Pathfinder 2e: Legacy of Nex (IC)

[Inspector Valin]

Sachni's grace and skill are beyond anything the goblins had accounted for - with a twist of ki, she pushes herself forward and upward, right atop the gorilla's shoulders and beside the extremely surprised goblin rider. who'd been more focused on his fish. A swift claw strike is enough to send the unfortunate Cindersnout reeling, but he manages to catch onto the scruff of his ape's neck before falling. Righting himself with gritted teeth, the goblin bats limply at Sachni with the remains of his half eaten fish. "Shoo! Shoo!"

Spoiler

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Order Animal check passed, Shove attempt failed. Sachni got up here of her own volition, so I'll allow her to jump to safety at no penalty, or to stick around without a roll and keep going for this guy next time. Her choice.

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Amazingly, even while danging from the back of a giant monkey, Ellie's alchemy skill comes through! As she has done a thousand before, she mixes, seals and shakes. In seconds, she has a fizzing, sparking vial that'll detonate at the slightest impact! Exactly what she wanted!

Unfortunately, she also has an enemy within arms reach. One she just made extremely angry.

Koma almost falls from his perch, digging his feet into the ape's fur to leave a hand free to wrestle with Ellie. The goblin screams at her as he grabs for the flask, white hot fury in his eyes as his hands reach over Ellie's, trying to swat her with the alchemical fire. "I not evil! I save tribes! All the tribes! I hero! Biggest bestest goblin hero ever Koma!"

Finally, the vial slips. A few drops of orange liquid spill against the ape's leg, causing the beast to howl, but the bomb proper falls through a glass skylight on the roof below them. After a second, Ellie can hear a distant muted thwoom as the vial ignites. This seems to have shaken Koma out of his rage: the hunter waves back at the hole, giving Ellie the wounded look of a being suddenly very interested in dodging blame. "You done it now. This church of Abadar. God of Wealth curse you for blowing up shiny things."

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Zarrachia's linguistic skill is impressive, she rattles off commands in tongue after tongue, each projected clearly across the square. However, unfortunately for her, it's been a while since she has to practice her Vudrani, and the command for stop is just a syllable different from the command for gallop. A native speaker would never muddle the two, but a city official from a nation where that isn't the native tongue? Her slight Nexite accent turns the word she wanted into the last word she'd want. She can see the beasts still in the square start to speed up, the goblins (and luckless Peridora) struggling to hold on.

Spoiler: OOC

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Well, I think it's become obvious by now that I enjoy critical failures. I won't add them into a roll that doesn't have one, but Command an Animal does. The animals receive another command, determined by the GM. And I'm saying Zarra told them all to speed up.

This won't change anything mechanically this round, but... well, if you'll permit me to get Telltale for a sec, Band of Apes will remember this.

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Okoro strides forward at Bel's cue, the metal doll clanking into the square in a delightfully menacing fashion. Its mouth is slitted, making it look positively malevolent. Dutifully, Okoro closed its eyes, focusing on some internal mechanism.

And a horrid, agonizing squeal of noise rings out across the market square. Passersby clutch their heads. Children cry. Somewhere a glass shatters in sheer protest at this crime against sound itself. It might be the single worst sound anyone in Oenopion has ever heard.

It's certainly not what Bel had counted on. It's more agonizing and annoying than scary. But it seems to have worked. One of the goblins all but fell from its ape, charging towards the gnome and kneeling on the ground. "No more! No more, please, master wizard bell man! Skemus... sorry! So sorry! Will give back everything, just don't make terrible Oh-rock make more singing anymore, or cast curse spells or..." He's already retrieved the bag, and is shoving it at Bel's feet, not even daring to look upward, just listing off all the things he very much doesn't want the powerful wizard to do to him.

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Koma grimaces, looking back at the market square. They've lost two of their number already, the beasts are panicking and the strange pursuers don't show any signs of letting up. In the distance, he hears the wail of a horn. Oenopion's defenders are mobilizing. The goblin hunter growls, "That it! This too risky! Taking too long! We just lose more goblins this way."

With an effort, he clambers back to his ape's shoulders, using Ellie's shoulder as a convenient foothold. After a deep breath, the hunter calls out at the top of his voice to the other goblins, whose mounts are even now pulling level with his own. "Cindersnouts! South! Go south! We gonna cross the pit!"

Spoiler

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This is still technically round 2, 'cause I offered Raka a chance to get here and Estrellia hasn't had a chance to post/roll yet. But yeah, whatever Raka does, you guys have persuaded Koma to take the more risky, dangerous option. Hope you enjoy what comes next!