"I'm a little out of practice, but I believe so. I think the plan is solid and basic enough. Just give the word and I'll be right over to 'investigate the matter'."
The fishery looms before you.
There is a set of double doors on the fishery's western face.
"Ortik, is this plan ok with you?" Whay ask him! Take him-control him!
"If you think that's a good plan," Ortik says, raising an eyebrow at the scuttling scarpion. "Then I'm on board. I don't mind being used as bait, so long as the arm holding the lure is stout and swift."
"This may be rough, but we should play it up to make it believable. I'm sorry." Karri grabs the dwarf by his stinking collar and drags him around the corner towards the fishery. She shouts as she walks, "How dare you do that! Don't you know who owns this building!" Her strides are insistent and she leans her weight against Ortik, moving closer to the fishery. Addressing the guards, You there! Who can I turn a thief in to?" Fearlessly she gets closer to the guards, "I saw him come in here while you were standing by, and walk out with a basket of fish!" She stops in front of the guards, and shifts her grip on Ortik, "I expect a reward for protecting Lamm's goods!" she hisses at the guards between clenched teeth.
Karri's inner voices churn at the rush of adrenaline, mixing bloodlust into her fear. It is calming to feel how useful these voices are. Hurt them! Cut their eyes out!
Ok, let's see if these guys are any good. Observing the ruse, Lyla moves to a hidden position close to the fishery, ready to come forth once action starts.
As you get back into position, the pier *creaks*.
Fortunately, Karri's distraction seems to be working.
"Eh? What's that?"
"...someone who knows better than to cross Lamm, evidently. Come along. They might need some assistance... 'handling' the thief."
"Yeah... heheheheehee!"
Yargin's & Giggles' voices fade, replaced by footsteps on wood.
A few seconds pass, then the double doors in front of the fishery swing open. Out steps a blond man with a slimy smile on his face, backed by a half-orc with several nasty scars on his face. The half-orc is missing his left eye, and Blondie's clothes look two decades out of style.
"Yes, yes, what is it? Who stole what, now?" Blondie speaks up. The half-orc behind him giggles and rests a hand on his flail.
You can hear a dog barking from inside the fishery.
Demitri sees them seemingly fall for the ruse. He makes his way over, trying to remember protocol for this situation.
"What seems to be the problem here? I heard someone yelling about a thief and thought I'd step in." He asks in his most deep and professional voice.
"Make it convincing, we only get one shot at this," he replies, then immediately enters character after Kerri starts shouting.
"Hands off, ye wee lass!", Ortik slurs, bringing the dwarven nature of his accent to the front of his speech. "I haen't stolen nothing from no one! An' where would I be placin' a basket o' stinkin' fish upon me body, if I had?"
As Demitri approaches, Ortik turns to him. "Oi! You, this lady's trying to sell me up the river! Help me out, would ye?" He looked pleadingly between Demitri and the guards.
"That's assuming you didn't take it. I know for a fact that dwarves are all greedy and will take whatever's not nailed down." Demitri inches closer to melee range of blondie.
As the two men come into the open, Karri relaxes her grip on Ortik's collar. She pulls one of her Legion close to her soul, Freedom! Boil their eyes!!! "This gutter rat was skulking about your building. I saw him walk away with a basket of fish-a fine meal for a retch! When I called out to stop him, he threw the basket into the water and tried to run. The staggering drunk trip on his own feet. Now, he's here to answer for his presumption. Give me..." Her voice trails off as she unleashes one of her demons. Where her voice was normally smooth and lucid it begame a thrumming note of discord, "ننظر إلى الجحيم يصرخ!" The scarred girl's hand clenches over her breast and she slowly, at first, pulls something from her flesh, as her words end her hand streaks outward in a blinding flash of colors and sparks. Her eyes glow a brilliant sickly green as the contrasting, dazzling colors push over the two men before her. Again! Free me again!
=
Yargin takes the full force of Karri's spell and drops like a sack of potatoes. The colors flying from her hand also completely recolor his clothing into a full spectrum of new colors: his clothes now only look two years out of date.
Giggles, however, reflexively throws his arm up to protect his one remaining eye, and the spell doesn't seem to affect him at all. He lowers it, and starts giggling as he brings his flail to bear.
"Heeheeheehahahaha" He roars.
There's no way no one else in the fishery didn't hear that.
Demitri will step over, draws his blade, and slash at 'Giggles'.
Karri steps closer to the mentally vacant orc and pushes the essence of the thing still in her hands towards it. "تقع والدعاء لي!" she shouts at the thug, hoping to drive him to the ground. There is very little revulsion in her heart as she lets the demon pull on it's tether, Break them my pet... Again a wave of harsh, jarring colors swarms over and past the orc. Her eyes begin to smolder, a cloying green smoke slowing coming from the orbs themselves.
Lyla sees Yargin and Giggles leaving the room next to the pier. Hearing the commotion by the front door, she drinks her mutagen and tries to break in through the window to scout the interiors and catch the other henchmen by surprise, from the flank.
Marissel moves around the corner and into sight, drawing his gun as he does. With his other arm Marissel pulls back the axe and hurls it in Giggles direction.
Having decided the space would be a little too cramped for him to use his hammer effectively, Jakob raced in with his scimitar drawn and took a vicious, two-handed chop at Giggles.
"Oi! Tha's fantastic racism, you damned filthy halfwick! It's a damn good thin' ye humans are good a' squirtin' out lil'uns, or ye'd never have gotten anywhere! Get o'er here!" Ortik struggles with Kerri to get to Demitri, and she releases him as she begins channeling her magic. He launches into Demitri, knocking the man out of the way of her spell. As soon as they are freed of each other, Ortik dusts himself off.
"Nothing personal there, friend," he says, tossing him a wink. "Now let's get up there and free some children, shall we?" As he unlimbers his warhammer, Demitri feels a swelling in his chest, reinforcing his resolve with knowledge that he is undertaking a noble venture.
Standard: 1 use of Inspiring Word on Demitri to give him a +2 to basically all d20 rolls for 1 round.
Move: Draw my warhammer.
Free: 5' step. Already done.
Karri's second Color Spray does it. The colors catch Giggles right in his good eye.
"Derp."
He crumples, his armor now matching Yargin's clothes. Jakob's scimitar & Marissel's axe thoroughly maim the half-orc, somehow making him uglier. Demitri's swing fails to do any damage to the half-orc. Being tackled out of the way of Karri's Color Spray certainly didn't help.
Hey, at least Ortik's words have granted him great inspiration!
Yargin continues to lie on his back, looking like an unconscious clown.
Lyla knocks back her Dexterity mutagen, and her newly flexible fingers allow her to pry the boards on the window free with ease. She slips into the recently vacated bunkroom.
From their positions, Jakob & Lyla have a clear view of the interior of the fishery's front hall. Two guards run into the room, hanging back and drawing their swords.
"STAY WHERE YOU ARE, YOU LITTLE S**TS!" Comes a gruff voice from the north. The door in the room opens, and the bald, tattooed, bowlegged Hookshanks enters the room. Jakob's eyes meet his.
Hookshanks' eyes widen.
"...oh, b****cks."
A mangy, black-furred hound barrels out of the front door, barking madly, intent on protecting his master. It launches itself at Jakob...
...and its teeth sink into nothing but air as Jakob dodges out of the way.
Demitri moves up and tries to bash the dog with the hilt of his weapon.
Jakob steps out of the dog's way, and uses the momentum to try to step around it, moving towards the bald man and delivering a powerful, two-handed swing with the scimitar.
(plus if it confirmed)
Lyla waits for Hookshanks and the guards to get near the exit, giving her the opportunity to cross the room and enter the one next door, where the children are held.
Using Jakob's distraction of the dog, Karri steps into the doorway as well. Her eyes still that awful glowing green she again pushes the wave of color at the men in the room. The flesh in her arm is either wavering behind the arcane energies, or something is pushing, forcing itself out of her skin. She shouts out, " يتم التنازل عن نفوسكم! "The green glow flickers for a moment, going dimmer if only slightly. Hold on! Give us all of you! You are exquisite! No! This is me doing this! Of course it is...of course it is...
Marrisel watches as the fight moves away from him. He charges down the street, and in through the doors, ignoring the dog.
Marrisel levels his arm, pointing it at one of the men. A loud crack sounds, and rancid smoke fills the room.
"Crookshanks, am I right?", Ortik says as he moves up behind the hook-handed gnome. "We're here to see your boss. Don't mind us, we'll let ourselves in." He swings and
Move to U13 and attack Hookshanks (?) or whoever it is in U12.
As Jakob moves into the open door, Bloo whirls and tries to bite him.
Well, he failed. Again.
Jakob promptly steps up to Hookshanks and decapitates him with his scimitar. The gnome's corpse falls over, blood squirting from the hole where his head used to be.
Demitri swings at the dog, trying to smack it with the hilt of his sword. The dog takes notice and growls at him, unaffected by his efforts.
Karri fires her Color Spray at the two guards in the back of the room...
...and both of them catch the colors and drop like flies. It looks like they suffered even more so than Yargin & Giggles. Marissel shoots the bunkroom guard in the shoulder as he falls.
Lyla watches this all go down from the doorway.
Ortik smacks Yargin on the head with his hammer.
Giggles appears to have stabilized, for all the good it's done him.
Yargin continues to look like an unconscious clown. His nose is bloodied. Now all he needs is a funny colored wig to complete the outfit.
Heedless of the spellslinger before him, Bloo runs at Ortik, trying to protect his master. Karri & Marissel get attacks of opportunity!
And fails. Again.
Evidently, Fate was on your side more than you thought.
Marrisel steps back, reloading his gun. Once that is done, he pulls out a second axe. How long are they out Kari?
Demitri tries to knock out his canine foe.
Stepping away from Bloo, Karri pushes her hair out of her eyes. She whispers to Marissel, "I don't know. Not long." Her voice contorts as she struggles for control. After a second her eyes stop glowing, and the skin of her arms stops pushing out in that unnatural way. This flesh is mine! To Marissel and Jakob, "I will be fine. In a moment." Her breathing is clipped and awkward, but otherwise she seems fit.
Bloo appears to be utterly intent on protecting his master, withdrawing from Ortik and standing over his master's prone, colorful form. He growls.
Yargin is beginning to stir.
Seeing that the threat is ended, Jakob opens the door beside him and steps through. He looks at the children, holding a finger to his lips to keep them quiet. His eyes scan the group for Hannah.
"Come quietly," he whispers. "You're free."
Demitri will take the moment to hit Yargin with the butt of his sword.
"Easy now, boy," Ortik says, hunkering down to regard the dog eye-to-eye. "We ain't here for you, just your master." He gazes into the dog's eyes, unblinking, listening to the dog's breathing, slowing his own, trying to calm the dog down.
Marissel stands, watching the unconscious forms, his gun ready, while Demitri binds them.
As you approach, Bloo whirls on the two of you, growling. Despite Ortik's best efforts, he doesn't seem inclined to move.
As Demitri steps up to strike Yargin, Bloo bites at him...
...and ends up biting his own tongue instead. He yelps, and backs away.
Demitri's sword comes down and smacks Yargin in the head, rendering him fully unconscious. His clothes are starting to return to normal. What a pity.
After the dog scampers off, Demitri takes some rope, and begins tying up the unconscious guards.
As you open the door, The stink in this room, a mixture of fish and sweat, is enough to make your eyes water. The children all eye you, visibly scared.
All of them, save for Hannah.
"JAKOB!" She squeals in joy, heedless of your wish for the kids to be quiet. She runs up to you, hugging you tightly. "I knew you'd come to save us! I knew it! I knew it I knew it!"
She turns to the rest of the children crowded around the trough.
"See? I TOLD ya!"
The guards show no signs of awakening as Demitri ties them up. The door to the east opens a bit, and a little girl with dark hair peeks through. Her face is visibly scarred on one side.
"...Daddy?"
Demitri drops everything, as he hears the familiar voice. He rushes towards his little girl. "Nadia." He picks her up, tears of joy almost instantly streaming down his face. "Are you alright?" He brushes his hand through her hair. "What happened to your face? Actually that doesn't matter. What matters is that you're alright my little girl." He is the epitome of happiness right now as if nothing else mattered.
As you pick her up, Nadia' eyes widen. She practically throws her arms around you, clinging to you as if you'll suddenly vanish. She buries her face in your shoulder, shaking.
When she looks up at you again, tears are in her eyes. She has a small smile on her face.
It fades when she looks out the door. At Yargin's unconscious body.
She buries her face in your shoulder again.
"It's okay. The bad man won't hurt you ever again."
Ortik affords himself a small smile as Jakob and Demitri are reunited with their family, then returns to tying up the prisoners. "We've still got a big fish to land," he says as he looks through the possessions for anything interesting. "But I like this haul so far."
Once all of the men are tied, Marissel begins searching their belongings.
He looks up at the girl in Demitri's arms. He stares for a moment before following her gaze. His face falls, a look of disgust resting there.
Marissel tries to catch the girls eyes with his. When she finally looks at him, he stands up, walks to Yargin, and kicks his prone figure hard in the ribs.
The girl's eyes meet yours shyly. She's apparently not used to seeing elves. She smiles even more when she sees you kick Yargin.
Yargin lets out an "OOF!" as you kick him in the ribs.
Here's what you find on Yargin:
-3 vials of acid
-2 tanglefoot bags
-1 thunderstone
-A slender wand made of ash wood
-A suit of leather armor under his clothes
-A dagger
-A light crossbow with 10 bolts
-A garnet amulet worth about 100 gp
-A small, brass key
Here's what you find on Giggles:
-His suit of studded leather armor, sized for a Medium creature
-A light shield made of wood
-A flail
Here's what you find on Hookshanks:
-A bloodied suit of studded leather armor, sized for a Small creature
-A kukri
-A recently used Disguise Kit
-A small, brass key, identical to Yargin's key
Here's what you find on the guards:
-2 suits of studded leather armor, sized for Medium creatures
-2 longswords
-2 pouches containing 24 gp each
Lyla is happy to see Demitri and Jakob reunited with their loved ones. Since the rest of the group seems to be doing a good job liberating the children, she decides to take a look at the fallen thugs to see if they carry anything worth borrowing. While going through Yargin's pockets, she leaps back as Marissel turns around to deliver a powerful kick on the creep's ribs, not noticing her tiny self prostrated right next to the fallen body. "Hey, grasshead, watch your feet!" The reduce person wears off just in time for her to grow back to her normal size; holding her index finger up, she eyes Marissel and lectures him. "You know, the guy's already out. No need to go down to their level." She turns around and keeps looking for stuff on their fallen enemies' purses.
She then watches Marissel setting aside some of the loot and quickly run to grab a pair of tanglefoot bags, a thunderstone, the three acid vials and a box full of makeup and other disguise tools, not to mention a few coins; basically, she grabs anything she can. The girl can barely be seen behind all the gear dangling from her arms; from under the equipment comes the muffled sound of her voice. "Dibs!", she cries excitedly.
Jakob scoops Hannah up, lifting her off her feet and hugging her tight. His eyes are squeezed shut tight, and he presses his face into her hair, smelling the familiar scent of her under the foul stink.
"I've got you," he murmurs softly.
When he turns back to the others, he's got tears streaming down his face and he's taking deep, rattling breaths. He's holding her in one arm and the bloody scimitar in the other, and he nods as he looks at the bodies of the fallen and the captives.
"You see? There's nothing to worry about anymore," he says to her, and then raises his scimitar to point at the others. "These are my allies. The dwarf is Ortik and the elf is Marissel. Lyla's the one imitating a pack mule, and Demitri is Nadia's father. Karri might look a bit scary, but she's brave and smart and she took out most of these on her own. Everyone, this is Hannah, my sister."
"Now there's one more thing I have to do before we go home, ok?" he says to her.
"Yes, there is." Demitri stops smiling for a second as he reluctantly puts Nadia down. He looks to Hannah and then to his daughter. "Can you two lead the other children to this place. There's this nice woman named Zellara there who can take care of you while we finish this." He gives the both of them the directions. "Now don't stop anywhere, go straight there. Can you girls do that for us?"