Grimmylow kept up his concentration on his Blessing, extending it out another 5'.
As Buzz starts to slow down, he realizes just how dangerous this thing is and pulls out the big weapon.
A flaming, ethereal scimitar appears in the air just over the Basilisk and slashes at the creature.
|
Annoyed the creature continues to attack others, and not him, Kzem flicks his wrist and the sunlight catches the mirror the orc keeps palmed in his hand. Instantly, another Kzem appears opposite the Basilisk- swaying and moving just as the original.
Now surrounded, he stands tall and attempts to cow the creature before striking at it with his shield.
AC 20 (Shield 22)
Hero Points: 0
Conditions: None
Esoteric Lore: None
Grimmy casts another spell, and a ghostly scimitar swipes at the basilisk, wounding it.
Kzem stares back at the basilisk, but it is not intimidated. As a matter of fact, the eye contact just helps it avoid Kzem's attack.
Thorn fires a shot, but it bounces off the basilisk's hide.
--Round 2
Kzem (45/45)
Thorn (43/43)
Beggar So (47/47, eyes averted for Fort save, DC 22 Fort save first)
Grimmylow (40/40, bless 10')
--Round 3
Buzz (30/30, slowed 1 1/10, DC 20 Fort save) / Loudmouth (30/30)
Basilisk (-25 hp, 2d4 persistent poison, Recall: Arcana or Nature)
|
|
Buzz manages to avert his eyes at the last possible moment so his body doesn't stiffen further. Grabbing a stinger he rockets it down at the Basilisk.
HP 30/30
AC 120
Hero Point 0/3
Infused Alchemical Items 7/7
1x Lesser Acid Flask 1/2
1x Lesser Alchemist's Fire (Signature Item) 3/3
1x Lesser Blight Bomb (Signature Item) 5/6
1x Minor Elixir of Life 2/2
1x Skunk Bomb 2/2
1x Lesser Ghost Charge 2/2
Loudmouth
HP 30/30
AC 17
Beggar So continues to crash through the bushes, keeping his eyes on the ground. He catches a glimpse of the creature and hurls the shuriken at it.
The shuriken misses the basilisk cleanly and pings off the statue. He keeps his eyes averted.
vs DC 17
The basilisk does not seem to mind the vomit at all, even in combination with the vial of poison.
Beggar So resists the gaze, but misses the shuriken.
The basilisk bites at Kzem again.
It draws blood, and then gazes at Buzz.
It will use its reaction on Grimmylow.
--Round 3
Kzem (31/45)
Thorn (43/43)
Beggar So (47/47)
Grimmylow (40/40, bless 10')
--Round 4
Buzz (30/30, slowed 1 2/10) / Loudmouth (30/30)
Basilisk (-37 hp, 2d4 persistent poison, Recall: Arcana or Nature)
"Hold on, it is almost done!"
The basilisk protests, "I'm not dead!"
Thorn tries to hand the reaper 9 pence, but the reaper says it's against regulations.
--Round 3
Kzem (31/45)
Thorn (43/43)
Beggar So (47/47)
Grimmylow (40/40, bless 10')
--Round 4
Buzz (30/30, slowed 1 2/10) / Loudmouth (30/30)
Basilisk (-74 hp, 2d4 persistent poison, Recall: Arcana or Nature)
Grimmylow feels not only his muscles and joints stiffen but his very thoughts slow.
He has only enough concentration to expand his blessing and keep the force scimitar attacking.
Beggar So pulls the staff off his back and attempts to clobber the beastie from the woods.
He then averts his gaze, watching in horror as Buzz drops from the sky.
Buzz turns to stone, although he doesn't fall out of the sky, as he's riding Loudmouth.
Grimmylow sustains both spells, although the ghostly scimitar is ineffective.
Beggar So pulls out his staff and swings. He swings wildly with his first shot but the second shot just barely misses.
--Round 3
Kzem (31/45)
Thorn (43/43)
Beggar So (47/47)
Grimmylow (40/40, bless 15', slowed 1 1/10)
--Round 4
Buzz (30/30, petrified) / Loudmouth (30/30)
Basilisk (-74 hp, 2d4 persistent poison, Recall: Arcana or Nature)
Buzz turns to stone, although he doesn't fall out of the sky, as he's riding Loudmouth.
Grimmylow sustains both spells, although the ghostly scimitar is ineffective.
Beggar So pulls out his staff and swings. He swings wildly with his first shot but the second shot just barely misses.
--Round 3
Kzem (31/45)
Thorn (43/43)
Beggar So (47/47)
Grimmylow (40/40, bless 15', slowed 1 1/10)
--Round 4
Buzz (30/30, petrified) / Loudmouth (30/30)
Basilisk (-74 hp, 2d4 persistent poison, Recall: Arcana or Nature)
Kzem's mirror image appears on the other side of the basilisk - and it turns its gaze at exactly the wrong time, as Kzem strikes it down.
--End of Combat!
Kzem (31/45)
Thorn (43/43)
Beggar So (47/47)
Grimmylow (40/40)
Buzz (30/30, petrified) / Loudmouth (30/30)
Beggar So has an idea, he thinks a creature that has been petrified could be coated (not just splashed) with fresh basilisk blood to be revived.
Pulling out a knife, Beggar So cuts the basilisk open and stuffs Buzz inside the carcass, effectively immersing the sprite in the blood.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"And I thought they smelled bad on the outside," Grimmylow comments sardonically as Beggar So slices open the creature.
"Good idea. We'll hide him in there until we can figure out how to unpetrify him," he comments when he sees what So is doing.
'
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
As Buzz returns to life, Kzem takes the remaining blood and contemplates smearing it on the statue of the centaur. There's not quite enough blood to cover it all, and even though some parts might recover, the basilisk had eaten enough of the statue that whoever was petrified would never fully recover.
The centaur statue does meets the description of the courier Narala, though.
Examination of the area around the statue reveals the missing parcels are still missing. The statue carries no satchel or pouch with any deliveries.
Obvious, small footprints in the area indicate that several Small creatures were recently in the area.
Obvious, small footprints in the area—particularly in the gap between the brambles—indicate that several Small creatures recently went that way.
The path through the brambles leads to a clearing a short distance away from the road. There are 5 kobolds there, one the clear leader. They appear to be arguing amongst each other, about who gets a satchel that they had just found.
As Grimmylow examines the erstwhile statue, he shakes his head and clucks his tongue.
"Poor Narala. Too bad. Too bad." He comes around in front of her and begins praying. As usual, it's rather long and there are a few jumps in logic (you wonder if Pharasma really is "pals" with Sarenrae,) but the gist of her passing on peacefully to the afterlife is nice, even if the part about repenting before hand is a little heavy handed.
"Hey! That's not yours! Finders keepers, usually but we know the real owner so it doesn't count. Now, just put it down and there won't be any trouble. We'll take care of it," Grimmylow says when he spots the kobolds squabbling over the satchel.
Beggar So keeps to the shadows, unsure of what the creatures' motives are at the moment.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Stealth +8
Beggar So hides in the bushes, and the kobolds do not appear to respond.
"Hey! That's not yours! Finders keepers, usually but we know the real owner so it doesn't count. Now, just put it down and there won't be any trouble. We'll take care of it," Grimmylow says when he spots the kobolds squabbling over the satchel.
"Right. Listen to the goblin-folk. I am sure we can talk about the specifics of ownership and whatnot"
"There is nothing to discuss about ownership. Everyone knows that possession is 90% of ownership, and, well ..." the leader says, raising the satchel demonstrating factual control.
"Of course," he continues, "Irrebuttable proof of possession, adverse or otherwise, confers the right to transfer said possession. We'd be remiss to consider the possibility that our ownership a bailment, with our temporary rights to be returned to the allegedly 'real' owner of said property upon appropriate payment for services rendered."
Kzem readily translates the legalese with Legal Lore: We'll give it back if you pay us.
Grimmylow tries to follow along with the kobold's argument using his fingers to point in the direction it seems to be going and following the flow. By the time the barrister is finished, the goblin's arms are all tangled up.
"What's happening, now?" he asks as Buzz hands over some coins.
Beggar So reaches for a shuriken, ready to draw and throw should the need arise.
Buzz tosses over the money and the kobolds gladly toss the bag over.
"Another successful transaction," the kobold leader brags to his minions. "The contract of adhesion is powerful indeed! Now that we have fulfilled our fiduciary duty to maximize the satchel's value, let us vacate the premises before opposing counsel learns the phrase quantum meruit. Ah, ha, ha!"
The kobolds all laugh, and run off into the woods.
After they're gone, Kzem translates: They think they scammed us.
The reason becomes immediately obvious: the satchel is secured with multiple, complicated knots, which the kobolds were unable to untie (). Untying the knots requires a successful DC 15 Thievery check.
"Be careful, Buzz. I think a quantum merut is a type of demon. Maybe there's one hiding in the bag," Grimmylow says.
Still, his curiosity about it makes him creep closer and peer over this tiny companion's shoulder to see what he's doing and what might be inside the satchel.
Buzz opens the satchel on the second try, while Kzem explains quantum meruit: it's an ancient Taldane phrase that translates to "what one has earned", applicable in this case because the kobolds didn't know what they were giving up (having failed at opening the bag). They assumed that the packages were worth less than 10 gp, opening themselves up to a legal claim of unjust enrichment.
Inside the satchel are three parcels, addressed to people in and around Otari: one for the brewer Magiloy, the second for the former gladiator and current lumber foreman Klorte Hengus, and the third for the herbalist Abanye Nianna.
When the heroes return with the satchel to Oloria, she becomes upset by the loss of her courier and makes arrangements to inform Narala's next of kin.
She also expresses concern about finding a new courier, and she turns to the heroes. "Say, would you be willing to make the deliveries yourselves? As payment, you can keep the fees that you collect from each recipient."
"Let us hope there aren't any more of those." Beggar So stands slightly upwind of Buzz...
"Can we have THAT bag?" Grimmylow asks, aiming a finger at the one that they recovered from the centaur statue.
It doesn't seem like he's even questioning whether or not they're going to help out with the deliveries.
Oloria shrugs and hands over the satchel to Grimmylow. It's sized for a Large creature, so it drags on the ground at first, but Grimmylow wraps the strap around his neck a few times to shorten it.
Oloria hands Thorn five brooches, indicating that they are official members of Gallentine Deliveries. She explains that there's no base pay, only commmissions, no 401k, and no health insurance. The heroes will also have to provide their own weapons and armor, but she's happy to provide an itemized list for the heroes to file deductions on their taxes next year.
---
The heroes head out to Magiloy’s Mushrooms, arriving there without incident. Magiloy is an easygoing, confident, elderly tengu — a humanoid with distinctive crow-like features. Magiloy sees the brooches, and although it's quite unusual for Gallentine Deliveries to employ five couriers for a package, she squawks giddily from the prospect of finally receiving her package.
Magiloy pays them 10 gp for the delivery, as promised. She then rips open the package, revealing some rare and unusually spicy peppers from a trader she knows in Absalom.
"Say," she adds. "You're pretty good at delivering mushrooms. Are you interested in another job?"
Magiloy presents the heroes with another opportunity. She seeks rare copper-cap mushrooms for her latest beverage experiment. She knows they grow near Slab Hill, an out-of-the-way landmark about an hour northwest of town. Slab Hill is a rounded mound with several large stone slabs resting along its sides.
"If you can bring me back the copper-cap mushrooms, you can have half of the batch that I brew with it."
Buzz looks at the recipe she provides - it's the formula for capsaicin tonic. It seems like the amount of mushroom that she's asking for would allow her to brew a batch of 4-6, so the heroes would get 2-3.
Beggar So appears glad, seeing that he's never held a job in his life... He listens attentively as Buzz negotiates with Magiloy.
"Mushrooms! That sounds good, especially in an omelet!"
"I'm a member of the clergy," Grimmylow says as discussion of taxes arises as though that explains why he's not worried about it.
He keeps having to pause for breath until someone helps him adjust the way the straps are arranged around his neck so that they're not slightly choking him.
"Wait, we have jobs? What are they?" he asks his companions in confusion when they talk with the mushroom lady.
"Sure! We can do it!" he declares. "Hot stuff is my specialty."
He immediately begins to march off in the vague direction of Slab Hill.
The heroes can easily find Slab Hill, but they quickly realize that most of the mushrooms have recently been picked.
More unusually, one of the eponymous slabs on Slab Hill has been shoved aside, revealing an opening into the hill.
Near this opening, the heroes can find a basket of copper-cap mushrooms plainly discarded in haste.