Vionnia steps up and nods to you. "Everything is ready. I forgot, no running into buildings, but on top of them is fair game!" Seeing your readiness she whistles twice and the crowd, previously quiet and perched in doorways and atop roofs, bursts into cheers.
Tao's crowd pleasing is exactly what is needed, and the clink of coins exchanging hands as bets are placed and sides are chosen. Across the courtyard you can see three figures. Two are clearly out of work gravediggers, wielding shovels and wearing threadworn coats. The third is clearly a dirge singer, equally threadworn with a rusty rapier at his side and repaired crossbow cradled in his hands.
There is a whoop from atop a roof and a little girl, urchin or orphan by her look, stands atop a chimney. In a piercing little girl voice, she cries out "Rules is simple. Fight till ya can't. No creepin' indoors. No leavin' the area or yer out. No lootin' the fallen. Now. FIGHT!" She positively roars the last word and the melee begins!
ROUND 1:
Nikebei
Troubadour
Aldonza, Jack, Miladistra, Grams, Tao
Grave Diggers
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Well deys want us to fight, think dem others have just complained about me best fish cooking and .... Nikebei raises her knives in the air and waves them about, "Yous no wanna mess with Nikbeyou!" No ... let dem come to yous so yous can bop dem, dont wanna gets all dirty, maybes sees a good place to climb up.
Nikebei says "Iis told yous, no messin with me!" and tries to strike him with the flat of her blade. Jus like Grams told me!
The troubadour looks to the ladder and moves to it, trying to climb. He makes it with no trouble and settles himself. He begins to sing a dirge, weaving in new lyrics indicating the grave diggers can sometimes create their own corpses for burial!
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”And now, for our first performance”, Aldonza announces, ”the Slayers’ Guild presents a theatre-in-the-round production that we like to call...”
She points her marotte dramatically at the gravedigger to the right.
”...’The Lucky Fan’!”
While the crowd is misdirected, she reaches under her cloak with her other hand, and grabs a small hammer. She then hurls it at her target.
Jak tries to scramble up the ladder, but finally hits a dry spot and climbs on the third attempt!
Miladistra weaves a charming spell! The grave digger's eyes glaze, but a nudge from his fellow brings him to back to the moment! Deroff growls at the foes and his hackles rise!
Grams strides forward across the slippery courtyard!
Aldonza's surprising throw hits Green on the shoulder and elicits a grunt and a foul word!
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Tao strides across the mud, keen to keep Grams protected...
◆◆) Stride x2 @ 20 feet through Difficult Terrain @
Tao slides into the mud pit - nearly slipping! - but catches herself, and arrives adjacent to Grams. From here, she whips her Bladed Scarf at the Green Combatant to intimidate it, meanwhile unleashing her distracting ancestors against everyone within 10-feet of her!
◆) Sustain Bane @
↺) Death's Call @ If one of Tao's allies triggers this ability, she will immediately use it!
Trigger > A living creature within 20 feet of you dies, or an undead creature within 20 feet of you is destroyed.
Seeing another pass from this world to the next invigorates you. You gain temporary Hit Points equal to the triggering creature's level plus your spellcasting ability modifier . If the triggering creature was undead, double the number of temporary Hit Points you gain. These last for the duration of the spell, and the spell ends if all the temporary Hit Points are depleted earlier.
Tao's Ancestor's try to break free from Tao's careful controls, watching with ethereal eyes for the souls of her combatants, ready to emerge at any moment...
she taunts in her performative voice, trying to keep her alias alive (but free from further swearing)!
ROUND 1:
Nikebei
Troubadour
Aldonza, Jack, Miladistra, Grams, Tao
Grave Diggers
The Grave Diggers, brothers by the look of them, grin and raise their shovels. "Best payday we gettin' since the layoffs!" One mutters.
But something about Tao's scarf makes them wary.
They Stride toward Tao!
for bludgeoning damage!
for bludgeoning damage!
for bludgeoning damage!
for bludgeoning damage!
ROUND 2:
Nikebei
Troubadour
Aldonza, Jack, Miladistra, Grams, Tao
Grave Diggers
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The shovel grazes Tao, even as Grams's protective aura prevents the worst of it!
Her scarf tricks confound the rest of the blows as Tao dances and whirls with grace and skill.
She yells more at the crowd here, but winks at "Nikebeyou", noticing her pulling her blows a little here to prevent them from being lethal...
Nikebei swings twice but the gravedigger ducks under and back.
The troubadour continues to sing his bawdy song! He fires his crossbow at Grams! for damage! He then reloads!
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”Ha HA!”, Aldonza cries, when her hammer strikes home.
She turns to face the crowd. ”I may have knocked some sense into him!”, she continues. ”Let’s see if he surrenders!”
When the diggers close with Tao instead, she shakes her head sadly. ”That’s a tough nut to crack!”, she says, hefting another hammer and looking it over thoughtfully. ”Let’s see if his buddy is that thick-headed!”
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Tao whips into a whirling dervish of spirits!
One martial ancestor fuses with Grams to guide her hand, another emerges between Tao and her antagonists to block their shovel attacks, a third pacifist ancestor pulling her deadly blade at the last possible second...
◆) Cast Guidance @ Grams
◆) Strike @ Red (or Green if Red felled)
◆) Cast Shield (to AC 22)
↺) Shield Block (hardness 5)
Maintaining the facade of being a craven gladiator, Tao pulls her "punches" not interested in actually killing these gravediggers...
"AAarrrgh!"
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Miladistra skates across the water, up to the ladder. "Deroff, help calm that awful man down. The one with the red hat." She points at the man in Red.
"I can stabilize 'em if they get too hurt. Assuming I'm still awake..." Miladistra looks up towards the singer and ponders.
Deroff, meanwhile looks at the water, looks at the man in red...
Runs up to him and gets a mouthful of mud in the process. That was a warning bite!
A hammer and a smack with a scarf drive Red to the ground, his eyes crossed and dazed as he's knocked unconscious!
Miladistra moves forward, while Deroff tries to take a bite out of Green, but misses!
The first arrow pierces the singer, causing a momentary lapse in singing, unless a yelp of pain is meant to be in the song?
Gram's battleaxe lands true, cutting into the grave digger!
The grave digger swallows hard and steels himself, clearly rethinking this line of work, but committed for now. He swings his shovel three times at Tao!
for bludgeoning damage!
for bludgeoning damage!
for bludgeoning damage!
ROUND 3:
Nikebei
Troubadour
Aldonza, Jack, Miladistra, Grams, Tao
Grave Diggers
The grave digger is pummeled by the multi-named goblin! He swoons, but stays upright!
The troubadour resumes his singing, but aims at Jack this time!
for damage. He reloads while glaring and singing. It's an impressive feat of multitasking.
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Tao's protective ancestors entangle the shovel with colored scarves, slowing the telling blow.
She whirls her own bladed scarf, guiding it's edge just short of a lethal blow towards the remaining gravedigger.
◆) Strike @
◆◆) Guidance @ Aldonza & Jack♢
Perhaps venturing too much caution, Tao commands the spirits around her to guide the aim of her allies throwing hammers and shooting arrows!
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Aldonza holds her marotte upright, and turns the head to face her.
”Is it time to end this, Lady Chucklehead?”, she asks it.
She wiggles the baton, making it nod.
”So be it!”, she announces. Skipping across the giant puddle, and kicking up water as she goes, she makes her way toward the other gravedigger while singing.
”Here comes Lady Chucklehead!
‘Time to sleep’ is what she said!
Hippity hoppity, nap time’s on it’s way!”
She pokes at him with the marotte, then throws a sucker punch.
Tao's strike misses, but Aldonza knocks the remaining grave digger into sleepy time!
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HP 23/23
AC 18 (20 with shield raised)
Fort +8, Ref +6, Will +5
Hero points: 1
Effects:
Seeing that most of the gravediggers have been taken care of, Grams stows her axe and quickly scales the ladder.
"Come on, lad, you must realize it's time to end this," she says. "It's just you and there are a lot more of us."
The troubadour yelps in the midst of his song as the arrows graze past him, just missing him!
Grams climbs the ladder and unslings her axe!
ROUND 4:
Nikebei
Troubadour
Aldonza, Jack, Miladistra, Grams, Tao
Grave Diggers
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Tao just shrugs when Jack♢ refuses to take the guicance of her Ancestor... Kids these days - never listen to their elders!...
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The Troubadour looks down to suddenly notice the first arrow HAD indeed hit him! His face pales but he keeps singing through gritted teeth!
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Nikebei sees the Troubadour still singing and firing his shortbow, "Sorry Gramps, but dis might hurt him good and proper!" with a certain reluctance she sheaths his big kitchen knife (khopesh) Gotta a bes a good cook, cook...keep dem blades clean ... not dirty with dat mud. and takes a javelin from her back and throws it at the nasty singer.
Nikebei flings his kitchen knife, but it misses the troubadour and bounces off the roof next to him.
The troubadour grits his teeth and fires at Jack again while continuing to sing!
for damage! He then reloads!
Tao whips at the troubadour, who flinches back as the scarf comes close but misses!
Jack fires, but the troubadour is wary now!
Miladistra heals the fallen grave digger insuring their survival!
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HP 23/23
AC 18 (20 with shield raised)
Fort +8, Ref +6, Will +5
Hero points: 1
Effects:
"Son, it's time to realize you're beat," Grams says, but she attempts to make her point if he won't listen. She's careful not to actually hit him, wanting to give him one more chance to realize the brawl is over and the gravediggers lost.
"Can't lose that prize, old 'un. Ain't been no pay since the mort'ary closed. Ain't no'un payin' fer a dirge singer no more." He mutters.
The troubadour looks more confused than bothered by Aldonza's antics!
ROUND 5:
Nikebei
Troubadour
Aldonza, Jack, Miladistra, Grams, Tao
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Nikebei looks just as confused as the troubadour, "What's you talkin bout Mr sing sing? Prehaps yous comes down here ans wees can have a nice cup of tea or someting. Wees cans revive yous friends later, once wees gets dem shovels." the goblin chef calls up. "Is can cook, Is cook cook or brew brew a drinks for us."
She continues as he tries to make sense of the mortuary. "Yous helps me understand bout these mortuatuaries? Was not paying yous and your ol prize?" She replaces her knives and starts to look for a kettle and a place to make a fire, but the ground is too saturated and dirty water splashes her kitchen utensils. She shakes her head and starts to pick up the shovels, making a passageway for the water to drain away. "Dis dirty dirt!"