"Don't know how. Don't know when. But Vanthus will die, I'm sure of that." Kutsya pauses. "Anyone know what "Lotus" is? Not ringing a bell to me today."
Once Gavin points out the secret door, Kutsya moves to help him with it.
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Kutsya nods. "I'll see what I can do." Several of her braids slither through the cracks on the door, seeking the hinges. After putting pressure on the hinges, hopefully breaking them, she lends her strength to quietly lifting the door.
Kutsya watches Erick with interest. If he is unsuccessful, she will see if she can snake one of her braids through and try the same thing.
Kutsya glances down the southern passage, but follows Tessa into the northern passage. "Don't worry, Barber, I won't swim off alone while I'm carrying you. Would be a shame to drop you in the cold, dark ocean."
Kutsya looks at the water, and then at her companions.
Hair uses INT for STR
"Thank you, Master," Kutsya tells her crab, with a slight bow, then picks him up, allowing him to regain his usual perch on the back of her neck. She examines the dagger for markings before handing it to Tessa. "Don't know anything about dragons -- lotus or otherwise," she mutters. Then she stares at Gavin."Knew an old navigator once who had fits where he'd talk like that. Course, he'd fall to the ground and thrash around, too. Got to where he'd lash himself to the mast at all times, just in case. Don't think you're that bad, but you might want to see a healer when we get back topside. You know, after I rip that man's kidneys out his nose." Then Kutsya takes her place up with the others as they look at the sea cave.
Kutsya places Master Kratzenklau by the crab she had dispatched, in case he wants to wreak any vengeance for its rudeness. Then she carries him over to the pool and asks him to fetch the shiny object.
Kutsya winces at the wound, then smashes at the crab again with her pick and her hair, stepping back after she does so.
"No one threatens Master K, and gets away with it," Kutsya snarls. She swings her heavy pick at the crab in front of her, following up with a hair slap for good measure.
Kutsya blinks, surprised at Master Kratzenklau's failure. "He's the wisest, most persuasive creature I've ever met. I can't believe they didn't listen to him." She picks the crab up and puts him back on her shoulder. Then she prepares herself for the assault.
Kutsya walks gingerly into the room, removing her familiar from his customary perch on her back. "Up to you, Master Kratzenklau. If you think you can convince those other crabs to let us look at the body and explore the pool, then please do. If not..." Kutsya shrugs. "But don't put yourself in danger." If her crab advances she will trail behind, staying close enough to charge in and protect him if need be.
Kutsya looks on as Bedu tends to Erick and heals Tessa, and scowls. "Don't like it. Dead should stay dead." She pats Tessa on her good arm with one braid as she passes her on the way to the doors the corpses had shambled through. "Dodge better next time," she grumbles. "Be quick or be dead." From her vantage at the doorway, Kutsya peers ahead, so that she might see what awaits them in the dark.
"Fire in the hole," Kutsya calls out, then tosses her alchemist's fire at the third zombie. vs touch AC
EDIT: Can you crit with splash weapons? Here are some rolls just in case...In any case, the zombie will be on fire and take the same damage next turn. I also believe everyone next to it takes 1 pt (sorry).
"Crabs," Kutsya says, with a slight smile on her face. "It's just crabs over here, hiding in the dark. Nothing to worry about. Maybe after the fight Master K will want to go play." Then the witch moves directly behind Gavin, removing an Alchemists Fire from her pack as she does so. She gently lays one braid on Gavin's shoulder, and nudges him to move behind Erick, so that Tessa can advance.
"Aye, the left." Kutsya answers, and moves to the double doors on her side of the hallway. She peers into the darkness, trusting her Dwarven sight to alert her to approaching danger. Unconsciously, she growls deep in her throat, and her braids begin to lift and tense, ready to strike if need be.
Kutsya grips her pick in both hands and nobs. "Let's go. Sooner we get out of here, sooner I can make Vanthus suffer."
Kutsya listens to Erick's plan, while she catches her breath. "I-I think it is too high. My hair only reaches five feet -- even with me on your shoulders that's only halfway up. Perhaps if I'd taken a spell that could carry things today. But I was thinking of combat." "I'm willing to try anything you come up with to get out of here. I just don't think it will work." Kutsya looks around at all her companions, before locking eyes with Erick. "I will kill him. Promise me I can kill him."
As Vanthus readies to shut the trap door, in Kutsya's mind she is suddenly back in the warehouse, trapped under tons of debris. "H-have you ever been hunted by a Spirit of V-vengeance?" the dwarf asks, voice shaking. "If you close that door, Lord V-vanderboren, you will be!" Then the door slams shut, and everything goes dark -- at least in Kutsya's mind. Kutsya scrambles up the wall, doing her best to climb to the exit, but even with the aid of her hair, she can't gain purchase. So she throws herself at the wall in frustration, beating at it with her braids, breaking off countless shards of brick, screaming curses at Vanthus until she is hoarse and panting. Only then does she begin to listen to her companions.
Kutsya helps to lower Erick, then watches as Gavin descends into the tunnel. Then she follows down the rope, using both arms and all eight braids on the climb.
"Thirty feet down to an empty room. You want I should go first?"
Kutsya follows Rosk with a sniff and an inner sneer. She knew all about needing gold, but he seemed far too desperate for her tastes. In her bones this felt like an elaborate trap -- whether set by Vanthus or by Vark's buyer. Not that it mattered much to her. She didn't avoid traps -- she broke through them. Once they arrived at the trap door, she focused for a moment and warded herself with a spell. Once finished, she peered down into the darkness, allowing her Dwarven senses to take over.
Kutsya do you mean literatively walked into a buzzsaw or figuratively. Oww either way. Totally figurative. I don't do real work -- I'm an accountant. But I do get caught with a lot of hard deadlines. Basically, I've now fully paid for my week off.
Kutsya listens quietly from the back, trying not to twitch her braids. Rosk appears not to need any of her style of persuasion to talk, and she manages not to be too disappointed at that. Kutsya has no doubt there will be plenty of action later. "Smugglers' tunnels?" she mutters, trying to catch Bedu or Erick's eye. "Maybe someone we know?" There was already one smuggler who had cause to be very upset at them.
Also, my apologies for not posting...I'm still here. I came back from vacation and walked into a buzzsaw at work. I'll get something up tonight, I promise.
And...I'm in the airport on the way home. Should be able to start posting again tomorrow. Thanks for your patience. PaizoCon was awesome. I highly recommend it for anyone who can go. Next year it's over Memorial Day weekend (late May).
"I read through Lady Vandoren's mother's journal. She and her husband were members of a group called The Seekers -- that star is their symbol. So that must be who the building belongs to. They were explorers, taking trips to dangerous, exotic areas."Kutsya nods and mumbles to herself. "She did all her writings in Sylvan...quite a silly language, if you ask me." Kutsya listens as Gavin and Erick recount the last few days. "Sounds like the choice is between setting a trap or walking into one. I like whichever one is quicker. Not that I didn't enjoy walking around with you, Gavin," Kutsya sighs. "I just don't know how you can stand being so nice to everybody all the time."
Wanted to give a heads up that I'll be traveling to Seattle for the next week. Part of it is PaizoCon and part of it is visiting family. Shouldn't be completely out of touch, but it will be intermittent.
Kutsya is nonplussed at Gavin's offer. "Thank you. I didn't -- thank you. I must consult with Master Kratzenklau, to make sure he doesn't have anything else for me to do. But I would be happy to accompany you on your investigations." She pauses. "I hope I don't overly...disturb...your contacts."
Kutsya accepts both her pay and refreshment a nod and an attempt at a smile. "Thank you, Lady. I've learned never to turn down free food." She listens carefully to Erick's questions, and to Lady Vanderboren's answers. She wasn't stupid, but such matters of intrigue were beyond her. Subtlety had never been her strong suit -- she preferred to attack her problems head on. "I live in the Azure District," she said. "But I can't say I really know anyone there. Outside of family. If any of them are even in port." Kutsya blinks as she realizes she's gone off on a tangent. "But I'm happy to go with you while you're asking around if you like -- though most people don't. Like, that is." She blinks again. Talking is hard. "Or I can go back and study. Master Kratzenklau always has plenty of exercises for me to do."
Kutsya laughed as soon as Gavin finished. "Especially since that's now our job." To the others she said, "Master Kratzenklau has taught me a spell of translation, however I am not prepared to cast it today. I should be able to take a look at the papers tomorrow, once he has reminded me of the details."
"That's exactly what I'm thinking. Call the combination 6-1-2-3-2 and see how that works." Kutsya smiles. "If that's wrong, I'm sure you can dispatch the guardian with ease."
Kutsya enters the elaborate chamber. How many workers, she wondered, did it take to build all this? And how long did it take them? After listening to Erick and Bedu, she nods. "I agree. The only thing I wonder is whether we should be counting clicks, or pointing the arrow at the beast with that number of eyes. I'd have to see it in action." "A chimera has three heads. I believe each head has two eyes -- so six total. I don't know about a basilisk. I imagine it is either two or four."
Kutsya shudders. "Don't think I'd sleep much with an aboleth staring at me. I think a basilisk has eight legs, so if Erick put his boomstick to my head I would guess it had four eyes, but that's just a guess." Kutsya walks over to the pillar in the western alcove, not even noticing the lower ceiling height. She squints at it, trying to see if there are any carvings on that pillar.
"I hate riddles," Kutsya mutters, as she walks into the very center of the room, which should be the best vantage to view from. Her thoughts were running along the same lines as Erick's. "Five lines on the parchment, and five pillars surrounding the dome." Her braids start tapping the ground behind her as she thinks, like oversized fingers drumming. Kutsya scans the pillars for any carvings. Pictures of the named animals would be nice, but she's not convinced it will be that simple. "Could be letters or runes we're looking for -- the capital letters in each line. But there are some duplicates. Or...it says the Chimera looks. The Cyclops looks. A chimera has, what, 6 eyes? A cyclops has 1, an ogre 2. Does anyone know how many eyes an aboleth has, or a basilisk? This could have something to do with numbers." Kutsya sighs. "I hate riddles." After she's looked with her eyes, Kutsya begins scanning with Detect Magic, just to make sure nothing is missed.
"There is very strong magic at work here. Abjuration. But that could well be the locking magic. Especially if this is keyed to the Vanderboren bloodline." Kutsya shrugs. "Go ahead. It's either dangerous or it's not. And if it's dangerous, then we'll deal with it -- that's why we're here."
"Do any of the other vaults have the Vanderboren crest on them? It's possible the name placard has been switched." Kutsya then casts Detect Magic to see if there are any spells on the vault door.
Kutsya kept her own counsel on the journey back, preferring to just enjoy the sensations of being on a ship again. She healed Soller Vark -- as she had promised -- and made sure he got the chance to drink Gavin's ale before he was taken away. It had been a fine adventure, but now it was over. She'd enough money now that she could concentrate on finding a captain willing to take her aboard, instead of just taking whatever job came along so that she could eat. And then Lavinia -- Lady Vanderboren -- made her offer of employment, one Kutsya had not expected. She turned and looked at her fellows. Good companions all. Gavin might be a bit strange, Tessa and the Barber might be frighteningly enthusiastic, and Erick might be distressingly legalistic, but they worked well together and to her surprise she found that she enjoyed their company. So if they'd have her, she could try this a while longer. "Lady Vanderboren, I'd be pleased to accept your offer. Especially now that you have such a fine ship under your command. If you ever find yourself more in need of crew than of problem solvers, I hope you'd keep us in mind." Kutsya then turned to her coworkers -- no, to her comrades -- and said, "Now, we're no Ravens, Jade or otherwise, but what should we call ourselves? I wouldn't want a uniform, but a proper name might be nice."
Just want to mention we've entered quarter-end close at work. My posting will probably be erratic until Wednesday. Since I'm the farthest downstream on the information flow, it means I end up picking up the slack for everything else that goes wrong. Ended up working till midnight on Friday and several hours yesterday, none of which I knew about until 4:30 on Friday.
Kutsya watches impassively as Erick and Tessa interogate Sollen Vark. Don't think I ever want to be on the wrong side of those two. "I promised him I'd heal him if he talked, so I'll do that when we pull into port. I think he's earned one of Gavin's ales too -- probably the last he'll get for a while." She turned her thoughts to the animals reported to be below decks. "If the buyers won't show, we'll need to figure out what to do with all these animals. Probably turn them in to the authorities. Or maybe donate them to the Arena." Finally she walked over to the ship's railing, ready to lower herself down and fix the rudder. But before she does she turns to the swashbuckler. "It's not really my style," she told Tessa, "But if I was going remove a body part like that, I'd wrap a small tendril of hair around it tightly enough to cut off the blood flow, until it turned black and fell off. Slow but sure."
Kutsya looks at Vark quizzically. "You were afraid of that overgrown crab? I think it'd make more sense to be afraid of the ones that took it down without working up a sweat." With a twist of her braids she pins him to the deck, making him even more helpless than before. "Now my friends and I will have some questions for you, as we need to get the Blue Nixie ready for her owner. If you don't hold out on us, I'll heal you as I'm able. Might even buy you a drink afterwards. If we're not satisfied, I'll tighten my braids and throw your carcass overboard." "Let's start with an easy one. How exactly was Mera setting the boat on fire, and what's the best way to put it out quickly?"
Kutsya stared down at imprisoned smuggler without an ounce of pity in her heart. "You have one chance." she said to Vark. "Tell me everything you know about that thing or I will feed you to it myself."
The wise thing to do, Kutsya thought, would be to advance slowly and carefully. But I never was very wise. Instead, Kutsya charged Vark with a guttural roar. Halfway there, her braids began pinwheeling like a sawblade, and they slammed into the half-orc at full speed.
As Kutsya climbs over the railing she tries to take in the whole scene: the dead smuggler on the deck, her companions advancing confidently towards the remaining smugglers, a half-orc who matches the description of Vark emerging onto the deck. She moves closer to the action, while trying to keep the mast between herself and the archer on the foredeck.
Kutsya shakes her head at Tessa's question. Fixing rudders was hard -- jamming them was easy. She climbs across the ropes to the rudder, looking for all the world like an oversized spider as she uses her eight braids to help her climb. The javelin slides into place with a satisfying snick and she flashes the thumbs up signal to Tessa. Rudder locked down, she mouths. "We're coming aboard. Then Kutsya begins climbing the ropes up onto the deck.
"Gavin, give me one of your javelins," Kutsya says abruptly. "I need it to jam the rudder." She then looks at the rest of her group appraisingly, and removes a small animal bladder from her belt and hands it to Erick. "You know what this is, yes? If you end up underwater, smash it open and it will take you to the surface. You look like you need it most. I also have a marker buoy in my pack. I was thinking to use it in case the ring went overboard, but I can drop it before we board if we want to set a meeting point." Then she makes a few arcane gestures and throws a small piece of twisted wire at Erick, which vanishes the moment it touches him. "For the next ten minutes, anything you mouth, I will hear. And the other way around." Kutsya mouths the words Smelly Fishballs, after which Erick -- and only Erick -- hears them in his ears as a clear whisper.
Kutsya surveys Blur Nixie as they approach trying to get a feel for it. "I'm a strong swimmer," she says to her compatriots. "And I expect I can probably climb the anchor rope. And I can try to sabotage the rudder before I come aboard. But I'm not very quiet. Or subtle, so I don't think I would stay undetected for long. But I'm willing to try that, while you provide the distraction." Turning to Tessa, she adds, "Scanning for magic requires seeing the area. It doesn't work through walls, and while it's not terribly slow it does take some time."
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