He'll take 10 g.p. up front, look the whole case over, and let you know.
He....also suggests that any and all legal maneuvering wait until after the business with the smugglers is over, so as to not blow you guys' cover any more than it allready is.J.A. Sebastius, esq:
"I'm going to scribe a writ of claim for abandoned property. (I'm just pulling this out of my ass here...) It gets filed at the courthouse, publicly posted, then any and all alleged claimants to aforementioned property have 30 days to challenge your assumption of said property. If nobody challenges, it's your's; if Swertlowe's people challenge it, it might have to go to legal proceedings. If they do challenge your claim, I'll make good and damn sure they pay your "regulators" a hefty dehaunting fee." he laughs, in between mouthfuls of shrimp cocktail.
"Countersuit for dehaunting should discourage them from pressing matters much. The place is pretty delapidated."
Beautiful, I knew my father could recommend a good barrister. It's a deal. If you would just be sure to keep a record of expenses and such so I can recompense you and be sure that the names of the current 'Regulators' is recorded as specific owners on the final document. Thank you, good man. I will report back after I've taken care of the smugglers, with my Regulators of course...
Right on,...
flash forward; Riese, Beldan, Pharsia on her horse, going for a nice afternoon ride in the forest. The birds are returning. The sun dapples the leafy ground through the trees. It's a lovely ride.
Altai and Elgan have discovered a "Roman Road" on the floor of the ocean.
Again, it starts 25 yards past the dropoff, and heads out to sea south by southwest, following the gentle sloping of the seabed.
They disturb three eellike bottomfeeders scouring the largish bricks of the road for whatever it is they eat.
The road goes pretty much straight for a few hundred yards, and sight becomes less useful gradually in the darkness. Up ahead, the two of you see a ring of monoliths, two holding up one crossblock like stonehenge; it looks about 50 feet in diameter, 10 foot high stone arches, a second ring within about 25 feet in diameter, and a central stone altar 4 feet high , 4 feet wide, and 10 feet long.
"You quit trying cheat! How your big goofy dog ever learn track?"
"Yer gonna miss the fight, laddie!"
Stig crouches low and readies for combat.
"Heel, Tenser."
"Ree?"
Stiggy breathes a sigh of relief, as Beldan crests the small rise to the south of his position, his horse and his lady in tow, and Riese along to boot.
"Fight? What you am talk abo....hey, it just lovey boy and super genius. Hey, you trick me bad!!!"
“’lo Stiggy!” calls Beldan. “Hey, why are you looking at us like that?”
"Ah hae got tae stop drinkin'."
Altai swims closer to the monolithic circle. Before entering its circumference, he pauses to cast a spell.
The monoliths shine with powerful conjuration magic.
The altar in the middle gives off necromantic emanations.
It feels magic, and it feels cold....so...cold.....
"This place is bad news", Altai yells at Elgan. "Let's get the heck out of here." Before scooting, he makes an attempt to memorise the glyphs and carvings on the dread altar.
Yeah; make a conc. check.
There's also a massive 25 foot long graceful deadly form, drifting toward you guys from the east. Carcharodon carcharias. Great white shark.
Initiative...
Uh-oh... Altai digs out one of his new waterproof scrolls. At least I brought this!
The great white swims up over the top of the henge and comes barreling down on Altai.
It picks him up in it's mouth by the torso, then just as quickly spits him back out.
You guys' attack
Altai quickly puta a little distance between himself and the huge shark before searing it with magical flame.
The white death's mouth bursts into steam and fire under Altai's spell.
It thrashes and thrashes confusedly, as if this is the first time in it's life it has been hurt so eggregiously.
Elgan!!!
The small group...Beldan, Pharsia, horse, Riese, and Becton(?) rendevous with Stiggy and Gittik, and Stiggy comes out from behind his sheltering tree.
The crashing through the underbrush that heralded Pharsia's horse is repeated again. Something else crests the same small hillock, some 40 feet away from where the party stands.
It is a horrifying beast, a centaur that should not be. It has one eye, and one arm in the middle of it's chainmail-girded chest. That one arm wields a wickedly spiked mace-and-chain.
It has one front leg and one rear leg on its equine part; it's menacing eye stares into your soul and its fanged mouth froths with madness.
A mane of wiry black hair grows halfway down its back, this centaur fachan.
Initiative...
The freakish centaur got an 11 for initiative;...
“What in the Abyss is that?” says Beldan, pointing. “And how does it stand up? And find chainmail that fits?”
“Stay behind us Pharsia,” Beldan says, drawing his rapier (and wishing he’d brought his crossbow). “Get away if this gets messy.”
Beldan scoots behind Stig and Gittik, leading Pharsia and her horse with him.
The thing replies with a throaty ululation, pawing the turf with its front hoof.
In Popular Tales of the West Highlands the Fachen is described as follows:
Ugly was the make of the Fachin; there was one hand out of the ridge of his chest, and one tuft out of the top of his head, it were easier to take a mountain from the root than to bend that tuft.
Encaseur gildritar guar'in! A mystical breastplate of force appears to form on Riese then absorb into him, leaving a slight shimmer in it's wake (mage armor).
"Let's face this thing that should not be!"
"Hey ugly, do ye feel lucky?"
"Arooooo?"
Elgan Shark att vs Eel-thing: (1d20 6=23, 1d6 3=7)
ELgan the shark was visibly excited once they spotted the underwater rings, he heard Altai's warning about the monoliths, but his curiosity blinded him to the approach of the creature until after it struck Altai.
Hearing the spell going off, Sensing the sudden movement and smelling the blood in the water all instantly galvanize Elgan into action. With sudden ferocity he accelerates to full speed, and charges straight into the newcomer.
"Back off! Go hunt easier prey or BECOME prey!" He howls as he strikes at the sea-creature.
It's a great white, not an eel...;)
Elgan takes a chunk out of it's side. It bites back, and misses, instead biting one of the monoliths.
"Hey ugly, do ye feel lucky?"
Hey, dude,....are you holding action?
oh, and for Altai, the inscription;
Chant the blaspheme of the six-fingered master once for each of his fingers.
"Hey ugly, do ye feel lucky?"Hey, dude,....are you holding action?
If the path between them is clear then Stig intends to charge.
Axe, damage: (1d20 12=16, 1d10 5=12)
Clattering like a sack of pots and pans, Stig lumbers up to the freakish monster tripping on roots and stones but stays miraculously upright due to low center of gravity - he swings wildly.
"ArooooooooOOOOOOoooooooooooo!"
Stiggy charges, and his blow does not penetrate the freakish cyclopean centaur's good shirt of mail.
Gittik: "Me charge too! GAAAAAAAAH!"
The raging halfling runs at it's flank, but his attack is also in vain.
Nervously watching the shark's pillar-chewing prowess, Altai decides to improve his defenses a bit.
Elgan's go next!!!
yoips!!!
Allrighty;....haven't heard hide nor hair of Becton, so.....he's there; I'll dmpc him until he shows up.
Becton runs up behind Stiggy, so he can get there if anybody needs to be healed. He hunkers down a little in contemplation of Rieses Firesupport Spell #27.
The centaur swings at Stiggy with it's wicked flail, which ricochets harmlessly off of Stiggy's shield.
It's front hoof, however, finds purchase in the dwarf's breadbasket.
Stiggy takes 10 h.p. in damage.
"owf!"
Round two--attack at will!
Stig follows that with a truly wicked swing.
Beldan begins to circle around the freakoid centaur in a wide arc, keeping a wary eye on its spiked chain, his rapier held ready.
Stiggy sinks the axe into the forequarter of the creature's horse half.
Gouts of spraying blood cover the dwarf in copious amounts as the thing whickers like some stallion from an abyssal land of madness.
Beldan uses cunning and the storm of the battle to slink into position.
Elgan's 2nd 'shark to shark chat' attempt: (1d20 6=20, 1d6 3=8)
Elgan, being used to more 2-dimensional movement, and well aware that the shark has had a lot more practice at this, does what he hopes will surprise the hunter,...
He turns straight back around and heads straight for the great white! With an undulating roar, the druid slams into the beast at full speed, his own shark mouth open as wide as possible before chomping down as hard as he can,...
The shark takes a good wound on the side of it's face, It bites back, and for an instant, Elgan's world goes black as his head is within the mouth.
(10 h.p. in damage).
The waters are heavy with the blood of all three combatants.
The altar begins to give off a pulsing, green ghoulish light in the darkness.
Altai and Elgan's attack again!
This can't possibly be good... Having set up his eldritch defenses, Altai's ready to take the fight to the big shark. Twisting his odd lobster-face in concentration, he unleashes another gout of fire at the oversized fish.
The shark burns again. The blood drifts in the water, and boiling steam slithers up to the surface.
It's looking very haggard, this dolleyed primeval hunter from before when the largest dinosaur could almost challenge a rooster in a cockfight.