Toma: the City After the War [IC]

[Chineselegolas]

Kithzin

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Going over to look out the window while Urk examined the tin, Kithzin replied "Sure, doesn't seem to be anything up here"

[XenoGeno]

Urk

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Urk fiddles with the tin. Glancing at Kithzin, he mutters, "Uh, mebbe you should go on ahead? I'll be there inna bi'."

[RS14]

Kithzin:

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On the street below, carts are moving by as normal. A line of three loaded with lumber are displacing people to the sides, but such a sight is not unusual.
Looking towards the south end of the city, Kithzin catches sight of the few people standing or sitting on benches around the door of the tavern. Two unshaven men in work-clothes, speaking to a middle-aged woman with a thick book under her arm; an officer of the city guard in dress uniform - epaulets, cutlass, and baggy, red forage cap. Above them, a raven sits upon the tavern sign, a clean and freshly painted board announcing "PETTY'S TAVERN: Three Generations - Two wars survived"

Urk:

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The tin opens with a pop. There is a tiny silver frog inside, and it seems to try to keep its eyes on Urk.

[XenoGeno]

Urk

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Closing the tin shut, a very confused Urk turns to Kithzin. "There was... um... all silver an'... You know what? Le's just meet up with the others."

[RS14]

Urk returns from upstairs, now with Kithzin alongside him. Mourdin meets them at the foot of the stairs and greets them with a stern wave of his hand. He whispers to them "Telma and Varwann are with our friend in the kitchen. Some poor lad got killed. Was there anyone upstairs? Alive or dead?"

[hr]

OOC:
Ryuuk & Solophoenix, can I hear what Telma and Varwann are doing? Just for clarification, the north end of the kitchen is still shrouded in fog (the corpse just happened to be somewhere near the middle).

[Ryuuk]

Telma

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Telma doesn't wait for the room to dissipate, she just starts searching the room. Trying to judge from the crossbow wounds, the man's position on the ground and the mess of potatoes he was carrying, she'll try to recreate the murder in her mind. She starts by searching places where the assailant could've shot from and spreading out towards the exit from there.

OOC: She's still in the room, taking 10 on search checks for 19 total, focusing on the squares where the assailant could have been, based on the man's position, first.

Also, sorry for the slow posting. I'm almost done with finals, then I'm out of High School.

[Solophoenix]

Varwann

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Varwann strokes his beard as he observes Telma searching and thinks to himself aloud

"One might first think that this cloud was summoned so that the killer would be hidden from the view of the victim, who may indeed have wandered into the strange mist looking for some sort of cause of it. But I'm unsure if that is the case. This seems planned, and one does not plan to kill someone in a cloud of fog with a crossbow, when there is a very distinct chance of missing...so perhaps the fog came after...but why? It does hide the body a bit, but draws attention to the building from the street...and given we havn't been attacked, it doesn't seem like much of a trap. Unless of course they the attackers were waiting for me to discover their plan before pouncing..."

Varwann looks into the fog, half-expecting a sudden and dramatic ambush.

[RS14]

No ambush comes from the fog, which has by now lifted enough to allow fair visibility. The motion of the fans above the west counter is noticable from the east of the room, and the floorboards can be made out without kneeling.

Unless the corpse was moved, the bolts must have come from the north end of the kitchen, which is now empty. A stack of clean plates and mugs has been placed on the countertop on the north wall of the kitchen, beside a serving window, which is large enough for someone to have climbed through. The smell of ale is stronger here, along with the smell of sweat and wine, but so is the fog. Nothing can be seen in in the room but the edge of one table and a bench beside it, and those only faintly.

Telma give the cabinets a quick search, but they seem to contain nothing but pots and plates and knives and rags. If the assailant shot from the center of the room, they certainly let nothing behind. It doesn't seem to have been distrubed at all since it was last cleaned. However... Telma hears the sound of her footsteps change slightly in the center of the room, and, kneeling, she finds a thin square seam and a pair of open knotholes roughly three feet appart each. A gentle tug confirms it as a trap door, although hinges have been ommitted, and it seems to lift straight up from the floor.

[Snowfall]

Mourdin

Mourdin motions towards the trap door, making a suggestion. He points to Kithzin first, then the door, then to Urk and the door again.

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Mourdin's military, but I don't know if the crew would have learned some combat signs together or not...

[Ryuuk]

Telma

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Smiling, she places the trap door off to the side. “Maybe this is why... After the murder he could’ve slipped through here. The fog might’ve been a contingency, if anyone got inside right after the deed was done, it would have covered the escape, at least kept the escape route hidden a it longer.” She shrugs, it seemed a bit more reasonable in her head. “Anyway, we might still be missing something.”

Her hand goes to her pocket before realizing that her scout was missing. She reaches for a potato or a knife, anything that’s small, but hard enough to make a sound if it where to fall down the passage. Peering into the hole, she calls back to Varwann. “Can you see anything down there? Your eyes might be a bit more useful then mine.”

[Solophoenix]

Varwann

Varwann approaches the hole and peers inside

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Spot - (1d20+5)[20]

[RS14]

The door pops open with a little effort, revealing a ladder and a vertical shaft to a dirt floor 10 feet below, where three paths seem to converge from the east, west, and south. Whereas the kitchen floor showed no signs of conflict, here two badly mauled corpses lie on the ground in smears of blood, with an enormous blue-black mastiff gnawing at their flesh. One is a middle aged-man with a neatly trimmed red beard combed over hair; he wears an apron over a starched white shirt and corduroy trousers; the other is face down and is dressed in dirt-covered clothes, like what a miner might wear. The former is also missing all of his lower left-arm, which the mastiff drops from its jaws as Telma opens the door. They are both sprawled wildly on the ground, as if they were simply thrown to the floor.

The mastiff looks up instantly as the door opens. He wears a collar, but it is not tied to anything, and a short length of rope has been left in a tangled pile against the wall. Before everyone's eyes, he simply vanishes into thin air, and a menacing growl rises from the floor below.

[hr]
OOC:
Roll for initiative.
Edit: Chineselegolas, if you beat initiative 20, go ahead and act.

Maps:

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Upstairs

Tunnels

[XenoGeno]

Urk

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Why can't I ever roll high on initiative?

[Snowfall]

Mourdin

Initiative - (1d20+5)[9] (9)

[Ryuuk]

Telma

Initiative: (1d20+2)[13]

[Solophoenix]

Varwann

Initiative - (1d20+7)[14]

[Chineselegolas]

Kithzin

initiative - (1d20+6)[11]

[RS14]

Varwann 14
Urk 13
Telma 13
Kithzin 11
Mourdin 9

Active:

• Magic Vestement. Mourdin, ~4 hours remaining.
• Vigor. Telma, ~3 minutes remaining.

-=-=-=-=-=-

In the moment after vanishing as all hesitate, a great barking comes up from the tunnels below, rattling nerves as well as pots before reverberating through the tunnels. The dog barks for just a moment before quieting to a low growl.

-=-=-=-=-=-

OOC:
Make a will save, DC 13 (fear effect). On failure...

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The barking seems unnatural, as if it came from a creature which could at any moment burst from the shadows to tear one's throat out in an instant. You panic.

Listen DC 15:

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Judging by the sound of it's barking, the mastiff still has not moved from it's position near the corpses (A6)

Maps:

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Upstairs

Tunnels

[Ryuuk]

Telma

Will Save: (1d20+4)[11]
Listen: (1d20+3)[19]

The barking seems to pierce Telma's very soul. "AHhh! Get Away!" She crawls back, away from the trap door, leaving her falchion by the opening.

Stumbling to her feet while her heart races, she runs to the door. It can't be seen, once it climbs out of there... No, I don't want to... One of her hands goes to her neck, shaking violently and expecting to feel a warm vital fluid dripping out. Her instincts had taken over, she wanted to leave this place now.

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Darn, hope the others roll a bit better.

[Chineselegolas]

Kithzin

Will save - (1d20+6)[21]
listen - (1d20+4)[10]

Walking over to the hole, Kithzin dropped lightly down, fists raised, looking for the mastif

[Snowfall]

Mourdin

Mourdin drops his axe and scrambles back quickly from the trapdoor. He grips his head with his freehand, shaking "Get a hold of yourself, this can't be real!"

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Will save vs. evil barking (1d20 10=11)

Way to roll a 1 with +10 bonus...

[Solophoenix]

Varwann

Will - (1d20+5)[24]
Listen - (1d20+2)[14]

Remaining calm in the face of fear, and remembering the results last time he used his glitterdust spell, decides to play it safer and cast See Invisibility. He then proceeds to convey the beast's position to Kithzin.

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Varwann's Spells
0 level: 6/6
1 level: 5/7
2 level: 3/5

SLAs used:
Silence

[XenoGeno]

Urk

Ignoring the bark (and everything else), Urk jumps down the hole, sword in hand.

[RS14]

Varwann 14
Urk 13
Telma 13
Kithzin 11
Mourdin 9
Man from the Warehouse 3

Active:

* Magic Vestement. Mourdin, ~4 hours remaining.
* Vigor. Telma, ~3 minutes remaining.
* See Invisible, Varwann, 50 minutes remaining.

I'm assuming that Varwann simply shouts out the mastiff's location, so all are aware. It is right between the two corpses, and closer to the one that is face down. [A6]

-=-=-=-=-=-

As Varwann calmly relays his directions, Urk and Kithzin rush forwards to the trapdoor. Urk drops through first, and he lands lightly despite his bulk and armor. He swings his sword in a wide arc before him, and the dark, wet sheen of blood appears on the edge. The creature yelps, but seems to recoil somewhat as well, for when Kithzin grabs on to the edge of the door and leaps down to fight beside Urk, his kick cuts through empty air. Indeed, just moments later, Urk receives a vicious bite in his leg from his right flank, which threatens to pull him off his feet entirely.

The man from the warehouse seems frozen by the sudden action, but as Telma and Mourdin rush past him, he staggers forward to Varwann's side. "What was - oh hell, that's Petty!" He looks side to side - "Friend, if this will be of any aid, accept it." Grasping a scrap of leather in one hand and Varwann's shoulder with the other, he gestures and mutters angrily - Varwann feels the unmistakable cozy sensation of intangible Mage Armor enveloping him.

Telma and Mourdin rush through the kitchen doorway and out into the hall. Without stopping, both rush towards the alleyway and the sunlit streets of Toma.

-=-=-=-=-=-

Urk recieves 7 points of damage, and must attempt to resist a trip attempt (DC18 Strength).

Map:

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[Ryuuk]

Telma

Autohypnosis: (1d20+13)[15]

I don't want to... You won't. Go back... But it's invisible, I can't... There's only one, we have six on our side... but it will... It can only do so if you cower. Focus.

Telma stops. She had seen worse, she had no right to panic against a mere sound. Though her hands were still shaking, her instinct slowly subsided as she forced her body back into the building. by the time she gets back to the trap door, she seems much more serene, although it is clear that her mind is fighting to keep the urge to run suppressed.

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Now I see why they say that skill is so useful. My sheet only lists a +11 mod, but that's because I forgot to take into account the +2 Synergy from Concentration

[Solophoenix]

Varwann

Varwann delays action, waiting for Urk to move. He readies his mind to begin casting a sleep spell as soon as he can get a clear shot, without affecting his friends.

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Delaying initiative until there is a clear shot at the mastiff with a sleep spell, then will begin casting sleep, centred in the appropriate place. Will DC 15 negates.

[Chineselegolas]

Kithzin

Flurrying fists and feet into the space where Varwann said the mastiff was, Kithzin hoped to get lucky.

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attack 1 - (1d20+7)[25]
damage 1 - (1d6+3)[9]
miss chance 1 - (1d100)[75] (High = Good)
attack 2 - (1d20+7)[9]
damage 2 - (1d6+3)[4]
miss chance 2 - (1d100)[60] (High = Good)

[XenoGeno]

Urk

Urk easily keeps his footing, and attacks where Varwann announces the Mastiff's location.

[RS14]

Varwann 14
Urk 13
Telma 13
Kithzin 11
Mourdin 9
Man from the Warehouse 3

Active:

* Magic Vestement. Mourdin, ~4 hours remaining.
* Vigor. Telma, ~3 minutes remaining.
* See Invisible, Varwann, 50 minutes remaining.
* Mage Armor, Varwann, 5 hours remaining.

-=-=-=-=-=-

Varwann delays, but before a clear shot materializes, Urk's blow strikes the mastiff, knocking it to the ground. As if that were not enough, Kithzin lands a solid kick which sounds as if it breaks a rib or two. To Varwann up above, it is clear that the creature is no longer a threat, and quite possibly dead, though Urk and Kithzin still face nothing but the darkness of the tunnels all around - the growling has stopped, and nothing strikes at them, but they can't be sure...

Telma rushes back into the room in time to see and hear Kithzin's strike land solidly in the shadows. Mourdin, however...

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...continues his flight out across the street, to where the shadows are few. Here he huddles miserably, still trying desperately to remind himself that his fear is not real, but still undeniably terrified of what lurks in the shadows. People walking by stare at him, but continue moving.

After no more than half a minute more, the fear seems to fade. He no longer feels the urge to flee.

[Ryuuk]

Telma

Telma apporaches the trap door and picks up her falchion. "I'm sorry, it won't happen again." She wasn't amused, that shouldn't have happened, not after her years of study, to let instincts beat reason... No matter, there were more important things to worry about.

She turns to the man from the warehouse. "There's definetly something going on here. Would you happen to know those two?"

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Sorry about the delay