The ninja ducks Valjoen’s snowball which hits the wall with a wet sploosh.
She shakes her head at the Linnorm Disciple. “I see you're really into ice, ice, baby.”
Although Manius resists the dart’s poison, to say he is surprised by the presence of an assassin in his bathtub is something of an understatement.
“Your reaction time is going to get yourself killed one day, buddy.”
She casually reloads her blow-pipe. “And that day’s today!”
Fwoop
+
Green:
Red:
The ninja in brown laughs. “You fight like he did. You two were meant for each other.”
“I believe a dinosaur can fly.”
The ninja takes a stab at the vaulting velociraptor.
She then returns her attention to Rika, who has shaken off the poison effects but mangled another of Paeter Linseed’s stall-flaps. “I dub thee: Rika the Door Slayer!”
“Nice ring to it, huh?”
The ursine spirit helps eradicate the toxins in Rika’s body.
The assassin finds it difficult to fend off a duo so used to fighting together. Pratts only manages to lay a talon on her once – but it’s enough.
His tapered claw rips through Brown’s unprotected Achilles Irori’s tendon, forcing the ninja to one knee before the huntress.
In a scene similar to the one involving the ninja and ronin moments earlier (though the roles were reversed) the condemned looks up into the face of her executioner. Before Rika lops the head off her shoulders, she says quietly:
“Good-bye, blue angel.”
Green:
Red:
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"Alert! Danger, Danger! We are under attack!"
Manius shouts at the top of his lungs
Manius then picks up his falchion from where he placed it next to him while he was sorting through his armor pieces
And then challenges the person disturbing his bad time before taking a step forward and swinging his falchion awkwardly while trying to not slip on the bubbly soap water and armor pieces covering the floor.
|
Valjoen leaps onto his bed to gain the high ground and prepare to retrieve his sword that lays upon it. Although, he mentally envisioned somersautling to a standing position atop the bed, his body failed to comply with his youthful visions of gracefulness. Undeterred, he picks up the massive bastard sword and prepares to engage the assailant.
{ooc I'm assuming that I don't make it onto the bed with that roll![/ooc]
Mariel consults the spirit of a famous fantasy artist from another world, before standing to wrap a towel around herself and grabbing some gear.
The half-elf doesn’t make it out of her bath this round.
Mido hustles over his bed to the door, turns the key in his own locked door and opens it.
Jillia stands in her bath to re-robe. Her makeshift gown is made of fluffy white towelling that extends well past her knees.
Like Mariel, the modest halfling doesn’t make it out of the tub this round.
It seems Valjoen has forgotten some of the bedroom gymnastics of his youth. He does manage to get a hold of his bastard sword though.
The red ninja shakes her head. “Been a while huh, Old Man.”
Manius’ physique honed from years of Hellknight training again defeats the assassin’s poison.
After challenging the ninja, Manius stabs her viciously in the bath. Another Psycho’s Mother in a different hotel on a faraway planet would be proud.
Green draws her own blade and retaliates.
☠ ☠ ☠
A little way in the future, Rika fulfils her promise to Ms Brown in a manner reminiscent of the Sandpoint Chopper serial killer.
Green: Teddy 2 GO!
Red:
“I forgot, Paeter. OK? I’ll take the mead to Mr Valjoen’s room now …”
Jillia escapes her room just as Skip Flaxseed opens the tap room door. The from the Lodge’s patrons explains why nobody has come to investigate the disturbance in the bedrooms.
"I'll check on Mainius. Go, erm, show off to Valijoen!"
The halfling bellboy looks from Jillia to Mido – then quickly back to Jillia.
Reddening he announces. “Look, I’m a Pathfinder too. I know how it goes: ‘what happens on a wilderness dungeon crawl, stays on a wilderness dungeon crawl.’”
“But Paeter runs a respectable place. And you’re not in the Kortos Mountains now.”
忍者
Valjoen has more pressing problems than his reputation. Red reloads her bamboo pipe and ⚞spits⚟ another poisoned dart his way.
Fwoop
Green: Ted 2 GO!
Red:
Mido moves to crash the party in Valjoen’s room.
Skip Flaxseed frowns at Jillia. “Hey! Did Valjoen smuggle a girl into his room?”
Manius stabs his would-be assassin once more before gripping her by the neck with both hands. The Hellknight holds the woman under the bloody water, until her violent thrashing ceases and bubbles stop issuing from her open mouth.
Only then does he realize he’s shaking – not from adrenaline but the ninja’s poison.
|
Mariel gets out of the bathtub and fumbles at the key to her door. She flings open the door, wearing just the towel and the belt with her sword. However, the first thing she sees is the backside of Mido, who's wearing even less. "Oh... OH..." she says, averting her eyes out of reflex when she spots the halfling, similarly dressed to herself. "Jillia? Mido? What's going on?"
--
As Mido begins pounding on the door to be let in, Skip Flaxseed pushes past Jillia rudely and strides officiously up the hallway.
“Mr Valjoen, we don’t allow visitors of the opposite sex in guests’ rooms after midnight.”
As he passes Mariel’s open door, the halfling’s jaw slackens. “You too??”
“I thought you were a nice girl.”
Valjoen in an experienced Pathfinder and Ulfen elder. A warrior hardened by the Linnorm Kingdom’s frozen wilderness.
He takes long days, naked combat, whiney innkeeps, bathtub ninjas and Tien toxin in his stride. But when a Viking discovers he hasn’t got his mead …
Valjoen lets out a primeval
Corded muscles bulge and his eyes *POP* as he hurls his bastard sword in a flat spin at his mouthy assailant.
The point of the weapon passes through the assassin’s neck, pinning her by the throat to the wall by the bedroom window.
The woman hangs half-in, half-out of the tub, her limbs spasm-ing in the frigid bathwater before she expires.
Skip Flaxseed opens the door to the bridal suite with his Master Key and takes in the scene with a *GASP*
His cry of instantly silences all the revelry in the front bar.
With confirmation that the others are more-or-less OK, the noble, near-naked knight of the Nine Hells stops shaking as the poison runs its course.
As well as a fine set of leathers and a short sword, Mido’s search of the dead ninja uncovers a:
• Used antitoxin vial bearing a hand-written label, which reads Tears of my enemies
• Large brass coin, whose obverse is marked with a coiled asp. Its reverse is carved with the Taldane letters P.O.D.
• Soggy piece of blue-lined bamboo paper. It carries smudged Tien writing: 不要相信猫头鹰
Skip Flaxseed’s outburst causes some angry grumbling amongst the Linseed Lodge’s patrons.
The cleric of Cayden Cailean and his middle-aged companion don their cloaks and rise to leave.
“I AIN’T HANGING ‘ROUND FOR NO STINKIN’ COPS!” The Sczarni growls.
Behind the bar, Paeter tries to reassure his clientele. “Skip, most of the folks here were at the Frothing Alembic earlier, on direct orders from the Ten. How about you tell me why we need the First Guard.”
Skip gives Valjoen a grim look and stalks back towards the bar. Paeter Linseed pales as the cousins converse in low, tense voices.
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Indeed...the service in this venue leaves a bit to be desired... the equally nude and apparently perfectly contempt Mido summarizes.
He holds up the coin and remarks...
I wouldn't be surprised if the Aspis were responsible for the asasination attempt. I cannot however make any sense of this message...don't trust the owls...that is rather odd!
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Mariel quickly follows Skip up the hallway and into Valjoen's room, anxious to find out what caused all the commotion. "Valjoen, are you OK?!" She looks over the halfling's head when the barkeep opens the door. "Are you..." She then notes the dead assassin, and the naked Ulfen. "Oh. It seems you... took care of it. Were you hurt? Do you need healing" She avert her eyes, suppressing for the moment her desire to go in and assist with the search. "Guys? Can't you put on... like... something? Anything?"
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Pratts skitters into the common area by way of the hallway, followed more ponderously by Rika, who ceases brandishing her weapon once she has taken a good look around. "Rika heard noise. And kill assassassin. You have assassassin problem too. Is gone. Good. worms kill ronin. He not deserve die. Beating yes. Die no. Who these assassassin do work for" she asks curtly, before baring her teeth in a fury-filled scowl. "You tell me, or I find out my way. Rika kill them all for Ronin with no name. Is word of Rika. Heads of them on belt" she barks with increasing volume, before turning on her heel and going out to gather her belongings left in the stable, as Pratts tries to find shelter from his mistress under Valjoen's mattress.
After collecting her still smelly armor and backpack, she collects the Ronin's head and goes briefly in search of the body. Wash, clean armors and blade and a trip to the western god of Death's shrine. What is it called... Phasrama? Pharsma? Get him cremated."
A quick search of the immediate area finds no trace of the ronin’s body.
Paeter Linseed comes around from behind the bar to examine Mido’s coin “Sure looks like it.”
After a tour of Valjoen and Manius’ rooms, the manager’s face remains pale. “If that’s what you pair did to them, I don’t want to think about what Rika did!”
“Skip, take a message to Major Maldris at the Andoran embassy. Ask him to send a body recovery team to the Linseed Lodge post-haste. Ask if Mr Wolf’s available.”
His younger cousin looks set to argue. “But Paeter, the cost …”
“I don’t care how much prestige it costs! We can’t get the First Guard involved. We both know the Primarch’s view on Pathfinder-Aspis spats spilling out onto ‘his’ streets. Now get going!”
“LAST DRINKS FOLKS!” Paeter announces to the crowd. “You don’t have to go home. But you can’t stay here!”
“My dear guests.” The Pathfinders’ host hands a gallon mug of mead to Valjoen and smiles. “My sincere apologies for all the trouble tonight. I will have fresh Certified Ninja-free™ baths sent to your rooms right away.”
“However, there is one final thing.”
“Didn’t you have a large iron cage with you when you came in? Because it looks like it’s vanished.”
Paeter looks uneasy around the huntress. “Do you mean the coin or the cage, Mistress Rika?”
“Master Mido’s got the coin.”
“And I can’t actually show you the cage.” He shifts his feet around nervously. “Because it’s like … gone.”
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So let me think...within your establishment we were assaulted by Ninja's who were delivered in bathtubs supplied by yourself. A precious vase which we recovered 'disappeared', while trapped within an oversized cage which only a blind and mute and most likely senile person could have not seen leave and a man who threatened your life last night is also dead by mysterious circumstances.
Mido lets the acquisitions stand there for a moment before continuing.
This gives me plenty of grounds to believe that you are not the harmless Halfling barkeep you pretend to be but actually in liege with the consortium. And that you should likely be Pratts next meal...
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Mariel lets out a cry of dismay at learning that the vase has gone missing. Her brow furrows as she hears the accusation leveled by Mido. "Hey now!" she butts in. "We've had nothing but excellent hospitality from these fine people. They're obviously just as shocked by these attacks at we are. There's no reason to think they had a hand in this!"
She starts pacing the hall, in frustration, still wearing nothing but a towel and somewhat smelly. "There must be something we can do! We went through so much trouble to get it. And we need that vase to continue in the tournament, won't we?" She stews in silence for a moment, then suddenly has a thought "Hah! Couldn't we use magic to locate the vase, if we're quick? I've read about a spell that allows me to search for something, if you know what it looks like. Should I try? I don't know the details, but Dalagriel might be willing to teach me."
From a pragmatic perspective, he is also worried about his reputation with Pathfinder leadership as well as the broader Foreign Quarter community.
Paeter sighs as the tap room empties. “Look, folks. I think everyone – including me – is a little overwrought by tonight’s events.”
“How about we calm down, take a bath and call it a night. Tomorrow’s another big d…”
Then Mariel’s locate object spell *pings*
A quick search of the alley behind the Lodge uncovers the iron cage. It appears much as you left it, except a half-empty ale bottle stands on sentry-duty beside it.
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Mariel takes on a serious look. Dalagriel, I study hard, you know that. But there's so much I still have to learn, about magic. If you could show me how it's done, to locate things. We kind of really need that vase. I know you think it's just a shortcut, if you help me along, but I could really use some help right now."
With some help from the spirit, Mariel casts the locate object spell. "Hah! I've got it!" She sprints out of the Lodge, into the back alley. Once there, she's quite disappointed with the result. "Oh... I think maybe I should have concentrated on just the vase, instead of on the cage with the vase..." She looks over her shoulder. "Sorry Dalagriel, I guess I messed up even with your help."
She then spots the same as Mido does, but draws a different conclusion. "You're right, Mido. The Sczarni must have been waiting for the opportunity, or maybe he was in league with the assassins." She then gives Mido a stern look. "But that still does not mean that Skip and his family were involved. You realize how bad it's going to look for their business, with people being attacked while in their Lodge? There's no way they could have been in on it."
She swiftly hurries back to the Lodge and starts asking some questions, before the trail goes cold. "Did anyone know the Sczarni that was over there by the bar? Did anyone see when he left, or where he went? Does anyone know him?"
--
*******************
*******************
There is a loud banging at the door! Moments later the door flies open revealing a dozen armed tengu behind it. They quickly storm into the room, blades drawn.
“So we meet again, Ruby Tengu. And this time I am ready for you.”
Relaxing in a chair in the empty tap room, Paeter Linseed strokes a cat in his lap nonchalantly while being confronted by Kiang Zhen’s tengu monks Ruby, Jade and Topaz.
“Do you expect me to talk, Mr Linseed?”
“No Ruby Tengu. I expect you to die! But first … did you know the Pathfinders you fought earlier STILL have not opened the iron cage?”
A trio of tengu beaks fall open. “Surely, you can’t be serious! Do you know what this means?”
Linseed stops petting his lap-cat mid-stroke and smiles cruelly. “That they’re in danger of being disqualified from the contest? Oh, yes. I’m serious. And please don’t call me Shirley.”
The tengu sighs “It seems we will have to postpone our little death match until another time, Paeter. Where are they now?”
“Behind the Lodge with the cage. I’m surprised you didn’t fall over them on the way in. Welp, until next time then, Ruby. Best to Robin and the fledglings.”
⚑ ⚑ ⚑
While you’re discussing the latest Sczarni/Aspis/Cage Death Match angle – in the semi-nude, in a Foreign Quarter alley, at 3 o’clock in the morning – a familiar set of tengu triplets descend on you with their empty talons held high.
“Peace, Pathfinders. We wish to parley.”
The Ruby Tengu looks at the cage and each one of you in turn, doing a double-take when he sees what Jillia and Mido are wearing.
“The time draws near, Pathfinders. The Shadowy Ninja is about to descend … oh, sod this!”
Having also had a long day, the bird-man continues more directly. “Open the cage. Find out what’s in it. Then go to bed.”
“And for Shiruzu’s Sake, have a bath first! You all stink!”
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Mariel walks back in, dazed by the events of the last minutes. She was just counting her blessings that they still had the vase. "Why would the Sczarni have taken the cage, and then just left it there? Was he worried because we beat the assassins? We'll probably never find out." Prodded along by the Tengu, Mariel stands behind Mido, watching him work. "Maybe this vial of acid could help, to eat through the lock?" she offers in an attempt to be helpful.
--