In defense of Scoria, her having drawn the creature's ire, Thaddeus gets a two handed grip on his blade and swings it hard at the bugbear. He lets the bugbear know its fate in its own goblinoid tongue "You have allied yourself with the wrong side, and it will be your undoing."
Scoria your attacks are infective against the creatures stout armor.
"Har stone woman, you hit like me mum!"
As the bugbear gloats at Scoria, he also manages to dodge Thaddeus's attack.
Thaddeus as your strike misses the bugbear, your sword gleams a brillant white but for a moment, and in your mind a soft and calm female voice speaks to you.
Steady your hand and mind young warrior, this beast will not see the end of the day.
The bugbear continues to posture and taunt as it prepares its attack, "Time for me to hit back stone lady."
The creature fuss and fumes at yet another miss.
Bel'Tanis' eyes widen briefly as Thaddeus' strike is turned aside by the bugbear's armor. Rather than try to draw blood himself, he instead tries to make an opening for one of his allies.
HP: 27/27
AC w/ shield: 18 (11 T / 17 FF)
Resistances: Acid (5), Cold (5), Electricity (5)
CMD: 17
F/R/W: +5/+2/+3 (+1 vs fear)
(+2 vs evil descriptor)
daylight uses left: 1/1
Ongoing Effects
flanking?
Khrondak watches Thaddeus and Scoria miss their attacks and is surprised by the bugbear's quickness to dodge them. He is too strong and fast. The shoanti stretches out his right hand, holding a wooden symbol of Gorum, and shouts out an enchantment in his native tongue.
The stonemason doesn't allow the bugbear's taunt to phase her, attacking again, using her flanking position to her advantage. She's feeling the pressure, though, as the creature continues to bring his weapon to bear on her.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Scora your second flurry connects and you hear a satisfying crunch of a broken rib. The big goblin howls in pain.
Khrondak curses Bruthazmus as the bugbear shakes off his spell. He goes back to the traditional method and attacks with the earth breaker.
Thaddeus is startled by the voice, maybe it was just Midori or Scoria, and he just didn't see them. He does follow the advice, however, and focuses on his swing. It helps, and he is able to deliver a solid shot to the beast.
Thaddeus your blade bites deep into the bugbears's flesh. The creature already reeling in pain for Scoria's hit howls even louder.
The bugbear too frustrated by the stone woman's ability to dodge his blows turns his attention to Thaddeus.
"You look like easier pickins longshank."
Thaddeus, the creatures heavy fail slams into you.
[ooc]Khrondak, your attack misses the bugbear.
Scoria's eyes widen as Thaddeus is struck by the bugbear, narrowing her eyes before attacking with renewed fury, attempting to drive his attention back on her, her stony fists aimed at his back. Her attacks clatter off of his armor, ineffectual in creating damage.
Midori decides that getting in Scoria's way is not a good idea and steps back to begin an inspire courage chant: +1 to attack and damage.
Thaddeus is taken aback by the hit he recieves, and decides that he needs to try and take away its abilty to strike back, if even only briefly. He steps back and tries to befuddle the mind of the target, "Lady of Justice, cause this creature to balk at your holy righteousness."
Round 3
Bel'Tanis takes a measured strike against the burly brute, favoring precision over strength. With a grunt, he tries to weave his blade through the bugbear's defenses while it turns it attention from Scoria to Thaddeus.
HP: 27/27
AC w/ shield: 18 (11 T / 17 FF)
Resistances: Acid (5), Cold (5), Electricity (5)
CMD: 17
F/R/W: +5/+2/+3 (+1 vs fear)
(+2 vs evil descriptor)
daylight uses left: 1/1
Ongoing Effects
flanking
Bel'Tanis you strike the creature, your sword leaving a momentary burning flame across the creatures hide. However the creature is still is not felled.
The creature now turns his attention on Bel'Tanis with Thaddeus moving out of melee. "So you think your little matchstick hurts, well try my flail,"Bruthazmus bellows.
The creatures heavy fail swings around in a wide barley missing Bel'Tanis.
Scoria continues her assault on the bugbear, her unarmed strikes battering away at his armor, trying to find a chink in in that she could use to her advantage. She's not having much luck despite her superior advantage. She would have to try something different soon.
Khrondak notices Bel'Tanis' success at striking Bruthazmus. He steps back and places his hand on the Aasimar's shoulder, sending a wave of divine magic that strengthens his ally as he whispers an enchantment.
"Bel'Tanis, the Lord in Iron strikes with you!"
.
Round 4
"Your flail is unimpressive." Emboldened by Khrondak and Midori's support, Bel'Tanis follows up his verbal retort by putting as much strength behind his next strike as he can muster.
HP: 27/27
AC w/ shield: 18 (11 T / 17 FF)
Resistances: Acid (5), Cold (5), Electricity (5)
CMD: 17
F/R/W: +5/+2/+3 (+1 vs fear)
(+2 vs evil descriptor)
daylight uses left: 1/1
Ongoing Effects
bull's strength: +4 strength (1/10 round, 1/3 minutes)
flanking
inspire courage: +1 hit/damage, +1 charm/fear
Bruthazmus attempts a pithy reply as Bel'Tanis's sword plunges into his chest. But all that comes out is a gurgle of blood. The creature then falls to the ground dead.
Inside of the room that Bruthazmus emerged from are four female goblins . They are huddled in the back corner of the chamber welding daggers.
Bel'Tanis nods to Khrondak, Midori, and Scoria in turn. "I don't think my blade would have ever found the mark without your help. Thanks."
"Your hand often strikes true, my friend, but with the Lord in Iron on our side, all is possible. You should thank him, not me."
He then turns to the dagger-wielding goblins and, giving them a menacing look, says "Drop your knives and go. Find Gogmurt. Join his followers, and we will let you live."
Scoria nods, before glancing into the open room with the goblin women. She lets out a quiet sigh, before slamming the door shut in their faces. "I will scout ahead," She says once more, peering through the southern door that leads into a hallway. "...You are welcome, Bel'Tanis." She adds before slipping off.
Bel'Tanis regards the fallen bugbear as Scoria slips away. He kneels down and begins to pat the brute's corpse down, looking for anything that might be of use in the passages ahead.
Notick looks over the scene, shaking his head slightly in disbelief at the Goblins' size. "This thing was huge... Lucky for us there was only one!" He sighs in relief, holding his Blade casually at his side, staying next to Bel'Tanis in a somewhat Defensive manner as he searches the large creatures fallen remains.
Midori ends her chant and follows the group.
As the others mostly disregard the goblin women, he takes his time to make sure they are aware of the situation. He informs them in goblin of the events with Gogmurt, and requests that they take the goblin young and go upstairs.
Seeing Bel'Tanis looking for anything of worth on the bugbear, he asks that his goddess lend him the eyes to see into the realm of magic.
The goblin women drop their daggers at sight of the threatening barbarian. Thaddeus is able to coax the women out of their chamber, the quickly scamper up to the fort above. They seem to have forgotten about the children in the next room.
Scoria, you round the corner of the south hallway to see the corridor end 30 feet down to the west in five doors. Two doors on the north wall, two doors on the south wall and the fifth door on the west wall.
Five doors. The monk steps lightly to avoid any detection, starting with the leftmost door, pressing her ear to its surface and listening for any signs of someone on the other side. When she hears nothing, she quietly opens it up to take a look at the interior, prepared to strike if necessary.
You hear nothing from within.
After opening the door, a musty odor hits you, which smell like the bugbear you just faced moments ago. The bed is untidy and stacked with unkempt furs of various animals. More disturbing are the blood stains that mar the room, along with a dozen bird's feet piled into one of the rooms corners.
You hear nothing from within.
This chamber is spartan and clean, in fact it hardly looks lived in. An Everburning Torch on the nightstand is only sign that this room is actually used.
You hear nothing from within.
This room is a bit larger than the other four bed chambers. It contains a fine bed with silk sheets, on the other side of the room contains a hardwood desk and reading chair that sits under a lantern making a comfortable looking study.
You hear nothing from within.
This room is clean and well organized. A low dresser has a stack of papers resting on it with a large chunk of obsidian used as a paper weight. A well made bed is also in this chamber.
You hear nothing from within.
Opening the door comes as a shock you see a man dressed in banded mail sitting on a chair at a desk waiting a plate of dried salmon. A bastard sword leans against the wall next to the wall.
He looks up at Scoria as she opens the door, "Good afternoon darlin', you a new hire?"
The stonemason's eyes widen as she opens up the final door, surprised to find anyone here - she supposed that he had just been too quiet to make out before. At least he wasn't immediately hostile, and definitely not a goblin. Perhaps he could be persuaded to listen to reason, like the sergeant preferred. She looks swiftly around the room to see if she spots anything like an alarm he could pull.
"I am not. But you should know that there is a group here from Sandpoint ready to stop Nualia's plans of destroying the town. They are right behind me, all five of them," She reports honestly and stoically. "You may come with me and parley with the leader, if you wish. He is in a merciful mood today."
Having nothing else to say, she backs off from the door, walking backwards and keeping a close watch on the man.
The man leans back in his chair, his hand slowly goes to the hilt of his bastard sword.
"Let's just stay calm darlin', we can all be friends here. I'm just a mercenary trying to earn some gold. Y'all are here to stop Nualia huh? I've heard about you and yer group, the 'Sandpoint Heroes' when I was in town the other day. Good work stopping those filthy little buggers, but yer to late, Nualia has put her final plan into motion."
The man then slowly stands and sheaths his sword and hoists his shield on his arm. "All right then, let us go parley with yer leader, but if you don't mind me sayin' darlin', I think you should be the leader of this outfit."
He then gives Scoria a sly wink and follows her out the door towards the rest of the group.
Notick perks up when he see's Scoria escorting a man towards them. "Erhm... Thaddeus." He nods his head down the hallway once the appointed leader notices him.
"I do believe we have company."
The monk leads the man out to meet the rest of the group, unsure that she should trust him completely. "If you are just a mercenary, then I hope you have not been paid enough to protect a woman bent on unleashing a demon into this world." She spoke back to him. She wasn't sure, but it sounded like he might have been flirting with her. Not the first time that had happened, but certainly the first from a potential enemy.
"Sergeant," She states stoically once she gets back, letting the man step ahead. "A mercenary. He did not attack me, so by your preferences, I assumed you would wish to speak with him." She settles herself behind him, ready to grab a hold of the man should he attempt to draw his blade.
Khrondak stands in silence with his arms crossed, towering behind Thaddeus. The shoanti stares fiercely at the hired mercenary, and pays close attention to his every movement and expression in order to find out if the man can be trusted.
The craggy looking mercenary walks into the chamber with Scoria. He does not appear to be intimated by the group.
"So this little lass," the merc points to Scoria, "said I should talk to the Sergent."
He looks at Khrondak, "I'm guessing that is you big guy?"
Khrondak remains silent. He simply motions his head towards Thaddeus, keeping his eyes locked with the mercenary's.
Thaddeus, waiting to hear Scoria's estimation of what she scouted, is somewhat surprised to see her return with a stranger. "Well, based on what we have been told, I would presume you are known as Orik? Either way, well met. My name is Thaddeus Pruitt, and I have been given lawful authority by Sherriff Belor Hemlock of Sandpoint to act as a representative for the constabulary of the aforementioned town."
After his introduction, he continues "Now, we knew there were two mercenaries working with Nualia on her path to cause wickedness in the world, and believe it or not, I consider this a good thing. As a mercenary, we already have an idea that you are not devoted to the cause by much more than its value to you in terms of payment. So, if I may make a counter-offer, we could separate you from this mission without anyone losing a life to a band of six Sandpoint citizens." The mention of outnumbering him six to one just added at the end to indicate that what they pay him may already not be enough.
I have at my behest, the ear of the Sheriff himself, and from time to time, I am able to convince him to do me a decent favor. I suggest that if you give up whatever fool errand Nualia has intended for you, I could not only keep you from jail, or even worse falling in combat, and ensure a steady job working for the Sandpoint garrison. There is food, housing, a steady payday, and many other like-minded men who are physically suited to using their physical prowess to keep the peace in the sleepy town. What say you?"
Bel'Tanis watches the exchange closely, hoping this individual will honestly accept the offer.
The merc scratches his chin while listening to Thaddeus's offer.
"Well now that does sound like a decent offer, not sure how yall know my name. But yes it is Orik Vancaskerkin. I like your offer Sargent and since I'm out numbered it seems to be the only sensible option. Still how did you manage to make it all the way down here without raising the alarm. This place is crammed with these little rodents."
He then then looks down at the bugbear's corpse. "Well looks like old Bruthazmus didn't make it, ah well he had a screw loose."
"Yeah, he overestimated his flail."
The monk gets to the point after Thaddeus' diplomatic tactics succeed. "Which route will take us directly to Nualia? What forces does she have down here?" She asks in her direct fashion. "Should we be wary of any traps?"
Notick laughs slightly at Scoria's immediate lashing of questions. He shrugs slightly and decides to tack his own. "Better yet, where's your partner?!"
Thaddeus smiles as the man easily recognizes the value of not putting up a fight under these conditions. "If you knew where we could find the spellcaster Lyrie, or whether you would be able to help by telling us what could motivate her to abandon her service to Nualia. Then that is one less casulty in this unfortunate of situations. Much like how we appealed to you with a reasonable alternative, we made a deal with the goblins, deposing Ripnugget and putting Gogmurt their shaman in his stead. We just want to put a stop to Nualia's plans, with as few casulties as possible."
"Well darlin', I was hired to be Nualia's bodyguard and since she doesn't leave much, I've been pretty much stuck in this hole the last couple of weeks. I haven't seen her since the day of the raid on Sandpoint. She is down on the lower level but I don't no where, I've never been allowed down there."
"As for forces, it is just her, Lyrie, and her demon dogs. That's all I really know about. There shouldn't be any goblins down here. Only Bruthzamus and Ripugget were allowed down here after she moved in. Haven't seen Tusto that little rat for a while, he left after the raid, saying he was going to get his sister join. I'm putting two and two together and guessing hes either dead or captured. And that is how you found this place."
"As for Lyrie, please don't hurt her if possible, but I'll be honest she has bought into the program so to speak, I don't think she will surrender."
"We will try to save her if possible. Just what is Nualia trying to do, if you know anything about it. Tsuto was a bit...rambling there."