Uzes is wandering the floor when the drunks start trouble. He moves closer, making sure that there are no obstacles between himself and the louts. Should diplomacy fail, he'll step in and break limbs. Otherwise he'll leave the bouncing to the others.
Content to let Tessirda try and talk sense into the four to begin with, Kelne decides that this latest provocation is too much. The extra growth spurt is rather surprising, but very welcome indeed. Kelne puts it to good use, seizing the one who decided to shout at Larur by the scruff of his neck and hauling him up to eye level.
"You," he snarls into his face, "Get nothing. You think you can waltz in here, yell at us and we'll just cave? Think again!"
With that, he sets off for the exit, intent upon throwing the fool bodily into the street. If the first batch of troublemakers isn't firmly dealt with, they'll be knee deep in them before the day is out. Someone, of course, is almost certainly going to do something stupid. There's precious little he can do to prevent that, but since it isn't just him against all four, he figures it'll pan out in his favour.
He intends to have stern words with Tessirda about the importance of backing up your fellows, rather than undermining them when this is all over.
Amunyet, watching the situation from the catwalk above, casts bless on Tessirda, Kelne, Larur, and any other companions who are in range as soon as Kelne grabs the one lout. As soon as she completes her casting, she will hurry down to the main floor to back everyone up.
The lout notices the 12 foot Kelne at the last second (he's kinda hard to miss now) and barely manages to escape Kelne's grasp. "What the f*&#?!' he yells drawing his sword, "At 'em boys, its a trick!"
"That's right! You get nothing!" Larur says and scuttles away.
Uzes steps up behind one of the other louts and whispers in his ear, "Bad move pal." before punching him in the kidney.
unarmed attack w/stunning fist (1d20+2=13, 1d6+2=8) [forgot the bless in the link]
Sorda will ready an action to hit one of the enemies with a telekinetic fist if they begin casting.
Kelne pulls his sword, scowling at the idiots before him so as to leave them in no doubt that this was a very bad idea. Nevertheless, when he makes his move, he strikes with the flat of the blade. Killing customers - even former customers who are trying to extort money from you - is bad for business.
As I mentioned, Amunyet will hurry down from the catwalk to the main floor. She will draw her scimitar as she goes.
"How many rounds will it take me to make my way down?"
Tessirda grimassed. She would have been content to let the man lose their coin fair and square, but this wasn't an option anymore. So instead, she threw herself at the closest one, tried to wrestle him to the ground.
Uzes punch crumples the thug in front of him to the ground.
The two louts in front of Kelne stab at his legs with their swords and the first one manages to get though Kelne's arrmor:
The remaining one stabs at Tessirda:
Sorda, seeing none of the Thugs attempt to cast, hurriedly attempts to get off his spell, and it misses badly.
Tessirda grabs the thug thug in front of her, who stabs at her again with his sword, this time accurately:
Kelne slaps one of the thugs with the flat of his now large sword, but the attack is held back in Kelne's attempt not to kill and has little effect.
The other guards, seeing that things have gotten serious no move in to help the others. the one who was at the door with Tessirda is close enough to reach the fight .
The guard stabs the thug in the back.
Amyunet is running through the backs halls and down the stairs.
As she runs, Amunyet will draw her scimitar.
Uzès steps around behind the next guy crowding around Kelne and unleashes yet another feeble push.
Sorda steps back a pace and just watches. He readies a telekinetic fist in case one of the miscreants attepts to break and run.
DM
Uzes moves behind one of the other louts and delivers a solid punch in his back, dropping him . The remaining two, seeing they are losing the fight drop their weapons and surrender.
"Sorry, sorry!" the one who appears to be the leader says (facing Tessirda). "We just wanted our fair share like d' others got! Don't kill us!"
Kelne arrests his sword in mid-swing, scowling down at the ringleader, "Would you like to know why we're no longer giving people a hundred and ten percent back?" he asks rhetorically, "It's because any damn fool can walk in, buy some chips, then give them to a friend who can say they were here the other night. You see how we lose out on that rather badly, I trust?"
When she finally arrives, Amunyet says, "These individuals were willing to kill over a few coins. Of course it is Kelne's decision as chief of security, but I believe that means they have forfeited all of their chips, plus their weapons at a minimum, yes?"
After that, she will tend to Tessirda and Kelne's wounds, with use of channel energy.
"Would you like to know why we're no longer giving people a hundred and ten percent back?" he asks rhetorically, "It's because any damn fool can walk in, buy some chips, then give them to a friend who can say they were here the other night. You see how we lose out on that rather badly, I trust?"
"Quite right!" says Larur from behind Kelne, who is still towering over everyone in the room.
"Ya, I guess I can see that." the lout says. "We was just hopin'"
Amyunet's Channel Positive Energy brings to consciousness the two louts that Uzes knocked out, and they sit there groggliy, rubbing their backs.
"These individuals were willing to kill over a few coins. Of course it is Kelne's decision as chief of security, but I believe that means they have forfeited all of their chips, plus their weapons at a minimum, yes?"
The louts remain silent probably figuring this is a better deal than getting killed or handed over to the gendarmes.
"Would you like to know why we're no longer giving people a hundred and ten percent back?" he asks rhetorically, "It's because any damn fool can walk in, buy some chips, then give them to a friend who can say they were here the other night. You see how we lose out on that rather badly, I trust?""Quite right!" says Larur from behind Kelne, who is still towering over everyone in the room.
"Ya, I guess I can see that." the lout says. "We was just hopin'"
Amyunet's Channel Positive Energy brings to consciousness the two louts that Uzes knocked out, and they sit there groggliy, rubbing their backs.
"These individuals were willing to kill over a few coins. Of course it is Kelne's decision as chief of security, but I believe that means they have forfeited all of their chips, plus their weapons at a minimum, yes?"The louts remain silent probably figuring this is a better deal than getting killed or handed over to the gendarmes.
Tessirda nodded. "No disagreement from me. These guys really deserve what is coming to them." She released the grip on the man, and tugged her clothes back into the condition she had previously put them in.
"Forfeiture of chips, weapons, and you can explain yourself to the gendarmes," Kelne says flatly. He would very much like to have this be the last batch of troublemakers he has to deal with for a while, and to that end, intends to make an example of them.
Larur sends one of the other guards off to summon the gendarmes. After that Saul, who has by now entered the gaming hall, climbs up onto the craps table and makes an announcement.
"I would like to thank my new business partners role in swiftly handling this situation." He waves in the direction of Kelne, Tessirda and Uzes. "They now handle security at the Gold Goblin, and any attempts to cheat, steal or conduct any other criminal activities will be detected and dealt with harshly. Any of you who are here spying on me for my competitors can tell your employers that."
He gets down from the table and approaches you. "I want to thank you again for your good work. You have given me the heart to stand up to the other bosses."
Saul pauses for a moment then says to Kelne: "I'm thinking from now on we should not allow any weapons into the gambling hall. Starting tomorrow, you can have them collected at the door from the customers as they enter, and lock them in the cashiers cage. They can get them back when they leave."
Soon the guard returns with the gendarmes.
"It's a good idea. Oh, and sorry for not sticking directly to policy here. I had hoped we'd collect the money back from them through the games without a hint of violence - stupidity and gambling don't mix well after all." Tessirda replied, though she was obviously none too bothered by her going against the stated policy.
She watched Saul, and looked quite appreciatively. If the man was looking to shake up the established crime bosses of Riddleport, he had to have a lot of courage, and the willingness to risk more than his establishment. Yet this shakeup might easily result in a better Riddleport.
"It's a good idea. Oh, and sorry for not sticking directly to policy here. I had hoped we'd collect the money back from them through the games without a hint of violence - stupidity and gambling don't mix well after all."
"I completely understand that" Saul replies "But you do see why we couldn't allow them the 110% deal. We have no way of knowing if they were actually here or not, and if we gave it to them, then before we knew it half of Riddleport would show up asking for the same deal."
Kelne and Tessirda hand over the prisoners to the gendarmes and the rest of the shift passes without incident.
In the evening Zindit, Zavos and Uzés take their shifts, with Uzés working at one of the tables, Zavos performing in the Goblin's tankard, and Zindit watching the players form the catwalks above the gaming floor.
Zavos:
Sorda:
In between sets, Zavos works the floor, joking with the men and flirting with the ladies.
DM
When he finds an inconspicuous opportunity (after shift if necessary), Zavos introduces himself to the lovely red-head.
"Good evening. I don't recall you from the staff interviews; and I am sure that I would, had we met."
"My name is Zavos, and I am one of the "part-owners" and entertainers here. And you?"
As mentioned previously, (here), after her shift is over, Amunyet will have a light supper, then retreat to her room for her evening prayers and to prepare her spells. Once that is complete, she will leave the armor and weapons she wears during her shift in her room, in favor of an attractive, not-too-revealing dress. She will still keep a dagger on her belt, and her holy symbol and spell component pouch, just in case. She will spend several hours greeting customers, ensuring they are having an enjoyable time, and just playing "hostess" in general . Amunyet will also ask Tessirda if she wishes to "mingle" with her; two attractive ladies greeting the customers certainly can't hurt ...
Zavos:
"Good evening. I don't recall you from the staff interviews; and I am sure that I would, had we met."
"My name is Zavos, and I am one of the "part-owners" and entertainers here. And you?"
She smiles at Zavos. "It's nice to meet you Zavos, my name is Samaritha. I don't recall you being present at my interview either. Only the dwarf and the big security chief were there. Are you going to perform tonight?"
Zavos:
** spoiler omitted **
"Still, if you wish, spin through as you are making your rounds. Or perhaps for a drink later...? I'm sure that our paths are going to cross frequently, and it couldn't hurt for us to learn more about each other."
Zavos:
DM
Zavos will continue performing and shmoozing.
When he meets Samaritha for a drink, he will attempt to steer the conversation towards her, without it being an interrogation.
Zavos:
She seems friendly and honest, and genuinely interested in Zavos, the handsome and charming bard.
DM:
profession (gambler) (1d20+7=23)
Kelne opts to catch Tessirda alone at some point, rather than air his criticism in front of others.
"It's not that I have a problem with non-violent resolutions, Tessirda," he says, "Gods know it's generally less trouble for everyone. However, we as staff do need to stick together. Aside from sticking to policy, Larur did nothing to provoke those fools into shoving him around. Trying to work out a compromise, without addressing their behaviour, sent the wrong message, both to them and to Larur."
"My default position is that we," he waves an idle hand to indicate the building and, by implication, the staff, "Are in the right. If they can convince me otherwise, through logic and reason, then so be it. 'We wants our money' does not qualify as reason."
All things considered, he's reasonably satisfied with the resolution. Nobody was seriously injured, and it played out under his eye, so he knows exactly where they went wrong and how to avoid such mistakes in the future. Saul's new no weapons policy is a good one, and one which he'll be putting into force immediately. Between the initial robbery attempt and today, it's clearly necessary. So long as Tessirda also learns from today's experience, he figures it's actually a net gain.
DM
Over the next couple of days, Zavos will continue to be friendly with Sam: offer to show her the sights, introduce her to Kelne, share lunch.. nothing high-pressure, but he will make his interest obvious.
Kelne
You notice that Zavos is spending a fair bit of time speaking with one of the staff: a redheaded half-elf named Samaritha. He even introduces the two of you, which he usually doesn't do with his women.
Sorda
Zavos approaches you and asks you if you have any contacts among the Cyphermages, as a friend of his is interested in learning from them.
The next two days pass uneventfully.
Zavos:
On the third evening:
Kelne, Amyunet and Zindit:
"Do you see that man? That is none other than Clegg Zincher, one of my biggest competitors. He is not much of a gambler, so he must be here to spy on me. Let him stay, but keep an eye on him, will you? I want to learn why he is here if I can."
Uzés:
"You don't look like a typical dealer, although you're good. You must be one of Saul's new pals."
Sorda and Tessirda (if you are present on the gaming floor):
"Indeed, I am Uzès, pleased to meet you. Can I deal you in?" replies the half-orc pleasantly. It pays to be nice to potential players.
"Yes sir!" Zindit answered Saul with uncharacteristic enthusiasm for her duties. The opportunity to catch someone else doing something wrong, especially in front of Amunyet, certainly held a certain appeal to her.
When she took her post on the catwalks, she made certain to focus her attention on him.
"Certainly, Saul. Perhaps later, when I am on the floor greeting the customers, I can even try and 'butter him up' as you say? Find out why he's here? Assuming he hasn't left, of course."
Tessirda watched the exchange between her employer and the foreign priestess with some interest, but no concern. Up to this point, the employment at the Gold Goblin had worked well enough for her, and by now she doubted she'd seriously "slip" and fall back.
Kelne nods thoughtfully, marking Zincher in his memory, "I'll keep an eye on him from here," he says, "Approaching him or watching him intently down below would be a tad obvious." Not that Zincher could possibly believe himself to be unobserved. If mere spying was his aim, he could easily have sent others to do so for him. No, he was here, Kelne felt sure, to make a point. To let Saul know that he had noted his success, perhaps, and meant to do something about it.
"Certainly, Saul. Perhaps later, when I am on the floor greeting the customers, I can even try and 'butter him up' as you say? Find out why he's here? Assuming he hasn't left, of course."
"Yes. please." Saul says, then "Maybe you can go back down right now, I think our little gnome can watch from up here."
Zindit and Kelne see Zincher speaking to Uzés at the Golem table, but they can't make out what the two are saying, although the conversation seems amicable enough.
Uzés:
Occasionally when it is busy, Sorda will help out with whatever Saul wants. He struggles to maintain focus on the gambling but generally is friendly enough to get by.
Sorda, a Gather Information check will give you the following information about the Blot:
DC 10:
DC 14:
DC 18: