"Sama'el, please add your ideas. My mind is so wrapped up in conspiracies, I may be missing the forest from the trees."
Epik, those will all hit so please roll a DC23 reflex save for each one to prevent having your weapon stuck to the tar covered creature.
Meerthan nods, "I will let Fellian know if there is a change."
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"I trust Skie from our time together as adventurers and I would trust Maavu, but he is tied up with other concerns in Redgorge. And, if I'm being honest, the Lord Mayor was weak and a terrible leader, but was a good soul at heart. He just couldn't move the entrenched nobility. Just having him on your side would be valuable if you can find him."
He removes his glasses and wipes them deliberately before continuing, "You also need to consider that when there is a vacuum of power, what will happen if you just let it fill on its own. You may need to push someone in the right direction or even take on something yourself. Look for those opportunities."
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Sam smiles at Vortimax, "I apologize for just lurking and not speaking there is just so much happening since we have left that I am still trying to wrap my head around it"
"Do you know what happened to the Mayor? All we have heard is that is is gone"
"What do you think of Lord Vhalantru?"
"Do you know what happened to the churches around town? The Church of Iomedae wouldn't even help one of it's high priestesses, we were just attacked at the Temple of Pharasma by the high priest, who had summoned devils and had undead minions attending to him, there seems to be no spiritual support left in this town and honestly no hope of any sort"
Nowzai nods, adding, "I can only suspect that the conflict with Redgorge was orchestrated for this very reason: to draw power and leaders away from the city. Is there any way we could recall them? It would be a simple matter if we could identify the true threat to Cauldron."
i will check on jenya to see how her recovery is going.
So none of the young soldiers of Iomeade showed up at Gurzenon?
"I haven't looked into the Mayor's disappearance, so I can't speculate. Seems it's likely caught up in this. He wasn't the kind of man to depart the city."
He fusses around until he discovers a pipe and packs it with tobacco, lighting it before he continues, "Lord Vhalantru? He's a noble. Don't like most of them ... you being an exception, Nowzai, because of your keen mind. He's relatively new ... 10 or 15 years here, but other than that, can't say I think much about the man."
He continues to puff on his pipe, blowing a few well-formed smoke rings, "I feel the same about the churches ... not a religious man, myself, so I let the commoners complain about services and whose sword is bigger."
;
Epik hammers the fiend several times, ripping his blade away from the sticky tar and shoving it right back into the beast's flesh, carving armor and searing skin. His last blow, however, catches and the paladin can't remove it.
The fiend stops laughing, screaming in rage and spouting ichor from multiple heinous wound, lashes out with its blades. It then finishes with a vicious bite catching the paladin in a vice like grip around his head before Epik is able to rip away, spraying blood all over the room.
; HIT!;
; HIT!;
; miss
; HIT!; ; CRIT!;
Epik takes a 5' step back, heals himself as a swift action, draws his bow and then fires on the beast.
Epik steps back and fumbles the arrow on its string and when he lets it fly it flips end over end to harmlessly clatter at the fiend's feet.
Dripping a heavy yellow ichor from multiple wounds and breathing heavily, the demon-like creature lashes out with its blades lunging forward across the distance to strike at the paladin without moving away from the door striking him twice again.
; HIT!; ; CRIT!;
; miss
; miss
; HIT!;
Epik, struggling to keep his composure, heals himself as a swift action and then steps back 5' and full round attacks with his bow. "I command you back to the Abyss, demon!"
;
;
Desperate, Epik feathers two arrows into the fiends' chest but is last one ricochets off its helmet. The beast lurches forward fangs bared only to fall in a heap at the paladins feet. A few moments later it dissolves into a pool of tar and all remnants of it are gone.
Leaning on his bow, Epik retrieves his sword just as the door slams open and Jenya storms in.
"What in the Nine Hells happened here?!" She hollers, her mace glowing in her right hand. Epik can see the bodies of acolytes behind her scattered on the ground, blood pooling around their heads, obviously having streamed from their ears. In the distance he hears angry yelling and the clanging of steel.
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Epik closes his eyes and says a silent prayer to Iomedae before addressing Jenya. "The bishop was a fraud. He named himself as Shebeleth Regidin - a cagewright. Does that mean anything to you? He summoned a demon that very nearly sent me to meet the Inheritor. I am lucky to be alive."
Hearing the clang of steel, he heals himself and then moves to the sound of battle with his sword ready. "Jenya, help me secure the church."
Epik and Jenya head into the main area of the church, bodies of acolytes and junior priests appear to be lying in a 60 foot circle around the door from the back rooms. The altar of Iomedae is sundered in half and the tail end of the congregation is rushing out the back of the church ... and it appears everyone is armed. There is a loud shout and it sounds as if the crowd is chanting.
Ruphus Laro stumbles up to you, breathless, his cassock torn and his face ... and knuckles bloodied.
"The Bishop ... he, he ... I ... was greeting the congregation as they entered when he burst through the door from his rooms, his face maniacal. He uttered a word. A single word! I couldn't hear it, but the others screamed in agony, collasping and the altar cracked! He then came forward and uttered something to the masses in a language I didn't understand. They all rose up, drew swords and shields and left en masse chanting something about killing the heathens!"
He falls to his knees, crying. "I don't understand whey the Inheritor would allow this to happen in her holy place!"
Epik surveys the dead as he places a hand on Rufus's should and attempts to reassure him. "The bishop has betrayed us. Help Jenya and I restore order."
He then raises his voice and commands the crowd to disarm and disperse. "Jenya and I are now taking over the temple. The bishop has been driven off for the moment and should no longer pose a threat. We will protect you and will rebuild the temple. I ask that you accept Jenya and myself as the rightful leadership of the temple. I ask that you drop your arms and go home."
He will also heal himself again.
Perception -
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"I thank you for your candor, master Weer. If we can learn something, I will let you know. Please pass our suspicions on to any you trust. Cauldron needs its people to stand together in truth, not be driven apart by distrust."
perceptiion
Magma, Sam nor Nowzai don't hear or notice anything from where they are at, for now.
Epik's speech catches about 20 stragglers who were late to the party and lagging followers anyhow, however the preponderance of the mob has already left the church and is marching clockwise down Obsidian avenue
Temple of Iomedae
Epik points his finger at the stragglers. "I said weapons down and go home, understand?"
He then runs outside to catch the mob.
The followers immediately thrown down their blades and scurry out of the church scattering in multiple directions. Epik ignores them as he pursues the mob, Jenya hot in pursuit. The mob has a significant lead and head of steam as they travel down although they aren't sprinting ... there are a lot of them making a ton of noise.
People begin to look out of windows and doors to shops and then quickly pull back shutters and set locks.
Dalamus and Fellian encounter Sam and Nowzai as you merge together from two streets headed toward the Drunken Morkoth.
Epik sprints to get ahead of the mob. He will address any obvious ringleaders. "I command you to stop and disperse in the name of Iomedae! The bishop has been corrupted and seeks to use you to instigate further evil on the city. I beg that you reconsider your actions before it is too late!"
If he is ignored, Epik will follow the mob to their destination.
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Epik will attempt to push through the mob if possible - intimidating individuals to get out of his way. If they're not budging, he'll just follow them to their destination.
Dalamus will tell Sam and Nowzai about the location that the strider is held up in, when we are walking the streets together.
If Sam doesn't know who Feliian is, he will introduce him
"Sam, this is a friend of ours, Fellian. He is a strider and is also looking for Fario"
Epik can't seem to get through the he mob and his cries and angry motions while effective for a person or two delay him too much to keep up with the mob at the same time, so he jogs along behind them.
Nowzai and Sam pause to talk with Dalamus and Fellian for a moment when a throng of robed men with flagon necklaces signifying them as members of Cayden Cailen's church brush by you in a rush mumbling a half hearted apology ad they continue their sprint.
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"That's odd....Although since we have been back, the whole city seems to have lost it's mind."
"I suspect some dire power is sowing chaos in an attempt to destabilize the city. Who or why, I cannot say, but every bad thing that has befallen Cauldron recently appears to be linked to this higher purpose."
Epik will use side streets to bypass the mob if possible.
Epik darts into another street and moves inward on the circle to Magma avenue, watching the path of the mob on Obsidian. After a half mile or so, Epik begins to be able to see the front of the mob.
Still discussing Fario's disappearance , Sam, Dalamus and Nowzai hear a massive commotion of people coming from the east.
"What is that?" Nowzai asks, brow furrowing. He casts fly upon himself and floats up to take a look.
Dalamus will start heading over that way to see what is going on.
Nowzai elevates above the discussion, literally. Looking to the east, he sees a tremendous mob of hundreds of armed people moving like a tidal wave along Obsidian Avenue coming clockwise.
"It is a mob, armed and angry, coming this way. I will try to slow them down."
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Anticipating the mob's destination, Epik races to the church at #29 to warn the inhabitants. "Evaluate the premises at once - there is a crazed mob en route!"
He will see if he can deduce what is happening to the mob, if it's true anger or a spell
Knowledge Spellcraft -
Knowledge Arcane -
Sam doesn't see any visible spellcasting (spellcraft) or signs of an already cast magic spell (Knowledge arcana).
Epik will use his round 1 action to move to Obsidian avenue to head off the mob.
I'll cast longstrider on myself in round 1, and will be looking to see if I can get to some kind of high ground. Worst case maybe I can climb a building that has a good vantage point?
Dalamus will run along with the others trying to catch up with the mob.