"What part of 'this isn't a negotiation' was hard to understand? I don't work for idiots." That guy who ran in there is foolish. Brave, but foolish.
"Haha, less of an idiot than you and your friends!"
Lam's barely said this when Kwoon bolt hits him in the shoulder. "Just you wait! You'll regret this!"
"You..." Lamm stares at Denario when he enters the room and moves to the corner. "You're that card guy... and a fool, it seems."
An alligator the size of Denario himself clambers up the edge of the pool and tries to bite Denario. The unlucky angle from which the alligator attacks works in Denario's favor.
"Blast it!" Lamm shout when the alligator misses. "he'll get you next time, boy! And that bossy sister of yours won't live much longer either!"
Turn progression - round 1:
Denario
Kwoon
Alligator 2 nonlethal
Baer
Allyph
Lamm -8HP
Mavor
Round 1
Finally seeing her chance to get Lamm, Baer does not hesitate...marching in to get the man she's sought since we she was acquitted...but not after she lost her chance.
"LAMM!" Baer ends her movement next to Lamm, her lips quivering with rage, specklets of drool dripping.
So, I guess they didn't intend to burn down the building. Why say things that aren't true? Unwise.
Allyph sees not everyone is attacked by alligators after moving in and follows after Baer. "Denario, I'll try to help you!"
Her gaze moves past Baer, where Allyph sees Lamm. "I decided to not come alone this time, and your men are no longer alive to beat me up. This time it's you who'll suffer!"
"These two?! You brought these two, Kwoon?!" Lamm laughs as he drops his crossbow and draws a dagger.
"The fool who was so easy to frame?! And the little b@$#! who ran after we beat her up, despite claiming she'd kill us for her family's deaths?!"
He lashes out at Baer with the dagger and stabs her in her arm. Sadly for Lamm age hasn't done much good for his strength, and it's quite a weak stab.
Turn progression - round 1:
Denario
Kwoon
Alligator 2 nonlethal
Baer
Allyph
Lamm -8HP
Mavor
Turn progression - round 2:
Denario
Kwoon
Alligator 2 nonlethal
Baer
Allyph
Lamm -8HP
Mavor
Denario does a withdraw, making his way around the west side across the scaffolding and ending up next to Allyph.
"You'll be dead soon old man."
Kwoon reloads his crossbow and shoots at the alligator.
Mavor walks in with his greataxe on his shoulder, he walks up to the alligator and looks down at it. "I remember you. Say A for me."
He then attacks the alligator with his greataxe, a large and powerful swing downwards.
When Denario tries to move away the alligator, still clambered up, bites him in his leg. A massive wound is inflicted on Denario's leg, and the alligator doesn't let go of him.
Kwoon shoots a bolt at the alligator, but misses. Mavor moves over and lands a solid hit with greataxe, but the alligator doesn't go down.
---
The alligator lowers itself back into the pool, using it's 500 pounds to drag Denario with him into the water.
As it clings to Denario, it tucks in its legs and rolls rapidly, twisting and wrenching Denario. The alligator inflicts more damage and knocks Denario prone.
Due to being both grappled and prone Denario stands no chance. The alligator takes one last bite and then drops Denario's limp body.
Turn progression - round 2:
Denario -12/10HP & Grappled & Prone Dead
Kwoon
Alligator -11HP & 2 nonlethal & Grappled
Baer
Allyph
Lamm -8HP
Mavor
Round 2
So focused on Lamm that she does not see Denario fall, but does feel the presence of 'friends' behind her.
"We are many, Lamm...and you are dead," Baer says, taking Lamm's slash in the arm.
Baer spins her quarterstaff quickly in two hands, attempting to land two blows on Lamm.
to hit;
damage;
"That was for the lies," Baer says.
to hit;
damage.
"I killed Yargin myself, Lamm," Baer snarls.
Baer's staff hits Lamm once, but the second attack misses when the old man takes a wobbly step backward.
"You... you... are all fools!" Lamm says while coughing soem blood, clearly about to drop. "And like I care... about Yargin... you're all replaceable."
Turn progression - round 2:
Denario -7/10HP (Stable) & Prone
Kwoon
Alligator -11HP & 2 nonlethal & Grappled
Baer
Allyph
Lamm -17HP Disabled
Mavor
First things first. If this guy's gone, we can all focus on that reptile thing and save Denario!
Allyph moves onto the table next to her so she has a good view of Lamm, and points a finger at him. "Die, you rotten dirt bag!" she yells, suddenly showing the hatred she's kept in check thus far.
In her anger Allyph's attack misses Lamm. "Darn it!"
Lamm takes a step toward the pool, trying to get away from the two mad women. "Stay away! I'll kill you! *cough* Gobblegut will kill you! *cough* You'll all die, you bunch of incompetents! *cough cough*"
Turn progression - round 2:
Denario -7/10HP (Stable) & Prone
Kwoon
Alligator -11HP & 2 nonlethal & Grappled
Baer
Allyph
Lamm -17HP Disabled
Mavor
Turn progression - round 3:
Denario -7/10HP (Stable) & Prone
Kwoon
Alligator -11HP & 2 nonlethal & Grappled
Baer
Allyph
Lamm -17HP Disabled
Mavor
Kwoon curses at the wind, seeing the man get dragged below. Can't risk shooting the alligator and hitting the person with him. Better get to the old man fast and see if he's worth a reward!
Kwoon runs into the building (move action), and reloads his crossbow (move action).
Mavor looks to the others with a bit of disdain, seeing Denario get grappled and almost bitten to death while the others do nothing.
He looks to the alligator with a fierce temper.
"Gobblegut eh? Not for much longer. Hyaah!" He shouts as he jumps down on the alligator swinging his greataxe as he goes.
Kwoon moves closer to Lamm and reloads his crossbow, ready to take the old man down and cash in.
Mavor jumps down, heaving his greataxe high above his head while he does. It's a risky move, because if he misses he'll be fighting the alligator in its own terrain. The risk pays off though: the greataxe lands on the alligator's head with a massive force, splattering the reptile's blood everywhere. The alligator goes down, and Mavor drops into the water...
...where he goes under. Luckily he's able to hold his breath for a considerable time.
Turn progression - round 3:
Denario -7/10HP (Stable) & Prone
Kwoon
Baer
Allyph
Lamm -17HP Disabled
Mavor (Underwater)
Round 3
"Where are you going, Lamm? On the la--ehr, run?" Baer almost says something that would have ruined her good rage with humor.
Spinning her staff, she sneers and tries to finish off her prey.
to hit;
damage.
to hit;
damage.
"Put up more of a fight, human!"
Baer doesn't leave Lamm any time to reply, because her first attack breaks his neck. Lamm drops on the floor, dead, but Baer decides the only good kill is an overkill and smashes his skull.
Allyph moves over to Lamm's body and kicks it it. "Serves you good, old fart!"
She runs over to the other edge of the pool and jumps on the piece of land next to Denario.
"Oh no, I think he's dead!"
Suddenly remembering Mavor, Allyph reaches out into the water. "Take my hand! I'll help you swim to the land here!"
"Don't fall down on me, human! GET UP AND FIGHT!"
Baer bashes Lamm on the ground again and again.
to hit;
damage;
to hit;
damage;
Baer rages on, letting all her anger out, raining blows upon Lamm.
to hit;
damage;
to hit;
damage;
Baer snuffs and huffs, her rage failing...even as blood sprays about her, whisked to and fro by the movement of her staff.
to hit;
damage;
to hit;
damage.
Baer's rage finally diminishes enough for her to see what she is doing...what she has become. She sees the blood on her staff and the pulped skull of Lamm and her staff slows down, no longer driven by rage.
"You took all from me, Lamm! You took it all..." Baer says, sniffing as tears begin to roil from her eyes.
Even from a distance Allyph feels the splatters of blood on her face. Despite the blood ruining her clothes Allyph keeps quiet. She understands the other woman's rage.
For some it's over now. That got what they lost by coming here. Most of us will carry the scars forever...
Allyph turns to look at Denario.
Or even when you get what you came for, you can still lose...
Kwoon will search for his "reward" money since Baer decided to kill the poor old man.
The tables are filled with trash, but on the floor Kwoon finds Lamm's masterwork hand crossbow. On Lamm's body he finds a masterwork dagger, nine bolts, and a ring of keys.
Kwoon, in his search for more rewards, then opens the door of the room Lamm referred to earlier.
This foul-smelling room seems to be a combination bedroom and study. A wooden bed with a lumpy mattress stands against the east wall, while a round table heaped with dirty plates, bread crusts, stained goblets, fruit rinds, and scuttling cockroaches sits nearby. At the foot of the bed sits a large strongbox, a slighty rusted lock securing its lid. A sagging dresser filled with moth-eaten clothes well past their glory days is in one corner—what appears to be a wooden hatbox surrounded by a small cloud of flies sits atop this dresser.
When Baer stops blubbering recovers her senses, she will see to helping Mavor and Denario out of the water, prioritizing that much more than looting.
"You fought well, Mavor! We share a common blood...that is probably why. This one was too pretty...not meant for fighting," Baer grunts, blinking away tears and trying to regain her toughness.
When Denario is out of the water, she pulls a scroll from her scrollcase, reading it.
"He may not like this, but it will help."
"What, he's not dead?" Allyph asks Baer as she clambers out of the pool. she examines Denario closer and sees he's indeed alive. "Oh... oops..."
"I have a potion of cure light wounds on me. Together with the spell it should patch him up." Allyph takes the potion out of her backpack and pours it into Denario's mouth.
Kwoon searches the den, but doesn't find anything of interest except the large strongbox and wooden hatbox.
A search of the walls doesn't reveal a secret way to get in or out the den, but the windows are big enough to climb through and look like they can easily be opened from the inside.
It just so happens that I have a crowbar. But, I'll lend the crowbar to someone with bigger muscles to try to open the large strongbox. I will however, aid another in their attempt.
Personal hatred achieved: hatred vs crocodiles :)
Denario's eyes open slowly and need a few moments to adjust.
A look of irritation briefly as he sits up. "How careless of me, seems my anger had gotten the better of me."
It doesn't need explaining the two women were resposnible for his recovery. He makes a very slight gentlemen's bow.
"Thank you both."
First, Kwoon will announce to the others, "Any of you big strong folks want to help me open this strongbox? I have a crowbar, might have something of interest inside, like money."
While waiting for people to come help with the strongbox, Kwoon will grab something to cover his face and poke at the hatbox with his crowbar, assuming something bad is going to happen. If nothing happens, he'll grab the hatbox and smash it on the ground outside the window. If there are only trinkets inside, I'll climb out and get them. If there's a nasty thing inside that comes out when the hatbox is smashed, I'll close the window when the box smashes.
Baer reaches down to help Denario up, a smile spreading between her tusks.
"It is a lesson learned, human. Maybe next time you will last twice as long in the next fight."
With Denario and Mavor out of the water, Baer will take her muscles to aid Kwoon.
"What have you found, Ennui?" Baer asks while taking in the scene and the offered crowbar.
"Ah...I can do this...step back."
Baer will take the crowbar and make sure of it on the strong box.
Str Check
Baer adjusts her grip and tries again.
Str Check
"*Grrrr-oooff!*"
Kwoon carefully pokes the hatbox with his crowbar, but nothing happens. While he picks the hatbox up and walks over to the window, Baer takes the crowbar from him and tries to open the strong box. After adjusting her grip Baer breaks the strong box open.
Inside the strong box are several objects, all wrapped in cloth and tied shut with twine. The objects include a narrow teak cigar case inlaid with tiny bits of jade worth 25 gp, a 2-pound gold ingot worth 100 gp bearing the Cheliax coat of arms, a miniature gold crown worth 350 gp, a fist-sized scrimshaw carving of a kraken with garnets for eyes worth 200 gp, a silver ring worth 150 gp bearing the inscription “For Emmah—the light in my nights,” a highly realistic and highly scandalous ivory figurine of two entwined succubi worth 450 gp, a masterwork shuriken, an adamantine arrowhead, an abalone-shell holy symbol of Shelyn worth 300 gp, a tiny glass tube containing a dose of oil of keen edge, an obsidian wand of magic missile (23 charges), a crystalline vial (itself worth 50 gp) containing a dose of silversheen, and a bejeweled brooch with a broken clasp.
Even to an untrained eye, this brooch is obviously the most valuable object in the entire collection. The circular gold brooch depicts a pseudodragon and an imp coiled around each other in an almost yin-yang pattern. The pseudodragon’s eye is an amethyst, while the imp’s eye is an emerald. You estimate the brooch is worth 1,000 gp.
Meanwhile Kwoon has opened the window and smashed the hatbox on the ground outside of the fishery. The hatbox breaks and reveals something shocking— Zellara’s severed head, poorly preserved and decorated with unsightly makeup in a crude attempt to give her sagging flesh the semblance of life. Zellara's dead eyes stare at Kwoon, an expression of fear still visible on her face.
Kwoon sees a small wooden box under the stump of her neck.
"You're welcome, Denario." Allyph tries to hold back some tears. "I thought you'd died," she says emotionally, then quickly walks off to see what Baer's found.
"Ooh, pretty... Probably worth a lot, especially the brooch."
Hung Hei Kwoon will climb out the window and grab the small box, kicks the dead head into the water, then tries to open the box. If it's worthless, I'll throw it in the water with the head.
Baer sniffs at the broach, looking at it.
Know (Nobility)
"Looks and smells like the Queen's. It's definitely hers...though not sure why it would be here," Baer announces.
She offers the wand of magic missile to others, to see if any want to use it, holding it in front of Denario and Allyph the longest.
"This is a child's toy, useful, but not overly so."
Baer begins to help others gather all the loot...when she sees the head of Zellara, she pauses her work to walk over to the head to examine it.
Heal (untrained)
"That looks just like Zellara's twin sister. Clearly, that is the reason she called us together. To avenge her sister...I should bring her back a hand as trophy for her mantle."
Denario's eyes grow slightly as the revelation of all the expensive items, a raised corner of the mouth as he sees the lewd figurine of the succubi.
"Well, talking about hitting the jackpot."
, judging the values.
"...how do you even know the queen's smell?....Nevermind...."
At the grizzly discovery of the head Kwoon was holding.
"Yew..nasty piece. I once had a coroner at the table. Guy couldn't shut up, going on in detail how to see how long someone's been dead. This head, it's been like this for weeks."
Hearing Baer's reasoning he shrugs.
"She sent us here to retrieve her heirloom deck of cards and to avenge her son. But seeing the head raises the next question, if this is Zellara, then who sent us here?...", (questioning look at the others)
Kwoon's kick is a bit clumsy and the head ends up just a yard from where it was in the dirt. He opens the small wooden box and finds a Harrow deck. When Kwoon's about to toss the cards into the water he suddenly remembers the value of Harrow decks. Buying one costs you 100 gold.
"I did, Denario," a voice that's unmistakably Zelara's says. The direction the voice comes from is unclear.
"And why exactly did you kick me?" This time Zellara's voice comes from behind Kwoon. When he turns around she stands directly behind him. "I thought you liked civilization so much, and wanted to spread it? It's not very civilized to kick the dead, Kwoon."
Yep, Denario would have reached for Kwoon's hand to prevent him from throwing the cards away.
".....Zellara?.....Is this one of the mysteries of the harrow deck?"
"You... can keep it..." Allyph replies to Denario while looking through the window at Zellara and Kwoon, referring the the wand of magic missile. Allyph's expression is a mix of confusion, surprise, and a little bit of fear.
What's going on here...?
"I told you about my son Eran, who went after Lamm to reclaim my Harrow deck. When he didn't return I went after him, but that's where..."
"Lamm killed me. Fed my body to his alligator, like he did with so many kids." Zellara points at her own head. "He saved what he... liked..."
"When I died my soul was bound to my Harrow deck. I gathered you, because I knew you stood a chance to defeat Lamm. I've been observing you for some time."
Zellara steps up next to Denario. "I'd like you to carry my Harrow deck with you, Denario. I think you understand its value the best, because you have an affinity for the cards. Please keep it safe."
Baer listens, stunned, to Zellara's story.
"But...we ate your food..." Baer searches for something, forgetting, then remembering. "Did you want piece of his corpse to take with you? A tongue perhaps? Is there anything else you need?"
Denario is composed, but inside he's very angry at Lamm. Kids who couldn't make a name for themselves ever again.
"..I understand, i shall keep them safe, you can be sure of it."
"Uhm... no thanks," Zellara responds after staring at Baer few a few seconds. "Though if you could bury my head, I'd like that. Doesn't have to be at a cemetery, just bury it please. The food you ate was real by the way. Just a bit old and moldy, but I made it appear just fine."
"Oh don't worry!" Zellara says when she realizes what she just said. "It was fine! Really! It's wasn't that old yet, I bought it just before I died!"
I think...
Zellara looks relieved when Denario says he'll keep the card safe. "Thank you, Denario. I expected they'd be safe in your hands, but for a moment I worried if you'd perhaps start throwing them. That'd be... problematic for me."
"I want all of you to know I can't appear like this too often. So I will only do so when I feel it's required. You make always asks me questions though. I can reply without appearing. This appearance is just an illusion to make you feel less awkward, as I figured you'd feel weird when talking to the air."