"Okay, well...well that's good I guess. Just so long as you know, we wood elves, we're not to be trifled with. Defenders of our land. Of THE land. That's us."
The Defender of the Land and his companions, arriving at the jail, find a small, two-story brick building, maybe 30 ft. x 30 ft. The front door is open; inside you can see a desk against the righthand wall, a rack of crossbows beside it. In the back are three cells, unoccupied, and narrow, steep stairs leading up. Beneath the staircase is an iron door that appears to be barred.
Sweeping the place is a singularly unlovely individual, in whom the blood of humans, wood elves, hill dwarves, and goblins has combined and yielded a basic humanoid "mutt" -- a mongrelman. He flashes a gap-toothed grin at you, points at the empty desk, points at a counterweighted grandfather clock in the corner, and shrugs elaborately.
Sweeping the place is a singularly unlovely individual, in whom the blood of humans, wood elves, hill dwarves, and goblins has combined and yielded a basic humanoid "mutt" -- a mongrelman. He flashes a gap-toothed grin at you, points at the empty desk, points at a counterweighted grandfather clock in the corner, and shrugs elaborately.
Addressing the mongelman, "Excuse good sir, but we have just come from seeing the Marshall, and he instructed us to tell you that you can take the rest of the day off. We are to wait for his arrival here, alone."
Jaegr waits to see his reaction
Jaegr waits to see his reaction
He fixes that gap-toothed grin on you, but it's hard to read his reaction.
[ooc]His check:
Jaegr waits to see his reactionHe fixes that gap-toothed grin on you, but it's hard to read his reaction.
You're uncertain if he even understands what you're saying; with an unreadable expression, he goes back to sweeping the floor, as if his brief interest in your appearance has worn off.
Kelsin shrugs. Motioning for whoever has the sword to follow him, he goes in and unceremoniously dumps the Marshal's belongings on the desk. "HEL-LOOOO? ANYONE ELSE HERE?" He yells up the stairs. "I HAVE BIG HU-MAN'S THINGS FOR YOU!"
"I thought maybe if I showed him the sword, it might register and get a response of some sort."
"I thought maybe if I showed him the sword, it might register and get a response of some sort."
"Give it a shot, Caspian"
Does that gap-toothed grin get a bit wider? It's hard to tell. And the guy's creepy olive-gold eyes don't show much of anything.
"Not certain we are even getting his attention."
"Maybe music will get his attention for a moment."
perform check
Snort lets out a huge snort, ejecting snot onto the floor. He bats at one of his ears with a front hoof. "I agree with Snort." Kelsin says disgustedly. "This is pointless, this guy isn't talkin'. I suppose if we want to find anything out about this guy the bandits talked about, the one who wants to find the box, we should probably go back to the...*sigh*...the bar. With the coin-chewing Chimera on the sign. Maybe Caspian's playing can win us some friends and information there."
Vanya
Vanya looks at the mongrelman and raises an eyebrow. Then he sees the men in black uniforms and his hand sneaks to the hilt of his blade. "I don't like this", he mutters to himself. "Frost, make yourself scarce."
Vanya looks at the mongrelman and raises an eyebrow. Then he sees the men in black uniforms and his hand sneaks to the hilt of his blade.
EDIT: AHA! It appeared on the Discussion thread, in response to a couple of posts surmising that the jailhouse seemed like a dead end, and they wanted to go to the bar.
Post:
Leaving the jailhouse, you have a feeling you might have been missing something, but then realize it's probably just that the deputy/janitor was creeping you out.
The bar is well-lit, lively, and crowded. It's packed with locals, most in farmers' attire, who are downing wooden mugs of ale and singing along with the piano player. Four people, sharing a table, are not smiling, nor singing. They wear black, cloaked uniforms with white trim worked into the stylized falcon-and-fir-tree symbol of the Kingdom of Aviona, and appear to be drinking wine and watching the rest of the patrons and the door.
Vanya
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Vanya looks at the mongrelman and raises an eyebrow. Then he sees the men in black uniforms and his hand sneaks to the hilt of his blade. "I don't like this", he mutters to himself. "Frost, make yourself scarce."
"Vanya, what is it? What is wrong about those men?"
Kelsin sits up in his seat. "What! What's happening? Fight? Hu-man bashing time? I'm Defender of The Land, don't think I won't do it!"
"They wear the uniforms of the Chancellor's Battalion. They should be disbanded. The Chancellor was behind some troubles in Aviona some time ago. Suddenly I think that thing with marshal was not random act of violence." Young oprichnik looses his carefree manner and there is no sign of the careless drunk now. His blue-green eyes shine with suppressed violence and his shadow somehow seems darker than it usually is. At his command, the raven flew away from his shoulder, but just moments later a mournful howl echoes from the rooftop.
"Well, well, gentleman. Do we know each other?", asks Vanya with deadly coldness in his voice.
Wyvurn meets the party when they arrive.
"The place is too crowded for me to secure any lodging yet but...."
Seeing Vanya's demeanor change, the hobgoblin stops and turns to Geoff and Wilbur.
"It might be best if you two lose yourself in the crowd right now. We'll find you. If you can secure rooms, do so. You know we are good for it."
Wyrvurn shifts slightly into a more balanced stance with feet spread apart and arms hung loosely at his sides.
This might get interesting
"They wear the uniforms of the Chancellor's Battalion. They should be disbanded. The Chancellor was behind some troubles in Aviona some time ago. Suddenly I think that thing with marshal was not random act of violence." Young oprichnik looses his carefree manner and there is no sign of the careless drunk now.
Sensing that trouble may lie with these men, but also the possibility of answer, Jaegr pays close attention to their movements in case something happens.
The Chancellor's Guards -- three men and a woman, all of them half-elves (or quarter-elves, or whatever) of High Elven extraction from the look of them -- rise from the table. Their smiles are mere wolfish barings of teeth, which have nothing to do with warmth or humor.
The patrons mutter uncertainly, but just then, a lively panpipe jig skirls along with the piano, dispelling the tension. Most go back to their drinks; Geoff and Wilbur quietly slip out the side door.
One of Chancellor's Guards, who appears to be in charge of the squad, says quietly, "Well done, Vanya. I see you've brought us the dwarf, and I might guess from the lack of arrival of the Marshal that you've tied up that loose end as well. Well done indeed. Have a drink on us."
With that, he hands out a small pouch, from which you can hear the clink of coins.
"Brought them the...?" Kelsin looks at Vanya in horror.
"Well done, Vanya. I see you've brought us the dwarf, and I might guess from the lack of arrival of the Marshal that you've tied up that loose end as well. Well done indeed. Have a drink on us."
Jaegr's eyes narrow at hearing that and draws his Pick Axe, talking to either the guardsmen or Vanya, "Now what does that mean? I was brought here? What do you think you want with me? Answer carefully...."
Wyvurn snarls and the burned side of his face twists into a disgustingly hideous rictus.
"I sincerely hope you have an explanation, Vanya. If I must choose sides here, I'm going with Jaegr. I owe him that much for saving my hide back in the barn."
"I did not serve with these people, and I do not serve their master. And I am prepared to prove that with their blood and mine, if needs be." He draws his blade in one fluid motion, chanting: "Mother Dark, spread your wings around me!"
Initiative
DM
This needs to be sorted out and quickly....
Will cast sleep centered on the 3 guards and Vanya
** spoiler omitted **
Caspian
The Chancellor's Guards appear midway between excited and bored. "So be it," the leader says, as they draw rapiers.
As blades are drawn, the piano music comes to a jarring halt, and people quickly get up from their tables, many of them leaving out the front and side doors. One person yells "Someone get the Marshal!"
** spoiler omitted **Caspian** spoiler omitted **
Initiative
The man in black, having seen this fight as inevitable upon entering the room, is already moving even as the Chancellor's Guards reach for their weapons.
Spoiler tagging this so as not to affect Vanya's actions. Wyvurn is set on this, regardless.
"Good luck capturing this Dverge!"
"Mother Death, count the souls!", screams oprichnik, attacking the leader of the soldiers.
Vanya strikes before anyone can react, catching the leader mid-draw. The blow lacks power, however, and the impact with something other than flesh tells you the leader wears a shirt of mail under his tunic, which stops the blow.
The stealthy hobgoblin lashes out almost as quickly, but unexpectedly to the side, catching one of the other guardsmen totally unaware. The man staggers back, blood gouting from a deep shoulder wound that came a hair's breadth away from slashed his throat. His grip on his sword loosens, although he doesn't quite drop it.
The leader, grinning coldly, is about to counterattack against Vanya when the dwarf's pickaxe strikes him in the same place as the oprichnik's sword. Whether the links of mail were weakened by the previous blow or whether from the dwarf's mighty swing, the blow penetrates the armor and forces the leader back, his eyes widening.
However, the man recovers quickly and adjusts his strike against the dwarf. The other two Chancellor's Guards attack Kelsin and Jaegr, with the wounded man trying bravely to strike against Wyvurn.
Leader: ;
Woman, against Kelsin: ;
Man against Jaegr: ;
Wounded man against Wyvurn: ;
Leader, to confirm crit:
Kelsin speaks in sylvan, clearly outlining one of his favorite spells. Snort, who knows what's coming, is pawing the ground in anticipation. The spell complete, Kelsin smacks the grouchy boar on his back, infusing him with the divine power of nature as he does so. "Go get 'em, Snort! Show these fools how we do in the woods." As Snort's hooves slip and struggle to find purchase on the wood floor of the bar, causing his sharp tusks to miss by a mile, Kelsin mutters blackly under his breath. "Well, usually we have some nice turf so we can get some traction in the woods, for starters. Yeesh."
"I'll have your blood, damn your eyes!"
Wyvurn lashes out again with his kukri at the wounded man. The curved blade seeking the guardsman's exposed throat.