GM Dak - Shattered Star 2

Game Master Dakcenturi

Afraid that she might accidentally hit Adistan if she were to fire, Lexi keeps shouting encouragement to her friends. She drops the cold-enchanted crossbow and moves to aid Adistan and flank the wicked Natalya. Unfortunately, she's so inept at drawing her rapier that the simple action takes up more time than it should, and the brave gal is unable to attack the villainous Vancaskerkin just yet.

But at least now she's flanking and threatening her!

So...maintain bardic performance (free action), drop crossbow (free action), draw rapier (move action), and move into position behind Natalya (move action).

@Bixby When you are bringing the spell over just click and drag the spell name over instead of opening the spell and dragging the picture from that pop-up window

Will: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 11

Bixby unleashes a spell as wild colors wash over Natalya. She succumbs to their effect and passes out. When she does the fire, smoke and heat, just vanish into thin air and the building doesn't appear damaged at all.

Don't forget to roll for the effect duration of the color spray.

With the goblins and stirge dead and Natalya now unconscious and the fires no longer, or rather never actually having been a threat, you all take a second to breath. You see, she still holds the metal shard that belched the not real flames out earlier in one of her hands.

Out of combat for now

Gurk stares up at the goblin hut, quite confused. "This not be good goblin hut at all! Goblin hut never stop fire! This be very bad goblin hut! Why did fire not take hut?"

Amelexis blinks when the raging inferno vanishes in...well, the blink of an eye. She gives the brave gnome a thumb's-up before asking Adistan, "Did you bring some rope along this time to bind prisoners? And do you think you can carry her across the muck pits on that narrow beam? Or should we press on and look for another exit?"

"I wonder if that coppery piece of metal is what Natalya was supposed to show to Lady Heidmarch."

Assuming that Adistan remembers that he carries a pair of manacles this time ( :) ), Lexi will disarm and loot Natalya while she's down.

ADDENDUM: Lexi casts detect magic to check Natalya's gear once she's secure.

As Natalya is passed out Lexi checks her for anything of use. She finds several things. The metal shard, 1 scroll, 1 wand, smokestick, tanglefoot bag, masterwork mithral short sword, magical boots, a climbers’ kit, second story harness, masterwork thieves’ tools, and 55 gp

Verris is waiting indecisively by the door, when Bixby takes Natalya out rather impressively with his spell. She gasps in surprise as the flames disappear before moving over to help the others in restraining Natalya. She grits her teeth and grunts every time movement causes the bolt still lodged in her chest to shift. ”Must’ve been an illusion,” she says to the others as they restrain Natalya, referring to the fire.

When Verris enters, the young aasimar looks up long enough to nod at the archer’s words before again concentrating on Natalya’s gear. Not looking up from her work, Lexi winces and tells Verris, ”I’m sorry, but I can’t heal you any more—I used up both my spells already.”

Turning to Adistan, she states, "Better gag her as well. If she's got Gurk enchanted, we don't want her barking traitorous orders to him, now do we?" Then she starts unlacing Natalya's magical boots. "Can't risk her using these to escape," she says aloud. "They're cat burglar's boots and offer a sort of luck bonus that she could've made good use of in an escape attempt. PLUS...take a look at this! A secret pocket sewn into the boots with a set of top-quality thieves' tools tucked inside! Sorry, Natalya, but I'll be relieving you of those. If the fallen queen happens to get a splinter or two crossing the wooden plank over the mudpit, it serves her right!"

Lexi absolutely beams with pride at having outfoxed wily Natalya.

Amelexis Dusk Spellcraft Check (scroll): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11

Amelexis Dusk Spellcraft Check (wand): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (5) + 9 = 14

Amelexis Dusk Spellcraft Check (boots): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (9) + 9 = 18

Thanks for letting me know how to bring the spell over. I'll work on that. As for rolling for duration, there is no roll. Depending on the HD of the enemy, they suffer different effects.

Bixby nods in satisfaction as Natalya falls. "I should have recognized the fire was an illusion, most likely. Plus, another criminal apprehended," he says as he looks in at the walls. "And soon we will find Gurk, as well."

Sorry about not posting until now, all. Today ended up being a bit of a charlie foxtrot and got away from me somewhat. Also, Gurk, loving your reactions. :)

Temmer nods, breathing out a sigh of relief as the flames fade.

"That's powerful magic," he says, gesturing to the shard. "Probably what Lady Heidmarch was looking for. I've never seen nor heard of anything of its sort that I can think of."

He pulls out his manacles and cuffs Vancaskerkin, unhappily following Lady Dusk's suggestion to gag her as well.

"Is there nothing we can do for Gurk to end the spell?"

Lexi frowns when Lady Heidmarch's name is mentioned, unconsciously clutching the copper shard tighter inside her small fist. She falls deep into thought for a few seconds before answering Adistan's question.

"Most enchantments that take hold of a person can be dispelled," Lexi explains, "but none of us are likely powerful enough to cast the required spell. I'm afraid we'll just have to wait for its duration to expire."

"A couple more considerations...," Lexi continues, speaking to Bixby and Verris as well as Adistan. "First off, Verris is seriously wounded; getting her healed should be our top priority. Davor seems to have some magic about him, but I don't know if he's a healer. Another option is that Natalya might have more treasures stashed here, likely up where she was perched. Maybe she'd keep a healing potion on hand for emergencies."

"Second, we have to consider how to move Natalya through the city. Her Sczarni friends are supposedly looking for her as well, and are not happy with her. Bixby--can your illusion magic cover Natalya's real form with a different appearance? And now that we've got the real one, Natasham should be retired."

While she waits for her friends to respond, Amelexis begins to inspect the gear confiscated from Natalya...especially the lovely and lightweight mithral shortsword. "Come to think of it, there's no reason not to make use of Natty's gear...for the time being at least. She'll probably be going to prison, right? That stunt with pretending to burn the place down has got to be akin to yelling 'Fire!' in a crowded playhouse, right? I'd offer Gurk the boots, but they're not shiny; he might try to eat them, and that would be a terrible waste."

Lexi will temporarily use Natalya's shortsword and boots unless someone else wants them.

You sure that's not the Shard of Greed, Miss Lexi? ;)

With no fire or longshanks visible any longer, Gurk moves back to the doorway to find that not only was the magnificent fire gone, but the pathies had the queenie all tied up. "Why did you stop fire?" he cries out, moving back into the room. "Fire make longshanks stop fight, then no need to fight. This be why longshanks stupid. Goblins know fire mean no fight each other."

Goblins are one of the reasons I prefer Golarion over all other settings. >D

"I'm sorry to tell you this, Gurk," Lexi says with a sad face, "but Natalya was never really your true friend. We kept fighting her because we knew she was false. She ordered the other goblins to kill Verris, so we regretfully had to defend ourselves and kill them in turn. How false was she? Well, that wonderful fire she set was FAKE! Can there be a more horrible crime in all the annals of goblindom??!! I think not! Worry not, though--she'll pay for her treachery in one way or another."

Not sure if that requires a bluff check, as it's mostly true (or at least believable). I'm going to try a Diplomacy check, though, in an attempt to get Gurk back in our good graces (or at least in Lexi's).

Amelexis Dusk Diplomacy Check: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (18) + 9 = 27

"Queen no want to fight. She say go. Longshanks decide to attack. She even try fire to stop fight. Longshanks still attack," Gurk insists, deciding the bond longshank.

"Those boots appear tailor-made for Gurk... look, there's even some 'locksmithing' tools in there for him... he he he... there Gurk: take them. I'm sorry I wasn't nice to your new friend Natalya. Perhaps in time, once she's met our nice boss Lady Heimarch, she'll like us all again and we'll be friends again..."

Heading over to Verris, Davor says a quick prayer to surround her with a light blue nimbus... "By the River Rat, Walk Any Road, Float Any River..."

Cure Light Wounds: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Davor Loot Sheet Updated: boots to Gurk, mithral shortsword and metal shard to Amelexis, 55gp to Davor; consumables not included in those calculations as they serve the whole party in one-shot manners or should be used by those who would benefit most, like an arcane wand going to Bixby or a climbing kit going to whoever needs it at the time, etc. (see Gurk's Loot Sheets if your PC needs to borrow/use a consumable)

"These not shiny or tasty," Gurk mutters, sniffing the boots a bit as he takes them.

After a moment of considering, he tugs the slightly over-sized boots onto his bare feet and takes a few experimental steps. Whether it's due to the nature of the boots, or simply that fact that he now has footwear, Gurk does seem a bit more agile in them.

Finally noticing the hidden tools in the left boot, Gurk pulls it out quickly. After a moment of staring at the shiny, well-kept picks, he pulls out a set of similar tools, though not nearly as well kept, and tosses him behind him onto the ground outside. "This be shiny. Gurk be fine if longshanks no fight queen no more."

The tossed set is also a set of masterwork thieves' tools, worth just as much if given a bit of cleaning from being owned by a goblin, though Gurk just cares that this set is currently more shiny.

Goblin betrays party and attempts to bring the entire building down. Solution: Continue giving him all the most expensive stuff. >D

Davor grabs the discarded, dirty tools, and shoves them in his backpack.

You never know...

So, with Natalya subdued what is the groups plan? Lexi mentioned a few things, just want a consensus before I move us forward.

Amelexis's knuckles whiten around the mithral blade as Davor snags Natalya's boots and presents them to Gurk. She freezes in place and then seems to twitch or shake ever so slightly, much like she did right before disobeying the half-orc's order and moving in to help Gurk during the previous night's slaver stakeout. Then, the look on her face had indicated nervousness, uncertainty, and perhaps some regret; right now, the usually stoic (or vacant) expression normally pasted across the aasimar's pretty face is one of pain...or perhaps outrage and/or anger. The mini-seizure or whatever the reaction was ends suddenly when Davor heals Verris: That seems to snap Lexi out of her weird little fit.

"Listen to me," the aasimar girl again addresses Gurk. Her tone is friendly but perhaps a touch condescending, as if she were speaking to a child. "Yes, Gurk told us to go so we wouldn't fight your queen. Gurk also told us there were only goblins in the big hut. Gurk lied--to his bestest longshank friends! Gurk likes Natty better, maybe? Why? I'll tell you a secret: Know how reading and writing words can steal goblin souls? Natalya used magic words--called a spell--to steal Gurk's free will and make him lie to and betray his real friends. Yet Davor still gave Gurk neat magic boots: That is a true friend."

Yet when Lexi's aquamarine eyes settle upon Davor, they don't seem friendly or appreciative for what he did for Gurk; instead, they seem annoyed and somewhat unfocused. Those looking at her face realize they're seeing Lexi sweat for the first time in the short time they've known the little weirdo.

"About Lady Heidmarch," Lexi begins before stopping briefly to lick her lips. The expression that crosses her face at that moment is one of extreme distaste. "Let's think long and hard before delivering Natalya to her, shall we? Sure, Nutty Natty's crazy as a fruit bat, but maybe not about refusing to go back to Sheila*. Do you recall what our boss said when she hired us? 'I want to know what it was that Natalya and the Sczarni found. In fact, I’m more interested in that than in what happened to Natalya herself.' Our so-called benefactor isn't the caring sweetheart some of you may take her to be. And she's offering us 500 gold pieces for this shard that we earned. Sheila wasn't charmed by Natalya's magic; Sheila wasn't pierced and nearly killed by goblin crossbow bolts; and, perhaps most telling of all, Sheila didn't have to fight her way into this filthy ****hole^ and soil her lily-white hands! Yet she sits poised to relieve us of my...our shard...paying us mere pennies on the gold piece for it, might I add. Natalya may be a piece of trash herself, but at least she saw Lady Heidmarch for what she truly is."

After giving her friends a moment to digest the revelation she's just presented, the bitterness and anger leave her face and tone, and she seems to be the old Lexi again. "I offer you all an alternative: I'd be happy to become your new leader and promise to treat you all with respect and dignity...and not try to cheat you out of your hard-earned treasures. Would you be interested in such an arrangement, my friends?"

*This is the first time you've ever heard Lexi refer to Sheila Heidmarch without adding the respectful title 'Lady' before her name.

^And this is the first time you've ever heard her use foul language.

*******************************************

ADDENDUM: Lexi will suggest hiring a carriage/coach to move Natalya to a safer location. She will NOT want to return the captive to Lady Heidmarch at the Pathfinder Lodge at present.

"Gurk know if queen friend or not," Gurk retorts. "Gurk be very smart. Gurk not be tricked by magicks."

He listens, head tilted a bit, as Dusk continues on about their captive. Longshank be different now. Maybe she be fake like fake shortshank. She not nice as before.

"Queen no want to go to path-leader," Gurk says. "Gurk say we don't take her, too."

"Queen? Our leader? now, both of you ought to shut it before I shut it fer ye. This is Magnimar. You Have What You Hold. And judging from the size of Lady Heidmarch's estate, yer both dead meat if ye cross her. Don't doubt it a single second. So shake yerselves off of wha'ever crappy spell ye've fallen under and let's go deliver Natalya to Her Majesty before ye all get a bounty thrown over our heads!"

As he finishes healing Verris, Davor bends down to inspect if there are any other wounds, and whispers in Verris' hear, "Tis plain Gurk was charmed by Natalya, but Amelexis seems enthralled by whatever Nat was carrying... maybe Nat isn't so bad and she was just under some curse... it's either the mithral sword or that weird metal shard. Don't touch any of those and let Amelexis carry them until we deliver them to Lady Heidmarch. Be prepared to tie down Amelexis if she gets crazy. Pass the word to Temmer and Bixby."

Heh. Lexi can't see past the end of her own nose, but eavesdropping is her specialty!

Lexi's eyes narrow as Davor whispers something to Verris. A moment later, she's whispering something to Adistan.

"They're conspiring against me!" she quietly hisses at poor Temmer. "Or at least he is! she adds, eyeballing Davor. "Not to mention threatening me with violence! HIM! The one who retreated at the first sign of danger while you and I pressed forward to complete the mission for...."

Amelexis seems unable to say Lady Heidmarch's name as her teeth clench in sudden anger.

Amelexis Dusk Perception Check (to overhear whispered conversation): 1d20 ⇒ 17

Hee hee! This is almost as fun as some of this season's Survivor tribal councils!

A cold sweat breaks out on Temmer's back, a chill running up and down his spine, as Lady Dusk begins ... ranting, her emotions changing seemingly in an instant.

Smoke and screams fills eyes, nose and ears as the sailor descends into the cabin of the ship. The captain is down here somewhere, and if they can get him, they can end this all before more people have to die. They're on a mission of rescue and salvation, after all, not murder.

There! The man stands with blade in one hand, and black bell in the other. Strange ... Temmer takes a moment to study him, try to find out what he's about, but it proves to be a minute too long. As he opens his mouth to call out, the man hits the bell with the blade and Temmer can only hear ringing, and screaming, the latter from his own mouth. A moment later, everything goes pitch black...

With a shudder, his attention returns to the present. He shakes his head at Lady Dusk.

"Lady Heidmarch doesn't want to hurt anyone, not Lady Dusk or Vancaskerkin. She merely wanted to know what happened to Vancaskerkin, and about the item Vancaskerkin hinted to her about," he reminds the others. "If she hadn't tried to attack us, I wouldn't think there were any need for the manacles, even, but now I think there's a bigger mystery to resolve."

His eyes involuntarily stray toward Lady Dusk for a moment at the final words, before returning his quelling glance toward the half-orc and aasimar.

"I think we should indeed see what else might be in here -- there could be more clues as to what's transpiring -- but then we should return to Heidmarch Manor and try to get to the bottom of all of this. I'm sure we can send Vancaskerkin back on her way after that..."

Verris listens as the others converse, nodding in appreciation when Lexi mentions her wounds. ”I can still keep goin’. Just won’t be much use in a fight is all. Amelexis has a good point about Natalya though. We can’t just parade her about town and expect the folk lookin’ fer her to just ignore her.”

As Davor comes over and begins to heal her, Verris holds up a hand to stall him for a moment. She then clenches her jaw and snaps the end off the bolt protruding from her chest with a soft groan. She places the snapped part of the bolt between her teeth and pushes the rest of the bolt out through her side with another groan, louder this time. Finally she spits out the end of the bolt, panting, and allows Davor to heal her. As the wound stops bleeding and mostly closes up, she turns to Davor saying ”Thanks Davor! ’Preciate it!”

She listens and frowns as the others suggest not handing over Natalya as they had promised. After Davor responds and whispers to her she nods at him. ”Have to say, I’m with Davor on this one. Aside from the fact we’d be pissin’ off some of the most powerful folks in the whole city, we also promised to Lady Heidmarch that we’d bring Natalya back. Not to mention the fact that Natalya has half the most dangerous folk in the city lookin’ fer her. I don’t think we can handle that at the moment!”. She gives Adistan and Bixby a pleading look hoping they’ll agree with her.

diplomacy: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20

Not trying to force anybody here, just a roll to see if I can get through to Lexi through whatever enchantment seems to be affecting her (if that is the case :P)

"Never said Lady Heidmarch wanted to hurt anybody," Amelexis mutters under her breath to Adistan, flashing him and Verris hurt and distrustful glances. "But she is using us; mark my words--you'll see. Too late, but you'll see...."

Still clutching the mithral blade in one fist and the coppery shard in the other, the young aasimar folds her arms across her chest, looking as childlike as ever but now also appearing as a petulant one. Still sweating and shaking slightly, she steps to the edge of the sludge pit and begins to gag, eventually managing to vomit weakly. Next she casts prestidigitation to freshen her pukey breath. Finally, she sulks and stews silently.

Bixby's eyes grow as big as dinner plates as he listens to the others discuss Gurk, and his mouth hangs open.

"Wait...wait...wait. Let me get this straight. We have Gurk scout the building, and he tells us she's not in there. It turns out she is inside, and then he tries to get us to stand down on our mission and let her go. THEN he runs out and leaves us hanging out to dry, only to attempt to SET THE BUILDING ON FIRE WHILE WE'RE INSIDE!!! And the first thing you do when the battle's over is REWARD HIM WITH BOOTS!!! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR SECOND-WORLD MINDS!!!!!" Bixby exclaims.

The illusion goblin throws its arms up in exasperation.

"Are you all in on this with him? Are you ALL trying to sabotage the Pathfinders?! Because trust me, this is all going in my full report!"

I need some indignation before I worry about getting Natalya back, but I don't think I can use Silent Image to make someone look like someone else (those are disguise spells or more advanced illusions). I think taking a carriage could work.

Amelexis barely reacts to Bixby's outrage as she sheathes her new blade and slowly walks back to the entry to recover her dropped crossbow. As she passes the gnome, though, she bitterly mutters, "Next they'll probably have Gurk guard Natalya and make sure she stays in her manacles...now that he's got a shiny new set of top-of-the-line lockpicks."

Having failed in her bid for party leadership, Lexi will be going passive-aggressive for the most part, letting the others decide the next move. She's really disappointed in all of you. :)

Seeing at least one other party member dissatisfied, he nods vigorously. "I know, right!? Perhaps when he helps her escape, they'll give him a new cloak!"

"Gurk is under a charm spell. This we know as much. It will wear off. It doesn't take away from the fact that these boots are best suited for him! And there's something weird about you as well, Amelexis. Unless you think that being under some bad spell would be grounds for expulsion of this party, should you be the target of such a spell, then be quiet, wait for the magic to wear off, and try to pretend you're actually some kind of professional instead of screaming in the streets at the top of your head like that!"

Davor gets out his rope, and starts tying down Natalya. He puts a big wool sock in her mouth too.

"Verris, can you help me with this? Temmer, can you get us all a coach? we can pay for it with some of the coins we got here... there, take the 55gp in case you need it to make the booking more urgent... I'll stay here with Natalya while the others search the rest of the building..."

Gurk shakes his head a bit at the yelling. Dusk and fake shortshank both not smart. Maybe they be reading before.

Ignoring the ranting shortshank, Gurk turns to the fellow green orc and salutes. "Gurk go find all the shiny," he states, heading off to where he met the queen before. After all, if she was going to give him lots of shinies, then she had to have them stored somewhere.

Searching the room where Natalya charmed Gurk.
Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14

You can take 20 on Perception when out of combat

Lexi's originally quiet when Davor barks his orders, but she stays put, not following the half-orc's commands. Grimacing and wiping the sweat from her brow, the upstart young aasimar haltingly asks, "Is it wise...to split our party...three ways...while in enemy territory...in the worst part of town...when two of our best fighters...are significantly wounded?"

Her eyes--still angry-looking--seem unfocused as her free hand moves from her forehead to cover her upset tummy.

In much the same way Lexi wouldn't let Adistan go after Natalya alone, she won't let him go out into the mean streets of Underbridge alone, either.

To kill some time, Lexi loots the fallen goblin and then squats over the dead stirges, using her boot toe to move and flip the corpses so she can get a good look at their anatomy.

@GM Dak: There's no way farther into Natalya's hideout without getting down and dirty in the muck pits, correct? Or would it be possible for some of the stronger PCs to lift the smaller (Gurk, Bixby) or lighter (Lexi) PCs high enough that they could reach the rafters to pull themselves up?

"Are you quite all right, Lady Dusk?" Temmer asks, ignoring Davor for the moment. "I'm not sure any of us should leave you here right now."

He looks at her with concern.

"Once we're all back upstairs, we can get a carriage if you really think it's necessary," he adds.

There seems to be a ladder that goes straight up into the rafters or attic; I say we inspect the whole house in depth then we return to Lady Heidmarch ASAP. I meant to say we all stick together for the house exploration then someone like Adistan (i.e. one of the uncharmed few! lol) goes around the street corner and flag a messenger/kid to go get us a coach ride.

Amelexis stares up at (and through?) Adistan for a few long moments as she squats above the stirge carcasses before answering; her gaze no longer shows signs of anger yet still seems to reflect disappointment.

"Honestly, no--I feel sick to my stomach," the young aasimar admits. "Probably not surprising, really, given the level of filth in this place, especially when compared against...."

NO! I am NOT going to mention that woman nor her admittedly kinda luxurious manor!!

When she sees the concern in Adistan's face, Lexi's features initially soften. Then her eyes narrow and the corners of her mouth turn down into a frown of annoyance.

"'We can get a carriage if I really think it's necessary?'" she echoes, managing to work enough scornful disbelief into her normally squeaky voice to let Temmer (and the others) know she's mocking him. "How else would you propose we get Natalya up the Seacleft and across the city without being noticed by her Sczarni running mates or arrested by the watch as kidnappers??!!"

Laying her loaded crossbow on the floor beside the slaughtered stirge, Lexi closes her eyes, grits her teeth, and brings both hands up to press against the sides of her head; while the thin fingers of her right hand press against her temple, her left hand is still balled into a fist, clutching the copper shard.

"It's no wonder I have a splitting headache," she growls. "I have to do all the thinking for the lot of you!"

Moments later her aquamarine eyes snap wide open and her jaw drops in a rather comical Did-I-Just-Say-That-Aloud? sort of way.

"I'm sorry--I'm not well," she whines to the others as she starts to sob. To Adistan she asks, "What's wrong with me?"

EDIT: Lexi agrees with most of Davor's revised plan, except she'll insist on at least two people to try to hunt down a coach. This assumes, of course, that the others don't smack her senseless first. ;)

"Perhaps you should put down the shard," Temmer suggests, pitching his voice to sound extra reasonable. "Maybe we can find a box or something to put it in and then you can carry that?"

And agreed. It seems like we can get to the ladder. If we have to go into the sludge, then Temmer will just do that.

"No!" Lexi yelps when Adistan suggests she put down the shard. "No, no, No, NO, no, No, NO!" Then, regaining her composure, Lexi meekly squeaks, "Maybe?" A trickle of blood runs down her arm from the clenched fist in which she holds the shard.

"This is going to sound stupid, but...the shard's actually counteracting whatever sickness is inflicting me. I feel it sharpening my mental focus when my illness makes me queasy...feel it steadying and strengthening me when my arms or knees get shaky. But maybe I could try keeping it in a box...maybe. It's worth a try."

If it comes to wallowing in the muck, Lexi will volunteer, reasoning that she's already caught some disease in Natalya's dump.

Amelexis frowns as she looks around the ruined building for a container worthy of holding her precious shard. Then her eyes fall upon Natalya and her face lights up. She snags the young Vancaskerkin's fashionably conspicuous red bandana and declares, "This should suffice! Besides, all the Sczarni in Magnimar are probably on the look out for young women wearing a red bandana."

Lexi then pauses, looking down upon the captive. "You know, she doesn't look so dangerous or evil now; in fact, she's quite beautiful." Then the girl regains her new, harder edge and adds, "That's why they say not to judge a book by its cover!"

Asking for a bit of privacy, she then moves to a corner, wraps the shard up in the bandana, and tucks it inside her nifty backpack. Hefting the pack over her shoulders and again picking up her loaded crossbow, Lexi stands quietly a moment.

"I still feel sick, but I can still access the shard's magic. I guess we'll call it a wash."

Temmer looks good, but accedes to Lady Dusk's solution, not wishing to cause anymore of a scene than he already has.

Verris listens to her companions bicker and just shrugs. ”I think a carriage is a good idea, although... ain’t that kinda rare in this part of the city? I can go get one if ye wan’t. I’m feelin’ a lot better thanks to Davor’s healin’.”

As the group continues their discussion Gruk slips off into the building to start looking for shinnies. Not concerned with getting dirty in the muck he quickly makes his way back to where he first spoke with Natalya and finds her cache. A tattered burlap sack stuffed into the back of the chimney lair among a pile of well-gnawed rat bones and other detritus contains 33 gp, 86 sp, 192 cp, a brass comb worth 2 gp, and assorted buttons made from semiprecious stones worth 30 gp total.

Checking the goblins you find each has leather armor, a light wooden shield, a short sword, and a short bow with 20 arrows. However, the two goblins behind the crates had heavy crossbows and bolts instead of the short bow and arrows.

Let me know who is going to find transportation and what the rest of you are doing in the meantime. I assume after Gruk has searched the building you are all just standing outside talking currently.

Assigned coin loot (Davor +45.5, Bixby +15, Verris +15); @GM: how many goblins total? I will compute gear sell worth...

5 goblins total. 3 with bows, 2 with heavy crossbows

goblin gear: 312gp total --> sell for 156gp :: loot assigned on sheet (Davor +56, Bixby +50, Verris +50)

I think we would stay inside while we're talking. I think Temmer and Verris will go find a carriage once we're done searching and bring it back to take us all to Heidmarch Manor.

Agreed about staying inside, maybe cracking the door and peeking outside every so often. No way should we bring Natalya out into plain sight a second longer than we have to.

So Temmer and Verris are heading off to get a carriage now then?

"While I'm no expert, I likely know the city best," Amelexis suddenly blurts, opting to go along with Adistan and Verris in search of a carriage; this way, the party split is an even 3-3.

Leading the trio back toward Dockway (where she reasons the best chance of finding a carriage would be), the thin lass suddenly asks her companions, "So, why are you both against me taking the reins as party leader? What attributes do you feel I'm lacking?"

Before the trio gets more than 60ft away from the building they are stopped by another group of people. In the lead are several burly men followed by a woman with long blonde hair that has the tips dyed black. She wears a high quality chain shirt and holds a whip in her hand with a short sword on her hip. She has three men with her, each carrying morningstars. She grins when she sees you. "Well, I assume since you are just walking about out of Natalya's hideout you've either joined up with her or have captured her for yourselves. Give us Natalya and you can be on your way, or better yet slit her throat for me. We have no grudge with you, but if you don't hand her over there is going to be a problem..."[/b]

Map updated, had to go old school and draw some of it out.

Bixby waits with the others as some of the group looks for a carriage.

He paces back and forth.

These new companions are exasperating! They can't smell a criminal right under their noses! It reminds me of some of the judges--either incompetent or corrupt! Gurk turned on us in plain sight--I still can't believe they rewarded him with boots! The humanity!

He transforms his illusion from the goblin back into his dwarven bodyguard. The bodyguard shrugs as Bixby looks at him.