Juliare says 'YES ! Well done , Brock !'
He moves to G20 and fires at the priest engaged with Waren
and ... fails miserably
Brock looks to the elf Human and nods in appreciation. His arms give and his axe tip hits the ground and sags in his palms, the weight of it pulling on his shoulders, he takes a second to look out around the room and judge what is going on, his mind dull and slow almost drunk.
When He finally sees Quick fighting it out with the odd man all alone he hefts the heavy Great Axe and begins to run towards the odd man and help Quick.
"To the gate of whatever god you worship I send you!" Brock yells as he runs towards the man hoping to flank him between the pillar Quick and Himself.
Waren strikes out at the priest, but the severity of his wounds is too much. He loses his focus, and attempts a retreat, falling back to scoop up his rat friend.
Seeing that Brock has engaged the priest she was fighting, Quick moves to help out Waren. He looks in rough shape, and seems to be on the verge of fleeing.
"Waren! We need you! We can take these suckers, easy!"
She aims a blast at the priestess Waren was fighting, now that an opening is present. The electricity arcs around the priestess' body.
The air is filled with the sharp smell of electricity as the second evil priestess falls, leaving only one priest standing. As he is trapped like a rabbit in his hole by Brock, there is nothing left for him to do except release a blast of dark energy, hitting Brock, Quick and Hessiah .
Hessiah winces as he takes the full blast, and yet again his fire bolt goes wide.
Juliare, Brock, Waren and Quick are up.
Juliare move to G16 and fires
Attack 20 , Damage 6
Juliare move to G16 and fires
Attack 20 , Damage 6
Juliare's arrow brings the last enemy down, and there is much rejoicing. You can all make a Perception check to see what the rest of the guards are up to.
Now what?
"We did it! Nice shootin', boy."
Quick takes a moment to survey the room. She pauses, listening to the movements of guards outside the room.
"But we still need to take care of the other guards. Who knows what they're doing to the beggars now."
She begins dashing about the room, collecting the melee weapons from the fallen guards and priests. "Speaking of the beggars, I'm sure they'd love a chance to fight back. Help me gather these things."
Waren quickly pulls out his healing kit, and begins to tend to the wounds of Po.
"This is all too much for me. I don't want to see Po get hurt any more. As soon as I get a clear break, I'm outta here."
"We need to hurry, I dont think we can take another fight such as that."
Brock looks around and smiles "Good Job all of ya!"
While Quick goes around the room and takes there weapons Brock stands by the door ready to swing if anyone walk in.
Quick and Waren , can you heal us fast . Then when the guards arrive , Quick can you try to bluff them they are under arrest ?
If we act confident , they might not want to engage . After all for all they know , we have just killed all their boss without any casualties on our side .
Juliare is speaking too much to really give his attention to what happens outside
"I was hopin' you wouldn't ask me that, Juliare. You see that nasty little trick these priests were doing, what with blasting all that energy out at us? I can do the same thing, only it heals instead of hurts. Problem is, if any of these suckers are still alive, it would heal them too. The last thing I want is to have to knock Kanto back down again, and the alternative is asking you guys to finish the job. A grisly affair either way. If you help me move all their bodies to the far corner, I should be able to give us a little fight back."
Can you just heal all of us a little to help stabilize even those fallen while we move the bodies ?
"I dont like it, but its battle and I dont mind Finishing the job"
You drag the unconscious priests out of the way and Quick lets her healing magic wash over you, bringing you back to full health . As the guards have finally gotten into their armor and come running, the sight of their fallen comrades and bosses, the glares of Brock and Juliare (and Po, of course) is enough to make them turn tail and run. Assuming you don't want to run after them you have the temple to yourselves for now (and the option to decide what to do with the fallen priests. Alas it is too late for the fallen guards, only one of which is alive.
Waren, Po and Hessiah don't want to stick around when the city guard comes around, but Hessiah insists on getting a share of the loot before leaving.
What do you want to do next?
Let's explore the temple and find something that will let the civic guard convinced we were in the right there . Oh and deliver the beggars too of course
Brock Searches Kanto for a key or keys along with the rest of the fallen, and if he happens to run into anything else of awesomeness then he will share it and bag it. Brock will kill the guards if the group wanted him to and he will (once he was checked for keys) insist on finding the slave people first then treasure.
"We need to find the beggars and free them and we need them so we dont get put into the slammer, money aint going to be useful in jail, so we find the beggars then we loot"
Kanto has a few potions (which Hessiah pockets for safekeeping and then disappears), but no key. One of the guards in the corridor has a ring of keys, though, and they seem to fit in the doors in the corridor that starts in the south end of the hall. Behind those doors you find a number of sparsely furnished rooms (one bedpan, four straw mattresses and blankets in each) containing a number of beggars of diverse ages and sexes (ten in all). They look at you fearfully.
At the same time the door opens and a dwarf and a bald, burly human step inside the corridor, both looking like rather tough customers. Stepping over the bodies of the fallen guards they eyeball you quizzically.
While Quick has an audience with her comrades she'll explain that;"I think Brock's right. We need to find something, maybe documents, or a journal, or something, that pegs Kanto and her cronies as in the wrong. There'll probably be some of her filthy profits associated with whatever we find. They should probably go to Father Beamus, seeing as he's actually helping the beggars. I'm sure he can use any coin we can spare."
To the beggars, she's as warm as she can be. With open arms and tears in her eyes, she approaches them.
"It's over, folks. Kanto's not going to use you for her dirty plans any more. You're safe now. I'm not going to let anyone hurt you. But the authorities are going to want to know what happened here. When they get here, we'll need you all to explain just exactly how Kanto and the guards were mistreating you."
Confronting the dwarf and the bald man, Quick's tone shifts rapidly from warm to steely; "I don't think you'll want to cause any trouble here. Your boss's a goner. We fought like Kilkenny cats to rescue these beggars, so unless you want to get knocked galley west, you better get a wiggle on. There's nothing for ya here."
The large man laughs out loud. "Ya hear that, Tharkhir? We're going to get our butts handed to us by the halfpint if we don't watch our steps!"
Stepping once more into the room, he looks around at the destruction. "Seem to have done all right for yourselves so far, though," he rumbles. "Tell ya what, halfpint. Let's start with names. Mine's Kirwen, this here's Tharkhir. If you think we're working for the temple crowd, you need to take a bit of a breather. We represent... other parties."
"Other parties? Like the folks she was selling these beggars to?"
Quick holds up her hand for them to see, and it begins to crackle with electricity.
"The name's Quick. Don't call me half-pint. Look how far underestimating us got Kanto and her cronies, here."
"Slaving, eh?" Kirwen frowns, and it is not a comforting sight. He exchanges glances with Tharkhir.
"Tell ya what, sparks," Kirwen goes on, glaring at the electrical display, "if you're looking for a rumble, calling me a slaver's headed the right way." He looks over at the beggars, cowering in the corners. "Looks like we found what's been happening," he says to the dwarf, "but the halfpint's right. If they're selling these folks, someone's buying. Don't think the boss will be happy to hear it."
When the man refers to Quick as 'Sparks', she grins and lets the electricity fade from her hand. "So, you think your boss has something to do with this? Who is your boss, anyway? Why exactly did you show up so conveniently after the dirty work here?"
Juliare move near 'Sparks' intend on protecting her if need be
When the two men walk in Brock puts his great axe back in his hands, and when there is talk of half pints and the such towards his partner the large man grunts
"This here is a lady and my friend so you best be more respectful when talking to her "BALDY" because when she's done heating ya up with her light you'll have to deal with me and I really, really doubt you want to do that...
Brock stares at the man hard and then begins again right where Quick left off
My name is Brock and who is it ya work for because if you also treat other human beings as cattle I wont be treating you as respectful as I hope you treat Spark from now on.
Seeing the two take a protective stance around the halfing, the dwarf speaks, "You'll be needin' no protection from us, friends, we're just tyin' up some loose ends. But, ya may need some help from the city guard if the fella with the rat continues with his loose lips. I have no love lost fer the crooked arm of the law in this town and am just as happy helpin' 'em greet Nerull if they come a callin'."
He turns to the muscular man standing beside him and laughs boisterously. "Or perhaps, there is some coin to be had by waggin' our tongues. Certainly, enough fer a pint or three." He thinks for a moment and turns again to the bald man, "Nah, Kerwin, I'm sure they'd be roughin' us up first and askin' questions later. We'd just get lumped in with this crew and have our necks stretched fer certain."
He looks back to the group of warriors standing before him. "Although, I personally like yer methods, though it seems a bit sloppy," he says with a growl and then a look of disgust at the fallen priests.
"As fer you, orc," he says with an biting tone, "who we work fer is none of yer concern and, as my friend here says, if a fight is what ya be wantin' then callin' us slavers is the way to get it."
First , we need no protection from law . Indeed, we will report to them once we have finished here
Second Waren is a friend . I trust him ...
Third , we have been civil enough . If you don't want to cooperate with us and says why you are here, don't think we'll let you loot here . We did the job , the law says we get the loot .
Finally, Brock the HALF orc there did tell you his name . you'll be gracious enough to use it rather than racial slurs from now on
Brock stares at the wee dwarf Thrakhir hard and long a large smile on his face, hungry for a fight if the little dwarf must have one.
Brocks smile also has happiness in it, his partner had spoken up on his behalf, battle makes bonds. Brock and the two next to him had one now, and he would not let these two push him and his battle kin around. Brocks knuckles turn white as he grips his axe tighter.
Kirwen shakes his head. "You folks don't listen too good, do you? Let's try this again. We didn't come here for a fight, and we've got nothing to do with any slaving that's happening here." There's a bit of an extra twist on that last phrase; the big man's frown deepens as he says it.
"Now, you don't need to know who we work for - our employers like their privacy. But I can tell you they're not happy about people disappearing on the streets, and they've sent us to find out what's happening to them, and put a stop to it. Looks like you've handled part of that already, and nice job there. But, like Sparky said, there's got to be buyers for these folks; there's more work to be done. If you guys'd rather tussle than work on it, that's fine with me, but it seems a damn waste of time."
He looks straight at Juliare. "And 'Waren' - that's the fellow with the rat, I guess? - may be a friend of yours, but he sure can't keep a secret. You want to know how we got here so fast? Man's blabbing to anyone on the street who might hear him." Kirwen's eyes narrow. "And we've given our names, Points. I still ain't heard yours."
Name is Juliare. And your tale is not likely
Waren left not 15 minutes ago and before this , he didn't know we were going here. So either you're really fast workers, either ..
If you don't want to tell who is your employer and how come you are here , here is what we are going to do :
We are going to let you help us here . When we'll have finished here , we'll all go like good friends to talk to the guard . your choice then to be more talkative to them .
"Hmph"
"Not too fond of being called a liar, Points. You don't know me, so you get this one for free, but here's a little advice. You call a man liar to his face, you'd best be willing to back it up with your life." Kirwen does not smile.
"But if you're willing to work together, let's get to it," he adds, turning to look at the beggars. His voice softening considerably, he kneels down in front of one. "Can you tell us anything about the people who've been holding you?"
The beggars have been watching the exchange wide-eyedly. They seem to be much to cowed to interject anything, but as they are actually asked they are eager to tell you everything.
Out of the confused chatter you can gather that they were collected by priests promising them a better life elsewhere, but that when they actually arrived at the temple they were locked in these cramped little cells and made to work scrubbing floors and the like. Periodically some of them have been taken down to the docks, and nobody has ever returned from there. They are guessing that they are shipped off to somewhere, but there are also some rather nasty rumors about Kanto eating the poor sods.
The people that have been holding them are guards and priests. They are not very many but they are well armed, and the priests also have magic that could kill you at a glance, so they are not to be messed with.
A couple of the older ones have actually been prisoners in the temple for several months and can tell you that those who get shipped (assuming that's what happens) are generally the able-bodied and good-looking.
They all look at you in silence for a little while and then someone pops the question on everybody's mind: "What's going to happen to us now?"
Thrakhir looks over at Kirwen. "I told you them 'men of the gods' can't be trusted, Kerwin. No better 'an those twiddly fingered mages. Let's get these 'uns some weapons, help these folks do what they're doin', and make outta here quick like." It is clear that Thrakhir is uneasy at the talk of speaking to the city guard.
Quick shifts her attention away from the newcomers, deciding that she's heard enough. Addressing the beggars, she explains; "There's a nice man not so far from here who's actually running a shelter for the downtrodden. I reckon he'll accept you with open arms. Of course, that's your choice. It's a safe space for you to go, but you can do whatever you'd like. That's the problem with Kanto, right? When you decided you wanted to leave, you couldn't. You must always have that agency. I'm not saying you're any better off now that she's dead, but no one is going to beat you and force you to work. If any of you have the will to fight, there's enough gear that you can salvage from these guards; you can outfit yourselves and maybe make a bit of coin working for the militia, or as a hired guard yourself."
Quick stands up and addresses the others; "I reckon it's time we make sure the rest of this place is in apple pie order. Let's move through it, clear out any more guards, and find those slaving records! If any of you want a piece of the action, pick up a weapon and follow us."
For those of you who don't want to fight , just stay here , we'll soon be coming back .
Quick , Kanto did have some potions , we need to check if she and the others have anything special .
Quick will scan any of the fallen guards and priests using Detect Magic, searching for anything that may be useful.
Brock helps suit up any of the beggars who would like to fight. After that he will help in anyway Quick and Juliare see fit.
You bar the outer pair of doors to the temple to buy yourselves some time. The beggars are used to being pushed around, so they don't really object to being shut in again (being rather in awe of you). Most of them are useless in a fight, but a couple are showing some spirit, among them a dark-haired woman who calls herself Raven and a strong young man named Clark. He seems a bit misplaced and it turns out that he's not really a beggar at all but was picked up by Kanto's crew one day when he was really drunk. Clark is proficient with the longsword and Raven helps herself to Kanto's sling.
Kanto and the others carry the following magic or otherwise valuble items:
Kanto: magic quarterstaff, magic chain shirt. Fighter: masterwork bastard sword, magic potion. Priests (each): masterwork heavy mace, two scrolls.
Kirwen nods in satisfaction as some of the beggars step up to the challenge. "Good thought," he says to Quick. "You've checked out up here, but there's some way down to a basement, did I get that right? Any idea where that is?"
Brock looks pleased at Clark and Robin "It will be good to have you should things get bloody again."
Brock then looks to Quick and Juliare "Should we use any of the weapons or armor?"
I'll try on the chain shirt . Let's finish exploring this level before heading down . There are stairs at the corner
Thrakhir grunts his disapproval at the time Juliare takes to try on his new set of shiny chain. "Look at this one, Kirwen, he says pointing to the half-elf. In a sarcastic tone he quips, "Are ya needin' a mirror? Or can we get movin' before ya get caught with yer pants around yer ankles?"
Thrakhir grunts his disapproval at the time Juliare takes to try on his new set of shiny chain. "Look at this one, Kirwen, he says pointing to the half-elf. In a sarcastic tone he quips, "Are ya needin' a mirror? Or can we get movin' before ya get caught with yer pants around yer ankles?"
One of the slave girls giggles nervously.
Kirwen grunts. "He earned it. Let's finish this floor up for 'em before we hit the basement."
Thrakhir grunts his disapproval at the time Juliare takes to try on his new set of shiny chain. "Look at this one, Kirwen, he says pointing to the half-elf. In a sarcastic tone he quips, "Are ya needin' a mirror? Or can we get movin' before ya get caught with yer pants around yer ankles?"
If you take down your pants to put on a shirt , don't wonder if you're badly dressed !
Quick will assist Kirwen's searching.
"There's a spiral staircase leading down over here. We already sent some guards tumbling down it earlier today. Perhaps there are more slaves locked up down there?"
One of the slave girls giggles nervously.
Thrakhir gives the slave girl a friendly wink and a smile glad, someone appreciated the joke.
He then takes a very quick look around looking for anything out of place in the structure.
He moves over to the staircase leading downward. "Aye, Quick, this is lookin' promisin'." He says as he starts down the stairs.
"Right behind ya!"
The guard's chambers reveal nothing immediately interesting. The acolytes have some money (I suppose you defer the looting to later) and two potions. Kanto's chamber (there is a near-life size portrait of her on the wall) is luxuriously furnished, with a mahogany desk and serving table (replete with sherries and such) and a king-sized canopy bed.
In the top drawer of her desk are receipts for the sales of the slaves, in great (and incriminating) detail. There are also appreciative letters from some woman named Drincilla, commending Kanto on her work.
Downstairs you enter some sort of a kitchen. All is quiet.