Game Thread Chapter 2 - The Trail of a Girl - Page 3 - RPG Crossing
RPG Crossing Home Forums Create An Account! Site Rules & Help

RPG Crossing
Go Back   RPG Crossing > Games > Pathfinder: 1e > The Lawless City > Group A
twitter facebook mastodon bluesky

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools
  #31  
Old Apr 16th, 2023, 03:52 AM
Vaerdis's Avatar
Vaerdis Vaerdis is offline
Rules of Paradise
 
Tools
User Statistics
Last Visit: Mar 13th, 2024
RPXP: 7967
Vaerdis Vaerdis Vaerdis Vaerdis Vaerdis Vaerdis Vaerdis Vaerdis Vaerdis Vaerdis Vaerdis
Posts: 9,243
Afternoon Shift
right-aligned image
Kara had gotten through what felt like an easy victory in the wrestling ring, besting them at every opportunity. The dwarf kept getting back up, so she continued to entertain until the coin purse jingled at the end of the day. After the dwarves did tire themselves out, it turned out Tarbin had done better than she, as far as the paymaster was concerned.

She gives the farmer son a curt nod, "Thanks for the compliment. I am still learning, but learning happens swiftly when closer to experts."

It was a compliment to her prowess that made her proud, nevertheless, she is still the woman that got taken out in an alley not one night back. She dwells upon this thought with a sigh. She looks toward the healer, "How are you holding up with this business?"


Kara visits Celia with the intent to return something that brings some embarrassment to this warrior woman. Not only that, but she is swiftly, and easily lead by the arm away from the crowds in private.
Kara leaves the dark corner of the casino with reddened cheeks and a somewhat distant expression otherwise, as if she were distracted. It was only in passing that she heard Damien approach Celia and ask her about something. She only lingered close enough to eavesdrop.

Evening Guard VisitThe visit to the guardhouse was something well overdue considering that most of this mess of a debt occurred because of the guards in the first place.

Kara was mostly smart enough to let others with better use of words do the talking, while she herself stood around with her arms crossed, looking out for alternative trouble. However, it turned out that her reputation preceded her. Kara bows her head humbly, "Yes, I am Kara Kurdst. I was let out of prison for what I did, now I am trying to do what honest work I can. Though..." She sighs, rubbing the back of her neck before speaking up more, "That is part of why I am here, was saddled by a debt from my employer for a box going missing during an escort. Some people dressed in guard armor that weren't of the guard overran us. Now we are looking to find the box."

"Specifically had a question or two for Gwendoline..." Kara pauses for a moment as she hears something, even over the din of guards fussing about, "Though I suppose she is busy right now?"
Reply With Quote
  #32  
Old Apr 16th, 2023, 10:31 PM
Alatere's Avatar
Alatere Alatere is offline
Crazy Kobold
 
Tools
User Statistics
Last Visit: Sep 28th, 2023
RPXP: 9775
Alatere Alatere Alatere Alatere Alatere Alatere Alatere Alatere Alatere Alatere Alatere
Posts: 12,354
Tarbin Haldar
right-aligned image


”Now I don’t know about a gentleman but I always was raised to do what was right…” Tarbin agreed having apparently missed some of the subtext of what was being discussed. Tarbin then nodded along at what the vishyanki had to say, out of their little group the green skinned fellow always did seem the most sensible of the lot.






Tarbin then frowned at the mention of the Red Sunshine as the pair emerged from the basement. ”Now I know we need to know what this guard knows but I do not like this plan…” Tarbin replied with a frown. ”It feels worse than even beating the information out of her…” Tarbin added. Now the large didn’t doubt that the plan would work, it wasn’t the plan’s likelihood of success that had the farmer concerned but there was something about using drugs against an addict in such a way that grated against Tarbin’s sense of what was right.




”The fighting in the ring? Truth be told it’s a lot gentler than what I’m used to…” Tarbin replied to Kara before glancing around the casino. ”Everything else… well that’s a lot harder to get used to and I can’t help but feel that I have lost my way somewhat…” Tarbin admitted. ”Still even in a place like this it’s possible to do what’s right…” the large man added.

”What about you? How are you holding up since your excitement of yesterday?” Tarbin asked in return.




”Apologies miss…” Tarbin apologised releasing his grip as soon as he had got Liana moving and it became clear the halfling woman was trying to wriggle free. ”Its true enough that I sometimes forget my own strength…” the large men then added although while his grip had been firm it has certainly not been hard enough to cause any pain or harm.

”Now I ofcourse will be your muscle. But would that need any kind of outfit change on my part?” Tarbin then asked knowing his normal look was still very much that of a farmer rather than a professional bodyguard or member of a circus.

Tarbin did indeed flush red when Sandraminae did a twirl in her rather skimpy outfit and that flush only intensified at the mention of her holding uncomfortable things in her bumcheeks as he couldn’t help but form a mental image. ”This place is going to kill me…” Tarbin mumbled to himself.

Tarbin then let Liana’s take the slip of paper, she was undoubtedly going to be the one who ended up doing the talking.




Tarbin nodded in thanks to the Kobold as the coin purse was slid over to him, it was a lot larger than the previous ones had been and the large man quickly tucked it away somewhere safe. ”Did you make this?” Tarbin then asked in surprise as he eyed the scone. It was also the first time he was hearing about anyone saving Larzon’s life.




Once they were all outside the casino for their break Tarbin adjusted the large straw hat upon his head as he looked at the group. ”So what is the plan?” Tarbin then asked rather simply before the group headed off. Last time they had walked straight in to an ambush so Tarbin was curious if the group intended to approach things differently this time.

The walk to the bridge did indeed bring back bad memories and Tarbin was determined not to be ambushed and hit over the back of the head again without him seeing it coming. The man kept both eyes and ears open as they approached the bridge looking out for any sign of trouble or anyone he recognised from last time.

As they got closer to the bridge Tarbin adjusted the large pack that he decided to bring with him. If the guards decided to search it they would find mostly cooking supplies and other rather mundane equipment but it would keep the guards occupied for some time or encourage them to give up with a cursory glance.

When Kara spoke so openly with the guards about the stolen chest Tarbin was a little surprised but if the honesty bore fruit Tarbin was certainly not going to complain.




ooc
Dice Perception:
1d20+3 (10)+3 Total = 13
Reply With Quote
  #33  
Old Apr 18th, 2023, 05:09 AM
Lentil Sponge's Avatar
Lentil Sponge Lentil Sponge is offline
Cleaner of the Royal Butt
 
Tools
User Statistics
Last Visit: Mar 15th, 2024
RPXP: 4160
Lentil Sponge Lentil Sponge Lentil Sponge Lentil Sponge Lentil Sponge Lentil Sponge Lentil Sponge Lentil Sponge Lentil Sponge Lentil Sponge Lentil Sponge
Posts: 2,142
Location Map Season Day Time Weather
The Dead Mermaid Casino J9 Harvest 104 of 120 4:01pm Cloudy

The End of the ShiftRozitto chuckled at Tarbin's question. "Of course I did. My husband is my world, but can you actually imagine him at a stove?"


Location Map Season Day Time Weather
South Bridge, Western Checkpoint J7 Harvest 104 of 120 4:34pm Cloudy

The Trial of a ChestThe five guards began to look uncomfortable, but only after Kara brought up the reason for all of you being here. They looked amongst each other, waiting for one of them to take the initiative in answering.

"I mean... I wish I could help..."

"... but she'll be in a meeting with our Cap'n right now..."

[size=1]"And if we interrupted the Cap'n, we might get into trouble."

"Orders are orders, Miss Kurdst. When we have three stars on our shoulder, maybe we'd change things around here."

The other hobgoblin, the one yet to speak, was completely silent, but he did start giving very shifty, very emphatic looks to the door of the guard-post.
Reply With Quote
  #34  
Old Apr 18th, 2023, 05:33 AM
Noquarter19's Avatar
Noquarter19 Noquarter19 is offline
It's clobberin' time
 
Tools
User Statistics
Last Visit: Mar 19th, 2024
RPXP: 18045
Noquarter19 Noquarter19 Noquarter19 Noquarter19 Noquarter19 Noquarter19 Noquarter19 Noquarter19 Noquarter19 Noquarter19 Noquarter19
Posts: 4,327
Vyeggar Vugmuk
right-aligned image
Credit to @TSRodriguez14


No one seemed to want to call Vyeggar on his false bluster about their shared dream, and the half-orc was altogether keen on letting the matter die. I was drunk, probably just remembered one of them telling a familiar story and it just… twisted in my brain a bit. He recalled the inky black wax of the cauldron and nodded his head.

Besides, that’d be crazy, everyone having the same dream, everyone finding a card- He had been staring off into the distance at nothing, speaking aloud when he thought he was simply thinking in the privacy of his own skull. The realization that this was not the case jarred him – and as with most things he was unprepared for, he responded with anger.

”RRRRAUGH, that’s enough!” he said, breaking off the conversation that, for the last few moments, only he had been having. ”Dreams -CAN’T- be shared, okay? They just- F*CK!” he roared, striking the wall with a pale green fist. ”F*CK! F*CK! F*CK!" each bellowed curse punctuated by another strike to the wall. "FINE! I GOT ONE TOO, OKAY? F*CK!” His pale green hand was now bleeding, and he thrust it into the back pocket of his black slacks and tossed the now dry note that had once been a harrow card depicting a Rabbit Prince, but which now ‘spelled’ out a drunkenly scribbled promise of fiscal recompense by his recent kobold companion. Vyeggar was too angry to consider that Honeypot might be less than jazzed about the half-orc sharing her personal correspondence, or he might have snatched it back up. Instead, he was flexing his bleeding fingers and staring at the saucer-sized hole he had pounded into the wall. There was no hiding what he’d done, and he was sure it would be coming out of whatever he earned today, but right now he didn’t care a tin whistle about Tilly’s wall or about anything else.

He cared about the fright that was pounding through his chest like the ringing of a thousand hammers.

”Look, let’s just – can we just - F*CK! Can we just go do something or hit someone or, I don’t know – that bucket thing? That had hitting, right? Let’s just… Let’s just…



It was later.

Vyeggar hadn’t said much since his earlier outburst. His hand throbbed, the skin of his knuckles still caked with spiderwebbing cracks of dried blood. He didn’t know how to talk to them about this. This wasn’t an enemy to be vanquished, it was something else, something he didn’t understand. He looked to Grim – his normal go-to for the strange and arcane – but the gnome had been distant ever since the events of last night, and for once Vyeggar decided to let him be. Liana was in tune with the gods – all 3,608,114 of them – but nothing about his dream seemed godly in the slightest. Not to mention he was pretty sure she still despised him. Tarbin was a hayseed – a friendly one, but a hayseed nonetheless. If Vyeggar needed advice about when to plant his rutabagas, he knew the curly-haired human would be more learned than the greatest philosophers of the land, but the matter of the shared dream seemed outside the scope of Tarbin’s expertise. Kara was… Vyeggar looked the lithe woman up and down, appraising her - not in a sexual way, but more trying to take stock of her. She was tough; in a lot of ways, she reminded him of his youngest brother, Veklin. Yet, much like his brother he thought her foolhardy and like to get herself killed one of these times. A lucky thing Larzon arrived when he did, or you’d just be another pretty corpse. The half-orc shook his head. He had come to respect the Maztablaztas in his own way. He admired their curious relationship, a comical yet threatening dynamic which served quite well as a deterrent around the casino, but mostly he found them to be the most genuine of everyone he'd met since finding himself under Tilly's thumb. That was good. Not a lot of people around the casino passed muster with him.

And that, as it always seemed to, left Damien.

Vyeggar had, for some inexplicable reason, come to view the vishkanya as their de facto leader. There was no one factor to point to as explanation. It certainly wasn’t strength; Vyeggar could have broken the little guy over his knee without really noticing. Yet, of all of them, Damien seemed the cleverest and most even-keeled. More to the point, he saw right through Vyeggar’s violent exterior with an ease that would be unsettling, had they happened to be on opposing sides. It was that keen insight that Vyeggar valued most. There was a lot of intrigue and bullsh*t in this city – more of the latter than the former, if he was being honest – and Vyeggar knew he didn’t have the social graces or the patience to manipulate that particular Gordian knot.

None of that mattered to him right now. His mind was far away from the bridge they now were crossing, his leather bootheels clicking dully on paving stones gone smooth from thousands of steps. He was reflexively balling his hands into fists and did not notice his exercise in nerves being interpreted as threatening until there were suddenly two hobgoblins standing in his way.

”Ever crossed a bridge before? Bags out, pockets open, let’s see what you got.”

Vyeggar – already in a troubled mood – had no intention of putting up with any of these guards bullsh*t, especially after his last encounter with law enforcement. He reached into his pocket and began fishing around for something. Hmm, let’s see, I know I had it around here somewhere… Ah, here it is!” he exclaimed, withdrawing his hand from the pocket with the middle finger raised.

”I think you’ll find my credentials in order,” he said, grinning with what teeth the guards had left him.

 

__________________
normal image without text wrap
A watched game never updates...

Posting status: Around.
Reply With Quote
  #35  
Old Apr 18th, 2023, 04:56 PM
Dylan Scott Dylan Scott is online now
Great Wyrm
 
Tools
User Statistics
Last Visit: Mar 19th, 2024
RPXP: 6905
Dylan Scott Dylan Scott Dylan Scott Dylan Scott Dylan Scott Dylan Scott Dylan Scott Dylan Scott Dylan Scott Dylan Scott Dylan Scott
Posts: 1,296
Grim
right-aligned image

After his conversation with Sandraminae, Grim watched her turn and walk away with a great deal of interest even as he considered her words, there were definitely times when having a gnomish height was an advantage for admiring views. Have a conversation with Tilly and convince her of something? now there was a new and unexpected thought

Shaking his head, Grim returned to the Roulette Table to finish his shift, perhaps he should just have a conversation with Tilly and explain why he needed the Void Prism to get into the University, considering how minor she thought that trinket was he was sure she could be convinced to part with it for a chance to get her hands on something much more powerful. Not that he had any intention of putting the Eye in her hands anymore than he did Nalia's. But that was a conversation for another day, he still had time before the meeting with the Sellspell and perhaps another day to cool down and divert her wrath onto someone else would work in Grim's favour better


Finishing a potentially very lucrative shift, Grim went to get some food and joined the others in the common area, they all seemed to be discussing the Dreams they had experienced the night before, some of them more openly than others, Vyeggar was clearly upset about the prospect of their dreams being connected and angry at having to admit he had experienced it. He couldn't blame the man, His own experiences with Magically Induced dreams had never been pleasant and something he wished he could forget about but Nalia's torment over the years had left its mark.

Like Vyeggar he didn't want to admit to having shared a dream of the Waxworks either but he had a better time controlling his emotions and kept quiet about it. Luckily none of the others asked Grim if he had experienced a shared dream state so he simply didn't volunteer the information and he kept the card with Phoenix's real name on it to himself in his pocket and let the others have their conversation and found out what had been discussed in his absence. It seemed they had be "volunteered" to make a delivery in the morning, both of a bucket of the black sludge Tilly was producing in the basement and a beating. Only one of those did he have any intention of taking part in although considering what he knew of their employers recreational substance use, perhaps they would be better off staying as far away from the black sludge as possible as well.

But before that task, the group had finally decided to see sense and continue their hunt for the chest which had drawn them together under the thumb of the Tyrant Tilly Gansong. As he currently still had the Red Sunshine in his possession he would be coming along on the little trip back to the bridge. Hopefully with better and less painful results than last time they were there, he would certainly be on much higher alert than he was the first time.

The walk to the bridge was long and tedious to say the least and he was ashamed to admit that he had jumped at more than a few shadows on the way, to the point he couldn't help chuckling at the sheer absurdity of it all. Yes he had taken a beating but he had travelled the world for over a century and visited more ports than even he could remember and name, it wasn't the first or even the most brutal fight he had been involved in so why was this one getting him jumping at shadows like a wounded cat?

It was a strange thing, perhaps he had just needed to get out of the casino and the ridiculous mind games that were being played there but the closer he got to the bridge the more he relaxed, if anything it was the anticipation which was the worst thing and the closer they got to the bridge the better he felt, and he didn't even bother to restrain the snort of laughter at Vyeggar's antics when asked to turn out his pocket for his "credentials" and gave the Half Orc a wide grin so he knew that his laughter was aimed at the guard not him and he couldn't help but notice the looks the silent hobgoblin was giving to the closed of the guard post.

Not that he needed the silent signal to know what was happening inside, his hearing was more than good enough to hear the antics unfolding inside the building a short distance away. From the looks some of the others were giving to the guard post he suspected they could hear it too.

Feeling particularly vindictive and chaotic that evening Grim decided he was done playing games with the gaurds and in no particular mood to wait for a something to happen, Reaching out with his magic he gave a subtle gesture with his hand and reached out with an invisible hand to pull the guard door open without warning. Better the captain is caught in a compromising position than them this time.


Actions & MovementTurn Summary
Initiative:
Move:
Action: Mage Hand Cantrip to Pull Gaurd Post Door Open (Assuming its unlocked)
Bonus Action:
Reaction:
Other:
Conditions:


Stat Block
 


Last edited by Dylan Scott; Apr 19th, 2023 at 09:35 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #36  
Old Apr 18th, 2023, 11:10 PM
Lentil Sponge's Avatar
Lentil Sponge Lentil Sponge is offline
Cleaner of the Royal Butt
 
Tools
User Statistics
Last Visit: Mar 15th, 2024
RPXP: 4160
Lentil Sponge Lentil Sponge Lentil Sponge Lentil Sponge Lentil Sponge Lentil Sponge Lentil Sponge Lentil Sponge Lentil Sponge Lentil Sponge Lentil Sponge
Posts: 2,142
SENSITIVITY WARNING FOR THIS POST: There are explicit descriptions of sexual acts and implications of abuse in this post. I've put the relevant passages behind a spoilerbutton, if you may find such themes disturbing or triggering PM me and I can do a sort-of sensitivity summary so you can continue play without reading any content you don't want to.

Location Map Season Day Time Weather
South Bridge, Western Checkpoint J7 Harvest 104 of 120 4:35pm Cloudy

The Trial of a ChestAll five of the guards shared a look as Vyeggar's 'credentials' were presented. They were quickly analysed and understood well, and the question was as to who would process them. The two hobgoblins loudly cracked their knuckles, sharing a little smile.

Ignoring Grim's gesture.

With invisible fingers, he found a door that was not locked, but was stiff. It took a harder than usual yank, and Grim was already not in the best of moods, so he found there was too much power in his pull, causing the door to swing towards them.

 


The door then bounced off of the stone wall to its other side, and swung shut again, just as the man's mouth began to open in a shout, and the woman's eyes snapped onto you.

One second. Two.

All of you could hear the muffled hissing. "You stupid bint, why didn't you remind me to lock it?! Whatever, let me lock the... oi, babe, why are you putting on your..." The hisses became shouts, and these were loud enough for the guards to turn their heads. "Gwen, you don't even know that they saw you! Come on, don't ruin this! I am your Captain as well as your boyfriend, and you will do as... hey!"

 


left-aligned image
For a second time, the heavy door swung open wildly. Kara and Grim immediately recognised her as the same guard who was at the ambush, the one who had taken an obvious bribe. Her eyes were fixed entirely on you. They were weak and unnaturally gold, just as her hair was unnaturally white and her body was unnaturally thin. Her pupils looked like they had disappeared entirely, and she shivered in some kind of awful high. She now had a blue cloak falling over her thin arms and her pale naked body, and it looked like she was weak enough to have it weigh her down.

Gwendoline Miller swallowed the heart that was stuck in her throat, threw a purse-load of gold coins in your direction, and dived the opposite way.

There wasn't a tremendously big crowd at the bridge. Maybe ten people all in all. But the sound of coins scattering could draw an army in Julianople, and a mob was beginning to converge. The guards, surprised, dumbly watched Gwendoline go, unsure of what to do. The Captain suddenly burst out of the guardhouse, completely naked, one hand clutching his stomach in pain, the other holding a large halberd by his side.

"Gwen! You ****ing bitch! I'll kill you for that!" That's when he looked to the other guards, while pointing at Gwendoline. "Arrest her!" Then, seeing and remembering that this entire fiasco was your fault, he turned his halberd on you. "Arrest them!" Finally, there was one last contradictory scream of "Arrest everyone!" as everyone dived towards your coins, while Gwendoline still tried to flee from you all, and the guards looked on, reluctant to act and fearing what consequences they would face if they didn't.
Out of CharacterCombat has not been initiated. This situation has exploded before any of the guards could react. Gwendoline is about 30ft away from you, and between her and you are the five guards and another five people (the rest of the crowd is approaching from behind and essentially going to squash into your backs). If you can incapacitate or convince her to stop in a single post, then I won't consider combat starting, or if you start swinging then this is a surprise round and initiative will be rolled after.

The guards are in enough of the way that if you wanted to reach Gwendoline in a single move action, you'd have to do something to move at least one of them out of the way. If you wish to get through them before they properly block you, you can make an Acrobatics check DC 13. Fail and you provoke an Attack of Opportunity, which would be a grapple.

Is this a puzzle? Is it combat? Oooooooooh!

Last edited by Lentil Sponge; Apr 19th, 2023 at 12:01 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #37  
Old Apr 20th, 2023, 01:29 AM
CatCanCook's Avatar
CatCanCook CatCanCook is offline
Community Supporter
 
Tools
User Statistics
Last Visit: Mar 16th, 2024
RPXP: 8048
CatCanCook CatCanCook CatCanCook CatCanCook CatCanCook CatCanCook CatCanCook CatCanCook CatCanCook CatCanCook CatCanCook
Posts: 8,974
Liana can help, if she pays attention!
right-aligned image
(Earlier in the casino)

Liana had had a busy day, and was generally aware of a constant murmur of conversation as life in the Mermaid went on as usually, her varied companies going about their business with the usual clamor of clashing or meshing personalities: half of her friends were suave, and have socially dense. It made for a varied life!

Vyeggar took some time to question Liana about her tattoos, in his usual vile, off putting way. But her tone toward him was steadily shifting: there was no forgetting he'd been her protector, and that his eyes might now flash with anger in her defense.

"Hey what's all this about you giving out free tattoos?" the grotesque beast-man grumbled. "I was going to see about getting something cool tatted up on my knuckles, that way it'd be funnier when I hit people, but if all you can do is flowers then I'll pass. Maybe Tilly knows someone who can do me up right. I was going to go do that little errand she had with the buckets and the punching, figured that's sort of, you know, in my wheelhouse, as they say"

Liana laughed. "The marks of Erotes are not just flowers, but you, know -- all kinds of marks are possible". She started to rattle off some of the options; "There is the bald-headed mouse, chimney cleaner, flesh torpedo, flute of love, moneybox, little chap, nut cannon, one-eyed trouser snake, pink lighthouse, porridge gun, pyjama python, tummy banana, OR the kitty, the clung, downstairs, the beaver, the front bottom, ..."

"Now, they aren't tattoos. They just last while I concentrate, or if I put a lot of spiritual energy into it, well, they'll last a bit longer. "

"Most of my marks will increase your focus on your skills. So, Vyeggar, you want to be a whole hecka hella scary; let's try this out. "(She concentrates -- using both her talents of Zealotry and the Enhancement Sphere of magic: Vyeggar feels Try +5 from Aid Another, and +5 from the Enhanced Focus bonus -- for a +10 boost.amazingly intensely able to intimidate.)

"I can also put enhancements on weapons or armor; whether that's to kill or safely knock someone out, orAs a Armorist, she's got access to a lot of +1 weapon or armor special abilities. Not all of them, but a lot! pull off various tricks."




Later, Liana was pleased that the voluptuous elf is satisfied with her plan. She committed the Longinus estate location both to memory and a jotted-down note.

"Now I of course will be your muscle. But would that need any kind of outfit change on my part? " Tarbin asked her.

It would be simple to dress them both up as gleefolk associated with the Cirque de la Fumee. Colorful rags and tassles could be borrowed, given that Sandraminae was cooperative. And the Cirque like and mercantile outfit needed simple muscle, not just performers. "You'll do fine," she encouraged him.

When time permited, she and Tarbin would perform the mission to the Longinus estate.




(At the South Bridge, Western Checkpoint)

On the way out of the Mermaid, before they began toward the bridge, the light got in Liana's eyes. She sneezed, and incredibly loud, high pitched chirp of a sneeze, startling from such a person. "Sorry," she muttered, blinking, eyes adjusting to the outside glare.

On the way toward the bridge, she whistled tunelessly.

She took in the sights; cautiously concerned at the dangers about her; keeping a hand on her crossbow, her concentration upon keeping her senses supernaturally keen.

When she heard the coercive shenanigans going on behind the closed door, she was filled with fury.

Her psionic energy surged into Kara -- giving the woman a sudden burst of speed.

She concentrated on Vyeggar. A pastel colored hand making a "peace and love" gesture appeared glowing on his weapon of choice. "Smack down that bastard!" she urged Vyeggar. A subtle glow, a sense of peace and a faint floral fragrance came from the spell.

She continued concentrating on him ... aiding his action, granting him unnatural precision.

 


Last edited by CatCanCook; Apr 20th, 2023 at 02:36 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #38  
Old Apr 20th, 2023, 03:22 AM
Alatere's Avatar
Alatere Alatere is offline
Crazy Kobold
 
Tools
User Statistics
Last Visit: Sep 28th, 2023
RPXP: 9775
Alatere Alatere Alatere Alatere Alatere Alatere Alatere Alatere Alatere Alatere Alatere
Posts: 12,354
Tarbin Haldar
right-aligned image


Tarbin was a little surprised when the door to the guard house suddenly swung open of its own accord though the large man strongly suspected that one of his new companions was responsible for the act. The scene that greeted the group inside however was one that filled the former farmer with a sense of disgust. ’This city is truly rotten…’ Tarbin silently thought with a shake of the head. Tarbin was silently grateful that such an act had been interrupted as it saved the young woman from any further humiliation and degradement even if it had caused their target to attempt to flee.

As the guard captain emerged from the guard house Tarbin ignored the gold coins scattered on the floor and trusted that one of his companions would be able to stop the fleeing woman, instead Tarbin eyed the corrupt guard captain with a growing sense of anger and disgust. Tarbin knew that they could try to take the easy option, placate the guards and ignore what they had seen but the vision from the night before was still fresh in the young man’s head. ’We have to be better… we have to do what’s right!’ Tarbin silently resolved himself. Besides if there was going to be another beat down it made sense to draw the attention to himself first rather than let one of his smaller more delicate companions be targeted first.


When the halberd was pointed in their direction Tarbin narrowed his eyes for a moment before he stepped forwards towards the currently naked man and contemptuously pushed the halberd out of the way. With a sudden burst of movement Tarbin then lunged forwards and grabbed the man the by the throat. ”This is how you treat a woman under your command? You disgust me!” Tarbin spat with a look of righteous fury as he tightened his grip upon the man’s throat. ”This is one of our proud and noble protectors? you’d be a disgrace to your uniform if you had remembered to put it on!” Tarbin berated.






ooc
Dice Grapple:
1d20+9 (7)+9 Total = 16
(wasn’t sure if the boost was meant to be intended for Tarbin rather than Vyeggar as I was the one who said I wanted to attack the guard captain… if so add another +7) **Also as this is a surprise round I presume the guard captain is flat footed.

Dice Grapple damage:
1d6+4 (6)+4 Total = 10






Last edited by Alatere; Apr 20th, 2023 at 03:25 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #39  
Old Apr 20th, 2023, 10:21 PM
Vaerdis's Avatar
Vaerdis Vaerdis is offline
Rules of Paradise
 
Tools
User Statistics
Last Visit: Mar 13th, 2024
RPXP: 7967
Vaerdis Vaerdis Vaerdis Vaerdis Vaerdis Vaerdis Vaerdis Vaerdis Vaerdis Vaerdis Vaerdis
Posts: 9,243
Afternoon Shift
right-aligned image
A runner. Kara only was distracted for a second by the scene unfolding before them. Unfortunately the scene also involved a naked guard captain and a naked corrupt guard. Kara, once the coins hit the floor immediately dashed after Gwendoline. When a guard got in the way, Kara lept and used a shoulder as a foothold to keep going, rolling right as she hit the ground and resumed course.

Liana gave her a boost of speed, and the thrill was enough to call to hand her Sudden Arsenal (imbue) (requires create): The prodigy may create a weapon, armor, or shield, and up to 50 pieces of ammunition. These items follow the normal rules for the create ability. These items disappear when the imbuement ends.recent training. In her hands, as swift as an instant was a folded net, ready to deploy. Kara didn't even have to throw it as Liana gave her the speed to be practically on top of Gwendoline.

assuming 21 beats a flat-footed, naked guard's touch acCatching the girl in her net, Kara pulled the net tight as to not let her go. Any further and Kara would be simply embracing her. Kara shouts out, "Got her!"
Reply With Quote
  #40  
Old Apr 20th, 2023, 11:33 PM
Touketsu's Avatar
Touketsu Touketsu is offline
Mysterious Ice Ninja
 
Tools
User Statistics
Last Visit: Mar 18th, 2024
RPXP: 12899
Touketsu Touketsu Touketsu Touketsu Touketsu Touketsu Touketsu Touketsu Touketsu Touketsu Touketsu
Posts: 5,900
Damien Buranta
right-aligned image



Damien waited, hands clasped loosely behind his back, as Tilly retrieved the materials containing the specifics of the mission. As he waited, he tried his best not to make eye contact with any of the skulls... it wasn't really the macabre nature of the office that put him off. But ever since the previous evening's conversation with Tilly, he couldn't help visualizing his loved ones when he looked at her skulls. Unsubstantiated paranoia was uncharacteristic of Damien, but Tilly's bizarre sixth sense combined with her history of finding and exploiting weak points made it feel like the skulls were probing him for information... looking for clues into his past with just as much fervor and bite as their owner's single eye had.

As Tilly presented the map, Damien reached down and lifted it to his face, studying it for a moment before he carefully tucked it into his coat. He knew the area... so far so good. The pictures were another story though. Reviewing them carefully, Damien didn't recognize anyone, but as he heard the details of what the halfling was receiving a beating for, the vishkanya's eyes narrowed. As far as personal standards went, Tilly and Damien had very different lines... but on this one, he found himself very much in agreement. In a gross way, the nature of the job was almost a relief though. Damien knew some of the other members of the team had much stricter morals than he did. Beating some unknown person over a petty business dispute would not have sat well with them... but this... this was an easy sell.

Following up the initial brief with a bit of unsolicited personal sharing, Damien found himself briefly contemplating Tilly's sexuality. When in the business of knowing people, such things were obviously valuable to know... but all the same, he couldn't claim to have thought much about the matter before. Crossbow to his head, Damien would probably have pegged the woman as being in love with her work and not much else... and that still seemed to be consistent with what he knew of Tilly. To her, sex and sex work were gross, but necessary parts of life; an unpleasant means to an end. While he didn't completely share this view, Damien respected it at least. It certainly simplified things quite a bit.

"Advice noted... while I'm far from a saint, I'm probably one of the few here who hasn't much indulged in the pleasure side of your business. Mixing work and pleasure gets dangerous fast... especially here I imagine." Part of him considered assuring her that he also wasn't the type to proposition his employers, but that technically wasn't true... and Tilly's single eye was certainly sharp enough to have noticed his occasional second glances at Sandraminae.

The half-orc was very specific as far as who they could and couldn't kill on this op... not that she needed to be. If he had it his way, none of the girls need be harmed, though he knew that would be easier said than done. The halfling on the other hand... death would have been too merciful. Damien was hardly a stranger to manipulation... magical or otherwise. He usually preferred the straightforward diplomatic approach, followed swiftly by applying pressure. If absolutely necessary, magic was sometimes a tool one had to resort to... but there were times you used it, and times you certainly didn't. This was a MASSIVE example of "do not".

"Halfling, hmm..." Damien continued to look at the drawing of Buxton, committing every detail of the man's face to memory. "Already so close to the ground. Shattering his legs won't have quite the usual impact. Starting with the fingers might be best. And of course he's going to have an awfully difficult time casting any more charm spells without a tongue." No need to plan too far ahead... they could decide on the specifics when the time came. Damien clicked his tongue, looking back up at Tilly. "I assume the girls will come back on their own once the spell is broken. Do you want us to leave Mr. O'Hare with an invoice when we're finished "correcting" him?"

After Tilly responded, she hit Damien with one final, unrelated question that left the vishkanya momentarily silent. So far, she'd given no indication of knowing anything about Grim's sister... and it was probably a misstep to share that particular detail with her. On the other hand, there was always the chance that this was a test... to see if Damien was going to open up and tell her the truth. In the end, the vishkanya decided to walk the line between.

"Grim? No, not really." Technically, it was true that the gnome hadn't specified his exact motivations, though they were pretty clear. All the same, Damien had other believable enough reasons to suggest. "Even without the gem to sell though, there's plenty of value to be found by the right sort of person there. A man like Grim could probably find a very lucrative relationship dealing with the university... and given our current position, making a lot of money quickly isn't exactly an ugly prospect. It's only a theory though... Grim's also pretty stubbornly principled. He might just want to meet with the woman we encountered last night to save face now that he's not going to be bringing her the requested item." Damien shrugged before finally lifting the drawings up and placing them into his jacket next to the map.

"... was there anything else Ma'am?"



As the Bucket Brigade made their individual preparations ahead of heading to the South Bridge, Damien approached Liana and Tarbin.

"You two have a moment? I have a couple things to discuss with you." Beckoning the zealot and the farmer aside, Damien withdrew a picture from his coat, holding it up for each of them. It was a detailed drawing of a halfling with spectacles and a beard. "Buxton O'Hare... our target for tomorrow." He tucked the picture back into his jacket, crossing his arms. "I know beating up a random man on behalf of our boss doesn't sit well with you... EITHER of you. So I inquired further. The reason Tilly wants this guy is because he's been using magic to control girls from brothels around the city, using their... services, for free and without willing consent. That includes two from here."

The vishkanya paused, letting the details sink in.

"Not everyone understands the wicked ways of this world we live in. Some would call us criminals, but even criminals need to have personal standards... so I respect that you both ere on the side of mercy when it's possible. That's why I wanted you to know first. Sometimes mercy is just... and sometimes it isn't." Damien continued to shift his gaze between the two, the genuine resolve in his eyes breaking through the relaxed expression on his face. "Tilly wants this one alive, and she wants us to get "creative". Given the circumstances, I would say that's well within the the bounds of moral and just response, wouldn't you?"

After hearing their responses, Damien glanced over his shoulder before continuing, this time on a different topic.

"Another thing... I know we're stretched pretty thin hitting leads as it is, but have either of you looked into Lungri, the guy who had Kara? I learned that a certain old man has apparently thrown his support behind the guy. So Liana, I don't know if you're finished with Hajime or not, but if I were looking for him, I might consider starting with the Dog Killer."


Damien continued to smile as he listened to Celia's answer, offering her a small bow when she'd finished.

"I see... I've heard of the place. Never been myself, but I always appreciate, good recommendations." He reached out, offering a hand. If Celia took it, he gently lifted hers, raising it to his lips as he planted a soft kiss on the back of her hand. "I'll have to swing by sometime... buy you a drink." If the man knew Kara was lingering within earshot, he showed no obvious indication of it. Giving Celia one last smile, Damien turned and left it at that.




The last time Damien had strode through this area, his head had been pressed beneath a guard's boot. An unpleasant, infuriating, and somewhat grimly familiar experience... one he'd hoped to avoid, and certainly not one he'd expected his first day working for Tilly. Every occurrence, action taken, conversation had since... had been about digging back out of the hole of that failure. It had been three days, but it simultaneously felt like a lifetime ago and just an hour ago. It made him feel paranoid... weak. Damien didn't like feeling that way, and the frustration welling up inside him brought back memories of Vyeggar's earlier outburst.

Damien glanced over at the half-orc, appraising his current emotional state. For the moment, he seemed calm enough, though the man's expression indicated his thoughts were anywhere but on the current task. Damien was almost jealous of Vyeggar for being able to think about anything other than their recent beating at the bridge as they walked back to the very spot... but he knew the confusing and disturbing implications of the dream probably still weighed heavily on the man. More heavily than a guard's boot by any means. Not that he was the kind to talk about it. It took a lot of coaxing to crack through Vyeggar's barriers when the man wasn't feeling up to sharing... and this certainly wasn't the time or place to play therapist. Still, Damien could understand the frustrations.

"Vyeggar." Damien shifted closer to the half-orc, eyes still forward. "I'm not a religious man.. not that I'm not a believer, but the finer points of faith never sat well with me. Some find comfort in things beyond them... personally, I prefer the comfort of simpler, less ethereal truths. For the moment, one of those truths is that we're here, now, together. And we all had a similar dream. Whatever you want to call that... coincidence, portent, collective brain damage from getting our heads caved in at the bridge... it's something we'll deal with together. When the time is right." He looked intently at the half-orc. "I'm working on finding out what I can about Harrowing so we can start to put some of these pieces together... maybe get us a location. After that, I suspect the intangible crap is going to get VERY tangible VERY quickly. I know you can do a lot more than hit sh*t, but seeing as you're pretty damn GOOD at hitting sh*t, I'll be counting on you if and when the time comes." He offered the orc a hand to shake. "Fair enough?"



The guardhouse... all too unpleasantly familiar. And as the conversation began getting tense, it was starting to seem like this visit might go in a pretty similar direction to the last. But things were different this time... the group was prepared. As the five guards began to descend on Vyeggar, Damien considered trying to say something to diffuse the situation. He was saved the trouble though as Gwendoline's money pouch threw the entire situation into absolute chaos. Damien shrugged. Chaos. He could do chaos too.

Each of the brigade was quick to move into action. As Liana gave Kara a boost to her speed and Vyeggar a boost to his fighting ability, the former was quick to get after Gwen, closing the distance so fast that a blink would have been enough to miss it. Tarbin on the other hand was singular in his mission, descending on the corrupt and naked guard captain with beautifully violent intent. That left the other five guards, who were still deciding between arresting them, Gwen, or the rabble scrambling about on their hands and knees trying to stuff their pockets with coin.

"Too slow..." Grinning, Damien reached out a hand, snapping his fingers as the guards felt the ground beneath them became slick and oil-like. As the guards struggled to keep their footing, Damien yelled out from the back of the assembled group of mob. "They can't arrest us all! THROW EM OVER!"
Rolls & ActionsDamien casts A grease spell covers a solid surface with a layer of slippery grease. Any creature in the area when the spell is cast must make a successful Reflex save or fall. A creature can walk within or through the area of grease at half normal speed with a DC 10 Acrobatics check. Failure means it can’t move that round (and must then make a Reflex save or fall), while failure by 5 or more means it falls (see the Acrobatics skill for details). Creatures that do not move on their turn do not need to make this check and are not considered flat-footed.Grease in a 10 foot square on the ground beneath 4 of the guards.

They need to make a DC 17 Reflex save or fall prone.

He then tries to (totally innocuously) convince the mob that they should chuck the fallen guards off the side of the bridge before they can recover and try to arrest anybody.

Make Request (Give simple advice or directions)
Diplomacy: 16
Stats
 
__________________
I have taken the Oath!

Last edited by Touketsu; Apr 21st, 2023 at 01:36 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #41  
Old Apr 21st, 2023, 03:12 PM
CatCanCook's Avatar
CatCanCook CatCanCook is offline
Community Supporter
 
Tools
User Statistics
Last Visit: Mar 16th, 2024
RPXP: 8048
CatCanCook CatCanCook CatCanCook CatCanCook CatCanCook CatCanCook CatCanCook CatCanCook CatCanCook CatCanCook CatCanCook
Posts: 8,974
Earlier in the day
right-aligned image
(Earlier in day, still at the casino)

As the Bucket Brigade made their individual preparations ahead of heading to the South Bridge, Liana saw Damien approach her and Tarbin.

"You two have a moment? I have a couple things to discuss with you."" He showed her the halfling with spectacles and a beard. "SAY]Buxton O'Hare... our target for tomorrow.[/SAY]

Liana concentrated: gave herself unnatural supernatural focus, and tried to recall all that might be known to her of Buxton O'Hare.

Damien explained how Buxton O'Hare was mind-controlling brothel girls; bringing justice to such abuses aligned broadly with her mission.

She just shrugged indifferently at Damien's comments about being criminal or not, moral or not. For her, the will of Erotes and whatever was best for the Family was paramount. If that mean love and kisses, so be it. If it meant torture or festooning the landscape with the entrails of a foe, so be it. Damien had apparently no concept for how her mind worked, but everyone hurtful to the Family was completely dispensable.

So she just simply nodded said, "I can work with this. What are the names of our two ladies here? I might cross check their stories, and I'd like to know who to comfort when we say retribution has been served."

"I've not heard about Lungri, or Kara's story. For Kawasumi Hajime, well, I wanted to get from him where to find his daughter Kawasumi Chika. Chika is extraordinarily talented, but in need of rescue. She was in those ... dreams ... we each in some way shared. So Hajime is in support of a 'Dog Killer'. This is news to me. I have no ... objection to supporting Kara if she has some grudge against the Dog Killer, but my concern here is finding Chika."
 

Reply With Quote
  #42  
Old Apr 21st, 2023, 10:21 PM
Noquarter19's Avatar
Noquarter19 Noquarter19 is offline
It's clobberin' time
 
Tools
User Statistics
Last Visit: Mar 19th, 2024
RPXP: 18045
Noquarter19 Noquarter19 Noquarter19 Noquarter19 Noquarter19 Noquarter19 Noquarter19 Noquarter19 Noquarter19 Noquarter19 Noquarter19
Posts: 4,327
Vyeggar Vugmuk
right-aligned image
Credit to @TSRodriguez14


A few moments earlier...

Vyeggar absently shook Damien's hand. He had no doubt the group would have to investigate whatever the dream's origins were, but that was a problem for later, and as with most later problems he chose to put it from his mind. At least, he certainly tried to. For long moments after Damien finished talking, the half-orc made as if to speak, his mouth periodically opening like a fish – only to change his mind at the last moment. It had only been a few days. They weren’t friends. How could anyone expect him to say the words which bubbled just below the surface.

”I don’t want to find that place, Damien. I don’t want to, because that room scared the ever-loving sh*t out of me, and if we ever did find that place… if I had to look at that woman’s boiling white skin and glowing yellow eyes, why Damien, I’m quite sure I would go insane.”

”Yeah, we’ll figure it out. Later.” And then he started to walk a little faster, moving ahead of the vishkanya and putting an end to the conversation for the time being.


Things were getting interesting. Finally, Vyeggar thought.

He’d watched with a sort of serene glee as the hobgoblins approached him with ill intent – but then he’d seen the door to the guard shack open of its own accord, revealing its two occupants and their extracurricular activities. The grin spread upon his face as he watched the look of shocked recognition light upon the woman’s visage, and though his memories of that day were hazy because of the head trauma he’d endured at the hands of the guards, he knew a traitorous druggie b*tch when he saw one.

She knew them as well, obviously, which explained why she abruptly halted her oral ministrations, gave her mouth a quick wipe, then darted – nude – from the guard shack. In an attempt to put barricades between herself and her would-be pursuers, she upended a bag of coins upon the bridge. Gold pieces plinked and plonked upon the smooth stones to the delight of nearby townsfolk, but it was to no avail. The lithe form of Kara darted after the fleeing Gwendoline like a track star and expertly swept the nude woman up in a net, sending her crashing to the ground with a thud that would have made Vyeggar wince if he had the capacity for sympathy left in him. He did not.

The would-be-fellated fellow emerged from the shack, his truncated manhood flopping limply about like a worm on a hook. Apparently, he was a bit upset. So too was Tarbin, who advanced toward the man with ill intentions. The guards – suddenly confronted with a situation that appeared to be breaking apart like imported furniture – were looking at one another as though trying to formulate a plan. Their leader had just emerged from the shack with his “manhood” exposed and had ordered his men to “arrest everyone.” In the ensuing chaos that followed, they did not notice Damien greasing the ground beneath their feet.

Vyeggar just looked on, impressed. He had expected some form of conflict when they had been approaching the guardhouse, but this – this exceeded even his lofty expectations for chaos. Funny thing was though, the grunts were not their main focus. Kara had swiftly and expertly netted their quarry in a mere moment, and Tarbin can have Liana’s bonusTarbin had already made to grab the captain of the guard himself. Vyeggar looked back at the other guards who were suddenly fighting to control their balance.

”Got no quarrel with you fellers, long as you didn’t have anything to do with beating and robbing us.” He pointed at the netted woman, and then at the captain. ”It’s that druggie whore, and that tiny pri*ked little bitch we came to settle up with. Yeah, YOU!” he said, I know he’s currently grappled, this way he at least won’t run if he breaks it. Using a move action to gain use of Call Out. Intimidate check forces a foe to duel me, the DC was 10 + captain’s Wis mod + captain’s HD. He’s forced to duel Vyeggar for 1 round + 1 additional round for every 5 over the DC. Rolled a 25.pointing at the pinned captain

Vyeggar stood there in front of the hobgoblins, currently not doing anything to provoke their ire (despite having just moments before flipped them the bird as a joke). His golden eyes were focused entirely on the guard captain. ”Boy, I’ve met some scumbags in my day, but it’s been awhile since I’ve ever laid eyes on one as pathetic as you. Is that your c*ck, or did you glue an acorn to the bottom of your torso? Hey, what’s it like to only be able to earn a woman’s affections by keeping her strung out on Sunshine? I bet that makes you feel real manly, doesn’t it – Acorn D*ck?”

 

__________________
normal image without text wrap
A watched game never updates...

Posting status: Around.
Reply With Quote
  #43  
Old Apr 22nd, 2023, 04:26 AM
Lentil Sponge's Avatar
Lentil Sponge Lentil Sponge is offline
Cleaner of the Royal Butt
 
Tools
User Statistics
Last Visit: Mar 15th, 2024
RPXP: 4160
Lentil Sponge Lentil Sponge Lentil Sponge Lentil Sponge Lentil Sponge Lentil Sponge Lentil Sponge Lentil Sponge Lentil Sponge Lentil Sponge Lentil Sponge
Posts: 2,142
Before the Bridge

Location Map Season Day Time Weather
The Dead Mermaid Casino J9 Harvest 104 of 120 Before 4pm Cloudy

Tilly
right-aligned image
Tilly didn't really say much as Damien did. She only nodded silently when he explained his policy on mixing pleasure and business, and when he mentioned some of his immediate ideas for dealing with Buxton. Her single eye narrowed just a little, contemplating him. "Surprise me. I want you to show me what you can do." She thought about the invoice, her singular eye dancing up towards the ceiling. "Don't worry so much about that. If there's anything that made his charm spells more effective than normal, I'm sure I can find a buyer. Otherwise, I'll just send a cart and some lads around to collect the gold coins that he owes me. And Judy and Thumper should be able to to pay for their little 'vacation leave' in only a few weeks."

But as the subject turned to Grim, her lips became thin, and just a little curved. It had the same sort of curve that a noose would have around a rabbit's foot. "... I was wondering why you came to me." She sat back in her chair, immediately much cozier than normal. "Rozitto told me that Grim was thoroughly pissed off this morning. Seems like there's been a falling out in the Bucket Brigade. And here you are, advocating for me to give him exactly what he wants anyway, like any good friend. After all, friends are important... and they need to always know just who they owe everything to."

Tilly's sneer began to cut into Damien, trying to smash its way to his heart and peer into his secrets. "If you've come to learn, you've chosen a good place. I have an inkling that you can be incredibly useful to me. You and your 'friends'. Though I'll warn you right now, I won't be needing a successor. And if you're thinking of taking my friends away from me..." She took in a deep breath, holding herself back from... some other reaction. "... the next time you go into the basement, you won't be coming back up."

She left it at that. She already had her spectacles, holding them up to her single eye and struggling to read. It was only when Damien was at the door that she added "I have plans for that Void Prism. But I only need the one. There's others about in the city and Grim's welcome to them... provided they're only Minors." She gave Damien another look. "You're smart, vishkanya. I'm sure you'll know how successful Grim will be if he tries to sneak a Major or a Greater under my nose."
Liana and Vyeggar
left-aligned image
The conversation of tattoos was overheard by some of the other workers. Particularly, as Liana listed what sort of symbols could manifest, some people had their own input and guesses.

"Cherry splitter."

"Bacon lance."

"White-inked quill."

"Temptation wand."

"The mauve avenger."

Trista suddenly poked her head up out of seemingly nowhere. "Feet?" she asked hopefully.

Urin was currently in the middle of a bowl of thick stew, which she slowly slid away from her. "Ladies, gents, others, I know this casino is also a brothel, but also, it's a bar. And some of us have appetites we'd rather not lose."


On the Bridge

Location Map Season Day Time Weather
South Bridge, Western Checkpoint J7 Harvest 104 of 120 4:35pm Cloudy

The Trial of a Chest
left-aligned image
What started as a bit of the usual chaos by the bridge became an outright maelstrom of anarchy. Which was only slightly less usual.

Kara's net caught Gwendoline with ease, and the thin guard tumbled in the grip of the netting, cloak and limbs flailing, though Kara had her in enough control to not let her get too hurt. The pale woman gave a few weak-willed kicks towards her, out of control, each increasingly weak and defeated until the realisation set in that she was really stuck.

The guard captain only just saw the large figure of Tarbin approaching him. His halberd spun wildly as he approached. It met Tarbin's fist... and was effortlessly batted aside. He was effortlessly manhandled, his feet left completely unable to touch the ground. His protests were entirely silenced, first by Tarbin's fist, and then by Vyeggar's insults. He seemed focused on the half-orc, dangling in the air and yet still trying to reach out to catch him.

There could potentially have been an intervention by the other guards, but Damien's spell had made the ground beneath their feet uneasy, and his words made their authority uneasy. The growing crowd dove upon them, and there were a series of yelps and squeals before all of the other guards, one by one, were thrown over the side of the bridge and into the river below.

In a moment, that seemed to summon some other voice. "FREE BRIDGE!"

The bridge's crowd had steadily been growing, but now it became a swarm. The commotion could be heard from a few streets away, and while there weren't any guards to take control of the situation people were doing what damage they could. The guardhouse's door had already been kicked open and people were swarming in. Somehow, someone was already in the cage jumping up and down. People smashed at the chests to retrieve the tolls taken for today. There was more than one fight already starting over the coins, and just outside some adventurous young couple had already decided that in the middle of a riot was the perfect place for some romantic love-making. All in all, it was exactly the sort of scene that wouldn't bat an eye in Julianople.

All the way through it, Gwendoline quietly, weakly, burst into tears. "Don't kill me... don't kill me..." she whimpered over and over. It started to become louder as the meagre resolve truly crumbled, and she looked up to Kara. "They knew I was still using! I was weak! Please spare me! I don't wanna die! I don't wanna die!"

That's when the guard captain's eyes widened, and he finally got enough space between his throat and Tarbin's fingers to get a word out. "You! Your fault! I'll arrest you! You're all undeeerrrrrk!" He was struggling to speak again, as well as going purple. He had moments to make his impact. Specifically, eyes firmly on Vyeggar, he threw his halberd as hard as he could towards the half-orc. Given that he was slowly suffocating, as hard as he could was about ten feet ahead of him. The halberd rattled on the ground, where some kobold picked it up and waved it around screaming about being the new captain of the guard.

You were all quite conscious of the fact that, while these riots were common in Julianople, they also didn't usually last long before the army came in to sort it all out. Based on the sounds of distant footsteps swelling in, you may had about five minutes before this side of the bridge became a warzone.
Reply With Quote
  #44  
Old Apr 22nd, 2023, 09:04 AM
Touketsu's Avatar
Touketsu Touketsu is offline
Mysterious Ice Ninja
 
Tools
User Statistics
Last Visit: Mar 18th, 2024
RPXP: 12899
Touketsu Touketsu Touketsu Touketsu Touketsu Touketsu Touketsu Touketsu Touketsu Touketsu Touketsu
Posts: 5,900
Damien Buranta
right-aligned image

Damien watched Liana curiously as she responded to his brief overview of the mission. She scarcely batted an eye... not that he'd expected waterworks, but possibly a bit of outrage over the prospect a a magically-assisted rapist waltzing around the city. This was easier though; Damien made a mental note that he needn't worry about selling Liana on getting her hands dirty in the future if the cause was reasonable.

"That's the rub... they aren't here. They're still with O'Hare, along with other women from other brothels in the city, from the way Tilly made it sound." Damien reached into his jacket again and pulled out two more drawings, these of the girls in question, one a tiefling and the other a human. "Thumper and Judy. They're still under his control... and they'll try to attack us when we show up. If there's a way for us to get the bastard out without anyone noticing, it would probably be a lot better, but someone like him is likely used to having to look over his shoulder. He'll have defenses in place... so we'll have to expect a fight. I can try and put them to sleep, but my magic's only going to do so much." He slipped the drawings back into his pocket. "We're not to harm them. The other women are only to be harmed as a last resort, but I don't consider that being on the table at all. They're ultimately innocent in this."

As innocent as anyone could be getting by in a city like this one anyway.



Damien knew better than to squirm under Tilly's appraisal of the circumstances, her usual indications of how much she knew of the situation inevitably giving way to threats. Talking to her was a lot like being circled by a shark, sniffing for blood. Ultimately, you weren't the meal... unless you got your scent in her nose and wriggled like prey.

There was a lot he wanted to say... words, after all, were where the vishkanya found his safety and control. But there was such a thing as talking too much, and Tilly's response didn't feel like a discussion... it was a statement of fact with a warning attached.

When Tilly had finished speaking, Damien silently nodded to her, turning and seeing himself out of the office.



"Well... this went worse and better than expected."

Damien watched the guards being pitched over the side of the bridge with mild amusement, stepping around the assembled mob and walking past the guard captain, currently being throttled by an exceptionally pissed off Tarbin.

"Whatever you're going to do to this piece of garbage... make it hurt, big man." Clapping Tarbin on the shoulder, he continued on at a job, catching up to Kara and the netted up Gwen. "Well done Kara. That was absolutely terrifying to watch." It was, and he fully meant it as a compliment; he'd never seen anyone move that quickly or net a target so accurately before.

Shifting his focus to Gwen, Damien crouched down and waved a hand in front of the frantic woman's face.

"Gwen, right? We don't want to hurt you Gwen... so listen. We need information that you have, and the way I see it, you don't exactly have a great situation to fall back on right now. Come with us to somewhere safe and answer our questions. You do that, and we just might be able to help you find a future that doesn't involve snorting powder off a guard captain's genitalia... or landing in a cell for justifiably assaulting him. Sound fair?" Damien looked back, his ears perking up as the unmistakable sound of distant marching could be heard growing over the bedlam on the bridge. "I'm going to need an answer now; unfortunately the window for you AND us is closing fast."
Rolls & ActionsDamien attempts to calm down Gwendoline and convince her to cooperate under the promise of trying to help her out of the mess she put herself in if she helps them.

Diplomacy: 28
Stats
 
__________________
I have taken the Oath!

Last edited by Touketsu; Apr 22nd, 2023 at 07:23 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #45  
Old Apr 22nd, 2023, 02:41 PM
CatCanCook's Avatar
CatCanCook CatCanCook is offline
Community Supporter
 
Tools
User Statistics
Last Visit: Mar 16th, 2024
RPXP: 8048
CatCanCook CatCanCook CatCanCook CatCanCook CatCanCook CatCanCook CatCanCook CatCanCook CatCanCook CatCanCook CatCanCook
Posts: 8,974
Earlier in the day
right-aligned image
Liana remained in a smoldering cold fury. She had heard of co-workers mind controlled and forced into magical subjection, and now this guard woman controlled and exploited due to her addiction. The was all a filthy business, all over this city.

Her magic remained upon Vyeggar's fists: he would remain exceptionally powerful in his strikes for the next hour ... should he choose to use his fists.

She had successfully aided Tarbin; his grapple left the guard captain humiliated and out of action. And impressively, the grease spell was leading to the guards being swept off the bridge.

Yet she was too simmering with wrath to laugh with hilarity at the riot breaking out. She yearned to assume the Stance of Burning rays -- and to enchant her bolts into sonic bursting thunderclaps, and start laying wasted to those helpless swimming guards and their perverse captain....

But in her split mind, the calm and calculating half vetoed the bursting passion.

She moved to keep herself out of risk of trampling by the crowd; hiding behind her larger allies.

She saw Damien speaking to Gwendoline, trying to persuade her to compliance.

Liana concentrated. A glowing green "holy" symbol of Erotes appeared on the reptile-man's forehead. His mental focus becomes phenomenal. His words are inspired by powers +10 to Damien's diplomacy, take it to a 38.both divine and psionic. He's never spoken so golden voiced and honey tongued.

Her focus on aiding Damien enabled her to quickly ready her Pride Movement maneuver again; should she or her allies need to make another sudden surge in speed.

Remembering to stay on-task, she urged her companions, "Let's get what they know about the Chest -- and get out of here." (Or maybe those things in the opposite order; but she could hardly expect to be perfect in everything she blurts out in few seconds of urgent crisis.)

 


Last edited by CatCanCook; Apr 22nd, 2023 at 04:18 PM.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off



All times are GMT -4. The time now is 05:46 AM.
Skin by Birched, making use of original art by paiute.(© 2009-2012)


RPG Crossing, Copyright ©2003 - 2024, RPG Crossing Inc; powered by vBulletin, Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd. Template-Modifications by TMB