"Kua? Are you alright?" Sister Mara calls to the Duskwarden as she retrieves her scimitar from the slain thug. She grimaces as she wipes her own blood from the finely crafted blade before replacing the weapon in its sheath on her belt.
"I told you I would sing songs of your deeds if you tried to hinder us," Sister Mara mutters under her breath, sparing the slain Varisians one last glance. "May the Dawnflower's radiance illuminate your path to Pharasma's Hall of Judgment."
Inside, Kua manages to pull himself up onto the plank, balancing on the narrow beam.
"Kua? Are you alright?" Sister Mara calls to the Duskwarden as she retrieves her scimitar from the slain thug. She grimaces as she wipes her own blood from the finely crafted blade before replacing the weapon in its sheath on her belt.
Kua steps out of the doorway covered in feces, broken glass and blood.
"No." the orc responds with a grimace. "I am not. There are more goblins in there. Behind cover, with a twenty foot gap in front of them."
Yang regroups with the others, taking time to spit on the thugs' corpses as he moves by. "No respect for those who betray trust," he comments. "Perhaps we should toss bodies in the muck? Leaving them out may give attention we do not need."
Chuck 'em in the sewers? Yeah. Suits 'em. Le'see wha' on 'em tho'.
Auron frisks through the thug's belongings seeing for anything of worth, before dragging them, laying them side by side.
Each of the thugs are clad in serviceable chainmail and carry light wooden shields. On a strap across their chests are light crossbows and quivers containing 20 bolts each. Rifling through the belt pouches on their still warm bodies, you find they each had 12 gold coins. There are also two morningstars thrown to the ground a few feet away.
The neighborhood is quiet, despite your brief melee. Perhaps in the Shadow, the residents have learned the benefit of discretion.
They's havin' sum gud gear. Pity t'chuck 'em in the muck. Gimme a tick an' I'se strip 'em till dey's wearin' 'em b'day suits.
With a few minutes of struggling against the still bleeding bodies and the onset of rigor mortis, Auron the Scavenger manages to strip all the armor and weapons from the ever colder thugs and throw them into a pile. Truly, being a Pathfinder agent is the most glorious of callings.
Eh? Me thanks.
Kua dumps his water skin over his head and armor in an attempt to get some of the muck off.
"Okay, we can stash these goods inside the door and sell it later. We've got to deal with those goblins though. They're behind cover in the other room an there is a big gap in front of them. The little buggers seem to be wielding human sized crossbows, so they hurt." Kua gestures at the wound on his side. "If one of us covers with ranged fire, we could get across the gap and hack them to bits behind their crates."
I'se a'ways wanted one o'this beauties.
Auron fondles one of the crossbows before stowing it with his other gear, loaded. The quiver of bolts also finds itself onto his possession.
I'se lead the way. Keep behin' me shield an' keep firin' t'keep t'heads down. Jhaik's gonna get 'em riled, but 'es gonna stay at t'back.
There's a narrow beam over a cesspool in the front room- crossing that requires a DC 10 Acrobatics check from everyone. At the end of the beam another door opens onto a room with a caved in floor. Jhaik isn't exactly happy with this place or the narrow beam- you'll need to make a handle animal check to get him to follow with one of his tricks. You have heard that goblins are afraid of dogs, though and getting Jhaik to speak could be useful.
You stand on a narrow ledge when you enter the second room- the ledge runs along the south and east wall, ending at a door leading north. Beyond the ledge is a twenty foot gap with sewage in it- the goblins sit in the northwest corner behind cover with a commanding view of the room. Kua described that the rafters are bare and open- while it would be hard for the heavily armored characters to get up there, it's possible someone could cross that way, though they would be exposed to crossbow fire.
We'll start with your marching order, followed by an acrobatics check for each of you and Jhaik. Once you're on or across the beam, we'll roll initiative for the goblins and your party.
Oren channels the divine power of his deity to mend your wounds and prepare for further battle:
With his heavy armour the prospect of balancing across the beam isn't too inviting.
Auron hesitates, looking at the obstacle, letting the more dexterous go on ahead.
Sensibly he stows away his weapons and drops before starting to shimmy across, beam between his legs.
Yang balks at crossing the beam. "You are joking, I think. Is there no other way?"
He'll let the rest go first. "Maybe the first to cross should tie rope, and the rest use to cross easier?"
Sister Mara loads a bolt into her crossbow and steps over to the beam. "I'll go first and provide cover from the goblins. The next person to cross can secure a rope to help the ones following after," she suggests.
Putting words to action, the inquisitor dashes nimbly across the beam and crouches in the doorway at the other end, training her crossbow on the crates hiding the goblins in the room beyond.
"I'm probably the best suited to get across there and behind their cover. If you see a green head that isn't mine, shoot it."
If everyone agrees...
Kua runs out axe first towards the goblins and crates.
Oren and Yang scoff at crossing the narrow plank, while Jhaik snorts in frustration as the party prepares to make the crossing over the cesspool.
Sister Mara practically dashes across the gap, making the trek seem effortless. On the opposite side, she finds the room much as Kua described: a sinkhole leaves only a narrow and completely exposed strip of floor from the door she just entered into a door in the opposite corner of the room while an island of crates sits on the opposite side of the sinkhole with a commanding view of the area. While she readies her crossbow and clears the doorway, she can hear movement behind the crates...
Party initiative:
Goblin initiative:
... and a bulbous green head pops up from behind the crates and fires a bolt at her!
Heavy Crossbow vs. Sister Mara:
But fortunately, the inquisitor dives to the opposite side of the door, the missile completely missing.
Kua and Svetlana follow on her heels, the tiefling bringing a rope across and hammering the end into the door frame.
Auron attempts to make the crossing, but he's badly unbalanced by his heavy armor. After getting only a few feet over, he feels himself starting to topple- it's only with the aid of the rope strung across the pit that he manages to keep his feet.
Sister Mara crouches in the doorway and trains her crossbow on the crates hiding the goblins.
Aware that the filthy sewers await him below, Auron concentrates on keeping the beam between his legs and continues on.
Yang will start to follow on the beams, but slowly and taking his time (take 10, if I can).
Once Kua reaches the ledge leading into the other room, he jumps up to grab a rafter and pulls himself above the wrecked floor.
Acrobatics (If needed):
Climb:
Once up, Kua will move across the rafters to try to get a "drop" on the goblins.
Initiative
Goblins- 32 (fired, ready action)x
Sister Mara 9 (fires crossbow- miss)
Kua 6 (climbing into rafters- fail)
Svetlana 5 (booking it for the next room)
Auron 4 (attempting the crossing- fails)
Yang 4 (attempting to cross)
Oren 3 (delaying)
Yang's acrobatics check:
The second goblin pops up and fires at Svetlana after she has secured the line over the pit.
Goblin w/heavy crossbow:
She feels what seems like a punch to her chest, the bolt snapping against her scale armor.
Sister Mara retaliates with her crossbow, but the bolt strikes the goblins' cover. While the crate is splintered, the goblins remain untouched. Bounding in, Kua attempts to kick and haul himself up into the rafters. While he nearly makes it, one of the supports he had used for a handhold gives out at the last moment and he tumbles back to the floor.
Seeing the twenty foot chasm in the floor between herself and the goblins, Svetlana hauls up to the doorway in the northeast corner. The broken floor slopes perilously toward the gaping hole and the treacherous footing almost sends her tumbling...
Svetlana's acrobatics check:
... but she keeps her feet and kicks open the door- only to find another room with even less remaining solid ground. The floor in the next room has no floor, the entire room having sunken into a sewage pit below. Likewise, the ceiling has fallen in, revealing fire-blackened rafters above. Next to hole cut in the southwest corner, a crude ladder has been nailed to the wall to provide access to the rafters above.
Auron makes only inches of progress, before the plank groans and sags- he can feel the ends balanced in the doorways starting to slip. He just barely holds his position, though the wood's creaking seems to indicate the weight limit has been reached.
Yang tries to edge forward, but the swaying and dipping plank responds very poorly to his additional weight. It's only by virtue of the rope that he manages to avoid a tumble.
Sister Mara reloads her crossbow and keeps the weapon trained on the goblins' hiding place, ready to fire if another of the creatures shows itself.
Yang steadies himself and tries to finish going across.
acrobatics
Kua mutters a few curses under his breath and leaps up to give it another shot.