GM Zimmer's Curse of the Crimson Throne (Inactive)

Game Master zimmerwald1915

Durriken moves back to the door, glancing into the room beyond.

perception, to determine if anyone is in the room, or which door the noise is coming from: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8

Someone comes. Get ready.

Eyeing the blood on the floor, Durriken shuts the door the taskmaster opened to allow the dog in. Caught up in the moment with the noise from the next room, only then does he notice Goffred's absence, and Raseri's blonde hair disappearing through another door.

He mutters a curse. Follow those fools, get them back here before whoever is coming raises an alarm. I will hold the door here. Go. Now. He doesn't wait for Tristain and Theron to acknowledge his instructions, but hefts his weapons and stands along the wall, opposite the hinges of the door.

Stand in either H15 or H17, whichever is opposite the hinges of the door I just closed, ready a full attack. This is a really bad idea...

From the smell, Tristain recognizes the mixture to be a kind of resinous hair die. In the cabinet, he finds several pouches of silver and copper coins.

Listening through the door, Durriken hears the sound of another door opening, then the tramp of booted feet on the wooden floor. The blood of the taskmast, and of Bloo, seeps under the door. "Worthless cur," mutters a voice. Then come the sound of snapping fingers. Another voice giggles at the other's obvious discomfort, and smashes the door to splinters. Durriken raises his arm to shield his eyes.

On the other side of the door stands a burly half-orc wearing the same sort of riveted leather, but bearing a shield and many-thonged flail instead of a sap or blade. As Durriken lowers his arm, the two lock eyes, and the half-orc giggles again. "Look who we got here, boss," he says, cracking the flail in the air as he would over a child's back. His "boss" stands on the other side of the room, in the threshold to yet another room. The human has blond hair and scowls at the remains of the dog. The dead child doesn't seem to bother him much. His clothes would be made of fine fabric if they weren't mildewy, and they would be in high fashion if this were 4703.

Roll initiative.

Goffred: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8
Half-Orc: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
Human: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
Children: 1d20 ⇒ 10

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initiative: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6 well..shoot. Edit: or not.

Durriken's vision clears just in time to see the brute move through the door. No, I don't think so...

1d20 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9 Initiative

Tristain stops in mid-motion from pocketing the various pouches of coin that he was collecting to share later as the door bursts open.

I don't like those two, Tristain thinks as his earlier queasiness as the threat of battle causes his blood to rush through his system again.

Raseri bolts to Alfsigr and slides the last few feet on her knees. The tears come freely as she wraps the little girl in a bear-hug.

"Siggy! I found you! I found you at last! Where's Alfhildr? We can be a family again!"

Then comes the sharp crack from above.

"As soon as I take care of some rats." the short woman growls.

Initiative: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8 :/

"No, don't go away again, Ras," burbles Alfsigr, her arms wrapped around Raseri's neck. "What if you don't come back?"

Raseri speaks softly into her sister's ear, "I'm taking you two with me, but I can't let you two be hurt while I help these people with their tasks."

She gently pulls herself free form her sister's grasp.

"Find your sister, little elf. Goffred, can you keep them safe? I have someone I need to teach how to treat a little girl to."

With that, she rushes up the stairs and into the room with the taskmaster.

I'm assuming that Alfhildr is alive until told otherwise. I hope she's alive for Ras's and Sig's sakes.
...
Also assuming that Ras might just make it back up before combat begins.

initiative: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12

Theron fires his crossbow despite being adjacent to the thug, then moves back to a better position..

The half-orc continues to snort in amusement as Theron's bolt buries itself in his chest. Little crackling sounds now accompany each giggle. Before Theron can lower his weapon and step away, the thug swings his flail around.

Attack of Opportunity @ Theron: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13
Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

His body then follows his arm, letting him keep Theron within his reach even though the flail failed to connect.

Five-foot step to I16

The children, meanwhile, are still mostly too groggy to do much more than look around in fear. With Goffred still blocking the door outside and fighting sounds coming from the upper floor, they mostly stay put. Alfsigr sits almost inert on the floor amid her raggy bed, her cheeks still wet with her tears. Despite Raseri's words, she's not getting up to find her sister, or even looking around. She looks even more dejected than before.

Raseri, you'll have the opportunity to move on your turn. For now, you are where you are.

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Round 1, Init 9

Tristain will drop the bag of coins and charge back in to help his friends.

Move to H17. Tristain will wave his 'scythe in the man's face, trying to distract him.

Attack to aid in Durriken's next attack.

1d20 + 0 ⇒ (11) + 0 = 11 vs. DC 10 to add +2 to Durriken's next attack

Raseri rushes up the stairs and draws her greatsword as she goes. She quickly moves to get up close to the half-orc.

"I hope for your sake that Alfhildr is unharmed." she says to him.

Double move to G17. Tristain, you might wanna move so Ras can get close and hit something. (Keep in mind I have a speed of 40 ft.)

"I'll try, Raseri," says Fredo, scooching up against the scuzzy tank to allow her to pass up the stairs. He then picks his way in between the first few children to where Raseri's sister Alfsigr, call her by her name, was sitting. Shushing her, he leads her away from the group, secreting her between the foot of the stairs and the base of the tank. The sour, old-fishy smell makes his nose wrinkle, but Alfsigr didn't look like she wanted the company of all the other children, and if Fredo could mount the stairs she'd be fairly out of the way.

"I'm Goffred," he says to Alfsigr, crouching to be at eye level and using the name Raseri had used. "I'm here with your sister, Raseri. We have other friends upstairs. We've come to take you out of here." That last bit wasn't strictly true. Apart from Raseri, they all had other business with Lamm. But seeing this many children, all so wretched...it would be hard to remain unmoved, and Fredo didn't feel it within him to try. The sight of the three children upstairs hadn't prepared him for this. Speaking of wretchedness, the little girl didn't seem to respond to Fredo at all. She'd let herself be led, but she wasn't making eye contact, and her shoulders slumped.

"Can you tell me what's the matter?" says Fredo. He doesn't know what to do with his hands. Something about lifting her head to look in her eyes seems like an invasion. So he lets them rest on his knees. "Or where I can find Alfhildr? So you and Raseri won't be alone when you go?"

"Leave me alone!" shouts Alfsigr, scratching once at Goffred's face before turning away. She drops to her knees and leans her forehead against the stairway, covering her head with her arms. Three streaks on Goffred's burned cheek flare a stinging red, and he overbalances and falls backwards onto his bottom. "I want Ras," says Alfsigr, her voice muffled.

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Seeing Raseri return to the fray, Durriken swings his sword at the half-orc, then growls to her over his shoulder. Thank you for returning. I have this one. Take Theron and handle the one in the next room. Returning his attention to the half orc, he follows through with a swing of his axe.

The half-orc guffaws at Raseri's mention of her sister. "I never hurt a hair on her pretty head," he says, the cracking noises from his side becoming louder and sharper as he throws back his head and laughs. Durriken, not intimidated by the display, drives the pommel of his sword onto the half-orc's half-raised shield. It comes smashing into his chest, right above Theron's crossbow bolt, and shoves the bolt wholly into the half-orc's flesh. He grunts in susprise as blood showers from his collapsing lung, but Durriken doesn't take the time to relish his enemy's suffering. He brings his axe in a wide arc across the half-orc's unprotected belly, avulsing a huge flap of skin and exposing the half-orc's muscles. The half-orc seems unfazed, swiping a finger over the wound and licking the blood off with a cruel grin.

"Idiot," says the man in the other room. He advances to one of the other doors and points a thin stick of wood at Durriken. "Work, damn you," he says, as if to no one in particular. No one in particular responds, and he shakes the stick in frustration.

The half-orc, though it seems no one should be able to withstand the kind of punishment Theron and especially Durriken have put him through, lashes out with his flail yet again - this time at Durriken. It wraps around his throat, choking him for a few seconds before the half-orc jerks it free, laughing at the smaller man's pain. Durriken's head rings with the pain and the momentary lack of oxygen in his brain.

Durriken, take 10 damage.

As the thongs of his flail snap back, something seems to give way within the half-orc. He steps backward, trips on the edge of the vat, and falls, his head ending up under the dirty, sour-salty water. Bubbles begin to rise from where you think his nose and mouth are, and burst on the surface.

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Theron takes a step back, reloads his crossbow, and nods at the doorway.. "After you"

Geez Zimmer, well described. I am awed.

Tristain will pull out one of his hastily written scrolls even as the spray of blood from Durriken's wounds still feels warm on his skin.

Resisting the urge to vomit, Tristain will calmly read the words therein, words that he transcribed as Korvosa's gift to him.

Cast Cure Light Wounds on Durriken.

1d8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3 Healing

"Don't worry, Durriken, you'll be fine..."

...I think. I hope.

One of the kids next to Fredo, taking advantage of his being on the ground, attempts to bull her way to the door. The orphan next to her looks longingly at the attempt, but his eyes flick over to the debris of old, broken crates piled up on the floor, and he doesn't risk it.

Goffred attempts to grab the girl's ankle, but the skinny limb manages to elude his grasp and mashes his other hand on the floor. Goffred grunts in pain, holding back a curse. The other orphans press in around him, each pushing to be the next through the soon-to-be-open door. The orphan who'd been too scared to run, however, averts his eyes apologetically, clearly expecting a smack - or something worse.

"Please, mister," he says, "We couldn't do anything. Giggles sent her below."

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Unaware of where her what's going on downstairs, Raseri moves through the door and rolls in front of Giggles. She raises her sword as if to swing, but holds the blade still.

"I have found one of my sisters, and I shall find the other. Where is Alfhildr?" She asks instead.

Actions:
Move:
Move to J16
Acrobatics 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16
Standard:
Ready to lope his head off if he does any of the following:
1) Says he hurt Alfhildr
2) Does not answer Ras's question by the end of his turn.
3) Tries to cast a spell
4) Moves out of his current square (even a five-foot step)

Fredo pushes himself off the ground and looks quizzically at the boy. "Below?"

Durriken casts a sideways glance at Tristain as the warmth of the magic lessens the pain tightening his throat. It would appear you're not entirely useless after all, Artist.

He turns and deliberately follows Raseri into the next room, deftly slapping the stick out of the human's hand with the flat of his blade. I suggest you tell her. She just killed your boy. He casts a pointed look in the direction of the blonde woman as he emphasizes the word boy. I doubt she'd bat an eye at ending you.

"My art and my skill comes from Korvosa itself. Best you remember that," Tristain answers Durriken with more confidence than he feels as he rolls up the scroll.

Tristain turns his attention to Raseri and the man with the wand. The almost dead man with the wand.

A bit of scroll work is why I wanted to wait a day to get here. Of course, just have one more left...

Raseri's jaw clenches at the mention of the boy, regret flashes in her eyes, but she schools it into a mask of anger, and just glares at the now wandless man.

Theron moves into the room, trying to keep a level head 'quite a bit of rage here..' "I suggest you start talking. I would rather not use my talents right now. I would have a difficult time not going too far.. I'll give you six seconds to think about it." He sets his crossbow on the desk .. and stares at the man.

"Woah, woah, girl," says the man, raising his hands, palms facing outward, to his chest. "Hookshanks and Giggles dealt with the kids, not me. I just keep the books!" He jabs his thumb at the door, indicating where the books are. As Durriken pulls alongside Raseri, he looks to him for support. "Tell her, Durriken."

The orphan by the door lifts the latch and pushes the door open, scampering around the corner, up the stairs, and out of sight. Some of the other orphans try to push past Goffred and follow him, with only Alfsigr and the boy Goffred's questioning seemingly immune to the tide.

"Below," says the boy, and kicks at one of the crates.

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"I could very easily slice you in half, so I'll ask again, Where. Is. Alfhildr."

Raseri doesn't relax her guard. Her voice gets dangerously low and her eyes gleam with a wild light.

Intimidate: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21

Tristain walks over to Raseri, standing on his toes to look at the man over her shoulder.

"Yeah!" Tristain adds, trying to show more confidence than he feels.

1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16 Intimidate to aid Raseri

Durriken steps behind the man, leaning in to his ear. I don't really think she cares what you do Yargin, just what you know.

And if you don't tell her, I'll start asking questions.

He attempts to grab Yargin's left wrist and the back of his collar.

And you must remember what that means.

"I don't know!" says the man, blanching near-white at having so many weapons pointed at him, and at being manhandled. "I'm not even sure who that is!"

Theron tries to read the man .. I know he is scared .. but surely he is hiding something .. or at least trying to stall for time?

sense motive: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24

Tristain leans in closer, trying to keep his voice clear and in control.

"And where is my friend Trina? She was...was...beaut--,..my friend. A girl...about 15..." Tristain's voice cracks, betraying his emotions.

Tristain's calm voice turns to uncontrolled anger.

"WHERE IS TRINA YOU BASTARD!" Tristain yells, his voice cracking and his hands clinching around his 'scythe, tears falling from his eyes.

Raseri snaps her head around to look at Tristain then back to Yargin.
That was unexpected. This is taking too long. Maybe one of the other kids know.

"Do as you will with him. I have other things to worry over."

She leaves the man to the others and heads back to the room she found Alfsigr in. As she pass Tristain, she simply says, "Follow me." As she runs down the stairs she sees the children leaving and sees Goffred looking a little ruffled.
May the stars guide you little ones.

"Sig, I need you to answer me, okay? Where's Hil? I'm sure she'd like to see me again too."

Double move to get to H9. She'll let the children pass without any trouble, just a silent prayer for their well-being.

Working on the assumption that Yargin is grappled

Durriken locks Yargin's wrists together in the small of his back, pushing the man roughly against the wall. Durriken glances at Theron. "Please see if he has anything of interest on his person, and check the room beyond ." Durriken indicates the closed door next to them. "Maybe there's something interesting in there."

He returns his attention to the cowering man in his grasp. "You don't know where the girl is, fine. Maybe you can answer this." He pulls up on Yargin's wrist, just enough to cause some discomfort. "Where is Lamm?"

Fredo, seeing Raseri wanting to get close to her sister, lets her squat where he was standing. Maybe the kids would have a harder time getting past her to ruin their lives. In the meantime, he picks up a length of plank and tosses it aside. "I don't see any stairs down," he says to the boy in a low voice. "How can we get below?"

"Some of you may have heard that," he says to the room at large in a last-ditch attempt to get some of the kids to stay behind. "We will go below. We will find Lamm. We will find any of your friends he has with him. We will come back up, and bring them with us. If you've lost someone, well find them. If you wait for us, we will help you find your families, as Sig has found hers."

On the Fishery Floor

Sig latches on to Raseri's shirt as Raseri kneels to meet her sister's eyes. "I did a bad thing!" she sobs, closing her eyes and shaking her head. Flecks of salty, mucusy water splatter across Raseri's face, neck, and chest. "And now Hil can't come back."

"Keep digging," says the boy to Goffred, even as he turns away to speak to the throng. The boy tries to lift one of the larger crates, but slips and falls on his rear. Some of the debris, however, falls down and splashes into the waters of the Jeggare far below. "See?" he says to Goffred, tugging on the wizard's sleeve. As Goffred finishes speaking, the tugs become more insistent. "Mister," the boy whispers "what if they're all gone?"

===

In the Front Room

"Sailing off, if he's got any brains," says the man. "Lambs stampeding and some nitwit making speeches downstairs, battle cries up here...he's long gone." Your captive twitches and shies as he's tied up and patted down, but he doesn't offer much real resistance. He does seem worried that his employer's abandoned him. "You gonna hand me over to the Guard?" he wheedles. "I bet you'll get a reward."

Tristain looks at Durriken, then back at the man.

"Do what you want with him," Tristain says as he searches the man's pockets for keys and valuables...or something that might help them. "His life isn't worth much to me."

If no one has taken the wand yet, Tristain will pick it up.

We'll settle up later.

Tristian's search: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 16

Tristain's not sure what the wand does, but does manage to find several valuables Yargin's squirreled away on his person. Sewn inside the panels of his jacket are several pockets, containing three phials of a sour-looking yellow-green liquid, two drawstring bags that feel like they contain some kind of jelly, and a jagged piece of what looks like basalt. Also inside his jacket Tristain finds he's wearing a leather suit like the half-orc's, but without the rivets. On his belt Tristain finds slung a crossbow with a pouch to store bolts built into the stock, and a dagger. Slung on a chain around his neck, under the armor, Tristain finds a key that looks very much like the one you found on the child overseer and a garnet set into an awkward filigree of gold.

Theron grips the edge of the desk .. 'I could get more answers from him .. but I am not ready to burden my soul with that dark path .. not yet..'
"Your corrupt behavior has doomed your soul to be reborn as a lowly thing .. Truth will set you on a path to be better than a siltsnail. Tell us what you know. Where would Lamm be heading?"

"Somewhere in Old Korvosa?" says the man, chewing on his lip as Tristain relieves him of his treasures. "Plenty of abandoned buildings there. Not so good a market for dock dumplings, though. No wonder he'd leave me behind."

Tristain picks up anything of value from the man while listening to what he says.

1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17 Sense Motive

Tristain believes the man to be speaking in earnest.

"W-what happened to Hil?" Raseri's voice breaks as she asks the question.

Lamm, if you have harmed one hair on her head...

She looks at the boy trying to lift the crates. Fear and dread threaten to overwhelm her but something burns away the fear. Her ears simmer with the fires of rage suppressed for four years. Distilled anger twists her features into a snarling grimace.

"Boy, is that the way to Lamm?"

Her voice is dangerously low and something feral, and barely restrained can be seen behind her eyes. As soon as the boy answers, She moves and pushes things out of her way.

Lamm, if Alfhildr is hurt, you will wish I had been the last to find you.

I'm assuming that the boy will answer Ras's question.
STR Check: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16

Lamm's people are too good at lying. Best to make sure.

Durriken opens the door next to him (L16) and glances inside. His voice changes from threatening to casual, the previously palpable air of tension and promised violence evaporating in the space of seconds. Maybe it's true, like you say. But if he hadn't left, where might we find him?

On the Fishery Floor
The boy starts to answer Raseri's question, but Sig talks over him, desperate for her attention and affection. She's not crying anymore, but her eyes are puffy, red, and sore from being daubed with her coarse blouse. "Lamm liked me more than Hil," she says. "I dunno why. But he put me on street duty first. Hil told me I should run. Find you. And I tried. But Hookshanks found me. He said Lamm would hurt Hil if I didn't come back with him. So I did." Sig hiccoughs at this, and you get the feeling she'd start crying again if she had more tears left. As it is she sniffs, and wipes her nose on her sleeve. "But when I got back Giggles had already sent her down to see Lamm. She never came back. No one comes back. It's my fault."

In the Front Room
Yargin, once Durriken opens the door to his office, clams up. As for the office itself, Durriken's view is slightly obscured by the door. Something on the other side is blocking it from opening all the way. He does see that the object blocking the door is a heavy desk littered with slates and bits of chalk, and behind it he sees the arm of a green-upholstered chair. Across the room, a cabinet slouches against the wall. Next to it stands a door, boarded up and nailed shut.

"Don't call me that," snaps Fredo, almost reflexively, to the boy. Seeing that Alfsigr clearly wants to be alone with her sister, and not wanting Raseri to badger him, he leads the boy to the foot of the stairs. "What I mean is, call me Fredo," he says more gently. "If you friends are gone," he says, "We'll make Lamm tell us where to find them."

The boy looks askanse at this, and Fredo realizes that's not what he meant. "You meant your family. What if we can't find them?" The boy nods in confirmation, his lower lip trembling. "I'll make you a deal, okay?" says Fredo. "If we can't find them, you can stay with me as long as you like." For a moment, Fredo saw in his mind a tableau of him and Tilda together again, this child standing between them, making up for Fredo's failure to be a father. He banished it as selfish and impossible. He and Tilda hadn't spoken in over a year. "But I'll have to have something to call you."

Glad to see you back! I'm assuming Sig and Hil know Skald? If not then Ras speaks in common.

"Now, since you interrupted him, you need to apologize to the poor boy over there." Ras points to where Fredo and the kid are standing by the stairs. "Stay with Goffred and do as he says. I'll be back, alright."

Raseri is going to go down the stairs after she clears it. She's not exactly in a patient or forgiving mood.

Ignoring the rest of the office, Durriken sets his sights on what he thought might be in here, based on the events earlier in the evening. Dragging the bound Yargin behind him, Durriken unceremoniously dumps him on the floor in the office. "Your office, huh? Bet there's a lot to incriminate you in here. Good thing I don't care about that. Could definitely use some fresh air though." After checking to make sure the man is not a threat, Durriken walks to the door and kicks at the handle, twice, to break it open.

Durriken then strides casually back to Yargin, yanking him back off the floor and pulling him over to the door, leaning Yargin's head out so he can see the bay below. His voice drops to the low, threatening tone he used before. "One last chance, Yargin. I don't care a whit about you. Tell me where Lamm is, and I'll let you go. There's a hungry shark down there, you don't want to meet him in your condition, do you?"

On the Fishery Floor

Sure, they can know Skald.
"Ambadus," says the boy to Goffred. "That's my name."

As Raseri stands up, Alfsigr uses her arm as a ladder and pulls herself up off the ground. "No, Ras," she says, sniffing and then gagging a little on the phlegm. She looks around and snatches up a discarded pitchfork, its tines rusty and caked with fish. "I'm part of the clan too. I'm staying with you."

"Not me," says Ambadus. "But you don’t have to stay with me, Mis—Fredo. I'll be alright. And I’ll wait."

By the time the kids have made up their minds, Raseri has managed, by either tossing the debris aside or letting it fall, to reveal a wide hole in the floor (H8). Through the hole she can see the turbid waters of the Jeggare ten feet below, several pilings holding up the floor of the fishery as well as a narrow dock, and a one-man skiff tied off on one of the pilings. The wood of the dock looks sturdier than the pier outside, but still not something Raseri would trust to bear her should she jump down on it. The boat, too, looks like it might capsize if someone jumped into it. Raseri can also see that another, much larger boat, almost a ship, is tied to the dock, though the ropes seem to hold it in place less do than the years of seaweed and mollusks that have grown between its hull and the dock. After a few seconds, Raseri also sees the silhouette, and then the jutting fin, of the shark that had almost got Durriken only a few minutes ago lazing around in the shallow water.

In Yargin's Office
The door yields to Durriken's pounding, and bursts open over the spot where the pier has fallen away. Yargin gulps as his head drops, envisioning a fall through cracked timbers and into the shark-infested waters. "Look for Lamm on the boat! The Kraken's Folly!" he shouts, at the top of his lungs. He then squirms in Durriken’s grasp.