"A good start, though I still didn't quite catch your name," Rose nods as the man lies down and allows himself to be bound and searched. She lowers her weapon as she thinks on what to ask now, and how to go about ensuring there would be truthful answers.
She takes a glance back at Lotti. "Servant, would you be a dear and put this fellow under your truth detecting magic? This can all stay civilized so long as he truthfully keeps telling us everything he knows about the fellows he came here with, how many of them there, which traps they set and where, and what else of note is up ahead."
Lotti wrings her hands, wrinkles her face, and winks at Rose. "Oh! Of course, my lady! One moment while I summon the spirits..."
Slowly the old woman begins to chant, magic surrounding her with a sickly yellow light and the barely-audible sound of unworldly voices chanting. "By the power of Zaresktet, ancient god-king of the Everlasting City, I summon the ghosts of the dead! With eyes unclouded by mortal fallacies, they see through falsehoods and deceit, and curse those who dare lie to them!"
Now that she can see the fellow a little more clearly, Lotti notices his most unusual appearance; while from a distance and in dim light he might be taken for a gnome, up close any passing resemblance vanishes, and she recognizes him as a wayang, a race of small humanoids who trace their ancestry to the Plane of Shadows.
He tenses as she begins to cast her spells. "I've done nothing wrong, you are the ones who broke into this place and assaulted its guards."
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After taking a rough inventory of the bottles, Marius sets the magical ones down next to Lotti while she performs her ritual. Fascinating, I didn't know she could do that. Why didn't Lotti say something when we captured the halfling assassins? It was a bit rude for her and Rose to leave me out of the loop, did Konstiantina know too?
When the supposed merchant starts squawking again, Marius jams his falcanta into the floor scant inches from his face. "The Senate was attacked this past day, high lords and ladies of the realm lie murdered in cold blood and civil war seems likely. Do you think anyone will give a wet s#!# about your death? Do you think anyone will even think to wonder where your body might be? Tell us where Lady Martella is, and how many of your fellow assassins are about, or stain the ground with your blood--it makes no difference to me. She will know if you lie."
The little fellow jumps as Marius stabs the floor. "Oh dear, oh dear, such impatience. I can tell you what you want to know, as it probably won't make any difference." He gives an unpleasant, too-sharp smile. "Lady Martella is below. As for how many of us there are, the exact number changes as people come and go, but there's enough of my 'fellow assassins' to stop your misguided rescue attempt."
Marius gets the feeling that this is all he's going to get from his prisoner.
"Oh my, such confidence for someone whose group just lost seven of their own with nothing to show for it. Yes, my knees are just shaking . Truly, I believe I might just back out of this one. There's just absolutely no way we could handle your friends, is there?"
Rose makes eye contact with Marius and gestures towards the gloating Wayang with the pommel of her rapier, inclining her head slightly. Did he want to do the honors of knocking out this loose end for now, or should she?
Konstiantina steps in, however, before Marius can act, and with an efficient kick that glances off the man's temple, sends the fellow into a deep and dreamless oblivion.
"That was good news," says the paladin, tone firm. "Martella lives, has withstood the assault thus far, and we're in time to make a difference. If the rest of the assailants are of this caliber, we stand a good chance of cutting through their ranks with equal ease."
She smiles at her companions, clearly looking to encourage them, then turns to examine the door. "Shall we?"
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The fake merchant seems to be about to utter a no doubt snarky comeback when Konstiantina's boot sends him slumping into unconsciousness.
The stakeout was a long one, and with the threat of imminent attack growing lower, Rose eventually relaxes slightly - as much as could be possible in a country probably in the opening days of a civil war, with assassins and probably hostile soldiers on the loose everywhere. But still... given everything they'd been through thus far, just staring at a wall and observing patrol routes felt like taking a breather.
She glances to the people at her side and realises she didn't really know anything about them other than who they were now. Well, that and that Marcus at one point had been a bit of a troublemaker in the army. It was curious, as she couldn't really imagine the very straight-laced mariner ever doing such unless his commanding officer warrented it. But it wasn't like Konstiantina or especially Lotti were any less mysterious.
"So... now that we're waiting and not fighting for our lives, I must admit I am curious." she begins, grinning slightly. "What were your lives like before all this, and how did you meet our Friend? That is, of course, if anyone is willing to engage in some idle talk."
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From his chair, Marius cracks open one to see who Raesilia is talking to. When no one else speaks up right away, the nobleman sits up more properly and stretches a moment.
"Until relatively recently my story was no different from any other youngest child who joined the military as a means of advancement--I have three older siblings to inherit most everything else. I was a naval lieutenant for a few years at first, it's something of a family tradition and is what earned us our titles in the first place. The Admiralty and myself had a few marked disagreements about where Taldor's strategic focuses should lie, and I resigned my commission at their, ah, no-so-subtle suggestion." The corners of his mouth quirk in a wry smile. "Family connections got me reassigned to a Galtan border regiment, and the Phalanx agreed with me a good deal more than the Navy had. I also met my mentor there, and after an honorable discharge she provided me a letter of recommendation that apparently drew our mutual benefactor's attention. That was a year ago, and the rest you were either present for or could surmise easily enough."
"I suspect there's a far more interesting tale behind the tailor who knows her way around a blade and has the strangest suit of armor I've ever seen. What the devil were all those little hooks for?"
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Konstiantina sits, straight-backed, against the wall, her blade lying athwart her lap, a whetstone gently rasping along its length. The motions appear more meditative than intentional, for the sword's edge already gleams.
She quirks her head as she listens to Marius' account.
"What was it about the Phalanx that you found so agreeable?" Her tone is curious, gentle, husky even as she considers the young human.
"As for myself, I was a compass without a magnetic north. Iomedae found me worthy of her blessings after I quit my family estate, but I'd yet to find a long term goal to work towards when my impassioned - if futile - pleadings at court brought me to Lady Lotheed's attention." Her smile is wry. "But yes - Rose. What of yourself? I've been curious as to your past ever since we first met."
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"What was it about the Phalanx that you found so agreeable?" Her tone is curious, gentle, husky even as she considers the young human.
"What indeed," Rose half-repeats, following the paladin's gaze and tilting her head slightly to the side, as if studying the former marine from a different angle. "He implies he isn't interesting, yet at the same time his eyes methodically glide over me, scrutinizing me for the smallest bits of information. He glances at my wrist and wonders if it is near my collar bone on purpose or not, an often sign of female liars. He looks at my feet and notes the direction, reading into whom I subconsciously trust most amongst us, and weighs that into whether what I say is true. Each not quite techniques I'd expect of a common soldier."
Her grin widens slightly. "Of course, turnabout is fair play. Do I have a proper excuse to know? And if I'm aware, does that mean I'm masking these tells or not? And is he, in turn, hiding his own from me? Questions, questions. What follows seems an endless waltz of mystery, not quite unlike the enchanted mannequins in my shop."
"But yes - Rose. What of yourself? I've been curious as to your past ever since we first met."
"I suspect there's a far more interesting tale behind the tailor who knows her way around a blade and has the strangest suit of armor I've ever seen. What the devil were all those little hooks for?"
However, with everyone's eyes on her, she grows more serious as she leans back against the wall, and takes a few moments to compose an answer. "...I suppose it is fair to return the favor; one earnest answer for another. To start with Marius' questions: As for why I can fight, I was trained by the same fencing instructor who trained my mother back in the day. His style is, I suppose, best described as ruthless with zero etiquette. I'm sure you can imagine it is required I know self-defense, given my social status. And regarding the armor... let's call it an expression of 'needlessly complicated intrigue'. I've been told I just can't help myself!" The last bit is accompanied with a wry grin towards Marius, which quickly fades again.
She glances up to the sky and her tone shifts a more grave one. "But I grant you that those are superficial answers. What you really want to know, probably, is about the inner workings of house Talbot. And in case Lotti hasn't already looked into this, I'll save her the trouble now. My family is mostly a large merchant conglomerate so wealthy that we bought our way into nobility, rather than being granted it through ties of blood or acts of valor."
"However... as progressive as that sounds, primogeniture was always strictly adhered to. In our case, since we don't have 'lands' as much as money and businesses, the Talbot variant of women being exempt from inheritance means that we have no possessions of our own. Whatever we earn or make is transferred to our husbands or the overall head of the family."
Her eyes narrow. "As you might imagine, this system has not been viewed as 'fair' by many of my forebears, and it has lead to numerous... 'family quarrels', shall we say, that have been kept meticulously from the outside world. Of course, sometimes hints of this slip through the cracks, such as when a great-great-great grandmother of sorts managed to trick the then head of house to sell most of the belongings to a a Qadiran merchant for a single camel. Or, much more recently, when my mother threw a cup of hot tea over Pythareus during last year's celebration. I am told father paid quite a handsome some of money to smooth things over with our dear Strategos. But mother... still disappeared a few weeks afterwards."
There's a pause as she takes a deeper breath. "Maybe that's slightly off-topic, but context is important. Now let's see... what else can I say about myself? As a marriageable not-heir of the head of house, I've worked in a few of our more profitable enterprises as a trainee of sorts from when I was young, mostly to get a feel for what was talked about at family gatherings. I was then private schooled until I was old enough to attend the Sinora Academia. Oh, and I have a brother who is the actual heir. He is... not a good person. My dearest hope is that if something were to happen to me and he rose to power, our Friend would find a way to save Taldor from the no doubt devastating financial crisis he'd plunge it in."
She then pushes herself back from the wall and dusts off her new simple clothes. "I think that covers the most important aspects of my upbringing, unless there's something in particular you'd still want to know."
"And in case Lotti hasn't already looked into this, I'll save her the trouble now."
Lotti arches an eyebrow, one hand idly scratching Wobblekins under the chin. "Why would an old maid have looked into such a thing?" she asks innocently. "Especially one no longer needed at her old place of employment and sent as repayment for a favor from one household to another?"
"And in case Lotti hasn't already looked into this, I'll save her the trouble now."Lotti arches an eyebrow, one hand idly scratching Wobblekins under the chin. "Why would an old maid have looked into such a thing?" she asks innocently. "Especially one no longer needed at her old place of employment and sent as repayment for a favor from one household to another?"
"Hm. Implying you're already working for us and have picked up the rumors some time ago?" Rose seems more amused by the prospect than anything. Then she narrows her eyes and looks at the gnome seriously. "That said, you remain the most mysterious person among us by far, Lotti. To me, at least. And forgive me a moment of speaking plainly, but I can't say it's very comforting to know exactly nothing about you. You never reveal anything about yourself, and you only sparingly talk or interact with us outside of your servant persona. Is that just being careful, or do you have some ulterior motive to maintain that distance even now?"
She holds her gaze for the moment, wondering if she would get an answer that shed at least a bit of light on the elder gnome, or if it was deflected again and she was left with nothing still.
It felt like grasping at smoke. Or was she herself the fool for trying to reach out to the others, and was Lotti's approach the one she should have taken all along? What would Martella say... was this overplaying a hand again?
Lotti pets Wobblekins thoughtfully for a few moments before sighing. "It might be easy for you to forget, but we are not equals. Sharing secrets is a risky business, and not all of us have the social standing and generational wealth to weather the fallout when it goes bad." She meets the noblewoman's gaze unflinchingly.
Wobblekins yowls loudly, a much deeper and more authoritarian sound than his usual whining. Slowly he rises to his feet and stretches, then saunters over to Rose and begins twining himself around her ankles.
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Lotti's gaze breaks, falling to the cat at the noblewoman's feet. Slowly her mouth twists into a thin smile. "He's right - I would be dead without your help. That has to be worth something." She folds her hands into her lap and takes a deep breath.
"You asked how I met our mutual friend. It was at one of Lady Emisel's teas, held to flaunt both her husband's promotion and her new silk gloves and pearls. It was the usual crowd of socialites and nobility - and myself, I suppose. Though I was only there to pass around the champagne flutes and hors d'oeuvres. There really should have been two of us, but sadly Bikki was... unavailable."
"The topic of how hard it is to find good help came up, and it was quite the popular topic among Lady Emisel's social circle. Lady Martella didn't participate, but her face had quite the practiced neutral expression. If I had to guess, I would say she was tracking who all was complaining." She chuckles. "I don't know why she might have thought I was a common factor in all those stories, but she was certain to make eye contact when I came by with the trolley."
"A few days later, I received a... surprising invitation. From a surprising messenger. Thankfully nobody saw Bikki in the manor." Lotti pauses to clear her throat before continuing. "It's such a shame that Lady Emisel once again couldn't afford to keep all her staff and had to let someone go. Luckily, another family was able to take in one of her oldest and dearest maids on such short notice and send a gift in return for the recommendation, so any potential scandal was covered up."
"And that's my tale." Lotti again meets Rose's gaze. "I hope that pleases my lady, as I have little else to offer."
""What was it about the Phalanx that you found so agreeable?"
"What indeed..."
Marius grins in earnest delight at both women. "Rose's observations approach the heart of the matter. It was in the Phalanx that I met Field Marshal Vaerli--military intelligence officer and inquisitor of She of Ebon Wings." This last title is spoken a trifle softer, genuine reverence in the nobleman's voice. "To make a long story shorter, she took me on as an apprentice of sorts and inducted me in to the faith, and it was her letters that originally drew me to Lady Martella's attention. I owe the Field Marshal more than I could repay." Marius give the other three a small, self-deprecating shrug. "I suppose you could say I was a junior military intelligence officer as well for a while, but I accepted an honorable discharge instead, and here I am."
Marius listens attentively to Rose's explanation, but forgoes any additional questions for now.
When Lotti's story wraps up, Marius tilts his head slightly in curiosity. "Forgive my curiosity, Lotti, but who is Bikki? Why weren't they supposed to be in the manor?"
Konstiantina's whetstone lies still upon her blade, her attention focused on her companions. How strange, to have one's familiarity challenged by the renewed awareness as to how little she'd known about them all.
She frowns halfway through Rose's discourse. "Your mother... disappeared? A few weeks after spilling tea on the Strategos? As in, permanently?"
Looking to Lotti, her sense of being mystified only increases. "Lotti, you are far too accomplished an individual to have merely been this Lady Emisel's treasured maid." Her tone is mildly reproving, but undercut by tentative amusement. "How did you come into her employ, then? A family retainer? With your skills, wisdom, talent, and outrageously personable cat?"
As Marius reveals a few more key details, Konstiantina leans back against the wall, considering the man. "I'm not familiar with She of Ebon Wings. Could I pry further by asking what that is?"
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"And that's my tale." Lotti again meets Rose's gaze. "I hope that pleases my lady, as I have little else to offer."
"It does. Thank you, Lotti," Rose replies earnestly, a soft smile on her features. "I suppose that If I hadn't been semi-forced to drop cover from my manditory presence at the gala, I might have told less. I greatly appreciate the gesture of trust."
She kneels down and pets Wobblekins behind the ears and under the chin - which he seemed to like back in the maze. "And yours of course, Your Grace."
"I suppose you could say I was a junior military intelligence officer as well for a while, but I accepted an honorable discharge instead, and here I am."
The fencer then listens through Marius' explanation on his unusually sharp reading skills with rapt attention, inwardly pleased to have deduced correctly. "I see. This Kelinahat you worship has an... 'interesting' training regimen for his followers, it seems. Though, what I'm more curious about: what exactly caused you to get in trouble with the military, up to where resignation comes into play? You still don't quite strike me as the kind of troublemaker you alluded to be back on the boat."
"Your mother... disappeared? A few weeks after spilling tea on the Strategos? As in, permanently?"
There is a pause as Rose goes still. "...Yes. She was just... gone. Went for walk and never came back, it seems. Her spot at the table was empty and father refused to speak of it. He still doesn't - the subject has been a taboo ever since," She reponds, uncharacteristically somber. "Of course, I tried investigating it as best I could. But I couldn't find her on my own. No one among the staff could tell me any more, and neither could the Zespires, for as far as I could reach my mother's family. So... I managed to scrape some funding in a way that wouldn't be traceable and hired a wizard to scry her, but..."
Her gloves hand wipes her eyes and stays there longer than seems necessary. "Ah... why now? I don't usually..." She takes a deep breath."I just... don't like thinking of that time. Though, at least, at that moment I knew for sure that if I wanted something to change, I'd have to get involved myself. I couldn't rely on others to do it for me anymore. And that eventually got me here."
"Forgive my curiosity, Lotti, but who is Bikki? Why weren't they supposed to be in the manor?"
"Why, because she was no longer working there." Lotti blinks innocently. "Imagine if somebody saw you on your old boat after your discharge. Though I'm sure such an upstanding young man such as yourself would never do such a thing, would you."
She kneels down and pets Wobblekins behind the ears and under the chin - which he seemed to like back in the maze. "And yours of course, Your Grace."
Wobblekins purrs contentedly.
"I'm not familiar with She of Ebon Wings. Could I pry further by asking what that is?"
Marius' smile manages to be both sly and serene. "She of Ebon Wings--Kelinahat--the empyreal goddess of the darkness, stealth, and espionage. When the high lords of Heaven need to know what their enemies are up to, it is to Her they turn. It is often the case that cunning and subtlety can succeed where entire legions of archons might fail. It is a honor to be counted amongst Her ranks." He inclines his head to Konstiantina. "A sentiment I'm certain you understand well, Lady Mokei."
At Lotti's coyness he just snorts and shakes his head. "Have it your way then, Ms. Qeb."
The shifty-looking guards in the receiving room dispatched, the party continues their foray into the warehouse, opening the northern door to reveal a vast, cavernous space filled with teetering stacks of barrels, boxes and crates, dusty paths zig-zagging through the mess. A set of metal stairs ascend to an office to the right of the entrance, whose large window overlooks the floor from twenty-five feet above. a pair of five-foot wide metal pipes lead from the floor up into the base of the office.
The door opening seems to alert the occupants of the office, who can be glimpsed through the window - a pale, grey-skinned man with long, white hair, and two cloaked thugs that seem to be standing guard. The two guards immediately draw their weapons, and one of them bangs loudly on the window, hammering a pattern of beats before rushing out to intercept the intruders. From somewhere among the stacks of bales and crates, a clatter is heard, as of light furniture overturned, and two more thugs emerge with weapons drawn.
Entering the large room behind the two knights with Dignity's Barb drawn in case they needed ranged support, Rose whirles around to the sound of approaching enemies. She takes a couple of steps forward to get a clear shot and fires at the closest foe to the west!
The move did leave her a bit exposed, but the legendary crossbow's aim seemed true - again - and she was convinced her allies had her back.
Rushing past Rose as she sticks a bolt into the nearest of the thugs, Marius flourishes his falcata as he closes. Forgoing any repartee or witicisms, the nobleman dives to the attack.
Choosing to wait to mention the questionable architectural choices, Lotti instead focuses on the likely counterattack from the building's defenders. Edging inside the doorway, she rubs her fingers with a bit of butter from breakfast before wringing her hands wildly. "My lady, please be careful! I don't like the looks of this at all - these gentlemen look far too scruffy and greasy to have anything but villainy on their minds!" As she speaks, a rapidly-expanding puddle of slippery oil spreads across the warehouse floor.
When you cast a spell or use a spell-like ability, you can attempt to conceal verbal and somatic components among other speech and gestures, and to conceal the manifestation of casting the spell, so others don’t realize you’re casting a spell or using a spell-like ability until it is too late. The attempt to hide the spell slows your casting slightly, such that spells that normally take a standard action to cast now take a full-round action, and spells that normally take longer than a standard action take twice as long. (Swift action spells still take a swift action.) To discover your ruse, a creature must succeed at a Perception, Sense Motive, or Spellcraft check (the creature receives an automatic check with whichever of those skills has the highest bonus) against a DC equal to 15 + your number of ranks in Bluff or Disguise (whichever is higher) + your Charisma modifier; the creature gains a bonus on its check equal to the level of the spell or spelllike ability you are concealing.
If your spell has a somatic component, any creature that can see you receives a Perception or Spellcraft check (whichever has the highest bonus) against a DC equal to 15 + your number of ranks in Sleight of Hand + your Dexterity modifier; the creature gains a bonus on its check equal to the level of the spell or spell-like ability you are concealing. Since you are concealing the spell’s manifestation through other actions, others observing you realize you’re doing something, even if they don’t realize you’re casting a spell. If there is a verbal component, they still hear your loud, clear voice but don’t notice the spell woven within. If an opponent fails its check, your casting also does not provoke attacks of opportunity, and an opponent that fails its check can’t use readied actions that depend on realizing that you’re casting a spell or using a spell-like ability, or readied actions such as counterspelling that require identifying the spell you’re casting. Spells such as fireball that create an additional obvious effect (aside from the manifestation of casting that all spells and spell-like abilities share) still create that effect, though it might not be obvious who cast the spell unless it emanates from you.
If a character interacts with you long enough to attempt a Sense Motive check without realizing you have been casting spells, that character can use Sense Motive to gain a hunch that you’re behaving unusually.
Marius strikes unerringly, and his target collapses with a thin line of blood running across her throat. Half a heartbeat later, Rose's bolt thuds into her comrade just as she comes into view from behind a stack of crates, eliciting a cry of pain.
The one on the stairs narrows his eyes at Lotti, calling out "Watch it, that old biddy is doing some foul magic!"
The white-haired man takes a step sideways to get a better view of the intruders, then unleashes his own magic. Marius feels a fog envelop his mind.
Red = -7 HP
Blue, orange = uninjured
Marius = confused (1 round)
Sensing the threat coming from the north, and with Marius well in control of the west, Konstiantina breaks into a run, racing over the forming grease to close with their opponents.
To the west, one of the thugs facing Marius swears as she finds herself alone and injured, but grits her teeth and lunges forward with a high stab, trying to press Marius backwards into the stack of crates behind him.
To the north, the cloaked one makes an easy jump from the stairs onto the stacked crates in front of him, then another to the floor, menacing Konstiantina with his dagger just as his companion tries to take advantage of the distraction, but the paladin easily blocks their strikes.
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Lotti hitches up her skirt and moves past Rose into the room. Glancing up at the window, she makes a sweeping gesture with one arm. Thick off-white velvet curtains spring from mid-air to hang in front of the office window.
Rather than press his advantage against the wounded thug, Marius stops and stares at them slack-jawed. "Flubu...arblandle breegee?" he asks them, expression incredulous.
Parrying his remaining opponent's strike, Marius takes a half-step back to take in their stance and posture. Nodding to himself, the nobleman darts forward to press the attack with a slash at the thug's legs.
Seeing both of her allies handle themselves in the melee quite well, whether or not she heard Marius utter some weird incantation of sorts, Rose moves up to Lotti, reloads the crossbow and shoots the guard to the right of Konstiantina .
...Not the best shot, but at least it was on-target?
"Lotti, if that grease stain is your doing, could you remove it if things go poorly for our intrepid knight over there? I hope to be able to reach her if she needs help," she then whispers to her servant in between reloading shots.
Marius stops in confusion and babbles, while Rose sticks another bolt into one of the thugs harassing Konstiantina.
Meanwhile, the white-haired man in the office appears at the top of the stairs leading down to the warehouse floor and hops onto a nearby crate stack with slightly less grace than his comrade.
"You useless fools! You'd let a ragtag band of nosy do-gooders undo everything we've worked for? Look at them! They're not even all armed! Just deal with them already!"
Spurred on by his words, the three remaining thugs seem to stand up a little straighter and they grip their daggers with renewed confidence.
Her blade leaps, metal clangs on metal, and the attacks are foiled. Konstiantina can't help but smile, the expression almost a snarl, her heart pounding, her exhilaration fierce.
Moving away from one of her attackers so that the crates are at her back and she need only fence with one, she feints high and then seeks to slide the tip of her blade between the man's ribs.
Suffering from an earlier wound thanks to Rose's sharpshooting skills, Konstiantina's target stumbles back against the crates, blood gushing from his chest as he slowly lists to one side and slides to the floor. His comrade snarls and steps in to avenge him, while a little to the south the other thug tries to take advantage of Marius's momentary confusion.
However, despite the goading from the white-haired man, they both miss their targets.
Blinking in surprise at his own nonsensical outburst, Marius still manages to sidestep the thug's lunge. Already turning his attention to the white-haired newcomer, Marius bats aside his opponent's weapon and slashes open their leg.
'Does either of them really need help?' Rose wonders, surveying the situation. "Well, at least that caster guy conveniently pointed out himself as a source of information?"
"Let's try and capture the haughty one," she says, then shoots an arrow to the left. It misses, but she trusted Marius enough to deal with that one on his own.
Lotti waits to see how things unfold.
As Marius and Rose focus on the southernmost thug, the white-haired man takes a splinter of bone out of his pocket and points it at Marius, uttering the syllables of a spell under his breath as he fixates him with a cold, unnerving stare.
As the man slides off Konstiantina's blade, she turns, visage grim, to take down his companion.
Lotti moves a bit closer and sends a brief surge of mental energy through the evident leader's mind.
Both Konstiantina and Marius wound their adversaries, while Lotti's magic briefly hazes the mind of the one attacking the paladin.
Gritting their teeth against the pain of their wounds, the one remaining active thug redoubles their efforts to strike at their opponent, but even in his shaken state Marius easily deflects the blow.
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As a chill runs down his spine and settles in his guts, Marius only barely deflects his adversary's latest attack, and his riposte is shaky at best. "Rose, I would count it as a personal favor if you would shoot that gentleman. Anywhere will do, really, I'm hardly picky. Or Lotti could disintegrate him, or turn him into a goose. Just so long as he stops bloody staring at me! Oh gods, I'm babbling."
As a chill runs down his spine and settles in his guts, Marius only barely deflects his adversary's latest attack, and his riposte is shaky at best. "Rose, I would count it as a personal favor if you would shoot that gentleman. Anywhere will do, really, I'm hardly picky. Just so long as he stops bloody staring at me! Oh gods, I'm babbling."
Rose chuckles. "Ah, so it's the male gaze that makes you queazy? Now I see how it is."
Yet she follows Marcus' request and takes aim with a precision completely at odds with the humorous banter!
Jumping up on the box with an agile step, Rose barely has an uninterrupted line to the foe - which she exploits to the fullest.
The thug evades Marius's strike. The white-haired man rolls his eyes with theatrical flourish as he pulls out a sickle and begins clambering over boxes and crates, closer to Konstiantina. "It seems that I must do everything myself, incompetents," the paladin can hear him mumbling.
He then stops to cast another spell at her, now fully exposed to Rose's marksmanship, of which she promptly takes advantage, sending a bolt into his thigh and interrupting his incantation.
"Damn it! You are being very tiresome!"
For a moment Konstiantina considers how best she can climb up to face the white haired leader, but the array of crates and their steep stacking defeats her; she doesn't have the time to laboriously scale them with an armed foe at her back.
So, discarding the idea, she turns and seeks to slash her blade across the man's throat.
Lotti considers making the surface of the box the man stands on a bit slicker, but decides to conserve her magical energy in case there are more competent guards further in.
Smirking contemptuously at Lotti, the white-haired man shakes his head before focusing his attention again on Konstiantina. The thug facing her leans back at the last possible moment, narrowly avoiding a fatal blow, then trying to counter-attack with a quick slashing motion aimed at her sword arm, but he seems scared of her now and the hesitation makes his attack ineffective. Meanwhile, his fellow is being just as ineffective against Marius, who parries her thrust with little effort.