Oh for a straight up fight with enough room to MOVE a little!
"Must we always be boxed in?"
I'll save my music and magic for now, they do not look like a true threat to my companions.
Round 1, Init 13
Appario grimaces as he gets caught by the crossbow bolt.
Stupid! Getting caught like that.
Appario tries to move through Thief #1, tumbling and ducking around the man.
Acrobatics vs. Thief #1 CMD +5
If successful, Appario waits for Derek to come play as well then strikes with precision.
to hit;
damage.
If he fails, Appario will try to hit Thief #1.
to hit;
damage.
***
Appario fails to get past the thief, but he notices something strange in his attempt. There seems to be something solid behind the thief, where there should simply be more hallway.
Figuring it's simply his mind playing tricks on him, Appario doesn't get time to think too much on the conundrum as the thief's rapier comes down on him.
Appario's ease of movement makes it too hard for the thief to hit him.
Instead, Extortion is driven into the thief's side, causing a stream of blood in its wake as Appario pulls the sword back.
***
Yahirma, feeling much like Derek, also elects not to join the fray. But she does move closer, in the hope that she might be able to cause some misfortune in their enemies.
***
The thieves attack their nearest targets. The ones by Appario and Xerath strike with their rapiers, while the last thief drops his crossbow and draws his rapier before attempting to hit Maddok.
The one fighting Xerath appears to succeed in his attempt, looking to hit Xerath where it might truly hurt. Yet he somehow fails to even strike the hooded man. The other thieves both miss.
Maddok bats his opponent's flimsy rapier aside and answers with a pair of crushing blows of his own.
Xerath moves(provoking from all 3) to R28 and fires off two more bolts of fire at thief number 2.
Maddok's hammer crushes the life from the thief attacking him, while the searing fire sent forth from Xerath's arms engulf the other, sending him into a smoldering heap even as he sends one final attack against the sorcerer.
The thief sends the point of his rapier towards Xerath as he moves, but fails to come anywhere near him.
***
You just wait, once I get my new weapon and complete my training I won't be holding back like this.
...
Er...YOU specificly don't have to wait, you'll be dead in a minute.
...
Sorry about that.
...
All in all, it's been a pretty rough day for us both.
...
Better luck tomorrow.
...
Well, better luck next life maybe.
Round 2, Init 13
Appario grunts with failure for his last actions.
I can do better!
Appario tries again to get behind his foe.
Acrobatics vs. Thief#1 CMD + 5 (which will fail again because there is no place to go, yes?)
Will save
to hit;
damage.
Edit: prot crit:
to hit;
damage.
(which will fail again because there is no place to go, yes?)
***
Weaving his way past the thief, Appario finds himself crashing into a wall on the other side, forcing him to take a step back. It's now plain as day for the holy warrior that there's an illusion covering the back wall here, making it seem as if the hallway is twice as long as it actually is.
In place of his acrobatic move, Appario skewers the thief, expertly sending Extortion directly into the man's heart and through his body.
***
Maddok searches the thieves and the room briefly.
Maddok finds that these thieves are outfitted much like the previous ones; each wears +1 leather armor and carries a masterwork hand crossbow and a masterwork rapier, as well as on average 300 gp of coins and jewelry.
Maddok's cursory search of the room yields no results. It's a plain, unadorned room, most likely only used as a guard position.
After stripping the dead, Maddok hands the equipment off to Appario.
"What have you found over there?"
"Good work with the trap Livia", Maddok comments. "Without your sharp eye I could have been hurt."
"Do you see anything else?"
"Can we move on now?"
"Appario's found something over here."
"Has he admitted that? Or is he going to deny it?"
Maddok glances at Xerath in confusion, "I'm not sure."
Heh, I should sell tickets for the future showdown between those two, I'd make a fortune. Especially if I set it up like a comedic show.
"Come see Tybian the pratfalling Paladin vs Bluehood the sarcastic wit".
...
Of course, then they'd probably team up, beat me down and steal my earnings.
"Unless each of these villains happened to be independently wealthy, I would say that we have a well-funded operations here," remarks Yahirma as she quickly stacks and assesses the equipment. As she ties together sheafs of rapiers, she watches Appario and Xerath's suspicions flare.
"I realize that there may be deeper plots unfolding around us and that the alarm may have been called in this section of the building, but should we not try to make the most of our element of surprise?"
Maddok looks down the hallway Appario is studying.
"If they've used magic to mask this way, something must be hidden here. We should search this area before we go back."
Maddok and the hound search starting with the room the guards were just in.
Derek pretends to go along with the search, but in reality he is scouting for more means that a hidden foe might be using to keep track of his companions.
The little imp flies about, excited to be a small part of this bloodsoaked adventure. "No, I can't find anything."
Neither Maddok, his archon, or Derek are able to notice any hidden paths forward.
The Shoanti frowns, "Perhaps not."
Maddok heads back into the previous area and checks the door on the right.
Xerath will center himself as he casts a spell and looks down the corridor. "If they've used magic to mask the way, I will use magic to uncover it."
***
The door Maddok checks leads to an unassuming storage room, containing little of value. The room contains various supplies, such as bundles of rope, water casks, dried foods, and candles.
***
Xerath finds a moderate magic aura on the part of the hallway where Appario insists there's a wall rather than a continuation of the hall, but with his limited knowledge of the arcane he's unable to determine the school of magic the effect belongs to.
"Livia, can you come here and tell me more about this wall? It is radiating magic, but I need your knowledge of the arcane to identify it. I did remember to teach you how to detect the presence of magic, didn't I?"
"You didn't need to teach me that, silly! I'm an imp!" Livia laughs while she flies over, then begins focusing where Xerath suggests.
She pouts in frustration once she finishes her investigation. "I can't figure out what type of magic this is."
"I learn something new about you everyday. That is alright, I will find out the old fashioned way I suppose." Xerath walks up to the wall and touches it.
Maddok exits the uninteresting storage room and returns to the enchanted hallway/wall that Livia is now studying.
"Have you found anything Appario?"
"Yahirma and little brother, do either of you make anything of this magic?"
As for Appario before him, touching the solid wall makes it very obvious to Xerath that the hallway stretching out ahead must have simply been an illusion.
***
A cursory glance doesn't provide any further information for Appario either. It's clear that if there is a path forward from here, it must be hidden well.
***
"Take your time Appario, there's no other ways out from here. There must be something hidden."
Appario mentions the illusion.
Then takes out his lens and begins to search.
Perception
If that fails, he'll be forced to take 20 to search, taking his time for a 36 Perception.
With the aid of his lens, Appario finds a hidden door, expertly placed to blend into the wall, at the intersection of S28/S29.
Once it's pointed out by Appario, Maddok nods for the group to follow and tries the hidden door.
Before that though, he asks for the spirits to shield him from whatever lies behind.
Xerath will nod back and also shield himself before Maddok opens the door.
***
Behind the door, Maddok finds a narrow hallway leading north, but both it and whatever is beyond lies in darkness.
Anyone who can see in the dark (such as Xerath) who looks into the hallway can see it's fairly short, opening into a room after about 20 ft.
***
Hmm, a hidden door behind an illusion...crafty, but what is the point?
If our foe is smart and do not underestimate us, he will know we were bound to find this eventually.
Derek pulls at his beard, surprised when he notices how long and unkept it has become.
I meant to do something about that, but I got distracted...
With one last glance over his shoulder in case the orb is back, Derek makes ready for what is ahead.
The hound reaches up and touches a paw to Maddok's hammer causing it to shine with a bright light.
With the way lit, Maddok leads the way in.
Appario nods to Maddok and is ready to enter.
Appario is happy to move to guard the door at X24.
Yahirma has no further preparation beyond casting guidance on herself.
***
Just as Maddok reaches the end of the hallway and notices a door in the northern wall of the room ahead, four thin spikes come through the wall beside him at a rapid pace, each apparently mounted to something behind it.
Only one spike hits him, dealing 6 damage. At the same time, darkness descends upon the room ahead. The flame on Maddok's hammer is still there, yet its light is unable to penetrate the darkness ahead.
Virtually immediately following, a pair of daggers come flying out of the darkness towards him.
Both daggers hit, dealing a total of 17 damage. The Shoanti warrior feels something besides simple steel in the wounds, but his body appears to fight off the invasion.
***