Saul’s house was on fire. The gendarmes managed to stop the fire before it spread, but not before it claimed Bertrida’s life. They caught Saul in a nearby ally trying to flee, and in the inquest to come it became apparent that he’d murdered his own wife and lit his house on fire in a desperate attempt to fake his death and distract the gendarmes long enough to escape Riddleport. The Overlord was not pleased, but at Zincher’s request, Saul’s execution was “downgraded” to heavy fines and a hand. Of course, Zincher wasn’t arguing for mercy—
death would have been just that to Saul. Zincher wanted Saul alive but destitute and maimed—alive so he could live for a long time with the repercussions of his family’s role in Falk Zincher’s death.
"Saul used to be a player...bit flash..knew too much for his own good and then he got on the wrong side of the wrong man at the wrong time and had pissed so many other people off he had no-one to help him. Next thing you know Saul tries to fake his own death in a fire and kills his own wife to help the story along...course they caught him..and the guy who wanted him seen to...he gets the Overlord to change Sauls sentence from death to the loss of a hand..so Saul not only loses everything he knows he's only alive because his enemy fixed it for him.Nice way to get revenge huh?"
"Feller's got to be lower than whale turds in the bottom of the ocean to kill his own wife to cover his ass. Thank ye fer the tale; that tells me a lot about this feller."
He walks away to find Gornak.
Kap follows after Thumparr as he see him head off away from Mel. Overheard that story about Saul...wow...What a vile man---cowardly tactics, really. Pausing only for a second and then a half-grin as he blurts out, Whats got Gornak all agitated? That goblin Old Scratch cheat him of all his gold? Kap covers his mouth as he starts laughing at his own not-so-funny joke.
Kap follows after Thumparr as he see him head off away from Mel. Overheard that story about Saul...wow...What a vile man---cowardly tactics, really. Pausing only for a second and then a half-grin as he blurts out, Whats got Gornak all agitated? That goblin Old Scratch cheat him of all his gold? Kap covers his mouth as he starts laughing at his own not-so-funny joke.
Thumparr pauses a moment before speaking to Kap and then grins and says, "Prolly. And I'm gonna remind him about it too! And...I'm gonna tell him what the lad told me about Saul. Gornak wants to work fer him, don't ye know! He might change his mind after what I's got to tell him. And if he don't, well, that will just give me another reason to kick his ass."
The tournament really seems to be going full-tilt now. Games of chance are full of contestants, trying their best to be the first to acquire the Nessus badge and Cheat the Devil. Two fistfights have already broken out between patrons. The bouncers descended in a flash, putting the fighters in headlocks and physically carrying them out the door.
Gornak wanders over to the locked door and waits as politely as he can for Saul to return.
Ngozi will wander over towards where Gornak is waiting for Saul.
Out of the corners of your eyes you notice something strange that catches your attention. A young Varisian woman with an eye patch playing Golem at a nearby table looks up at a number of different, seemingly random men spread out around the gambling floor. They all look visibly tense. Just then, the woman looks at something else and then gives a decisive nod. The woman and the men then all close their eyes at the same time.
Thumparr stops in his tracks and turns to look at Mel and Ngozi. He motions them over and says, "Did ye see what I just saw? Did ye see
that woman with the eye patch give a signal to them other fellers? What do ye make of that?"
Ebenadar discretely puts his playing pieces down, pushes his chips aside to a safe spot, and says to the dealer "hold ma spot, if'ya would please? I gotta find tha gent's room." He gets up cautiously, ready to spring into action. Somethin' ain't right here...I smell trouble. He sees that others around the room have also noticed it and makes a mental note of who might be a potential ally if a fight breaks out.
Beriadan, finished with gambling, simply does his best to avoid running into people in the crowded gambling hall. Fortunately, his reflexes make that a rather simple task and helped him to avoid a stray punch from one of the brawlers that started a fight over a bad hand.
Simply observing how the night was progressing, the elven ranger works his way through the crowd to meet up with Kap and Thrumparr as they work their way towards Gornak. "A rowdy bunch, these humans. I'm starting to think that maybe this place wasn't the best place to look for anyone interested in that haze in the sky." Beriadan's blue eyes continue to scan the area as the three of them make their way towards the brawny bard.
Simply observing how the night was progressing, the elven ranger works his way through the crowd to meet up with Kap and Thrumparr as they work their way towards Gornak. "A rowdy bunch, these humans. I'm starting to think that maybe this place wasn't the best place to look for anyone interested in that haze in the sky." Beriadan's blue eyes continue to scan the area as the three of them make their way towards the brawny bard.
Thumparr looks up at Beriadan blinking for a few seconds, thinking his ears might have misled him. "Say again? Yer talkin' about dat Blot up there, ain't ye? Weirdest freakin' thing if ye ask me. We gonna have to talk about that some time, but right now, me thinks there be foul play at the games tonight. See that woman over there?" Thumparr describes her instead of pointing at her and then describes a couple of the men standing around too. "Just saw the woman close her eyes and give a signal to the men! Now, what do ye think that's all about, eh?"
There is an incredibly bright flash as one of the southern braziers bursts into a blinding aerial flash, followed by loud screaming and complaints of blindness by all the patrons. You crush your eyes closed as they scream in pain. When you open them, all you see is blackness. You are blind!
A loud female voice, seemingly amplified, carries over the moans and screams, calling out, "All right folks, this is a robbery! Drop to the ground and don't try anything stupid and we might let you live!"
COMBAT
Initiative:
Ngozi 19
Melissa 17
Thugs 16
Beriaden 15
One-eyed woman 9
Gornak 8
Kappasc 7
Ebendar 6
Bouncers 6
Sevegny 4
Thumparr 3
Ngozi lets out a startled cry as the flash goes off and drops to the floor. Unable to see, he fumbles around for a table or something to hide behind for the moment until his vision hopefully returns.
Cursing under his breath, Thumparr blinks the spots out of his eyes and he rolls on the floor, moving slightly toward the treasure box. All the while he is digging in his pouch for a special surprise for the one-eyed witch.
"WAAAUUGH!" Gornak bellows like an injured orangutan. "What happen!"
He draws his rapier and moves his sightless eyes around the room, oblivious to trouble.
"Nobody take Gornak's gold! Mine!!"
Ebe moves diagonally northeast, attempting to flank one of the nearest assailants (A8).
Sevegny gives thanks to her god Calistria for having protected her sight. She backs away to the southwestern part of the hall (K6) to better assess the attackers.
Kappasc curses his luck and immediately begins casting "Hand of the Apprentice".
Mel squints at the thugs as his rapier slides from it's sheath in a single practised movement.Marking his target he prepares to move towards him.He doesn't recognise the woman who seems to be the leader Know.(Local)1d20+5=7
The gaming room is a mass of complaints and confusion as the patrons clutch at their eyes. Above, the imp in his catch lets out a terrifying bellow and rattles the bards loudly.
The bearded Chelish man on the far side of the gaming room drops the scroll he has been holding and moves toward the central treasure chest, drawing what looks to be another scroll in the process.
Ngozi lets out a startled cry as the flash goes off and drops to the floor. Unable to see, he fumbles around for a table or something to hide behind for the moment until his vision hopefully returns.
Mel squints at the thugs as his rapier slides from it's sheath in a single practised movement.Marking his target he prepares to move towards him. He doesn't recognise the woman who seems to be the leader.
The unblinded thugs draw wicked-looking blackjacks from their weapon belts and turn to take out the guards at the next opportunity.
INITIATIVE FOR SURPRISE ROUND CONTINUES
Beriaden 15
One-eyed woman 9
Gornak 8
Kappasc 7
Ebendar 6
Bouncers 6
Sevegny 4
Thumparr 3
As the severity of the situation hits home, Beriadan's mind races as he figures out what to do. Knowing most of his new "friends" to be at his back, he draws his rapier and takes up a defensive stance with his rapier point facing the center of the room. I hope this is just temporary, or this will be a lot more difficult Beriadan thinks as he begins to listen for any movement that could possibly be threatening.
The one-eyed woman calls out in a strong voice, "Come on now, we don't want any heroes here. Everybody just be calm and this will be over before you know it!"
"WAAAUUGH!" Gornak bellows like an injured orangutan. "What happen!"
He draws his rapier and moves his sightless eyes around the room, oblivious to trouble. "Nobody take Gornak's gold! Mine!!"
Kappasc curses his luck and immediately begins casting "Hand of the Apprentice". A ghostly hand appears before the elf, with long, slender fingers just like its master.
Ebe moves diagonally northeast, attempting to flank one of the nearest assailants.
Unsure of what to do, the bouncers draw their short swords even though they are completely blind.
Sevegny gives thanks to her god Calistria for having protected her sight. She backs away to the southwestern part of the hall (K6) to better assess the attackers.
About half the patrons drop to the ground as ordered. The other half start wailing and clawing at their eyes in obvious panic, some of them heading in the direction they believe the front door to be in. Most of them are wrong and quickly collide with other people or furniture and come crashing to the ground.
INITIATIVE FOR ROUND 1
Initiative:
Bearded Chelish man 21
Ngozi 19
Melissa 17
Thugs 16
Beriaden 15
One-eyed woman 9
Gornak 8
Kappasc 7
Ebendar 6
Bouncers 6
Sevegny 4
Thumparr 3
"Oh, no you don't!" Ebenadar cries out as the bearded man approaches the podium. He charges straight at him, deftly maneuvering past the thug next to him, and throws himself the man, attempting to immobilize him.
Acrobatics (tumble) (1d20+10=27)
Grapple at the end of the charge (1d20+7=19)
Still blind, Ngozi starts fumbling around his possessions until he finds his crossbow, which he gives a loving pat and starts loading by touch and memory alone. Walkena, let me eyes see or I be food for the lions, yeh?
Mel moves towards the thug in F7 and thrusts with his rapier. Unfortunately one of the blinded patrons blunders between them and the boy is forced to abort his attack.
Thumparr stands and hurls his thunderstone, aiming for the feet of the one-eyed leader (square C13).
1d20+2=15
Gornak lumbers forward in what he thinks is the direction of the action. Swinging his rapier crazily about his head, he roars: "What's going on? Stay back! No one takes Saul's gold!"
He thinks he can almost start to see some blurry shapes...
Thumparr stands and hurls his thunderstone, aiming for the feet of the one-eyed leader (square C13).
1d20+2=15
Assuming this all goes off as planned, I'll be caught within the range of the blast and am deafened.
five by five
Kappasc grumbles, obviously irritated by uselessness of his eyes. His grumbling stops as a calm washes over him and a ghostly hand appears at his side, drawing his longsword and hovering menacingly next to Kappasc. Once the hand has formed, Kap's annoyance becomes apparent again.
The Chelish man with the goatee barks out an order: "It looks like we have some heroes in this gods-forsaken city. Thuvalia, gentlemen, take care of them!" He stands next to the treasure chest and looks down at the scroll in his hands. "Damn, that's not it!" he exclaims loudly, as he pulls a different scroll from his satchel.
Still blind, Ngozi starts fumbling around his possessions until he finds his crossbow, which he gives a loving pat and starts loading by touch and memory alone. Walkena, let me eyes see or I be food for the lions, yeh?
Mel moves towards the thug and thrusts with his rapier. Unfortunately one of the blinded patrons blunders between them and the boy is forced to abort his attack.
Around the room the thugs hear the magic user's command and jump into action. Most of them head towards the nearest blinded guards and strike them easily with their blackjacks, knocking them out with a single shot. The thug closest to the two blinded guards at the door has a bit of a hard time with it. He only hits him in the chest and does not knock him out.
One of the thugs comes up behind Ebenadar and tries to knock him out, but the halfling deftly avoids his attack.
The thug nearest Mel lets out a startled cry as the fair boy comes towards him with weapon draw, "Hey, calm down there mate, and put that pig-sticker away. Someone's liable to get poked." He then takes a weak swing at Mel with his blackjack, but comes up with only air.
INITIATIVE FOR ROUND 1 REMAINING
Beriaden 15
One-eyed woman 9
Gornak 8
Kappasc 7
Ebendar 6
Bouncers 6
Sevegny 4
Thumparr 3
As the ghostly hand draws Kappasc's longsword, Kappasc decides not to send it into battle for fear of hitting one of his new associates...instead he mutters an incantation and waves his hands as a shimmering light washes over Kap's body.
As Thumparr moves, he yells, "Gornak! Foller me!"
Knowing that this is a heist, Beriadan figures that someone would go for the chest in the center of the room. Therefore, even in his blinded condition, the elf's memory and keen reflexes allows him to make his way into the room without any difficulty as he seems to instinctually deflects off of anyone he might run into and bound over anyone he may trip over, moving thirty feet to the east (to J,11).
"Me? Who is me? Where is me?" Gornak stumbles after the voice, his sight not quite restored yet.
Knowing that this is a heist, Beriadan figures that someone would go for the chest in the center of the room. Therefore, even in his blinded condition, the elf's memory and keen reflexes allows him to make his way into the room without any difficulty as he seems to instinctually deflects off of anyone he might run into and bound over anyone he may trip over, moving thirty feet to the east (to J,11).
"Me? Who is me? Where is me?" Gornak stumbles after the voice, his sight not quite restored yet.
"It's me, ye damn doorknob! Git over here! Foller me voice!"