In the Plains of Yl (IC)

[Frog Dragon]

Lakarr'n
The priest blinks, accepting that the others have managed to evade him for now. He pauses, looking at the gnoll baffled, before laughing. "I have more than enough servants already. And none of questionable loyalty." The priest says, putting special emphasis on the last word. "But how nice of you to betray your comrades, makes it so much easier."

Then, leveraging his larger size, he takes a step forward and delivers two devastating blows to the gnoll.

Others
The others, apart from Lakarr'n, find themselves stopped by a few of the tribesmen, the ones that had fought having caught up to Chas and Laraek due to their magically enhanced speed. The skirt-clad warrior takes one look at Xaine before exclaiming "What in the abyss happened to you?", having noticed the bleeding wounds. People are gathering around you, and suddenly the warrior first to notice you does something, a long, orange, furred tail with spikes at the tip lashing out from under the skirt.

The other warriors follow suit, the spiked tails starting to appear around all of them, around 10 in total. Zindar, huffing from the sudden stint of running, doesn't answer yet, and indeed, seems to be rather slow in taking it all in. The warriors themselves seem more watchful than aggressive, not making any other moves other than whipping out their strange weapons.

[JeminiZero]

Xaine

"We don't know!" Xaine replied as he caught up from behind. After taking brunt of the attacks so far, he was a bloody mess, but the proud warblade still held his head up high. "We were just asking the Northern One why he didn't like attention, and then he says..." *ahem*

Xaine cleared his throat, turns to the side and spits a gob of blood away, before attempting his best impression of the Priest. "I should never have let you in here... Grr Grr Kill Kill! And before I know it, he's suddenly twice as big and whacking me with a spiky mace."

Spoiler

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Alright, he might have embellished the "Grr Grr Kill Kill" bit. But otherwise, I think this is a Diplomacy roll: (1d20+12)[20]

[MammonAzrael]

Laraek

"Priest attacked unprovoked. Fled rather than engage." The golem is short at to the point, explaining the obvious in a neutral tone. I wonder if I can just fly the merchant out of here...he's probably too fat...and likely wind up riddled with arrows...best to wait for now...

[Ghost6442]

Move action, retreat 40ft while saying "My loyalty is still yet to be earned and I cannot betray a non-existent trust"

As a swift action, spend one charge of Ring of Mystic Healing adding 2d6 to next cure spell cast. As a standard action burn Resist Energy, Mass, as Cure Serious Wounds to heal [roll]3d8+2d6+7[/roll] to myself.

[Frog Dragon]

Lakarr'n
"Run then, cretin. I have not the time to deal with you." Contrary to this, he still whacks you with the mace as you turn tail and run, but does not follow you out of the hut, despite the fact that you are still standing from the last attack. Then, he turns back to his normal size, along with his gear, turning back to the inner part of the hut in apparent hurry.

Others
The warrior appears shocked. "The northerner? Why would he.." The warrior stops himself and motions three of the other warriors. "Go check up on the northerner... don't discount his story just yet." Three of the warriors nod, jogging off to where you came from. Then he turns to you, specifically, Xaine. "I don't know what's going on here, but we are going to find out. In the meantime, don't go anywhere. We'll treat you, and sooner or later, we'll know just what happened back there. Now someone get a healer over here!" The warrior, apparently a commander of some sort, half-yells at the others, two of which run off, leaving only him and four others around you.

[JeminiZero]

Xaine

"Be careful!" Xaine says before coughing up another gob of blood. "That spiked mace of his his packs quite a punch" He otherwise starts channeling positive energy from the plane of fire to close his wounds, to supplement what the healers are willing provide.

[Frog Dragon]

Lakarr'n
Running away from the hut, you see three of the tribe's warriors jogging to the hut where the fight happened. You notice spiked tails from under their skirts. One of them stops as he notices you, also bearing the marks of an attack. "You too? " He does not sound overly worried, since you are still standing, but continues to "Lets get you to the healers."

Suddenly, you hear a scream from behind you in the hut, and the warrior swiftly turns to see one of his peers run out of the hut. "He's gone crazy! Jaron is dead!" The priest walks out of the hut, wearing some sort of pack, when suddenly, a change happens with his face. He ages a decade within the span of a second, and his hair lengthens and lightens. The smoothness of his face disappears, replaced with the rugged look of a man who has seen much and endured more. His skin seems more tanned, but even so, he does not seem to have tanned very well.

The warriors take one look at the priest. "Impostor! Call for assistance!" The one next to you shouts at the one running away as the priest seems to come to some sort of terrible realization. He looks at his hands. "No! No! How could I forget?" Then, he shrugs it off, breaking off to the side from your viewpoint.

The warrior that had been running away continues to do so, running to where your companions are, shouting."Get the priest! He's an impostor! Impostor!"

Others
A pair of robed tribesfolk, a man and a woman, come running at the call for healers, quickly spotting the injured party and concentrating as they lay their hands on the injured Xaine, each speeding his recovery up from what he was already doing, apparently through some sort of sorcery, likely affiliated with what the others in the tribe used.

Then, you hear commotion from the direction of the priest's hut. The priest shouts something in a panicky voice just before one of the warriors shouts. "Get the priest! He's an impostor! Impostor!" The voice keeps approaching you, and you see one of the warriors run back to you. "We have to stop him! He killed Jaron, and now he's running!"

The one apparently leading the party, as evidenced by the more elaborate tattoo, looks conflicted for a bit. "Fine. Capture him, and make sure the chieftain knows. I'll handle the capture." Then he turns to the rest you "Stay in the village until this is solved" He blankly states, running off with a few other warriors, leaving only the healers with you as the others scatter in their directions.

[MammonAzrael]

Laraek

The golem's head turns quickly, focusing on the noises where they left the priest. A mechanical hand tightens on Zindar's robes, preparing to flee to a further distance, when the warriors come up to the tribesmen surrounding them. Relaxing slightly, Laraek watches the warriors depart before returning a his focus to the curious healers.

[Ghost6442]

"I believe that is a call to assist" Lakarr'n responds and casts 'Clutch of Orcus' or in Lakarr'n's case Clutch of Khaara on the fleeing not-priest.

Spoiler

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CLUTCH OF ORCUS
Necromancy [Evil]
Level: Cleric 3
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Medium (160 ft)
Target: One humanoid
Duration: Concentration, up to 6 rounds
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates
Spell Resistance: Yes
Reaching out a hand twisted by tension into a grasping claw, you squeeze your foe’s heart from afar, anticipating the moment its smoking remains will rest in your palm. Magical force grips the subject’s heart (or similar vital organ) and begins crushing it. The victim is paralyzed and takes 1d12 points of damage per round. Concentration is required to maintain the spell each round. A conscious victim can attempt a new Fortitude saving throw each round to end the spell. If the victim dies as a result of this spell, its smoking heart appears in your hand.

DC 16 fort save

[OMG PONIES]

Spoiler

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How far away is the impostor?

Chas sighs. "All in a day's work, I suppose," he mutters to nobody in particular as he takes off at a run. He speeds through the village, sliding down the dewy bank of a hill above the pseudo-priest. As he glides down the hill, he narrows his eyes to slits and focuses on the priest. Hmm, he definitely still looks human, that's for sure. A solid blow to the solar plexus should be enough to slow him down. I hope there are no mud puddles on this hill. Whoops, coming to the bottom now...

Chas skids to a stop as he pulls his bow and nocks an arrow. He traces the priest's path, exhales, and releases his bowstring.

21 vs AC for 11 damage

Spoiler

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Charging the priest, burning Inspiration for damage.Balance - (1d20+7)[23] Just to be cinematic and activate Swashbuckler's Guile.
Knowledge Local - (1d20+18)[24] with Collector of Stories, to activate Knowledge Devotion
Attack 1 - (1d20+7)[19] +2 Know Devo
Damage 1 - (1d4+11)[12] +2 Know Devo
Swashbuckler's Guile - (1d6)[2]
Attack 2 - (1d20+7)[12] +2 Know Devo
Damage 2 - (1d4+11)[12] +2 Know Devo
Swashbuckler's Guile - (1d6)[5]

Rolls in the OOC
Free action: designate Priest as dodge target

[JeminiZero]

Xaine

Seeing the Imposter Priest make a run for it, and realizing that he only had 1 last chance to get in close before the haste spell wore off, Xaine takes the chance to charge him again, hoping that he would be too busy fleeing to retaliate.

Spoiler

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Man, all out of maneuvers. Only the small bonus from Leading the Charge.

Full Round: Charge, power attack for -2/+4

Falchion Attack Roll: [roll] (Including +1 from Aid, +1 from Haste, +2 from Charging, +1 Bull Strength -2 Power Attack)
Falchion Damage Roll: [roll] (+1 Bull Strength, +5 from Leading the Charge, +4 Power Attack)

Edit: Rolls are OOC

Status
HP: 31/50
AC: 15 / 13 Flatfooted / 10 Touch (includes -2 from charging)

Maneuvers Readied
Swordsage
-Moment of Perfect Mind
-Action Before Thought
-Mind over Body
-Sudden Flame

Warblade
-Sudden Leap
-Battle Leader's Charge
-Strength Draining Strike

Stance: Leading the Charge (+5 to Charge Damage for all allies within 60 ft)
Bull Strength (??? Min)

[Frog Dragon]

All
The priest is assaulted, first getting shot in the back with an arrow and then swiftly hacked with a falchion as he turns to glance at his opposition, finally getting a spell directed at him, which he manages to completely resist.

The bleeding wounds supporting his assessment, he judges the battle to be going against him, invoking another spell as he avoids leaving himself open. He disappears from sight completely, and only footsteps upon sand betray that he is nearby.

Chas
As the priest glances at you, you realize that his face is a fairly familiar one. As a bounty hunter, you have seen many wanted posters, and his was among the most well-known.

The face is that of Nicholae Varan, a human Dedenite from Zaka. His crimes are many, including multiple murders, larceny, dealing with fiends and other nefarious beings, plus other assorted illegalities. His head is worth quite a lot, and returning him alive would most likely just result in the authorities putting him to the sword anyway. The last known sighting of him before this day was 2 years ago in a Zakan town on the border of Yl.

The authorities around Kree had hoped that the plains had somehow gotten the better of him, and would probably like to know that he is still at large.

He has also been known to rarely work alone, and almost always has allies and underlings somewhere.

[OMG PONIES]

Chas whistles through his teeth. "Nicholae Varan," he shouts to his companions. "Wanted fugitive; lethal force is authorized." He raises his eyebrows and adds, "Big bounty, too."

He looks around for any sign of the invisible vagrant; anything out of place that would give away his location. They always leave something out of place, they always miss something. Criminals were all the same.

Spot - (1d20+2)[10]
Search - (1d20+13)[23]
Listen - (1d20+2)[10]

[JeminiZero]

Xaine

The man dissappeared! Did he just teleport away? Or had he turned invisible? Xaine looked around lost, but his normally dull ears suddenly picked up a telltale shuffling from next to the hut. Xaine hustles over, while reaching into his beltpouch. As he nears the invisible fugitive, he pulls out what looks like a dimly glowing animal bladder, and smashes it on his own chest!

The bladder explodes in a spray of rainbow colours, coating Xaine, but more importantly highlighting the priest."There he is! Get him quick!"

Spoiler

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Move Action: Move adjacent to the guy. Since he only had a move action last turn, and was adjacent, Xaine should be to get adjacent to him with a single move as well. I'm hoping that he won't take the AoO, since he doesn't want to break invisibility. If he DOES take the AoO, I'll change my standard action to something else. Like an attack or something

Free Action: Holding Falchion with just one hand, leaving the other free.

Free Action: Pull out Torch Bug Paste [Complete Scoundrel 120]

Swift Action: Recover Warblade Maneuvers.

Standard Acion: As a melee attack on self, smash Torch Bug Paste on his own chest, which should autohit without any attack roll. Since it is a splash weapon however, it will also coat the adjacent priest, negating his invisibility with Faerie Fire for 1 hour.

I've done what I can, its now up to the rest of you guys to finish him.

Status
HP: 31/50
AC: 17 / 15 Flatfooted / 12 Touch

Maneuvers Readied
Swordsage
-Moment of Perfect Mind
-Action Before Thought
-Mind over Body
-Sudden Flame

Warblade
-Sudden Leap
-Battle Leader's Charge
-Strength Draining Strike

Stance: Leading the Charge (+5 to Charge Damage for all allies within 60 ft)
Bull Strength (6-ish Min)

[Ghost6442]

Lakarr'n double moves towards the foe (40ft)

[MammonAzrael]

Laraek

The metal man remains standing by the merchant, watching the priest attempts to flee without pity or concern. It keeps part of it's attention on the surroundings, vigilant to danger despite distractions.

[Frog Dragon]

All
The priest runs off, managing to circle out of sight around another corner of the house just after he is splattered with the rainbow colors negating his invisibility, now out of the sight of you all. Several warriors approach from the direction opposite to the one the priest went to, looking around for a sign of the priest. "Where?" One of them shouts, having heard Xaine's warning. "Where did he go?"

[MammonAzrael]

Laraek

The golem calls out to the warriors, guiding them. "Circled around building, covered in color, attempting to run, straight ahead." It raises it's hand to gesture at the intended structure.

[Frog Dragon]

All
The groups of warriors streaming past the huts jog in separate directions, other aiming to find the priest and others to ensure no-one gets away. However, no one shouts anything resembling "Found him!" One of the warriors still within your sight appears confused, glancing at your group. This warrior doesn't seem to be armed like many others in the village. He wipes his brow, visibly stressed.

[Ghost6442]

Lakarr'n continues moving in the direction he last saw the foe, inspecting the confused guy as he draws near.

[JeminiZero]

Xaine

Xaine tries to trace the footsteps of the priest, and runs out from behind the hut as well. He looks at the unusual tribesman with no weapon, with some suspicion.

Spoiler

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Spot: (1d20+1)[7]

[Frog Dragon]

All
The footsteps are quickly mixed with those of the other tribesmen, who have stomped all over the ground in their zealous search. Voices are heard shouting somewhere nearby in the village. "There's no sign of him anywhere!"

The confused guy looks around, seemingly oblivious to your scrutiny.

[MammonAzrael]

Laraek

Looking around, the golem watches for any suspicious behavior from approaching tribesmen, wary of a disguise.

[OMG PONIES]

Chas studies the confused gentleman from a short distance away, then raises his arms and makes Ls with his fingers. He twists his hands until he has fashioned a crude frame around the confused tribesman and eyes him unflinchingly.

Without bothering to lower his arms, Chas progresses toward the man--three steps forward, one step left. Three steps forward, one step right. He continues in this zigzag pattern until he reaches the suspicious Aeral. He looks the man over for any signs of trickery or untidyness, and begins with a simple question. "What is your name, friend?"

Spot - (1d20+2)[18]
Search - (1d20+13)[33]
Sense Motive - (1d20+13)[14] Inspiration point used

[Frog Dragon]

"Atrek." The man says plainly, still not giving off any apparent trace of priestness. His attire is about as tidy as everyone else's in the village, and he wears the same tattoo you've seen on many of the warriors running around.

[OMG PONIES]

"Atrek," Chas asks, raising a hand to his chin, "has the priest been acting odd lately? If so, for how long?"

[Frog Dragon]

All
"Hmm, not really." The tribesman placed a hand on his chin, appearing thoughtful."I never really knew him though. But he was always very helpful, right up to this day. One of the men he killed, he had saved from the brink of death two months ago. No one knows what is going on."

[Ghost6442]

Lakarr'n stops to watch Chas work, he himself not good at people relations, being more focused at just making people better, then actually talking to them.

He idly watched the search the other tribesmen where still conducting, there was another thing he was poor at doing, searching, but in the grand scheme of things, he had his function and was happy to preform it.

[OMG PONIES]

Chas O'Malley

Chas stops to ponder for a second. Or two. No, two is even, it had better be three. But wait, that's prime...

After 9 seconds of awkward silence, Chas muses to himself: "So the crime may have occurred within the past two months. Interesting. Atrek," the detective says, snapping his attention back to the man standing in front of him, "Would it be okay if we search the priest's quarters?"

[Frog Dragon]

"It's not really my business to say, but no one'll stop if you do. If we can't find him now, it's useless, so no-one really cares about his hut." Atrek then signs. "I think he has escaped somehow by now. Whatever happened, our quarry is resourceful."