Grabbing a towel as he passes by the kitchen he presses it to his wound and keeps moving.
Taton swings on the one that had just attacked him, first with the blunt end and then the spear.
The fates continue to mock him as his swings do nothing but move air about.
Amboy bursts into the kitchen, looking around wildly. Sure enough, you see one thief there, sloshing oil on everything he can see. He spots you, dropping the bucket he was using and pulls out what you realize is a tinderbox.
The luck of the party is mixed this time around, as Unbeugsam and Taton miss their attacks, and Tural and Meghan make progress towards success.
Amboy burst into action and rushes for the bandit. He swings his short sword as the tinderbox in an attempt to smash it out of his hand.
He shouts for assistance as he attacks, "I need help in here. They are trying to burn down the building!"
Meghan yells back to Amboy: "We'll be right there after we finish off this last guy out here!" After uttering that little white lie in the hopes that'll scare the kitchen arsonist into fleeing, Meg again stabs at the intruder to her northwest.
for
"Hold on for a minute, Taton! I can help!" Tural calls out, skating into the kitchen, carefully avoiding the grease and the reach of the bandits.
Taton, the one out on the floor and not the one in the kitchen, continues to strike somewhat fruitlessly at his foe.
Swinging his axe again Unbeugsam slashes at his enemy.
The thief trying to set the place up in flames curses as he draws his daggers. He eyes the window, but decides a payday for so many is better for one.
He dives for the tinderbox, hoping he can take the blows, light the blaze, and get out to claim the bounty.
He grabs the tinderbox but provokes an AoO. If he's given time, he will light the kitchen up.
Meghan misses her attack, though Taton and Unbeugsam cut down their opponents. The two thieves left, look at each other, and make a dash for the kitchen, pinning their hopes on a successful job by burning the place down.
Tural steps back out of the doorway, allowing the last of his fluid magic to summon a final celestial eagle to block the thief as he tries to escape. The eagle cries a challenge as it attempts (and fails to) tear into the bandit.
Meghan grits her teeth and stabs hard at the cowardly arsonist. He's too quick for the bard, however.
for
Amboy takes a swing at the man as he goes for the tinderbox but the oil on the floor cause his footing to shift and he miss him.
Correcting his stance he swings again.
Tural and Meghan's attempts to hold back the thieves fail and their quarry rushes into the kitchen. Amboy misses his first strike but is able to hit on the second draw blood.
The thief fumbles withe the tinderbox, but his hands wet with blood can't light the spark. He hastily dries them on the front of his shirt.
Players up!
Tural directs his eagle to continue attacking its target, and loads and fires his crossbow at one of the bandits attacking Amboy.
Meanwhile, the eagle continues its energetic attacks.
Meghan double-moves in the direction of the kitchen.
Unbeugsam dashes toward the next enemy.
Amboy reaches for a a large pot of cooking oil and throws it at the thief, completely drenching him and the area he's in. The thief looks up in alarm, realizing what successfully lighting the area will do. So he tries to flee.
He manages to keep his stance on the oil-laden floor and make it to an unbroken window.
The other thief, freshly pierced by Tural's arrow, is close to death. He looks about at his dead and fleeing comrades, and reaches into his pocket.
The tinderbox lights the area, beginning to consume the oil-soaked area. the thief who lit it immediately falls unconscious from the fire damage.
Unbeugsam watches as the fire begins to grow, the thief he's killed freshly dead on the floor next to him.
Deciding that she's more invested in the Gold Goblin itself than in a bit of vengeance against its attackers, Meghan tries to put out or at least contain the blaze.
Amboy starts grabbing item off the nearby counter (plates, cutting boards, cookie sheets, towels) and laying them on the fire to smoother it.
He shouts to the others,"Find some towels and sheets to smoother this fire."
Hooking his axe on his shield Unbeugsam grabs one of his hammers and whirls it at the fleeing thief.
Taton gathers what he can, wishing for the time being he had magic or something to that effect which could douse the flames. A generous application of the create water cantrip might well save the day. He tries to find a rug or the like that he can swiftly roll up and drag toward the fire, though he may need help lifting it to properly apply it to the fire to smother it.
If the fire is yet to be extinguished, Tural merely glances at it, and the fledgling flame explodes into dazzling and blinding colors, "Cover your eyes!" Tural exclaims.
Unbeaugsam tries to halt the fleeing thief, but his hammer spins too far to the left and cracks the wall instead.
Taton rushes to try and find a way to smother the flame, but Tural has one last trick in his sleeve and transforms the heat of the flame into a blinding light.
The fire is quenched, but the thief is gone.
Meghan hears the words "Cover your eyes!" and instinctively can't help but peek at what she's not supposed to see. Moments later, she's swearing a blue streak, again temporarily blinded just as she was during the opening night robbery. Luckily, the invaders don't hang around to take advantage of her vulnerability. Soon her sight is restored, and she immediately seeks out Saul to make sure he's all right.
"Looks like we have a mess to clean up."
Amboy begins to go through the belongings of the dead bandits to see if he can find out who they were and who sent them.
He throws everything he finds out on a table in the kitchen.
"Not sure if this will tell anything, but it's a start."
He also retrieves all of his daggers, especially the on by vase that he broke.
Maybe Saul doesn't have to know that was me.
Taton doesn't look away in time, and isn't able to shield his eyes from the blast.
Tough as nails as he is, however, there is no lasting impact. It might also help that he only has the one eye functioning to begin with. "Exciting, this. Evidently there is such thing as too much excitement."
Amboy roots through the thieves, but other than the usual knives and burgling tools there's really no extra information.
"It was Zincher."
The voice of Saul falls from the second story, his look hardened as he looks over the ransacked gambling hall. He sighs and makes his way downstairs.
"Thank you for defending our home and business. I can call the others for clean up if you need to take a rest. As for myself, I need to go see some contacts and make sure word get's to a certain overlord.."
Meghan considers offering to accompany Saul as a sort of bodyguard but just as quickly realizes she's not a very good one, so she keeps her mouth closed. Seeing Amboy leaking a trail of blood across the casino floor, she uses the last of her spells to cast cure light wounds on him . Then she starts the long task of cleaning up the mess and destruction the invaders left in their wake.
Amboy accept the healing, "Thanks Meghan. That should stop the bleeding for now."
The next morning, as you all are helping to pitch in to make sure the Gold Goblin is back to normal. Even with a thief escaping, the success of fending off the attack seems to bolster the staff's spirits. However, Saul is a different story. He seems more tired, a bit distracted, and all about business when he speaks to you all.
Saul has been quiet since last night, and most conversations with him are short and curt. Something weighs on his mind, and he promises action soon.
I need everyone to make another roll to help out the Gold Goblin.
Meghan does some cleaning up, but when she needs a break she tries her best to advertise on the streets outside the establishment.
The following skill checks can influence the Gold
Goblin’s Profit Rating. A character must accomplish that
particular skill’s requirement at some point during the
week, and at the end of that week he makes the appropriate
skill check. Granting Saul a +1 bonus on his Profession
check requires a different DC for success depending on
the skill in question, but if a PC fails this skill check by 5
or more, he actually imparts a –1 penalty on Saul’s weekly
Profession check.
Bluff (DC 15): Spend 2 hours a day cajoling citizens and
tricking them into visiting the Gold Goblin. If this roll
is failed three times, the character’s spreading reputation
makes further Bluff checks automatically fail unless he
successfully Disguises himself.
Craft (DC 15): Spend 2 hours a day and 10 gp to create
eye-catching advertisements.
Diplomacy (DC 15): Spend 2 hours a day managing the
help and greeting customers at the Gold Goblin.
Diplomacy (DC 13): Spend 4 hours a day convincing
citizens to stop by the Gold Goblin.
Intimidate (DC 15): Spend 2 hours a day working as a
bouncer at the Gold Goblin. Failure by 5 or more indicates
a customer at the Gold Goblin picks a fight with the
character. The customer is typically a Riddleport Thug or
Thief, but can be a more dangerous foe if you wish.
Intimidate (DC 20): Spend 2 hours a day threatening
customers of competing game halls that if they don’t
check out the Gold Goblin, something bad will happen.
After 1d4 such weeks of this tactic, the other game
halls embark on similar campaigns, at which point
this check can no longer increase the Gold Goblin’s
profitability, but if someone doesn’t make the check
anyway, the competition imparts a –2 penalty on Saul’s
Profession check.
Perform (DC 15): Spend 2 hours a day performing for
customers at the Gold Goblin.
Profession (gambler) (DC 15): Spend 2 hours a day
working as a croupier or dealer at the Gold Goblin.
Spot (DC 15): Spend 2 hours a day looking for cheaters at
the Gold Goblin.
Finally, a character can give Saul a bonus to his
profitability check by donating gold to the cause. Every 50
gp donated grants Saul a +1 bonus for that week’s check, up
to a maximum of +5 for 250 gp.
Amboy will follow Meghan and learn the ropes of advertising.
Taton tries encouraging people to come to the golden goblin, but perhaps his heart just isn't in it, either way he's not particularly effective.
Tural wanders the streets, attempting to persuade new faces to stop by the Gold Goblin and wager a gold piece or two. He doesn't join his fellow coworkers, though, instead preferring to work alone in the hopes of being more effective (though the time alone is also a bonus for him).
Despite the groups best efforts, The Gold Goblin gets a bad rep from the recent attack and business is doing poorly. The strain can be felt by most everyone. However, a few days later, the immediate danger seems to be gone and peace returns to the Gold Goblin.
But of course, as always, the peace can't last long. Saul has once again gathered you all for a job.
"Though the Overlord's condemned the attack, it doesn't seem like he's willing to impart his protection. Through my leads, I've found that Zincher is planning on one last gambit to ruin this place, he probably sees it as a way to avoid marring his public image permanently."
"I need you all to strike at the preparation site tonight. There should only be a few thugs and maybe some more elite members of the gang, but Zincher shouldn't be there himself. If you can do this, I think we'll finally have them off our backs.."
"I'm in but can't we just go over and burn his place down? It seems so much easier."
"I think it is time for payback. This is a grudge and grudges have to be repaid!
Unbeugsam is pretty grumpy at the moment.
Meghan uses healing spells throughout the week to knit the wounds she and her comrades suffered the night of Zincher's raid.
Meghan puts a hand on Unbeugsam's shoulder as the dwarf speaks, smiling rather grimly while nodding. I like him when he's grumpy, she decides. He's at his best at those times.
Walking slowly toward Amboy, she weighs her words carefully. "I feel the same way, but that might get us on the Overlord's bad side. Burning down a building--and maybe a whole city block if we're unlucky--hurts not only Zincher but Riddleport as a whole. Killing some of Zincher's flunkies, though...that only hurts Zincher. I'm with Keypaw on this one." She gives Saul an encouraging smile.
"He doesn't have just the one place though, Zincher has the arena, which I can tell you is formidable and nearly unassailable, but he also has businesses and interests throughout. We need to strike the man, but that's perhaps for a later time." Taton has his own axe to grind in this case, but he leaves that for later.
Tural merely nods in agreement, "So be it. How do we want to approach this? Quietly striking from the shadows and weakening them? Or rushing in and taking them all out at once?" he asks his coworkers.
"Amboy, while I love your enthusiasm, even if we all came out of that assault alive, Zincher's gang is spread far and wide. And they, as well as the rest of the thieves guild, would slit our throats for such a blatant attack."
He answers Tural's concerns.
"I'll trust your expertise as a group. I'll give you a map of the area, but it is usually murky and you'll be standing in the muck and water. You all leave tonight. Be ready."