Poog moves to the woman, checking to see if she's still alive.
"Either he am redecorating, or someone am indeed taking him," the goblin says.
Asha starts to step forward, but stills herself when she sees Poog attempting to heal the fallen woman. His healing magic is more potent than mine, and I can do nothing for the dead, she reminds herself. Instead, she begins to move quickly through the rest of the house, looking for any others - friend or foe - who might still be found. Her glaive quivers in white-knuckled hands as she searches.
Even amidst the scene of death, Zak finds himself again pondering the wonders of goblins. He cares not for any of our conventions, yet here he is again showing more concern for life than I do? Have we judged the tribes wrong all these years? Perhaps there is much to the goblins that we do not understand? "What do you think Poog, is she alive?" Zak turns from his pondering to inspect the chambers as a detective would, looking for any signs or clues as to what occurred.
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"Poog am still looking!" the goblin snaps.
He picks up her head and lets go.
Hmm. If she's dead, I don't have to waste magic on her, he thinks, but then it's harder to get the information we need about Marythsan. Next time, just hide and save me the trouble, stupid pinkskin.
He continues his work, oblivious to any other's thoughts or actions.
It doesn't take long for Poog to find that the woman is dead. The gaping puncture wound in her chest leaves little doubt of that. She is heavily tattooed, in a style that is familiar to the goblin witch. The Xun he killed the night before bore similar markings. As he checks her body, he finds a slip of paper in her sleeve, splattered with a bit of her blood.
Unfolding the paper reveals a sketch of Marythsan's face, along with the words "Yon Loi's. New Harbor docks, Aspis handoff," written in Tien.
The goblin shrugs as he stands up.
"She am dead. She am having same marks as assassin who am trying to kill Poog. She probably am killed trying to capture Marythsan."
He mutters a quick incantation to see if the paper has any magic. If not, he passes it to Simon to unfold.
Simon scans the paper quickly. "We may yet be able to save him," he says. "This paper suggests he is to be handed over to the Aspis consortium at the New Harbor docks. There is no time indicated, so I suggest we go there post-haste and collect what assistance we can on the way."
At Simon's words Zak again takes to the skies, searching for the nefarious actions at the new harbor docks.
Zarina will fly after Zak while her Fly spell is still in effect.
You race towards the harbor as the sun's light begins to fade. Hardly anyone is on the streets tonight, as most of New Harbor has attended the festivities at the Pavilion. You arrive in short order at the docks, also devoid of people. The gentle lapping of the waves against the pylons sunk into the water is the prevalent sound, though you do hear movement at a ship moored eighty feet away. The docks themselves are narrow planks that would be difficult to walk upon in broad daylight, making for treacherous footing this close to twilight. About halfway down the two piers nearest to the boat you see a total of five people blocking any easy path towards the ship. Despite the relative dim light, you recognize each and every one of them.
Risha Coaltongue. Darys Shrike. Mol Kor. Pirin Agramont. Kaditula Ghadvhi. The Four From Avistan, along with Asha's wayward brother. All of them have weapons out, and notice you as you approach, and Risha gives out a particularly nasty oath as she spies you.
"Don't let them interfere with the exchange!", she cries out as the five begin moving towards you.
"Kill the archer first!", Risha calls out to the group. "Take him out of the fight!" She pulls an arrow from her pack and fires it at Zak, and leaps off of the pier. Rather than splashing into the water, she lands upon it as though it were solid ground, and starts circling around your group counter-clockwise. Her shot strikes Zak in the side, inflicting a painful wound on the archer.
Round 1, init 21
Zak endures the pain of the arrow, his focus completely on the traitor Darys. "Murderer, your head is mine!" he swears as an oath and his bow responds. For the second time in the day a weapon speaks, to the party's surprise, this time Zak's bow shouting "Death to those who have wronged me!" Unleashing a full barrage of arrows with speed, Zak targets the traitor and murderer of his friend, the sworn enemy he pursued to this island.
Simon hangs back behind the others, crosses his arms in front of his chest and starts to chant in an urgent tone.
"You'll have to be more specific, kiddo," Darys says as Zak pulls the arrows from his quiver. "I've done a lot of killing in my - OOF!" Once, twice, thrice, and a fourth time, the arrows strike Darys, sending the man back as many steps as the shafts find their new home in his chest. He stumbles and falls, and already, one of the Four has fallen.
"Dammit!", Risha cries as she sees Zak's handiwork. "I said kill Zakarras! He'll turn us all to pincushions if we don't remove him now!"
"I've got him," Pirin says, also leaping off of the dock, but taking to the air rather than the water. "Mol Kor, get Darys' worthless ass up again - I'm sure he'll want to give Zak a retort." She says some words of arcane power, and black rubbery tentacles appear beneath your feet.
Ignoring the tentacles grabbing him, Poog glares at Risha and Kaditula, the air seeming to darken and writhe momentarily between the two.
"Hmmph. You am stupid. Run away now and you am not ending up like pin cushion," he calls before beginning to chant in goblin
"Goblin look and goblin stare / enemies fall to goblin's glare / human writhes and human dies / goblin plucks and eats their eyes."
"Wonderful," Risha says, a hint of dread in her voice. "The little snot is singing. I guess I know who's next, once Zak's down."
"Do not underestimate them," Kaditula replies shakily. "They've already dropped one of your number. End this quick, or you'll jeopardize everything." His body language is stiffer now, more unsure than it was when you arrived - still, he swings the spiked chain in his hands defensively, ready to engage once you approach.
"End it quickly?", Mol Kor bellows, a mocking laugh in his voice. "The Lord in Iron would not approve of that! The longer this fight goes, the greater the honor to him!" He leaps off the pier he was on, and rushes over across the water's surface to Darys' side. He chants and lays a hand upon the fallen fighter's shoulder. "Get up, Darys - there's still work to be done, and glory to be gained!" The grievous wounds begin to close up, and while he's hardly at full strength again, he glances at Zak in the writhing tentacles with a look of unbridled fury.
"That hurt," Darys says as he begins to find his feet. "I'm going to enjoy killing you, you miserable wretch!"
CMB
If Zarina breaks the grapple, she plans on moving out of the range of the tentacles with her move action.
Poog snarls at Risha and continues to chant...
With a mighty tug, Zarina pulls herself free of the writhing tentacles, and advances towards the Four Plus One From Avistan. Risha looks displeased as the golden-scaled warrior woman advances upon them. "Pirin, a little help?"
"She's fire resistant," the sorceress replies, rolling her eyes. "Someone else will have to go after her."
Simon struggles to free himself -- but fails, grunting with pain.
"Stay out of this, Asha," Kaditula says as a remorseful look grows upon his face. "Don't make me hurt you. That's the one thing I know I'm good at. If you force my hand, I'll start...with her." He gestures with his chain towards Zarina, who has just freed herself from the tentacles. His eyes are cold, and there's a tightness in his throat, but he grips his length of chain tightly, prepared for his sister's fateful decision.
"You want something done right," Darys says, standing up and glaring at Zak. "Do it your own damn self!" He pulls a throwing axe from his belt with blinding speed, and tosses it at Zak's head. His aim is shaky, after being peppered with so many arrows, and the axe lands in the water. "Dammit! That was my third favorite axe!"
Asha glances at her brother, but doesn't reply to him. Instead she draws a potion bottle from her belt and drinks it, rising slightly into the air as she does.
Simon does not so much burst forth from the tentacles, as he twists loose and manages to slip past the others. As soon as he is out with room to move, he draws his blade and levels it at Mol Kor.
"You proclaim a love of forthright battle, sirra!" he shouts. "Will you face a measly old man, then, without the support of your companions? Magnificat Felis!"
"A challenge?", Mol Kor bellows, a toothsome smile coming to his lips. "Of course, old man! Let us pay homage to Gorum together this day!"
"No!", Risha shouts, staying atop the water's surface for now. "Don't listen to him, he's trying to keep us unfocused! And why hasn't anyone f**king killed Zakarras yet?!?" A frantic look comes over her face as she fires a pair of arrows towards Zak again, but the spry warrior dodges both of them.
"Zakarras, Poog think they am scared most of you! They am wetting their pants like they am little girls!" he taunts with a laugh.
They am going to learn soon who am most dangerous, the goblin thinks evilly.
Round 2, init 21
Zak stays focused on the traitor Darys. "Your death will be today!"
Zak's first arrow catches Darys in the chest again, and he falls to his knees for the second time in so many moments. The second pierces his eye, snapping the man's head back and sending him sprawling to the dock.
The other two weren't necessary to kill Darys. They served only to close the book on Zak's revenge.
Pirin's eyes widen as she sees Zak's ferocity, and turns her attention directly to him. "Let's see how well you burn, archer!" She raises her hands and a sphere of flame begins to grow as she chants. She hurls the orb towards you, and it explodes around your group.
The tentacles around Poog continue to squeeze, gripping the little goblin tightly.
Poog ducks as the flames wash over him, letting the tentacles take the brunt of the blast.
Grimacing for a moment, he snarls at Risha and Kaditula, pulling out a pair of twigs and snapping them, pulling the edges across his throat. All the while, he continues to chant in goblin.
"Goblins kill early, goblins kill late / face a goblin, and seal your fate"
Asha twists between the tentacles, and when the burst of flame is over, not even her hair is singed. She frowns at Pirin, but she doesn't even seem to have noticed Zak's vengeful murder.
Both Risha and Kaditula look a bit shaken by the grim tone of Poog's chant. It seems the woman's resolve is a bit shaken, and Kaditula doesn't seem pleased by the way this fight has gone at all.
Mol Kor, however, couldn't care less. "For the glory of Gorum!", he bellows, charging towards Simon. He swipes at him with his greatsword, and while Simon is able to avoid the worst of it, the tip of the half-orc's blade scratches across the old man's chest. "First blood to me, old man!"
Zarina rages and moves toward the closest opponent, probably Mol Kor, by my guess. "I'm more than resistant to fire, I'm descended from fire," she screams with fury.
Claw with Rage and Power Attack
Damage plus
fire
"No!" Simon shouts at Zarina as he bursts into action. "Focus on the others, this one is mine!"
Simon is a blur - an airborne blur - as he suddenly leaps over Mol Kor, landing behind him.
"House Greer!" he shouts as he lashes out, his voice hoarse. "Unto death or redemption! House Greer!"
"House Greer, and the death of our enemies!" the sword suddenly shouts, its metallic voice clanging with wrath.
Zarina tears into Mol Kor with her claws with a great cry, her talons slicing through his spiked full plate like a hot knife through butter. As the half-orc reels from the onslaught, Simon catches him, and shoves Grovnaidel into the opening Zarina has rent for him. His footing is suddenly less sure, but shoves Simon away, staggering to his full height again. "You're strong!", he chuckles, his teeth stained crimson from his own blood. "The Lord in Iron might just be on your side today!"
"He's certainly not on ours!", Kaditula shouts shakily. It's clear his resolve has been shaken, but he heads directly for the melee, lashing out at Zarina with his spiked chain.
Kaditula nearly loses his grip on the spiked chain, but it's clear that he's very practiced with the weapon - he grabs the end of it as it slips away, spins, and rakes the length of it across Zarina's chest. "Then again, maybe not..."
Asha glances at Kadi, but all she says to Zarina is, "Please don't kill him before I finish with Pirin." She swoops forward, dodging lazily between the writhing tentacles, before putting on a burst of speed and bringing her glaive down toward the sorceress' head.
Asha leaps into the air, her glaive leading the way. When she rises to Pirin's level, she swings at the half-elven woman, opening a wound in her shoulder. Though her blade connects, it encounters a good deal of resistance, and the wound is far less grievous than it could have been.
Risha curses as she sees the holy warrior take to the skies. "If you want something done right...", she says with a sneer, rushing towards the melee, pulling a short sword as she goes. Watch out!, a metallic voice cries out, but it's too late. She slips in behind Simon, and thrusts her blade towards the old man.
The blade slips in between Simon's ribs, and a smug look of confidence crosses the woman's face. "I'll gut you all for interfering in the Consortium's business!"
Round 3, init 21
Turning his attention to Pirin, Zak unleashes another wave of arrows.
Pirin cries out as three arrows slam into her, each one splitting the last. Risha calls up to Pirin, "So, you want to start listening to me about taking down Zak, firetw-"
"SHUT UP!", she calls down to the other woman, floating away from Asha as she does. One of her hands is holding the arrows that have pierced her, while the other is conjuring another gout of flames. "You may beat us, Warriors, but I will make your victory costly." She points her finger towards Zak.
"[b]Burn."
Twin lances of flame sear their way towards Zak.
One of the lances nearly strikes Zak right in the face, but he is able to turn away in the last moment. Both strike home, however, and his body is wracked with pain as his flesh sizzles and blackens. "Still up?", the woman calls down with fury in her voice. "Why won't any of you just die?!?"
"We am not done killing you yet, so we am not dying before that am happening," Poog declares as he again lets the tentacles writhe over him, barely seeming to notice their grasping clutches.
He continues to glare at his two victims, pulling out a small leather fetish and whipping his arm with it once, as he resumes cackling.
Retribution: A witch can place a retribution hex on a creature within 60 feet, causing terrible wounds to open across the target's flesh whenever it deals damage to another creature in melee. Immediately after the hexed creature deals damage in melee, it takes half that damage (round down). This damage bypasses any resistances, immunities, or damage reduction the creature possesses. This effect lasts for 4 rounds. A Will save negates this effect.