Ok, back to the party.
"Well that didn't work. It's locked, I have no key, and there's no windows. "
Erick hooks a thumb toward the roof. "Check the roof, if you can move around without alerting people inside. These old warehouses leak like seives." He says in a harsh whisper, and then bends down forming a cup with his hands, to boost the halfling up.
He will try to climb to the roof.
He climbs onto the roof and swarms over the gutters.
His keen eyes alight on and peer through small cracks in the roof. Water drips down into buckets and troughs below, and he spies figures in various rooms. Ten halflings in one, four thuggish men in another around a table playing cards. Three wear crude leather armor and have coshes attached to their belts, the third is in chainmail and is busily claiming the last pot.
Clyde mutters No openings but the doors, makes sense for a slaver warehouse. Don't want any other places they need to guard.
Erick's eyes harden, as they wait for the halfling. "Yeah, but that's a two edged sword." He says in a low whisper. "No exit strategy either, and two fronts to defend."
Henry will climb back down from the roof and report.
"All the guards are in one area, and there's only the one door in. "
Well, then. Why don't one of you strong guys kick in the door and I'll try to knock them out with a spell. If that doesn't work, we can just fight them.
Erick looks at McClod, and shrugs. "I guess it's up to us to open it, we look like the strongest ones here, if nobody can pick the lock." He whispers. Moving toward the door, he waits for McClod, and then begins counting down silently with his fingers. 3...2...1...
Clyde grunts and puts his back into it as he helps kill that filthy slaver door.
Henry will keep hidden from the doorway, to be able to snipe once the door is open.
Telsyn draws his weapon and prepares to enter.
"What in the hells...?!"
Clyde darts in and takes the corner, shooting an arrow at the leader type
If human, Gain +2 Hit/Damage
Telsyn moves in and casts Color Spray, getting the boss guy and 2 of the others to his north and east of him. (Will DC 15)
He counts on his allies to back him up.
A blaze of color lances out and downs two of the thugs.
Furious, the remaining two advance, drawing maces. "You'll pay for that!"
Erick steps in the door, and follows Telsyn, placing himself near the surrounded ally. "We will? Damn, I'm out of coins. How 'bout we take some out of your hide to pay?" He says gruffly, and throws a punch at the man on the right.
Henry will sneak up to the doorway and hide there (to snipe next turn).
Erick's blow skates off of their studded leather armor.
One of the pair spots Henry.
The sound of muffled praying comes from the room containing the slaves.
Telsyn can't cast without provoking. Going full defense wouldn't help enough. He takes a step and swings on the guy by the wall.
Clyde steps back and shoots at the one NE of Erick
If Human, gain +2 hit/damage
Telsyn lands a second sword-blow; Clyde's arrow swings wide.
Ganging up, one of the pair moves to flank with his friend against Erick.
"I'll have your teef f'my next bracelet!"
Erick takes the hit, protecting Telsyn from one instead. He grunts in discomfort as the knife digs into his abdomen. "Time to take these idiots down..." He growls, spitting blood.
Henry snipes at the one which didn't seem to notice him.
then he ducks behind the door jamb again.
Henry's arrow strikes true, digging deep in the thug's arm nearly disclocating it. "F~&#!" He and his friend look significantly less confident all of a sudden.
Clyde shoots the one Henry shot
One of the thugs falls into blissful unconsciousness as Clyde's arrow finds its mark.
The other's eyes grow fearful as he throws down his mace and raises his hands. "I give! I give!"
Erick reaches down to retrieve the knife of the downed man, the one with his blood on it, and wipes it on the man's clothes. "If you want to live, strip, down to nothing. Want to make sure you aren't hiding any knives to stick in my kidneys. Now!"
Let's incapacitate the others while we can. We can release the halflings and put these fellows in the cell. Let them have a taste of captivity!
Telsyn addresses the surrendered man. Where are the keys to the cell door?
He then starts removing whatever weapons the unconscious men have, while also looking for a key.
Let's get those people out of here quickly. I can't take another fight, right now.
Henry will move into the room once the standing foe is secure and help search for keys.
I can try having a look at your wounds once we get somewhere safer. Clyde helps keep a look out.
He quickly strips to his drawers, and hands over a key. "C-cell? It's just a warehouse door..."
The others are quickly bound and gagged, all for the better as they recover from Telsyn's blinding light and start rolling around furiously.
Telsyn tells the halflings, I don't know which of you were praying, but I guess it worked. We're going to get you out of here. We have to move quick!
The halflings rise and move to embrace Telsyn one by one; red-hair, grey-hair, blonde-hair, no-hair, united in gratitude. One doesn't rise however, a woman sobbing alone in the corner. Suddenly, counting them, Telsyn realizes there are ten slaves here; you were sent to retrieve eleven.
"He took her boy..." one of them whispers sorrowfully.
Erick makes sure they are all stripped down to their underwear before they are tied up, and puts their belongings and clothes in piles while the others are tied up. He double checks all their equipment and belongings for anything useful to either his group (like a healing potion) or the slaves (like gold, weapons, clothes, etc).
Once they realize one is missing, Erick nods. "Which one took the boy?" He grabs each of the guards by the back of the head and forces them to look in the slaves direction, so they can see faces.
Plus where did they take him?
The stripped man quickly speaks up. "N-none of us! I swear, sir!"
"Anoter man came; shaven, black robes, big hood. Knew we had sl- had cargo here. Offered good gold for one of them..." One of the halflings, an elderly man with a bald head and thick grey beard, nods to confirm his story. He passes Erick a piece of paper. "Pinched this from the hooded man's pocket; thought it might help..."
House of Infernal Lies, CCA, 17 Beauregard Avenue, Ostenso
The halfling mother turns and looks pleadingly at the party. "...please. Find my boy; my Alleso."
Clyde looks at his comrades. Take em with us and then help find the kid after we can secure them?
That sounds good, Clyde. Let's get these people to the stables, then we'll look for the boy ourselves. Why don't you explain it to that poor mother? Telsyn says to the ranger.
The elf then looks to his own condition. Does anyone have a healing potion, or something? I'm pretty hurt.
"Yes, we have to save the most we can. We can try back for the boy, but to try and save him and only lose 10 others would not serve the greater good. "
Everyone get ready, we leave right away. Ma'am, we'll go looking for your son right quick.
Clyde helps get the halflings together while the guards are put into the locked room.
"I'm gonna need to see a healer before I get in another fight, that guy knew right where to stab." He shows a bloody hand he's been using to hold his guts in.
Clyde hands over a potion of CLW. I have only 3 of these left.
"Thanks.. that takes the edge off, but I'm still pretty messed up."
"Those guys are trained assassins, we need someone who's an excellent magical healer, or we need to rethink our approach, going toe to toe with trained assassins is going to get us killed. We lucked out with that colorspray working. If it hadn't, they'd have slit our throats in less than 10 seconds."
Darn shame some priesty type didn't show up with us. I reckon more stealth and setting up the fight zone in our favor as much as possible. Of course, that isn't always doable.