Bexilarius saunters over to Mel and takes a seat next to him. "Mel, isn't it? What are you up to in a dive like this?"
He flags a passing barmaid (or the bartender, if this place doesn't have barmaids) for a drink. "You want anything?"
Gierixa wears a bemused smile throughout the proceedings, in fact if one had been paying attention they would have noticed her standing their inactive for quite some time as the scene unfolded.
"just a big softie like the rest but im not sure whose side i was on she was pretty filthy but those alley boys were probably worse," she looks at Angvar and Mordecai, "hmm never thought you were one for compassion but maybe youre just being practical. i have a deal for you if youre interested i need someone to come with me out to the Boneyard to collect some valuable mushrooms if you want to trade favours i can go with you now you may need help."
She pauses to take a deep breath, it appears she is not used to this much talking.
Mordecai takes in Gierixa's request before turning to Angvar.
"I believe that we are not really equipped to recover your friend for now. Indeed, given the circumstances, I would expect his captor to make contact with you with some sort of demand."
Returning his attention to Gierixa, "Certainly, I spend part of every morning there, although I don't recall seeing any particularly interesting mushrooms. Can you describe them as we walk?"
He starts walking in the direction of the Boneyard as he finishes the last sentence, leaving scant room for debate.
"My master is wise in the ways of men and fungi."
Mordecai ignores Angvar's sarcastic comment, and proceeds to the Boneyard, having realized belatedly from his grumbling stomach that he hasn't eaten for hours.
Gierixa, Mordecai, Angvar at The Boneyard;
It is indeed approaching dusk; the diurnal predators are heading for shelter as the nocturnal ones are only just emerging. In the Boneyard, however, hunger calls at any time of day.
The Boneyard owes it's existence to the human need for a place to leave things behind, to forget things. It is all too ironic that the majority of its visitors are looking to find something.
Hulking, decaying, masses of timber frames dot the landscape. Remnants of ships too far gone to salvage, these petrified husks provide makeshift walkways through the otherwise swampy murk.
Scores of insects and creatures too fast to spot, scurry away as you progress through the swamp.
He keeps a wary eye out for Ghouls. And Swamp Barracuda...
Angvar is profoundly uninterested in either nature or survival, but prompted by Mordecai's look, takes a cursory glance around.
Nature and Survival assist checks from friendly neighbourhood slave (1d20 3=16, 1d20 3=13).
"i guess we have to make do with the time left today. im not fond of the boneyard its really just a mess of human refuse but nature tries its best. of course all is fair and you are welcome to half of what we find. your slave gets nothing of course."
Knowledge (nature): 1d20+3 = 15
Survival: 1d20+9 = 10
.
Bexilarius saunters over to Mel and takes a seat next to him. "Mel, isn't it? What are you up to in a dive like this?"
He flags a passing barmaid (or the bartender, if this place doesn't have barmaids) for a drink. "You want anything?"
Mel looksup at the tiefling and shakes his head
"No I'm quite happy with what I have thanks..."
He tries to act normally..fairly sure that the tiefling won't notice the catch in his voice
"As to why I'm here..I had a bit of trouble on the street..thought it best to remove myself from the scene, if you know what I mean..avoid awkward questions that sort of thing"
Sense Motive (1d20+2=20)
"What's up, kid?" Bexilarius asks nonchalantly. "I thought you could handle any 'trouble on the street' just fine. You seemed able to take care of yourself just fine back at the Goblin." Bex takes a sip from his drink and grimaces at the taste. "Not that I care, mind you. But I might help out if you're looking for a little payback."
Mel makes a grimace..
"I don't like killing that's all...especially idiots who could have just walked away..silly b*st*rd impaled himself on my sword when all I wanted to do was cut him a little and make him back off"
"Better them than you. I'll give you a life lesson free of charge. There's two kinds of people in this world - those who take what's given to them, and those who take what they want. How you take it is up to you, but it's a far cry better than just waiting to see what happens. And if you're careful, you'll live longer too."
Bexilarius flags the barmaid again and orders Mel a drink anyways. "Drink up. You're alive to die another day. Ain't nothing wrong with that." Bex raises his own glass in salute.
Mel nods at Bex's words and drains the remainder of the tankard
"Remind me to get a prayer said for idiots everywhere...I have things to do..I'll see you later"
Mel leaves the bar and goes to a reliable Zincher fence..there she sells the comb and dagger for what she can get then returns to the tiny garret she calls home and stashes the cash(she normally makes a point of never carrying more than 5-6 silvers worth in her purse and at least a third of that in copper)
Mel; The silver toothed comb is slightly bent, but in otherwise okay shape. The dagger is nothing special, and you net only sixteen gold from these spoils. Your travels around the city take some time, and even in the darkness of night, your cautiousness helps you avoid further incidents. It's almost as if you're being purposefully avoided.
Bexilarius; When Mel leaves, the men behind you grow increasingly more rowdy, and it's only about a minute before you realize that their growing fervour is directed at you. One of them waits for you to take another drink from your glass, and shoves you from behind, causing you to spill it. "Hey sideshow, if you've got a thing for young boys, you better take it somewhere else. We don't like your kind around here. So put your tail between your legs, and beat it."
The Boneyard; Making any distance in the swamp is taxing; though the current tide makes for more land than water, the ground is soggy and doesn't support weight well. However, advancing slowly through the muck, gives you extra time to study the land, searching for visual leads in the growing darkness. Gierixa does her best to locate the mushrooms, while Angvar and Mordecai do well to point out practically everything mushroom-like they can see. It helps, for after about an hour of searching, you locate the mushrooms, softly glowing blue. A small patch of them grows near the opening of a small, sunken shack. Slumped and soggy, the moss covered shack leans to one side, and is no bigger than a glorified dog house, so much has it shrunk. A larger clump of them can be seen inside the ramshackled construction, though it is mostly dark inside.
16gp is more than half again what Mel owns in the way of gold and she is satisfied with the transaction.Deciding to grab some sleep to get an early start she finds her dreams haunted by the sight of Jenk impaling himself on her sword over and over again
Bexilarius slowly stands up, taking the time to clean the spilled booze from his front. Only when he is done does he turn around to face the men. "I'm sorry, but I thought I just heard 'sideshow' come out of your rathole. Now it's noisy in here, and it's possible I may have misheard you." As Bex speaks, he takes off his shirt, revealing the scars on his body, including the bright red, half-healed one on his chest. "I'm just happy it was s%**ty rotgut you made me spill, and not some of Taldor's finest." He folds his shirt and lays it neatly on the bench, then cracks his neck with an audible pop. Suddenly, Bex flips his mug into the air, and with a spinning kick sends it flying across the room to shatter against the wall. "So which is it, pigmeat? Did I mishear you, or am I finally gonna get some real exercise?"
"Well then, there's our quarry. Let's see what's living in that cozy little hovel..." Mordecai says, casting a light orison onto a small sodden bit of half-rotted wood he picks up from the ground and holding it behind him for the moment.
Before tossing it into the shack, he checks with Gierixa, "The presence of light so close to the fungus will not damage it?"
Bexilarius; The man is taken aback by your display. When the cup shatters against the wall, he gulps visibly, and if you didn't know better, you'd think the man was going to faint. "I didn't mean nuthin' by it. Y'ain't gonna kick me, are ya?", he says, taking a few steps back. His hand goes to the sword at his belt as he moves back, but as he doesn't draw it, it's not clear if he will.
His friends don't say a word throughout the affair, and indeed the whole bar has grown silent, waiting to see the outcome of this fight.
Mordecai; Gierixa could tell you that there's no harm in exposing them to light, as some of these already see the daytime sun, and they are alive. They certainly thrive better with some darkness, explaining their prevalence inside the makeshift shack.
Unwilling to undergo near death again, Angvar remains alert and watchful while Mordecai and Gierixia faff around with the hut and the mushrooms.
Satisfied that the mushrooms won't be damaged by the light, Mordecai tosses it forward, in case there are any critters there. If there aren't any unexpected surprises, he helps her harvest them with deliberate haste, being sure not to touch any with his hands (in case they are toxic) and not to bruise their caps with ungentle fingers.
"Let's get these and get out of this place, before we run into another one of those damned fish..." he urges.
"You didn't mean nuthin' by it?" Bex asks. "So you did say it. Which means I didn't misunderstand you. So yes, you stupid mud-blood, I am going to kick your ass all the way to the Arch of Aroden!" Bexilarius points at the other men behind him. "And don't think you can just run away. You're in this too, boys. NOW BRING IT ON!!" Bex explodes into motion, hands and feet flashing as he lashes out at the man in front of him.
The Boneyard; You throw the illuminated piece of refuse into the shack, but after only a moment, it is thrown back out at you. "What's the meaning of this?", comes a shrill voice from within the little hut. "Get out of here!" A series of clicks and hissing sounds come from the shack.
Bex; The main thug swears loudly, but resigns himself to a fight. "Come on boys! If we surround him, he won't have a chance." He spits at you, "You're pigmeat, pal!" He takes a step toward you and strikes out with a quick attack from his shortsword, but it connects with nothing, leaving himself wide open for Bexilarius' well-aimed attacks. He falls into a crumpled heap. His 'friends', not wanting to share his fate, wisely run out of the joint.
A round of applause erupts around the bar, and you realize that every patron had been watching your moves carefully. You put on a good show, and thoroughly impressed them. Even the bartender shakes his head, grinning at your work, as he comes over to you. "Good show, boy. Where'd you learn to throw a punch like that?" He looks down at the broken body of the man and sighs. "The gendarmes'll take him away soon enough, but you're welcome to help yourself to his gear. By law, it's your right.
"Good show, boy. Where'd you learn to throw a punch like that?"
Bex grins. "Would you believe a nunnery?" he asks. "Hand on heart, it's true," he swears. "The Sisters of the Golden Erinyes." Bexilarius wipes his bloodied knuckles on the mans shirt, then puts his own shirt back on. He kneels down to search the man for anything of value.
"figures someone would live in this filth lets just take some mushrooms and get out of this cesspool."
Gierixa assists Mordecai in plucking some mushrooms, though she is sure to take some with soil so she can cultivate them on her own.
"these are pretty though," she says as she turns to the shack, "shut up and leave us alone."
Gierixa; As you lean down to begin collecting the mushrooms, a strange creature literally launches out of the shack, violently lunging toward you with sick, yellow teeth bared. Those same teeth sink into your leg, giving you a nasty wound, and the thing lands at your feet. It's stench is horrible, and now you get a closer look at the thing.
"I am a great and powerful Naga!" the thing cries, hissing at you. "Leave this place!
Bexilarius; "A nunnery? Well I'll be damned. I've heard some of you religious types can pack quite a punch. Never saw something like that in m'life!", the bartender chats with you as you rifle through the man's pockets. "You ever thought of fightin' in Zincher's arena? A lotta coin to be made there."
Sense Motive check (untrained) 17
"No, you are not."
Mordecai leans forward and attempts to lightly brush the creature with his hand.
13 on touch attack, 2 bleeding damage if it hits from Bleeding Touch Domain power
"Huh. Lungwater. Poor sap." Bex pockets the coins and the ticket, and lays the short sword on the bar. "For your trouble," he tells the bartender. "Zincher's arena, eh? I already got a job, but I'll keep it in mind. I'll at least check out a match," Bex adds, waving the ticket. Then Bex takes a closer look at the locket.
Ozbadin will spend the rest of the day making his normal rounds. he will then wait to see if any of the other new employees show up at the GG for evening fun.
Gierixa looks utterly disgusted at the small wound. "you dirty filthy little snake ill teach you who youre allowed to touch."
Then she draws her scimitar. She slashes at the "naga" with her blade.
Rolls required:
Initiative (+3)
Knowledge (nature) (+3)
Attack roll (+4)
Damage roll (1d6+6/18-20)
The Boneyard
Reeling from the bite, Gierixa brings her scimitar down with both hands, landing a severe blow to the side of the creature. Fully uncoiled, it might be as long as a human is tall; thanks to the grotesque addition of a goblin head on the thing, the shock of intense pain is visible. Gierixa recognized the creature as a Goblin Snake, as horrible as a Goblin, but stupider, these aberrations are sometimes worshipped by some Goblin tribes. What this one is doing in the swamp is a mystery to you. Additionally, they can communicate and command regular snakes, and are often accompanied by them. When distressed, they can belch out an intoxicating and putrid blast at foes.
Mordecai swipes at the creature, his hand only grazing it's thick hide. Nonetheless, with nothing more than a touch, the creature's skin erupts and blood begins to pour out.
Seriously hurt, the thing thrashes about, making all sorts of hissing and clicking sounds.
"Disgusting, jumped up piece of trash. Look at me!"
Angvar hurls invective at the lowlife while his dagger darts in and out, seeking the creature's throat.
Hand of the Apprentice dagger attack on goblin snake (1d20 4=17, 1d4 4=8)
Angvar's mental command of the blade proves decisive, and the Goblin Snake slumps to the wet ground, unconscious.
The hissing doesn't stop, however, and you soon realize that it's coming from all around you. Emerging from the deeper parts of swamp, a number of bright green snakes scuttle toward you, biting at your legs and feet.
Mordecai manages to move his feet quickly enough, but Gierixa takes another nasty bite to her wounded leg.
Similarly, Angvar darts away from one snake, only to suffer the pain and poison of another snake.
"Wake the damned thing up and tell it to control the bodyguards. Get away you little bastards, I know about you." screams Angvar as he hops about in pain, trying to keep control of his dagger.
Mordecai reacts with annoyance, clutching the holy symbol at his neck and shouting, "Away from me, vermin! Death upon you all!"
The night air is filled with the buzzing of unseen insects, and painful cramps of hunger shoot through everyone in the area.
"You really are sick and twisted aren't you?"
Despite the pain, the snakes and the murky swamp, Angvar manages to sound admiring.
"I need to learn to do that."
Will save to stop Mordecai's spell hurting too much (1d20 4=19).
Bexilarius
The bartender takes the sword and hides it under the bar. "Thank ya. Now you might wanna get out of here. The gendarmes'll be here soon enough, and I'd hate to see them make the same mistake as that man...y'know...judging a book by its cover and all. It'll be harder on your story because o' the way you look. If you leave before they get here, I'll make sure we all corr....corrobo...get the story right."
A number of grins flash at you from among the barroom crowd. You've certainly impressed some drunks!
The locket bear an old and faded image of a beautiful woman. Part of her face is obscured by grime, but she is quite pretty. She's dressed in clothes old enough that she is most likely quite dead by now.
"Thanks for the tip, bub," Bexilarius says with a nod to the bartender. He pauses on his way out to give the thug's body one last kick, then heads outside. Bex takes a look at the locket in the light, and seeing only a family memento, tosses it into the gutter. "Better luck next time, Lungwater," he mutters.
He feels good after his workout, so he saunters down the street, whistling a little ditty, every now and again glancing up at the Blot hanging in the sky. His meandering footsteps eventually bring him back to the Gold Goblin.
DM:
Ozbadin and Bexilarius @ The Gold Goblin;
You arrive back at the Gold Goblin near dark, and the place is pretty quiet. Larur, the dwarven general manager, and one of Saul's personal guards, Beyar, are lounging by the bar near the stairs. Both are chatting wildly and laughing, and have tankards in their hands.
When they spot you, they wave you over and invite you to have a drink with them.
"I figure we might not be open for a few more days an' I'd hate to let this cask o' ale get stale. We opened it last night but never finished it. And seein' as we don't have a bartender yet, we just helped ourselves. Lief, was it? And Bexi-something. Sorry, I'm not so good with names, an' I expect I'll be learnin' a whole bunch more over the next few days. We've had a surprisin' number of applicants today."
The Gold Goblin;
"And you should see the two up there right now! Saul's interviewin' both at once. I guess they both wanna be waitresses, so he's doing a group thing. Lucky man!", Beyar says with a sheepish grin. He's noticeably a little drunker than Larur. "One's a little haggard, but I think if she cleaned herself up a bit, she could make decent coin here."
Larur and Beyar laugh and clink their mugs together at that suggestion, but quieten down as soon as they hear footsteps coming down the stairs.
"Ah, there they are now.", Beyar says, pointing to the pair.
The Gold Goblin;
The tail-end of their conversation can be heard as they walk down the stairs. "Well, congratulations are in order, I guess. You handled yourself well in there. I don't think it's just Saul's desperation for workers at all, I think he legitimately wanted to hire you. Oh, and by the way, I could definitely teach you a little spell to bring some colour to those cheeks. And to make you smell a little better."
The Gold Goblin;
"Ain't none of your business how I smell. And I like my cheeks just fine. But congratulations to you too. I guess I'll be seein' a lot more o' you in the future, if we're gonna be workin' together and all."
The Gold Goblin;
"Hey you hear that? He musta' hired both of them. Torag knows we need more workers. Let's just hope they can cut it? Wanna meet them?"
Before you can answer either way, Larur is busily (and drunkenly) waving them over.
"Hey girls, come meet some of your new bosses. I'm Larur, the general manager here. This is Beyar, that's Lief, and that's uh..."
The Gold Goblin;
"Bex!", Sam exclaims, striding over to the group of you, taking the other girl reluctantly by the hand. "So great to see you here. And I guess I'll be seeing a bit more of you this way." she winks. "This is Marzielle. She's going to be around too." Not forgetting herself, she bows respectfully to the others. "How do you do. My name is Samaritha Beldusk, originally of Magnimar."
The Gold Goblin;
The girl attempts an awkward curtsy. She can't be more than 16. Her clothes are dirty and worn, but she carries an ornate dagger of foreign design quite prominently on her belt.
"How do you do."
The Boneyard;
Gierixa desperately swipes at one of the snakes, but it darts out of the way of her sharp blade. Perhaps the previous wound is too much for her, though she manages to resist the poison as it courses through her body.
Mordecai's blast is putrescent but effective. The body of the Goblin Snake writhes and shakes with pain, even in it's unconsciousness. The other snakes seem mostly unphased by his blast, though the snake closest to him coils reflexively against the blast. Gierixa and Angvar also manage to resist the death-magic.
Angvar manages to end the life of another one of these snakes, but they continue advancing.
Fully out of the swamp that housed them now, these bright green snakes are fully the size of a small dog. Gierixa manages to blurt out in her fury that "It's like they're defending something. This aggression is territorial!"
It's not enough to prevent further strikes from these animals. Again, Mordecai cooly sidesteps the lunge, and Gierixa stamps her feet, sending the thing off balance before it hits her. Angvar is not so lucky, however, and the snake leaps into the air, biting him on his arm.
In fury, Gierixa roars at the serpent and cleaves it in two. Both sides of the severed snake twitch in autonomic reflex, spraying blood everywhere. She continues chopping until all of the pieces stop moving for good.
Mordecai ignores the snake attempting to bite him , reaching down to grab the unconscious Goblin Snake off of the ground and holding it forth threateningly at the viper attacking him.
He has no idea if these creatures are attempting to protect the Goblin Snake, of it they are intelligent enough to recognize the concept of 'hostage,' but is willing to give it a shot.
"Just bugger off. I know what you can do, you don't have to prove it to me." Kicking frantically at the snake, Angvar backs away (to K8). Once again, he jabs his dagger at the neck of the nearest oncoming serpent. Against his will, and feeling weaker, he's fairly sure his aim isn't as true this time around.
Both Mordecai and Angvar leave themselves open to attacks from the snakes as they dart around. Mordecai and Angvar manage to sustain another bite each, the priest narrowly avoiding a bite to the neck.
Holding up the Goblin Snake does little to assuage the serpents. Merely it opens up Mordecai for an attack. Resorting to channeling palpable waves of negative energy again, all living creatures nearby feel the pull at their lifeforce, however minute. It's still enough to cause one snake to flip over onto its back in convulsions; indeed even the Goblin Snake writhes in agony in your hands as you send out another blast.
Gierixa and Angvar too feel the pain, as the sickly sweet smell of rotting fills the air. The grass and plants around you begin to wither and brown as you continue this channeling.
"Stop doing that! It hurts!" Gierixa cries in frustration, moving to end the life of the last snake. Her blows miss the darting serpent, even as it's cornered between Angvar and her.