I will take three silver pins, or whatever number is remaining when all the other players have taken what they want.
"Master Rockborn, is right. If any of you can remember who you were before, please, do not fight us."
I will stay close to Luc-ie, and keep my weapon ready in both hands
"Fellow animated objects, join us in the pursuit of your freedom! Little cowboy, wouldn't you rather be riding the range, than growing dusty on a shelf? Join us, join us and be free!"
The cowboy puppet cocks his head from side to side as if considering your words, but his voice has taken on a different quality when he speaks.
"I was created a toy and a toy I shall stay.
Master says to keep you here... there is no other way."
Once the speech is done, the puppet resumes it's whirling and whooping as if nothing has occurred. Though these toys can move, they do not seem to be self-aware like yourselves and the Carrionettes.
Luc-ie heads to the cowboy, "It didn't need to come t'this, yer not my enemy." As he swings at the cowboy, ;
Nicarrionette joins Luc-ie in the assault on the pesky cowboy. "We were not toys originally and we'll not stay this way."
Dimitrio takes the opportunity to try and get to the cowboy's back. "Dimitrio is nobody's toy!"
Dimitrio lands a solid hit on the cowboy puppet but Luc's and Nicu's strikes go wide. The rollerskates zip in at high speed and collide with Dimitrio and Luc-ie. The cowboy flings his lasso and tangles Nicu's feet and then pulls them out from under him.
"No! not again." I shout as I rush the Cowboy
I attack the Cowboy with the Gouge, I am not sure my attack bonus is correct, seems like my new form has a BAB of +3 and Strength Modifier of -2
"We've got to find a way to disable or dispatch these creatures quickly." I shout out loud to the others. "Their forms, like ours are probably resilient and hacking away at them will take hours!"
Initiative Order
Artegal - swings and misses the cowboy
Donovan
Rannveig
Dimitrio
Luc
Nicu < is prone
TOYS
Nicu struggles to his feet (provoking attacks) and lashes back at the miniature cowboy. "We'll beat you like a cattle rustler, you half-pint cow-puppet!" Lashing back at the cowboy, Nicarrionette jabs viciously with his impromptu spear.
The cowboy doll takes a swing at Nicu as he regains his feet but fails to connect with the blow. Niuc's spear stabs into the cowboy's side, punching a hole through the fabric covering of it's body. A small stream of sand pours forth. It seems these smaller toys are not as sturdily made as the Carrionettes.
Initiative Order/Round 1 summary
Artegal - swings and misses CB
Donovan
Rannveig
Dimitrio
Luc
Nicu - regains his feet and hits CB for 1 dmg
TOYS
"Blasted toys are just as nasty as t'other ones. I'm gonna make tooth picks out of ya."
Dononvan and Rannveig move to engage the rollerskates but fail to find purchase on the rolling menaces. Dimitrio moves into a flanking position opposite Donovan and scores a hit on #1. Luc takes a swing at his attacker but only pummels the floorboards. One rollerskate rams Dimitrio hard enough to gouge into the wood of his leg, but the second rolls past Luc harmlessly. The Cowboy doll directs his lasso toward Artegal but he dodges it neatly.
Initiative Order/Round 1 summary
Artegal - swings and misses CB
Donovan Miss
Rannveig Miss
Dimitrio
Luc Miss
Nicu - regains his feet and hits CB for 1 dmg
TOYS
Initiative Order/Round 2
Artegal
Donovan
Rannveig
Dimitrio
Luc
Nicu
TOYS
I will stay focused on the Cowboy
"They are not indestructible. Try not to let them separate us. Work together, and remember who you are.”
”Are you the one in control of the others?” I growl at the Cowboy. “I will bring you down!”
Luc stabs at the coyboy ringleader,
"I tried t'reason wit ya but ya didn't want that."
"Come here cowboy, I've got another stab for you." Jabbing again, Nicarrionette continues the assault while trying to manuever into flanking for his companions.
"It didn't 'ave to come to this." Luc-ie sighs.
Artegal's gouge tool takes a chunk out of the cowboy doll and Luc follows up with his hammer, flattening the marrionette into the floorboards, where it does not move again. Donovan scores a hit on the rollerskate charging Dimitrio, which is now looking a bit worse for wear. Nicu moves to intercept the second rollerskate with his spear and braces himself for the impact, but just misses it as it swerves off at the last second, harmlessly. The whirling tops continue to spin, dancing back and forth in front of the bottom step.
Initiative Order/Round 2 summary
Artegal - Hits CB for double damage!
Donovan
Rannveig
Dimitrio
Luc - Finishes off CB!
Nicu - Just misses rollerskate.
TOYS
Initiative Order/Round 3
Artegal
Donovan
Rannveig
Dimitrio
Luc
Nicu
TOYS
Seeing the cowboy splinter away, Luc-ie looks to attack the next nearest one to him.
He does 1 HP of damage if he hits.
"Your leader is destroyed, lay down your weapons!" Frustrated that this battle happened.
[i]I don't know who is more of a threat here, but I kind of want to try something weird. Can I make an attempt to use my gouge, which I hope is as long as I am, as a sort of pole and try to vault up to the first step (as a Move Action, I'll make an Acrobatics Roll if you allow this), and from there stab down at the tops or skaters?]
Using his braced spear, Nicarrionette drives it into the roller skate.
Okay I'm going to give it a go
With a few quick paces I charge toward the first step, hoping to lead one of the attacking toys toward me. Using the gouge as a aid I dig the tip into the floor and launch myself up.
but my judgment of the hight is off and my feet strike the boards without reaching my goal.
Do I fall prone?
I forgot to include the bonus from using the gouge, so actually I think I made it
Artegal gets a running start and rams the tip of the gouge into floor, launching himself up and over the whirling tops. They veer toward him, but only manage to clip his makeshift pole as he pulls it up behind him.
Rannveig tries to follow Artegal's example, but without a pole to vault with, she leaps and fails to find to her mark, scrabbling at the edge of the step with her claws trying to find purchase. Seeing her distress, Artegal quickly grabs her wooden paws and pulls her up and over the ledge, onto the first step before the tops reach her dangling legs.
Dimitrio lunges at the rollerskate as it harmlessly rolls past him, managing to disable it by shoving the needle into the base of one it's wheels and pops it off. The toy skids to a stop and tumbles onto it's side and does not move again.
Luc grumbles with frustration as he notices a toy slingshot is now firing marbles on the group from the safety of the shelves. And a strangely barrel shaped doll painted like a matronly woman with an apron and a kerchief on her head now slides along the floor toward them.
Nicu and the second rollerskate face off like a matador and a charging bull. As it speeds toward him, he again braces the spear against a seam in the floorboards. They collide with a great cacophony of screeching metal and showering splinters as the skate's momentum carries it up and over Nicu's head and crashes to the floor on the other side of him.
Initiative Order/Round 3 summary
Artegal - Makes it to the first step!
Donovan -???
Rannveig Just makes it with Artegal's aid.
Dimitrio Finishes off Rollerskate 1.
Luc - ???
Nicu - Hits for 2 damage on Rollerskate 2.
TOYS
Luc will attack the closest to, providing some rear guard as others try to get up the stairs.
hHis aim is wild.
Combat Map for the Journey Upstairs!
Initiative Order/Round 4 summary
Artegal 1 damage on Top 1
Donovan
Rannveig 1 damage on Top 3
Dimitrio x2 = 4 damage to Slingshot
Luc 1 damage on Rollerskate 2
Nicu -
TOYS
Artegal and Rannveig attack the tops from their relative safety on the first step and both score hits, sending the tops spinning wildly as they try to regain their equilibrium.
Donovan watches as a grandmotherly looking Matryoshka doll slides slowly, but steadily toward him. It stops a foot away from him and he almost lowers his weapon, thinking the thing must be as harmless as it looks. But then the doll spits in two, releasing a smaller doll, much like itself. This smaller second doll leaps forward, smacking the puppet warrior right in the face and landing before him. He lunges to attack it's serenely smiling face, but then the second doll splits open and releases an even smaller doll, which slides to the side to bop Nicu in much the same way, but fails to impact him.
Dimitrio charges to attack the slingshot firing at the party and rends it viciously. It tries to return attack, but the marble flies foul.
Luc continues to work on the Rollerskate which now lies prone, spinning it's wheels helplessly. He lands a shattering blow, completely ruining one of it's wheels. Nicu tries to finish it off as it launches a feeble attack with it's leather strap, but his spear glances off only managing to nudge it slightly.
More stirring is heard among the toy-shelves, as if every moment that passes brings more of them to life to pursue the disobedient toys.
Luc-ie will use his move action to try to jump up a stair. "Try t'give me hand." he yells out as he jumps.
With a surprised look on his face he clenches the step with both hands, pulling himself up.
Nicu slams his spear into the little doll, hoping it doesn't split again.
"Little dolls, puppets, toys, won't some of you join us, don't any of you want to be Free!"
"I've got you master Rockborn!" I call out as I drop to one knee and extend a hand to help Luc climb up. "It seems the wheeled toys and spinning tops cannot climb."
"'bout the only guud thing that's happened for us tonight, Boote." he glances down at the the toys.
"Come on Donovan and Rav, git yerself up here."
Combat Map for the Journey Upstairs!
Initiative Order/Round 4 summary
Artegal - Helps Luc up.
Donovan
Rannveig Finishes off top and moves to the next step up.
Dimitrio
Luc - Makes it to the first step.
Nicu - Spears smallest Matryoshka doll and is grappled by the largest.
TOYS
Rannveig strikes at the top spinning below her and the thing crumples in on itself and spins out of control, bouncing off the step and the wall before winding to a stop. She then turns to the step behind her and easily climbs to the next elevation.
Luc calls for aid before making his leap, but surprises everyone, especially himself when he lands not only safely, but with a graceful ease. Artegal nods his wooden head appreciatively as Luc grasps his hand in thanks instead.
Donovan grows anxious as the number of toys moving toward them increases and moves to position himself next to Nicu.
Nicu skewers the smallest of the nesting dolls and half of it crumples into splinters and dust, but the second half still bounces around like a drunken flea. The largest of the Matryoshka dolls moves next to Nicu and lunges for him. The barrel shaped doll opens along its seam and snaps it's halves together like the jaws of a horrible beast and engulfs him like some brightly painted iron maiden. Donovan slashes at it to try and help his friend, but he cannot stop it from swallowing him up.
Dimitrio gasps as a horde of toys descend on him from the shelves above. A brightly painted box 'hops' forward and out pops a hideous looking skull faced clown with wickedly sharp claws. It slashes at him but only swipes at air. Next comes a wooden horse on wheels that slams the little pirate puppet against the jack-in-a-box. Finally two darts fly at him, one of them stabbing into his wooden leg. He calls out to his comrades, "They keep coming! Hurry up the stairs and Dimitrio will follow!"
Three more puppets begin to stir, and find their first movements to be tightly restricted. Darkness blocks their vision, but they can hear muffled sounds and the creak of rope fibers as they begin to struggle against the cords that bind them.
Their senses felt strangely dulled, as if from too much drink. Shi-ru immediately reverted to her training in the monastery and tried to focus on her breath, but could not bring the cleansing air into her lungs. She tried again, and realized with a twinge of fear that it was not a lack of air that was the problem, but a lack of lungs. She tried to think of what could have happened to her, but the last thing she remembered was feeling drowsy at the children's puppet show.
Lanarial was not unfamiliar with the sensation of being bound and it took him only seconds to realize that he now found himself trussed like a runaway slave and wrapped in some sort of sack. He was disturbed to find his limbs felt numb, and he tried to think back to the last thing he remembered. The strange human town had seemed nearly deserted, but clearly something had gotten the drop on him as he moved through the darkened alleyways.
Cinder thrashed wildly against her bonds, remembering a bit more about what had gotten the drop on her and waking still in fight mode. She had been coming up from Hazel's basement with more willow bark for the fever tincture they were brewing when she heard the sounds of a scuffle. She arrived just in time to watch in horror as an evil looking baby-doll puppet stabbed her friend in the neck. Hazel's slender body arched with a terrible energy and then slumped to the floorboards. Cinder screamed with fury as waves of heat began to roll off her as her rage consumed her. She'd managed to burn two of the monstrosities to ash before they reached her, but there were too many of them and they had overwhelmed her. They surrounded her and stabbed with their silver needles until her limbs froze in place, stiffly paralyzed like a doll herself. Then they'd climbed her like some helpless tree and sunk a needle in her spinal cord. She'd thought for sure she was dead, but they were going to be sorely sorry they did not finish the job. Whoever or whatever they were.
Nicu panics as the doll closes about him and lashes out with his spear to rip an opening in the creature.
Nicu's spear punches neatly through the thin wooden shell of the Matryoshka doll, but it does not prevent it from closing down on him.
"Come-on git up 'ere!" Luc-ie reaches down to grasp the first comrade that reaches upward.
Lanarial moved slowly, testing the limits of his bonds with the slightest of motions. He knew he would be severely beaten if the drow slavers knew he was conscious again, so he took care to maintain his façade. He was bound by ropes - not uncommon and certainly nothing to overly be concerned about - and his head was covered - which, of course, made sense as the slavers would want to disorient and instill terror into their captives - but the odd, wooden numbness in his skin was a new sensation. Lanarial had experience with several kinds of poisons, but he could not remember which one produced this effect. Well, once he escaped and killed his captors, he would find out. But first, he must quietly escape his bonds.
He then hears others next to him thrash about and struggle against their bonds. "Fools," he thinks. "You will only bring the slavers' barbed whip making that much noise!" But no blows came. There were no harsh curses; no agonizing pain from their weapons. They must be stashed in a cave or box. That was good. He knew he would be able to move more freely now! But the poison was affecting his ability to work the knots, or slip free of the rope.
He loathed admitting it, but perhaps he needed the others to escape. "Quiet, fools! The slavers will hear you and beat us all! Here, turn your back towards me and give me your hands - we can help untie each other since the poison is affecting my senses..."
Pushing through the rip, Nicarrionette tries to escape the prison of the doll.
"Luc!" Nicarrionette's muffled voice escapes the wooden shell, "I'm on my way, keep that hand out!"
"I gotcha buddy...jump fer it." The monkey hand waves downward.
I will hurry to a place from the first step, as close to Nicarrionette as I can get, where I can swing the gouge like a golf club, aiming to knock the Matryoshka doll off of him. (This will be an Aid Another attempt, against AC 10, and if successful will grant Nicu another +2)
"There is not reasoning with these abominations, get away from them as fast as you can! Nicu, when you get free reach out and we will pull you up."
That is one tough doll, haha
Shi-ru blinked several times to clear her eyes, but it didn't help. Everything remained dark. What's all this...?
Everything's wrong. No lungs, no heartbeat-- no sense of herself. Dizzy. Hmrf. This is not an amusing joke, no, not at all.
And her body is totally uncooperative. Bah!
A voice, though-- she hears an odd, high voice speaking that makes her brows knit... well, except that her face doesn't really seem to cooperate.
"Jun? Is that you?" The voice sounds nothing like him, but the tone... that's a little bit like him. Impatient, eager. But no, surely not. Remembering that she is far from home and that people here do not speak the language of golden heaven; they speak their Taldane.
So, in Common, she says, "Ah... a moment..."
Wait, is that squeak really her own voice? Oh, this is all passing strange. She tries to nudge closer to the sound of the other voice, to fumble hands together. No soft flesh, but only wood and metal and cloth.
Damn my weakness. No matter - the poison will surely wear out soon and then I can escape... Lanarial thinks. The feeling in his limbs seems to be returning, but how can one be sure? He tries again to slip free from his bonds. This time his efforts meet with success and he is able to twist and flex and bend the bindings and his body to find enough of a gap to slip free. Once he gets his hands free, he removes the hood. ALthough he could see perfectly well in the dark, you still can't see through fabric!
Lanarial looks around and takes in his surroundings. He is in a box of some sort with two others. No surprises yet...the drow slavers often put their captives in a box for easier transport to the Undergloaming. The question he chews on for a few moments is whether to free the others or attempt his escape on his own. Alone, he had the best chance to slip away unseen. But there was strength in numbers, and he did not know how many slavers were out there. And so he goes about untying the others, whispering, "Quiet now. I will untie you but we must remain silent so the slavers do not realize we are awake and free."
And that is when he realizes his hands are not his own, but carved wooden hands stitched to cotton-stuffed arms. What kind of mind-altering drugs did the slavers use on him?!?
Combat Map for the Journey Upstairs!
Initiative Order/Round 6 summary
Artegal - Tries to aid Nicu.
Donovan - Aids Nicu's Escape
Rannveig - Waits anxiously to climb the steps.
Dimitrio
Luc - Aids Nicu's Escape
Nicu - Breaks free with his friends aid!
Artegal and Luc strike at Nicu's spear, still lodged through the Doll's shell, trying to help break it's hold on him. Donovan joins in the attempt and they are only just able to pry the thing open wide enough for Nicu to slip away. Artegal and Luc wait, hands extended to pull their comrade to safety.
______________________________________________________________________
Meanwhile, upstairs...
Once Lanarial removes the sack from his face, he is immediately taken aback. He can still see in the darkness, but the quality of his vision has changed. While he would normally still be able to see an array of subtle shades of color even in the darkest conditions, he finds the interior of the box to be completely devoid of such rich tones. He puts his hand against the patterned surface, again disturbed from the lack of sensation.
With a leaden feeling of dread, he examines his condition more closely. Arms and legs were heavily padded, giving him a bulky physique that he was not accustomed to seeing. His hands looked like massive, ham-fisted things compared to his usually slender, nimble fingers. He flexed the over-sized appendages, watching the articulation of movement and found he was surprised by how well they operated. Whoever was the engineer of this particular experience, they were quite skillful. Even if it was the effect of a powerful new drug. 'A sedative, perhaps. Am I dreaming? Hallucinating?'
He bends to untie the others bonds, warning them to be quiet, but too late it seemed as a soft thump sounds on the top of the box.
Not wasting time, Nicu leaps for the ledge as he reaches for the hands of his friends.
Hearing the thump on the top of the box and the sound of something snuffling up there, Lanarial redoubles his efforts to untie the others. "Quickly now. There is some manner of beast atop this crate and it has undoubtedly smelled us in here. I must get you free so we can defend ourselves!" He will remove the hoods from their faces first so that he can see their faces and peer into their eyes. He has learned many things from his drow kinfolk, and one of the most valuable is to read people's faces and determine their level of fear and desperation.
But he is not quite ready for what these faces reveal...
"Be minding your manners," Shi-ru says rather crossly to the mystery speaker, because being afraid always makes her feel cross.
"...what is the noise? It sounds like-- cat? Why is cat on roof?" she hisses, and tries to twist out of the ropes once more.
No luck so far.
Combat Map for the Journey Upstairs!
Initiative Order/Round 6 summary
Artegal - Tries to aid Nicu.
Donovan - Aids Nicu's Escape.
Rannveig - Waits anxiously to climb the steps.
Dimitrio - Attacks and misses.
Luc - Aids Nicu's Escape.
Nicu - Breaks free and makes it to the first step with a little help from his friends!
TOYS
Nicu makes a running leap and just clears the the spinning tops. Artegal and Luc catch his hands and pull him up on the step between them. Donovan retreats as far as he can and waits for his friends to move up so he can climb up as well. Rannveig whimpers and reaches down to aid the others in their climb.
The toys crowd around Donovan but only one of them lands a hit. Desna's luck favors Dimitrio and he ducks and dodges the toy horde as they slash, stab and claw at him also taking only one blow.
______________________________________________________________________
Meanwhile, upstairs...
Lanarial pulls the sacks from his box-mates and shakes his head in disbelief. The first was hard for him to make sense of, with a puckered rosebud like mouth and eyes that were little more than slanted slits. The features of the face seemed to be painted on a smooth round sphere. Lanarial wondered what sort of prank the slavers had decided to play in their cruel boredom, when the painted features moved impossibly to focus on his face. The little rosebud of a mouth made the perfect shape of an O in a comical expression of surprise as she takes in the appearance of the mystery speaker.
He had a menacing sort of look with a mask over his face and a mouth that seemed fixed into a permanent sneer. But his overly muscled appearance made the overall effect humorous as well. And so the wooden caricatures contemplated one another. Shi-ru still bound while Lanarial tried to decide if he wanted to unbind these strange fellows as the beast snuffled and scratched at the roof of their prison.