"Because we are escaped convicts. I'd prefer not to spend my life in a jail, doing hard labor, or executed. If you haven't noticed, we stand out pretty well. We at least need to let the recent memory of out escape fade. Sending a message would be best, but if we can't do that, we need to enlist an ally."
Can you see me now?
--
Coos to a pigeon and gets it to land in my hand. When (if) it does, Cricket ask it to fly around the Palace Hotel and look in the windows for a dignified dwarf or a six-nippled halfling and then report back to Cricket.
The pigeon is happy enough to fly to the hotel -- sometimes the people on the balconies feed it bread, and they have good bread there! It has a hard time with "dignified" and "nipples," however, and isn't too clear on the differences between humanoids -- they all pretty much look alike to a pigeon (although he claims that crows, which he detests, can tell individual faces apart).
He helpfully offers that he's better at distinguishing color than stupid mammals, so maybe you could tell him what colors to look for?
"Will I recover? Look at these bite marks, claw marks, and rope burns. Plus I think I need a bath and a bottle of wine, I feel dirty. Were you tortured as well?"
"I am being squeezed and pumped for information or pleasure, I am not certain which!"
Thank you, Mr. Pigeon Cricket lets the bird go and then mutters under his breath Stupid, pea-brained pigeons.
Hopefully, Cricket gets a crow. If he does he serves as a translator and lets Wyvurn issue the descriptions.
Crows are thicker than pigeons in this city; you find one without difficulty, and convince him to run your errand -- although it entails you enduring a lot of grumbling and sarcastic wise cracks from him, and you have to promise him he can steal any brightly-colored objects or jewelry he finds there.
Yeah, sure, steal what you want, buddy.
He wants to know what the message is, and whether he has to repeat it in humanoid-langauge or whether he can just jeer it out in crow-caw. And he warns you that anything over 10 words or so is likely to get garbled in transission.
He also tilts his head oddly, looks at you carefully, and says, "You're one of the Tuelvi -- the Crow clan? That makes us brothers then, pal. So this one's on me."
Drinks a bit too much and naps to recover from his ordeal....
Jaegr sighs at not having a proper dwarf to drink with. Capsian has no staying power.
Yes, I am a Crow, too, thank Old Mother Tree [Turns to Wyvurn] So, whaddaya think, Wyvs? You got a 10-word-message in mind?
"Outside city. How can we get you to join us?"
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Capsian has no staying power.
That's not what she said!
"Outside city. How can we get you to join us?"
Hmmm. Brother Crow, will you be able to deliver a reply? Or is this just a one-way job?
The crow puffs up his chest and replies that of COURSE he could bring a reply -- he's not stupid! But you get the feeling he may become distracted and forget what the reply is, so a piece of paper is probably a good idea. You also notice that, although he's half paying attention to you, the other half of his attention is engaged in looking for bugs to eat and seeing if maybe there isn't anything shiny lying around that he might like to add to his nest.
OK, the crow flies off with his message.
...a few minutes later:
Caspian, Jaegr, there's a knock on the door; someone calls out that your ale has arrived.
Jaegr will pick up his pick axe and go to the door, opening it up with with the axe hidden by the door just in case....
The note says what Wyvurn said it said.
perception
Initiative
Ale guy initiative:
Before Jaegr can bring the pickaxe to bear, the guy in the hall bursts into the room; he's holding a sword, not a bottle of ale, and screams loudly as he seeks to impale you with it:
vs. flat-footed
He has a partner in the hall who looks anxious to come in behind him. Also:
The door to the adjoining room bursts open at his yell, and two more guys start pouring in that way; the one in the lead takes a poke at Caspian:
"Kill those two quick Jaegr, I got two more this way, so no playing with them!"
Caspain throws a net on the first one through the opposite door!
Net (ranged touch attack)
Despite being suspicious of the man behind the door, Jaegr wasn't fast enough to avoid the cut. Jaegr defends himself bringing about his pick axe
Sorry -- you took 1d6+1 = 2 rapier damage, plus 2d6 = 7 sneak attack damage = 9 total.
Not that it does him a lot of good -- the swing of your pickaxe takes his square in the face and drops him like a rag doll to the floor, leaving only three assailants to deal with.
Capsian is totally on the ball with his net -- he must have just finished folding it when those idiots came through the door -- the lead guy there is tangled up before he can take another step.
You can see the people you're fighting with are all wearing hotel livery.
The two guys still up attempt to move into flanking positions around Jaegr, but their entangled friend on the one hand and swinging weapons of their enemies on the other makes this a dicey proposition:
Acrobatics:
vs. CMD 20, that's a win. The guy from the hall pokes at your eyes with his rapier, while the other one tries to skewer your liver:
Jaegr sees the two assailants maneuver around him like a pair of drow, who are these people?
Jaegr attacks one closest to the door
Then attempts to close the door, if possible. Only the victors will leave this room. Jaegr thinks to himself
Caspian knows as a hobbit his only chance is keeping such foes away from him!
Casts grease on the area under the net and through the second door even into the hallway. Getting it under both opponents and as much of the entry-way as possible!
"Kill them Jaegr!"
"Kill them Jaegr!"
"That's the plan!"
"Just checking!"
** spoiler omitted **
2. The second d20 roll was initiative for the guys in the adjoining room -- they could have conceivably potentially missed their timing and bursted in after you and Caspian took care of the first pair!
In any event, your second swing takes the second guy down. When will these fools ever figure out that your pickaxe hits like a tactical nuke? In lieu of a five-foot step, you use the motion of that leg to kick the door shut, sealing the fate of your enemies in the room.
Reflex for guy in net to stay upright:
The other guy, seeing the grease, the closed door, and the two dead bodies, seems like he's about to surrender. But a terrified look comes into his eyes -- as if he's a lot more afraid of something than death and the end of your pick. Hand shaking, he tries to stab you again, knowing full well you're about to stave his skull in.
Attack:
The guy in Caspian's net slips and drops to the floor like a sack of potatoes, finding himself staring eye-to-eye with one of the corpses, whose skull is split open like a melon.
The other guy's sword skitters off your defenses, leaving him open to your counterattack.
Hand shaking, he tries to stab you again, knowing full well you're about to stave his skull in.
Jaegr for a moment thinks the would be assassin is going to surrender, but then he takes a stab at Jaegr So be it, he has made his decision, and we still have one to interrogate
After that guy falls, Jaegr looks at the man in the net and scowls
"Should I let him go so yah can bash his brains the right way?"
Bluff
Dude's sense motive:
Fail! Staring at his companion's split-open skull, the guy is sure you mean it, and is in a VERY big hurry to tell you everything he can think of.
"Wait!" he babbles. "I didn't believe in this job to begin with! I quit! I'm with you guys now!"
"Who sent you to kill us? And why didn't you really bring me ale?"
"The ale was a ruse -- it takes a lot longer than a couple of days, because of King Balin's trade restrictions. I know that, 'cause I've tried to get it before. I told them [jerking thumb at dead companions] you'd figure it out and be onto us, but they wouldn't listen."
You notice he didn't answer your first question, but he doesn't need to -- Caspian, going through one of the dead men's pockets, has come across a Kaisersburg police badge. Apparently, these guys are with the City Watch.
Caspain is busy looting corpses and pocketing cash.
"Didn't we save several o these city watch guys after tha flop tried tah roast em?"
"I recall personally curin several till I ran out o spells....Guess tha same person don't cure these guys twice!"
"Who sent you here?"
Perception
Unfortunately, you guys are caught off-guard by the person who just forced open the non-greased door. A VERY loud *BANG* erupts in the room like a cannon shot, forcing Fort saves for those within; you also take damage: regardless of the save.
Your captive:
On the other side of the flash-bang, you can see your "friend" Kaylissa, in her police sergeant's uniform, holding a rapier and pointing her finger. She's got two more grunt cops with her. Initiative!
Fort save adding both hero points
Init
Done
Fortitude save
Initiative
"I am in the bath, just a minute!"
Caspian is dazed for 1 round by the blast. Jaegr almost succombs, but rallies himself in desperation. Your captive's prone position on the floor has shielded him from the worst of it; he's not dazed, either, but he's lightly wounded.
Kaylissa initiative:
Captive initiative:
Your captive reacts a fraction of a second sooner than you do, and crawls 5 ft. away from Jaegr, out of his reach, towards the balcony (away from Kaylissa and her goons).
Jaegr, you're up!
Getting hit with whatever the woman cast at them, Jaegr scowls and attacks her
"Hit em harder I feel woozy!"