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Sandros looks at the two pieces of paper, then sighs. "Gods above, if you two manage to drink a hundred gold's worth of liquor tonight..." He snatches the IOUs and stuffs them into his pocket. "Fine! I need some company I don't want to stab anyway!" With a laugh he offers an elbow to the two women and leads them off.
Sandros isn't finding much of anything funny, but his tight grin is filled with schadenfreude as he watches the cake collapse. He watches the skeletons with a white-knuckled grip on his belt, and turns quickly away once the side-conversations spring up. Which is when he sees Ka'kara baring all for Valgrim's inspection. He closes his eyes, lets out a slow breath, then opens them again and moves over to Roylenna. He bends down to murmur in her ear. Roylenna: "Some things truly do not change, eh?"
Sandros eats the jelly sparingly, not from concern over its poison but simply from an increasingly full stomach. He makes no such allowances for the wine, however, which he consumes in full measure.
Perhaps it is that overful stomach that cushions him from the worst of the wine's effects; he continues to glare at Midas, but his mood doesn't seem to get any worse. Indeed, when Ka'kara tells her tale, he smiles again, although sadly; he and Rana did not always see eye to eye, but the death of a comrade-in-arms is not something he would celebrate. At the end, though, he claps as loudly as Roylenna does.
Sandros quirks an eyebrow at the birds, but doesn't hesitate in drinking down the wine. If anything, though, the rish drink seems to deepen his foul mood, and his glares at Midas lose whatever semblance of subtlety they might have previously possessed. When the tobassarirge comes out, the half-elf takes one bite and spits it right back out.
Sandros is perfectly at ease with the formal feast setting, flirting in a lackadaisical fashion with the buxom halfling ("You wear such a fetching amulet, my lady. It draws the eye right to your... heart") and watching with quiet amusement as Ka'kara and Roylenna fuss about, trying to sort out the dining accessories. He also spends some time studying Lashonna, although he is careful not to stare to the point of rudeness. When not so distracted, though, his frown continues to deepen, particularly when the enslaved manticores enter. By the time the Fabler brings out the worm-filled goblets, Miszen can likely hear his teeth grinding. As soon as he sees Vug and Valgrim swallow the worm, he does so as well, slamming the slimy creature down his throat almost defiantly.
Sandros eyes the distance with a skeptical expression - much as he has worn all night - but he finally makes his throw.
Sandros, painfully aware that he had no gift to offer, had allowed himself to drift to the back of the room during the presentations, although he was pleased enough to watch Roylenna's offering (and Ka'kara's reaction to it). When the time came for the play, he took a seat toward the back, clearly unthrilled by the "theater of the macabre," especially as it involved the walking dead. He does not applaud at the play's end. Afterward, though, he begins moving around the room, focusing in particular on any of the younger ladies who might be present. In contrast to what one might expect, he is particularly keen to speak with any such women who might be getting overlooked in the shadow of a friend or sibling who is getting more of the spotlight.
Sandros Highmount enters the room with a broad smile on his face, examining the guests and the surroundings alike with pure delight. The pale-haired half-elf looks extremely dashing in his jacket, tunic and trousers, cut in a pseudo-military style as though it were the dress uniform of some far-off national militia; the bright red and deep forest green conform not to any known country's colors, though, but only to his own sense of style. A glittering sash crosses his chest and a large diamond earring sparkles below his left ear to complete the ensemble. GM:
Unless you object, it's all illusion - Sandros has his usual equipment on beneath a disguise self spell. The only exceptions are his rapier and his buckler, both of which are stashed in a secret chest he cast yesterday morning for just this occasion. The corresponding focus chest is in his pouch, where he should be able to retrieve it with a move action. At the sight of Roylenna and Ka'kara before him, though, his smile becomes a shout of laughter. He sweeps both women into a hug even before Roylenna can get her feet completely underneath her. "Ka'kara! Royl! Ah, ladies, it has been too long!" He releases them quickly, aware of how Ka'kara can react when she feels liberties are being taken, but grins all the wider. "What a joy it is to see you both!"
Sandros looks up from the invitation at the messenger who delivered it. "They can't possibly actually mean this." The poor messenger shrugs helplessly, and the half-elf grins. "Well... too late now!" He laughs, then disappears into his flat, wondering idly what he'll wear.
"We should go... at first opportunity," Sandros says, still weak. His eyes are fixed on Mahaffy and the axe, however. "We need to seek help as quickly as we may."
This would be a good time to roll to shrug off your negative levels.
Sandros shrugs, looking tired. "A curse, as I said, but I truly do not know. We should probably get back to town, though, so we can find out."
Sandros frowns between the dwarf and the axe, opening his mouth and raising his rapier as though about to cast a spell... but he sways and leans heavily against the wall instead. Shaking his head, he turns to Roylenna, saying, "He may have been cursed... can you sense a dweomer on him?" then lowers himself heavily to the floor.
Mahaffy is beset by four and Sandros by three.
AoO on the bugbear (Power Attack, flank, neg levels) (1d20+7=16, 1d6+5=11)
The half-elf's blade slashes twice, but his arcane-enhanced strike can find no purchase (though it does force Mahaffy to duck slightly).
Sandros readies himself for battle, but he can feel a tremor in his hands as he does so. Everything about this situation is bad, he thinks to himself. Only one exit, an unknown number of attackers, and our two lead warriors at our weakest... Initiative (with neg level penalties) (1d20+2=22) The tension of the situation seems to steel him somehow, though, as he rises to his feet and prepares for the onslaught. He moves to stand across the doorway from Mahaffy, trying to clear his weary and confused mind for a spell.
Sandros hisses in pain as he feels his very life force get stripped away, but his blade is only slightly slower as it dances through a complex arcane movement. As he stabs out, he shouts, "Aika tildemakil," but the wight steps aside as if the half-elf were attacking through molasses.
Sandros attempts to slip around the wight, but getting around the enlarged barbarian proves enough of a distraction that the move has none of his usual grace.
Sandros nods and moves toward the left opening, weapon at the ready.
"Let's try the other direction," Sandros says thoughtfully, "before we put ourselves into a position that is likely to require conflict."
"Let's make another stab at this," Sandros murmurs, trying again to find something vital within the skeleton's frame. Rapier attack with Power Attack and inspire courage (1d20+8=20, damage 1d6+5=7)
Sandros hisses in pain as he feels the skeleton's blade strike him, but he replies in kind, thrusting his rapier toward the thing's empty eye sockets. Rapier attack with Power Attack (1d20+7=23, 1d6+4=5)
Sandros grins. "See, this is why I've stopped worrying about making decisions. Eventually, the boredom gets to someone enough and we wind up having another adventure." The grin fades slightly, as memories of some of those "adventures" drift in, but he shakes his head to set those memories aside. "I don't recall being scared of the gnolls, though," he mutters to Ka'kara as he steps up behind her.
"Dog people, or hyena people?" Sandros asks curiously. He looks down the now-empty corridor. "If we follow, we might be setting ourselves up for an ambush, or appearing more threatening than we mean to be."
Sandros blinks, suddenly aware of something... changing... but he cannot identify it, and after a moment, it is gone. He shakes his head, then turns around at the sound of falling stone. "Cayden's nose, Royl, what in the world was that?"
Ready to go. No significant changes, except that I've got two favored classes (guess which ones!) and the bonus for the wizard levels is going to hit points.
"Goblins don't entertain me much either, as it happens," Sandros says dryly. "I concur with our lovely warrior; let's head down."
Sandros will give the key a once-over with detect magic, just in case.
There are no secret doors within reach, but Mahaffy spots a suspicious-looking crack about 20 feet up on the wall.
Elf secret door sense (1d20+3=5) Sandros looks around the chamber, confused. "This makes no sense," he murmurs. Brow furrowed, he glances around several times, then suddenly looks up toward the now-distant ceiling, squinting into the darkness. "Maybe there's something up there...?" he mutters to himself. |
