Perception
Gerard spun and pointed behind him after catching the reflection of the robed figure in the crystal ball. "He's going for more shiver! Catch him...I bet he's one of greeley's!"
"Huh? Where?"
Terry is after him like a shot, combining heightened perception to follow.
And either stealth to be unnoticed
or, if the stealth does not work, he will use Bluff to try to look innocent.
Grimnir sees the robed figure, as well, and moves as quickly as he can toward the person, hoping to apprehend him or her.
As Reigan turns and sees his comrades failing to react, he aims his drawn crossbow at the man's leg and fires after studying his movements for a split second.
|
Terry and Grimnir follow the robed man. Just as he reaches the edge of the crowd a bolt whizzes past the pair and into the cultist's leg. Lurching he drops to the ground in pain and draws a spider-leg sickle.
Quickly surrounded the cultist glares up at Grimnnir. "Yer, gonna regret that!" he groans in pain as he tries to stand.
Terry stands back and raises his hands. "Hey, is that thing poisoned? Mummy used to love poisoning those things. Hurt like hell from what I could tell too. She always said that was the most important part of a good poison. But that's neither here not there. Can we talk privately? There's no need for anyone to get hurt any further. Our friend over there shouldn't have shot you, but I guess he didn't trust me to track you, and one way or another you're going to lead us to our goal."
"But, hey, we fought a two tonn demon and banished it yesterday. You might have heard about the scene on the docks? If you really want to do this the hard way..."
Terry nonchalantly puts his hand back on his rapier.
Grimnir looks down at the man.
"What's tae regrit? We jist wanted tae talk tae ye, that's all. Noo who are ye?" the dwarf asks.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Just wanted to talk? You don't shoot a man witha crosbow that you just want to talk to. You shoot a man if you insist on talking to him.
|
|
Hearing all about the docks the man flips his hood back. It is none other than Kestrel, the man who sold you information on the docks just the night before.
His demeanor changes as he recognizes you. He holds his cloak to his leg to stanch the bleeding. "Oh, its you guys! Did you find what you are looking for? He groans as a new wave of pain rushes up his leg.
"Kestrel, I'm tired of your games! Take us to Greely or there are more Crossbow bolts to follow! This ends now, or we end you, your choice!"
Intimidate
"My comrade here is pretty scary when he's angry. You may want to listen."
Kestral!?! This is my lucky day.
"How much did you rob us for? Was it 5 or 10 gold. I don't take to being robbed very kindly. We can take it out in hide or good information, its up to you. But I'm warning you if you lie to us this time, next time it will be in hide."
I rather hope he says no. I so rarely get the opportunity to put mummy's lessons to use and enjoy it. Ever?
Terry shudders momentarily for some unexplained reason.
Seeing that the offending party is Kestral, Reigan shrugs. "At least the injured party is one who deserved it." he says aloud as he recocks his crossbow and slots in another bolt.
As Cherry Terry decides to go the route of intimidation, Reigan is mindful of the end game. "And information!" he chimes in after Terry finishes his threat.
"We will still take the information as well!" he says cheerfully as he holds out his hand to the fallen man.
*cough*
"I need my bolt back, please."
"Well, give the nice polite man his bolt, or do you need help?"
With memories of the ambush fresh on his mind, Grimnir says "Let's jist drown heem an' get it ower wi'"
|
|
"Kestrel, I'm tired of your games! Take us to Greely or there are more Crossbow bolts to follow! This ends now, or we end you, your choice!"
Kestrel's eyes go wide as he holds his hands up defensively. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. I just deliver I don't know where Greeley is at. Someone delivers the shiver to the stone and I just come and get it each day to sell it! I swear!"
"Well, give the nice polite man his bolt, or do you need help?"
Kestrel's hands jerk down to the bolt. "Please don't tear it out!" he pleads.
Grimnir leans over and yanks the bolt out of the man's leg, none too gently.
"It has tae come out sometime," the dwarf frowns. "Now, who delivers th' Shiver, laddie?"
"And where do you deliver it to? And how did you get instructions to set us up the other day?"
"Grimner, if we don't like the answer, would you mind sticking the bolt back in?"
"Give us something useful Kestral. Think real hard. That was not useful."
We aren't here to torture you, although it's quite pleasant compared to yesterday. We need you to help us catch up to Greely. You do that and we'll not
Bother you ever again."
Reigan takes the bolt from Grimnir's hand before he has a chance to injure the man once more. "Use your own weapons to torture him." he says as he moves back away from the scene.
"Also, remember that we are in public." he advises. "This may be Korvosa, but there are still guards who don't take kindly to torture in the open streets." he says as he stows the bloodied bolt in his quiver.
"Remember that we can always detain this trash until tomorrow and keep a watch over this area to see who deposits the shiver." Reigan finishes.
|
|
Tears in his eyes Kestrel looks up as a crowd begins to form. Murmurs and gasps are heard as the people point and gawk. "I told you what I know. My boys wouldn't lie to me. If they told me they saw Greeley there then they saw Greeley there. I just sell the Shiver man. I don't get instructions from noone. I sell and drop the money off in same spot each night."
We aren't here to torture you..."
Speak for yourself. Just a little torture is OK with me. Encouraged even. But we ARE in public. And it may not be necessary. Unlike mummy, I don't enjoy it, so....
OK, OK. No torture. But give up the drop off point.
"Is there any other information you'd like to tell us?"
Grimnir scowls at Reigan as the detective pulls the bolt from his hand.
"Ah huvnae tortured heem...Ah took th' bolt out of his leg. Still, Ah think we keep heem wi' us until we find our man," he muses.
"We can keep him with us. But the rest of you can do the talking with him. I don't want to ruin my reputation around these parts.'
"Fine. Kestral, you go on to the drop off point and we will follow you."
|
|
Kestrel wiggles and cries as you drag him away behind one of the many alleys and merchant stands. Several hours go by and kestrel continues to assure you that he definitely gets his Shiver from the blocks within the well.
Finally darkness falls and Kestrel begins to look paler and paler as his leg slowly bleeds. Soon a cult deacon approaches the well from within the crowd, pries up the hidden stone and conceals a similar leather roll behind it. As he stands he raises his hands wrists crossed, palms upturned, thumbs and fingers loosely curled to emulate the legs of a dead spider. The deacon makes the signal towards a discreet apartment that overlooks the Night Market, nestled within a Shingles-level block of overgrown tenements. The landmark—high on the wall of a towering building is a faded depiction of a large tusked and smiling oliphaunt that once advertised a tavern. The two windows that peer out from below the billboard.
Just as quickly as the cult deacon appeared he disappears within the crowd. Within moments a man from the signaled apartment emerges from a stairwell door, retrieves the roll and returns to the apartment. As he opens the door you hear the squawks of a parakeet within.
Kestrel looks up at Grimnir with a pale face and raspy voice. On the verge of consciousness he confirms that the man in the apartment is one of Greeley's men.
Reigan watches dispassionately, thinking about shooting the cultist deacon, but holds off. His patience is rewarded as they find the bird lover and his apartment.
"Lead the way, Grimnir." he says to the dwarf. "I think someone needs a bit of a dwarvish entry." he adds as he indicates with his hands that Grimnir should bash down the door to the apartment.
As he cares little for Kestral, Reigan ignores the pained man and leaves him to die on the street without a second thought.
Grinner casts Barkskin on Grimnir and Terry.
"Try to survive, Kestral. Try to live to see another day. We have business to attend."
We approach the room, expecting trouble. As usual Terry preps with a heightened awareness spell from his wand.
As this seemed a good a time as any, the psychic cast Mage Armor on himself, toughening himself for the inevitable confrontation ahead.
Listen at the door. See perception roll above or ask for a new one.
Grimnir nods and prepares to bash down the door with an iron-clad shoulder.
But before he does, he closes his eyes and says something in dwarven, after which a hulking, roughly humanoid creature of dirt and stone explodes up from the earth, faceless save for two glowing gemstone eyes.
"Thes is mah stone servant...we may need aw th' help we can get efter yesterday."
Once the others are ready, Grimnir and his stone servant both bash into the door simultaneously, with shrapnel of wood and stone flying everywhere.
Can we see in? Could you remove a spoiler from the map?
Grinner scurries on the wall to prepare for battle.
|
|
The door opens to expose a hidden courtyard hosting rusty wrought-iron chairs, a half-rotted table, and lots of trash. A partially covered wooden spiral staircase climbs for 3 stories up. Inside you are quickly met by four of Greeley's thugs with crossbows and daggers drawn.
Grinner
Reigan
Gerard
Terry
Grimnir
------------------------------------
Thugs
------------------------------------
Gerard casts Haste on the group, steeling them for the battle.
Grinner casts Spiritual Weapon and sick the spiritual warhammer on the thug.
He moves to the side of the doorway on the wall.
Grimnir sends his stone servant into the room first, preparing the way for the others. It slams into the red-clad thug with a spray of rock.
Grimnir follows behind, hoping to get past the guards at the entry, but can't attack effectively against the prepared guards.
Terry casts arcane mark and pops through the door taking a pair of swipes at yellow using spell combat. He will not, as he normally would, activate the arcane pool for a bonus. These are just Thugs, after all.
+9/1d6+12 Rapier [crit 18-20/x2/+2; P) (+5[BAB] +4[wfin] +1[wfoc] +1[enh] -2[pwa]/+4[fgrace] +3[prec str] +1[enh] +4[pwa])
If attacked he will use a panache to parry and riposte up to two times...
As the group bursts into the room, Reigan takes a step back and looses his bolt at the man with the red bandanna tied around his face. "Come out, Greeley!" he bellows as the fighting starts.
Twang!
As he fires, his other hand quickly grabs a bolt and the detective reloads as the bolt thuds into the wall and clatters to the ground. "Well, that could have gone better." he whispers as he bows his head apologetically to Grinner whose hand is a few inches from where the bolt impacted.
|
|
Grinner moves to the side of the doorway and summons a spiritual weapon that batters the green dealer from behind.
Reigan sends a bolt of his own into the room that sticks into the wall next to the dealers hip. Meanwhile Gerard hastes the group into battle against the drug overlords.
Terry rushes the door and grabs the yellow shirt thug by the collar. Pulling him close he stabs the man twice into the chest and hurls him to the ground where he doesn't get up from again. Grimnir has a difficult time getting into the room as his earth elemental hangs partly in the cobblestone floor.
A pair of the thugs move in to flank Grimnir.
Grimnir feels a sting in his ribs as a dagger slides between his armor and into his gut.
The blue dealer fires a poison tipped crossbow bolt at Terry
The bolt strikes right next to Reigan's bolt into the wall.
The dealers, though ready, had little time to react as the group barged in far sooner than expected. "Quick protect Greeley!"
Haste
Grinner
Reigan
Gerard
Terry (+3 Barkskin)
Grimnir (54/64; +3 Barkskin)
------------------------------------
Thugs (Green -5)(Red -7)
------------------------------------