Mesmerized briefly by Vera’s soothing words, for the first time since entering the room, Giggles stops giggling, and just stares ahead dumbfounded.
Giving Ollie a big grin, the half orc drops the handle of her whip, leaving the evil evil tiny poop headed little gnome with it wrapped around his leg. Grabbing the shaft of her long spear in both hands now, she tries to stab.
Oh that was bad
Kali draws another arrows and is about ready to let it fly into the body of Patchface when Marcus crashes through the railing and falls on the floor? What the hell? There's stairs here, moron!
She lets the arrow fly, but isn't able to turn her attention back to her target and shoots where the creature was standing moments before, not realizing he had moved towards the fallen moron. Her shot misses badly, hitting the floor several feet behind her target.
Krovax hardly acknowledged what the other man had said. He threw the door open to the next chamber anyway, looking for Gaedren. Seeing the little orc-blood assailing a gnome with the aid of a bunch of other kids, he grips his spear and stalks past the kids to get to the apparent lackey of Gaedren...
__________
She hears something and seeing that the others have things handled here, she moves to where she heard the noise. Seeing the door open she looks inside and notices the door to the outside is open too. She notes to Kali "May have a runner!" as she moves into the room and toward the outside door to see if she can spot something.
Marcus hears one of their sneaks shout about the runner, but only grimaces in response. He's already committed, and the foe in front of him is more then enough for him to handle at the moment.
In response to getting bashed he snarls and rears back for a moment. But instead of trying to collect his wits or raise his weapon to retaliate, he launches himself forward and crashes into the giggling half-orc with the entire weight of his massive frame!
Giggles is confused as Marcus runs him over, and is still dazed, but manages to stay on his feet.
Hookshanks blinks the grime out of his face, and sees that he’s surrounded. He sneers at Krovax, but looks around frantically for a way to escape. He tries to stand up, and everyone gets a swing at him.
He then steps back out the door 5 feet, and draws a kukri. The other Lambs approach and try to stab him before he can get away.
But none of the kids are able to connect with a hit.
Lamm’s Lambs nod at the catwalk, and encouraged by Marcus’ bravery, swarm Giggles, trying to take down their insane taskmaster. Two draw daggers and try to shiv him.
But none are able to hit as well.
Giggles stares ahead vacantly, the effect of Vera’s potent magic precluding any actions.
"My magic tricks don't last that long!" warns Vera. Knowing she can't fool the same person twice, she takes a few steps back, following where Krovax went. Seeing a villainous-looking Hookshanks fleeing, Vera tries to halt him in his tracks.
Hookshanks’ frantic look disappears as he gazes at Vera, slack-jawed.
Krovax’s eyes linger on the man’s curved blade, his expression going nearly vacant a moment. He then takes a swing with his spear at the man’s head to try and knock him out before commanding the children ”Knock him out. DO NOT kill him!”
A stunned what face shot at Krovax, before yelling at his order "This is NOT Lamm!" to make sure he knew the difference of who he wants to torture.
"Don't listen to him!" she shouts to the others "He's an idiot! Kill the horrid gnome so he can never hurt any of us again." Magpie stabs as hard as she can.
Stabbing deep she'll step into the stab, hopefully cutting him off if he doesn't bleed out.
”Do you think Lamm does all his dirty work himself!?!? My wife was killed by a curved blade...JUST. LIKE. THAT!” Krovax says with a nod towards the gnome’s blade. ”And her ankle tendon was cut so she couldn’t stand, bringing her right to the perfect height for a gnome to slit her throat! I don’t want him dead until I have had a chance to learn the truth!”
"LOOK AROUND YOU!" she roared trying to get him to see the kids "THEY are what is important! Your wife, would she be happy you let that evil TOAD stab another Kid while you screw AROUND!"
With a squelch, Magda stabs the gnome in the gullet, and he collapses into a heap, eyes closed. The two younger of Lamm's Lambs look around uncertainly, but Ollie says to Jesse, "he killed Kester!" and brandishes his pitchfork with a look of determination.
Yargin spots Shi, and then frantically grabs at one of his vials, and chugs it quickly. He then glances at her, and speeds away on the rickety dock and an unnatural speed, towards the boat.
Marcus uses the children as a distraction to attack an opening!
Giggles, still dumbfounded, takes the blow, slack-jawed, but with pain in his eyes. He is severely injured.
Seeing that Marcus has this under control, Kaliyah turns around and darts out of the room following Shi, hurtling a chair and shouting "I'm behind you! Don't let him get away!"
Shi calls back "Too late... he drank some potion and ran off faster than humanly possible, toward the ship. At least he is cornered."
She makes her way up the boardwalk slowly just to make sure they aren't trying to escape from the water some other way, stopping at the edge of the building and looking around the corner.
Kali keeps running forward and shouts back "There's no way he's getting a ship out of here faster than we can get to him though. Get after him, I'm right behind you."
The stern of the boat was
Ollie, with tears in his eyes, attempts to stab down with his pitchfork, putting as much effort as possible into the blow. The other orphans' eyes widen. Ollie screams, "you killed my brother."
Ollie sniffs, and wipes away his tears with the back of his hand, nodding at Magda.
Giggles' smile fades a little, as he steps away from Marcus, and draws a potion. He drinks the potion, wiping his mouth, then giggles, "I feel like a new man!"
The kids, noticing their failure to do any damage, and that Giggles seemed to be trying to get away, attempt to swarm him and trip him with the pitchforks.
Giggles, flailing in the first genuinely funny thing he's done, slips as his feet become entangled in the pitchforks, and falls on his rear end. He shoots an angry look at the kids, then bursts out laughing.
Pulling her spear from the gnome just in time for Ollie to end the thing once and for all, she quickly steps between the armorer warrior and her fellow orphan. Blocking Ollie's gaze from Krovax, grabbing his shoulders she makes sure he looks at her. "You did good, Ollie. You did right. Bad men like him should be stood up to, no matter the cost, and deserve to be ended." looking up at the others "Quickly go to the end of the street and wait on the others. Once all are counted, go to Bala, you remember her Jessie, that fence HE made us meet, the one that looks like she swallowed four or five pigs. She won't protect you, but she'll get you all a meal for the night. I'll find you once we've sorted all this mess. Now go!"
---
If the orphans split and Krovax is still there, she knows she'll have to face his wrath, though she hopes the cries of "He's Running!" distract him away.
Vera is a little worried because she hasn't seen Gaedren yet. Seeing that the other battles were going fine, she takes a couple of steps toward a closed door and tries to open it.
Krovax shouts as the kid thrusts his pitchfork into the gnome! He immediately kneels down beside the fallen gnome and places a hand on the murderer.
"Get out," Krovax growls. "NOW!"
He then does a bit of magic to stabilize the gnome if he can...
The kids nod at Magda sh, and then when Krovax's kneeling form wheels around and shouts at them, they look ready to flee even faster, glancing at Magda as if to say you know this guy??
Magda sees Krovas cast some spell, but cannot identify it.
A pair of bunk beds sit against the far wall of this room on
either side of a boarded-over window.
Kali rounds the corner and breaks into a spring as she flies down the dock towards Shi on the other end.
As Kaliyah barrels along the slippery boardwalk to Shi, the walk is slippery with water from the Jeggare. She reaches Shi skillfully, and pants from her exertion. However, as soon as she reaches the area next to Shi and pauses to catch her breath, the wood starts to creak and groan from their combined weight.
With Kali at her back Shi advances up to get a better look and see if she can spot the fleeing man.
Marcus gives a grunt towards the kids, approving of their actions. "Listen! I can cut him down, help me pin him down!" He spits out. His sword rises and falls at the prone half-orc.
Shi, moving quickly over the very slippery deck, manages to stay on her feet, and approaches the deck of the rotten ship.
The rotten deck of this ancient sailing ship seems to be barely intact; its hull is worn and thick with seaweed and barnacles. The ship is held together primarily by the layers of old rope that lash it securely to the pilings that support the fishery and the nearby boardwalk. The rickety walkway leads along the ship’s starboard, a foot below its railing. A single wooden door leading into the aft cabin bears a
crude painting of a red fish on its surface.
The kids, other than Ollie, all scream when Krovax shouts at them, and in fear, run out the door, past him. Ollie hestiates a moment, and then leaves last, looking back at Magda briefly, and follows Jesse into the alleys.
Giggles, gasping, struggles to stand up to get away from Marcus and the kids.
With a clean slice, Marcus levels his greatsword, and cleanly beheads the half-orc as he tries to stand up. The head, briefly balanced on Giggles' neck, topples into the Jeggare, leaving the still-bleeding body in a crumpled heap at Marcus' feet. The kids, surging with adrenaline, briefly cheer, then recoil in horror at the carnage. One runs over to the nearby door, and opens it for the others, and they all drop their pitchforks and and flee through the nearby door. The one who opened the door for the other says, "thank you, sir..." says the boy to Marcus.
Magda and Krovax see more of Lamm's Lambs streaming up the nearby staircase. They watch in confusion as Krovax kneels above the prone body of Hookshanks.
Magda recognizes Aurika, Iulie, and Vioria, who are all 8-10 years old.
Vera glances within the room she's at in case three was anything there.
Assuming there's nothing, Vera continues to proceed through the complex carefully to make sure Gaedren isn't hiding somewhere. She goes to the room Marcus is in, and finds herself in front of another door--one that was opened. She realizes Yargin may have escaped this way, and decides to follow.
Once she's outside, she looks under the dock because it seems to her that there ought to be a level underneath the level from which they entered. At least she thinks so.
Magda waves and yells out to the running Lambs "To the end of the street, the others are waiting. We'll handle the rest!" Pouring through her pack she gets out her rope, kneeling down next to the armored yeller. "You need to steaming pile to live for now, fine. I need to make sure there is no way the steaming pile gets away." She'll tie him up, get her whip, and kick the knife away (unless Krovax picks it up)
Marcus scans the room once, then turns and nods to the boy. "You earned your own freedom tonight." With that said he starts moving back up to see what trouble the others have gotten into.
It looks like there might be another level, or it could just be old pier pieces. You aren’t sure in the gathering dusk.
”Tie him up, and KEEP. HIM. ALIVE,” Krovax says as he stands and heads back inside.
"I am tying him up, bossy." Magda mutters in annoyance, but has not plan to just sit and watch him. If Ollie wants to come stab him while she hunts Lamm, that is his choice.
Kaliyah looks around for signs of trouble waiting ahead but only sees Shi’s tail in her head, unable to focus. Seriously, a tail? What the hell is she?
Kali advances 30’ slowly, keeping her arrow bow ready. Should he show himself, she will put an arrow in his chest.
Krovax keeps moving through the building, following the open doors in hoping that this was the route the coward fled...which was hopefully to his master...
Seeing that the action was moving away from the building, Vera follows along. She conjures some light to help others see. "I'll light the way," she says.
Magda follows the thudding thumps of the armored yeller, reaching the main fishery room, where giggles lies dead. "Good job" she yells down to the other armored one, as she moves across the gangway.
*creeeeeeeeeeeak*
When Vera stops next to Shi, the extremely slippery boardwalk creaks and groans alarmingly.
Kali doesn't see much, but she does smell the fresh sea air from the salty Jeggare river.
Shi moves aboard the vessel when Vera arrives and whispers to her "They already know we are here. We need to wait for the others. It's not like they have anywhere to go..."
She will wait next to the door with her blade at the ready to attack in case anyone tries to exit.
Kali keeps her bow trained towards the boat, but looks sidelong at Vera with a scowl and mouths Quiet!.
With the giggling half-orc down and the children fled, Marcus starts making his way back to the others.
Shi and Kali think they can hear movement on the west side of the small ship, like footsteps on wood, trying to be quiet. It sounds like the noise is coming from below the building, somehow. The ship abuts the edge of the building at this level, so it is possible that there is space below the building, to the west. However, there does not seem to be any visible or obvious way to get to whatever is making the noise.