If not, I will fire again.
Curse you rat!
Ranged atk - 1d20+3+1+1
If hit - 1d8+2+1
Twigg steps back and shoots a rainbow of colors and bright lights directly into the poor rat's face...
The rat gets blasted in the face with a multitude of colors, its matted fur flying back in the phantasmic breeze. When the colors settle it's eyes are fixed upon Twigg's, and it is ready to make a meal out of the tiny sorcerer.
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Makena feels her foot sting from the rat's bite. "Ouch, you filthy thing!"
She sees Astarton somersaulting into flanking position and dodges out of the way, giving room for the half-elf acrobatic feats. The rat's blood spills all over the table as Astarton's blade hits it, and Makena takes the opportunity to finish the creature off.
Astarton nimbly tumbles around the table to get a better angle on the rat, refusing to let the little vermin get the better of him. At the same time Makena sees her opportunity to take advantage of his movements and steps to her right, providing a tactical position for them both to press their attack. In a synchronized action the two bards slash and hack at the foul little rat and both manage to score hits!
At that moment, Roary rounds the corner, covered in the blood and gore of the man in robes, and chops his mighty greatsword down onto the giant rat hiding under the table. The wood is shattered, sending splinters flying through the air, as the massive barbarian neatly severs the rat's head from its body.
The rat flanked by Astarton and Makena lashes out at the half-elf, its beady eyes following the wickedly curved blade he wielded against it...
And fails miserably to connect, slipping in a pool of its own blood.
Gryne, still posted at the side door, fires an arrow at the only remaining rat he has eyes on, but fails to connect, the projectile narrowly missing bowh Astarton and Makena.
The rat facing Twigg shuffles forward and nips at him, its teeth wet with disease and filth...
And fumbles horribly, skinning its nose on the floor in its failed attempt to bite at the agile gnome!
Twigg searches his vast intellect for a tidbit of information that might help him in this situation and recalls that most rats tend to be carriers of a disease called filth fever which is a wasting disease. It is generally only transmitted through a bite.
Twigg then waggles his fingers mystically at the rat and fires off a blob of acid at its face, and connects! The acid sizzles on the rat's fur and burns into its skin, drawing forth a series of squeals and shrieks from the creature.
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Astarton takes a swing along with Makena, nearly at the same time to see what could be done about the little beast. His Curve Blade and her Kukri really make the rat pay for having a taste for person flesh. After the rat dies, he gives his fellow bard a "winning" smile, although it is somewhat crooked and a fair bit goofy.
Astarton and Makena quickly make short work of the wounded rat, both of them scoring deadly hits against it in unison and sending the rodent to whatever afterlife little vermin go to. Roary, apparently weakened from his efforts on his previous victims, still manages a horrific swing with his greatsword and puts an end to the rat threatening Twigg.
The party looks around to the aftermath of the scuffle, rat bits are scattered on the floor of the Inn and the supposed captives look both shocked and relieved at the same time.
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Twigg runs over and looks at the robed man. "Two Gnomes you cut him in half! I've never seen that before! You probably are as strong as 3 or 4 gnomes! Very impressive!"
Twigg takes a look at the body on the bar that is sprawled out to see if he is alive. After he checks the man's condition he starts to twirl his fingers.
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C'mon Nefti, lets take a look inside.
Gryne nudges Nefti to head into the Inn.
Perception -
Wow Roary, that is quite the feat, that poor magic man has had better days
Scanning the room for magic, Twigg doesn't notice anything magical about the room, people within it, or the piles of corpses that are the most recent addition to the inn.
Upon entering the room Nefti immediately recognizes the man tied up on the bar and identifies him as Kafar, Nefti's boss and the lost member of the Aspis Consortium. Joining Twigg, Nefti runs up to him and shakes him a few times, trying to rouse him, but the man does not stir. His body is covered in bruises and cuts and it appears that his captors were not at all interested in treating him gently.
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For a min or so Roary looks a bit out of it... AFterwards he seems to have caught his breath and joins the party.. "Yea i made a good cut on him.. Shoulda just surrendered i suppose.." Just then he rememebers his mission.. Looking at the captives.. "Which one of yall is Orfeo Bozbeyli? And is the fellow over here the one that perpretrated all this non-sense?" Pointing the man in two pieces..
The captives in the order struggle to respond to the barbarian's question, but the gags in their mouths make the task more difficult than it should be and all that ends up coming out is a choir of "Mmmrpff and "Uuurrrpfff".
Gryne approaches the bar, quickly checks Kafar over with a trained eye, and determines that he is indeed alive. He's taken a very bad beating at the hands of his captors and is knocking on death's door.
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Makena helps Roary and Twigg untie and ungag the captives. "Are you guys hurt?"
The group spends a few moments untying the captives, who are extremely grateful for their freedom.
One of the men speaks up and says, "We were worried we were next. They tied that man," pointing at Kafar, "to the bar and the follow you neatly chopped in half spent the past day beating on him. I'm not sure who he is but he refused to cooperate with them. Obviously they gave him a solid beating for it." Nefti seems to be growing more and more upset at the notion, and is visibly upset. "You all are Pathfinders aren't you? Isn't there anything you can do for Kafar?" he shouts at the group. "I did my part, I helped you find this place. Now fill your end of the bargain and help me with him so we can get out of here!"
The former captives continue thanking the party and making promises of favors if they are ever needed in the future. One man adds, "There were more of us until this morning. A couple of brutes showed up and took away about a dozen or so people. I overheard them mention taking them to the Prancing Prince. I recall very clearly one of the robed men saying “Once Ismacco arrives, we’ll make a lot of money for the cause by selling these slaves into the Chelaxian market.”
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As the others free the captives, Astarton sighs. There just isn't much funny about rescue scenes when the timing is off. If he had been able to get there first, that would have been something and he could have been all heroic or villainous or lewd, but now all he was good for was some minor flesh repair and some search and recon.
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The mention of slavery makes Makena's blood boil, and she becomes visibly angry. "Hmph. Slavers with a cause. That can't be good"
Lost in her thoughts, she is startled by Asterton's touch, but that only lasts for a moment as she realizes what he is doing. She observes her wound magically heal. The half-elf's kind act seems to improve her mood. "Oh, thanks for that. Much better now", she says with a friendly smile.
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"Alright! Luck is with us today! More fun ahead of us! Lets go to the Prancing Prince and free more people!"
Twigg turns to the former captives. "Do you guys want to come and see another show? My light magic is even more impressive when it works! Hmm I suppose going back to the slavers wouldn't be a good idea now that you are safe... I could magic one of you guys if you want so you don't miss the show." Twigg says with no hint of sarcasm.
Astarton provides healing for himself and Makena, drawing upon his arcane talents to help mend the bite marks that each of them received during their encounter with the rats. At the display of magic Nefti glares threateningly at the bard and starts to untie the beaten man from the bar. He purposefully ignores the questions posed to him by Roary in the process, and seems fairly put off.
It is obvious that those captured want to have nothing to do with going to the location that the other slaves were taken, despite the tempting offer of a display of gnomish sorcery. None of the captives seem to recognize the name of Orfeo, but they admit they did not have a chance to get on a first name basis with the other victims.
The man who spoke up last time adds, "These thugs seemed very organized. I doubt that the man you killed here was their leader, as he seemed a bit...nutty. Other than that I can provide no other clue as to who holds the leashes of these brutes."
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Gryne draws Roary's Wand of Cure Light Wounds and uses it on Kafar.
healing -
Nodding his head at Makenna and Twigg, Gryne acknowledges his fellow Grand Lodge(Lodgian) members.
Seems like we are not only rescuing kidnapped victims but taking out some slavers in the process. The only thing that could make this better is if one of them was a dragon. We are doing the righteous work of Shelyn friends. Anyone else in need of some healing?
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It was nice to see Makena's smile, it seemed brilliant against her dark skin. He was about to talk to her some more, but was distracted by the gnome's specific address.
He turned to him as if a little bit out of a daydream. "Yes, well, you should have seen the other guy. He was seven feet tall and had bigger muscles than ole Three Gnome over there. I'm lucky I got away with just this shiner!" He was easily able to match the gnome's energy level and intensity during their conversation, but didn't think he could keep it up all day. It might be something to practice.
"But seriously, I'm gonna check out the rest of the rooms in here, just to be sure that no one squirreled any more hostages out of the way or some hints as to where we need to go."
Kafar awakens after the magical healing, but he is in rough shape and will likely need extended treatment of his injuries. As Nefti prepares to assist Kafar out of the inn and to somewhere where he can get aid Kafar adds, "Ugh...as much as it pains me, I owe you one," addressing the group in general, “Your Pathfinder friend was guarded by some half-orcs, big, burly brutes. We don’t usually see their kind ’round here. Not sure where they was from, but they sure smelled bad, like they was stomping through the sewers before they came here.”
With that, and with the help of Nefti, Kafar makes his preparations to leave, fashioning a crutch from one of the broken tables in the room. The other prisoners begin to make their way out the door that Roary opened on the side of the building.
Astarton combs the building in search of additional hostages or tasty bits of loot, but his search comes up empty. It seems the remaining hostages were all taken to this Prancing Prince that the captured man mentioned earlier.
Questioning some locals you find out that the Prancing Prince is a ship which is currently moored at the Imperial Docks. It is rumored to be a slave trader.
The party, under directions supplied by Astarton, arrives at the Imperial docks right as the sun begins to set on the horizon, casting a myriad of colors across the waters of the harbor. Seabirds fly through the air on various errands and the noises of the sea rise up to greet you as you make your way along the piers to your destination.
A tri-masted galleon, the Prancing Prince appears to be in good condition and floats lazily against its mooring along a wide, crate- and barrel-filled dock. No one appears to be aboard her, however, and the standard watch typically found at the gangplank of a docked ship is nowhere to be seen. Atop her bowsprit is a gaudily painted wooden man that appears to be the exact likeness of the Grand Prince of Taldor, Stavian III, hands on his hips, a huge smile across his face, and his legs bent as though he were dancing a jig.