The hellknight's armor doesn't reach below Rhia's waist, which is proving to be quite a problem, and blood quickly streams down her flank from the snake's savage bites. Still, to retreat is not within her. She rears up, menacing the snake , crashing down with her great spear!
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Watching the others devastate the remaining flying snake (and trying to not think too much about the idea of, you know, flying effing snakes), Priya figures the reptile is on its way to its own serpentine afterlife. She directs her attention toward the damaged centaur.
The second snake doesn't last long. Though Venti only grazes it with his blade, Poog shoots it, Early strikes it with his pick, then Rhia delivers the finishing strike with her spear!
The crew members of the Night's Prize are briefly startled by Early's ghostly appearance, but you've already earned their goodwill by saving them from the sinking ship and for dealing with their captain, whom they call a "cruel, unfeeling man." Indeed, one of the grateful sailors offers you a bottle of bortled favorite as thanks. They promise not to say anything about you to any authorities.
A few other treasures have washed up from the remains of the Night's Prize: a ring of discretion, a greased axle, and a fine compass worth 10 gp.
“Do we finally have a moment to catch our breaths?” Venti asks between beginning to arrange their stolen goods and wringing river water out of his cape. Don’t jinx it!
He looks over the bottle they received from the liberated sailor. ”Oh. Porridge.” The disappointment is clear in his tone and expression.
"Thanks, as always Early, but I think it's best you duck out of sight again." With a nod, the phantasmal form disappears.
Once you are ready, you gather the salvaged supplies and begin the journey back to Saringallow. It takes two days to return to the city, but thankfully the trip is uneventful.
When you get back to the Hellbreakers headquarters, you are debriefed by Maire, who seems a bit distracted but is pleased with the supplies you've returned with. Afterward, Ethran approaches you.
"Welcome back, friends. Things are a bit tense around here. Rhokrag hasn't yet returned from his own mission. He was scheduled to check in the previous day and is far too disciplined to either miss an appointed time or neglect to send word if he'll be late. Maire's understandably worried about him."
Rhia starts at Ethran's words. "Rhokrag? The soldier?" The centaur seems unnerved as she asks them, "What then was his mission?"
"The hobgoblin?" Venti asks at almost the same time as Rhia. "He doesn't seem like the sort to fail his mission," he comments and glances over his shoulder. Wouldn't it be dramatic for him to sneak up on us just now? No? Not so lucky? "I suppose the universe insists on balance, but I was really looking forward to a bath. I'm still finding river weeds behind my ears."
"Rhokrag had gone off on his own for some reconnaissance on the road to Logas," Ethran explains. "He was hoping to get some advance notice if Hellknight forces have regrouped enough to range further into Isger again. Specifically, Rhokrag had a local non-League contact that he was going to meet at the Waterspout Inn, a riverside tavern and lodging house halfway between Logas and Saringallow. Maybe it was a trap, or something else happened to detain him. Either way, it might be a good idea to investigate once you've gotten a chance to rest. I understand he's a valuable member of the League."
"Enemy Hellknight forces," Rhia corrects. "We'll march as soon as we are able."
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"No. No. No need to risk anyone's life on account of my vanity," Venti says, raising his hands in an insincere gesture of submission. "The centaur is right. We should go now. Just nobody better complain about me smelling like fish. Maybe someone could throw a bucket of passingly warm water on me as we head out." He looks over to Priya. "Do we have enough for horses? Without trading in our more helpful trinkets?" Then he looks to Maire and makes a lopsided grin. "Or the rebellion has some we could borrow for the sake of urgency? I am sacrificing my vanity."
"Yes, if a compatriot is in danger we should depart immediately" Early adds, solemnly.
The League is willing to lend you horses to make the journey swifter. After riding for two days, you arrive outside the Waterspout Inn shortly before dusk. From the road, you can see a two-masted ship flying the Chelaxian flag docked behind it. In addition, a handful of red-and-black tents have been erected near the riverbank behind the inn. Another Chelaxian banner hangs above them. It’s clear that Chelaxian forces have occupied the inn, but what isn’t clear is where they might be holding Rhokrag. Luckily, you have the element of surprise at the moment.
Watching the area from afar for a bit, you notice that no one enters or leaves the inn, but you do spot some movement in the windows of the inn's first floor. With his knowledge of warfare lore, Alfeo recognizes that the camp is visible from the deck of the ship, and unless you are very stealthy, once you enter the camp, you will likely be spotted; likewise, any fighting within the camp will probably be heard from the ship.
"Very kind of you," Venti says with a bow to Siobhan's retreating form. That one is a coal ember if I've ever met one.
~~~~
"I could try to spy out what's happening with the inn while you wait behind that building," he says, indicating the building with a gesture. "As long as I don't make my way into the camp, I should be able to talk my way out of trouble." He grins reassuringly and winks. Let's not get into trouble.
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Priya had made her opinion on horses - best when viewed from a distance - quite clear during the journey.
Still rubbing the portion of her anatomy that had suffered the majority of the equine assault, she turns from her appraisement of the encamped inn to the confident swashbuckler.
"How 'bout I join you, eh?" she suggests. "A little bit of gnomish charm can go a long way." She gives the man a wink.
"I'll help too, if you'd like."
"The more the merrier," Venti says. He pulls out his Asmodean symbol that hangs around his neck. Just in case.
Alfeo, Priya, and Venti stealthily approach the inn. A small stone fountain, its basin empty except for several fallen leaves, stands just a few yards from the road. The two-story inn beyond it was once painted a bright blue, but the color has faded to gray. A sign above the front door reads “Waterspout Inn” with a crude image of an upward spray of water. A path of churned-up dirt by the fountain leads to an unattached stable. The stable is unoccupied, apart from a few mice nibbling on some old hay.
Peeking in through the inn's first-floor windows, you can see a fire burning in the tavern's hearth. A gaudily painted trident hangs above the fireplace. Several tables have been pushed against one wall, their accompanying chairs haphazardly stacked on top. Two men and a woman in leather armor are playing a game of darts.
Staying close to the building, you move around to peer at the camp behind it. Three tents have been erected in the narrow stretch between the inn and the river. Pennants with the national symbol of Cheliax fly from each tent, occasionally flapping in a cold breeze coming from off the water. A campfire smolders in the middle of the tents, surrounded by a couple of collapsible cloth camp stools. Two women sit by the campfire. Though they are relaxing, they're still wearing chain shirts, and they have guisarmes within arm's reach.
A short gangplank leads up from the riverbank to the deck of a Chelaxian vessel, the Witchfire. Most of the planks making up the deck and hull have been painted black, though elaborate wooden scrollwork along the gunwales and across the bow depict curling wicks of flame, the tips of which have been colored a bright green. Other details around the ship have been painted the same color, giving an eerie effect. A Chelaxian flag flies from top the taller of the two masts. Two crew members are visible on board, keeping watch in between scrubbing the deck.
Venti whispers to the others, ”Well, back to the rest to fashion a plan?”
Venti sneaks back with the small folk to confer with the others. "We've got some options," he says and describes what they've seen. Having a horse with us limits them a bit. Though, on the positive side, she hasn't sounded the alarm herself. Maybe the centaur is true. "Climbing to the second floor is out," he continues with a glance at Rhia. "So's going through the windows in general, if we want the centaur with us."
He goes on to explain the few points of vulnerability he recognized, adding, "The inn itself seems the easiest to strike, though I don't know how many officers might be sleeping upstairs." He chuckles to himself. "Unmooring the ship and letting them get all excited and distracted would be funny. Unless the hobgoblin's in the brig."
"Poog could set inn on fire -- or ship -- or both! -- and then we take advantage of the mayhemline?" Poog suggests, eyes alight at the idea of arson.
"The stable might be better, if we were to take that path," Venti says. What was I thinking speaking for freely? Forgot the goblin.
"I vote for the inn," Priya offers. "With a little magic, we should be able to pull the three from inside the main room out to the stables and deal with them there without alerting the rest of the troop."
She looks Venti up and down. "What level of officer should you be?" she questions as she strums her harp lightly. " You should have enough rank to inspire them to immediate obedience, but not high enough to raise suspicion."
"Hmm. Military officer? That's a stretch," Venti considers, stroking his chin. "I might have better luck impersonating a signifer with my background in the church."
The gnome's eyes narrow as she looks the man up and down appraisingly while tapping one finger against her teeth
"Okay. Fair enough," she declares after a moment. "I think I can do that."
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Venti approaches the inn with as confident a swagger as he can muster. Seriously, Artureo? How do you get yourself into these situations. You did volunteer. He throws open the front door and, gazing through the eyeless, faceless mask of a signifer at the three playing darts. "You! I need you to come with me," he says in what he hopes is a commanding voice. "A better use of your service than your current activity. Insurgents could be sneaking past the windows, and you'd never know!" Stop. Talking. Be in command.
The three loyalists inside the inn give Venti a look before sighing and reluctantly stopping their game. "Sure thing, boss. Lead the way," one of them says.
Venti leads the trio to the stables, where the rest of the group is ready to spring the trap! The loyalists eyes widen when they see the lot of you, but by then, it's too late!
It worked? It worked! Venti tries to snatch the loyalist’s belt to loosen the buckle. Then he removes the whip from his belt and cracks it at the same man. ”Feel free to surrender,” he quips somewhat incongruously with his grim signifier disguise. ”It will hurt less.”
+
HP 16/16, fire resistance 1
AC 18
Fort +6, Ref +7, Will +2
Hero points: 2
Alchemical prep: xx
Effects:
Poog's eyes get wide as the loyalists make it into the stables, and he stops side-eying any dangerous horses locked in this prison -- at least the longshanks know enough to do that!
"You smell like a dog, you look like a horse, you snore like a log, you like even worse/Get in the jail, or I'll shoot you of course!" he chants, firing before anyone has a chance to lock themselves in a stable.
OR
You sing annoying goblin songs, distracting your foes with silly and repetitive lyrics. Attempt a Performance check against the Will DC of a single enemy within 30 feet. This has all the usual traits and restrictions of a Performance check to sing. You can affect up to two targets within range if you have expert proficiency in Performance, four if you have master proficiency, and eight if you have legendary proficiency.
Critical Success The target takes a –1 status penalty to Perception checks and Will saves for 1 minute.
Success The target takes a –1 status penalty to Perception checks and Will saves for 1 round.
Critical Failure The target is temporarily immune to attempts to use Goblin Song for 1 hour.
Alfeo focuses on Early, calling out to the phantom "You've got this, Early!" The eidolon seems to gain some opacity and begins to glow slightly.
Early, bolstered by Alfeo's encouragement (and magic), leaps forward to engage the nearest foe, bringing his pick around in a flash.
Poog immediately blasts a hole in the chest of the lead loyalist! As he falls, Venti pulls down the other man's pants and whips him across the face, knocking him out. Alfeo summons Early, who delivers a powerful strike to the final loyalist, nearly killing her outright. She groans and falls ot her knees, raising her hands in surrender.
Bloody Hells! Venti pales and sweats under his illusory helm when the first man dies. He wrangles his wits into shape as the last man surrenders. He takes a quiet, deep breath before speaking.
"Like I said, it would hurt less," Venti says to the last loyalist. His guise, fortunately, also hides his guilty glance toward the corpse. "We want the hobgoblin. Tell us where he's being kept, and that's the least you'll suffer. That and the indignity of being tied up in a stable."