Willowshore's greatest hero - Ho Lan! - races toward the fallen guard, brave, altruistic and reckless!
Blue Beastie falls backwards on his haunches laughing as he watches his companion race to his certain doom.
Black Beastie says "Go!" before realizing that Green Beastie unknowingly jumped the gun.
➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤
➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤
No.
But as you have critically succeeded, you have some additional context about Hai-Er Ha:
➤ Her husband, What's-his-name!?, is good friends with “Old” Matsuki, one of the most respected elders of the community, and the eponymous Southbanker.
➤ Her daughter, Leng, is often babysat by "Granny" Hu, the other most respected elder of the community, and the living vanguard of the Northridge faction.
➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤
Monster ID: Nature (DC 15)
➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤
Auntie Wu and Kolphan are Up!
"Yes, we must save her, Ho Lan! Good thinking! Shizuru requests that we never leave a companion behind. Go forth, she will light your way!"
Ho Lan always hid his desires, but Sigurd knew. Ho Lan prays frequently at the shrine of Shizuru and is secretly a faithful follower. He probably knows everyone in this village- of course he would recognize Hai-Er Ha and her connection to Leng.
Blast this armor, it's too heavy! Sigurd knows he doesn't have much time to heal her, but if he can get close...
Hai-Er Ha - a handsome woman for her age - thinks upon her adult daughter's wellfare as she bleeds out beneath her would be slayers.
Her condition...
...stabilizes for the time being, as somehow her motherly instinct keeps her breathing despite the grievous wound she has sustained;
"Look dummy - she stopped bleeding" Black Beastie points his shortsword at Ha "Kill her again!!!" and Blue Beastie catches the fervor "Okay okay!" and proceeds to beat her upon the ground brutally!
Black Beastie
◇) Delay
Blue Beastie
◆◆◆) Strike x3
Bashing her skull into red paste, Blue Beastie jumps up and down with sadistic glee "I killed her! I killed her!! She is dead Dead!!!" he does a little shimmy dance to celebrate!
➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤
MURDER AT THE EASTERN TOWER
Terrain: Trees, bushes, rocks, @ difficult terrain
Weather: Reddish fog on NE portion of Map is thick - creatures on opposite sides are Hidden!
Monster ID: Nature (DC 15)
Green Beastie w/ club (1d6 B, thrown 10)
Ho Lan (AC 16 or 17 shield, HP 15)
Auntie Wu & Mogu (AC 16 or 18 shield, HP 16, Mogu 5)
Sigurd Kolphan (AC 18 or 20 shield, HP 17)
Hai-Er Ha @ Dead
Blue Beastie w/ mace (1d6 B, shove)
Kazuki Sato (AC 18 or 20 shield, HP 19)
Vekka Tchakon (AC 17 or 18 shield, HP 15)
Black Beastie w/ shortsword (1d6 P, agile, finesse, versatile S)
➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤
Sato and Vekka are Up!
Kazuki gasps in shock and horror as he watches the small creatures cut down Hai-er in cold blood. He charges forward, bow in hand, and marks the Blue Beastie as his hunted prey.
"You heartless bastards! You're as good as dead!"
Sigurd silently curses himself. He was not quick enough. Their brutality would not go unpunished.
Pharasma, please guide Hai-Er Ha.
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Blue Beastie retorts "Oh yeah!?..." his quick wit shows itself inept here, failing to quip back, little bits of Hai-Er's brain sliding from his mace onto the bloody ground before him...
...Elsewhere, looking down from the plane of Pharasma's judgement - outside and beyond the Universe itself - the soldier, mother and wife looks down solemnly, the pain of leaving behind her loved ones causing her to shed a single ethereal tear, which brushes Sigurd Kolphan lightly as a feather blowing in a gentle breeze...
➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤
Vekka is Up!
No! She was a mother! This cannot go unpunished...
Vecca's expression turns grim as he jogs to catch up with the team.
The party rushes forward, weapons in hand!
Black Beastie yells at Green Beastie "You!" points his shortsword at Auntie Wu and says "Kill that one!" to which it says "Okay okay!" and he turns to her and says "You die now! Like her!" he points back to the slain Hai-Er Ha with his club, before rushing forward to strike at the druid!
Black Beastie
◇) Delay
Green Beastie
◆◆) Stride x2
◆) Strike
BLAP - Green Beastie hits her in her hungover stomach!
➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤
MURDER AT THE EASTERN TOWER
Terrain: Trees, bushes, rocks, @ difficult terrain
Weather: Reddish fog on NE portion of Map is thick - creatures on opposite sides are Hidden!
Monster ID: Nature (DC 15)
Green Beastie w/ club (1d6 B, thrown 10)
Ho Lan w/ empty (AC 16 or 17 shield, HP 15)
Auntie Wu & Mogu w/ shield (AC 16 or 18 shield, HP 12/16, Mogu 5)
Sigurd Kolphan w/ katana and shield (AC 18 or 20 shield, HP 17)
Black Beastie w/ shortsword (1d6 P, agile, finesse, versatile S)
Blue Beastie w/ mace (1d6 B, shove)
Kazuki Sato w/ longbow (AC 18 or 20 shield, HP 19) @ Hunting Blue
Vekka Tchakon w/ katana or potent machete (AC 17 or 18 shield, HP 15)
➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤
Ho Lan, Auntie Wu, and Sigurd Kolphan are Up!
Sigurd's first target appears before him. A creature clad in green.
He closes in, tightens the grip on his katana...
and raises his shield.
Focus, Sigurd. Focus. Honor Hai-Er Ha's name and her sacrifice. This is no time for clumsiness.
”Boss says when you kill someone you take his power...” he casts a jealous glance over at Blue Beastie ”You must have never killed someone, you are Weak!” awaiting Kolphan’s reaction, he hopes to hurt the nephilim’s feelings with his words ”But me? I am Strong! Strong like Boss!! He will be glad when we take you to him!!!”
Before:
"That's Hai-Er Ha, Leng's mother! She works shifts at the Eastern Tower. Hai-Er, I mean. Heh, heh. I don't know where Leng works. Okay, she's a waitress at that cafe across from the tea shop. But everyone knows that, right? I mean, they've got the best 紙包蛋糕 there, everyone knows that, am I right? It's not like I just go there to stare at Leng, I don't even know where that accusation came from, heh. Gods, think of Hai-Er's husband, Yo-Chieng! He would be so appreciative if we saved her. He's probably over at the respected elder and Southbanker 'Old' Matsuki's place, unaware of what's going on. And think of 'Granny' Hu, Leng's former babysitter and vanguard of the Northridge faction! She'd be up in arms over this, too!"
---
Present:
Lan continues rushing forward to save Leng's mother!
◆◆◆
Sigurd never feels good about it. Killing in battle is necessary, but it's one lost opportunity. Once you defeat your foe, you move on to the next.
But the brutality they demonstrated... and their talk about killing to consume strength. They were bloodthirsty mindless killers.
"Strength lies in restraint and resiliency. You lack neither. But your Boss seems interesting. Tell me more about him. Where is he? Tell me so I can personally deliver your head to him."
Patience, Sigurd. Foremother weeps when your temper flares.
"Tell you what, cloaky man!" the Green Beastie excitedly chirps while Lan rushes by him "You can hit me one time - before I kill you - and I will tell you all about Boss Gurglegut!" he readies his club to clobber Kolphan with sadistic glee, then, with excellent logic "But if I kill you first, you must tell me about your Boss!" satisfied with his dictation of the terms, he lunges!
➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤
Auntie Wu is Up!
|
Auntie Wu has just discovered how entirely unpleasant it is to have one's sprint suddenly stopped with a solid blow to the gut. As she doubles over in pain and rage, she dredges up the memory of what these creatures are.
Through the pain, she manages to choke out the words to the Electric Arc spell, hoping to fell this foul creature so she can... Well, her brain hasn't quite registered that there's nothing she can do for Hai-Er Ha.
CE Tiny Fey Gremlin
Source Bestiary pg. 193
Perception +7; darkvision
Languages Undercommon
Skills Acrobatics +7, Crafting +5 (+7 traps), Deception +5, Nature +5, Stealth +7, Thievery +7
Str -2, Dex +4, Con +0, Int +2, Wis +2, Cha +2
Items shortsword
AC 17; Fort +6, Ref +10, Will +7
HP 19; Weaknesses cold iron 2
Speed 30 feet
Melee [one-action] shortsword +9 [+5/+1] (agile, finesse, magical, versatile S), Damage 1d6-2 piercing
Primal Innate Spells DC 17; Cantrips (1st) prestidigitation
Sneak Attack The jinkin deals 1d6 extra precision damage to flat-footed creatures.
Tinker (curse, primal, transmutation) A group of six jinkins can work together for an hour to imbue an item with a curse at a range of 60 feet. While this process is lengthy, it’s also unobtrusive and can be performed while Hiding. Jinkins prefer to use this ability on magic items. The curse makes the item unreliable (DC 5 flat check or waste any action to Interact with or Activate the item), adds a bizarre requirement to use the item, or imparts some other curse of a similar caliber.
Green Jinkin Beastie yells "Ow!" and redoubles his rage againt Auntie Wu "Oh yeah? Wait til the Boss gets to use your blood too!" he threatens future menace. Black Jinkin tells Blue Jinkin "You!" he points his shortsword "Drag her..." he points his shortsword at the corpse of Hai-Er Ha "...back to the Boss!" to which Blue Jinkin says "Okay okay!"
Black Jinkin
◇) Delay
Blue Jinkin
◇) Drop mace
◆◆◆) Drag corpse of Hai-Er Ha
"She is Heavy!" Blue Jinkin laments, unable to find purchase as he falls prone to the ground!
➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤
MURDER AT THE EASTERN TOWER
Terrain: Trees, bushes, rocks, @ difficult terrain
Weather: Reddish fog on NE portion of Map is thick - creatures on opposite sides are Hidden!
Monster ID: Nature (DC 15)
Black Beastie (AC 17, 19/19 HP) w/ shortsword (1d6 P, agile, finesse, versatile S)
Green Beastie (AC 17, 16/19 HP) w/ club (1d6 B, thrown 10)
Ho Lan w/ empty (AC 16 or 17 shield, HP 15)
Auntie Wu & Mogu w/ shield (AC 16 or 18 shield, HP 12/16, Mogu 5)
Sigurd Kolphan w/ katana and shield (AC 18 or 20 shield, HP 17)
Blue Beastie (AC 17, 19/19 HP) w/o mace (1d6 B, shove) @ Dragging Hai-Er Ha's corpse, prone
Kazuki Sato w/ longbow (AC 18 or 20 shield, HP 19) @ Hunting Blue
Vekka Tchakon w/ katana or potent machete (AC 17 or 18 shield, HP 15)
➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤
Kazuki Sato and Vekka Tchakon are Up!
His thoughts filled with rage and no time to mourn, Kazuki dashes towards the pair of creatures trying to haul away the body.
With a snarl, he raises his bow and fires two arrows between deep breaths in lightning quick succession at the creature in blue, who is, unfortunately, now prone and more difficult to target for being so close to the ground...
>SHOONK< <<SHOOONNK<<
Sato's arrows fly true, nearly bloodying the prone Blue Jinkin - he gasps to Black Jinkin "That one shoots far, should we go get him?" to which Black Jinkin replies "You go kill him - I will watch her" pointing to the slain Hai-Er Ha beside them with his shortsword "Okay okay" is the reply.
➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤
Vekka Tchakon is Up!
The tengu scans the situation seeing that Sigurd and Aunti Wu have engaged the first jinkin. He grimaces at Auntie Wu getting decked.
That doesn't look like it felt good Wu. Can you two manage that one?
She releases arcs of electricity over it, so he nods and moves on.
Vekka remarks out loud on the creatures' mutterings.
If you could gain power that way you nitwits should have tried to eat each other!
Stalking forward he sees Ho Lan and attempts to join their paths for a more forceful assault against the second wave.
Stare at Leng...?
Vekka gives Ho Lan a confused look.
Vekka hustles over to the second skirmish.
"He is afraid of my Power!" as the tengu rushes by, Green Jinkin Beastie looks back and forth between the two remaining party members, unsure in his decision of who to kill... ...he decides to retaliate against Auntie Wu "More bash-bash kill!"
Green Jinkin
◆◆◆) Strike x3
BASH-BASH ~ Green Beastie hits her in her hungover stomach twice more!
Black Jinkin, meanwhile, finally makes a move, pointing his shortsword at Lan first "You kill him!" then at Vekka "And him!" then looks east "I will go report to the Boss!" to which the Blue Jinkin says "Okay okay!" and with that, he flees!
Black Jinkin
◆◆◆) Stride x3
➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤
MURDER AT THE EASTERN TOWER
Terrain: Trees, bushes, rocks, @ difficult terrain
Weather: Reddish fog on NE portion of Map is thick - creatures on opposite sides are Hidden!
Monster ID: Nature (DC 15)
Black Beastie w/ shortsword (1d6 P, agile, finesse, versatile S) @ fleeing 70 feet east off map
Green Beastie w/ club (1d6 B, thrown 10)
Ho Lan w/ empty (AC 16 or 17 shield, HP 15)
Auntie Wu & Mogu w/ shield (AC 16 or 18 shield, HP 08/16, Mogu 5)
Sigurd Kolphan w/ katana and shield (AC 18 or 20 shield, HP 17)
Blue Beastie w/ mace (1d6 B, shove)
Kazuki Sato w/ longbow (AC 18 or 20 shield, HP 19) @ Hunting Blue
Vekka Tchakon w/ katana or potent machete (AC 17 or 18 shield, HP 15)
➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤
Ho Lan, Auntie Wu, and Sigurd Kolphan are Up!
Gurglegut. We have a name, their... boss. Sigurd's blade swings high over the creature's head.
Sigurd watches one of the creatures try to carry Hai-Er Ha and it fills him with rage.
With that, he reaches out a hand to Auntie Wu, hoping to heal some of her injuries.
Finally he raises his shield.
"Leave her be. You've done enough."
Lan keeps running, but his hands develop a red aura as he begins channeling magical energy. He stops suddenly, and some translucent flames are carried forward by momentum, landing on Leng's mother.
◆
◆◆
"No" Green Jinkin Beastie replies to Kolphan "Nice scratch. Gimmy make good on promise. Tell you one thing about Boss" it's name, apparently, is "Gimmy"...
Lan arrives short of several yards from the fallen soldier Hai-Er Ha, and channeling into his phoenix blood, discovers that... she is irrevocably gone. Or rather, no fiery resurrection today - his will over his magic is fledgling, and there is nothing he can do for her.
The vital energy he loosed merges back with his soul, and remains in reserve.
Somewhere beyond the Universe, Hai-Er Ha looks down upon Ho Lan and thinks to herself "Handsome enough for my daughter, but poor, and a little... weird..." while she awaits Pharasma's judgement to pass into the Next Realm...
➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤
Auntie Wu (w/ ◆◆◆), and Ho Lan (◆◆) are Up!
As one of them starts to flee Vekka smiles grimly and remarks to the other remaining, You know he’s fleeing because he knows he’s leaving you here to die with us.
As he says this his body shifts slowly until his katana is pointed at it.
As Black Jinkin Beastie flees, he grins at Vekka's astute observation - with his "friends" busy covering his escape, he points his shortsword one last time at the tengu, says something just out of earshot, and nearly disappears amid the trees yonder...
Lan will continue striding forward ◆, shielding himself with a glass shield ◆.
|
|
"Thanks, Sigurd. You know, Jinkin number three, most expendable of all your compatriots, your hits are getting weaker." Auntie Wu taunts as she sends another fistful of electricity at the green jinkin. If she can't have a zen-ful morning, he can't either!
Then she raises her shield. Anger thrums through her over this act of senseless violence. She wishes she could easily knock this one unconscious so it could be questioned. Her three main questions: Why do this? Who are all those who want this done? Where are they? What are they planning next? "If we can't take one alive, we need to track the one that's fleeing." She remarks grimly to Sigurd.
Lan hustles, Auntie Wu shocks.
Dodging the electricity completely, Gimmy returns the compliment to Auntie Wu "You bad wizard - Gimmy fast! Kill you both soonquick!"
Blue Jinkin gets up, walks over to Lan, and bashes him with the mace he used to kill Hai-Er Ha!
◆) Stand
◆) Stride
◆) Strike
BONK
➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤
MURDER AT THE EASTERN TOWER
Terrain: Trees, bushes, rocks, @ difficult terrain
Weather: Reddish fog on NE portion of Map is thick - creatures on opposite sides are Hidden!
Monster ID: Nature (DC 15)
Green Beastie (AC 17, 12/19 HP) w/ club (1d6 B, thrown 10)
Ho Lan w/ empty (AC 16 or 17 shield, HP 11/15)
Auntie Wu & Mogu w/ shield (AC 16 or 18 shield, HP 08/16, Mogu 5)
Sigurd Kolphan w/ katana and shield (AC 18 or 20 shield, HP 17)
Blue Beastie (AC 17, 10/19 HP) w/ mace (1d6 B, shove)
Kazuki Sato w/ longbow (AC 18 or 20 shield, HP 19) @ Hunting Blue
Vekka Tchakon w/ katana (AC 17 or 18 shield, HP 15)
➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤
Kazuki Sato and Vekka Tchakon are Up!
Kazuki cringes as Auntie and Sigurd get clobbered.
"I'm sorry, Auntie and Sigurd. I'll help you in just a moment. I'm not letting that one get away."
Kazuki switches his focus to the little creature running away into the woods.
With a quick prayer, he blesses his weapon with the power of nature, granting the arrows to strike with greater power.
He aims his bow upward and to the right just a bit, compensating for distance and wind speed, then lets loose two arrows in rapid succession.
The arrows whistle through the air, piercing leaves in the branches as they soar towards their target...
He proudly smirks as the first arrow sinks deep into the creature's flesh. Knowing it will be easier to track the beastie leaving a trail of blood, he turns his attention to the blue creature.
Nice shot Kazuki!
He hustles up to where Ho Lan is engaged with one of the non-fleeing jinkins and with his final step he swings the blade powerfully downward at the creature...
The tengu growls under his breath as he knows his aim is off, but his training dictates that he follow through on the swing.
Sato's first arrow (but not his second due to Cover) strikes true - Black Jinkin Beastie screams in pain but continues to run away even with an arrow sticking out of his butt.
Black
◆◆◆) Stride x3
Vekka finally arrives, but his aim is off "I have absorbed her Power" Blue Jinkin Beastie points to Hai-Er Ha's corpse "Your weapon bounces off my Power!" he seems convinced.
Grean Jinkin Beastie, meanwhile, decides to attack Kolphan!
Green
◆) Feint
◆◆) Strike x2
BONK
"You fell for my trick!" Green Jinkin Beastie hops for joy! "I will soon absorb your power!!"
➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤
MURDER AT THE EASTERN TOWER
Terrain: Trees, bushes, rocks, @ difficult terrain
Weather: Reddish fog on NE portion of Map is thick - creatures on opposite sides are Hidden!
Monster ID: Jinkins
Green Beastie (AC 17, 12/19 HP) w/ club (1d6 B, thrown 10)
Ho Lan w/ empty (AC 16 or 17 shield, HP 11/15)
Auntie Wu & Mogu w/ shield (AC 16 or 18 shield, HP 08/16, Mogu 5)
Sigurd Kolphan w/ katana and shield (AC 18 or 20 shield, HP 10/17)
Blue Beastie (AC 17, 10/19 HP) w/ mace (1d6 B, shove)
Kazuki Sato w/ longbow (AC 18 or 20 shield, HP 19) @ Hunting Blue
Vekka Tchakon w/ katana (AC 17 or 18 shield, HP 15)
➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤
Black Beastie (off-screen) @ 9/19 HPs
➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤
Ho Lan, Auntie Wu, and Sigurd Kolphan are Up!
"Hmm?" Sigurd checks his left, leaving his flank right open to sneaky strike?
"Well done. A shame you waste it on eating innocent souls."
He casts his hand across his blade. "Shizuru, please bless my katana. Give me the strength to defend my home in times of need."
His blade briefly glows with the power of daylight before he swings again.
"I merely ask for help, and the Sun shines upon me."
Kolphan blocks the sneaky blow then nearly cuts Green Jinkin Beastie down - who in so surviving, casts back a retort "Not very good at killing me - you will not gain my Power!"
➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤
MURDER AT THE EASTERN TOWER
Terrain: Trees, bushes, rocks, @ difficult terrain
Weather: Reddish fog on NE portion of Map is thick - creatures on opposite sides are Hidden!
Monster ID: Jinkins
Green Beastie (AC 17, 02/19 HP) w/ club (1d6 B, thrown 10)
Sigurd Kolphan w/ katana (runic weapon) and shield (AC 18 or 20 shield, HP 15/17, shield 18/20)
Ho Lan w/ empty (AC 16 or 17 shield, HP 11/15)
Auntie Wu & Mogu w/ shield (AC 16 or 18 shield, HP 13/16, Mogu 5)
Blue Beastie (AC 17, 10/19 HP) w/ mace (1d6 B, shove)
Kazuki Sato w/ longbow (AC 18 or 20 shield, HP 19) @ Hunting Black
Vekka Tchakon w/ katana (AC 17 or 18 shield, HP 15)
➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤
Black Beastie (off-screen) @ 9/19 HPs
➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤
Ho Lan and Auntie Wu are Up!
Lan reaches Hai-Er and realizes why his magic isn't working.
"NoOoOoOoOoO!!!"
The pent-up magic in his hands releases in a cone of flame.
◆◆
◆ Glass Shield (will Shield Block any hit)
Dancing away all the flames "Do you see? You can't kill me because I absorbed her Power!" he points to Hai-Er Ha's headless corpse "You flames were put out by my Power!"
Perhaps, indeed, what the little evil fey believes to be true... Is!
➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤
Auntie Wu!
"Ha ha. All you wizards and your silly Slow magic! We jinkins Fast!! Gimmy FASTest!!!" Indeed, Gimmy easily dances away from the lightning, escaping unscathed.
Blue Jinkin Beastie looks back and forth between , settling for "Ha HA. You loved her! I killed your LOVE. I absorbed her Power! If I absorb your power too - I will be able to, um..." the logical train derails a little here - smoke emanates from the little gremlin's head as he wonders how it all is supposed to work. In either case.
Blue
◆) Feint
◆◆) Strike x2
"Do you think your LOVE can save you now!?" he taunts the sorcerer "Ha HA ha" and "He he hee" ecstatic with sadistic glee!
➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤
MURDER AT THE EASTERN TOWER
Terrain: Trees, bushes, rocks, @ difficult terrain
Weather: Reddish fog on NE portion of Map is thick - creatures on opposite sides are Hidden!
Monster ID: Jinkins
Green Beastie (AC 17, 02/19 HP) w/ club (1d6 B, thrown 10)
Ho Lan w/ empty (AC 16 or 17 shield, HP 06/15)
Auntie Wu & Mogu w/ shield (AC 16 or 18 shield, HP 13/16, Mogu 5/5)
Sigurd Kolphan w/ katana (magic weapon) and shield (AC 18 or 20 shield, HP 10/17)
Blue Beastie (AC 17, 10/19 HP) w/ mace (1d6 B, shove)
Kazuki Sato w/ longbow (AC 18 or 20 shield, HP 19) @ Hunting Black (off-screen)
Vekka Tchakon w/ katana (AC 17 or 18 shield, HP 15)
➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤
Black Beastie (off-screen) @ 9/19 HPs
➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤
Sato and Vekka are Up!
Kazuki continues east, however, the little beastie disappears into the woods. He turns towards the blue creature harassing Auntie and Sigurd.
"Leave my friends alone." he snarls as he marks blue as his prey.
He sends two arrows at the creature's mid-section...
"No"
Blue Jinkin's defiance - bolstered by his belief that he is somehow Invincible - ticks down a notch as Sato's arrow glances him "Ouch! HOW!?"
Lan's glass mirror, shattering, leaving his image cracked, but his person less so.
➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤
Quick Update:
Blue Beastie (AC 17, 07/19 HP) w/ mace (1d6 B, shove)
Ho Lan w/ empty (AC 16 or 17 shield, HP 08/15) @ glass expended
➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤
Vekka is Up!
The tengu snarls at the jinkin in front of him.
I've had just about enough of your nonsense!
He beats one of the drums encircled at his back and winds up with his other arm to slash with his katana. When it is raised to its peak, flames begin to emerge from all of its very-sharp edges. He brings it down on the creature. In contrast to the bright-white and yellow fire, his blade itself seems to shimmer with the colors and texture of water, the surface of the sea specifically .
As he's retracting the blade back from its swing, wisps of ghostly orange flame, accented with the blues of the sea seem to envelope his being.
Blue Jinkin Beastie's "Power" ends - Vekka cuts him down with a vicious flaming blow, avenging Hai-Er Ha!
And Gimmy surrenders!
"Okay okay. You can kill me. I lose I die. Do it. DO IT. Kill Gimmy!!!" he sticks his neck out before Kolphan's katana!
◇) Drops club
◇) Drops prone
◇) Delays
➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤
MURDER AT THE EASTERN TOWER
Terrain: Trees, bushes, rocks, @ difficult terrain
Weather: Reddish fog on NE portion of Map is thick - creatures on opposite sides are Hidden!
Monster ID: Jinkins
Green Beastie (AC 17, 02/19 HP) w/ nothing and prone
Ho Lan w/ empty (AC 16 or 17 shield, HP 08/15) @ glass expended
Auntie Wu & Mogu w/ shield (AC 16 or 18 shield, HP 13/16, Mogu 5/5)
Sigurd Kolphan w/ katana (magic weapon) and shield (AC 18 or 20 shield, HP 10/17)
Kazuki Sato w/ longbow (AC 18 or 20 shield, HP 19) @ Hunting Blue
Vekka Tchakon w/ katana (AC 17 or 18 shield, HP 15) @ Arcane Cascade
➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤
The Party is Up!
Never parlay with truce breakers. Shizuru's word is very clear on this. But he needs information, quickly. And to strike down a surrendered foe...
"We made a deal, didn't we? Tell me about your boss. Gurglegut. Who is this person? Where are they?" He takes a glance at his failure to protect Hai-Er Ha. "Why are you attacking?"
"A deal!?" Gimmy thinks hard "You did hit me... Okay okay!" he opens one eye and smiles at the cleric's unexpected mercy - his other eye darts towards a possible escape route...
"Gimmy not sure Gimmy can trust him and her" he points to Sato and Auntie Wu "Or him and him" he points to Lan and Vekka "not to kill Gimmy after Gimmy tells you about Boss!"
He bats his eyelashes "Can Gimmy go free after that?"
Basically, Gimmy won't talk unless he thinks he has assurances. Mechanically, I'm going to run this loosely as a Victory Point (Influence) encounter (Open this Alias's profile for more info - or check out relevant sections in GM Core). If the party succeeds, Gimmy will spill his guts, allowing the party to make pre-emptive Recall Knowledge checks about Gimmy's Boss, Gurglegut, simply based off of Gimmy's descriptions of him. As Gimmy made a "deal" with Kolphan, and is suspicious of everyone else, Kolphan rolls with a +2 circumstance bonus for this skill challenge!
Per usual, if you have any skills feats, ancestry or background abilities, etc, please mention them (with links / text) when making your checks!
➤ Level: One (Base DC 15)
➤ Complexity: 2 rounds
➤ Timeframe: 10 minutes
➤ Synergies: Unknown
➤ List of Skills: Discovery @ Nature, Perception; Influence @ Athletics, Deception, Diplomacy, Intimidation; all adjusted for difficulty
Round One
Auntie Wu w/ ?? vs DC ?? @ ??
Kolphan w/ ?? vs DC ?? @ ??
Lan w/ ?? vs DC ?? @ ??
Sato w/ ?? vs DC ?? @ ??
Vekka w/ ?? vs DC ?? @ ??
Round Two
Auntie Wu w/ ?? vs DC ?? @ ??
Kolphan w/ ?? vs DC ?? @ ??
Lan w/ ?? vs DC ?? @ ??
Sato w/ ?? vs DC ?? @ ??
Vekka w/ ?? vs DC ?? @ ??
Kazuki hustles up to Hai-Er's fallen body. He kneels beside her and lowers his head in sorrow.
"We need to take her back to town. Her family needs to know what happened."
He glares at the little, evil creature.
"As soon as we're done with this... thing."
Discovery:
Lan plays good cop / bad cop ... with himself.
Lan's hands, still glowing with flaming power, reach for the creature's throat. "You're absolutely right you can't trust me. You live by the sword, you die by the sword. At least that's what I say. I should show you what it looks like to have a ring of fire around your neck."
Then, seeming to rethink, Lan pauses. "The only thing that stops me is that this one here," Lan jabs a finger at Sigurd, "He says we have a deal. And as much as I want to see your eyeballs scar over, I respect holy men. So, why don't you answer his questions, and I'll grudgingly honor his deal?"