Bloody Streets: CT by AG

Game Master Apoc Golem

Golloriel isn't sure if Andakos's vials will be enough, but she is at a loss for what else to do. She is a little concerned about the assassin, but her priority has to be the fire. She steps forward and casts create water again.

Andakos asks Lune to make room for him.

Holding.

Vexelune doesn't think she is big enough to block the assassin from getting past her. She is worried if they don't contain her, she will go downstairs and start another fire. Still, she takes another step into the room and tries to make herself big so the assassin can't sneak past her.

She manifests an image of Commander Kroft behind Andakos. Maybe if the assassin sneaks by them and gets to the stairs, she won't try to squeeze down the narrow stairs with a scary looking woman in the way.

Silent image, DC17 will to disbelieve, but only if the assassin interacts with the image. (don't forget her will save penalty!).

(By the way, her stare is a psychic affect and does not require line of sight, so as long as the assassin is within 30 feet, she still takes all the penalties. I guess that might mean Lune would know if the assassin goes more than 30' away? I dunno; what do you think?)

Andakos steps into the space that Lune just vacated, pulls the last liquid ice vial from his bandolier, and tosses it at the center of the remaining fire.

liquid ice: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (14) + 10 = 24

The ice splashes across the flames.

NE: 1d6 ⇒ 6
E: 1d6 ⇒ 1
SE: 1d6 ⇒ 5
S: 1d6 ⇒ 4
SW: 1d6 ⇒ 1

This vial has better luck, putting out a much larger area. The fire is still going, but the smoke from the quenched flames isn't nearly as potent as it would be if the fire was still raging.

Vexelune can't quite pinpoint the assassin, but she can sort of... feel them nearby. So she's able to deftly dodge out of the way when she hears the whistle of steel through air even if she can't see it. The assassin stumbles a step as they reappear right after spectacularly fumbling their murder attempt (lmao nat 1 these MF'ers were SO useless).

Then Nyx's readied spell goes off.

Ranged Touch vs Mantis: 1d20 + 6 - 4 ⇒ (13) + 6 - 4 = 15
Searing Light Dmg: 4d8 ⇒ (2, 6, 1, 1) = 10

The beam of pure light zings right past where the Mantis's head just was.

No Precise Shot, bummer.

But Nyx is ready to go again. They're still on fire.

[color=green]ROUND 4 (I skipped 3, sorry)
Characters in BOLD may act.
Golloriel (105/105 hp, sacred shield)
Andakos (74/74 hp, 18 temp hp, Str mutagen, shielded)
Vexelune (67/67 hp)
Assassin 1 (124 dmg, He’s Dead Jim)
Assassin 2 (0 dmg, Shrouded)
Nyx (51/51 hp, mage armor, shielded, on fire)
[/color]

I STG ray spells are completely useless without Precise Shot, unless you're going exclusively against giants or something.

Nyx spits a bunch of curse words in Varisian. Most of their combat magic is fire-related, which seems like a reaaallly bad idea when the goal is to NOT burn down the house.

Well, there's always the classic.

They wiggle their fingers and four darts of pure force slam unerringly into the assassin.

Force Dmg: 4d4 + 4 ⇒ (3, 2, 1, 2) + 4 = 12

The fire continues to spread, but barely (only 1 square this turn). Nyx continues to be on fire. On the bright side, first blood has been drawn against the second Mantis! They have four cracked dents in their boiled leather plates that are oozing blood.

[color=green]ROUND 5
Characters in BOLD may act.
Golloriel (105/105 hp, sacred shield)
Andakos (74/74 hp, 18 temp hp, Str mutagen, shielded)
Vexelune (67/67 hp)
Assassin 1 (124 dmg, He’s Dead Jim)
Assassin 2 (12 dmg, Shrouded)
Nyx (51/51 hp, mage armor, shielded, on fire)
[/color]

Golloriel steps away from the assassin and puts out the fire by the wall. She notices that Nyx is on fire and gasps. "Are you okay, Nyx?"

Lune steps away from the assassin, points at them, and says in her witchiest voice, "May you suffer all your days!"

Phantasmal affliction to curse (-4 to yes; let's call it the Argus Curse!). DC 18 will to disbelieve. If they pass that check, another DC 18 will save to negate the effect. Don't forget the -3 :)

Andakos steps to the side, gives the assassin a good once-over, and attacks.

spear: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (16) + 16 = 32
damage: 1d8 + 14 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 14 + 4 = 22
spear: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (15) + 11 = 26
damage: 1d8 + 14 + 4 + 3d6 ⇒ (7) + 14 + 4 + (4, 2, 2) = 33 +studied strike

And painful stare adds an additional +4 damage plus a DC 20 will save to not be blinded to each hit.

Golloriel puts out more of the fire. Lune makes the assassin think they're a sh*tty useless paladin from another game.

I'M NOT SALTY YOU'RE SALTY SHUT UP

The assassin has a very bad day. They fail to resist the imaginary curse, and then take a spear to the gut twice. They step back from Andakos--into the fire--and vanish from sight again, but Lune feels them nearby as she concentrates.

I guess we're going with 'yes' on your previous question about the stare lol. It kinda makes sense seeing how detect magic can foil invisibility pretty easily too.

Also you can kinda-sorta still see their silhouette in the flames, almost like you would if they were invisible in water.

So you can target the assassin still just with a 50% miss chance.

[color=green]ROUND 5
Characters in BOLD may act.
Golloriel (105/105 hp, sacred shield)
Andakos (74/74 hp, 18 temp hp, Str mutagen, shielded)
Vexelune (67/67 hp)
Assassin 1 (124 dmg, He’s Dead Jim)
Assassin 2 (67 dmg, Shrouded, Invisible)
Nyx (51/51 hp, mage armor, shielded, on fire)
[/color]

Nyx grumbles to themself about invisibility and the assassin's mother, then readies another spell to blast them with another searing light when they reappear.

This fire is tenacious. It snags the wall and erupts when it catches a curtain.

That is the THIRD time I've rolled 4 on a d4 for the fire dayum

[color=green]ROUND 5
Characters in BOLD may act.
Golloriel (105/105 hp, sacred shield)
Andakos (74/74 hp, 18 temp hp, Str mutagen, shielded)
Vexelune (67/67 hp)
Assassin 1 (124 dmg, He’s Dead Jim)
Assassin 2 (67 dmg, Shrouded)
Nyx (51/51 hp, mage armor, shielded, on fire)
[/color]

Golloriel groans as the fire spreads faster than she can put it out. Is there a breeze in here or something?

Stop me if you've heard this one... create water

Holding her turn.

So I think the assassin should have 75 damage, right? It was at 12, Andakos did 55, and painful stare did 8 more. 12+55+8=75. (The +4 in his damage roll is the precision damage from studied target.) I can start including painful stare damage in the damage roll itself if it will make things clearer. Also, I don't suppose the assassin passed two DC 20 will saves at -3 to avoid becoming blind?

Andakos steps forward and stabs at the weird flamy silhouette of the assassin. He takes a little off these strikes, knowing that they are close to going down. (Turning off PA.)

spear: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (1) + 14 = 15
damage: 1d8 + 8 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 8 + 4 = 15 magical piercing + painful stare
concealment: 1d100 ⇒ 87

spear: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (20) + 9 = 29
damage: 1d8 + 8 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 8 + 4 = 13 magical piercing + painful stare
concealment: 1d100 ⇒ 59

confirm: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (8) + 9 = 17
damage: 2d8 + 16 ⇒ (6, 1) + 16 = 23 magical piercing

If they're blind, I think that might be a confirm? If they're somehow still alive, blinding stare applies on the hit as well.

Dammit, I forgot about Painful Stare. You might want to start just calculating it into your damage because otherwise I'll probably forget a lot.

Time to retcon!

The assassin was totally going to vanish into the flames like a badass, but then suddenly they remembered they were dead, and they collapse to the floor with a melodramatic groan.

Since Nyx can put out two squares on their turn (which would also have to be retconned as well since the assassin would already be dead) and they can 5ft step and put out another one this turn, that only leaves one square of flame which Andakos can handle easily (since he's resistant to fire). So I'm just going to call it.

COMBAT OVER!

Once the second assassin drops, putting out the fires is relatively quick.

On their bodies you find:

- 54pp
- Potion of bull's strength x2
- Alchemist's Fire x2
- +1 leather armor x2
- +1 sawtooth sabre x4
- dagger x8
- +1 cloak of resistance x2
- Mask of the Mantis

Nyx stamps out the last of the fires, then wipes the sweat off their forehead with their un-gauntleted hand, leaving a smear of flames licking their skin.

It suddenly registers what Golloriel said a few seconds ago, and they cry, "GACK!" before throwing off their cloak and stamping on it frantically. When the flames go out, little is left but a few charred scraps of cloth.

"Not another one!" they groan. "Mama is going to k--"

They freeze. Close their eyes. Sigh. This night just keeps getting worse and worse.

"Sorry I wasn't much help," they mumble.

The party surveys the damage between the two floors. While the living room is scorched and the sofas--especially the north sofa--are mostly a loss, the floor itself appears to be repairable.

The second floor is so, so much worse. The entire floor near the fireplace is blackened and charred, and standing near it makes the floor creak dangerously loud, forcing the party to move gingerly along the damaged area. On the bright side, the only door on this floor that can be seen is just north of the fire damage, so it should be safe to open.

As a reminder, there's also a door downstairs you never got the chance to enter because of jerkface mantis people.

Yeah, she's complicated. I also need to always remember the tricks she has implanted in allies. I should add those to my status blocks.

Andakos helps Nyx put out her cloak fire, his natural resistance to fire protecting him from superficial burns, then he quickly looks her over. "You don't seem harmed at all, Nyx. Are you inured to fire?"

While they speak, Andakos has a look around the room (avoiding any particularly weak-looking parts of the floor) and at the door.

Knowledge (engineering): 1d20 + 13 + 1d6 ⇒ (9) + 13 + (4) = 26 to not fall through the floor!
perception room: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (12) + 18 = 30 +4 traps
perception door: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (9) + 18 = 27 +4 traps
DD if necessary: 1d20 + 25 ⇒ (19) + 25 = 44

Golloriel can't believe they made it through that. And without getting so much as singed! Well, Nyx caught on fire, but they clearly have some way of avoiding burns. In any case, she figured they'd defeat the assassins, but that the house would burn down around them as they did so.

While Andakos does his investigator thing, she checks the assassin.

heal: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (10) + 10 = 20

If they are still alive, she casts stabilize on them as a precaution, then lets Andakos know they should probably bind them.

Vexelune turns the mask over and over in her hands, fascinated. "Hey, can I have this?"

Nyx waves Andakos away. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Yeah, fire doesn't hurt me unless it's like... really hot."

They have resist 10 to fire as part of their sorcery bloodline! It bumps up to 20 next level :O

They sigh and stare despondently at the cloak. "I liked that one, too. Oh well, at least my clothes didn't burn this time." They color a little at the thought. "HEYLETSGOLOOKOVERHERE"

My bad! There's actually TWO of the masks of the mantis.

Thankfully there doesn't appear to be anything worth noting on the south side of the second floor so there's no need to go anywhere near the heavily damaged section. The door, like all the others so far, is unlocked and untrapped.

The bedroom appears well lived-in, but the bed is made and hasn't been slept in. A smaller wooden bedframe is disassembled and stacked in a corner with a series of bedsheets and a pillow, all covered with a thin layer of dust. The mattress for it is nowhere to be seen.

The room appears to be devoid of any clues--until Andakos notes the faintest traces of the outline to a hidden panel in the east wall of the closet. He almost didn't notice it.

Frickin DC 30 dude. You got it exactly!

Opening it up, he sees a small iron lockbox. Just looking at it, Andakos can tell it's locked, and the lock is a doozy (DC 40!). He can't tell if it's trapped just at a glance, however.

Andakos looks over the mechanism carefully. Wouldn't want a poisoned needle or fireball to go off!

perception lockbox: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (13) + 18 = 31 +4 traps

If I can't roll over the 44 DD from the last post, he'll just take 20 on it for a 45.

Yeah doesn't really matter, picking a lock is the only DD use with no failure condition, which is very weird. In 2e if you crit fail, you break your picks and have to repair them before you can try again.

The small lockbox pops open under Andakos's deft fingers after making sure there's no trap on it. Inside is... a bag. Just a bag.

Andakos peers into the bag, but it is unusually dark, and trying to discern its contents gives him a mild headache.

WDYD?

Uh oh, I just realized we lost our item identifier. How's Nyx's spellcraft? Andakos is +18 but he doesn't have detect magic. :(

"Weird. This thing gives me a headache. Vexelune? Nyx? Any ideas?"

Lune reaches out with her mind to probe the bag's essence.

spellcraft: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (12) + 9 = 21

Lune can tell the bag is definitely magical, but not its actual properties.

"May I?" Nyx reaches out for the bag.

Assuming you let them:

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (5) + 16 = 21

LMMAOOO jfc

After a moment of consideration, Nyx mutters, "Well, there is one other method we can try. Not a smart method, but..." They shrug, then shove their hand into the bag.

Everyone braces for the bag to do... something. Eat off Nyx's hand, maybe, or zap them or disintegrate them, or--

None of that happens, but Nyx's hand does disappear into the bag, followed by their forearm, then most of their bicep. They finally pull their limb back out holding a scabbard with an ornate rapier that Golloriel and Andakos feel is somewhat familiar, though they can't immediately place from where.

But then Nyx pulls out a full suit of leather armor--okay this is definitely a bag of holding 100%--that has been dyed black and gray. Then a buckler, and finally a very familiar black mask.

The mask of the vigilante Blackjack.

In Vencarlo's secret compartment, in Vencarlo's closet, in Vencarlo's house.

"Huh."

Could it be?

Now that he thinks about it, it does make sense. And if others had found out about it, it could also explain his disappearance. But has he gone into hiding, or is it more nefarious? They need to keep looking.

He looks at the others. "This is Blackjack's gear." He quickly explains to Lune who Blackjack is and his role in freeing Trinia. Then he even more quickly explains who Trinia is. "We need to keep this between us. Not a word to anyone outside this room." He puts the gear back into the bag, the bag back into the lockbox, and the lockbox into his own bag.

Was the assassin still alive?

Golloriel nods her agreement. If Vencarlo is Blackjack and word got to the Queen, he would be immediately killed. Or...

"Do you think Ileosa sent these assassins?"

Andakos shrugs. "Perhaps. Or perhaps they were here looking for exactly this. Either way, we need to find him. Let's keep looking around."

He heads back downstairs and looks through the living room and the study.

perception LR: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (2) + 18 = 20
perception study: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (6) + 18 = 24

He shakes his head. He thinks the mutagen might be messing with his concentration. He sighs and looks at the others. "Settle in. We're going to be here a while."

F&+& it. We'll let all of our buffs expire to take 20 on the downstairs.

The party goes all out and scours the house top to bottom, spending nearly two hours going over every inch.

There isn't much useful information in the study. The best Andakos can find are some ledgers and documents for Vencarlo's school that show his fencing academy was doing poorly even before Trell's death; as the troubles in the city worsened, fewer and fewer students showed up to his classes. By the time he closed the school just before the plague, it was likely to have gone into foreclosure anyway.

Checking the final room (it's neither locked nor trapped) reveals a modest pantry with ample food and water stores, though much of the food has long spoiled. All the foods are (or perhaps "were" is more apt at this point; some of the fruits are horribly withered or mushy) simple fare that needs little preparation; that makes sense, seeing as the party has looked in every room and found no kitchen. Vencarlo is apparently too busy or preoccupied for the culinary arts.

After poring over the house, Andakos notes that aside from the recent footsteps of the party and the assassins, prints matching Vencarlo's are almost nonexistent. He clearly hasn't been here in some time; if he had to date it, he would guess roughly around the time of Vencarlo and Rey's last missive.

As the party is investigating, Golloriel is in the hallway outside the workshop when she spots movement outside the window. When she looks in that direction, she sees a young man's disheveled face peering at her. When he sees he's been spotted, he yelps and ducks down into the bushes, as if that is in any way going to hide him when he's already been spotted.

She can't be sure, but it seems like the bush is now trembling.

Was the assassin still alive?

Golloriel goes to the window. "Hello? You can come out. You needn't fear anything from us, unless you have ill intentions."

diplo: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (14) + 17 = 31

I missed a couple items in the bag.

There's also a hooded black cloak, a pair of boots, an amulet, and a pair of black leather gloves. Two of the fingers in the right-hand glove are filled with bent wooden "fingers."

The man pokes his head out of the bushes tentatively. "A-are you friends of Master Orisini?" He stands and brushes himself off sheepishly.

He appears to be in his late twenties or early thirties, wearing what was once finery but is now ratty, mud-streaked, and torn. He bears enough stubble that he clearly hasn't groomed himself in at least a week.

"I saw the fires and thought the worst," he explains. "Especially after what happened to the academy."

"Hey Andakos, can I see the stuff in the bag again? I got a hunch." They perk their ears up. "Is Golloriel talking to somebody?" They poke their head into the hallway.

"Oh. Uh. Hey Golloriel. Who's that?"

int: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18

Well, that confirms it.

Andakos gives the bag to Nyx but indicates she shouldn't take anything out while the new arrival is around.

Golloriel smiles. "Yes, indeed we are. Please, come out of the bushes and come in." Once he has come inside, she continues. "How did you know Vencarlo?"

While the newcomer speaks, Andakos watches him carefully.

SM: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (13) + 18 = 31

Andakos senses no deception, but something feels familiar about the man.

"Oh, I'm--" He stops and his eyes widen when he spots Andakos in the hallway. "Master Viden! Oh, thank the gods!" He immediately scrambles in through the open window, flops onto the floor gracelessly, and scrambles to his feet. "Do you remember me? Amin! Amin Jalento! You saved me from that violent mob during the, er... troubles."

Ah, yes. Now he looks familiar. The upstart young noble who was about to be lynched by an angry mob during the anarchy that reigned right after King Eodred II's death.

"I was a student of Master Orisini, you know. Before the school closed. He had already cut back on classes because of--well, everything happening, but when Master Trell died, he canceled all lessons. Such a shame. I can't really blame him, though. The quarantine hit before I could make it back home; I'd been staying at an inn on the island rather than have to hoof it across town over and over during classes, and I stayed for a bit in hopes Vencarlo might change his mind, reopen the school. More the fool was I." He sighs, and runs a long-fingered hand through his greasy, unkempt hair.

"Vencarlo found out I was staying at an inn just as I was about to run out of pocket money for room and board, and graciously allowed me to stay at the closed school as a guest until the quarantine lifted." His face pales slightly. "Then one night, assassins broke in! All clad in red, with insect helmets! Terrifying stuff! I ran, and thankfully they didn't chase me long. I don't think I'm the one they were after. But they burned down the school!" he adds with a wail. "I think Master Vencarlo took one or two down, but he was forced to flee as well. I saw him stumble out amidst the flames from my--" Andakos, masterfully reading the young fop, gets the distinct impression he was going to say hiding place, but instead opts for the less cowardly-sounding "my vantage point.

"Vencarlo brought Salvator around... three times, I think? Yes, three. And always spoke with him behind closed doors. The last time, Vencarlo shouted at him about something, but I couldn't make out what. To be honest, I didn't get close enough to listen; I respect Master Vencarlo too much for that."

He sighs, and plops down on the wood floor, leaning against the wall under the window sill. "I'm worried about him. I've been squatting in the ruins of the building across from the academy, but I've been making regular trips into the neighborhood in the hopes that Master Vencarlo would return. When I saw the fires..." He sighs again, and his shoulders slump. "I got scared. I hid. When it was all over, I finally worked up the courage to come take a look. Some student I turned out to be."

Andakos shakes the young man's hand. "Yes, of course I remember you. And you were right to hide; these assassins are Red Mantis. Highly trained and dangerous. There are four of us here and we were lucky to best just two of them." He leaves out how thoroughly they whooped the assassins' asses and managed the fires at the same time; best to keep a healthy level of fear in the less experienced (and jittery!) man.

He looks at the others. "This is twice now that this Salvator has come up. I think he's our next stop. Amin, do you have somewhere safe you can go? You are right to think that the Red Mantis aren't after you, but if they keep seeing you when they're looking for Vencarlo, they are likely to grab you and find out what you know. Painfully. You need to get hidden and stay hidden. If you let us know where you are going, we will find you after this is all over. Thank you for the information."

After saying their goodbyes, Andakos leads the others to Salvator's apartment. "We'll go to the Town Hall if we have to, but it sounds like there's an entire gang there. If we can catch Salvator at home alone, we have a better chance of talking to him."

Vexelune spends the entire conversation putting the mask on and taking it off, giggling with delight at how it resizes itself to her tiny face. When she realizes there are two of them, she offers the other to Nyx. "I asked Golloriel if she wanted it, but she recoiled like I was offering her a booger. These things are neat! At least try it out."

Amin turns a little green at the thought of getting nabbed by professional killers. "Ah. Well. I have my little hidey-hole across the street from the academy. Nobody would bother looking for me in there; the building is in ruins. It burned down only a few days after the academy. Lots of burned buildings in Old Korvosa these days." He frowns dejectedly, but shakes Andakos's hand. "Don't worry about me, I'll manage. You just find Master Vencarlo, if you can. I couldn't bear it if something happened to him, especially when I owe him a debt of gratitude I've yet to repay."

He gives a small bow and heads off into the night.

Nyx makes a face at the mask, then realizes they're making a face, and tries (unsuccessfully) to stop. "Uh, thanks, I'm good."

They really, really don't wanna wear something worn by the recently deceased. It feels squicky.

Also it clashes with their outfit, but that's sort of a distant second to the other thing.

When Andakos suggests visiting Salvator's house, they nod enthusiastically. "Yes! Let's get out of here." They just barely manage to stop themself from adding that the place now reeks of burnt wood and chemicals. "Hopefully there aren't any more assassins waiting for us there, those guys were jerks."

I'll assume that means you want to move things along, so I'll take us to the next location!

The party uses side streets and alleys to scurry southward, avoiding other people when possible. It's not hard--there are almost no people out at this time of night anyway, at least not in this particular neighborhood. The light from the fires at the Town Hall are bright enough to reach the south bank of Old Korvosa, so clearly someone is up. A concern for another time, perhaps.

The party thankfully has an address, given by the old codger, Olmere: 140 Wave Street. He mentioned it was along the south bank, so the party hits that and takes a right, moving west along the coast. They occasionally pass by the scorched ruins of the many small bridges that used to connect Old Korvosa to the main city, each of them jutting from the craggy rocks of the isle like jagged, rotting teeth.

Andakos has actually heard of Salvator, now that he thinks about it (no need to roll, you beat the Kn [local] DC automatically). He's a notorious artist whose gruesome and often scandalous art is held in high esteem by several of Korvosa's nobles. His popularity is even greater among the lower classes, who are most familiar with his work at the Old Dock playhouse known as Exemplary Execrables, where his paintings serve as grisly backdrops to that venue's notoriously violent entertainments. However, Salvator himself isn't much of a public figure, and beyond his name, few can say they actually know the man.

After about twenty minutes of walking, the party arrives at Salvator's home.

His house is a leaning, decrepit building located along the Narrows, not a hundred feet from one of the now-ruined bridges. A rickety boardwalk stands above the jagged rocks of the southern shore, its rotten planks looking anything but safe to walk on--though significantly safer than the area next to it.

Near the house, what once might have been a small neighboring house has been obliterated, collapsed from within by a twenty-foot-diameter sinkhole. Water from the Narrows fills the hole, creating a muddy pit strewn with jagged bits of timber and flotsam. The edges of the hole are slick and patchy with fungus. Immediately south of the sinkhole, the boardwalk has also collapsed, creating a dangerous tangle of timber and crazily tilted pilings.

There do not appear to be any doors on the north side of Salvator's house.

WDYD?

Time to buff back up! Only false life survived taking 20 at Vencarlo's.

Andakos drinks shield and heightened awareness (will pop at first encounter for +4 to init) extracts and alchemically allocates heroism.

All buffs still active.