Hanz's gaze barely flickers toward the front of the room as the auctioneer brings forth the Starstone fragment. I have no need of a god-making rock; I'll stick to what I can do with my own two hands. He keeps his gaze on the group in the roped-off area, particularly the nervous-looking woman. Any minute now... Almost idly, his left hand delves into a pocket, turning something between his fingers.
Elxurian takes a look at the buyers, trying to identify them, but it's not an easy task for her. What she can do well enough is analyze their inputs and bids, trying to identify who is there for the cherry, and who was there for something else, although from the very beginning she knew there was probably no one there looking for the other stuff.
As the final announcement is made and the chest is about to be opened, she tightens the hold on the grip of her sword, and scans the crowd for anything funny. It was indeed a nice sight. Everybody but Hanz and her was trying to look at the piece and confirm its veracity with their own eyes, which is something they wouldn't probably do in any event. She kept her job and watched the crowd for some more time, holding her curiosity at bay. Being curious could lead to disasters, she knew.
You notice magical auras coming from many of those seated in the central area that is roped off. It would be quite obvious that any important persons of note would like have come with at least some manner of magical protection however, so it could take some time to sort out each specific aura. Let me know how you want to proceed there.
The box nor its contents seem to be radiating any magic.
-
Inside the box, to those who are within viewing range, is a rather non-descript chunk of rock. Along its outer edges is a crystalline formation that is the color of the sea. It seems to be radiating a faint bluish glow that is reflected within the interior of the small coffer it is contained in.
As you cast your glances about the room, ever on the lookout for trouble, you notice several of the people seated towards the rear of the building seem to be paying far too much attention to the others around them and less on the auction itself, especially given the item just revealed.
Since Hanz is already alert, Elxurian tries to call Jonas's attention to the probable problem. She snaps a finger at him, and if he sees that, she points at her own eyes with two fingers and then to the end of the room, close to the door where two of the others should be.
Jonas' eyes move from Elxurian to the spot she indicates towards the rear of the building. Nodding to the woman to show he understands, he concentrates for a moment and then moves a hand ever so slightly, but enough to point to point to Quarick. He then turns his head for a moment and whispers, seemingly to himself. Yet what he says travels to the gnome's ears without having to raise his voice in the slightest.
"This is Jonas. There may be trouble at the back. Some people seem more interested in those around them than the actual auction itself."
With his message sent, the Taldan smiles to himself briefly. 'My time at the Academy was not completely wasted.'
Hanz blinks, distracted and surprised for a moment. Huh. That's...odd. Conman, perhaps? Or is there something about this object that prevents me from parsing it? Deciding it's not important for the moment--but making a mental note to let Pavo know--he switches his attention back to the main room just in time to spot Elxurian signaling Jonas about the potential troublemakers. Turning his gaze to them, the dwarf narrows his eyes once again and steps, seemingly idly, forward to the edge of the velvet rope.
"Shall we start the bidding at ten thousand measures?" Clovis continues, and the bidding begins. In the first moment of the final auction all eight paddles are raised into the air. Struggling to keep up with the bids, Clovis points out bidder after bidder, and in mere seconds the bid is beyond forty thousand gold. The paddle of the man in the black duster goes up and he calls out in a hoarse sounding voice,"One hundred thousand measures, and lets be done with it."
You detect no magic coming from the ones that caught your eye, all appears to be on the up and up.
As if on queue, there is an eruption of activity in the crowd, as several of the attendees push aside the people next to them, and begin to scramble for the ropes. Most of them suddenly scream in what can only be pain, as bone erupts from their forearms. Gripping the appearing protrusions, the beings draw them forth from their skin, the full extension being roughly the same length as a shortsword. With a mad look in their eyes they swing and slice, attempting to cut a path forward through the fleeing crowd.
Before he can react to Jona's warning, chaos breaks loose. The crazed (and now armed) attackers are obviously intent on robbing the auctioneers of the priceless Starstone . Regardless of the actual value of the lump of rock, these bone armed men are going to hurt someone, if no one does anything.
"Easy there, old chap. You have bonier angles then a starved chicken!" The gnome shouts as he moves towards the closest armed attacker and draws his rapier. Then he leaps into action!
"Tree! Get 'em!" Penka points at the nearest bad guy and Tree lumbers over to it and attacks.
Tree misses, however. While he is swinging at the creature, Penka weaves a spell, casting mage armor on her plant-like friend.
"Black magic!" She moves closer to the monsters while drawing her greatsword. Although she is not fast she does look resolute in her decision to abandon the Starstone behind and move to save the public.
"Foul necromancy." Tsura walks from the dais holding the fragment of Starstone to stand beside the auctioneer's table. She plunges her hand into the inside of her jacket and retrieves... a hand-forged chef's knife. She stands ready for any to approach.
Retcon: Tsura will throw her blade at any belligerent who approaches within 30 feet [ready action].
"Move out of their way, keep your distance from them," Jonas calls to the innocent and unarmed attendees. Almost in the same breath, he raises his shortbow and lets loose an arrow and then another, taking advantage of his quick reflexes and attacking before the bone-armed men have a chance to react to the guards' actions.
"Move out of their way, keep your distance from them," Jonas calls to the innocent and unarmed attendees. Almost in the same breath, he raises his shortbow and lets loose an arrow, taking advantage of his quick reflexes and attacking before the bone-armed men have a chance to react to the guards' actions.
Chaos erupts in the room as people push and shove to get out of the way of the sudden appearance of the strange attackers. Jonas, quick to react, launches an arrow at one of the creatures, the shot holding true and wounding it. Hanz quickly moves to block the advance of the attackers, standing his ground solidly. Quarick aims a quick thrust at one of the creatures, but his attack goes wide, missing the thing. Penka calls out to tree while weaving a spell, and the lumbering plant aims a swing at one of the beings, missing it, the attack slamming into the wall with a solid crash. Exlurian moves up, keeping an eye on both the attackers as well as the prize at the back of the room. Tsura holds her position, pulling out a large knife and preparing to throw at any approaching combatants. Jonas fires off another arrow, hitting again and wounding the creature. As one of the strange men surges forward Hanz takes a swing at him with his hammer, the attack smashing several long teeth out of the creature's mouth.
The bone wielding beings aim attacks at those around them, slicing the throats of several of the attendees before moving forward into the room. The one engaged with Quarick slashes at the swashbuckler with its bone blade, however the agile gnome quickly blocks the blow, sending it wide. The creature struck by Jonas' arrow rushes forward, only to be greeted by a knife to the face as Tsura launches the weapon forward, killing the creature outright.
To the back of the room, Clovis quickly slams the coffer on the table shut, grasping it in both hands and moving towards the rear door of the room, while his servants attend the repository of auction proceeds, grasping the container and hauling it along with them.
Tree slams the same bony attacker twice.
Penka tosses a glob of acid at the same one.
Jonas nocks another arrow, which he immediately fires at the closest creature. Unfortunately, he does not even come close to hitting it, the chaos in the room certainly a factor to his lack of aim.
The slow woman in scale mail charges an enemy with her large weapon in hands, trying to free tree from at least one of the creatures she's fighting against. "You will pay for killing innocents, demons!"
"Abominations! Answer blood for blood to the unclean!" Tsura strides forward, reaching into her jacket and producing another large knife. She stands astride the body of the foe she dispatched and throws again.
mindblade Critical threat
mindblade Critical confirmation
Quarick curses gaily as he once again seeks to distract and wound the bony attacker. If he can occupy this one, perhaps those around the Starstone can defend themselves and others.
With that Quarick's rapier flicks out again, trying to find a weakness in his opponent's defense. But the shouting, milling and bleeding civilians distract he high-strung gnome.
Hanz grits his teeth and keeps his buckler carefully between himself and the nearest bone...thing. Taking another swing at its legs, he glances at the other approaching creature to the south.
Though the dwarf lands a solid hit on the creature's knee, he takes a couple steps back toward the rope. The last thing I need is to get surrounded...
The group of guards reacts quickly to the suddenly chaotic conditions of the room, moving to address the threat before them with the practiced coordination of a seasoned group of veterans. As people move to flee they are systematically cut down by reactionary strikes from the attacking creatures, the beings moving in a blur of bone like blades. In moments the dead litter the floor of the auction house and the wood becomes slick with blood.
Tree lashes out at one of the creatures, its massive arm-limb slamming into the thing's head and driving it against the wall where it explodes with a sickening crunch. Penka chants a magical verse and launches a glob of acid at one of the creatures, the flying goo missing and impacting the floor with a sizzle. Jonas nocks an arrow and fires at the closest creature, but in a wild spectacle of incompetence he juggles and then drops his arrow, releasing the string and giving him a nasty burn on the arm for his trouble. Exlurian steps forward and with a single blow manages to decapitate the creature in front of her, its head flying away to land towards the back of the room. Tsura flings another knife at one of the creatures with an arrow in its gut, the dagger sticking into the side of the thing's neck and dropping it to the floor. Quarick continues to spar with his opponent, but his delicate weapon fails to find an opening in its defenses. Finally, Hanz swings at the wounded creature in front of him, knocking the thing in the head with his hammer and killing it.
Several of the things rush forward into the roped off area, trying to get at one of the guests. As one of the creatures rushes by the man in the military uniform he whips out a dagger, thrusting towards the creature. The weapon digs deep into the thing's neck, severing an artery and killing it outright. Another one of the beasts runs to the other side of the cordoned off area, greeted by a hammering fist from the man in the black duster. The sound of bones breaking echoes through the room as the thing falls backwards, dead as a doornail. One of the creatures on Quarick darts away in the direction of the others while its companion slices at the gnome, but the agile fighter easily parries the blow. The last of the creatures runs towards Hanz, growling with anger, and chops at him with the bone blade, but its clumsy attack is quickly parried by the dwarf, who manages to break the thing's hand in the process, leaving it limp at its side.
At the rear of the room the gathered crowd beats against the doors marking the exit, but finds them locked. As a whole the struggle and push against the doors, attempting to break them open, the scene one of complete panic. At the other end of the room Clovis and several of the guests manage to exit the main auction area, retreating into the rear of the building.
Quarick congratulates Exlurian with a hearty, "Well struck!" as her opponent's head sails to the back of the room. If it wasn't for the poor civilians, the gnome would think it was good sport. Still, his teeth gritted a bit as he fails to make a mark.
Side-stepping, keeping up with his bony foe, the gnome's blade flicks out again, quick as a snake.
Elxurian glances at Quarick when she turns to her right to charge another one of the creatures, this time the one who was blocked by Hanz. From the look in her eyes she certainly did not appreciate the compliment in the middle of combat.
Her strike was effective, but it was most Hanz' credit, since it took the balance away from the creature when parrying its attack.
Hanz's swing as one of the creatures charges past him whiffs, causing the dwarf to mutter a curse in Osiriani under his breath. Turning to the one that's come face-to-face with him, his lips tighten with satisfaction as Elxurian brings her blade around into its head. He lunges forward with his warhammer...
Hearing the creatures behind him growl, Hanz whirls, dropping his warhammer with a solid *thunk* as he pulls the loaded crossbow off his back. He fires at the nearest one, and has the crossbow wound and a bolt in place even as it turns to him.
Taking a moment to rub his arm almost automatically, Joan picks his bow up with a shake of his head. Still, he is armed once more and wastes no more time, once again firing an arrow at one of the bone-armed humanoid that have managed to enter the cordoned off area.
Quarick continues to fence with his opponent, neither of the fighters able to land a blow solid enough to cause any damage. Elxurian steps towards another of the creatures and nearly splits it in two with a mighty slash of her longsword. Hanz and Jonas both let projectiles fly into one of the things, both striking the target and causing it to stumble slightly until a charge from Tree ends the thing's life. Tsura buries yet another knife in one of the creatures as the half-orc steps forward and kicks the thing in the back, breaking its spine and snuffing out its life. The final creature finds itself flanked by the man in the military uniform, who uses Quarick's distracting attacks to his advantage, driving his dagger into the thing's skull and killing it in a single stroke. The gathered crowd at the entrance finally manages to push open the doors, the fleeing citizens disappearing quickly into the night.
In the aftermath of the battle the surviving nobles survey the dead, piled all around in the seating area. The uniformed man speaks first, "What in the hells were those things? And what were they doing here?" As if on queue, the man in the duster adds, "And why purposefully slay so many innocents?" The half-orc kneels to inspect one of the bodies while the uniformed man speaks again, this time to the gathered guards, "You performed your duties well given the circumstances, but my, you are a motley bunch aren't you?"
"Part of our charm, I am sure," Jonas quips in reply as he catches his breath, bow still held firmly in his hand. As he does so, he looks around. Although he and the other guards managed to emerge from the battle unscathed, the same cannot be said for a number of the attendees.
"You certainly seem to know how to handle a blade, but you are wearing a uniform, so I suppose it is to be expected. But then again, the others do not and they handled themselves quite well indeed."
Perhaps his words and his tone are a bit too direct, especially considering his position as a guard while the man he is addressing is one of the apparently more privileged bidders. Realizing a certain breach of etiquette on his part, Jon offers a little bow of his head, half honest and half not, in apology. "The stress from all the fighting, you understand..."
Penka steps forward, trying to keep Jonas from saying something uncouth.
"My friend, we performed exactly as we were meant to. I only wish we could have saved a few more innocents. Though it is not necessarily covered by our jobs as security, I believe we should determine what just happened here, and try to keep it from happening again in the future. Perhaps you could hire us as investigators as well?"
The uniformed man gives a chuckle and says to Jonas, "Quite understood." then directing his gaze to Penka he adds, "While I do not disagree that this attack is not only very unfortunate and terribly strange, we are well out of my own jurisdiction." He moves to the side of the half-orc, peering down at one of the corpses. He watches as the man pokes at the creature's wounds, and then moves to inspect the shaft of bone that served as the thing's weapon. "Anything?" the uniformed man asks, which is answered with a shrug from the half-orc as he tosses the bone aside and stands, looking over the carnage caused.
Hanz barely glances at the others as the last beast falls, simply rehanging his war hammer on his belt and his crossbow on his back. He winces slightly at Penka's obvious and clumsy attempt at mercenary work, but ignores it, beckoning Elxurian (and any other guards nearby to follow him). "Come. We should make sure our employer is well."
Although the dwarf's face doesn't betray it as he trots to the door Steele, his lackeys, and the "starstone" disappeared through, his mind is racing. Waste-blasted fool, not all great crimes demand magic. Enemies attack conveniently just on time for that item? Trap or con, trap or con...either way, we need to find Steele quickly. He tugs at the handles of the door, testing to see if they're locked.
Hanz is the first one Elxurian actually replies to. "Wait, there must still be time to save some of them." Although Elxurian knows close to nothing about on patching up wounds, she walks among the crowd of dead people, checking if is there anything she can do to help them.
There must be someone she can save among those many.
Quarick kicked the ground once in frustration. he had done little to aid the fight except maybe distract one or two. In the meantime they had killed many...it weighed heavy on the gnome's gallant heart.
He moved past it however and bent to examine one of the bloodily dispatched foes. He riffled through pockets, looked for tattoos, and examined the clothing looking for any clue as to their local orogion.
Exlurian attempts to give what aid she can to the downed citizens in the room, but sadly the bloodied and butchered corpses give her little hope. The killers were anything if not proficient in the wanton slaying of so many otherwise unremarkable humans. One thing she notes is the nearly surgical precision of the strikes, always aimed at a major organ or artery, and the cuts clean and neat, despite the initial rough appearance of the weapons themselves.
Quarick busies himself with searching the attackers for any clues as to their purpose or origin, calling upon his worldly knowledge of humanoids to determine any hint as to what they had been dealing with. Other than the clothes on their backs and an empty belt pouch on each, they carry no possessions at all. Try as he might he cannot draw a line between the creatures and any being he had heard of or encountered in the past. The forms themselves are human in appearance, but the gnome does note several places on the bodies where bony spurs or ridges appear from beneath the skin. He knew that anything else he wished to know would have to wait for the involvement of someone else more skilled in anatomy itself.
"This doesn't make sense." Tsura frowned as she surveyed the fallen. She gave one of the dead creatures a small kick to the head to make certain it was unresponsive. "What was the point of this attack? If they wanted to take the rock and leave no witnesses, then they didn't send enough force. If it was a diversion, then why act when the rock is in the open?" She rubs her chin in thought. "I think we should speak with Clovis."
The gnome looks up to Tsura, "Could have been badly planned. Not all criminals are masterminds, but I think you are right. There is something more then a simple robbery here...let's question our employer, shall we?. With that Quarick moves towards the door Hanz is already opening.
Before he stands up though, his hands flicks out and grabs a bony shaft, that was once such a deadly weapon and tucks it away, unseen, under his cloak.
"Agreed. Let's go find him."
Moving to the back of the room they find the door unlocked and leading to the familiar hallway where they made their way into the main area of the building. Following the hallway they hear the sounds of several voices behind one of the closed doors. An attempt to open the door proves it to be locked. The voices suddenly become hushed and quiet.
Hanz holds his hand up to forestall the others, eyes narrowing, and when the voices cease he calls out through the door, "Master Steele? It's your guards. You must move, you're in great danger."
As he speaks, the dwarf reaches out to stroke any part of the latch or lock that's exposed, closing his eyes and cocking his head as though listening intently. There are quiet creaking and cracking noises from the latch.
Hanz frowns, looking irritated, and he grasps the handle again.
"Master Deadshield, would you like Tree to knock that door down? He's pretty good at stuff like that."
"Danger? Really? What ever gave you that idea?" comes a sarcastic reply from behind the door. As Hanz fiddles with the lock the door opens and standing in the portal is Clovis, his eyes quickly scanning the hallway beyond. Seeing no raging bone monsters he opens the door fully and asks, "Are they gone?" Behind him can be seen five of the servants and attendants that were present during the auction as well as the red haired woman and the well-dressed blond haired woman.
"Of course they are gone, my employer. Your hired guards have taken care of them, saving your goods and your life, as agreed. We make quite a team.". The gnome doffs his hats with a flourish and gestures towards the crowded group behind him.
"They are defeated. It would seem that your last auction item has brought unwelcome attention. Is it truly a fragment of the starstone?!"
Elxurian shares with the others her knowledge about the unknown attackers. "This is indeed weird. Those creatures seemed to know exactly what they wanted, and it was to kill as many people as they could. Still, I saw no actual organization among them. Did you notice any sign given to them so they would attack?" She gets contemplative, thinking out loud for a second. "What if it was the..." She looks at where the rock was at, not properly finishing her phrase.
Later on, with their actual employee, she gets bolder to try to solve the situattion.
"All due respect, sir, what aren't you telling us? I have a strong suspicion that the piece was the cause of the slaughter. If that's true, it would be great if we could know a little bit more about it. Would you allow me to take a detailed look at it? I won't touch it, but just feel its energy."
"I can save you some time, Elxurian," Hanz says, in his brusque, clipped voice. "The stone, whether it came from the Starstone or not, is not magic--at least, it radiates none that I can see." He looks into Steele's eyes levelly. "Is it, therefore, valuable only as a religious relic? Or does it have some other power?"
"Not everything magical detects as such, Master Deadshield," Jonas offers helpfully, drawing on knowledge from a past life, one that involved quite a few books and lessons on magic in general and spells in particular. "There are ways to mask an item's magical auras, such as certain spells."
"The stone is indeed as claimed, or so I have been made to believe. It was obtained several years ago through a bargain not of my being with a planar denizen of some note. That transaction does have some history to it, of course." At those words, the two women behind Steele look to each other for a moment and then towards Clovis, nodding silently. "As to its magical powers, I cannot say. I've handled it on occasion without issue." He takes the coffer of greenish metal from one of his assistants, opening it for inspection. "Look if you would, but I'd ask you not handle the stone, for my own reasons."
From behind the group, the uniformed man and the man with the duster approach, each with a rather sour look on his face. "Well Steele, this one sure ended up a mess. Any clue what those were?" asks the man in the more formal garb. "Not human, that's for sure," states the other man, "And not something from any plane I am aware of either." The Andoran man nods, "The watch has been called. I'm sure they will have questions for you Clovis. Which of course means I've overstayed. If you will all excuse me." Stopping himself for the breach, he adds, "Ladies." and executes a formal bow to the females present. With that he turns on his heel and heads back out to the main lobby. "So my bid stands? Can we complete the transaction?" the more haggard man asks, holding aloft one of the golden rods. Closing the coffer Clovis shakes his head and frowns, "I'm afraid not Master Yarplen. The bidding was not concluded, and the rather sudden outburst has me questioning the setting for such an offering. I will be in touch." At those words the man in the duster frowns a bit, obviously unhappy with the answer but also not arguing the point.