Ameliya sees the deputies in an animated and sometimes angry conversation, though she can't make out the words. Eventually, they turn a corner and disappear from sight.
Cimri crosses the street and into the jail, observing as she enters, "That seemed to go well. Good work."
Jerax finds a collection of keys in the vests the sheriff and her deputies had been wearing. Each of them had a matching key, which opens three cabinets (two in the common room, one in the sheriff's office). Jerax also finds a second style of key that opens the door to the jail, and a third style that opens the jail cells. There are enough copies of each of these keys for everyone. He also finds a unique key in the sheriff's vest.
Checking all the keys, Jerax questions, "Should we keep these extra copies of the keys, or hand them into Razelago?"
Lily pockets a set of keys, "So who's the sheriff now? Don't think the letter said."
She looks through the cabinets
"One of us hopefully. You or Jerax perhaps," Ameliya causally replies to Lily. In her mind it seemed as if their group was the only force truly working to keep Longacre within the imperial fold. So why not one of them? Still, there was always the possibility that such a naked move would prove inciting to a populace that was accustomed to Rhona's more forgiving attitudes. The best case was that Fex was able to find some well-loved local that was also a loyalist to the empire.
After Ameliya takes her own set of keys and safety stows it away in her clothes she says as much to the others, "But if it isn't one of we all better hope that its someone Fex can trust explicitly to keep order. Things in town are going to become... difficult once these new commandants are learned of."
The towering tiefling shrugs and take his own set of keys, while separating the rest to distribute among the others. "The sheriff's key must lock the doors, I'll hold on to that one for now." Jerax tries to catch Cimri's eye to see how she doing.
"Of the duplicates, we should each take a key. Of the singular, I think Jerax is as good as any. I imagine we may have need of the cells before long, possibly for their prior keepers."
Relaxing he adds. "That went as well as it could be expected. Let us lock the vests in a cabinet, our sashes are enough uniform for us I think. Then perhaps we can get to hammering and nailing the rest of the announcements?"
Veda relaxes some, feeling like the hardest part of the day's work is over without any big problems.
She takes one of the keys as they're handed out.
"Alright, let' hurry and get these flyers put up. Might as well start at one end and work through the town. Don't start out putting them up too thick, we don't want to run out before we get to the other side. It shouldn't take too long and then we're done."
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Lily begins going through the cabinets and finds the following:
Three suits of leather armor
six light wooden shields
Eight clubs
Six light crossbows
60 bolts
Six longswords
Eight saps
8 potions, each marked with the symbol of Iomedae
Another key, etched with the word "Pillory"This is in addition to the masterwork longsword Rhona left at her desk, which is as much a symbol of the sheriff's office as the embroidered vest.
Seeing the eight potions Lily had found, Ameliya immediately moves towards the half-orc to try and to identify them. "Here," she says, taking one of the potions into her hands for closer inspection, "Let's see what darling Rhona has been storing."
Slenk goes to examine the bottles as well and recites a brief incantation, then concentrates on the bottles keenly while examining them.
Lily frowns at the gear, "Where do you think they kept their papers?"
Ameliya has a little difficulty with the potions, but Slenk has no trouble: They are potions of cure light wounds.
Lily frowns at the gear, "Where do you think they kept their papers?"
Assuming you do a more thorough search of the jail, it's not hard to find a lockbox in the sheriff's desk. It is, of course, locked, but the unique key the sheriff had in her vest opens it. Inside, you find an assortment of weapons and contraband confiscated over the years, including:
a wanda masterwork bronze scizore (Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Equipment 36, 53) decorated with a sculpted skeletal lion
1 dose of blue whinnis
10 doses of pesh
a collection of 17 pornographic Taldan quartos containing scripts for two-performer “plays” (including “Her Highness’s Tea Service” and “The Guardsman’s Fine Salute”) worth 2 gp each
seven skull-shaped onyxes (worth 25 gp each)
and a pouch containing 10 pp and a bill of ownership for a “Halfling, male, 20 years, service-trained. Missing toe on left foot. Responds to the name ‘Ardin.’”
"The potions are all of minor healing, useful even if the label is a bit off."
Slenk examines the wand and the rest of the contraband for traces of magic.
Lily takes two of the potions.
Slenk is able to successfully identify the wand as a wand of shocking grasp with 16 charges.
Lily does find some records in the sheriff's office, mostly notes on investigations, but does not quickly identify anything related to her father. It would take some time to go through them in detail.
Jerax knows why Lily's in Longacre and whom she seeks. "Lily, we have a tight schedule. Shall we meet up with you later, either at one of the other postings or at Ash House?" The tiefling offered.
Clearly frustrated the half-ork growls, "No. I'm comin'." She heads out the door onto their next destination.
Already some of healing potions of her own, Ameliya leaves the curatives to the others while she readies to leave the jailhouse. "Jerax is right. Time we get a move from here so we complete this busy-work."
"I think the gate should be next since it's one of the four exits out of town", Jerax surmises. "The sooner the gate is posted, the sooner residents can plan alternate routes, assuming those residents have the approval of the Archbaron."
As the party finishes examining the room, Slenk says "This wand is magical, it allows the wielder to cast Shocking Grasp if they have the magical potential to do so. It is not a spell I can normally cast."
He then looks to the group and nods at Jerax. "To the gate then."
Veda has been cooling her heels, waiting around. She's more than ready to get going with the notices.
"The gate's good. Let's go."
She pockets one of the potions to take along with her for her as payments for her troubles, after all she could have slept in and had a late breakfast.
Lily begins taking regular breaths and focuses at the task at hand. Parts of her were at war with each other and she had no outlet for it. She decides that distraction would be better than stewing and asks Veda, "What did you drink last night that made you look like you could throw a punch?" She said this without meaning to insult Veda.
"Yes, to the gate then."
You reach the Castle Gate, looking as if some giant had picked up the stone gate from a rugged frontier fort and dropped it across the road leading into town. A set of weathered wooden doors stands open in the moss-covered fortified stone. It is one of the gates through the chest-high wooden fence that surrounds the town. A middle-aged woman sits in a chair beneath a rigged awning atop the tower that sits beside the gate. She watches your approach with a not unfriendly eye, but it’s not exactly warm, either. ”Good morning down there. Quite a little troop ye have. Little late to go huntin’.”
Alixus nods to them, "My greetings to you. We are here on the orders of Archbaron Fex to post a decree stating several things, most pertinently the closure of the Castle Gate."
Veda calls up to the woman.
"Morning Ma'm, we're just here to post a notice. No hunting for us."
Slenk follows along quietly, ready to use magic if needed but otherwise not getting directly involved.
Reverend Vade seems to have the situation in hand, so Jerax stands by quietly.
Ameliya greets the former artillerist with a kind but entirely insincere smile on her lips. "Both my friends here are quite right, Bo. Our Archbaron has decided to close the gate for the sake of the town's safety in light of recent goings on across the rest of the empire. As a former military women I trust you understand the need."
"What!? You're... what!?" The edge to her voice indicates she heard you just fine and the question is entirely rhetorical. She stands up at the top of the tower and yells down at you, "We’ve kept this town safe and this gate open — except for nights and holidays — for all the eighteen years Dent and I have minded it! That cow-pile baron making us close it... for... for..." She sputters out of words as a man comes out of a nearby house, alerted by the racket.
"Bo! What's the problem?"
"Fex is closing the gate! I... I... FINE! Just... FINE! But we ain't gonna close it for him!"
Vade's words seem to deflect the anger and outrage from you to the baron, but it's clear she is not happy. It takes her a half-minute to stomp her way down the tower, a crossbow in hand but not loaded. "He wants you to close the gate? Then YOU can close it. I... I never!"
She turns and stomps off in a huff, heading into her house with Denton standing outside, bewildered by the sudden development. After a moment, he waves a hand towards you in a gesture of disgust, and turns to follow his wife, a string of curses and invective in his wake.
Alixus motions to Jerax and says quietly, "Now, we must be sure to keep an eye on them. They know this gate better than anyone else, so they are people of interest if seditious activity is to take place regarding the gate. One of the former deputies was watching us as well. Make sure you stay aware of them." He then turns to the party as a whole and says, "Well, now that we have a gate to close, I would say we get to it. Do any of you know anything about these sort of mechanisms?"
Jerax nods silently as he listens to the cleric. "Can't believe they left, really. The gate needs to be closed and kept closed; who better than the two people who have kept this post for years."
Looking up at the massive gate, the antipaladin rubs his hands together. "I don't know anything about gate mechanics, but I'll see what I can do about closing the gate. Lily, Veda, can I get a hand when you have a moment?"
Jerax positions himself at one of the open gates and tries to close it.
Slenk watches the two wander off and shakes his head at their reaction. "Public servants seem to forget the latter word in their title."
Looking at the gates he adds, "This is not my area of expertise, but I would assume there is some sort of winch or lever that would assist in the closing. They likely wouldn't leave it to brute strength if an enemy force was approaching."\
With that he enters the gatehouse to search for a mechanism.
Lily struggled with the door for as long as it took. Or until Slenk found the mechanism. When the door was shut she lifted the lock and put it into place.
As Jerax and Lily approach the gate itself to force the doors shut, Slenk heads into the tower and is able to quickly find a mechanism that uses weights and pulleys to swing the gate shut. With a yank, the mechanism pops open and the system begins to grind and groan, the doors shutting.
Jerax and Lily watch this happen, then shift their efforts to placing the iron bars across the gate. They may quick work of it, but by the time they're done and Slenk is coming back to the tower's door, the deputies are coming down the street with their clubs out.
"That's enough of that, I think," says Curtwyn, the more hot-headed of the bunch. Even Ertha is nodding in glum agreement. "Time for you to leave... all of you."
Initiative Rolls
Party Average:
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** snip ** I'll let Alixus, Ameliya, Veda and Cimri go first, then we'll go to regular initiative.[/ooc]
** spoiler omitted **
Alixus raises his unholy symbol and proclaims, ”Compatriots, show these rebels the justice of Cheliax!”
"Fools!" Ameliya cursed contemptuously at the renegade deputies. Her motive as to attract some attention from the rest of town so that all could see the deputies attack them. "Utter fools! How dare you threaten lawful civil servants. You should be ashamed."
Even as Ameliya spat mostly sincere venom at the deputies her mind was focused on conjuring a veil of psychic energies that could provide her protection.
Cimri's eyes narrow in determination as, in a fluid gesture, she draws the kukri and dagger slung at her hip. "This is a bad move, Curtwyn. The law's not on your side anymore, and I won't have to pull any punches."
Though rattled, Curtwyn (red) tries to makeup for it by charging Cimri, but she parries his club with contemptuous ease. Following Curtwyn's lead, two of the other deputies charge Ameliya and Alixus. The one going after Ameliya swings too soon and misses, while the other's club connects with Alixus.
Another pair of deputies charge forth, another going after Alixus while the fifth goes for Veda. The attack against Alixus misses, while the other lands a glancing blow against Veda.
In the back, the sixth deputy slings his club and pulls out a light crossbow.
Lily calmly says, "Big mistake." She draws her falchion while moving around the melee, going for an obvious power blow.
Hearing the challenge and ensuing combat, Slenk quickly moves to the door of the gatehouse and reaches into his pouch and flings a pinch of sand at the rebels while reciting a brief incantation.
Slenk slips out the side of the tower and weaves a magical slumber. Green and orange both collapse to the ground as their clubs clatter on the hard-packed dirt road.
Behind him, madness explodes as the deputies attack the party as Jerax helps close the gate. The antipaladin barks, "Take 'em alive if you can! We have an empty jail to fill!" The towering tiefling advances, whipping his spiked chain in the air and attempts to trip the shaken Curtwyn.
Veda doesn't immediately pick up on Lily's line of questioning. "I didn't throw a punch, I threw a... Oh!" Veda shakes her head, a little embarrassed. "That's not what you meant."
She pulls out a small stoppered bottle and holds it up.
"It's this. It's a sort of 'pick me up' I mix together. It's really gets me going. Kinda hard to describe what it feels like. It's feels like power and ecstasy exploding inside my body like my skin won't be able to hold it in." Veda's excited description trails off for a loss of adequate words. After a pause she sums up. "It's better than the best sex you've ever had. Trust me."
Veda's smile and the light in her eyes shows Lily she isn't just bragging. Veda sincerely believes it.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Veda really didn't think it would come to this.
She actually hisses at the former deputy who tags her with his club. She does it in reaction to the pain, but if she's doing it anyway she decides to make it look good.
She strikes back at him with both clawed hands.
Alixus moves away from the guards and snaps his fingers, and a copy of him steps to the left.
Lily nods along at Veda's explanation, it sounded a lot like when she let the devil insider her out. "Is it magic? Could I try some?" She added perhaps a touch embarrassed, "Under yer control o' course."
Ameliya eyed the rogue deputy in front of with murderous scorn for having the gall to attack her. Channeling that anger and turn it into psychic power, Ameliya launched a spear of mental energies at the deputy.