Ruha feels anxious sitting on her hands, but when no one seems game to take her up on her suggestion to take another look around the palace or scout the League compound, she doesn't bring it up again. Everyone's clearly feeling nervous. She hopes its not the wrong decision.
Ruha feels anxious sitting on her hands, but when no one seems game to take her up on her suggestion to take another look around the palace or scout the League compound, she doesn't bring it up again.
Rhoreen looks forward to trying to find a scroll of Prying Eyes either in town or the Night Market.
"Seeing as we already portrayed ourselves as Kitchen Staff at the Palace and as much as I want to return to the Palace, I would like to steer clear of it until after Kevoth-Kul is served his latest batch of drugs. I do not want to fall under suspicion right away."
He does some calculations in his head then writes in his formulae book.
"It's the first thing you learn in rogue school -- 'Don't return to the scene of the crime just to gloat -- or for any reason'. It is a good way to get caught. Let's see what Kevoth-Kul's reaction will be. Maybe he'll stir things up for us."
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A couple days has passed since you intercepted the drugs cargo and Zzvkgrogk thinks his alterations should have started to have some effect, if not full.
Kul-Inkit's expression shifts sharply. Her voice, however, remains smooth, trained by years of court honing "Do not play wordgames with me, Khalia Lassi Súrinen," she says. Her tone is quiet but precise "You come cloaked in the borrowed skin of a ghost from Starfall's darkest rumors, and now you say she lives, yet also does not?"
Her fists close slightly, but then she breathes, a long, controlled breath "I will not allow my mind to be led in circles. I have heard of spirits in cores, of voices in machines, madness, some say, or sorcery. But I am no fool. If Casandalee still thinks and speaks, if she still remembers my plea... then bring her"
She lifts her chin slightly, steel behind her eyes "She saved my son. I owe her more than I can name, but I still demand the truth"
Her voice softens, just slightly "You and your friends... what is your true purpose here? I still command certain ears... and may perhaps move a few pieces. I may be able to do something for you in exchange"
The air in Starfall thickens after sundown, not with fog or dust, but with the ominous silence that threatens to be broken at any time by League patrols. The directions given by the Mockery eventually lead you through dim, broken alleys and past rusted barricades to the edge of a wide, open courtyard tucked deep in Sovereign's Reach. Tonight, it has become the Night Market.
Lit by strings of jury-rigged lights scavenged from Numeria's scrap, the Night Market is a chaotic patchwork of stalls, tarps, and repurposed tech. It pulses with an energy both vibrant and dangerous, where mercenaries, scavengers, and shady nobles all rub shoulders. You hear Androffan, Hallit, and Orc spoken in quick, clipped tones, deals struck in a heartbeat, and vanished in another. There's no central authority here, only the unspoken threat of mutual destruction.
At the heart of the market, under a pagoda-like structure with sparking pylons and a humming generator, sits a smug man in elaborate faux-aristocratic attire: Baron Kronsieg Drund. Surrounded by a circle of vigilant bodyguards and wrapped in an aura of arrogant certainty, he watches the commerce unfold, sipping something glowing faintly blue from a crystal vial. Drund's stall is well-guarded, but not yet swarmed, he is clearly waiting for someone important.
Around him, the lesser merchants lay out their wares in more modest tents and mats: scavenged nanite canisters, timeworn gravity clips, hybrid weaponry with exposed circuitry, and encrypted datapads that might still contain knowledge from the Rain of Stars. The smell of ozone and oil fills the air, mingling with the occasional hiss of a discharged arc pistol or the buzz of a malfunctioning bot.
Rhoreen's eye catches a seemingly unremarkable corner stall, more a tarp stretched over bent pipes than a true tent. The merchant is a hunched android woman with filaments braided into her steel hair and a neck module that clicks as she speaks. Her wares are mostly engineering components and storage devices, scroll tubes, memory banks, crystalline slates.
Among a pile of disorganized scroll tubes tucked into a mesh crate, you catch a glimmer of something familiar, a scroll tube lined in gold wiring, marked with a faded symbol of Brigh interwoven with Numerian script. The script appears half-erased, but you still can read Prying Eyes just there. The scroll tube is buried beneath timeworn blueprints of old tech.
Wrapped in a heavy cloak, the tall Ruha somehow manages to stand out even more than usual among the furtive exchanges going on in the Night Market. She does a brief circuit of the stalls before returning to the party to whisper "So that must be Drund. If our information is still true, a captain will be coming by to cause some noise and lift his wares in the process. I'll see if I can keep watch and work out if he's being watched while you all do your trading."
She eyes the crowd and nearby alleyways for anyone else keeping an eye on Drund of acting suspiciously like they're getting into position.
"One moment, first, if there is trouble and we get separated, where are we to meet?" Rhoreen queries the party.
"Secondly, if there is overwhelming trouble, find me and I will get us out of here, and quickly. I'd prefer not to leave anyone behind, but it bothers me at this market is allowed to exist and so openly in defiance of the Technic League...they know of it and let it fester for some reason, but they could try to close it at any time," she continues.
"And finally, I must go see that stall over there, it might have what I need," Rhoreen moves to look through the scroll tubes for a scroll of Prying Eyes, and then will purchase it. "Ruha, would you watch my back?"
Weapon Equipped = None
Conditions = Heroism (240m)
Chainsaw: Att: 12/7/2 BAB +6 Str +1 magic (-4 PA) Dam: +9 Str +1 magic (+12 PA) Crit: 15-20x2 DR: adamantine, magic Charges: 2/10
Falchion: Att: 12/7/2 BAB +6 Str +1 MW (-4 PA) Dam: +9 Str (+12 PA) Crit: 18-20x2 DR: adamantine
Long bow: Att: 12/7/2 BAB +3 Dex +1 Magic Dam: +6 Str +1 Magic Crit: 20x3 DR: cold iron/silver
Chef’s knife: Att: 12/7/2 BAB +1 magic +6 Str / +3 Dex (-4 PA) Dam: +6 Str +1 magic (+8 PA) Crit: 19-20x2 DR: magic Rng: 10’
Studied: (none) (mv|sw|im; +3 att, dam, bluff, disguise, intimidate, knowledge, perception, sense motive, stealth, survival)
Improved Iron Will (1/1d, reroll will save)
Spells: (1/1d, Magic Missile, cl 3) (1/1d, Prestidigitation, cl1) (1/1d, Shield, cl10)
- - -
”Sounds good Rüha. See you shortly.”
”Rhoreen makes a good point. If we’re separated, meet back at the inn I suppose. But in the back, outside, by the kitchen - not in our rooms or in the pub. It’s not ideal, but a decent spot if things get really hairy.”
Yambul smiles at the sights and sounds, and smells!, of the Night Market. He is also very curious as to what might lie in the bold Baron’s booth. But, for now, he’ll content himself with selling the remaining party goods. Not so much when you get down to it, but forbidden tech nonetheless in this hostile realm.
As they’re entering the market, Yambul will request his heroism… just in case and as it lasts so long.
He’s looking to sell:
Thoracic nanite chamber (mark II) (16kgp)
Black force field (10kgp)
Mi-go brain cylindars (2,500gp ea, x4)
The merchant glances at Rhoreen, eyes flickering orange for a heartbeat before she turns away and continues haggling with a tattooed Kellid over a scorched laser sight. She either doesn't recognize the value of what she has, or is pretending very, very well.
The android merchant's optics flicker as Rhoreen reaches for the scroll. "Ah, good eye. Finest scroll paper, Osirion's blend, triple insulated. This one? Cost me dearly. Had to pry it from the hands of a grumbling half-elf elder. Claimed it was from his 'private reserve', wouldn't shut up about 'Brigh's will' and how the stars weren't right. Took half a day and three favors to get him to part with it" she tilts her head, smiling faintly "How much would you pay for such preciousness?"
Rūha, circling the edge of the market, notes at least two figures lingering too long in the shadows of nearby alleys. One leans against a rusted support beam, pretending to smoke. Another adjusts something under his coat. They're watching, but wear no League insignia and seem unaffiliated, at least openly. Perhaps just curious observers.
Yambul's presence stirs activity quickly; the gleam of forbidden tech draws interest like flies to honey. A wiry woman in a dented power harness eyes the thoracic chamber greedily, while a bald man with glowing subdermal nodes offers a curt nod toward the black force field "Full price, no questions" he mutters.
At the center, Drund lifts his blue-glowing drink and adjusts a polished earring that catches the flickering lights, a crescent-shaped arc of mithral etched with circuitry and an unmistakable Androffan rune. The piece looks familiar to you.
You recognize the earring is in fact an AI facet, like the ones that were determining Hellion's personality.
It is an artifact of invaluable price. That is to say, there is no listed value for such an item.
Zzvkgrogk quaffs several extracts before entering the market. He stays close to the pack while looking around.
How much for that shiny in the... circuit?!
Zzvkgrogk pokes around for a force or other rifle and a sonic pistol -- every once in awhile looking surreptitiously toward Drund to see who visits.
6 first, 5 Second, 5 Third, 3 Fourth
(1st)
(1st) True Strike
(1st)
(1st) Shield
(1st) Adhesive Spittle
(1st) Expeditious retreat
(2nd)
(2nd)
(2nd) See Invisibility
(2nd) Acute Senses
(2nd) Invisibility
(3rd) Haste
(3rd) Dark Vision, Communal
(3rd)
(3rd) Resist Energy, Communal
(3rd) Fly
{4th) Air Walk
(4th) Greater Inviso
(4th) Freedom of Movement
Mutagen: (+4 Dex, -2 Wis)
Amateur Investigator
Can use craft (alchemy) to identify potions as if using Detect Magic
Inspirational Pool: (Feat Amateur Investigator): 3/4
Hits: 77/63
AC Current: 19 /15 /15
AC: 19 / 15 / 15 (Normal/Touch/Flatfooted)
Wand of Cure Light Wounds: 8/50
Radiation Detector (3/10 charges)
Laser Pistol (Charges): 4/10
Arc Pistol (Charges}: 7/10
Batteries Charged): 5/20
Empty Battieries: 15/20
Zzvkgrogk Special (Alchemical Ordinance): 15 / 15
Hero: 3/3
Ruha notes the rather conspicuously lingering onlookers but does nothing to approach them. Instead she makes a note to look over at them every so often to make sure they aren't taking action and then returns to watching Drund's stall as well for any visitors.
"Ah, good eye. Finest scroll paper, Osirion's blend, triple insulated. This one? Cost me dearly. Had to pry it from the hands of a grumbling half-elf elder...Took half a day and three favors to get him to part with it. How much would you pay for such preciousness?"
Rhoreen's lips quirk as if she cared about the history or pedigree of the scroll. She did not. What mattered was the magics within, and how she might bend those magics into her skymetal rod. That's what mattered. And the cost did not.
She prefers not to haggle, but will make efforts if it is expected. She will start the offer at a 1000 gp, but suspects by the time it's over, she ends up playing around 1125gp.
She pulls free her purse and pays for the scroll, and then will return to the party.
"Fine. Once I meld this scroll's magics into my own, we'll have a way to scout where we wish, Ruha."
Yambul's presence stirs activity quickly; the gleam of forbidden tech draws interest like flies to honey. A wiry woman in a dented power harness eyes the thoracic chamber greedily, while a bald man with glowing subdermal nodes offers a curt nod toward the black force field "Full price, no questions" he mutters.
Yambul nods, no questions asked, and collects the man’s money as he hands over the force field. Then he turns to the wiry woman and says, ”They’re going fast. This is a good price for top notch merchandise. Do you want it?” Just in case, he’s holding onto the chamber carefully so she can’t just snatch it and run.
(heroism)
The android merchant plays offended under Rhoreen's initial offer, but after some haggling up and down, she rejoins the group, scroll secured.
The wiry woman eyes Yambul, lips pressed into a line, then slowly nods "Done. But if it explodes, I'm finding you" She produces a sealed credchip pouch and hands it over without flinching. The deal is struck.
Near the center, Zzvkgrogk lingers quietly, shadowing Drund from the edges. He sees no force gun, but the ratfolk's keen gaze catches what the nobleman is offering: two flare guns, a timeworn stun baton, two panic suits, a dozen batteries, a red e-pick, a timeworn emergency
shelter, a gravity clip, a laser sight, a pair of magboots, five nanite canisters, a timeworn gray nanite hypogun, four trauma packs, and a trauma pack plus.
A cloaked figure glides through the market's flow like smoke through gears. The woman below is short, bald and has eyes that flash with unnatural light. At Drund's pagoda, the conversation quiets as she steps beneath the patchwork awning, and the noble merchant turns with interest. Without a word, the woman produces a small metal tablet etched with shifting symbols, offering it palm-up. Drund, always theatrical, chuckles softly and leans in, the tone of their exchange low, veiled by the ambient noise and hum of trade.
From her vantage point, Rūha catches the subtle shift in posture among the crowd, two Garundi men, lean and relaxed, but always with a clear line of sight to the cloaked woman. One adjusts a market scarf, the other nurses a steaming cup, but neither ever turns their back to her for more than a breath.
Their practiced nonchalance doesn't fool your trained eye; the two Garundi men are well trained strong warriors, and they are acting as guards, and well-drilled ones, here not just to watch, but to intercept anyone approaching the cloaked woman.
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Khalia can't speak for a moment, processing every word uttered by the Consort. I sound like... Maukui... I can't... How did I not make that connection before...?!
"I just heard myself speak, Kul-Inkit, noble one. I think what I feel right now is shame. And horror. I never thought about what I must look like to one who knew Casandalee, one who learns that something terrible has changed. Please forgive me."
It strips Khalia of all her defenses.
"We call ourselves the Zzvkith. Something to respect our ysoki companion, as we consider ourselves friends of Zzvkgrogk. He is very adept at all things engineering. He is our tenacity. Yambul is our strength. Rhoreen is our righteousness. Rūha is our wisdom. We seek to oppose two forces within Starfall- the Technic League for its corruption, and the growing threat of a powerful AI that would call itself a god, and subjugate us all."
"I have heard that Kevoth Kul is not himself, under the influence of Numerian Fluids. We know of these fluids because Rhoreen subjected herself to the substance, and by doing so became a rarer creature. Is this the same for him?"
"If you would speak with Casandalee, I promise to return to my companions and tell them all we have shared here. I will understand if you decide instead to detain me, and send servants instead to bring them back here." Khalia's mind tries to process all she can to avoid further humiliation, however dim it feels at present.
His eyes on Drund, Zzvkgrogk scowls slightly in disappointment.
That can’t be the best he has to offer….
He observes the woman's approach and offer and considers racing over to make a counter bid, or at least to see what it is.
He hesitates, for out of the corner of his eye he sees the Garundi men.
Oh! So the woman has a guard detail…
Zzvkgrogk quaffs an extract (Acute Senses) and pretends to window shop at a shop close enough to Drund’s to maybe catch a glimpse of the woman's offer, or at least to eavesdrop.
Who is she?
6 first, 5 Second, 5 Third, 3 Fourth
(1st)
(1st) True Strike
(1st)
(1st) Shield
(1st) Adhesive Spittle
(1st) Expeditious retreat
(2nd)
(2nd)
(2nd) See Invisibility
(2nd) Acute Senses
(2nd) Invisibility
(3rd) Haste
(3rd) Dark Vision, Communal
(3rd)
(3rd) Resist Energy, Communal
(3rd) Fly
{4th) Air Walk
(4th) Greater Inviso
(4th) Freedom of Movement
Mutagen: (+4 Dex, -2 Wis)
Amateur Investigator
Can use craft (alchemy) to identify potions as if using Detect Magic
Inspirational Pool: (Feat Amateur Investigator): 3/4
Hits: 77/63
AC Current: 19 /15 /15
AC: 19 / 15 / 15 (Normal/Touch/Flatfooted)
Wand of Cure Light Wounds: 8/50
Radiation Detector (3/10 charges)
Laser Pistol (Charges): 4/10
Arc Pistol (Charges}: 7/10
Batteries Charged): 5/20
Empty Battieries: 15/20
Zzvkgrogk Special (Alchemical Ordinance): 15 / 15
Hero: 3/3
Yambul keeps his head up, though he’s only got one more thing to sell. Well, they’re Mi-go brain cylinders - but he does have four to unload (2,500gp ea).
(heroism)
He misses out as his eyes hunt for any looking to buy what he’s got to sell.
Ruha notes the careful postures of the guards for the cloaked woman. Like Zzvkgrogk, she's interested in eavesdropping. It doesn't seem impossible for this to be an agent of the League and her backup, but it could just as easily be an independent noblewoman and her retinue. However she thinks of a different angle that seems just as potentially fruitful. She approaches the Garundi man with the cup and asks "Excuse me. I noticed you were keeping an eye on Drund's pagoda. Do you work for him?"
She intentionally stands between the man and the woman he's watching, but not in a position where she'll block his view. She takes advantage of this to watch his gaze and gauge his response.
Rhoreen, once she has completed her purchase, focuses on watching out for the party, making sure that they are not followed, and that no one tries anything funny. She will focus on protecting Yambul as he is focused on negotiations.
Perception
Kul Inkit watches Khalia with impassive eyes. Her voice, when it comes, is slow and deliberate "I will not detain you. Nor will I accuse you of deceit, your shame speaks louder than any confession"
She folds her hands "My husband has not been himself for many years. I have feared the truth, but perhaps it is time to stop fearing. If you bring word of his son, alive or dead, I will lend you what aid I can"
A pause, then a slight nod "I will hear Casandalee. Speak to her, and return to me. We will face what comes together"
"That is just not going to happen. I pay you 20 thousand and you are in your lucky day" you do overhear the woman to say in a commanding tone to Drund, the merchant negates with the head "Are you trying to steal me? The thing is at the least worth three times more".
On a closer look, they are haggling over a hefty syringe with a handle and a small touch screen.
The Garundi man does not flinch as Rūha approaches "Drund?" he echoes, then smiles faintly "No. But I watch many things" he shifts just enough to reestablish his line of sight without brushing her aside "And now do not look for trouble and run off"
Ratfolk raises an eyebrow as he espies the offer.
Wow. Unexpected. He's got a point. 20 thousand seems appallingly low. I knew he had a real stash!
He watches and listens to see how the rest of the haggling goes.
Yambul tries to keep track of where everyone is so he doesn't go too far afield as he searches for one or more buyers for the last of his goods. He didn't expect the less expensive stuff to be the last to go!
"Not looking for trouble, of course, but I'm curious." Ruha crosses a pair of arms but stays out of his line of direct vision of the woman "You seem like you have some experience with this place. Is Drund a trustworthy sort? His wares legitimate? He has such a prominent and flashy position here that you can't help but wonder why the League haven't come down on him..." She eyes the fellow's face to see how he reacts. If he's allied with the League, she expects to see something in his reaction that might betray that.
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Know (Engineering)
Rhoreen notes Zzvkgrogk's raised eye excitement with her own raised eyebrow, but lets it pass. They clearly know more about this one particular thing (and not everything else) and so Rhoreen doesn't seem too bothered.
She again tries to keep watch as others try to haggle and look for deals.
Perception
As Yambul weaves through the crowd, a grizzled man with silvery mustache and a simple leather cloak pauses at his display. After a quick appraisal, he nods "Fair weight. I'll take it" A few quick gestures, and the last of Yambul's goods trade hands for a pouch of silverdisks.
Not far, the Garundi man's demeanor darkens as he leans in toward Rūha "I don't question the League's means. That's how I'm still breathing" his voice is low and rough, "They keep the markets open? Then they've got a reason. And I don't need to know it"
Nearby, the exchange between Baron Drund and the woman intensifies "Twenty thousand? Who do you think you are?" Drund's voice rises, drawing more eyes "This is a cortex gun! Do you even know what that means?"
The cloaked woman does not flinch. Instead, her voice weaves into a rhythm, subtle at first, then laced with unnatural charm, a chant nested in a persuasive tone "You want to sell it to me for just ten silverdisks"
Drund reels slightly, but shakes it off with a growl, face flushing with fury "You think you can enchant me?! Thief!"
He snatches something off his belt, and with a sudden flick, the cortex gun vanishes from the table, sliding into a locking case underfoot. The woman opens her cloak and with a rapid lash she swings with a purple energy whip in the air!
Being close by, Zzvkgrogk is the first one to react to the subtle break out! Rhoreen and Yambul are quick to notice the problems, while Rūha is too entertained with the man.
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”You think you can enchant me?! Thief!"
Ooh, that was dirty pool!
Zzvkgrogk quaffs an extract and vanishes!
He takes a five foot step towards the confrontation and reaches into his haversack for a box of junk roughly the same dimensions and weight as the one under Drund.
Weapon Equipped = Falchion
Conditions = Heroism (240m), Shield (+4AC, 11m)
Chainsaw: Att: 12/7/2 BAB +6 Str +1 magic (-4 PA) Dam: +9 Str +1 magic (+12 PA) Crit: 15-20x2 DR: adamantine, magic Charges: 2/10
Falchion: Att: 12/7/2 BAB +6 Str +1 MW (-4 PA) Dam: +9 Str (+12 PA) Crit: 18-20x2 DR: adamantine
Long bow: Att: 12/7/2 BAB +3 Dex +1 Magic Dam: +6 Str +1 Magic Crit: 20x3 DR: cold iron/silver
Chef’s knife: Att: 12/7/2 BAB +1 magic +6 Str / +3 Dex (-4 PA) Dam: +6 Str +1 magic (+8 PA) Crit: 19-20x2 DR: magic Rng: 10’
Studied: (The Shade) (mv|sw|im; +3 att, dam, bluff, disguise, intimidate, knowledge, perception, sense motive, stealth, survival)
Improved Iron Will (1/1d, reroll will save)
Spells: (1/1d, Magic Missile, cl 3) (1/1d, Prestidigitation, cl1) (1/1d, Shield, cl10)
- - -
Yambul, hearing the sounds of combat, pricks up his ears and looks over to the platform. He’ll quaff his Shield and fight his way through the crowd as he makes his way to the platform drawing his falchion as he goes (move).
Lastly, as a swift action, he’ll study… hrm. He’ll start with the woman with the whip casting enchantment magics. That’s never good.
Who is Drund?
Who is The Shade?
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Rūha had her back to the situation in the pagoda and now turns to see an energy whip come crackling out "Oh, looks like an altercation of some kind." She looks back to see what the garundi guard is gearing up to do here.
Rhoreen follows Ruha and Yambul, staying behind them and any trouble.
”What’s this all about?” she asks, looking around for Zzvkgrogk. She doesn’t have an opinion on who to help yet, but trusts Ruha to snuff out who is correct.
Zzvkgrogk disappears from place while Yambul and Rhoreen get closer to see what is going on.
Yambul notices this cloaked woman has all the aspect of being a Technic League member, and by this energy whip, he deduces she might be some kind of middle rank, like a lieutenant or something.
"Stop her!" does command Drund to his bodyguards as he produces a pistol and shots to the cloaked woman.
The pistol finds the woman unprepared, shocking her near the heart to great effect!
The bodyguards move to defend their boss and attack the woman.
One of them cuts her on the arm.
The woman starts to chant, inspiring her guards who come to help her into the pagoda "The tech is all League stuff! Kill them if they don't give it up!"
She says some words of power and her group starts to move extra fast, as if hastened.
To the surprise of the guards, her skin flows with nanites, regenerating the cuts on the arm really fast.
The Garundi men take positions behind her and blocks anyone else from entering the pagoda from this eastern side.
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While everyone is otherwise occupied, Zzvkgrogk will make his move. He waits for Drund to make the appropriate shift in weight, then swaps out the cortex gun with his junk box.
He casually leaves the scene, still invisible.
Amateur Investigator
Can use craft (alchemy) to identify potions as if using Detect Magic
Inspirational Pool: (Feat Amateur Investigator): 3/4
Hits: 77/63
AC Current: 19 /15 /15
AC: 19 / 15 / 15 (Normal/Touch/Flatfooted)
Wand of Cure Light Wounds: 8/50
Radiation Detector (3/10 charges)
Laser Pistol (Charges): 4/10
Arc Pistol (Charges}: 7/10
Batteries Charged): 5/20
Empty Battieries: 15/20
Zzvkgrogk Special (Alchemical Ordinance): 15 / 15
Hero: 2/3
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Ruha addresses the Garundi man she was talking to "Oh, disappointing. You're on the side of the thief. I think you should reconsider." She strides up to the whip-wielding woman and sharply prods her in the forehead. "And you..."
"Quite bold stealing in broad day-" She glances upward "-moonlight."
Rhoreen pauses to see what and where Yambul moves to act. Rhoreen is no fan of the Technic jerks and knows how she will act if given the chance.
Weapon Equipped = Falchion
Conditions = Heroism (240m), Shield (+4AC, 11m)
Chainsaw: Att: 12/7/2 BAB +6 Str +1 magic (-4 PA) Dam: +9 Str +1 magic (+12 PA) Crit: 15-20x2 DR: adamantine, magic Charges: 2/10
Falchion: Att: 12/7/2 BAB +6 Str +1 MW (-4 PA) Dam: +9 Str (+12 PA) Crit: 18-20x2 DR: adamantine
Long bow: Att: 12/7/2 BAB +3 Dex +1 Magic Dam: +6 Str +1 Magic Crit: 20x3 DR: cold iron/silver
Chef’s knife: Att: 12/7/2 BAB +1 magic +6 Str / +3 Dex (-4 PA) Dam: +6 Str +1 magic (+8 PA) Crit: 19-20x2 DR: magic Rng: 10’
Studied: (Blue, The Shade) (mv|sw|im; +3 att, dam, bluff, disguise, intimidate, knowledge, perception, sense motive, stealth, survival)
Improved Iron Will (1/1d, reroll will save)
Spells: (1/1d, Magic Missile, cl 3) (1/1d, Prestidigitation, cl1) (0/1d, Shield, cl10)
- - -
Yambul can’t get to the woman without provoking (and Rüha speedily avoided the crowd and took his spot), so he starts in on blue. ”You picked the wrong side today friend. Apologies for this.” He studies blue, and swings his falchion!
(hero, studied)
(studied)
(hero, studied)
(studied)
(hero, studied)
(studied)
(hero, studied)
(studied)
Rhoreen focuses on the other guard, trying to slow down the bad people. She twists the mercurial energies of the rod to draw the heat away from the guard.
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Zzvkgrogk sets his hands on the box and swiftly disappears from the pagoda with his target!
Rūha's strike takes the woman by surprise and she halts in place suddenly dazzled! Her whip falls to the ground of the pagoda.
Yambul drives through with his falchion, striking hard on the Garundi, his last swing just being to much for the man who falls to the ground bleeding.
The other Garundi is suddenly enveloped by a cold freezing gust, and it takes the best of him to just avoid ending encased on it!
"Bastard!" Drund shouts while unloading his pistol energy on the stunned woman.
She is an easy target and receives bad shots in the stunned head!
The other bodyguards to defend the nobleman merchant.
One manages to cut on the woman.
The other profits Rūha's flank to strike the remaining Garundi.
He retaliates entering into a frenzy rage and swinging a massive adamantine greatsword over his head and into Rūha "You made a miserable mistake entering this fight!"
The man strikes with a furious strength you have hardly ever seen, a champion of a glorious arena, or frenzy desperation on a cornered situation, he makes two deep cuts on Rūha!
The woman is stunned, but still, you see her wounds keep healing, it seems like nanites surging through her skin!
Weapon Equipped = Falchion
Conditions = Heroism (240m), Shield (+4AC, 11m)
Chainsaw: Att: 12/7/2 BAB +6 Str +1 magic (-4 PA) Dam: +9 Str +1 magic (+12 PA) Crit: 15-20x2 DR: adamantine, magic Charges: 2/10
Falchion: Att: 12/7/2 BAB +6 Str +1 MW (-4 PA) Dam: +9 Str (+12 PA) Crit: 18-20x2 DR: adamantine
Long bow: Att: 12/7/2 BAB +3 Dex +1 Magic Dam: +6 Str +1 Magic Crit: 20x3 DR: cold iron/silver
Chef’s knife: Att: 12/7/2 BAB +1 magic +6 Str / +3 Dex (-4 PA) Dam: +6 Str +1 magic (+8 PA) Crit: 19-20x2 DR: magic Rng: 10’
Studied: (Red, The Shade) (mv|sw|im; +3 att, dam, bluff, disguise, intimidate, knowledge, perception, sense motive, stealth, survival)
Improved Iron Will (1/1d, reroll will save)
Spells: (1/1d, Magic Missile, cl 3) (1/1d, Prestidigitation, cl1) (0/1d, Shield, cl10)
- - -
Yambul moves on up the stairs (move - can't 5' step up). He focuses on red for the moment (studied, swift) and swings!
(hero, studied)
(studied)
”What’s this all about?”
A disembodied voice near to Rhoreen criptically whispers, ”It’s like a stone fruit tree too full of fruit, Calliope. So full of fruit you can’t possibly eat it all yourself.” He peers up at her for effect, despite the fact that she can not see him – just to project his voice more directly toward her. ”But is all of it ripe?” he asks cryptically.
”You made a miserable mistake entering this fight!"
Oh Brigh!
Zzvkgrogk stuffs the cortex gun into his haversack and invisibly rushes toward Rūha. If allowed, he will pull out the wand of cure light while moving.
Ruha is sheared near in half by the two slashes. She collapses with a gasp and rolls down the short stairs to rest in a rapidly expanding pool of her own blood.
Rhoreen focuses the guard again, challenging its might with her own.
Khalia nods, which becomes something of a subservient bow to the Consort, before the android turns to go. She only hopes that she can convince the others to bring Casandalee to Kul-Inkit, so more might be woven together against the growing threat in Starfall. She sees a potential powerful ally in the Consort, but senses how fragile the way is to navigate the relationship.
Khalia begins her retreat from the Palace, hoping to find the rest of the Zzvkith, and share what she's learned.
Yambul cuts through the man with a strong slice of his falchion.
Zzvkgrogk gets closer to Rūha producing a healing hand on his hands.
The Garundi champion is suddenly taken by the cold as Rhoreen forces her power on him and freezes on place paralyzed like an ice statue!
Drund keeps doing the shooting on the Shade, his attacks way less mortal now she is not stunned.
The bodyguards now focus on the cloaked woman.
But she is lightning fast and dodges all the slices.
"Street rats! You have taken me by surprise this time, but this is not settled, I will bring the Technic League over you!" she screams while pronouncing a word of power.
The woman disappears in thin air!
dimension door
With the Gardundi champion encased in ice and the woman gone, the immediate thread is under control.
Drund grumbles "Grrr... I know her. She is called The Shade, one of the Technic League more ambitious members... I knew she would be trouble..." the man turns to you then "You have my gratitude for coming on my help. I am Baron Kronsieg Drund, and if there is any way I can repay you for this job, just let me know"
The Consort thanks you for the visit and gives you farewell.
There are some looks by guards and some rude words, but you just make it out and back to the city without much of a hassle.
Yambul looks at Drund, "In a minute mate." as he whips out a potion and pours it down Rüha's throat.
"C'mon now, be OK." he says urgently.
Rhoreen moves over to help Ruha, casting her own personal magics to help restore the 4-armed warrior.
CLW,M
"C'mon, Ruha, shake it off."
Zzvkgrogk taps Rūha with the wand.
"Street rats! You have taken me by surprise this time, but this is not settled, I will bring the Technic League over you!"
He frowns as the Shade disappears. And, as the others attend to the severely wounded Rūha Zzvkgrogk remembers to breathe. He quietly snags the purple energy whip the Leaguer left behind in her literal haste.
Let's see how you do against us without this...
He stuffs the whip too into his haversack, pulls out another wand, and resumes healing Rūha.
"if there is any way I can repay you for this job, just let me know"
For starters, you can stop trying to sell powerful tech items to nanite infested undead!
For the time being he keeps this to himself and waits to see what others might suggest.
6 first, 5 Second, 5 Third, 3 Fourth
(1st)
(1st) True Strike
(1st)
(1st) Shield
(1st) Adhesive Spittle
(1st) Expeditious retreat
(2nd)
(2nd)
(2nd) See Invisibility
(2nd) Acute Senses
(2nd)
(3rd) Haste
(3rd) Dark Vision, Communal
(3rd)
(3rd) Resist Energy, Communal
(3rd) Fly
{4th) Air Walk
(4th) Greater Inviso
(4th) Freedom of Movement
Mutagen: (+4 Dex, -2 Wis)
Amateur Investigator
Can use craft (alchemy) to identify potions as if using Detect Magic
Inspirational Pool: (Feat Amateur Investigator): 3/4
Hits: 77/63
AC Current: 19 /15 /15
AC: 19 / 15 / 15 (Normal/Touch/Flatfooted)
Wand of Cure Light Wounds: 45/50
Radiation Detector (3/10 charges)
Laser Pistol (Charges): 4/10
Arc Pistol (Charges}: 7/10
Batteries Charged): 5/20
Empty Battieries: 15/20
Zzvkgrogk Special (Alchemical Ordinance): 15 / 15
Hero: 2/3
Perhaps it is the heroes' luck, but the nearby ice just ceased the bleeding for Rūha, time enough for the party's healing to arrive. The 4-armed Kasatha breathes deeply and wakes up.
"Seems your friend endured despite those two ugly cuts" comments Drund looking at the fallen Rūha "Now, you left there a pretty ice statue"
Rhoreen tries to help Ruha regain their feet. She doesn't bother to ask where the extra healing is coming from, it will explain itself soon enough.
"Might be that we should destroy that statue and what it encases, lest we need to fight it again later," Rhoreen mentions, but unable to kill others so quickly.
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You realize when you go to administer treatment to Ruha that in all this time you've been with her, she's never taken off the mask that covers her nose and mouth. She's always held only food or drinks to eat in private, and the couple times she's had to quaff a potion in the heat of combat, its been by pouring its contents straight through a small filtered opening at the front of the mask. Yambul's able to do the same.
Ruha pulls herself up to a sitting position with a muffled groan. "Dreadful. Absolutely dreadful. I was certain that was the end for me. Completely convinced. But I suppose it's not yet." She gingerly touches her barely-healed wounds "Still feels as though it might turn that way. But otherwise, thank you all. Looks like you managed to deal with that Technic League woman." She looks around and notices the Shade is gone "You did manage to deal with her?"
Yambul leans back - giving Rüha room to breathe, ”Oh wow Rüha. I’ve never seen you take such punishing hits. I’m glad you made it.”
"You did manage to deal with her?"
He turns to the group, ”Do we know where she is? She’s probably getting help. We should scoot.”
Then he turns to Drund. ”Name’s Yambul, very nice to meet you. Those Technique Leaguers are no friends of ours and that’s a fact. I think if we’re to have an uninterrupted conversation, I suggest we do it far from here. The League is surely on its way.”
He slashes his falchion through the ice to kill the remaining guard, ”Can you recommend a nice pub? I’m parched.”
(heroism) to befriend him
With a bit hit, Yambul shatters the statue. Drund looks impressed "Sure thing. Let's go have a drink with the people that saved my day. I know a place that should be safe."
He makes a sign to his bodyguards "My men will pick up my stuff before the Technic League has time to come ruin the party" with a sign, the men start to pack up the stuff while you notice the people in the square has already started to disperse as the fight started.
"Follow me" he picks up the cortex gun box and leaves the square.
---
Drund leads you through winding alleys and up a secure lift to The Steel Bloom, a sleek, upscale club nestled in Sovereign's Watch. The bouncers nod at his approach, and he exchanges a few quiet words before you're escorted to a private lounge, polished chrome walls, a soft blue glow, and a sound-dampening field humming quietly.
"Drinks are on me. Let's talk business, and maybe how we can help each other," he says, settling into a curved seat and motioning for the server "I saw you were selling stuff in the market. Don't want to offend, but you do not look like merchants or scavengers. Haggling tech outside of League's reach is a risky business, so what type of people do that in Numeria nowadays?"
Baron Drund has left most of his tech in the pagoda, but you see he still carries his gun, the box Zzvkgrogk swapped, and the AI facet earring on his ear.