The small (by comparison) ratfolk woman waved a clawed hand at the Minotaur as the floorboards creaked under his weight. She looked up into Goggh's determined bestial eyes.
"Aw, come on Gog. We won't be causing troubles just by watching. And, imagine if this Gobbler folk comes late, and there be no Gog to hear his words?"
Jixel didn't want to sound like she was pleading with him, but she kind of was. Having a Minotaur at your table was the intelligible advantage here. Easier for Gobbler or whatever they called him, to both see and find. Less likely too, for small folk like a little rat to run into trouble? Well... the theory worked out sometimes.
Still, Jixel didn't feel like taking too many chances. She reached into her little leather bag, gently touching something whilst whispering.
"Like the leathers of mine bag, grant me the patience to accept stuff that's changeless, courage to change bits n' pieces I can, and the mouse-nouse to know the difference."
She looked across at her half an elf, half a human companion too then. He spoke of friendliness, and Jixel was inclined to agree.
Arma walked over to the bickering tables and says "So, you guys are planning on interfering? Interesting. I wonder what the owner would have to say about that."
The half-orc and the half-dozen others from the neighboring table all turned to look at the drow woman who had just pushed through the crowd. The green skinned woman gestured at the big grey orc. "Yeah, these idiots are taking bets on how long Fal would last after he rings the bell if someone decided to grab the rope up here." She grunted. "I told them it wouldn't be any longer than that man would keep breathing, because he'd find something sharp in his windpipe as soon as he touched that rope."
The big orc at the other table laughed. Arma and Ash could both see now that all of the six bore some sign of belonging to the same group- the orc and tieflings all shared the eye-shaped tattoo, though they didn't have as many as the bald tiefling, and the shifters all wore brands in the same shape. "Even with you two," he jabbed a finger at Ash and Arma, then at the man sitting at the green half-orc's table, "and you, you're still outnumbered." He slapped himself on the chest. "And outmuscled. Sit down, little girl. You ain't crossin' Daask. Not if you you want to live out the night." The tusks that jutted out of his lower lip made it sound like he was talking through a mouth full of marbles, but the threat was perfectly clear.
"Wow, not only are ugly and smell like you ate s#$t, you don't know how to count." Arma said as she gestured towards the rest of the group as they approached. "In the words of the great dragon Syberys, piss off."
Knowledge Local -
Pierce nods at Ash's explanation, "They may well be linked".
As the raucous crowd turned into a potential ruckus Pierce looked at the group with the affiliated symbols. Unfortunately, he did not recognize them. Though he had been doing a great deal of reconnaissance the Warforged had yet to become familiar with all underworld gangs just yet.
This Arma certainly likes to rile things up it seems. Interesting, the Minotaur is much more level headed though he seems more likely to be in his environment here.
Pierce stands up and pushes forward from the other side of where Arma stands as he does not want to appear aligned with her, at least not yet.
"Let us not play these childish games Breathers, the exchange of words does not need to rise to the level of bloodshed".
Pierce will study the gang to see if the word childish triggers some sort of verbal tick. Childish, kidnapping, it was worth a shot as Pierce had no better leads to look into at the moment.
"Don't worry. These fine gentlemen were just leaving." Arma then turned her back on them and looked at the Half-Orc woman. "I don't believe I've had the pleasure yet." she said while smiling nicely at her and extending her arm. "Name's Arma."
Ash cursed silently to himself. It looked like the shifters weren't on the right side of this conflict. Well, he might not oppose them, but he didn't have to help them. Maybe they could even be reasoned with...
Ash glanced back, looking for the drunk who had apparently offered them a job. He wasn't sure they were cutting the profile the man wanted.
Illendur watches the tense situation develop and eyes the half-orc woman. Smirking at Arma's handling of the situation he keeps moving his eyes around the room, either looking for their contact or to see what the orc and tiefling do.
The big half-orc shrunk from Arma's intimidating glare, and his followers took his lead. "Whatever. Not worth it anyway. Kid's probably gonna piss himself and come back up in a second." He shook his head and turned to walk away when Arma turned to greet the green half-orc. "C'mon," he muttered, and the other tattooed and branded ruffians grabbed their drinks and slouched off into the crowd.
The towering half-orc frowned in their direction for a second before turning to Arma. "I could've taken 'em. But I'm not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth." She looked amused as she offered a hand to shake. "Yagra. Yagra Stonefist."
She nodded in the direction of the young blonde elf who'd just watched the whole thing play out with an amused expression on his face. "That's Davil."
He smiled at the group. "I leave the thuggery to Yagra. But thank you for keeping my bodyguard from getting starting a brawl tonight." Davil gestured at the empty chairs around the table. "Do you need a table? Feel free to sit with us. I'll buy you a round."
Perception
Pierce heads near the table to mill about but does not sit keeping an eye on the original table as there was supposed to be an employment opportunity here tonight.
"Arma. I must say, I never had any doubt, I just didn't want to spend another night in jail, as lovely as being locked up with you might be." Arma scoots closer to Yagra and takes her hand as she speaks, never breaking eye contact.
Ash was so relieved he hadn't been forced to fight the shifters that he grinned at Yagra and Davil, revealing pointed teeth. He'd taken note of the shifter's faces, and would have a quiet ask around later to see what could be done to improve their attitudes and situation, but for now he cast an appraising eye on the elf and dropped into a seat across from Arma and Yagra.
"I don't know many who would cross Daask for a stranger," he admitted, impressed. He transferred his grin to Arma. "Though the number seems to be growing."
Yagra, Davil, a pleasure. I'm Illendur, and I'll take a round certainly. We're supposed to be meeting someone here, but they aren't here yet, so why not?
The half-elf maneuvers himself into a seat, swords somehow settling themselves to be drawn at a moment's notice.
Arma has a way with words, for certain, but I'm sure Yagra, you would have handled it just fine. Illendur orders an ale, and sits with the two, while keeping an eye out on their old table, or the missing 'employer'.
Considering what Ash said, Illendur questions him, What's Daask? I don't know much about the city other than where all the performance halls are.
Yagra's cheeks flushed at Arma's flirtation and the green skinned woman waved for a serving girl to come over as she sat down, nodding at everyone's agreement with her assessment of the avoided fight. "What's Daask? Buncha opportunists hornin' in where they ain't welcome." She made some room for everyone to sit, scooting her own chair a little closer to the "drow" woman's in the process.
Davil smiled at Yagra and leaned forward toward Ilendur. "What my friend is trying to say is that Daask is a group of criminals engaged in the roughest form of vice and protection. Newcomers to the city who don't respect the established channels. A tough bunch. They pick fights because most people are scared to cross them." He nodded at Ash, agreeing with the shifter's comment.
The golden haired elf looked around at the eclectic group, sizing them up. "And you? You're adventurers?"
Ah, I try to steer clear of the criminal element around here, just leads to problems. Oh well. Adventurer? No, not really. I work around with performers in the city providing stage support and personal protection. Yourself Davil?
His tuned senses kicking in Illendur turns from the golden haired elf, staring at the pit with a slight look of concern. Does anyone else hear that, sounds like something is climbing up in the pit? Is that usual?
Illendur begins to rise from his chair, seeing if he can see something without leaving the table, his left hand drifting down towards his longsword, slowly easing it about an inch up in its sheath.
Pierce drifts nearer to the table but turns his head at Illendur's statement about the pit.
Arma was about to say something, then she cocks her head towards the hole and says "Yup, that's something coming up alright. We should probably get ready for a fight."
Arma stood up and drew her rapier.
Ash, who had been pondering how to answer Illendur's question, was slow to react, but he did finally realize something was happening when the others mentioned hearing noises. "Hmm? Oh, could it be that fellow who went down, coming up again...? Was he supposed to ring the bell first?" He clearly wasn't familiar with the traditions and practices of the Portal.
Scooting back his chair, he rose to go over and peer down into the well, not yet alarmed.
Getting ready to leave, Goggh turns around as he hears "adventurers". Nothing really he heard before - but he was still interested in a contract with gold attached to it, so despite keeping his usual silence, he approached as to hear more.
As he hears the noise nearby - and as the others seem to do so as well - he instinctively pulls the immense axe in his back and holds it, focused.
The people around Goggh looked at him as he drew his huge axe, a few deciding to move away from the minotaur. Which was lucky for them, because they got a head start on the general stampede as a... thing climbs up out of the well.
It had the same general muscular build as a hobgoblin, but the long pointed ears of an elf and raw, pink skin covered in short, waving tentacles. Where its eyes should have been were clusters of these cilia-like tentacles, and growing from its shoulder blades above its arms were larger tentacles, easily 10 feet in length.
"What in Khyber's name is that?!?" Ash barked, leaping back from the edge as the thing rose into view. He reflexively drew his sword, a long blade etched in a repeating pattern of Thranish design.
Seeing the monstrosity rise from the pit, Illendur snaps his hands to his sword hilts, and draws both blades while advancing at the creature. Uh-oh, what is that thing?
"Ummm...okay then!" says Arma.
The ratfolk lass had gifted Goggh a grin, as he clearly succumbed to second thoughts on an "early" exit. This was good news for many reasons. Firstly, the simple protection that remaining by a bull-headed monstrosity brought. Secondly, he was easy for their hypothetical contact to see.
As the minotaur drew his axe and set eyes upon the well, little Jixel remained by his side. A little extra social of course, given the size of the man's weapon though!
Pleased to have had the foresight to get the magic armor spell done at the first signs of trouble, Jixel twitched... ready for imminent action!
Initiative
Pierce usually quick to react, is taken aback by what climbs from the well. He cannot identify the thing and if his face could frown, it would.
Sheathing her sword, Arma draws her bow, notches, and then fires her bow at the creature.
Ash didn't question whether the thing was malicious or not. Acting on instinct, he swung his sword. The long, patterned weapon wove about with fluid grace, menacing the creature.
Goggh rages and swings his large greataxe in the air, letting it drop against the creature with violence.
Illendur slides forward, holding his shortsword like a shield before him and launches a cut at the creature with his primary weapon
What is this thing? It looks positively disgusting!
Pierce has no idea what the thing is, curious, he moves forward and around as best he can, attempting to touch it and find out the answer to Illendur's question.
Touch Attack -
"Yikes!"
This place had some rather rough and ugly patrons, but the newcomer was really something else. Jixel let the more martial of her companions, which was all of them really, get into the front line. She lurked behind them hoping to offer some rat-style support.
Alas, the spells of an urban rodent weren't something that just got dished out willy-nilly. For some reason, perhaps because Jixel was far from stupid... she had a feeling there might be greater need for such things later on. Some tricks though, of a lesser nature, perhaps they might help?
Scuttling to stand behind Arma, a small clawed hand reached out to touch her shoulder.
"A gift, friend, not flea nor key. Choice right, for you to be."
Arma quickly drew, aimed, and fired but the chaotic crowd threw off her shot and the arrow went sailing over the bar instead of into the monster. Jixel cast some sort of spell on Arma, intending to help with her next shot.
Ash rushed the well but the eyeless monster swayed out of the path of his sword.
Pierce moved forward, too, only a heartbeat slower than the shifter. But like Ash, the monster ducked away from Pierce's attempted touch.
Ilendur and Goggh, both used to fighting in close quarters and hemmed in by crowds of non-combatants, moved in a little slower. The half-elf's shortsword didn't connect, but the minotaur's huge axe was nearly impossible to dodge.
Goggh found the monster far tougher than he would have expected, almost like he was trying to cleave through a tree trunk rather than flesh, but his massive axe sheared the humanoid in half from shoulder to groin. Moments after the thing climbed out of the well, the group had it dead on the floor.
The crowd continued to scream and scramble for the exits, while the bartender had jumped up on the bar with a greatsword in his hands, apparently ready to follow the group into battle but too slow to get to the fight before Goggh finished it.
Yagra Stonefist rushed to the well, too, but instead of going for the monster she leapt out onto the rope and slid down into the darkness. "Fal! Fal, you there?"
Pierce, do you have any idea what that thing was? Goggh, nice axe work!
Keeping his blades drawn, Illendur joins Yagra at the edge of the pit peering down, Anyone have a light source we can use? he calls out over his shoulder.
Leaning to Yagra, he says Can we help your friend? Think he'll be okay?
Straining his supernaturally gifted eyes, he peers into the darkness below, hoping for some sign of Yagra's companion.
Arma walked over to the well and looked down.
"Sheesh," Jixel said through an exhalation of breath, having just witnessing Goggh do... well what she'd always assumed he could.
"Gog, remind me never to anger you, yeah?"
Then, at the mention of lighting being required, the ratfolk popped over to the well's edge and looked down there too.
"My kind often live in places like that... down there..." she confessed, though it was more like stating the obvious.
Ash grabbed a lantern off a nearby pillar and dropped it down the well. It fell far, beyond the distance of Jixel's darkvision, eventually coming to rest with a bang over a hundred feet down. It was hard to see, but it looked like a humanoid-made tunnel down there rather than a natural cave.
Yagra was about halfway down, rapidly sliding down the rope and out of Jixel's sight even as they watched.
Goggh pulled his axe with difficulty back to his shoulder, as he silently stepped away from the creature.
I don't know what in the abyss is going on, and certainly not sure why we should get... More involved. - finally breaking his silence - At the same time, though, maybe now it's better to see it all to its end before walking away.
"At the very least we should make sure that nothing else is coming up while we try to have a drink and a laugh."
Pierce shakes his head at Illendur, "I do not know but let's see if I can learn something". Now that it is dead, Pierce will grasp the creature and try and learn more about its nature.
Down below, Yagra had just touched down at the bottom of the well. She had only looked around for a moment before her hearty laugh floated up to the common room. The young blonde man came into sight and she clapped him on the back. Together, the two of them stepped onto the platform while the adventurous drunk young man rang the bell in his hand.
Durnan, the barman, yelled at some unseen person upstairs, and walked over to the group looked down the well shaft. "Crank them up!" With the greatsword still in his hands, he nodded appreciatively at the group. "That was brave, and well done. You're covered for the rest of the night."
The common room was starting to settle down, with most of those who wanted to flee having gotten out the doors, and those who had taken up defensive positions or otherwise hadn't run just starting to realize the danger was over.
Yagra's companion, Davil Starsong, hadn't even put down his drink, and continued to watch the group as they looked down the well.
And just like clockwork, there came their contact, Vordik Gaebler, right through the front doors. He walked up to Goggh and the others around the well. "Well met, Goggh, Durnan." The elaborately moustachioed man hooked a thumb in the direction of the fleeing patrons. "What's that all about?"
** spoiler omitted **
"You picked an interesting place to meet, that's for sure!"
When the forces of Xoriat were unleashed on the ancient hobgoblins of Khorvaire, many were taken and experimented on. The Dolgaunt is the final result of those experimentations. Completely hairless and blind, it is still easy to make out the hobgoblin jawline, ears and physical build. However, that is where the similarities end. A dolgaunt's skin is a dull pink and covered in tendrils that are constantly in motion; the source of the dolgaunt's blindsight. Two tentacles, each at least 10 feet long, are mounted to each of the shoulder blades. These tentacles are prehensile, but do not have enough fine control to wield objects effectively.
In the centuries that have passed since the forces of Xoriat retreated, the remaining dolgaunts have continued to live underground, forming cells that perfect a unique form of martial arts that concentrate on their tentacles and vitality drain. Many of them find themselves in service to Cults of the Dragon Below or the occasional daelkyr.
With respect to your question, dolgaunts have DR 5/byeshk or magic. That's why Goggh found it hard to cleave through. Pierce knows what byeshk is, no need to roll.
Gaebler laughed loudly and looked around at the debris of fleeing patrons and people righting tables. "If I'd known it would be this lively tonight I'd have picked somewhere else!"