St. John shrugs "I've no way to deal with a dragon other than my sword. Pretty much the same with the commander. Sounds like she is up and so we must be careful."
"We can simply confront the commander and see if she'll explain herself and see reason, and then handle her if need be."
Triphylla is ready to do just that.
"I agree," Valeria said, "Tangling with a dragon would be something to avoid, especially when we have so many enemies around to join the fight if we are heard."
Esinti mulls Trip's suggestion and then gives her a nod. "Let's roll with that plan. If it ends in a fight, we know what to expect."
The sylph readies his weapons and checks his armor and equipment one last time. Everything seems to be in place; all that's left now is for St. John to open the door and barge on in.
With a certain heaviness in the pit of his stomach, he draws in a deep breath and waits.
With the party ready, a distant peal to thunder strikes as St John barges through the door just in time for a heavy crossbow bolt to slam into his arm! The commander clearly aware of your presence mutters "S@##! HOW DID YOU LOT GET HERE?!" as she drops her oversized crossbow and pulls out a weird looking longsword with multiple hooks, barbs, and serrations along the blade. Known as a shatterspike it's a duelist's weapon good for catching the enemies blade in a bind.
<--- CRIT?
<--- NO
Environment: Normal.
Buffs and Debuffs:
Triphylla All the buffs
Estini
Lope
St John
Valeria
Commander
???
Triphylla All the buffs
Estini
Lope
St John
Valeria
Commander
???
COMBAT ORDER:
Triphylla <----- WE ARE HERE
Estini
Lope
St John
Valeria
Commander
???
Party is up!
"Bah!" Triphylla grunts as the crossbow bolts slam home. "Guess she's in no mood to talk!"
The halfling speeds past St. John and slides under the table to get to Staubel's right side.
She pops up beside her, lunging with her devilish horns to gore the Commander.
St. John sees Triphylla rush by and under the table. He shrugs and then moves over and on top of the desk and attacks the commander.
Lope would have cast shield before moving into the commander's room.
With a quick dash, Lope double moves into the room making Gloria explode into flames and cornering Stauble to give Triphylla a flank "We know you sent your own men to die to the medusa in the abandoned tower!"
Quick as a flash Triphylla is in and ducking under the table and goring the commander. The rest of the party follow quickly behind her, but to your surprise a large war ram in barding bursts out of the closed bedroom door and crashes towards St John. At the very last moment St John twistsaway, otherwise he would likely have been slammed into the wall.
<--- FAIL
St John's Falata strike connects solidly, sending a spray of blood over the wall. The commander grimaces in anger an pain.
Lope rushes into the room, setting up a flank with Triphylla.
Valeria moved to the door as she aimed with dignity's barb at the ram and lightly pulled the trigger.
Esinti quietly slips into the chaos. With the others crowding the commander, the Sylph focuses on the ram.
Estinti's weapon flicks out and pierces the flank of the war ram, which snorts in rage!
With everyone moving so quickly, Valeria is unable to get a clear shot.
Snarling at you, the commander screeches, "BURN!" and suddenly a pillar of fire engulfs her and everyone around.
<--- PASS
<--- FAIL
<--- PASS
<--- PASS
Lope got burned badly and both Triphylla and St John got singed, yet the commander and her ram were unscathed. The ram lowered it's horns and headbutted St John, goring him in the small of the back, leaving him sorely wounded!
<--- MISS
<--- HIT
<--- NO
Environment: Normal.
Damage Log:Round: 0
St John was hit by Commander for 18 (total damage taken 18)Round: 1
Commander was hit by Triphylla for 11 (total damage taken 11)
Commander was hit by St John for 18 (total damage taken 29)
Ram was hit by Estinti for 12 (total damage taken 12)
Lope was hit by Commander for 31 (total damage taken 31)
St John was hit by Commander for 15 (total damage taken 33)
Triphylla was hit by Commander for 15 (total damage taken 15)
St John was hit by Ram for 19 (total damage taken 52)Totals:
St John: 52 damage
Commander: 29 damage
Ram: 12 damage
Lope: 31 damage
Triphylla: 15 damage
COMBAT ORDER:
Triphylla <----- WE ARE HERE
Estini
Lope
St John
Valeria
Commander
Ram
Triphylla, Estini, Lope, St John and Valeria are up.
St. John screams in pain as the fire rains down on him but managed to avaoid the worst of it. The distraction from it gave the ram an opening though and threw off his attacks after he stepped to the side.
"Lions, Elephants, Dragons, now Rams! This place is a zoo!"
Triphylla throws in with the theme and goes full honey badger on the commander.
Dex Mutagen+Dex Rage+Power Attack+Cat's Grace+Flank: 1d20+17, 1d6/1d4+5
Lope suffers the flames, but keeps fighting while his clothes burn aflame "And the zoo is on fire! Damn! That coat was just new!"
Triphylla's attack on the commander is sudden and horribly violent. She headbuts the woman's stomach with one horn, goring her and then digging into her sides with her claws she climbs up her back and takes a large bite out of the woman's face. Blood flies everywhere, the woman screams in fight, and the coppery taste of blood fills Triphylla's mouth. She finds she likes the feeling of the woman's flesh and has to fight the urge to swallow.
Estinti hesitates, shocked by the violence. Lope however ignites Gloriana add thrusts, piercing the commander's thigh. The woman barely notices, all her attention is fixed on the cannibalistic halfling that is eating her alive!
Sorely wounded, St John desperately tries to attack the ram, but none of his blows contact.
[ooc]Estinti and Valeria are up.
Estinti's weapon flicks out. By all rights ram should be an easy target, but it's not. Between erratic movement and it's thick hide, Estinti only manages to land a single blow.
<--- MISS
<--- HIT
<--- MISS
Realizing that St John is about to die unless she acts, Valeria calls upon the aid of the redeemer queen. Her prayer is answered by a blue nimbus of power around her hand. She walks in, ducking aside from one horn to deliver healing to St John. Some of his wounds evaporate like steam.
<--- MISS
The commander shrieks, "GET OFF ME YOU FREAK!" and when that does nothing, she tries to skewer Triphylla which also does nothing! Then she steps around the desk, in what's likely a doomed effort to get away. Her clothes are soaked with blood which is splattering everywhere.
<--- MISS
<--- MISS
The ram continues to attack St John, he parries one horn but gets impaled by the other!
<--- HIT
<--- MISS
gore +13/+8 (2d6+17)
Environment: Normal.
Damage Log:Round: 0
St John was hit by Commander for 18 (total damage taken 18)Round: 1
Commander was hit by Triphylla for 11 (total damage taken 11)
Commander was hit by St John for 18 (total damage taken 29)
Ram was hit by Estinti for 12 (total damage taken 12)
Lope was hit by Commander for 31 (total damage taken 31)
St John was hit by Commander for 15 (total damage taken 33)
Triphylla was hit by Commander for 15 (total damage taken 15)
St John was hit by Ram for 19 (total damage taken 52)Round: 2
Commander was hit by Triphylla for 20 (total damage taken 49)
Commander was hit by Triphylla for 19 (total damage taken 68)
Commander was hit by Triphylla for 13 (total damage taken 81)
Commander was hit by Triphylla for 13 (total damage taken 94)
Commander was hit by Lope for 16 (total damage taken 110)
Ram was hit by Estinti for 13 (total damage taken 25)Round: 1
St John was healed by Valeria for 16 (total damage taken 36)
St John was hit by Ram for 23 (total damage taken 59)Totals:
St John: 59 damage
Commander: 110 damage
Ram: 25 damage
Lope: 31 damage
Triphylla: 15 damage
COMBAT ORDER:
Triphylla <----- WE ARE HERE
Estini
Lope
St John
Valeria
Commander
Ram
Triphylla, Estini, Lope, St John and Valeria are up.
"That's right! And this freak's gonna tear you apart!"
Triphylla's mind is too clouded in rage, fueled by the mist of crimson iron in the air, to realize how much pleasure she's taking in this killing. She'll think about it later when she's washing her teeth.
Lope starts to load his blade with electricity but the tight position makes him fail and the spell gets disrupted. He though, displays spell combat prowess with a final attack to the commander "Your days of treason to Taldor come to an end!"
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Triphylla tears into the commander once more, although in her follow up she can't quite manage the same ferocity. Still she bit a chunk out of the woman's thigh and lacerated her let legs. Wracked with pain and weakened by loss of blood, the commander wobbled. Lope took immediate advantage and swung gloriana in a powerful lateral blow, taking her head clean off.
Shocked by the loss of its mistress, the ram bleats incomprehension as you hack it to pieces, the stench of blood and voided bowels is strong, leaving the room like a charnel house. Thunder crashes outside as you steady your breaths.
The room has extensive shelving full of plodding military histories. There's also neat row of records, examining them all will take some hours.
Valeria was relieved they had all survived the vicious fight but felt sorry for the ram at the end. The creature seemed unable to understand what had just happened to it's mistress and she wished they could have spared it. The creature was unwilling to back down though and so it was killed. While the others looted the body and room, she worked to pull the animal next to the remains of their owner and said a prayer over them asking the Redeemer Queen to give the woman and her faithful ram a chance at redemption in the afterlife if she could.
With that done she looked to the others and said, "We should hurry and get out of here while we can if we have what we need. Worst comes to worst we take everything we can carry and examine the contents later."
Lope quickly scans the room and nods to Valeria in agreement "We cannot stay here long. We need to find documents that tell the truth about the commander plans here"
He searches specifically for any locked furniture that might hold the documents here, and tries to use the keys found in the corpse.
St. John lets out a deep breath and winces as the commander and ram fall. He says "That hurt. I'm gonna need a minute." as he leans on the desk and looks around.
Triphylla tears through the commander's armor and flesh and delights in the screams of pain. It's like a drug, this kind of violence, and she finds that when the horns come out, her otherwise good-nature is annihilated, at least until the horns go away. Deep inside she wonders if there will come a time when the horns don't go away.
She slumps next to Staubel's corpse as the fatigue rushes on. The bleeting of the ram also ends, thankfully; it might be enough to wake the dragon if not the guard. They probably don't have a lot of time, but she's not doing anything until she recovers from the rage.
St. John took the brunt of it, and she empathizes. "Me as well, although I was luckier in the scrap." She takes out her water skin and offers it to the fighter. "You're quick with that falcata," she says, and then adds, "Where did you learn to fight like that?"
Lope can easily see there's an entire bookcase dedicated to the commander's correspondence. Going through the voluminous notes will take time. The worry is if you spend too much time here, somebody is going to call on the commander and raise the alarm.
Lope runs a hand along the spines of the correspondence, lips quirking in a smile "Ah... a whole library of betrayal. If we linger, it may also be the stage for our capture"
He looks to the others, voice lower now "We take what we can carry, letters with seals, anything marked urgent or personal. Enough to damn him without drowning ourselves in paper"
The Aldori picks up the correspondence, then points towards the door "We need to have a talk about what is going on with that frenzy and horns Triphylla... but not now. Time to go"
Triphylla wonders what Lope might say about the horns and the ferocity that come with them. Probably not unlike her own concerns.
She helps carry what she can in her backpack, then makes sure to grab the key ring off Staubel's corpse. Upon finding the gold she asks the others: "Let's take all of this and sell whatever we can't use."
St. John smiles and then winces "I attended the best school in Oppera for Rondelero Dueling. I was one of their better students as well. It is what brought me to the attention of our boss." He gathers up all the correspondence he can into his haversack after he pulls two sacks out to fill as well. The more important looking stuff into the haversack.
So you spend several minutes stuffing correspondence into St John's Handy Haversack. You think you got everything that looked interesting, it's still thundering outside although it's starting to sound a bit further off. What next, sneak back out and head back to town?
"We should go. The weather favors our escape and we're in no shape to fight anything else here."
Esinti kept guard while St. John and the others moved the massive amount of possible evidence into the magic bag. The bag, it seems, isn't quite magical enough to take all of the commander's correspondence, and Esinti isn't looking forward to having to plow through most of it with the others.
"Yeah, we ought to go. If fortune favors us, the weather will erase what tracks we leave behind."
While the searching was done Valeria went to St John and began to heal him before he started grabbing documents to take.
Once he was in good shape she looked to the others, "Did anyone else need healed before we leave? If not, we should go before the storm passes."
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The escape from the caravanserai was a nerve wracking affair, the storm was moving away and you were intensely aware of the creaking of the floorboards as you stole away. There was a nerve wracking moment as you crept past the room where Triphylla had seen a sleeping dragon, which on reflection can't have been much bigger than a few horses but still a dragon! You heard creaking from within the room, it seemed the creature stirred in its sleep but nothing happened as you made your way along the stairs and past the room with the snoring.
Scarcely believing your luck you crept outside into the rain, giving the chained elephant a wide berth. And then you headed south, away from Tallgrasses hoping the rain would mask your passage. Perhaps lady luck smiled upon you because after weary hours of trudging through the rain you see the distant shilouette of yanmass in the pre-dawn twilight. Another half hour later, brings you through the northern gate and into Yanmass proper.
Given the muddy disarray you're in you enter your lodgings, The Gilded Baldachin, by the trades entrance. The ever attentive staff soon have you out of your muddied travel clothes and into steaming rose petal bath water. Perhaps the rain was just as well because it washed away the worst of the blood and Triphylla in particular might have had a very difficult time explaining it all away.
Later you start reviewing the voluminous correspondence. Commander Staubel it seems was a staunch believer in tidy book keeping, a necessary skill for efficiently administering an armed force. Most of her notes are mundane in the extreme, and your eyes start to glaze over after a few pages.
Commander Staubel's orders, as transmitted by the Grey Kingmaker was a false flag operation, where they where to pretend to be the Qadiran bandits they once hunted. Their orders where to harass and scare traders, before arranging a massacre in a few week, which would give Taldor a Casus Belli for a retaliatory invasion of Quadria!
Regimental notes show the Commander ruthlessly removed Junior Officers she deemed disloyal to her, ordering them on one way trips to investigate Orvestikar Manor where she had an agreement with the medusa Aresphena.
Combining this with the other correspondence you found at the former Sanguine Brothers Slaughter house looks damning for Earl Yander. He is undoubtedly the Grey Kingmaker, and has much to answer for! The Mercantile council will want to know what you have discovered...
St. John begins looking through the papers but his eyes soon start to glass over.
Lope leans back in a chair, his hear still soaked by the bath's steam, a letter held high and dry in his hand, a smile spreading wider with each line "Ha! The Grey Kingmaker, our faceless puppeteer finally shows his strings. And look, the play ends not in banditry, but in war. Pythareus himself could be behind this farce"
He tosses the page onto the growing stack of damning evidence, then glances at the others "The council will want this tale... but which act shall we play first? The bandits, the mercantile court, or our dear General Pythareus?"
The Aldori feels particularly happy about the findings, and he is willing to explain all the relations and difficult coding used in the correspondence.
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Leaving the investigation of important papers to the more skilled interpreters of high-born nonsense, Triphylla looks for Diana in the lounge.
"Well hullo! Thought maybe you'd taken root somewhere and we'd have to water you." She grins, sharp and tired in equal measure, then waves the waiter over to fill her cup.
The halfling leans in. "So, quick catch-up: while you were gone we broke into the caravanserai, climbed all over Tallgrasses like fleas on a mastiff, and then—get this—beheaded Commander Staubel. Lope did the honors. Clean swipe, very dramatic. There was also a ram involved, but that story's more sad than glorious. Let's just say it didn't end well for the beast. Oh, and did I mention there were lions? And an elephant. And a dragon!"
Triphylla takes long drink, stopping only to breathe. "We made it out in one piece, which is either luck, divine favor, or typical awesomeness. I lean toward awesomeness. Nearly woke the dragon, because apparently we collect near-death experiences like some people collect porcelain dolls."
She tilts her head, smirking. "Anyway, long story short, we've got proof Staubel was working with Earl Yander, who was working with some mysterious 'Grey Kingmaker,' who's probably Maxillar bloody Pythareus. All very cloak-and-dagger, very treasonous. The Mercantile Council is going to have a field day."
Triphylla drums her fingers on the glass, studying Diana with a sly look. "So. That's what you missed. Corpses, conspiracies, and way too much mud. Welcome back to the party. Another drink?" She waves her empty cup at the waiter until it gets filled, and she shoots him a look that says, don't go anywhere.
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"I see, I let you all out of my sight for some research time and a couple errands for my cousin, and you go ahead and deal with all the troubles we came here to solve." Diana grins back at Triphylla and signal the waiter for a cup as well. "Although I'd like to hear what happened in more detail later. You mentioned a dragon? That's... A bit more force than I figured our enemies would be able to get. It's a good thing you managed to get by it unscathed."
She takes a sip of her drink, and nods. "Although I believe getting whatever proof you got to the Council should probably be our priority right now. The less time we give Earl Yander to prepare, the better. Hopefully we'll be able to bring him to justice and let Yanmass be peaceful again. Or as peaceful as it is possible in these times."
"First thing in the morning, then," replies Triphylla. She retires for a few hours of well-earned sleep.
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Now fed and presentable once more thanks to the indefatigable staff of the Gilded Baldachin, you make your way to the Mercantile Council. As before, you are greeted by the loquacious halfling, Gregor Hamble, in his customary council livery. "Ah the Opparan delegation! The council was hoping for an update your investigation, as I'm sure you've heard there's been an uptick in banditry of late and the Taldan Horse are nowhere to be seen. Most regrettable..."
After waiting in an oak paneled side room for ten minutes you are ushered into the council chamber where there was a gap in the schedule. You are greeted by Lord Rudig Autun, "Welcome! I must say despite Yanmass's other problems I don't don't think any of us have slept so well after you ended the plague of dreams!"
"Indeed! We are all extremely grateful." agreed Lady Carmellio Rauls, who added "But something tells me they're here on other business."
All eyes turn to you.
Lope steps forward with an elegant bow, the kind more suited to a stage than a council chamber. His voice carries warmth, but also the gravity of accusation "My lords, my ladies, when last we spoke of dreams, you feared shadows. Now, we bring you the script of a far darker play: one written in false flags, betrayal, and the ink of treason"
He sets a sealed letter on the table with a theatrical flourish "Commander Staubel was not merely negligent. She served a hidden master styling himself the Grey Kingmaker, whose coin and orders came from Earl Yander, and behind him, all points towards General Pythareus himself. The bandits who bleed your caravans are no Qadiran raiders, but Taldan steel in disguise, meant to drag Yanmass into a war you did not choose"
The Aldori shows the evidence the party has been collecting "We have the letters, the orders, the proof. The question now, honored council, is not whether the plot is real, but how you will answer to this treason"
Valeria was relieved they had made it out alive and even happier they had gotten what they needed. It could have gone very badly but they had successfully made it out of the camp and back to town. The absence of Dianna had been worrisome but it seemed she was back and none the worse for wear so that was a relief.
When they finally went to Meet with the council Valeria wore one of her nicer outfits since this was such an important meeting but while she was there she stayed quiet and let Lope do the talking and, as usual, he seemed to be doing a thorough job so she had little reason but to let him talk for now. Instead, she kept a careful eye on those gathered watching for anyone who seemed like they might be a traitor.
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Suddenly everyone was shouting at once, Lope's words had caused a sensation! It took several minutes for Lord Rudig Autun to bring the chamber back to order, favouring Lope with a despairing look he said, "I trust you have proof?"
The council then spend the next ten minutes examining the letters, there were several arguments about the veracity but Lady Aumber Gewbell snarled at Lady Carmellio Rauls "Cut the c**p! You know Earl Yander's handwriting as well as anything, this is damning!"
Lord Autun seemed to be having a migraine, slumped in his seat as half a dozen members of the lower council attempted to ask various points of order. After several minutes of cacophony he stood up and shouted "ENOUGH! WE SHALL HAVE ORDER IN THE CHAMBER!"
A shocked silence followed into which Lord Autun spoke in a more measured tone, "Clearly we're going to have to arrest Earl Yander. I don't imagine that will be easy..." Lady Carmellio Rauls interjected to say, "What of the reputational damage, we can't allow the defection of the Taldan Horse to become common knowledge, the people will panik!"
"Yes. Yes. I guess you're right." sighed Lord Autun, turning to you he said, "Unfortunately, you're going to have to keep the Taldan Horse scandal quiet. If you can do that and capture Earl Yander we'll reward you handsomely! I mean you're due a reward for this information anyway, but if you can do this we'll make its worth you're time. Do we have an agreement?"
Triphylla hangs back with Gregor during the proceedings, figuring her voice was unlikely to carry in the noisy hall.
"Who else do we need to worry about on the Council?" she asks her fellow halfling out of earshot of the others.
Gregor replies, "Depends what you mean. There's quite a few with Pythareus sympathies especially on the junior council, ones whose businesses stand to profit from war."