Marigold's Round 2
[The stairs are-oh never mind, looks like you found them,] Marigold mentally replies back to Kikinnin as the situation grows increasingly chaotic. Realizing that the jig is up and feeling Kythel's own magics bolstering the group she decides to follow suit, adding the power of prayer to the mix.
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Marigold's Round 3
Now visible, Marigold kicks it up a notch and darts into the old common room and circles around towards the northeast corner, shuffling past chairs and tables as she does.
Hoping to speed things up a bit, she conjures a floating, hooked chain that attempts to trip the woman that Kikinnin is going toe-to-toe with...
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As the melee rages Maxim shifts into the chamber, again hugging the wall ...
He draws a bead on one of the Last Laughs engaging his Bror ;
"Laugh this off..."
... and fires:
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:
:
:
Without a word, Juraan walks past 'old Jacob' (JJ) and Maxim and tries touching the injured woman (orange) to put her out of action:
זויער שאַקינג אָנכאַפּן
With that done, he orders his Unseen Servant into the room to drag chairs in front of each of the curtained openings on the North wall, to obstruct any good that might soon rush in.
Marigold casts a prayer giving everyone a bit of luck.
With great mastery JJ strikes the thief in front breaking his leg, and when it falls out of balance he hits on his face then on the back sending it down to the ground.
Marigold speeds with fervor through the chairs and conjures a whip made of pure force that entangles on the woman's right leg sending her to the ground!
Meanwhile Kythel focuses his faith with fervor, and feels Pharasma descends her protective mantle around him.
With a badass shot Maxim puts a bullet through the thief's head leaving him with a grimace in the ground. A true Last Laugh. The bullet might as well gone through the woman if she was not spared by Marigold's whip.
At a word Juraan's hand surrounds in acid, he wades into the room touching the woman in the middle. The burst that discharges burns the woman's skin that shouts in pain before falling to the ground dead.
Chairs suddenly start to move and reposition in front of the first curtain to the north.
Kythel blinks and the room has been cleared of foes. Still, he knows the worst of the fighting is yet to come and casts one more spell to ensure that if he must wade into combat, he will do so as a far more effective fighter than he is in normal day to day routine.
Juraan readies his bow, Longthorn, and casts a spell to enhance it:
სიმძიმის მშვილდი
He then goes into the corner of the room opposite the stairs and gets the Unseen Servant to pull aside the curtain in front of him enough to see into the adjacent room.
As the invisible servant removes the curtain, Juraan can see clearly the room is empty safe for the wooden spikes installed on its floor.
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AC = 31
HP = 160/160
Weapon Equipped = Eldgammel
Condition(s) = Blessing of Fervor
"You make a terrible mistake. Velior is going to take a dreadful avenge for assaulting the Last Laugh's base!"
"Well, Velior is just experiencing what I'd call the rocs coming home to roost. You reap what you sow. For every coin purse you stole, for every business you extorted, for every assassination you saw through in Cauldron... well, it's on your doorstep now."
Kikinnin pulls Eldgammel back, looking over the room. "Do we want any of them alive, for questioning? We can't bring them to the Law these days, so I'm assuming this a 'take no prisoners' strike."
If his companions agree, Kikinnin looks back on Blue. If Blue still stands after his second blow, he lays her out with another swing. If Blue is down, he takes to the stairs, moving as fast as he can to locate Fario.
For the benefit of the thief at Kikinnin's mercy, Juraan looks at her and says casually:
"Do yourself a favour and tell us where our buddy is being kept."
"You might care about your life. But personally, I don't."
The woman laughs at Juraan's menace and Kikinnin draws a final laugh on her with a gentle smack.
The dwarf profits the remaining fervor to climb up the stairs. There, among a multitude of hammocks, his darkvision spots a hand of thugs and two harlequins lurking at the shadows of a candle and ready to attack.
The dwarf shouts the others below about his findings upstairs, giving them an opportunity to react before they go!
Invigorated by divine magicks, Maxim shifts through the crossbow obstacles then follows Kikinnin up the stairs;
Stalled on the stairs, the gun-mage grimaces at the steepness of each step, pausing to reload the empty chamber in his revolver as he shouts up to his fellow dwarf;
"I'm here Bror. Just makin' sure I got enough lead to share round these eeijits..."
Kythel will move into the room utilizing spider climb to move to the stairway and remain clinging to the wall so everyone else can still move up the steps freely.
Not wanting to leave possible enemies behind him, JJ moves to a curtain and checks behind it.
If he sees nothing there, he moves to the next curtain, ready to check behind that
Marigold's Round 4
With all of the thugs on the ground level taken care of, as best as she can tell, Marigold hesitates for a second as she watches Kikinnin and Maxim race up the stairs.
[It's going to be tight quarters up there...and what if someone tries slipping down the trap door while we're busy fighting in the hallway?]
There's a beat as Marigold makes a decision.
[I'm going to try going up the secret way. Maybe we can pincer them in, if nothing else.]
Her decision made, she turns and hustles back to the front entrance and stops at the ladder leading up...
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Maxim makes it upstairs, bolstered by the speed of fervor.
Kythel moves over the stairway like a true spider clinging on the walls!
JJ pushes aside the curtain to discover another room full of stakes.
It is clear the thugs here had been sleeping in the hammocks and just waked up with the battle noise. The thugs draw their falchions and ready themselves for the sudden visit. One of them shouts " We have a visit here! Two dwarves!"
The two dressed with the harlequin costumes throw away empty bottles and retrieve another one they drink after spitting out the cork. The one with red make-up holds in his other hand a short curved blade similar to a sickle with a simple wooden handle, while the one in blue make-up holds a shaft fitted with a pointed metallic tip.
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Kythel will Spider climb into the room clinging to the ceiling where the Last Laugh are assembled and release two waves of negative energy upon them!
Quicken Channel Negative Energy
Channel Negative Energy
Kythel climbs up like a vampire through the walls of the Brass Trumpet and reaches for the spiral holy symbol for Pharasma to call the lives of the Last Laugh ones.
The thugs drop their weapons and reach to their necks suffering a terrible and painful suffocating feeling as the Lady of Graves claim their lives and they fall down to the floor dead.
The harlequins seem to more or less make an stand, although large blood smears appear in the blue dressed harlequin custom.
Kythel pops out of invisibility and the harlequins look at him in fear.
Juraan scampers up the stairs, and seeing most of the thugs fallen, he stands by Kikinnin.
"Hi, Everyone! Sorry I'm late!", he then says to nobody in particular.
He the shoots at Red:
And then Yellow
JJ checks the last curtain, and then (assuming there is nothing more than spikes there), quickly heads up the stairs after this companions.
AC = 31
HP = 160/160
Weapon Equipped = Eldgammel
Condition(s) = Blessing of Fervor
"I'm here Bror. Just makin' sure I got enough lead to share round these eeijits..."
Kikinnin snorts his approval. "Just careful where you walk. This Trumpet looks more and more like a nest. Nothing but rabid rats and disease."
The black beard pulls up short, as Kythel's goddess lays several Laughers down with the swiftness of a coal mine striking canaries dead. When Kythel appears on the ceiling, Kikinnin can't help but shudder. He shakes it off for now, and closes with Red, figuring the last two standing are stronger blood.
The weapons are strange to him, but Kikinnin figures they're instruments of killing, just as much as his Axe. The moment it takes to reflect on these harlequins, Kikinnin speaks up. "We're here for Fario. You don't need to die. Step aside and show us your prisoner."
To demonstrate his deadly intent, he gives Red a pass of Eldgammel's blade.
He doesn't expect his first strike to be a killing blow, but he disappoints himself when Eldgammel gets caught in a hammock.
Maxim moves forward, navigaiting first the final steep steps, then the hammock barring his way...
:
He fails to note anything usual about the strange weaponry the harlequins wield as he goes.
He then levels this pistol at the nearest harlequin and invokes a spell:
Brandende Straal!"
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:
Making foot on the second floor, Juraan's precise shot is abruptly interrupted by the quick slam of the harlequin that sends the arrow flying to the corner. An attempt to strike the other harlequin ends just the same when he hits away the second arrow.
JJ moves away another curtain, and again, he finds stakes there, thus he decides to hasten towards the stairs.
Eldgammel, Kikinnin's axe, indeed gets tangled on one of the many hammocks and the dwarf fails miserably to hit the red harlequin that slightly jumps back at his arrival.
Maxim raises his gun that burst in flames as it spits fire over the red dressed harlequin whom is not as lucky with this as he has been before.
The red harlequin enters a frenetic state trying to hit with his curved blade at Kikinnin twice while then attempting a couple of punches.
As he punches you see mystical energy covering the fists, but it is just not enough to pierce through the dwarven armor.
The blue harlequin focuses his mystic energy to avoid incoming attacks, and like so, he throws himself into attack through the hammocks.
With a tremendous punch he hits Maxim on his brow trying to render him unconscious.
Annoyed that his shots were sent astray, Juraan casts a spell to put one of the harlequins (red) out of action:
მჟავა შოკისმომგვრელი დაჯექი
JJ dashes up the stairs and through the hammocks.
'old Jaoc' then lashes out with his walking stick at the harlequin.
Alakast lashes out!
AC = 31
HP = 160/160
Weapon Equipped = Eldgammel
Condition(s) = Blessing of Fervor
Kikinnin does his best to swat at Blue, and discourage him from swinging on Maxim.
With JJ arrived and positioned against the distant harlequin, Kikinnin focuses on bringing down Red, immediately. "Too many of them. This'll give the others enough time to see Fario slain. It's the same as clearing a rat's nest. They always have more than one way to escape..."
Kythel crawls along the ceiling until he drop in behind the Harlequin and attack with his Frost Spear.
Acrobatics to drop to the floor from the ceiling -
Spear Attack - Damage
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Kikinnin attempts to strike the blue harlequin while he retreats from hitting Maxim, but the acrobatic jump on the wall caught him by surprise and misses.
Unable to deflect the electrical ray as they made with the arrows, Juraan shocks the red harlequin, but just barely, thanks to his precise shot training, Kythel's fervor and Marigold's prayer.
As JJ walks over the second floor both harlequins explode in shouts " We told you we are not giving you back the money. You hear? Learn how to lose! We won you legally on that cards game! So that's it?! You hired these thugs to steal our money?! You were not that brave after our game together"
They quickly shut up when blue is stroke by Alakast breaking two ribs.
Kikinnin then swings his axe at the red harlequin. The nimble clown avoids the first swing but the second one throws him to the floor unconscious.
It is then that Kythel falls from the ceiling by surprise, trying to stab at the harlequin with his spear, but with a ki dodge the clown avoids the sharp point altogether.
"No! You will pay for having done that to Xendro!" shouts the remaining harlequin.
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"Next time don't cheat at cards!" snarls back JJ 'Old Jacob'.
Man, he is in for a tough time after this. I'd feel bad about it if he hadn't been so mean to me last time I saw him. Still, best warn him his name is mud if I spy him before the laugh does, after this is over.
:
Maxim shrugs off the haymaker from the harlequin, then rubbing his jaw he nods as the others surround their foe.
"Decent lick. Let me return the favour, in my own style o' course..."
The gun-mage fishes out a wand from his magical haversack
He levels the wand toward their caged foe, and invokes it magic:
"Magische Raket!"
- firing a pentad of glowing bullets at the harlequin ;
:
Maxim hands for a wand in his handy haversack, and conveniently enough he founds it just on top, which allows him to quickly zap the harlequin with a barrage of magic missiles!
The remaining harlequin shines with mystic energy trying to better dodge your attacks. He then quickly opens the door at his back and tumbles and rolls running into the new room and jumping from one wall to another trying to confuse you, tumbling away your attacks and performing and incredibly acrobatic maneuver worth of the best circus acrobats.
The man manages to avoid Kythel, but not so much with the quick OJ.
As the harlequin reaches the window he poses his hands on the lid "If my brother is dead, you are a dead man too Old Jacob. Velior is going to roast you slowly for this anyway"
The new room is empty and devoid of any furniture or other traits except for a fine layer of dust that covers the wooden floor.
AC = 31
HP = 160/160
Weapon Equipped = Eldgammel
Condition(s) = Blessing of Fervor
Kikinnin doesn't like the idea that one of the Laughers might slip their punishment during this siege. He takes advantage of Kythel's magical surge to clear the hammocks, pass through the doorway, and take a single swing at Blue.
"Hey, Ja..cob. Won't do if he gets away. We might lose any element of surprise, if he informs his betters that there's a route about."
As the harlequin makes his escape, JJ bashes him with Alakast.
"When he finds out this is because you cheated me at cards, he'll have yours fingers too." calls back 'old Jacob'.
JJ dashes forward and slams his walking stick back into the man again.
JJ gets a good smack on the harlequin as he tries to escape.
Kikinnin darts after him with fervor speed, the floor cracks under the dwarf weight, and the holy warrior swings Eldgammel but the acrobat escapes his axe thanks to his ki mystic dodge.
When JJ enters the room too, the ground protests with that being one armored guy just too much and finally decides to collapse with both dwarf and man dragged down in a resounding chaos of broken wood!
Not that enough, the stakes below await to any of the two who fails to grab themselves.
The harlequin cackles madly at the sight of his plan success.
JJ goes plummeting down.
"ug" says JJ.
Marigold's Round 5 & 6
Realizing that the arrow-slit walls are more solid than she first thought, Marigold turns around and hustles back towards the stairs as quickly as she can go. Kythel's magics make this easier what with the boost of speed but she still has to contend with all the furniture and dead bodies littering the common room. But finally, she manages to make it up the stairs to catch up with the others.
Marigold's Round 7ish
Managing to reach the top of the stairs just in time to see Kikinnin and JJ fall through the floor of the room beyond, Marigold angrily flings a small ball of fire at the laughing Blue!
Juraan moves forward says to the blue harlequin: "Speaking of a good burn, let me to have a go."
... and casts another spell:
მჟავე შოკისმომგვრელი დაჯექი
AND hoping it hits, of course...
Kikinnin watches as JJ-acob falls into the spikes below. "Looks like they gnawed away at things while you were gone, eh? This feels more like termites." The black beard enjoys being wedged between a couple of beams, for now. He knows it's going to take some strength to see himself pulled up by his upper body, but at least he's got a front floor seat while his companions lay into Blue, before the bastard can bounce out of the window...
And where JJ falls face down, causing himself many bruises from the fall and impaling himself with a stake, Kikinnin drops his axe or his shield and grabs one of the remaining beams.
A fiery rain of stars fall upon the harlequin, but the canny one ducks on the frame of the window completely avoiding the burst.
Juraan gathers his draconic power around his hand and sends forth a bolt of acid that strikes true in the harlequin. A bit too much, the harlequin skin melts with the acid, consuming great part of the harlequin disguise and letting you see the bare skull. Not alive, the harlequin falls from the wall and plunges to the floor below, impaling himself on the stakes that jut out of his back.
2x Sling with 20 bullets
+1 kama (temporarily poisoned)
+1 siangham (temporarily poisoned)
10x mwk shuriken
2x belt of mighty constitution +2
2x ninja’s outfit (harlequin styled)
2 sp (minted with a jester emblem and stored in a pouch like if they were something important, more than money)
Common equipment
(jester minted)
(jester minted)
This round Kythel, Maxim and Juraan's invisible servant can open the rooms to the north finding those rooms completely empty. Although there is no immediate danger at the sight, Fario is still in danger and the assault continues. But what will the heroes do next?
Kikinnin does his best to pull himself up.
Given the circumstances, Kikinnin simply lets go, and floats to the spikes below, shield blocking as many of the jabs as possible. He reaches into the spikes to extract Eldgammel, before running back up the stairs, and rejoining the rest of the Watchers.
"Where is he? Is there a basement? Feels like there's part of the floor up here that sits above the street entrance we haven't found."
The black beard waits for JJ and Marigold to take the lead.
"Th-there w-was a secret d-door right around h-here somewhere," Marigold explains as she moves along the landing and over to what ostensibly appears to be just a blank wall. "B-but they've ch-changed things and p-parts of the b-building look like they're f-falling apart t-too, so I d-don't know if it's st-still where I rem-m-member it..."
She starts feeling along the wall in what she thinks should be the right spot, looking for some manner of trigger or release to reveal the way...
"Let me give you a hand, Marigold", says Juraan as he tries helping her find a secret door.
JJ limps to his feet and heads back toward the stairs.
It appears that old Jacob's limp has got worse.
Marigold expert hands easily find the lid that triggers the sliding wall, opening the way north.
Maxim claps the shoulder of his Bror and invokes magicks to invoke the warrior lineage of his fellow dwarf:
"Bloed van helden ontwaakt!"
Juraan looks down the small hall Marigold just exposed and says to Marigold:
"Լավ արեց: Բայց թվում է, որ մենք պետք է գտնենք մեկ այլ:"
With that, Juraan goes down the hall and starts looking for another secret entrance...
And again, to Marigold:
"Ստուգեք պատի մնացած մասը, եթե այն այստեղ չէ:"