Trouble at Home IC

[Gorgondantess]

They came in the night. Maybe it was night; all this marching and you've completely lost track of time. Naturally, the black sack over your head doesn't help, even though you're either outside or in a room that for whatever reason has a breeze. Why don't they just finish you off? Why must you march for what seems like days, just to kill you? And the footing doesn't help either... probably over a large patch of road that is being worked on. Is that blood you feel oozing out of your feet? You can't stop to check. Finally, a break. You ask for the hood to come off, and for that you get a club in the face. With your back to another living soul, tied together (most likely another prisoner) all you can do is sleep, but before you know it, you're off on the march again, stumbling over wrecked roads and feeling like you never stopped. The day is sweltering hot, and the hood helps none at all. Finally, you enter the cool solace of a well insulated room. You're sat down in a chair, and you wait there for hours. Is that another person breathing next to you, or are you just paranoid? Is that another standing behind you, ready to torture, to punish, to interrogate? Is he readying the lash? When will eh strike? But it never happens. Instead, your hood is pulled off. Someone musses your hair as you adjust to the light... to find yourself in a room unlike any you've ever been in before, a circular thing of unhewn rock, uneven and seemingly unplanned, with a doorless corridor heading off to wherever. It's also awfully damp. Next to you, on other chairs, are prisoners like yourself; a a relatively cleanly, very large gnoll, a broad faced, pathetic looking guy, and a small, quick looking man. each exhausted and disheveled. Before you- presumably your captor- is a man. He has grey, colorless skin, is rather slim, and stands at less than six feet tall. Nonetheless, he seems almost larger than life. The heavy, gleaming armor he wears and the huge shield and sword upon his back definitely help, but it's not just that. He almost radiates an aura of pure energy, and liveliness. He hits you all with a stunning grin, one prone to laughter, upon an impeccable, beautiful face, with long, streaming ash colored hair. "I'm sure you're wondering why I brought you here today. First and foremost, I'd like to apologise for what I'm sure was a very rough trip- I assure you, it was necessary, and my heart breaks every time I look upon the new batch. If there were any other practical way to do it I would-but alas, I cannot." There is a very genuine sadness and regret in his voice, although mixed in with it is the same compelling energy. He somehow manages to grin while still seeming sorrowful. The sadness is instantly wiped away, replaced by even more intoxicating charisma and energy. "Now, I'm sure you're full of questions, so feel free to ask as many as you'd like! It'll put you at ease I assure you."

[Jjkaybomb]

(waaaaah, sorry I didnty post last night, was very, very busy in the uh, *cough* freeforum roleplay...thus also why the speaking text is highlighted, bad habit, you can tell me to stop.)

Katz twitches and stares, aching all over, "D-dont soften it, we're gonna die, arent we? You're gonna kill us...." Tears well up in Katz eyes. He never particularly liked his life, but anything was better than death. He should've never taken that necklace! He knew it was bad! Now he'd never see his harp guitar again...never, never, never...

"This is just one last bit of kindness before we die, isnt it?" he sobs, "I appreciate it, thank you, but....but please, it doesnt...doesnt help!" tears flow down Katz' face, from fear, the imminent fear of his death. "I'm sure lots of people are warmed by it, but it does help me!" he continues sobbing, as well as he can into his hands.

[Prize Inside]

Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!
That was certainly painful... They've never been so rough before... or so 'kindnapped-in-the-middle-of-the-night'-y. This is definatly different then the normal mines, though Rico lost track long ago any notice of where he was walking, only that it was forward.

Now, he slowly shakes the weary from his head as the man in front of him speaks. Rico grins. That doesn't sound too bad afterall. He looks around and takes in the other two beside him. I take it they don't seem quite fit for mining? No matter, Rico is sure everything will be explained. No need for questions... none at all. Well.... except.... "What did you mean by 'batch', sir?" he asks, still relativly as ease with the mans emotion and energy.

Am I familier with this grey skinned man, in either race or rank? Are my hands still tied? And why is the man beside me saying such odd things?

[Cheesegear]

Tarkus squinted in the light. Having his head in a bag - or was it a sack? Tarkus didn't know - for so long didn't help his eyes any, and having his eyes exposed to light so quickly wasn't any fun. The beatings and the bruises that he could feel weren't helping his concentration either.

Tarkus was rather upset with himself this time. How did they get him? He was usually good at detecting their 'goon squads'. Maybe, they actually clued-in this time to the fact that Tarkus was sensitive to magic, and sent brutes instead? Perhaps. Sure, the government was stupid, but, it did adapt to 'new' situations - or old ones with new spins. Home wasn't all-bad. If only they kept out of sight. But, they didn't.

Tarkus looks at his 'compatriots', one of them was whining, and the other was calm. Okay. "Yes. I guess we're wondering why we're here. But, you neglected to tell us. And, yes, there is another way you could bring us. You could ask us, perhaps? I'm sure we'd follow, since you fellows seem to run on fear. We'd do anything you tell us to. But, I guess you bastards didn't think of that, right?"

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Since I have Detect Magic as an innate ability. And it's a 'sense' of sorts; I'm wondering can I use it without verbal/somatic components? If I can just do it? If yes, then I use it. If not, I don't.

[Gorgondantess]

The man looks at Tarkus, sighs, and nods. "Yes, it is a horrible process- I wish I could change it, but I'm afraid I'm just not that powerful. Under normal circumstances, you would be dead right now- you were taken for processing, and each of you were found to have a useful talent, and so were spared. I'm sure you wouldn't come quietly if you thought you were going to be killed, would you? No. None of you are going to die, unless you do something horribly wrong again... although from now on your lives will not be without some level of danger, that much is true."

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None of you can recognize him fully, except as of either born or made into something only mostly human. The way he carries himself, you can tell that he is used to being in charge, or at least a position of authority, and is used to fighting.

Cheesegear only:

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You can activate it simply by concentrating. If you do, you can tell there is a huge amount of magic in this place, and that the man himself exudes magic- not only his items, but also he himself. It is not a sort of magic power, but rather- before you can tell, you feel a searing pain in your head, and your concentration breaks. The man gives you a bit of a knowing smile out of the corner of his eye.

[Cheesegear]

Tarkus shakes his head, as the backlash of...Whatever that was that hit him. Damn... He closes his eyes to concentrate on making the pain go away. For the briefest of moments, Tarkus is silent.

As he opens his eyes, he sees the human-looking person smiling at him. Tarkus, only grinned back, showing lots of teeth. The ogres told him once that that means you're angry. "Well, that tells us nothing."

[Jjkaybomb]

S-so we're not gonna die... Katz stutters, looking up at the man. Really? The truth? He had...useful talents? But he had always been shunted from job to job, and even at the thing he loved he wasn't perfect. But Katz certainly wasnt going to bring THAT up!

Danger... he mutters, eyes wide and still teary. Well...would he rather face danger or just die now? He didnt like the sound of where the man was going...but death was definitly not in the picture. The man did say that none of them were going to die, so whatever this danger was, it wasnt fatal. And hell if he was going to do anything to cross Home again, no, no, no!

This is definitly better than an execution! Katz takes a deep breath and calms down a little, looking up at the man before him, Danger... he repeats, What will our talents be put to use to...that's so dangerous?

[Prize Inside]

Rico looks at the small, quick looking man, listening to the exchange. Everyone is asking questions, no point in throwing more out just yet. Danger is nothing too new, but Rico guesses that this is a far different danger then just mining...

[Gorgondantess]

The man talks as he unbinds you all. "No, no, you won't die- probably." He takes a moment to let that sink in. "You're going to be sent out on various forms of missions- manual labor, offensive actions, exploration, reconaissance, and the like. It won't be easy. At all. But, I can tell you that it is far better than death. Now, are there any more questions?"

[Jjkaybomb]

Katz rubs his wrists a little, listening to the man intently. The Home...they had thought that he was special enough to be used on such important tasks?! Probably...probably not die, thats a good thing! Definetly! It's a better chance than 'so dangerous that dying is likely'....it...actually might be like that, Katz begins thinking. Maybe he's being purposely optimistic in front of them, so they dont know any fear when they walk to thier deaths.

Katz whimpers a little. The tasks, however... it's almost like they're giving him a second chance... and something better than what he was previously doing.
Not like he had much of a choice, but Katz liked to think that he might have some say in it.

"Well...what are we going to do first...I guess..." Katz starts, thinking hard, "And uh...since we were sentanced to death... supposed to be, I mean! Does that mean we cant go home...?" He remembers with a pang that his precious guitar harp was still left in his room. They certainly wouldnt let him have that back now...

[Gorgondantess]

"Waht you will do first is rest. You're no good to us, the state you're in- after that, it's beyond my control. As for going home... this is the only home you'll ever have, to the day you die. Now. Go out, and to the 12th door from the left end, you'll find you quarters. There you will find some food... after you eat, I suggest you go to sleep. Come. I will escort you." He picks up a pack from beside the door, and walks out of the room. Outside, if you so choose to follow, is a dark metal corridor. There are solid steel doors, all shiny and polished, all along the corridor- it goes very, very far, to the point that you can't make out exactly what's on each end. He goes to the right, and takes you along until you reach the 12th door from the end- the end is simply a nondescript, steel wall. Walking in, you find a room that's... actually rather nice. There is a table at the center, some chairs, a couch, a cupboard filled with various household amenities. 2 doors each lead to a bedroom, and a corridor leads to a small stone hewn area-cold enough to serve as a larder. On the table there are 3 meals set out, of quite nice make. After he shows you around, he takes the sack off his back, handing it to Katz. He smiles warmly, simply saying "A gift, from me." He briskly waalks out, into the corridor and to the right. There is a slamming of metal. Inside the sack is a guitar harp of exquisite make.

[Jjkaybomb]

At the words 'this will be your only home until the day you die', Katz heart sunk like a chunk of granite tossed into a lake. Then there'd be no chance that he'd ever see an instrument until that very day...near or far as it might be. He followed the man, only half interested, idly wondering how big this place actually was... and what was behind all these doors. More 'useful' people like Katz? This might actually be so, as the room they were led to was an apartment, of sorts. At the sight of food, Katz' heart might've actually lifted a little. It looks good...they'd take care of him and his...group? His comrades?

First thing first, he needed to find out thier names...

Actually, first thing first, he is handed the bag. He's puzzled by this. Why didn't his...uh, comrades get something, just himself? He opens it and squeals with joy! A harp guitar harp! They must've kept him alive because they saw how excellent he could be at music! And they were going to take it away if he had lived...! Being sentanced to this was a blessing, a blessing in disguise! He grins widly and strums all the cords a little, hearing once more the lower twang of the guitar and the more melodius hum of the harp. Such excellent make, and its all in tune!! Katz laughs in joy, oh, he could do anything with a beautiful intrument such as this one!

He is lost in happiness for a time, before turning to his...comrades. "Ah, this isnt all bad at all, no? Good room, good meal, good music... he strums the guitar merrily for effect, "I'm Katzenklavier Launeddas! Who might you two be? What work did you do before coming here?"

[Prize Inside]

That was the question Rico was hoping for, and he was happy it was asked. As for the answer, he curiously follows the man who leads them, carefully making a mental map of the way they go, more for his own entertainment then any other purpose. The rest, short as it was, was very welcome before this walking continued.

Such a wonderfull room! Furnished and large, enough space to walk around in! As soon as the man leaves, Rico makes his way to the food, famished from the long walk. He watches his... housemate now, he supposes... open the package, while anylising what's going on. So... he can't go home. But really, is that so bad? Sure, more walks like that would be bad, but Rico doesn't think that will be likely. This room is practically luxurious in camparisan, and the chance to be even more useful?!

He eats his meal, seeing the unwrapped device that looks like it can't decide what it wants to be. "My name is Rico..." He isn't supposed to mention the mines, but maybe that doesn't even matter now. "I do... did... hard labor. You two ((or just you, if Tarkus doesn't follow)), should try the food." If the smaller man is there, he'll look at him expectantly for his answer.

[Cheesegear]

Tarkus is already pacing the room. Searching up and down along the walls, looking for cracks, secret panels. Running his hands along the wall, looking for hidden switches. Knocking his fist at certain structure-points. Or, rather guessing where certain structure points might be. It was hard to tell.

Only half-paying attention to Rico, Tarkus swears as he finds absolutely nothing to help them get out. Unfortunately, this happened to be timed as Rico finished his question.

"Oops, sorry. Name's Tarkus. Don't have a last name. I delivered things to people. I don't like being trapped against my will."

[Jjkaybomb]

"Oh, so then you'd rather be dead, wouldnt you be?" Katz shoots at Tarkus as he sits down to enjoy the food, gently placing the guitar harp beside him. He shakes his head at Tarkus' actions. He should just appreciate this chance he had been given!

Nice to meet you both then, Rico and Tarkus. Luck to the three of us on whatever we have to do, right? he smiles as he eats the good meal. At least we get all this, this really nice place to ourselves!

[Prize Inside]

Too tired for much more conversation, Rico takes a look at the the bedrooms. Just two of them, and, polite or not, this takes some initiative. "A pleasure to meet you both, but I hope you'll forgive me if I save conversation for tommorrow." Such a long day, and so much to take in....

Having finished his meal, the gnoll takes for the left bedroom. "And Tarkus," he says before entering, seeing the man feel the walls. What is he trying to find? "Trapped or no, you'd be better off conserving your energy for tommorrow. I have a feeling we'll need it." A big feeling...

Rico takes a/the bed in the room, and eagerly offers pillows/blankets if it turns out one of the others is bedless. (For the greater good!)

Also, his curiousity piqued by Tarkus' searching, Rico will keep an eye out for anything that looks out of place architecture-wise... Not active searching, though, just passive scanning. ((also, should this be in a spoiler?))

[Gorgondantess]

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Ok, I'm just going to fast-forward to the next day. As far as you can tell, there isn't anything of interest in the room beyond what you see before you. Go ahead and post in spoilers anything you wanted to happen the night before, if I'm getting ahead of anyone.
Anyhow. A note on my DMing: I don't railroad. At all. I just tell you what I have planned out. By all means, if you so choose to, say, run off into the wilderness, I will be perfectly happy with that- trust me when I say that I'm very flexible. For example, in one of my recent in-person games, one of my players decided that he didn't like the way the party was going, and decided to make them into his undead minions. He became the BBEG, and it was one of the most rewarding games I'd ever played. Just FYI: do what's in character, what you want to do, not what it seems like I want you to do. It'll be more rewarding on both our parts.

You all fall asleep in your respective beds, and wake up the next morning feeling quite refreshed. On the table outside there are 3 plates, each with a hearty breakfast, and a note in very swishy handwriting.

Rico, Katz, and Tarkus:
I trust you've slept well. You'll need it. Today you will be sent out to do some reconaissance: we have recently begun to take an interest in a certain area, and we want it mapped out. We understand that Rico has some skill in cartography. We would also like you to make a note of any interesting things you find, whatever that may be of use to us.
Yours Truly,
Vance

As you finish reading, you look around to find yourself in a decrepit building. The table and chairs came with you, along with your meals. The building is grey, worn down, and there are holes in the ceiling. Cobwebs abound, and there are weeds growing in between the cracks on the stone floor. Aside from this, you can find a counter made of fading marble, upon which stands a sack- quite old and worn, but not so much as the building around you. You can hear the sound of gulls off in the distance, and there is the scent of salt in the air.

[Jjkaybomb]

(Katz would be pretty cool with whats going on, he sees no reason to run off. I mean, THAY GAVE HIM A GUITAR HARP! and let him live. What more could the guy ask for?!

And also...the paper teleported us, or we were shipped here overnight? AND would Katz have seen the sea before, would he understand what the signs all mean? I'll save his wonderment at the sights and sounds for the next post depending on weither he recognizes them or not.)

Katz, who had fallen asleep happily on the couch last night, wisely not cradeling his guitar harp. Oh, did he probably want to, but he knew he might break the precious, precious piece...

Blearly, he makes his way to the table, Harp/Guitar already held in his hand. He smiles half awake as he practically falls into a chair in front of his meal.
"This is all so amazing, thank you... he mutters happily as he digs down into the good food, I couldnt ask for anything better...." He notices the note as he becomes a little more aware and picks it up to read. He nods, still smiling, "Yes, yes, of course, whatever you'd like me to do...Vance?" he wonders if that was the name from last night. Katz doesnt recall that being the man's name... it's obviously thier boss, though! Of course, makes sense! He nods, more awake now, and notices... he's no longer in the room?! They'd stolen them in the night to here?! how...?!

"THE FOOD WAS DRUGGED!" he squeals loudly as he falls back off his chair with an "OW!" Was it all that surprising? Well.... no, but it wont stop him from being shocked! What else could they slip into the cdelicious food...?!

[Prize Inside]

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Note about your DMing: Woot =D

"OW" is all Rico hears as he leaves the bedroom, punctuated with a wide mouthed yawn, followed itself by a salt induced sneeze. That's new... in fact, this entire room. How did we get...
Breakfast!!! He moves towards the shocked looking human and sits down to eat. "Good morning..." Crap, what was his name.... "Did you sleep well?" He asks, reaching for the note if it looks like Katz is done with it.
In between bites, Rico also looks for Tarkus as well and... hey... another sack.

[Cheesegear]

Tarkus grumbles a rough "G'morning." before sitting down at the table and eating one of the meals. Left out for him. Not much good to eat. But, it was pretty much all that was left in the room, that had somehow become grimy and stingy.

Tarkus nods his head at the direction of the sack, between mouthfuls, and a fork in one hand, which he uses to point with. "What's in the sack today?"

[Gorgondantess]

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Ok, lessee...
JJkaybomb, please put your OOC comments in spoilers.
As for your questions: 1st, as to the mode of transportation, figure it out for yourself.
All of you know about the sea. Pretty well, at least. You just have a vague understanding of it- only Rico would know for sure that the salty smell and gulls point towards it being the sea. The others would think something along the lines of a nearby storehouse.
Also: I'd like you all to post a link to your character sheets in your next post. Much obliged.

Inside the sack, you find....
A large double pistol
A stargun
A shining, yellowish sickle-like sword (khopesh to those who know what that is- treat it as a sickle but with a crit threat of 19-20, and +2 to trip and disarm maneuvers)
A long, thin sword
A black shield
2 suits of brown armor
a light chain shirt
A pair of heavy leather gloves
A huge flask of ink, several fountain pens, and some very large blank scrolls
A few flasks of unidentifiable liquid. One says don't drink, the others are unlabeled.

As you all sit and eat, the area around you is quiet, aside from the gulls. A beam from the ceiling breaks and falls down, and you can hear a thud from above, but then it's quiet once more. Tarkus, between bleary eyed bites of food, notices a spot on the wall that does not match the rest. It is concave, very slightly, and colored a blackish green... on top of that, you notice that it seems to be flaking.
There is another clatter and thud of wood from the roof- although, with the conditions it is in, it's not all that surprising that the place is falling apart.

[Jjkaybomb]

"Good morning, everyone..." Katz mutters as he rises to his feet, lifting the chair to put it back into place. Flutters of some nervous feeling still nag him. Transported drugged in the middle of the night, practically thrown into the first mission in some... he jumps as the beam falls, some decrepit building. He hopes that it doesnt just all collapse on thier heads.... and theres also that wierd smell in the air. Salty. Gross, bleh.

"I slept...pretty well" considering that the food was drugged so they could be dragged here. Why did they make them walk the whole thing to the building they were in previously if they could transport everyone so easily?

He looks to his comrades, then shrugs and heads over to the bag, opening it. His eyes widen a little, "Um, our equipment, I guess!" he brings the bag over and carefully lays out everything on the table. "Who wants what, then? I think I want...." the shining chain shirt catches his eye and he picks it out of the pile, "This, at least!" he smiles, then it slips from his face, "Um, if...if no one else wants it... I-I'd like it..." He quickly changes the topic, "And, um, the pen and paper are obviously to record the maps, and whatever else so, Rico...?"

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Katz

[Prize Inside]

"Quite a load..." Rico says, taking the pen and paper set. Actually asked to make maps! Definatly will need to take care of this. But... "That's quite a lot of heavy equipment... Are we going to be expecting resistance?" Very, very heavy resistance. Or maybe just so we look official? Rico sniffs the air again, and sneezes.

Well, if he's going to look offical, he'll need something. Having never really touched a gun in his life, and seeing Katz take the chain shirt, the gnoll reaches for the Khopesh. He looks to Tarkus, still not sure what to think of the man. He seems to best know what's going on. Or at least certainly seems to know... something..."Your turn, then."

The gulls again... that means something... And the weapons can't be so we look offical. We're supposed to be dead, arn't we? He tests how the blade feels in his hand.

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Moving forward slowly, but I like where this is going. Rico! at your service.

[Gorgondantess]

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Yes, it is going a bit slowly... more slowly than I would like. We are now waiting on cheesegear *glares in his general direction* who has to post before we move on with this.

[Cheesegear]

Tarkus, his curiosity piqued at the rather large haul that their 'benefactors' had given them. Closed his eyes, and breathed out, relying on the one thing that had always kept him alive at Home. With his eyes closed, Tarkus concentrated, and felt the ebb and flow of the room, his two companions, and the pile of equipment sitting on the table in front of them.

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New day, right? I crack open a Detect Magic
...And it's hardly my fault the boards are running pretty badly these days. Plus, Life™. It makes things difficult sometimes. And, remember, I'm in a different timezone to you guys.

[Gorgondantess]

Feeling the ebb and flow, aside from the bag there is nothing else magical... scanning for a few more seconds, Tarkus notices something out of the corner of his "eye"- some magical energy, from a decent distance- from above, in fact. And it's moving. Before anything can be done, there is a crash, and two beings fall through the ceiling. One is a tall, regal looking half-elf, with wild hair and sharp face paint under his eyes, wearing a robe. He is beating the thing below him with a cudgel, screaming wildly. You can't see much of the thing below under his robes and with all the action, but it seems somewhere between 6-8 feet tall, with... fins, or spines, or something along its arms, back, shoulders, ankles- all over. Its face is only vaguely human, pointed, shaped almost fish like. The eyes are dark slits, and it has a clammy looking, dark green skin, dripping some kind of liquid. One of them reeks of salt and something organic. The thing below is screaming, and it reraches out from under the half-elf, scrabbling to get away, and sees you all. There is terror in its eyes- or at least maybe, you cannot tell for the alien face and short glimpse- and it yells out in a rasping, low, enticing voice. It is unintelligable.

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Cheesegear, please post your character sheet.

[Prize Inside]

Rico stairs at the silent Tarkus for a while. The guy must really be concentrating hard... There is alot of stuff, so that's understandable. He jumps as the silence is broken by the raining brawl. His first though is Cave in!! followed shortly by a realization that he isn't in a cave. Instead, just this violent beating...

He stairs shocked at the scene for a while, before the built up adrenaline forces him into action, instictively trying to break up this... fight?... beating?... should he really get involved? Too late now, he thinks, diving to pull the half elf off the... other thing.

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Rico with try to attempt a grapple with the elf, assisting with breaking a current grapple, if applicable. He will also stop if either of his compatriates attempts to keep him back.

[Gorgondantess]

Rico easily manages to pull the half-elf off; however, it leaves him off balance, and as soon as this is done the creature on the bottom leaps up and tackles him (the half-elf). They tumble across the floor, and the thing wildly beats on the elf, strangling and clawing at him. You notice that on each of its webbed hands, the thing has long, ichor-stained claws, and it bats the elf's protesting hands away to claw at his face- it tears through flesh and bone, leaving the right half of his face a gory mess, as the elf screams in agony. He grasps for his cudgel, cast aside, but the thing slams its massive fist on his hand, grinding it into the ground. It then gets up, lifting him into the air and throwing him against the wall, charging at him to continue the beating.

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The creature, upon further inspection, looks a lot like this. (In fact, it's uncanny I found something that so closely resembles my idea for the being. Just think of that but a bit less shiny and a bit more squamous.)

[Jjkaybomb]

Not hearing any objections, Katz puts on the pretty shirt. And then the crashing happens...

Katz, being the spineless little wimp he is, actually scampers back and screams a little, frightened by the sudden crashing and the horrendous looking fish/man.
Wait, why is Rico trying to help the half-elf? The guy is obviously killing what is obviously a horrendous, disgusting monster! But... Rico seemed to be more collected and, well, he seemed to have his **** together, much more than Katz had. Maybe Rico knew what was going on, sorta, maybe he had the right idea. With a touch of hesitation, Katz rushes forward.
Stop, stop, whats going on??? Katz yells as he attempts to help Rico.

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(NINJAD BY DM!)

Of course at the sight of the brutalization, Katz is compleatly freaked out. He screams and scampers back to the table. There is no way in hell he'd be able to take something like that on. What the hell was Rico thinking?! Katz knew it was a monster, dammit! Sword! Sword! He grabs at the thin sword, to defend himself, if the thing turns on him next. But hell if he was going to try anything! Combat is not his cup of tea!

[Prize Inside]

No, no, no, no! Rico thinks, not knowing at all what's going on as he recovers his balance. "I don't know!!!" He yells at Katz, irritated at his hesitation. But he can't really blame the man, Rico almost didn't do anything himself! Too late for inaction now, he thinks diving to tackle the fishman. No one is going to die, dammit!!!

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I suppose same as last time, with Scaly McFisherton as the target. Also, awesome picture. Source?