GM_PapaSteve's 7-10 The Consortium Compact for the PbP SuperAlts (Inactive)

Game Master Papasteve08

More - forgot to work in another detail. Apologies Glarifyur!

Glarifyur's stone dwarven heart breaks along side of Ifran's as he contemplates what the priests and priestesses of Iomedae could do to help.

Please indicate what you do based on your thoughts. Bring them up, send the priests down, or nothing at all.

• potion of cure moderate wounds
  
• flask of acid x2 Take 1
  
• masterwork studded leather armor
  
• dagger x2 Take 1
  
• magical cloak of some kind If no one takes it I will take it, but not put it on until I examine it one more time
  
• alchemy crafting kit Just bought - don't want
  
• formula book Will take though I cannot use crunch wise
  
• portable alchemist’s lab Just bought
  
• vials of whip x2 (refined) Take
  
• 10gp

I do not need any of that gear for Glarifyur. Also, I will stick to my already-detailed plan and inform the Iomedaen Temple about the whip addicts. They can do or not do whatever they want. Okay, quick post; back to work!

"Fellas, we should really help these poor souls out. Let's bring them to a temple, somewhere they can get some help. Is there a temple of Saranrae here in Diobel?" He starts trying to help the addicts to their feet, in preparation for getting them the help they will need.

Crap, traded spellcraft for profession (sailor). Sigh.

"Mind if I wear the cloak? It can only be beneficial, right?" Bugdip tries it on his shoulders, admiring how it shrinks a little to fit him better, "Nice. I heard of this goblin once who put on a ring that was supposed to help him heal after being wounded. It was unfortunately cursed, though, and... it didn't end well. He ended up being eaten by some hut or something like that."

Bugdip eagerly nods along with Ifran's suggestion of taking these men to a temple to be healed.

"And we'll stay on the barge, right?" the grippli asks, "You can't beat free, can you? The swaying of the boat on the water reminds me of the hammocks I slept in back home..."

Later that night, Bugdip excuses himself and blows his entire bankroll on junk.

Shopping for the night:

• Masterwork tools (perception, prof sailor, stealth, climb, know arcana).
  
• Climber's kit
  
• Smelling salts
  
• Spring loaded wrist sheaths x 2
  
• Silk rope
  
• Masterwork backpack
  
• Bandolier
  
• Alchemist's fire
  
• Liquid ice

"I agree, we should help these unfortunates to a temple. Sleeping on the boat...I guess I can get used to it." Amin grumbles, tossing a sideways glance at Regina. The cat looks perturbed.

He begins helping one of the addicts to their feet.

I was going to buy a wand of CLW with my 2 PP, can I still do that? If I can, I'll heal Regina and myself up.

Wand of CLW: Amin: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6
Wand of CLW: Regina: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

Edgar waves away the items the group has found, letting anyone else help themselves to his share since he did not contribute to the fight and thus does not deserve any spoils of victory. After retrieving his wand back from the others, he steps beside Ifran and lets the man direct how best to help the poor souls escape from the hellish sewer. He knows these people deserved better than this, and looks back to the corpse of Lazlo, watching the motionless and quiet body, and allows himself enjoy the exceedingly dark thought that he enjoys Lazlo better this way.

Edgar won't take any of the items found.

CLW, Tybain: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

Yes, you may purchase your wand with 2pp, and any other gear you need. You have plenty of time and the city is large enough to allow it. I count 7 total charges so far on the wands, which I will keep track of in my stat line. Please see the discussion thread for an OOC comment that got to large and rightfully belongs there.

With only minor convincing, and a major amount of assistance, the pathfinders coax the addling addicts out of the sewer, the place they had existed for the last several months. None of them remember much of anything, like it was all a wicked dream full of blackness and an aching need for something they couldn't name.

One of the nearby temples to Sarenrea beckons as the pathfinders bring the pitiful group in, and they are immediately swarmed over by acolytes who express their gratitude and praise for the pathfinder's benevolence.

The night passes without incident aboard the Sixwing Drake. The barge captain asks no questions when the pathfinders board, and immediately returns them to the ship captained by Zarah Zendrani, promising to return as soon as he is called the next day.

The society pays its allies well, it seems.

When morning arrives, the fresh recruits gather on the deck of the ship and all at once realize that they don't know where to go next. In fact, they must wait for some word from their elusive contact. Captain Zendrani insists they wait together on the ship until some word arrives of where they might go to meet Delroya.

The wait is not easy on the nerves.

Eventually, around noon on Fireday, Captain Zendrani calls a meeting on the deck of the Sixwing Drake. “An urchin boy delivered this note just a few minutes ago. I tried to keep him here so we could talk to him, but he slipped away without a word and ran off into the city. I haven’t looked at the note — but it seems to be from Delroya.” The captain hands over the note.

See the new note on the tactical.

"Well it seems that weare off to another warehouse. U did not know that the society was so fond of storage facilities.

"Let us make haste there and seeif we cannot figure a way to infiltrate this building."

Nugats places the formalae book that he was reading into his back and makes ready to move off.

I take it I heal at least that last 1 hp overnight. Back to full unless Steve says otherwise.

"Where else would they keep all the things Pathfinders retrieve?" Bugdip asks, genuinely confused, "I, for one, am looking forward to disrupting these operations. After seeing what this whip does, who knows what other dastardly things this Magali wants us to disrupt?

"Of course, it will also be great to go against the Aspis Consortium... after what they did to my tribal elders... " Bugdip lets out a deep and angry 'ribbit', "... well, let us just say... they will pay!"

"Yes, let us go meet Miss Delroya. I am sure she'll be very happy to get to know us, and maybe we can convince her to come back to Absalom with us, so she can meet Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin again. Maybe she can get him to give me his autograph?"

'She'll probably want to cuddle or whatever that was that the Paracountess and I did. Maybe not that, she was a little... aggressive. But she'll definitely probably want to be comforted'

Ifran does his best to make himself presentable. 'Really should stop off and get some cologne... and not that sulfurous stuff that Ms. Dralneen likes.'

Before settling off to sleep aboard the Sixwing Drake, Glarifyur finds a quiet bathhouse tucked away just out of the dock area. He washes the blood and sewage from his body and beard, cleans his traveling clothes, and polishes off his armor and shield. Afterwards, he heads to the Temple of Sarenrae and, after discussing his last mission in service to the Pathfinders, is gifted a slender wand with a handle that seems a bit warm and comfortable to the touch. He then heads back to the Drake and falls asleep re-braiding his beard.

The morning finds Glarifyur half-slumped out of his cot; drool soaked through the one-quarter of his beard that he didn't finish braiding. He gets up, shakes out his freshly dried clothes from a beam under the ship, dresses and arms himself, and meets with the rest of his team upon the deck.

"Mornin', boy-ohs!" Glarifuyr is unreasonably cheery for having slept on a ship. "Hopefully the wait isn't too long before we get word on what's next. Wonder if Zendrani puts out a breakfast of some sort..." Glarifyur wanders below deck searching for food.

Once news reaches them from Delroya, Glarifyur is once again struck with that feeling they are being set up, but he remembers his promise to Venture Captain Valsin and re-vows himself to help her, however warily. After taking his turn to read the letter, Glarifyur finds his thoughts wandering toward Magali Delroya's situation:

One nice thing about not stopping the meeting between the two consortium agents yesterday is that Delroya is burned now; no going back to the Aspis Consortium. That means she will have to find a new line of work; she will likely need protection for double-crossing them too. And since she will be no use as a double agent, there will be no call on the Pathfinders to put her back in Aspis to gather information. That will be good for her own redemption. So if she is honest in this, she will at least be funneled in to joining us and have no more connection to the Aspis Consortium.

After having a celebratory pint or four from the tavern, Amin manages to drift off to sleep on the gently rocking boat, the extra ale helping to dull his unease enough about sleeping on water. Regina curls up beneath the cot, licking the last bits of dirt and muck from her paws before emitting a quiet sigh and dozing off.

Waking the next day feeling refreshed, with only a few minor scorch marks from the alchemist's bombs, Amin pulls on his armor, gives Regina a pat on the head, and joins the rest of the party above decks.

"Morning!" He tosses a rogue fish to Regina, who begins batting it around the deck playfully before devouring it in a few bites. "Did you find any breakfast, Glarifyur?"

I'm good to head to the warehouse whenever everyone is ready :-)

Ok – Turns out I can steal a few minutes and offload this information on you, which is perfect because you will have a chance to ask questions after you are done reading it.

The pathfinders enjoy a breakfast of eggs, ham and ale, compliments of some trading the ship’s crew was able to accomplish during the day before. Eventually the street boy delivers the note, and the pathfinders know their destination. Without any futher ado, they set off with the help of the barge captain. Pulling up to the Pier, the Pathfinders head up to the upper docks area, where it doesn’t take long to find where they need to go.

A large warehouse looms into view at the end of Gull Street. Its main level sits at the edge of the street above a ten-foot drop to the harbor’s waters below. A door in the western wall of the warehouse opens, and a woman clad in simple leather armor steps out. Her features display a blend of Taldan and Mwangi heritages, and her crisp accent is difficult to place.

“I am Magali Delroya. You must come quickly, Pathfinders. We do not wish to be seen.” Delroya moves briskly, waving off protests or interruptions, and speaks with the rhythm of her steps. “Questions later. Much is at stake. First you must listen.”

Her outward display of authority does not entirely mask her fear. The small room through the warehouse’s western door features a round table and several chairs. “This room is for the guards. They are all too busy dealing with our disruptions, so no one is here for now. That door leads to the docks below,” she says, indicating a door in the southern wall. “Come this way. I will show you the warehouse.”

She opens a door in the northern wall, revealing a cavernous storage room. Haphazard stacks of barrels and crates almost reach the ceiling twenty feet above. Two large skylights in the ceiling provide ample light during the day, and a dozen unlit lanterns are spaced around the room. To the east, a wide opening in the southern wall looks out over the loading bay ten feet below. A freight elevator platform rigged to a complex set of pulleys and ropes and a staircase both lead down to the loading bay.

“As you can see, the Aspis Consortium maintains a sizable operation out of this warehouse, which they rent from the Kortos Consortium’s Locosta family in exchange for alchemical goods. After tonight, I hope that the relationship between Aspis and Kortos will be irreparably damaged.

“I can stay here briefly, if you have questions or need assistance.”

Ok – Now is your chance to speak with Delroya and ask her questions. Her picture is on the Tactical. The warehouse is up, but I haven’t taken the time to adjust your tokens and stuff yet. I’ll get that tomorrow morning. Ask away!

Crap - I knew I shouldn't have rushed this.

"One thing - Please allow me to show you a couple of the secret doors I found this morning. You did such a good job delaying their operations that I had more time to scope the place out than I thought I might. Here, one on the north wall, and another on the southeast corner, just on the shoreline."

1d6 ⇒ 2

"I've also found this potion of invisibility stashed in the office." She says, handing the vial over to whoever decides to take it from her.

Tybain can take the CMW potion from Lazlo's loot

Tybain accepts the invisibility potion from Delroya, and gives her a polite nod.

"E .. N... MY ...... MA.. GCK? " Tybain puts out the effort to voice out the words, but still they do not come out right. He would just want to know what kind of opponents they are up against. Mere guards, or will they be wielding magic?

He thinks further questions are better left to the others, so Tybain moves already to investigate the crates. He moves from one pile of crates to another, reading the labels and peeking inside.

GM rolls for perception?

As far as Bugdip is concerned, Tybain can have the CMW potion.

"How will we know which are the Kortos agents?" asks Bugdip, "Assuming they're not wearing their insignias in the open, that is. Also, how can we delay the Kortos agents without antagonizing them? Any suggestions?"

When the questions are done, Bugdip finds a good place to hide, watching the northern secret door.

Stealth: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23

"It's a pleasure to meet you at last, my lady," Edgar says, tipping his hat to Magali Delroya. "I take it you'll be leaving us while our... friends... stop by for a visit?" he asks, pausing to turn and scan the surrounding warehouse. "And you truly think these Kortos Consortium agents can be reasoned with, and convinced, without the use of a sword, to stand down and leave? Any suggestions for leverage we might use in our discussions with them?"

After conversing with Magali Delroya, the youth walks slowly around the complex, examining the secret doors, then digs through the gathered supplies and stores for anything which might be useful.

Edgar will search for useful items within the warehouse. Perception is a +4 if you want to roll for us.

"Ma'am... how are we to identify the difference between the Aspis and Kortos agents? I mean, I realize that most Aspis agents are evil looking, spouting devilish horns and the like. But what if they don't?"

Delroya turns to Tybain, doing her best to hide her confusion at his ragged words, but failing. She tries to keep her face passive, but looking at her you can see she is mouthing the broken words, trying to discern meaning.

Sense Motive: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (10) - 1 = 9

"Magic? Uhh.. Well most of the stuff here is mundane trade goods, as I mentioned. The Aspis Consortium rents this building from the Lacosta family of the Kortos Consortium, so who knows what they have hidden. Will there be magic users in either group? I cannot say. Their organizations are built with people much like the pathfinder society, with a wide variety of interests and talents. Diversity is the only way to grow so large." She does her best to answer whatever question he might have been trying to ask.

Hearing the strange looking Grippli's question she turns, and smiles at the thought of such a strange creature working for the society.

"From my time as an Aspis agent, I can tell you that you will know the Kortos agents by the fact that they are not Aspis agents. While in many places the Aspis consortium endeavors to hide their identity, they are working to establish a legitimate front here in Diobel, and are not afraid to show who they are. Though if everyone else knew what they were doing here, perhaps that opinion would change," Delroya fumbles with her fingers, looking down at the floor and avoiding eye contact suddenly. "As mine did."

She looks up again and forces a smile as Edgar introduces himself. "You are correct, as I said my time is already short. I still have many things to do in order to empty this warehouse and hide it for as long as I need. At best I will not be able to move any of the goods from the warehouse until midnight, which is why I need you here to defend it until then."

She takes a deep breath as she considers the second half of Edgar's question. "That is a much trickier question. What you are doing here will certainly be viewed as illegal in the Kortos Consortium's eyes. The warehouse and many of the goods inside it belong to the Kortos, not the Aspis. We do not want to make them our enemies, if at all possible. I hope they can be reasoned with, for our aim here is to shatter their relationship with the Aspis Consortium, which will severely hobble their growing stranglehold on this city."

Delroya fumbles inside her pack and draws out a piece of parchment that has a wax seal emblazoned in the corner. "I am hoping that we can get through this without drawing the Kortos Consortium's ire, but as a last resort, you can use this document. It should eliminate any questions as to the legality of your actions. If you can avoid having to use it, I would be grateful, but do not hesitate to present it if necessary.”

"Oh, one more thing. I had to pick the locks on the doors to get in here. They are all unlocked, and I do not have a key. I do not have time to re-lock them." She says, somewhat sheepishly.

Perception rolls offscreen and taken into account... The searching will happen after Delroya leaves. She is very anxious to get out of here.

Edgar and Tybain do a complete sweep of the massive warehouse, in and around the stacks of crates, walls and floors. Other than confirming the secret doors and their locations, the pathfinders only find extensive amounts of mundane equipment.

Save for one thing. In one of the corners, Amin and Regina come across a very large dog in a cage. The hunter notices several scratches and scabs, all in a wide variety of stages of healing. It is clear this dog is used for fighting. The key to the cage hangs on the wall a few feet away.

If you have the handle animal skill, you may spend 3 hours interacting with the dog and then make a handle animal check. There is a very narrow option to give you a bonus on that check, but I'll let you figure that out on your own. Success will make you a new friend.

GM "Leave Off" to make sure you got all of that. Yes, you will be able to tell them apart. You have several hours to prepare. Yes the Kortos agents can be reasoned with, but they aren't going to be happy if/when they find you in here. You have a trump card, but Delroya would really prefer you didn't use it. You found a dog, and you have several hours to prepare before anyone shows up. You may still continue to ask questions of Delroya if you like. When you are done asking questions I will move on. Please let me know if anything is unclear!!

Cyrus'd by Ifran.... by 20 minutes. Yeegads these posts can take a long time sometimes. Please see my answer to Bugdip's identical question.

Edit: Oh yea - and see the tactical for the piece of paper she just handed you.

By the way, that's a stealth result of 25. Forgot to update Bugdip post-purchases. His perception has gone up, too (to +8).

"Miss Delroya," Bugdip begins after reading over the paper, "This is your ace in the hole. If you leave, we won't be those in your company, just those who have this piece of paper - and for all they know killed you for it."

Bugdip remembers back to when someone was telling him about Finarin's daring actions in recovering yet another piece of the Sky Key. He remembers the basilisk and the chew toy that it loved so much. The grippli searches around for such an object, thinking that with so much time to spare it would be good to make more friends.

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23

Whether he finds a specific toy or not, Bugdip makes do with things from his pack - eventually settling on his new rope. He playfully has a game of tug-o-war with the dog.

Handle animal (untrained): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19

Ifran moves up to the dog. "Nice doggie. Pretty doggie." He cast cure light wounds (not from wand) and tries to touch the dog.

touch attack to heal: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9

Glarifyur stays back and listens and watches Magali Delroya while she interacts with the rest of his party.

Sense Motive: 1d20 ⇒ 8

Well, she seems honest enough from here, let's hope that holds true.

Glarifyur strides around the warehouse and inspects the crates. '

"Tybain, Amin, Rattus, what you think about helping me move some of the crates to create some choke points from the doorways... If we expect trouble maybe we can set up some crates to funnel the baddies right where we want them to be. In fact..."

Glarifyur eyes the crane and wonders aloud:

"Could we set up some sort of trap using this crane and some crates? Anyone have any engineering skill?"

I cannot tell based on tactical whether or not these crates are large enough to be shuffled on the ground and used for chokepoints. Steve, if they are and the team thinks it wise to do so, then maybe we can set that up somehow.

@Glarifyur - definitely possible. Ilk follow up with details when I have more time. I'll resolve the doggie stuff too, but I want to make sure we resolve any questions with Delroya first. She wants to leave :)

-Posted with Wayfinder

Ifran will keep trying to touch the dog, until he is injured, at which time he will use the charge on himself.

touch attack: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 2 = 13
touch attack: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19 (enough to go by any cover, I would assume)
CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

"Glarifur. They are just crates, right? Why don't we shove them in front of the doors or something. That way, they cannot get in. Can anyone lock the doors? If only I had bought a skeleton key. I had heard at the grand lodge that those were good for opening things."

By the way, that's a stealth result of 25. Forgot to update Bugdip post-purchases. His perception has gone up, too (to +8).

"Miss Delroya," Bugdip begins after reading over the paper, "This is your ace in the hole. If you leave, we won't be those in your company, just those who have this piece of paper - and for all they know killed you for it."

"This writ will buy you the time you need tonight my interesting frog friend. The Kortos Consortium has a seedy side, but are in general a law-abiding, important part of this city. They will respect the writ and whoever holds it until they have an opportunity to challenge it through the proper authorities tomorrow. But by tomorrow this warehouse will be empty, and I hope to not have to put Lord Avid in the uncomfortable position of explaining why he is giving broad authorization to "steal" from the Kortos Consortium." Delroya fidgets uncomfortably for a moment again, eyeing the door.

"Use it if you must. Perhaps I shouldn't mention this, but I am impressed with you and your society so far. Perhaps a part of me hopes the Society can prove to me its resourcefullness in not needing to use it." She puts her arms down at her side and takes a resolute posture, clearly uncomfortable with having revealed this much about herself.

"And in case you are worried, I am not actually stealing from the Kortos Consortium. The drugs are hidden throughout these crates and it will take days to sort them out. I plan to return the legitimate goods to the Kortos Consortium once I have the evidence I need to expose this operation fully. The revalation needs to be large enough that even the authorities who are in the Aspis Consortium's pocket must take notice."

Ifran will keep trying to touch the dog, until he is injured, at which time he will use the charge on himself.

[dice=touch attack]1d20+2
[dice=touch attack]1d20+2 (enough to go by any cover, I would assume)
[dice=CLW]1d8+1

I'll resolve dog stuff after questions. The dog isn't found until you search, and you don't search until after Delroya leaves. I'll give you guys until tonight to ask any questions you have unless you prefer to move on. When the time comes, do you wait until after you have worked with the dog for hours, or try to heal it right away? It doesn't look very friendly right now, so sticking your hand in the cage will certainly result in agression... Additionally, you may or may not be able to work with the dog and move crates around as Glarifyur has suggested. Once I move you on properly from the Q&A, we can talk more specifically about what you do during the time that you are waiting for someone to show up.

Would I have time to assist with calming the dog and help move crates, or is it either or?

"Glarifyur, maybe we should 'allow' them into the lower dock area by blocking off the main entrances? Then we're at a height advantage, they'll have to come up those stairs, and we might use the crane as either a trap or mobility boost. I ain't one to fight fair if I can help it." Amin says, with a knowing wink.

Looking around the warehouse, Amin examines the crane in more detail to find out how it works, and in which directions the doors open.

Looks like you have until tomorrow morning to ask any more questions. You should have almost all the info/context you need I think hope. I won't be able to get a full update up tonight.

Amin (and everyone)- I won't say if it is either/or. You don't know when either the Aspis Agents or the Kortos Agents are coming, and you don't know what order they will be arriving in. You just know they are both coming. You will have at least three hours though. I can't promise if you will have more. (ie - I am forcing you to make a decision... *snicker*)

Glarifyur (and everyone) - The crates are extremely heavy, and there doesn't seem to be any useful tools around to help move the crates. You can push them, but it will take time to move them very far. This will obviously be much easier with help. For a mental reference, think of a modern manufacturing facility. Skids are generally about 4' x 4' x 4' cube. Depending on the contents, these cubes could weigh anywhere from 3 or 4 hundred pounds to a ton. Definitely not impossible, but it will take some effort and time. Same as I mentioned to Amin above, I spoiled that you have at least 3 hours (I'm to nice to give the party an option to get a doggie buddy and then cut your time short to do what you need to befriend him) - possibly more.

To all - You know the doors are unlocked. You know you don't have the keys, but chances are the people who use the warehouse regularly do. You can re-lock them with a DD check. While PFS scenarios are usually very strict, there is quite a bit of provision and leeway in this encounter for you to handle each group how you see fit, and construct the environment you are working in your way.

I've already spent to much time... I should have been sleeping an hour ago. /facepalm More tomorrow.

"As long as there are no more questions, I will bid you good luck and take my leave." Delroya gives everyone a curt nod and slips out the door.

The pathfinders immediatly begin to search the warehouse and make tactical assessments.

Amin discovers the pooch in the corner, and several of the group come over to investigate. Bug dip gives the dog a toy while Ifran continually tries to stick his hand inside the kennel. The dog snarls and barks viciously at anyone who approaches the bars, and snaps at Ifran's hand each time he sticks it in.

Eventually, Bugdip offers the toy at just the right time to distract the dog and Ifran slips his hand in and imparts some healing to the dog. He notices several of the scabs dry up, but the dog doesn't seem to be any better off. (was already at full HP - scabs were flavor because it is a fighting dog)

The dog stands motionless in the cage, toy half hanging out of its mouth, unsure what to think about this group of strangers staring at it. He sits down and lifts his back leg to scratch a troublesome spot behind his left ear, then turns his head to whimper at an empty food bowl nearby. Its clear that early on they have made progress.

Ok - here is what I need from you. Bugdip made the primary roll for the pooch. I'll allow anyone who also works with Bugdip for the requisite 3 hours to make a handle animal check to aid the roll. Everyone else will be available to move crates and set the room up how you would like it.

For those moving crates around - This could get pretty trickey over PbP, mostly to do it right so it doesn't take a week before we start encounters. I created a red outlined crate token. You may copy that as many times as you like (CTRL-C/CTRL-V), and move them where you would like them to be. Rather than go back and forth and make you guess at how long things will take and how much you can accomplish, I will tell you that working as a group, you can move a crate 5 feet in 5 minutes. I will give you an opportunity to confirm you have them where you like them (and let you know if you placed to many) so you don't feel like I arbitrarily ruined your carefully laid plan and then forced you into combat with your pants around your ankles.

Let me know how far you get in 3 hours of in-game and we can re-evaluate where we are at that point.

Thanks for your patience getting through this tricky part over PbP!

"Bugdip... first, it looks like we need to feed the dog." He pulls out some of his rations, and tosses them into the bowl. "But, maybe, if he isn't going to be a nice puppy, we just put him down in the lower level. If the door is closed, he should have to stay down there. Only problem is that if the Kortos people come, he might attack them. Not a problem if the Aspis people come, though.

"Let's just put crates in front of every door."

Amin grumbles "Looks like you two have the dog under control. More fond of cats anyway." He smirks at Regina, who almost looks...smug?

"These heavy bastards aren't going to move themselves!"

Amin shows the group where he thinks, at a minimum, the boxes should be placed.

I put boxes barring the main warehouse door, I think at a minimum we should block that to prevent a total bum rush. Let me know what you think.

Building the stage, how interesting! I've never been involved in this part before. Let's make this a show to be remembered!

Tybain eagerly joins Amin in moving the crates. He does a few ideas of his own how they should be placed, but being unable to express them, he just follows the dwarf's instructions.

Should the remaining crate be placed to block the secret door? I moved the crate there, but I'm open to other suggestions

"Do you think it would be better to leave the secret door open so that if we need to leavein a hurry we can?

"Do youthink that this dog is a guard dog that will barkandhowl? That could be very helpful tohave some warning. I am happy to move some boxes but I think that I cannot do that alone. When do you think they will be here? I am nervousand excited, but more excited than nervous. Crates? Yes letus move them!"

Nugats is happy to help out doing anything at all

Based on the map so far, I would say that at this point, Bugdip is "still working with the dog" and you have time to move more crates. I will give you more real time to move and discuss. As I mentioned before, this is kind of a tricky part so I don't want to push you forward without making sure everyone is satisfied with your current plan and layout.

Glarifyur wipes a bit of sweat from his brow and surveys the current set of crate moves.

"Looks good to me. They are only as tall as me, so for larger folk they could still easily be climbed, but it should make for a more difficult entry at the least. Blocking that secret entrance will likely only stifle the Kortos boys, as I would be surprised if they let the Aspis guys in on it. But as we are not sure how much of a threat they will be, it is still a smart tactical move to my mind."

Glarifyur takes a long swig from his waterskin and sits on a smaller crate

"I guess now we wait..."

I agree with the decisions made on the crates; I have nothing more to add. From the warscaping perspective, I think we are ready to move on.

"Here boy!" calls Bugdip enthusiastically, "No! Bad dog, that's my leg not the stick! Here's the stick. Fetch the stick! Fetch! Fetch! Let... go... of... my... leg... ooooowwwww!"

The grippli looks over to his companions. "I can't tell... is the training going well?"

He is duly impressed by the stage setting that is going on, and lets out an appreciative throat warble. "I think we should leave the secret door closed, New Guts. Those who prepare to fail cannot see the path to victory. Or something like that. You know, what Marr-Cuss Fairy-Bell-Us said in class that time!"

Bugdip will stealth as before (roll above... or I can roll anew... or you can). He'll wait for them to enter and try to get behind for tactical reasons... or catch them clumped together for flaming hand fan. Perfectly okay with you springing it on us whenever you're ready, GM.

I'm cool with barring the northern secret door.

"Now we wait." Amin leans against some boxes near the stairwell, carefully removes his glaive, and begins sharpening it with a whetstone.

Regina lounges nearby, her body relaxed but her eyes sharp. After each pass of the whetstone, Amin mumbles a line from a prayer.

*sssssssnkt*
"Gozreh who binds all elements."
*sssssssnkt*
"Grant us tonight the strength of earth."
*sssssssnkt*
"That our enemies break on us as water."
*sssssssnkt*
"And roll back feebly into the sea."

Bugdip uses memories of past experiences shared to him by his idol, Finarin, to calm down the agitated dog. He speaks soothingly, and after a short time manages to convince the dog that he might actually be a very large toy.

Ifran risks getting bit several times before imparting some healing onto the scarred and emotionally damaged dog, which takes the edge off of its hostility quite a bit. Finally, Ifran notices the food dish, and offers some to the caged animal.

With careful work, a bit of luck, and some self-sacrifice by Bugdip, the Grippli finds that the dog is actually quite playful, and seems to take quite a liking to the frog-man that is slightly smaller than him.

You succeeded at the required handle animal check. It turns out you needed the extra oomph from the things you did to help convince him that you are nice people. During the 3 hours of working with the dog you find that he knows the tricks Attack, Down, and Stay. These three tricks can be used with a DC 10 handle animal trick per the handle animal skill.

Uhh… Slight screw-up on my part. I’m not going to penalize you for it because it was my fault for not catching it sooner. Handle Animal is trained only. I will rule that you still succeed befriending the dog, but only someone with ranks in the Handle Animal skill will be able to command the dog to do the tricks. A little peek behind the GM screen here – I actually bypassed the random portion of this part of the warehouse and picked the dog as something you find specifically because someone in your party has the handle animal skill. I like being able to give people opportunities to use skills and items and things that might not ordinarily come up as much. It will be up to you how you handle the dog from now on. It won’t attack you, but it won’t help you unless your animal handler makes it so.

The crate movers and shakers are finished with their arduous work before Bugdip finally makes his breakthrough with the dog. They take their time to rest and catch their breath so they are fresh for when… someone… arrives.

Some time passes and the pathfinders begin to wonder if anyone is going to show up. Perhaps this little guard duty might be easier than Delroya had fretted about. Hours pass and the sun begins to set, closing out another Fireday. (Friday)

Just as darkness begins to settle around outside the warehouse, the pathfinders hear an unmistakable sound. Doors are being jiggled, worked, and opened. To the north, the secret door creaks open for a split second before banging into the crate that blocks the way. Another sound comes from inside the break room as what sounds like two figures enter through that door.

Ok – Here we go. I need two things from you as a group.

• Thing #1 – It is dusk now. Lighting is dim in the warehouse since the main source of light was the skylights and the sun has set. Do you do anything to create light? There are plenty of places for torches and sconces in the wall to create a normal light condition inside, should you wish to do that. Please let me know so there is no misunderstanding. I will assume this happens before the first set of mysterious figures arrives.
  
• Thing #2 – I’ll give you 1 round of actions to prep yourself. In addition to this, because of the significant amount of time you have had to wait, feel free to place yourself anywhere you see fit. The round represents the amount of time you have to react once you hear that someone is at the door.

Reminder since this thread has been slow lately – You do not know yet who is trying to get in. You do know that you will either recognize them as Aspis, or not Aspis. I would also recommend using the discussion thread to determine how you are going to approach the Kortos group, when they arrive. It would be easy to assume that you would have had this discussion well before they arrived as well.

Amin sees the frogman getting the dog under control, but knows it may not last...He reaches out to the scarred beast with supernatural empathy, trying to let the creature know he is part of a pack now.

"Dogmeat, come!" He motions to his side near the break room door.

Handle Animal: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20

He whistles for Regina to guard Glarifyur from any harm.

Handle Animal: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16

Knowing that battle may be imminent, he reaches out to Regina with his thoughts and grants her the strength of the Tiger with a quick blessing from Gozreh.

Amin readies his glaive and waits.

Animal Focus: Tiger: The creature gains a +2 enhancement bonus to Dexterity.

The youth steps beside Amin, standing a few paces from the door to the break room. At his side the slender blade of the rapier is still sheathed, but his hand shudders slightly, poised above the hilt as if Edgar is continuing to resist the urge to draw it free. His eyes meet the drawf's and he motions toward the doorknob and motions as he were going to open it quickly, attempting to signal he is ready to enter and confront those in the break room.

Ready enter the break room. Edgar's weapon is sheathed.

Bugdip stands at the ready, running his hands through Dogmeat's fur. He realizes that Amin would make a better master than he, so he ruefully scratch's Dogmeat's back one last time and moves off to find a good spot to hide.

"No need for light," says Bugdip, "They'll probably bring some with them. I think Aspis still hires plenty of humans... and light will just attract attention."

Still ready when you are, GM!

”Oi! ‘Wat tha bloody ‘ell are youse doin in ‘ere!” says a well armed and armored man as he opens the door from inside the break room to find a partial group of the gathered pathfinders. Next to him stands a tall, lithe man clad in leather armors, looking equally perturbed.

Neither of the men have their weapons drawn, but both have reached for the hilts as they give Amin, Tybain, Rattus and Nugats a hard stare.

”You better start ‘xplainin youse real quick why youse snoopin around in our warehouse.”

Both men appear well equipped, but simple nonetheless. A large, script ‘L’ is embroidered on both sides of their collars that peaks out over their armor. The man who spoke is wearing breastplate, and his fingers wrap around the longsword on his belt.

Moments before, the banging on the secret door stops shortly after it starts, with muffled whispers coming from the other side. It takes a few seconds, but at almost the same time that the two men open the door from the break room into the warehouse proper, two more figures enter through the secret door on the south east side of the building.

”Grayson!!! What the F&*% is going on in here?! Who the F$*% are these people? And why was the other hidden door stuck?!”

Bugdip and Ifran see two figures enter into the lower loading area and reach for their belts, though they seem to hold their hands there, waiting for someone named Greyson to respond. They don’t realize the commonality just yet, but they also see identical script ’L’ embroidery on the lapels of the newcomers.

No combat yet, unless you botch this part. Thanks for the rundown of your plans also. Lets see some RP – feel free to roll any bluff/diplomacy/intimidate after your interaction posts. If someone is going to be the primary, please note that. Everyone else note your check as an aid another. If you go the diplomacy route, there will be more than one roll, but let’s get past the part where they want to kill you for being in their warehouse first… (or maybe not at all! /deviousgrin)

"Ok, ok, ok.. I'm sure this is quite a surprise seeing us in here... And not in a good way," Rattus mumbles, holding both arms in the air to hopefully clearly show he is not holding a weapon.

"We are not here to fight you or steal from your organization," he shouts loud enough for the other newcomers not in the break room to hear also. "We are here to help make it clear that the Aspis Constoriun is using your organization and will soon implicate you... guilty by association, and all that... in their seedy drug dealings which coincidently have been tested on your unfortunate citizens."

"We are pathfinders, I admit," he confesses, still shouting. "We barred some of the of the doors to prevent you from surrounding us and slaughtering us before we had a chance to explain that such an action would be a mistake... And also because we don't want to die."

"Please just give us a chance to explain. Also, I would like to stop shouting now. Please don't stab me until you've at least heard what we have to say..."

diplomacy(aid): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20

”Ren, Ren, Ren… ‘E knows ‘bout the drugs… What we ‘sposed to do now?”

The tension in the air is thick as knuckles get white from tightened grips. The man wearing the breastplate and doing all the talking speaks in hushed tones to the man behind him.

”These incompetent snake bastards are going to screw us over. Of course they know about the drugs, because why wouldn’t these stupid aspis dolts let the secret out.” The other man whispers back, also not taking his eyes off the pathfinders. They are certainly on edge, not expecting what they found when they came in.

”Wait a minute ‘ere…” the original man begins to speak again, confusion suddenly splayed across his features, ”What ‘xactly do you mean when you say, ‘…tested on your unfortunate citizens.’” The man sounds unnatural as he tries to affect Rattus’ accent, doing a decent job of it. His face becomes less tense, and more inquisitive, though no less annoyed.

Over in the loading area, the two shadowy figures begin to move towards the staircase that would bring them up to the main level. They move cautiously and carefully, expecting someone to start shouting and shooting at any moment.

Just wanted to give other diplomancers something to work with. Please continue the role and the roll!

Bit behind today. GM - glad you are ok - scary stuff that. Few housekeeping things, Nugats will have his wand of magic misses in his spring loaded wrist sheathe ready to pop out. I have darkvision, so not at all worried about light or lack there of.

"Yes gentlemen. You see I am a bitof a master amateur alchemist and I have this formulae book and some samples of the drug. We found the drug maker and the unfortunates he was experimenting on. It was a nasty business."

Gosh is it hard to talk slow enough for these people to hear me. Wonder what the 'L' stands for?

Diplomacy aid: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4