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Pies fly reflexively at Gwen and Achurius. As Gwen receives hers, you notice it is particulalry violent as it is stuffed with both cream filling and nails and she slumps down to the ground, bleeding from the face!
Two of the remaining floating pies lower to the table and Nicodemus is able to coax another off onto the floor.
Regenerating Pie!
Gwen -34 damage <unconscious, dying 2>
Achurius -22 damage
Nicodemus
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Mrs. Crinkle -12 damage <shield up>
Alessandra <guidance>
Kargoth <shield up>
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Cream from the first pie is stuck in Mrs. Crinkle-Wolf's furry face. Licking her chops, she grins, slavering hungrily. But then Gwen is killed by a nail pie. The long-in-the-tooth lupine, uh, lady(?) looms over the dwarf and bellows:
The laugh at the end kind of undermined her scariness. She raises her shield again to avoid a similar fate.
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Despite Mrs. Crinkle's outburst, it is only when Kargoth's spell takes effect that the pies finally simmer down. One by one, a dozen spirits snap out of invisibility. Most have somber looks on their faces (as they spot the downed sorcerer) but a few still huff and puff from the prank's physical toll. One even picks another pie up to toss until he recieves a dissaproving head-shake from one of the others.
One of the taller ones steps forward sheepishly. "We're sorry..."
Gwen -34 damage <unconscious, dying 2>
Achurius -22 damage
Mrs. Crinkle -12 damage
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Nicodemus can feel a headache coming on (and when you have as much head as he does, that is no small thing!).
"Look. Trying to get in on the prank war is all fine and dandy... but if any of the students had taken one of those nail-filled pies to the face, they would have died! Next time, try making pies *without* the iron-rich filling."
As he is speaking, he moves over to Gwen, and renders first-aid.
He then moves on to the rest of the party.
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As soon as the fight is over, Mrs. Crinkle begins to shrink. The silvery white fur melds back into her skin, her snout sinks back to a human's nose and mouth, and she scrambles to catch the folds of her stretched-out dress as it suddenly becomes way too big for her again. Gathering armfuls of extra material, she begins tying it back into bundles again so she doesn't trip or give anyone an eye-full of what's under it.
Now that Gwen's up and at 'em, Mrs. Crinkle's in a jolly mood. "You 'didn't anticipate the nails'?! How the heck did they get in there, honey? Normally we'd blame spirits for that sort of shenanigan, but if *you're* in the dark who could it be? Are there gremlins afoot? --Oh, thank you, Nicodemus dearie. I had no idea those little hands could make me feel so good! Heehee!" She gives him a wink as he finishes healing her pie-plate-induced wounds, then swipes a bit of cream off her forehead and licks it off her finger. "Mmmm. Still yummy! Heehee!"
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Gwen screams for a moment when she wakes up. "What the hell was that?! It's supposed to be school pranks! Maybe a go a little far in the fey way, but nails to the face?!" She touches her face gingerly. "My face! Did you disfigure me?!" She scrambles to pull out a pocket mirror and check her face.
She comes to her feet and her hand is surrounded by green fire. "Ok, who was it? Was it you, you little gremlin? Or maybe it was the sorcerer getting them to do his bidding?! I know a little bit about blood magic myself. Let's see what we can do with yours!" She tugs at her scarf and maybe it's the light or her rage, but you swear her teeth look hungry and sharp.
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Achurius backs up the healing on Gwen with a two action heal spell.
"Feeling better? That was a hard hit."
Turning to the sprites he fixes them with a piercing glare, "You guys are annoying AND dangerous. Though I suspect someone else put nails in the pie, perhaps as a harmless prank. Well, unless someone broke a tooth on one. We should check the other pies for nails."
"Wait a second. If you guys are not students, why are you playing pranks?"
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Despite Gwen's expected reaction, the fey are calmed enough to talk (or at least made curious) by the contemplative . Their leader continues, eyes rising to meet you...
"We meant no harm. Truly! You see, we were just part of the caravan, visiting your realm from the first world, see? Rumors spread amongst us that there was to be a prank war. PRANK WAR! Needless to say we were more than excited to be a part of that!"
He glances at Gwen once again and shakes his head. lowering his gaze once more. "No, no, no, we would never harm anyone like that. We are not like that. We are servants in this realm, not warriors. We are no Mr. Clanglyfeets."
Gwen's wounds are non-beauty threatening and are quickly resolved by the various healing regimens.
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The leader gets more animated as he cycles through all the questions.
"Mr. Clanglyfeets? Oh, yeah. You'll meet him soon. Can't say we know him well. He just joined the caravan. Not even sure if that is his real name, we just call him that cause of the iron boots he wears."
"Matter of fact, the rest of the caravan will all be coming soon. We were but the quickest to get our clothes on! Surely, they will be better prepared for the festivities! We are just here to have some fun with you all... I don't really know why there were nails in some of the pies, we didn't make them! She did!" He points to the dwarf cook, still cowering under the table.
The dwarven cook finally emerges and leans into your group with a whisper. "I was doing my best to keep all the students out of here. I let one of the students have one pie to throw at that headmaster, in the spirit of the day, mind you. Then this lot showed up and just took over. It was all I could do to find refuge while they wrecked my day's work. The pies were meant to celebrate the winner today. And I assure you nails were not a part of the recipe." She slides a long grey carving knife from her belt "Here, take this, they weren't scared when I was brandishing it, but maybe they will be if you do."
"Well, all's well now it seems. We will behave and make things right here. Glad to see you are feeling better, miss. Ta Ta!" One by one the little fey start to clean up the tremendous mess that has been made. Others start to prepare a fresh batch of celebratory pies.
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Gwen gives Mrs. Crinkle a feral smile and then high-fives the old woman. When she does so a spray of sparks showers Mrs. Crinkle and suddenly her wounds are healed . "My thoughts exactly. In fact..." Gwen pauses for a moment thinking.
Then she nods, smiles, and continues. Her tone becomes oddly formal as if reading out a declaration. "As duly appointed judges in the Prank War contest, until its conclusion, these students and the school are our under our domain. Anyone who would dare to harm or damage the grounds or participants of the Prank War without presenting themselves as contestants and members of the school jeopardize the outcomes of the contest and our roles as judges. Therefore, it is our duty to prevent such interference. In a manner we see fit. To the harshest degree." A hungry grin crosses her face.
Then she blinks and her normal manner returns with a giggle as she turns to the fey gremlins. "I suggest you leave or find a way to play nice."
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The din has decreased since you have entered the buidling earlier. It seems most of the students have settled in to put the final touches on their pranks or are just waiting around to be "judged".
You do see out of the lunchroom window that a kobold student is wriggling and hopping near the open shed door outside.
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Tracing your steps back to the previous room, you find J Dacilane still there, cleaning the last remnants of the pie assault from his pressed clothes.
"It seems the pies have let up, I suspect I have you all to thank for that. But alas, there are likely still some students who need help before the judging can commence. You have helped a few, don't ignore any pleas in the spirit of fariness."
He gives you a glance like - why haven't you left?
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On her way out, Mrs. Crinkle calls to J Dacilane: "Okay, dearie, but we've had good intelligence that a nasty, vicious fey is on the way. Watch out for the metal boots! Anyway, we'll probably have to take a break from mentoring the nice way and show the kiddos how to pummel threats that want to spill their blood. It'll be fun! Heehee!" With a parting wave, she sails out the door to follow Nicodemus.
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J is noticeably surprised by Mrs. Crinkle's warning, not quite sure of its veracity. But no stranger to strangeness on the grounds, he nods. "Vicious fey, you say? Well, I'm glad you are all here to keep an eye out for that eventuality. Keep the students safe."
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Opening the door to the classroom across the hall from the lunchroom, Nicodemus sees what appears to be a prank awaiting judgement. Every level surface in this room, from the teacher’s desk to the stacked reference books to the floor, is covered in mismatched glasses full of water.
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Cass Farsight waves to you as you pass through the entrance hall again. "Be careful! Don't set off my booby-trap just yet, I want J to see it. I've augmented it with cushions from the faculty lounge for an extra little punch!"
Eventually (and carefully) moving outside, the group finds Geltra (the kobold student), watched by a sizable flock of younger students trying to lure something out of the shed. Tels Olsen stands nonchalantly by an open window of one of the classrooms.
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The decanter is high-quality and probably belongs somewhere else at the school.
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Geltra glances over and signals for silence. After a careful pause, she grimaces and then relaxes and steps over to the group.
"Drat. We are running out of time. I was trying to lure some of the opossums into Ms. Laforent's classroom."
A look over at Tels at the open window is highlighted by his exagerated pointing.
"Do any of you have a helpful hint? I'm not so good with varmits." she sighs.
"Yeah, and we started by poking them with a stick, so they are kinda miffed now. Sorry." One of the other students adds.
Peeking into the shed, the students have clearly startled the opossums, who are now hiding in the clutter of the shed hissing and baring their teeth.
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Nicodemus and Kargoth skillfully arrange the students in a receiving line (at the appropriate non-threatening distance), and despite the bard's weak snarl, the mysterious barking from the shed is enough to propel the opossums to the intended window. The last few crawl up and over the sill to take their places for Geltra and Tel's reveal.
A quick peek into Ms. Laforent's classroom reveals a large amount of glowing novelty ink has been spilled across the desks here. A pet tortoise, painted a jaunty pearlescent blue, sleepily munches on a head of lettuce in a small terrarium on a stool in the center of the room, with a dunce cap placed on top of the terrarium. The opossums find a comfortable place amongst the cluttered desks and settle in.
"Cool, huh?" Tels summarizes wisely, as he closes the window tight.
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The opposum prank complete, you return to the entry to search for others to aid when the sky directly above the school opens up with a rainbow of over-bright rays. Jaunty music heralds the first few fey to arrive. Nixies flow out first and into the entrance then zip through classrooms scattering shredded paper in the halls, a satyr troop appears and cavorts down the main halls playing raucous music, and a lone faerie dragon chases a cloud of gleefully screaming sprites along the top of the walls outside. The school is completely consumed in fey mayhem.
J appears in the cross-corridor (leading some nearby students out of the area) and he calls out to you. "I guess this is the vicious fey you told me about!?! Seems harmless. But you never know, I guess. Best to be careful to start. Send anyone else you can find to regroup in the lunchroom. We will figure out what to do next there!"
Cass Farsight nods. "I'll go with him so I'm not a burden." She peers at her doorway prank woefully. "Try not to set it off..." She breaks for J and follows him to the lunchroom.
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"Ooooheeheehee!" Mrs. Crinkle laughs and claps her hands with delight as the fun fey descend. "Oh, yes! Let's finish checking pranks before the bad one shows up. Then we'll have to trounce 'im! But first--I have to use the loo. Can't hold it long when you're this old, you know! Heehee!" And with that, she makes a beeline for one of the stalls in the restroom.
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As the group moves forward to allow Mrs. Crinkle to answer nature's call, the halls suddenly become unnaturally quiet, although the din of the caravan's continued presence can be heard in distant rooms.
From around the corner, a hideous scarecrow ambles forward - unnaturally, even for a possessed scarecrow. It steps ever closer, with flaming eyes, gnashing teeth and eerie noises that emanate from its gaping maw. The scarecrow’s eyes flicker with an unnerving glow.