Those nearest to Ulrich quickly step away from him, but the path is still not clear. The cheerful din has been replaced with confused mumbling and a few gasps. You hear a woman cry out, "My amulet!" and a man cursing over a missing pouch.
Having heard the concerns of the patrons, Ulrich tried to quickly push through to outside.
Was that a thief that ran out?
As Sand watches the crowd, He sees a hooded person slip out the door. That’s strange He thinks as he takes another drink. Then as Ulrich gets up and moves to the door and people start crying out over missing valuables. Sand quickly pads him self down then glances up at the door and shoots off towards it. Trying to dodge through the gaps in the crowd.
Scribbles looks around the room at the patrons scattered throughout the tavern who exclaim about their losses. With a flash of panic in his eyes, he grabs for his belt pouch - still there. A sigh of relief passes his lips. Then, an itch of paranoia touches him enough that he prods his backpack. A hard corner of his journal is easy to feel through the thin leather. His shoulders relax.
Whew! They didn't get me, apparently.
Not paying enough attention to see that Sand and Scribbles are looking at something, Rexah is surprised by Ulrich's reaction. As Sand then follows in Ulrich's wake, albeit more successfully, Rexah is certain that something is amiss. Not used to whatever style of attack this seems to be, but based on people's reactions, It must be some kind of raid, or thievery? But what kind of person would have the audacity to rob people in this public of a space?
Rexah begins to stand, but thinks better of it. Scribbles has stayed behind and looks strangely relieved, so perhaps there is nothing to worry about.
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Upon hearing the fleeing footsteps and turning to see a cloaked figure running, Ulrich stood up and shouted at the patrons to get out of his way. The people around him backed off but that just seemed to make the path in front of him more crowded. He still pushed through, getting about halfway to the door.
Sand, on the other hand, was able to weave his way through the crowd and tumble through legs. He made it to the door easily.
Meanwhile, Scribbles and Rexah were content with staying at their table and not involving themselves in the confusion.
Ulrich saw as Sand weaved his way through the crowd almost effortlessly.
Ugh! That show-off again!
Despite his thoughts, Ulrich tried for a different tactic, and swayed through the crowd instead of forcing through it, admittedly trying to upstage Sand.
Scribbles twiddles his thumbs for the moment, looking from Rexah, to Hayley, and to the door.
Maybe I should do something...
He shrugs his shoulders a little, feeling the leather armor under his colorful travelers cloak.
If I were to follow the excitement, I wouldn't be totally vulnerable. Besides, I have this. Scribbles' finger twitches a little as he thinks about the strange ring he wears.
I'll stick with Rexah for now, if she leaves, I'll leave. As long as I can come back to exchange stories with that delightful half-elf later.
Seeing that Scribbles seems to be only slightly agitated by the recent event and not trying to jump out a window, Rexah begins to scan the room in an effort to determine if anyone is acting suspiciously.
Unfortunately, basically everyone looks at least a little suspicious to her, from the loud, distracting man at the bar, to the relatively calm people in the tavern, to the very people seeming to be doing an intentionally bad job of getting out of Ulrich's way. Must not have been that expensive of an amulet.
Turning to Scribbles, Rexah says, "We should probably get out of here. If anyone starts asking questions us travelers are going to be the first they come after."
[Dice=Perception to gauge Scribbles' reaction]1d20+1
[Dice=Perception to sense the mood in the tavern]1d20+1
Can I roll some sort of sense motive for the whole room to gauge the attack? How many were hit, does it look like the loud guy was with them and acted as the distraction, do the tavern workers and regulars look like this happens a lot, etc.
And/or could I roll for connecting the dots (If there are any) to the church of Desna, the Black Spears guild hall, and a large scale thieving attack on such a public place?
Twisting one side of his colorful beard, Scribbles responds "You must not have seen the fiend who dashed out the door.""You will have my word, at least, that you are not responsible."
Scribbles can easily see that the people in the tavern are genuinely upset and confused, although most are still clueless that anything had happened at all. He can't be too sure about the man at the bar. The man is angry, appearing even angrier than when he came in, but not exactly surprised.
Reconsidering her earlier suspicions, Rexah notes that most people simply seem unaware that anything has transpired, but others are genuinely confused and upset.
To Scribbles, "Wait? There was a fiend in here? Was it a Tiefling?" Rexah instinctively reaches for her quarterstaff.
More to herself, "No, a Tiefling wouldn't be allowed in here, though, this place seems to be fairly accepting. At least, I haven't seen any reason to think they aren't. But..."
To Scribbles again, "As much as that means to me bard, if whoever or whatever caused this commotion is not from around here, we may do ourselves a favor by catching them, rather than letting the townspeople run their own course."
Rexah begins to stand.
At Rexah's movement, Scribbles gathers his bag. "I will have to explain metaphors to you later, it seems."
If there's a way to impress a damsel, it's to play the hero. Or at least the lovable sidekick.
Scribbles then climbs on top of the table and pulls the whip from his belt. Clearing his throat, he cracks the whip in open air to gather everyone's attention.
"Fine patrons of the Laughing Lich! Myself and this powerful heroine will track down your stolen valuables and return them before the sun shall set again. Please part a path for us to the door that we may exit unhindered!"
The people are now more confused than upset and are certainly startled, but they make a path as bidden. Scribbles catches an approving, beaming smile and a nod from Hayley before she turns back to the customers around her, saying something you can't make out in the noise of people scuffling out of the way.
Seeing Hayley's smile, Scribbles winks in return, a new smile splitting his face.
Looking up at Rexah, he says "Best be quick about this - they do have a bit of a head start." He drops from the table and starts towards the door. "I am certain that Sand and Ulrich have spotted them and have started the chase."
The wide smile is directed towards Rexah as Scribbles declares
Taken aback by Scribbles' performance, Rexah glares at him and harshly whispers, "That is NOT what I had in mind when I suggested that we leave."
Slinging her rucksack onto her back, Rexah moves to leave and hears Scribbles' declaration. Turning back to him she says, in Orcish, "That is.... correct."
Sand shouts. "STOP THIEF" Then charges the figure and swings at him As he closes in he swings way to late and flies past figure. He looks back at the figure in surprise then slides off the road and into the ditch.
Ulrich took a page out of Sand's book and tumbled his way past the crowd and out the door.
Sand saw the thief in front of him, maybe gloating in success, and Sand decided to quickly close the distance by charging, disregarding the fact he had no weapon drawn. In his eagerness, he tripped and landed on the side of the road.
From his new perspective on the ground, Sand can clearly see the trap just a few feet away from his head. Had he not tripped and fell into the ditch, he most likely would have run straight into the trap.
In the tavern, Rexah decided it would be more beneficial if she were to take down this thief, possibly earning the favor of the townspeople. As soon as she stood up, Scribbles decided to help as well in any way he could. He jumped on top of the table, cracking his whip mightily and startling all within the confined space. The patrons quickly moved aside to let the two through, more out of shock than anything else.
The man, for Sand can see now that the figure appears to be a human male, briefly chuckles at Sand's attempted attack before continuing to run away.
Ulrich moved quickly passed Sand, avoiding the trap.
He focused on running toward the cloaked thief, trying to catch up with him.
"Don't you run from me!!
Tiny gnome legs dash against the packed dirt as Scribbles tries to cover lost ground.
Expeditiously exiting the tavern, mostly to avoid the shocked and confused expressions on its patrons, Rexah quickly glances about for her quarry.
At the sound of Ulrich's yelling, she cuts between the two nearest buildings and takes off running.
[dice=Perception]1d20+1
...
Rexah sees Sand about to get up off the ground near a sort of mechanical trap that was not exactly hidden and hears Ulrich running and shouting.
Sand stands back up and tries to act cool and brushes some dirt off his shoulders.
After smearing the mud and grass from the ditch into his clothes and tripping a bit as he got back up. He Sprints after the thief and tries to punch him again.
Unfortunately as he staggers out of the ditch he dosn't quite get to the thief and just swings angry at the air.
Ulrich quickly catches up to Sand, though Sand barely holds a lead as he scrambles back up from the ditch and continues forward. Sand seems to punch the air in frustration as he runs. Rexah makes it up to the trap and can see down the small track where the cloaked figure still runs.
The thief looks over his shoulder as he runs, a small laugh escaping his lips as freely as he seemingly has escaped his pursuers, confident in his lead. As he does, he misses the rancher pushing his wheelbarrow across the path to his fenced lot. The thief collides with the wheelbarrow, and his smirk is whiped from his face to be replaced with surprise and he gives a startled yelp. He quickly collects himself and turns eastward. Sand, Ulrich, and Rexah lose sight of him briefly around the corner, but Sand and Ulrich can hear his muffled curses.
Ulrich rushed to catch up with the thief and turned the corner attempting to jump around the cabbage man.
Ulrich jumped over the man and his wheelbarrow and ran to catch up to the thief.
He smiled and as he came up next to the thief.
"Next, you are going to say: 'Oh, crap!'"
It seems these tall folk can outpace me so easily!
Scribbles looks back down at his ring, swinging back and forth with his rapid pace.
I guess this can last long enough for me to get in and out safely. I can't let this story fly past me!
Scribbles slows long enough to cast expeditious retreat, the arcane knowledge of how to cast it gained from his ring.
Sand not wanting to be out done by ulrich sprints off, and trying to jump the wheelbarrow while showing off a bit.
Sand front flips over the wheelbarrow then full moves to catch up woth the theif.
Seeing the potential for flanking her enemy, Rexah cuts through the gap between houses and finds a surprise hidden in the grass. As she storms forward, she feels her feet tug at a trip wire that easily gives and has the briefest of moments to realize something was activated before a small pouch launches at her feet. Instinct kicks in a second too late and she tries to jump away, but her feet are glued to the ground.
Having maneuvered between the two buildings, Rexah finds herself quite firmly stuck to the ground with, something. "What? What is this? Some sort of binding resin?"
Trying in vain to free herself through sheer force, Rexah quickly concedes that something besides strength will be required to escape her situation.
Ulrich runs and jumps over the wheelbarrow, landing next to the thief. Sand easily adds an unnecessary, showy flip over the the same and lands on the other side of the thief, ready to take him down.
Rexah, caught in some black, tar-looking substance, tries to break free through brute force but is unsuccessful. Scribbles fiddles with his ring and suddenly becomes much faster, running right up to Rexah in her stuck state.
The startled rancher hurries down the path away from the potential violence, looking over his shoulder a few times in fear.
The thief's mouth formed an "O" as if he was about to yell something to the effect of what Ulrich guessed, but after Ulrich said it, the man shuts his mouth angrily. He sidesteps away from Ulrich and then jumps on top of the 5 foot tall wooden fence and drops on the other side.
Ulrich followed after the man, climbing over the fence as quickly as he could, smirk on his face. He was enjoying the game of cat and mouse.
After climbing the fence, Ulrich raced up to the thief as best he could.
”Come ‘ere, thief!!”
Looking up from her stranded footing Rexah sees someone vault over a fence, quickly followed by Ulrich expertly climbing the same fence.
"S&##...
Turning towards where she expects Scribbles is she yells, "Bard! I need a-!" but her demand is cut short by Scribbles being right behind her. "...knife. I need a knife" She says again while gesturing to her immobilized footing.
Skidding to a halt behind Rexah, Scribbles replies "Do you want me to help, or leave it to you?" as he slides the dagger from its sheath.
Ulrich caught up to the thief and decided that this was the time to strike.
He reached out to grab hold of the man into a grapple.
To Scribbles, "Just give me the knife."
Then nodding in the direction of the fence, "Make sure those two don't do anything that we'll regret."
Quickly following Rexah's suggestion, Scribbles flips the dagger to be handle first towards her. "I'm on it."
After Rexah takes the dagger from Scribbles, he dashes off towards the thief in the pen.
Sand runs up to the fence and vaults over it. Then runs over to the thief and Ulrich. "Nice going Ulrich hold him" Sand says as he attempts to take the thief's sap.
Which he fails to grab a hold of in the struggle
Scribbles passes off his dagger to Rexah and runs toward the fence. Rexah takes the dagger and attempts to cut her way free from the black mess. She hacks away at it, doing as much as could be expected from the implement given.
Ulrich climbs the fence and pushes off, grabbing the thief's arms from behind and holding them in a lock in his elbows. At the same time, Sand jumps over the fence with ease and tries to steal a tempting weapon in reach, but the thief manages to jerk away.
The cloaked figure is able to slip out from Ulrich's grasp and takes a 5 foot step away from Ulrich with a growl of frustration. His hood falls back and you can see he's a human with dirty blonde hair and a nose that looks like it's been broken at least once. He sprints south, dropping something as he goes.
"Would it be too much to ask for you to stop chasing me?!" he calls over his shoulder.
With his boosted speed, Scribbles vaults over the fence - his tiny body being hurled with magical momentum.
At the apex of his flight, Scribbles takes in the scene,
seeing little more than the thief and his pursuers.
He hits the ground running.
"Wait, friends, we can all work this out!" Scribbles blurts out as he closes the gap. Driving the words home with magic, he casts charm person on the thief.
Ulrich's expression turned into annoyance as the man escaped from his grasp.
"Tch!"
Ulrich smiled again as the thief asked him to give up and stepped to be in line with the thief.
"You are the one who stole things from people, moron!"
Ulrich makes a double move, avoiding making a direct line toward the thief, being wary of the area where he dropped something.
Not quite seeing what was dropped but eager to catch his prey, Sand darts straight forward and springs up, over, and in front of the thief.
Realizing the dagger was too little too late, Rexah strains against the tar but to no avail.
Rexah pits her strength once more against the black sticky mess but finds herself no further toward breaking it when suddenly it seems to decompose.
Seeing the thief drop something on the ground, whether by accident or design, Ulrich decides to play it safe and maneuver around. "You are the one who stole things from people, moron!"
"Are you so sure about that?!" the alleged thief replies, his voice a curious mix of panic and whimsy.
Sand, however, decides to push through regardless of the thief's probable clumsiness .
In his dash, Sand is still able to nimbly avoid the spikes in the grass and in yet another demonstration of unwarranted and unwanted showmanship, Sand flips above the thief, landing directly in front of him.
Scribbles joins the scene and tries to charm the thief. "Wait, friends, we can all work this out!"
"Some friends you have, runt!" the thief spits. "Here's what we can work out: You lot stop running after me and grabbing at me and trying to take me stick." He glares first at Scribbles, then at Ulrich, and finally, in an attempt to look angry but coming off as merely befuddled, at Sand. "Why you want me stick, mate? That's a bit indecent. A bit weird."
With that, he suddenly dives between Sand's legs. The thief then runs along the south facing wall and scrambles up the fence. You hear him drop on the other side and continue forward, crunching grass and gravel under foot.
... But it sounds like more crunching than what just one pair of feet would make. As soon as you realize that, you hear a few men shouting over each other, "Stop! By order of the mayor, stop!"
"If you have something to say, spit it out!"
The man made a move to rush toward Sand, and Ulrich saw his chance to strike.
"Not so fast!"
Ulrich focused his energy into his fist and moved to strike.