Tessa and Marisan race down the muddy street under the effects of Polli's haste magic. As they get close to the building, they begin looking for a way to reach the roof.
Round 2
Valeria fires off four more arrows at the assassin and is sure that some of them, at least, found their target. Polli encourages the duo while Donomsail grants Valeria more protection. Harmony showers the distant crossbowman with magical glitter causing him to shimmer in the afternoon sun.
The glittery figure vanishes behind a section of the warehouse roof and is no longer in sight.
Polli will rise from the poor Tengu, her enthusiasm lost. She'll brush off her skirts, and walk outside casting mage armor on herself as she prepares to blow an entire building up if she has to.
Stopping by Dony's side she'll ask "Where is he?"
Donomsail looks at her lover with relief written large across her face. "Finally, someone with some useful magic." She says softly, under her breath, and hoping that no one else heard her. Pointing across the way she answers Polli's question. "Over that way, he just ducked behind that roofline which means Ah canna target 'im with ma lightnin'."
Marisan rushes to the figure's last known location, trying to find them.
Polli brushes her fingers against Dony, drawing her eyes for a moment "i wish I had yours instead." she would have said more, about killing vs saving, so on, but killing called. "I'll see if I can draw them out." Polli then starts rising into the air, as the winds start whipping around her
"The Sirens are coming, COWARD!" she shouts to draw more attention.
no, f#ck that... he’s not getting away that easy...
The crossbowman’s bolt still in her shoulder, Val sprints towards the building, slipping her bow over her uninjured shoulder. When she draws near, she hops into a little crouch and explodes into the air with both legs, sailing towards the building’s roof.
I wish I could fly...
Marisan and Tessa race around the building seeking a way to reach the roof and find, on the side away from the conflict, a rope descending from the roof. Without a second thought, they clamber invisibly up to the top.
Round 3
Valeria races with preternatural speed towards the warehouse and makes a leap at the end. She finds herself dangling by her fingertips from a high, narrow window part way up the side of the two-story building. With some effort, she can probably find purchases that will let her reach the roof.
Polli rises into the air, shouting out a challenge. From her vantage point, she can see the assassin retreating towards the opposite side of the roof.
"He's runnign to the other side of the roof!" the floating Polli yells to Tessa and Marisan.
As Tessa and Marisan reach the roof, they see a leather wearing, blonde man with a wicked looking crossbow racing towards the rope. He slips over the edge and begins sliding down.
Marisan rushes over to the man and tries to grab him before he escapes!
sh!t... this seemed like a better idea when I imagined it... by the time I climb up there the assassin will be on his way down... of course, I could shoot him from up here, or call out where he's going... alright, lets see how hard this is to climb...
Val reaches for what looks like a nearby handhold and attempts to scale the rest of the way to the roof.
The bit she grabbed, however, proves purely ornamental. It crumbles into plaster dust, leaving her to fall back down to the street below. Fortunately, she lands with style.
Shaking her head, and sighing, the slayer determines that someone should really check the backside of the building anyways, and hurries in that direction readying her bow once more.
Tessa sees Marisan's struggling to contain the man, so she moves opposite of her and tries to take his legs out from underneath of him.
As the assassin moves to the rope Tessa and Marisan surround him, Tessa stabbing at his legs with her blade and Marisan attempting to grab him with her strong arms. Marisan's grab is effectively successful as the man drops into her arms from the wounds he's received.
Combat Ends!
Tessa assess whether he will die before their companions or not and tries to do some first aid to stop the bleeding.
She places her hands around his neck and squeezes, "Hmmm. I don't think this is stopping his bleeding." she remarks.
Harmony meanwhile investigates the house. She starts from the front door and works methodically from room to room, trusting her companions to let her know when the deed is done.
Polli steps through a tear in the universe next to the two warriors. "Good, you got him... what the f%@% are you doing? Tessa, No! Step away and don't touch anything!"
The wizard shoos and glares the berry away from the dying man, kneels down and stops the bleeding as quick as she can. "We'll need Dony to wake his up though, that is beyond my skills."
Val is just starting up the rope when she overhears Polli say that Donomsail is needed. Hopping down, she puts her enhanced speed to work before it fades and rushes off to retrieve the priestess.
Donomsail assumed the Tengu was dead. "They donna be runnin' off 'n' leavin' me by maself if'n that weren't tha case." She thinks briefly about going inside and using Speak With Dead to question it but two things stop her. First, she has no idea what questions to ask. Second, she didn't pray for that spell this morning. She does know the general direction they went and decides that she should catch up to them when towards her Valeria comes running. "Hold up! I canna keep up, holy hells! I dinna know Ah could ever run this quick!" Donomsail easily keeps up with Val and is so pleasantly surprised that she cannot stop grinning all the way over and by the time she joins the rest of the group she is spitting out bugs. "Val says ya be needin' ma help."
Polli's frown switches to a smile as she sees Dony. "Yes! This miserable s$#! is the one responsible for killing the man down there." Polli stands up and moves to stand in front of Dony. She looks down at her hands, bloody from stitching, she raises it between them, frowning again. She keeps her thoughts to herself "He doesn't deserve your touch, but would you revive him? Please..."
Tessa stops when Polli arrives, letting the water genie do her work. "I was gonna do that." she shrugs, not finding the difference in their methods.
Before the cleric arrives, Tessa binds him with some rope. When Donomsail gets there, Tessa kicks the creature with her boot and says "Yes, if you please. I want to her what it has to say."
Donomsail looks down at the man laying on the ground. "Sure'n Ah kin do that. Is there a chance of ya wantin' ta talktalk the Tengu too? If'n ya do then we be needin' ta stasis 'im 'n' tomorrow Ah kin git the spell needed ta do that."
With that she bends down and places her hands on the dead man, not at all bothered by the blood both on him and the ground. "Gozreh, Ah vra dat julle my die energie kan omskakel wat julle my gegee het om te keer dat iemand hierdie wonde kan genees."
Val fixes her gaze on the prisoner, ready to judge his truthfulness when the questioning begins. Before it does, however, she quietly mentions to Donomsail, "could I please get a little healing too, if you have some to spare?"
"Cours ya can." Donomsail reaches out and puts a steady hand on her shoulder, allowing the healing warmth to flow through her body as the holes in Valeria's shoulder magically close. "Ag vra weer vir Ya, Gozreh, laat my magie hierdie keer 'n vriend genees."
CMW
Once the assassin is stabilized you return to Corlan's small home. Harmony has been going through it with a fine tooth comb, but hasn't found anything that seems to be relevant.
The blonde man's eyes flutter open when Donomsail applies healing magic. It takes a moment for him to take you all in and various emotions skirt across his face before he settles on a mask of calm.
"So here we is," he spits out. "It's a fine mess. What'll it cost me for you ... ladies to let me head out on my way?"
”Everything you own,” Val replies flatly, ”and everything you know.”
you racist piece of garbage...
”Start with who hired you to kill this man and everything they told you about him.”
Tessa holds Wayfinder out, ready to explain to him that he's not really in a position to negotiate. She nods to Valeria's answer to his question, but holds her tongue on guaranteeing whether he actually gets to get out of this quite yet.
Knowing the others are perfectly capable of dealing with the prisoner, Polli instead uses her time to assure her love how none of them could live without her and her magic. After a bit she asks the cleric, "What do we need to do with the body, so you can ask your questions?"
The man eyes the end of Tessa's sword, his manner staying calm. "Compensatin' for the lack of somethin', Luv?" he questions the red-head with a smirk. He looks back at Valeria. "I was hired for three targets; Haddon Pike, Roweena Kellet, and Corlan. I've done with the first two and I was just waitin' for that crow-bloke to stick his head out his door when you birds show up - much thanks for that, by the way. Took the job from a mwangi bint," his eyes glance at Marisan, "by the name of Zarskia Galembar. You'll find 'er at the Jasperleaf Apothecary in Port Peril." He grins. "If you ask for 'two pounds of powdered thileu bark' it'll get ya to the special back room."
He shifts his position.
"Now that's all I know about this. So if it ain't too much trouble ..." he says, moving his bound hands meaningfully.
Donomsail smiles at Polli, grateful for her reassurance. "Ah know Ah do good, 'n' Ah do know Ah've got useful magic. Ah just hear me mam's voice on occasion tellin' me Ah've only got one use 'n' if'n Ah'm not livin' up ta my promise then why am Ah botherin' ta take up space." She pauses for a moment then leans over and gives Polli a kiss trying to reassure both of them that she isn't bothered by her mother's opinions anymore. "As ta what Ah need is jist time ta get the spell 'n' the body. There's ain't no special prep needed fer the body so long as it kin talk still."
"If you want, I can punch your mother in the nose. I can promise you that I will have the same Umphf the berry puts into it, but I will do my best." Polli offers, after the reassurance. "And then we can find mine and you punch her nose. A 'you punch my mother, and I'll punch yours' kind of thing."
"These spindly things?" She holds her arms out, angled down to the ground to amply display her lack of muscle tone. "Ah'm 'fraid that yer mam would more likely die o' age afore Ah do any real damage. Now if'n Ah could have a proxy, well mebbe we could talk to Valeria see if'n she'd be willin' ta help."
Polli laughed, then sobered up a little "Yours will be perfect. In the unlikely event, I ever meet her..." she is silent for a minute. "Should we check on the others. See how the interrogation is going?"
Compensatin' for the lack of somethin', Luv?"
Tessa frowns at the man's smirk "You're not a very bright one, are you? Most men who have been weighed and measured and find themselves bound before a band of beautiful women wielding blades and magic find humble things to say."
She tsk tsks him and adds "Assuming you're being honest here, I believe you now owe us everything you own in exchange for your life and freedom. Hmmm?"
”Begging your pardon, Cap’n,” Val interjects, ”but the terms I offered were everything he owns...” ”...and everything he knows, ‘starting’ with this job. Next he can tell us the names of everyone else he’s assassinated, and who hired him to do it... then we’ll move on to every job he has reliable secondhand knowledge about.”
Tessa frowns at the man's smirk "You're not a very bright one, are you? Most men who have been weighed and measured and find themselves bound before a band of beautiful women wielding blades and magic find humble things to say."
She tsk tsks him and adds "Assuming you're being honest here, I believe you now owe us everything you own in exchange for your life and freedom. Hmmm?"
"Maybe that's cause I got bigger balls than most of them that you deal with, Red. You need to meet a better class of bloke." He leers.
”Begging your pardon, Cap’n,” Val interjects, ”but the terms I offered were everything he owns...” ”...and everything he knows, ‘starting’ with this job. Next he can tell us the names of everyone else he’s assassinated, and who hired him to do it... then we’ll move on to every job he has reliable secondhand knowledge about.”
"Sorry, Luv. Previous jobs is off the table. The most you can do is hurt me. Or, if you gots the stones for it, kill me. That ain't enough." He looks her up and down and then leers again. "Give me a right look at those jubblies, though, and I might consider it."
”So little imagination,” Val scoffs, shaking her head.
”Madam surgeon,” she calls to Polli, ”would you like to share with this pathetic fool some of what we could do to him with the help of a healer standing by?”
Harmony, standing behind the man so that he can't see her, shakes her head and draws a finger across her throat - the universal sign for 'get it over with'.
Polli comes back into Val's question. "Hmm... well we won't kill you because that isn't who we are. But we don't want you wandering about killing other people so..." she kneels down and inspects him dispassionately. "My first suggestion would be to amputate his hands." Polli runs her finger across his wrists "If we think is an especially dangerous criminal at the elbow here and here." she shifts to his legs "If we are seeking to punish him for his crimes or for simply not answering you, we take off his feet as well, his testicles, and tongue." the doctor sighs "But that is a lot of work to do and keep him alive, so it would be wise to tell our archer at least some of what she wants to know."
The man pales at Polli's clinical description, but presses his lips together and gives a slight shake of his head.
Polli starts unpacking her surgical kit. Scalpels, bone saws, needle and thread, sharp little scissors. Then the mage looks to the captains with a raised brow, silently asking if she can stop the ruse since he hasn't broken yet and she despises actual torture.
Tessa looks over at Harmony and catches the signal "Alright, alright. He isn't going to talk, so let's take him with us and see if there is a reward. If not, we'll further help build his reputation by letting everyone know of what he's done so we can spend some time thinking on it his bigger balls."
”We could throw him in the brig too, Cap’n,” Val offers, ”hold on to him while we ask around and see who he’s worth the most too? Or trade him to the Calistrians... I’m sure they would enjoy extracting information from him.”
Turning back to Valeria, Tessa nods "Ooooh, I like that idea. They can sting him as much as they want, I suppose."
She nods, "To the brig for now then."
Turning to Marisan she motions to the captive and says "If you would." as she assumes the brawler can scoop him up easier than she can.
"Let's go." she orders, leading the way.
The authorities in Hell Harbor are quite pleased to take possession of the assassin, seeings how one of the three people on his list - Roweena Kellet - worked for the pirate lord, Arronax Endymion. As a show of appreciation, they give you a letter of credit worth 1000 gp. With the authorities here have an invested interest in punishing him, you assume that they're offering the largest reward.
Polli takes a moment to put up her tools. Then says to Tessa or Harmony or both "Captain, our incredibly skilled and useful cleric can use magic to speak to our dead friend here, but she needs time to prepare... meaning we need to take him as well."
"Very well." Harmony replies. "We'll bury him at sea once its dealt with."
She heads below and begins studying the chart. When Tessa comes in she turns to her fiance with a smile. "Port Peril to deal with this spymaster makes most sense, unless you want to try and find the Banshee first?"
"Uhm." Tessa stalls, not sure if she's ready to face her soon to be mother-in-law yet. "Banshee sounds good. Let's go find the Banshee." she nods reassuringly. "Yep. Definitely the Banshee."
”Sorry, to interrupt, Cap’ns” Val offers after knocking and waiting for permission to enter their quarters, ”but we’ve got a bit of plunder in the hold plus everything we got off the assassin and the flying orc... plus the letter of credit from turning in the assassin... should we take a day or two sell stuff and do a little shopping before we put out to sea again?”
She looks at Tessa oddly, not quite sure why she is so adamant that they don't go to Port Peril and without any reference to go by Donomsail votes for the one that makes most sense. "Ah vote fer Port Peril. It be the logical choice."
Tessa folds her arms across her chest "But... We were just there! Why should we go back so soon! We should make the most of being out at sea!" she protests.