Kingslayers: Wild Magic of the Seekers

[BlueWizard]

When no resolution is given to the him, the well-dressed messenger, wearing a fine merchant-class brown, black-striped, silk robe, will back out of the area and retreat in confusion in a hurry.
"I can at least blind them all." The nymph says to Cara. "Once again tell the mortals to look away."

[Eratosthenes]

Taros

Taros nods to Cara, and after seeing the pompadour messenger on his way, throws open the door - shield raised - and shouts out, "The Fist shall destroy this House, and all those who make their lives in it. Come on then, you bastardly cowards!"

[kariokie]

Her nerves aren't soothed in the slightest by the others' words -- Taros' attempt at addressing her concerns falls flat as he was just terrifyingly lopping the hands off of a man a few minutes before, meanwhile her best friend just seems intent on killing whatever evil gets in her way. There's no choice, though. Not like I have a better plan.

Cassy moves back from the door before Taros opens it, and keeps her staff at the ready. She looks nervously around the room, shuddering as she remembers... something... before she pushes it all back out of her mind. Focus.

[BlueWizard]

At Taros command an answer will be heard from deep down the hall, and out of your sight. All Taros can see is a wall of armored men. The answer is an angry "Charge! Kill them! Kill them all!" , some commanding sounding voice. It is not familiar to any of you.
Men charging have polearms, torches, swords, even crossbows and they rush the doorway, that is maybe 4 feet wide.
All spells have just been prepped about 20 seconds ago, at most.

The closest in the 20 foot hall are 60 feet away, but men come out of adjacent doorways between the 60 foot area, and will be funneling into the tiny gap...

{OOC- We can play mini-300 here, or I can just fast-forward to the part where the tired and bloodied, uninjured Taros, stands in a swath of dead men that is blotting the doorway, and sending a stream of blood everywhere.
Also good is the vaporizing of men, or stunning them with goodness. At some point the crowd will run, and we can see where that goes. I just don't want to jump into a long battle, unless all of you are really want to, these warriors provide mostly role-play XP anyway, since none have had the battle training that Taros has had and still continues to pursue. }

[dauphinous]

Confident that Cassy can handle the mass effects that will make this a shorter fight, Cara lets the nymph do her thing, then steps up next to Taros, fully prepared to use both mace and spiked shield to prevent anyone from getting past the both of them.

There is still plenty of outrage at what Taros did. Deep down, though, she loves him, and something like that won't change this fact. Standing there next to him, about to deliver this scum to their gods, she can't help but take a sidelong glance that brings to mind other times and places. It isn't as if she's never done anything that might be considered on the darker side of righteous zeal, and once she has a real opportunity to tell him precisely what she thinks...the thought of freeing all these people from the clutches of their captors is an incredibly energizing one.

[BlueWizard]

In whatever state you leave the dead, the many survivors in the distance just run, and Taros will be sure a couple men are trampled to death on the retreat alone.
After a mass exodus, it will suddenly be quiet outside again.
The bells will even stop ringing, and outside the strange windows to the complex's streets people flee in panic and chaos.

[kariokie]

Cassy looks around at the bodies of the dead, paling yet again. Stop looking.

"We need to..." Cassy turns her head, then her body, facing away from the direction their victims -- enemies -- came from, and instead towards where the tunnel to Thesnick's yacht laid. "We should go. And try to get these people free. If no one helps them, they'll just end up as slaves again. They... they don't have any rights."

[Roland St. Jude]

Silvas

Out of nowhere, a familiar voice, the deep, rich voice of Latigo, says, "The gates must be thrown open and these people freed from this entire city. Let's open the door for these people."

[BlueWizard]

OOC- Plans can still be made to make your way to the personal yacht of Thesnick, but I am unsure of what spells were cast, if any, or if Taros just tired up his sword arm. Anyway, the masses flee, and many minutes will pass with nothing. Eventually outside the windows will even calm as no-one seems left to flee. It will seem barren outside, like a ghost town.

OOC2- I imagine this to be like a company town, like what Wrigley, Hershey, and all the big name men had in the late 1900 century. In the land of Old Galorine there are many little mini-cities within its borders similar to this, though with not as high profile a slaver.

[dauphinous]

"Whatever we are going to do or not do, we need to leave fairly quickly. I expect this will be noticed soon, and we do not want to be here when it is." Cara glances down at herself. noting that her armor and shield, and mace for that matter, are liberally splashed with blood, she avoids getting too close to Cassy. At least the brains and entrails and bits of bone tend to just slide right off when more blood is splashed on. A mace just doesn't make pretty cuts and slashes like a sword does. Brains get bashed in. Stuff goes flying everywhere. It's a real mess, and so is Cara.

"These people have been ordered around for who knows how long. They deserve a choice for once. If they want to leave this place, we'll take them. If they want to stay and try to carve out a better life, we'll open the door. We can do both, too, so long as we do it quickly."

[Eratosthenes]

Taros

The long fight had drained him of his initial fury. Now, Taros looked upon the aftermath of the battle. Slaughter, really. These warriors were pawns, nothing more, likely ordered into battle by men of no ethics or morals, when these soldiers wanted for nothing but coin to feed their families or live their lives.

But they had had a choice, Taros reminds himself. Their actions placed them on the wrong side of justice, and so they met their end. A weary sigh escapes his lips as he examines his gore-splattered arms and armor, the metal suddenly feeling like dead weights tied to his arms. Battle was easy: the fight to kill or be killed, when one could lose oneself to the red haze of survival. It was the times between that was hard on the soul.

"I should like this place - the scene of so much pain and debauchery - burnt to the ground. But we must see to those we freed first. Let us be gone from this hell."

[kariokie]

With a flick of her hand she sends a spell to clean Cara and the others up, without looking at their gory state more than she has to. "We can't just open the doors of this compound and chase slaves out into the city and think they're gonna be safe. They don't have any money, or even proper clothes. They'll just get picked off by other slavers or fall into whoring or whatnot." Cassy had magic to fall back on, but these people probably didn't.

"They said this guy had a treasury, right? Let's go bust it open and hand it out. Maybe he's got an armory, too, we can hand weapons out. In the Empire, money and violence talks. Then, let's all run like hell. 'Cos I'm good at that part."

[Eratosthenes]

Taros

Taros nods to the young arcanist; she was right. Looks like their job here wasn't done. "Good idea. Let's go treasure hunting."

[BlueWizard]

Any of the slaves will help, as well as the traitor/cooperative-guard. The guard will go with, but in no way wants to combat his master or his fellow guards.

At one point the Nymph would've aided by showing her face to the attackers. For many it was their last sight. Though Taros' blade or Cara's mace was usually their last sensation.

There is a short walk from the central Mansion area. If there was a secret underground passage to the building none of these people will know about it. The freed slaves under the guidance of Ehlia will head towards the ship through the secret passage, the hooded Nymph will go with this group.

To the treasury....

The streets of the Thesnick compound are eerily quiet, though occasionally you will see an aimlessly wandering slave with silver collar. In the distance you will even see the main gate of Thesnick's Compound open and abandoned. With busy city traffic outside beginning to notice.

The treasury is near the main mansion, a smaller but well-built stone structure. Stone steps led up to the main door, stone as well, with metal plating, and an emblem of Set on the door. The large serpent coils about a globe. The door is magically locked, but unguarded.

[Idiotbox90]

A few of the corpses die from Anthony's magic instead of the others' might. By staying in the back, the warlock avoids much of the violence. Still, the gore on the others mildly disgusts him.

"Cassy, that is the world's greatest spell. If I had to remove all the magic in the world except for one spell, that cantrip would be the one I saved."

((OOC: Was Anthony able to detect any magic on Thesnick's corpse?))

[kariokie]

Talking always made Cassy feel better. Especially about relatively inane topics. "I couldn't even do it until... well there was this big fight and all I wanted to do was to not have blood on me and no one else to have blood on them. Then I woke up the next morning and I knew how to do the spell." Cassy looks at the magically sealed door and adds, "In the fight I also kept wanting to disappear so no one could hurt me and I could do that the next morning, too." Her face grows a little serious and she begins to frown. Don't know what that means if I can kill people with my thoughts, though.

[dauphinous]

The idea of plundering the wealth of this man is made palatable by the idea that it will go to the slaves. Cara shrugs lightly, a gesture that is all but lost in her armor and starts following to the treasury. Normally content to just walk behind Taros and watch his body move, she frowns the whole way, not really paying the sight much attention at all.

"Do we have a good way to deal with this seal? The only spell I have for removing magic can only be used on creatures."

[kariokie]

Dragged from her thoughts by Cara's words, Cassy looks around for something or someone that she can't seem to find. "I can't do much 'less there's no other option. However I think our invisible friend is more than able to get us where we need to be going."

[BlueWizard]

Silvas invisibly will have no trouble figuring out the simple magic spell locking the door, and can wipe it away with ease. The lock mechanism took some time to disarm, and apparently opened a trap beneath your feet.

Some of you probably stood back from the door down the stairs, they open out, and there was little room for the wide doors to open. As the magic is undone, the doors swing outward and large, lumbering humanoids come shambling out. They are wrapped in ragged grizzly hides, and smell as if they live in feces.

The teen guide will turn and flee the moment he sees them and scream, "Giants! They let the giants loose!"

Cassy has heard of these beasts, mostly extinct in imperial lands. They were hill giants, basically a race of giants that evolved from a society of castaway giants. Dumb, big, and brutish, they know one thing, 'their own needs'. And now they all wore large silver collars and wielded heavy clubs. Five of these ugly giants shambled out, and are now ducking single-file out of the front door. They do not see Silvas, and will pass right by him, giving him a great opportunity to show off the sneakiness of the fey backstabs!

{Most all of you have heard of giants.}

Initiatives:
Silvas 14+9
Cassy 16+6
Hill Giants
Anthony 9+3
Taros 6+1
Cara 3+1

{OOC- Anthony will spot an invisble 30 y-o man in the back of the decorated entry hall.}

[kariokie]

"Yipes!" Cassy backpedals, then points her staff forward towards the giants as she invokes a spell.

Spoiler

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If possible, fireball a couple in the second row/back (10d6) without hitting anyone -- she'd know where Silvas was to start, at least, since he opened the door.

If not possible to do that safely, scorching ray, 2 rays of 4d6 each, +7 touch attack to hit.

[Eratosthenes]

Taros: AC 29, HP 82/82

Taros grins at these new opponents, "Giants? Well, you know what they say about the bigger they are..."

Taros moves forward to engage, attempting to block the giant's egress from the treasure room.

{
Attack: +14, Damage 1d8+6
}

[dauphinous]

Cara
AC 26/28 vs. evil HP 75

Cara quickly casts a spell, then takes a fighting stance at Taros's side. A glowing mace appears beside her, and she points with her own mace hand at the first giant in the line. The floating mace streaks towards that giant, leaving glowing mist as a trail that dissipates almost immediately.

{
Cast Spiritual Weapon, direct it to attack the closest giant.
to hit +11, damage 1d8+3

Active spells:
Bull's Strength (Cara)
Status (Anthony)
Greater Status (Cassy, Taros, Bryce)
Magic Circle vs. Evil
Prot From Evil (Cassy)
Entropic Shield (Cara)
}

[Idiotbox90]

Anthony ignores the invisible man for now, instead focusing on the bigger threats. He shoots a jet of eldritch flame at one of the giants and makes it curve, striking another.

"Would someone cast Prestidigitation on these things? They smell like Thesnick looks."

Spoiler

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((AB: +7, Dmg: 9d6+1, Target must make a DC 16 Reflex Save or take 2d6 fire dmg the following round. Second Target: Dmg is 1/2 original dmg. Must also make DC 16 Reflex Save. If the save fails, he takes 1/2 the fire damage of the original.))

[Roland St. Jude]

Silvas

Silvas flits invisibly past the giants, poking each with his rapier.

Spoiler

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Great Flyby attack
Attack - (1d20+14)[15] (applies to each target)
Dmg - (1d6+1)[7] + Snk Atk Dmg - (3d6)[12]
Crit Confirm if needed - (1d20+14)[19]

[BlueWizard]

Silvas fails his fly-by attack, and can't puncture the tough skin of the giants with his rapier.

Cassy can hit the three giants in back, and burns the hair off their smelly skin, scalding them in her ball of fire. It smells worse now. They all groan in pain, and anger. Their grizzly bear hides are charred and blackened. Anthony can see the invisible man in the back is no longer smiling, and just missed being fried by the fireball.

The two lead giants are able to make it to the foot of the stairs, as Taros is unable to trap them at the doors, at least the two of them can't step by him with out pain. Their clubs are mighty and batter him mercilessly! {d:13 and 19}
The 3 charred giants get bottle-necked on the stairs and doorway, and Silvas could get an Attack of Opportunity next round if he held for them to move by his threatened space. {He can be right up in them, they do not have a clue he is there.}
The man will flee through a door in the back of the room...

Taros is able to slice up the lead giant, that seems bothered by gnats on its way down. {d:12 and 8}

Cara's spiritual weapon appears and she steps alongside Taros, at least to draw some fire from the other... they only had one attack that round! The spitual weapon clobbers the lead giant. {d:11}

End Round 1---------------------------->

Initiatives:
Cassy 16+6
Silvas
Hill Giants
Anthony 9+3
Taros 6+1 hp 50/82
Cara 3+1

[dauphinous]

Cara
AC 26/28 HP 75

Fight or heal. It's the same choice as always. Kill them faster, or make sure her team can fight longer. Deep down, a dark little voice nudges her towards letting Taros feel the pain for a little bit. He can take it, and my mace is still clean. She swings her mace and punches with her shield, somehow timing her attacks with that of her glowing mace.

Spoiler

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Cara's to hit, damage: mace/mace/shield +10/+4/+9, 1d8+4/1d8+4/1d4+2
Spiritual Weapon to hit, damage: +11/+5, 1d8+3/1d8+3

Taros also gets the benefit of the Magic Circle since Cara is right next to him.

Active spells:
Bull's Strength (Cara)
Status (Anthony)
Greater Status (Cassy, Taros, Bryce)
Magic Circle vs. Evil
Prot From Evil (Cassy)
Entropic Shield (Cara)

[BlueWizard]

The invisible man not seen will definitely announce a presence sort of when the rear hall door is opened.

[kariokie]

Cassy draws her hand across and then down, speaking a few words in Draconic as she does. There's the sound of a sheet unfurling and being shook, then everyone starts moving more quickly. "Come on, shake a leg."

Spoiler

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Everyone after Cassy's initiative gets:
An extra attack when they make a full attack action
+1 to reflex saves
+1 to hit
+1 AC
+30 to movement speed
Duration: 10 rounds

[Idiotbox90]

Anthony speaks to Cara and Taros, "Guys, there's an invisible man in that vault. Not our invisible man, another one."

Still, the warlock does not attack him. Instead, he continues to focus on the current threat, the giants. He attempts to refocus his energies, before launching another barrage at the behemoths.

Spoiler

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((Concentration: +11, AB: +8, Dmg: 9d6+1 or 5d6+1, Target must make a DC 16 Reflex Save or take 2d6 fire dmg the following round. Second Target: Dmg is 1/2 original dmg. Must also make DC 16 Reflex Save. If the save fails, he takes 1/2 the fire damage of the original.))

((OOC: Did Anthony's previous attack hit?))

[Roland St. Jude]

Silvas

Silvas wrinkles his small nose at his apparent ineffectiveness. I rushed it a bit, I think. Silvas waits nearby the nearest giant and jabs at him as he passes. He then zips up and by for another pass, his rapier flashing - at least to those who can see it.

Spoiler

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Atk of Opp - (1d20+14)[27]
Dmg - (1d6+1)[3] + Snk Atk Dmg - (3d6)[11]

Great Flyby Attack (applies to all targets)
Atk of Opp - (1d20+14)[34]
Dmg - (1d6+1)[4] + Snk Atk Dmg - (3d6)[10]