"As it stands, I doubt we'd be able to prevent it either way if it happens now. Going to the show tonight gives us our best shot."
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Buying tickets sounds like a good plan to me. And I'll probably check out the playtest at some point, but I'm not exactly in a hurry to change systems either.
"We already know they have a way to bring beasts up from the sewers. Whatever entrance they have down there might not be as well guarded."
I just started working a new job and it has me busy. Assume Gaziq shares the full translation and I'll post when I can.
"We have reason to believe that Minvandu is paying someone to create these monsters," Gaziq said, placing the pages in Aklo in front of Deverin. He waits to see if Deverin can read them on his own, translating only if asked. "It's likely a coincidence that the goblins ran afoul of them - they have a hatred of dogs, and probably started the feud themselves. But more importantly, the Beast House's shady dealings appear to go well beyond what you know. And there seems to be no love lost between you and Minvandu. What more can you tell us about him?"
Gaziq cleans up before coming back down for his meal. He sits away from the crowd, going over the papers in Aklo again in case he missed anything. There were too many disconnected pieces. The dog monsters and the Lodge hardly seemed related to the homunculus and the bomb, yet one always seemed to lead them back to the other. Hopefully Deverin would be able to shed new light.
"We may not have a name yet, but I'm sure there can't be too many winged goblins in the city. Nor a great number of alchemists who could create such a thing. Let's go back to the Reefclaw to get cleaned up, and then see what else we can learn about Orizir and this 'Bronze House'." "Even if that lead doesn't turn anything up, we still dismantled the alchemy lab in the sewers. Hopefully that slows down whatever they're planning."
"No point in needless bloodshed. Even goblin blood. As long as they stay down here and don't cause too much trouble, I won't tell the guard about them. You've done your part Fruggig, and we thank you for it. If we need you again, we'll come find you." "At this point, I don't think we have enough information to determine if the Lodge is the target or the culprit. Raleigh, do you think some of your contacts might be able to help us learn more?"
Gaziq wasn't expecting the goblins to be quite so quick on the uptake. Hopefully Fruggig wouldn't press the issue if he just ignored it. "I'd be willing to buy two of those grenades off you. That should help satisfy some of your debt to Fruggig. Since it sounds like you were just a pawn in a bigger scheme, we've no need to kill you just now. But I'd recommend staying on your best behavior for a while. And be more careful about what clients you take on."
Goblin fairy!? Is there nothing normal in this city, Gaziq ponders. Well, they had more important things to worry about for now. "Okay, I'll be honest. The thing is, we don't really care about getting you revenge. And if your bomb has been stolen, we don't really need you either. But, you may still have something of value. If you gave us a little information on where to find this fairy, we could steal the bomb back, and compensate you for your trouble. Of course, we would keep the bomb for ourselves. That sound fair?"
We wanted to find out whether Zazzle was thr sabotuer. Goblin arsonist seemed a likely suspect. We're pretending we want to hire him to pump him for info
The more Zazzle talks, the less convinced Gaziq is that they found their target. The lanky goblin seemed to lack...competence. Still, better to be thorough. "I've got to wonder who'd be bold enough to steal from a big man like you..." Then aside to his companions, but just loud enough for Zazzle to hear. "Maybe this fellow really isn't worth hiring after all."
"They only outnumber us four to one. That's practically an even fight," Gaziq mutters. He keeps an eye open for anyone making an aggressive move, but as long as no one bothers them, he moves Zazzle's hideaway and knocks on the broken door.
Raleigh would be the man for trapfinding
"As long as you introduce us to Zazzle first. That was the deal, after all." Gaziq interjects. As much as he wanted to get to the bottom of whatever was happening at the Beast House, finding the saboteur was their first mission.
1 for falling back with Fruggig.
I'm currently at 3,590. I also forget to update my sheet though, so I may have missed an XP boos somewhere
Gaziq furrows his brow as he tries to make sense of the notes. He glances up as Uuzkhangr passes him the stone and turns it over in his hands. "These are worth a tidy little sum. About 150 gold apiece. We This is probably the payment the mad scientist received for creating these beasts." He translates what he can of the notes, focusing on the bit about the mindwarp. "He has a client. Someone asked for these monsters to be created, and I think I know who it was. Does 'insistent on euphoria' remind you of someone we passed on the way in?"
"Tactical retreat sounds like a good option to me," Gaziq calls back. He hops backwards into the hall to avoid the dogs' snapping jaws, then runs back down the hall.
Right. Now I remember why I was using the crossbow.
The sudden hissing sound draws Gaziq's attention away from the papers he found and back towards the dogs on the table. As soon as he sees them start to move, he slashes at the tubes pumping vile, blue fluid into the corpses.
Gaziq's stomach turns at the sight of the dead dogs on the table. He's clearly feeling uneasy as he steps into the lab. "Now that we've found it's lair, lets put that beast out of its misery. We can wait for the master to return from wherever he's gone." It occurs to Gaz that someone paranoid enough to hide their lab behind an illusory wall might have other defenses prepared. Despite his misgivings, he checks the labs for other hazards.
As Gaziq enters the chamber, he waits for everyone else to file in. He whispers, "It's pretty obvious which way the monster went. But I want to be sure there isn't an ambush waiting down the other side. Nat, how far down that tunnel can you send your light?" He gestures with his shortsword towards the bloodless tunnel.
Gaziq gives Raleigh a nod as he moves into the tunnel. While it isn't too tight, it still isn't terribly comfortable, and definitely not an ideal space to fight. He keeps a steady pace so his larger companions aren't left behind.
Gaziq sticks his head through the false wall and takes a look down the narrow hall ahead. "I suppose I should take the lead then, if no one objects." The ratfolk stows his crossbow for now and draws his short swords. If something did corner them in there, they would do him a lot more good than the bow.
Actually, Nathalion should have beat the DC I think? He got a +4 if I'm reading correctly, so he should be able to dispel it for the rest of us. I could be wrong though
Gaziq stops short in front of the wall, puzzled by the trail's sudden disappearance. He glances back as he hears his companions arriving just behind him. "I didn't lose anything. The trail ends here. A false wall, I'm guessing, though I haven't had much time to look it over." Stepping forward cautiously, the slayer pokes at the wall with the tip of his crossbow bolt to see if the wall holds against it.
To be clear, I am not trying to leave the party behind - just getting a little head start. That 20 movement speed and all.
By the time Uuzkhangr has finished speaking, Gaziq has already reloaded and dashed after the creature, following its blood trail from a safe distance. He doesn't want to fall too far behind it, but moves cautiously. He doesn't believe the dogmonster is smart enough to lead him into a trap, but he does stop to peek around corners just so that he doesn't accidentally stumble into its den.
When Fruggig takes down the first dog monster, Gaziq turns his crossbow to aim at the other. Still, his goal is not to kill this one, but hopefully to drive it back towards its master. Better to get them all in one fell swoop, if possible.
Gaziq hustles across the bridge to get a better angle on the fight, but it looks like his comrades are dealing with the dogmonsters rather handily. "Try to leave one alive if you can. If it has a master, it may try to escape to him. For all we know, someone is making more of these things."
Since I'm near the bottom of the order, I figured I'd wait to see how the melee goes before chiming in.
Since Nathalion blasted the abomination Boramaru attacked, Gaziq takes aim at the one in front of Raleigh and fires an acid bolt.
"They're some sort of...artificial chimeras, made by magic." Gaziq mutters, a clear tone of disgust in his voice. "Who would want to create a beast like that..."
"Nat, they're just ahead. Move the lights away from us and get ready to fight."
Fine by me.
And one more for safety
When the creature attacks Boramaru, Gaziq wastes no time striking back. He examines the ooze before firing one of the acid bolts at the center of its mass.
Gaziq lets his companions debate how to handle the slime. He's slightly more concerned about the knife. "Fruggig, would you remind me what dogmonster blood looks like?" -Posted with Wayfinder
Gaziq loads one of the acid bolts into his crossbow, checking it once again, more to calm his nerves than because it actually needs checking. "We can't leave these beasts to kill people. They're a threat to the citizens and have to be dealt with. It's exactly like putting down vermin." He inches forward carefully, allowing his better armored comrades to take the lead. "Besides, those Beast House employees have pissed me off. I'd rather like to show this Minvandu fellow the head of a dogmonster, if Fruggig will allow it."
"Right. We're all on the proverbial clock, and none of us is getting paid to kill each other." Gaziq walks forward carefully, crossbow still pointed down, and waits for the other two to clear out of the way. He'll keep an eye on them until a good amount of distance has been put between them.
Gaziq aims his new crossbow at the ground in front of him for now, waiting to see how the situation develops. He hopes the situation doesn't turn violent, but he is prepared to defend himself if the beast tamers get aggressive. He watches the one on the right more closely - that one sounds like he might be looking for a fight.
"Something is certainly wrong with this picture. Do you think our monster fighting friends upstairs are responsible for this? Or is something more devious at play?" Gaziq wonders aloud. "Either way, I'm not sure we can afford to waste time on it. If it talks, I'll listen. Otherwise I'm with Nat on this one."
"Sounds like the slums are the way to go. Hopefully we can avoid running into any of the gangs. We don't need that trouble right now." -Posted with Wayfinder
The wand is 750 gold, so it comes out to 150 each if my math is right. -Posted with Wayfinder
-Posted with Wayfinder
Gaziq accepts the crossbow and the bolts, nodding appreciatively as he looks them over. "A fair bit better than the one I've got. I'll make good use of these." The ratfolk retakes his position as the group as they move deeper through the tunnels, towards the apparent source of these dogmonsters. -Posted with Wayfinder
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