As you continue to try and stall for time, wondering where the rest of the group has wandered off to, you and everyone else in the break room are startled by a sudden pounding sound. Several of the guards look at each other, confused.
"The hell?"
"Wonder who'd be knocking on a day like today?"
"Well it ain't th' boss, he'd just walk on in. Better go see who it is, right?"
Straven stands, as does Galvar. "We'll go see what's going on."
And with that, the pair make their way out of the room.
Oddly enough, you don't see any guards standing watch outside, so you step up to the door and begin pounding on it with your fist. After about a minute or so, the door finally opens and two guards peer out at you; one is tall and thin with a beard and the other is clean-shaved and clearly the younger of the two.
"Yeah? What business do you have here at the Bloody Nail?" the younger one asks, eyeing Jan with curiosity and suspicion. They listen to his explanation of just who he's looking for, their faces impassive, though they do share a look when he offers to slip them a little gold for their trouble.
"Well now, it turns out you're in luck," the younger one remarks as he pockets the offered money. "Krima said one of her colleagues would be running a little behind today but you're just in time to catch her and the rest! Come on in and we'll fetch them for you," he continues, standing aside to allow Jan to come inside.
The young one is a pretty poor liar. His offer to allow you inside is genuine but his intentions are definitely not benign...
"You'll have to do as you see fit and I'll try to help you as best as I can, but your friend has a point," Krima remarks, nodding at Dalen. "Not counting myself, there should be at least 14 other guards here inside the Nail. Hoping to evade all of them seems...ah...optimistic."
Almost as if on cue, all of you suddenly hear a faint pounding sound from elsewhere in the prison.
"That's...is there someone knocking at the door?" Krima asks, looking puzzled.
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"Excuse me, while I see who's arrived." Lazarus strides to the sound of the knocks.
The samsaran arrives to see that Jan has managed to find the party. "Ah, my Ulfen brother from a fair-skinned mother! Glad you could join us."
As one of the prison guards smiles, pocketing a handful of gleaming gold coins, the wizard-priest slaps the ranger on the back, careful to not bruise his caster's delicate fingers.
"Do you want to join Meredith in a game of cards and show-and-tell with some of the Nail's corrections officers, or would you like me to show you around the prison? Our host, Galvar, has already shown us much of this place."
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Frank pauses and stares a bit as the other suggest less sneakery and more KOing. You can see his little mind wheels cranking and a smile brews across his baby face.
"OK! You guys get first in line for the soup and after I get mine I'll slip the 'snooze juice' in the pot." He squints to read the fine print "It says it works after about a minute so maybe play along like you're asleep if need be, and anyone who doesn't go down we may need to knock 'em out!" He pulls out a sap from his backpack and tucks it away in his belt.
When the time comes Frankie will try to slip the poison into the stew pot sneaky style. He'll take his soup then accidentally drop the ladle on the floor and then slip in the poison while someone retrieves it, giving it a good stir afterwards. "Ooops, dropped the spoon, better rinse it off... is that dog hair?" Bluff taking 10 and using his luck ability:
*No rush to do this right off but wanted to put it in there in case you wanted to move the action along quicker.
As Jan opens his mouth to reply to the guards, he sees his friend Lazarus pop into the prison's entry hall as well and relaxes - a little bit.
"Lazarus! Glad I could catch up with you," he says as he strides on inside. "Meredith's at cards, you say? Sounds like a perfect chance to enjoy some good company and spread the word of Gozreh!"
You pick up on an underlying meaning to Jan's words: "I think they're on to us..."
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Before Lazarus (or Jan) really have much chance to react further one of the guards - Straven, to Lazarus - suddenly steps around behind the Ulfen warrior and slams the prison door shut. Both he and Galvar draw weapons; a mace and a sap, respectively.
"Should've worked harder at being sly," Straven sneers. "You're up to something and Galvar knows it, too."
Galvar nods, a steely look in his eyes. "Right. What a surprise to me that you apparently know Krima," he nods at Jan, "while the rest of them sure didn't seem to, including him," Galvar jerks his weapon towards Lazarus. "But all of you are supposed to be friends and colleagues. Right. Now I don't give a good goddamn who you say you are; you two, Krima, and the rest of your friends are going to come quietly if you know what's good for you. The boss'll sort out what's what once he gets back..."
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(Realizing the gig is up), "Haski, fjandmadr kunnusta varr flaradr."
(As Galvar does his best to appear menacing, a somewhat unbalanced grin finds his way the Ulfen's lips...which by the end of Galvar's threats becomes a full-blown sadistic smile!), "I have never been a student of deception or guile... but death and blood... I know quit a bit about that!"
"Drop your weapons, before I am forced to send your cursed souls to the NINE HELLS!"
(Jan smoothly draws his Quickdraw shield and axe in a fluid motion).
(To Lazarus), "Stay behind me... the fun is just about to begin."
(Assuming Galvar and Straven don't surrender), "So death is your choice? By Gozreh, I am soooo veeerrry glad to send you both to Nastrond'."
"Timi vid deyja!"
Galvar (and to a lesser degree Straven) both stare incredulously at Jan. "Your friend's either got no sense or he's got goolies the size of grapefruits," Galvar addresses Lazarus, laughing grimly. "Either way, it's your funeral."
He then sucks in a deep breath and bellows,
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After Lazarus hurries to go see what's happening, you wait for a few, anxious moments before the silence is shattered by Galvar's call to arms.
"I don't know what's going on out there but it can't be good," Krima hisses. "You'd better go see what's happening!"
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The remaining guards continue to chatter away, some still curious about Meredith's summoning abilities and others returning to their cards. But the relaxed atmosphere is suddenly broken by the sound of Galvar's call to arms! All of the guards look at each other a bit stupidly for the moment before they begin haphazardly scrambling for weapons and armor - all of them moving a little slower for the drink they'd imbibed.
Well, all of them except for Thrick. "Um...I'll st-stay here and hold down the fort...I'm sure all of you can handle it..." he stammers.
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Round 1
Brayden
Meredith
Lazarus
Frankie
Dalen
Jan
============
Galvar
Straven
Active Conditions: None
Everyone is UP!
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Showtime. Damn, I need a minute to call forth Denair.
Meredith pulls out a scroll of Invisibility and reads from it. "May I lie in wait, like the stealthy cheetah in an ambush."
"It's gonna get messy out there, Thrick. It might be a good time to take a vacation."
One last Bluff for the road. Maybe he won't suspect I'm a threat.
"Um...yeah, that's why I'm st-staying right here," Thrick agrees, nodding his head vigorously. "Or maybe I should, um, go and hold down the barracks! Yeah, I'll go...hold down the barracks..." he continues, casually shuffling towards said barracks.
The rest of the guards, currently too busy trying to make themselves battle-ready and having no real reason to suspect anything ill of Meredith, pay little notice as she hides herself from view...
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Round 1
Brayden
Meredith
Lazarus
Frankie
Dalen
Jan
============
Galvar
Straven
Active Conditions: None
Brayden, Lazarus, Frankie, Dalen and Jan are UP!
Lazarus quickly armors himself up while promising to haunt...or rather, hunt...Jan down if one or both of them end up taking a dirt nap! Those not in the entryway can hear Lazarus holler for help but in what context, remains to be seen...
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Round 1
Brayden
Meredith
Lazarus
Frankie
Dalen
Jan
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Galvar
Straven
Active Conditions: None
Brayden, Frankie, Dalen and Jan are UP!
Grumbling at the high probability that their cover is now blown, Dalen hustles out of the archives and back towards the entry hall where all of the yelling is coming from. As she manages to just reach the doorway she can see Galvar and Straven staring down Jan and Lazarus; the two guards are wielding a sap and mace, respectively.
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Round 1
Brayden
Meredith
Lazarus
Frankie
Dalen
Jan
============
Galvar
Straven
Active Conditions: None
Brayden, Frankie and Jan are UP!
Brayden also hurries after Dalen, whispering a quick prayer to Shizuru to bless and protect everyone in the battle to come...
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Round 1
Brayden
Meredith
Lazarus
Frankie
Dalen
Jan
============
Galvar
Straven
Active Conditions: None
Frankie and Jan are UP!
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Frankie's eyes burst open fully as the alarm call rings down the hall "Oh sugar! What's going on?" He rushes out of the room holding his fake mustachio on his face as he peeks out of the door into the main hallway. So much for sneaking around, geez guys what'ja go n do now?
As Frankie also hurries to the aid of his companions - and wonders why they're getting into trouble without him - Jan boldly steps forward and slices into Galvar with his axe! Though too slow to block the initial axe strike the guard does manage to pull away in time to avoid getting a shield to face as well.
Though looking noticeably injured Galvar doesn't falter, instead drawing another sap before attempting to club Jan about the head and face with both weapons!
Unable to strike the fierce Ulfen, he falls back a step and calls out,
"Hold on, I'll go find the boss!" Straven cries and bolts for the main door of the prison.
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Round 2
Brayden
Meredith
Lazarus
Frankie
Dalen
Jan
============
Galvar
Straven
Active Conditions: None
Everyone is UP!
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Dalen rushes by Galvar, drawing her two-handed blade as she goes. She knows that if they warn the man in charge, they were in for the fight of their lives. Her eyes flash as she puts her weight behind her swing and lets her sword drink deep of Straven's blood.
Dalen rushes towards Galvar, drawing her two-handed blade and stabbing at the man as her eyes glitter dangerously.
"Kill the runner, I've got this one," she calls out to Jan and Lazarus.
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Meredith mumbles. "I'll sneak outside and see what's going on while you guys get ready." She walks out and uses her Summon Nature's Ally II ability to summon a Small Earth Elemental to block the door.
"Galvar, what's worng- ARGH! They've blocked the door with an earth elemental! I'll try to cast some magic and slow them down!" She yells into the guard room.
Reacting with lightning speed Jan neatly slices into Straven's leg as he attempts to make a run for the door, splattering blood everywhere! He then wheels back around to Galvar and presses the advantage, stepping up and opening another bloody gash in the man with his axe though his shield still fails to catch his quarry.
Coming round the corner Dalen barrels after Straven with her greatsword held high...
...and though she takes a good clubbing to her shoulder as she flies past Galvar, she catches Straven and brings her greatsword down with a mighty swing that slices deeply into the fleeing guard's back!
Meredith quickly slips out of the break room and out of sight, conjuring a small earth elemental and counseling him to do his best impression of a doorstop and she hollers down to Galvar that there's going to be some...complications.
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Round 2
Brayden
Meredith
Lazarus
Frankie
Dalen
Jan
============
Galvar
Straven
Active Conditions: None
Brayden, Lazarus and Frankie are UP!
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Frankie runs out into the main hall and skids to a stop as a walking pile of rocks springs into existence "What the heck?" He rubs his eyes a few times before looking down towards the main entrance.
"Holy smokes! Its that escaped Ulfen slave guy! I think he's trying to take out this whole place by himself!" Frankie hollers. "Be careful guys, we'll save you! Ugh.. maybe if you play dead he'll leave you alone!" Frankie draws out his dagger, just in case things get dicey.
From within the break room, Frankie can hear a jumbled of confused shouting, banging, and clanging as the other guards attempt to rally to Galvar's aid. He decides to stir the pot a bit, with mention of an escaped slave out for revenge and righteous butt-kicking...
"What?? Escaped slave!?"
"Aw that's bullshit, ain't no one stupid enough to take on an entire prison alone!"
"But what about that big lump of mud? He's brought a wizard to help him bust out the prisoners!"
Huh. Seems like they bought it!
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Round 2
Brayden
Meredith
Lazarus
Frankie
Dalen
Jan
============
Galvar
Straven
Active Conditions: None
Brayden and Lazarus are UP!
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Lazarus curses as Straven scampers away. He gives Jan a sheepish look. "I'm a caster, brother. I drew a wand not a blade."
The wizard-priest steps away, taking a position next to the statue, retrieves his wand of magic missile, and activates it. "Magicae telum!"
A bolt of arcane force slams into Galvar.
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Brayden again rushes towards the sound of combat. He moves into the room with his katana in hand. "I'm here, and not a moment too late. Oh? Jan? When did you get here?" A confused look washes over the samsaran's face. "It appears you've taken care of these two quite well, but I'm here for when the real backup arrives!"
Ever preferring to make use of magic over might, Lazarus isn't able to stop Straven but is able to gift Galvar with a magic missile to the chest just as Brayden arrives on the scene, ready to join in the festivities! Galvar cries out with pain and shoots a fearful glance over his shoulder, realizing that he's allowed himself to become trapped. Still, he grits his teeth and drops one of his saps as he takes a step back. He reaches into his pouch and draws out a potion, quickly drinking it down and healing the majority of his wounds!
Meanwhile, having managed to get the main doors to the prison open, Straven makes good his escape to find reinforcements - though he does leave a sizable blood trail behind him as he goes...
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Round 3
Brayden
Meredith
Lazarus
Frankie
Dalen
Jan
============
Galvar
Active Conditions: None
Everyone is UP!
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Just as it seems that Straven is about to make a getaway - albeit a rather messy one - out of the front door of the prison, the picture is consumed with static for the briefest of moments as time shifts and rewinds, allowing the impossible to become possible for just an instant. And that single instant is all that Lazarus needs to flick his missile wand and bring Straven tumbling to the ground in a heap! The static clears and Dalen inexplicably finds herself in the same spot she was only seconds ago and the once-fleeing Straven bleeding out on the ground near the prison's front doors.
Meanwhile, Frankie sidles up to Meredith near the door to the break room and the two partners-in-crime quickly collude on a plan to keep the door blocked and the guards within from spilling out into the hallway. Brayden steps up and joins Jan in the fight against Galvar but even with their foe sandwiched between them the samsaran is unable to land a blow!
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Round 3
Brayden
Meredith
Lazarus
Frankie
Dalen
Jan
============
Galvar
Active Conditions: None
Lazarus, Dalen and Jan are UP!
As Lazarus delivers another missile blast to Galvar's face, both Dalen and Jan press their advantage against him and your one-timer babysitter finally falls for good under the vicious onslaught!
With both Galvar and Straven taken care of the prison entryway finally seems secure. However, there's still numerous guards back in the break room that are bound to start trying to pile out into the corridor any minute now. Meredith's trusty Elemental Doorstop can only hold them so long...
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Round 4
Brayden
Meredith + Elemental
Lazarus
Frankie
Dalen
Jan
============
Guards
Active Conditions: None
Everyone is UP!
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"I'll see if Meredith needs some help. Maybe the rest of us ought to try to free our friend and the Bellflower operatives as quickly as possible."
Lazarus steps over to the fallen Straven and Galvar, stabilizing them if possible, and heads through the open double doors toward Meredith.
"Meredith, how can I help? If I can peek into the room, I could cast burning sands in there. I'm a conjurer, so it would last a little longer than normal."
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Lazarus runs up toward the guard room and sees Frank talking to the open air as an Earth Elemental blocks the doorway. He hears Meredith's voice ringing from nearby.
"Lazarus! Good thing those wizards didn't get to you. Someone summoned this Earth Elemental to block the door, I can't get in." Meredith's voice is full of panic. "But Frank is going to check on the door. If you guys can give me a minute, I can try to summon my eidolon."
Through her words, Meredith passes a short message to Lazarus: Help me block the door so I can summon Denair.