Slumper continues to press his attack
rapier
rapier
rapier
shield
shield
Slumper's sword flashes, but it is his shield that seems to do the most damage. Trifaccia's demeanor changes from bold to cautious as he shifts to defense.
for plus fire!
for plus fire!
for plus fire!
for plus fire!
for an additional
for an additional
Ruperta proceeds to kick him in the ...
No, she is not a mean girl...
She holds him, trying to comfort him.
She scans the crowd for other "arousers" in the crowd.
Pai holds her action. If no one else interferes, she is willing to let Slumper do his thing.
rapier
rapier
rapier
rapier
shield
shield
rapier
rapier
"Thrak help slumper"
Only one of Slumper's rapier strikes and one of his shield bashes make it through Trifaccia's defensive posture. Trifaccia's stance never falters, but suddenly he shouts, "Lawlessness may have won this day, but the good Queen will fight on! I cede the battlefield to you, rebel, but doubt not that Trifaccia will see you again very soon!"
Suddenly Trifaccia disappears!
Pai will go ahead and cast Glitterdust at the spot the 'hero' was last at.
DC 19 to resist.
Ruperta dismisses the Silence effect, takes the blind guy to Pai and Paxs and moves towards Slumper.
"Good people of Korvosa hear me! See here, in the middle of you, a son of your streets. He is a child of Korvosa, a survivor of the evils and dangers of the city. He is one of you, he is your Champion! And as he survived and thrived, the good people of Korvosa will survive the evil Queen and her lackeys, and become harder and powerful in their just indignation! The time of freedom is at hand! The time of justice has come! Down with Trifaccia! Down with the Grey Maidens! Down with the Queen! Long live Korvosa! Long live Slumper, your new Champion!"
Pai's glitterbomb explodes in the street, dousing the Hero of Korvosa, Slumper with golden glitter. However it doesn't reveal any invisible Trifaccia.
The crowd hears Ruperta's words and they nod and a couple join the shouting cry of "Down with the Queen! Long live Korvosa! Long live Slumper!' However far more simply nod, then begin to disperse quickly back to their homes. Clearly the mood in Korvosa is frightened, but definitely rooting for you.
You take the 'rebel' and the blind shouter to a nearby alleyway and interrogate them. They quickly break down and admit that they're Sczarni thugs hired by Trifaccia to pose as rebels and cheer when he "takes them down." They've been pulling this stunt all over Korvosa and admit there's about fifteen of them in on it. The shouting guy adds, in a strange tone, "Well, Trifaccia, he told us we should wish all sorts of bad things on anyone who stands up to him, anyone who ain't one of us, see? He was pretty clear about it. 'You gotta say you wish something to happen' he says. He made us repeat it back to him and he got mad as hell if we ever forgot to say it all."
'Three cheers for champion Spumper, hero to the common man!"
Aid another Diplomacy
"Hmm that seems awfully specific."
"Well, boys, there's a new sheriff in town. You go back and tell the others that their days of rabble rousing are over and done. Do we have any coin to give these jamokes to share with the others, to remind them that there should be no more public displays?"
After thinking for a second, Pai produces a pearl from her pouch. "This pearl is magical. If you take it to a reputable buyer, you should be able to sell it for roughly 500 gold. But, understand this pearl and the gold you can get from it buys your Korvosa privledges. If I see you again, there will be trouble. If I hear of your group causing any problems, there will be trouble. Do you understand?". Assuming they agree, Pai gives them her minor Pearl of Power to sell.
"You should be ashamed of yourselves! The queen will be the end of us all, both Chelaxian, Shoanti, Varisian or Sczarni! Triffacia is her attack dog, and you are helping her! Tell the Sczarni this ends now! Do it for your families, for your future, and the future of all of us! From a Varisian to another, help us bring an end to this madness! And next time, wish something bad for Trifaccia!"
The two Sczarni look crestfallen and murmur things about tough times, needing coin to buy food, the economy, etc. After Ruperta's excoriation, they agree to never work for Trifaccia again and seem heartened by the offer of the pearl. They depart, both chastened, with the bruised leading the blind.
"I say we go back to the hideout, if we are sure we aren't being followed, and follow up with our friends. They might have a clue as to the next item we can check off the list to prepare to take on the Queen."
Ruperta takes a couple of magic pearls, and uses one to regain her Divine favor spell.
She gives the other to Pai.
"That was a very generous thing to do, my friend. Thanks. Lets go back."
Ruperta will also channel several times to heal Slumper and herself (and anyone else that needs healing).
Pai will let the group head back toward the hideout, but when they get within several blocks, she will use her arcane bond to recast Invisibility Sphere, so that they will be sure to not be followed.
Ruperta smile to Pay, and uses the other pearl to restore Abundant Ammunition.
The route back is easily found and after invisibility is cast, you're sure you're not followed. Back in the hideout, Kroft looks pleased. "My scouts tell me you did a number on Trifaccia! Excellent! Did you find anything more about him?"
"Trifaccia is some sort of spellcaster or genie creature. The rebels told us that they're Sczarni thugs hired by Trifaccia to pose as rebels and cheer when he "takes them down." They've been pulling this stunt all over Korvosa and admit there's about fifteen of them in on it. The shouting guy adds, in a strange tone, "Well, Trifaccia, he told us we should wish all sorts of bad things on anyone who stands up to him, anyone who ain't one of us, see? He was pretty clear about it. 'You gotta say you wish something to happen' he says. He made us repeat it back to him and he got mad as hell if we ever forgot to say it all."
Pai also admitted that Trifaccia had eluded their grasp unfortunately. "Hopefully, we have scared him off. Slumper beat him to within an inch of his life, so I doubt he'll bother us again."
Ruperta smiles, and says in a less effusive tone than normal.
"Korvosa has a new champion."
"I've known that for a while now." Kroft says, looking momentarily affectionate toward you. Then she hardens again, back to business. "I'd say taking out the dragon is our next step. Any revolution we can mount will fail if they have a dragon on their side. One low sweep and it will wipe us out."
"In our travels, we have already come across one black dragon. It was a fearsome beat. Indeed, we had to negotiate with it, as its might was too much for us to defeat. Hopefully this one isn't quite so mighty!"
"Is there a clever way to get us in the castle near it?"
"If we get some white cloaks to cover us with, I can manage to do it, tomorrow, with Desna's help."
Kroft shakes her head slowly. "Neolandus told us of secret passages within the Castle, but nothing into the Castle that he knew of. The dragon lairs in one of the towers and Sabina Merrin is his rider. If you make your selves known, I think the dragon will not be able to resist the challenge. It seems to have a very high opinion of itself."
Ruperta tries to help Pai or Paxs to remember all they can about Black Dragons.
Know. Arcana
You have heard that the dragon enjoys taking long flights around the city in the pre-dawn light. It enjoys the feeling of lording it over the city, you've been told. Perhaps you could lure it somewhere then?
On the early morning (some 3 hours before dawn) Ruperta will present her friends with a Heroe's Feast.
We will have more "shares", so she will invite Mariscal Kroft, Vencarlo Orsini, the Bishop, the seneschal, and two other VIP's.
That will grant all of us temporary HP's, +1 morale bonus to attack rolls and will saves and +4 morale bonus on saving throws against poison and fear effects for 12 hours.
After that she will cast Life Bubble on the 6 of them, so each one has 2 hours of a shell enables the subjects to breathe freely, even underwater or in a vacuum, as well as making them immune to harmful gases and vapors, including inhaled diseases and poisons and spells like cloudkill and stinking cloud. In addition, the shell protects subjects from extremes of temperature (per endure elements) as well as extremes of pressure.
As everyday she also will cast Shield Other on Slumper, so he gains a +1 deflection bonus to AC and a +1 resistance bonus on saves. Additionally, the subject takes only half damage from all wounds and attacks (including those dealt by special abilities) that deal hit point damage. The amount of damage not taken by him is taken by Ruperta.
Then she will cast Teleport to take them to Vencarlo's burnt fencing academy.
Once there she will cast Delay Poison Communal giving each them 2 hours of immunity to poison.
Then Pai will summon an Archon to go fetch the dragon to them.
While we wait, she will cast:
Protection from energy (acid) granting us 120 HP absorption, Resist Energy (acid) granting us 30 HP resist energy (acid) after the 120 HP are expended, and Magic Circle Against Evil granting +2 deflection bonus to AC and a +2 resistance bonus on saves against evil creatures and prevents bodily contact by evil summoned creatures. All three spells will last 20 minutes.
Then she will cast Fly so he gains Fly 60' with good maneuverability, and +6 bonus to his fly skill, and Shield of Faith +4 deflection bonus to AC on Thraks for 12 minutes.
Then cast Weapon of Awe spell on Slumper's sword, so it gains a +2 sacred bonus on damage rolls, and if the weapon scores a critical hit, the target of that critical hit becomes shaken for 1 round with no Saving Throw for 12 minutes (I think is the best "critical" weapon we have).
Then she will cast Abundant Ammunition on Vindicator, her repeating crossbow, so she don't need to reload for 12 minutes.
And she will cast Greater Magic Weapon granting her repeating crossbow a +3 enhancement bonus on attack and damage rolls for 12 hours.
As soon as they "sense" the Dragon is near (3 rounds), this becomes more of a rounds issue:
Round 1: She casts Prayer granting them all a +1 luck bonus on attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, saves, and skill checks for 12 rounds.
Round 2: Cast Blessing of Fervor
Each round for the duration of this spell, each of your allies can choose one of the following bonuses for that round at the beginning of its turn (their choice).
Increase its speed by 30 feet.
Stand up as a swift action without provoking an attack of opportunity.
Make one extra attack as part of a full attack action, using its highest base attack bonus.
Gain a +2 bonus on attack rolls and a +2 dodge bonus to AC and Reflex saves.
Cast a single spell of 2nd level or lower as if it were an enlarged, extended, silent, or still spell.
Round 3: She will cast Divine Power on herself, gaining a +4 luck bonus on attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, Strength checks, and Strength-based skill checks. She will also gain 12 temporary hit points. Whenever you make a full-attack action, you can make an additional attack at your full base attack bonus, plus any appropriate modifiers. This additional attack is not cumulative with similar effects, such as haste or weapons with the speed special ability for 12 rounds.