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Malchius does similar to Nathaniel. Hopefully between the two of them, they can find somebody coherent enough to give an answer.
Malchius will attempt to touch the man with his dazing touch ability.
He'll then take a diagonal five-foot step back to pit Xarina between himself and the bared steel.
"My stupefying ability requires physical contact, as all the ladies know," Malchius says. "But I don't fancy going first."
"I have one charming spell left, as well as a spell that can knock one or more individuals unconscious without harming them permanently." He thinks for a moment and then adds, "I also have a minor ability. With a touch, I can make someone stand around looking dopey without any idea of what to do, kind of like you would if a hot girl ever actually came up and asked you on a date."
"And I will spare you the indignity of being pushed back in the human effluence," Malchius retorts.
Malchius commands the unseen servant to start cleaning off the two as quickly as possible, minimizing their exposure.
No, he doesn't have rope. She needs to provide, unless Garrett or Nathaniel have some.
Reflex: Malchius keeps his footing, grabbing something on the wall to hang on to.
"That way," Malchius points, landing his finger down next to the almost identical one belonging to Nathaniel, hearing the echo from his twin's lips as well.
Knowledge (Local):
Malchius nods. "A map. Something we can use once that thing has moved on. I wouldn't want to chance that it's up for dessert."
Or Malchius whips off an unseen servant spell and commands it to retrieve the scroll. :) "I got it," he says.
Malchius double checks the bolt in his crossbow before continuing to shuffle along after Nathaniel.
"Well, it's not like the wind and rain are washing away the trail down here. If we carefully pick up that second board, we could camp back there in relative safety, and after some rest, Xarina should be feeling better and I can prepare more useful spells than a pile of charm persons."
"Nice shot, but more criminals fled that way. Hopefully, you can track them without bloody trails." Malchius heads back to the other thieves they fought and starts searching their belongings.
I'll wait for the map then, before deciding what he does.
No, I mean the gap where the thief crossed (where there used to be a plank) - how wide is that gap? You mentioned the second plank was 12' long, implying that the gap is only 12' wide. If that's the case, Malchius is just going to jump it and not go for the other plank. If it is wider at this point, and narrows to 12 feet at the other plank, that's fine. 12 feet is the maximum he feels comfortable trying (50-50 shot mechanically); anything wider and he plays it safe.
Malchius, running full out, sees the plank disappear but realizes there's nothing for, it so puts extra determination into his step, plants his foot on the edge, and heaves himself into the air... Acrobatics: ...landing neatly on the other side with two feet to spare, tucking into a roll and up on his feet.
"If he doesn't know it, then we definitely don't and need to catch up," Malchius says, scrambling to his feet.
Malchius crossbow bolt: His bolt goes crazy wide. He curses and stands up
Malchius takes a bead on the closest thief and fires his crossbow, quickly reloading. Attack:
Malchius grabs the torch off the ground and thrusts it into the water.
"Garrett, get those lights down there among them and away from us!" Malchius hisses. He delays until he can see more.
This is not Malchius'' arena, so he waits and defers to the expertise of Garret and Xarina.
Perception:
Malchius dashes forward, making a double move to get closer, dropping prone and readying his crossbow. (Unless my reading of things is wrong, this should put him still a ways back from the men down there.)
Malchius grabs at his equipment, holding it still in a vain attempt to will the sound to die away. Flushed crimson, he avoids Nathaniel's and Xarina's looks.
Malchius looks suspiciously at Garrett. "Not that I'm not appreciative of the healing magic, but just where is it coming from, friend, if you catch my meaning?"
"Does anybody here have skill with first aid?" Malchius asks, looking worried at Nathaniel's wounds.
Malchius will desperately fling a glob of acid at the fleeing dog, rather than risk it alerting others to something amiss. Attack: And splashes the ceiling in his haste, coming nowhere near the running dog.
Malchius lets fly with another blob of acid at the dog attacking Nathaniel. Touch attack: Sigh. "Dammit Nathaniel! Hold still!" he curses as his aim goes slightly off as the other man foolishly attempts to avoid being eaten.
In that case, rather than dazing touch, Malchius would have attempted an acid splash. It would have hit touch AC 7, so no change in effect.
Malchius' readied shot against the dog coming straight at him.
In round one, Malchius reaches out to the dog attacking Nathaniel (or the one attacking him if that shot didn't kill it) with dazing touch.
Malchius lets out a yelp as he's hauled through the gap. Dusting himself off, he loads his crossbow and takes aim down the corridor.
Once we get the all clear, Malchius heads up and over as well.
"Xarina. Why don't you climb up first and have a look see? You'll be able to tell if there's anything there waiting for us to crawl through."
"That's a good idea! We can use your head to clear away the giant pile of solid rocks behind us!"
Reflex save: Picking himself up, and wiping the blood from his face, Malchius looks in rough shape . Worriedly, he says, "Smugglers or not, we need to press on faster, or we'll die down here from a cave-in."
"It could be that there just happened to be a tremor down here, coincidentally, and the rushing water and barking dogs are the sounds of smugglers in trouble. Perhaps they accidentally tunneled into one of the city's cisterns, or an underground stream."
Malchius takes a grim account of the spells at his disposal. "If it comes to a pitched battle down here, my magic is less than optimal, though I do have a spell prepared that can potentially knock several people unconscious."
Reflex:
Malchius lands hard atop Nathaniel. "Or just taken the day off," he mutters as he pushes himself up (off Nathaniel).
Malchius grabs Garrett's shoulder before he goes either way. Leaning down right next to his ear, he asks, "The lights already give us away, do they not? They're going to see you long before we see them? Let's give them something else to shoot at besides you then."
Malchius comes down third. He has no means of creating light, magical or otherwise. If he sees a lamp or lantern up in the shop, he grabs it before heading down.
Sense Motive:
"Now, sir, it is possible that you are aiding these thieves against your will, that they are perhaps forcing you to go along with their scenes and allow them to use your shop as they do. That will be up to the magistrate to determine. Anything you can tell us about the men below, however, will definitely help your case."
Malchius nods. "Head over there," he says, indicating a far wall of the store, "give me a count of thirty, and knock over some things on the shelf. I'll get these folks out of here." He heads over to the rest of the party, whispering. "There are some sort of secret tunnels beneath this shop that thieves or smugglers use to run goods. There's just two of them down there at the moment. If we can incapacitate this guy quickly and quietly, we should have the element of surprise on the criminal element below."
"Yes, I can see that one that you've carelessly left open. It's a wonder the wandering slip didn't spot it! I'm talking about the other exit down below. Our friends can still slip out of the basement that way?"
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