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Brock has nothing to say about the true identity of the merchant being revealed, as he didn't trust the translator/merchant setup to begin with, but assumed they were just messing with the group.
Using a servant as a decoy is a wise precaution in case of assassins or beligerant trade partners
Upon the description of a Div in the mask Brock nods like he knows what a Div is, eventhough he has no clue other than an apparent weakness to cold iron.
As they reach the roof he replaces the silver bullet in his musket to cold iron, as well as one of the bullets in his bucker, the other he loads silver, just in case. He also inspects his cold iron warpick to ensure it is sharp and in good order.
Climbing to the roof he suggests, "Lets put the mask over by that chimmney, so we can flee down the ladder if need be." to Arin, Rook and Danicka, "Anything else?"
If there isn't he sets up behind Yaiho and Forrest, but to the side where he can get a clear shot.
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"Well, in this case we're literally asking for the fight with a word, so I'll provide the blessing just before we utter the command word. Things will be calm so I should be able to speak it in plain common and not disturb any of you." He unconsciously glances at Danicka but quickly looks away and hopes she didn't notice the indication.
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Unable to add anything further to the conversation, Danicka follows the others towards the roof. She stops to buy some holy water in the marketplace, and gets so flustered haggling that she pays more than it's worth. With a sigh she tucks the holy water into her belt pouch and continues on.
At the bottom of the ladder, Danicka looks down at Prickles.
"I need you to stay here, okay? I'll be right back. Please?"
In response to Danicka's meek begging, Prickles sits proudly at the base of the ladder. He growls menacingly at everyone who climbs the ladder after her.
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Forrest hops around Prickles. Definitely not a Pickles... too angry. He climbs the ladder and sets up beside the chimney. "You want the mask right here? Hopefully the demon will pop out where we can flank it. " He draws his Cold Iron rapier and smiles. "I got this after we encountered that blasted fairy. This would have done her good. If she had come down to our level. "
He looks over at Rook with a little hesitation in his eyes. "Should I back up, so you can start with a bomb? Not sure I want to be close when that happens... " He looks over the edge and adds. "Not sure anyone would mind the noise in this neighborhood."
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"That is a good trait for a war beast!" Rook growls back at the dog and smiles.
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On the roof he nods to Brock's suggestions and readies a bomb in one hand with the other clutching his spear.
"It would be best if you want me leading with a bomb to stand clear of the mask. I haven't refined these enough to adjust the blast yet but I am getting close" he replies to Forrest.
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Yaiho doesn't buy anything, trusting in his overwhelming strength to allow him to damage this Div.
He smiles down at Prickles and then teases him , "Danicka say stay! Poor dog not fight. Yaiho protect."
Yaiho climbs the ladder and then places himself in a position to easily get at the Div if it wants to fight.
Once everyone has prepared themselves, Danicka says the command word, "ch-chalifan." and nothing happens, she then follows up with a much louder than intended, "" Suddenly the tendrils of white and red smoke explode from the mask's eyes and mouth, quickly obscuring your visibility as it condenses around you in a thick smog. It's hard to see through all the smoke, but Yaiho, Brock, and Forrest also notice something else: a tiny disembodied and bestial head covered in lashing hair and curling horns shoots from the mask's mouth. It falls back down again in the middle of the majority of Pathfinders, visible now by all but Forrest, "Soon you will die!" It's rasping, sinister voice reverberates from inside your heads, followed by insidious laughter.
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Arin grimaces at the sudden appearance of the beast head right in front of him. He turns to Brock to bestow divine guidance on his next move, predictably the incantations come out in garbled, scratching abyssal.
He eyes begin to glow a sickly blue, and his hand begins to sweat profusely when he touches Brock to bestow guidance. He leaves a thin sheen of moisture on his armor.
Arin doubles down on his assistance to Brock, leaving a sweaty hand print on the other man's armour as the tiny div smiles deviously. It watches the physical changes in the gnome with some interest, and seems especially intrigued with his use of Abyssal, then it whispers a few word of Abyssal itself and suddenly vanishes. You can almost make out where it is by the displacement of red and white smoke around it, but then it shoots off towards the north east, leaving trails of pink in it's wake, until you lose sight of it altogether.
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Brock nods his thanks to the oracle as he feels more divine magic surging through his system. His face is set in the focused, manic grin of battle and hides his revulsion to the disgusting touch of Arin.
Oh, gross. This armor needs to be cleaned, or burned, or something. I'd rather hack my way through a field of zombies. But I'll put this magic to good use
Realizing his musket is useless in the smoke, he drops it and stalks toward where the monsterous head was last seen, drawing his heavy war pick as he does. Stopping where they placed the mask he squints about for the creature.
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Forrest looks at Brock and Yaiho and laughs. "What, did you two lose something? " He hops across the roof towards the casters and looks for the Div.
Forrest stabs the floating head with his Cold Iron rapier. "Gotcha! "
Forrest goes to take another tactic, shouting into the smoke. "Hey! Floating, no good, piece of moldy cheese! Your father was a family of imps and your mother was a dirty whore! " He sneers, proud of himself. That one always gets 'em riled up.
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"A... d-d-doru!" Danicka mutters. "Oh, dear! Rook?" she calls out meekly.
Louder. LOUDER.
"ROOK!" Danicka yells out bravely. "It's immune to FIRE and poison!"
Unable to see the enemy, Danicka carefully walks forward towards where she last saw the div, then prepares to douse the div with holy water--if she sees it.
This is a bad idea...
"I h-h-have a secret for you!" Danicka calls out loudly. "But you have to come close so I can whisper it to you! It's not for everyone to hear..."
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Arin **spoiler**
Arin takes a step towards Rook, following his short movement. He remembers that Rook was injured earlier and reaches a healing hand towards him.
As he channels the divine spell his eyes and mouth glow a sickly red and his voice starts to grumble deeply as he speaks, like that of a much larger creature. The light from his mouth beams over towards Rook and envelopes him for an instance before it disappears entirely.
The smoke dissipates in all the commotion, and suddenly the rooftops look like they did when you arrived, quiet and clear. A few moments of awkward silence follow, no one sure where the Div is, or if it is even near anymore. Then the head pops back into sight just in front of Yaiho, smiling maliciously at Danicka. After a moment the floating head floats higher into the air, and turns to stare at Forrest, it's wide and wild eyes barely visible through it's mass of matted hair.
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Forrest meets the gaze of the freaky floating face and his eyes glazes over a little, losing their usual fire. He speaks to himself, or possibly the head. "This fight will be dangerous. " He turns towards the ladder. "It may target innocents. " He takes a few steps towards the ladder. "I'm going to head down to the entrance of the alley and make sure no strangers are about to walk into danger. " With that he hops on the ladder and begins climbing down. Once on the ground, he pats Prickles on the head.
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Watching the chaos as the creepy head appears again, Arin looks around for which companion he could best aid at this time. With Danicka already having thrown her holy water he settles on Rook who is still nearby.
Is it Sarenrae providing odd manifestations as an enlightening mystery to solve? Is it Asmodeus being regretably obvious? I can channel guidance to my friends but it seems there is no guidance for this little gnome.
As he channels the divine energy is body glows with a thin light-red shell.
As Brock swings his heavy pick at the floating head, it suddenly drops two foot, it laughs defiantly as the weapon swings harmlessly above. Danicka scampers forward and throws her flask of holy water at the div, but it misses, harmlessly splashing Yaiho's boots. However, a drop or two sprays into the div's face and it burns like acid, leaving tiny scars as little puffs of smoke rise into the air. It turns and hisses at Danicka just as Yaiho smashes it's tiny head with his hammer. Surprisingly, the maul doesn't harm the div all that much, despite the power of the blow... Divs, it seems, have powerful protective magics. It floats carefully away from the two Pathfinders hefting large heavy weapons and towards the two wielding brooms and pointy sticks. Then it vanishes again!
Meanwhile, Forrest, in a fit of selflessness decides to check the alley for unfortunate bystanders; Arin offers guidance to his closest ally; and Rook starts taunting the floating head.
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Forrest pats Prickles on the head while watching the ally for any unfortunate passerby. "Prickles, we must watch together. We can't let any civilians go up this ladder. Anyone who goes up this ladder might get hurt. And we can't let that happen. " He sheathes his weapon and shakes his head. I feel like there's something I'm forgetting... Wait a second... Forrest screams and jumps up and down. "PRICKLES YOU BEAUTIFUL BOY! No, please don't bite me... It's ok buddy... " He calms down and smiles at the dog. "Guard duty was your job! Keep up the good work, scary boy! " He looks up at the ladder, ready to rejoin the fight. Now I know everyone is safe, and I can help my friends!
While Forrest comes to his senses in the alley below, the rest of the Pathfinders swing at empty air or scan the rooftop, ready to attack at the first sign of the monstrous head. All, that is, except Yaiho, who has a cunning plan. The plan is good in theory, but Yaiho's face betrays the bluff, despite how convincing he looks standing over the mask with that great hammer of his, "" The annoyed voice crackles inside all of your heads.
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Arin feels apprehensive at not knowing where the div is, but he's become somewhat separated from most of his teammates. He angles to the edge of the roof opposite the ladder and approaches Yaiho to provide some guidance.
This time the symptoms are less dramatic as only his eyes and mouth glow sickly red.
He's obviously lying, and this is just a desperate ploy to somehow get out of this fight intact.
Forrest snaps to his senses, realising that there is no need to protect unlikely bystanders from joining the battle if Prickles is already on the job. Just as the selfless halfling looks up at the ladder, ready to rejoin the fray, a flask of water bounces of his head and shatters on the floor in front of him. Before the poor guy can figure out what just happened, he hears Brock's gun fire followed by a sharp pain in his neck...
The now fully visible div, bleeding and smouldering from the most recent attacks, has it's sharp teeth sunk deep into Forrest's flesh. While the bite itself does not cause too much damage, Forrest can already feel the first symptoms of a brain fever starting to take hold. "What was that about my mother, you pathetic, stinking mortal piece of-" The div's angry vitriol continues non-stop in Forrest's and, accidentally, everyone else's heads.
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"What was that about my mother, you pathetic, stinking mortal piece of-"
When the bottle hits his head, he momentarily forgets about the battle above him. "Danicka! No throwing water balloons! That is not the proper way to give Prickles a bath! " The gunshot snaps him out of it before he can continue.
Then, Forrest screams in a pitch worthy of a nine year old girl and the small ball of malice appears beside him! He steps aside, more from shock than tactical prowess and stares at the Div for a moment. "You're an ugly blighter, you know that? " After a beat he adds, "Just like your mother! "
Brock rushes across the roof towards his musket while Danicka moves directly above the Forrest and his attacker, flask of holy water in hand. Surprised by the sudden (and very close) appearance of the tiny angry head covered in lashing hair and curling horns, Forrest swings wildly and misses by some distance. His barb, however, strikes true.
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"You talk too much. Make Yaiho's head ache."
Froth starts to drip from Yaiho's mouth as his eyes turn red. He suddenly charges toward the edge of the roof and jumps off, swinging his hammer at the floating head as he falls from the roof. Mindlessly ignoring the damage he will cause to himself or that he might hit Forrest while hitting the Div.
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Arin rolls his eyes and shakes off the continued mental taunts of the div. He's finding them more and more desperate and pitiful.
Arin sees that Danicka is preparing to throw holy water again, so he moves up towards her to provide aid.
Ug, I hope my mysterious benefactors keep the scare factor down, or she's going to drop the holy water before she can even throw it...
As he approaches he mutters softly at her.
"Danicka, whatever it looks like visually, do not be afraid, I'm just providing some minor divine guidance for your holy water throw."
This time his eyes glow yellow as he channels guidance, which is surprising tame compared to his previous divine symptoms. While he does his face appears stoic to Danicka, as if he's left his body during the process and left behind a truly hollow vessel.