GM Kyshkumen's Carrion Hill

Game Master Kyshkumen

Jeffrey's blade drops another thug, silencing his screams. The other turns back and runs down the hall screaming as the metal burns white hot causing his face to blister and crack.

Last one is full withdrawing. Tuich go ahead and roll the heat metal damage for the remaining thug.

Heat Metal, Round 3: 2d4 ⇒ (3, 2) = 5

The man continues to scream in agony as he runs through the halls of the asylum.

Everyone is back up. My apologies for not posting sooner, I needed to confirm a few things.

Jeffrey shrugs. "Whatever. Let's just find Crove."

He double moves into the mansion and up to the first door he sees. "Crove, you here?!"

Jeffrey opens the door to find an equipment storage room. It appears to hold mundane items such as buckles, rope, chains, and bits of leather. There are what look to be three closets off this storage room.

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16

Jeffrey walks up to the closet while sheathing his sword, then opens the door. "What are you betting?"

Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (4) + 11 = 15 I can honestly say that I simply can't help but to overhear...

Vincent, on the other hand, keeps his sword in hand as Jeffrey moves forward, moving to cover his right flank. He stays alert for other danger in the room as he moves.

Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (6) + 11 = 17

Miko stays close to Vyk, still looking hesitant to move into the asylum.

You will.. you will get me out again, won't you? she asks, eye wide-spread.

----

Always the same dream. I have to get to the river. Must reach it! I've misstepped and twisted my ankle, plants try to tangle me in. I must reach it!

Left, right, left, right, step, hop, jump, shouting getting closer. The rattling of chains, the nocking of an arrow. Grass, branch, flower, rock, the rushing of a stream. A deep breath, a heartbeat, and a jump.

----
Miko Teppen, Diary

Jeffrey gives the wide-eyed Miko a confused look. "You okay, shorty?"

A beautiful entry, Miko!

Miko, that was great!

- Ah, the asylum! Perfect place for you, my dear, - voice in Khismia's head starts laughing, sending shivers along her spine.
- Will you leave me be if I say to stay here? - she tries to argue, but it is quite hard speaking with yourself.
- No way! I need to take care about my girl, you brought with you in this crazy town, and that's why I will keep follow you until you get us both out of here.

Khismia followed her friends with a wand in hand, deeply involved by internal dialog.

Miko stays close to Vyk, still looking hesitant to move into the asylum.

You will.. you will get me out again, won't you? she asks, eye wide-spread.

Vyk blinks. "Huh? What?"

Awesome post, Miko.

Jeffrey opens the door to see the men. One is laying face down while the other too are sitting on either side their hands are up as if holding a hand of card, but both their hands are empty. There seems to be a pile of bits of hair, a tooth and a pinky finger on the face down mans back. The two men turn to Jeffrey as he asks what they are betting and they both giggle and smile before saying "FLESH AND BONE!"

Tuich
Vincent
Vyk
Miko
Mad gamblers
Jeffrey
Khismia

Bold are up.

Fantastic post, Miko.

Also, this encounter is officially creepy. I'd call this place a madhouse, but it literally is one.

"They got those bits from that man on the ground. I think I'll keep my bits to myself, thank you very much."

Vincent holds his ground and readies a swing with his greatsword if one of them gets closer.

Readied Power Attack: 1d20 + 9 - 1 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 9 - 1 + 1 = 17
Damage: 2d6 + 7 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (1, 6) + 7 + 3 + 1 = 18

Out, outside... Miko says to Vyk, I don't want to stay with the grey men.

Miko is not quite herself, her mind only half-focused on the battle in front of her eyes.

You're not safe.... in this house... you're not safe...

I don't think I have all that much line of sight. Delay to stay close to Vyk.

K(religion), just in case: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (11) + 12 = 23

Vyk blinks again at Miko's odd behavior, now feeling genuinely unnerved.

"Tuich? Miko's freaking out. And considering I've seen her yell at a guy so hard his head exploded, whatever freaks her out is probably super bad."

Vyk then hears the tell-tale sound of battle up ahead.

"Violence. Oh, thank, Cayden. I'll go take care of the violence now."

Vyk heads off and finds Vincent and Jeffrey handling a couple of lunatics.

Move action alone for now. Space is a little cramped.

Concerned, Tuich moves to Miko and cautiously touches her arm. "Miko? What's wrong? Come on, let's go back outside for a bit, okay? It's alright."

Tuich has somewhat calmed her own fears over being where she might run into lots of Varisians. But she's in no way useful as a source of stability (for herself or anyone else) under these circumstances. Short of Diplomacy to try to calm Miko (and wouldn't that technically be PvP?), I can't see anything she has or can do that might help, either.

Since it's so crowded up ahead I guess I'll just have her Delay and stay with Miko in an effort to calm her. Including walking her outside if it comes to that.

-Posted with Wayfinder

The two men lunge at Jeffrey but quickly find that it's tough to fight in such a small space.

Red: 1d20 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 - 2 = 15

Blue: 1d20 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 - 2 = 17

Tuich
Vincent
Vyk
Miko
Mad gamblers
Jeffrey
Khismia

Everyone is back up.

Jeffrey draws his sword and swings it at the blue opponent.

Cold Iron Longsword, Tower Shield Penalty: 1d20 + 9 - 2 ⇒ (11) + 9 - 2 = 18 Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

"Guys, I've got this. Maybe you can pull another door open and see what's there?"

"Might as well start here" Vincent shrugs and opens another of the closet doors to see if there's anything else interesting in the room. or both remaining closet doors, I suppose? 5-ft step, move action, standard action.

Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (9) + 11 = 20 to look around.

If one of the gamblers manages to hit Jeffrey, I'll activate Determination's Warning effect to make them reroll. You've got this.

Miko lets Tuich guide her outside. Still hyperventilating, she says I... I've been here before. Not in this city, but in this place. It's the same, so very much the same... the colors, the sounds, the smell...

They took me away, the masked men. I wasn't Miko Teppen back then, just a young little scared girl, just like all the other boys and girls they took. The masked men... Miko pauses to take a deep breath and let out a little sob, they showed me the true face of evil. They can never be forgiven for what they did.

Miko sighs and closes her eyes, before she says, then looks at Tuich as if an idea struck her, her breathing quickening again, asking but you're? You're really Tuich, right? You're not one of them? You wouldn't ever...?

Guess that counts as a delay

@GM: If you'd rather speed the combat up now it's just me versus the loonies, so we can get back to the part where we can all do something:

Jeffrey hacks away at the loonies till they drop. He has no mercy for people who gamble with another person's body parts.

Though concerned, Tuich puts on her best supportive, soothing face as she gestures for Miko to sit on the stone steps and rest, the Varisian settling in beside her, never letting go of Miko's arm. Which she now pats comfortingly as she offers a small introspective laugh.

"Yes, hon. Despite how many times I've wished otherwise, I'm all me." A sudden violent blast of wind ignores Miko but nearly pushes Tuich off the step. She laughs again, more honestly this time. "Okay, okay. I'm not just me. I'm me, and Tooley."

She goes serious again and leans forward, turning to search Miko's face. "I sort of understand. Well... maybe 'understand' is the wrong word. But the little girl I once was..." She paused to shudder. "Bad things happened to her, too. But they were of her own doing, born of her own foolishness. One mistake has haunted me..." Her silks ripple an interjection, and she adds it at Tooley's request. "literally... ever since. It's... it's the reason I didn't want to come here," she added quietly. "I was afraid of running into other Varisians, someone from home. I still struggle with the guilt and the shame."

Tuich sighs, then reaches around Miko and gives her a hug. "Nothing compared to what happened to you, I'm sure. I just mean, I understand how things from the past..." She trails off and sits quietly with her friend for a time.

"We should talk about this sometime, Miko. Troubles shared are troubles lessened. In the meantime," she says, intentionally brightening her tone and putting on a smile, "what can I do to help right now?"

Miko calms down at the words of Tuich, somehow just staring at the Varisian and her strange local storm-winds and ripples. Over watery eyes, she throws Tuich an empathic smile ...it's ok, Tuich. I didn't mean to... it's ok.

One word stuck to her lips.. Home...

You still regard it as home, Miko says, to me, it's just a dark memory locked in a drawer. I've left it behind, put it away. Different place, different name, different me. Home is Taldor, home is Absalom, home is... she paused and looks up at Tuich, trying to reciprocate the honesty, ...wherever my friends are.

There's just a single memory that still connects me to... there. It's a little song my brother used to sing for me, whenever I was hiding out in my secret place, the hole in the ground he dug me...

Miko whispers a little song, her voice slightly hoarse:

She lives in the yard
She keeps her thoughts hard
She keeps herself homeless, and heartless and hard
She sleeps under stairs along with the heirs of nothing
And nothing means no one who cares
But I love her near, yes I love her dear
And I've loved her hundreds and thousands of years

Looks like the boards ate my post sorry for the delay.

Jeffrey has no problems dispatching the unarmed mad, something like fish in a barrel to him. Vincent checks out the other closets only to find more of the same kind of equipment found out in the main room.

Tuich sits beside Miko for a long time, unsure of what to say, unsure of how to react to her words and to the song.

"Miko, I'm Varisian," she finally offers timidly. "We're nomadic. Home isn't always a place. Sometimes... sometimes it's a feeling. Sometimes it's the people. It's not where you're from, it's where you'll always be welc..."

Voice catching in her throat, eyes glistening, Tuich falls silent. Unable to continue, she simply gives Miko another hug.

Jeffrey sheaths his sword and gives a yell loud enough for the others to hear him, wherever they've gone: "Oi! They're dead!"

He searches the loonies' bodies for anything useful, then opens the other doors in the small room to see if there's anything of interest behind those.

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 11

Vincent has already searched the other closets see above.

Jeffrey finds nothing on the three men other then they are wearing what could pass for pajamas and all three also seem to have on straight jackets that they managed to get out of.

Whoops.

Jeffrey exits the room and heads up north, to the first unopened door that he sees.

"You coming?" he asks the others, and opens the door once they're ready to move on.

"Yeah, just a moment," Vincent calls back. He leaves for a moment to poke his head outside where the others are talking. "Look, I get that you have issues, but I should keep you up to date. We're continuing on to the next room so we can find this guy and figure out what's going on here. We'll shout if there's trouble." He gives them a wink and jogs back to catch up with Jeffrey.

Vincent doesn't really get empathy.

Jeffrey opens the door on to what appears to be reference library. A set of large book selves dominate the north and western walls, their shelves stacked with books. There are also some old worn tables with a few comfy looking chairs.

Vyk walks into the library behind the others.

"Ooh. I love books." He starts looking around.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (12) + 5 = 17

Jeffrey's about to slam the door to the boring mass of books shut when Vyk declares the library interesting and enters the room. With a deep sigh, Jeffrey enters the room as well and takes a look around.

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20

As the Pathfinders enter the library Vyk and Jeffrey both notice a man sitting under one of the tables fully engrossed in a book, he even lets out a small giggle as he finds something delightful during his reading.

Nothing happening yet as he does not seem to have noticed you.

Vyk smiles and walks up to the man, once again forgetting his own devlish visage.

"Ho, there, friend. What are you reading?"

The man looks up, a bit startled to see Vyk there. He doesn't seem to off put by Vyk's devilish heritage and simply smiles before crawling out on the opposite side of the table from Vyk. He lays the book down so Vyk can see the illustration of a man having sections of his skin flayed off. The man giggle as he points to the drawing then at Vyk. He then produces a small piece of metal that has been sharpened to make a make-shift knife.

Tuich
Khismia
Vincent
Jeffrey
Madman
Vyk
Miko

Bold are up.

Vincent bounds forward, closing the distance between the madman and himself in a couple leaps over piles of books, scattering loose pages around. He reaches to take the knife away from the man before he can do something really stupid like attack Vyk.

Disarm: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27

Vincent provokes, but the enemy hasn't gone yet, combat-wise.

Yeah, I could have just hit him. But this seems more interesting.

Tuich nods her thanks to Vincent, then turns back to Miko, giving her a little squeeze. "Do you... think you can go back in? I'm sure it's safe, but we don't the others to get too far ahead of us. And we'll want to be there when it's time to speak with Crove."

"But... if you just want to sit outside, I'll stay with you. Unless they get into trouble."

"And even then, I promise I'll be right back. Honest."

- Girls, I think I will be following our gentlemen and give you a shout, if there is something here, so you can prepare. Please, take care and relax. I understand, this things can be very intense, but we always can handle it as a team.

Khismia started moving along the corridor, leaving Miko and Tuich.

Jeffrey draws his sword while moving up to the new loony. He readies an attack versus the man, which he'll use when the man tries to flee or take a hostile action.

(Readied Attack) Cold Iron Longsword, Tower Shield Penalty: 1d20 + 9 - 2 ⇒ (5) + 9 - 2 = 12 Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11

"You sure you want to do this, mate?"

Vincent easily knocks the shiv from the madman's hand. Though it does not seem to slow him down as he leaps across the table at Vyk. He doesn't get far as Jeffrey's blade cuts into him, leaving him bleeding out on the table.

End of combat.

Miko doesn't resist as Tuich hugs her, offering her a smile and saying Wherever I am, you're welcome. And I can promise you, I won't call it home.

She sighs, then steels herself This place... It's all in my head... but it's only in my head. It's just a trick of the mind. Just a sound, just a smell. What I make of it... what it means to me... it's all stuck in my head.

Miko stands up It's not going anywhere, but I am.

She takes a deep breath, then moves inside, a candid glance backward betraying her uncertainty.

- Another madman? - Khismia looked disapprovingly at deeply cut guy on the floor, - let me tend his wound. This place is quite dangerous to work in. This Crove we are looking for, might be as well, person of specific mindset.

She kneels beside the wounded guy and starts to apply bandage to stop him from bleeding.

Heal (Take10): 10 + 7 = 17

"Looks to me like the patients all escaped their cells," Jeffrey comments. "Leaving me wondering which mentally disturbed person we meet next."

With nothing of actual interest to be found in the library, Jeffrey moves out of the room and up to the next door he sees. He waits a moment before he opens the door, for the others who want to join him.

Vincent pockets the shiv and follows Jeffrey out. He looks around for any signs that would indicate where Crove's office might be. Labels on doors, etc.

"Agreed. I'd guess Crove is holed up in his office away from the madness. I'd check his door for traps when we find it."

Jeffrey opens the next door to yet another strange sight. What looks to be a small lecture hall hold five men in unbound straight jackets. Four of them are sitting down below the podium listening the fifth man rant as he flails his arms wildly, whipping the loose buckles of his straight jacket about. "There all around you see. The voices they tell me things. Like when the wolves will come and the alphabet. If you stand on your head..." He stops mid sentence as he notices Jefferey and pulls a make shift blade as do the others in the audience.

Vincent
Jeffrey
Tuich
Madmen
Khismia
Miko
Vyk

Bold are up.

Jeffrey rolls his eyes, a peculiar sight in combination with his ever present big smile. "There we go again."

He steps inside the room and swings his longsword at the man he ends up next to.

Cold Iron Longsword, Tower Shield Penalty: 1d20 + 9 - 2 ⇒ (14) + 9 - 2 = 21 Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11

I moved myself forward since I said that Vincent was following Jeffrey as we went for this door.

Seeing them draw steel, Vincent acts quickly and moves in, swinging his sword in a wide arc towards the nearest crazy.

P.Attack: 1d20 + 9 - 1 ⇒ (12) + 9 - 1 = 20 to hit red.
Damage: 2d6 + 7 + 3 ⇒ (4, 4) + 7 + 3 = 18

Jeffrey and Vincent have no trouble cutting two of the mad men down.

Tuich is up.

Sorry, Tuich was out in the hall with Miko. <Innocent look> I presume Tuich would've had time to get to the entrance of the room, but that was an extended conversation with Miko outside. So, feel free to slap my hand if this isn't appropriate.

Having followed Miko in -- keeping a careful eye on her as they moved forward -- Tuich is a little late to the lecture.

"Is this really necessary?" she asks with a frown as she whips a scarf loose. "These are mental patients, they may not even know what they're doing. Do we really have to hurt them, isn't there some way to just knock them out?"

Slipping past Vincent, Tuich steps into the room and snaps her scarf at the man on stage. Not sure of the room topology; I presume what is essentially a flexible reach weapon can get at the "speaker," but if that line on the map is some sort of wall or he's so high up she doesn't have line of fire, then she'll go for Mister Yellow.

Bladed Scarf: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7 Bah... I was going for a Trip, but no dice.

No objections to any of those actions Tuich.

Tuich's scarf gets tangled up and fails to reach the man at the podium. He leaps down in front of Tuich as the other to remaining lunatics advance on Vincent.

Blue vs Tuich: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20
Damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

Yellow vs Vincent: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14

Green vs Vincent: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

Vincent easily dodges for deflects the two attacks directed at him. Tuich isn't so lucky as the makeshift blade cuts into her side.

Everyone is up.