Just bumping to keep it alive
Oh, is that all it takes?!?
<Bumpitty-Bumpitty-Bumpitty-Bump!>
:)
Search Posts
"Obviously." Edwin says with his nose just a little too high. "What better place to seek than behind a door they obviously didn't want you to find?" He asks with a straight face. He clears his throat, then givers the door a cursory inspection for unpleasant surprises.
Edwin nods to Larissa. "We are not common thieves, clearing the house of all it's silver and gold decor. But these golems are notoriously difficult to damage. And I rather doubt that we we have seen the last of them. These weapons may even have been placed here for the count to use in case of trouble. Golems are not infallible, and there are many stories of them turning upon their creators. Seeing as how the count has been kind enough to provide them, we would be rude to refuse the use of them. We will, of course, return them to the count immediately upon discovering that he is alive and well." "He may even appreciate the acquisition of information regarding how effective such weapons are against his constructs." Edwin adds thoughtfully, and immediately makes a swift notation in his pocket notebook. Edwin tucks away the notebook, and readies his bow once more. "After you." He says softly.
"Hm. HM? Oh, yes, indeed. As you say, quite tidy." Edwin replies absent-mindedly, looking about the room. "Almost too tidy, considering the state the room should be in if intruders came knocking. IF the guard dogs and whatever-it-was in the closet are any indication. DO mind your step N'kai, don't get too close to those armors. They would be perfect for hiding yet another construct of some kind." Edwin advises sharply. The detective mutters his own simple magical charm, and peers about the room himself.
"Agreed. Slowly but steadily then. Watch above as well as around and below. Be aware of breaks in the patterns, A square tile in an otherwise diamond pattern floor tile for example,..." Edwin continues reciting things that may be obvious in hind site, but he does so in a upbeat, metered speech pattern, aiding the others in their ability to stay alert, and possibly notice things that they might not otherwise.
Edwin nods to Aethor in admission of his point. "Indeed. I have a vial of blanch myself, but confess I did not think to prepare it before hand. I do prefer the elegance of the whip over brute force of blades or missiles, however in light of the guard dogs, and,...whatever this was, I admit that I shall most likely have to forgo elegance for something more suitable to doing damage." He confesses. "I also still carry the magical short sword, which may prove useful against similar creatures." He reminds the others, drawing back his coat to display said blade hanging low on his right side, like an oversized parrying dagger. "I shall be more than happy to turn it over to one of you more experienced in melee. I confess that these constructs defy my ability to find weak spots. So far."
"Ready."
"I love a good turn of phrase as much as the next humanoid. But this 'Skeleton in the closet' was literally a killer!" Edwin adds dryly. At Rholf's comment he nods and cautiously peeks into the closet himself.
As he peers into the closet, he muses aloud for the benefit of his companions. "I feel that we have become used to being able to overcome any obstacle with,... well, perhaps not ease, but with extreme prejudice. This constructs appearance makes be think that we should perhaps reconsider our former strategy. I suggest finding a secure location that we can fall back to for defense and recovery should we run into any further,... complications. Either a small secure room, or perhaps the gatehouse." He offers. Pulling his head out of the closet he adds, "Personally, I like the gatehouse as a fallback base of operations. It has the advantages of being nearby, yet separate. And has the added benefit of coming complete with guard dogs. So Don't lose the uniforms." He adds with a sly grin.
Edwin snaps the whip again, trying to keep the monstrosity off balance.
"That would be an Excellent suggestion. Next time I go shopping I'll add a wand of electricity to my shopping list." Edwin says dryly as he (hopefully) yanks one of the constructs legs out of it's center of balance. "If we can keep it down for more than a few seconds, I can glue it to the ground with tanglefoot bags!"
Edwin snaps the whip again, hoping to keep the metallic monstrosity down,...
"Pin it down! Do NOT let it back up!" Edwin shouts excitedly, reaching for a tanglefoot bag,...
Edwin tosses aside his bow and whips out his whip as he steps back.
Edwin waits, eyeing the things motions, and trying to ascertain it's balance points. He entertains his mind by mentally inventorying his alchemical items and trying to figure how to apply them most beneficially in this situation. Then, Edwin spies his chance, and his whip snakes out just as the thing turns to wind up for another attack,...
,... His whip wraps around one of the creatures legs, and he tugs with sudden, fearful enthusiasm,...
The constructs sudden, fierce attack catches the stalwart detective by surprise. He blinks, unsure of what, exactly, just happened. Then the appearance of his old friend, agonizing pain, fills in the blanks for him. "OW!" Edwin cries eloquently as he lets his arrow fly.
"Remember what I said about not destroying the gentleman's property unnecessarily?" "Forget about it. TRASH IT!"
Edwin swallows, and takes a step backwards. (5' step to V10) so he's not examining the creature by staring up it's mechanical nostrils, so to speak. "Please?" He adds, holding his bow at the ready but not firing. Yet.
The detective is happy to give diplomacy a chance. And just as happy to play 'Pin the arrow in the golem' if it does not work. Although, he doesn't need to be a golem-crafter to realize he might need a bigger arrow,...
"Intriguing,..."
Edwin wisely takes a step away from the stair-closet door, and levels his own bow at it as well.
He then Nods at N'Kai that he is ready. "Dobitoc?" Edwin echoes Larissa.
Edwin stops, and closes his eyes. "OF course. Miss the forest for the trees. I must cultivate patience." he mutters. Edwin looks at N'Kai, unwilling to move and set off,... whatever, with out warning.
Edwin shakes his head. At himself, mostly. "Upstairs I think. Master Rholf, Master N'kai, if you would be so kind?" Edwin indicates the stairway with a nod as he draws his bow and knocks an arrow to it.
Edwin opens the door with a flourish. (Then peeks in the room, to ensure it is 'safe'.)
"Ladies first? Or shall our noble Rholf illuminate your path?"
"That is,... I was going to say 'Uncanny', but I think 'Unsettling' is a more apt description." Edwin muses, indicating the painting. "It actually seems to be looking at me. More so than any artist's rendering I have encountered before." "Hrm,..." Edwin ignores the most plainly obvious doorway that Rholf moves to. Instead he studies the painting for a moment, memorizing the architecture of the room in the painting. Once satisfied that it was not painted in THIS room, and certain that he would recognize the room once he found it, Edwin moves to the doorway with Rholf. Edwin examines the door for 'unpleasant surprises', ;)
Then he checks to see if it is locked or not. :) "Well, we rang the bell, and we WERE invited inside. Or so I would take the opening of the front door to be an invitation. Barring evidence to the contrary, I will presume that our erstwhile host is occupied elsewhere in the residence, and that we are expected to join him." He gives a small smirk to the others.
Edwin's gaze passes over the room slowly as the others attempt to elicit a response.
"Apologies for our unannounced arrival Count Carromarc. We are,... associates,... of your son, Dobitoc. We were in the midst of clearing up some cases of mistaken identity when Dobitoc decided to return home. He seemed rather upset at the time, and we wanted to ensure that he arrived safely. He DID arrive safely I trust? May we speak with him?" Diplomacy: Edwin seems far more interested in what he sees around the room than in putting sincerity into his tone.
"Ah! Excellent!" Edwin says, noting the crank handle just inside the door as it slowly opens. "Would you be so kind as to inform the master of the house that Mister Drood and company are here to see him? Regarding Dobitoc. Oh, and you had a small pest problem at your gate. Troll infestation. Might want to have someone scrub the stones soon, that green blood stains something fierce."
Edwin shrugs in apology and tucks away his tools, a silent confession that this particular device is beyond his skills. For now. Edwin nods approvingly, whether at the pulling of the rope or the witty commentary is unclear. "In detective work, the simplest solution is usually the correct answer." He declares firmly. Then he tilts his head thoughtfully. "Not ALWAYS, of course." He smiles a little, leaving no doubt as to which situation he prefers. Edwin assumes the stance of one pretending to wait patiently for the door to be answered. This conveniently allows him to keep one hand on his whip. He mentally reviews what little they know about Dobitoc's 'Father', and combines it with a healthy amount of informed speculation based upon his observations of the man's workmanship on Dobitoc and the Golem-Dogs. His mind thus occupied, he idly casts his glance about, looking for an alternative entrance should no one answer the bell, and they wish to bypass the door entirely.
"Kindly stand between me and the golems so they cannot see. We don't know if they have a 'messing with the door' command or not." Edwin asks politely, pulling his long coat aside to pluck a few small tools from an inside pocket. "One moment please, Ah! Master Rholf, your timing is exceptional. Would you please stand a little to one side of me? Perfect. Now I can see." Edwin slowly and carefully begins working on the doorway with tools and magic file,...
;P
"I learned from the best, Master Drood. So, what's your informed opinion on the door? Are we to worry?" "About the rope? No. It is a simple bell-pull rope of no nefarious purpose." "The DOOR, on the other hand, might be a problem."
Edwin raises an eyebrow. "Why Master N'Kai, How positively Cynical and Untrusting of you. I approve wholeheartedly." Edwin says with a small smile, stepping forward to examine the rope and bell, then the door.
The detective is utterly calm, cool and collected. At the moment, nothing escapes his keen eye for detail. ;)
"Not at all Master Aethor." Edwin says, replacing his arrow in his quiver and slinging his bow across his back. "If our host has provided us with the means to bypass his guard dogs so, easily, it would be rude to destroy his work unnecessarily. Besides, this way if we run into trouble we can always retreat here and have the dogs help us." He adds with a smile. "I'll go next, Just to be sure. Sorry to be rude ladies." The detective says apologetically as he moves through the gate. Edwin moves slowly and cautiously across the bridge to avoid any possible slips. He does not hold a drawn weapon, but rests one hand on his whip, just in case. As he draws near to the dogs he studies them with a look of curiosity, not revulsion. "Good dogs!" He says firmly, making sure that both golems have a clear sight of the patch on his borrowed tabard.
"Watch that first step,..." Edwin advises wryly.
Edwin follows Aethor's example, and sights down the length of his own arrow. "Easy does it. They are animated corpses, but they are only dogs. Even if they attack, N'Kai can hold his own until we can retrieve him." Edwin mutters calmly. "Patience IS a virtue,..." He adds softly, as if reminding himself,...
Edwin scratches the shadow of stubble on his chin. " 'Dogtricker', huh. For a Goblin, that's a fairly high compliment. And he was smart enough to make himself useful to the trolls so that they wouldn't make him a snack. Mark my words, that little Gob is unusual. I wouldn't be surprised if we heard from him again." Edwin muses. Then the detective shrugs and turns his attention back to the bridge and it's golem-dog guards, obviously dismissing the now vanished goblin from his thoughts. The detective puts on a tabard as well, and then readies his bow. "Enter slowly and cautiously. If this does not work, fall back and we'll cover you." Edwin advises Aethor.
Edwin blinks, and then examines the gate latch.
Edwin looks at the goblin, pity warring with common sense in his mind.
"Dogtricker, You have been very cooperative. We will now let you go, with this warning. Convince your tribe to stay away from the humans. And for heaven's sake, watch out for Trolls." He adds with a nod to Leik in thanks for translating. "Let us send just one in first, see if the tabard trick works on the golems. We can proceed from there. Everyone ready?" Edwin asks, keeping an eye on Dogtricker to make certain that he is leaving without mischief.
"Well, They are certainly in the vein of the one we encountered earlier during our investigation of the Golemworks." Ed tells Larissa thoughtfully. "But I would have to make a much closer investigation to tell if the handiwork was the same person who worked on Dobitoc. And I would rather not make that examination while fighting for my life." He suggests wryly. Seeing The goblin's expression, Edwin addresses him through Leik's translation skills once more. "We are looking for our,... Friend. He is very large, and has several large scars. Very much like those dogs down there." Edwin explains, stumbling slightly over what to call Dobitoc. Both because he realizes that he does think of the Self-Aware golem as a 'Friend', sort of. And because he is not certain that Goblins have a word for 'Friend'. "His name is Dobitoc, and he was coming here to this castle. Have you seen him while scouting?"
"So, once our,... friend,... has told us all he knows, which shouldn't take long I would think. How shall we proceed? I confess to being curious to trying the uniforms and see if they allow us safe passage past the guard-golem-dogs. If that is the key, then that is an admirable piece of work. And if it fails, well we can always practice turning things into pincushions from safely up here." "I wonder what this camp was that they had him scout? Was it truly orcs? Having a sizable force so close to the settled lands might be a disturbing bit of news I would think."
Edwin makes a strangled sound, somewhere between a gag and a snort of amusement. But he shows no other signs as he gestures magnanimously for the goblin to proceed to the corner. "Watch him. He's going to try to run for it." Edwin says pleasantly, as if discussing the weather. He keeps one hand on his whip, just in case. "I sympathize with your feelings Master Sureblade. But I am loathe to kill even a goblin in cold blood. I confess I almost feel sorry for the creature. However, I am certain that my senses would return rapidly should he begin attempting to chew on my leg." He adds wryly.
Edwin nods, compiling all of the information being gathered around him. He pulls out his pipe and begins to pack tobacco into it. "Leik, please tell Dogtricker that he is clever indeed. I am also sure that he earned his name by being both clever and brave." Edwin says, with a small smile at the goblin. "Please do ask him if he has seen Dobitoc. Also ask him,... does he know of any way to get into the castle that does not require us to fight the golem-dogs below?" "I'm with Aethor," Edwin adds as Leik translates for the goblin. "I would find it far more comforting to pick off the dogs from here than have to fight them. However, if they belong to Dobitoc's 'Father', it would be rude to destroy them simply because they impeded our progress. Let us see what the Dogtricker has to say, and possibly try the uniforms, before resorting to ruining any arrows we may need later."
"Ah. No. They tried to eat me. I didn't agree with them. My turn. Where did they send you to scout? Tell us where you were and what you saw." As they hold the odd three way interrogation, Edwin surreptitiously glances towards the bridge.
"Ah. Leik, You speak goblinoid? Excellent. If you would be so kind as to translate please?" The detective asks the insect man. Meanwhile he silently chides himself for not properly applying himself to his linguistics studies. "Do not fear. We have no desire to kill you. All we ask is your cooperation. Tell us what you are called, and how you came to be in the troll's lunch sack?"
Edwin shakes his head. "How silly of me." He chides himself. Then he chants a soft spell.
"Now. Let us try this again. I can understand you now. Can you understand Common?"
"Amen Master N'Kai." Edwin says with a serious mien. "And what do we have here? Hello!" Edwin says in surprise at discovering the goblin all tied and prepped like a bag lunch. "There's a sight you don't see everyday." Edwin says to the others. He kneels down to get within conversation distance of the trussed goblin. "Hello there master Anklebiter. It seems we have just saved you from becoming a snack. I am going to remove your gag now. In gratitude, you will NOT try to bite me. Otherwise I will be unhappy. Do you understand me?" Edwin says matter of factly to the trussed goblin. He also motions to his companions to lower their weapons. :
Knowing that his speech was delivered with as much sincerity as he could possibly muster, Edwin reaches around slowly to carefully untie the goblin's gag. As he does so, he softly recites poetry, a popular retelling of a tale about how two warring races work together to fight a common monstrous foe.
"Now then. Let's have a nice little chat as friends, OK? You be nice to us, and we'll be nice to you." Edwin's gentle words echo slightly as they are enhanced by his will.
Edwin raises an eyebrow at the sudden sight of Troll #2 coming around teh trapdoor at him. "Didn't I just get rid of you?" He asks politely, snapping his whip at the trolls ankles.
"Hmph. Apparently not. All yours Leik!" He pats the bug-man on the body part most closely resembling a shoulder.
Edwin raises his fist high, and pumps his arm down with a very self-satisfied expression. "Don't forget to write!" He calls sarcastically after the tumbling troll.
Edwin flips his whip back, clearing it as if for another strike. But instead of snapping it, he focuses his steely gaze upon the troll and chants in a powerful tongue. "Be. Still." Edwin commands, his words echo oddly, backed by magic. The troll freezes, it's green-rubbery muscles straining against the force of the detective's indomitable will,...
Edwin curses the trolls tree-like legs, and adds a few curses for trolls in general, before flinching instinctively as teh barrage of arrows fly nearby. He need not have worried, The elvish hunter's aim IS as good as his boasting.
Edwin snaps his whip clear of the embarrassing tangle, and follows the insect-man up the stairs. Seeing his friends facing off against 1 troll, which is standing over the body of it's fallen comrade, (but is still twitching) Edwin notices that his friends are about to get caught between a troll and a hard club. Making a snap decision, Edwin follows it by cracking his whip at the troll coming up behind, trying to get it to topple over into the room below.
"Aethor, Rholf, Get your armored backsides up here!" Edwin cries loudly. "Please?!?!" He adds hastily, eying his own precarious position warily.
Edwin calmly observes as his friends fly into a flurry of movement, then calmly lashes out his whip once more at the troll giving the detective the stink-eye.
"Oh, shut up!" Edwin snarls at the troll as he tries to untangle his whip.
"And STAY down!" Edwin says smugly at the tripped troll.
|