"Well, let's move," speaks Marius in a stiff voice. "We must catch her and ask a few question. We'll probably get some very interesting answers."
Famdemem agreed, lifting her eyebrows, "Oh yes, we'll ask very nicely. I'll even let you have her once I'm done. Isn't that nice of me?" She laughed, as if that was all a joke to her. She readied her sword and chain and walked around, looking for a way out of this courtyard.
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A door on the western wall serves as the only available exit. Inside, broken lanterns and several battered doors line this cold, rubble-strewn hall. To the south, a pair of swinging doors lies shattered upon a 4-foot high heap of wrecked furniture clogging a broad doorframe.
The hallway is dark, as with most of the asylum, but you can see light coming through those southern doors.
The moment you move yourselves into the hallway you can hear shouting from that doorway. "Whoa there, we got more here!" Four men stand behind the barricade of furniture, their crossbows aimed at your group.
Famalam kicked at the rubble as she passed through it, and finally slowed to a stop, hooking her chains to her belt as she speaks, "Oh, how grateful we are to know we're not alone. We are hunting the mad doctor, are you harboring her beyond this point? Her head belongs to me." As well as everything else she is, but now was not the time for eyebrows!
Madarafe gestured to her companions and the rat, "These fellows and I were locked up by her and we are seeking solace from this mad house."
"I hope you're not with that crazy doctor and not going to shoot us?"
"Bah, surely they wouldn't. They seem like fine, upstanding gentlemen, good heads on their shoulders. Let's not be overhasty."
Between the psychopath near him and the harmed men in front of him, Rakheet tries to make himself smaller than he is, hoping not to attract any undesired attention.
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"The who? There's a lot of mad doctors these days." One of the men responds before shaking his head. "Listen, I'm sorry to do this but I can't risk letting doppelgangers in here. Go on your way and we won't have ta shoot."
The Wolf shakes his head and slowly places his sword tip-first to the ground, leaning it against the wall. "Listen, friend, we're no shapeshifting ghouls. Just four weary souls who only escaped recently from confinement down... wherever this is. I can't say I recall coming here, myself, but I guess I did." He grins broadly and chuckles. "In any case, we seek safety, much as I suspect you do. Escape too, if we can manage it. We're no danger to you or yours, and we'd be most grateful if you'd let us pass by."
Fenrir patted the White Wolf's arm, her rough-skinned lips pulling into a cheery smile, "Look at you! So genteel." She turned her attention to the guards, her hand wisping about in front of her, "We're not dopplegangers and we're looking for a way out. What is there not to love? Honestly though, you can't expect to hole yourselves up here and survive for very long. Sooner or later, you'll have to search for food and water, and that's when the monsters will attack you."
Do you even scavenge, brah?
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The man shifts nervously at the tiefling's goads. He eventually chooses to ignore her and respond to the nicer man with the beard. "I'd like to believe you, but it's just too risky. How 'bout this: with those weapons you look like the killin' type. Bring back some dead doppelgangers and we'll believe ya. They muck around in the big wash rooms to the north. Oh, and don't try to bring back old corpses, we know which ones we've killed already."
The Wolf grins. "With all their changing about, how can you even tell the difference between them?" He gives a bark of laughter and hooks a thumb. "That way? We'll take care of them, no worries. C'mon, everyone. Marching formation, let's get us some corpses."]
With nary a second thought, the big man grabs his sword, swinging it up to rest on his shoulder again, and makes roughly in the direction the man suggested.
"Well, some action won't hurt," grins Marius. "Let's bash some skulls!"
He strides along with the Wolf.
Rakheet whines loudly. "Why do we need to go into danger, no, no, Rakheet only wanted to be safe, poor Rakheet couldn't hurt a fly..."
But he follows the others, loathe to be left alone and defenseless.
Mareifim gave one last look at the guards and sighed, walking after the wolf, "These people.." Once out of ear shot from the crossbowmen, she rolls her eyes and smirks to herself, "Must be that time again. Murdering and dragging bodies back to show our good deeds!"
She walks after the two men, behind them, dragging her chains along the ground, "How I enjoy being sent out to fight the monsters that will eventually kill those men; just like I said they would. They're lucky this armor is just for show." Hmm? "It's just a show for them, you know. We're today's entertainers. I hope you know how to dance, for your sake."
"Ha!" The Wolf begins to pick up speed as he approaches the door, and by the time he connects with it, he's running with a lowered shoulder.
"Take that, you oaken monstrosity!"
"Ah, a door! Rakheet can-"
The ratfolk's words are broken by the big man charging towards the door.
"pick the lock... Nevermind"
He's on my side, he's on my side, don't be afraid, I am smarter.
Deimei claps and shakes her head, "I'd ask for an encore, but it wouldn't be the same." Her attention slowly turns to the rat, stopping her clapping, "Don't worry, we'll use you to open the next door." Her voice dips low and menacing-like, "With just as much force."
She smiles as if nothing had happened, "What mysteries lie ahead, I wonder!"
As Feimramdem threatens him, one of Rakheet's whiskers quiver. Malice in his eyes keeping down fear, he approaches the demonspawn and whispers. "Atropa belladonna and Digitalis purpurea make up Dark Reaver venom. Ragespittle can be distilled from Amanita muscaria, and powdered serpentstone in a wound will have it bleed for days. Just think about it."
Ramfe let her eyes fall down to the rat that approached her, gaily laughing, "You are such a charmer! I didn't know you liked me that much.." Then she whispers back with a cruel, mocking smile, "Are you going to go pick flowers for me? All alone, where some monster can come and swallow you up, rat? I've bled for days and I haven't died. Just think about it." They're getting along so well! If eyes could shook lightning sparks.
"I know women do that once a month, demonspawn, you are ordinary. Do not underestimate me."
Marife kept up her cruel smile, continuing to whisper quietly, "So complimentary. But I don't estimate much from you. How could I underestimate?" There was a pause, before she withdrew her jeering face, "But you're right. I'm much too ordinary for this place. But I'm thinking of ways to fix that. Don't you worry your little head about it." Gesturing for the two men to take the lead through the door, if it had been bashed down, "Gentlemen first! We'll support your nicely shaped back-sides shortly."
The Wolf can't help chuckling at Feimramdem's last comment, and he nudges Marius with his elbow. "Here that? We're nicely shaped. Hard to tell from my perspective, so I guess I never noticed."
"Oh?" grins Marius, getting his tetsubo ready. "Good to know, eh? Especially when we get out of this place."
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The Wolf smashes through the door easily, not even slowing down as he pushes through it.
Mighty iron boilers crowd here, their pipes piercing the walls and ceiling. Shadows and rust fill the narrow gaps between the cold tanks.
Ramalama points to the corner of the room, after half-looking the place over, "Over there. Torchlight." Though, she didn't exactly remember the doctor glowing. She readied her weapon, swinging its chained blade in one hand and holding the rest of the chain in the other. She would approach behind the two men.
Noticing the light, Rakheet quickly sneaks off in the opposite direction, trying to hide in the deepest shadows, claws ready for defense.
Marius nods and slowly approaches the corner tiefling pointed out with his weapon ready.
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From the corner three creatures jump out; two dire rats, and one... thing that appears to be a bizarre amalgam of various animal parts ending in various appendages extended from a mole-like nose.
Marius quickly closes up the distance between him and the enemies and smashes one of the rat with his tetsubo.
"What the hell is that?!"
Famalam changes her weapon to the thinner chained aklys and attempts to hook the strange critter's strange bits (ha, right in the dick). Hooking it around the eye, she rolls her hand in the chain and tightens her grip, pulling like a fisherman to the side, "I have you now, beast. Make it bleed!" She laughed, having a blast.
She'll reposition it 5-ft to the right and boast as a free action since she succeeded on a combat maneuver. Her reposition triggers an AOO thanks to her Break Defenses and her boast grants a reroll take the better on her allies' next attack.
Trying to stay as far as possible from the tiefling's weapon, Rakheet instead melts out of the shadows attack the other rat, shivering at how like him it is.
The Wolf leaps into the fray with gusto, laughing as he brings his greatsword down on the strange creature.
Then, when Feimramdem hooks it to the side , he swings again, the sword swiping at the creature as it's thrown off-balance by her attack.