GM Giuseppe's Council of Thieves

Game Master Giuseppe Capriati

As the armiger fails to grab Faustinia again, her spell finishes. Bristling with golden light, an eagle with glowing golden eyes appears behind armiger Torvian on top of the wagon. It unleashes a cry before tearing at the armiger with beak and talons.

Faustinia braces for Shanwen's burst of energy, looking at Catina anxiously. When it doesn't come, and the the hellknight keeps shouting, she raises a curious eyebrow. As he slips in the grease, any intimidation his angular armor provided instantly evaporates in Faustinia's eyes. She can't help but grin. She side steps the armiger trying to grab her, a wicked grin on her face. Concentrating on avoiding the man's attacks, she creases her brow in focus--still grinning. After a quick few arcane syllables, she holds her palms out toward the armiger as if to indicate he should stop, before a burst of colors leaps from her hands and washes over two of the wagon guards.
Cast color spray defensively (successful roll below); DC 15 Will Save needed from armigers #5 and #6; cone is drawn on the map.

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Round 3

Celestial Eagle bite: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14
Damage, Smite Evil: 1d4 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 2 + 1 = 4

Celestial Eagle talon 1: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5
Damage, Smite Evil: 1d4 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 2 + 1 = 6

Celestial Eagle talon 2: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 3 = 17
Damage, Smite Evil: 1d4 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 2 + 1 = 4

Concentration DC 16: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23

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⁞⁞⁞⁞ ROUND ❹ ⁞⁞⁞⁞
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Lorenzo responds with a wrath blow and his sword almost severs his opponent’s head. Without an ear, the armiger drops down in a lake of blood, dying. Lorenzo’s following shield bash is not nearly as precise, and his new opponent easily deflects it accompanying the shield with his sword.

Behind Armiger Torvian a celestial eagle appears, and as soon as it’s summoned the eagle attacks he who is supposed to fire the ballista with righteous fury. Although Armiger Torvian’s armor does his job just fine, protecting him from both a bite and a talon attack, the chainmail does not cover the man’s whole body, and as soon as the eagle realizes where to strike to bypass the armor, Armiger Torvian gets wounded by another talon at his neck. “What the f+&$ is this thing?” he shouts out in anger as he tries to shoo the eagle without any success.

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⁞⁞⁞⁞ ROUND ❺ ⁞⁞⁞⁞
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Sev steps back and fires another arrow at the armiger who just hit him. It’s win or die, and the halfling knows it so well that his aim is just as accurate as it has always been since the combat started. Although the small arrow cannot knock the armiger out, it lodges right into his knee, extorting a shout of pain from the Hellknight. “Aaah! F~*+ing half-man, I don’t care about my orders. I swear I’ll kill you!”

“Armiger Valerion, kill the archer! Armiger Lizzini, stop the f!#&ing conjurer! And you, Armiger Torvian…I swear you won’t leave this place if you fail to hit the target once again!” The booming voice of Shanwen echoes throughout the battlefield as the Hellknight captain tries to muster his men’s courage and give them clear orders. “Armiger Spagnoli, stand ready!”

“But what the…” It’s only now that Shanwen realizes that both Armiger Lizzini (#5) and Armiger Spagnoli have collapsed to the ground, unconscious, blinded and stunned.

The battlefield grows suddenly silent as Shanwen closes his eyes and rises his hand up in the air. Then, with a sadistic grin on his face, the man points one of his hands at Lorenzo. “DROP!”

Lorenzo must attempt a DC 13 Will save. If he fails, next turn he’s forced to use both of his actions to drop his sword and shield. If he succeeds, he can act normally instead.

Immediately after Shanwen’s mental assault, Armiger Torvian is ready to fire the ballista. Although disturbed by the Lady Faustinia’s celestial eagle, Shanwen’s threats are enough for him to stop his shaking hands for a second and use them to point the ballista at Faustinia and fire. Once again, however, his aim is very bad and he misses Lady Faustinia widely. His eyes are filled with terror as he glances at his captain, currently busy casting a spell. Armiger Torvian’s hands start shaking again.

The battle finally turned in your favor. And Armiger Lizzini seems to be realizing it. Instead of following Shanwen’s orders, the Hellknight steps back and stops chasing Sev. Instead, he points his longsword at Catina’s throat. “Drop you weapons and surrender, or I’ll cut her throat”, he threatens with a trembling voice.

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⁞⁞⁞⁞ INITIATIVE ⁞⁞⁞⁞
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① Sev
② Armigers & Shanwen
③ Lorenzo
④ Catina
⑤ Faustinia
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I think it’s the right time for a diversion. Armiger Lizzini is threatening to attack Catina if you do anything harmful to him or his allies. From a mechanical point of view, he took a 5 ft. step back and readied an action. You can try and judge if he’s just bluffing or he’s serious is in his threat and would really kill an unconscious foe if you don’t surrender. If you think he’s not bluffing but you don’t want to surrender, you have an option: you can choose to make either a Bluff check to pretend to be dropping your weapons and putting your hands up in the air while in truth making an attack or casting a spell, or an initiative check to attack him directly before he can even use his sword. Armiger Lizzini is clearly wounded, so it’s clear enough that a good hit would probably cause him to fall down. I will roll a Sense Motive check or initiative check for Armiger Lizzini, in order to determine who goes first or if your bluff attempt succeeded. Making a Bluff or an initiative check in this way is not an action, so you can attack normally afterwards.

Lorenzo steels himself against the intrusion into his mind by the Asmodean. In the end, a quick prayer to Iomedae allows him to ignore the command.

He then looks at the wounded armiger trying to ascertain his threat. But he is hard to read and Lorenzo does not want to take chances. What if they surrendered, would these armigers have pity on them after they killed their fellow guards? Probably not.

But could he bluff him? Him? Lorenzo, who couldn't even keep a serious face when scolding his sisters? He was not made to bluff. But he was quick.

Hoping that Catina somehow understood his choice, he tried to get to her would-be murdered before he had a chance to strike.

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will save against command: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20
sense motive: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (7) + 0 = 7
initiative: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21
I'll leave it here and you tell us what really happened. Please let me know if I get to attack.

Faustinia jumps as the ballista bolt slams into the ground next to her, spraying her with loose earth. She peers up at Armiger Torvian, shaking with fear for his failures. Thank the gods he's too scared to aim straight.

Faustinia shoots a look at Sev and Lorenzo when Lizzini threatens to kill Catina. The grin immediately drops from her face, and she starts to lower her crossbow and raise her free hand. "He's not bluffing. He'll murder her," Faustinia says. "I'm all out of spells. Why don't I just put down this crossbow, and keep my hand in your sight, and --" Faustinia interrupts herself as she mimic's the motions of surrender to aim her hand at the desperate armiger and shoot a dart of acid speeding toward him.

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Round 3

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 15

Bluff: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 15

Acid dart, bless: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6
Acid Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 1

Faustinia, please roll for your eagle attacks. Also, Lorenzo, please roll for your attack and damage.

Lorenzo answers Faustinia, "He has to be bluffing. If he kills her, he's not getting out of here alive."

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longsword to hit: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 3 = 17
damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8

Catina lies peacefully overthinking her mistakes, blissfully unaware of her impending doom.

Exciting! You can do it, guys. Save the damsel in distress. :D

Faustinia, please roll for your eagle attacks. Also, Lorenzo, please roll for your attack and damage.

Ah, sorry, I meant to include a line about the eagle disappearing. I don't have anything special that makes it last more than 1 round per level, so it's gone now.

Sev doesn't know what to do. He doesn't know if the man will really kill Catina, but he doesn't know he won't either. Lady Faustinia seems to be surrendering, but Lorenzo keeps fighting.

Sev closes his eye for just a moment, breathes in deeply, and draws his bow. He keeps his movements slight, trying to make sure the arminger doesn't notice what he's doing. Maybe he forgot about him altogether!

Sev fires his bow and holds his breath, waiting to see what happens next, and praying that everything turns out okay.

Sense Motvie: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (4) + 0 = 4
Stealth: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (1) + 10 = 11
Attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 91d4 ⇒ 2
The dice have abandoned me...

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⁞⁞⁞⁞ ROUND ❺ ⁞⁞⁞⁞
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Before armiger Lizzini can even react, Lorenzo is on him and with a quick move he disarms the Hellknight before executing a middle blow which causes the armiger to fall down. Catina is safe, for now. Faustinia fires an acid dart at Shanwen, but she misses her target, while her celestial eagle keeps attacking armiger Torvian. As before, his armor protects the Hellknight from the first two attacks, but eventually cannot avoid him to be hit by the eagle’s talon. Armiger Torvian goes down with a deathrattle, and now there’s no one operating the ballista.

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⁞⁞⁞⁞ ROUND ❻ ⁞⁞⁞⁞
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Shanwen is the only one left. Sev tries and fires an arrow at him, but the full plate covering the Hellknights’ captain protects him adequately. With clenched fists, Shanwen grins with disdain. “I won’t let you take the prisoner…whoever you are!” In a desperate attempt, Shanwen climbs the wagon and readies himself to load the crossbow. There’s no fear in his eyes, but it’s clear enough he knows that battle has turned in your favor. Meanwhile, several armigers are slowly bleeding to their death, while two of them are still unconscious thanks to Lady Faustinia’s spell.
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⁞⁞⁞⁞ INITIATIVE ⁞⁞⁞⁞
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① Sev
② Armigers & Shanwen
③ Lorenzo
④ Catina
⑤ Faustinia
____________________________

Lorenzo drags Catina to safety while addressing Shanwen, "Leave now and take your life. Stay and you die with the rest of them!"

He then pours a healing potion down the girl's throat, "Wake up, Catina. We're still in trouble..."

He then addresses his companions, "Take cover and watch out for the knocked out armigers!"

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trying to either drag Catina to take cover behind the bridge pillar, if possible, or close to the wagon (away from ballista). if that's not possible, Lorenzo will provide cover for her.

As Torvian falls, the eagle screeches in victory then disappears as Shanwen clambers up. Faustinia dashes forward, stepping around the scattered unconscious and bleeding bodies around her. Reaching the wagon, she hops up on the lower step and pulls at the door handle. "Arael!" she calls to the interior, "We're getting you out and the way is clear! Get ready to run!"

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Round 6

Move action to get to the wagon, standard(?) to try to open the door.

Sev takes an opportunity to duck low, hoping to blend in with the bodies of the Hellknights, hoping Shanwen loses sight of him.

When Shanwen is in sight, he draws another arrow and provides cover fire for Lorenzo and Faustinia. He doubts the arrow will actually harm the man, but if he can keep him angry, he might distract him long enough for the others to get Arael out.

Stealth: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (4) + 10 = 14
Attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 131d4 + 1d6 ⇒ (4) + (2) = 6

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⁞⁞⁞⁞ ROUND ❻ ⁞⁞⁞⁞
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Lorenzo drags Catina as close as he can to the wagon in order to provide her with cover from the ballista. Lady Faustinia moves closer to the wagon to, but when she tries to open the door, she discovers that it appears to be locked and not easy at all to open. In the meantime, Arael senses her presence and hears her words. “The door is locked! Someone must have the key!”

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⁞⁞⁞⁞ ROUND ❼ ⁞⁞⁞⁞
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Sev stealthy arrow bounces against Shanwen’s full-plate armor, causing the Hellknight to laugh at the halfling with disdain. “You have no chance against me! The unholy fire of Asmodeus protects those who worship him and…BURN THE OTHERS!” he shouts as he gestures wildly with both of his hands. Suddenly, a cone of searing flames shoots from Shanwen’s fingertips, catching both Lorenzo and Faustinia in the area along with several unconscious Hellknights.

Lorenzo and Faustinia need to attempt a DC 13 Reflex save. On a failed check, they take 2 points of fire damage. Lorenzo gets a +1 bonus to his Reflex save due to his partial cover.

In the meantime, just outside the burst of flame, one of the armigers (#5) starts moving, even though he’s still prone and pretty stunned.
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⁞⁞⁞⁞ INITIATIVE ⁞⁞⁞⁞
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① Sev
② Armigers & Shanwen
③ Lorenzo
④ Catina
⑤ Faustinia
____________________________
Lorenzo, the bridge pillar is not high enough to provide cover, so I made you drag Catina near to the wagon as you wished.

Seeing that the girl was well, Lorenzo turns his attention to the leader of the hellknights.

He climbs up the wagon and faces the man in his plate armor.

"Your association with the devil has damned you. You will soon meet him!"

With his sword out, the paladin moves forward.
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reflex save: 1d20 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 3 + 1 = 19, pass
any damage on the passed save?
climb on top of wagon, smite evil
Let me know if I can attack...
I'm trying to move my token to on top of the wagon but it keeps going 'under'. Please help. :)

Lorenzo placed hand over hand to quickly climb on top of the wagon.

His armor, however, prevented any serious progress.

_________________
climb: 1d20 + 2 - 4 ⇒ (6) + 2 - 4 = 4
if possible, I would like to take 10 on my next attempt

Faustinia curses as the locked door rattles, barely catching sight of Shanwen's outstretched hand before ducking under the gout of flame that erupts from him. Only slightly singed, she ducks down and makes her way to the nearest unconscious armiger, searching for keys.

She catches one of the guards knocked out by her color spray in the corner of her eye, starting to stir. She searches mute frantically, calling out, "Hurry up with that buffoon on the roof! Sev, help me find the key to the wagon! We don't have long before some of them wake up!"

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Round 7

Reflex: 1d20 ⇒ 15

I'll use my actions to start searching the armigers for the key to Arael's wagon cage, and to unlock the door if I find them and have any actions left.

"Yes my lady!" Sev shouts back to Faustinia, almost instinctually. Having something that sounds like a command clears the halflings mind. He drops his bow runs up to the wagon quickly moving his hands to his pockets in search of something, ignoring his wounds. He looks around, briefly to see if he can spot the keys to the lock, but quickly turns his attention to the wagon itself.

"Maybe I can..." He works out his set of theive's tools and begins trying to work on picking the wagon's lock as fast as he can.

Disable Device: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21

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⁞⁞⁞⁞ ROUND ❻ ⁞⁞⁞⁞
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Lorenzo gave Catina a healing potion, allowing the tiefling to restore consciousness.

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⁞⁞⁞⁞ ROUND ❼ ⁞⁞⁞⁞
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Lorenzo climbs atop the wagon, but it takes some time for him to do so, hindered as he is by his armor. In the meantime, Lady Faustinia does not find any key on the two Hellknight armigers she searches.

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⁞⁞⁞⁞ ROUND ❽ ⁞⁞⁞⁞
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Sev darts to the wagon’s door and tries to pick its lock, but he finds out that his attempt is not enough to open it. The lock is pretty good.

“What do we have here? A follower of Aroden’s f~%&ing whore!” yells Shanwen at Lorenzo, giving up on the idea of loading the ballista given the paladin’s proximity, “Die, heretic!” Shanwen draws the heavy mace hanging from his belt and tries to hit Lorenzo with a powerful blow. The attack is so inaccurate that it misses Lorenzo without needing him to actually parry it.
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⁞⁞⁞⁞ INITIATIVE ⁞⁞⁞⁞
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
① Sev
② Armigers & Shanwen
③ Lorenzo
④ Catina
⑤ Faustinia
____________________________
Catina, since Lorenzo gave you a potion in round 7, you can now act for both round 7 and 8.

Lorenzo was not surprised at the foul language of the Asmodean.

He decided to let his weapons do the talking against the armored man.

His sword and spiked shield tore into the cleric.

He yelled at his companions, "Make sure none of the armigers wake up to fight us."

______________
full round attack, smite evil on so my AC against Shanwen is 20
longsword, TWF, smite evil: 1d20 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 1 + 2 = 13
damage: 1d8 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 2 + 1 = 7
spiked shield, TWF, smite evil: 1d20 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 1 + 2 = 10
damage: 1d4 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 + 1 = 4

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Round 8
=======

Catina rouses, slowly regains consciousness and feeling a shard pain from where the armiger drove his sword in her. "Wha- Where...?" She looks around, and tries to recall how she got on the ground, and how the battle is going. Lorenzo's words draw her attention, but she has trouble understanding the context. "Don't wake up? But we didn't want to kill them, did we?"

She stands up and takes a hesitant step, still a bit dazed from her wound. She looks around, trying to see whether any of the armigers lying around her are bleeding out. If there are, she prays to Shelyn, that no life shall end today.

--

Heal: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

Stand up, 5 foot step, cast Stabilize if I see any armiger bleeding out. If I don't, I'll use Bit of Luck on Sev, allowing him two d20's on any roll in the next round.

Having no use with the lock, Sev turns back to the battle at hand. "I can't pick it!" He cries, disappointed that the one time his skills may have come in handy, he failed the party.

Instead he starts climbing the wagon to assist Lorenzo. If he gets his eyes on Shanwen, he looks the man over to see if he's holding the keys to the wagon.

Climb: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17
Climb (If Bit of Luck is cast on me: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8
I'll take the 17

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21

Faustinia continues to quietly curse as she fails to find any keys and Sev can't get through the lock. She scans the ground again, her eyes drawn to the slowly waking armigers in front of her. They were holding their own against Shanwen, but if more of those armigers got up, they would have a real fight on their hands all over again. And they seemed ready and able to slit any one of their throats against direct orders.

Faustinia levels her crossbow at the nearest unconscious and uninjured armiger that she knocked out with her spell. This was supposed to be a fast smash and grab, but it was dragging too long. She points the loaded bolt at the young armiger's face, closes her eyes tightly, then pulls the trigger.

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Round 8

Full-round action: Coup de Grace #6
Light Crossbow Crit: 2d8 ⇒ (3, 5) = 8

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⁞⁞⁞⁞ ROUND ❽ ⁞⁞⁞⁞
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Shanwen easily parries both of Lorenzo’s attack, while Catina stands up and stabilizes a dying armiger (#4): in doing so, she realizes that the armiger was going to bleed to his death, and that only her intervention avoided the Hellknight to meet his doom. But just as the same time as Catina saves a life, Lady Faustinia breaks another: the noble woman aims her crossbow at the only unconscious but still living armiger (#6) and fires. The man rattles as blood flows out of his mouth, before his body takes on death’s rigidity.

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⁞⁞⁞⁞ ROUND ❾ ⁞⁞⁞⁞
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Sev climbs atop the wagon and although he’s not in time to assist Lorenzo directly, he spots a key ring dangling from Shanwen’s belt. The shape and size of a few of those keys appear to match the lock to Arael’s door.

“Murderers! You’ll pay for that!” yells Shanwen looking at Faustinia as he kills one of the unconscious armigers. “That boy deserved an honorable death! Filthy bastards! Asmodeus will punish you!” and as he says so, he attacks Lorenzo with all the strength he can possibly rely on. Unfortunately for the Asmodean attacker, though, Lorenzo is too skilled as a swordsman, and easily parries the incoming attack with his shield.

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⁞⁞⁞⁞ INITIATIVE ⁞⁞⁞⁞
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
① Sev
② Armigers & Shanwen
③ Lorenzo
④ Catina
⑤ Faustinia
____________________________
We’re nearing the end of combat. I pray your dice are lucky!

Lorenzo shook his head, "Can't you see it's time to go, to run away? Asmodeus is waiting for you."

He slashed and thrust with his blade and shield hoping to take him down.

______________
full round attack, smite evil on so my AC against Shanwen is 20
longsword, TWF, smite evil: 1d20 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 1 + 2 = 22
damage: 1d8 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 2 + 1 = 7
spiked shield, TWF, smite evil: 1d20 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 1 + 2 = 15
damage: 1d4 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 + 1 = 4

critical?
longsword, TWF, smite evil: 1d20 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 1 + 2 = 20
damage: 1d8 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 2 + 1 = 4

Spotting the keys, Sev drops low and steps into Shanwens reach, trying to use the hectic nature of their battle and ballista mechanics to hide his approach.

When he's confident that he's either out of sight, or being ignored, he reaches his hand up and tries to lift the wagon keys on the zealot as he fights with Lorenzo.

Move actionStealth: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (15) + 10 = 25
Standard ActionSlight of Hand vs DC 20: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19

Faustinia shudders, eyes still closed to the armiger's death rattle. She looks away before opening her eyes, turning her attention to the hellknight atop the wagon. "This is over, fool! Surrender the prisoner to us now," she orders, pointing a hand and calling another spike of acid to fly at the loudmouthed hellknight.

____________________________
Round 9

Acid dart, firing into melee: 1d20 - 4 ⇒ (9) - 4 = 5
Acid dart damage: 1d6 ⇒ 1

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Round 9
=======

Catina feels relieved that she's been able to save a life, hectic as the situation may be. She's about to move for the next one, when time seems to slow. She shrieks as the bolt flies from Faustinia's crossbow at the young armiger's face, and she looks aghast at the effect of the impact. Her first instinct is to run over to the boy and help, but she knows it's already too late. "Wh- Why did you do that?" she pleads Faustinia.

She looks up at Sev, who seems to be the only one trying to solve the situation without violence any more. "Please Sev," she whispers to herself, just get Arael out of there, so we can leave."[/b] With a second look at the dead boy, Catina suddenly feels her own wound all the worse. She takes a potion from her belt and drinks it.

I thought about it a while, but I couldn't find a decent way to help Sev, up the wagon as he is. Healing myself seems the best I can do for now.

CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

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⁞⁞⁞⁞ ROUND ❾ ⁞⁞⁞⁞
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Lorenzo executes a phenomenal middle blow with his longsword, breaking through Shanwen’s defenses and finding a weak spot in his full-plate armor. The sword slashes deeply and deals a critical wound to the Hellknight captain. “A-h. Son of a…”

In the meantime, Catina successfully heals herself. Lady Faustinia fires an acid dart, but Shanwen easily avoids it despite the physical pain he’s suffering from Lorenzo’s wound.

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⁞⁞⁞⁞ ROUND ❿ ⁞⁞⁞⁞
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔

Sev manages to take advantage of the ballista as a form of concealment, but just a moment before he can steal the keys from Shanwen, the man notices him and steps back, leaving Sev’s hands grasp the air. A flash of vicious guile shines in Shanwen’s eyes for a moment as he sees the halfling in front of him. The Hellknight captain risks it all and tries to take hostage, deeming Sev vulnerable. In his clumsy attempt though, he’s forced to lower his defenses.

Shanwen is trying to grab Sev. As such, both Lorenzo and Sev would get an attack of opportunity, although I’m not sure whether Sev is actually wielding a melee weapon.
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⁞⁞⁞⁞ INITIATIVE ⁞⁞⁞⁞
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
① Sev
② Armigers & Shanwen
③ Lorenzo
④ Catina
⑤ Faustinia
____________________________
Please consider the following conditional situation for the next round. If someone manages to deal at least 4 points of damage to Shanwen with an AoO, then the Hellknight captain won’t be able to complete his grapple attempt, since he would fall down. Otherwise, consider Sev grappled by Shanwen, since his CMB roll was enough to successfully perform the combat maneuver.

"Sev, look out!"

Lorenzo takes advantage of the situation and strikes out at Shanwen as he attempts to grab Sev.

assuming Shanwen is down...

Lorenzo quickly searches the leader as Sev goes down with the set of keys.

"C'mon everyone. Let's open up this door and get out of here..."

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AoO longsword, smite evil: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 3 + 2 = 24
damage: 1d8 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 2 + 1 = 10
critical?
AoO longsword, smite evil: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 3 + 2 = 6
damage: 1d8 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 2 + 1 = 10

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⁞⁞⁞⁞ ROUND ❿ ⁞⁞⁞⁞
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔

Taking advantage of Shanwen’s risky maneuver, Lorenzo lashes out his sword and find another breach in the Hellknight’s defense. Shanwen rattles and falls on the top of the wagon, a stream of blood flowing out of his mouth and a bleeding wound clear on his neck.

Combat is over!

With the last enemy down, the group has fulfilled his task. It’s easy for Sev to grab the keys from Shanwen’s belt and use them to open the wagon’s door. But before doing so, you need to decide your enemies’ fate: will they live?

A long and hard fight indeed, but at least you get rewarded for that! You gain 250 XP each for the combat, and 300 XP each as a story reward for freeing Arael.

Faustinia follows Catina's gaze to the mangled corpse on the ground, then meets the girl's eyes. There's a hardness in her look, but the old woman lacks some of her prideful confidence. Instead it's replaced by a deliberate coldness and tired eyes as Faustinia tries to stave off the weight of what she's done. "I'm--" she starts, but her voice cracks and she swallows hard before clearing her throat softly and trying again, "I'm sorry. I had to."

Faustinia strides over to the remaining armiger who she hit with her spell. Standing over the body, she places one foot on the armiger's chest and loads her crossbow before angling it at the young person's head. "I'll keep this one here so they don't cause any trouble when they wake up." she tells the group, trying to keep her voice steady. "Quickly, grab Arael and any light supplies they have. We have to get back before dark."

Assuming getting Arael free will take a few rounds, I don't know if the armiger will wake up while we're still getting him out:

dealing with prisoners

Lorenzo stays Faustinia's hand, "Madame, there is no need for further killing. Let's just put any survivors in the jail and take the horses. I'm sure the hellknights will send people out once their prisoner doesn't reach them."

With that, Lorenzo escorts any survivors to the portable jail and locks the door.

"Arael, are you Ok to travel because we have to move. Our horses are nearby and we'll take these horses as well."

Faustinia nods at Lorenzo. "If you can lift them in, that's fine. I'm not planning to shoot them if I don't have to."

Sevs heart rate skyrockets as Shanwen reaches for him. He's unarmed, frightened and suddenly realizes how wounded he is from the previous battles.

"N-n-no p-p-please!" But Lorenzo takes a golden opportunity and drops the heavily armored man before he can do anything dangerous.

"Th-thank you Sir Lorenzo! Th-thank you!" Without thinking Sev briefly hugs the paladin, then, remembering himself, rushes for the keys and hands them to Faustinia figuring Lorenzo can protect them if the armiger gets up. He recovers his bow but draws his mace and stands over the one hellknight that seems to be recovering.

"I c-can tie him up i-if anyone has rope." He says meekly.

Catina meets Faustinia's gaze head-one. There's anger there, but anxiety keeps a tight lid in it. She breaks the stare, looking down. It's not right, is it? We said we wouldn't kill any of them. And this can never be repaired. She shakes her head to clear it of such thoughts and climbs up the wagon. Once on top, she kneels down at Shanwen's still figure and takes his head in her hands. Speaking loud enough to be heard by the others, she prays "Blessed Shelyn, you teach us that every life has the potential for good, and that beauty can come from anyone, vile as they may be. We shouldn't end a life, because by that, the world will always become less. This man was our enemy today, but hopefully he will not be so, one day. Please make it so that such a day may come, and let his life not end here..."

Feeling the magic flow through her hands and knowing that the armiger captain is stable, Catina stands up. She helps Lorenzo get Shanwen down, and into the wagon with the remained armigers, making sure that they are comfortable as quickly as she can manage. She also performs a quick scan of their belt pouches as she handles the hellknights. "This eh... might come in handy."

With the armiger's secure in the wagon, Catina finally has time for Arael. She takes his hand. "I'm so glad to see you again. I just wish we didn't have to..." Her voice trails off. "Lorenzo is right. We have to go." She looks ahead, to where the mounted hellknights went. "We should hurry. I can conjure some mist to cover our escape, if needed."

Casting Stabilize on Shanwen. Taking the potions and the letter. Catina will cast Obscuring Mist before they leave, just to be sure.

Once the door is opened, Arael emerges from within. The half-elf's wrists are manacled, but you easily manage to free him from them using Shanwen's keys. Arael has been beaten and is critically wounded. As soon as you take him out of the carriage, he smiles and takes a look at each of you. "Thank you. Thank you so much, my friends. I knew Iomedae was right when she suggested me to recruit you. You're the right ones, and today you've showed it clearly".

The handsome half-elf smiles again as he sees Catina stabilizing Shanwen and Lorenzo putting all of the Hellknights into the carriage and locking the door. "Well done. You're...even more brave than I thought. Thank you again."

Arael slowly stands up, refusing any healing from the group. If a healing potion is offered to him, he accepts it gladly and drinks it. Soon thereafter, he starts searching the carriage for his gear, and after a quick search he finds what he's looking for in a large woolen sack hidden in a storage compartment on the side of the carriage. Once he has his gear, Arael looks around himself with a thoughtful expression. "We should leave as soon as possible". Sev quickly brings the horses and the group mounts on them.

"May I?" he asks with a gentle tone to Catina as he mounts on her horse and place himself behind her on the saddle. "Let's hurry back to Westcrown and reunite with the rest of the team before other Hellknights come. We should pass through the Adivian Door, which is usually unguarded." Arael's voice is not shaken from the terrible experience he's endured; it's staunch and authoritative instead, despite his beaten appearance would suggest a weakness that his words do not betray at all.

---

The trip back to the city is uneventful.

Before you enter the city, Arael pauses to find some way to conceal his face with a hooded cloak—though bruised, he still may be recognizable, and he is not sure if his description is known to the Hellknights or the dottari.

You easily enter the city through the Adivian Door and quickly reach the Shrine of Aroden, your safe house.

Lorenzo had so many questions for Arael but he kept his moth shut during the trip and concentrated on staying on his horse. Not the best of riders, he found out that his body adjusted well to the saddle.

Once inside the safe house, he sort of deflated as the tension left his body. He plopped down on a chair, visibly exhausted and happy about the day's events.

"Arael, so you are the mastermind behind this... organization eh? And you also worship our Lady Iomedae. I have much to learn from you in time."

The paladin shifted gears to the situation at hand, "However, do you think there will be reprisals for your liberation? And in what ways?"

Catina immediately offers her own health potions to Arael when she sees that he's hurt, and lends an arm for support to get him underway. She looks surprised when he seats himself behind her on the horse, but doesn't speak anything of it. She quickly finds her cadence riding, but is silent during the trip, brooding.

As soon as they enter the Shrine of Aroden, she seeks out Faustinia with eyes cast down. "I'm sorry," she blurts out. "I was angry with you at first, for having to... to shoot that armiger. But then it occurred to me that I was the first to mess up, letting myself get hit like that. And then you had to get out Arael with just the three of you. I was pretty useless, all in all, and my mistake could have cost us out of our lives. I'm really sad that we we couldn't take all of them alive," she continues, and he trembling lip shows just how sincere she is,"but I think I just have myself to blame for the loss of his life. You... you did what you had to, and I can't be the judge of that. I'm sorry..."

On the ride back Faustinia is quiet. Even bent forward over the reins, her posture is still good, but she seems distant and deflated. There is no triumph in her, just the matter-of-fact energy of an exhausting errand finished.

Back in the shrine hideout, she lets the others take the lead in welcoming Arael back as she drifts into the great hall and occupies herself staring at the faded frescoes of Aroden's past glory. She turns when she hears Catina approaching, her eyes tired and blank. As the girl apologizes, Faustinia regains some of her usual vigor, her brow creasing as Catina goes on. By the time the tiefling finishes, Faustinia inhales deeply, then releases the breath to relieve her obvious frustration. "I did what I thought I had to," she begins, keeping her tone professional. "Maybe I was wrong. I've been thinking about it on the way back, and then you have the nerve to come apologize for my choices."

The older woman attempts a weak smile, but it comes out more like a grimace. She pauses for a beat, then continues in a softer voice, "Don't blame yourself, girl. I made my decision because while you were knocked out, one of those thugs threatened to slit your throat, and I decided I didn't want to take that risk again. To be honest, I was more worried they would try to do the same to me--they got a lucky shot on you, but I'm not so hearty as I used to be. I'm just lucky they underestimated my power. And I was hoping it wouldn't be quite so devastating..." She sighs again, leaning on her staff. "I suppose what I'm saying is, I don't know if I made the right choice. Still, that's my burden to bear. Not yours. For what it's worth, you've got a strong sense of what you think is right--don't apologize for that, Catina." Faustinia reaches out a hand to the tiefling's--to the girl's shoulder. She flinches for a split second as she gets closer, but still lays her hand on Catina's shoulder for a moment in what she hopes is a comforting gesture. She attempts another smile, but her eyes remain tired. "Let's go see Arael. I'm sure he has a lot to say."

As soon as the group enters the Shrine of Aroden it receives the warm welcome of Janiven and Mathalen, the only members of the group who are currently at the shrine. Twilight is approaching, and the other members of the group have returned to their homes. Once you make your way in, Janiven slowly walks toward Arael with a thoughtful expression on her face. Then her expression melts into a broad smile as the woman hugs Arael tightly. "I'm glad to have you back" she whispers to the leader as the half-elf hugs her back and smiles. "Thank you, Janiven. I knew you wouldn't leave me alone."

Once this scene is over, Arael takes a seat at the table, where several bowls of soup and cups of mead have been placed before your arrival. Arael takes a sip from the cup and uses a wooden spoon to taste the soup, then smiles at Lorenzo. "Well, I would not define myself as the mastermind of our group. I like to think of myself much more like the one that guessed the hidden potention of our group members, recognized their shared goals and put together those like-minded individuals. Nothing more."

He takes another sip from his cup and swallows another spoon of soup before answering to Lorenzo's second question. "I'm pretty sure there won't be reprisals. There's one thing Order of the Rack Hellknights like less than criminals: it's shame. You ashamed them so much today that I think that they will try not to share this tale. You've been great. Anyway, caution is always a good option, so I think we're all going to need to lay low for a while"

_________________________
Hey everyone, please distribute the healing potion among you. Catina also needs to remove one of her healing potion from her equipment, if she has not done it yet.

After answering to Lorenzo, Arael lifts his cup in the air and with a clear voice he says: "I'd like to propose a toast to each of you. You've restored me to freedom with your brave and valiant exploit, and I won't ever be enough grateful to you for allowing me to have another chance."

After the toast is made, Arael clears his voice. "I suppose that each of you here has some questions. Question I should have been here to answer when you first got in our safe house. Well, although I'm pretty tired and I long for the warm embrace of my bed, I don't want you to wait any longer. If you have any question, please ask it now."

Sev finds the ride back difficult. His body is sore and he still carries wounds from the battle. Every movement he feels from the horse sends some pain through his small body. It's something he'd never experienced before. He'd been hurt, but never quite like this.

As they entered the city he did his best not to complain. His comrades has also put with with a lot in the field and he didn't want to inconvenience anyone, but scurrying along to keep up with the taller folk took it's toll on him.

By the time Arael asks the party to put forward any questions they might have, Sev feels that he is at his limit and meekly puts up a hand. Looking around to make sure he hasn't offended anyone as he speaks.

"C-can anyone help me bandage my w-wounds. I-I've never had to do that before." Nervously he looks at Arael, hoping the man isn't disgusted by his need for assistance. "W-w-w-will there be much more fighting like that? I'm sorry I wasn't m-m-more help."

He shakes a bit to himself before he realizes these probably aren't the questions he was intended to be asking and bows his head a moment, thinking.

"Wh-what do we do next?" He asks finally, not particularly concerned with Araels past or why he was chosen. Anything was better than servitude or sleeping on the street again.

Lorenzo was also bruised and cut; he neared Catina, "Do you think you can... ah.. sort of hold hands and heal us?"

later
The paladin breathed deeply, "Well I for one have questions about the worship of our Lady Iomedae. I realize it doesn't pertain directly to all of us so I would be more than happy to discuss this at a later time."

He then added, Regarding the organization... what are we calling it? I echo Sev's questions. What's next? Where do we go from here?"

He finished with, "And what's the end game? When do we stop and go back to our normal lives?"

"Ah, I'm not very familiar with bandaging wounds. Catina?" Faustinia responds to Sev, turning the question to the acolyte. "You could also drink one of those potions. I imagine magic will do a lot more than any bandage."

Once Sev is sufficiently healed, Faustinia turns her attention back to Arael. "You must have had quite the harrowing experience the past few days, so I also would not like to keep you too long. You may not be a 'mastermind' as you say, but you do seem to be the one with the greatest sense of purpose and direction here. You say that you saw potential in people and brought them together. Please, tell me, for what purpose? We've all come together to make Westcrown better, like it was before. What did you have in mind?"

Catina shrinks a bit under Faustinia's admonishments, but tries to be brave. Her eyes widen as she hears the danger she was in, and her eyes moisten as she imagines she scene. With Faustinia's hand on her shoulder, she tries to form a reply. "I'm s... I... I don't know what to say." With her lip trembling evermore, she throws herself at the older woman, wrapping her arms tightly around her as she rest her face on Faustinia's shoulder shaking from released emotion.

She eventually lets go and dries her eyes by wiping the sleeve of her cloak across her face. She takes a deep breath. "Yes, I suppose they're wondering what kept us so long..." She's about to leave, when she turns to Faustinia again. "Thank you..."

--

As Catina rejoins the group, she sits down, eyes still red even as she pretends nothing happened. She ladles some soup as she listens to Arael. When Sev and Lorenzo bring up the subject of their wounds, Catina startles into action. "Yes, of course. We were just in such a hurry to get back. Please, everyone shake hands in a circle." She takes Arael's hand on one side, with a small squeeze, and gently takes Sev's hand on the other side. "Shelyn, keeper of all that is beautiful. I thank you for your help today, in bringing is back Arael. I sincerely believe that, with his guidance, we can make Westcrown a better place, for all. We are weary and wounded. Please share your love among us, to heal our hurts." The familiar warmth courses through the chain, healing wounds and soothing minds.

Channel x2: 2d6 ⇒ (5, 4) = 9

--

I'm out of time for now, but Catina would eventually bring up the letter. Maybe that would be a nice lead for us?

Arael personally tends to Sev's wounds, channeling the power of Iomedae through his holy symbol. As he utters his prayers to the Inheritor, his whole figure seems to be surrounded by an aura of pure light. Then, seeing that Catina also seems to be willing to give her contribute to the healing process, Arael steps aside and encourages her to use her powers with a reassuring nod. She watches her carefully as she channels the healing power of Shelyn, as though he was assessing her divine abilities. Then, when Catina is done, Arael smiles at the tiefling and pats her on her shoulder. "Well done, Catina. And I like your prayers...they're so...heart-felt!"

Without his smile abandoning his face, the half-elf then sits again and tries to answer Sev's question. "For the time being, I suggest we lay low for a bit while we try to define some important things about our group. Such as our very name or our uniforms. I want our group to be clearly recognizable by the citizens, but we'll need to ponder our options carefully. For now, I would say that we absolutely need to keep a low profile and let the dust settle".

A quick nod to Lorenzo is the answer Arael gives him about his curiosity about Iomedae. "We'll talk about it in private, at a later time", he confirms. "As for your other questions, well, as I said to Sev we need to lay low for a while; part of this time will be spent choosing our name of course. As for the end game..." Arael thinks for a few moments, clear his throat and goes on, "I fear our goal will claim all of our lives. Of course you will all have your own private lives outside of the Shrine, but our final goal will somehow end up occupying the lion's share of our spare time and mental energies. We'll stop only when we'll be sure Westcrown is a better place. Only when we will get back Westcrown's nights, banishing the shadows lurking in the dark. I don't want to start a rebellion, believe me. Nothing like that. I think we just need to set an example for our fellow Wiscrani, proving to them that a better city is possible. I want nothing more than to see the House of Thrune toppled, but I know that this is a long-term goal at best. I've set my sights, for now, on what I feel is a much more realistic goal—making Westcrown a nicer place to live. Nothing more. My frustrations with the government of Westcrown aren’t that they are pawns of the House of Thrune, but that they don’t do more to make their city a better place to live at the same time. I hope that by founding a group of do-gooders, if not outright “people’s heroes”, we can show the city’s rulers a better way".

After this long and demanding explanation, all of the weight of the bad day he had to endure seems to fall on Arael's shoulders, making him much weaker. He seems to be going to fall asleep at every moment. "I'm sorry for not staying longer with you tonight, guys. I'm so tired that I can barely take a stand. We'll talk about this tomorrow again. I'll have Janiven inform the others to attend an afternoon meeting at five o'clock in the afternoon. I'd be glad to see you again here, tomorrow. In the meantime, go back to your normal lives. Thank you again for what you've done for me...I'll never forget it".
________________________________
As usual for these roleplaying scenes, you're welcome to answer to Arael, but it would be better if you avoid asking him further questions for now, 'cause it would force me to backtrack in my next post, and I'm not a big fan of backtracking in RPG. In your next post I'd also like you to describe your character's next day before the arrival to the meeting.

"Please, Arael, take whatever rest you need. It can't have been easy to be captive under the Order of the Rack. We can talk more tomorrow. Until then, thank you for your time," Faustinia says, cordial but still all business. She takes a moment to examine her clothes, cleaning off the dirt and sweat of their rescue mission with her magic before taking her leave.

On the way back to the estate, and all through the next day, she can't get the last day's events out of her head. The young armiger's death plays over in her head, as does Catina's embrace. In their own ways, both events trigger a shiver down her spine. The tiefling's hug was unexpected. With her arms tight around Faustinia, Catina felt... less monstrous than Faustinia expected. Just a young girl who was scared and brave.

But that was tied up with the sinking feeling in her gut of the other young life she had snuffed out. She had agreed to make Westcrown a better place, but who was she helping by murdering defenseless children who had grown large enough to hold a sword? Perhaps they would have grown into a proper devil-worshipping hellknight, but who knows?

Going through the day in a daze of contemplation, she waves off the concerns of her house staff as a long night struggling with some research problems. She makes an excuse to leave again, turning her thoughts to Arael once again. How long would she be able to keep up this facade? How long until this consumed her, as he warned? Arriving at the safe house, catching the gleaming gates' stunning shine despite the decrepit building's facade, Faustinia takes a breath to steel herself. Perhaps this would consume her life, but that was why she first decided to attend that unusual meeting, wasn't it? To replace a life stuck under corruption's thumb with one of civic glory? She takes a look around, trying to appear casual as she makes sure she's alone before looping around to the back of the building and slipping in.

since it's night, I'm assuming we stay in the safehouse until the morning

The sun was still rising and Lorenzo made haste to get to his home to his sisters before heading out to work. The girls had to stay at his neighbors once more and the paladin gave their caregiver a gold piece for expenses.

Once he saw the girls he went to his jobsite. The work today entailed demolition and the young man loved to grab a sledge hammer and pound away at something. It was the type of mindless toil that allowed him to think on everything that was going on in his life.

Now that he met Arael, he was hoping for some real instructions on his faith. He started wondering if what he had been doing was wrong to some extent. There were new prayers to learn and new hymns to sing.

He ducked out of work after putting in more than his share, said goodbye to the grumpy dwarf and headed back to the safehouse.

Catina stands in awe at Arael's skill at healing, and feels like her own channeling of life felt meager by comparison. Still, his compliment brings a smile to her face. "Thank you, Arael," she answered sincerely, though a bit shy. "I really try to actually feel it when I pray now. I think it's different, somehow, since Janiven got us together. I'll think about it." She gives a little bow of her head and dives back into her soup, preferring to leave it at that for now.

She listens attentively to Arael's plan, nodding at various time. She's glad to have him confirm that he's not looking for a rebellion, just wanting to make a city a better place to live. She can get behind that, even if she doesn't quite know how, yet. She blushes as he thanks them, then gives another nod of her head when Arael leaves. She quickly finishes her soup before departing for her room upstairs.

--

Like the day before, Catina is up early. She doesn't wash, but quickly puts on her normal clothes and is out the door before she is missed. She leaves the glaive, thinking there will be questions eventually is she has to carry it around town every time. I'd better think of a different excuse for being out at night, if this is to continue. Maybe I've found shelter at a building site, and want to rest there at night, to feel close to the art in progress, trying to feel every moment of its creation? That seems plausible, doesn't it?

She quickly washes up and changes into her acolye's robe when she gets into the temple. It's still awkward to wear the light robes that reveal most of her arms, but she hears the voices of Arael and Janiven, and tries to look at herself with different eyes. Nothing happens, and she eventually has to hurry to make it in time for first prayer. She takes dancing exercise again, but finds that she lacks the calm necessary to make her movement flow. She grips the haft of the glaive just a little too tightly, remembering the confrontation with the armigers; even though the wound may have healed, her shock at being hit and wounded hasn't faded yet.

In her time alone, Catina takes out the letter from her belt pouch. She already knew what it said, but she had held her tongue yesterday. Arael said we have to lay low. But he also said we have to be people's heroes, show that we want to do what's right for Westcrown. Would taking care of bandits make people's lives better? She snorts at the though. Silly goat, you nearly died yesterday, and you're already thinking about dealing with bandits. Pff... As logical as that sounds, the thought doesn't quite leave her. Maybe I should propose it to Arael, this afternoon.

She reaffirms that she wants to make it on time today, but her chores take more time than she expected. She has to run again to the safehouse, and once again doesn't have time to do more than a quick glance at the dressmaker's story. She feels her belt pouch while running. I should give the jewelry to Faustinia. Maybe she can sell it? If we divide the money, maybe I can have a new dress made? Or something more practical, if we're really going to fight bandits? She laughs despite herself, and makes it to the Safehouse, only a few minutes late.

I've deducted two potions during the combat: One for myself and one for Arael. We found six: I propose Catina takes 2 (which brings her back up to 3), Lorenzo takes 2 and Sev and Faustinia one each. I've also added the letter to Catina's inventory.