Edge of Anarchy: Curse of the Crimson Throne, Book I by GM Apoc (Inactive)

Game Master Apoc Golem

Trel winces in pain as the attack from giggles lands. A moment later he spots Yargin. Every memory comes rushing back...but this time...it fuels his next attack.

He, in a surprise move even to himself, takes a swing at Giggles again and at the same time, he shoots a magic missile from his hand.

Cast Defensively: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (3) + 9 = 12
Magic Missle Damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2
Longsword Attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 3 = 22
Longsword Damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

CRITICAL CONFIRMATION B+@%#ES

Crit Confirm: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 1 = 12

Destriant strains to thrust his rapier between the doorway, and Trell. He sees a new figure step into the shadows in the back. He can't see much, but suspects the newcomer might be Yargin himself. I'd dearly love to be bringing the fight to him direct, Destriant thought, striking out at the giggling man yet again.

Attack: rapier: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23
Attack: rapier confirmation: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11
Damage:rapier: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8
Damage:rapier critical: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

I'll use Saving Shield if another attack roll comes in, aimed at an adjacent ally. Motherf#&#ing threat again.

Giggles takes two solid blows this round, as Trell's longsword cuts deep into his arm and Destriant's rapier stabs him right in the stomach. His maniacal tittering is cut short in a gurgle of pain, but he is still standing. With a snarl, he lashes out at Trell with his flail. The spikes of the flail's head bounce off Trell's leather armor, leaving several indentations but not puncturing it. (Whiff!)

Arra, seeing one of her tormentor out in the open, steps forward with a bellow and fires the oversized crossbow at Yargin. (CRITICAL HIT!!!)

CRIT CARD: Leg Wound
Double damage and the target's land speed is halved for 1d4 rounds.

Arra's fury at her tormentors is fully unleashed as she plants a crossbow bolt directly into Yargin's thigh. The leg practically goes limp as she pinches a nerve cluster with her shot. Yargin immediately turns to her with shock and confusion. "What the--?? You ungrateful little cur!" In response, Arra spits derisively on the ground in his direction.

The last of the Lambs goes. He drops his pitchfork as well, draws a dagger, and stabs at Giggles. (Unconfirmed critical threat jeebus on a taco tamborine) His dagger doesn't bite deep, but it does draw blood. (1 damage)

ROUND TWO, Cont’d
BOLD may act.

[color=green]
Lamb 4 (-0 hp)
Andakos (-0 hp)
Lamb 1 (-0 hp)
Lamb 3 (-0 hp)
Yargin (-12 hp)
Destriant (-1 hp)
Trell (-3 hp)
Giggles (-14 hp)
Arra (-0 hp)
Lamb 2 (-0 hp)
Maelis (-0 hp)
[/color=green]

Maelis steps forward (5 foot step) and touches Destrient on the shoulder. "With luck, take this one out, then I can aid you further against Yargin," Maelis growls in a voice surprisingly deeper and darker than the other men have ever heard before.

Maelis grants Destrient a Bit of Luck, allowing him to roll twice on all D20 rolls next round and take the more favorable number.

Maelis then sheathes his mace, (move action) knowing he will need his hands available to assist Destrient against Yargin.

Spoiler tags updated to reflect use of Bit of Luck and Channel from Botted post

ROUND ONE SUMMARY
One of the Lambs dropped his pitchfork in favor of a small dagger, but failed to do any better with it.
Andakos lent his aid to Trell this time, distracting Giggles enough to keep the magus safe.
Two more Lambs went, with no more luck than their friend. Shockingly, children make terrible combatants.
Yargin shows up on the scene, threatening to blast someone with his trademark acid, but he fails to make the wand activate.
Trell gets distracted by Giggles' threatening presence and loses his spell, but his longsword manages to land home on the half-orc's bicep for 5 damage.
Sensing a temporary lull in Giggles's defenses, Destriant dives in and thrusts his rapier deep into the bastard's gut for 8 damage. But this thug isn't going down without a fight, and keeps his footing for now.
Giggles tries to return the favor, but thanks to interference from the tiefling's longspear, he can't land on Trell. He's starting to look almost rabid.
Arra completely invalidates my previous statement about child combatants by critically striking Yargin in the thigh with her crossbow, dealing massive damage (12, in fact!) and hobbling him.
Another lamb, emboldened by Arra's success, drops his pitchfork and takes a dagger to Giggles. He manages to hit, but the wound was mostly a graze for 1 damage.
Maelis steps up and gives Destriant the blessing of his goddess, granting the vigilante a bit of luck.

ROUND THREE
BOLD may act.

[color=green]
Lamb 4 (-0 hp)
Andakos (-0 hp)
Lamb 1 (-0 hp)
Lamb 3 (-0 hp)
Yargin (-12 hp)
Destriant (-1 hp)
Trell (-3 hp)
Giggles (-14 hp)
Arra (-0 hp)
Lamb 2 (-0 hp)
Maelis (-0 hp)
[/color=green]

One of the Lambs steps behind Giggles and takes a swipe at him with his tiny dagger. The attack misses, unsurprisingly, but now the half-orc has to split his attention onto two combatants at once. (Miss, but now Trell has a +2 to attack rolls for flanking!)

Seeing Arra's impressive strike on Yargin, Andakos can barely keep his jaw from dropping. It was an impressive shot, but he knows from having seen her fight earlier that reloading that crossbow is a difficult process for her. He can't let her face Yargin alone, so he navigates his way between the other children to face Yargin head on. With a primal yell, he stabs his spear at his enemy, aiming for center mass.

Spear: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12
Spear damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11

Yeah, that's not gonna hit. Bah. I'm sure it's fine. Great damage, too. :(

"Arra, get behind me to reload that crossbow!"

GM told me to roll this:

Spear AOO: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 3 = 22
Spear AOO damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

Two Lambs lash out at Giggles with their pitchforks, still whiffing spectacularly, but it keeps the half-orc preoccupied.

Yargin, bleeding profusely from his leg, stares daggers at Arra, but instead of firing again, he turns to flee. "Gaedren!" he screams, "I must warn Gaedrukkhhhghgh--!" His cry is cut off as Andakos's spear finds a home in the older man's spleen, and he collapses to the floor, his wand clattering to the ground. The Lambs in the room with him scatter and cower behind various objects or run pell-mell into the fracas.

One of the Lambs, wearing a heavy wool cloak with a shadowy hood, darts past Andakos. He thinks nothing of it, turning to focus his attention on Giggles again, when a sudden pain lances into his side. The hood drops back on the Lamb to reveal not a child, but a wild-eyed gnome with a wicked-looking, bloody kukri. He sneers at Andakos and brandishes his weapon. "Once we kill you lot, I'm going to enjoy gutting every one of these little brats that sided with you!" Several of the Lambs look with horror at the kukri, their wills clearly wavering. (Andakos takes 6 damage from the sneak attack.)

ROUND THREE, Cont’d
BOLD may act.

[color=green]
Lamb 4 (-0 hp)
Andakos (-6 hp)
Lamb 1 (-0 hp)
Lamb 3 (-0 hp)
Yargin (-22 hp, dying)
Hookshanks (-0 hp)
Destriant (-1 hp)
Trell (-3 hp)
Giggles (-14 hp)
Arra (-0 hp)
Lamb 2 (-0 hp)
Maelis (-0 hp)
[/color=green]

Destriant looks for an opening to close with Yargin. As soon as he begins closing he sees that Andakos is already standing there. Destriant watches as he closes his final steps as Andakos strikes out with his spear, bringing Yargin to the ground. No sooner does Yargin hit than one of the children craftily reveal himself to, in fact, be a villianious gnome who cuts deeply into Andakos. Already in position, Destriant flicks his wrist, bringing his rapier to bear against the small foe, feeling some inexplicable rush course through him.

Attack: rapier: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 4 = 15
Bit of luck
Attack: rapier: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19

Damage: rapier: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

Trell, with a growl of frustration that his spell failed, lashes out again at Giggles with his sword as his hand begins to glow a sickly green before forming into an arrow of acid hovering over his palm. The arrows shoots itself off of Trells palm only second behind the sword swing.

Cast Defensively: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (14) + 9 = 23
Ranged Attack: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
Acid Splash Damage: 1d3 ⇒ 3
Longsword Attack: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9
Longsword Damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

Destriant manages to gouge a deep cut into the gnome. Trell brings down another barrage with sword and spell. His blade misses, but thanks to the distraction granted by the Lamb across from him, blasts the half-orc in the face with acid. Giggles screeches in pain and lashes out at the elf with his flail, which finds a home across Trell's face. Blood flies and a tooth looses from its home in the magus's mouth. Pain shrieks across his skin and brain in a spiderweb of agony before he falls into blissful emptiness.

Trell's allies watch as he falls unconscious from the violence of the blow, slowly bleeding out on the ground. Giggles is practically cackling now, mouth foaming, as he turns his wild eyes on the nearest Lamb... (7 damage, and Trell is unconscious and dying at -1 hp.)

Arra swallows, hands shaking at the sight of Hookshanks. She scrambles away from the gnome, ducking his kukri, as she hustles to safety near Maelis. (Disengaging and moving away.) Another Lamb lashes out with his dagger, but misses, his courage beginning to wither under the mad gaze of Giggles.

ROUND THREE, Cont’d
BOLD may act.

[color=green]
Lamb 4 (-0 hp)
Andakos (-0 hp)
Lamb 1 (-0 hp)
Hookshanks (-9 hp)
Lamb 3 (-0 hp)
Yargin (-22 hp, dying)
Destriant (-1 hp)
Trell (-11 hp, dying)
Giggles (-14 hp)
Arra (-0 hp)
Lamb 2 (-0 hp)
Maelis (-0 hp)
[/color=green]

Maelis sees Trell lying bleeding and springs to action. He touches his left forearm, utters a few quiet words to Calistria, and prays for healing for the Elf.

Maelis uses his ability to Channel Ray, allowing him to focus his channeled energy on a single target. No attack roll needed for willing creatures, he can have a will save if he wants it, but then I would make an attack roll to hit him. I am just going under the assumption he is willing.

Channel Ray: 1d6 ⇒ 4

"Stay out here, Arra, until the fighting is over. You will be safer." Maelis then strides through the melee of children, keeping his distance from Giggles, to stand closer to the others should they have need of him.

ROUND THREE SUMMARY
The Lambs manage to get in a nick or cut here and there, but primarily serve to distract Gaedren's henchmen.
Andakos finally takes a more active role in the battle, engaging in melee with Yargin, but fails to land his blow.
Yargin tries to flee to warn his employer. When his back is turned, Andakos takes the opportunity to strike him down.
During the chaos of Yargin's fall, one of the Lambs darts by and reveals himself to in fact be Hookshanks, the vicious gnome rogue in Gaedren's employ, who takes the opportunity to gouge a deep cut into Andakos when he's caught unawares.
Destriant, thanks to the luck borne to him by Maelis's patron, strikes true on the gnome and leaves a nasty wound.
Trell's onslaught manages to douse Giggles's face with acid.
The thug retaliates with a flail to Trell's face, bringing the magus low.
Arra flees to safety, away from the vicious little gnome.
Maelis blasts Trell's unconscious form with healing energy, revitalizing him.

ROUND FOUR
BOLD may act.

[color=green]
Lamb 4 (-0 hp)
Andakos (-6 hp)
Lamb 1 (-0 hp)
Lamb 3 (-0 hp)
Yargin (-22 hp, dying)
Hookshanks (-9 hp)
Destriant (-1 hp)
Trell (-6 hp)
Giggles (-17 hp)
Arra (-0 hp)
Lamb 2 (-0 hp)
Maelis (-0 hp)
[/color=green]

A Lamb, taking a cue from the tiefling, move to distract the half-orc instead of actually attacking. Andakos now has an opening against Giggles. (+2 attack vs Giggles)

Feeling exposed and vulnerable from Hookshanks at his back, but knowing that he has been given a prime opportunity to take down the half-orc, Andakos jabs out with his spear. Sensing that this is a desperate situation, he uses his powers of observation to inform the strike.

Spear (+2 aid, -2 cover, inspiration): 1d20 + 3 + 2 - 2 + 1d6 ⇒ (11) + 3 + 2 - 2 + (4) = 18
Spear damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

Using last 2 inspiration to try to land this damn hit. I know it's gotta be close...

Having done so, he braces for the attack from behind that he hopes will not come.

Spear AOO: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7
AOO damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11

AoO: 1d20 - 4 ⇒ (9) - 4 = 5
AoO damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

AoO: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16
AoO damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

Andakos takes full advantage of the opening given to him by the little girl harassing Giggles to drive his spear tip between a pair of rings in the half-orc's chainmail and pushes deep into his guts, under the solar plexus. Blood spurts from the wound as he pulls out the blade, splashing hot and coppery across Trell's face, as the thug gurgles furiously before his eyes roll into the back of his head and he crumples to the ground. (Giggles is officially unconscious and dying!)

Hookshanks, seeing the situation has turned against the crew, scrambles past the party, ducking blades and spears but taking a neat stab to the side from Destriant and a graze from a pitchfork by one of the Lambs as he leaps down through the slurry water and through the slats that pour down into the larger lower room.

One of the Lambs, seeing the gnome flee and seeing Andakos drop the last remaining tormentor in her vicinity, screams almost primally and drives her pitchfork as hard as she can into Giggles's prone form. Blood pools heavily beneath the half-orc, but he still seems to be taking ragged breaths.

ROUND FOUR, Cont'd
BOLD may act.

[color=green]
Lamb 4 (-0 hp)
Andakos (-6 hp)
Lamb 1 (-0 hp)
Hookshanks (-14 hp)
Lamb 3 (-0 hp)
Yargin (-22 hp, dying)
Destriant (-1 hp)
Trell (-6 hp)
Giggles (-27 hp, dying)
Arra (-0 hp)
Lamb 2 (-0 hp)
Maelis (-0 hp)
[/color=green]

Seeing the villainous gnome vault into the pool of water and attempt to slip away through the bars, Destriant flings open his cloak to hang more as a cape as he himself charges towards the pool, and hops down the ledge. He attempts to control himself, and land upright so that he can slide through the narrow slats, and get into position to block Hookshanks's retreat.

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 11

GG Hookshanks, see ya later. Destriant will stand back up after taking his nonlethal damage.

Trell still hears the ringing in his ears from the nasty blow as he stands up. He nods to Maelis in thanks for helping him.

Seeing the situation unfold before him Trell does not want to let any of these bastards get away. The gods only know what will happen if they do.

After standing up, Trell moves to pursue the gnome as well. He hops down the ledge and attempts to maintain control as he does so.

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

I do not think I described it well enough. I am basically trying to keep pace with Destriant

You described it fine, I understood what you were doing.

Destriant and Trell both dive through the slats into the room below, trying to land gracefully, but both lose their footing in the slippery fish guts and seaweed of the slurry and land hard in the goopy, disgusting water below. (Trell takes 2 non-lethal damage, Destriant takes 5 non-lethal damage. Both are prone.) At the bottom, they can see almost two dozen more children cowering in the southern end of the room, watching the proceedings with unadulterated terror. The two heroes can see a stairwell to the north of them (left on the map) leading to the room they were just in, and a stairwell to the east ("up" on the map) leading up to a walkway above that wraps around the east, south, and west walls. To the northeast is a doorway, presumably leading outside.

The Lamb next to Giggles joins his friend, screaming and sobbing as he drives his dagger into Giggles's skull over and over again; eventually blood stops pouring from the wounds, and instead small bits of gray matter fly up from the stab wounds instead. The boy doesn't stop, still screaming and wailing as he thrusts violently into the half-orc's corpse. The girl with the pitchfork finally restrains him, holding him close as he drops the dagger, sobbing uncontrollably.

Of the two remaining Lambs that were in the next room with Yargin, one stabs the man in the torso but misses any vital organs, and the other throws the doors open and bolts into the night.

For her part, Arra sticks the big crossbow between her legs and forces the crank back, then loads a bolt and stands at the ready, in particular watching the doorway down the stairs to the east, where Hookshanks is most likely to exit.

ROUND FOUR, Cont’d
BOLD may act.

[color=green]
Lamb 4 (-0 hp)
Andakos (-6 hp)
Lamb 1 (-0 hp)
Hookshanks (-13 hp)
Lamb 3 (-0 hp)
Yargin (-25 hp, dying)
Destriant (-1 hp, -5 NL)
Trell (-6 hp, -2 NL)
Giggles (dead)
Arra (-0 hp)
Lamb 2 (-0 hp)
Maelis (-0 hp)
[/color=green]

Seeing the other men follow Hookshanks, Maelis decides he would be better suited staying near Arra. After seeing her aim her crossbow at the eastern door he strides in that direction. He draws a scroll from his belt, anticipating he will cast it if an enemy opens the Eastern door.

The scroll casting is not a prepared action, since he is out of actions this turn, just flavor text.

Round Four Summary
The Lambs began taking out their aggression on their tormentors. One of them stabbed the unconscious Yargin but failed to hit anything vital. The other, though, put more holes in Giggles's head than a whiffle bat.
Andakos put a nasty spear wound into Hookshanks.
Hookshanks decided he didn't like that, and fled, drawing attacks from the intrepid heroes, though only Destriant's rapier landed. The gnome fled through the sluices into the next room.
Destriant and Trell followed him, but both landed face-first in fish guts and seawater. Only Destriant has managed to regain his footing yet.
Arra finished reloading her crossbow and watched the east door carefully for signs of the fleeing gnome.
Maelis drew a scroll and prepared to do the same.

ROUND FIVE
BOLD may act.

[color=green]
Lamb 4 (-0 hp)
Andakos (-6 hp)
Lamb 1 (-0 hp)
Hookshanks (-14 hp)
Lamb 3 (-0 hp)
Yargin (-22 hp, dying)
Destriant (-1 hp, -5 NL)
Trell (-6 hp, -2 NL, prone)
Giggles (-24 hp, dying)
Arra (-0 hp)
Lamb 2 (-0 hp)
Maelis (-0 hp)
[/color=green]

The Lamb nearest the door throws it open and hustles down the stairs, dagger in hand, keeping an eye on the door so Hookshanks can't get past her. She calls out to the others in the room, "Oi! Giggles an' Yargin are dead! Get 'im!" She points her dagger to the gnome skulking in the shadows next to the staircase, who looks positively terrified.

Slowly, a few of the faces in the crowd of children turn to Hookshanks with a renewed venom.

Finally having a moment to catch his breath, Andakos takes stock of his wounds. He knows he is hurt badly and that he is running on pure adrenaline at this point. He also knows that this battle is far from over; Lamm is here somewhere. Grimly pulling a vial from his belt, he downs it in one swig and feels the protective energy flow through him. Still just as badly hurt, but quite a bit harder to hit, he confidently (he thinks) heads down the stairs to whatever horrors lie beneath.

He drank a Shield extract. +4 shield bonus to AC and immunity to magic missile for 1 minute.

Seeming to sense the futility of the situation, the frantic gnome lashes out at the prone elf. "If you won't let me leave, I'll f+*+ing take as many with me as I can!" His kukri lands home in Trell's back, and with a cry, the magus falls unconscious once again--this time in the water. He bobs lifelessly in the vile liquid, as Hookshanks takes the opportunity to creep across the lip of the slurry tank toward the door.

Trell, I need two Constitution checks. The first is to attempt to stabilize. The second is to stave off drowning.

ROUND FIVE, Cont'd
BOLD may act.

[color=green]
Lamb 4 (-0 hp)
Andakos (-6 hp)
Lamb 1 (-0 hp)
Hookshanks (-13 hp)
Lamb 3 (-0 hp)
Yargin (-22 hp, dying)
Destriant (-1 hp, -5 NL)
Trell (-10 hp, -2 NL, dying)
Giggles (-24 hp, dying)
Arra (-0 hp)
Lamb 2 (-0 hp)
Maelis (-0 hp)
[/color=green]

No Drowny: 1d20 ⇒ 18
Constitution to Not Die More: 1d20 ⇒ 18

Destriant sees Trell take a vicious kukri strike to the back before falling lifeless in the water. Destriant moves his legs slowly forward to step towards Hookshanks, and a final strike, driving the rapier towards the gnome.

Attack: rapier: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22
Damage: rapier: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

Destriant will use Saving Shield on another ally if the opportunity

critical confirmation: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21

CRIT: Spun Around
Normal damage and target is flat-footed for one round.

Destriant's rapier finds its home in Hookshanks' right lung. The gnome gasps frantically as the blow spins him around, grasping at the sucking wound, and he tumbles over the side of the slurry onto the ground. A few of the Lambs move steadily forward, pitchforks and daggers in hand.

A few feet away, Trell still bobs lifelessly in the water.

All enemies are defeated! Because Trell is still in danger of drowning, we will continue rounds for now.

ROUND FIVE
BOLD may act.

[color=green]
Lamb 4 (0 dmg)
Andakos (6 dmg)
Lamb 1 (0 dmg)
Hookshanks (21 dmg, dying)
Lamb 3 (0 dmg)
Yargin (22 dmg, dying)
Destriant (1 dmg, 5 NL)
Trell (10 dmg, 2 NL, stable, drowning)
Giggles (dead)
Arra (0 dmg)
Lamb 2 (0 dmg)
Maelis (0 dmg)
[/color=green]

Maelis grows tired of waiting, and after hearing a commotion, he moves towards the Eastern door. He gives a quick glance and nod at Arra, signaling her to be ready if needed, and opens the door.

that's 2 actions, sorry for the delay guys, hope you don't die

Maelis tries to open the door and finds it locked.

Round Five Summary
Several Lambs unleash their fury on the bodies of their tormentors. Others flee. Others cower in fear.
Andakos opens the door and moves into the lower fishery to aid Destriant and Trell.
Hookshanks, desperate to escape, stabs the prone form of Trell, who falls unconscious again.
Trell manages to stave off drowning in fish intestines, but only for now.
Destriant avenges his fallen comrade with a brutal rapier stab that sends the gnome spinning into unconsciousness.
Arra loads her crossbow.
Maelis heads down the rickety stairs outside to the east door, only to find it locked.

ROUND SIX
BOLD may act.

[color=green]
Lamb 4 (0 dmg)
Andakos (6 dmg)
Lamb 1 (0 dmg)
Hookshanks (dead)
Lamb 3 (0 dmg)
Yargin (22 dmg, dying)
Destriant (1 dmg, 5 NL)
Trell (10 dmg, 2 NL, stable, drowning)
Giggles (dead)
Arra (0 dmg)
Lamb 2 (0 dmg)
Maelis (0 dmg)
[/color=green]

Andakos sees the Lamb at the foot of the stairwell step over to Hookshanks's unconscious body, dagger in hand, and drive it into the back of his neck so hard that it severs the gnome's spine at the base. His body begins twitching violently, slowly tapering off into occasional spasms. (Hookshanks is offically dead.)

The tiefling also sees Destriant standing next to Trell, who is floating face-down in the slurry water. It's impossible to say at this angle whether he is dead or alive.

He also sees, among the Lambs huddled in the south end of the room, a preteen girl consoling one of the younger Lambs, keeping the little boy's face turned away from the violence. She doesn't seem to have noticed Andakos yet, but her shimmering white hair and bright gold skin are instantly recognizable to him.

Destriant sheathes his rapier, and lifts Trell's corpse from the water, preparing to lay him out on the floor so Maelis can give him his last rites, which he assumes the priest will want to do.

Looks like we're still in initiative order, so hopefully this counts as two move-ish actions.

That'll do!

Destriant pulls Trell's unconscious form from the slimy muck and drags him safely to the floor outside the slurry. He is already stable, so he is not in immediate danger of dying.

COMBAT OVER!

Congrats, all! You beat a particularly nasty combat. The Lambs certainly helped, but you guys all kicked ass! Even Trell, in spite of himself. XD

As the dust settles, the Lambs begin to gather in the lower fishery, most of them looking afraid or uncertain. The aasimar girl finally looks around. As soon as she sees Andakos, she runs headlong into his arms and hugs him tight. "Ducky!" she wails, and begins sobbing violently into his chest.

Arra strides in with a wild, fierce grin on her face. "We got 'em! Those bastards won't be 'urtin' nobody else ever again!" Her bottom lip quivers. "I jus' wish Taslo an' Balin were 'ere to celebrate..." She looks around, then drops her crossbow. "I... I dunno what we do now..."

Knowledge (local) + free inspiration: 1d20 + 10 + 1d6 ⇒ (6) + 10 + (6) = 22

Seeing Lyse alive and safe is nearly too much for Andakos. He feels the adrenaline of the fight suddenly leave him and the severity of the wound in his side hits him all at once. He almost collapses into Lyse's embrace and returns it with equal ardor, not caring that Lyse outed her pet name for him to his new friends. After a few moments, he even finds himself leaning on her; this snaps him back to himself and he realizes that he has been repeating "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry" over and over. He pulls back, wipes the tears from his cheeks, and puts his hands on her shoulders and looks into her eyes. "Lyse. I am so relieved to see you safe but this isn't over. You are one of the oldest here. I need you and Arra to help round up all the kids and bring them to this room. We need to go find Lamm and deal with him but you should not wait for us. You need to escape while you have the chance. Once all the kids are together, get to the temple of Abadar; they will help the kids with parents get back home and the kids without to find new families. When we are done here, I will come find you at the temple. But you must leave at once. Do you understand?"

Lyse wipes tears from her eyes. "H-he said..." She takes a shuddering breath. "He said you didn't w-want me anymore... that the Acadamae didn't want me... I thought... I thought this was all I had left..."

After Andakos's words, she straightens up and wipes her face, nodding firmly. "Okay. I w-will." With one last sniffle, she hurries up the staircase to the upper fishery, but pauses at the door to turn back. "Please... don't leave me alone. Okay? You better come find me. Okay?" She doesn't wait for an answer, turning and vanishing through the doorway to start corralling the Lambs together. Arra hurries close behind her.

Trell is still unconscious at -1 and stable. What would the party like to do now?

Finding the door locked, Maelis curses loudly and begins running towards the others, inside, but Arra reaches it first and he discovers that the action is over. He doesn't even notice Andakos speaking to a young girl, but immediately goes to Trell's unconscious form. "His breathing is wet, and weak, but his heart is strong. He will live. Forgive me, friends. I had hoped to cut off the assassin's escape, only to find the accursed door locked," that last bit came out almost as a growl. He thought back to his youthful days, when he has been skilled and enough that a simple lock would have been little challenge.

"Please, I can heal any injury you may have suffered at the hands of these monsters before you go," Maelis says more softly to the lambs, then nods in turn to the other men, "and you too. We aren't finished here yet, and I shall stay closer next time."

Maelis will channel a healing burst, affecting all the lambs and companions.

Channel energy: 1d6 ⇒ 5

Andakos reaches out and squeezes Maelis's shoulder. "Thank you, Maelis, I feel much better. And I see our friend Trell here is done with his nap!" With a laugh, he offers his hand to Trell, pulling the magus to his feet, then wipes his hand on Hookshank's body to get the muck off. "Shall we see what goodies these terrible people can offer us to help in the fight with Lamm?" He squats next to Hookshank's body and loots it unabashedly. Since the gnome seemed like a sneaky type, he pays special care to look for hidden pockets.

Perception: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 13

INT to perception can't come soon enough.

The light of Maelis's goddess flows through the fishery and stitches many wounds, the familiar itch of healing magic coursing over everyone's skin. Trell opens his eyes again, seeing the worst of his many gashes and stab wounds seal up, but he still looks quite battered.

Once the Lambs are gathered together--those that Lyse and Arra managed to catch--they make ready to head out to the Bank of Abadar far on the north end of town. Lyse moves up and down the rows of children, making sure each of them knows exactly where they are heading and that they have their daggers on them in case of trouble.

Arra approaches Maelis and Andakos with a sad smile, and hands Maelis a key. " 'ere. This was on that bastard Yargin's corpse. It opens 'is cabinet upstairs. Might be some stuff 'at's useful for yas. Look 'round, there may be more. Thank you for savin' us. And... and for lettin' me 'elp. I 'ope Togg is okay. We already lost Balin and Taslo. I'd 'ate ta 'ear 'e was dead too." She sighs; the comically oversized crossbow is back in her hands and loaded. "Lyse an' me, we'll get them to the church no problem. Thanks again fer it all." With a solemn nod, she and Lyse begin leading the children out of the fishery and into the night. Lyse looks over her shoulder one more time and gives Andakos a reassuring smile and wave before marching out the door and into the dark of West Dock.

Destriant solemnly watches the reunion between Andakos, and Lyse. He was very glad to see that she was safe, and quickly returned to him. He opens his mouth to suggest that the lambs - no, the children, for they no longer belonged to Lamm - barricade themselves here to wait for the adult's return but before he could get a word out Andakos was already organizing the plan to assemble at the bank of Abadar. Destriant decided that this was a good plan, overall.

As Maelis enters the room, Destriant meets her eyes with his somber glance, gesturing to Trell's corpse in his arms. As Maelis looks him over, Destriant is surprised to find that he is alive. Good. He deserves as much as anyone to get his own revenge. I fear our backs should break to shoulder much more load on behalf of others, he thought, looking down as Trell gasps back To animation as he feels the magical healing course over himself as well.

He sets Trell down, making sure to steady him on his feet before releasing the elf. "Be at ease, Master Odum. The immediate fight is resolved. Now we must ready, and steel ourselves to pursue Lamm," Destriant says, reaching into the pool to grab Trell's sword and hand it back to him.

"I will go take a closer look at the room we first entered through. Perhaps the laughing man will have something useful," he says to the room at large, as Maelis is handed a key.

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24
Knowledge (Local): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13

Trell eyes shoot open with the healing from Maelis and his lungs burn as he takes a a deep breath and then coughs out the water that had been filling them.

He stands, a little wobbly at first, once Andakos puts him down and looks around. He is still a bit confused as to what happened but decides that this is not the time to piece it all together.

He does, however, see that all the children, he refuses to call them lambs any longer, are free. Finally...someone has strick a blow in this operation. He is overwhelmed with emotion...but does not show it outwardly.

Trell then reaches into his pack and retrieves a potion if cure light wounds and drinks it.

CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

After collecting himself, and his thoughts, Trell joins Maelis and helps him search. casting detect magic as well

Now that Andakos has had a few moments to catch his breath and Maelis's deity has seen fit to (mostly) heal his wound, he is able to calmly and methodically look through Hookshanks's body and the lower level of the fishery.

Taking 20, assuming we're not in a super big hurry. (Takes approximately 2 minutes.)

Perception (take 20): 20 + 3 = 23

"Thank you Arra," he smiles at her warmly, taking the key. "You surely saved these children, as much as these men did. Should you ever wish to come and say hello to me again sometime, I reside at the Pantheon of Many, at the Shrine to Callistria. Perhaps we can share a cup of tea, and some of the delightful lemon cake that my mentor, Mother Sierra, is well known for." He watches her leave and wonders if she will take him up on the offer, and sincerely hopes to see the dear child again, or that she at least visits Mother Sierra for the cake.

Maelis assists the others in looking for anything that may prove useful in the coming confrontation, and asks Callistria for Her assistance. His hands can be seen moving in precise and measured movements as he speaks quietly to his Her, always touching his tattoo gently with a finger in reverence at the end.

Casting Detect Magic all along while searching
Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

Realizing that searching the lower level of the fishery will take some time, Andakos tells the others, "Let's not spend too much time here until after Lamm has been dealt with. Search the bodies and the upper areas and then we'll go find Lamm."

We'll all take 20 on things that we can do quickly, and save the rest for after.

Searching each of the rooms (the front room, Yargin's office, the bedroom, and the upper fishery) find no hidden loot, but that doesn't mean there was nothing to find.

With the key, Maelis unlocks the cabinet in the upper workroom to find six pouches. Four of the pouches each contain 50 copper, while two of the pouches contain 50 silver. Apparently Yargin had low-level OCD.

On their corpses, the party finds more enticing affairs.

Values are listed in parenthesis. Remember these values are halved when selling. Items with an (*) require a Spellcraft check to identify. Remember that if you fail the Spellcraft check, you must wait one day to try again on that item. Potions can automatically be identified by Andakos thanks to his class ability.

On Giggles: A potion of cure light wounds (50gp), chainmail (150gp), a composite longbow with a +3 Str rating (requires Appraise check), 17 arrows, flail, and 72gp.

On Hookshanks: Studded leather armor (25gp),masterwork kukri (308gp), and a disguise kit.

On Yargin: A magic wand*, three vials of acid, a thunderstone, and a garnet (requires an Appraise check; may roll once for garnet and bow).

On Bloo: Fleas, probably.

Sure, why not, I'll give it a try.

Appraise: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

lulz.

Trell attempts to identify the items

Appraise: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17

Despite not being masterwork, the bow's unusually strong tension makes it extremely valuable (400gp). Trell estimates the garnet to be valued at around 100gp.

Trell takes the wand and announces, I know what this is!

Spellcraft[Identify Magic Item: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (3) + 10 = 13

It's a stick! Made of wood!

He then proceeds to throws the stick on the ground.

Shall we move on?

"Yes. Let's finish this."

As he finishes cleaning off his rapier, Destriant turns to Andakos, respect shining clearly in his eyes. "You did well by treating with the children. Doubtless you saved many young lives today - an extremely commendable deed," Destriant says, reaching a hand out to grab Andakos's shoulder in a gesture that Destriant hopes conveys his newfound respect.

"I agree with both of you that the time has come to end this affair. As the executor of Master Adrin's desire, I think we must do everything we can to bring Lamm to justice. By our actions, may there never be another flock of Lambs over which he is the dark shepherd." Destriant begins moving towards the room in which the boat is kept.

Andakos stands absolutely still for a moment, staring after Destriant as he walks away. Praise is not something he is accustomed to; it's not that he doesn't know when he has done well, it's just that the Acadamae Militia leadership takes a more "expect excellence, punish mediocrity" stance on performance evaluation. A few moments pass while he processes what Destriant said to him. A smile creeps onto his face for a brief moment before he is able to catch himself. He walks up shoulder to shoulder to Destriant, spear at the ready; without turning his head, he says, "Thank you, friend."