Nathaniel's performance draws a steady crowd through the morning and afternoon. Pieces of silver and copper trickle into the hat he lays on the ground. When he decides to pack it in for the day, he counts a total of 3gp in assorted silver and copper.
Evalee's ramblings are sparsely attended throughout the day. Nobody seems to stay for very long, most arriving in the middle of one sentence, looking confused for a while, then leaving in the middle of another. When she finally wraps up, the small crowd disperses, and she notices an old, white-haired man sitting on a stump behind the others. She doesn't recall seeing him sit down, but he looks like he's been there for a while. He stands up slowly, as if testing his rickety bones and joints before putting his full weight on them. He walks over and says, Very interesting points. You've given me much to consider. He nods in a appreciation, then bends gingerly down, reaching for the pot in front of her feet. She hasn't noticed anyone drop coins over the course of the day, but from some reason, when he drops his, it doesn't make the sound of a single coin falling into an empty vessel. Instead, several coins can be heard tinkling against one another. As the old man walks away, she bends down to pick up the pot and peers inside. 8 coins shine back at her, all of them the lustrous yellow color of gold.
Erin's dancing draws plenty of attention, but she moves around the carnival a bit too much. Several patrons of the carnival intend to tip her at various points throughout the day, but before they can retrieve their coins, she has moved on. Even so, she manages to collect a significant jingling bag of jingling copper and silver, and even one piece of gold. The coins total 44sp.
Ashak seems distracted most of the day, thinking about last night's failed attempt and what he can do differently tonight as he performs his acrobatic dance by rote, looking more like he's practicing than trying to perform. At the end of the day, he realizes that he has neglected even to put out a vessel to collect coins. Still, he finds 18 copper pieces scattered around the grass in front of him.
Pogug's performance is, as usual, confusing (being mostly in languages not generally spoken by more civilised races), but amusing nonetheless. Throughout the day, groups of children gather around and laugh, then are quickly rushed away by their parents. At the end of the day, the silver and copper pieces littering the bottom of his violin case total 29sp.
Evalee finds something to sit on so that she can stand up abruptly. She doesn't have a desk to slam hey hands down on, so she claps them together.
"Alright people! Here's the plan! Or, plans! I summon horses for Nate, Sephy, and myself. I summon an air elemental to scout and then carry Erin to the top of the tent! I summon another couple of air elementals to run as distractions and put out torches! I summon Sephy! The first elemental, or actually probably one of the later ones, carries Erin to the top of the tent! Simultaneously, Ashak makes his way to the front of the tent and Pogug to the ropes! We'll swarm the monkey with as many air elementals as we can spare!"
"Does anyone have any ideas to add redundancy? We also need to pick up Doc's things! We can walk and talk! Come on people, let's move out!"
She points in the direction of the tiered city. "Onward! To glory and conquest!"
Nathaniel smirked at Evalee's excited speech, but heeded her words and followed her into the city. They needed to pick up Doc's things, as she said, even though it seemed to be possibly a fool's task unless they could figure something out to get the flag.
A silly idea occurred to him as they walked. "Hey, what's a city got a ton of? Beggars, right? The downtrodden, the miscreants, the list goes on. For a few coppers each, we could probably bribe a horde of them to swarm the grounds and cause mischief. The sneakier of us could still be sneaky, and the rest of us can stir on our beggar army and provide distractions of our own."
You discuss plans for tonight as you walk the short way south along the road, back toward the gates of Vliasport. The guard from yesterday sees you coming, and his watchful gaze as you pass reiterates his warning about keeping the goblinoids among you out of trouble.
As before, Evalee leads the way, with Semsephiel keeping a watchful eye. Erin keeps a close eye on Pogug, who is already feeling a bit more comfortable in the city, and begins to run about, drawing unwanted attention. Nathaniel and Ashak take up the rear.
The docks inside are as alive as ever with the hustle and bustle of the various seafaring trades. Racks of fine clothing destined for the markets on the higher levels are unloaded from a stout ship with lateen-rigged sails. Nearby, you smell the pungent aroma of bulk quantities of exotic spices being loaded onto a clipper ship with sleek lines and a golden figurehead depicting a bare-chested woman.
Moving a bit further, you see a mustachioed man in a tan-colored explorer's outfit overseeing the the unloading of wooden crates of varying sizes, each with a band of latticework covering openings across the top. A crane attached to main-mast of a large galleon lifts each crate from below decks and places it on the docks. Strange beastial noises can be heard from inside some of them.
Evalee approaches one of the crates to try to see through the grating to discover what kind of creature is inside, and Semsephiel is about to pull her back to protect her from whatever potentially dangerous beast lurks within. At the same moment, Pogug spots bruised apple that is only half eaten lying on top of a garbage heap, and makes a beeline to retrieve it as Erin chases behind.
An attractive passing tradeswoman meets Nathaniel's gaze for just a moment, then blushes just a bit as she smiles and averts her eyes, pushing a lock of golden hair behind her ear. He turns and walks backwards for a few steps after she passes, shamelessly leering at her hindquarters as she recedes into the crowd.
Only Ashak sees the large crate suddenly list to one side. It rocks into an unsteady swing that lasts only a moment before one of the loops of rope from which it is suspended breaks loose with a loud snap that is immediately drowned out by the planks cracking and clattering across the ground. The crate lands on its corner, crushing the mustachioed man as it shatters into a thousand pieces.
A scaly lizard the size of a horse rolls to stand up in the debris. Its skin is a melange of bright colors. Its narrow eyes move independently within large patches of wrinkled skin, tracking people recovering from the surprise of the impact and beginning to run away. The lizard's tongue darts out of its mouth, snatching a nearby dock worker like a fly and immediately drawing his torso into its long, narrow mouth. When its jaw snaps shut, the man's lifeless legs dangle from one side of its face, while his equally lifeless head and one of his arms protrude from the other.
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Ashak's warning is only half-formed when the crate shatters. The original purpose of his warning lost with the mustachioed man and dockworker's demise he instead opts for "Oi! That's a mighty big lizard, mind the tongue!"
The hobgoblin's knives flash to his hands as he skirts the edge of the debris. He finds a place where Erin or Semsephiel can approach from the opposite side. Satisfied with his location he sinks low into a defensive stance.
Catching Ashak's motion, the creatures eyes follow him. The creature's colors shudder and shift to match their surroundings until before your eyes, the creature seems to disappear.
The lizard's skin intricately matches its environment, making it all but invisible as it stalks slowly toward Ashak.
Where'd it go? Where'd it go?!
Evalee racks her mind for anything that might be useful.
Did it disappear with a spell or spell like ability?
Is some magical beast I should know about?
(untrained) Is it some exotic but mundane monster?
Semsephiel is far less conflicted. "Ms. Ribbinz," he says with unflappable calm, "kindly run for help. We may need it."
With stammered apologies Evalee casts enlarge person and then does just that. "See if the mustachioed man is alright!" she calls as she goes.
Semsephiel, now closer to five meters tall then to four, mutters to himself, "Three copper says he isn't." Louder, he shouts out at the lizard, "I don't know if you can speak common, and frankly, I don't care. You can surrender at any time, but I can't promise that'll help you."
He's going to move to flank with Ashak, and then swing at where he saw the lizard last.
With the group being near the water's edge, Nathaniel doesn't want to risk any of his precious knives, instead drawing a dagger and moving in closer to where the creature was, hoping they can pen it in and keep it from escaping or harming anyone else. The young man hmphed at Semsephiel's bet...he sure as hell wasn't betting against the eidolon. As he got closer, he swiped with his knife where they last saw the beast, out of desperation more than anything else.
Erin had turned away from the crates before disaster struck, chasing after Pogug with only a small wonder in the back of her mind about how exactly this had become her go-to responsibility. When she hears the enormous crash she spins around, frozen in horror as the giant lizard crushes the worker in a single bite.
It is Chi who reacts first. The fearless squirrel leaps from Erin's pack swooping toward their sudden foe... ...only to find that it has entirely vanished from view. The still-fearless-but-somewhat-confused squirrel loops around in a circle, landing behind a nearby crate and growing quickly to his battle form.
Erin, meanwhile, has finally come to her senses, narrowing her eyes as the lizard seems to disappear from view... ...and spotting a flash of glimmering scales as it catches the sunlight. "Look out!" she cries to Ashak, pointing at a spot near him in the seemingly empty air. "It's coming right at you!"
With that, she rushes forward in a swift and strangely graceful motion, drawing her weapon as she moves and swinging with all her might at the place where she just pointed.
Ashak steps forward and slashes a wide arc through the area Erin indicated. But fails to make contact.
Pogug bursts into song, though it is more cursing in surprise to a strange tune than a memorized piece. His voice carries as his eyes flit back and forth in search of the lizard.
Ashak steps forward and slashes a wide arc through the area Erin indicated. [dice=Attack]1d20+8 [dice=Miss Chance (high is good)]1d100 But fails to make contact.
Evalee racks her mind for anything that might be useful.
[dice=Spellcraft]1d20+13 Did it disappear with a spell or spell like ability?
[dice=Kn. Arcana]1d20+8 Is some magical beast I should know about?
[dice=Kn. Nature]1d20+4 (untrained) Is it some exotic but mundane monster?
Evalee sees no evidence that the creature is casting a spell. Evalee has seen invisibility magic in action before, but this seems different somehow. The creature is the same basic shape as a common chameleon, but she's never heard of one growing this large. Although she is no expert on nature, she is also fairly certain that their well-known ability to change color to mimic their environment does not normally allow them to disappear right before your eyes in broad daylight.
Erin spots a subtle shift of colors through the air as the chameleon moves, and swings her polearm to meet it. Her effort is rewarded when she feels the weapon strike scaly flesh and come away bloody
All of her compatriots' attacks find only empty air.
The chameleon recoils from Erin's blow, the colors seeming to shift through the air as if diffracted by a lizard-shaped lens turning slightly to the side. The creature recovers quickly though, and again seems to disappear.
You all scan the area, cautiously looking for any sign of movement that may warn of an imminent attack. This time, it is Semsephiel who spots shifting colors moving up the side of the warehouse that lies opposite the docks.
Semsephiel tracks the distended terrain as it attempts to escape.
"Found you."
He throws his flying blade at the lizard. "I am sorry for the inconvenience, but I don't think I'm quite done killing you yet," he apologizes to the lizard, snapping his weapon back to him before it can inflict property damage.
If that thing escapes into the city ... The devil sighs and shakes his head. Remind me why I'm letting a monster devour me for the sake of people I don't care about? He's sure there's a good reason, but he's in a hurry and can't stop to think about it. "This won't be fun at all."
Semsephiel takes off his coat while he charges the lizard (wouldn't do to get his coat all torn up and muddy) and wraps his extra arms around where he can see the monster is.
Evalee takes the run action towards the guards.
Seeing the helpful devil grabbing at the empty air, our intrepid squirrel puts two and two together and scurries out from behind the crate, snapping ferociously at the space in front of him. As he moves, he begins to glow with those strange blue lights.
The halfling follows after, swinging her polearm under Semsephiel's outstretched arms while blue lights of her own swirl around them.
Semsephiel tracks the distended terrain as it attempts to escape.
"Found you."
He throws his flying blade at the lizard. [dice=AoO]1d20+9 [dice=damage]3d6+6 "I am sorry for the inconvenience, but I don't think I'm quite done killing you yet," he apologizes to the lizard, snapping his weapon back to him before it can inflict property damage.
If that thing escapes into the city ... The devil sighs and shakes his head. Remind me why I'm letting a monster devour me for the sake of people I don't care about? He's sure there's a good reason, but he's in a hurry and can't stop to think about it. "This won't be fun at all."
Semsephiel takes off his coat while he charges the lizard (wouldn't do to get his coat all torn up and muddy) and wraps his extra arms around where he can see the monster is.[dice=grapple check]1d20+6+1+2
Evalee takes the run action towards the guards.
[dice=Power Attack]1d20+11-1 [dice=Miss Chance]1d2 [dice=Damage]1d10+9+3
[dice=Lesser Spirit Totem Attack]1d20+5 [dice=Miss Chance]1d2 [dice=Damage]1d4+3
Semsephiel swings his blade upward to reach the camouflaged beast. It's sharp edge, enlarged by Evalee's magic, slices through its scaly skin. Erin and Chi attempt to attack where Semsephiel did, but are unable to reach.
With the beast now being back oriented toward land, or at least that's what Nathaniel is assuming when Semsephiel sliced through the air and was rewarded with a spray of blood, the young man moved forward and then let fly with the dagger in his hand, attempting to skewer the beast before it can cause any more injury/death/mayhem.
Pogug continues his song, before moving in to strike the beast blindly with his rapier.
Nathaniel's dagger stops short of the wall, sinking into something unseen. Pogug flails with his rapier but is unable to reach anything.
Ashak runs to the base of the wall, unable to reach the lizard he looks around for some other way to climb up.
You all lock your eyes on the wall, scanning for any sign of movement. Your gaze is so focused that some of you spot a lone ant wandering out from behind a chip in the paint 20ft up the wall, but there is no sign of the chameleon.
Ashak scoops up a fistful of dirt (or sand, small rocks, whatever is available) and hurls it at the spot the chameleon was last seen.
Ashak scoops up a handful of pebbles that have been swept aside on the cobblestone street and flings them in the general direction of where the chameleon was last seen. The tiny stones bounce off the wall and rain back down on him and his compatriots.
Erin looks around to try to locate the dagger Nathaniel threw.
She spots the dagger where it clattered to the ground, streaked with bright red blood. Looking just beyond it to the south, she spots several matching drops in roughly a straight line on the ground along the base of the wall.
Nathaniel narrowed his eyes and peered around, waiting for the creature to emerge from hiding. Perhaps it had run off, and that was unfortunate, but he would be ready if it sprung out at them.
Chi appears outraged at the giant lizard's disappearance: he scrabbles at the base of the wall, snapping and hissing in a (relatively) fearsome display.
Meanwhile, Erin's gaze narrows in on the dagger - and the droplets of blood beyond it. Her polearm clatters to the ground, forgotten, as she jabs at a catch on the sheath concealed beneath her left sleeve. A neatly rolled sling slides into hand, and she quickly loads a bullet into the cup. Swinging her weapon in a quick arc, she lets the bullet fly - straight for a spot on the wall twenty feet above where the last drop fell.
Erin lets the bullet fly from her sling. It sails past the corner of the building in a high arc. When it comes down, it nearly hits a bystander who has stopped to watch from what he hopes is a safe distance.
Semsephiel tracks the trail of blood with his eyes. It goes around the corner of the building, so Semsephiel follows it. Pulling one of his extra arms out of his coat, he draws a net while he walks while keeping both hands on his flying blade.
Pogug looks around the spots of blood, trying to find a trace of the creature. Following Semsephiel, he keeps his blade steady.
After his attack, the goblin ceases his song, but the effects still persist despite.
Semsephiel is able to follow the trail of blood around the corner, but loses the trail on the other side of it. Pogug follows, and being closer to the ground, he picks up the trail and follows it until it ends.
Both of them are looking around, trying to spot the chameleon, when they see a mouth open up in what appeared to be a solid wall. A tongue shoots out at Pogug.
The tongue strikes Pogug, sticking to him and lifting him off the ground as the chameleon flees. Although the chameleon is still preternaturally camouflaged, now that it is carrying pogug, it is easy for Semsephiel to track its movement as it climbs on top of the warehouse.
Semsephiel's blade bounces off the cobblestone, sending up sparks.
"It has Pogug!" he shouts to his comrades.
Pogug screams as the tongue drags him off, struggling vainly with his tiny limbs.
Hearing Semsephiel's shout of warning and Pogug's screams from above, Erin quickly glances around, searching for any way to climb up to the warehouse roof.
I'll say building has larger bricks that jut out along the corner, alternating between the west and south faces. They create hand/footholds that lower the climb DC along that edge to 15.
Nathaniel takes off in the direction that Semsephiel's voice came from, cursing as it seemed the goblin was not exactly on the ground. He came within sight of the huge eidolon, then looked about, hoping to see Pogug, the chameleon, or both.
Ashak runs to edge of the warehouse and begins to climb.
Erin scrambles up the bricks at the southwest corner, her familiar following closely at her heels.
The lizard continues to run east across the rooftops toward the city's second tier. Pogug's screaming makes its location apparent, but nobody else currently has a line of sight.
Semsephiel will stick to the ground (he's not as good a climber as Ashak and Erin) and chase after Pogug's voice. Does a double move put the lizard in range of his flying blade or net?
While he runs he imagines Evalee's face if she finds out the entertaining goblin got eaten.