Wrath of the Righteous: The Worldwound Incursion

[ProudGrognard]

Tefkros

Tefkros stares the tiefling for a while, smoking his pipe, looking with a slightly unfocused stare.

What is it, chap? You can only fight your war through casula cruelty? Is this truly the path of the Everlight? Slow down, hero. Yoir life is worth precisely nothing. You want to fight demons, after all. If she calls them here, you will get your wish.

His internal monologue over, Tefkros sighs and then laughs, a short, edgy laugh.

"We will do it your way, my good fellow. Go have your bath and your meal. I will then have mine. We will split the nightshifts. Her hands and feet will remain tied, however."

[Desril]

Morigan

Nodding and letting out a brief sigh of relief, the tiefling sticks around long enough to make sure there are no further objections and to help Hosilla up and off the cobbled together litter with a friendly smile. Not wanting to press her luck too much further, she stays only long enough after that to see if Hosilla has anything to say to her in particular, but if not, she trusts that no one is going to do anything to harm the prisoner and takes up Tefkros on his offer to take the first bath.

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...No idea where the bath would be, or if what's left of this city has running water for a proper bath, so I'll skip the descriptions for the time being.

If Hosilla has anything to say, Morigan will stick around for that conversation before leaving, otherwise, she'll talk on her guard shift.

[DaedalusMkV]

Hosilla's eyes narrow as Morrigan comes into view, and for a moment she seems to focus intently on the Tiefling before blinking and returning to her previous attitude of calm observation. She watches and listens to the argument between Morrigan and Tefkros, several times nearly opening her mouth before one or the other continues talking. When the decision is reached she smiles warmly and cheerfully states. "Good to deal with reasonable folks. If it makes you feel any better, you can always bag my hands. Can't cast spells if you can't move your fingers, you know. Well, mostly. A gag helps as well, obviously."

Once untied from the makeshift litter, hands and feat securely manacled and bound respectively, she stretches languidly, the loose padding she wore under her chain armour lifting to show smooth skin and a hint of the tattoo you saw earlier when you searched her, she leans against a wall. "Well, a bargain is a bargain. Ask away. I'll answer your questions as well as I can. Much better than wasting effort on torture, hmm?" She doesn't seem to pay any particular attention to Morrigan at the moment, simply focusing on whoever takes the lead in interacting with her, despite her advocacy, though you occasionally catch her watching out of the corner of her eye.

She responds quickly and easily to Udo's questions, only taking any time to consider the first.

"Years, at least. We've been putting people into position in Kenabres for a long time, and to my understanding the Templars haven't put nearly as much effort into infiltrating the other border cities. The blow was always going to fall here, if you knew to look for the signs. It grew too quickly, hosted too many different factions. Plenty of cracks for us to make use of." She closes her eyes for a moment as she continues. "I can't be certain, though. Only a few people know the entire scope of Templar operations, and I'm not one of them. If I'm honest, I'm not sure what the whole plan is. I know Vorlesh built the foundations of whatever scheme the higher-ups have going on, but there's no reason for a frontline agent to know anything not related to her mission. Operational security." She shrugs. "So, final answer. Whatever is happening now, it's been in the works for two years, minimum. Probably not more than ten, though. We've had people in the city for a long time, and we'd have moved sooner if we had a good plan back then."

The second question requires no thinking. "Of course. You're powerful; the weakling Mongrels would have been easy enough to defeat, but Carver and Morgan were another story. They had real power." She looks Udo straight in the eyes. "So, my amphibian friend, there was no reason to risk a conflict. Not when you had a real chance of turning my ambush and beating me. I'm not an idiot. I never get into a fair fight if I can avoid it. Everyone loses in a fair fight. If you'd have just taken the Elf and walked away, we'd all be better off for it."

The last seems to take her by surprise for a moment, but she replies quickly enough. "Why would you care? What does it matter? You should be asking about troop movements, safehouses, callsigns, force numbers." She grunts. "Whatever. If you want to waste your time, it's up to you. You want to know why I gave my loyalty to Lord Baphomet, then? Simple." She leans forwards, passion creeping into her voice. "Justice? Honour? Those things you fool Crusaders love to prattle on about so much? Lies. A fiction to comfort the weak. When did honour ever stop a knife being rammed into your back? What is justice, when a king can simply order a man's death and a beggar loses a hand for stealing a blanket to avoid freezing to death?" She spits on the floor of Horgus' cellar. "Only one thing matters. Power. The strong dictate to the weak. If you have no power, you're nothing. A sheep. Your vaunted kings and gods claim to be shepherds, but where does the sheep end up? The dinner table, when the shepherd grows hungry. The demons may be wolves, but at least they're honest about it." She bares her teeth. "I've been powerless. I've worn the wool. I grew up in Galt, little man. Good. Evil. It's all arbitrary. Flimsy justifications the strong use to dominate the weak. You take whatever power you can, or you deserve it when you go to the guillotine. Lord Baphomet offered. I'd have been a fool to decline."

Spoiler: OOC

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Okay, looks like Hosilla is going to wind up being a considerably more important character than Paizo ever intended her to, with both Udo and Morrigan looking to make her a pet project. That's fine. They wouldn't have put rules into this AP for trying to redeem villains if they didn't want players to use them. She gets a text colour, I suppose.

Tefkros:

Spoiler: Sense Motive

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You don't sense any deception out of her, surprisingly enough. She seems to be telling the truth on all fronts.

Also, you've heard of Baphomet. He's one of the major Demon Lords, the patron of Minotaurs, Beasts and Labyrinths. As far as you're aware, Baphomet isn't supposed to have much by way of organized worship among the civilized races.

Morrigan:

Spoiler: Knowledge

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You're pretty sure that the Vorlesh she's referring to is Areelu Vorlesh. Known to history as the Architect of the Worldwound, Areelu Vorlesh was responsible for finding and tearing open the rift in reality that would eventually become the Worldwound. Historical record says she died during the First Crusade, about a century ago. She was supposedly a witch of monstrous power, but killed in action by the Crusaders in an early attempt to contain the demonic invasion from the Worldwound.

[ProudGrognard]

Tefkros

Tefkros listens as Hosilla talks on an on, while he oils his bow, takes care of the string, fletches his arrows and smokes his pipe. At times, he nods, the same way an absent minded teacher would when hearing a student reciting answers. His pipe stays on his lips the whole time. It is only the last sentence that makes him look up.

"Baphomet? Your patron is Baphomet? Correct me if I am wrong, but this specific Demon Lord deals mainly with labyrinths, minotaurs and other strange beasts. He has never taken an interest on bipedals without horns or at least scales in them. How come you entered his service? And in Galt, of all places?"

[Desril]

Morigan

Finding herself stopping at the door to leave the room before taking her bath, Morigan listens to Hosilla's story with an analytic mind, silently debating her reasoning. She's not entirely mistaken, the strong use whatever justification they can think of. And I can't blame her for making a bad choice to save her own neck, whose to say I wouldn't have done the same if I'd been in her place? But still, it's not about power, that's where she's wrong. I'll have to talk to her in private later tonight.

In spite of that line of thinking however, the tiefling can't help but feel a slight sense of unease at the mention of a Vorlesh involved in the planning. If that's the case, then this is big. Bigger than this city. Turning to Karsten she whispers an aside, "If the Vorlesh she mentioned is Areelu Voresh, we need to put a stop to this plan. That woman did not do things by small measures, and whatever's happening isn't going to end with just this place."

At Tefkros' questioning of how Hosilla entered the service of the Lord of Minotaurs, Morigan listens expectantly, wondering just how different it was from her own experience.

[Athaleon]

Karsten nodded Morigan's whisper, but didn't speak until Hosilla had finished her story. "Right and wrong aren't just what some king says they are, and you know that." He shook his head. "You bowed down before something much worse than whoever runs Galt this week, and call that strength? You ran straight to the wolves, and sold out the whole flock so that you might be eaten last, and you call that power?" Karsten reined in his rising temper. He needed to keep a clear head, and if he couldn't do that, he might as well excuse himself and let the others question Hosilla. "But you're right, I should be asking about troop movements, safehouses, callsigns, and force numbers. Where are the demons headed next?"

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A short post for such a long absence, but I have to post what I've got before I head to work.

[Khosan]

Udo

"Mostly, I was just curious," Udo offers a shrug once Hosilla finishes her tirade, "You seemed reasonable. Rational. Compared to the other cultists we've encountered, anyway." He shudders, recalling some of the events from earlier in the day, "I asked because I knew you'd have an answer. Reasonable people always do."

"As far as justice, honor and all that is concerned..." The grippli leans back against a wall, stroking his chin until he's satisfied with his thoughts, "We grow through struggle. Accepting the demons' power denies your own opportunity - and society's opportunity - for growth. These things could be improved, made into realities. The first step is recognizing them as problems. It would not be easy, but nothing worth doing ever will be."

[Desril]

Morigan

They aren't completely wrong either, but making this about society isn't going to win her over. Cultists don't become altruists overnight, this would go over better if we focus on her personal gains for the moment.

Finding herself nodding along to the majority of both Karsten's and Udo's arguments, Morigan decides that maybe she should interject, at least a little, at this point. "He's not wrong, people do grow through struggle, at least when it doesn't break them completely. But you're not entirely wrong either. Justice, honor, they are just things people made up to comfort those too weak to take what they wanted...but evil? The Iomedaean is right. That does exist. You've seen it, I'm sure, and you know it. And you've also seen that it isn't going to give you enough power to live how you want or this lot wouldn't have been able to take you down. Even if it could it wouldn't be without a price that isn't worth paying. So, why not denounce Baphomet? He holds no loyalty to you, after all, continuing to be his minion won't get you anywhere any more."

Now I just have to hope she's clever enough to realize that doing so would forfeit her magical abilities and make everyone else a little more trusting. It's a hefty fee, but if she wants power, there are better methods to getting it than, smiling at the irony of her own thoughts, following a Demon Lord.

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Figured there was enough there to respond to before the next GM Post.

...Should I roll Diplomacy?

[DaedalusMkV]

Hosilla shrugs in response to Tefkros' question. "The world changes. I can't claim to know his end goal, but I can assure you that I am far from the only human in Baphomet's service. We're... All over the place." She smiles ominously. "As I said, Baphomet cares more about how we serve than who we are. He'll take... Anyone. "


She remains similarly calm in response to Udo. "I don't have a problem, little man. I know what I'm doing. I might not have been powerful enough to destroy you, but I am by no means the most dangerous of my order. Unless you were really holding back, I'm betting I could have taken any one of you in single combat, as well, so it's not like you can offer me more than I have now."

In comparison, she grows visibly angry at Karsten, replying with heated wrath. "Oh, I'm a sell-out, am I? People like you are why Galt is a broken mess. Have you ever bothered to look past your own so-called righteousness to see what the world's really like?" She leans over and spits on the ground. "Look right here, then. You'll call this a righteous war, won't you? Good versus evil. Oh yes. I don't see it. On one side, the mortal followers of deific beings kill in the name of their masters. On the other... The same. How many people have you killed today, sir Knight? More than me, I bet. Did they all deserve it? Did you ever even stop to think about their deaths? Oh, but they were just cultists. Monsters. Fiends. What does it matter if you slaughter them." She narrows her eyes. "Justifications. Pretenses. We're both murderers, killing our enemies on the orders of those above us. But I'm not the one with the bloodthirst. I'd have let you and your friends go unharmed. You couldn't handle letting your enemy live, though. You shot a woman sitting in a chair, without even giving her a chance to lift her weapon. You killed Uziel. You even killed the damned Elf woman, when you decided not to take my deal. But I'm the evil one." She takes a few steps towards Karsten, standing tall. "The Demons are exactly as bad as the people who run Galt today. Exactly as bad as your vaunted Lord Hulrun, hunting witches like they hunt Nobles. Exactly as bad as your Crusade, slaughtering its way through Sarkoris, making no distinction between Worldwounders and tribesmen. There's no such thing as good and evil. Only sides. I picked one, you picked another. We're all bastards. Stop pretending you're better than me."

In comparison, her response to Morrigan is simpler. "Oh, certainly. I'll simply give up everything on a whim. Please. I've seen evil on both sides of this war. You're so convinced you're right that you think I'll just roll over and agree with you. Well, guess what? I prefer being part of the Wolf's pack to the Sheep's flock. Have you ever tried it? You might as well."

Finally, she gets around to answering Karsten's questions. "I don't know how strong Khoramzaddeh's forces are. I don't know where they were headed, though 'south' is the obvious answer. I don't know about Deskari's forces in this area, and I don't know about their safehouses. But... I can tell you about three of our own safehouses. I don't know how many of the Templars remain in Kenabres, but our leader here is a Tiefling named Faxon; he should still be at the Tower of Estrod, if you hurry. With any luck, most of our agents should be out of the city by now, but Faxon will be among the last to leave."

Spoiler: OOC

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No need to roll Diplomacy for that one, Desril. You couldn't possibly roll high enough to convince her that quickly. I'm not going to say Diplomacy won't help with Hosilla, because it absolutely will, but you'll probably need a better tactic than just asking a divine spellcaster to renounce their faith because they lost a battle. I'm sure you can figure something out.

If anyone has any more immediate things to do with Hosilla or questions to ask, I'll give you an opportunity to do so, but I don't want to drag this scene out too long. Ideally I'd like to keep the game moving with the next post; I know a few of you have plans for Hosilla, and I'll be happy to continue IC and/or OOC discussions with and about her in PMs to avoid derailing the game.

Everyone:

Spoiler: Sense Motive

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She'd been putting up a good front until now, but during her tirade it becomes clear that Hosilla is not as friendly towards you as she had been saying. While you still get the feeling she's been telling the truth, you're also pretty certain that she has very little by way of positive feelings towards any of you, personally, and she shows an intense disdain for Tefkros and Karsten in particular.

OOC, she is not your friend, though she has been abiding by your deal and shows every sign of being honest about it. Her Attitude towards you remains Hostile, she's simply chosen to cooperate for her own ends. If you want to change that... Well, you know how NPC attitudes work.

[Desril]

Morigan

The tiefling bows her head in wordless acceptance of Hosilla's response, not able to fault her for the logic behind it or even the argument itself for the most part, but she does contest one thing. "On one point, you are mistaken. I don't think you'll just 'roll over and agree' with anything so easily, but I do think you'll come to see things differently. I just thought I'd ask to see if you were the gambling type. And as for being part of a pack or a flock," Morigan shrugs and lightly flaps her wings, "I'll walk my own path as a...well, not a human, no offense, but as someone capable of standing on their own. A wolf needs its alpha, and a sheep its shepherd. I'd prefer to do what I want, rather than what whichever group I happen to be around wishes. For now though, I think I've delayed that bath long enough. We can discuss this more later, if you're willing."

After a quick check to make sure no one needs her for anything at the moment, Morigan finally makes the exit she started several minutes ago and searches for the estate's bathing room while thinking about what to do with Hosilla. She's clever, angry, and honest. Well, at least now I know why I want to help her. It's just a question of how to convince her that she can't get what she really wants if she continues down her current path?...In any event, she's not as furious at me as she is at the others. From the sounds of it, they were out for blood when they met her and didn't exactly win any favors. I wonder what really happened in those caves?

[ProudGrognard]

Tefkros


Tefkros lets out a startlingly bitter laugh when Hossila talks about sheeps and wolves.

"Oh, how many things you don't know. You are still a sheep, but now the wolves have convinced you that you are one of them. You are not. You are the same little scared sheep you were and they will eat you at first opportunity. You want honesty? Let's have at it. How many 'friends' did you see backstab and betray each other? How many were left behind? You just did it yourself now! You accuse us of 'murdering your friends' and now you betray them without a blink. What hypocrisy. "

Tefkros shakes his head and reclaims his pipe


"No, you are still a sheep. Helpless, alone, scared. Someone gave you power you did not work for and you took it. You are a child that has been given a crossbow and tries to bully adults. Nothing more. I should know, I was a demon lover."

After the admission, Tefkros looks at Hosilla

"Yes, keep telling us about how terrible things were for you. Keep telling yourself that everyone is the same. Because, of course noone else but you had it rough. The same things weak people tell each other to justify their small, pathetic actions. You want strength? Face yourself first. Otherwise, this is also bardic nonsense.

And do not be fooled: This is not the sheep 's flock. This is the Watchdogs' Herd. And if there is something we especially dislike is little sheep trying to howl like wolves. Like you and your masters."

Tefkros takes a smoke and points with his pipe.

"The information is valuable nevertheless. After we have our meal and get to the final leg of our journey, I think we will go sheep shearing."

The prospect seems to cheer him up.

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Really, how many hideouts we have uncovered? Seven? Eight? What to do next?

This was actually an attempt by Tefkros to confront Hosilla in her own terms. A path to redemption that strikes at her need, say

[Khosan]

Udo

"Didn't mean to imply the problem was with you," Udo offers up to Hosilla in response. He shrugs again. His questions had been answered and he was content with that.

When it's clear that everyone else is getting a bit heated, Udo puts his hands in the air and calls for attention, "Everyone! Everyone," his hands return to his sides once everyone's quieted down, "I think we can leave this discussion for a while. Hosilla has been cooperative so far, but I'd rather we not push her." He pauses to consider his next few words, a pause that takes far longer than even he's comfortable with. The druid's eyes light up and he cracks a smile as he speaks once more, "Patience is a virtue. We'll come to an understanding in time. But before then, we have a number of more pressing matters to tend to."

[Athaleon]

Karsten

"Sheepdogs. I like that," Karsten said with a sudden grin, after Tefkros spoke. "I wasn't always a Paladin. Wasn't long ago I was one of the wannabe-wolves. Brevoyan Free Corps, Fifth Company; born and raised to the sellsword life. We weren't Vargo's Blackhearts but we weren't angels either, by any stretch." His grin faded. "A few months ago I was taken prisoner by some of your friends, hauled up north and came this close to being sacrificed. I caught a glimpse of the other side, and I'm not ashamed to admit it scared me." His voice slowly began to rise in spite of himself. "Put aside the talk of gods and kings and crusades, and stopping the demons and their minions becomes a matter of survival, plain and simple. Whether by the sword or by selling the world to the Abyss, you and your dead cultist friends wanted to kill me, along with a whole lot of other people besides. If that doesn't give me the right to put them down, nothing does. Call me a bastard because my heart doesn't bleed for them." He shook his head in disbelief, as though he couldn't believe he actually had to argue this. "Don't lecture me about the cold hard world, I'll wager I've seen as much, or more of it than you. The world and the people in it aren't perfect, the gods know the Crusade has committed its share of crimes, but taken all together it's still a damned sight better than the Abyss. And if you can't see that — If you honestly believe yourself when you say the demons are 'only' as bad as the worst examples of human behavior — Then I don't know what else to tell you, other than give your ****in' head a shake. You've been had." With that, and as Udo pleaded for calm, Karsten turned away in disgust and made to leave the room. "If anyone needs me I'm going for a stroll. It's 'just' demons out there, no worse than Crusaders, guys." He waved with a sarcastic flourish as he departed.

Spoiler

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Since we were ready to move on, Karsten won't stay to listen to any reply Hosilla might make after his tirade. He actually will go for a walk, but only around the manor itself to memorize its layout.

[DaedalusMkV]

Behind the safety of Horgus' high walls the night passes uneventfully, and having been given a chance at real food, beds and even baths, you greet the morning in better conditions than you've been in since the ground opened up beneath you in the cathedral square, beginning the series of events that led here. Anevia waits anxiously at the door, her leg still wrapped in its splint but her cane discarded as she seems to move with greater fluidity and confidence. Gann, meanwhile, still shows clear evidence of the previous day's injuries, wincing occasionally when he stretches against a sore spot. By sharp contrast, Hosilla seems to have somehow recovered completely, and she watches you with appraising eyes, hands securely bound.

You set out from Horgus' manor shortly after dawn, locking his gate securely behind you, and begin the short journey to Anevia's small home some distance to the north, but before you've travelled two blocks the city's unnatural stillness is broken by the sounds of a commotion not far away. Turning a corner, you can see four figures in front of a small, partially collapsed shrine to Sarenrae. One of the figures, looking like a young woman, looks to be trussed up and sobbing loudly, held by two burly armoured men with swords in hand, while a woman in heavy, soot-stained chainmail holds a greatsword with both hands, speaking fairly loudly. "You will not be forgotten. We must all be willing to make sacrifices, if we want to have any chance of driving out the Demons." She slowly begins to raise her weapon...

Spoiler: OOC

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You can see three warriors dressed in the manner of crusading knights, plus what looks to be a peasant girl held between them. You're about 80 feet from the group, who seem to be too focused on whatever they're doing to have noticed you.

[Desril]

Morigan

After studying her spellbook for a time, I need to work on my aim, it might be better to trade out this for something more...colorful, Morigan joins the others and sets off toward Anevia's home, only to find a rather incriminating scene playing out before her.

The wizard briefly glances at the others and gives them a short warning, "I don't know what's going on, but I don't like it. If you don't want to get involved, I'll catch up."

Damn, they're too far away for anything incapacitating. I could light them on fire easily enough, but it'd put the girl in danger. I can't rain rocks upon them without hitting her either. No choice, I'll have to stall them and get closer. Picking up her pace to a light jog, both to get in range and better see what's going on, Morigan calls out to the armored trio. "What do you think you're doing to her!? What's going on here?!"

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Sorry about not getting everyone's opinion before interfering, not sure what the vote would be, but I/Morigan can't just leave this one without getting involved.

I don't think I'd need a Diplomacy or Intimidate here, but I'll roll one if you want.

[DaedalusMkV]

When Morrigan calls out the female knight turns around, eyes widening as she sees you. "Demonspawn! To arms, men! For Mendev and the Crusade!" She immediately puts her words to action, advancing quickly as she shoulders her two-handed blade, draws forth a javelin and hurls it full-force at Morrigan, landing a glancing blow with the spear. The other two have time to do little more than drop their captive and draw a pair of heavy crossbows, though neither has the time or presence of mind to fire before you can react.

Spoiler: OOC

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Morrigan takes 6 Damage from a Javelin. On the upside, you now have a Javelin. Souvenir!

Combat begins, at least theoretically. You can attempt Diplomacy to calm down the Crusaders as a Standard Action, essentially trying to reason with them, but any attempts to do so take a -10 Penalty as a result of their current mildly berserk state. You all get to act now, then the Knights again.

Currently, Gann has taken it on himself to watch Hosilla, and will be holding back from the battle to do so.

Spoiler: Map

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C is the captive woman. The rest should all be pretty straightforward.

[ProudGrognard]

Tefkros

Tefkros is not done processing what he sees when Morigan takes the lead. Whatever this is, it is not good. The Crucade at times has done more to hurt its own cause than anything the demons came up with.

We need time.

Tefkros palms the scale of the ancient dragon he always carries. It is slowly becoming a symbol of all that has been lost when the attack came. But also, of what can be regained. He focuses and he feels the magic still infusing it. With a gesture, he points at a point between the two attackers (Q7) and fog starts to condense around them. Soon, they are almost out of sight.

"Stay you weapons, by the Everdawn! We have captives, we are accompanied by a paladin and we are sought by demons. Wait I say!"

Hopefully, someone more charismatic will take over. But Tefkros has his arrow out already.

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Here goes for untrained... something (1d20)[8]
Also perception (1d20+7)[13] and SM (1d20+7)[22]

[Athaleon]

Karsten

"Lower those weapons, troops, she's not an enemy!" He moved in front of Morigan to put his armored bulk between her and any more bolts. He put an air of authority into his words, and into his body language as he strode boldly forward. Helps that I now look the part.

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Moving to H8 and attempting Diplomacy: (1d20+8)[12]

[Desril]

Morigan
HP 16/23
AC 12

Despite grimacing after the javelin flies past her, Morigan's robes remain unharmed. After putting a hand to where the javelin struck her a glancing blow and looking at it being coated in her blood, it's pretty clear that she isn't as lucky as her dress, however.

As Karsten moves to defend her, she whispers an aside to him before glaring at the knight that wounded her, "Talking won't do much, but I'll buy you some time. Don't let these idiots hurt anyone."

Spotting an alleyway to the side, the tiefling prays it loops around the building before stepping forward, flaring out her wings, and doing her best to sound as demonic and injured as she can, shouting toward the knights. "How dare you wound me! We'll meet again, some day!" After that, she quickly darts into the alley to break line of sight, and incants the spell she'd been making daily use of to sneak around before meeting up with the others yesterday to turn herself invisible.

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Rolling bluff to convince the knights that I'm fleeing the field (1d20+5)[13]

Moving to...I think K11 is as far as I can get that way, and making sure the knights know which alley I went down.

Casting Invisibility on myself.

My Plan; I'll follow the path around the building, I should be able to get to the captive next combat round, and I can free her and cover her escape in the round that follows. That gives you all a couple of rounds to try and talk them down. Additionally, they might waste time trying to chase me down the alley. If they do, you guys free the girl and then we can just trap them and force a surrender.

[Khosan]

Udo

"Crusaders?" Udo peeks around the corner, "Crusaders." His question answered, he lets out a heavy sigh. On the one hand, he felt relieved; crusaders out and about meant more potential allies. On the other, they nearly killed not just one but two innocents (even if one was a tiefling that surprised them).

"Gann," Udo takes a few steps back and motions for the mongrelman to follow him, "I don't want to alarm them with our number. Karsten and Tefkros should be able to calm them down."

[DaedalusMkV]

Tefkros invokes the magic of Terendrelev's scale, casting a massive cloud of fog across the street and obscuring all three Knights and their captive to everyone's eyes but his own while the rest of the group attempts to disarm the situation, Gann and Anevia following Udo's lead and staying out of sight. Unfortunately, the Crusaders seem to be having none of it. From within the thick fog, the female leader calls out again. "Don't listen to their lies! They consort with Demons. Attack!"

Putting her own words to action, the woman rushes out of the cloud at the best speed her heavy armour allows her, her other javelin already in hand. Barely pausing to look at your group, she simply hurls it at the nearest figure with uncanny accuracy, the heavy spear striking Karsten in the shoulder before he has time to interpose his shield. While his new, rather ill-fitting armour absorbs most of the impact, the javelin still penetrates far enough to draw blood. One of the crossbow-using Knights fires a wild shot from within the fog at Tefkros, but the bolt flies several feet wide, quite wasted, while the other throws his weapon down, gripping his hand-and-a-half sword with both hands as he rushes out of the fog.

Hosilla, meanwhile, seems to find the situation hilarious, having peeked briefly around the corner before Tefkros invoked the fog cloud. "Oh, cold Abyss. They were trying to sacrifice a virgin to make a Demon-slaying sword, weren't they." She chuckles for a moment, hanging back from the battle.

Spoiler: OOC

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Karsten takes 5 Damage from another thrown javelin from KL. She got a bit lucky with the hit, but at least she rolled minimum damage. K1 fires at Tefkros, but between Tefkros' AC and the 50% miss chance has no luck hitting. K2 drops his crossbow, then double-moves out of the fog with sword in hand.

Your attempts at diplomacy seem to have failed. With Morrigan no longer front and center, further Diplomacy checks to convince them to stand down are now at -5.

Your turn again.

Tefkros:

Spoiler: Sense Motive

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They look more than a little unhinged. All three have a wild, almost feral cast to their features, and the leader seems to be almost totally berserk. The other two are slightly more collected, but also appear to be unswervingly loyal to the woman, and any hesitation they may have shown vanished the instant she gave her command.

Morrigan:

Spoiler: OOC

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You're pretty sure they have no idea where you are, but they definitely don't seem to be looking for you.

Spoiler: Map

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[ProudGrognard]

Tefkros

Hearing Hossila 's unwitting remark, Tefkros frowns. Seeing Karsten get hit was the last straw.

"That was your last mistake, you damn misguided fool"

Tefrkos releases his arrow at the feral crusader. A second is on the air a few seconds later.

Spoiler

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Rapid Shot (1d20+8)[9] dmg (1d8+4)[8] and (1d20+8)[27] dmg (1d8+4)[7]

[Desril]

Morigan (Invisible)
HP 16/23
AC 12

Looking behind her as the derranged knight cries out, Morigan sighs. Or at least, she tries to, but it turns into a pained groan as the burning sensation where the javelin grazed her mutates it as she exhales. Oh Abyss take you, you psychotic bitch.

Shaking her head, disappointed at what happened, the tiefling realizes she can't take a break to catch her breath when an innocent woman is at risk. I'm sure the others can take them in a fight, but if those morons start losing they might use the girl as a human shield. I'll just have to get to her while they're busy.

Invisibly making her way down the alleyways until she gets back into the open street. Once there, Morigan estimates where the girl was, not able to see her in the magically conjured cloud, and dashes in that direction. Spotting her form in the mist, she crouches down at the girl's side, whispering as she does. "Shhh, you're going to be OK, I'm a friend. I'm going to untie you, but you won't be able to see me. Just stay quiet until I'm done, OK? Nod your head if you understand."

Spoiler

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Move to P13.
Move again, this time to R8.
Dropping Prone is a free action, so I assume Crouching would be too (is there even a mechanic for crouching to differentiate it from standing? It's mostly just for flavor purposes)

[Khosan]

Udo

"Oh, come on," Udo buried his face in the palms of his hands. Most of his optimism had faded within the span of a few seconds, under the combined assault of the crusaders' hyper-vigilance and Hosilla's input. He still had hope, but this couldn't be settled without a fight at this point.

"Don't hurt them too badly!" With any luck, they could maybe, possibly be saved. While he regretfully slung a bullet at one of the crusaders, Udo offered up a silent prayer for their well-being.

Spoiler: Actions

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Udo shifts to C8 and attacks KL with his sling.

Attack - (1d20+6)[18]
Damage - (1d3)[2]

Spoiler: Status

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HP: 16/18
AC: 17

[Athaleon]

Karsten

He grunted as the javelin hit him, but Karsten only continued his advance and drew Radiance, holding it up above his head. "Stop this, we're on the same side here!" he bellowed, just as his companions loosed their own missiles. It's a fight, then. His heart sank, even as he charged to meet the maddened Crusaders' leader.

Spoiler

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Charging to K8, using Power Attack on KL and hitting for nonlethal damage.

(1d20+6)[16]
(1d8+7)[13]

[DaedalusMkV]

Udo and Tefkros both pick the female knight with the heavy sword as their target, Udo's sling stone hitting her in the chest with a mighty crack as it impacts her chain armour but not slowing her down much, while Tefkros' second arrow strikes an arm, drawing blood as it punches partway through the chain before bouncing off, a hit that seems to cause her quite a bit more difficulty. Unfortunately, hampered as he is by his efforts not to strike anywhere vital, Karsten's glowing blade is barely deflected by the knight's defenses... Though, he could have sworn that his blow glanced off her flesh, as though some sort of invisible force is protecting her.

The two Crusaders already outside of the fog bank created by Terendrelev's scale both focus their attacks on Karsten, though the leader begins to circle around him, either to flank around his shield or in an effort to bypass him on her way to the rest of the group. The first Karsten easily blocks, the soldier clearly both worse equipped and less experienced than the Paladin, but the leader continues to prove a deadly opponent as she uses the moment of distraction to deal a crushing two-handed blow with her greatsword. The third comes rushing out of the fog, drawing a mace as he goes, but stops and reorients himself as he nearly impacts the wall beside him, losing his momentum. When he catches sight of Udo he curses. "What is that, some kind of frog demon?"

Meanwhile, within the fog Morrigan reaches the distressed-looking captive and crouches beside her. Her eyes widen in panic for a moment and she yelps in surprise, looking around wildly for whoever is talking to her. After a moment she regains a small amount of composure and begins to nod vigorously, still sobbing lightly and squirming as she struggles to rise to her knees.

At the back of the battle, behind the wall, Hosilla quietly steps towards the street, craning her neck as if to get a glimpse of the fight. Anevia grabs her by the shoulder, holding her steady, and the Demon-worshipper shoots her a reproachful glare.

Spoiler: OOC

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Udo and Tefkros both hit with their attacks, while Karsten just barely misses. The enemy leader looks bloodied, but still active enough. K2 misses despite a decent attack roll, while KL hits Karsten for 14 damage. K1 emerges from the fog and draws a weapon, but isn't really in the fight just yet.

Desril: As far as I'm aware, there's no mechanical effect to crouching whatsoever. If there were it would definitely be a free action, since stooping to a crouch takes... Well, no time at all and can easily be done with a single step regardless.

Spoiler: Map

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[Desril]

Morigan (Invisible)
HP 16/23
AC 12

Working as quickly as she can, Morigan unties the ropes binding the girl, whispering as she does in an effort to keep her calm. "You're going to be OK, not everyone went crazy. The fog clears up just behind us, just take a few steps out until you can see and find some place to hide until the fighting is over, alright? Once we make sure these morons can't hurt anyone I'll make sure you get somewhere safe."

Once she's freed, the tiefling tries to guide her east to make sure she doesn't accidentally stumble back into the fray before moving back into the fight herself, making her way toward where the swordsman was fighting, intending to knock them out and blind them...painfully.

Spoiler

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Untie the girl (Move action or free?)
Diplomacy to...help keep her calm and do what I just said, not something stupid. (1d20+7)[21]

Move to M8

If the untying was free, then use Color Spray aimed at K2 and KL without hitting Karsten. Since I'm starting the casting while invisible, I don't provoke, correct? If I do, I'll roll to cast Defensively. Anyway, DC 15.

[ProudGrognard]

Tefkros
HP 20 AC19

Tefkros sees Karsten get surrounded so he ignores the hostile coming out from the fog. He quickly sends two arrows in the knight again.

Spoiler

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Rapid shot
Atk1 (1d20+8)[23] dmg (1d8+4)[8]
Atk2 (1d20+8)[27] dmg (1d8+4)[8]

[Athaleon]

Karsten reeled under the blow, and reflexively called out to Iomedae for aid. He felt the pain ease almost immediately, but it didn't go away entirely. Surrounded, and with a foe determined to kill him, he ruefully shifted his grip to bring the sharp edge of his sword to bear. In any case, his companions were shooting to kill. He just had to hope his opponent would yield before it was too late.

Spoiler

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Lay on Hands self: (1d6)[5]

Power Attack: (1d20+8)[15]
Damage: (1d8+7)[9]

[Khosan]

Udo

Being called a demon wasn't anything new to Udo, a childhood of being as different as he was had seen to that. Nevertheless, the comment still stung enough to elicit a sharp glare for but a moment.

Even with the momentary distraction, Udo's quick (ish) to act. Karsten was clearly badly hurt and the lady knight baring down on him was about to make matters worse. Unfortunately, though a healing spell seemed his best option, he couldn't reach the injured paladin before the knight next swung her sword. It wasn't much, but he had to hope another hit would be enough to knock her out.

Spoiler: Actions

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Move Action: Move to I8
Standard Action: Attack KL - (1d20+6)[24], (1d3)[2]