Though Iovo does heed her sister and draw her cold iron dagger it proves more difficult than expected to stick the blinded dretch. It's a flurry of whiffs all around!
Out in the warehouse Nico continues to cower while Garif quickly steps out from between the two Pikes and flings an orb of fire at Red, who manages to duck out of the way. Kermit fares better, chomping down HARD on Pike Orange and grabbing the man up in his jaws!
Kleines moves to help Garif and his friends but also makes sure to take a swing - a real swing - at Red as well. The wily halfling barely manages to limbo underneath the strike.
And back in the office Phinellippa goes on the defensive and conjures multiple images of herself to confound any would-be attackers before beating a hasty retreat back into the warehouse.
______________
Kleines
Rees
Garif + Nico + Kermit
Damiar
==============
Pike Orange
Pike Green
Pike Red
Dretch White
Dretch Yellow
Dretch Black
Dretch Purple
==============
Iovo
Phinellippa
Active Conditions: Inspire Courage +2/+2
Environmental Conditions: Stinky Cloud (Yellow Grid)
Rees and Damiar are UP!
Both Rees and Damiar take aim with their longbows and Rees fires first, giving Red another decorative arrow ornament. The glittery pincushioned halfling collapses to the ground, looking like the world's biggest and most bizarre ornament!
With Red now taken care of Damiar switches her target and instead fires a shot at Orange, who is already quite injured. The shot hits home and the thug goes limp in Kermit's jaws!
Now the sole thug standing, Green swallows hard but refuses to run or back down. He steps up next to Garif and swings again...
...and misses! Back in the office, Dretches White and Yellow continue flailing at Iovo...
...with White managing to give Iovo a fierce gumming.
He's still blinded, at least!
Dretches Purple and Black stumble through the fog, heading towards the sounds of battle inside the warehouse. They emerge from the fog and continue to shamble forward, claws grasping and teeth gnashing.
______________
Kleines
Rees
Garif + Nico + Kermit
Damiar
==============
Pike Green
Dretch White
Dretch Yellow
Dretch Black
Dretch Purple
==============
Iovo
Phinellippa
Active Conditions: Inspire Courage +2/+2
Environmental Conditions: Stinky Cloud (Yellow Grid)
Iovo & Phinellippa are UP at the bottom of Round 3 and Kleines, Rees, Garif/Nico/Kermit & Damiar are UP at the top of Round 4!
|
Seeing the creatures emerge, Kleines quickly sizes up the two targets before him. Seeing Phinellippa with some measure of magical protection, he decides to begin with the nearer of the fiends. Stepping back, he brings his glaive to bear, calling an invocation to the Iovo as he does.
"Master of Masters, give me strength!"
Getting a little frustrated Iovo makes another swipe at Dretch White with her dagger...and just manages to connect! Black ichor spurts from the wound and the dretch howls with pain.
As the other two dretches emerge from the fog Kleines confidently steps into range and absolutely smites Purple into a pile of ash with the power of his deity!
______________
Kleines
Rees
Garif + Nico + Kermit
Damiar
==============
Pike Green
Dretch White
Dretch Yellow
Dretch Black
==============
Iovo
Phinellippa
Active Conditions: Inspire Courage +2/+2
Environmental Conditions: Stinky Cloud (Yellow Grid)
Phinellippa is UP at the bottom of Round 3 and Rees, Garif/Nico/Kermit & Damiar are UP at the top of Round 4!
Phinellippa casually steps away from Dretch Black and pew-pews it with a missile from her wand. It's effective!
______________
Kleines
Rees
Garif + Nico + Kermit
Damiar
==============
Pike Green
Dretch White
Dretch Yellow
Dretch Black
==============
Iovo
Phinellippa
Active Conditions: Inspire Courage +2/+2
Environmental Conditions: Stinky Cloud (Yellow Grid)
Rees, Garif/Nico/Kermit & Damiar are UP!
As Rees sinks an arrow into Pike Green Damiar follows suit, taking a step away from the newly-arrived Dretch Black before doing so and maintaining her song all the while.
Garif too takes a step back from Pike Green and flings another orb of fire at the man...
...and just barely manages to connect! The combination of arrows and fire is too much for Green and he collapses!
While Nico continues to cower by the door Kermit looks around for something new to chomp and sets his sights on the nearby dretch. His tongue lashes out...
...and wraps around the flabby demon!
______________
Kleines
Rees
Garif + Nico + Kermit
Damiar
==============
Dretch White
Dretch Yellow
Dretch Black
==============
Iovo
Phinellippa
Active Conditions: Inspire Courage +2/+2
Environmental Conditions: Stinky Cloud (Yellow Grid)
Though now vastly outnumbered it seems that the dretches don't know when to quit. The two back in the office continue flailing at the cornered Iovo...
...and flailing is all that they manage to do.
Back in the warehouse Dretch Black struggles to free itself from the grasp of Kermit's tongue...
...to no avail.
And as the stank cloud finally fades, Dretch White still struggles with the glitter in its' eyes.
______________
Kleines
Rees
Garif + Nico + Kermit
Damiar
==============
Dretch White
Dretch Yellow
Dretch Black
==============
Iovo
Phinellippa
Active Conditions: Inspire Courage +2/+2
Environmental Conditions:
Iovo & Phinellippa are UP at the bottom of Round 4 and Kleines, Rees, Garif/Nico/Kermit & Damiar are UP at the top of Round 5!
Iovo continues cutting on Dretch White, opening up another vicious wound with her dagger. The demon wobbles as more black ichor flows; looks like one more good stab or slash might put it down for good!
______________
Kleines
Rees
Garif + Nico + Kermit
Damiar
==============
Dretch White
Dretch Yellow
Dretch Black
==============
Iovo
Phinellippa
Active Conditions: Inspire Courage +2/+2
Environmental Conditions:
Phinellippa is UP at the bottom of Round 4 and Kleines, Rees, Garif/Nico/Kermit & Damiar are UP at the top of Round 5!
Confident that his friends can take care of the single dretch out here Kleines hustles to Iovo's aid!
______________
Kleines
Rees
Garif + Nico + Kermit
Damiar
==============
Dretch White
Dretch Yellow
Dretch Black
==============
Iovo
Phinellippa
Active Conditions: Inspire Courage +2/+2
Environmental Conditions:
Phinellippa is UP at the bottom of Round 4 and Rees, Garif/Nico/Kermit & Damiar are UP at the top of Round 5!
|
|
Seeing that Nico is no longer terrified, Garif directs the panther to attack the dretch! The dwarf concludes, based in Damiar's information, that the sphere of flame in his hand will not be of much use against the dretches, so he awkwardly draws his sling with his free hand, then loads a cold iron slingstone into it.
Nico follows Garif's shouted directions, pouncing at the dretch and trying to rip into its demonic hide with teeth and claw!
With the human threat extinguished Garif switches to a weapon better-suited for dealing with demons, drawing out his sling and loading it. In the meantime he calls for Nico to attack the lone dretch within reach which the panther does with gusto! The panther rips into the dretch with tooth and claw, opening up more small wounds on the demon.
With the dretch wrapped tightly in his tongue Kermit hops closer and bites at his prey, doing even more damage! Phinellippa piles on too, blasting the demon with another missile from her wand.
______________
Kleines
Rees
Garif + Nico + Kermit
Damiar
==============
Dretch White
Dretch Yellow
Dretch Black
==============
Iovo
Phinellippa
Active Conditions: Inspire Courage +2/+2
Environmental Conditions:
Rees and Damiar are UP!
Though it's more of a tricky shot Rees tries to put an arrow in Dretch Black and maybe put the creature down for good...
...and succeeds! Dretch Black vanishes in a puff as Rees' arrow sinks into it, returning from whence it came.
Damiar hurries after Kleines even as she continues to sing, moving back into the office and taking aim at the more injured of the two remaining dretches with a cold iron arrow...
...and finishes it off as well!
With only a single dretch remaining of all the foes you initially faced it doesn't take long for all of you to surround the pathetic excuse for a demon and boot it back to the Abyss where it belongs.
The robed man who you found sleeping in the hammock has taken shelter underneath his desk. As the sounds of fighting cease he timidly pokes his head out, arms raised.
"D-don't shoot! I'm not interested in dying today!"
While Iovo and Kleines hurry to stabilize the fallen Pike thugs, the formerly-sleeping man in the office eyes the rest of you nervously.
"Wh-who are you people, anyway? What do you want?"
|
Putting her wand away, Iovo rejoins the people talking to the man behind the desk.
“Think of us as your consciences wake up call.” With a gesture towards the other room, she adds “We just made sure all the Pikers have a chance to wake up.”
She starts looking over the papers on the desk again, this time careful not to touch anything until she is sure it is safe. “So, who was in the cages out there, and where did they go?”
+1 to detect traps
+1 to detect traps
"Hey look, I appreciate you sparing me, I really do, but it's all for nothing if I start telling you things that aren't mine to tell," the man quickly replies, shaking his head back and forth. "You don't cross Phlegos Dulm and come out clean on the other side!"
No more traps.
The robed man winces a bit as Iovo responds to his words with a rather witty but gentle rebuttal of her own.
"Okay...I don't know who you've been talking to, but...you have a point," he admits. "I've had to get creative with the books lately in order to keep things running but even that will only go so far."
When he says this, you realize this must be the Mister Snive that Lobda mentioned studying under earlier.
"The people in the cages? A bunch of nobodies, as far as I know," Snive continues, now addressing Kleines. "Dulm's had to sell off a lot of his other properties to make ends meet and I'm sure they're meant to be no different, once he finds a buyer."
Snive then sighs heavily. "Normally I would never dream of crossing Dulm, but you two have a made a rather convincing argument." Here, he glances towards the warehouse and the unconscious Pikes laid out on the floor. "In more ways than one. And fighting is certainly not in my job description."
"You'll find documents and records inside the desk that I'm sure will prove very illuminating to your righteous cause or whatever you wish to call it. But I'm afraid I have no idea where those people were taken, only that they were moved to prevent Dulm's Pathfinder contacts from stumbling upon them. They're likely still here in the city though."
He makes no attempt to stop Iovo from continuing her search through the papers on his desk nor from anyone retrieving a number of ledgers from within it.
The books do reveal that Phlegos is heavily in debt but has nevertheless continued making very large payments. These payments appear to be bribes or other forms of under-the-table transactions.
While a full investigation would require hunting down the businesses and individuals Phlegos Dulm has been making payments to - and thus take much more time than you have to spare at the moment - this is still plenty to shove to Roderus.
"Dulm's bedchamber," Snive answers. "Have a look if you want - it isn't my problem anymore."
After determining that the door is not trapped Iovo and anyone else who wishes to help proceeds to do a thorough search of the bedchamber. It's a large room that was clearly once quite impressive in its better days. The large four-poster bed and other furnishings are dusty and stained, while many of the collectibles around the room are oddly arranged around empty spaces, as though once-full shelves have been plundered a piece at a time. Unsurprisingly, you fail to turn up anything of interest here.
A full search of the office for anything else of interest to the investigation yields similar results, with nothing but Snive's books to confiscate. By this point Phinellippa finishes her perusal of the books and reports that they reveal that Phlegos is heavily in debt but has nevertheless continued making very large payments. These payments appear to be bribes or other forms of under-the-table transactions.
While a full investigation would require hunting down the businesses and individuals Phlegos Dulm has been making payments to - and thus take much more time than you have to spare at the moment - this is still plenty to show to Roderus. Looks like you've got what you came for - and without doing any lasting damage to the establishment or anyone in it.
Pleased to be done and eager to get back to the party you waste little time in securing the unconscious Pikes (and presumably Snive) inside the cages, making sure that they won't be breaking out anytime soon. As you do this you also frisk each of them, recovering a number of items that might be useful later on.
Tanglefoot Bag x3
Tindertwig x5
Chain Shirt x3
Buckler x3
Dagger x6
Sap x3
Scimitar x3
Hemp Rope (150 ft.)
Manacles x3
Masterwork Studded Leather
Masterwork Hand Crossbow
Bolt x20
Masterwork Thieves' Tools
78 gold
Notably, there are several potions among the four Pikes and the shortsword belonging to the halfling leader radiates a magical aura.
There are five potions of Cure Light Wounds.
There are three potions of Enlarge Person.
It's a +1 Short Sword.
As you gather up everything useful and bebop back out into the shop proper, Lobda looks up from an inventory sheet and smiles toothily. "Did you find everything you needed today?"
She seems strangely unperturbed when Kleines suggests that she either leave with you or at least make herself scarce and simply nods. "It's time for my break anyway. Good Potion thanks you for your pay-tron-age, please come again!"
Lobda waits for all of you to exit the shop before she sticks up a sign inside the window that reads, Out to Lunch; Back in ???. Then, she locks up and waves at the lot of you before sauntering off down the street, whistling as she goes.
______________
Your task complete, you hurry back to the Winding Road Inn to report your findings to Roderus. Yet as soon as you step through the door you realize that something is wrong. No music plays, and instead of idle chatter, the air is filled with dread and whispers. A smattering of broken bottles and glasses lie in pools of golden liquid just a few feet away from three figures lying on the floor: those of the bard siblings, Kaba, Kora, and Kitt. Several of the guests, as well as Dougle, are kneeling over the three siblings and tending to them; they appear to be in shock but at least they're alive. Meanwhile, the flurry of whispers continues among the onlookers.
"Did anyone see what happened?"
"No, but it had to have been poison - look at all the smashed bottles!"
"At least they were here in the lodge and not somewhere else..."
"Yeah, no kidding! I guess if there was an ideal place to be poisoned, the middle of a Pathfinder party would be it, huh?"
Suddenly, there's a series of shrieks and banging and clanging from within the kitchen as a couple of other Pathfinder agents emerge with young Zig held firmly up off the ground by both arms. He seems terrified, struggling and kicking his legs as he sobs hysterically.
"Not me, not me, not me!"
booms a voice; you recognize it as Roderus. The crowd parts for him as he crosses the room, a small vine leshy trailing behind him. "This agent said there was trouble. What happened?"
At this, one of the Pathfinders steps forward. "Poisoning, that's what happened. Someone apparently didn't like the entertainment an' saw fit to try and shut 'em up for good; laced their drinks with poison. But we've already got the culprit right here," he gestures to Zig. "Found him in the kitchen trying to get rid of the evidence!"
"No, not me!" Zig cries, shaking his head back and forth. "I find bottle in pocket! Not mine, not know where it came from! I promise!"
Roderus is silent for a moment as he considers this information; he gives Zig a hard, piercing stare that reduces the goblin's sobs to frightened whimpers.
"I see. Take him away," he states coldly...though he does shoot a rather meaningful look at the rest of you. Poor Zig begins sobbing again, hard enough to leave him completely unintelligible as he’s swiftly taken away, presumably to be handed over to the local authorities.
______________
Though you have your doubts there seems to be little else to do for the moment but trust that Roderus knows what he's doing as he allows Zig to be taken away. Once the other Pathfinders leave with Zig, an awkward silence falls over the remaining crowd. Dougle finally sighs and wearily calls out, "Okay folks, party's over. You don't have to go home but you can't stay here!"
"Yes, I think it's probably for the best that we conclude the evening's festivities," Roderus agrees. "Thank you all for coming to my retirement party! I'm sorry that things ended on such a down note but I hope that you all still had a fine time, all things considered."
While the other attendees begin to file out, Roderus motions for the group of you to follow him back to his office. Once everyone is seated and comfortable, he shuts the door before settling into his chair with a heavy sigh.
"Thank you all for not intervening just now, even though I know it wasn't easy. For what it's worth, I don't for a minute believe that goblin child was responsible for the assassination attempt but there wasn't much to be done right there in the moment except play along. Whoever the real culprit is, they were smart to frame the one person in attendance who has the entire history of their people hanging around their neck like a millstone."
"I promise I will do what I can for Zig, but in the meantime, tell me - what did you uncover at the Kotargo Lodge?"
|
|
Iovo does a quick check of the various magical items, disappointed none of them are stronger. She tells everyone what she finds out.
---
At hearing the word poison, Iovo says "Let me check for poison!" and casts a quick Detect Poison.
---
Iovo looks on very unhappily as Zig is taken away. Realizing that this situation could turn volatile, she decides it is probably better to wait. She does tense up a bit, seeing how the little goblin is treated. He seemed really nice and eager to become a Pathfinder. I really don't think he is involved.
She follows when Roderus indicates to do so and waits for him to say his piece.
"We found some cages that looked like they had held people in them. The cages were being cleaned by a group calling themselves Pikers, the previous occupants already left."
"Figuring that wasn't enough, we went into the office and after a minor complication got the ledgers. Phinellippa says it shows large, suspicious payments but it would take some time to figure out."
"Hopefully that will be enough to act on, since as soon as Dulm gets back to his shop he is likely to notice his men manacled in the cages. They were all alive when we left them."
Roderus listens intently to Iovo's report, his jaw clenching in anger as she describes the people-sized cages and manacles that you discovered. "Good work on getting what you did and I commend you leaving Dulm's thugs alive instead of slaughtering them outright. He's probably already freed them and gotten your descriptions by now but that can't be helped. We still know much more than we did a few hours ago and at this point I'm happy to take what we can get!"
Roderus carefully accepts the books you got from Snive and flips through a few of the pages. "Hmm...hmm, yes, perfect! It'll probably take me most of the evening to go through all of this but this'll be the end of Dulm for sure. Looks like there's enough contacts in here that we'll have no shortage of evidence against him."
"The goblin apprentice might also make for a valuable witness if she can be tracked down and convinced to offer her testimony," he adds, brow furrowed. "I know none of this is of immediate help to Zig but perhaps there'll be something in these books and papers that will provide a motive for Dulm to have wanted those bards out of the picture."
He looks up at everyone and nods. "Thank you - you've done an immense service to the Pathfinders this day and to me personally. It's getting late and I'll need time to read through everything you've brought me and figure out our next step. I know the day has been anything but relaxing, yet I'd still like you to try to use what's left of the evening to unwind and get some rest. Dougle's already got rooms set aside for you here at the lodge tonight - free of charge, for your help with the party."