Ignoring the disgust Hal, Nessa responds to him, dropping the sexy slatternly succubus persona, "I am Nessa Meretrix, priestess of Calistria." As she speaks, she flares her wings out, and folds them down and around herself once more, locking them at her throat to keep them out of the way. Finishing her introduction, she drops a curtsy, showing her ample cleavage before standing again. "I will keep an eye out as you ask and let you know if I see anything of the sort. Of course I may deal with them myself first, we'll see."
Finding herself amused that Cameron won't meet her eyes, Nessa takes it as a challenge, "Am I so ugly to you that you can't stand the sight of me?" With a mischievous grin, "Even the haughty disgusted elf could look me in the eyes, are you telling me he's better than you?" Her voice sounds sweetly innocent as she says this.
'Well I'm not answering that question! My brother would know how to handle this properly, I guess I'll just have to muddle through.'
Cameron looks her directly in the eye and exclaims, "Calistrian, I might have known! Listen Lady, I'm spoken for. It's true the night is full of beautiful things, but for me the call of The Great Dreamer is stronger than anything The Lady in the Room might have to say... Oh and that trick with the food? Please don't do that again."
Looking slightly shocked at Cameron's vehemence, Nessa's eyes flash with anger. Her voice takes on an offended, angry, tone "Who said anything about stealing your affections for your goddess, or for talking? I find that talking detracts from the experience anyway." As she speaks, her wings flare out again, "As for the 'trick' with my tail? I won't do that to you again, and it was no trick, my tail is naturally that strong and flexible...and talented." For a moment she looks about to swipe at Cameron, her hands opened and fingers spread apart, her nails look far sharper than one would think, almost claw like in fact. She takes a step back and a deep breath, collecting herself. "I'm not here to have a religious or moral discussion with you, I am here to work. Just remember, Calistria is not only about sex, she has other attributes as well." Her tone ends ominously as she sashays away, "I'll let you know if I find anything Hal."
Under the table he let's his hand fall away from the hilt of his dagger. "My my, Clan Hawkwinter, you impress me with your willpower. Most in this establishment are not so resistant."
He goes back to observing the crowd, speaking softly he asks in elvish.
"Most in this city have no such emotions as regret nor the ties of dedication to elicit them. Tell me, what has befallen your clan? Do you seek its honor through your dedication to the locals?"
As he converses with Cameron, Hal continues to survey the room below.
(searching for threats | +2 vs humans)
Cameron shakes his head as she departs, and out of earshot remarks, "That one seems highly strung. Doesn't like it when her advances are unwelcome."
He shrugs, thinking nothing more of it and returns his attention to the shark below.
Cameron sighs and replies:
Cameron's voice was sad but steady as he spoke. This is an old pain, but one he's mostly come to terms with.
---------
The tale earns a look of curiosity from the elf. Hmm, to have generations wiped out yet he continues forward. Admirable. He doesn't waste the short life he has languishing in the past. How very...un-human.
You impress me yet again, huma... Clan Hawkwinter. Your sire,taking on the creation of music with patience and pragmatism and heart, all excellent qualities to possess. I see you have those qualities as well for there was no vengeance in the telling of your tale. Is this true? Or does a thread of your life still seek to weave the who and why of your tragedy?
Borgmurch looks up when he hears his name, and pulls back the hat falling over his eyes. It’s that elf. He kinda likes that elf.
“Good day Aldo Rell! I think that guy with the very useful key hand just gave me a job. It is very interesting. I might be the new Golden Goblin… My career is going very well!” he smiles satisfied.
Then Saul Vancaskerkin starts announcing the rules for the evening, and Borgmurch starts fiddling with excitement. “Uh, Aldo Rell! I will see you later in the evening, I really want to see the fake Golden Goblin in that cage!”
He doesn’t understand much of Asmodeus and planes and cosmology, but he is pret-ty sure that thing in the cage is not a very good goblin. Ears look pretty much spot-on – tail and wings would be useful – but the nose and build is all wrong. No wonder Bosssaul wants to hire him instead. He can fill that cage with much better mascots!
A little underwhelmed by Old Scratch, and momentarily uninterested in learning the rules for any of the games, Borgmurch wanders back looking for someone to talk to.
He bumps into one of the females working the crowd, the one that addressed him before. he sees the woman flirting and talking to the mostly male customers, and they seem to like it. People seem very interested in her body, so Borgmurch is pretty sure that talking about her body is a good move.
“Good day Lady! That is a very beautiful tail you have. I bet it is very useful to have a tail. A ranger once told me that down south there are goblins with tails, maybe I’ll grow one.” he shrugs, hopeful in his thoughts. “You offered me something to eat before. I like that! Do you have any fox? It’s been some time since one scampered into the city, I haven’t eaten that in a while. If there’s some fox with pickles that would be very good, thank you!”
Emotion getting to him Cameron clears his throat, looks away for a moment and then shrugs and replies, "I made my choice and walked through the door. I've been looking after the poor and the foolish ever since. Still of late the omens have been strange. Milon vanished into the hills, strange things in the sky and this morning a most singular reading... I have a feeling that I'll be walking through another door before long." Cameron suppresses a shudder at the memory.
Yanda chuckles at Saul's speech, 'I guess we could consider riddleport's streets as hell.' Yanda's quick glance around reveals a rather well armed dwarf. 'No guest is as well armed as him, except the guards that work here.' Powered by curiosity, Yanda approaches Dolgrin to speak with him.
Her mind clicks quickly in the mindset of the dwarven language with all of the subtle accents. Yanda's fluently speaks the dwarf language as if she was a dwarf herself. This is because of her intense study of languages, fueled by understanding the strengths and limitations of language. She heard from a fellow colleague that a map does not exactly reflect the territory. She agrees with this notion. The word love could have have different meanings for different people, while the word chair is an observable explanation. She could point at a chair and call it a chair. While love is not as specific as a chair. 'Hence, the problem with language itself.'
She places her hand comfortably on the hilt of her rapier.
Yanda stretches out her left hand for a friendly handshake with Dolgrin, preparing for a firm grip.
Nessa seems irritated when the goblin bumps into her but complimenting her tail actually gets on her good side immediately. She smiles at him and her tail trails up his chest to his chin, tilting his head up lightly for a better look. She smiles at him, "I'm glad you like the tail little goblin, and you're right, it is very useful." She thinks a moment on his odd request for food, pursing her lips in a pout when she replies, "I'm afraid those aren't on the menu that I know of. Still, if I might suggest one of these," she hands him down a small piece of chocolate with her tail, "are my personal favorite."
...an event I must witness in this place...one committed to the goddess of fortunes... Hal looks upon Cameron with renewed interest. Was this human at the center of what Hal was sent to observe?
"An interesting place in which to find ones self, Clan Hawkwinter. You avoid the path of vengeance yet the Resplendent Goddess of Fortune places a worshipper of Calistria in your path." Hal dips his chin towards Nessa as she converses with the Exterminator. "We have a mutual respect for the Lady of Butterfly Wings, Clan Hawkwinter, so we both know her weavings make little sense when our eyes are on the loom. It isn't until we observe patience and are watchful that the tapestry is revealed You are wise in seeing these moments as a doorway."
He drums his fingers on the table, curious as to the direction the Great Hunter is pointing in his bow.
"What say your diviners with respect to this cloud over the city? In some circles, it is said Desna rules the night...or at east seeks to reclaim it."
.
"Divination can be frustratingly vague, I've heard a dozen contradictory readings about that cloud. It's as if fate itself is undecided, like we stand upon a knife edge. A push here or a nudge there and you could change the course of history, if only you had the wisdom or luck to be in the right place at the right time."
He draws out a pack of ornate and strange looking cards and idly starts shuffling them. "Perhaps you would like a reading? The cards themselves are not magical, but they are very old and intertwined by the strands of fate. Sometimes they show nothing, but other times they have the power of prediction..."
The old ways...very interesting. The humans, using them as a window darkly upon the whims of the gods. This will tell me much of this Cameron, this man cut off from his grandsires...
Hal waves towards the table, tapping his temple twice to indicate he must split his attentions with Cameron and the denizens of the event.
As the night goes on, some make it further into "Hell's circles", while most receive the "devil's mark" and are escorted outside. As drink and an odd serenity settle into the systems of the gamblers, the atmosphere becomes rather mellow.
Realizing that something is up, and not in a good mood to begin with, Nessa doesn't bother to see what they are up to, she instinctively begins casting a spell.
Cameron is too engrossed in his conversation with Hal to notice.
(searching for threats | +2 vs humans)
(+2 vs humans)
Hal raises a hand to pause Cameron's dealing of the cards. "There..." the elf already has his bow in his hand as he points to the woman and the four men. His suspicions arise. "I was observing the woman with the eye patch earlier. Mischief is abound."
Probably using some kind of divine blessing to know the cards before they're drawn. Humans...
From his perch above the room at the second story, Hal calls out. He points to the grouping.
(intimidate the grouping to hopefully give up on their cheating)
'Quite tense... Why?'
After seeing the suspicious looking people, Yanda draws her rapier and closes her eyes.
She warns Dolgrin, "You ought to draw one of your weapons and close your eyes. Danger might come upon us soon."
Borgmurch sees his fair share of people wearing tension and anger and other emo-tions on their face – as humans usually do when dealing with large sums.
Yet those five hold his attention - Why do you close your eyes? – they stand out even among the others.
Then he sees the gaunt man reading from a scroll. Even if his knowledge of magic is close to his knowledge of proper etiquette, he knows that people casting spells while hiding generally brings trouble.
He moves around the room quickly, finding a thick drape, a table with a long tablecloth, something to hide behind If you meet a danger you don't know, don't let the danger know you either. That's a good saying in the pest-control trade as in many, many others.
______________________
@ Nessa:
As a thuggish brute keels over, the woman, her eyes popping open at the sound of the man falling out of his chair, cries out.
@ Borgmurch: You find a dining table cloth and cut a hole small enough for you to peep through, giving you a line on both the table of five suspicious characters and the gaunt man.
@ Everyone: Roll a Will save, if you value your sight.
Nessa, highly irritated that so many of her targets resisted her spell, finding herself distracted for whatever comes next.
...awww, man...
Something tickled Cameron's nose and caused him to sneeze at the exact moment the spell went off, perhaps it was luck?
Peeping through a tablecloth is a really good way of preserving one's eyesight.
Yandasana keeps her eyes closed, gripping her rapier tightly.
A brazier, hanging overhead in the relative center of the main events, suddenly flares hellishly, blinding the majority of those present, including Hal, but the other PCs (and Two-thumbs) manage to either avert their eyes or close them in time to stave off the most damaging effects.
The three thugs not asleep jump to their feet when they see their comrade drop and the eye-patch woman clutch at her good eye, screaming profane and colorful curses. Her screams, along with the flash of light, and the already dark atmosphere, make the patrons panic, some even yelling about how the devil's really come to claim them!
The gaunt man bursts out from the little wizard's room and cries, "Come on, boys, stick to the plan! Loot what you can and book it! I'll take care of the chest!"
Patch-girl holds her action, too concerned with the loss of her good eye and cursing to do much else. The 3 remaining thugs stay close to the woman as they begin to loot the nearest patrons of anything of value. The gaunt man begins reading off another scroll, a spellcraft check might reveal what it is.
Two-thumbs, having made his save, heard Hal's cry and now wields his weapon against both patrons in his way and one of the closer thugs.
[dice=Two-thumbs' "thumb"]1d20 + 3[/dice];
Cameron picks up his long spear (a move action at bab 0) and chants a prayer, "Blessed is the long road, the destination,
the homeward path, and all who make the journey.
Let each dream be a bright star in the night
sky of your mind, and let it light your path in the day."
Nessa, highly irritated that her night has been spoiled by these thieves decides she's in a mood to do something to them. She moves into range and casts a spell.
Nessa quickly darts into range of the spell caster and chants. Her fingers move and her palms come together in a cupping gesture with her fingers pointing out as she says the last words and a spray of colors shoots from her hands.
@ Nessa: Very clever, I'd never have thought of that!
"Clan Hawkwinter, there is a woman with an eye-patch..." Hal calls out, trying to blink away the brilliant flashes of light blinding him as he puts an arrow to his bow.. "...she is with a thin human."
Trying to depend on his other senses, the ranger draws the sting back to his cheek and homes in on the sound of the man who'd called out to his confederates.
(+2 vs humans | +1 Sermon)
Yanda looks with interest at the scroll that the man is using. 'He should be the first to drop.'
'Well, bottoms up.'
Yanda picks the shield extract from one of her pouches and drinks it. She coughs a little from the bitter taste of the drink, but the drink goes down smoothly.
"Dolgrin, with me! Attack swiftly and hard against this scroll holding man"
She moves to meet the mysterious man carrying the scroll.
Yanda speaks belligerently, " I am not afraid to have your blood and flesh on my rapier."
Yanda continues to grip her rapier tightly.