DeepBlue's Vagabond - Act 1

[The Great Skenardo]

Harold Betruger
Harold nods.
"All right then, Jeremy. We might need to find you again, as I suspect there'll be a secondary inquiry here. I suppose we'll let you out now...?"
he looks at the "brute squad" on either side...

[Deepblue706]

Once the door is hacked to bits, the man finally comes into view. He's got a fair length of unkempt brown hair, and the makings of a beard that could easily be mistaken for just a patch of dirt. Or maybe it is dirt. He kinda smells a bit, too.

"Thanks, friends. I owe you one." He offers you each a stupid-looking grin, and eventually turns back to Harold. "Second inquiry, ya say? I don't intend to stay here long, but if something comes up, I'll be tryin' to find the kitchen."

He takes a few steps down the hall, and then turns back. "How eh...do I get out of here?"

[The Great Skenardo]

Harold Betruger
Harold laughs, a little unconvincingly.
"Ah-ha. Didn't I mention? I rather think that there's a crowd of the walking dead descended on the castle at the moment. we'll need to check the situation, but..."

[Deepblue706]

There's a moment of silence. "Oh." Jeremy finally replies, nervously. "Heh...eh...maybe I'll stick with you, for the time being? If you don't mind, of course..."

[The Great Skenardo]

Harold Betruger
Harold nods.
"That'd be grand. Welcome aboard, and please don't touch anything."

[Deepblue706]

"Right." he nods, and falls in line with the rest of the party.

Spoiler

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I'll need search, spot and listen checks from everyone who decides to accompany Len around the manor.

[Ya Ta Hey!]

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Len is most definitely accompanying herself

Search (1d20+3)[8]
Spot (1d20)[15]
Listen (1d20)[6]

After riding the elevator-machine, Len shoulders the glaive and begins her walk through the gloomy mansion.

[The Great Skenardo]

Harold Betruger
Spot - (1d20)[8]
Listen - (1d20)[17]
Search - (1d20+2)[20]

[Deepblue706]

Len, Harold and Shimar (why not) begin to search the manor, followed closely by the newly freed thief. Meanwhile, Drahlo and Lucian rest as they keep an eye on the conditions of both Titus and the magistrate.

There's plenty items of value to be found here, that's certain. Being able to take it simply appears to be another story. In all of his galleries and libraries, the magistrate has many treasures that could fetch a high price on the market; but being able to carry so much out of here may prove difficult. Len counts twenty well-made portraits, five stone busts of historical figures, six sets of fine silverware, four prized pieces of literature, two full suits of plate armor (they stood in one hall), twelve heraldic crests and all that junk in the lab (including that surgical set). In the magistrate's personal quarters, the group finds two silk robes, a box filled with jewelry, and a small coffer holding what amounts to a hundred gold coins. Harold points out a wand nestled in the corner of the room, made of ebony and fixed with a tiny emerald.

Eventually, the party finds itself back in the study. After a short while, Harold manages to locate hidden door behind the fireplace of the study, after fumbling with a fire poker held beside the wall. The fireplace turns on a dial, and a small room is on the other side. It is a mostly empty room, the only thing standing out being a humanoid figure standing in a fixed position. Len immediately recognizes it to be Flare; his expression is completely blank.

[amanodel]

Shimar

The barbarian takes some (read, almost every single piece) of the jewelry, the other stuff doesn't really interest him. Altough he helps carrying items for Len, if needed. Len may be interested in the armours.

Not reckognizing Flare for the first time, he will immediately ready his glaive upon spotting the figure.

[Ya Ta Hey!]

Len stares around in wonderment at the darkly lurid study before freezing; upon recognizing the motionless Flare, she exchanges a glance with Harold. When Shimar levels his weapon on the still unresponsive sorcerer, Len isn't entrely hesitant to do likewise.

"You don't think he got...?" she begins to ask, before placing down the sack of loot.

"Yo, Flare! Hello?" Len calls. " The Medici government is pretty cool!"

Spoiler

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Ready Action: If Flare is still Silence McTightlips...

Len taps her chin with a slender finger, not about to go anywhere near him until he shows some sign of life. She gets an idea.

"Hey, Zarbucks! Shuriken-guy, you there? What's the lowdown?"

[The Great Skenardo]

Harold Betruger
With some satisfaction, Harold opens the secret door, but his expression shifts to one of vague horror when he sees who stands inside.
"Well, well," he says, softly. Before doing anything else, he watches to see the reaction to Len's remark.

[Deepblue706]

Flare remains motionless.

...

A moment passes, and there is a response to Len's call. "Zarbuck?! That's not my name, you Guilderan harlot! You will address me as Lord Zardulox the Mighty! That's a Z at the beginning, not an X."

A pause.

"Or maybe X. I dunno. X is kind of a fun letter."

[Ya Ta Hey!]

Len shakes her head. "Nah, don't get weird with the spelling. X, that would just be pretentious.

She cautiously steps forward, now producing her glaive. "So uh, Lordship, I don't know how much you saw there in his pocket, but...what's with Flare? Please tell me he didn't decide to go exploring, get his ass caught, and is now under some black magic."

Spoiler

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Ready Action: If Zardulox's answer sucks

Fight Defensively, combat Expertise: -2 ATK, +2 AC
Touch Attack: Poke Flare with flat of Glaive (1d20-2)[7]

[Deepblue706]

The disembodied voice replies without delay. "Sorry to disappoint, my dear; but it I think that's precisely the case. Of course, I first thought he was just giving me the silent treatment after I had made a joke that called-to-question his masculinity - but it soon became apparent that he was just a little too still. Then I realized that the "whooshing" sound I heard earlier came from some sort of sorcery transporting us into these chambers, as well as making our friend Flint here stiff-as-a-board." A momentary pause. "Or rather Flare. Right. Well, not like he can hear me. Anyway, how are you?"

[Ya Ta Hey!]

Len lowers her weapon but carefully circles around to face Flare, not about to take a shuriken's eye view of him as proof that he isn't undead. After all, the Magistrate's laborers likewise held still.

"We're fine. Except for poor Titus, he got bitten, and then stabbed I think, and then floored by a spell. And this gardener beat us senseless until Shimar wasted him, that sucked."

As a final test, Len turns her glaive around and nudges Flare's shoulder with the butt.

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As far as loot, it sounds like the main problem is choosing. I vote for objects that resemble equipment yet are valuable since the main problem is Titus seeing the goods and getting all righteous about it. I bet trying to sell rare, commissioned paintings would be a whole nother slice of pie, too.

An armored suit or any fine weapons (masterwork) are probably the easiest to alibi among Len's other equipment.

[Deepblue706]

Len notes that upon closer inspection, that Flare is certainly not dead. In fact, she's rather sure he's breathing, but he's completely unresponsive. "Did you say gardener?" Len nudges Flare with her polearm, and his body does not hold its footing. "Hey, careful there!!!" Flare falls to the floor, still fixed in the same position. There are muffled cries from beneath him.

[Ya Ta Hey!]

"Did you say gardener?"

"Hey, 'dude was huge and his name was, like, Spinegrinder or something." Len amends just as Flare comes crashing down. Hoping that he didn't land wrong on the shuriken, Len discards the glaive and turns him over, fishing Zardulox from his pocket.

"Well Harold, that's the second (and third) individual mister Thaddeus has detained without a warrant or any kind of due process. Although..."

She glances at the bulging sack of loot, bringing them leaps and bounds closer to freedom from the thieve's guild. Then she imagines the all-star lineup of witnesses they'll have on the stand; Jeremy the farmer drawling away, Flare with his feet crassly up on the table and arms crossed, and Zardulox ranting as intrigued artificers besiege him with instruments.

"Frankly, I think our best legal defense is to not be anywhere nearby when Titus' court date comes."

[Deepblue706]

Len retrieves the bladed star with ease. "You should be more careful!" he scolds her, although quickly becomes distracted as the topic changes.

"So, what's the plan?"

[amanodel]

Shimar

We could kill the maagistrate while Titus's asleep, burn him, and tell Titus that he admitted being hellspawn, and than he retunred to the hells. Would make things easier, I heard that you lowlanders have a disturbing love for your 'courts'.

Shimar says, but when It becomes clear that it is not Flare speaking, he will jump back in surprise.

Who the hell are you talking to?

[The Great Skenardo]

Harold Betruger
"Oh, that? It's a talkative sharpened disc of metal. Don't worry yourself about it; it's mostly harmless."
The minstrel takes a deep breath.
"Shimar, I find a few flaws in your plan. Tidus would certainly buy such an argument, but I don't think that would be wise." He steeples his fingers.
"The Lady Len here can attest to the fact that when the legal system in the city wants to know something that you know, they find out what it is. It's not a question of torture...well," he amends, "It hasn't been. They use drugs, you see, which compel you to answer their questions honestly. Any attempt to outright lie will prove to be your undoing. regardless of how the magistrate is actually viewed by the politicians, the important thing will be to make an example of vigilantism. Once the offending parties are dead, i.e. us, then they can decide how they want the poor deceased magistrate to be remembered. At this juncture...Well, I still need to think about that."

[Ya Ta Hey!]

"You know, Harold, I hate to throw away all our hard work at doing this legitimately, but let's face it; we're going to get our asses handed to us in court." Len muses, slinging Flare's arm over her shoulder and lifting, in spite of Harold's unhappy expression over the reunion.

"Even if Taeger's fancy footwork is holding up on that Big One, if we end up in a courtroom, I guarantee that a lot of people with something to gain from discrediting our testimony will be going over our backgrounds with a fine toothed comb. Since Wyatt warned us against even flashing letters of introduction, this kind of exposure...its a bad idea."

She holds up the shuriken. "Unless Lordship here knows something about the legal system we don't, my recommendation is that we go straight back to Claudius, collect our pay and let Titus have all the glory. Whaddya say?"

[Deepblue706]

"I don't know nothin' 'bout no Tigger or Widget," he says these names earnestly. "but as for the Medician legal system? It's all based on what Zadig guy said. Or rather, they pretend it is. Anyway, I personally thought this idea was stupid to begin with, since you can't just barge into people's homes without any kind of authority. Especially rich people's homes. Titus might be an exception, but then, you did kill someone, didn't you? I'm not from Guilder so I have to guess that's what you meant when you said 'waste'. And, didn't you break a golem?" He sighs. "Yeah, you'd get trounced in the courts, and probably owe this guy money. And probably reunite with Benji over in Crowhaven."

A pause.

"Aw, I miss the poor fella. You know what? Stick this through, I wanna see him again."

[Ya Ta Hey!]

"I think Benji's a little mad at you, man." Len proceeds back out of the room. "You missed me last time he threw you. Secondly, 'no'.."

For her part, Len stockpiles the odds and ends and paralyzed sorcerors back down by the laboratory elevator. Possibly continuing the discussion with the others, she looks for some kind of front window to assess the situation at the front of the keep.

She sincerely hopes her horse hasn't become horse-chops.

[Deepblue706]

"I missed?" He sounds offended. "Pardon me, m'lady, but until you know what it's like to be a shuriken, you should watch your tongue! He simply has poor depth-perception."

As the party walks through the halls, you each note a handful of the undead shambling about in the courtyard. They seem to ignore the horses, and mostly stand about idlely. In all, you count twelve.

[Deepblue706]

The party retreats back to the lower level, where you all get some much-needed rest. Although still suffering the pain of the various wounds you've suffered, at least you feel somewhat revitalized.

From where you all stay, it's impossible to know what time it is. However, those more in tune with the passage of time would guess it's late evening.

Titus is awake now, if a bit disoriented. The Magistrate, however, still lays unconscious. Flare's condition doesn't improve either.

"So, I see you continued the fight well." says a weary Titus. "'Tis good that we were overcame the magistrate's sorcery; now we can be sure he will pay for his crimes." he spits. "It might be wise to bind him with rope, no?"

Spoiler

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Treat yourselves as having 8 hours of rest. I will NPC Drahlo and have him heal anyone who asks.

[Proven_Paradox]

Titus's words remind Drahlo of the rope in his satchel. He reaches in to pull it out--disturbing Guha in the process, who gives an annoyed squeak. He lays the 25' hemp rope on the ground. "I'm no good at tying knots."

[amanodel]

Shimar

Disappointed that Titus awoke before he could cut down tha magistrates arms and cut out his tongue, the barbarian remains sitting on the ground, and adds - We could break his fingers, just to be sure he won't cast spells on us.

[Ya Ta Hey!]

Len, much refreshed, kneels down to string up the magistrate.

Use Rope: take 10 +5 = 15.

"How's that bite doing?" she askes Titus, about to suggest some ointment or something for the festering teeth marks dotting his face.

[Deepblue706]

"Eh?" Titus seems to have entirely forgotten about his wound. "I'm fine - the Holy Father has granted me many blessings, among them the ability to mend minor injuries. It will probably leave a scar; although I suppose I'll be better for it." He then looks to Shimar, but makes no comment on how to treat the Magistrate. "Scars serve as a reminder to keep our wits on the battlefield, as well as make for interesting conversation, do they not?"

Len is confident her bindings will keep the Magistrate held, as he's rather thin, even for a man of courts.