Sam was more referring to the functional one the guy was wearing, but it seems unlikely he'd need that field tested.
If he can find some way to get a good grip on it, Mo attempts to lift one of the crates for his flame globes and starts off towards the door back out of the testing range. He hopes to get out of the line of fire before anyone does anything stupid to get them all toasted.
** spoiler omitted **
Wow, Talk about bad cross-post!! LOL...sorry about that guys.
Only two of the guards are able to score a hit on the otyugh, but they barely scratch the the hide of the beast.
As you battle the otyugh, you hear another battle several streets over, the screeches of the the hippogriffs echo off the buildings. Suddenly you hear the screech of an injured hippogriff then if flies overhead, tumbling out of control, it smashes into the fountain at the end of the street, it and its rider now motionless, as the fountain continues to pour an ever darkening water over them.
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"Great maker!" Sollus exclaims, wondering what on Golarion could have brought them crashing to the ground. His first instinct is to run to see if they can be saved...
"Can we get to them, do you think?" he asks, looking as if he's ready to bolt in that direction already, his healer's instincts overriding common sense.
There's a peel of flash of light and a peel of thunder from overhead, with everything going on you hope that this storm is natural, rather than something magical.
Round 3:
Initiative order
Marra: 14
Sorin: 13
G1:11
Sollus: 9
G2: 9
G3: 8
Tamarie: 5
Pavo: 4
G4: 4
Otyugh 2
G5: 1
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Mentally reviewing the last few moments of the battle, and his dwindling reserves of magic, Sollus mutters a blessing and directs it towards guiding Marra's hand in battle.
He begin moving towards the fallen hippogriff and rider, all too aware that he has no further tricks up his sleeve that could affect the otyugh.
"It will be back...wait for it to move, hold to attack its tentacles if you have to!. We have the high ground now, be prepared!"
Sollus moves to the fallen Sable Company Marine,
"Roktagh eat now"...as it grabs at the fallen guard that was killed earlier.
Seeing the sewer creature grab the dead knight, Pavo responds with a short incantation as he flings another glob of acid at the otyugh.
Marra stands and watches as Roktagh retreats back with its prize, as Sorin and Tamarie are paralyzed by the situation. Sollus and Pavo's attacks injured the beast more, but are not enough.
Citadel Volshyenek is located in Midland, overlooking Jeggare Harbor, where it serves as the base of operations for the Korvosan Guard. The Citadel currently operates on a skeleton crew, as almost all available guards are hard at work in the city, desperately trying to keep order. Two
nervous guards stand at the entrance to the Yard, but as the queen promised, you're expected. They quickly wave your party through, and one guard escorts the PCs into the central keep, where a harried and tired-looking woman rises from her desk to greet you—this is Field Marshal Cressida Kroft, an attractive, dark-haired human woman dressed in red armor. She introduces herself
“Ah yes—you are the ones sent by Queen Ileosa. Greetings—
my name is Field Marshall Cressida Kroft, and heroes of
your caliber are exactly what Korvosa needs now. You’ve
been on the streets. You know better than me how bad things
are out there. It’s breaking my heart to see Korvosa tear
herself apart like this. Every little bit of aid we can get
from upstanding citizens like you helps. If you’re willing,
I’d very much like to retain your services as agents of the
Guard. I don’t need to say, of course, that you’ll be well
compensated for these services.”
"Greetings Field Marshall Kroft. I am known as Marra." Pointing to each of the others she introduces her companions.[b]"Pavo to sorceror, Sorin, Sollus of Abadar, and Tamarie. We woudln't be here if we weren't will to help."
Cressida continues, it appears she hasn't slept since the death of Eodred. There's fatigue in her eyes.
“Korvosa’s got enough troubles as it is without my own men
losing their way and going rogue. As much as it pains me to
admit, though, this has happened several times already. Many
guards have deserted their posts, more concerned about
friends and family than the city. I can understand this, yet not
all of the deserters have family—some of them are simply using
the riots as an excuse for personal gain. One such man is Verik
Vancaskerkin. Worse than a lone deserter, he’s convinced a small
group of fellow guards that Queen Ileosa is going to ruin the city.
Whether she does or doesn’t isn’t the point—right now, we’ve
got a city-wide crisis on our hands, and I need all of my guards
working with me to see us through. A deserter is worse than a
lost resource—it’s an infection. I can’t afford to pull any of my
other patrols off duty to deal with Vancaskerkin, and I’d rather
not expose any of them to him anyway, since I neither want
Vancaskerkin to infect more guards with his talk of secession,
nor do I want some overly patriotic guard killing Vancaskerkin
outright. I need impartial, skilled talent. Like you."
“Vancaskerkin and his men have holed up in an abandoned butcher’s
shop up in Northgate—the place was called All the World’s Meat.
I need you to check out the place. Try to avoid killing any of the
deserters if you can, but if you must, they brought it upon
themselves when they threw in their lot with Vancaskerkin.
For him, I’d really prefer it if you could capture him alive
and return him to me for interrogation, but if he makes that
impossible, I’ll accept his body as well. Finally, see if you
can find out why Verik deserted—if there’s more to it than
simple personal politics, I need to know immediately. Bring me
Verik alive, and there’s another thousand gold in it for you.
Dead, he’s only worth half that.”
"Alive? Hmm, with that information I have a request, Chain, manacles,
good locks and perhaps some tanglefoot bags Field Marshall?"
Marra asks of Cressida.
Pavo and Tamarie see a strong woman standing as an equal with another strong woman, while Sorin and Pavo no longer see the terrified vengeful girl of three days ago.
"Also any idea on how many guards her recruited?"
Impressed by the maturity of the still young woman, Pavo then turns to Cressinda and says, "Yes, we don't want to be a burden on the Crown's resources, but anything that would help in subduing this Vancaskerkin would go a long way in seeing the job to a beneficial end. Though Pavo is still wearing the handsome smile that is always on his face, the glint in his eyes and the smoothness of his words betray the fact that Pavo was more than just a handsome face, he was a man who had a way with getting what he wanted, though even with his way with women, the pressures of the past day or two were having it's effect on the young sorcerer's words.
Diplomacy: 1d20+8=11 +1 for opposite gender = 12
"All we know is where Vancaskerkin and the rogue guards are, we haven't had the man power to scout the area. I had reports that they were giving away meat to the poor yesterday and today. I can only assume he's attempting to build himself into a local hero of sorts." She seems unimpressed with Pavo, perhaps she prefers those with more...military...bearing. Or perhaps she's just too exhausted to see his charm.
"All we know is where Vancaskerkin and the rogue guards are, we haven't had the man power to scout the area. I had reports that they were giving away meat to the poor yesterday and today. I can only assume he's attempting to build himself into a local hero of sorts." She seems unimpressed with Pavo, perhaps she prefers those with more...military...bearing. Or perhaps she's just too exhausted to see his charm.
"All we know is where Vancaskerkin and the rogue guards are, we haven't had the man power to scout the area. I had reports that they were giving away meat to the poor yesterday and today. I can only assume he's attempting to build himself into a local hero of sorts." She seems unimpressed with Pavo, perhaps she prefers those with more...military...bearing. Or perhaps she's just too exhausted to see his charm.
Headcount? I may have to recruit again...Sorin had said he was sticking to this game...but he's not here...Unless you remaining people want to just hang it up...
I have new players, we're just sorting out everything now...please stand by.
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I have new players, we're just sorting out everything now...please stand by.
Sollus is still traumatized by watching that hippogriff and rider die. He probably should be bothered by the guard getting taken off to eat by the otyugh, but the whole plummeting from the sky visual is seared into his brain.
A lieutenant enters and hands something to Field Marshall Cressida, who unrolls a scroll and begins to read. She puts down the scroll and speaks;
"Hmmm, it seems we have more heroes about to enter. Therefore, I'm going to ask Sorin and Tamarie to deal with a special problem that has arisen. Tamarie you're to escort Sorin while you attempt to make contact with a rogue guard friend of mine, he seems to have taken the loss of the King quite hard, you will find Sergeant Grau."
An attractive, almost girlishly handsome youth steps into the room, a shield loosely hangs over his shoulder and a lithe breastplate accentuates his frame. The shield sports the emblem in bright silver of a sword bursting with light.
A warm smile comes easily to his lips as he says: It seems I have been promoted from running errands - my matron wants me to join the struggle against the chaos that sweeps the city. And with a twinkle in his eyes: Perhaps she feels I'm ready for real adventure - or perhaps I've just angered her inadvertently.
He surveys those attending the meeting, then proceeds: Pardon my intrusion, but I suspect I can already make myself useful - please don't hesitate to brief me on this mission detail; Iomedae does act true and swiftly. ...with those words he falls silent, looking at Cressida expectantly and attending to her every word.
You hear someone approaching outside the door with even steps. The door opens and a legionairre of the Korvosan Guard marches in. He approaches the desk and at a precise distance crashes to a stop and gives a crisp salute to Field Marshall Cressida.
"Seargent Drakus reporting as ordered Ma'am!"
"Sergeant Drakus! How many times to I have to tell you to address me as Field Marshall." She yells as she pops tall. Then a smirk crosses her face and shatters her grim visage, "Sergeant Drakus, how long have we known each other? 2 years? 3 Years? No need to impress our guests with your bearing."
"Sergeant, please show our other guest in."
You can see the muscles in Sgt. Drakus' cheeks jump as he almost, almost cracks a smile.
He snaps a quick "Yes Field Marshall!" marches to the door and opens it. As he leans out to speak to someone you can't see, you can see some scarring on his neck that seems to trail down his back under his banded armor.
"Miss Leloric? The Field Marshall will see you now."
After Sgt. Drakus escorts her in he says, "I'll see to getting proper armor and tower shields for the new recruits."
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Sollus regards the two new arrivals and sizes up Sgt. Drakus as a career soldier, particularly at the sight of his imposing legionnaries shield, greeting him with a respectful nod, before turning the young man who preceded him into the room. To Panish, he asks quietly, "And you name, young sir? I am Sollus, an Acolyte of the Fane of the Great Architect."
As her name is called you see a small half-elf enter the room. She smiles politely at the Sergeant and takes a look at all the people in the room, then turns to Cressida and does a curtsy as she says: “I was asked if I would want to be of help to our city in these troubled times, it will be my pleasure. Aliandara at your service, Field Marshall”
Startled Panish blurts out: "Pardon me, my manners are sometimes like a gutter - " then with a smirk and more bearing he proceeds, "maybe this is why the matron sent me here after all. I'm Panish Valimer and protect this city by the grace of the Inheritor. I helped Field Marshall Cressida a few weeks ago to coordinate a field exercise for the recruits - I was hoping I would be afforded a chance to more directly aid Korvosa at this time."
Marra looks at the new faces, then to Sorin and Tamarie as they depart. "Be careful Sorin..." Sorin stops to wave goodbye, he looks confused for a second, then runs up to Marra and hands her a deck of cards. "She said to give them to you for now...her path is not with me for this part of the journey." he laughs, "Guess it's not in the cards..."
"I am known as Marra Warblade" She introduces herself to the new heroes of Korvosa."
You note that in her powerful demeanor, the lies a hint of an abused young girl, her cheek bone that sits slightly lower than the other a reminder of a horrific past. By the way she stands you can tell she can wield the heavy falcata at her waist, and you wonder about the war razor tucked into her sash...
Marra is my DMPC, go ahead and role-play the interaction, ask Cressida any questions, she reiterates the mission briefing she gave the rest of the party.
REPOST OF THE BRIEFING:
“Korvosa’s got enough troubles as it is without my own men
losing their way and going rogue. As much as it pains me to
admit, though, this has happened several times already. Many
guards have deserted their posts, more concerned about
friends and family than the city. I can understand this, yet not
all of the deserters have family—some of them are simply using
the riots as an excuse for personal gain. One such man is Verik
Vancaskerkin. Worse than a lone deserter, he’s convinced a small
group of fellow guards that Queen Ileosa is going to ruin the city.
Whether she does or doesn’t isn’t the point—right now, we’ve
got a city-wide crisis on our hands, and I need all of my guards
working with me to see us through. A deserter is worse than a
lost resource—it’s an infection. I can’t afford to pull any of my
other patrols off duty to deal with Vancaskerkin, and I’d rather
not expose any of them to him anyway, since I neither want
Vancaskerkin to infect more guards with his talk of secession,
nor do I want some overly patriotic guard killing Vancaskerkin
outright. I need impartial, skilled talent. Like you."
“Vancaskerkin and his men have holed up in an abandoned butcher’s
shop up in Northgate—the place was called All the World’s Meat.
I need you to check out the place. Try to avoid killing any of the
deserters if you can, but if you must, they brought it upon
themselves when they threw in their lot with Vancaskerkin.
For him, I’d really prefer it if you could capture him alive
and return him to me for interrogation, but if he makes that
impossible, I’ll accept his body as well. Finally, see if you
can find out why Verik deserted—if there’s more to it than
simple personal politics, I need to know immediately. Bring me
Verik alive, and there’s another thousand gold in it for you.
Dead, he’s only worth half that.”
"All we know is where Vancaskerkin and the rogue guards are, we haven't
had the man power to scout the area. I had reports that they were
giving away meat to the poor yesterday and today. I can only assume
he's attempting to build himself into a local hero of sorts."
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"If occurs to me that we might benefit from bringing a similar 'gift' for the locals he's been bribing. If we can convince them that we've been sending relief supplies that way for him to distribute, and convince the locals that he's given them only the scraps while keeping the lion's share for himself, it might go a ways towards negating his efforts at bribing the people into supporting him."
Sollus looks thoughtful, second-guessing himself already, "On the other hand, it is very unstable out there right now. I would hate to accidentally start a riot that gets him lynched by an angry mob of his own 'supporters,' since our mission is to bring him in alive..."
"Perhaps we should see this as an opportunity for the guard - and order in Korvosa? Do you think it would be possible to convince Vancaskerkin and his men to rejoin the guard, yet remain where they are? ...perhaps I should be clearer: I think this is an opportunity to increase the exposure of the guard within Northgate by transforming the old butchery into a watchhouse."
Then, trying to add weight to his reasoning, "It is rare for a guard to be without ties in this city - we all have family and friends - and often those with the strongest ties to loved ones will be the first to desert their duties to protect those they care about most. If this is so, then we should find that a good number of Vancaskerkin's men actually live in Northgate. And should this be the case, then establishing a more pronounced guard presence in the area should favor all parties involved - especially since the new watchhouse would be manned by guards from the area, who have a vested interest to keep the peace there."
Turning to Cressida, "Field Marshall, do you think this line of reasoning can hold any merit?"
Sgt. Drakus looks a Panish with amazement.
"You're going to find all that out in the middle of a riot soldier?"
He turns to Cressida. "Field Marshall, Ma'am, can you tell us how many of them are there and where we can find them?"
Turning to Sgt. Drakus: "There isn't much to find out, Field Marshall Cressida can judge whether the idea has merit; and if so it is up to us to convince Vancaskerkin and his men to again become part of the guard. It is, after all, for the greater good. Once the guard's presence in Northgate is strengthened and their presence is felt more distinctly the riots will settle down again. At least in Northgate."
After quietly watching the conversation for a while and waiting for a pause in the conversation between Sgt Drakus and Panish, Aliandara speaks: “Sorry to interrupt you two, but as Lady Cressida said, there hasn’t been enough man power to scout out the situation properly yet. I propose we do that first and then make plans. I would suggest we go and see the situation for our selves, maybe taking a look at this charity, even dressing up as one of the poor, see what the situation is then regroup to make plans. What do you think?”
"Information will be valuable indeed. I'm afraid I may be ill-suited to the task though - during the field exercises last month I've spoken at length to guard assemblies and some of Vancaskerkin's men may recognize me."
Panish examines Aliandara more closely, musing out loud: "You appear to be well versed with the streets, I recognize your stance from my days in the Front. Do you feel you could convincingly be... uh... yourself?" Then laughing, "I'm sorry, my thoughts apparently caught up with themselves."
"Nonetheless," he reasserts, "I think we should bear in mind that this can be an opportunity for Korvosa, rather than a punitive expedition."
Field Marshall Cressida pipes in, "As I said, the exact numbers that the city's wayward sons have is unknown, I assume your band can handle any info gathering you might need to do."