fire and reflex 14 for half.
Erevan lobs the alchemist's fire over Harry and Trinken, hoping to hit the yellow belted kobold .
Once the smoke clears from the explosion, he now draws an elixir to try to make up for his blunder .
Worried about Trinken, who has proven himself to be far more civilized than the goblins Zork had met in his youth, the gnome steps forward and casts a healing spell on him.
Zork raises his shield to protect himself.
”Harry, you need that kobold taken down? Right on it. Oktai moves back and circles around to face the kobold and strikes twice in rapid succession at the draconian creature.
Regulas shoots at purple with a 3 arrows.
"OUCH!" exclaims Trinken, his ears turning beat red. "You'll regret that!"
Raising the oversized blade high over his head, he fumes "You kin meet my little friend!"
And brings it down as hard has he can on the creature.
Harry releases a wave of fire over the kobolds. The blue-belted kobold presses himself against the wall and avoids some of the heat. The yellow-belted kobold performs aerial acrobatics and avoids the flames entirely.
Erevan tosses an incendiary bomb into the middle of the fight. The yellow-belted kobold, after such a heroic showing, falls to the ground, burning. Zork patches up the wounded and singed goblin.
Regulas fires three arrows in rapid succession at the pink-belted kobold, but only the third arrow strikes. Then Oktai cuts out the pink-belted kobold's throat.
Trinken throws a raging tantrum that is more bark than bite as his axe fails to hit anyone.
The robed figure moves forward and then gestures and chants. Two missiles of arcane force slam into Everan.
The red-belted kobold takes a guarded step forward and then swings his pick at Trinken, no longer hindered by the corner of the sewer wall. He scores only a glancing blow out of the two swings. The blue belted kobold drops his sling and draws his pick as he advances on Harry. He swings and cuts the elf across the arm.
Encounter Mode! Round 2 & 3. Bold may act.
Trinken (-10 hp)
Erevan (-7 hp)
Robed Kobold
Kobold Guards (red -1 hp, blue -2 hp)
^^^^^^^^^^
Zork
Hudini (-8 hp)
Regulas
Oktai
Seeing that one kobold is dead and the others barely scratched, but his allies are becoming badly wounded, Zork pulls out his holy symbol, holds it high in the air (well, as high as he can reach, which is about chest-high on a human) and intones a prayer to Nethys. A wash of healing energy rolls out from him, healing everyone, friend and foe alike.
Wow, I feel better Zork
Hudini pulls out the dagger and tries to stab the blue kobold
Erevan feels a bit better as his wounds start to heal. "Thank you, Zork. We badly needed that." Erevan clumsily drops his mace as he tries to look for another bomb. He steps forward as he draws another alchemist's fire from his satchel and throws it towards the direction of the red-belted kobold.
Everyone feels a refreshing wave of energy flow through their bodies.
Harry swings at the air around the kobold threatening him.
Everan throws a bottle of alchemist's fire onto the floor in front of the kobold, splattering it and Trinken with hot oil.
Encounter Mode! Round 2 & 3. Bold may act.
Trinken (-7 hp)
Erevan (-3 hp)
Robed Kobold
Kobold Guards (red -2 hp, blue -2 hp)
^^^^^^^^^^
Zork
Hudini (-0 hp)
Regulas
Oktai
Regulas keeps firing strait ahead.
Regulas sends an arrow through the blue-belted kobold's chest, dropping the foe. He sends two more arrows towards the remaining kobolds, but fails to strike his mark.
Encounter Mode! Round 2 & 3. Bold may act.
Trinken (-7 hp)
Erevan (-3 hp)
Robed Kobold
Kobold Guards (red -2 hp)
^^^^^^^^^^
Zork
Hudini (-0 hp)
Regulas
Oktai
With the intervening kobolds taken down, Oktai quickly dashes through the sewers to come up flanking the red-belted reptilian. He ignores the spellcaster for now, stabbing at his target in two quick successions.
Oktai stabs the red-belted kobold through the ribs, and the foe drops to the ground. The robed kobold bats away his stab with his staff.
Encounter Mode! Round 2 & 3. Bold may act.
Trinken (-7 hp)
Erevan (-3 hp)
Robed Kobold
^^^^^^^^^^
Zork
Hudini (-0 hp)
Regulas
Oktai
Moving towards the remaining foe, his anger still clouding his mind, the goblin cries out "YOU STOPS! ME STABS!"
In front of the foe, he swings twice, looking to fell the beast.
Trinken hops into the sewage and swings at the robed kobold before it can manifest a magical defense. The greataxe strikes and cuts the sorcerer in half along the midsection. The Dragon Shark kobold looks shocked and aghast the moment before his two halves fall to the ground with a sickly, wet sound.
Among the kobolds, you find several mining picks, makeshift slings, and pouches of sling stones. The sorcerer has a hefty drift wood branch that he used as a staff.
Inside the small cave that they were guarding, you find a wooden box and within that box is a scroll (illusory disguise) and a crumpled, felt hat that radiates magic (hat of disguise). There are also 8 silver pieces. There is a waterlogged journal at the bottom of the box (see Handout).
Shortly after you finish the Dragon Sharks, Fazgyn and his kobolds emerge from the southern tunnel.
"Well done!" he says, surveying your slaughter. "We easily defeated the pitiful scouts on the other side of the outpost. You had the harder job, for sure. I will tell chief how well Pathfinders helped."
When you return to Venture Captain Ambrus Valsin, he congratulates you and suggests that you take a rest and a bath before he gives you your next assignment.
Title: Snippets
In the morning, you each receive a letter from Venture-Captain Valsin.
Pathfinders,
The circumstances surrounding the recent disappearances have me convinced that the fault lies not with some “Rose Street Killer,” but with the Band of the Palm, that flimsy front for the despicable collection of villainy known as the Bloody Barbers. Come see me for details.
Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin
__________________
Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin flicks an invisible speck of dust from his impeccably pressed cuff before speaking. “Thank you for arriving together; I don’t like to repeat myself. I trust you received my note, and I hope you have your wits about you. It’s all well and good for everyone in the city to concoct their own thrilling hypotheses about some serial murderer, but Pathfinders need to be a bit more…” Ambrus thinks for a moment before continuing, “…
evidence based.
“To that end, I’d like you to find some low-ranking members of the Bloody Barbers and press them for information. I suspect their straight razors are ultimately to blame for the disappearances.”
Almost as an afterthought, Ambrus adds, “I shouldn’t need to tell you to be careful in dealing with Absalom’s largest thieves’ guild, but do try to avoid the old crimson shave.” He draws his thumb across his neck for emphasis.
Not a magical staff?
"Indeed, you do not," Oktai mumbles under his breath in reply. It is a life he has left behind and he does not relish stepping back into the sewers, so to speak. But it seems this leaves him little choice.
"You have a lead on where to start?"
Ambrus gestures at the entire party. “Pathfinders often have to rely on one another for help. I would start by comparing notes; you should be able to piece together a likely location for one of their meeting places.”
Erevan absentmindedly plays one of his test tubes as he tries to recall information.
Everan recalls that the Bloody Barbers often use barbershops as their bases of operation.
Oktai sigh to himself. He had promised to give up this life, but at the very least, he could use his experiences to pretend. Posing as a green recruit (which requires more recollection of his earlier days than acting), he circulates around various barbershops to find out how to join.
Oktai is informed that if he is serious about joining the Bloody Barbers, then he should look for barbershops with poles painted differently than the traditional stripes.
Regulas hits the streets to try and find out some information.
Trinken calmly walks up to a random person on the street. "Hello. I be looking for some information." he advises, with a deep bow.
Standing suddenly, he shouts "TELL ME WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT THE BLOODY BABRBER!"
Harry being good at it will also impersonate
Regulus is able to discover that the Band of the Palm is the cover identity for the Bloody Barbers, and they work in the Coins district almost exclusively. The Bloody Barbers are notorious loan sharks and run narcotics dens. Places with high concentrations of these sorts of services would be a good place to start.
Zork figures that not even the Bloody Barbers dare to operate in large groups in Absalom’s central district, known as the Ascendant Court, full as it is of churches and good-aligned priests. They’re unlikely to meet nearby.
People scatter from the deranged goblin.
Nobody is willing to talk to Harry about criminal activity of any sort.
Regrouping and putting your heads together, you are able to find a barbershop in the Coins district that you believe might be a front for the Bloody Barbers.
This small barbershop has four worn barber chairs and a wooden waiting bench. The astringent odors of various hair tonics combine with that of talcum powder to produce a potent aroma. A large, tarnished mirror runs the full length of one wall, with a low shelf below it that holds an assortment of combs, razors, scissors, and jars holding murky liquids.
The shop is almost empty, and it’s quiet enough to hear the snip of its lone barber’s scissors as she works on a large man’s wild mane, while a freckled shop sweep stoops over hair clippings that he’s meticulously swept into a neat pile.
"Be with you in a moment," the woman says to you as she continues to snip at the big man's hair.
"Certainly, we can wait." Oktai positions himself casually at the entrance of the shop, waiting for the customer to finish and take his leave before acting. Best to corner the woman when she is alone, and make sure no one else joins in.
When it becomes clear that you're all just going to loiter here, she pauses in her hair cut and looks over at you. "Oh, all right, what d'ya want? I don't believe you all came for hair cuts at the same time."
The big man in the chair chuckles, although he doesn't look over at you.
"Ya know how girls can't go to the bathroom without a group to watch, right? Maybe we do haircuts that way. You shouldn't judge!" spouts the goblin, with a chuckle.
"We're looking for the...uh..." pausing to glance at the back of the seated man, he adds "Maybe we should talk in private."
"I don't want to know what a goblin is doing following women into the latrine," the barber says. "Have it your way, then."
She returns to trimming the burly man's shaggy hair and beard. It takes another twenty minutes before she finishes--the two of them trade course flirtations and jokes as she works. Once she's finished, she shakes off the man's apron and the youth hurries over to sweep away every clipping.
"Don't worry, Val, I won't go too far," the man says as he rises from the barber's chair and slaps her on the rear. She, in turn, stabs him in his buttock with the pair of shears in her hand hard enough to draw blood but not hard enough to cause a serious injury. The man just laughs loudly and continues on out of the barber shop.
"Yeah? So, what's so private that you need to talk to a barber all by her lonesome?"
"Hmm, BLOODY hot day, isn't it. So, say we wish to make some connections with some mutual friends of ours. Friends who often frequent BARBER shops like this. To get to know them even better, and perhaps come to some mutually beneficial working relationships in the future. Now, how would you advise we do that?" Oktai throws her the most winning smile he can muster, even though inside he detest such fraternizing.
"Wait...what? No...I didn't mean I follow...just that it's like that." explains Trinken. Turning to Oktai, he frowns "I didn't think it was that warm outside. We...oooooohhhhh"
Shutting his mouth, he steps over to the corner and allows the wiser companions to handle the negotiation.
"Look, you seem nice enough," Val says with a sidelong glance at Trinken, "Even if you've got a voyeur among your band, but I really don't know what help I could be. I just rent this shop, make my money, and go home, which I'd really like to do before it gets too late."
She wipes the big man's blood off of her shears and sets them on the counter. "Snips! I want this floor spotless by the time I return tomorrow."
"Yes, ma'am," the youth replies meekly.
"Sorry to have bothered you..." the little gnome says, scratching his head. We must have missed something, but what?
Val gathers her things and heads out for the evening, leaving you alone in the shop with Snips.
While you are pondering where to go next, the young man keeps bobbing his head at you. "Psst!"
Oktai mentally face palms. Of course! Without losing a bit, he turns to Snips. "But ah, of course, right in front of the very eyes, but yet, still completely invisible. Most ingenious. I presume you can help us instead?"
Eyeing the hired help, Trinken scrunches his face up a bit. "You don't look like a barber ta me..."
"I heard what you were saying," Snips says. "Miss Val don't know nothing. She just rents the place. But come out back where us can talk private, and I'll share what I know."
Erevan notices something odd about the boy but tries to keep it for himself for now. "Why out back? Why not just share what you know here? It looks like we got all the place to ourselves."
"Oh, um... You never know when one of 'em Bloody Barbers will show up for a meeting," he says. "Um, yeah, that's why."
"Aren't you one of the Bloody Barbers?" Zork asks, confused.
"No, I'm just a sweep that nobody ever notices," Snips replies to Zork, relieved by the change in subject, and gestures at the back door again.