"Well, just a moment," Pagrip says. "I figured we might want to try some surveillance first, keep a watch on the place, see who comes and goes, that kind of thing. Get an idea for how many people are in there and what we'll be up against, rather than just bursting in. Besides, what if Zellara's information was wrong and this isn't Lamm's hideout? If we burst in on some poor innocents' place, that's not going to make the Bank look good. We can set up watch across the street. I can sneak around and try and peer in some windows if you like. Once we have an idea of what we're up against, then we can plan an appropriate course of action, rather than just blundering in through the front door into what might just be a trap."
"The dwarf's smart," Caulder says pointedly to Esmerelda. "You want to break down the door on the say-so of a woman we just met with who knows what kind of agenda? For all we know, she's setting us up to get revenge on some shady associate of her own." Off Esmerelda's look, he quickly puts in, "No, I don't think it's likely, but it's possible. Plus, if we want this to stick, we have to do it by the book, as representatives of the Bank, not vigilantes. How would you like to finally snare Lamm only to see him get off on a technicality because we were breaking and entering?" He peers at the building. "First, we need to know how many ways out of this place there are."
Esmerelda bites her lower lip as she mulls over the suggestions. "And while we watch and wait, Lamm gets away. However, I will concede that we should scout out what we facing first. Very well, Staurmbar, do your sneaking. If you get into trouble yell or hoot like an owl or something and we will come to aid you. And hurry. The fish around here smell especially rotten. At least I hope its fish."
To Caulder she adds "I will not recite the Code at this point but I do not recall it disallowing breaking and entering. Though the part about punishing those who have harmed innocents does come to mind."
"As long as Lamm doesn't know we're here, he's not likely to bother getting away," Pagrip mutters. Then he speaks up, "Don't worry, I'll yell if there's trouble."
He heads along the walkway over the water at the south side of the building, keeping low, but trying to peer in each window as he passes.
Pagrip makes his way along a slippery boardwalk that clings to the side of the fishery, held together by barnacle-thick pilings that have been worn halfway through their thickness at the waterline. He cautiously attempts to peer through the first window to find it completely boarded-over.
You think you can overhear someone muttering in the room beyond the boarded window.
Actually the law does have a problem with breaking and entering; unless you have good cause to believe that you are acting to apprehend a criminal.
Not finding anything by the first window, Pagrip continues on. He skips the door for now and moves on to the second window.
"If we're watching, how will he get away?" Caulder reasons quietly to Esmerelda, keeping his crossbow ready and his eye on Pagrip. "He's evaded the law this long by being smart and, much as I hate to admit it, most likely by having connections to those in high places. Calm yourself, Darkbane. If the Harrower was on the up and up, the place should be full of pickpockets-in-training. Suspicion of child-endangerment -- maybe even kidnapping -- gives us probably cause to investigate in the eyes of the law."
Pagrip looks on into a dimly lit large floor, from his vantage point he can discern that the room covers two floors (he looking in from the upper floor). On the opposite side is a large vat of some sorts - along with what looks like two small kids handling long oars.
Pagrip suddenly hears a commotion relatively close to the window and rapidly approaching steps. A nasty snickering, "Eeeyhehehewhowantsit? Whoseyvisits, oi? Uninviteheheheheoeyes!"
Pagrip grimaces and starts moving back towards the others as quietly as he can. Once he's past the door (assuming he gets that far), he uses ghost sound to create the sound of footsteps moving east past the second window. He then continues west to the others.
A rupturing sound comes from the window Pagrip had just left and part of a pucker-scarred face sticks out. It belong to a half-orc, one good eye training on Pagrip. A cackle, followed by, "Oy! Thereshehihihe. Comes! ComesheretellGiggleswhatyousdoin - ordoggiegetscha! HIHIHIHI!"
Pagrip breaks into a run back towards the others, yelling, "DO YOU WANT THE BAD NEWS OR THE WORSE NEWS?"
"Hells," Caulder sighs as the dwarf comes running back. He strides out into the open, presenting a large target for anyone interested in taking a shot at them. "Bank of Abadar! We have reason to believe you are harboring pickpockets! Open the door and submit to a search if you have nothing to hide!"
Abruptly the face vanishes and shortly after the sound of a dog barking, from inside near the double doors, can be heard. Not very long after everything quietens down. There's the distinct sound of the door being barred.
"There we go," Caulder grins at Esmerelda, seemingly sincerely pleased at the turn of events. "Resisting an officer of the law. I'd say we have plenty of justification to investigate now. Let's go before they destroy all the evidence."
Esmerelda flashes a grin and a quick nod at Caulder as she takes charge.
"Right. Lets get started. Staurmbar, see if you can get that single door open. Baradin, see if you can help him. I'm going to try the double door. We enter by the first door that falls to our holy might. Arentz to me!"
Esmerelda charges at the double doors, shoulder first shouting "Open in the name of the law!"
"Lamm isn't getting away this time..."
The combined efforts of Ten and Esmerelda strain against the door which seems to hold-up quite well, but eventually still gives in to the assault. Their efforts are accompanied by the frenzied barking of a dog beyond the door - and as the double doors give way a vicious-looking dog lunges at them, specks of foam on his mouth. Standing behind the dog is a sour-looking man, wand in hand. His snarl broadens as he aims the wand.
After the wand fails to produce any output, the man cusses a string of profanities; only some of which are actually directed at Ten and Esmerelda. But the dog's jaw snaps shut on Esmerelda's forearm, leaving a bloody tear of teeth marks.
Up next: Pagrip, Ten, Caulder, Esmerelda, bad guys
...rest of post...
Esmerelda grabs her own left arm, a few droplets of blood escape her grip, dotting the doorstep. Angrily she orders the wand-wielder
"By Abadars gavel, stand down and call off your dog."
"Are you serious, Darkbane? Call off your dog?" Ten asked incredulously.
"They've got children in there!" Pagrip calls out and sets to work on the door.
The dog appears taken aback; it growls with a deep bass, looking up at Ten with suspicious eyes.
You feel you're making good headway with the lock; it is but a simple lock, only intended to keep the riff-raff at bay. You're sure it will click open any moment now.
"Darkbane!" Caulder barks around the corner. "You doing all right up there? Give us a few minutes, and we'll be coming in behind them!" He eyes the dwarf and his theives' tools pointedly. "We'll have a talk about this when we have Lamm," he promises.
"Bad dog. Down." With one fluid motion Esmerelda draws her greatsword, grips it tightly and brings it down on the rabid dog.
Esmerelda thoroughly cleaves the dog in two - it's growl deflating rapidly as the cadaver flops to the floor. The man who had looked quite fierce before begins to choke, "Hey! Oi! Who you to demand entry here? You no Hellknights! You not the guard! "
Although the man speaks the truth, you're pretty sure that him calling on the guard is a bluff. Perhaps he's signalling others deeper inside.
He takes a step back, protectively holding the wand before him as if it could stop a mighty swing with a greatsword. His sneer elongates as he draws and tosses a vial filled with a dirty green liquid. The vial is intended for Esmerelda's face but shatters on the upper rim of the doorway instead, splashing Esmerelda, Ten and the dog's remains in a highly acidic liquid.
Up next: Pagrip, Ten, Caulder, Esmerelda, bad guys
Esmerelda flinches as the acid burns down the back of her neck.
"Surrender now and you will not be harmed. You have been warned."
Pagrip smiles as the lock comes open. "I'm sure we'll have a talk. You can thank me then." He opens the door.
As Pagrip opens the door he finds access is partially denied due to several moldy boards that criss-cross the doorway. It would take a little while to break through the boards, though its certainly possible to squeeze through as well. The room beyond could be generously described as an informal office. A wooden desk sits in one corner of this room, its side preventing the western door from opening all the way. The table is heaped with dozens of slate boards covered with chalk scrawls, while to the east a cabinet slouches against the wall.
You can break the boards (Strength check DC 12) as a full round action. Or Escape Artist DC 12 as a move action. Breaking will permanently make the doorway easily accessible.
Pagrip and Caulder both notice the gangway they standing on creaking ominously, the sea-worn timbers are getting dangerously close to sagging away beneath you. This is exasperated when a rough looking, hair-covered arm reaches out through the wooden boards and pushes Pagrip towards Caulder
You fall prone on the gangway. Unless you fail by 5 or more, in which case you fall straight into the water (which is close at hand, so no falling damage).
Caulder is unprepared to catch a projectile dwarf and collapses on the gangway. With an angry growl, he gets back to his feet. "Assaulting a priest of Abadar: You're only adding to the list of charges against you!" He throws himself against the moldy boards in an attempt to break through.
Acid burns - Ten was used to those; cutting dogs in half - not so much.
She'll see straight through that lie. I should better motivate this man to surrender, before Esmerelda cuts him in half too...
Under Caulder's assault the mouldy boards slowly creak and crack - with a bit of luck they'll burst the doorway free in a little while.
Ten steps in quickly before Esmerelda can act out and slaughter the hapless man. Though his firm wack with the crowbar leaves a nasty welt forming on the side of the man's head.
Up next: Esmerelda, bad guys, Pagrip, Ten, Caulder
Pagrip falls back, but not into the water.
Finally, with the extended exposure to their combined weights and the added strain as Caulder pushes against the boards, the wood below them collapses with a sudden set of cracks. "Wait, what?" escape the baffled lips of Caulder as he and Pagrip unceremoniously splash to the water below.
The murky water and splashing make it hard to tell, but you have a hunch that you are not alone down here.
"Gods damn it, dwarf!" Caulder shouts angrily. "Are you a complete incompetent?"
"Gods damn it, dwarf!" Caulder shouts angrily. "Are you a complete incompetent?"
Pagrip just coughs up water in response.
Esmerelda rushes in, the heavy armor limiting the extent of her movement, she glares at the disgusting man that still opposes them. "Do you not have the common sense to stand down when the authority of Abadar stands before you!? Surrender and receive justice!"
The man who received the brunt of Esmerelda's outburst looks taken aback. He steps back nervously and reaches for the door, shouting, "Giggles! What's taking you so long?!" As the door opens he sees the figure of the puck-scarred half-orc, and takes enough courage to point his want again and shoot, a thin ray of corrosion strays from it - hitting Ten squarely in the neck and quickly forming a violent mess of revolting colors.
The creature called Giggles loses no time to burst into the room, nearly running over Esmerelda in his haste to inflict pain. Both are so startled that the paladin misses the perfect opportunity to end the threat he poses.
A continuous torrent of nearly incomprehensible common slurs from the half-orcs mouth, his chuckling giggle is enough to set anybodies teeth on edge - but in this case he also backs it up with a powerful swing of his flail. "OooyesheheihihihereheisohlookthemeprettyyoukeepsGiggleswarmtonighteyhehehe hehihi."
From the room beyond the voice of another person can be heard, "Come you filthy brats! The first one to hit the faces gets a treat from the old man!"
You hear several light footsteps approaching from multiple angles.
Up next: Pagrip, Caulder, Ten, Esmerelda, bad guys
Pagrip begins swimming to the shore, making it most of the way.
Caulder tries to follow the dwarf toward shore, but his boot seems to get trapped in some sort of debris beneath the surface. The obstruction yanks back on his momentum, and his head ducks under water before he can get out more than "Wait, what?"
Trouble keeps haunting Caulder, as his face returns sputtering to the surface he glimpses an oddly patterned fin protruding from the water and closing in on him at speed.
Caulder suddenly has a terrible premonition as he recognizes the patterns as that of a jigsaw shark - a fearsome predator that frequents the waters in Korvosa.
Pagrip finds the water is rapidly becoming more shallow, the bank back up to firm ground is steep but easily reachable.
Up next: Ten, Esmerelda, bad guys, Pagrip, Caulder
"Obviously, reasoning with these monsters is useless. Steel is the only language they understand." She brings the sword down on the half-orc.
Baradin? Where are you?
Round 3, Initiative 16
AC 14; HP 9/14
More acid? Though Ten was used to the occassional acid droplet on a finger, this man with the wand was taking things too far.
"Darkbane... there are more of them coming!"
The wand-wielding man stares up along his nose, as if trying to see the bruise that is rapidly forming where Ten crushed part of the bone on his forehead. For a moment or two it appears the man will remain standing, but then he sinks to the ground, a slightly perplexed expression crowning his face.
The half-orc reels from the mighty blow Esmerelda inflicted on him, coughing up a fair share of blood in the aftermath; but he keeps standing. The door behind Esmerelda suddenly opens, startling the paladin - and with a wicked (but mercifully silent) grin Giggles smashes his flail up at an unexpected angle, ringing the paladin around the ears with a powerful strike; only then the half-orc seems to regather his mirth, giggling inanely and repeating the sound of flail against head.
The the other door, east of Esmerelda opens too - and several children burst forth; wielding sticks, daggers and even a pitchfork. Two of the boys attack immediately, though only very ineptly; but the little girl's innocent eyes captivate Esmerelda just long enough for the girl to cling onto Esmerelda's arm and start to wail at what should be an impossibly high frequency.
The little girl provokes an attack of opportunity from you, should you wish to take it.
Up next: Pagrip, Caulder, Ten, Esmerelda, bad guys
The ringing noise in her head just seems to get louder as the children flock around her. As the little one graps her arm, she drop's her greatsword at her feet. Esmerelda attempts to hug the little girl closer keeping her out of the way of the others attacks.
"NOO! Not the children!" Esmerelda cries out in anguish.
"Tendrizu, take care of the orc, and don't hurt the children."
Too many children. Too much noise. Too much laughing orc.
Noticing the Caulder has gone under, Pagrip groans and turns around and tries to swim back out to help. Unfortunately, his foot gets caught in some sticky mud, and he splashes about ineffectually as he pulls himself free.