Her first target slain, Jisara maneuvers around for a better view of the remaining devils, then throws another jolt of electricity at the monsters. "Comforting or not, Stargazer, don't let your guard down just yet. Even these pathetic blobs are more than capable of killing us."
Vitalis steps around the dazzled devil and slashes into it with his glaive. He continues his swing to slash into the meaty flesh of the adjacent devil as well.
"We'll just have to kill them first." he responds.
Stargazer dodges around the devil's blows, and releases another blast of blue light, and causes his shield to glow with a renewed strength.
,
Chance nods to Rexus. "Of course! It's in my belt - please go ahead and take it. I want to try something."
The gnome reaches into his coin pouch and pulls out a single silver coin (not the predictable silver piece). He holds it up between thumb and forefinger for a moment, then grins and lets it go. The coin falls but before it hits the floor, Chance casts a spell to send it speeding towards the nearest devil .
◆: Interact, remove coin from pouch
[Free]: Release, drop coin
◆◆: Cast a Spell, telekinetic projectile (silver, bludgeoning)
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Jisara repositions and arcs electricity between the two devils.
Vitalis then moves over and hits both of the devils, but feels that his attack wasn’t as effective as it could have been, but he nevertheless manages to slice straight through Red’s form and send it tumbling to the ground!
Stargazer summons a bolt of blue light and sends it flying at the devil, completely engulfing it and sending it tumbling to the ground!
Chance nods to Rexus. "Of course! It's in my belt - please go ahead and take it. I want to try something."
The gnome reaches into his coin pouch and pulls out a single silver coin (not the predictable silver piece). He holds it up between thumb and forefinger for a moment, then grins and lets it go. The coin falls but before it hits the floor, Chance casts a spell to send it speeding towards the nearest devil .
◆: Interact, remove coin from pouch
[Free]: Release, drop coin
◆◆: Cast a Spell, telekinetic projectile (silver, bludgeoning)
So…I don’t know if telekinetic projectile lets you use the material of the object thrown. The reason I say this is because of the sentence “No specific traits or magic properties of the hurled item affect the attack or the damage.” But this is weird because it’s vague about if that sentence is referring to the 2e-specific definition of trait (such as not applying the effects of deadly d8) or if it’s using the general definition of “trait.” Further complicating this is that while “silver” isn’t a trait (in the 2e-specific definition). It’ll not affect the situation currently, but I’ll bring it up on the rules forums for how to rule this moving forward.
Nevertheless, I’m awarding Chance a Hero Point both for creative spell usage (even if it doesn’t end up working like that in the end) as well as bringing this strange rules situation to my attention.
If you critically succeeded, open the spoiler below
The group goes further into the area to search through it.
These rooms have fallen mostly into disrepair. Chunks of plaster hang from the walls, exposing rough stonework beyond. Scattered furnishings that once outfitted bunkrooms, a kitchen, and even an armory lie scattered about in states of complete disrepair, and doors hang from hinges in the crumbling archways that lie between the chambers.
As the group searches through this dilapidated room, they first find what appears to be a nest for some tiny creature—like a rat or another gremlin.
”Guys! Over here!”
Just as they are contemplating the nest, Rexus calls them over. He reveals a tile in the northeastern corner is loose and slightly broken, revealing the empty space underneath. With some assistance, the group takes the tiles off to reveal a trio of crates hidden below the ground. ”Anyone got a crowbar?”
After several attempts, the group manages to open the crates.
The first crate contains a set of leather armor, a composite shortbow, a hand crossbow, a low-grade silver Morningstar, and a pouch of a dozen pearls worth 1 gp each.
In the second crate is a locked iron coffer.
Stargazer spends a minute trying to get the lock open, but the ol’ bobby pin trick doesn’t even seem to get a single tumbler into place , in the process ruining all of the bobby pins he had in his hair.
”Okay…plan B. Vitalis. The crowbar.”
Vitalis uses the crowbar in an attempt to force open the coffer.
After accidentally jamming the coffer, Vitalis eventually manages to open the coffer, but not without breaking it off from one of its hinges and bending the lid considerably. Inside the coffer are hundreds of pieces of parchment and scrolls; Chance is able to determine that there is magic among these parchments. Rexus carefully stows the pages in a satchel on his person. ”We’ll look at those while we’re not underneath a haunted livery.”
The third crate contains what at first looks like ancient straw, but digging through the straw reveals its true contents: six small statuettes of ravens that are plated with silver and are teeming with magical energy.
Jisara identifies the statuette as a variant bronze bull pendant, but considering the bulkiness of the statuette (as well as the predictable silver piece debacle, Chance decides to take a look at the statuette, but is unable to determine its properties. Rexus then takes a look. Rexus nearly drops the statuette in pure shock as he stares it. ”T-this…this is a silver raven wondrous figurine! Do you know how rare these are?!”
Stunned, Vitalis and Stargazer each grab one of the statuettes and sits down to identify it themselves. While Stargazer is unable to determine the properties of the item, Vitalis corroborates Rexus’s claim: these are indeed silver raven wondrous figurines!
Rexus looks at the haul before him and returns his gaze to the rest of the group. ”So. Who’s up for some coffee?”
*
The Long Roads Coffeehouse, an establishment in Kintargo’s Villegre district that mostly sees customers from Alabaster Academy or Lady Docur’s School for Girls—students who use the coffeehouse as a relatively quiet study space (though it could be argued that the stressed students go there for the coffee as well).
Rexus led the way through Kintargo’s districts, taking the group to the coffeehouse as a “safe space.” The Victocora occasionally looked at one of the hundreds of pages that he procured from the livery. ”A combination of Celestial, Elven, and Strix…I suppose that’s one way to code something…” The group at one point stops a group of dottari and turns in the hounds that they had incapacitated at the livery. Unfortunately, only the mastiff was large enough to warrant payment as per the Inquisitor’s third proclamation, but the group nevertheless receives two silver pieces for their efforts. The dottari make the transaction quick and ask few questions, getting right to the point of transferring the hounds for money.
When the group arrives at the coffeehouse, they find the establishment has only a handful of patrons. Working behind the counter in what must be the kitchen are a pair of halflings—a short-haired, bleach-blonde woman and a stout man with prominent sideburns. Above the bar is a large and prominent portrait of Her Infernal Majestrix Abrogail II.
The bleach-blonde halfling begins carrying a tray of coffee and pastries when she finally notices Rexus and the PCs. There is a moment of confusion across her face before her face grows a wide grin. ”Oh. My. Goodness!” She quickly makes a beeline toward the group. ”This is such a pleasant surprise! It’s been so long! It’s so good to see you all again!” She shoves pastries and cups of coffee into the hands of the group—even shoving a bear claw (the pastry kind) into Chance’s mouth.
”Finn! Keep an eye on things out here!”
“Huh?” The other halfling just looks at her in confusion then just shrugs. ”Alright.”
“We simply must catch up on old times!” The female halfling grabs Vitalis’s arm and pulls him along toward a door at the back of the building. ”How long has it been again? Three years? Five? Either way, it’s been too long!”
When the halfling and the rest of the group finally make it into the other room, the halfling’s smile fades as she whispers ”Up the ladder! Up!” She practically pushes the group up a ladder in the back of the room into a trap door in the ceiling. At the top is what appears to be a commons room or a general study.
The halfling shuts the trapdoor behind her as she makes it to the top of the ladder. ”Rexus! What are you doing?!”
“I’m sorry! I didn’t know where else to bring them.”
“So you brought them here?!” The halfling pinches the bridge of her nose and sighs. ”One issue at a time. Did you find anything at the livery?”
“Oh yes!” Rexus pulls out one of the silver raven wondrous figurines and hands it to the halfling. She looks the statuette over for a moment and nods. ”A silver…raven. A bit on the nose, but it’s something.”
“We also found these.” Rexus opens his satchel to reveal the many pages of parchment and hands one to the halfling, who glances at it for a moment before going cross-eyed, shaking her head, and immediately returning the page. ”Yeah, that one’s for you, Mr. I-speak-nine-languages.”
Rexus returns the page back to his satchel. ”It seems to be written in a combination of Celestial, Elven, and Strix, though it seems to differ which language every word; it’ll take time to properly decipher it, but I have a good feeling about this! Oh my goodness, where are my manners?” Rexus stands and motions toward the bleach-blonde halfling. ”This is Laria Longroad , she’s a ha—“
“A friend of the family.” Laria interrupts. ”So, you’re the folks Rexus told me about.” She smirks. ”I can see why. So, why are you lot interested in rebuilding the Silver Ravens?”
Rare
Price 100 gp
Made out of low-grade silver, this statuette becomes an elite raven when it is activated. The raven is made out of low-grade silver, granting it Hardness 5 and its beak is treated as silver. The figurine can be used only once per week. As long as it does not fight, the raven remains for up to 24 hours. If it attempts an attack or otherwise engages in combat, it reverts to statuette form after 1 minute.
The raven can be used to deliver a message or object. This functions like animal messenger with the raven as the messenger, except that the raven reverts back to statuette form once a creature removes the attached object. The raven stays in the designated place until it reverts back to statuette form, keeping the attached object on it as a statuette.
Those examining the Infernal runes on the wall: Arcana, Occultism, or Religion 15
Vitalis kneels down and examines the runes closely. "It appears someone or something used these runes to open a portal to Hell. I guess that answers where those devils came from. But not who summoned them. By the way, what happened to the pipe music? I don't hear it anymore. I have an odd feeling we haven't heard the last of that."
At the Long Roads Coffeehouse, Vitalis is at first confused by the familiarity in the hostess' greeting but quickly catches on to the ruse and allows himself to be led into the secret room.
Above the bar is a large and prominent portrait of Her Infernal Majestrix Abrogail II.
Vitalis takes note of the bar's adherence to the second proclamation and nods in approval.
"So, why are you lot interested in rebuilding the Silver Ravens?”
Vitalis tugs at his collar nervously. "Well..That is to say, I haven't quite agreed to join this cause just yet. However, I was led to believe that those papers we found might provide some justification for your rebellion. I'll be able to provide you a better answer once they are deciphered. Rebellion is not something to be invoked lightly after all. Until then, it will have to suffice that I am dedicated to serving the people of the Silver City. As it seems that ultimately, that is your goal as well, I have no objections to continuing to provide my aid for now."
*
Vitalis tugs at his collar nervously. "Well..That is to say, I haven't quite agreed to join this cause just yet. However, I was led to believe that those papers we found might provide some justification for your rebellion. I'll be able to provide you a better answer once they are deciphered. Rebellion is not something to be invoked lightly after all. Until then, it will have to suffice that I am dedicated to serving the people of the Silver City. As it seems that ultimately, that is your goal as well, I have no objections to continuing to provide my aid for now."
Laria glances at Rexus with a raised eyebrow, but the noble says nothing in response.
Rexus looks at the haul before him and returns his gaze to the rest of the group. ”So. Who’s up for some coffee?”
"Oh! Me!" Chance looks around at the rest of the group. "I don't think anyone else here likes coffee, though."
”Oh. My. Goodness!” She quickly makes a beeline toward the group. ”This is such a pleasant surprise! It’s been so long! It’s so good to see you all again!” She shoves pastries and cups of coffee into the hands of the group—even shoving a bear claw (the pastry kind) into Chance’s mouth.
"What do you mean? I was in here yesterday! You know, the gnome sitting by himself moping at the corner table? Just like I always do, and you've never noticed me bef-wumph!" Chance finds himself unable to speak, but doesn't mind much because he enjoys the pastries served at the coffeehouse.
“A friend of the family.” Laria interrupts. ”So, you’re the folks Rexus told me about.” She smirks. ”I can see why. So, why are you lot interested in rebuilding the Silver Ravens?”
"Rebuilding the Silver Ravens? I thought Rexus said - no, that's the Sacred Order of Archivists, isn't it? OK, let me start over. I'm looking for my friend, Zamir Montajay, who went missing right after Barzillai arrived in the city. Zamir had all kinds of interesting ideas about things nobody knows about, like a hidden pattern that governs the ringing of the Devil's Bells, and I'm starting to get the sense that he might have been right at least about some of them. And then Rexus told us about the Sacred Order of Archivists and the secret history of Kintargo and I'm definitely interested in that!"
Chance takes a breath, then adds, "Also, Thrune's Goons tried to beat us up. That really ticked me off."
Stargazer spends a minute trying to get the lock open, but the ol’ bobby pin trick doesn’t even seem to get a single tumbler into place , in the process ruining all of the bobby pins he had in his hair.
Stargazer goes through the rest of the livery with somewhat frazzled hair.
"So, who's up for some coffee?"
"I should probably change into something a bit less conspicuous then."
In the coffee shop, the group is joined by an acrobat in a feathered cap, recognizable as Stargazer only by the slight twinkle in his eye.
As the hosts greet them so enthusiastically, Rigel is far too confused to say anything before he catches on to the ruse.
”I can see why. So, why are you lot interested in rebuilding the Silver Ravens?”
"Well, I got my powers just after Thrune took over, so I figure this is why I have them. I was given these abilities so I could fight against the new rulers."
"Also, given my faith, my primary alternative is 'get killed', so this seems like a much better idea."
”I can see why. So, why are you lot interested in rebuilding the Silver Ravens?”
Jisara considers the question for several seconds, one hand holding her cup of coffee while the other scratches behind the ears of the cat in her lap. "I don't know much about them, just that they fought against Thrune during the civil war. One of my friends has already been disappeared by Barzillai, and I worry things will only get worse for my people going forward."
"It's obvious that, to the right people, the Silver Ravens are a powerful symbol. And we've already confirmed that they still have caches and such hidden around the city, just waiting to be claimed. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to bring Barzillai to heel, and it seems like becoming the new Silver Ravens is the way to do that."
She takes a sip of the coffee and her eyes widen a bit. "Thank you for the coffee, by the way. It's very good."
Laria smirks. ”Well, this group is something. And they handled themselves at the livery?”
Rexus nods. ”Dogs. Gremlins. Rats. And even devils. Frankly I was shocked that I made it out in one piece!”
Laria stares at Vitalis for a moment. ”Hmm…so you’re sticking around for the papers…Rexus, how long will it take you to decipher those?”
Rexus looks at the halfling wide-eyed. ”It’s encoded in three separate languages! Each word changes language, and each sentence uses the grammatical structure of a different language. And—”
“Rexus…”
“Weeks at best. There’s little indication of a pattern whatsoever in this cipher. I can definitely decipher it—it’s relatively simple—it’ll just be beyond time-consuming.”
Laria turns back to Vitalis. ”Let me level with you here, and I’m sorry if I’m coming off on the wrong foot: What’s going to happen here is beyond illegal. Things haven’t been great for several years—that’s just the nature of this country, unfortunately—but in a single week the Inquisitor has managed to bring forth the worst aspects of Kintargo’s people forward—I’m sure you heard about the riot at Aria Park. I know this city; people will not stand for Thrune’s tyranny. And Thrune seems more than happy to ‘take care’ of anyone who steps out of line while he sits back drinking wine and popping non-mint-flavored candies—or do I need to remind you that our new Lord-Mayor has just issued state-sanctioned torture for stepping off of a ship? The Inquisitor has already shown willingness to ‘disappear’ anyone who could stand in the way of his ‘justice.’ It’s only a matter of time before people are legally executed, or worse.”
The halfling stands. ”If you’re willing to stay and help this city, I will help where I can,” She motions to a door to the east. ”I can provide a place to stay as well as a small base of operations while you all build your resources. But if there is even the slightest chance that any of you are going to the dottari with word of what we are planning to do here,” Laria opens the trapdoor in the floor and motions to the ladder. ”Then I suggest you leave now and forget everything that you saw today.”
“Laria…”
“Rexus. I know what I’m saying. The Silver Ravens have one more chance; I can’t risk having it go to waste.. I…I promised Porcia…”
Rexus stares at Laria, tears starting to well up in his eyes. He composes himself and looks at the PCs expectantly. ”Well?”
"Weeks, huh? Not a problem. That will give you plenty of time to prove that your cause is just. And yes, I witnessed the Lord-Mayor's cruelty first-hand and I am aware that his actions are making a case against himself." Vitalis heads towards the eastern door. "I am an honorable man. You have my word that I will not report any of you to the dottari. I do want to help the city if that is indeed what the Silver Ravens are about. Let's see what this base looks like."
Chance hesitates for a moment - Wasn't I planning to leave this city to its mintless fate? Not that I expect there to be a single ship left in the harbor by the next tide! Besides, terrifying or not, going to the protest and then fighting in the streets and then exploring a dog- and gremlin- and devil-infested secret hideaway under the livery was the most exciting thing I've done in years! - before beaming at the pint-sized (but still slightly taller than he is) revolutionary and bowing in her direction.
"If Rexus had led with the part about living over your delightful coffeehouse, it would have saved us all a lot of talking. I will happily clear out my room over the apothecary if my landlady has not already done it for me. Either way, it will not take long."
As the halfling explains the situation, Rigel seems to become more and more focused and present, and when she finished, he enthusiastically declares, "Sign me the hell up!" before realizing what he said. "That was a poor choice of words."
Laria smiles as she shuts the trapdoor. ”Well, I think a proper introduction is in order, then. I am Laria Longroad, a hand for the Bellflower Network—a group dedicated to freeing slaves in Cheliax—and this shop is my barn. By that I mean that my place in the network is as an established hideaway for freed slaves to stay while they are escorted away from their masters. Part of my work requires me to keep tabs on other organizations in the city—secret and not-so-secret—in case a master comes a-lookin’. Ever since the Night of Ashes, though, my contacts have…let’s just say they’re incapacitated and leave it at that. So right now I’m more than a bit blind in the city’s comings and goings—I’m sure you’ll excuse my hesitancy toward trust when there’s a Tanessen in the room.
“Now, I do have a space you all can use: the Wasp’s Nest. It’s a set of tunnels under this shop that I use for hiding fugitives, Bellflower tillers, and other shall we say under-the-table transactions. Since martial law was declared I haven’t used it for obvious reasons, so you’re free to use it for now. Unfortunately…it’s currently occupied. A friend of mine, Nan, had several Varisian textiles that he…procured. He’s been using the Wasp’s Nest to store the textiles and hide out in while he finds a prospective buyer. The problem: he went into the Wasp’s Nest a few days ago and I haven’t heard from him since. I presume he’s just lying low for the time being—someone has been eating the food and wine I leave out each day, after all—but…I hear this inhuman laughter occasionally come up from the nest. I haven’t really had the time to check it out myself—I do have a legal business that I have to maintain as my front. Just check in the Wasp’s Nest and make sure Nan’s safe and you can use it all you like.”
"I'm in," Jisara confirms, nodding. "My home in the Nursery is hardly a hidden underground base, but you're welcome to use it as well. Assuming you can be respectful of my home, that is."
She listens closely to Laria, continuing to idly pet her familiar's fur. "Inhuman laughter...can you be more specific? And just out of curiosity: why's it called the Wasp's Nest?"
She listens closely to Laria, continuing to idly pet her familiar's fur. "Inhuman laughter...can you be more specific? And just out of curiosity: why's it called the Wasp's Nest?"
Laria looks askance as she tries gathering her thoughts. ”I…dunno how to describe it. It’s like high-pitched…I wanna say ‘shrieking’ but that’s not quite right. It’s almost like cackling. It’s hard to describe; sorry. As for ‘Wasp’s Nest,’ it’s because of a Calistria statue that’s down there that I haven’t bothered to get rid of because it’s too big. Plus the added benefit of nonchalant phrasing similar to what the Bellflower Network does, like ‘Oh, you don’t wanna go down there; there’s a nasty wasp’s nest in there’ or so on.”
I’m sure you’ll excuse my hesitancy toward trust when there’s a Tanessen in the room.
"At this point, I'm a Tanessen in name alone. Denying who I am would be its own crime. However, I've fully separated myself from my family primarily over differences in opinions of the Thrunes. My father wholeheartedly backs Barzillai Thrune and his proclamations. While I cannot in good consciousness support either. His views would not be swayed so I left. My only hesitancy in joining the Silver Ravens fully is determining if breaking the law is truly the only was to oppose this new Lord-Mayor. However, I'm beginning to think that is going to be the case. In which case, the good and right thing must be done regardless of the consequences. I was at the protest earlier to lawfully express my objection to the proclamations and well you've heard how well that ended."
"Of course we can check on Nan for you. Although that 'laughter' sounds a little ominous. Can you provide a race and description of Nan to us? If he's not doing the laughing, I'd like to be able to tell who's who down there."
Vitalis heads down to the tunnels.
”Well, you can’t be too careful. Anyway, Nan is a Varisian human—dark-ish skin, green eyes, not much taller than you, a faint scar on the left side of his face. Anyway, Let me take you to the nest.”
“I’m going to stay here for now.” Rexus says. ”Lots of work to be done on these pages. And I’ve about had my fill of excitement for the day.”
*
Laria escorts the party back down to the main floor, then over to another adjacent room. There she directs the group to descend another ladder into the basement, which contains numerous crates of cooking ingredients, sacks of coffee beans, and other supplies needed to maintain a thriving business.
Laria moves to a wall in the northwest and steps on a stone on the ground, which descends into the earth like a button. She then pushes against the wall, which opens a secret door.
”And here you go. Now, I hafta get back upstair; Finn can’t handle the shop for too long. Just be sure to close the door behind you when you go in.”
With that, Laria ascends the ladder and leaves the group to their own devices.
The first thing that the group notices is lantern light on the far side of the Wasp’s Nest, so they continue down toward it.
Eventually, as they continue to the south, they find something interesting: The long, damp hallway opens to the southeast into a large reservoir of calm, dark water. A wooden pier extends twenty feet into the water, while another twenty feet out rises the top half of a statue of a beautiful elven woman—Calistria. A foul smell, like that of rotting meat, comes from somewhere near the pier. Two holes have been knocked into the northwest walls to provide access to chambers beyond. Though what’s most eye-catching is the mutilated corpse at the end of the small walkway.
Not seeing anything of note, the group continues forward to examine the body, and they find it to be the corpse of a Varisian man—Nan.
Right at the last moment, while Vitalis is distracted with the body of Nan and Jisara is too busy trying to remain hidden, Rigel and Chance notice movement right underneath the makeshift pier, and they see a pure white, giant lizard start moving right beneath Rigel’s and Vitalis’s feet!
Round 1
==============
Rigel
Chance
Jisara
Albino Alligator
Vitalis
==============
As they enter the Wasp's Nest, Rigel looks around, waiting for the inhuman laughter that Laria described. When the lizard appears under his feet, he jumps backward a few feet with a yelp, and draws a dagger, preparing to swing at the beast if it attacks. He summons a magical shield in front of him.
Chance points at the enormous creature and shouts, “Look out, Rigel, Vitalis!”
Is that what it looks like it is? What’s it doing here?
The bard takes a step back and starts to sing to “inspire” his comrades.
With a mouthful of teeth and not making a sound
He crawls out of the sewers and looks around
Helpless people flee through the streets
As quiet and calm he looks for something to eat
He drags a man ’twixt his jaws to the river to drown
Before creeping ‘long the bank toward the center of town
Oh, no, we’ve got to stop him now!
No! No! Alligator!
Oh, no, I’ve got no idea how!
No! No! Alligator!
Oh, no, we’ve got to stop him now!
No! No! Alligator!
Oh, no, I’ve got no idea how!
No! No! Alligator!
Jisara pushes Thatch up on to her shoulders to free up her hands, then points a finger at Vitalis while calling on her patron for aid. "Watch out!" she shouts to the paladin. She then pulls a magical shield into place in front of her and ducks behind cover to escape the notice of whatever is attacking the others.
Rigel jumps back and draws a dagger.
Chance moves back and starts singing desperately about an alligator.
Jisara protects herself and hides.
Vitalis, instinctively looking around from the effects of Jisara’s hex, but doesn’t see anything that should be any cause for alarm—other than the obvious dead body. And the log of aspen wood floating in the water.
That is…until the log moves.
The “log” suddenly lurches forward, swimming out from under the pier and leaping up so its legs are partly on it! The snow-white gator opens a massive maw of teeth that lunge at Vitalis before the paladin has time to comprehend what is going on!
But Vitalis’s instincts give him just the edge he needs as he barely dodges away from the creature’s jaws, its teeth grazing the paladin’s breastplate!
The gator then bites at Vitalis again!
This time, the creature’s maw wraps around the paladin’s chest, squeezing him so hard that Vitalis completely loses consciousness! The gator wraps its maw around the unconscious Shelynite and looks ready to drag Vitalis back into the water with it!
Round 2
==============
Rigel
Chance
Jisara
Vitalis (-19) {grabbed; unconscious; prone; dying 2}
Albino Alligator
==============
"Vitalis!" Jisara shouts, firing a freezing ray of energy at the alligator from her open palm. "Rigel, can you help him?" She then ducks back behind the wall.
"No, no! Alligator!" Chance continues to sing, and with a thought sends a small stone (or other debris) from the water's edge flying at the albino gator.
"I can try!" Rigel, standing very still, grasps his necklace and casts a spell, causing Vitalis to glow with a faint purple aura for a moment, causing him to be revitalized . The shield in front of Rigel also glows with a renewed entity.
Vitalis' eyes flicker open from a nightmare then as the haze fades he realizes that he's in an alligator's mouth and the nightmare was real. "AAAAAHHHH!!!"
Hastily, he pries open the gator's jaws and (assuming that is successful) stands up. He utters a prayer to Shelyn, thanking her that he's still alive, and heals some more of his wounds in anticipation of the reptile attacking again.
Jisara narrowly misses the massive gator as she hits the wall in the way.
Chance chucks a stone at the gator, and it solidly hits despite Rigel being in the way.
Rigel goes on the defensive and heals Vitalis.
Vitalis screams in terror as he pries open the gator’s jaws in a sudden burst of adrenaline and regains his footing as he heals himself once again.
The gator lunges forward, snapping its maw at Vitalis once more!
The gator once again snaps its jaws around Vitalis’s torso and grabs hold with horrific strength! It then continues to kick its back legs that are still in the water.
Round 3
==============
Rigel
Chance
Jisara
Vitalis (-13) {grabbed; wounded 1}
Albino Alligator (-8)
==============
"Let go of him, you stupid lizard!" Jisara yells, gathering up her own mixture of confused and terrified thoughts and assaulting the alligator's mind with them. Then, uncomfortable with how close the thing is to her, she moves away from it to stand next to Chance.
Success The target is frightened 1.
Failure The target is frightened 2.
Critical Failure The target is frightened 3 and fleeing for 1 round.
The alligator sees Jisara coming from behind the wall and is stricken with irrational discomfort at the tiefling’s presence.
Round 3
==============
Rigel
Chance
Jisara
Vitalis (-13) {grabbed; wounded 1}
Albino Alligator (-8) {frightened 1}
==============
"Let! Me! Go!" Vitalis shouts as he smashes his metallic fist into the alligator's snout twice. With his other hand he stretches downward and feels around the dock until his fingers wrap around the familiar hilt of his glaive.
"This is terrible - the whole point of living in a city is to avoid being eaten by wild animals!"
Chance continues to sing his anti-alligator song, and during a pause adds his healing song directed at Vitalis.
◆: Cast a Spell, inspire courage
◆◆: Cast a Spell, soothe
Rigel, who had previously been doing his best to avoid directly antagonizing the beast, takes a deep breath and reaches out his glowing hand.
,
Vitalis punches the gator, striking against its head several times!
Chance heals Vitalis as he continues to sing.
Rigel drains the life from the gator.
And with Rigel’s spell, the gator falls into unconsciousness—though its maw must still be torn away from Vitalis’s chest.
Vitalis Refocuses
With a mere few minutes, the paladin is patched up from his encounter with a sewer gator. Nan, unfortunately, isn’t as lucky. Even to the untrained eye, though, the corpse has already gone through the early stages of decay; he’s been dead for a while. Which begs the question: Why is there a light coming from the southern chamber?
Stacks of unopened crates—some draped in moldering tarps—fill most of the space, creating a maze. Two tables sit in the center, scattered with playing cards and a lit lantern.
As nothing immediately jumps out at them, the group cautiously enter the room and begins suspiciously examining the table.
”Keh keh keh keh!”
Right at that moment, laughter fills the air—a cackling, inhuman laughter unlike any that the group has heard before, and the sudden movements of three shadows behind the crates alerts the group to their locations!
Round 1
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Jisara
!!!
Vitalis
Rigel
Red
Blue
Green
Chance
==============
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"We're surrounded," Jisara hisses, before reaching back and infusing Vitalis's glaive with a gift from her patron. "Do your thing." She then snaps a shield into place around herself, wary of what's coming next.
Suddenly, before anyone has a chance to fully comprehend what exactly is going on, charging straight for Jisara is an anthropomorphic crow is charging straight for Jisara, brandishing a gruesome curved knife!
The bird-person’s eyes jump to the armored paladin with a polearm and they quickly back away. They then shout—clearly not at the PCs, but likely at the laughing whatever-they-are.
”Warau no o yamete, sorera o te ni ireyou!”
Round 1
==============
Jisara
Black
Vitalis
Rigel
Red
Blue
Green
Chance
==============
"Was that a giant crow? And was it speaking...Tien? Do any of you speak that? This may be a misunderstanding."
Vitalis shouts after the crow he saw. "You there! I do not speak your language. Do you speak Common? If you are friends of Laria's, we mean you no harm."
He then chases after the revealed enemy. "But until this is straightened out, I'd prefer you not stab my allies. Forgive me for this." He swings his glaive and the crow's head trying to knock it out.
"If you are friends of Laria's, we mean you no harm."
"I'm pretty sure they can't stay the same!" Rigel shouts. He summons a magical shield and readies his dagger, watching the crates nearby for an attacker.
Vitalis moves forward and speaks words of ease, which causes the crow to roll their eyes. ”Nu te pot înțelege, știi…”
And in contrast to his words, Vitalis smacks the crow-person hard, knocking much of the wind out of them!
Rigel casts a spell and prepares to throw a knife.
From behind the crates emerge more crow-people! Green moves away from cover, and Rigel chucks a knife at the moving crow, which leaves a scratch.
Green continues, moving completely past Rigel and at Chance, who has barely had time to process what is going on before he is suddenly getting a beak to the face!
The crow then follows up with a swift stab with her dagger!
Red then emerges and runs straight toward Chance and pecks at the gnome’s face!
The crow-person, as Chance falls to the ground, pecks at the gnome’s eyes in a desperate attempt!
After pecking at the now-unconscious Chance’s eyes, Red disengages.
Blue likewise emerges from cover and moves over to flank Rigel!
But Rigel sparkles with starlight as some of Blue’s beak passes through his form.
Round 2
==============
Jisara
Black (-15)
Vitalis
Rigel (-5)
Chance (-18) {prone; unconscious; dying 2}
Red
Blue
Green (-2)
==============
Jisara decides to stick to the paladin, making sure to stay within the protective reach of his glaive. As she turns to run, she sees Chance fall even as Rigel is surrounded by two of the others. "Leave them alone!" she shouts, firing a beam of freezing energy at the closer of Rigel's attackers.
Jisara moves over and launches a ray that strikes at one of the crow-people.
Black, still reeling from Vitalis’s blow, darts past the paladin and takes a swipe at Jisara along the way!
Completely missing with her blow, Black continues down in an attempt to get away from the paladin!
Round 2
==============
Jisara
Black (-15)
Vitalis
Rigel (-5)
Chance (-18) { prone; unconscious; dying 2}
Red
Blue (-7)
Green (-2)
==============
Vitalis rushes over to Chance and lays a hand upon his prone form. "Hang in there, buddy. It's not your time yet."
"Hey, they are speaking something different now. Did anyone get that this time?"
Vitalis swings at the enemy standing over Chance to drive it away. He tries switching to the only other language he knows, Dwarven, to see if it is any more effective. "Stay back!"
Jisara decides to stick to the paladin, making sure to stay within the protective reach of his glaive.
Round 2
==============
Jisara
Black (-15)
Vitalis
Rigel (-5)
Chance (-12) {prone; wounded 1}
Red
Blue (-7)
Green (-2)
==============
Chance groans, sits up, and looks around. “Thanks, Vitalis. They said, they can’t understand you. My aching head aside, I’m not sure they want to fight. Everybody hold off for a second.”
The gnome takes a breath and shouts in poorly accented Varisian, “Ei bine, te pot înțelege. Dacă vrei să vorbești în loc să te lupți, ”
Black narrows their eyes and glances at the other crow-people. ”Yamete!”
The other crow-people look at black, then take a step back from their prior targets, but still hold daggers in their hands, clearly ready to re-engage at a moment’s notice.
Black then returns their gaze to Chance. ”Bine. Răspundeți-mi la acest lucru: cine sunteți cu toții și de ce sunteți aici?” It's at that point that you notice that Black's Varisian isn't exactly well-accented either.