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The burly dwarf rolls his neck from side to side, stretching. "You lot practice together. That's nice to see. Tactics, that's what's missing from most dumb thugs I fight these days. However, you boys are about to get a lesson in what training and experience can do."
With that, Hornbori lays about him with his battle-axe held in two hands, hewing his foes like so much cordwood.
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With the group clustered as it is, Itka doesn't have a good line of sight on any of the foes. Instead, she casts [url=https://2e.aonprd.com/Spells.aspx?ID=142]Guidance on Symeon and Jayma, since they're the ones she can see most easily. It occurs to her that there may be something to be gleaned from these thugs, so she mulls over what she noticed of the thug she frightened. Hmp. Anything useful there?
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As everyone rises to chase after the miscreant, Jayma is pushed this way and that and barely manages to stay on her short petite legs in the rush for the door. She calls after the others. "Make sure to leave some for me!"
Finally reaching the door after everyone else, she plunges through and spots what she assumes must be several of Mother Forsythe's Daughters. Selecting one of the many stones lying around the place, she says, "daughters deserve denting" and then flicks her wrist to fire it in the direction of one of their attackers.
vs Frightened 1
(Round 1) Arfsnarf's rock thumps into Yellow'f forehead.
(Round 2) Hornbori swings his axe. His axe simply slices through Yellow entirely, downing her with one hit. It then continues into Blue. He takes a moment to slap a bandage on himself.
Itka guides her allies.
Itka knows that these toughs are well-prepared for combat - they take take advantage of any opportunity () and can really hurt their enemies if they catch them by surprise ()
Arfsnarf's objects keep streaming at his enemies, knocking Blue ont he side of the head.
Jayma moves into position, drawing some of Blue's ire.
She returns fire, and Blue looks confused getting pummeled by inanimate objects. Makai puts an end to her confusion by bonking her on the head.
--Round 1
Makai (50/50 hp)
Hornbori (88/88 hp)
Symeon (38/38 hp)
Jayma (34/40 hp)
--Round 2
Itka (40/40 hp)
Arfsnarf (38/38 hp)
Red
Yellow (-59 hp)
Blue (-69 hp)
--Round 1
Makai (50/50 hp)
Hornbori (72/88 hp)
Symeon (38/38 hp)
Jayma (34/40 hp)
--Round 2
Itka (40/40 hp)
Arfsnarf (38/38 hp)
Red
Yellow (-59 hp)
Blue (-69 hp)
Symeon avenges Hornbori with a well-placed arrow.
Red, seeing her companions fall around her, runs off.
--Round 2
Makai (50/50 hp)
Hornbori (50/88 hp)
Symeon (38/38 hp)
Jayma (34/40 hp)
--Round 3
Itka (40/40 hp)
Arfsnarf (38/38 hp)
Red (-37 hp) [fleeing]
Yellow (-59 hp)
Blue (-69 hp)
Jayma's missiles slam into Red and she falls onto the ground.
Combat over!
Each of the toughs has a gauntlet, a sling (with 10 bullets), and studded leather armor. None radiate magic. The group also finds some shards of amethyst,
None of the locals seems to bat an eye as they watch the fight. This appears to be a common occurence.
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At the docks, the Pathfinders can see the slightly bloated and heavily bruised corpse of a female elf, saltwater coursing through her lifeless body. On her corpse, the Pathfinders find a ruined spellbook and material components, as well as a now-illegible journal whose cover reads, “My Search for Cheliax’s Truth.” The elven woman’s face is locked in a visage of pure terror.
Footprints in the sand thaaven’t yet been washed away by the ocean lead to a nearby sewage grate, just big enough for the Pathfinders to enter. The grate opens easily.
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Descriptions of the four novices for whom we're searching
While searching the body for clues, Itka had been tense. Once everything is laid out and named, however, she deflates like a pierced pig bladder. Her gravelly voice begins mournfully, but becomes more aggressive with each word she speaks: "Hmp. It's probably Selia Torossel. We should secure her body first, but I can't wait to pay whoever did this a visit. HMP!" Her posture rises, resembling more of a malicious gargoyle now.
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Jayma initially looks down at the body of the young Pathfinder with sadness, but when she finds out that Selia was bludgeoned to death, a spark of rage is ignited within her. "Mother Forsythe and her minions will pay for this with their lives if it's the last thing I do." She pulls out one of the scrolls that Ambrus Valsin gave them and casts it on the corpse.
With barely controlled fury, Jayma says, "That will keep her corpse from deteriorating further for a while. We should take Selia back to the Waypoint Inn before heading into the sewers. We cannot risk her body going missing."
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After the fight Makai patches Hornbori
"They had an odd way of fighting. Something to be expected from gang members."
Makai looks at the body and takes her shield in hand. She stands in the back looking at the body. Sadness is mixed with anger, and she has no words to say. As Hornbori finishes with wounds and Jayma with spells she kneels next to the body and opens her bag. With a bit of dirt, she makes a sign of a hammer on her forehead.
You were looking for truth and found death instead...
She closes her eyes for a moment and prays
"We all come from Torag's forge and we are bound to return to its flame. May your spirit calmly depart from this world."
She helps to put the body in the bag and carries it to Waypoint Inn.
Most of the sewer passages are too narrow to make a reasonable path — the sewers weren’t built for creatures to traverse them. But, the Pathfinders must rely on their skill and insight.
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Itka stares into the claustrophobic gloom of the sewers. While skinny as a rail, her large bone structure will make it challenging for her to fit through there. She lets out a frustrated "Hmp," then digs Akti out of her pocket. "Hmp. Go see if there's a pathway in there that the bigger folks can fit through. Then come back." Her voice is rough and begrudging, but she sets the black rat down gently and watches it scuttle into the dank darkness with a hint of worry etched on her brow.
Akti squeaks once in acknowledgement and begins pattering into the sewer. Honestly, it's great to get out and stretch his legs for a bit. And sewers aren't so bad, really, as long as he doesn't attract the attention of anything larger than him. And he knows that Itka will make sure that he eats well when he returns. It may be hard to see, but if he looks closely enough, he can tell that she cares about him, just like she used to before Zon Kuthon started using him as his tool. Akti shudders from whiskers to tail tip and stops musing at the thought of Itka's patron, forcing himself to focus on his task.
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Jayma suddenly remembers that in addition to the scroll of Gentle Repose, Ambrus also gave them a Bag of Holding. "Hold on! I just remembered something." She pulls out the bag and holds it up. "The Venture-captain also gave us this. If Makai and Hornbori can put the body in here, we can take Selia with us and go after the miscreants immediately."
She eyes the nearby sewage grate with distaste. "Why is it that we Pathfinders are constantly having to go into sewers?" She sighs and after the grate is removed, lowers herself into the hole after the others. Once in the sewers, she stands up in the cramped space. "Good thing we're all short..." she glances at Itka, "...or stooped, otherwise this would really be unbearable." Her trained eye then surveys the tunnels to ascertain the most likely path for their quarry to have taken through the sewers.
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Makai moves in front with Hornbori, she carries her shield in one hand and follows the direction of those having a good idea of where to go. Every now and then she aids to open locked gates or clearing rubble from the way.
"Before we go all ham on whoever is here, let us make sure that they are responsible for what has happened to Selia."
Atki seems happy to be free - too happy, in fact. Atki leads the group to a lot of scraps of uneaten food, but nowhere useful.
Jayma holds her head high, both to ward off the stench, and to look at the structure.
Makai moves anything that needs to be moved.
Arfsnarf tries a more dextrous approach, and is likewise successful.
---
Successes: 3
To act: Hornbori, Symeon
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When Akti returns to Itka's hand, so proud of himself that he's preening, she feels both disappointed (that he didn't succeed) and guilty (because her first reaction is to be grumpy and mean about it, but that doesn't make sense because how would you expect a rat with a brain the size of the tip of her finger to manage a complex task like that?). These conflicted feelings make her grouchy. "Hmp." She stuffs him--gently--back into his pocket, then drops in a whole breakfast sausage that she'd been saving. "Hmp. Not like you need more food after all that." She hobbles along after the others, thankful that they're not going too fast right now.
Hornbori demonstrates how to pop the gate locks and Symeon demonstrates how to hop on pipes.
Or rather, he provides a counterexample of how not to do it.
But as the pipes come crashing down, a body hidden behind them falls out.
Severe burns cover the human, male body.
DC 22 Arcana or Drake Lore:
On the body are two clearly labeled lesser bravo’s brews, as well as a wayfinder with "Tanno Kembers" inscribed. In their pocket is a note in Common that reads, “When you can’t face a problem before considering every angle. –H."
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Jayma looks somber. "Yes. I too had hoped this would be a rescue mission rather than a body recovery. We should not lose all hope though. The last two might still be alive somewhere down here." "Though probably not for much longer." Leaning down, she examines the electrical burns and brine-soaked bite wounds.
She straightens back up. "I've seen wounds like these before. Looks to me like they're from a sea drake. At least now we know what type of drake the Daughters are using as a guard."
She casts another spell on Tanno's body and with the help of the dwarves, slides it into the bag next to Selia's.
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A tempest is brewing in Itka's eyes. It's dark and malevolent--and conflicted. She can feel her patron thrilling at the pain these two novices experienced, as well as his anticipation of the pain she and her group may inflict on the offenders during this mission. Oh, she wants revenge *so badly*, but her lust for violence is dampened by its association with Zon Kuthon. Her hand slips into her pocket, fingers tracing along Akti's fragile body. She forces herself to focus on the little rat as he was at first: just an ordinary rat, an ordinary pet, with no patron or magic or agenda. Slowly she stops seething as the others prepare and stow Tanno's body. They'll pay. They *will* pay, but not how Zon Kuthon wants. We'll make it as quick and painless as possible. Win-win. She mentally flips a crude gesture at her patron, not caring if he notices. After all, there's not much more he can do to punish her than he's already done.
"Hmp. Let's hurry."
Jayma immediately recognizes the wounds as those from a sea drake. They are amphibious, water-based dragons that can breathe lightning (explaining the electrical burns) and deliver a punch of salt with every bite, which can sicken the target.
(+9 for initiative)
The group is about to open the rusty grate, but Hornbori, Symeon, and Itka notice the rust is thick, and the grate would likely make a huge amount of noise, alerting anyone above.
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Symeon rubs his hurt backside, more to soothe his pride than from any actual injury, and watches as the rest of the Pathfinders quickly diagnose what happened to the body he found and what caused it. He looks even more surprised to see that the gate they planned on using was so heavily rusted, given that there was a body they were looking for in the sewers here. He pauses and then decides to question the gang specifically about how this ended up here and not hidden some place harder to find.
"We should hurry, the rest of them could still be alive and dilly dallying might mean they aren't for long. Also if anyone finds that we found these bodies it could alert them to our presence."
Jayma reasons that the sewers must maintain a slight grade to drain properly; she leads the group to another grate which is not only far less rusty, but also far less smelly.
The Pathfinders emerge next to a bathhouse. It has been several years since this building was used for its intended purpose — and it shows. The
furnishings are moldy, the doors hang from their hinges, and the scent of sewage and brine is heavy.
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Jayma sniffs the air. "The scent of brine is heavy around here. Perhaps the Daughters' pet sea drake is nearby. Seems a good a place as any to hide it."
The little gnome sorcerer lifts her finger to her lips to indicate that everyone should be quiet. "I'm going to have a look inside." She lifts her staff and twirls the end around her head.
Once invisible, she slowly and quietly creeps up to the door and looks inside the bathhouse.