Adventures in Sigil - IC - Part III [4E]

[Toric]

That would be the one sitting in the captain's chair. Zyrr doesn't let his irritation show, instead putting on an amicable face. This isn't a time to make enemies. He instead rises from his chair and strides across the deck to get a closer look at this apparent spokesman.

"I am he." replies a tiefling dressed in fine silk clothing. "Captain Hugo Blizner, traveling merchant extraordinaire, at your humble service. Swords, silks, soldiers, servants; if it can fit onto my ship it can find its way onto yours for the right price. How can we help each other today?" His eyes shimmer gold as he bows to the devil.

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Bluff - (1d20+24)[37] to pass myself off as a random merchant. I'll figure out the rest of what we're doing once I know whether they decide to kill us on sight or not.

[Hzurr]

DM Post

The ice devil steps over. "A captain who pilots his own ship? How quaint." It looks down at "Captain Hugo Blizner", its icy mandibles creaking as multifaceted eyes scan the drow.

"Well, humble servant, please explain how you came to find this place, and why I should let you leave. Especially..." He looks down at the fiendish ship you stole from the succubus a year ago "Since you are in what appears to be a repurposed vessel of Baator that we are not in the custom of selling?"

[Toric]

Hugo hesitates, and runs a hand along a red-scaled railing. Apparently this had never occurred to him before. "That would explain why I paid so little for this beauty. I bought it from a satyr; at the time I thought it just wasn't his style. As for why we are here, in the interest of selling some of those soldiers I mentioned, I directed a buyer to meet me in a region of the Astral Sea where nobody travels. The Sea is such a huge place, perfect for conducting unseen business."

He waves his hands at the fleet before settling them onto the railing. "I can only imagine you had the same idea. Anyway, while I am en route to the dropoff point, one of said bloodthirsty sapient cattle starts shouting so loud we can hear it abovedecks. 'It's huge! The shimmering nothing, it's like nothing I've ever unseen!' Now while this gnome is known for a few eccentricities, outbursts like this are not one one of them so I say to myself 'Hugo, old chap. This psychopath may be pointing you toward a wonderful business opportunity.' So I followed my gnome, who led me here to this marvelous display of fiendish might."

[Hzurr]

DM Post

The ice devil's mandibles click. "You had a slave who spotted the veil?" The Gelugon motions towards a squad of the Legion Devils, and barks a sharp order in Abyssal. The devils quickly push their way to the ladder, and slide below deck. The ice devil turns to look back at Hugo. "How much?"

---------------

Down below deck, Pavick, Eltain, Aramil, and Lucan can see the ships on either side of them through the small windows in the Jammer, and can hear the discussion happening above deck. There's a brief sound of stomping boots, when the hatch above opens, and iron clad hooves march down the ladder, taking a defensive formation. One of the devils looks at the four of you, and jerks a black-taloned thumb towards the upper deck. "Top deck. Now."



OOC: We never really spelled out how y'all were playing off this capture, so here's what I'm assuming (given that you've had time to prepare):

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- The four of you are all "bound" in fake shackles that can be quickly discarded (a minor action).
- You all have your armor, but no weapons.
- Pavick most likely has his orb hidden up a sleeve somewhere
- Aramil's sword can be anywhere on the ship, and he can call it back to his hand (oh swordmages...)
- Lucan and Eltain both have their weapons stowed with Lena/Frank (who can both be summoned fairly quickly)
- Zyrr & Asheroth both have their full regalia of equipment, disguised though they may be

If any of this is inaccurate, please correct me.

[Orsik Vondal]

The Legions of Cania are here!? This could be very good or horrifically unfortunate. This gathering is very important indeed if Mephistopholes has committed troops to it. I just hope I don't see anyone I know. Or that knows me... As soon as the gelugon steps aboard Ash is bombarded by anger laced with fear. He tries his hardest to downplay both emotions as he stands his ground near Zyrr.

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Bluff- (1d20+27)[39]

[Toric]

"Well not much of it I imagine, he did call it nothing." Hugo replies as a Legion devil shoulders its way roughly past him. "...Oh you mean sale value. Unfortunately, these three men are something of a pack, they're really the only ones who get along with each other without bloodshed. And my client was quite clear that he doesn't want this pack dismembered outside the the arena."

The tiefling rubs his finger along the tip of one of his short, blunt horns in deliberation. "680,000 gold is my asking price, for all three of them. ...685,000, actually. I can't just send my other buyer away empty-handed, it's poor business."

[Hzurr]

DM Post

The Ice-devil's eyes scan across the deck, completely bypassing the very typically Asheroth who stands out in absolutely no way from the rest of the crew, before locking back onto Zyrr.

"The Arena? Excellent. The troops could do with a little sport." The ice devil looks at one of the legion devils still on the boat. "You. Send word up to Lord Baalzebul that we have the entertainment he requested. And let Zorella know that we may have found a suitable candidate for her needs." The ice-devil turns back, and leans close to Zyrr.

"Arena fighters who fetch that much must be a prize indeed. We'll test them in our own bloodgames. If they live up to the price you named, you'll receive one million gold for your trouble."

-------------

OOC: Are Aramil, Pavick, & Lucan coming with the Legion devils above deck? Is Eltain going to try and ambush them?

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Pavick stares at the devil, with his eyes opened just a little too wide and his head cocked to one side. He has the general appearance of someone touched in the head.

"No, we're below decks now," Pavick says as if speaking to a confused child. "Though if you'd like I can go up top in a moment, but I certainly can't be on the top deck now. And especially not back then, at the moment ago that you asked me. And if I was, I wouldn't have been here to hear you make the request, so I wouldn't even know to be there in the first place. Ah, wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff, enough to drive even the craziest amongst us sane if you think too hard about it," Pavick muses. "You should try to remember that in the future. Remembering things in the past is ever so bothersome anyway."

Pavick moves up the steps.

[Hzurr]

OOC: Are Aramil, Lucan, and/or Eltain also coming up to the top deck?

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan tries to look like a fierce fighter as he climbs up to the top deck. It's harder than he'd have thought, trying to be a dispirited slave and a fearsome gladiator at the same time. He's not sure he quite pulls it off.

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Bluff - (1d20+18)[21]

[Hzurr]

DM Post

The ice devil examines Pavick carefully as the gnome steps onto the deck, but when Lucan steps up, the mandibles click. Hold. You're supposed to be an arena fighter? I doubt that." The ice devil reaches out a freezing hand and examines Lucan's palms. "An archer, eh? Let's see." The ice devil snaps his fingers, and one of the Legion devils brings over a bow. The Ice devil hands Lucan the bow and one arrow.

"See that guard in the mast of the starboard ship? Shoot him." The ice devil points to a legion devil in one of the neighboring ships. Its jaws start clicking in anticipation.

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan accepts the bow, and looks to Zyrr--his supposed owner--for orders. "My master will have to unchain me," he says.

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OOC: What type of bow is it?

[Toric]

Hugo smiles and approaches the slave, moving to place a hand on his shoulder - but thinks better of it and keeps a healthy distance. "Yes, just that one demon should suffice. None of these other demons are opponents. You'll have plenty to kill later, for now you just have to make a million-gold shot."

He unlocks the trick shackles, and personally hands the bow over from the devil to Lucan.

[Orsik Vondal]

Ash prays silently to any gods he can think of for help. To the three elvish gods: Melora, Corellon and Sehanine to bless Lucan's elvish heritage and his connection to the bow. To Ioun to bless Lucan's skill with the bow, to help him aim true. To Kord to help Lucan prove himself to this devil. And to the Raven Queen to guide the arrow to the most vulnerable part of the target devil's body.

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf bard

Lucan eyes the devil, raises the bow, and fires not one, but two, quick shots.

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Use Twin Strike
Attack - (1d20+22)[30]
Damage - (1d10+8)[12]

Attack - (1d20+22)[25]
Damage - (1d10+8)[15]

[Hzurr]

DM Post

Even as the Ice Devil glares at Zyrr for his repeated use of "demon," Lucan lines up the shot and sends an arrow streaking towards the other ship. Had the devil been at all prepared, it could have brought up its shield and blocked the bolt. But the surprise attack slips just under the fiend's notice and into a small gap in the devil's armor where the shoulder plate meets the breastplate.

With a cry, the devil falls from it's perch onto the deck below. The other devils prepare to leap into action, but the Gelugon raises a clawed hand to stop them. "That was...adequate. Barely." He motions one of the other fiends, a bone devil with a twitching poisonous stinger at the end of it's tail, and points to the captain's chair. "Take us to the barge of sin. I doubt Lord Baalzebul will want to wait long."

The bone devil takes a seat in Zyrr's chair, and the Jammer begins moving further into the mass of ships, flanked on either side by the vessels of Cania.

As it begins to move, the Ice Devil glances at Aramil who it had ignored. "The troops are always looking for sport, if you've got any of your crew you could be persuaded to part with for the arena." His eyes dart around at the various crew members, most of whom are armed and look fairly competent in a fight.

Aramil, as the boat moves, you notice a pair of the Legion devils studying you closely, squinting their eyes trying to get a better look at your face.

Eltain, you're now below deck and alone, but you can feel the ship moving.

[Nai_Calus]

Eltain curses under his breath and starts quietly looking through the cargo to see if he can find something to help disguise his appearance for later, first changing his armor to concealing clothing and stowing his shield to help him move more quietly.

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I'll just make these now:

Stealth: (1d20+10)[24]
Perception: (1d20+8)[13]

[Hzurr]

DM Post

The movement of the ships and the clamor of the armada easily drown out any noise Eltain might have made. However, as the paladin tries to find a disguise, the only thing he can come up with is a small crate of sheer veils and dresses, presumably for exotic dancers of some sort. It makes one wonder what these pirates were doing on some of their longer voyages through the Astral Sea...

[Toric]

The arrow finds its mark, and finally Zyrr can breathe again. Hugo bristles as the bone devil sits in his captain's chair, but keeps a professional tone as he addresses the ice devil. "As I said, they're most effective when they work together. What you just saw was the equivalent of a man running a footrace just after having his arms lopped off. Combine them, and trust me, it will be worth every coin of that million to see. ...Speaking of which, I think that's a good price for dropping a sale. I'll take that wager."

Hugo follows the ice devil's gaze across the crew, and his own eyes settle on Asheroth, his newest crew member. "Actually, since this is a wager, let's make this interesting." He points to the tiefling, one of the few true tielfings on this ship. "It's initiation time, boy. You fight with these psychopaths, you survive, you win, you get a sixth of the payout. What say you?"

[Orsik Vondal]

Ash drops the rope he was fiddling with and turns his head toward Zyrr. "I say throw in a promotion and you got yourself another fighter, Captain."

He turns to the gelugon and slams a fist into his palm, "So what will we be fighting today? Owlbears? Beholders? Displacer beasts? What?"

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To stay in character as a normal crew member.
Bluff- (1d20+27)[37]

[Toric]

"Deal. Survive this and you'll be promoted from lackey to toady. Not much of a raise but you'll no longer be a candidate for testing whether an unexplored demiplane is lethal and we'll pay for healers to re-attach your fingers."

[Mando Knight]

Aramil scowls back at the staring devils and growls "No... no... none of these will do..."

[Hzurr]

DM Post

The Ice-Devil clicks its mandibles at Aramil's words "Oh, don't worry, we have something much more...interesting in mind for you..."

As the ship begins sailing into the mass of the armada, the scale of the fiendish fleet is staggering. Siege towers twenty stories tall, made of black iron with thick wheels, carried between four spelljammers; battering rams shaped like a dragon head, mounted on actual black dragons; large open barges where squadrons of legion devils practiced battle drills under the watchful whip of a war devil; large catapults that glow with an sickly green necromantic light, fueled by the blood of a dozen crucified humanoids.

The 'Jammer passes all of these sights, eventually heading towards a wide open platform, suspended between five Astral dreadnoughts. The platform is nearly 20 feet thick, motifs of nude humanoids in various states of torture engraved into the blood-red marble span the top 10 feet, ringing the hundred-foot diameter platform. One of the legion devils lowers a plank, and Aramil, Lucan, Asheroth, and Pavick are prodded off the stage into a small holding cell on the end as the Jammer sails off towards one of the dreadnaughts above

------------ Aramil, Lucan, Asheroth, Pavick ------------

The holding cell is on the edge of the platform, and looking through the bars you can see that the ground looks to be covered with coarse black sand. On the far side of the platform, you can see at least 3 other holding cells, each with a thick black cloth over it. However, from at least two of them you can see the cloth moving rhythmically, as if from the breath of two large creatures.

The arena itself seems to be sparse, save for the areas soaked in old blood. Massive swarms of flies cover various portions of the field, feasting on the bloated remains of the previous combatants. Here and there, you can see dips in the sand, as if something was hidden beneath.

OOC: History Check, if you please

Curled in the corner of your cage, there appear to be two other humanoid creatures.

------------- Zyrr, Eltain ---------------

The Jammer, under the piloting of the Bone Devil, rises high above the arena, and Zyrr and the crew get a similar view of the black-sanded arena below. As you approach one of the Astral Dreadnoughts above, an imp flies out and approaches the Ice Devil, whispering and pointing at Zyrr, then back to the barge. The Ice Devil turns to look at Zyrr "Your crew can wait here to observe the spectacle, if they'd like. You," he places a taloned hand on Zyrr's shoulder, "Will have the honor of observing your slaves die from the great Baalzebul's private box." The mandibles click in agitation. "The great Lord of Flies must be bored indeed if one such as yourself is allowed onto the barge of the Lord of Maladomini." He pauses, and turns to scowl at the imp, who only shrugs his shoulders. "Do you have a servant, or do need one provided for you?"

[Toric]

A servant? Of course I have a servant! I'm a merchant, why wouldn't I have a servant? Why do I have the feeling Kosalram would stab me in the neck if I made him a servant?

Words fly around Zyrr's head at rapid speed, but his persona of Hugo remains calm. "Of course I have a servant. Haven't you seen-" The tiefling's voice trails off as he looks around at the collection of devils and mortals on deck. His eyebrow twitches, and he stomps toward the belowdeck stairs. "Boy! Dress up time is over, get up here!"

[Nai_Calus]

Eltain curses, not bothering to be quiet about it.

Damn it, Zyrr, get Kosalram to do your dirty work, he thinks. He quickly uses one of the veils to wrap his sword decoratively to make it look more like an affectation, stows his shield on Frank, giving the mule an affectionate, worried muzzle rub, and quickly scaling the stairs, making sure the hood of his altered clothing is pulled down low enough in front and keeping his head bowed slightly to both look appropriately servile and keep his face hidden. He stands before Zyrr and bows slightly while shooting the drow a covert look that's only slightly murderous.

"You wanted me, sir?" He looks around at the devils on the deck, fighting to keep himself calm.

"Ahh, Captain, they do say you have a knack for finding business opportunities." He leans in conspiratorially. "But be careful, I hear they make absolutely hellish deals." He gives a sweeping bow to the devils.

"My name is Desmond. I'm the captain's servant."

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OOC: Eltain is totally dressed like this, by the way:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_qrG4CMyLj...zio+in+AC2.jpg

[Hzurr]

DM Post

-------------- Zyrr & Eltain -------------

The Ice Devil scowls again, and motions to the imp. The imp gives a mocking bow to the large creature before turning its attention to Zyrr. "Captain Hugo? This way, if you please..." and leads "Hugo" and "Desmond" over to the large Astral Dreadnought.

There seems to be little that distinguishes this dreadnought from the others scattered throughout the armada, save the large ebony fly on the banners that hang from the railings. However, as you step onto the deck, the stink of refuse and the stench of foul gases wafts over you. Thick black mud oozes on the deck, causing your feet to stick as you walk across. The imp, held aloft by his tiny wings, ignores the muck below and motions to an ornate door leading below.

Stepping below deck, the assault to your senses is nearly unbearable. The air is thick with perfume and incense, giving a sickly-sweet tint to the ever present stench of decay. Through the dim light and the hazy smoke, you can see that this open deck is separated into smaller sections by hanging tapestries and black-marble statues. The tapestries and statues of the room (whose contents are best left unnamed) seem to be doing their best to make this vessel resemble a mobile version of the Carnival Macabre, yet just like the layer of hell upon which the normal vessel resides, Asmodeus' curse on Baalzebul extends to this vessel as well, and the stench of decay and sickening mud and filth that line the floor are unavoidable, despite the decorations and riches that dwarf those of any mortal king.

The imp gives a bow to the captain, and motions to a room with several lounge chairs and a small table. "For you, captain. And upon you leisure, the high-lady Zorella wishes to meet with you. Apparently your captives are of great interest to her, and she wishes to show her gratitude." The imp gives a lustful smile that leaves no doubt to how it believes Zorella will show this gratitude. The imp turns, and exits, but not before pausing and whispering to "Desmond" in a low voice. "If your master desires drink, you can find it through the blue doors in the aft section; if he desires food, through the blue doors in the stern section, and if he desires companionship you'll find them through the red doors on the port side. You can either choose one for him yourself, or bring him a selection. Inform the barbazu down the hallway when your master is ready to meet high lady Zorella, but I don't advise waiting too long. She gets...irritable."

Turning back, the imp once more speaks in a clear voice to "Hugo" "When the arena is ready, a chime will sound. Just pull on the tassel to open up your viewing port. Lord Baalzebul himself will be presiding over the events."

And with that, the imp darts out of the makeshift room, leaving Eltain and Zyrr alone in this miniaturized version of the seventh hell.

------------ Asheroth, Lucan, Pavick, Aramil ----------------

As Asheroth stares out over the field of battle, those indentions in the sand trigger some ancient memories in his mind of gladitorial matches he once saw on the prime material, where platforms or other strange devices were raised onto the battlefield during the match to add in new challenges or features to an arena battle.

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan turns to the human shaped lumps in the cage. "Hello," he says. "I'm Lucan. I'm a fearsome gladiator. Who're you?"

[Toric]

"The bloody Prince of Frost." says the figure under the dark cloth. "And I'll be turnin' ye into a fearsome snowman fer endin' me short sleep."

The cloth is pulled down from the inside and drops to the floor, revealing a dwarf emaciated to near-gnomish features, but still identifiable by a thick black beard so wide in the cheeks his face seems fixed in a permanent smile. He is adorned in dark grey plate mail, with a black-headed hammer resting beside him.

"Boo."

[Orsik Vondal]

"And here I was thinking the Prince of Frost was tall!" Ash gasps in mock surprise. Immediately dropping the ruse he asks the dwarf, "Who are you really, and how did you get here? We'll need to work together to come out of this arena alive. I'm Asheroth Durant." Ash extends a hand to the dwarf.

[Toric]

The dwarf stands (not that it adds much to his height) and clasps Ash's hand tightly in a vigorous handshake. "I be Karlvan Clanless, is who I really be. I lost me clan name and me freedom in a wager gone wrong is how I be gettin' here, and I'm gonna kill devils and the monsters they keep is how I be gettin' out. And ye don't all have horns and tusks and tails so I suppose we will be fightin' together."