Ruins of Azlant, Part I: A Bountiful Venture [PF] (IC)

[Darvin]

"It seems the ring refers to Livvy Felton, presumably the wife of Adrian Felton," Tirsen shrugs, "for whatever that's worth,"

Tirsen moves to collect up the spell components. No sense in leaving such valuables behind, after all.

[pi4t]

Liyinva waits for a while, beginning to wonder if Rovena heard her query about the footprints.

[jamieth]

"Felton", Rovena nods, committing the name to memory. "Well... I still have hope Mr. and Mrs. Felton are alive and well, as are other villagers, but... if that is not the case... at least we'll be able to make sure the ring gets to their next of kin. Now, any luck with the box? ...Incense, silver and diamond dust? That's... components for religious ceremonies, aren't they? But of course!" the girl slaps her own forehead, "Large house, right next to the shrine... village priest, of course. Now... Liyinva, you said those barrels were rolled south?" She closes her eyes in frustration, "If only we had a way to contact the ship. There's more and more evidence that going north would be pointless... but since the Captain will wait for us at the second designated spot, we eventually will have to - even though south now seems like much more perspective option."

[Stelio Kontos]

The remainder of the Felton home proves to be largely uninteresting -- a collection of personal knickknacks of questionable monetary value. The party is left with a veritable bounty of options. The tracks Liyinva noted pass through the gate along the south wall and on toward the collection of homes positioned outside the palisade wall; from your vantage point it's not easy to tell where they go from there. The buildings along the inner north side of the palisade that have yet to be explored, as has everything outside the wall save for the collection of tents. You could, of course, decide to take the rest of the day off and go for a refreshing swim in the ocean, or (more productively, perhaps) make way immediately for the rendezvous point.

Where would you like to go next?

Spoiler: Map, for reference

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[jamieth]

Someone who ever took a peek inside Rovena's spellbook could probably see - or at least imagine - the Laws colliding in her head at this point, the experience putting a deep frown on the young arcanist's face. "Much as I don't like to admit it... There's probably no point in going North at this point. And..." she looks down, "We're probably at the point where several more hours won't make any difference. If the colonists' lives were at risk... it was in the fist hours - days, at most - after leaving the town. Right now, best we can help them is by learning as much as we can... Onwards. The next house looks particular as well..."

[Darvin]

"Lead on," Tirsen remarks, playing with the hilt of her rapier slightly. She was itching to stab something after that annoying encounter with the poltergeist, and if any monsters were running about town... well, she'd run them through.

[pi4t]

"Indeed. We lose little in searching for more information, given the timescales. Besides, the tracks seem to indicate that whatever left them was more interested in the barrels than any inhabitants. It may be that the town had already been abandoned before those tracks were left."

Liyinva keeps quiet about the other possibilities that have occurred to her. There's no reason to scare the group unnecessarily, especially when it's only a vague suspicion.

[Stelio Kontos]

Continuing to circle back inside the palisade, the group comes upon a small building just south of the main path.

This L-shaped building is constructed of mud bricks on a wooden frame. The western portion is of the structure is enclosed by four walls. This section has a single open window on the south side, with a canvas curtain hung across the opening. The single entrance is a wooden door, standing slightly ajar, on the southern end of the eastern face of the building. A ten-foot extension connects to the building on the east side. This extension has only a northern wall and is otherwise just a roof sheltering the space below, which is open to the outside. Underneath this cover is a forge with an exhaust flue directly above it, a worktable covered in metal scraps, a small tub of black water, and a partially sheltered anvil.

Spoiler: Rovena

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Check your Discord.

[jamieth]

"Wait!" Rovena raises her hand, stopping in place and listening. After several moments, though, "I'm sure I heard something, but... not sure what. Might be some movement, might be just random noise... not sure. We'll have to be careful..."

[Darvin]

Tirsen nods as she draws her rapier, stepping forward quietly towards the door that's been left ajar.

Spoiler: OOC

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Stealth (1d20+8)[10] (edit: well, at least it's not a nat 1 this time )
Perception (1d20+2)[22]

[Stelio Kontos]

Tirsen opens the door, catching a whiff of a fairly pungent animal smell and the appearance of a room in disarray, with all sorts of smithing tools scattered about the room, and a disheveled pile of blankets on a pair of cots in the corner.

The more immediate item of importance by far, however, was the dagger which sailed through the doorway and past her head to the outdoors. A voice from a readily evident creature which all of you recognize as a monkey goblin screams from the center of the room in a hurried and high-pitched tone "Taka-ti! Taka-ti!"

Spoiler: If You Speak Goblin

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"Wake up! Wake up!"

Spoiler: Creature (in this case not actually hanging by its tail)

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The monkey goblin drawn another dagger from a sheath, launching it at Tirsen; its aim having been calibrated by the earlier toss, the blade lodges itself in her left thigh. Meanwhile, the two piles of blankets in the cots in the corners shift and move, and two other monkey goblins rise from their slumber.

Spoiler: OOC

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So, the goblin got the drop on you, taking its surprise round (a miss) and then they did a number on the initiative roll as well. It's y'all's turn, in any order you would like to proceed. I think we can run this one without a map; it's a roughly 30x30 square room with no distinguishing features except the door you came in and a couple of windows. There are a few pieces of furniture around which may provide you partial cover should you choose to take advantage of it. We'll call this first guy Goblin #1, and you can presumably extrapolate the names for the other two.

Tirsen takes 5 damage from the dagger.

[Darvin]

Tirsen twists around the room to get at the flanks of the goblin, her rapier thrusting with wordless killing intent.

Spoiler: OOC

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Moving forward, in a counter-clockwise circle around the room towards the goblin, attempting to get behind it, or at least beside it, and give flanking bonus to anyone else who charges in afterwards.
Attack (1d20+4)[10]
Damage (1d6)[6]

[jamieth]

Rovena raises her want, cursing the missed opportunity - she had a clear shot just moments earlier, and now she'll have to take care about not hitting Tirsen... not to mention, she didn't put much attention to the Evocation this morning (something that needs to be rectified immediately, by the way) - there was just one filled rune on her glove... And then, another idea comes to her. Circling the goblin from the other side, she rushes to the other two, tracing complex shapes with her wand. Building a spell matrix on the fly, without a spellbook, is no easy feat, and draining on her mental reserves... but just barely possible. Standing in front of the two waking up goblins, she lets out a swirling stream of energy towards them, overloading the creatures' sensoty organs...

Spoiler

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Using bonded item's power to spontaneously cast Color Spray at the Goblin #2&3. Will DC 15

[pi4t]

At the sight of the creatures and the dagger, Liyinva moves into a combat stance. As the streams from Rovena's magic die away and one of the goblins falls, she takes her cue to engage the remaining creature in combat, protecting Rovena's now-exposed position. She and Midnight circle the goblin, looking for an opening unsuccessfully.

Spoiler: OOC

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Swift action to activate Snake Style. Liyinva and Midnight move to bring the goblin into their threatened area, and attempt to attack it but miss badly.

[Stelio Kontos]

At the sight of Rovena's colorful display, one of the two goblins arising from their slumber slumps back into the bedding; the other shakes its head for a moment, clearing away the worst of the effects in time to evade the attacks of Liyinva and her lion; the goblin pulls a shortspear from the bedding and makes a wild thrust at Liyinva, missing badly -- perhaps the magic had had some effect after all, or perhaps it's not easy to stab someone so soon after waking up.

Tirsen's foray with the rapier proves equally ineffective; the very alert goblin before her pulls its own shortspear and, with a quick thrust, sends the spear point deep into Tirsen's gut, pulling it out with a battle cry that was half-whoop, half-cackle, accompanied by a spatter of blood lurching forth.

Spoiler: OOC:

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Everyone misses save for Goblin #1, who deals 5 damage to Tirsen. If I'm not mistaken, that puts Tirsen at exactly 0 HP. with all the concomitant effects of that most unpleasant condition.

[jamieth]

[color]"Ah!"[/color] Rovena, unused as she is to seeing violence, gasps as the first goblin drops Tirsen; if there's one good thing about it, it's that after that, the massacre Midnight deals on the goblin's companion looks much more justified. Turning around, the young arcanist crosses her outstretched hand so that the wand, pointed at the creature that just stabbed Tirsen, touched the arcane rune on her left glove as she launches a ray of frosty energy at the goblin - though the complex gesture, combined with her hasty aim, makes that more of "in the general direction of the goblin".

Spoiler

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ttack rolled in the Discord, pretty sure it's a miss

[pi4t]

While the goblin is attempting to attack Liyinva, it briefly turns its back on Midnight. Too late, it realises its mistake as Midnight pounces on it, tearing with claws and teeth until long after it stops moving. As it drops its spear, Liyinva turns round and moves towards the other fight. Murmuring something under her breath, she reaches out and carefully touches Tirsen on the back. The blood coming from Tirsen's stomach suddenly stops, as his flesh knits back together as if the spear had never injured him.

Spoiler: OOC

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Midnight is spending the turn mauling the goblin. Liyinva casts Cure Light Wounds on Tirsen, healing her 5hp. Conveniently that's exactly the amount of damage the spear did, so I'm saying it just completely undid the spear wound.

[Darvin]

First reeling, then subject to healing, and finally seething, Tirsen grips her rapier and takes another vicious thrust at the goblin's aggravatingly smug face. It's not a particularly deep blow, but a flash of red across its cheek is satisfying to say the least. She grins as she steps back and loops around it, forcing the goblin to either turn his back to her or the lion.

Spoiler: OOC

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5 foot step to flank with Midnight next round

Attack/damage rolls in discord (16 to hit, 1 damage)

[Stelio Kontos]

Midnight tears into the goblin before it, a sickening display of primal instinct undeterred by the gnashing of bone and the screams of pain which mercifully cease at the last swipe of a claw across the creature's neck. Liyinva's healing magic brings Tirsen back from the brink, even as Rovena's chilly ray whizzes past the goblin's head and the rest of the group. Tirsen's rapier draws just the slightest bit of red to the cheek of the goblin before it, causing its whoops of joy to turn into a growl of determination.

The goblin retorts with another powerful thrust at Tirsen's gut, but her celebratory movement must have thrown it off -- or more accurately perhaps, the magic armor had done just enough of its job to deflect the blow at the latest possible moment. The goblin's eyes narrow further, as it resets its stance to focus anew on Tirsen's position, drawing back its spear for another thrust...

Spoiler: OOC

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The goblin that Midnight tore into is quite dead. Tirsen receives 5 points of healing from Liyinva, and deals 1 damage to the goblin (technically, it is now "fighting off death" to Tirsen's death watch ability). The goblin attacking Tirsen misses, barely. The one felled by Rovena's color spray shows no signs of movement.

[jamieth]

Rovena breathes out a sigh of relief as Liyinva's magic brings Tirsen back to his feet - a relief mixed with frustration. The fact that healing magic was nearly off-limits for arcane art was a source of frustration for her for longest time... it would be easier to accept if it wasn't "almost". If healing was exclusively a divine prerogative, she would be able to accept it, grudgingly. But the fact that witches, using mostly intuition and advice from who-knows-what, somehow managed to convert arcane energy into healing power was just unbearable.

Returning to the present, though, Rovena just waited. Her evocation powers were mostly depleted, and what little was left didn't warrant spending in anything but life-threatening situation...

[pi4t]

Liyinva takes advantage of Tirsen's repositioning as the goblin turns back and forth, trying to keep sight of both of its opponents. A sharp jab sends it reeling, just in time for Midnight (who has tired of mauling his previous opponent) to bite hard at its flailing arm. The goblin staggers back, bleeding heavily and staggering.

Spoiler: OOC

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Liyinva and Midnight attack the goblin, bringing it to exactly 0hp between them.

[Stelio Kontos]

Liyinva and Midnight effect a brutal double-team on the remaining standing goblin; though Liyinva's blow was the most decisive, it was Midnight's claw that seemed to do the last bit of the creature in. It begins one more stab at Tirsen, but the strength drains from its body before it is able to complete the forward thrust, and the spear clatters to the ground in tune with the goblin itself. There remains only silence.

[Darvin]

"How long does that spell last, Rovena?" Tirsen asks, quickly adding, "I've got some rope here to restrain the little imp," then the pain hits, and Tirsen nearly stumbles, letting out a rather meek "ow," as her backpack drops to the ground. She pulls out the ropes, none too comfortable.

[jamieth]

"About half a minute, on average..." Rovena replies immediately, "before he regains conscious; maybe 15 more seconds before all the aftereffects wear off..." the girl sounds almost apologetical, she really would've prefer to disable the goblin for longer - as is, she's worried the time might not be enough to secure him... but killing the helpless creature is not an option she's willing to consider, either.

[pi4t]

Midnight begins to investigate the remains of the dead goblins, to see if they're good to eat. Liyinva, meanwhile, looks round cautiously to see if there are any more surprises hiding in the room.

[Stelio Kontos]

The two dead goblins prove to be an unappetizing meal for Midnight, though he pokes and prods a bit, as if considering the matter. The room itself appears, at a brief glance, in total disarray, with a variety of weapons in various states of manufacture, as well as a quantity of arrowheads apparently spilled from a crude wooden box on the floor.

The goblin felled by Rovena's color spray continues to slumber in its cot.

[Darvin]

Seeing no one else taking any action, Tirsen grabs the rope from her backpack and moves to tie up the goblin. It's that or slit its throat, which it may well come to anyways.

[Stelio Kontos]

The goblin remains unconscious for about another 15-20 seconds, long enough for Tirsen to at least secure it firmly to the cot. It awakens, babbling and then moaning in fear in a language that all of you are fairly certain is Goblin, but none of you can understand. After about another half minute, the remaining cobwebs appear to clear from the creature's eyes; it looks up at you with total dread and fear in its eyes, and struggles ineffectually against the ropes for a moment before realizing the futility.

Liyinva's search of the room continues; she takes note of a few pieces strewn amongst the disarray that appear to be exceptionally well made -- two machetes, one chain shirt, and one buckler made out of an exotic dark wood, probably something native to the island, but with which she is unfamiliar.

[Darvin]

"We can't have these pests moving into the colony. We need to scare this one off and that it - and whatever other kin may still be out there - never think of returning," Tirsen glares at the creature with intentional menace, "so, I think we throw it into the chapel,"

[jamieth]

"Are you even sure he understands you?" Rovena asks with a doubt, rubbing her nose, "If only I took Goblin language as an elective last semester... but who could've known?"

Then, an idea strikes her - a very distant shot of an idea, but still. Back home, a decent amount of goblin spoke at least a broken Common; but, of course, these creatures here likely lived without human contact since... since Azlant, in fact; could it be... "Pes mou to ónoma sou", she looks at the bound prisoner.

Spoiler

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"Tell me your name", Azl.