Vitalis moves and slices straight through the tooth fairy accosting him, the fey exploding in a cloud of white dust!
Chance sends a wave of disorienting colors at the tooth fairies.
Green shrieks as it loses its sight! It drop low to the ground and pounds the ground several times as it Casts a Spell, a cloud of soothing laughing gas surrounding Chance, Vitalis, and Jisara!
Chance, Thatch, and Vitalis all grow very groggy from the spell , while Jisara just flat-out begins snoring away—still standing and holding on to everything she was grasping.
The tooth fairy swarm shouts in praise at Green causing Jisara to fall asleep, which the sleeping tiefling immediately hears and wakes up to. The swarm is then sad.
Round 2
==============
Tooth fairy swarm (-16)
Vitalis (-4) {sickened 1}
Chance (-2)
Green {Blinded: Round 0 of 1; Dazzled: Round 0 of 10}
Stargazer
Jisara
==============
Stargazer swats at the swarming fairies as he makes his way out, his feet barely touching the ground as he runs. He looks across the street at Green, his eyes glowing with purple light. As Green looks into the vigilante's starry eyes, which seemingly contain an entire universe within themselves, the tooth fairy grows acutely aware of its own cosmic insignificance.
Jisara wrenches herself back to consciousness, her eyes wide. She continues her retreat, but not before summoning an unstable globule of green liquid into the air above her hand. With a quick wind up, she flings it out into the swarm of tooth fairies, where it bursts into a shower of acid. Then, she keeps backing up!
Jisara hits the swarm and it dies, causing the swarm to explode in white pixie dust! On closer inspection, though, the dust is actually foul-smelling plaque.
Round 3
==============
Vitalis (-4) {sickened 1}
Chance (-2)
Green (-4) {Dazzled: Round 1 of 10; Sickened 2}
Stargazer {Sickened1}
Jisara {Sickened 1}
==============
"We should try to take this one alive if we can! I have several questions. Maybe Thatch can help us convince it to surrender?"
Switching to Sylvan, Chance tries to demoralize the last of the tooth fairies. "Stopiwch ymladd a pheidiwch â cheisio dianc! Fel arall, bydd fy ffrind yn rhyddhau ei chath arnoch chi!"
The gnome emphasizes the point by repeating Stargazer's spell to do nonlethal damage to the fae.
"We should try to take this one alive if we can!"
"Okay. I got this."
Vitalis drops his glaive and strides up to the last tooth fairy. He snatches it out of the air with his gauntleted hand, squeezing hard; he then balls his unarmored hand into a fist and smashes the fairy in the face.
Chance absolutely terrifies the tooth fairy the moment he mentions Jisara’s cat!
Vitalis then approaches and grabs the entirety of the palm-sized fairy’s body in his hand—leaving only the head exposed—as he pounds it and knocks it out!
The streets grow silent as the final tooth fairy falls.
Vitalis holds the unconscious fairy by its wings at arms length and turns his head in the opposite direction in disgust. He scans the plaque and glitter shrapnel that litters the street. Again, his stomach lurches but he still sports a sickly shade of green.
"Bleck! These things are as disgusting as they are dangerous. What should we do with it now? They came out of some sort of hole in the ground. We should take a look."
The entrance to the tooth fairies’ lair is very, VERY narrow—which makes sense for the palm-sized fairies. Medium creatures attempting to go in there will need to make a DC 20 Acrobatics check to Squeeze (for Small creatures the DC is 15). Tiny creatures can enter with minimal issue.
"Well, I'm not going to fit," Jisara says, giving Chance an expectant look.
"Well if Jisara won't fit, I definitely won't," Vitalis also looks at Chance expectantly.
Stargazer takes off his mask for a moment to cough up whatever he breathed in once the fairies are all dead.
Once he's feeling a little better, he takes a look at the entrance to the lair, his head tilted to the side as he thinks, somewhat concerned. "You know, I might be able to make it." he says hesitantly. "I don't like the thought of getting stuck in such a small space but... yeah, I could probably squeeze in there."
Chance looks from Jisara to Vitalis and takes a step back. "Hey, why are you both looking at me like that? We all have opposable thumbs, don't we? What if I get stuck? Gnomes have big heads, you know! And I'm not particularly agile! We should get Vendalfek, he'd be great at this! As small as Thatch, and with opposable thumbs! Or at least opposable claws!"
Once he's feeling a little better, he takes a look at the entrance to the lair, his head tilted to the side as he thinks, somewhat concerned. "You know, I might be able to make it." he says hesitantly. "I don't like the thought of getting stuck in such a small space but... yeah, I could probably squeeze in there."
Chance nods vigorously at Stargazer's offer. "See? The mysterious masked stranger here would be a much better fit for this job. Well, not a better fit, exactly, because he's pretty big and will probably get stuck. But maybe he won't, and then he'll get to be the first one to go into the fairies' lair!"
The gnome smiles hopefully at his friends for a moment. When he realizes what he has just said, though, his smile fades and he whirls around to point up at Stargazer. "Wait just a second! Why should you be the first one to see the fairies' lair? I'm the smallest and ... and ... the most fae-like! I should go first!"
Jisara can't help but smile as she watches Chance talk himself into being the first one through. In the meantime, she gestures at Vitalis's wounds and scoops Thatch up into her arms.
"Right, just so long as that's settled!" Chance shrugs out of his pack and hands it to Vitalis, then marches to the narrow hole in the ground and wriggles in.
In the tooth fairies’ lair is a chamber slowly being decorated with teeth of all sorts—it seems the fairies intended to wallpaper the entire area with teeth, but for now only a few disturbing patterns decorate the walls. In the center of one of these decorations is an arrangement of gold, silver, and even some platinum teeth (the teeth themselves are worth 25 gp total ). However, the teeth are not the most interesting find here…
Stargazer, Jisara, and Vitalis hear Chance's voice echo from the hole.
"Ooooh, creepy and shiny!"
"What in the Hells... oh, s#%#!"
(Sounds of Chance grunting with effort, accompanied by clanking metal.)
"Vitalis! Stargazer! Shove your cloaks in the hole!"
Eventually, Chance struggles back through of the crevasse, dragging a bundle almost as big as he is, wrapped in Vitalis's cloak. Without a word, he leaves it on the street and goes back into the hole, returning with a similar object, this one wrapped in Stargazer's cloak.
He gives them each a tired, sad look. "You're not going to want these anymore."
Chance shows the sinews to Jisara to interpret, so we get the gist of the ritual that created these tooth fairies.
"Somebody made these murdering little bastards, and set them loose on the people here. What are we going to do about it?"
Vitalis nearly vomits again. "What the f*@#!? Who could have done this? This is beyond the dottari's actions. Someone with arcane knowledge and a heart as black as the void did this. If we find the perpetrator, I swear on Shelyn's glaive, they will face justice. Keep the children covered. We should return them to the tiefling community."
"Oh my god." He takes a moment to swallow back the vomit in his throat. "Yeah, let's take them back to the community. How are we going to figure out who did this? I doubt whoever did this is likely to come back here, but maybe it would be worth it to stake the lair out?"
"Do we still need this?" Vitalis motions at the unconscious fairy. "If not, I'm okay with squashing it. We certainly shouldn't let it back loose in the Nursery."
Vitalis bundles up the children and respectfully carries them cradled in his arms back to Zea or other tieflings in the community. "I'd offer to assist with prayer services or burial but I have a feeling that the tieflings would prefer an outsider like me stay out of it. I will respect whatever wishes they have."
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As Chance brings the children out, Jisara stands stock-still and doesn't say anything for a long time. She tries to talk, certainly, but no words come out. Eventually, her limbs work again and she kneels next to the tiny bodies and, with a shaking hand, pulls the cloak free of their faces. At first, she flinches away from the sight of such cruelty, but she recovers and draws a cloth from her pocket. With a slow, gentle touch, she uses it to wipe the blood and dirt from the first. Then, she pulls the cloak back over their face and turns to repeat the process with the other. Later, once that's done, she throws the cloth away and rocks back to sit on her haunches, looking down at her hands in her lap.
After another minute, she opens her mouth to speak. "This..." she starts, but her voice cracks. She takes a breath to center herself and starts again, but her voice is still unsteady. "My whole life, they've just been content to keep us in here. They'd come in every once in a while to knock us around, stop us from dreaming too big, but it always felt like they'd just prefer to ignore the fact that we exist. This...it's just so much worse."
She doesn't look up until Vitalis comes to bundle up the children, her dark eyes bloodshot and brimming over with tears. "Help me make this matter," she whispers. She wipes at her eyes with one hand, sets her jaw, and presses on, her voice slowly regaining its usual timbre. "It's not enough to just bury them and move on. This whole rebellion thing is important, but we can't just go back to how things were before. The way things were before led to this."
She stands up, sniffs, and wipes her eyes again. "Zea will know what to do. You can come. You've helped the Nursery today, and I won't forget that. None of us will. But after that's done, I'm going to find the person who did this." She fixes Vitalis with an intense look. "And they're going to die. They're going to die slow, and ugly. You don't have to help, and I won't put that evil on you. But it needs to be done." She looks down at the tiny bundles in the paladin's arms.
"No more."
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Asking around about the children turns up very little—no one seems to recognize them. It seems they were orphaned urchins living off the streets and nothing more.
The tieflings of the Devil’s Nursery are nevertheless grateful for the Silver Ravens’ assistance, as followers join the rebellion.
*
*
The Red Jills: a gang of ruffians based in Temple Hill that have been robbing folks. Since they avoid attacking CCG members and dottari, the government has been doing diddly squat about it, so it’s up to the Silver Ravens to take care of it. Based on Chance’s intel from a few days ago, very few people have actually met the Red Jills’ boss in-person. Thanks to Laria, though, the PCs figure out that the Jills’ boss keeps base in Humbright House, an abandoned orphanage and shrine to Aroden in Temple Hill.
"You don't have to help, and I won't put that evil on you. But it needs to be done."
"I will help. This evil needs to be punished."
The tieflings of the Devil’s Nursery are nevertheless grateful for the Silver Ravens’ assistance, as 3d6 ⇒ (3, 2, 3) = 8 followers join the rebellion.
Vitalis comments that it is nice to see some additional tiefling representation among the organization.
The Red Jills wear red cloaks during their attacks and mug almost exclusively average citizens—not nobles, dottari, or CCG. The Jills are made up of primarily halflings and tieflings—interestingly, there are no humans among the Red Jills (not even human-descended tieflings).
*
*
Sometime later, as they develop their plan for the Red Jills, Jisara considers the information they already have.
"I can't say I like their choice of targets," she says, stroking Thatch's fur. "And as many issues as I might have with humans, it says something that they disallow even tieflings like myself. This could be a problem."
"If the Red Jills are only robbing and not murdering, perhaps they are just trying to survive. We should approach this without intending to kill them all but we should also be prepared for that outcome if given no other choice. It sounds like they have no interest in talking nor do I have a ready alternative that I think they'd accept. And turning them over to the dottari would likely result in a death less humane than one that we'd give them. I don't like our options." Vitalis ponders. "Perhaps their boss can provide more insight if we can loosen his/her tongue."
"We lack much information to go off of. We don't even have an idea of what their numbers might be. If they are mostly mugging people at night, I suggest we approach the hideout at that time, when many of them are out on the streets and not fortifying their stronghold. It might increase our probability of success. Other than that, should we just use the front door?" Vitalis poses in his new full plate armor. "I don't think I'll be doing much skulking in this."
“Seems like turning them over to the dottari is as likely to end with the Red Jills all being given a pat on the head and turned loose because they don’t bother anybody who matters to Thrune or his goons,” Chance says. “It’s possible that they’re smart enough not to bother the powers that be to avoid bringing the law down on them, but I think the odds are better than even that they’re tied to Barzalai or his people somehow. But whether they are or not, it’s time to do something about them.”
“As for what to do about them...” Chance gestures to his dark red cloak, points to his pointy ears, and grins at his all-too-human (or human-ish) comrades. “I think one of us might be able to get into their headquarters without raising an immediate alarm and maybe set up a diversion.”
"What would the current regime get out of it, though? It would explain why they haven't been touched, but as far as we know, they're just doing random muggings of townsfolk, which, if the dottari wanted to, they could probably do on their own without too much difficulty, under the guise of 'taxes' or some nonsense. Unless they're doing something we don't know about, in which case, we have a bigger problem than just a bunch of bandits." He takes a sip of his coffee. "Chance sneaking in as a member is probably a good way of getting in there, and it could probably avoid a lot of bloodshed. As for the rest of us, have we heard of them taking hostages or anything? Other than that, I think our options would primarily be to sneak in. They don't exactly seem like the type of people who would respond well to diplomacy."
"I have some concerns. To what end would an infiltration achieve? Since we know combat is expected, the last thing we would want is for one of use to become separated or overwhelmed. I'd say if we knew who the leader of the Red Jills was and we thought we had a reasonable chance of 'cutting the head of the serpent' so to say, perhaps it would make more sense to try it. But for all we know, the boss could be a demon or powerful wizard beyond our strength."
"If you want to attempt stealth, we should have a clear entrance and exit planned out. And we should deal with any enemy that would block our exit if we should need it. We should also all be on the same page of how we want to deal with these Red Jills before a fight breaks out. A second of hesitance can be the difference between your life and death."
"We could set up a meeting to try and take their measure, rather than sending someone in alone. With a bit of preparatory work, I could accompany Chance, so he wouldn't be totally alone. We have the two humans ready nearby in case things go awry. I'm not sure about the wizard or demon theory, though. Running a small time anti-human gang seems a bit below their level."
"I'm not saying it's necessarily a demon or wizard. I just used an example to illustrate that we have no idea who or what the boss is. If you think you can get a Jill to talk, you can try."
Chance disguises himself and gets into the hideout without much of a problem. Soon thereafter Vitalis bursts down the door while Jisara and Stargazer are hidden around the corner.
Round 1
==============
Jisara
Chance
Yellow
Green
Blue
Vitalis
Stargazer
Event
==============
Jisara sidles up next to the doorway, just enough to reach out and imbue Vitalis's glaive with a bit of her magical energy.
Chance laughs as the door slams into the adjoining wall from Vitalis's kick. He hums the first notes of an upbeat tune and begins to sing:
“It’s a hard knock life
In Kintargo
Instead of revels
We get devils
Instead of safe streets
We get Jills...”
Feeling a bit of inspiration himself, the gnome starts the fray with a shout of "Flugantaj rokoj por ĵokeoj!" He flicks a finger at the Jill in Yellow, and a hunk of wood from the shattered door launches itself from the floor at the thief.
◆: Cast a spell (inspire courage)
◆◆: Cast a spell (telekinetic projectile)
↻: See spoiler below
Unexpected Shift
Reaction Feat 1
Gnome
Source Lost Omens Character Guide pg. 32
Trigger You would take damage from an attack, spell, or other effect.
Your supernatural connection sometimes causes you to phase from reality when under threat, disappearing for split seconds before reappearing—often surprising you as much as your enemies. Roll a DC 16 flat check. On a success, you gain resistance to all damage equal to your level against the triggering effect, you gain a +2 circumstance bonus to saving throws against that effect until the start of your turn, and you gain the dazzled condition for 1 round.
Jisara enchants Vitalis’s weapon.
Chance sings and throws debris at one of the ruffians, who is only hit because he didn’t expect one of his own to attack him!
Yellow and Blue both pull out clubs as they rush to Chance! Yellow reaches him first and swings at the gnome!
Blue then flanks the gnome and swings!
Green, on the other hand, rushes at the door and attempts to sweep Vitalis’s leg!
Round 1
==============
Jisara
Chance (-20)
Yellow (-7)
Green
Blue
Vitalis {prone}
Stargazer
Event
==============
Vitalis lands hard on his rump. He looks himself over and frowns at the dirt staining his shiny new armor. "Seriously?!"
With a forceful push, Vitalis is back on his feet and slashing the offending ruffian to ribbons. He smiles at Jisara. "I love the keen edge of your enhancement."
With two quick slices, Vitalis downs one of the ruffians!
Round 1
==============
Jisara
Chance (-20)
Yellow (-7)
Blue
Vitalis
Stargazer
Event
==============
Stargazer walks into the building behind Vitalis and, his eyes aglow, lets forth a massive torrent of psychic energy at the nearest ruffian.
"Ouch! Hey, I know the meter was off, but they can't all be winners!"
Chance ducks out from between the two thugs and spits blood in their direction. He holds out his hands, fingers spread in an arc between them. "OK, goons, time for you to gustumu la ĉielarkon!"
Suddenly, from a hole in the ceiling with a ladder leading up to it swoops down a new figure: a grey-skinned humanoid with pure white eyes, crimson hair, and a scar across her face, not to mention the newcomer’s feathery wings with a span of at least 15 feet! She uses these wings to slow her descent down from the hole in the ceiling.
One of the Red Jills looks at the newcomer with relief. ”Boss! We got trouble!”
The Red Jills’ boss looks on at the fallen ruffian behind Stargazer and sneers. ”So it would seem. I see it’s time to turn up the heat!”
The boss flicks her wrist as a mass of flame suddenly manifests and flies straight toward Stargazer!
She then clasps her gauntleted hands together and utters an incantation as a roiling sphere of pure flame manifests right next to the vigilante!
But Stargazer narrowly manages to dodge out of the way of the fire!
In addition to what’s written in the initiative card below, Yellow and Blue are both Stunned 1, blinded for 1 round, and dazzled for 1 minute.
Round 2
==============
Scarplume
Jisara
Chance (-20)
Yellow (-9)
Blue
Vitalis
Stargazer (-15)
==============
Jisara pokes her head out around the door for just a moment, her hand at the newcomer and shouting an incantation. A ray of freezing energy lances out from her outstretched finger, but Jisara is already back behind the safety of the wall.