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Luke:
"Oh, sorry. I assumed that was a staple of your folk. I like my meat rare so it didn't seem a silly notion." She smiles. Price perks up at the captain's comment, recalling the map. "Seal Isle? That is further north than we need to be, correct? If I recall correctly, there is a river far south of the Isle that will take us directly into Lake Tarik."
We've got a 13 year old pup with heart disease that we are hoping will make it through Christmas. I feel for you, Luke.
Price confers quietly with the skinshifter. Luke: "Anytime. You tickle in a pleasant way."She says earnestly, "Listen, when we get to the keep, I plan to recon the place alone - get the layout, troop dispositions, gossip, et cetera... pretty much anything and everything that we can exploit is on the agenda. I could use a small, discreet partner to help out with the spying, watching my back, and conveying messages to the team. It will be dangerous, our contributions will probably be ignored, and the pay is terrible... but any time you want to drink my blood it is yours and you get to snuggle between my assets as much as you want. Interested?"
Price almost gushes her gratitude, "Thank you, Captain. And thank you, sir knight, for showing our sailors proper knot-tying. Mitra bless you both." After the patrol vessel is well away, Price glances down at the bat face peeking out from her cleavage with a smile. "Are you having a nice time down there? If you stay much longer, Timo may get jealous."
Price plays to the confusion, hoping to change the Talirian Captain's focus. She manages to look flustered, irritated, and flummoxed. She glares at the sailor. "Tie it as the good knight asked, sailor... around that wooden thing with a uh... sheepshank knot." She looks with desperation at the Captain and 'David'. "Honestly, David, I told you we should pay a little more to hire a more experienced crew! Apologies, my Lord Captain. We are literally out of our depth in this venture and I fear we are frustrating your able crewmen and taking your valuable time." Price looks practically on the verge of tears.
From amidship, Price keeps a casual eye on everything, hands held demurely behind her back... resting on the handle of her mace. She inserts herself into the interchange between the boarder and the deckhand with a deferential curtsy. "Forgive his lapse, sir knight. Some of our seamen are a bit sloppy in their sailorly habits...unlike yourself."
Price gives Grumblejack a discreet thumb's-up then looks herself over. She was wearing her 'middle' dress - one that said 'moderately successful business woman'. It left her unarmored but her appearance was utterly benign. She makes sure her silver Mitran holy symbol is prominently displayed. She snatches up the bat delicately, "Sorry." She slides him down into her cleavage. Her bodice was designed to hide a knife, the bat was smaller. Some men would find it a pleasant place to be... Given Luke's romantic tastes, Price hoped it wouldn't scar him. She smooths her skirts to doubly hide the mace sheltered behind one of the ship's ribs. Then she leans lightly on the railing, ostensibly to steady herself against the sea's rolls. She smiles broadly at the approaching ship and calls out, "Good day, Captain! Mitra's blessings upon you and your men! How may we be of service?"
Price thrusts her crown in Grumblejack's hands and looks for a tarp or something to hide the giant near the cargo. "Put this on then picture yourself as a human. You'll still be large but maybe you can make yourself a bit smaller and you need to look human. We've got to hide you if possible."
Price pats the ogre's massive arm with real affection. She says quietly to him, "I think we've all felt the same about the pretty lady." She nods in agreement with Daidalos. "If you arranged that with the master of the house - fine. If not, then just consider him another passenger."
Price's face betrays no emotion. "What Timo and Affyria have politely suggested, I'll state flatly: the boy is a liability, not a benefit, to our mission. Although we haven't discussed the details of the actual job yet, I grew up in the Borderlands. So here is what I anticipate we'll find. Correct me where I'm wrong, Your Grace." She gives the Cardinal a nod. "Balentyne will be a sizable fortress. The lands around it will be regularly patrolled. There will be something from the size of a village to a small town built on the skirts of the keep itself or hard by. To avoid drawing attention from the patrols as 'campers' would, we'll have to stage our activities from within the town itself, making use of our iron crowns. If that is correct, then unless His Grace plans to offer us a crown for the boy, he will probably see and be seen by family and friends - raising questions, not to mention taxing his loyalties and ability to lie. And unless you can keep him utterly ignorant of everything we do, he will figure out that we plan to feed his family and neighbors to a rampaging horde of bugbears. I agree with Affyria. Let her question him here for whatever dubious information he can supply... and then leave him to the Cardinal's people to convert - or not - as he sees fit. I can't imagine what useful intelligence he might offer us in Balentyne that he can't remember now." With a glance at Timo, she continues, "I too am fond of Grumblejack. He was trustworthy, followed directions, crushed our enemies, and made me smile. I think he's a useful fellow and if he wants to pillage with the bugbears, so much the better. Having a friend in the Fire-Axe's camp would be wise. In my opinion he has earned a reward, not an ignominious death. As the lesson goes, 'Be ruthless to thy enemy but reward those who serve thee well.'. Grumblejack served well and may yet serve again." She glances at the Cardinal for any corrections to her analysis of the situation or an unguarded response to her argument in favor of the ogre.
Price raises her glass with the others but offers no words. War is nice, victory is better. She puts down her emptied glass and admires the mace. Whatever else could be said of Thorn, he had fine taste in weaponry. The macehead was shaped like a seraph, face covered by its hands and shoulders bowed in despair. It's six wings were bent and broken, forming the sharpened spikes of the weapon's head. And the shaft was sculpted to appear as a set of barbed and entangling chains dragging the seraph to Hell. It is... lovely. At Affyria's suggestion, she offers an opinion. "Timeon is neither trained nor loyal to our cause. I don't like the idea of returning an unstable boy to his homeland. We should question him here, then leave him behind."
Price pulls an elaborate and brutally sharp hair-pin from her coiffure, jabs her hand, and drips the blood in the chalice.
A small smile creeps across Price's face at the idea of Timeon being entertainment for the devil. She had no interest in the boy's welfare. Only the knowledge he possessed might be of some value.
Price is more than a little distracted by the Cardinal's and Tiadora's show of power. She considers his question carefully, "No, Your Grace. The girl was most able."
Gah! I may have made a math error, Timo. If you are retraining at 3rd then it could be 90GP per HP, not 60GP. I was thinking since we leveled up at the end, you were retraining at 2nd.
Price dabs the napkin at the corners of her mouth. "Oh my." She exclaims then creases the napkin and places it carefully on the table as she rises. "If you'll excuse me gentlemen and lady, it seems I have some preparations to make." She leaves the table casting a lingering glance at Timo, "Two hours."
Take the talents that make you smile most, Asturu. I will point out that since we are doing averaged team initiatives, Improved Initiative gives you quite a bit less 'bang for the buck' than it normally would - just food for thought. If you plan to go solo at times, it is still just as useful. Hey Timo, there is a retraining option you might consider... you can 'train up' your HPs at a cost of 60GP per HP up to your normal maximum - as if you rolled a '10' on your second and third HP rolls.
Price gives him a wicked smile, "Oh, I can put you to use... since we have a night free. Shall we say two hours from now?"
Price gives the imp a puzzled frown for a moment. "I haven't done more than exchange greetings with them."
I'm going to stick to requiring one of the ten provided traits, but retraining per the rules is fine. FWIW, if I recollect correctly, by the rules the only traits you are allowed to retrain are racial traits. In terms of how we distribute loot, I'm flexible. We might want to see what gifts Thorn has for us before we make a decision.
Price looks bright eyed, alert, and fresh as a daisy... mostly because she has mastered the art of using her iron crown to subtly mask the obvious signs of fatigue in her face. "There's a saying: The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in combat. I think they've finished honing us for the tasks ahead - at least for the time being. Rest while you can."
POWER UP! 3rd Lv Inquisitor
Bennies
(1) 0 Lv Spell - Light
(10) Skill Points
I'll update my character sheet asap...
Price considers the symbol in her hand, then pockets it. "Cardinal Thorn... thank you for Balin. I hadn't expected the opportunity for personal revenge quite so soon." She gives him a deferential curtsy.
Price briefly debates presenting the false pendant to the Cardinal but decides against it. She drops the true pendant in his hand. "As ordered."
Price nods, "Possibly. But the job isn't done until we hand that trinket over to Thorn."
Price looks askance at the sword being handed to Timeon but says nothing. With the mystery of the panel resolved, she heads back upstairs to deliver the necklace to Thorn.
Price fans herself and pretends to look flustered. "Why Captain Zoci, I am shocked by your lascivious tongue. I think I shall faint if I hear a single word more... before the witching hour, tomorrow night. Tonight, I'll be resting. I'll also need to clean the foul taste from my mouth after I'm reluctantly forced to thank the Cardinal for handing us this bastard." She indicates Balin's desiccated corpse.
I can't find any precedents on this so I think it is a DM judgement call. Summoned Cacodaemons are considered like any other summoned creature (in the spell's definition). There are some limitations imposed on summoned creatures: they cannot summon another creature nor use plane shifting spells or spell-like abilities. The soul-gem ability of the Cacodaemon is a supernatural power that doesn't conveniently fit into that category. So I can't see that as a reason for denial. Like all summoned creatures (again in the spell's definition) the cacodaemon will instantly act as the summoner requests and can 'perform other acts' as directed by the summoner if they can communicate. That being the case, I think Daidalos would be able to immediately command the daemon to eat Balin's soul and create the gem in the 2 rounds available. So I think the only question is the permanence of the object. As a general practice, the gear of summoned creatures vanish with them. In part, I think that was a stopgap measure to prevent greedy players from summoning a powerful creature they immediately murder to steal its mystical gear. So does a gem created by a creature count as gear? If a summoned horse poops, does the poop remain? :) It's an interesting question. I really can't see a great reason to summon a cacodaemon (aside from pure cool - "oh look I summoned a demon, ma!") except to create soul gems. So if the gems vanish with the creature... that sort of defeats the purpose. That would leave soul gem production to Cacodaemon familiars which would make them more valuable as familiars - which I think is kinda cool (from a DM perspective). On balance, I think I would go with soul gems NOT being 'gear' since they are created during the creature's stay, not something pre-manufactured and brought with them, and therefore they would remain after the Cacodaemon vanishes. But again I think it is entirely a DM choice and I can see solid reasons for either decision.
Price examines the cloak more closely.
Before the knight dies, Price takes a moment to crouch down next to him and whisper a single word in his ear. Satisfied, she rises and smiles at Timo. "You really know how to treat a girl to all the best violence."
Price slides into the line of combatants next to Timo, leaving room for Grumblejack to join them. She feints a swing at the warrior's knee-cap to throw off his balance as she replies. "I recall your armed and armored knights surprising and slaying a group of unarmed church-goers at prayer. Where was your honor then? Save us your hypocrisy."
Status:
I’m a rat bastard. I believe in making a fight as one-sided as possible. :)
Is Grumblejack joining this fight?
SH, what is lighting up this room? Are we talking about a single oil lamp suspended from the ceiling?
Like a predator, Price moves slowly into the room, skirting cautiously around the knight, working towards his flank while staying out of easy sword range. She strokes the bat distractedly, "Sir Balin, such a treat to see you again. I don't suppose you remember me?"
Status:
Price stares at the lock that has confounded her. "All the discussion is moot, if we can't get past this door."
Price quietly observes, "I think that lock is meant to keep something in, not us out. Possibly the Squire's master? Be ready." She listens carefully at the door - signalling if she hears anything - then tries to silently pick the lock.
Status:
Price surveys the room. "I wonder if there is anything of value in the coffins, not that I'm looking forward to searching reeking corpses. Apart from that, it would seem the right-hand door leads to the 'noise equals death' room. I imagine some alarm in there was meant to wake these creatures, who would attack us." She looks to see if anyone has a different opinion. "That would suggest the left-hand door leads to our next challenge or more watery coffins." She looks over the left door for indications of a trap.
Status:
Price moves to flank and tries to brain the foul creature with her mace.
Price snaps out of her funk, closes on one of undead dripping of brine, and swings her mace at the creature's head.
Status:
Hey folks, Sorry for unexplained absence. I got dragged into an unplanned business trip that went far longer than advertised. I'll catch up and post as soon as I can - most likely tomorrow. If you've had to replace my character in the mean time, I understand.
Price wraps up the bloody wounds on her legs and checks the door.
Price growls at Grumblejack with a trace of humor, "Get in here, ya big sissy!" She swings ineffectually at the snake again.
Status:
Ha! Take that, Mithril Cobra! Bend your fang on my FIERCE 2 points of DR. ;P
That was a 3.5 rule which I don't think carried over to PF. However, this bit (related to Luke's point and SH's) seems on point. Some monsters are vulnerable to magic weapons. Any weapon with at least a +1 magical enhancement bonus on attack and damage rolls overcomes the damage reduction of these monsters. Such creatures’ natural weapons (but not their attacks with weapons) are treated as magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. So it sounds like a Mithril cobra with DR whatever is 'all magical' because of the DR effect and therefore has its natural weapons (bite) count as magical for purposes of attacking lil' ol' me. Bastard! :)
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