Denario misses his attack, but Baer knocks her opponent out.
While Uriah stabilizes another enforcer, Mavor successfully trips the remaining enforcer.
Allyph stabs the air.
The white enforcer goes total defense, and tries to get up.
Uriah's last wound closes.
Turn progression - round 11:
Enforcer (White) -7HP; Prone
Mavor, 17 Nonlethal damage
Denario, 11 Nonlethal damage
Uriah, -3 Wis; Fast Healing 1 for 2 more turns
Allyph, 6 Nonlethal damage; -4 Wis
Baer, 7 Nonlethal
When the enforcer tries to stand up Allyph tries to stab him, and she'll do it again if he stands.
Denario then 5ft steps south, so he flanks with Allyph
Allyph doesn't manage to hit the enforcer once while he's in total defense.
Denario hits the enforcer once, the moment the latter tries to stand up.
Turn progression - round 11:
Enforcer (White) -10HP; Prone
Mavor, 17 Nonlethal damage
Denario, 11 Nonlethal damage
Uriah, -3 Wis; Fast Healing 1 for 2 more turns
Allyph, 6 Nonlethal damage; -4 Wis
Baer, 7 Nonlethal
Uriah will continue casting stabilize on those fallen enforcers, saving as many lives as he can.
Round 11
Baer's contemplates bashing the man at her feet's head in. In her glancing around to see if anyone would stop her, she spies Uriah trying to save those men and settled for kicking the man in the stomach instead before marching around looking for another foe.
"Where are the rest? Surely more think they can challenge me!"
Mavor will use the man's try to get up to try and keep him down still.
At the last moment, just before Denario makes his second attack, Mavor manages to trip the enforcer again.
Denario corrects the swing of his axe slightly, and manages to hit the enforcer after all. The enforcer goes unconscious.
I'm happy with the outcome, but this didn't go as planned.
Denario remains in thought briefly.
Mavor rolls up the whip and straps it back to his belt. "Luckily we all live to tell the tale. Next time don't be so hasty Denario. Or at least warn us the next time you a thing like that." Mavor grunts as he walks back to collect his greataxe.
"I'm in no shape now to be in another tossle, do we have anymore healing magic left to spend before we go any further?"
Uriah will continue casting stabilize on the fallen enforcers. Then he will direct his allies to disarm them. Then he will and healing to everyone within 30'.
Baer tosses the last of the weapons into a pile (or into the water if that's what we are doing) and checks to see the roped bonds are tight among most of the prisoners.
Baer stretches neck as Uriah's useful divine spark eases her bumps and bruises.
She doesn't let that stop her from reminding the fallen that they were beaten...and only alive via the grace of whatever parts of her humanity that she still remembers.
"Now, we're going to down to talk. I suggest you lay quietly until we return, lest we are not so nice the next time we meet. You've been giving this *one* chance," Baer says, ready to thump any who would want to escape and re-attack the group.
She looks at Mavor and nods, ready to continue on.
"Denario, maybe you should let me do the talking. These people didn't like you much," Baer says, mostly oblivious to how un-diplomatic she is...but at least she hasn't single-cardedly attacked 12 guards at once.
When Mavor is ready, she is ready to head down the ship to the 2nd deck.
Uriah nods to Baer Denario should keep his cards sharp and his mouth shut down there.
The Chelaxian follows Baer and says These poor bastards picked the wrong crew to tangle with though...
Denario shrugs and chuckles.
Though it seems i was right, one would sometimes need to break down the place to get access to people.
This time, the misplayed hand turned out favorable.
Uriah continues his attempts to stabilize the enforcers, only to discover just four of them are still alive.
The four unconscious enforcers are instructed by Baer to lay quietly until the party returns. The enforcers, naturally, make no objections.
On each enforcer you find chainmail, a heavy steel shield, a longsword, a light crossbow with up to 10 bolts, and 20 gp.
This large room, once a captain’s cabin, has been converted into a throne room of sorts. The walls are thick with spiderwebs, in which scuttle dozens of spiders—some as large as a fist but most considerably smaller. These spiders seem content to stay in their webs and do not venture into the room itself, which is furnished with two sturdy oaken tables surrounded by chairs. Aft, a wooden stage supports a large leather chair, itself covered with cobwebs and scampering spiders. A narrow door stands to port, hanging ajar and revealing a flight of stairs leading below. An iron birdcage hangs from the ceiling like a chandelier, inside of which lingers a tiny, tired-looking purple dragon.
At the large tables sit several thug-like men. On the throne sits a tall man with close-cropped black hair, a warm smile, and blue eyes. His black leather armor is accented with a steel spider-shaped shoulder baldric and a thick chain criss-crossing his chest, linked together in the shape of a spider’s web. His weapons—gauntlets
fixed with blades over the knuckles—glisten with poison, hang from his belt. Now and then, spiders clamber over his skin, but he takes no notice.
"And who the heck are you?" the man on the throne asks as you enter the room.
Mavor takes up one of the longswords from the guards as the group moves on to get inside the ship.
Mavor moves into the room with the heavy steel shield equipped and the longsword in his hand.
"We've come to parley with Devargo Barvasi about information. I assume you are him?" Mavor asks the man on the throne.
As Uriah and Baer suggested, Denario lets the others do the talking.
Baer shuts her trap when Mavor starts speaking.
I thought it was clear that I was the diplomatic one.
Perception
Her eyes go over to the goons and she licks her right tusk with her tongue.
I don't like the way they are looking at me.
Not very comfortable have such a large number of thugs around her, Allyph gives a nervous stare to both sides.
"That's me, yes," the man on the throne replies.
Devargo looks at each member of the party, briefly resting his eyes on each of them.
"If you want information, you'd better offer something good in return. And since you had no appointment, and you're interrupting, I expect something very good."
"We've got some gold for the information. Perhaps we can arrange something for the interruption."
Mavor says while looking sharply at Devargo and then at his goons.
"Well get to it." Devargo shifts in his throne, giving Mavor a bored look.
"What do you want to know, and how much do you offer?"
Baer gives Devargo stinkface, her temper rising from his rudeness.
Maybe I'll do the talking. Or I'll wait for Mavor.
She decides to wait for Mavor to speak.
"An ambassador from Cheliax, named Amprei, is said to frequent this place," Allyph says as she steps forward, moving in front of Baer.
Please don't say anything, Baer...
"We'd like to know what Amprei comes here for. We offer you 750 gold for this info."
He'll probably raise what he wants. We can still up the value then.
If Devargo demands more gold, Allyph will offer him a total of 1000 gold.
"I do indeed have the information you seek," Devargo replies amused, "but 750 gold isn't going to cut it."
When Allyph offers Devargo more gold, a grin show on his face. "We're playing a game, eh? Well let me play along. You either add 500 more gold to what you offer, or you give me the 1000 gold and beat two of these recruits in a game of knivesies."
Devargo points at thugs at the tables. Some of them look a a bit uncomfortable, but a few laugh. "I'll be up first!" one says, and stands up. He seems eager to prove himself.
Not all party members may be familiar with knivesies, (nighve-zees), as it's the game of choice among the steeliest pirates, brigands, thieves, and scallywags in Riddleport. It’s increasing popularity in Korvosa is in large part due to Devargo’s enjoyment of the game.
There are two ways to win Knivesies. You can either force the other contestant to fall off the table, or you can grab for the gold and drop it into your pouch. Snatching a fistful of 1d10 coins off the table is a standard action that provokes an attack of opportunity. Since each opponent has only one free hand, the first round is typically a mad lunge for the dagger, forcing the slower opponent to make grabs for gold. There aren’t any more rules beyond this; most Knivesies games devolve into tabletop brawls, with the first person to drop or touch the ground losing.
The game ends once a contestant is unconscious, dead, or knocked off the table; as soon as no coins remain on the table; or as soon as any coin is knocked off the table. When the game ends, an unconscious, dead, or de-tabled contestant is automatically the loser. Otherwise, the winner is determined by which person has the most coins in his pouch. At the end of the game, all money is emptied from the pouches back onto the table. Half the total is paid to the winner, while the remainder is split evenly among all of those who stood at the winner’s end of the table.
Mavor begins to grin. "Knivesies eh? I've played that game since I was a young lad with too much time on my hands. Let's get to it."
Mavor says as he makes his way up to the table.
He takes up his place on the table and looks his opponent in the eye as he stares down at him.
"You think you've got what it takes or are you afraid?"
"Baer? You mind holding on to this while I'm busy?" He holds out his greataxe for her to grab it.
Know (local)
Baer nods, taking the axe for Mavor. She knows the game but doesn't need to participate in it.
"Do our race proud, Mavor."
Baer stands back, watching for sides of cheating, but is definitely on Mavor's side.
Denario had only once heard of the game, so it was practically new to him.
Crude, but who knows, it might be a fun sight, if not lethal.
Uriah draws a card from the Harrow. Hmm, The Joke, symbolizing defeating an enemy through guile. Let's see what Mavor has planned.
Baer watches the action, keeping an eye on the crowd/goons as much as the half-orc.
One of the thugs, who eagerly stood up to prove himself, joins Mavor on the wooden table. Another one ties Mavor and his challenger's right hands together. Some gold coins are placed on the table, and a thug slams a dagger in the middle of the table. Those around the table then move back, in case one or both of the contestants fall of the table.
Devargo laughs loudly, and claps his hands. "Get on with it! Bwahaha!"
Mavor immediately goes for the dagger on the table and rips it out of the wooden containment.
He then grins and tries to stab at his opponent with it.
Baer watches the action.
Let's see how this goes, maybe he'll surprise the thug and have us laughing.
After Mavor's miss, the thug bends over and tries to grab some of the coins from the table. He'll put whatever he can grab into his pouch.
"You're losing, green guy!" Devargo says laughingly, and the other thugs laugh with him.
Mavor tries to counter the man's movement by slashing and stabbing at him when he grabs the coins.
Baer watches the action, jabbing her hand with Mavor's dagger thrust.
The dagger punctures the thug's abdomen, but he doesn't go down. He manages to grab ten coins, and successfully puts them in his pouch.
Mavor's next attack is easily dodged, and the thug grins. "You lose, green one!"
The thug kicks one of the coins off of the table. As the coin hits the floor, the game of knivesies ends.
Devargo laughly loudly. "Hahaha! Low trick, but I like it!"
Mavor and the thug are untied, and the dagger is taken from Mavor.
The thug triumphantly holds up his ten golden coins, showing everyone in the room he's won. After the coins are placed back on the table, the thug takes half of the total coins. The other thugs share what remains.
"Next!" Devargo demands. "Add some new coins to the table, the lass gave us plenty!"
Allyph's expression darkens as she watches the thug kicks the coin off of the table.
Why you...!
The Joke was on us.... Uriah thinks as he prepares for the eventual hostilities.
"Come on, people!" Devargo shouts. "I said two wins! So far you've got one loss!"
"Let the gal fight!" a thug yells, and the others laugh loudly.
Devargo grins. "She's got a good mouth and plenty coin, but let's see if she can play knivesies!"
The thugs clap their hands as they push Allyph toward the table, but Devargo isn't done talking. "Clear the other table too! Who else is playing, the green one again?! Another one?!"
"What, but I...!"
Before she fully realizes what's happened, Allyph's standing on one of the tables. She gives her comrades a panicked look as a 'fresh' thug also gets onto the table, and their hands are bound.
#$&%!
Mavor grumbles and looks to Baer.
"I know I can handle myself in a knife fight, I'm not too sure about the girl though. Why don't you step up?"
On a quieter tone he adds.
"I might go up for a second round, get those goons weakened if a fight breaks loose we might need the edge."
Baer is about to jump up, but decides to let Allyph show what she can do.
Intimidate
Baer gives a menacing stare to the next likely fighter...but instead does a mouth fart with her gums and tusk. A slow flubbery rumble escapes her mouth.
She shuts up and doesn't look at the other fighter again.
While she still has the advantage over the unarmed and flatfooted thug, Allyph quickly shoots a ray of electricity at him.
She then looks down at the dagger, but decides to leave it be.
Go for it...