Yasmin's words fall on deaf ears...the outlaws presumably preoccupied by the Tiefling dashing down the corridor, deadly steel flashing... Steel that leaves the first of the outlaws sprawled on the floor, lifeblood spreading in a crimson circle...
"You killed Tormen!!! You'll pay for that...you devil spawn!!!", a loud 'twang' and then a sharp pain in Rallos' thigh as a bolt embeds itself...
The outlaw, seeing Rallos' friends swarming in, turns and runs...
Argh....I'm going to shove my sword so far down your throat.... Rallos curses as the bolt juts from his leg. He chases after the second man, a fierce look on hus face.
Ea moves inside the room, cold and calm, as always, with deliberate slow steps.
Spotting a door on her left, she stops and waits for any new foes incoming, while seeking any kind of alarm device is the room.
If there was people standing there as guards, there is certainly a way for them to rise the alarm if needed.
"Drat, let's try that magic again, shall we?" Yasmin pursues and attempts to daze the remaining man again.
- you don't see any hidden traps on the door nor does it sound like anyone is hiding behind it
Turning the corner, with Rallos hot on his heels, the escaping man suddenly seems to lose momentum... And just stands at the corner of a very long corridor whist everyone catches up...
Grayface hustles at a steady pace in pursuit of the fleeing man.
Pertreeko, rushing behind you as you chase after the slowing outlaw, stops...tastes the air and tells you in a hushed tone that something is here...something that shouldn't be...something not of this plane. He looks, so far as you can tell, quite flustered by this knowledge...
"We don't want to hurt you...much. Stop running fool." The warrior whacks at the fleeing man with the flat of his blade, not wanting to spill his entrails.
Rallos positions himself for a strike at the man's vital parts.
Ea stands side by side with the avian druid, quiet and confident in the fact that something will happen probably very soon.
Something always happen in the Spire.
She points the door on the right to Grayface
We'll get company.Soon.
She take a small bell from under her clothes, and slowly make it ring. The sound is eery, a promise of mourning and sadness
Pharasma, let me see for whom the bell tolls...
Yasmin moves to the bend in the hall, to keep an eye out for more trouble.
Rallos’ blade cuts deep into back of the escaping outlaw whilst Grayface, taking a different approach, attempts to subdue the outlaw using less lethal tactics…
Sensing that things are about to get a lot worse, Pertreeko hustles forward and touches Grayface on the shoulder…
– Looking for the tell-tale auras of life, you only see those from your ‘friends’ within the corridor…and the outlaws attacking you.
Teetering on the edge of consciousness, the outlaw flanked by Rallos and Grayface staggers away from you…his hands held above his head to fend off any blows…
Suddenly the doors halfway along the corridor crash open and four crossbow wielding humans , using the doorways and some of the crates in the corridor as cover, open fire upon the party. Rallos, perched atop crates to gain advantage against his escaping foe, draws the most fire.
Pertreeko mumbles a curse to himself as he hops along the barrels on the south side of the corridor, hopping down in front of Yasmin with a muttered apology.
"Take this, ruffians!" he says, holding up one hand like he's tossing a pizza. Instead of a pizza though, a ball of burning tar springs from nothing in his hand. "Heee-yah!" he yells, hurling the tar ball down the hallway at Outlaw 3.
"Damn!"
"Clever, but you can't hide from this!" Yasmin moves forward and a blast of fire shoots forth from her hands! The group of outlaws except for the one furthest away is struck.
; Reflex DC 15 for half damage.
Gray ducked as a sizzling ball of sludge flew over his shoulder. He looked back to see his new druid friend recovering from a heavy throw, looking excitable and involved. The warrior was pleased with his new friend.
Turning back to the wounded man, he saw the human utilizing a purely defensive stance. Grayface took advantage of this to skirt by him without fear of attack. He moved past him only to get a blast of superheated air when Yasmin used her magic on their enemy combatants. The roar of flame was quickly accompanied by the smell of burnt hair and flesh. "Aha! Nice job Yazzy." The scarred warrior moved past his friend and stood in front of her, knowing that he was more suited to frontline combat.
Grayface placed himself in the grit of the action, steadfast in his desire to protect his friends from harm.
oh for the love of..... Rallos curses as he fights back the pain.
Rallos then moves forward to try to run thug #3 through.
Pertreeko's sticky ball of goo splashes against the wall near one of the outlaws cowering in cover...steam spews from it as, slowly sipping down the wall, it sizzles and pops...
Meanwhile neither Grayface nor Rallos can get an attack in against the fleeing outlaw so...it is just as well that Yasmin has an arcane trick up her sleeve...moving forwards, even as the crossbow bolts fly, she fills the corridor with flame...
The outlaw who had been running falls under the inferno...and doesn't get back up.
And when Rallos steps forward to attack his nearest foe, his blade is enough to drop another outlaw...
Ea walks to Rallos, her eyes now two pure spots of grey, perceiving the life force of every creature around her.
What an exhilarating experience! She was a god walking among mere humans.
She looked at her allies, and at her foes.
Rallos life was slowly escaping him, he was close to Death. She could sense it.
The thief's life was between her hands. How easy it would be, to let him die now, to let him accomplish his Fate.
Wasn't Sister Zalinsel the voice of Pharasma down here?
Wasn't she here to help people accept the ultimate truth of Death?
She could nearly rip the sinuous, blackening rope that was his lifeforce, twist it between her hands as it would please her, just to see what would happen.
But then you would be no better than Lord Gorloth, Ea. Rallos Fate is not yours to decide.Not yet.
She freezes a few seconds, uttering a mystical prayer to the Lady of the Boneyard, and touches something unseen-except for herself-above Rallos head, infusing his lifeforce with a healing energy
The unseen rope took a slighty cleaner, whiter shade.
Thank you Ea....those bolts bit deep....
Pertreeko moves up, but in the tightly closed environs of the hallway, he's unable to move forward. "Bah, what I'd give for a wide field, open under the skies!" he grumbles aloud. Lacking a good angle, he settles for buffing Rallos.
"Bite them back, harder, my tiefling friend," he mutters grimly.
Wavering as the flames fill the corridor and Rallos casually kills one of their number, the outlaws still manage to mount a defense… The one closest to Grayface drops his crossbow and, drawing a sword, stabs at the warrior…his blade ringing against metal armour as he fails to find a chink in Grayface’s guard…
…whilst the other two, standing a little back from the melee, continue to use their crossbows to hassle Grayface and Rallos…
Yasmin does not hesitate. As Rallos drops the outlaw in the hallway, Yasmin moves past the now vacated space and sends another spout of fire from her hands, hitting all the outlaws!
Gray hefts his shield and moves forward, moving himself from the protection of the corner in exchange for a better shot at his foes. He swung at the hostile man nearest to him.
Rallos stabs at #6
The same scenario plays out a second time...Yasmin fills the corridor with flame and, after two succumb to the terrible inferno, Rallos rushes forward and impales the survivor...
...this time, no one is left...a terrible sprawl of bodies is strewn across the corridor...the sight accompanied by the almost sickening smell of burnt flesh.
"Live by the sword, die by the sword," Pertreeko comments sadly, lowering his arms to his sides again. "Well fought, everyone. Does anyone require aid?"
If you could help be pick these bolts our of me, that would be great. At least they're not spiders....
"Do you suppose we finally found some of these bandits we've been hunting for? Let's see if there are any clues." Yasmin searches the bodies for items of interest.
Aye..they might just be some of the ruffians me are looking for.
Rallos rifles through their bodies, checking for anything usable or informative.
Ea, I assume you would like to bless these bodies so they don't come back for revenge.
"I didn't even get any blood on my sword. Pathetic." The frustrated warrior grumbles and seems to be in a grouchy mood, but inside he is deeply impressed by his friends. He wanted to smile, but it just wasn't in the cards.
Gray doesn't lower his weapons. He stands ready to charge any enemy who is foolish enough to try a surprise attack.
"Oy! Haloo-there! Any Splinters left nearby?" Pertreeko raises his voice, cupping his beak as he bellows down the hallway in a show of bravado.
The Splinters are the Outlaw Band that you have been commissioned to bring down.
You are assuming well, Rallos.
Ea prays for the deceased souls
The Splinters are the Outlaw Band that you have been commissioned to bring down.
Looking into the room that your ambushers came from, it appears to be some kind of mess hall. The north and south walls are fitted with shelves containing mismatched goblets, platters and bowls. Noticeably, a number are made of fine porcelain emblazoned with crests of noble families. A raised table with three lavish chairs stands at the east end...looming over the more mundane tables within the room.
Searching the bodies, all of which are horribly charred, you find:
- 5 potions of cure light wounds
- 7 vials of a green viscous liquid
- 1 masterwork light crossbow
- 4 light crossbows (and 34 bolts)
- 5 short swords
Taking time to examine your surroundings, your are located halfway along a 60ft corridor.
- To your south, a closed heavy door leads east (it is this door that made Pertreeko uneasy)
- Just behind you, two short corridors lead westwards ending at doors...
- ...and, to the north, the corridor turns to the east.
It is also notable that, besides the crates and barrels that line the walls, at the corners of this corridor stand statues of a lady pouring water from an urn.
Pertreeko picks up one of the greenish vials, swirling the viscous fluid inside around thoughtfully while rubbing his beak. "What were they planning to do with these, I wonder..."
I propose each of us takes a healing draught. If Pertreeko or myself are unavalaible, that could ...give you a temporary respite from the call of your graves. To which everyone will succumb, of course.
Ea looks at the porcelain things
These are fragile. We should take them only on our way back, if we come back. I wonder which noble house's crest this is... I have so far no knowledge of the nobility, or history. But they are surely worth something, or the bandits wouldn't have kept them.
Seeing the druid looking at the greenish liquid
Maybe some alchemical compound? Another field of knowledge I've had so far no interest in, I'm afraid. I can't even say if these liquids are magic or not. Can you, Yasmin?
Finally she will look at the statues, searching for some religious significance
"Those green vials? Maybe they're some sort of poison. Let me take a look." Yasmin examines the green liquid carefully.
"Green is overwhelmingly the predominant color of the natural magic here. I felt it when I tapped the ley-lines of magic earlier, and it tinged my flames green. I wonder if the color is significant," the druid thinks aloud as he looks on.
A potion each is a good idea. These statues appear a little peculiar. They might bear further investigating.
Rallos checks the southernmost statue.
- there is nothing obviously magical about the vials...no auras or any arcane symbols.
- You don't recognise any of the heraldry or crests on the porcelain however it is very obvious that these are valuable pieces...indeed, the eleven dishes in decent condition would probably fetch about 50 GP each. As to the statues of the lady pouring water, there is nothing obviously religious about it...
Rallos assists Ea in her examination of the statues but finds nothing of note...
Grayface gladly takes a magical healing potion. After looking at the curious vials and giving the enemies' weapons a once over, the fighter noticed a subtle coating of the same green substance that the vials held.
"Look here-- these bolts are coated with that green stuff. It is very subtle, look closely here." He points out the gloss to anyone interested. "Poison, maybe?
"Not even a copper piece among these vermin? What on Golarion are they doing down here? Are these the thieves we've been pursuing?"
Grayface gathers up all the crossbows, bolts, and swords and places them in a bundle near all the porcelain and other finery. We can pick these up when we leave for the Fort. Anyone want to use this fine crossbow? Its make is delicate and will aim straighter than a typical bow."
"Rallos and I are wounded. Ea, will you share your god's blessing with us, so that we may press on?"
Ea, having found nothing holy about the statues, turns when she hears Grayface talking about poison
Poison? That may be...Bandits will use any dirty trick to end a fight quickly. Let's see if I can recognise this one, that would be helpful if I have to find or create a counterpoison in my healing kit. Meanwhile, pray Pharasma to accept to delay your inevitable death. Or not: your Fate is between Her hands, not mine.
I can use the crossbow, but I might not be the only one.
"I'll accept the masterwork one for today's use, if Rallos doesn't claim it," the druid comments, examining it with a critical eye as he walks across to Grayface. "My magical abilities are all but exhausted this day, and it would be nice to have other means of defending myself beyond my simple club." He turns to address the fighter directly. "Feel the magic of the land." The tengu's crowlike eyes take on a misty green sheen as he lays a hand on your wounds, allowing the ley-lines to boost his magic.
No objections here. We should check this door here before carrying on. I do not want anything creeping up behind us
Rallos heads to the door to his left, carefully checking the area.