The orphan avoids Nicolai's attack entirely.
Meanwhile, Krojun's lifts his axe high above his head and swings it for the gnome. Hearing the grunt of effort from behind him, the gnome turns and looks up, seeing the deadly blade coming straight down for him.
"WaitwaitwaitAAAAAAAAAA-"
The axe rudely interrupts his protestation by embedding itself in his skull and slamming his head down into the wooden floor with the disgusting sound of crushed jawbones, putting him out of commission for good.
Wide-eyed in shock, the orphan by Nicolai attempts to make a hasty escape, while the other one is dazed for a few seconds by the blow he dealt himself. Once he recovers, he also attempts to flee.
Nicolai attempts to grab the boy as he flees
Grapple attempt:
Staryth turns to the fleeing boys,"Go to the temples of either Shelyn or Abadar. If the former, tell them Staryth sent you. They will give you true haven and safety, not the false promises Lamm gave."
Sera has already said as much of her own temple, he knows, but it bears repeating.
The first orphan ducks out of Nicolain's grasp and tumbles between the wizard's legs, but as he gets up clumsily on the other side, Sera has ample opportunities to attempt to catch him.
The third orphan tries for the door as well, but finds multiple members of the party in his way. He steps back into the corner of the room, scared. Staryth's words don't seem to register through the shock.
Silvio cringes as the gnome is decapitated. But that doesn't stop him from quickly searching his body for anything useful - especially for keys or information.
The gnome had on him: A studded leather armor and kukri both meant for Small creatures, a disguise kit with 8 uses remaining, and a tarnished key.
A simple overview of the room (as described earlier in the battle), reveals a tall cabinet in the corner of the room, whose lock seems to match the key in design.
Seeing Nicolai attempt to restrain the boy, Sera tries to grab the boy by the back of the shirt.
Ruke, wiping the mess of gnome blood off of the front of his tunic, turns and approaches the young boy wiggling against the grasp of the diviner. "Lad, be still. No one here has any intent on harming you, just as we said upon our arrival. Mayhap you doubted our abilities to carry through on our boast, but this is now proven. We are here for Lamm, and not to harm you or your friends. Maybe we can work together on this?"
Sera gets a good hold of the boy's ragged collar, while the other one is still cowering in the corner.
At Ruke's calming words, the two seem mostly pacified, and stop attempting to flee. The younger one, huddled in the corner, falls silent when the other one, held by Sera, speaks for the two of them.
"We just wanna get away from here before Giggles or Yargin sees what happened! D-don't go up against Lamm! He'll kill you all! He'll feed you to Gobbleguts!"
Finding a key as he had hoped, Silvio abandons the remaining items for now. He goes to the cabinet and opens it.
That is our choice to make child. Do you know where Lamm is? If not, take your friend and be gone from this place, for it will run with blood before the night is out.” says Sera coolly, releasing the boy after he stops his flight.
The cabinet seems to hold the proceeds petty cash used in the fishery's operation. In it, you find nine small pouches: Six of them contain 50 cp each, while the remaining three hold 50 sp, for a grand total of 300 cp and 150 sp.
"an dwhat in the Nine Hells is a Gobblegut?"
"None of us kids know. Lamm stays in the lower floor, and when one of us acts out, they lower him down there and he doesn't come back up."
The other boy shakes his head at Krojun's question.
"No, Giggles is big! Really really big! Even bigger than you are!" The boy motions with his hand held as high as he can, which isn't much higher than Krojun's pectorals, even when the boy does his best to jump high.
"C-can we leave now, please? I need to find my parents..."
Now that battle has died down, the fishery seems awfully quiet, almost silent, save for the sound of the waves and the occasional creaking from the old building. In comparison, the ambient noise from the city outside seems unusually present.
Silvio finds the irony of pilfering from Gaedren hard to resist, and throws the coins into his bag. But the mention of Gobbleguts snaps him back to the task at hand. "If Gaedren works the same way he used to, Gobbleguts is a hyena. One who is hungry for the meat of children." He lifts his stump arm as he says this, to emphasize his personal experience. Then the kid's words dawn on him.
"Kid, you said Lamm is on the lower floor. How do we get down there? Quickly now!"
"Your parents? Do you know your parents names? Perhaps one of us can tell you where they are if we know?" Staryth says in sympathy
"I-I-I don't know, I've never been down there before! They don't let us go on the east side of the fishery, so it must be somewhere in there!" The boy replies. Then, he indicates the room's northmost door. "There should be other boys and a girl in that room, will you help free them too?"
"It's okay, I know where to find them, and I'll make sure Tommy finds a safe place too!" the older boy replies to Staryth. A gesture makes it obvious that Tommy is the name of the other boy. He seems rather honest about knowing where he's going, and confident that he'll be able to make it.
"We intend to free them all, and may the Eternal rose bless you for your kindness to your friend."
Sera listens to the boy ramble on, "Are there any other task masters in the room next door? Would you be able to tell the other children not to fight us?" Seeing Krojun wince as he reopened the lacerations on his back, Sera grasps her holy symbol and bathes the room in a warm glow.
"Giggles is probably there, and I really don't want him to see us. I really don't think the other kids would listen to us, Gaedrenn is really scary...
Ruke smiles at the child, "Beat feet lad, we've got it from here. And fear not, we will see no harm comes to your friends if we can prevent it. Hopefully they will be a little less eager to stick us with pitchforks though!"
He then turns to Krojun and adds, "Ok big fella, it's your time to shine. Sounds like this Giggles guy is a real barrel of laughs. I say we wipe the smile off his face and end his reign of terror over these lads."
"Let's get in position, lads," he says, heading to the northwest door. He stands along the edge of the rancid pool of fish to give others some space, praying he doesn't fall in.
"Best to go, lad." He agrees with Ruke. And he takes 'position', in this case deferring to the strategy of others.
Nicolai will step back and let the big Shoanti pass by him.
Sera nods in agreement to their plan, but has a slightly sour look over Krojun's eagerness to take more wounds. Taking her place in their order, she readies her shield and Morningstar.
Silvio swings the door open, revealing the lower level of the workroom... and Giggles, more than poised to strike. As he comes face to face with Krojun on the opposite side, the half-orc swings his flail with a roaring guffaw.
However, the head of the weapon embeds itself straight into the wooden door. Giggles stares at it, for a moment, apparently amused by his own ineptitude.
Krojun, seeing the opportunity, takes a swing at the off-balance fighter...
crit x3 = 18
...and cleaves his arm right off, knocking the orc off-balance and over the catwalk's guard rail, where his unconscious body plunges into a large vat of chum and seawater.
The voice of another man resounds from the other end of the room with a resounding "Oh, %*?$!" and the loud slamming of a door.
You see the door opens onto a catwalk over the lower fishery floor and, just below, a large vat full of a foul-looking mixture of chum, seawater, and who knows what else. At the back of the room, a tall pile of crates and barrels stand, each marked with a crudely painted fish. Orphans quickly gather to your side of the room, wide-eyed at the sudden turned of events.
. The voice tugs at Silvio's memory, but he's far too amazed as the mighty Krojun slices off Giggles' right arm. "Poetic justice," he cries. "Who's next?" Silvio rushes to the door and opens it, pursuing the voice.
Seeing the children gawking at the mighty barbarian, Sera chuckles as they move into the room, ”Show off.” Then, hearing the voice below, all humor flees from the cleric’s face, ”Yargin. The rest of you can fight who you want, and claim Lamm’s head as your own, but that one is mine!” she growls, knuckles going white as she grips her weapon. Soon the scales will be balanced.
Ruke moves to keep up with the rest of the group as they madly dash through the fishery, only pausing long enough to give a kick to the arm, sending it over into the chum mess below. He calls out to the young orphans as he makes his way across the catwalk, "Lamm is about to meet his maker lads, time for you to make yourselves scarce! The streets are a better place for you to be right now!"
As the party steps of the catwalk, the orphans look hesitant, and the oldest boy asks Ruke: "Is Hookshanks still up there? What about Bloo? A"
”He’s the scum that bought me from my mother, and introduced me to the wonderful creature Lamm is.” snarls Sera, ”So to thank him for all he’s done for me, I will give him the justice he deserves.” He has been weighed, He has been measured, and he has been found wanting. Abadar protect him, if it is right that he should do so.
Staryth is stunned by the mix of skill at arms and ferocity of Krojun, "Possibly the most amazing strike I've ever seen." He confesses.
But the children draw his concern more. "Once you hit the streets, the temple of Shelyn would also take you in. There was a gnome, but he's dead now. I don't know his name." He looks at Ruke wondering if he caught it
"That's Hookshanks. What about a big dog?" the boy asks, only to be interrupted by a younger girl. "Did you see a really really biiig dog?"
With a few enthusiastic "Thank you"s, the children run up the catwalk and out of the bakery, leaving the party alone in the room.
Thanks to your valiant efforts, eight children have been released from Gaedren's clutches, and are now free to seek happier lives. May the gods smile on their fates. The party most certainly gave them great help on that point.
Still, within the fishery, Gaedren still lurks...
The floor here is slick with seawater, bits of seaweed, and fish blood—the air is thick with the accompanying scent. Wooden catwalks to the west and east allow access to the southern part of the fishery, while the floor here is only five feet above the river below. An open bay to the east allows direct access to the sloppy, muddy water, while to the southwest stands an immense ten-foot-tall wooden vat, its sides caked and waterproofed with tar. Inside is a foul-looking mixture of chum, seawater, and who knows what else. To the east are stacked many barrels and crates, each marked in paint with a fish. Nearly two dozen small hammocks hang from under the catwalks, each with its own ratty blanket and pillow.
Judging by the size of the fishery, there really isn't much place where all these orphans could be hiding out. Most likely, the remaining ones are out doing their assigned jobs.
Thinking for a moment, Ruke dashes back to the entry room alongside the children, snatching up the disguise kit that went unclaimed, which he stuffs away for later use. He then bolts back to the party and makes a nod for the door where they observed the man duck in to, "I think we have a bloke yet who needs sorting, and it sounds like the lass here has dibs, so let's not waste anymore time and get with the score settling eh? Ruke nimbly crosses the catwalk towards the door, and once there gives it a listen.