Billi looks at Giggles with some respect as he takes the best he can dish out. "Respect to ya, Giggles. But don't die for Lamm!"
Billi points to the hammocks "Climb those."
Fishery Floor - Round 3 - continued
From atop the stairs, the newcomer tosses his flask down at Ioca. While the shifty rogue couldn't get up the stairs, he is able to avoid the thrown weapon, which burst into a liquid conflagration of flames upon impact with wooden floor. (Thankfully the floor is too damp to ignite). The heat immediately singes Ioca and all those adjacent for mild burn damage. The man at the top curses in a sneering voice at the miss, but takes out a paper from his pocket before yelling at the children below. "Listen up Lambs!" he calls. "I will turn Redd and Bloo loose on you if you don't help push these invaders away. Do what I say, or pay the price!"
"Go to hell, Yargin!" cries one of the older children. "These people will give us clean clothes and a decent meal. You can feed your 'dock dumplings' to those mean old dogs. We'll take our chances with them!" And then in a mass, listening to Lenrelle, the children scurry across the slippery floor towards the open door, waiting for the littlest to keep up. They reach the door and hesitate without going outside.
Yargin's words draw Sable's ire, and she moves towards him, even though he is above her.
Sable looks angry and shouts up at Yargin. "You threaten to harm children? You will scream and beg for mercy that will be denied." There is magic in her words, magic that can cause harm.
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Talindra grits her teeth, shutting her eyes as the fire strikes. "Bastard!" The word is laced with pain, but anger is what dominates the expletive's emotion. I'll get to you in a moment, but we've got problems down here... She moves directly west of Billi , then swings twice at Giggles with her glaive.
Fishery Floor - Round 3 - continued
Sable advances towards where Yargin stands above the floor and casts a spell that manifests her angry words into physical harm for her foe. The sonic attack, however, does not hit the thin man above, thought the magic still swirls about Sable for future use.
With righteous anger, Talindra advances on Giggles who, though badly hurt, is still standing between her and the man above. She rams her glaive through the stair railing but her first attack catches on the wooden post. Her second attack, even though guided by Sarenrae's help, fails to hit Giggles either.
The sound of the dogs struggling to get through the door above where the Lambs are now, grows louder and more insistent. And a voice calls out. "One blasted moment! Let me get to the door and we'll see what's happening down there." And if you look closely, you can see the door just start to open, the snarling dogs about to burst through
Giggles moans in pain, his face drained nearly white from blood loss. "I need help bad, Yargin. Can't stand me ground now more." He makes one swing with his flail at Billi, trying to clear space, and the chained ball swings around the dwarf's shield and smashes him in the face, splitting his lip and mashing his nose. Then Giggles starts staggering backwards up the stairs, exposing himself to Billi's return attack.
Billi grits his teeth and takes the flail hit. His instincts told him it wouldn’t take him down.
His face took a massive hit, but he just made a soft grunt, resisting the urge to interpose his shield.
Billi’s counterstrike was on target.
”Giggles, I ain’t laughing now!”
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Fishery Floor - Round 3 - continued
The attack Giggles meant to be telling blow against Billi actually never gets going. Shelyn's power visits the half-orc, and he has second thoughts about his own fate if he makes that attack, and in a moment of redemption, he just flees instead.
Billi turns his axe again on the withdrawing Giggles, and this time, the blade splits the foe's skull, killing the thug without question.
Seeing the giggling one fall, Ioca makes a break up the stairs and attempts to get past the man at the top.
But he just doesn't manage to get by him. He still takes the opportunity to see if he can bleed the man a drop or two.
Billi salutes Talindra with his axe as she saves him from a brutal flail smash.
Perivolt takes a moment to continue directing energy into the Dancing Lights keeping the area illuminated. Then he really seem to focus in on the man on the stairs.
"What have you done to these children, vermin!" he shouts not really a question.
Perivolt moves to join the group ascending the stairs.
Fishery Floor - Round 3- concluded
Somehow pulling more distance out of an existing spell, Peri shows off some of the arcane training, and sends bolt of magical force up the staircase, and directly into Yargin's shoulder. The thin-faced man lets out a very feminine yip of pain, and grimaces from the blow.
End of Round 3
Fishery Floor - Round 4
27 Billi (17/23hp remain; shield up)
26 Ioca (15/16 remain)
22 Lenrelle
21 Yargin (5hp dmg)
20 Lambs (friendly)
18 Talindra (18/19 remain; reaction used)
16 Sable (Biting Words active)
16 Dogs
11 ???
10 Perivolt(mage armor; dancing lights)
With Giggles down, Ioca has a clear path up the stairs, and while he tries, and fails, to get around Yargin on the narrow balcony above the production floor, he does manage to get a successful attack in with his rapier, drawing a bit of blood, but not producing a serious wound.
Billi trudges up the stairs with his short stubby legs. "Stand down, you are outnumbered."
Lenrelle, having little tactical know how, decides that going up the stairs is, at least, a good start.
Hustling around, about, and up up up she finds herself behind Billi. She hopes the villain stands down, but with the dogs coming she doesn't think this is over and takes the precaution of calling on Sarenrae's guidance once more, this time for Ioca!
"Those dogs maybe a problem..." She mutters behind the dwarf.
Fishery Floor - Round 4 - continued
Billi works his way slowly up the stairs, carefully scanning for foes. He ends up behind Ioca on the crowded stair.
Lenrelle follows suit, climbing up behind Billi, and granting Ioca divine guidance in case he needs it in melee with the bomb-throwing Yargin.
The Little Lamms start working their way out the door of the Fishery. They are very cautious because they are not typically allowed out after dark or without supervision from one of their keepers, so they move slowly on the stairs by the loading dock.
Sable keeps glancing at the children, a little concerned they could be vulnerable. Staring her dancelike movements once more, she first calls out to Yargin. "You'll be getting what you deserve soon, slaver."
Frustrated by how well he's been pinned down, and honestly wanting Billi to get a good swing at this man, Ioca attempts to tumble past him. Again.
But he is still unable to squeeze by on these stairs.
He attempts to stick the man again, anyway. Before yielding his position to Billi by moving below him on the stairs.
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Talindra assesses the battlefield and realizes an opportunity. We can corner Yagrin and I can keep whatever's behind the door from the others. She moves northwest adjacent to Sable and tries to climb up the catwalk.
Fishery Floor - Round 4 - continued
Sable continues her dance, inspiring her allies to greater deeds. She unleashes another blast of sound from her cutting words. This time the blast does hit Yargin for critical damage. The target is nearly stunned, the pain in his head clearly apparent, and he looks shaken and drawn when the blast subsides.
Talindra strides up beside Sable and makes two attempts to leap up the 10' to grab the bottom of the catwalk. With her armor, glaive, and gear, she just cannot gather enough jumping power, even with Sarenrae's inspiration, and her fingers fall just short of the wooden stair base both times.
Suddenly, the other door bursts open and two large dogs, one a tawny red, and other a dark grey/blue leap down the stairs. "Sic 'em, Redd! Kill Bloo!" shouts a high-pitched voice that belongs to a evil-looking gnome who appears at the upper door also.
The Red Dog stops to bark and attack several of the children who have been milling about near the door. The Blue Dog by-passes the Lambs and goes straight for Perivolt, but in its haste, the dog is tripped up one of the children's broomsticks and fails to get a real attack in. The dog recovers and take a nip out of the wizard's backside.
The gnome at the top of the stairs screams in his screeching voice, "Get back in here, little bastards! Redd and Bloo'll have your guts for their dinner, unless you do!" He holds a kukri, menacingly, and advances down the steps towards the kids.
The children do seem genuinely afraid of the dogs, but seem to pay no heed to the gnome, who is actually a little smaller than the biggest of the Lambs.
Perivolt's yowls in both shock and pain at the appearance of the angry mutt taking a chomp of his bottom. He backs away from the vicious canine and retrieves the staff strapped to his back. Then he glances at the four circling balls of light and confirms they remain solid and steady.
Billi gets up a head of steam and pumps his legs as fast as he can.
Billi careens into the effeminate man on the stairs thinking a mutual collision can only be in his best interest releasing his shield to allow its momentum to carry into the man after the collision.
Holding his axe in two hands, he goes for broke hitting hard twice.
Billi's strikes are not true as the charge up the steps seems to have distracted him. Two axe strikes at an unarmed, unarmored man that he is not proud of.
Billi sees the kids in danger.
"You guys mind the kids, I hope Ioca and I can take this guy."
Billi shouts encouragement
"Gnomes should know better, and they are little, you kids beat his butt and we will give each of you a full silver when we are done."
This is what Lenrelle feared, the children getting into battle, and in danger.
"You guys mind the kids, I hope Ioca and I can take this guy."
"Try not to die!" Lenrelle twirls AGAIN on those damned stairs and races towards the children. She races down the steps , veers around the wizard even as she ponders if she can heal him, and then sees a darn dog blocking the way. Normally she likes dogs , but not when they attack kids.
And she yells out, "We need a path to the kids! If I kill the dog get to their help, one of you." She hopes she can kill the dog, help Perivolt, and clear a path. It's a lot to ask for for a woman who has never wieled a scimitar in anger until tonight.
Fishery Floor - Round 4 - concluded
A little surprised at how fast the dog got to him, Perivolt keeps his concentration on the glowing balls illuminating the room, and also manages to draw his staff to keep the dog at bay, but mostly he steps away from the angry mutt.
End of Round 4
Fishery Floor - Round 5
27 Billi (17/23hp remain; shield up)
26 Ioca (15/16 remain)
22 Lenrelle
21 Yargin (17hp dmg)
20 Lambs (friendly)
18 Talindra (18/19 remain)
16 Sable (Biting Words active)
11 Hookshanks Gruller
11 Dogs
10 Perivolt(12/15hp; mage armor; dancing lights)
Ioca cannot get around Yargin yet again, but he does score a hit, stabbing the unarmored man once again, and being satisfied withe girlish yelp of pain it elicits. He steps out of the way, and allows Billi to do his best.
Billi drops his shield, grasps his axe with both hands, and launches himself up the stairs, determined to cleave the tall, thin man at the top in two. He slips a bit on the rickety staircase, and then Yargin is able to dodge the last swipe, and instead of killing the man, Billi is succeeds in driving his axe blade though the wooden railing instead.
Lenrelle pivots away from the staircase, and intends to aid the children who are being savaged by Redd the dog. She makes an unwieldy attack at the dog with her scimitar, but it does not go well, and misses.
Yargin is pretty badly hurt, and steps back from the raging dwarf with an axe that is everywhere all at once. He reaches into his robes and produces a small vial filed with green liquid and attempts to down it. After the potions is done, he grabs another larger vial from his belt as well.
The children mill about Redd and especially Hookshanks, the gnome, hatefully. Some may get bitten or hurt by the dog, but collectively, they surround him. One throws a pitchfork at Hookshanks, but the gnome manages to avoid it.
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Sable realizes the dog needs to be out of the way so that Talindra can get to the second dog and the gnome, so she swings her sword at it and hopes to move closer to the kids.
And Billi swings wild again.
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This whole thing just got a lot messier... add animal abuse to these fiends' charges. Top priority: keep the innocents safe. She rushes over to her next traget. She frequently (almost always) trained in combat with bards, of course, but being in a real fight with one was different. The familiarity gave her an unexpected surety, a confidence in her step, a reassurance that everything would... well, it wouldn't be okay, but that it'd turn out better than otherwise. Moving up close to Sable, hearing the song and seeing the dance up close, she had an odd experience of seeing beauty in a moment of ugliness.
This didn't make her task any easier, though. Fighting animals, especially cute ones, wasn't what she signed up for. She was going to get a place with Elora not long before all this, and they had planned to adopt a dog together. I'm sorry... Two swings with her glaive, as she tries to shut her eyes and especially her ears.
She strides past Sable, over the hopefully-just-unconscious dog, taking two swings at the gnome. "All of these abuses end. Here. Now."
Fishery Floor - Round 5 - continued
Sable continues her inspiring movements, keeping the spirits and courage of her allies up. She then attacks the dog who had taken a bite of Perivolt. Her longsword scores a hit, opening a wound deep in the side of the canine guard, but not enough to kill it, barely. Sable's second strike at the dog misses.
Talindra moves over and her worry about protecting the innocent outweighs her desire to not harm the dog. She skewers Bloo with her glaive, and the dog dies. Clearing the way to where Redd and the fell gnome are working through the children.
Billi's axe splinters a bit more of the wooden walkway as he tries to finish Yargin off before he can down the healing elixir, but the man turns just out of the way of the deadly blade.
Hookshanks the gnome moves through the muddle of little Lamms and gets into position to attack Talindra, though it does take a little bit of maneuvering to get there. He makes a slicing cut along the back of the champion's legs, causing a fresh, sharply painful wound. He smirks irritatingly as he does it. "Redd, leave those little bastards, get the intruders!" he shouts shrilly.
The dog leaps after this gnome handler, also taking a bite at Talindra as it does so. The dog clamps down on Talindra's arm, but the armored gauntlets prevent any damage from the canine teeth. Frustrated, the dog spins and makes a second bite at Sable, but the jaws snap shut on only air as the gyrating bard shifts out of the way.
Round 6 Billi
Billi follows Yargin and hits him hard with an overhand axe chop.
He picks up his shield if that does the trick.
He turns to the gnome with his axe raised in the air.
"Hey gnome, don't make me come for you."
The wizard hmphs with satisfaction as Talindra brings down the mongrel that nipped him.
Perivolt again takes a moment to provide the energy needed to keep the lights above dancing in place.
“Sorry, puppy. You need to sleep now.” Perivolt grimaces at the second snarling dog to attack them. He summons arcane energy with magical words and gestures, the currents of magic gathering around the wicked club dropped by the man called Derrick. It lifts into the air and rushes towards the dog before Lenrelle.
Fishery Floor - Round 5 - concluded
Perivolt continues his light spell, and then casts something new. The unattended studded club dropped by one of the fallen thugs swirls to life and makes a beeline right for Redd, the remaining guard dog. With the magical inspiration provided by Sable, Perivolt is able to guide the bludgeon right into the dog's skull, felling it in one blow.
End of Round 5
Fishery Floor - Round 6
27 Billi (17/23hp remain)
26 Ioca (15/16 remain)
22 Lenrelle
21 Yargin (18hp dmg)
20 Lambs (friendly)
18 Talindra (10/19 remain)
16 Sable (Biting Words active)
11 Hookshanks Gruller
11 Dogs
10 Perivolt(12/15hp; mage armor; dancing lights)
Above the filthy floor, Billi takes one more stroke at the bomb-tossing man, and this time his aim is true. The blade cuts nearly clean through the unarmored thug, killing him instantly despite his healing elixir.
Ioca doesn't bother heading back down the stairs, but he puts a hand on the stair-rail and swings himself over, dropping to the floor, before moving over to the gnome and attempting to give him a quick bleeding.
Fishery Floor - Round 6 - continued
Ioca leaps from the stair railing, landing on his feet, then striding over to the sole remaining foe. He pokes Hookshanks with his rapier for light damage, but its a start against the gnome.
With the rest of the thugs subdued, the Lambs again start to move out the door of the Fishery, into the dark night of Korvosa.
Seeing Talindra is wounded even worse than Billi, Lenrelle calls out "Sarenrae, to thee I pray, tend and heal the Champion of the Eternal Rose." Light streaks from her and engulfs the good elf, healing her wounds.
She also directs the children, seeing they're slipping out, "Head to the temples of Sarenrae or Shelyn if you're looking for safety. Tell them Talindra and Lenrelle sent you!"
Sable keeps up her subtle, inspiring dance.
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Then she looks at the gnome. "Lamm's going to be mighty upset when he realizes just how much of a failure his guards were." before she steps towards him.
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While not quite satisfied with herself for killing an animal, Talindra nonetheless shares Perivolt's relief... though it is fleeting. Letting out a sharp scream as the kukri connects, Talindra barely has more than a moment to register the pain before she feels an equally potent, familiar warmth spreading through her, closing the wound. It's still sore, and she'll feel it in the morning. But that's tomorrow's Talindra's problem. Protect the children.
She flashes a big smile at Lenrelle. "May you ever walk in the light of the sun!" Then, she moves northeast to interpose herself between the Lambs and Hookshanks before taking two swings at the latter.