Dingus stands flabbergasted by the stampede. He turns to his friends. "What did I say? Just asked a question?. However now it looks like we have the freedom to look around a bit". Dingus looks for any unopened doors.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Nodding agreeance at Dingus' sage words Dibbets adds "Aye, they seem a mite on the limp side... not sure'n iffin theys gots it innem eh?"
Besides the stairs down to the ground level, there are a pair of halls off the lounge with many doors to private stalls. Dingus quickly discovers that only the lounge has been cleared when he opens one of the doors and encounters a naked couple that shout and throw boots and a wash basin at him.
"Let's leave the paying customers alone, though."
From just outside the front door, Corliss makes a report. "No sign o' Kaul anywhere. On the other hand, no sign o' an angry mob headin' our way either. Least not yet."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
The scarred thug and ax manage to contain their excitement until they sneak up on the trio of mooks.
With a leer Kaul brings Lopper down on the nearest of the three:
"Loppin' time lads! Limbs, 'eads an' torsos form an orderly pile! HUR! HUR!"
As one tough goes down in a (literal) red mist, Kaul presses on wrenching free then swinging his fell hatchet in a frenzy:
"WHERE YOU GOIN' LADS!? LOPPER WANT'S TA MEET YE!"
As the remaining tough struggles to escape, Kaul chuckles at the bloody mayhem he has wrought, then sizes the man up for another chopping attack:
A blood-splattered man in leathers and a sword at his side bursts out of one of the rooms followed by Kaul's chuckle. The panicked figure charges across the lounge past the crew to the top of the stairs down to the groundfloor.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Dingus watches the man sprint past, then giggles. "Looks like Kaul has some new playmates.
As he unmercifully casts grease on the steps the man is descending.
A crimson daubed and grinning Kaul emerges from the room with Lopper in hand.
"Hur. HUR-HUR-HUR!"
The thug then returns to the room to pick o'er the corpses for anything of note, or value, or both...
The fleeing man does a half pivot and then tumbles down the stairs. Besides the worn leather armor, a couple daggers and a pair of shortswords, Kaul's inspection uncovers a fistful of small vials of shiver and 4 gold sails and 22 skulls.
The horror of the scene eliciting little more than a wry raise of an eyebrow Dibbets raises and levels his musket at the slippery escapee. He dryly adds "Be a sport now an sit still eh? Nei need tae see yer innards iffin ye gets tae talkin"
Madman Jim-
Dingus-
Corliss-
Jim waits by Corliss, meaning to talk to the owner once he pulls himself together.
The owner blinks up at Jim as if asking for help. Meanwhile, Dibbets stumps over to the top of the stairs, but back a bit to avoid the slick. Before he can quite finish his threat, the fleeing man is back on his feet and darts out of view into the room below.
"Eh Ding, get rids o' tha slime eh? We needs be chasin"
As Jim watches the stricken man, a coin floats free of his pocket and hangs in the air a moment. It then settles on the floor and awkwardly begins to move in different patterns.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Dingus nods at Dibbets request, and removes the slick spot.
"Well you could just slide down the banister you know... like this". Dingus takes care to tuck his satin robes between his legs before attempting to slide down the banister to the floor below.
DEX or something to slide successfully.
The long black "shirt" that Dingus is wearing promptly rides up his skinny body during his slide down the banister revealing only pink stockings beneath. At the bottom, he slides off and lands with a slap as his naked buttocks hit the stone floor. Unfortunately, he can't see the effect of his entry due to the fact that the shirt has ridden up over his head, but it's actually of little interest to the half-dozen stoned individuals lounging on cushions in the room.
Kaul pockets the gold, silver and contraband with malicious glee, then soaked in blood lumbers down towards his shipmates...
"Hur. Got me some Sails, Skulls an' Shiver. All together not a bad haul for worse Kaul.. Hur-hur-hur..."
The sailor eyes the moving coin suspiciously, then looks around the room for some sort of powder to put on the floor.
Corliss peeks at the goings-on. "Ghosts!" is his belief.
It occurs to Jim that there could be some salt at the bar.
"Just a minute, hey? I think I got that, but I can make it easier for you." Jim checks the bar for salt, and spreads it on the floor near the coin. "What do you need help with?"
The salt doesn't help much because each letter displaces it in the tracing so that the next letter has less evidence to leave, but Jim can follow the coin's movement well enough without it. It continues to form letters- T-A-K-E-M-E-R-O-O-M-B-E-H-I-N-D-B-A-R.
Kaul turns his beady eyes towards the coin;
"Magic coin that writes..? We could make money on that... Hur-hur-hur-hur"
The thug elbows his nearest shipmate as he descends into a hacking chuckle...
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Dibbets raises his eyebrow as the fleeing fellow is far less interesting than the dancing coin. He shrugs "Nei tha weirdest thing we seen roight?"
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"Kaul'd have some fun with that," Corliss chimes in. "Could dip it in the blood o' all the unfortunates Lopper meets an' then write all sorts o' amusin' scribbles."
Intrigued, the Taldan continues to interact with whatever is behind the moving coin. "So, you the coin, or you the man? Heads for coin, tails for man."
The man gives a groan of what seems protestation and half lifts his arm. The coin flips to be tail up and start spelling again. M-A-N-I-A-M-A-S-N-A-A-N.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Dingus climbs to his feet, and takes a bow as though he mean't to do so. He joins the others around the fallen man.
"That's not such a great trick".
Dingus uses 'mage hand' to draw a snake with the same coin.
Jim looks askance at the serpentine sorcerer. "You'll have to practice so you can cast that without words or handwaving. Come on, let's get him to the back room." He picks the man up and carries him behind the bar.
Kaul on the other hand looks agog at Dingus' exposure of the cheap magic trick...
"Feckin' knew it was too good to be true..."
He leans into the snake-hipped sorcerer;
"Hurrrr. Reckon ye can get away with doin' that on the streets? We could make a pretty penny with a speakin' coin o' our own..."
"What's a 'snaan?'" Corliss asks as he peers at the writing while rubbing the knot on his skull.
As his companions fool around with magic pennies, Jim carries the man around the bar and through the door to a bedroom richly appointed in colorful silks, drug paraphernalia, and shelves of books. After he props up the man on the bed, a letter board and planchette float from one of the shelves to settle on the table. The man remains paralyzed, but the letter board makes communication easier and much faster. My name is Asnaan. Can you find a priest to help me? And keep that mad snakeman away from me.
"I'll see what I can do about a priest. Any particular temple?"
The planchette rolls over to the NO marked on the board. Then Asnaan adds, Any harbor in a storm.
Corliss steps forward, presenting his emblazoned shield. "I be a servant o' Besmara. What sort o' help exactly do ye require?"
Kaul pops his no-neck head around the door, to cast his beadies o'er proceedings, before beckoning over Dingus and Dibbs;
"Hur. That's one o' them there Ouija thingambobs. Contacts the other side an' all that... Iffen it works, we could make a wee sideline out o' it..."
While Kaul continues to be inspired by a gold mine of scams, the planchette moves again. "You are a priest. Heal me. or tell me what is wrong.
Corliss examines the man more closely and asks a few simple questions before giving his diagnosis. "Bad news, chum: I'm afraid ye've had a stroke from all the excitement--an' underlyin' medical conditions, o' course. Have ye someone who can tend for ye in the long haul? Ye might improve some, but a full recovery...sorry mate, it ain't likely."
The planchette just sits motionless on the board for a few long moments, then stirs again. Thank you for being honest. I will make due. Perhaps it is time to retire.