|
“Whew! That was cwose!” Long-Nosed almost becomes Pierced-Nosed as an arrow whistles past their precious long nose. They quickly point at Blue, where dark tendrils coil outward and lance straight toward the target.
◆◆ Void Warp – void damage with a basic Fortitude save. On a critical failure, the target becomes enfeebled 1 until the start of Guiseppino's next turn.
They then turn to Maru with earnest (if questionable) wisdom. “You shouwd have momentum fiwst befowe you smack them with youw fwoppy stomach.” They nod sagely, though in truth, they only have a long nose, not a floppy stomach.
◆ Guidance to Maru – +1 status bonus to one attack roll, Perception check, saving throw, or skill check.
|
Long-Nose sends black tendrils of something towards Siopao. They touch him and he screams and collapses. Long-Nose then turns and sends some divine guidance at Maru.
Bear attempts to grab the bird-man but the bipedal avian seems to easily slip out of Bear's grasp. Irina tries to trip the bird but fails. Frustrated, she punches him instead... and connects!! Yellow reels back, seeing stars...
"Squawk! That hurts!" the bird-man yelps. He levels his pointy beak at and drives it at him.
for
for
Yellow runs out of the cloud of dust to a more defensible location. "Siomai! Get in here and help!" he screams.
------------------
COMBAT TRACKER
Round: 2-3
Tactical Map
------------------
Those with ** may go
-3-
**Tempest in a Teapot - AC 18 (20 w/shield) 28/28
Red Siomai (F1)
Guiseppino - AC 18 (19 w/shield or cape) 24/24
Irina Valishnakova - AC 20 32/32; Bear AC 18 27/32 (Concealed from all - 1/2)
Tengu
-2-
**Maru - AC 18 23/28 (Guidance)
**Calla tilly - AC 18 15/19
|
Tilly freezes as the bolt whizzes backward and buries itself in the wall beside Guiseppino. Her eyes go wide—way too wide—and she forces a shaky smile.
She then lifts her crossbow again, takes a steady breath, and fires. She flicks the crossbow upward and fires a shot meant to sting—targeting yellow's shoulder,
“Okay. Enough slipping. Enough ricochets.”
|
|
Maru slams Siomai with his belly twice. He misses the first time but catches Siomai's head with his second. The force of the blow is strong enough to break the halfling's neck and Siomai drops like a puppet with its strings cut.
Looking inside the room, Maru then scares the daylights out of the tengu...
------------------
COMBAT TRACKER
Round: 3
Tactical Map
------------------
Those with ** may go
**Tempest in a Teapot - AC 18 (20 w/shield) 28/28
**Guiseppino - AC 18 (19 w/shield or cape) 24/24
**Irina Valishnakova - AC 20 32/32; Bear AC 18 24/32 (Concealed from all - 1/2)
Tengu (AC <= 19; F1)
Maru - AC 18 23/28 (Guidance)
Calla tilly - AC 18 15/19
|
|
------------------
COMBAT TRACKER
Round: 3
Tactical Map
------------------
Those with ** may go
**Tempest in a Teapot - AC 18 (20 w/shield) 28/28
**Guiseppino - AC 18 (19 w/shield or cape) 24/24
**Irina Valishnakova - AC 20 32/32; Bear AC 18 24/32 (Concealed from all - 1/2)
Tengu (-7; AC <= 19; F1; Tilly's prey)
Maru - AC 18 23/28 (Guidance)
Calla tilly - AC 18 15/19
|
|
"You have nowhewe to go. Youw awwies awe gone. This is fow you!" they point another finger, this time to Yellow.
◆◆ Void Warp – void damage with a basic Fortitude save. On a critical failure, the target becomes enfeebled 1 until the start of Guiseppino's next turn.
"You good beaw, swash its face!" Long-Nosed tries to communicate with Bear, hoping that he understand them
◆ Guidance to Bear – +1 status bonus to one attack roll, Perception check, saving throw, or skill check.
|
|
Tempest smacks Yellow with her fiery fist, threatening to roast the now-terrified bird.
Long-Nose tries to introduce Yellow to the chill of the grave but the bird fights it off.
------------------
COMBAT TRACKER
Round: 3
Tactical Map
------------------
Those with ** may go
Tempest in a Teapot - AC 18 (20 w/shield) 28/28
Guiseppino - AC 18 (19 w/shield or cape) 24/24
**Irina Valishnakova - AC 20 32/32; Bear AC 18 24/32 (Concealed from all - 1/2; Guidance)
Tengu (-13; AC <= 19; F1; Tilly's prey)
Maru - AC 18 23/28 (Guidance)
Calla tilly - AC 18 15/19
Bear charges forward and attempts to grab the fleeing tengu.
|
|
Bear and Irina try to grab the bird but he easily slips their grasp. Irina glares at it but is pointedly ignored.
"Yep! Time to get rough all right!" says the tengu, before driving his beak at Bear.
for
for
for
"HA! Take that you disgusting creature!"
------------------
COMBAT TRACKER
Round: 3-4
Tactical Map
------------------
Those with ** may go
-4-
**Tempest in a Teapot - AC 18 (20 w/shield) 28/28
**Guiseppino - AC 18 (19 w/shield or cape) 24/24
**Irina Valishnakova - AC 20 32/32; Bear AC 18 12/32 (Guidance)
Tengu (-13; AC <= 19; Tilly's prey)
-3-
**Maru - AC 18 23/28
**Calla tilly - AC 18 15/19
An annoyed Bear attempts to maul his attacker.
|
|
Bear manages to grab the Yellow bird-man (chicken?) but can't get his jaws around it.
Irina tries to poke the birdman with her spear but also fails to connect.
"Hey Leggo! you ugly thing!"
------------------
COMBAT TRACKER
Round: 3-4
Tactical Map
------------------
Those with ** may go
-4-
**Tempest in a Teapot - AC 18 (20 w/shield) 28/28
**Guiseppino - AC 18 (19 w/shield or cape) 24/24
Irina Valishnakova - AC 20 32/32; Bear AC 18 12/32 (Guidance)
Tengu (-13; AC <= 19; Tilly's prey; Grabbed by Bear; OG; Immobilized)
-3-
**Maru - AC 18 23/28
**Calla tilly - AC 18 15/19
|
|
Tilly puts a crossbow bolt into Yellow's center-mass. It's a serious wound but does not prove mortal. Maru prepares to bounce their chicken back into the room should he make a run for it...
------------------
COMBAT TRACKER
Round: 4
Tactical Map
------------------
Those with ** may go
**Tempest in a Teapot - AC 18 (20 w/shield) 28/28
**Guiseppino - AC 18 (19 w/shield or cape) 24/24
Irina Valishnakova - AC 20 32/32; Bear AC 18 12/32 (Guidance)
Tengu (-23; AC <= 19; Tilly's prey; Grabbed by Bear; OG; Immobilized)
Maru - AC 18 23/28 (Readied Attack)
Calla tilly - AC 18 15/19
|
|
Long-Nose gives Yellow a splitting migraine while Tempest clocks him with a flaming fist. Finally, with the smell of burning feathers, Yellow surrenders.
"Ok! OK!! I give up! I don't know anything though!"
While you restrain the tengu, you are free to search the room.
If you take some time to read the diary
The Golden League cell has been hiding within Silvertree village for decades, integrating with the villagers and blending in seamlessly, so they can use the settlement as a hiding spot for stolen or smuggled goods until it was safe to move them. The other residents are unaware of the cell’s affiliation and are equally unaware of the labyrinthine smuggler’s den they slowly built over the decades underneath the unassuming business the cell uses as a front. The Golden League made sure not to disturb the forest directly outside of the village and skirted the kami Sakura’s wrath with secret offerings. Those offerings, though, would not work this time.
Then the events of Godsrain caused the cursed weapon Bloodmoon to fall to earth in a literal rain of blood, where it found a cell of Golden League smugglers. Bloodmoon is the naginata that the deity Fumeiyoshi, Lord of Envy, used to slay his brother, the moon god Tsukiyo. Though Fumeiyoshi later tossed the bloodstained blade away, the cursed weapon has sought opportunities for both mischief and selfaggrandizement ever since.
Sakura, already on edge with the chaos wrought recently due to the Godsrain, was in no mood to host an unholy item such as Bloodmoon in their territory. They can feel its ill intent like a cloying stench, undetectable to the residents of Silvertree, even the cell. Sakura blamed the entire village for the actions of the Golden League Cell and, as punishment, sealed it off from the rest of the trade route with a bank of disorienting fog. Travelers trying to pass through will find themselves leaving the fog in the same place that they entered. Sakura has demanded the removal of the “filthy source of miasma,” but will not elaborate. The innocent villagers have no idea what their guardian could mean. Ever inscrutable, the will of the kami seems, to them, impossible to carry out.
Meanwhile, the Golden League cell has been overwhelmed by the cursed naginata. Bloodmoon has stoked their greed and paranoia, causing them to shutter their businesses and act aggressively to outsiders and each other.
|
|
Tilly steps up beside the chest while giving the tengu a brief, wary glance. She crouches and studies the chest, grips its edge, and gives a sharp, controlled wrench—aiming to force the lid without splintering it or damaging whatever’s inside.
Tilly straightens as the chest creaks open, stepping aside so everyone can see inside. Inside the chest, she reveals the contents and gestures for the others to gather closer. “There’s a purifying ladle here and a smoke veil."
|
|
"Hey! Whereya goin'?! You can't leave me like this!!" the tengu yells.
Heading towards the next room, Maru pulls the door open. This room includes mannequins bearing various uniforms and other costumes for the Golden League cell, along with a plain wooden desk and ledgers.
The full incriminating records of the Golden League Cell’s activities can be found in this room. In tiny print, there are seventy years of every smuggled or stolen item or creature that has passed through these walls. One of the most recent entries notes the discovery of Bloodmoon, noting that the remarkable artifact would surely be worth thousands of gold pieces to the right collector in Goka, but that the boss seems unable to part with it.
You also find a Thorn Triad in a desk drawer.
|
|
Maru looks back at the Tengu as it squawks and says “Are you in danger if left here? We would like to learn more about your boss.”
——
Maru examines the room to see if anything is interesting here.
The ledger catches his interest. Scanning it, he alerts Irina saying “This looks like proof they were involved with the smuggling of creatures!” as he points at a relevant line in the ledger.
“Anyone know what a Bloodmoon is?”
|
|
You recall that Bloodmoon is the naginata that the deity Fumeiyoshi, Lord of Envy, used to slay his brother, the moon god Tsukiyo. Though Fumeiyoshi later tossed the bloodstained blade away, the cursed weapon has sought opportunities for both mischief and self aggrandizement ever since.
|
|
"Now I wemembew!" Long-Nosed blurts out, eyes widening as realization dawns on him.
"Bwoodmoon is the naginata that the deity Fumeiyoshi, Wowd of Envy, used to sway his bwothew, the moon god Tsukiyo. Though Fumeiyoshi latew tossed the bwoodstained bwade away, the cuwsed weapon has sought oppowtunities fow both mischief and sewf aggwandizement evew since." they share to them.