After Chuckles is punched and shot, Sev steps into the doorway and offers the bastard a sly grin. "Who's laughing now?, he growls as his claws are bared and aim to rip into the man with a vicious hatred. After he's done with his assault, the tiefling sidesteps to the opposite side of the doorway.
Sneak Attack
Raina keeps a close eye on the remaining men, preparing to kick out the legs from beneath the first that dares to follow up on her taunting.
Both eyebrows raise as Aerodus watches Sev's attack - both savage and efficient. In the blink of eye he had torn the man to shreds. Perhaps I should be a bit more careful in joking around with this one....
"Raina - duck," Aerodus says calmly as an arrows flies by her towards another of Lamm's minions.
Tusilak reaches down to his waist and removes a set of bone spheres carved with imagery of howling wolves. He spins them quickly with a haunting wailing sound. "The spirits come for you now. Run before it is too late. They will descend upon your souls and carry them off." He releases the cord binding the spheres and they fly at the man in the doorway.
Yargin: umd
Giggles:
The two half-orcs grin and reach for their weapons. Hookshanks curses under his breath while Yargin looks like he's seen a ghost.
Raina bloodies the nose of Chuckles, who grins even bigger as Aerodus lands an arrow in his arm, which the half-orc merely breaks off just before Sev takes the woman's place and rips out the half-orc's throat with two savage blows with his claws. Tusilak begins to urge his companions on with a litany that turns the blood of their foes could with fear.
Sev's hit and run tactics leave the unrecognized half-orc lying on the ground, not uttering much more than a gurgle before falling. Giggles, looks like he was about to laugh, but wicked mirth suddenly turns to shock when the lightning fast tiefling leaves
"Chuckles?"
Aerodus lets fly another arrow and strikes Yargin in the arm. Raina drops into a ready stance, after ducking for Aerodus' shot. A strange keening can be heard as Tusilak continues his litany and spins a bola about his head. He releases it just in time to catch an enraged Giggles in the face.
"Dis is for me brudder!"
He turns to face Sev and brings his flail whipping around. Raina's foot hooks behind his legs, tripping him, but not before he smashes Sev between his flail and the tank behind him. Yargin draws a wand and intones a mystic chant before looking at the point of it and launching into a nigh unintelligible stream of curses and epithets. Hookshanks moves around out of the party's line of sight.
"That was Raina! I thought Lamm killed that b+$*!!"
"Well, we'll make sure that she and her friends die here, then."
A great booming bark comes from the side of the desk as Bloo, Yargin's cur of a dog get's up and comes charging in, ready to bit someone.
Bloo's sudden charge inside takes her by surprise, and the dog runs between her legs before she can stop him. Nonetheless, she manages to kick the legs out of Giggles and deliver a sharp blow to the back of his head as he falls to the ground as well. Still--she wasn't quick enough, it seems. Raina curses loudly as she notices Sev drop to the ground, knocked unconscious by the brute of a half-orc's flail before she can deal with him herself.
"Oh you g~+ d&&ned foolish idiot! Why the f#++ do you always have to get yourself messed up like this?!" she shouts at the unconscious tiefling, half frustrated, half in despair, before turning back to the door with a growl of fury.
"Been a while, eh, guys? Hope you're looking forward to getting a taste of the s!&& you dragged me through," she snarls. "The only ones who will be dying today are you low-lives!"
Sev is smacked hard by the flail and crumples to the ground in a heap. He might have been upset with Raina's comment if he were conscious enough to hear it! If he lives, he'll probably get an earful, but it's not looking good.
"Our companion will not fade into the night, but you will if you do not flee this place. Night winds come and breath life back to this man. His fight is not yet done."
Aerodus watches as Sev faces his attacker. The tiefling's tail seems to play a game with the oncoming flail whipping around and then unfurling. His body, however, plays no such game as he hears the crunch of bone and watches him crumble to the ground. Aerodus barely has time to grit his teeth and wonder if the creature will die when the Shoanti continues with her sermon. Out of the corner of his eye he sees the blood stop!
His handsome face contorts into disgust as the animal comes charging through. Poor creature, suffering at the hands of these idiots. Despite the beast in front of him, he readies another arrow and aims at the man with the wand. I don't know what magic he is trying to invoke but it may be very nasty.
Sev stops dying!
Aerodus sends another arrow streaking towards Yargin. The man yelps in pain as blood stains his shirt. Sev's breathing stabilizes as Tusilak casts a spell on the young tiefling and continues to inspire his compatriots. Raina holds back on her anger, but only enough to avoid killing. Her fist slams into Giggles' chest.
The half-orc is unperturbed and stands Before the fighter and swings his flail around to catch her in the side. Hookshanks squeezes though the door and tries to keep out of Raina's reach. He sets his stance next to Bloo and pulls out a curved knife. Fortunately for Raina, his swing misses.
Not expecting to be harassed on two sides at once, Raina clumsily attempts to deflect two attacks and fails at both of them. In the end she gets conked on the head and sent to the ground with Sev.
Tusilak takes a short step back from Giggles and gestures at the half-orc with a motion that looks like a push. "Flee into the night demon of Lamm"
A look of concern crosses his face as Aerodus watches Raina crumple to the ground. If we leave, she will die. But if we stay we might die. . He looks up to see they are outnumbered yet the Shoanti seems unfazed, continuing in combat and commanding the half-orc with his presence. Though he has no death wish, a smile crosses the handsome man's face, if I were to die here, I would die as a Korvosan human with no one knowing the difference!
While the thought does comfort him, he takes a step back, closer to the door. Aerodus watches his net land next to Hookshanks and he tries to give Tusilak a weak smile, "Perhaps it is better for us to leave?
Tusilak sees the half-orc fight off his spell. "Yeah, we'd better get out of here. They're too much for us."
Hookshanks and Giggles grin as the tables turn. Both show an amazing display of over confidence and turn towards the room Yargin is in.
"All that talk an' they ain't so tough! Yargin, where're ya goin'? All tha fun's in here!"
"EhehehehEHEHAHAHAHAHAHA! YAR! These little pink-skins bit off more'n they can chew all right! HAHAHAHA!"
Yargin, for his part, seems more interested in getting out of harm's way and a squeaky door can be heard opening and closing out of view.
Two more victims for Lamm. I hate to leave Sev and Raina, but we'll never catch Lamm if we don't get away. Tusilak catches Aerodus's eye and bolts for the door.
Aerodus understands Tusilak's look (and was hoping for it). He bolts along with the medicine man into the night. Not really thinking this far ahead he begins to head back towards Zellara's house. After many blocks and twists, sure that they are not being followed he slows down to a walk. He catches his breath and turns to his erstwhile companion, "Where to now? I certainly don't like the thought of Raina being back with that scum, but the two of us can't deal with them again."
"Probably not the best idea for us to have come toward Zellara's, but we're still near the docks. Maybe we can find a tavern with a couple of toughs looking for a fight. I've got a few gold sails I'd been saving for bribes to help find Lamm if we need to hire someone. Who knows though, we might just find someone itching for a fight."
"I think there are some down this way." says Tusilak, gesturing back toward the water. "I'll ask around and see if I can find one that might be favored by the right people...for this at least. You seem pretty good with words. Let's chat some people up." Tusilak moves down toward the docks and casts enhanced diplomacy on himself, then asks around about a likely tavern to find some mercenaries interested in a quick job.
A stern-faced woman with black, shoulder-length hair sits in a reclined position at one of the tavern's many tables. Sitting in front of her is a loose pile of gold coins and several empty ale tankards. A young man brashly approaches her table with a confident smirk after some prodding from his friends. He throws down a handful of coins and sits down.
"You ready?", the woman asks with a bored expression on her face.
The young man nods and props his elbow on the table. The two of them clasp hands across the length of the wooden surface and begin the competition of strength -- an arm wrestling match. For a moment, their arms lock in a tense stalemate. The man's confidence suddenly drains away as the back of his fist is forcefully slammed into the table, signifying the loss of the game and his coin.
His friends from across the bar jeer and laugh raucously, and the boy's face burns a bright red.
"You cheated.", said the young man as he reached for the pile of coins to retrieve what he'd wagered. The moment his hand touched the pile, the woman's gloved hand shot forward and grasped his third finger. With a snap of the wrist, she sharply bent the finger backwards until a sickening crack pierced the air. The man cried out in pain and yanked his hand away.
"She broke my finger!", he screamed. His companions across the bar suddenly stopped laughing.
"You're lucky I didn't break your arm.", she replied.
After about an hour, you find out that if you want to hire some muscle, the Dwarve's Axe is the place to go. You arrive just in time to see one of the watering hole's spectacles in progress. A young man, and woman are looked in a test of might and see the ill advised move to take what he had wagered after losing.
"That thar was a dumb move. Ye lost fair an' square. Iffen it'd been me, I'd've thrown your dmub arse out on tha street. OUT! I don't tol-lar-ate theivin'."
A brusque dwarf walks out from behind the bar points with the titular axe towards the door. After the man and a few others roughly shove past Aerodus and Tusilak, he turns to the newcomers and plasters a big greedy smile on his face.
"Welcome ta tha Dwarve's Axe, mates! Fergive tha bad impression, but I tol-lar-ate no theivin' in har. Ale, wenches, an' muscle are yer's iffen ye got tha coin. Other than that, no killin' an' no theivin'."
He glares at the two men, his grey eyes showing as little remorse as a vicious winter storm. After a second, he smiles and booms across the tavern.
"What'll be lads? Ale, Whiskey, or Whores!"
And with that the tavern erupts into a chorus of hearty cheers, off-key, but lively music, and a bawdy song about some lass and her corset.
After seeing the spectacle before them and watching the dwarf throw out the (former patron) a small smile crosses Aerodus' face. We are certainly at the right place.
"Brask Alpsbane is it not? It seems the rumors are true - you offer everything a man might need!"
Aerodus quickly scans the room before striking up a conversation with the bar keep. In particular his eyes go back to the champion arm-wrestler. When the dwarf is attending to another patron Aerodus turns to Tusilak and says,"She is strong, well-equipped and bored. If we can figure out her intentions she might be just what we need tonight." He smirks to himself at the possible double entendre.
As the young man's friends lose their laughter and their seat on a stool, another loud and hearty voice takes its place, guffawing so loudly the rest of the pub can clearly hear. A couple of tankards of ale are roughly slid across the table before the ice queen Nora, with another two placed on the table across her. A rather large and heavy-set Chelish man dressed in a garish purple hat and a russet waistcoat whose buttons threaten to pop takes a seat, grinning widely and still laughing quite profusely.
"They don't never learn now, do they, Nora, my dear? Umbicilic fools! Wahah!" He then sets to quickly downing the first of his two tankards, a crest of froth remaining on his bushy moustache.
He doesn't seem to notice or pay any heed to the newcomers to the tavern...
Tusilak shakes his head and replies to Aerodus, "You're incorrigible. Two people to rescue and you're got what happens after the rescue on your mind. Let's chat up Brask."
Tusilak follows Aerodus to the bar and orders an ale, throwing in a gold piece, "As my friend says, we have need of some help of a possibly rough nature tonight. Could you make any recommendations among your patrons? The arm wrestler perhaps?"
After seeing the spectacle before them and watching the dwarf throw out the (former patron) a small smile crosses Aerodus' face. We are certainly at the right place.
"Brask Alpsbane is it not? It seems the rumors are true - you offer everything a man might need!"
Aerodus quickly scans the room before striking up a conversation with the bar keep. In particular his eyes go back to the champion arm-wrestler. When the dwarf is attending to another patron Aerodus turns to Tusilak and says,"She is strong, well-equipped and bored. If we can figure out her intentions she might be just what we need tonight." He smirks to himself at the possible double entendre.
1d20+7
1d20+4
"Almost, ye get me a cook worth a damn and then I'll 'ave e'erthing a man needs."
The dwarf laughs for a moment before noticing Aerodus' gaze.
"Oh, 'er? Nah, if ye want a lovely ta warm yer sheets, ye need a different one. She only cares aboot coin an' work."
After Tusilak says something, he appears thoughtful, then grabs the two men by the fronts of their shirts and brings them in close. Sweat, ale, and whiskey all threaten to overpower the senses.
"A'ight, ye want to 'ire 'er fer a job. I don't like tha looks o' ye, boot I 'ave a feelin'. She's from Cheliax, I know that mooch, but don't bring that oop unless ye wanna be havin' soup fer all yer meals. See tha man thar?" He points to a heavy looking man with a greatsword on his back. "He's 'boot as smart as sumthin' sired by an orc with a goblin an' got nuttin' boot stoo-ped from tha both o' them, but he'll go along with whatever She does. Poor lad."
He let's them go before turning to a comely barmaid and whistles her over.
"A couple o' ales fer tha lads here, an' maybe see about some sweet company fer 'em as well."
"Aye. Oh, an' Madame Halvara wants to talk to you."
The young woman points a fist full of empty tankards at a well dressed, and irate, half-elf. Currently two other girls, a pretty halfling that's about in tears and a striking half-orc who looks about ready to throw the woman through a window.
"Aw Hells. Gotta get this broken up afore that damned pointy-eared b#~$& pushes Ijkera too far."
With that he hurries over to the scene in progress, leaving the two men to their own devices.
A short cloaked figure slides up to a table right next to Nora. She bumps into the stern-looking woman by accident while trying to pull out a chair much too large.
"Pardon."
Aerodus brings the tankard up to his lips but doesn't really drink anything even though he goes through the motions - best not to let alcohol cloud his judgement. "Well my friend, it seems our company tonight will only become more motley. I thought running around the docks with a demon would have been the most of it!" He cracks a smile.
He glances between the half-elf and the table with now 3 distinct patrons as he speaks to Tusilak,"Time waits for no man. Do you want to divide and conquer or approach them together?"
"Let's go together. We only need two or three, not a whole army." Tusilak grabs his mug and makes his way over the to the table, smiling at the gnome fighting with the chair. "Looks like you've got an admirer looking for arm wrestling lessons. Nice work dealing with that fool boy."
Balthazar looks quizzically up at the two men who had approached Nora, neither apparently particularly interested in himself, and frowns. He clears his throat pointedly. "What, did you want to arm-wrestle now too?"
Aerodus sees Brask getting red, well, redder, in the face. He's obviously pissed off at Halvara.
There was little love lost between Brask and Eel's End before the slaying, even though the dwarf was providing a good bit of the finer brews for the establishment. After some hints from Havlara that she had gotten the owner and operator of Eel's End, the enigmatic Devargo Barvasi, to arrange for an "accident," to occur, Brask fulfilled the remainder of his then current contract by delivering over 100 gallons of ale and beer to the pier a week later. He left before he could be paid, saying only that no one from Eel's End was to ever set foot in the Dwarve's Axe ever again. Havlara has shown up several times since, pressuring Brask to do business with Eel's End again. Each time has left the dwarf more irate than the last.
Those that run the different attractions at Eel's End are not the only ones that have drawn the Brask's ire over the episode. Shortly after her death, Gaedren Lamm's name floated up as the one who may have done the dirty work. Brask knew that guard wouldn't or couldn't do anything, so he took matters into his own hands. Patrons of the tavern are offered free drinks and rooms in exchange for escorting his employees to and from the market to keep them safe, even though most never take him up on the offer. There are also whispers that anyone that brings Lamm to Brask dead or alive gets a room and all he can drink for free until he dies and 500 crowns.
"Nothing of the sort - I don't like to lose!" Aerodus says with a good natured laugh. His eyes pass back and forth between the portly man and the stern woman. He peers at the gnome for a minute, trying to figure out who she is exactly and what he relationship is to the humans. He swivels a chair around and takes a seat. His demeanor becomes much mores serious,"I suspect you have had enough of games and foolery. You bare the weapons of warriors and your face says clearly that this charade bores you. I am Aerodus and my friend - Tusilak Stalks Twilight. We are in need of warriors. Or perhaps it would be more precise to say - hunters." His eyebrows raise slightly with the last word.
Nora shoots an irritated look over her shoulder as she's bumped, and seems about ready to stand up and give the gnome a good whollop. "Watch where you're going, short-stack!" She clears her throat and turns back to the others, smirking at Balthazar. "I think they want to hire us, you dullard." She leans across the table and gives Balth a stiff punch to the shoulder. It's obvious these two have an odd relationship.
Looking back at Aerodus, she squints appraisingly. "I don't like the look of you, pretty boy. Anybody lookin' as clean as you tryin' to hire people as dirty as us is trouble with a capital T. I think we're gonna have to charge them double the normal fee, eh Balth?"
She looks at Tusilak. "What's with the get-up? You gonna sacrifice a goat after this? Yeah, definitely double the rate."
Nora seems annoyed with the job before the job is even explained to her.
"Now now, don't penalize me because I can make a clean kill. We need a service which we hope you can provide for a fair rate." He pauses for a moment and looks down at the gnome. "You clearly know this man, but is the gnome with you as well? We were were looking for the services of 2 more able bodied warriors but the ways of the small folk can sometimes be... very useful."
"Actually, I believe it is three sheep, they must be black as night, and you need to pull out their entrails while still warm to appease the gods properly. I'd be happy to give you the honor of assisting in exchange for your help." Tusilak pauses to see if they take him seriously. "Are you interested in work or not?"
Balthazar grins like an idiot when Nora punches him in the shoulder, apparently neither hurt nor particularly displeased by the action. It’s clear that the portly warrior has a touch of masochism about him, at least when it concerns the ice queen across from him…
His smile sinks from his face like a dead body tossed off the coast when Tusilak begins to talk about bloody sacrifices, replaced by what appears to almost be a look of terror. ”You mean you Shoantis actually do that stuff? Gods. I thought that was a bunch of wodscollop.” Balth looks quizzically at the cleric, almost thoughtfully so. ”You don’t reckon you could do me one of them ex-or-sits though? I got a problem with ghosts myself…”
One glare from Nora later convinces the pudgy man to give up on this line of questioning for now. Business comes first, after all. ”If you’re gonna be paying us, I ain’t gonna be saying no. Who’s the lucky man or woman you want us to have a good ‘talking’ to?”