"You do well not to fight us,"Kaz says in a firm but soothing voice to the cowering mongerelmen.
"Can one of you please tell me what is beyond those doors?" he asks, pointing to the doors across the room to the east.
Storage. one of the mongrelmen says, shaking slightly. That's it.
Zed continues silently forward. He will track down that bastard.
"Thank you," Kazamir nods to them. [b]"Wait here, help your friend, and we will return to help you.
IF he has the time, Kaz will help himself to a handful of alchemist fire flasks from the opened crate...
Hearing the success in the other room Vermundr calls out to the closing mongrels. "Drop your weapons and surrender your wicked masters. We don't want to hurt you. There's a circus in town filled with men and women like you. Stop fighting and I'll see about helping you find work with them."
Unlike the mongrelmen in the store room, these are incensed at the thought of surrender, but more so at talk of a circus.
So we can be gawked at by passers by for coppers!? one shouts, standing on the edge of the vat, his voice muffled through his gas mask. We skilled, we clever. We want to work!
Success
Two of the mongrelmen finally clamber up onto the platform occupied by Vermundr and, once there, draw clubs and begin harrying the larger warrior.
Another, seemingly out of alchemist fire to toss, begins moving forward across the planks but it seems that despite their protests the safety of the workers here is not exactly paramount and after he missteps, he loses his balance and crashes to the hard factory floor, landing hard and not moving afterward.
One reaches for his final flask and tosses it at Vermundr but with the two mongrelmen now obscuring his view, the flask sails wide and smashes harmlessly on the wall.
Grine reaches the doorway and rips it open. Over his shoulder, he shouts to two more mongrelmen on the same platform;
Get over there and shoo them out of here! he growls. Or do you want to go back to the sewers where we found you?
The two look at eachother and then begin moving along toward the ladder that Zed just ascended.
Grine is too preoccupied to notice one of them bump into an invisible obstacle half way along and look around him confused because he tears into the room and begins shouting;
Vorkstag! Vorkstag! We've got trouble! Some snooping investigators! before disappearing from sight.
Forced to defend himself Vermundr rears back for a mighty cleaving blow with his two-handed sword.
Assuming he can see them through the door, Kaz will step around the south end of the cart and cast telekinetic projectile, targeting the mongrelman in m25.
Zed scowls. Fine. The inquisitor lowers his shoulder and charges past them.
"Alright, have it your way then!" Vala's words are obviously pained, but the pitiable wretches employed by Vorkstag and Grine have forced their collective hand. With a huff, she hurls a bundle of flame at one of the mongrelmen clustered around Vermundr.
HP: 27/27
Negative Energy Resist 5
AC: 14 (10 T / 14 FF)
CMD: 13
F/R/W: +4/+1/+8 (+2 vs death effects, energy drain, negative energy, & necromancy)
Monstrous Insight used: 0/7
Wand of CLW: 14/50 remaining
Healing Hex targets:
Current Wandering Spirit: Life
Channel Energy (3d6) used: 1/5
Prepared spells
Orisons (4) | DC 14: dancing lights, disrupt undead, identify, read magic
Level 1 spells (3+1+1*) | DC 15: inflict light wounds [ ], know the enemy* [ ], magic missile [ ] [ ], produce flame (CL7) [X]
Level 2 spells (2+1+1*) | DC 16: glitterdust [ ], lesser restoration* [ ] [ ], spiritual weapon [X]
Level 3 spells (1+1+1*) | DC 17: lightning bolt [ ], locate object* [ ], speak with dead [X]
Ongoing Effects
produce flame (4/7 minutes)
Realising that Grine may well be trying to escape, the rest of the group press the attack, forcing their way through the desperate mongrelmen.
First, Vermundr cleaves one almost in twain, sending it plummeting to the ground to land in a bloody splat. Vala sends a small ball of flame streaking toward another, clearing the platform of enemies.
A third is send flying back into the acid vat by five concentrated balls of force sent by Constantin's force of will.
Meanwhile, Zed barrels his way through the two between him and the door that Grine exited and then reaches for the handle, yanking it open to see what lay beyond.
This room appears to be the study of a scholar. A roll-top desk with a leather chair stands against one wall, holding a variety of alchemical equipment and surrounded by hundreds of books piled on every available surface. A narrow cot is crushed into one corner behind a wall of books. A door stands in the north wall.
Grine stands gesticulating to another man, but one the like of which Zeed has never seen.
Dark pink flesh drawn tightly across its emaciated body, this being resembles a gaunt human stripped of its skin, its pulsing muscles completely exposed as if it had been flayed upon a torture table.
The flayed man is not in pain however, far from it, he drinks a flask and slips on a vest of many vials and potion bottles. His form begins to rapidly vibrate as if appearing and disappearing many times.
Meanwhile Grine casts a spell upon himself and glowers at the now open door.
Back in the vat room, the final mongrelman climbs the ladder to face Vermundr whilst the two who were barged aside by Zed stand looking at eachother in confusion before deciding their orders were to deal with the people on the platform.
They pull out flasks and hurl them at Vermundr.
Hit
Vorkstag drank an extract of blur
Grine cast Shield of Faith
Zed grimaces at his mistake. [i]I thought this would be a chase. Not a standoff. Now we face two threats at once.[/ooc] One problem at a time though. Zed turns his attention back to the mutated creatures next to him, bringing his tetsubo down.
The flames do little to slow Vermundr down. He rears back for another powerful blow.
Zed reappears behind the surprised mongrelman and brings his studded club down in a massive blow that knocks the worker from his feet. He lies in a crumpled, groaning heap at the feet of the Inquisitor who now finds himself facing enemies on both sides!
Vermundr and Hazel slice through the remaining mongrelman, leaving the platform finally clear. The patch of magical darkness dissipates and now they can see Zed battling on the upper level though not the owners of this factory in the room beyond.
Success
Kaz will follow Hazel.
Fort save, if needed:
You shouldn't have come here! the skinless man hisses.
He reaches into his vest and withdraws a flask of bubbling liquid. With an almost nonchalant toss throws it at Zed. The inquisitor shields his face with his arm but the flames are scorching and agonising.
Before he is able to recover, the remaining mongrelman rips a stout bit of wood from his belt and clubs at the inquisitor.
Hit
Hit
Success
With the workers dispatched Vermundr and Zelda hustle after the gnome.
Frowning at the sickening wisps of vapor rising from a vat where a mongrel had just vanished, Vala hikes up her skirt with one hand and hustles after Hazel and Kazamir. She hasn't seen Zed since this mess started and she's worried for the stoic inquisitor.
HP: 27/27
Negative Energy Resist 5
AC: 14 (10 T / 14 FF)
CMD: 13
F/R/W: +4/+1/+8 (+2 vs death effects, energy drain, negative energy, & necromancy)
Monstrous Insight used: 0/7
Wand of CLW: 14/50 remaining
Healing Hex targets:
Current Wandering Spirit: Life
Channel Energy (3d6) used: 1/5
Prepared spells
Orisons (4) | DC 14: dancing lights, disrupt undead, identify, read magic
Level 1 spells (3+1+1*) | DC 15: inflict light wounds [ ], know the enemy* [ ], magic missile [ ] [ ], produce flame (CL7) [X]
Level 2 spells (2+1+1*) | DC 16: glitterdust [ ], lesser restoration* [ ] [ ], spiritual weapon [X]
Level 3 spells (1+1+1*) | DC 17: lightning bolt [ ], locate object* [ ], speak with dead [X]
Ongoing Effects
produce flame (4/7 minutes)
Constantin moves cautiously into the room, trying to get a clear line of sight on Grine so that he can launch one of his devastating mental assaults.
Zed exhales a hiss at the bruise. He drops his tetsubo, catching it halfway down to use more like a heavy doublestaff rather than a bonebreaking club. He takes a quick jab at the mongrelman, keeping his guard up.
Zed thrusts his tetsubo like a spear and it thumps into the mongrelman's stomach. He is almost driven to his knees as all the air is forced from his lungs but manages just about to keep his feet.
Hit
Miss
Miss
Vorkstag throws another bomb, once again burning Zed's back but he blocks out the pain and focusses on defending himself from the incoming gnome and mongrelman. They chop and club at him but he turns the blows aside, buying more time for his comrades to reach him.
Vermundr hustles up the ladder to join the melee.
Hit
Miss
Miss
With enemies on both sides, the badly injured mongrelman screams in abject fear and swings his club blindly, more like he is warding something off than actively trying to attack the inquisitor before him.
Grine is far more purposeful however and, given his height disadvantage, chops his axe toward Zed's groin where blood vessels and arteries gather but the inquisitor sweeps his tetsubo down and the axe takes merely a chip from it's shaft.
Vorkstag grimaces as more targets come into view and, knowing he can effect more than a single one, tosses a bomb at the newly arrived investigator, the shockwave almost throwing Kazamir from his feet and also splashing Hazel with burning oil.
Grimacing with pain, Kazamir rallies his thoughts and replies to the skinstealer with a barrage of magic missiles.