As the festivities came into full swing in Sandpoint, the laughter and excitement could be heard and yet one had managed to sleep past of of it, only until a louder yells seemed to stir him. He'd rise from his own slumbering, having been sleeping in a smaller stable near the towns edge. He had originally visited to offer blessings to the new church as representative of the the Waybringer, but had decided to stay after hearing of the upcoming festival and found a nights stay with a more friendly civilian who didn't all mind his appearance.
With another yawn, the reptilian priest would climb down, giving a stretch before deciding to wander out and see those of the town enjoying their time of celebration. His people had always been wary of human kind, and he hoped that seeing all of them having fun and enjoying life around them would be the perfect way to remove those thoughts from his mind. If he was lucky, he'd actually have some fun himself for a change.
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Ren looks over the food available.
As she examines the fish she quietly asks:
Mistress how did you ever come up with the idea of using dried seaweed as your wrap?
I have seen Maze leaves used but never seaweed. Particularly not seaweed soaked in some sort of vinegar to make it tastier.
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Praetor tucks the reward into his backpack.
I do not need a ribbon to prove my strength.
He realizes suddenly that he has let his guard down, and forces himself to concentrate again. As Praetor scans the crowd, he notices a man wearing a leather duster seated nearby that seems to be watching the crowd.
As he sits down across the table from the mysterious man, Praetor asks "What brings you to this fine festival?" He focuses on the man and studies him silently using his Detect Evil ability.
Noticing he had been spotted, Varak took a moment to look back at the interesting two standing out among the humans. The reptiles fire knee-jerk response was to make a hasty escape, but when he didn't see any kind of hostility it did get the priest thinking. Perhaps a good way to break the ice here would be to meet with these two, after all, they might understand him a bit more than a normal human would. Getting his mind settled, the lizardfolk would do his best to straight up before making his way over, raising a clawed hand in greeting. "Hello there, are you two here for the festival as well?" he'd ask the both native outsiders, keeping a cheerful disposition.
At this point, the church bell rings twice, loud and clear. Wherever you are, people start to wrap up their activities and head towards the cathedral. It's easy to overhear talk of releasing the swallowtails.
Lackspell, lost in thought and writing in his notebook, doesn't notice Praetor's approach and jumps as the big man sits down and speaks to him. He glances quickly across to the tug-of-war as if wondering how the knight had got across to him so quickly.
Oh! ah, Sir Knight, ah greetings" he stutters, clearly a bit startled by the sudden conversation "... the festival? Oh the festival! No no, I didn't come here for the festival. Didn't even know it was on actually. I just arrived here the other day and discovered that it was imminent so I decided to stay. No I came here for the same reason as I suspect you and your party came here... The Sandpoint Devil. Umm, that is why you are here isn't it?"
Curious, he thinks to himself, I don't think he remembers me. I know we didn't meet for long, but it was only last night. Maybe it's the hat. Still, being a bit unmemorable is probably no bad thing..."
Just then the tolling of the church bells rolls across the town. Lackspell looks about as people start to make their way up towards the Church some of them chatting among themselves about the release of the Swallowtails...
Swallowtails? he wonders, Some sort of bird aren't they? Interesting - I wonder what the significance is? Oh well, I suppose I should follow everyone up there if I want to find out
As Praetor gets up and heads up towards the church Lackspell closes his notebook and puts it away in his satchel. Then he stands up and heads up the same way as the knight. He is not consciously following him, just heading in the same direction and at a similar pace (as most people are I suspect). As such he will arrive in front of the church a minute or so after him and in a similar area but not right next to him.
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Before he leaves for the cathedral bells, Praetor finishes his brief conversation with Lackspell.
"Oh, we met last night. Please forgive me, I was dr- I was not myself." He lingers for a moment, not wanting to lie about his problem, or discuss it openly. "Sandpoint Devil? I was sent by the Dawnguard and that sounds like exactly the sort thing they would want me to investigate. Hunting monsters, are you? Perhaps I could join you in the hunt.
The cathedral bells begin to ring, and Praetor is drawn to them. "I'm going to see what all the racket's about. Cheers, friend. And don't forget to find me before you go off slaying devils."
Praetor gives Lackspell a smile, still feeling badly that he did not remember meeting him the night before. His drinking caused many such shameful problems.
Oh dear, I have embarrassed him. There's no real reason he should have remembered me among a group of complete strangers. I must try not to do that to people
"Indeed, Sir Knight" replied Lackspell "I had hoped to come here and find out more about this Devil. If it turned out to be a genuine menace or a source of something rare I was going to try and gather together a group of adventurers to deal with it. Imagine my delight to discover there was already an adventuring party in town. If you are not already hunting it yourselves I would be delighted to include you and your group."
Varak turns towards the church, listening to the sounds for a moment or two as those around him begin moving towards it. He agreed that the bells were clearly meant to draw all of their attention and soon made his way as well towards the drawing crowd. His eyes though followed the little saurian creature, unable to hide the smile at the sight of it. While not entirely, it was nice to see something dragonlike, though it was much closer to his ancestor than any ancestor of a dragon.
When you all arrive, most of the town seems to have gathered. Father Zantus and his acolytes wheel a large covered wagon into the square, and
after recounting the short parable of how Desna first fell to earth and was nursed back to health by a blind child whom she transformed into an immortal butterfly as a reward for her aid, they pull aside the wagon's cover, releasing the thousand children of Desna- a furious storm of swallowtail butterflies that swarm into the air in a spiraling riot of color to a great cheer from the crowd. Father Zantus uses a thunderstone to herald the release of the swallowtails, and, with it, the dedication of the church.
A sharp retort, like the crack of distant thunder, slices
through the excited crowd as the sun's rays paint the western sky. Father Zantus clears his throat to speak some more, and suddenly a
woman's scream slices through the air. A few moments later, another scream rises, then another. Beyond them, a sudden surge of strange new voices rises high-pitched, tittering shrieks that sound not quite human. The crowd parts and something low to the ground races by, giggling with disturbing glee. The raucous sound of a strange song begins, chanted from shrill, scratchy voices.
"Goblins chew and Goblins bite,
Goblins cut and Goblins fight!
Goblins race and Goblins jump,
Goblins slash and Goblins bump!
Burn the skin and mash the head,
Goblins here and you be dead!
Chase the baby, catch the pup,
Bonk the head to shut it up!
Bones be cracked, flesh be stewed,
We be Goblins! You be food!"
The crowd roils with panic!
Everyone, roll a Perception check, DC 12.
Lackspell spins about when he hears the screams but can see no sign of the source of the disturbance.
Is this part of the ceremony? Perhaps playing out some heroic act of Desna's? Surely not? These people look genuinely scared.
The reptilian man looks around quickly as the crowd begins to fly into a panic, shocked to hear the sounds of the song being chanted. The words filled him with a sense of dread, the very idea of goblins being here now of all times. Just like that, the wicked ilk of evil had come to corrupt this city, if their song was anything to go by. Not waiting to find out what the foul little beasts were here for, the lizardfolk would dig into his bag, pulling out the silver holy symbol of his deity should the need to arise for his aid.
As the chaos continues to swirl around him, Lackspell begins to feel some of the panic of the crowd. He feels a natural tendency to want to run somewhere safe, but this is unfamiliar ground, he does not know where to go.
Ahh, run! But where. Where do I go? Where do I GO? People everywhere... the noise, the screaming ...Oh, they're butterflies... The inn, where is the inn? I can't remember ... where?
In desperation he grabs a potion bottle from a pocket in his coat and uncorking it, pours the contents into his mouth. Moments later a gasp of pain bursts out of his mouth as his form seems to twist and grow. He gains almost a foot in height and his face takes on a somewhat bestial cast. His arms elongate, protruding out the ends of his sleeves and displaying corded, wiry muscle.
Akron, go ahead an roll intiative.
Actually everyone roll intiative; I'll note who can and can't act this first round.
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Ren grabs a couple pieces of fish when the bells ring and heads back to find Orz, only to see that he is gone.
As the crown begins to streams to the center of the square, Ren finds her fear decreasing slightly. With it easier to breath she decides to follow, but stays at the very edge of the crowd where she can easily see a way free.
Because of this she is unable to see exactly what is going on when the strang song starts.
However she does recognize the mood of the crowd changing.
Lords above, I knew there was too many people living together. The big ones are going to hit me... I should run, I need to hide before.....
The fish falls forgotten from her hand as she steps back and presses her back against the wall of a building bordering the square. There she stands trembling frozen in fear.
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Chrona tells Varak that her passing through town just happened to coincide with the festival. Right as she was speaking the bells ring. "Well, I'm going to check this out, take care!"
She wanders over to the crowd and watches the event unimpressed. When the chaos starts she tries to discern what is going on.
Akron yells out about an attack and Chrona see's the tiny dino get into attack position. Then Lackspell busts into a whole other creature.
'Holy s$~%! What kind of a town is this?!'
She pulls out her rapier but watches the crowd wildly chase about, still unsure what action to take.
Initiative Order
- Bad Guys
- Ren
- Praetor
- Varak
- Lackspell
- Chrona
- Arkon
Only Arkon can act this round. The rest of you are surprised and considered flat-footed. Here is what you now all see;
The shape that raced by on the ground is a Goblin. It has a vicious blade held high and is making a beeline towards a stray dog. Two other goblins with torches are trying to set fire to a nearby merchant's stall, and two have clambered up onto a picnic table, alternating awkwardly swinging at anyone nearby (not really hitting anything) and stuffing their faces with food.
The one that goes towards the dog...
Threatens a critical hit...
But it is not a crit. Still, the weapon injures the poor animal, doing...
Four points of damage! The weapon bites into the innocent dog's side, wounding it grievously.
Akron, you may take your turn. Then Goblins again, then everyone else can take their turn.
For combat, after the bad guys go (assuming everyone can act), everyone should take their turn if possible.
The critical hit is not confirmed, but the damage is more than enough to handle the goblin, who is torn to pieces by you and your animal companion. The goblins with the torches did not like that, and move to you, trying to strike you with their torches.
They feebly shove their torches at you, but they are definitely afraid of you after how handily you killed their companion. The two on the table make their way over to you, but are not able to make it all the way. The crowd is in their way.
Now we are in normal initiative order! Ren, you are up! The rest of you, feel free to take your turns as well. We will resolve it in normal order.
Finally, Varak began to see the little devils running around and causing a disaster. There were a lot of innocent scattering around, but luckily they seemed to be ignored by the wicked creatures either attacking anyone defending the city or stuffing their ugly little faces. Taking quick to action, the reptilian priest would call out to the Waybringer before charging in, letting the silver holy symbol slip back into his bag as he dashed towards one of the ugly beasts currently attacking the oread he had tried to speak with earlier.
He'd snarl as he chomped down on the ugly thing, tasting its foul blood as his normally much weakers jaws carried with them the strength of his draconic deity. This hadn't been how he wanted those around this town to see him, but he certainly hoped that they'd focus far more on that he was defending their home rather than how he was fighting.
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Ren trembles in fear at the commotion.
Wait, Goblins... With torches? What are they doing?.... They will burn the.....
Images flash though her head, echos of dreams that trouble her.
A town in flames.
Children screaming in pain.
Her parents ripped away from her by Giants
They will take the children... they will..... I must....
Pale as a ghost and stomach clenched in fear, she draws sword and dagger and dives headlong into the croud. Tumbling past screaming townsfolk she plants herself oposite the torch bearing goblins from Arkon and Orz.
Finally catching sight of the goblins, Lackspell also sees the adventurers leaping in to the fray to defend the town. Noting that they had all charged in on the two goblins with the torches, he decided to focus on the other two.
OK, here we go. I am sure this will work, well ... it should work. Oh, Desna, smile on me.
Grabbing a small flask from his jacket he drops a pinch of a dark chemical substance in it as he stalks towards the goblins. The contents of the flask start fizzing and bubbling as he speaks, his voice sounding oddly distorted. "OK, you little bastards like fire? Well, try this and see if you like it."
With that he hurls the flask at one of the two goblins.
Oh Desna weeps! he curses as the bomb goes over the goblins heads and lands behind them. The explosion splashes a small amount of fire over their backs.
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Through the din and chaos of the crowd Praetor finally notices the goblins and a fury washes over him. They interrupt a holy ceremony, spread fear and attack the innocent. They will pay.
The great sword screams as it slides from its sheath and glimmers like the sun as he holds tight in his hands. With a furious stare and a growling voice Praetor shouts at one of the goblins that leapt down from the table and skitters now through the crowd, "You have made a grievous mistake, goblin! Come, face your judgment! The Dawnguard will show you no mercy."
Praetor wades through the crowd until he is adjacent to the goblin. Once he stands adjacent to the targeted goblin he looks down and gives a cruel grin, then prepares to swing his sword.
Varak, you viciously chomp the Goblin. It's bleeding out, completely torn open.
They're not quick enough to get out of the way of your bomb! They take four damage each, and look pretty crispy.
Praetor, you cut the Goblin down with ease, spilling it's guts with your slash. It's bleeding out.
Three goblins down and two hurt out of five! Chrona has her action now.
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The goblins are dropping like flies as the terrified townsfolk flood away. The sight of two goblins burning from the exploding fire bomb excites Chrona.
I recognize these, Ralxik called them cheap petty souls and.. goblins I believe.'
As the crispy goblins popped and sizzled, Chrona steps towards them and a cone of fire erupts from her hands, engulfing the two goblins in lovely, beautiful flames.
The twin remaining goblins are close together so burning hands will hit them both.
And now you can stick a fork in them because they're (well) done.
...puns for days!
There are no more Goblins that you can see in the immediate area and it looks like you have a moment to catch your breath. What do you do?
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Now that the goblin threat is vanquished, Praetor scans the area for any injured civilians. While he looks about, he instinctively removes his waterskin from the belt pouch and pours a trickle of water down the blade to wash off the goblin blood. Noticing some spatter on his legs and feet, he rinses his armor down, too. Filthy little creatures. Praetor puts away his cleaned greatsword sword and kneels down next to the dead goblin to search it for anything of interest.
Then Praetor remembers the wounded dog. He makes his way over next to the whimpering animal, Arkon and Orz. Placing his hand on the its shoulder, he whispers "It's alright, pup," and tries to mend the dog and gather information about its status.
He has a soft spot for animals and is unusually upset by the wounded dog.
As the lizardfolk drops the ugly thing from his jaws, he'd wipe his mouth with the back of his scaled hand of blood. A prayer of thanks would escape him as he turned to observe the area of any wounded, his eyes stopping on Praetor when no one else seemed hurt. The human man seemed to have it all under control, turning now to the woman standing in the table. "Do you see any more of these wicked creatures? A group this small couldn't be so stupid to attack this town alone could they?" he asked the young woman, moving to stand by here next to the table.
Ren, aside from the panic you see nothing amiss,
Varak, if you want to see what you would know about goblins in general, you may roll knowledge dungeoneering. If you want to see what you would know about goblins in this specific area, you could roll knowledge of local.