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Talindra eagerly follows Billi. There's a tension in her step, a strange mix of fear and excitement. Glaive at the ready, she uses the breathing exercise she used earlier. Take a breath, hold it, release, hold, repeat, each step the same length of time. It helps, and she relaxes a bit. What happens in the next 30 seconds is going to change my life--all our lives.
Sable is a little nervous. She's never done anything like this before. She tugs her sword out and follows Talindra down the stairs.
Lenrelle walks along after Sable, drawing her scimitar
Sable is a little nervous. She's never done anything like this before. She tugs her sword out and follows Talindra down the stairs.
Billi pushes open the door with Talindra holding her glaive right behind. The floor here is slick with river water, bits of seaweed, and fish blood, and the air is thick with the accompanying foul scents. Wooden catwalks to the north and south allow access between the upper parts of the fishery and this floor of the room, which is 10ft lower. A wide opening in the floor to south allows direct access to the muddy, sloppy waters of the Jeggare River, a further three feet down, while to the northwest stands an immense eight-foot tall wooden vat, its sides caked and waterproofed with tar. Inside is a foul-looking mixture of chum, river water, and who knows what else. To the east are stacked many barrels and crates each with a fish painted on it. Over a dozen hammocks hand from under the catwalks, each with at least one small child huddled inside with a thin blanket and ratty pillow.
The room is dark but Billi and Talindra can make out the details. On the southern catwalk, about halfway up, a half-orc man with an eye-patch turns to face the now-opening door, a stream of odd sounding laughter escaping his throat. Below him on the floor, a human man with a long studded club yells "Oi! Who in t' bloody hell are youse?" Neither man appears to be Gaedren Lamm. Both make moves to repel the intruders.
Somewhere in the upper fishery, the barking of dogs erupts with an unexpected ferocity.
Sable is a little nervous. She's never done anything like this before. She tugs her sword out and follows Talindra down the stairs.
Fishery Floor - Round 1
27 Billi
26 Ioca
25 Derrick
22 Lenrelle
20 Lambs
18 Talindra
16 Sable
10 Giggles
10 Perivolt
Billi charges into battle to start a vicious swing at the human after moving past him to allow the others room to engage. Then he raises his shield.
. He hisses:
”Drop that big club and you won’t get hurt. Next one won’t miss!”
Then ”Talindra, about ten steps past the door and strike straight ahead.”
Her steps should be about 2 feet long
Given the long line of people between himself and the door, Ioca finds himself forced to wait before he can do pretty much anything.
Fishery Floor - Round 1 - continued
Billi, able to see clearly in the dark, rushes forward positioning between the two tough-looking characters. He then swings, his first attack in some time, but he's a bit rusty and it misses, the battle axe clipping one of the wooden posts of the stairs instead of one of the combatants. He raises his shield expecting a return hail of blows.
The splintering sound of the wood on the post causes a child's voice to cry out from under the stairs (in alarm, not in pain).
Ioca is ready to act, but the crowd at the door and the dark blackness inside gives him pause and he delays.
The club-wielding brute reaches to his belt and unshutters a small lantern light there, bathing the area around him in bright light. "Now I sees ya, ya dwarf bugger. Time fer a bloody good beatin', eh?" He swings his club at the back of Billi's head. Fortunately, his aim is not perfect and the studded club just swishes past Billi's shield without incident. "Damn, missed! You take this bloke Giggles, an I'll stop the rest." He then steps toward the door imposing himself before the rest of you, brandishing his club dangerously.
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Ioca moves up to where Billi had been standing at the door. Seeing the man in front of him, club and all, he goes to squeeze around the rail of the stairs right there and then tries to stick the man with his blade. All of it in silence, not even baring his teeth. Just business.
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"Looks like they're refusing redemption already" She moves through the line, and then prays softly twice calling on her goddess, "Bless the friend, bless the stranger."
Billi uses his warrior reflexes to attack the human as he leaves.
Fishery Floor - Round 1 - continued
As the brutish man moves away, Billi swings his axe again in reaction. This time the axe bites into the man's shoulder eliciting a grunt of pain, and blood begins seeping through thug's rather grimy shirt.
At about the same time, now that the room is illuminated, Ioca leaps around his allies, nimbly covering the narrow stairs and then into the room. He is, perhaps, a bit disoriented when he reaches the first foe, and his rapier thrust is laughably turned aside by the brute's club.
From the doorway, Lenrelle enters also into the now brightly lit room, wrinkling her nose a bit at the offensive smell of fish decay which permeates this place. Seeing her allies already engaged in a fight, the priestess calls on the blessings of Sarenrae, giving divine guidance to both Ioca and Talindra.
Now more easily visible, all of you can see the room is filled with small children sleeping in hammocks hung under the stairways, some two to a bunk. A few of the children leap from their bunks, grab small implements used in the fishery production like brooms and rakes, and begin to gather courage to intervene in the surprising dispute in their bunkroom. "Get out! Leave us be! Giggles and Derrick will give you what you deserve!" shout the little ones, in a cacophony of shrill voices.
Upon seeing all of the children in the newly illuminated room, Perivolt looks around wildly peering at the little grimy faces.
“Graykos! Graykos!! It’s Perri! I’m here to take you home!” His cry is desperate and somewhat panicked as the situation begins to escalate.
Hearing the sounds of the fight, Sable begins to sing in Dwarven, Billi will understand that it's a Dwarven war song, but even those of her allies that don't understand the words will feel inspired. As she moves forward, it's not a run, it's more of a dance, fluid and precise movements.
Sable sees the children as she enters the room, and that sight, as well as the faiths of some of her friends, keeps her sword from swinging at the club toting thug. Instead, she tries to hook her leg behind his and trip him.
If she manages to trip him, Sable points her sword at him and says "Stay down and surrender."
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Hearing the sounds of combat, Talindra steels herself and takes a breath, repeating her training in her mind. The energy of Lenrelle's magic wraps her in a warm, cozy blanket--a familiar feeling, though it's just a bit different in an ineffable way. She's more accustomed to Shelyn's guidance rather than Sarenrae's. It's not any less comfortable, just different. But as the children's voices reach her ears, her reflections on the finer points of divine magic halt with a crash . She rushes in directly north of Ioca , facing the man with the club.
She looks around the room to see if any of the children seem to be looking in Perivolt's direction. Then, to the adults, she sues for peace.
"We don't want any more violence. Tell us where Lamm is. He's the one we're after." She says this loudly enough to be heard over the fighting and other noises in the room, thankful her training as a choir singer gives her volume when she needs it.
”I hope these slavers comply.”
Wow Sable is smart and a good wrestler!!
Fishery Floor - Round 1 - continued
Sable moves with inspiring grace around the floor of the fishery, ending up next to Derrick (the club guy). Her movements are seen by the others, and add to their morale during the next few seconds. As Sable moves by she is attacked by Derrick and his club in reaction to her Move. The blow looks sure to crush Sable's supple shoulders, but instead of making the hit, Derrick seems entranced for a moment, looking inward at what might have been -- a path to redemption open in front of him for an instant and the moment for his attack passes.
On cue, part of Sable's inspirational dance turns deadly, and she slips her own leg behind the contemplative Derrick's, then comes close enough to kiss the brute, but instead pushes him over, the big man falling prone on the icky goo covered floor, any thoughts of redemption lost in a cry of anger. "Yer a sassy un, ain'tcha! We'll see 'bout that."
Her glimpse of redemption used to good effect, Talindra steps into the room in front of the now-prone thug and scans the mass of children for any signs of recognition from Perivolt's cry. Try as she might, she cannot tell any response from the kids. None seem to respond, and all seem pretty determined to repel the invaders. She shouts at the brutes, but they are to early in, and to geared up from the home invasion to pay her any mind.
At the back of the room, Giggles grabs a silver whistle around his neck and blows it shrilly three times, clearly making a signal of some kind."Help's comin', Derrick! Get up, fool!" Then he laughs again, a guttural choking sound that is uncomfortable to hear. He raises his weapon, a handle with a length of chain and brutal spiked metal ball on the end, and swings it down at Billi, clipping the dwarf on his side, doing small damage. Last, the one-eyed half-orc shouts a string of the most filthy curse words you've ever heard at the group of small children, browbeating them into a frenzy of aggressive action aimed at the PCs.
"A little help over here Talindra! Take these guys down before we are fighting kids!"
Billi hits at the Giggles with his axe after closing the distance and keeps by the wall to keep his distance from and limit the frontage of the kids.
"Hey kids, you don't want any of this fight."
As everyone rushes into the melee, Perivolt is crushed to hear the children preparing to aid the fiends keeping them in such squalor. He makes several signs and mutters the correct words to activate his protective spell. His form is suffused in light causing a glow to shimmer across the wizard’s body. Then he rushes up behind Talindra and tries to scan the horde of young faces.
Fishery Floor - Round 1 - concluded
Perivolt enters the foul-smelling production room, adding the mass of people near the door. Seeing the combat break out, he conjures his protective spell and feels more comfortable when the pale blue aura surrounds him. He then scans the mass of children for his brother but in the scrum of melee and the chaotic movements of the Lambs, he cannot make out Graykos, nor do any answer his call.
End of Round 1
Fishery Floor - Round 2
27 Billi (18/23hp remain; shield up)
25 Derrick (prone; 5hp dmg)
26 Ioca (delayed last round; Guidance available)
22 Lenrelle
20 Lambs (unfriendly; intimidated)
18 Talindra
16 Sable
10 Giggles
10 Perivolt(mage armor up)
Billi closes ground on the half-orc then swings his axe. He's pretty sure to hit, but Giggles uses the chain on his flail to parry the stroke at the last minute, and its turned aside harmlessly. Billi keeps his shield up to protect himself against the eventual counterstroke.
Finding himself prone on the deck and lying amid the filth of the fish mixture, Derrick stands, groaning from the wound he took earlier. Then steps in a diagonal fashion to front with Sable. "Reckon yer fancy moves'll save ya, lil bird? Watch this, yeah?" And he makes a brutal swing at the bard's head. Sable contorts just enough for the studded club to miss her, but she feels the whoosh of the displaced air from it, and knows it was a narrow thing.
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Lenrelle is in a nightmare as children swarm towards them apparently ready to attack on behalf of those who enslave them. They're ordering Little Lamms to the slaughter.. or trying to.. I'll die myself before letting these wee ones die. And poor Perivolt, he's desperate to find Graykos "These brutes have scared the children into fighting on their behalf. Slaying our two foes maybe the only thing that frees the young ones or at least takes away the fear!"
Having already entered the room Lenrelle risks a great deal to go around the foe by racing past friends and allies.. not just to surround at least one foe, but put herself as first target of the children if she must.
With her Scimitar in hand, she thrusts into the back of Sable's foe who has declined surrender.
(Not sure if Flank applies but if it hit then..dmg)
Whether she hits or merely annoys she also looks to the children and says , "I know you're scared, but that is NO excuse for attacking your rescuers! Now sit down and let us save you or you are in BIG trouble, young ones! You are not bad children, but attacking your rescuers is VERY bad behavior! We're talking NO dessert when we save you, just veggies!"
She feels guilty saying it, but there's no time for gentle words right now to assure them.. there is perhaps time for a scolding. the problem being is she never really was good at being the heavy.
(plus any circumstance bonus?)
The frustrated rogue steps adjacent to the closer enemy, and attempts to end this exchange.
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Fishery Floor - Round 2 - continued
Lenrelle makes up her mind to interpose herself between the mob of children and the others. She steps past Derrick, and exposes herself to his attack. Fortune is on her side, as his attack missed badly. She now stands behind the thug, exposing his flank. She then attacks him with her holy weapon, cutting a slice across his side and back. "Ouch! Ya silly git! Tha' 'urts!" he cries out. Last, the priestess tries to get cross with the Lambs, mentioning punishment after their rescue. She sees them hesitate and whisper the word "rescue" around a few times, and thinks she may have gotten to them a bit.
Ioca steps forward also, stabbing twice at the injured thug with his rapier. Feeling the prayer of Sarenrae and the the inspiration from Sable's dance fill him, he actually scores a hit on both attacks, poking a couple more holes in Derrick, who has a handful of relatively minor wounds so far.
Caught between the invective from Giggles, and the idea of being rescued, the Lambs don't act this turn. "How do we know you're not worse than them?" a young girl asks. "You come in here with killing weapons."
From upstairs, the sounds of dogs baying ferociously echoes into the workfloor. You can see the effect that sound has on the little ones, who shiver and hug each other at the sound.
As the children are out of the way, Sable is more focused on getting the threat down and lets Lenrelle and Tallindra handle talking the kids down for now. Her dance shifts slightly, given the more cramped quarters, but it doesn't stop.
"You should have stayed down." Sable says to Derrick. Then she attacks with her sword.
Caught between the invective from Giggles, and the idea of being rescued, the Lambs don't act this turn. "How do we know you're not worse than them?" a young girl asks. "You come in here with killing weapons."
"We do have weapons, but we are using them to rescue and save .. a bandage over a wound may have to be tight, and sometimes medicine tastes bad, but it's still going good things." She looks over at Talindra "My friend over there is one of the kindest women I know, a champion of Shelyn. The goddess of love. Even with her own loss, she'd protect each of you with her life if you let her. I know it. Talk to her if you don't believe me."
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The emotions battling for dominance in Talindra's heart and mind initially make it hard for her to act. The battle swirls around her, but it feels like she's observing herself rather than actually participating. Hearing Lenrelle mention her goddess brings her feet back to the ground. Sable's song, despite her not knowing the words, helps her form a plan. She takes a breath, lets it out. Slipping past Ioca as he's striking at Derrick, she positions herself north of Lenrelle.
She turns to the Lambs, eyes soft. As gently as she can, but still loud enough to be heard, she makes her case. "You're right. You don't know. But do these men let you go out and play? Do they make sure you have enough to eat? Clean clothes? That's why we're here. Playtime and food and clean clothes."
Then, she turns to Derrick. "You, sir, will never harm another child. Or anyone else."
Fishery Floor - Round 2 - continued
Sable continues her inspirational dance even if not really moving much. She then turns her blade on Derrick, stabbing the brute once and dealing a much more serious wound than he has had so far. The thug grabs his pierced belly and cries out. "Giggles! I need yer help mate!" He looks pretty unsteady on his feet. Sable's other strike misses.
Lenrelle calls more words to the frightened children, but they don't really seem to take notice. But when Talindra, calls out about food and clean clothes, the children seem to decide to support their team, and while they gather brooms and rakes, they look to perhaps turn on Giggles, not the party. Finally, the champion skewers the wounded Derrick with her glaive, and the wounded man finally gives up the ghost, falling in a heap on the fishery floor.
Alerted by the whistle a few seconds ago, the door at the top of the stairs opens, and a tall, thin, cruel looking man comes out. He takes a beat and assesses the situation and reaches into a pouch at this belt, grabbing out a small flask. "What's happening here, Giggles?" he asks in a overly imperious way.
Giggles laughs in his rather disturbing way. "Bad guys, Yargrin. Dey must not know who dey is messin' wit." And then that disturbing giggle again. The half-orc swings steps up to Bili and swings at his head, but the dwarf easily blocks it with his shield. Grunting in frustration, he changes tactics and uses the chain of his flail to rip the axe from Bilil's grip. The chain catches and Billi does almost lose his handle, but at the last moment regains at least a semblance of grip on his blade.
SUCCESS.
Billi swings with a weakened grip with two chops over his shield.
The first strike is so brutal, if Giggles is down he decides not to deliver a second.
Billi raises his shield again.
Perivolt strides into the room, his hands already moving in arcane gestures and his mouth forming magical words. Four bright orbs appear and rise up to spread out in a square in the approximate center of the open space above the combatants.
Fishery Floor - Round 2 - concluded
When Derrick falls in battle, his hooded lantern falls with him, still emitting a bit of laight, but rolling back and forth on the wet plank floor, the light and shadows dancing around in the fishery. To rectify the lighting situation, Perivolt casts a spell that causes four small, but brilliant spheres of light to form, emitting enough light to dispel the shadows, even under the rickety stairs. The caster also moves up to the center of the room, readying for what's next.
The baying of the dogs, and the urgent scratching at the door in the bottom left corner is now audible to all in the fishery as well.
End of Round 2
Lenrelle feels hope bloom in her as her elf friend talks the children into not attacking them. Confidence that they might just win this... Sable certainly is inspiring as she practically dances against their brute of a foe, and Talindra finishes Derrick off!
Then she realizes someone else has come in Looks like Giggles has more allies than one. This 'yargin' fellow could be trouble, and the dogs... oh my... The warriors she tended told her thinks could get chaotic in a fight but she really had no idea.
Wait, are the children about to fight on our side? Oh no no no no...
"Please, children, let us do the attacking unless you're attacked. Get to the safe part of this place and wait for us to win, please? we'd feel terrible if one of you got hurt"
Billi is wounded, but it looks slight . Hard to tell from here. She moves forward and weaves around the hole in the floor to the side of the stairs ready to support against either foe. And help Talindra since she's closest to help Billi.
The thief sees the chokepoint on the stairs and decides he has to do what he can to fix that particular problem. He moves up to Billi, and the tries to tumble through the giggling fool, intending to attack him from the other side.
Ioca tries to bring his blade to bear.
He moves back to ensure Billi has room to maneuver, well, as much as the stairs allow, anyway.
Fishery Floor - Round 3
27 Billi (18/23hp remain; shield up)
26 Ioca
22 Lenrelle
21 Yargin
20 Lambs (friendly)
18 Talindra
16 Sable
16 Dogs
11 ???
10 Giggles
10 Perivolt(mage armor; dancing lights)
Billi makes a powerful attack at Giggles which pierces the foe's armor, clothing, and flesh. It seems like a death blow, but rather than falling as expected, the half-orc remains fiercely in the fight. Billi's second blow is thrown a bit off at his surprise the foe remains, and misses doing any damage. The half-orc laughs breathlessly in Billi's bearded face.
Lenrelle tries to convince the Lambs to not get involved, and it seems like they heed her, acting a bit confused in the process. Then she steps farther into the fishery, and gives divine support to Talindra.
Ioca tries to acrobatically get passed the very wounded Giggles on the stairs, but the narrow stairs prevent his deft movement, and he is stuck at the foot of the steps instead.