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The Professor hurries inside, quite agreeing with Vosk. I really do need to learn Prestidigitation one of these days.... As she passes Droo, she snatches the whistle out of Droo's hands. "You can have this back when the mission is complete." Her stern tone and sharp eyes are enough to convince all but the most dense that they shouldn't even bother to dispute her statement, even without factoring in the fact that she puts the whistle into her breast pocket. You cannot pick this pocket without my knowledge, little gnome.
The Pathfinders quickly pull the still-bleeding guard into the chandlery, Bocke returning to the porch to empty his waterskin over the wooden slats and try to scrub away the already-setting bloodstains. Vosk, Droo, and Molvil squabble briefly over the whistle while Gorrig ties up the guard and Theld looks around the room as best he can in the dark. As the half-orc wraps the rope around his prisoner, he finds a clear bottle labeled 'Heal', three vials of dusty powder, and a set of keys.
The chandlery’s main area is filled with tables and chairs, and a long counter stretches along the back wall with a large book laying open as if someone were just reading from it. The walls and ceiling seem to be decorated mostly with nautical gear in tasteful displays of rope, nails, marlinspikes, sailcloth, and more. Interspersed among these are symbols of Taldor’s military campaigns, mostly naval ones. Two doors lead further into the building - one to the north, the other to the west.
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"That smells like a healing potion."
"Then pour it down that guard's throat and gag him. He doesn't need to die simply because we have work to do. Perhaps blindfold him, too. If you need extra fabric, I suppose I could cut off a section of my petticoat." The Professor is all business now that the imminent threat is neutralized. She strides over to the book to get a glance at its contents, just in case they are relevant to their task; however, she realizes that they are not out of danger yet. Instead, she picks it up, putting her finger between the pages to mark the reader's place, and heads toward the back as Vosk suggested. In the dim light, she tries to ascertain whether or not the door would cause them any problems.
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Vosk unrolls the newspaper and places it back onto the table, nodding at the Professor with approval. "Haven't heard anything stir in the back room, anyone see something of concern out a window?" he asks. A hand reaches back into his bag, but the large man's face drops as he quickly reverses its course. Mustn't indulge now, even if we do have the slightest respite.
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Bocke tries the door on the northern side of the room, but finds it locked shut. Molvil and Gorrig finish blindfolding the unconscious guard before administering his potion to him and setting the half-orc in a half-seated position against the wall. Molvil crosses the room to grab the book from the bar, noting even with her fleeting glance a series of sketches and notes adorning the margins of what looks to be a ledger. Gorrig takes the guard's keys and unlocks the door for Bocke.
On the other side sits what looks to be an office, decorated with the same nautical theme as the front room. A shelf along the south wall holds a collection of ships in bootles and other sailing collectables decorated in Taldor's traditional blue and green shades. A desk stands in the middle of the room, and on the wall behind it is a glass-fronted shadow box containing a shield broken into multiple shards.
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Disinterested, Theld looks around the room. His eye stops on the painting on the wall. He walks up to it to take a closer look. He cocks his head to the side, as if taking a moment to give great consideration to the piece. He then grabs it off the wall and carelessly tosses it aside. He looks at the wall again, this time at the concealed wall panel. Headless of any traps, he grabs the panel, tries to pull it loose and discards it atop the painting.
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Following the others into the room, Professor Masaendri gasps at Theld's reckless behavior. "Mr. Miasma! Patrician Adimare specifically requested that we refrain from damaging this building during our investigation, and it is safe to assume that this restriction applies to any and all inanimate objects within it. He has been quite helpful, at his own and his family's risk. It would behoove us to respect his wishes. So please do avoid damaging anything." She gently picks up the item(s) that Theld has dashed to the floor and leans them carefully against the wall.
Finished with chastising her colleague, she turns briskly to examine the room.
By now there are so many people in the office that she can't see anything useful, so she turns back to examine what Theld is doing.
As Theld tosses the painting aside, one of the bottles on the table to the south suddenly stirs and begins hovering on tiny translucent waves of mist!
Already on high alert, many of the Pathfinders spring straight into action!
This is a ship in a bottle, animated by a tiny water elemental. Despite that, it is closest in nature to a tiny construct. Those who construct such guardians must take care though - accidentally damaging the bottle will cause it to shatter and spray glass everywhere around it. While this might be the intended behavior when the ship attacks someone, it is undesired at other times. Thankfully, once the bottle has broken, the construct is no longer in danger of spraying those around it. The construction and small size of the construct gives it remarkable resilience, though this can be overcome with blunt force. Riding through the air on their tiny waves, these guardians shoot miniature ballistas at opponents before ramming them.
This is a ship in a bottle, animated by a tiny water elemental. Despite that, it is closest in nature to a tiny construct. Those who construct such guardians must take care though - accidentally damaging the bottle will cause it to shatter and spray glass everywhere around it. While this might be the intended behavior when the ship attacks someone, it is undesired at other times. Thankfully, once the bottle has broken, the construct is no longer in danger of spraying those around it. The construction and small size of the construct gives it remarkable resilience, though this can be overcome with blunt force. Riding through the air on their tiny waves, these guardians shoot miniature ballistas at opponents before ramming them.
This is a ship in a bottle, animated by a tiny water elemental. Despite that, it is closest in nature to a tiny construct. Those who construct such guardians must take care though - accidentally damaging the bottle will cause it to shatter and spray glass everywhere around it. While this might be the intended behavior when the ship attacks someone, it is undesired at other times. Thankfully, once the bottle has broken, the construct is no longer in danger of spraying those around it.
Round 1! Bold may act!
Vosk
Gorrig
Droo
Vinegar
Theld
Molvil
Blue
Bocke
Theld swings, but his blade swishes harmlessly through the air. Droo tries the noob knob, but the door is locked.
Round 1! Bold may act!
Vosk
Gorrig
Droo
Vinegar
Theld
Molvil
Blue
Bocke
"Why lookie here, a replica of the shield that spared General Arnisant from an untimely demise! How patriotic, if only it could help us now!" Vosk points out.
"Damn it Droo, now is not the time to be stubbornly obstinate! I will write you a formal letter requesting your aid in battle later, but now you must do your part and smash the damn bottled ship!" he urges. "Look hard, there are itty-bitty water elementals manning that ship. Use anything like a hammer to bring it down and watch out for the teeny-tiny ballista!"
Seeing Droo hasn't quite hopped to it, he sighs. "BEHOLD! I grant upon thee the sneaky stabbiness of the ultimate ninja!" With a flick of his wrist, a wand appears in his hand.
Standing on one foot with his leg out and both arms in the air, he shouts. "HIIIII-YA!" Punctuating his cry, he taps Droo on the head and she... disappears. I'd do children's parties if I hated myself. But I don't.
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After an appraising glance, the Professor rattles off whatever attributes of the bottle that haven't been mentioned yet. Frowning as she considers her options, she decides caution at the expense of convenience is the wiser course of action. She sits on the desk, scoots over it, and sets herself down on the other side, staying well out of the range of the ship in a bottle. Then, with deliberate, calculated movements, she casts Ray of Frost at the offending bottle.
"Sigh. It really is a pity we cannot simply put it in a bag. Someone worked so hard on it, and did quite a good job too."
Gorrig's punch lands solidly on the bottle, which shatters with a loud crash into countless shards of glass that spray him and Theld...
...and while the monk is nimble, the soldier is not quick enough to cover his face before slivers of glass embed themselves in his cheeks and neck. Molvil's ray strikes the wall, leaving a faint patch of silvery frost that starts to melt almost immediately. The ship, meanwhile, sails through the air to ram Theld...
...and strikes the man in the gut, knocking the faintest bit of wind out of him.
Round 1, 2! Bold may act!
Bocke
Vosk
Gorrig (-1)
Droo
Vinegar
Theld (-6)
Molvil
Blue (-10)
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With glass tearing at his face and the ship itself crashing into him, the soldier has something to feel alive about. The thrill of the action and the adrenaline rush temporarily lifts the pall that had come to inundate his life. Still, he knows this moment cannot last. He bings his blade down on the little flying boat.
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With another resigned sigh and a disappointed shake of her head, the Professor aims another Ray of Frost at the boat.
It is clear that her heart isn't in this.
Suddenly, a thought occurs to her. "Where is Droo? Has anyone see Droo?" Oh my. I wonder what trouble she's getting herself into. "I'm going to go check on her. You gentlemen can handle the little boat better without my interference." She strides toward the door through which they entered, intent on finding the impulsive gnome.
"Your turn Gorrig, give it a good one for Uncle Vosk!" he encourages as yet another party member disappears from sight.
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Theld's sword strikes true, but does not cut as deeply as he had hoped. It tears a hole in one of the miniature sails, but the ship barely seems to notice. Bocke carefully aims around the soldier and ends up putting an arrow in the professor's melting ice patch rather than the flying construct. Molvil adds more frost to the patch before leaving the room in disgust. And Vosk demonstrates once again his remarkable ability to avoid trouble.
Gorrig follows Vosk's advice and give the ship a good one...
...and the tiny construct flies against the wall, wooden hull shattering into splinters before falling to the ground.
Droo's ruminations on bottles are cut short by a pounding on the front door. "Rus! What's going on in there?" a gruff voice calls from outside.
Bocke gestures for people to quickly search the room, and whoever's voice best matches the guard's to go towards the front door.
S%$+.
"Does anyone see who is there? If it isn't a guard, I'll slip out the back and see if I can stall him long enough for the place to be searched," Vosk suggests, adjusting his uniform and badge into a more dignified position before returning his wand back to his wrist sheath.
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While everyone is in back still reacting like their mom knocked on the bathroom door and asked "what's taking so long?", Droo screws up her voice and says: "Ah, everything is under control. Situation normal. Had a slight weapons malfunction, but everything is perfectly alright now. We're fine. We're all fine here now. Thank you. How are you?"
"Ah, everything is under control. Situation normal. Had a slight weapons malfunction, but everything is perfectly alright now. We're fine. We're all fine here now. Thank you. How are you?"
Vinegar buries his head in his paws.
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The Professor freezes just inside the room's doorway, barely out of sight from the entrance. Curse me for not preparing Color Spray! She hears Droo's reply to the query. Well, I could do no better, honestly. She stands there, racking her brain for a way to handle this. She takes a quiet step back from the doorway and motions to Vosk that she has the utmost confidence in his ability to handle the situation.
'We?!' Let's hope the fellow isn't the sharpest tool in the shed. Admirable though, especially for only having heard such a small sample of his voice!
With Droo taking the lead, Vosk takes the key and tries it on the back door. Come on, come on, come on!
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"We can't leave yet. We need to see what's behind the panel."
If the other guard is gone, Bocke will drag the first guard over to the broken glass and splash a little wine him his clothes; to make it seem like he got drunk and broke the ship in a bottle.
If the other guard isn't gone ... ugh. Does Vosk have another sleep?
"We?"
"Open 'er up, mate - looks like we got some pests to exterminate."
From her vantage point in the doorway, Molvil can hear both the keys in Vosk's hand as he unlocks the back door and a similar jangling from the front door.
The front door bursts open as Bocke moves to reposition the unconscious Rus. On the porch, two more half-orcs stare in shock at the open office door and the intruders within. Recovering their wits, they both grab the clubs from their belts and race towards the back office door - the second one swinging at the inquisitor in his path!
The blow catches Bocke squarely in the jaw, and the man drops like a stone to the floor!
Round 1! Bold may act!
Yellow
Green
Molvil
Vosk
Droo
Vinegar
Theld
Gorrig
Bocke (-12 (-2), Unconscious, Bleeding Out)