"I'll cover the back exit to the east, Lamm is always ready for a quick escape."
Titus readies his massive sword as he enters the warehouse, sprinting down the right hand wall and slowing at the doorway into the room to the east.
Stealth
Perception +2 more vs Humans
@Titus: Going east will lead you down some rickity old stairs. At the bottom is a door to your right (south). Based on what you saw upstairs, this will take you into the room below where the fish guts from the trough run.
@Dhan: Your lock pick gets jammed in the door.
Alatáriël curses under her breath at Dhan's progress with the lock. "Chwythu ladron!" She runs around the south side of the building, slowing significantly when she comes to the walkway over the river.
Marcus steps into the room quickly but cautiously, stepping to the side of the door as he takes a cursory glance about the room. Speaking a few simple words, he scans the area for magical auras, focusing on the desk and the cabinets to the west.
"Titus!" he calls to the other room as he moves towards the desk. "Find anything? Looks all clear in here!" He makes a quick inspection of the drawers, followed by the cabinets, looking for any mention of his cousin, Aldorel.
Henric's eyes dart to and fro, and with no sign of the others, he blows hard on his signal whistle.
He nods at Titus and sweeps left, steeping leerily around the tank, weapon drawn, and stopping by the door, peering through and readying an attack.
Perception
Initiative
Dhan curses under his breath, then flashes the elf a withering glare.
Bet if I had opened the door you would not be cursing me right now, eh paladin??
He works to un-jam his pick and then tries the door again. He also continues to listen to make sure no one is trying to get out this way.
@Marcus: You don't detect any magical auras, when you search the cabinet, you don't find anything on your cousin. You do, however, find numerous papers detailing various transactions of fish and slurry as well as six pouches. Four of these contain 50 pinch each, and the other two contain 50 silver sails each.
@Dhan: You just need to spend an extra round unstucking it. That D.D. check will open it up though. The lock is fairly simple, but the poor lighting through you off the first time. Out of the corner of your eye, you see the southern door of the room your attempting to get into open. Out walks the ugliest half-orc you've ever seen. Half his face is covered in a mass of sucker-like scars. He wears leather over ratty clothes and heavy, iron-shod boots. In his left hand he hods a stout wooden shield, and in his right he swings a wicked-looking flail. He is followed by what, in your swift glance, looks like a child.
@Henric: You hear only silence, punctuated by soft murmuring. You can't really make it out. You (and everyone else in the room as well) do, however, hear a rather disturbing chuckling coming from the south door, along with the sound of heavy footsteps and a metallic clinking.
@Alatáriël: The planks of the walkway appear old, soggy, and covered in barnacles. It looks treacherous, but you're light on your feet and, if you're careful, you should be able to cross safely.
With a worried look towards Henric and Titus. Titus. Henric. It appears that violence is imminent, not my specialty. I'll watch the eastern side. Alexei stays by the northern doors so as to not get in anyone's way and keep an eye of the north east exit, and readies his pistol toward the southern door.
Dhan freezes as he sees the half-orc. He tries to make out the figure following the half-orc, as well as staying hidden in the shadows.
@Dhan: The figure must be one of Lamm's Little Lambs. He follows the half-orc in a sleepy daze. He has large eyes, and dirty-blondish hair that is a tangled mess. They do not appear to have noticed you as you ease the lock open.
Also, here's the link for the revised map plus locations for everyone.
The Old Fishery rev.1
Dhan waits for the two to turn their back, then eases into the room, keeping to the shadowy corners.
Marcus leaves the coin on the table - he's no petty bandit. He turns around at Alexei's warning and passes his staff from hand to hand as he begins twirling it rapidly, ready for battle. As end turns over ends, the heavy piece of iron creates a low whistle in the air, and the tips begin to glow softly as Marcus utters a simple mantra.
Stealth
Perception + 2 vs Humans
The half-orc bursts into the room with a raucous laugh! Alexei is ready for him, however, and fires. Dhan sneaks silently into the vacated room before him, as does Titus. The room Titus finds himself in is slick with seawater, bits of seaweed, and fish blood - the air is thick with the accompanying scent. Wooden catwalks to the north and south allow access to the western parts of the fishery, while the floor here is only five feet above the river below. An open bay to the south allows access to the sloppy, muddy water, while to the northwest stands an immense ten-foot-tall wooden vat, its sides caked and waterproofed with tar. Inside is a foul-looking mixture of chum, seawater, and who knows what else.Directly in front of you are stacked many barrels and crates, each marked in paint with a fish. Nearly two dozen small hammocks hang from under the catwalks, each with its own ratty pillow, blanket, and orphan. They stare at you in fear.
Dhan, a single desk sits in this room, a moldy chair pushed up against the far side. A small pile of ratty furs and straw is heaped under the table. A mangy cur that you heard barking from outside growls deep in its throat and bares its teeth menacingly.
After Alexei's bolt flies, Marcus begins to slowly circle the half-orc as his continues twirling his staff from hand to hand. "You, I take it, are Giggles? I suppose I should have expected something of the sort." He edges closer to the thug. "Well Giggles, I can appreciate your directness, but allow me to educate you in the dangers of using brute strength to meet your problems."
Marcus's arm snaps forward and a pale gray beam snakes forth from his outstretched finger, and he charges after it, his glowing staff trailing behind him.
Initiatives:
Alatáriël:
Alexei:
Dhan:
Henric:
Marcus:
Titus:
Dog:
Giggles:
Orphans:
Blonde Guy:
Results of readied shot: Well the damage roll was nice, but seriously, Marcus and Alexei need to shoot better. Hey, if Giggles wasn't prepared to be shoot in the face, he could be flat footed. Flat footed touch attack might mean a total of 10 hits. What say you DM? *please*^_^
Alexei quickly reloads his pistol with a paper cartridge and fires at the half-orc
For Justice *name*! Alexei cries
Keeping his eye on the dog, Dhan moves over to the door where the half-orc and child exited. Hearing the report of the pistol, he slowly readies his rapier. Looking inside he sees 2 of his new 'companions' facing the half-orc.
Disable Device to lock or disable the door if I have retreated through it.
Lowering his weapon to appear less threatening, Titus calmly says:
[b["Please do not be afraid. We are after Lamm. Stay calm and wait here and you will be reunited with your families very soon."[/b]
Diplomacy
If they are not attacking me, and haven't run off I ask this after I have crossed the cat walk:
"Where is Lamm hiding?"
Diplomacy (Gather Information)
Your shot goes flies strait into Giggles's shoulder. He reels in pain laughing. "Huhuhuh! Ouch! Huhuh... That hurt, but Giggles am hurt you more, little man! Hahaha huhuh!"
"Titus! Trouble!" Henric barks, turning and raising his weapon as Alexei fires his first shot. "Where are the others?" he mutters, cursing under his breath as he bolts for the southern doorway. "Kidnapping, consorting with a convicted criminal and intention to commit assault." he says, running at the half-orc. He bats his weapon away with his longsword, grabs him by the shoulder, and spins him into the far wall.
Bullrush against his flat-footed CMD (no dex bonus)
Hearing the commotion, Alatáriël silently berates herself from separating from the group. She carefully makes her way back to the west face of the building and sees Dhan slip inside. She follows behind him and sees the half-orc moving through the door, as well as the mangy guard dog. Keeping her eye on the dog, she reaches for her bow.
Titus shooshes the children that stare at the scarred man, wide-eyed. They don't appear aggressive; more frightened and confused. They don't move.
Reacting swiftly, Alexei reloads a cartridge into his pistol and whips another shot into the half-orc's stomach as he starts to charge forward laughing hysterically. Dhan sneaks up behind the chuckling half-orc, and is about to stab him in the back but sees Henric charging forward. He holds off just a second... Henric intercepts Giggles, and, just as he slams him into the wall, Dhan lashes out with a sneak attack!
Dhan thrusts his rapier into the giggling half-orc.
"Owww!" he yells. "That hurt weasel!" Seemingly forgetting about the two bullets lodged in his body, he spins around to swat at Dhan with his flail.
Dhan ducks under the clumsy swing. The attack didn't even come close to him. He smirks at Giggles's pathetic combat skills. The dog barks behind him as it lunges at Dhan.
Dhan grins as he gracefully evades the dog's slavering bite. Alatáriël runs into the room shortly thereafter to see Dhan facing both creatures as well as the little one entering the room after the blonde man.
Meanwhile, Titus creeps up the stairs to the catwalk above, placating the children all the while. Most seem like they don't know what you're talking about, but a precious few have sparks of hope dance across their faces. The youngest ones he notices.
Back in the entrance, Marcus taunts the half-orc just before intoning a quick spell. A thin, dull grey beam shoots out of his outstretched hand, but is deflected by the timely intervention of Giggles's shield. "Ohohoho. Not so fast magic man. Wait your turn. Giggles give you scar like his when he done here, hehehe."
Here're the starting positions of everybody for round 2:
Unarmed strike (nonlethal)
"Lights out."
"Wait my turn?" Marcus spits as he advances towards the half-orc. "That's not how it works, friend. You threw fair play out the window when you tossed yourself in with this lot."
Marcus rushes forward, bringing the spinning of his staff to an abrupt end as he adopts a two-handed grip, bringing one end careening towards the brute's skull.
Alatáriël circles around behind the mangy hound as she draws her sword. She gives it a quick slash across the flank to encourage it to go elsewhere. "Your devotion to your master is admirable, mutt, but misplaced."
I cross the catwalk and see whats on the other side, raising my sword again as I move away from the children.
Stealth
Perception +2 vs Humans
Alexei gives an encouraging shout to Dhan
Seeing both the half-orc and the dog go down, Dhan slumps against the wall for a moment and mutters, "How in the worlds did I get myself in the middle of this combat!!"
Pushing off from the wall he moves out from between the two downed foes and heads towards the door leading to the back room.
Alexei shouts a prayer at Henric just as he draws back a fist. Henric feels the weight of every life in Korvosa he protects from people like this behind his punch. His gauntleted fist slams into the half-orc's nose. His eyes roll back into his head, and the annoying chuckling stops. His knees buckle and he drops to the floor.
The dog lunges to take a bite out of Dhan, but without the fear of Giggles at his back, he is prepared for the bite.
Dhan easily avoids the mangy mutt, just as Alatáriël closes and slashes the dog across the flank. It whines and falls to the floor, breathing heavily. Dhan and Marcus both take a deep breath and take stock of their surroundings. With Giggles out for the count, everyone turns to look at the door through which the blonde man ran just in time to see it slam behind the little one. Almost at that very moment, Titus bursts through the door behind everyone, sword drawn. He looks at the half-orc's prostrate form, nods, and lowers his blade.
Marcus pulls a set of manacles from his belt and secures them around Giggles' wrists. "He won't be going anywhere if he wakes up."
Alexei is noticably shaken, it would be obvious to any of the others that this was his first personal encounter with violence.
Does anyone know how to tend wounds? I can ask Abadar for divine healing, but I honestly don't know that much. Accounting was always more interesting than medicine. Should we take the bullets out?
"Leave this one to bleed," Marcus spits. "He'll live, and maybe the pain of the wounds he's earned will give him pause the next time he raises that flail against the law."
Closing the door carefully behind him, and pointing back that way, Titus says "The young victims of this fiend are back there living in terrible conditions. I tried to keep them calm, does anyone have any ideas what to do with them? He may try and use them as hostages, or flee with them, I fear for their safety."
Perception
I went to the door the boy and the blonde fellow went through...do I see anything?
Somewhat questioningly Are you sure Marcus? Alright then.
To Titus There are a few orphanages in the city that could help, including one affiliated with the Bank. Right now though, I'd like to take a look at them, maybe there is something I can do to help. They may also have information about Lamm.
Alexei heads down stairs with a little bit more of his original cheerfulness Care to join me Titus?
Henric reaches for his belt knife, cuts a length of rope and hastily binds the half-orcs hands.
Combat Manuever
"Stay alert." he says, clapping a hand on Alexei's back. "We've still got Lamm to flush out, remember?"
Henric will open the eastern door of the office warily, and step through to the boardwalk if the room is empty.
Henric, Marcus already cuffed him, but you can tie him up as well if you really want. And on the other side of the door is the catwalk Titus just left. The children look at you in fear. On the opposite catwalk is another little one glaring at you with a strange look on his face.
Dhan swears quietly to himself and then calls back into the room. "I think they may have made an escape out the back here!"
He quickly heads to the newly opened door and peers into the opening, listening as well as looking for signs of passage.
Casting a spell to see the room more clearly, Alexei enters the room and tries to gain the children's trust.
Diplomacy check
Many of the children grin as the thought of being free from Lamm's clutches finally takes hold in their minds. The one on the other catwalk breaks into an ear-to-ear grin and his teeth shine in the light from Alexei's prayer.
"Come with me," he says excitedly, "and I'll show you where they went."
Alatáriël follows Alexei with a worried look upon her face. She softly whispers, "That child there he slightly worries me, Alexei."
Somewhat suprised I think we can trust them Riel, but you may have a point. Regardless, we should definitely gather the others to check it out.
Calling up the stairs, It's seems one of our friends knows where the others ran off too. Quickly.
To the child Thank you. What is your name brave one? Before we go, we need some of the others to come with us. They have more experience catching evil men than I do.