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Badriyah affixes the animated suit of armour to the corner of the museum with her tanglefoot bag just in time to allow Neffery and Rasvelg the opportunity to finish it off. Lovissa pulls ineffectively at the helm swallowing her head.
Despite failing to get a grip on the helmet, Lovissa's thrashing movements prove too much for the armour, and both the Ulfen shakes loose both the gauntlet and the helm. Resolute in their profanity, both pieces of armour lash out at Lovissa again.
Lovissa's shaking throes are something to behold, as neither piece of armour scores a hit on the wriggling Ulfen woman.
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Giovanni slashes forward but flails with his rapier at one of the unidentified armour pieces - but no one knows which one.
The gauntlet nearest Marcus attempts to grapple his leg.
The gauntlet succeeds in affixing itself to Marcus' knee, twisting it so as to affect his mobility.
[ooc]Lady Finley and Marcus may act!
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Lady Finley's crossbow bolt hits the ground just to the right of the gauntlet, in between it and the raging Marcus. The barbarian pries his blade between the gauntlet and his ankle, slicing off three metal fingers, but stopping short from slicing through his own leg. He attempts to bite at the gauntlet, but just isn't that flexible. The gauntlet falls lifelessly to the ground.
The animated suits of armour lie lifelessly on the ground or collapsed in heaps. The sole remaining taint of the Whispering Tyrant manifests in the still-active pieces of armour - one gauntlet and one helm.
"We are with you!" Neffery Adimare calls to the Pathfinders, gesturing between himself and Rasvelg Coalbraid as they turn from a recently-felled suit of field plate.
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Lovissa chops into the gauntlet, fixing it in place for a mere second - long enough for Badriyah to drill the thing with a sling bullet, knocking it palm up and inert.
The remaining helm swoops forward to slam its favourite target - Lovissa - in the nose!
The glowing red eyes within the helm squint in anger as Lovissa easily moves out of the way of the clumsy blow.
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Marcus steps over to flank with Lovissa and drives his blade straight into the glowing eyes of the hovering helm.
Realizing the... politically sensitive nature of his current state, he relaxes his grip on his blade, making an attempt to appear... somewhat capable of wielding his blade with grace. As he does so, the fur begins to disappear from his hands and his snout recedes, revealing his human guise once again.
"Well? What is next? An animated boot that crawls onto my hand? A belt for my chest? A cravat for my buttocks?"
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Once the hostile spirits animating the armor and relics are defeated, Cincia approaches the group from the back of the museum where she's been unsuccessfully trying to re-erect one of the fallen suits of armour toppled in the fight.
"Thank you, Pathfinders! Your valour in the fight is undeniable. I was especially worried in seeing that helm clamp down over your face, Lady Lovissa, tenacious as a b---"
"A badger?!" Neffery finishes for her, standing up from where he's been kneeling at the side of the open Gallowspire chest. He holds a weathered wooden scabbard featuring a bristling badger and the Eye of Aroden on an ornate bronze mouthpiece. "Oh, pardon me!" he titters as he acknowledges the inadvertent wordplay.
"That is breathtaking," Cincia gasps, fleetly limping over to Neffery's side and snatching the scabbard from his hands. "Magically imbued as well, if I'm not mistaken." She glances over her shoulder at the chest and frowns. "I have no clue where Earl Vernisant turned this up. It both excites and worries me that there might be more such discoveries hiding on the premises."
"Well I, for one, loved it!" the patrician beams. "Gave me an opportunity to defend my beloved Ridonport and show off my childhood fencing lessons, what?"
"Lady Lovissa!" Cincia starts, a bright idea coming to her. "You're a student of the occult! It would be wonderful if sometime in the near-future you or a Pathfinder agent with talents similar to yours could come and help me scour the Arnisant house for forgotten treasures squirrelled away."
Magistrate Tantriano moves to a central position within the museum, holds aloft her holy symbol of Iomedae, and calls out, "Light of the Sword, see that your servants' wounds are healed after defeating the minions of one of your most hated foes!"
Joleana drops her holy symbol back onto her half-cloak of office. "I was worried that I had become 'too old for this sort of thing'." She harrumphs and nods. "I'm glad to see my hypothesis well and truly disproven - and the Whispering Tyrant had a hand in it!" she quips, kicking at an inanimate gauntlet lying on the ground to chuckles from the gathered combatants. "It appears that retirement isn't a necessary endpoint. If the town of Ridonport truly needs me, then I shall serve, in the Inheritor's name." She winks at Badriyah in a friendly fashion.
"I'll tell you who did need your help," Rasvelg says as he helps to right a fallen suit of armour. "The guards. I felt sorry for them. Neffery and I had to wrestle a pair of gloves - gloves, mind you, not gauntlets - off of one of them. Some of them didn't know how to draw their own sword without cutting their thumb off. I tell you: whoever has been placed in charge of training the city guard has been quite lax in the martial education of our civil forces."
Joleana looks grim. "Yes, yet another responsibility to Ridonport that our earl seems to have had difficulty completing. We shall speak more of this before the day is over, I should think."
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Giovanni approaches, sheathing his rapier. He pulls his glasses out of his tweed jacket pocket and puts them on. Well, I for one, am glad that episode is concluded. That Earl will see justice, I promise you that.
Should you need further assistance, in any respect, you have the Pathfinders to call on.
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"Well Patrician, perhaps some day we can compare fencing techniques? I'm sure there is more work to be done and I would quite fancy a return visit. Although... where did Vernisant make it off to anyways? Eh... of little importance... his reputation is ruined now I'm sure... myesss. And without a reputation what have you got?"
He begins to work his way down his attire, attempting to clear away any sign of the scuffle.
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Sliding her sling back into her pocket, Badriyah places her hand over her heart and bows to both Cincia and Joleana. "It has been a pleasure to be of service to you both, and to Ridonport itself."
She then turns to Adimare with a look of sadness, "I am truly sorry about the chandlery. It was such a lovely building and had such meaning to you and your family. I only hope that with the Earl on the run, you will be able to rebuild and create something even more lovely and dedicated to honor and the spirit of Ridonport and Taldor."
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Lady Finley's words prove to be prophetic.
Within the next 8 hrs, hundreds of Ridonport’s concerned citizens surround the earl’s manor and demand answers for what he did. For a time, it seems as though he’s shouting from inside to negotiate some kind of truce. During the tense standoff, however, a wainwright spots the earl trying to sneak out of his estate by climbing down a chimney, only for the nobleman to slip and tear his jacket.
The group finish their business in Ridonport, making sure to secure lines of communication with newly-made allies, friends, or more intimate relations before departing for the Taldan capital city. A request comes quickly once the group returns to Oppara for a formal mission debrief at Venture-Captain Muesello's place.
The group arrives again at the mundane-appearing bait and tackle shop in the docks sector a few days after their successful defence of the Arnisant Home and Museum in Ridonport. You don't see the 'Gone Fishing' sign on the front door of the shop, and therefore head right in.
Inside, Venture-Captain Muesello bustles about, placing crystal goblets that seem ridiculously out of place in the mean-appearing shop. A large round table dressed with a tablecloth that looks suspiciously like a patched sail has been placed in the centre of the room. As your group enters, Muesello turns around with a start followed by a gregarious smile. "Huzzah! The Humiliating Heroes come Hence!"
He settles the group around the table, pouring each of you a healthy drop of Taldan brandy ("The good stuff," Muesello reassures you.) Once served, the Venture-Captain drops into a seat and raises a glass in toast.
"For Taldor!" he pronounces, then quaffs the goblet in one swallow. "Now," he says with an excited glint in his eye, "you tell me what really happened and I'll tell you what I've heard."
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Lovissa sheathes her sword and places her hands on her hips. "Ha! There's no need to worry over ME Cincia! I've suffered worse than an angry helmet!"
Lovissa laughs when she recognizes the sigil. "A knight in spirit perhaps, and as self-sacrificing as any Blazing Argent, but I'm not dead yet, Neffery! I've plenty more tales to add to my legend!" she laughs again.
Seeing Cincia worry over the Earl's many more stolen relics, Lovissa nods and smiles. "I relish the opportunity! Finding relics is my purpose for being a Pathfinder! I'd be happy to dig through the Earl's manor." she laughs. "I need to report back to the Lodge first. How does two weeks sound?"
Lovissa laughs at Rasvelg's tales of aiding the inept guard. She claps him on the back. "Poor guys will take to their training better now. If they've any sense they'll use today as inspiration to better themselves." With a wide smile, she says, "Perhaps I should give them a few lessons."
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As the day comes to a close, Lovissa heads to Rasvelg's house and knocks on his door. "Care for a drink?" she asks, holding up the bottle of liquor she had bought for him.
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Lovissa chuckles at Muesello. She takes the brandy, drinks it in one gulp, and pours herself another, before beginning her tale.
"So, there we were..."
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Venture-Captain Muesello enjoys your 'fishing tales' immensely. Sometime during the debriefing session, he pulls out two unsealed scrolls.
"I've received these both within the past few hours," he begins, fixing a small pair of spectacles at the end of his nose and unfurling the first letter. "This comes from Curator Cincia Reviamo at the Arnisant House and Museum, Ridonport." He clears his throat.
"Dear Muesello, Please forgive the brevity of this missive as there is much work to do here in Ridonport at the present, though our burdens are buoyed by the natural Taldan lust for justice and honour. Your agents left our city as honoured heroes in many citizens' eyes - mine included - and I simply wanted to applaud you and your organisation for your help during this trying time. Now that the earl is no longer meddling, I can properly restore this museum to its rightful state, and as you may interested in hearing, I have commissioned a new display piece for the Arnisant House: a commemorative plaque to honour the bravery of Pathfinders Giovanni Stellaluce, Lady Finley, Lovissa Halenbane, Marcus Vulpares Fantailler, and Badriyah Hameedah in defending Ridonport and the true legacy of General Arnisant. We would consider your agents as honoured patrons of our museum - please pass on my fondest of well-wishes to your most-excellent team. Many thanks. -Cincia Reviamo, Curator of Arnisant House, Ridonport."
He cocks eyebrows at you all. Impressive," he murmurs as he unrolls the second scroll.
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Badriyah settles into a chair at the Venture-Captains letting out a long sigh a she raises her glass and takes a long drink of the offered brandy. Having taken some time on the return trip to write up her notes and their various findings, she decides now is the time to pass them along.
"I took the liberty of writing up my notes and what we were finally able to piece together about the Earl." She says to Muesello, handing him a rolled up parchment. "I hope you find it useful."
Upon hearing the contents of Cincia's letter, Badriyah blushes deeply and joins in Lovissa's toast. "An honor indeed." She says. "And an honor to have worked with you all."
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"So... upon arriving in Ridonport it was quite clear that Verninsant held the throng in the palm of his hand and we'd be fighting an uphill battle... metaphorically of course... myesss... Thankfully by taking care to carefully reconnoiter both the lay and the politics of the land we were able to make several..." He looks pointedly at Lovissa "...friends and contacts. Not only were they able to help us gather details on Vernisant's treachery, but they felt inspired to support us at the end when push came to shove."
He smiles and takes another sip of brandy.
"Of course Earl Vernisant was none to keen on this and insisted on making a display of his wonderous discovery... and while I have not personally visited the infamous Blakros museum, I would venture so far as to say the Earl's display had much in common with the.... hrmmm... aforementioned ediface."
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"This second missive is equally impressive," the Venture-Captain continues.
"Dear Venture-Captain Muesello, I would like to express my gratitude for solving the piracy plaguing the ships, many of which were mine, passing through the canals of Ridonport. I have also heard rumour of how your agents were involved in the humiliation of Earl Vernisant. I can only add my admiration of the efforts to accolades you have no doubt already received. For Taldor! -Count Orlundo Zespire."
Venture-Captain Muesello assures you that Lady Morilla has heard word of your success, and she and her agents are already acting on your achievements.
"The wind of change seems to be blowing through Taldor, Pathfinders," he concludes, pouring you each another healthy plug of brandy. "Best be sure to prepare yourselves to continue making history, not just uncovering it."