Before Tot can think of anything to say to Ari, he's already down the stairs along with Garen. She nods her thanks to Izzy as she passes the gnome and runs to catch Ari.
"Ari, wait! I-I can--"
Can do what? Be a burden on everyone else? Put everyone else into danger? Fail to do the one thing your family thought you were good for?
Her eyes fall to the toes of her boots again. After all, it wasn't her ability or skill that had carried the day before. It was everyone else's.
"I-I can go first. My eyes are keen enough," she says, though given how well everything else has gone for her in this nightmarish ruin, she isn't so certain of that.
Tot looks around for any more threats before her hands begin to shake. She looks to Garen and Grod and notices that they've both been hurt, Grod somewhat seriously.
I should have been faster. I should have been better. If I was, maybe then no one would have gotten hurt.
She looks away, her cheeks burning dully with shame as she walks back to where Ari and Izzy are.
"I-Izzy, c-can you help mend Grod's and Garen's wounds," she asks the gnome before turning to Ari. She looks up at him for a moment, trying to find something, anything, to say before looking down at the toes of her own boots.
Acrobatics to avoid the AoO:1d20 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9
Seeing an opening, Tot rushes through the door and slips to Grod's right, doing her best to avoid leaving an opening in her haste. She attacks the sinspawn in front of her as she cries out to the embattled scholar.
"Get behind Grod and let Garen take your place, Ari!"
Are we waiting on anyone in particular? From the look of things Izzy and Grod should be up.
Tot bites down on a retort, knowing that her fear for Ari's wellbeing is causing her temper to run hotter than is her wont. Seeing Garen trying to bully his way through, she wonders if he'll have any more lucky than she did.
Seeing Ari trapped on the other side and that Garen has taken a wound, Tot grits her teeth and hopes that she can substitute finesse with ferocity and push past the sinspawn facing Garen to help take some of the pressure off both him and Ari.
Acrobatics:1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8That's a nope.
Unfortunately for her ambitions, she's simply too slow and gets knocked back, almost tripping over Izzy in the process. Seeing that she can't get past the sinspawn, she starts looking around in desperation. She sees the statue's empty hand and wishes that they'd left the ranseur it held as she steps back.
"Make room for Garen to step back," she says more loudly than is her wont as she moves to one side. "We need to draw it in so Grod and I can get at it!"
Despite the relative peace and safety, Tot doesn't sleep easily. Her dreams are filled with nightmares about the quasit and her brother or her turning into a monster. She wakes and fixes breakfast before trying to work out some of her worries through sword practice.
"Let us hope that the demon was the only one who knew how. We may find more of those strange monsters if she wasn't," Tot says.
"Calling a devil-spawn your sister seems like being up to no good already," Tot teases, surprised that she can even crack a joke with the whirlwind of emotions coursing through her. She returns Ameiko's hug, mindful of the innkeeper's injuries this time.
"After we finish clearing out the catacombs," Tot says as she goes to leave. "could you tell me more about Shelyn, please?"
Lost in her thoughts as she ponders what Ari has revealed about this place and the well they had seen on their horse ride with Lord Aldern Foxglove, Tot doesn't realize that Ari is casting a healing spell on her until it's too late. She gives him a sharp look, knowing that he is still hurting, but she's too grateful for him and how much he cares for her, even when her darkest thoughts insist that it won't last, to have much power behind her glare.
"Thank you," she says instead, a small, graateful smile curling the corners of her mouth. "Hopefully you won't have to cast that spell for a while."
Bluff:1d20 - 1 ⇒ (12) - 1 = 11
Tot winces when Garen mentions running away like a little girl.
"Between yesterday and today, I'm not so sure I'd be ready to bet my life on that," Tot says, trying to turn it into a joke, but the strained chuckle doesn't even sound credible to her ears.
"What is it that we've found down here? Do you think it could be connected to that story Lord Foxglove told us about that well?"
Tot eases up and apologizes once she realizes that she's aggravating Ameiko's injuries. After explaining what is going on in the tunnels, the tiefling hears the strain in Ameiko's voice. It hurts in ways she didn't know she could hurt until a couple of years ago.
"Would Bethana let you," she asks with a chuckle that quickly fades as the tiefling struggles with something in her mind.
"Ameiko, I--" she starts to say, working up the courage she needs to open up. "I know a bit of what you are going through."
She looks up at the other woman and gives her a strained smile.
"I'm not good at hiding things or lying, so you've probably already guessed that I've got secrets," she says, the smile fading as she looks down at her hands. "I was so enraged when I found out what had happened to you that I didn't even see you when you were right there in front of me, and I couldn't face you after that. The truth is that the reason I was so enraged was because I know what it's like to be betrayed by family."
Tot looks up at her employer, red eyes dark with pain that had never come from a physical wound.
"I'm from Cheliax," she says before her courage can waiver. "I've always been the black sheep of my family. I was never as good as my siblings, and my parents treated me like I was a nuisance to them. Still they were my family, and family is one of the most important things to a Cheliaxian. That's what I thought, anyway, until I overheard my brother planning with an Asmodean priest to sacrifice me one night. I slipped away and left, becoming a deserter."
She curls up in the chair she's sitting as she squeezes her eyes shut and struggles to maintain her composure for a moment.
"I remember how you talked about Tsuto and seemed to be close to him. It sounded like you two cared for each other, to me anyway. I lost my temper when I found out that he had betrayed you. I wasn't close to my brother, but it still hurt to hear him plotting my murder. I don't think I can imagine how much it hurt being betrayed by someone close to you."
She shakes her head, frustration creeping into her tone.
"I--I'm sorry. I don't know how to be a good friend, but I don't think burdening you, Ari, and everyone else with my problems is part of it," she says, clearly angry at herself.
After her talk with Ameiko and taking some time to cook up a hot meal in the Dragon's kitchen, Tot returns with a pot full of stew to the Glassworks and finds Garen and Grod in the basement.
"Are you sure it's safe here," she asks the two of them, feeling far more insecure after what she thinks is a poor showing against the quasit. "I've heard stories about the dead rising after being brutally killed."
Tot doesn't realize what Ari has planned until he's telling her that she'll be the one explaining what is going on below the Glassworks. She nods, knowing that she needs to talk to Ameiko, even if she has no idea what she will say.
"I'll tell her, Ari. I--I just need to talk to her, alone," she tells the young investigator.
Ameiko:
GM, forgive me for taking some liberties. I figure after what happened, Ameiko would be busy trying to sort things out and recovering instead of running the Rusty Dragon
Bethana leads Tot to Ameiko's room after the tiefling has a chance to change and bathe. Not sure what to say, she stands there for a moment after the halfling leaves, then wraps Ameiko up in a tight hug.
"I'm sorry," she sobs into the other woman's shoulder. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
Tot hesitates for a moment, then nods. Maybe being outside and in the sun would help lift her spirits some, she thinks, not really catching the potential double entendre in Izzy's request nor the implications of following Ari home, so focused is she on trying to wrestle with her own insecurities.
Tot starts to say something, but then things better of it. She nods, not trusting her voice, before slipping back to where they'd settled in to lick their wounds.
Tot winces as she imagines what her mother would be like if she were to ever introduce Ari to the woman. In comparison, embarrassing stories didn't sound so bad. In fact, between what Rynshinn and Ari have said about them, they sounded like very kind and dependable people.
"I think I'd like to meet them," Tot says before she realizes she's even speaking.
Tot listens to Ari as he tells her how scared he was and how she is strong, but even as he reassures her, the voices of her brother and the rest of her family echo in her head denying what her friend is telling her. She should have been better. She should have been faster. She should have been the one that caught the damned little demon, plucking it from the air, so Ari never had to rely on luck and his own grit.
"It wasn't just luck," she murmurs at their toes. "You have grit and will. Those matter more. Less fickle."
And more reliable than some cast-off runt that ran away from her problems, she adds silently.
As the others examine their gains, and shatter the symbol of Lamashtu, Tot spends some time going through the wrecked Glassworks to find some place where they could rest without reminders of the massacre that happened here only a couple of days ago and still keep an eye on the doors leading down into the tunnels and catacombs hidden beneath the seemingly idyllic town of Sandpoint.
Garen:
After everyone gets settled, Tot approaches the holy knight. Her tail writhes like a worm on hot coals as she twiddles her thumbs nervously.
"I-I-I w-w-wanted t-to ap-p-poligize for w-what I said during the fight," she stammers out in her soft voice.
Tot tenses for a moment as Ari puts an arm around her shoulders, but it passes and she lets him pull her in close. Tears born of frustration well up in her eyes as he heals her. Feeling utterly foolish and useless after it seems that everyone has seen through the facade she had tried to put up, she meekly follows Ari's and Garen's lead as they make plans for staying in the Glassworks. As they walk out of the catacombs, she replays what Grod said when Izzy had piped up about how she looked shaken.
What would he say if he knew I was a deserter, she wonders. Maybe he already suspects. Garen was overcome by magic, and he still charged back into the fray. Grod's such a hearty soul that I doubt anything could shake him. Izzy's, well, Izzy. She can't help smiling a little as she remembers some of the gnome's antics in the brief time they have known each other. The smile vanishes like water on hot stones as her thoughts move to Ari, though.
And what about him? He was hurt badly because I failed. Ari is naive, but that doesn't make him stupid. He's bound to realize-- The thought trails off as she remembers all of the things her parents and her siblings, especially her older brother, had called her or said of her over the years. She huddles close to Ari as their voices echo in her head with one word ringing out above all of the others.
"I'm sorry," she says in a voice that's much quieter than even her normal softness. I'm a failure."
Bluff:1d20 - 1 ⇒ (9) - 1 = 8
Tot's trying her best to hide it, but it's clear she's hurt and badly shaken after that fight.
After it's clear the fight is over and Ari isn't in danger of falling over dead, Tot goes around picking up her dropped weapons and shield. She doesn't meet anyone's gaze, especially after Garen apologizes for what happened. She recalls what she said, and feels her cheeks heat as she wonders how she's going to gather the courage to apologize to him, or anyone for that matter, after how she fared in that fight.
As she wrestles with her inner thoughts, she tries to make herself useful by looking around for any secret caches or hidden doorways.
Perception:1d20 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12And does that about as well as Garen did. :P
With the demon gone and hearing what sounds like a spell coming out of the quasit's mouth, Tot sheathes her sword and moves to where she can get at the little demon.
So if Ari beats the spell, this will be an Aid Another roll. If he fails, this will be a grapple attempt on the Quasit.
Just to be clear, I'm going off of the GM's descriptions. I don't remember what the quasit can do off the top of my head.
Honestly, it's the fast healing that saved the quasit. It undid what we had done, but with Garen able to bypass its DR, I don't think our demonic miniboss is long for this world.
After this fight's over, I think we're going to need a minute to get back on our feet. Izzy's the only one that hasn't been hurt, and I know Tot is going to be trying to process some things, which can be spoilered if we want to move on to exploring the rest of this dungeon.
Tot tries to push aside the fear she feels as she sees Ari teetering on the brink of unconsciousness. She goes after the demon that the quasit had summoned, trying to put herself between it and the badly hurt scholar as she draws her short sword.
Acrobatics:1d20 ⇒ 3Welp, I was going to figure out what it would be if we were treating this a jump or not, but that's kind of a moot point now. Hopefully Ari has better luck than I do.
Tot drops her bow and sheathes her sword as she takes a couple of steps back to get a better running start. She knows that the group's best chance to deal with this fiend is to get it on the ground and keep it there. With a deep breath, she runs at the railing and jumps to vault over it. Unfortunately, she still isn't used to he heavier armor and doesn't get the height she's expecting. Her foot catches as she tries to clear the obstacle.
Pretty sure this is high enough that Tot's gonna get hurt:1d6 ⇒ 4
She hits the ground with a pained yelp as her arm takes the brunt of the fall. She lands prone, right underneath the Quasit. Half-winded and dazed, the young swordswoman slowly gets back on her feet.
So a Move to try jumping up and catching the Quasit and another Move to get back up on her feet. I believe that is Tot's turn.
Funny you should mention it. Leaping and Grappling. That is what my plan is. :D
Seeing Garen come charging back in and hearing Ari helps calm Tot down.
"I think you're right. I'll be right behind you," she tells the young scholar, though she doesn't intend to take the stairs if she has the chance to snatch the quasit from the air on her way down.
Tot can hear her brother and the quasit laughing at her. Their jeering voices beating her down and threatening to hold her in place. Who was she, after all, to deny fate? She had refused her chance to be something more, now she will watch as those she calls friends die. She's helpless, hopeless, useless, worthless.
The burning fury that had been stoked to life when she learned of Tsuto's betrayal of his sister, Ameiko, roars back to full life. It had scared her before, but now she embraces it. Her eyes glow like coals of hellfire as she strains against the bonds holding her fast.
"Get. Out. Of. My. HEAD!" she screams as she breaks free. She stumbles a few steps as she pulls her sword free, but she quickly regains her balance and glares at the quasit.
Tot freezes mid-draw, her eyes are wide with fear as she recalls what happened the last time she was down here. This time, she isn't likely to turn into a monster. No, this time she's just likely to wind up dead, or worse. Memories and imagined futures play out in her mind. She sees a devil laughing as it rips apart a young man in front of his even younger sister as she stares in horror, held fast by a cleric's spell. She sees Garen face down in the basin surrounded by skulls. She sees the vargouille's leering face as it swoops in to force it's tongue down her throat. She sees Zorlen laying a pool of his blood as the quasit cackles in victory. She sees one of her fellows cheering after cutting down an old woman with his axe. She sees Izzy curled up and whimpering in terror as she's tormented by fiends from the abyss. She sees her brother, covered in blood, grinning at the carnage in the clearing as he walks up to the last of the Sarenites, the paralyzed young woman who'd watched helplessly as her fellows and her brother were slaughtered. She sees Grod fall beneath a swarm of fangs and claws, a warsong on his lips. She sees her brother run the girl through, twisting his sword to heighten her agony as she died. She sees Ari scream in pain as he's tortured to death and she's unable to do anything to stop it or ease his pain.
All through these flashing memories and imaginings, she can hear herself screaming, trying to shut them out, to deny them, but she can't. All she can do is watch, helpless to do anything to affect the outcome. Tears stream down her face as she watches what is to come in helpless, frustrated impotence.
Tot's face pales as her hurried shot fails to do more than scratch it, if that. Knowing that she'll be far too late, but unable to do anything else, she starts to pull out her shortsword and close the last few feet to the quasit.
Too far! I'm too far! I can't get to it before it finishes.
I think we could take her, but we'll be in pretty rough shape afterwards. The main thing is getting her cornered where she can't cast or get away easily.
Hearing Grod yawn and Garen continue to flee, Tot realizes that they are in trouble if they can't get to the small, flying Demon. Almost worse, all of them had been hurt to some extent. She pushes aside the worry she feels, especially for Ari. They needed to end the fight. She needs to end the fight.
She moves around behind Ari and puts herself in a position to force it to divide its attention between her and the inquisitive young man. She leaves herself open to an attack, but there's little helping it in her mind. Once in place, she tries not to think about what the quasit will do to her while she has her back to it and tries to put her blade through the vile monster.
Will (Bravery, Inspire Courage) DC 12?:1d20 + 2 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 2 + 1 + 1 = 12I believe that makes it, if barely
Tot reels as a flood of images fills her mind. Some are from that horrible night years ago when she saw worshipers of the Dawnflower torn to pieces as her comrades laughed. A few are of her brother and Priest Donier plunging a black obsidian knife into her bare chest as they offered her up to the forces of Hell to steal some sliver of the devils' power for themselves. Others are of those who'd fast become friends: Grod laying in a pool of his blood, a knife in his back; Garen, broken and bleeding, cursing her for being a devilspawned weakling as he died; Izzy, dead eyes staring at her in shock and horror as the blood from her torn throat oozed out around her; Ari looking at her in shock as he bled from where her sword had been run through his heart; and Ameiko, alone and afraid as her brother tortured her with the party's severed heads.
That last sparks back to life a banked fury that lets her shrug off the worst of the spell as Izzy's song fills her with a grim determination. No matter what, she is going to kill that quasit b!$@+!
She casts off her shield, needing to hit harder than she could using it. She barely feels the shallow wounds she's received, and her eyes burn like red embers as she sets both of her hands on the hilt of her blade.
After hammering the sinspawn that had wounded her back, she looks over her shoulder to see Garen fleeing.
"GAREN! Get your ass back here and kill these f+$+ers!" Her voice rings out, harsh and without any of the fear still coursing through her veins nor her usual softness of tone and meekness of manner.
"Get in here and close the door," Tot tells the others as she slips past Erridon and puts herself between the investigator and the sinspawn. She hopes the others are fast enough to keep the quasit from escaping, but she's not sure if being stuck in the same room as it is much better. She can't do anything about it until it shows back up, however, so all she can do is deal with the threat she can see. With shield raised and sword ready, she braces herself for the melee to come.
Move fifteen feet and ready an attack to hit the first enemy to get within her reach.
"And it looks like the only way in was through the obvious doors. Lovely," Tot mutters to herself, though she does grin in savage satisfaction when she sees that Ari's right.
"Izzy, rile her up. She's overtaxed the power of that pool, whatever it is," she whispers back to the gnome bard. "Let's see if we can get her to make a big blunder."
Tot grabs her shield as Ari works over the doors. She hopes she's being paranoid, but if someone is in there, they're likely to see them the second the doors start to open.
"There's the lover and the quasit. The lover is at Thistletop. The quasit is down here," Tot clarifies. "We don't know how many of those monsters are down here, or if they can make more of them. I think it's best if we keep quiet and try to take whatever we run into down here by surprise. I--I just hope that there's not another one of those vargouille things." She shudders and pales at that particular memory.
Tot shivers as she realizes what it is they are looking at. Her mind whirls as pieces begin to fall into place.
"Tsuto's lover worships Lamashtu, but is touched by the celestials the same way Zorlen and I are touched by the fiends. The freaks are probably the sinspawn. How long has that madwoman known about this place," she asks. "Th-though I-I-I guess we should be asking if we sh-should see if there's another way in."
Tot feels all of an inch tall as she listens to Grod and Izzy talk. She'd run off because--well, because she was embarrassed. She doesn't like drawing attention to herself at the best of times, and in the middle of a dangerous ruin is not her idea of the best of times. How she can explain it to her companions isn't something she knows anything about, so she focuses on trying to figure out the best way to go. She starts to move on towards the stature, but leaving branch unexplored makes skin crawl too much for her to do that. Instead, she moves as quietly as she can down the as yet unknown passageway.
Tot lets out a laugh at the banter between Izzy and Grod. She quickly claps a hand over her mouth and looks at the others as her face reddens with embarrassment.
"S-sorry. I'll--I'll just go, now." Her voice is muffled by her hand as she slips past the others and turns down the branch that they took yesterday. She does her best to move quietly and keeps an eye out for any dangers lurking in ruin.
