Lefrik looks a bit green for a moment, but only a moment, "Indeed? I fear it is still not for me," Now happy to change the subject, he adds, "What will you do after this tournament is over?"
"After this game is done, I'll go look around some more," Anklebiter replies without a moment's hesitation. "So much to see in Riddleport, I won't grow bored. How about you, gigantic Lefrik Olegson? Have you more plans than none?"
"I hope to make my mark by great and glorious deeds," He sees no reason to lie about that, "The goal is clear... the path? That is still somewhat befogged."
"A bit vague," Anklebiter says amiably, "but so long as your first great deed is not Goblin-chopping or Goblin-punting, I shall wish you good luck."
Perception:
Man, I have a bad feeling the dice are going to turn on me when we get into combat...
"Well, no, 'great deeds' tend to involve a bit more than just defeating goblins. Frankly you're lucky to get noted taking down orcs up in the North. Ogres at least,"He thinks it over, not realizing how it might come across"Slaying ogres, maybe... dragons or giants, certainly. Still, one must hone ones skill with practice and by building up."
"Orcs are stupid," Anklebiter says, nodding. "But strong. Gamey, too. Ogres are even worse. Takes hours of pounding before their meat can go into the pot."
After about 30 minutes of uneventful watching, Calla spotted a halfling woman dipping her hand into a man's waistcoat. The hand came out with a bulging purse that was swiftly dropped into the bodice of her dress. The halfling spun as if hearing some one call her name, and she laughed. She moved off into the crowd without a glance backward, thinking she had been entirely successful in lifting the man's purse without being seen.
Calla will move purposefully toward the halfling, a low growl emanating from her throat as she first spots the theft.
When she reaches the woman, she'll put one hand firmly on her shoulder. "The Lady in the Room has given her protection to this event, and promises vengeance to thieves. Ah s'pect you don't wish to be on the end of that particular sting."
"Orcs are stupid," Anklebiter says, nodding. "But strong. Gamey, too. Ogres are even worse. Takes hours of pounding before their meat can go into the pot."
"I shall take your word for it. I prefer boar or stag myself."
The halfling dropped the purse and bolted for the door. She almost made it. One of the other guards managed to intercept her and a clout from a wooden truncheon he kept hanging from his belt sent the halfling sprawling. The man, Beyar, grabbed the halfling roughly by the scruff of her neck and dragged her to the back entrance. There, he smeared a glob of red lipstick across the halfling's face and tossed the woman out into the night. She landed in the mud on the filthy banks of the Velashu River as the bouncer slammed the door closed.
Many patrons applauded the act, and the man whose purse had been retrieved was very vocal in his appreciation. Beyar and Calla each received a gold coin in thanks, the coins not diminishing the weight of the purse by much at all.
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The beardless dwarf Bruendor managed to find himself a lively game of skiffs, and had a decent run of good luck before the house odds started whittling away at his chips. He managed to rake in nearly 6 Golden Eyes from his starting stake of 2g. Of course, if he kept playing, his luck was bound to improve...or would it?
"Let us see if we can't make quick work of the second layer of hell" Finishing her second ale, she tosses the dice...
"Another fierce woman," Anklebiter whispers to Lefrik, and nods surreptitiously in Calla's direction.
The crowd ooo-ed and aah-ed in appreciation as Belana's first roll turned up 17. The groupier called for an end to the betting and rolled his dice, but as Belana's second roll came to a halt, the crowd around her groaned. Another 17! As the groupier raked in the losers' chips, including Belana's, there was a smattering of the usual condolences, as well as more than a few jibes. It was human nature - and many of the other races as well - to be spiteful.
Bruendor glanced down at the six Eyes in hand, their weight far heavier than any coin had the right to be. "I could cash out right now, leave here, and still break even," he thought. He looked about the room, and noticed quite a few of his fellow damned souls making their way to the next station, and sighed. "No. Even here, I must go deeper to earn my salvation." He bribed a succubi to enter Dis, found a free seat at a Bounder table, and laid down an Eye.
He'll try to avoid Belana at first, if he notices her, but as the tables get smaller and smaller, it's only a matter of time...
Roll 1:
Roll 2:
"Another fierce woman," Anklebiter whispers to Lefrik, and nods surreptitiously in Calla's direction.
"Indeed," The northman agrees, "I had always heard city folk were soft, but I now have doubts."
"Bounder, bounder, bounder. Will she be up, or even down-der? Place your bets ladies and gentlemen. Time is done. Move it on now, move it on...and no more bets." The patter of the female groupier running Bruendor's table is much like that of the others, though the dwarf paid little attention to it. He was focused more on the rolls of the dice. His first roll was not too bad, a 7, but the dealer's roll was all that mattered.
And his second roll came up...a winner! The groupier slid 2 coins back to Bruendor.
Wathcing her chips disapear, Belana laughs loudly. "Seems it will cost me more than two gold eyes to get to the next layer of hell. 4 golden eyes says this dwarf is ready for another streak!"
Once again Belana's luck showed through, and she bounded the groupier's roll. She raked in 8 Golden Eyes and the crowd around her clapped appreciatively.
Bruendor winces as he hears Belana's laughter over the din of the Goblin's taproom. Wonderful, he thought. Another dwarf, and a woman to boot. Best stay unnoticed - it would be better for the both of us. He slid two more coins across the table, hoping his lucky streak has not ended just yet. Sure enough, his fortunes turn, leaving him with a small window to bound.
Roll 1:
Roll 2:
The groupier's patter goes on and on as the people at Bruendor's table laugh or groan at their luck. One human a few seats down raked in a dozen golden coins to guffaws of laughter. As bets were made and dice were cast, Bruendeor hoped that his luck had turned...
It had, for the worse. His second throw was only two spots from his first, and certainly nowhere near bounding the croupier's. The woman raked in his chips and passed another handful to the big winner at the table's end.
Calla snatches the gold piece out of the air, and pockets it. "A fine tribute to mah goddess. May you never come into her disfavor."
She continues searching the hall, looking for any others who are trying to cheat.
"An unlucky turn, to be sure. Let's see if my luck is destined to improve this day." He slid two more Eyes onto the table, somewhat pleased at the wider window than last throw.
Roll 1:
Roll 2:
Bruendor decided to give it one last try, hoping that the odds would be in his favor. His face fell once again as the dice turned against him. He watched mournfully as the croupier raked in his chips and doled out the winnings to others. He sighed and continued to pony up the chips he had bought and won.
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Bruendor cursed under his breath in Dwarven as the dice went against him again. He inhaled, and slammed two more Eyes on the table. "One last time, before I try my luck elsewhere." He stares at the bounds he had created. "Where were you last throw?" He leans back, and waits for the inevitable.
Roll 1:
Roll 2:
The time passed quickly with the gambling and drinking. Some players lost their stakes early on and were given their "marks" by succubi kiss. Others won big and decided to cash out, to the same tune. There were only a few other altercations of the like that Calla had witnessed, though she only had to get involved in one more, tossing a tiefling out for trying to switch dice in a Bounder game. Bruendor and Belana actually managed to come out ahead in chips and were sitting on a tidy sum each.
Calla looked around, spotting a tall dark-haired man with a wicked widow's peak moving towards the lavatories. He held his hand in his pocket as if her were grasping something. Just before he entered the lav, he turned and gave a single nod, then disappeared inside. Calla looked around and realized that Saul was not on the floor; probably making a deposit run, placing a sum of gold in the Golden Goblin's vault.
Belana looked up to see the woman across from her - a small human woman who had a smooth silky voice, and only one eye - suddenly stand and walk away from the table. It was only of note because she had been winning, and winners almost never left the table without some form of conversation. The woman walked towards the center of the Goblin, near to where the giant chest sat.
Lefrik also noted the woman's departure, as he had been eyeing her for the last half hour, wondering how she lost that eye and whether he could arrange for her to tell him about it in a more private setting. He also realized that several large thugs were moving in the same general direction as the woman. He pointed this out to Anklebiter, who appeared moderately interested as well.
Bruendor had no idea who the hulking human was that was crowding him so. All he knew was that the man was leaning against the table, practically on top of Bruendor, yet he never spared the dwarf a glance. He was focused on the chest of coins, and on a few other large humans that had a similar build as his own.
Whether just curious, or suspicious, each of you notice one thing in common; all of the people that you are watching close their eyes tightly at the same time.
Let's have a Will save from everyone. Belana and Calla get to add +5.
Bruendor initially pays the hulking man near him no mind - the Goblin was a sea of humanity, and that meant one's personal space was often intruded. His eyes closing was curious - the fact that he was doing this at the same time as a number of others was suspicious. He glances about the room, trying to figure out what these men and women were up to.
Will save:
Awesome! I'm doomed!
Strange, she had a streak going, can't remember the last time, some just walked away from gold......it almost looks like she is meeting those men. I don;t think theya re closing their eyes to pray.
'Maybe they're going to try to steal the big chest?' Anklebiter thinks as he glances at the one-eyed woman and the thugs.
The thought intrigues him; a big room like this, erupting into a brawl, could prove to be entertaining. By Goblin standards, anyway.
"Ah got a bad feeling about this."
Lefrik muttered to Anklebiter, "The one eyed beauty she has some burly men with her following." He pointed out the thugs as discretely as he could. I know nothing of this sort of thing, but it seems suspicious.
"Yes, yes," Anklebiter says, nodding. "Looks like dirty dealings." He grins -- then coughs and turns more seious. "Maybe you'll have a great deed sooner than you thought?"
Calla was watching for the man in the lav to return when she saw the door crack for just a moment. Thus, she was looking the opposite direction when several of the braziers and torches in the center of the room burst into fireworks. Many of the guests cried in alarm as they were suddenly blinded by the flash of light, including Lefrik and Bruendor.
The thugs draw swords and maces as the one-eyed woman shouts, "All right folks! Drop to the ground and don't try anything stupid and we might let you live!"
We are entering Round 1 of combat.
Initiatives:
Anklebiter 21
Thugs 20
Belana 19
Lefrik 14
Bruendor 8
Calla 9
Initiatives:
Bruendor clutches his eyes as the flash leaves him senseless. He briefly toys with the idea of resisting, but his hopefully temporary disability quickly crushes that thought. Play for time, scout, he thought. Once you can see what the opposition is, you can make a better determination on what to do. He holds up his hands and slowly drops to a knee.
Anklebiter squeals with pain when the fireworks flare up. It is perhaps his people's reflex to shut his eyes immediately when confronted with bright light that saves him from being blinded.
"Barghests' bowels, that hurts!" he squeals as he wipes the tears from his eyes -- and sees the thieves. "Oh, they are trying to steal the money. I thought they might. Oh. Uh."
The Goblin's ears droop as he realizes that he has just drawn the attention of several burly, well-armed humans of the criminal persuasion, who have already threatened to kill their own kind. He considers the chance of their sparing a noisy little Goblin, and his ears droop even further.
"This was supposed to be your chance for heroics, gigantic human," Anklebiter grumbles at Lefrik, "not mine."
The Goblin suddenly explodes into action. One of his hands darts into a pouch hanging from his belt and yanks out a twist of paper with a gobbet of animal fat in it. "Solum Unctum," the Goblin chants, and flicks his wrist. Beneath the robbers' feet, a sudden layer of greasy liquid rises from the ground.
Both Anklebiter and his monkey blow a raspberry at the robbers, and the Goblin starts running around them, counter-clockwise, giggling at the top of his voice.
Two of the thugs move to intercept a pair of guardsmen that managed to avoid being blinded by the pyrotechnics. The other two slip on the floor that suddenly seems to be friction-less. Both fall to the ground, one cracking his elbow quite painfully on the other's chin.
The man with the widow's peak pulls a scroll from his pocket and moves purposefully towards the coin chest, ignoring all others in the room. Meanwhile, the woman sees the capering goblin and mouths the words of a spell. Anklebiter feels the beginnings of a spell trying to take hold of his mind as the woman completes the words.
Lefrik blinks as the world goes black.
"What cowardly trick is this?"
"This was supposed to be your chance for heroics, gigantic human," Anklebiter grumbles at Lefrik, "not mine."
"Then you shall have be heroic long enough for my eyes to clear so I may break the necks of the mongeral dogs who use such magics on me," He explains. "Let me know when one nears and tell me where to strike..." He raises his axe
Calla smiles coldly at the man making a move toward the treasure chest. "You'll feel the sting of Calistria's vengeance tonight," she says quietly, pointing at the man, as she pulls her whip free from its ties.
With perfect timing, Belana closes her eyes to offer a quick prayer to her god. Still she was aware of a briefly but violent change in lighting. Looking around, Belana realizes a theft is in progress and roars into action. Closing on one fo the thugs, she lunges with her rapier..... "As a chosen of Cayden Cailien, I will not allow this desecration!"
A strange, uncomfortable feeling comes over Anklebiter, but he manages to shake it off.
'I think she just tried to cast a spell on me,' he thinks to himself, eyeing the human woman near the chest. 'Well, lady - let's see how you like it!'
"Stilla Acida!" the little Goblin shouts, and points a finger at the one-eyed woman. A small orb of greenish liquid shoots towards the 'lady', trailing a sharp, bitter stench as it goes. Anklebiter keeps running without checking to see whether his spell hit, and tries to get the chest squarely between the woman and himself.
As Calla completed her call for retribution, one of the gamblers near the man with the widow's peak decided to make a run for it. Without looking, he bolted, tripping over a succubi lying on the floor. His head slammed into the jaw of the man with the widow's peak, sending him reeling and nearly causing him to drop his scroll. The dark haired man cursed and kept moving for the chest.
Despite Belana's best intentions, instead of skewering the thug she was aiming at, she instead skewered a loaf of bread. In dismay, she flicked the bread from her rapier as the thug laid a haymaker blow on the guard that had some rushing up to stop him. The blow knocked the guard out cold, and the thug turned to face Belana.
Meanwhile, Anklebiter told Lefrik that there was an enemy 10 feet straight forward, and not to step on the two people lying on the ground in front of him. Lefrik managed to stumble past and laid a massive blow at the one-eyed woman that barely missed. His axe buried itself into a skiffs table, and the woman ducked behind him to avoid the goblin's blob of acid.
One of the guards managed to land a decent blow on the thug that Belana was fighting, while the other two thugs still slipped and slid in the greasy spot on the floor.
Freeing her blade form the bread, Belana extends her blade in the classic dueling pose. "It's bad enough you are stealing, worse that you are interupting good people sharing drink, but I WAS ON A ROLL!" Lunging forward quickly, with IronHand anger boiling over, she launches a vicious strike at the thug.
Calla smiles darkly at the man's misfortune as she makes her way closer to him. About 10 feet away, she pulls her arm back and snaps it forward, the whip cracking as it flies toward its target.
She curses -- "Devil's balls!" -- as the man's grip on the scroll appears to be too tight for her to pull it loose.
All around him, Bruendor can hear the shouts and screams of battle. He grasps at the table nearby, and flips it over, pressing his back against it for safety's sake. His vision is beginning to swim back into focus, but everything is blurred - colors race in front of him, and he dared not make himself a target until he could take in his surroundings. He grabbed for his sap, and prepared to defend himself, if needs be.
Meanwhile, Anklebiter told Lefrik that there was an enemy 10 feet straight forward, and not to step on the two people lying on the ground in front of him. Lefrik managed to stumble past and laid a massive blow at the one-eyed woman that barely missed. His axe buried itself into a skiffs table, and the woman ducked behind him to avoid the goblin's blob of acid.
Still blind, Lefrik hears the chunk of the axe against the wood, "Unless my foe has turned into a tree, I suspect I have missed. Keep guiding me, Anklebiter"
He attempts to free his axe and swing it at his unseen target.
"Jump left, swing high, then low!" Anklebiter shouts at Lefrik.
As for himself, the Goblin flicks his hand at the one-eyed woman again as soon as Lefrik is out of the way. "Stilla Acida!" he chants, and another gob of green goo goes whizzing away.
The Goblin cackles with mirth when he sees his projectile hit, but does not stop running.
Belana's follow on strike caught the thug in the throat. Her righteous fury drove the blade deep, and the man fell to the floor with a gurgle in his throat and fear in his eyes. The dwarf looked up in time to see Callas's whip snapping by the scroll-bearer's hand. The strike missed, and the man clutched his scroll tightly. His eyes widened, and Calla tuned to see the blinded barbarian, following he tattooed goblin's directions, bury his axe deep into the one-eyed woman"s chest. She looked down at the massive wound and then was bowled over by a blob of acid shooting from the goblin's hand.
The man screamed something at the barbarian before drawing a sickle with one hand and raising the other to throw a set of magical missiles. Lefrik was nearly knocked over by the tiny balls of light. Seeing things turn sour, the remaining thug fighting the guards turned to run, but the pair of guards hit hm from behind. The sound of he man's head hitting the loot was heard even over the rest of the fighting. One of the thugs on the floor managed to make it out of the grease, only a few feet from both Calla and Bruendor. The man grabbed the beardless dwarf's leg to help drag himself free.
2 thugs and the one-eyed woman down.