Thaddeus gets into position, rears back, and...
*PPHLEAH!*
... Spits an impossibly large wad of mucus at the thug trying to flank Fiona. It sails through the air unerringly splattering all over the goon, quickly sticking him to the floor.
"GAHHH!"
The purple thug is stuck to the ground as Thaddeus hocks the nastiest of all possible loogies. He looks down at himself, turning green from the goo sticking him to the floor.
The thug shrieks as he realises the disgusting substance covering him has adhered him completely to the ground!
Listening for sounds of the intruders, Bofur hurries into the adjacent room. and tries the door to the corner room he is unfamiliar with. If it is locked, he sets down his crossbow and swings his battleaxe at the lock.
Bofur slinks through the waiting area he's spent a good amount of time in, into Saul's office.
A large chamber holds a massive desk with a chair covered in some sort of elastic, shining reptilian hide. Numerous paintings hang on the walls, including one that shows a group of canine therianthropes gathered around a table playing a game of golem. A humidor on the desk holds a number of fine cigars next to a mother-of-pearl snuff box. A few cushioned chairs sit before the desk.
To the south a door leads to a second room. This door has been broken open.
Surprised to discover that there is more than one room in this corner, Bofur rushes over to the southern door to see what the men might have been after. He keeps his axe at the ready.
Fiona's song briefly stops as the half-orc brutally takes Michal down.
Then it starts with renewed fervour.
"This will be the day we've waited for!
This will be the day we open up the door!"
She steps away, a fury in her eyes, as she turns on the entangled thug next to her.
"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR YOUR ABSOLUTION!"
She swings her earthbreaker...
"HOPE YOU'RE READY FOR A REVOLUTION!"
With the thug nicely immobilized by Thaddeus's spell, he's unable to dodge out of the way of Fiona's hammer. As her powerful voice fills the room there's a sickening crack as her earthbreaker likely shatters a whole bunch of ribs. He slumps over, but manages to remain standing, still very much in the fight.
Mutt sees Michal fall. He stares in shock before roaring in pure rage. He runs at the half-orc and brings down his greataxe.
Bjorn and Zhen swarm to the purple thug while he's stuck to the ground.
The three remaining bouncers enter the area of the rooms, sweeping for more thugs.
Mutt calls out to Fetch, "Fetch, attack the one that's stuck!" The dog complies.
Zhenn, Mutt, and Bjorn circle the half-orc and quickly attack. While Bjorn's attack is parried, Zhen and Mutt both score brutal blows with Zhen completely running through the half-orc before kicking him off of his blade.
Gimping along the floor, Mutt's three-legged best friend trips up the remaining thug, and then lunges at his throat with surprising violence. Fetch's teeth find their grip, and the thug is soon dead, in a pool of his own blood, and covered in goo.
There's a moment of silence in the Gold Goblin. Corpses litter the room, but it appears no more will be added to the pile.
End of Combat
"In time, your heart will open minds...
A story will be told...
And victory is in a simple soul!"
Fiona's battle song comes to an end and she hurries to Michal's side.
"Hang in there, Michal... I've got something for this." She whispers as she pulls a scroll from her belt and reads it. She touches his forehead, her hand glowing with blue energy.
The healing doesn't seem to have had much effect. She yanks out another scroll and uses it too.
Michal gasps and his eye flutter open as the horrible purpling bruise around his neck fades out. He looks badly beaten, but certainly alive.
Saul emerges from his hiding place in the cash cage, looking around with wide eyes.
"You... you saved my life. You saved the casino. Thank you my friends, thank you so much!"
Mutt and the bouncers sigh in relief as the last one goes down. The bouncers then proceed to gather up the javelins and any gear the enemies may have. They also do a sweep of the Gold Goblin, making sure everything is in its place. Fredrick, however, runs to Michal. Seeing that he's going to be all right, the Taldan looks at Fiona. "Thank you. Thank you so much." Michal smiles and gives a weak nod.
Mutt's rage ends and he immediately feels the fatigue set in.
Mutt sheathes his greataxe and looks at Fetch. He smiles and pets the dog. "Good boy, Fetch. Good boy. We'll get you cleaned up soon, boy." When Saul emerges from the cash cage, Mutt's brow raises. "Saul? How did you get in there? I thought you were upstairs."
The former pit fighter looks up at the catwalks. "Bofur! Are you okay up there?! Shooting those bolts must have worn you out!" He finishes with a good natured smirk.
Fiona just gives Frederick a thumbs up and a smile. "Might want to take tomorrow off, Michal. I'd say you've earned it."
"And Saul..." She turns to the scared-looking casino owner. "...it was nothing, really. After all, it's not like any of them were trained warriors."
It takes Thaddeus a few moments to settle down. He's been living quite an action-packed life since he left his little farming thorp, and this was the biggest battle he's been involved in by far. Seeing all the death surrounding him, Thaddeus is fairly stunned. He knows it's a dangerous world, but even all this is quite a bit more than he was expecting. He simply stands in the center, wide-eyed, breathing heavily, trying to recover from the shock.
Old Horn walks up and looks at Thaddeus with a bit of concern, giving a soft bleat.
The battle over, Variel feels the effects of Fiona's song drain away at the same time as Calistria's divine power is withdrawn. He goes around the room helping to confirm everyone from the Goblin is safe, then begins looking through the fallen enemy for indications of who they work for. He says nothing as he goes around the room, but those who have come to know him notice him watching Saul warily.
Bofur is quite far from the sounds of battle, so I'm not sure he would really hear that the combat has come to an end. He glances around through the destroyed door to see what lies beyond the office.
The words of the priestess appear to have rung true. The presence of half-orcs indicates the involvement of Boss Croat, and Braddikar's presence indicates that Zincher was involved as well. Fiona recognizes the bare-handed half-orc as Jasker Gant, a notorious gang leader and right hand to Boss Croat.
Samaritha sits on the dais, looking numbly at the carnage in front of her. She mutely gets up and starts cleaning up and gathering items while Hans and Beyar move to go check on Saul.
The following items are recovered:
- 13 short swords
- 10 suits of studded leather
- 10 short bows
- 100 arrows
- 3 suits chainmail
- 3 heavy steel shields
- 3 longswords
- 70 gp, 83 sp, 134 cp
- a wooden amulet which Samaritha points out - it apparently radiates magic
- a silver and platinum necklace
The amulet is natural armour +1.
The necklace is worth 500 gp.
Saul looks around, shaking his head slowly.
"What a catastrophic waste. Still, this is how we show strength, friends. They hit us with their best and we have not lost a single man, I am prouder than I could imagine. Please, keep anything you find on their bodies. That said, let us look forwards, not backwards. We will not succumb to revenge and instead show that we are indomitable. Our opponents will be cowed by this, and should learn to look elsewhere for easy targets."
With that, he begins cleaning up, despite his one good hand.
Bofur's curiosity is
Wait! Does the records room account for all of the space between the office and the fireplace?
Thaddeus manages to calm down somewhat, though he's still awfully quiet as he pitches in to clean up the mess, and the rather numerous dead bodies piled around.
With Samaritha pointing out the only magical item, Thaddeus declines to try and identify the rest, settling for piling up the loot and handling such mental work tomorrow.
It's very quiet, and you hear muted conversation from down below. It sounds like the fight is over. The papers actually don't look disturbed or looked-through - the door itself was just kicked open and the room within ignored. However, as you think about the space to the fireplace, you realise that the records room is far too small. Quickly checking the south wall, you find a false shelf which pushes inwards. Excitedly you look in, but find nothing except a cot, washstand and razor, and a dull bronze mirror. This must be Saul's bedroom, and despite being behind a secret door it is disappointingly sparse.
Bofur takes a quick glance under the cot and washstand and behind the mirror. If those show nothing, he carefully closes the door, looking for loose hairs on the floor to suggest Saul might have been trying to determine if anyone had been in there.
He familiarizes himself with the layout of the records room and closes the door to that room before heading back out.
He goes downstairs.
Mutt and his men get to work gathering all of the gear. The former pit fighter also makes sure that the bouncers are okay and praises them on a good job. Fetch gets quite a bit of attention from the large man. When it comes to passing it out, Mutt says to his teammates, "I'm thinking that some of the bouncers could use this stuff." He does pull out a suit of chainmail and inspects it, debating on whether or not to take it. When Samaritha walks mutely, Mutt turns to her. "Hey! Samaritha! Are you okay?"
When it comes to Braddikar, Mutt finds his head, picks it up, and places it on a table. He then finds the body and stares at it before bringing down his greataxe and severing the arm with the brand on it. He then asks for a box.
Fiona pokes the bruiser half-orc's corpse. "Hmm... this used to be Jasker Gant. Apparently, one of Boss Croat's right-hand men."
I knew paying attention to the patrons during my singing would pay off.
"And it would be a good idea for our bouncers to have new equipment--what better way of letting our rivals know not to cross us by dressing them in the armour and weapons of our vanquished foes?"
Bofur enters, rubbing the back of his head and squinting, as though to rub away the pain of a blow. He looks around at the scene and nods in satisfaction that the fallen all appear to be intruders.
"Waell done, people! Waell done! Had a bit of a skiermish upstairs with a few lookin' for our Saul here, but they hurried back down when they didn't faind him. I thought they'd damage the plaece more, but I guess they planned to take it over when we were dead."
He lends a hand putting things back into order and assesses the damage, recovering any bolts that might be reused.
Variel studies the amulet with magical sight. "This amulet appears to toughen one's natural ability to avoid being hit ... would there be any objection to my wearing it? It would seem I need help in that regard ..."
Looking over the other items, he says, "We'll need a merchant we can trust to determine the value of any of the rest that might be worth pawning." He looks over at Saul, with a completely innocent smile. "Would you be such a person, Saul?"
He assists the others in restoring order to the building, and notes repairs that will have to be arranged.
Fiona looks over at the amulet and shakes her head. "I imagine you'd need it very much, after the hits you took. Speaking of which..."
She hums a tune and her hand glows blue once again. After a bit of hesitation, she places it on Variel's chest.
Almost immediately, his injuries heal completely.
Variel smiles sincerely at Fiona's touch. "My thanks."
Fiona scratches the back of her head. "No problem..."
She's blushing a little.
Variel identifies the amulet as an amulet of natural armour +1.
The group set to work cleaning up, and shortly after the fight is over, as predicted, the Gendarmes arrive. The city guard ask no questions, and simply march in to collect the bodies before leaving in a surprisingly orderly fashion.
The aftermath of the raid is spectacular as word spreads like wildfire around the city. Fiona even hears rumour that the raiders were disguised as gendarme officers, which apparently delights the cyphermages. Within a day the rumours, gleefully pushed out around the city, are that the Overlord personally coordinated the attack on a rival casino.
The third day comes with a public announcement; Overlord Cromarcky publicly denounces the raid on the Gold Goblin, and assured Riddleport that he has not, and will never loaned his army to matters best governed by the city's lords.
The damage from the raid was spectacular, and the Gold Goblin spends these days closed as the rumours fly around the city.
Variel and Bofur, ever suspicious, resume their pattern of watching Saul. He keeps to his usual errands, but one night while Bofur is asleep, he wakes up to find Saul gone, the man not returning until midday the following day.
There, he summons everyone for a meeting.
The group now sits in Saul's office, watching him as he looks at everyone with a worried expression.
"Welcome friends. I am afraid that the brave, magnificent stand you made may not have been quite enough, but almost. Last night I visited some contacts of mine, and received news most dire. Zincher and Croat are certainly its architects, and they now believe they have nothing to news. If the Gold Goblin is not wiped from Riddleport permanently, their reputation will forever be tarnished. We can expect more violence."
He raises a finger.
"Ah. BUT. I have information. Our enemies are planning a meeting to work out the final details of an even larger assault on the Goblin. The meeting is going to be held this evening in the Boneyard known as the Spar. In my earlier days I used it as a drop point, and can give you good directions. I ask you... nay, I beg that use your incredible mettle to scout this meeting out. My man on the inside is certain it will be a few thugs, and some remaining captains. If you can eavesdrop, or even more it will be invaluable."
Bofur uses the next occasion of Saul's absence to bring the group up to speed on what he discovered.
"I thought the thugs maight've been lookin' for somethin' specific, other than Saul I maen, so I checked out their deeds. They went into his office - that's a fancy office in the upstairs corner there - and opened the door laeding from it, which contains a room full of records. I could nae make heads nor tails of the paper, but it daedn't look to've been touched. But I found a secret door on the other side. It opened into Saul's private bedchamber and a sorrier-lookin' one you'll seldom faind. Nothing but a bed, a razor and a brass mirror. I don't think the intruders found it, so I guess they really were lookin' for the boss."
The morning Saul is away, Bofur approaches the more erudite members of their little group. "I dinnae suppose one of you could look at those records upstairs? It might be interestin' to see if everythin's on the up and up... especially with that payment Larur was supposed to make."
In response to Saul's announcement, Bofur says, "Seems we need to settle this score once and for all. Caen you describe your inside man, in case it turns to violence, so we don't run him through?"
@ Bofur:
"Ah guess ah could try takin' a little look-see at them records. Hopefully he's a mite neater 'den Smeed was."
@ Saul:
"So, y'wants us to scout it out, 'nstead of finishin'em off?"
Saul raises his key hand in a shrug.
"I leave that to your discretion. I'd be very happy if you could cut the snake off at the head, but defer to your better judgement according to the situation. Elimination is best, but information will do."
Variel looks at the documents for Bofur, but they mean nothing to him.
-------
To Saul's request, Variel replies, "My training is in extracting information through direct means; I am less effective if I am trying not to be noticed. If we capture the men to question them, we will have to either keep them or eliminate them, otherwise we will be found out."
He looks to the others. "How would the rest of you prefer it be done?"
Fiona doesn't have much to offer to the proceedings, save for when Variel speaks up. "I could do my best to help you with that. Admittedly, my methods differ greatly from yours, but both approaches could yield effective results."
"I think I'll reserve judgement for either keeping or eliminating them until I actually meet them."
Saul grins as he looks over the group.
"I shan't be coy then - destroy them. It is the only way we can be sure of peace."
As the rumors begin to fly around, Mutt relishes in them. They serve to improve the reputations of the Gold Goblin and the staff, all while humiliating their enemies. Mutt continues to work as the head bouncer, guarding the casino and hanging out with the people that are starting to become his friends. He also spends time reoutfitting the bouncers and spending time with Fetch.
Mutt snorts as Bofur gives his report. "So? He has a secret room and records. If you were wealthy and had a casino in a pirate city, wouldn't you have a room of records and a secret room?" He scratches his chin. "Do you think it has something to do with what he's possibly doing that Shofara mentioned." He then scratches the back of his head. "Speaking of which, we should probably go back and thank her for the heads up on the raid."
Mutt stays silent throughout the meeting with Saul. He tenses up, waiting for the opportunity to get into a fight.
@ Bofur
Bofur lets Thaddeus know when Saul's out, and they have an opportunity to leaf through the notes. Not entirely sure what he's looking for, Thaddeus grabs a file at random, and begins going through some papers.
@ Team
"Hopefully dat last attack took out most of 'dere boys. Cain't say Ah'm eager t'take 'em on, but ah ain't all that good at bein' all sneaky-like, eeder."
Shortly before the meeting with Saul...
The day before, Thaddeus, Variel, and Bofur spend some time pouring over Saul's files. Variel is able to assist Thaddeus as the young witch's brilliant mind works to discover a pattern and decipher some crowded notes. However, it's not quite enough.
There is something wrong the books. Saul insists that the casino is profitable, but there's just far too much money changing hands here and too many revenues and expenses. However, because of codes, cramped notes in margins, and just indecipherable handwriting, it's hard to tell what is going on.
However, shortly after the discovery, Saul arrives and the trio are forced to close up the books and meet with him before being found out.
During the meeting...
Mutt rubs his face absently, remembering the stinging slap received at the hands of Michal's wife.
With Saul's instructions, the group make haste towards the boneyard, which is in a salt marsh south of Riddleport. It is properly into evening by the time the group reaches the appointed location. At this point it becomes apparent that the boneyard is not for people, but for ships.
The night winds have died and a light mist rises from the marsh. Ahead is a flickering globe of light centered around a bit of ship’s rigging protruding from the surface of the water. This can only be the Spar. Dangling from this boom is a single lantern providing the illumination for a group of dark-cloaked humanoids huddled together in the muck beneath.
Fiona frowns as she takes in the gloomy surroundings. "Hmph. They could have picked a nicer place to meet..."
Quietly, Variel says to the others, "There appears to be only one approach that does not involve going into or over the water. Do we want to split up, or come all from one side?"
Variel steps back far enough to avoid being heard, and casts a spell. His eyes dilate slightly and he strains to see and hear in the gloom.
Fiona shakes her head. "I don't think we should split up this time."
She opts to assist Variel in observing the place.
Mutt snorts. "I agree. Though, I say we just go straight for them. None of this sneaking stuff."