The Game Returns, Waiting for Cale, Examining Finlan's Stuff
Subject: Cleaning up the mess; to rob or not to rob...
The halflings furious withdrawal leaves the tower quiet for a moment. Cale stands quietly next to Mission and Garyth, as if unwilling to be the first to speak, though clearly Cadfael is demanding answers from him. Cale's brother continues to tend to the fallen Garth, who has begun to breathe in a deep snoring sound. He will probably be conscious by morning.
Farron puts away the dart he was holding, and moves over to the fallen wizard's bedroll. Using the wizard's pack as a makeshift table, he lays out the items he pulled from the corpse, and begins examining them with Sa'id assisting. The darts are clearly covered in some sort of sticky poison, but Farron does not have the tools necessary to determine what type of poison it is. For the rest, Farron takes a deep breath and then mutters a Detect Magic charm. He then turns his attention back to the items and examines them carefully for several rounds. The amulet gives off a faint aura of Abjuration magic. The metal wand radiates enchantment magic, and based on its construction, looks a lot like a wand of hold person. The component pouch doesn't have any special or unusual components, but there exist enough similarities to Sa'id's components that he thinks this wizard used a lot of evocation magics. The four glass vials radiate no magic aura. The silver wire around the neck of the leather bag radiates a faint evocation. It is clear that opening it incorrectly will cause a spell to be invoked. A casting of Read Magic reveals the scroll to be a spell of gaseous form.
All of this examining will take several minutes, and no one has even tried to look inside the mage's backpack yet.
Mission twitches visibly each time one of the mages casts a spell while examining the fallen man's goods. But finally, he turns back to face Cale, and says, "I understand that we have done nothing to earn your trust." He swallows, and steels himself. "But right now, I'm less interested in your trust than in your information. We seek a foul, Pathless god in this jungle--a god of death and blackness. Do you know anything of this god?"
Cadfael, who has just been asking similar questions, steps toward the thief with a stern look. "Answer our questions man, if you want it to go well with you."
[Tom, I need your responses. Everyone else, sorry for the delay, but we are back in business. Send in any actions you wish now. Matt, I sent you a private email, feel free to respond directly to me on it. Karl, I hope you don't mind me using up your detect magic and read magic cantrips, but it seemed reasonable that you would take those actions.]
From: Mike
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; to rob or not to rob...
Garyth, astonished and chagrined, watches the halfling leave. They had had some friction before, but the days on the road and the comraderie that comes from standing together in battle had done much to ease that tension. All for naught. Would this division ever be healed? Perhaps not, but he had done the right thing, he knew it.
Garyth sheathes his weapons and turns to regard Cale, clearly waiting for the rogue's answer.
From: Raja
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; to rob or not to rob...
Sa'id briefly contemplates pursuing Rennik, but soon thinks the better of it and continues to help Farron examine the dead mage's belongings.
How he wishes he could deflect Cale's words with a shield of firey anger as Rennik had done! If even a fraction of what Cale said and implied was true, the wizard whose belongings they were sifting through had just been killed over nothing more than an idiotic misunderstanding. Logically, Sa'id knew that once Cadfael was taken the party had followed a course dictated by reason, but he couldn't think away the guilt gnawing at his guts.
How it came to this? Sa'id mentally rolls his eyes at himself for even asking such an idiotic rhetorical question. It was patently obvious how it had come to this. In an effort to force his guilt aside, he begins to mentally review the events that had led up to the slaughter as though he were an unrelated third party. They had come upon the tower in the dead of night and sent emissaries to greet those camped there. The emissaries were rebuffed, and the priest was then sent out to gauge their intent in secret. He was captured by use of a sleeping poison. At that point, the conflict had become inevitable... Sa'id sighs. I'm going around in mental circles here, he thinks. I need to rest.
He wasn't so guilty as to be useless to Farron, though. When they finish sorting through and tentatively identifying the items from the mage's body, Sa'id rises and moves over to the mage's backpack. He picks it up by a strap and places it on the ground near Farron before kneeling back down by his companion and opening the bag to begin examining its contents. He does not look at Cale or any of his other companions. "Just so you know," he mutters to Farron, "I'm not interested in taking any of this."
OOC: He tries to speak softly enough that no one else will hear them.
Finlan's Bag, Cale Speaks
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; to rob or not to rob...
Farron raises his eyebrows involuntarily at Sa'id's words, and then gives a small shrug. "If that's your choice . . .", he replies quietly. "But unless someone persuades me otherwise, I'm not giving weapons back to strangers. Magic users don't always wear wizard's robes, you know."
He adds, "Do you have a 'dispel magic' spell prepared? I'd like to take a look inside that bag, but it appears to be magically trapped or sealed."
Farron then assists Sa'id in looking through the mage's backpack. He's more interested in finding the mage's spellbook. While he is examining the remaining items, he is listening to the conversation around him.
(OOC-Ty, the cantrips were fine. FYI - Farron would not have ignored the mage's pack, but I'll accept that he perhaps got momentarily distracted by the cache on the wizard himself, and/or that there simply hasn't been enough time to have looked in the pack as well.)
From: Raja
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; to rob or not to rob...
Sa'id nods. "Absolutely," he says. "I'm not sure I want to return them either... I'm not really sure WHAT I want to do." He pauses and shakes his head. "I do have Dispel Magic memorized. Here, just let me by..." Sa'id moves around Farron and lays the enchanted bag out before him. He stands up and takes a step back, gathering his focus. Then he begins chanting softly [targeted Dispel Magic on the bag].
From: Karl
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; to rob or not to rob...
Once the spell is completed and assuming there is no indication that the spell did not work, Farron will give Sa'id a slightly sly look and ask, "Would you like to do the honors, or shall I?" If Sa'id declines to open the bag, Farron will attempt to open it, being very careful to watch out for any non-magical trapping devices. (poison needles or such).
From: Raja
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; to rob or not to rob...
Sa'id chuckles involuntarily. "Be my guest." He smiles wryly at Farron.
From: Ty
Subject: Cleaning up the mess; a bag full of trouble...
Cale raises an eyebrow. "A god? You're opposing a GOD?" He rapidly -- and somewhat fearfully -- shakes his head. "That's way out of our league." He pauses in thought for a second, though, and then speaks. "There HAVE been a lot of undead around lately, though, since that last group came through." He then smiles helpfully at Cadfael and Mission.
While Cadfael, Mission and Cale converse, Farron is dumping out the contents of the mage's backpack, and Sa'id is casting Dispel Magic at the silver wire closing the leather bag. There is a faint popping sound, and suddenly the silver wire uncoils and falls to the ground [Dispel Magic roll 19 vs DC 17: successful]. The backpack contains only a few interesting items. There is some food, and a change of clothes, but there is also two tanglefoot bags, two smokesticks, a stone that Sa'id recognizes as a thunderstone, a small box of tindertwigs, and a bottle with sticky brown paste in it, probably the same poison that is smeared on the darts. The most valuable item though, is the heavy leather bound and brass cornered traveling spell book. The book is latched and locked, and both wizards know that it will be trapped. In fact, some books of this type will destroy themselves messily if opened incorrectly.
After Farron finishes pawing through the goodies in the backpack, both he and Sa'id open the bag that Sa'id has just finished dispelling. Inside is a heavy leather scroll case, and a smaller velvet pouch. The velvet pouch is revealed to contain a dozen perfect pearls of considerable size. The scroll case, much to their surprise, does NOT contain a contract with an evil god. Instead, it contains half a dozen magic scrolls. Sa'id's Read Magic cantrip reveals them to be scrolls of Identify. Farron, a divining specialist, says, "The pearls are for casting Identify." He turns to Cadfael, who is still questioning Cale, and says, "This is a valuable magical treasure, and not the sort of thing a mage would carry with him while hunting for herbs. The pearls alone are worth 1200 gold pieces or more."
From: Scott
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; a bag full of trouble...
"What group?" Mission asks Cale.
From: Tom
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; a bag full of trouble...
Cale bites his lower lip. "They came through here about a day ago, heading overland fast, and I got the impression they were bad news; I think they were part of the reason you guys had us so on edge, since you're both headed to the same place -- although, of course, they left us all alive. I didn't do any of the talking, but I can tell you what I saw from where they had me hide."
From: Scott
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; a bag full of trouble...
Mission catches his breath at the recognition in Cale's eyes. It is all he can do to speak calmly, "Go ahead."
He tries to maintain some cynicism in the face of Cale's story. Too much coincedence. . . too much. But here was the path to Promise, in this man's mind and in his lips. The path to Anileth's dark god.
Perhaps, he reminds himself. And perhaps we are all being played for fools. So Mission listens and watches Cale intently-- watching for deception. Watching for hope.
Watching for Promise.
From: Tom
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; a bag full of trouble...
Cale continues. "There were about nine or ten of them -- big guys, too. And I'm pretty sure they had at least two zombies in the woods out front, but the boss didn't want us out there while they had their chat. Basically, they came up and looked like they were going to attack, but this woman they had with them -- never seen her like, mind you; she was gorgeous -- pulled on the big guy's arm and talked them out of it. It sounded like their fighter thought we were out looking for trouble, at first; he kept waving his sword around...."
He stops suddenly. "Oh, no. I bet he thought we were YOU. Have you been chasing these guys? Did you think we were THEM?"
From: Dan
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; a bag full of trouble...
Cadfael's teeth grind and when he speaks his voice is flat and trimmed with ice,
"Cale, you're avoiding the question and I have run out of patience. If you want to die I can be your executioner."
He still faces Cale, but it's clear that his next words are addressed more to the rest of the party than to him.
"Yes, we have run into Elise and we know her to have killed her own. The fact that her group may have seemed threatening to you does not impress me. We are in dark times and these are the darkest of places. I'll not leave a potential enemy at my back and you have yet to give me a shred of reason to trust you."
"Tell me what you're doing in these woods, Cale. Tell me now."
From: Mike
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; a bag full of trouble...
Garyth says nothing, but Cadfael's threat has clearly made him uneasy. He edges toward the line between the cleric and the rogue, just in case.
From: Tom
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; a bag full of trouble...
Cale sighs, trying and failing to keep the fear out of his voice. "Look, I'm hired muscle, okay? I don't know why the boss wanted to stick around here for another night when we could have just headed back with our stuff. Truth be told, I never saw him look for a single herb or plant or anything. But my brother and me, we were just paid to come along and make sure he and Garth made it through okay with some bag. Supposed to be a cakewalk; we weren't expecting the place to be crawling. We weren't even going to go the whole way with him."
He points. "So, yeah, that bag. The one you just opened. I didn't even know what was in it, myself (and believe me, I was really curious about it), but he made it pretty clear that it'd be our heads on a stick if it got taken. So my guess, if you're going to make me guess, was that somebody in Linden or somewhere paid him good money to write up a bunch of scrolls -- he did a lot of that -- and deliver 'em in person, and he just didn't want to go telling random bandits that he was carrying a year's salary in pearls on him."
"You let us go, and I'm going to take those pearls and those scrolls and see if we can't pay to get the old guy raised -- back home. I figure he'd prefer that to the alternative, even if it gets him in trouble with some rich guy somewhere."
From: Raja
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; a bag full of trouble...
At the mention of raising the wizard, Sa'id stands and turns to face Cale.
"I know a spell of preservation," he says. "It will take me some time to memorize it, but it will prevent his body from decaying for five days. The priests in Nesalin will be much more likely to succeed in bringing him back than if he simply rotted for the duration of the trip." Sa'id draws himself up to his full height, and his viper familiar slips from his cuff and coils around his arm. His gaze pans sternly across the room, and he speaks with a hint of irritation: "IF all of you can promise me that no one else is going to be killed while I study, I can begin my preparations now."
From: Dan
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; a bag full of trouble...
Cadfael nods curtly, "Fine, that will do for now. In the morning we may talk more, but for now... it has been a long night for all of us."
"Brothers, I say we camp here for the night. It offers some degree of shelter and it is unlikely anybody will be passing this way until the morning. If any of the jungle creatures were attracted by the noise they would likely have been here for now."
"As for you and your companions, Cale, we will bind you for the night. You'll pardon me for being careful but I still don't know what to make of you. Perhaps Pelor will give me guidance in the morning. Nonetheless, we'll sort out what to do with you and your companions then, not now."
"Garyth, Mission? Are either of you able to tie a sturdy knot?"
It Hits The Fan
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; a bag full of trouble...
Cale looks up in shock. "You most certainly will not! There's no way I'm sharing a room with you and the crazy butcher unless both of you are hogtied for the night, yourselves! If it comes to it, I'm willing to take my chances with rot; give me ten minutes to get Garth walking, and you'll see our backs for good."
He appeals to Mission, hands held upside down. "Look, just let me take our stuff back and split. Between the thief over there who's still rooting through our stuff and these two stone-cold killers, I'm not willing to bet that there won't be another 'misunderstanding' overnight. Out of all the places to sleep in this whole godforsaken wilderness, anywhere in your company is way down on my list."
From: Karl
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; a bag full of trouble...
At this, Farron speaks up. "You can let them go, if you like, but it would be foolishness to put these items back into their hands. I do not trust them, nor do I believe what this one has told us so far. On the one hand he needs these items to barter for his mage's resurrection, yet on the other he's willing to refuse free assistance to make this possible. Not to mention the fact that his concern for the mage's well being seems to be far more than I'd expect from 'hired muscle'."
From: Tom
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; a bag full of trouble...
Cale rolls his eyes. "Hell, keep the wand, you sniveling thief, if you need some kind of profit. But I'll be damned if I let you take the very bag I signed on to protect, especially since we're going to need it to keep them going. And from the looks of Garth, here, he's going to need at least one of those potions to even be healthy enough to walk out of here on his own."
"If I've got to pick between being tied up with you lot overnight or bringing the boss back home a little runny, it's not really a hard choice. I saw the way you looked at those pearls and that spellbook, and I don't intend to leave them in your sweaty hands a minute longer than I have to."
From: Karl
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; a bag full of trouble...
Farron ignores the taunt, but places the pearl bag in a pocket within his robes and faces the rogue. He holds one of the poisoned darts ready to fling if Cale makes so much as a threatening step in his direction.
From: Scott
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; a bag full of trouble...
"Isn't this where this whole mess got started?" Mission says lightly. "Hot tempers, careless words. . . Cale, your choices are rather limited at this point. And your reactions and story do not mesh. Until our mage opened the bag, you were the dead man's loyal friend-- now that you see what wealth he carried, he is only your employer.
"You mistake my mercy for tolerance. Don't threaten us again." Mission flicks his gaze toward Farron. "Any of us."
Nonsense. Bickering and misdirection. Mission feels something foul and bitter in his gut. Cale was wedging himself between their already fractured party-- attempting to play Cadfael and Garyth against him, and the mages against everyone.
Mission pauses and takes a breath. His wounds itch terribly, and for a moment, his world spins. But he rights himself. "Did you see where this woman went?"
OOC: I smell foulness here. Elise was in the tower with the halfling boy. . . then Cale's group was in the tower. . . then Elise came BACK to the tower? It's also important that if Cale is telling the truth, she picked up some more men. . .
I'd also be willing to wager that this tower is the marker that indicates the path to Anileth's god. . .
From: Karl
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; a bag full of trouble...
OOC: And I bet if the halfling boy were here, he might recognize a face or two.
From: Tom
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; a bag full of trouble...
Cale sighs. "Whatever. Don't expect me to pretend that you're anything but bandits and thieves, though. I'll answer your questions, sure. And I'm not dumb enough to think that I can actually STOP you from walking out of here with anything you want to steal. I want to live, and my brother wants to live, and I'm pretty sure that Garth wants to live, too -- and if living means taking our chances naked because you figured you could get a good price for our clothes, I'm not fool enough to try to keep 'em on."
"But I will NOT bow and scrape and act like you're some kind of courageous heroes. You're thieves and killers, determined to hide behind pretty words -- and so proud that you won't even admit to having screwed up royally. Don't lie to yourselves; if you walk out of here with our gear, you've killed a man who meant you no harm and bankrupted the people who could have brought him back -- even assuming that we're able to make it back alive, unarmed."
"Look, we're not with that group you're hunting. I wish I could tell you more, if only to better prove that to you. But all I can say is that they talked for a while, then took a few supplies from us and kept heading for the mountain." He points. "I'm pretty sure we gave them a healing potion and one or two of the alchemical supplies the old guy always took with him. And some more food, although they didn't take much. Some coin, I think."
"The big guy looked disappointed, but the girl didn't want to make an issue of it. She was definitely expecting somebody else, though."
From: Dan
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; a bag full of trouble...
"The problem, Cale, is that I do not give a damn about what you want or what you think. In the morning Pelor will grant me the ability to discern truth from lies and then we will talk again. You may well tell me the same story about being hired muscle. If that is the case I will heal you and your companions as best I can and make every effort to ensure you are able to bring revive your employer. If you tell a different tale or refuse to speak at all, well, I'm sure we both hope it won't come to that. But for tonight, tonight I am done with you."
Cadfael will then go to Mission and use a cure serious wounds on him and then make his way to Garyth and use the same spell as him.
OOC-I'm pretty sure I have 2 3rd level spells left so I can do that. If I don't, use some cure moderates up and I'll choose some second level spells to sacrifice.
From: Karl
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; a bag full of trouble...
Farron speaks to Cadfael, "For once, at least, I agree with you completely. Now, shall we tie them up or do we sit up with them the remainder of the night? I for one will need some rest or I'll be no use to the group tomorrow."
From: Tom
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; a bag full of trouble...
Cale shakes his head. "Let me be clear, then. I'm more willing to take my chances out there than spend the night waiting for one of you to cut my throat. So I'm going to run for the door, and you can cut me down if you're so inclined." At this point, he tumbles toward the door. (Initiative, perhaps?)
From: Karl
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; a bag full of trouble...
Farron, his dart already at the ready will throw it at Cale. (Initiative, perhaps? ;-) )
From: Scott
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; a bag full of trouble...
"So you will leave you brother in the hands of butchers after all?" Mission says quickly.
(If I remember correctly, Ty, I did say that Mission would use stunning blow on anyone that tried to escape. . . I think. That still applies.)
From: Karl
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; a bag full of trouble...
OOC: ::Munches popcorn while waiting to see how our DM sorts out all this sudden action:: )
From: Mike
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; a bag full of trouble...
Time seems to slow as the situation falls apart. Garyth hears each heartbeat like the sound of a kettle drum in his ears. As Farron begins to throw the dart, Garyth feels his muscles tense. The pain of the wound in his side is forgotten; he shouts, "No!" and throws himself in front of Cale, trying to intercept the dart.
From: Raja
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; a bag full of trouble...
Sa'id, too, feels as though he is watching the events unfold in slow motion. Cadfael begins moving toward mission, Cale leaps for the door, and Mission and Garyth leap at Cale.
Something goes *pop* in Sa'id's mind, and irritation boils over into burning hot anger.
"ENOUGH!" he bellows. "IF YOU DON'T STOP MOVING, I'LL BRING THE TOWER DOWN ON OUR HEADS! NOW!" His fingers move nimbly at his belt and come up with a pinch of sulphur and a small ball of what looks to be guano.
(OOC: Farron at least would recognize these as the components needed to cast Fireball. If everyone doesn't stop moving, Sa'id will begin the incantation.)
From: Dan
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; a bag full of trouble...
Since everything is happening all at once I suspect I won't get to act as I've already said that I'm intending to heal people and so have probably been caught by surprise.
If I do get an action it would be an attempt to tackle Cale to ground.
Then I suppose I'll burn.
Normally I would then be conflicted as to whether or not I should kill Garyth or Sa'id first. But I expect Garyth will die in the blast which makes the decision easy for me :-P
From: Karl
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; a bag full of trouble...
Well, if Garyth doesn't get killed in the blast, Farron will user Summon Monster to summon a million Dire Weevils inside his long johns.
In the meantime, Farron is going to rest easy in the assurance that since so many people around him seem to have a death wish, Death is going to be far to busy chasing them to worry about him.
From: Scott
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; a bag full of trouble...
Why would cadfael kill Garyth?
??
From: Scott
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; a bag full of trouble...
I get it. . . because Garyth is 'darting' out in front of Cale. . .
Slow on the uptake, over here.
From: Dan
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; a bag full of trouble...
Don't think the pun-making monk isn't next in line.
A charred, dead next. But next all the same.
From: Ty
Subject: sorry guys
I was out today, and got that mass of emails late Thursday night. I will probably not be able to sort things out until Saturday.
Recap, Forecast, and Reactions
Subject: Summation and Recap
So. This is what I understand from Cale's story:
Cale, his brother, Garth, and the Dead Wizard were a party looking for some herbs. Cale and his brother were looking for some extra coin; Garth and the wizard were apparently a pair. They arrived at the tower at least a day ago; if this is the case, they may be in league with the Murrakat, since the halfling boy we'd found had escaped from the tower a little more than a day ago.
Elise, or someone like her, came to the tower looking for our party-- instead, she found Cale's. She had her boys take some supplies from Cale's party, and then they split for the mountain.
We arrive, Cadfael is abducted, we trounce Cale's party. Garyth and Mission feel all sorts of guilty, Rennick takes off in a huff, Cadfael gets all weird and vengeful. Cale tries to escape, and Sa'id threatens to kill us all with a fireball (to what point, wonders I. Maybe Farron should throw a dart at him next. . .)
I would like to point out that Mission has Evasion, Ty. In case that Fireball spell DOES go off. :)
Have I missed anything?
From: Raja
Subject: Re: Summation and Recap
That's how I read it, too. Thanks for the summary, it's nice to have all of the info in once place rather than hunting through dozens of emails :)
There are a bunch of things between "Cale tries to escape" and "Sa'id threatens to kill us all with a Fireball," though. Such as "Farron and Mission try to stop Cale," "Garyth tries to protect Cale," and "Cadfael tries to kill Cale." THEN Sa'id threatens to kill us all with a Fireball if Cale, Mission, Garyth, and Cadfael don't stop what they're doing. Cale in particular.
:)
From: Scott
Subject: Re: Summation and Recap
:)
Does anyone else get the feeling that Tom was supposed to be joining in our little game before we whacked his buddy?
:)
Man, we could've used a good thief, too.
From: Raja
Subject: Re: Summation and Recap
I got that feeling for a while, though if that wasn't the intent I've found it really neat to be interacting with "NPCs" controlled by someone other than Ty. It makes the game feel more "real" when the different people you interact with ARE, in fact, different people. So whatever the intent, it worked out well with respect to RP.
I promise to supply a little more internal monologue with my next "in game" email, but right now I have an exam to get to :-P
From: Ty
Subject: Re: Summation and Recap
Hey guys, big apology. It's December, and in my business, December is insane. Everyone wants their new accounting system in place by January 1. So, I will try to get turns out when I can, but December is going to be spotty. I promise that January we will return to the 'at least one turn a day' program. Until then, I apologize for the delays.
From: Ty
Subject: Cleaning up the mess; what, it wasn't a big enough mess already?
The tension in the air is thick. Farron grips a poisoned dart in one hand, his eyes locked on Cale's back. Something about the way Cale is standing makes Mission's arm hairs prickle, and he moves imperceptibly onto the balls of his feet. At last Cale gives an odd frown, looks at this brother, then leaps in a lightning fast move toward the doorway.
Almost in the same instant, his brother rolls away from the sleeping Garth, and dodges toward the open door as well. Mission is ready though. In almost the same instant that Cale moves toward the door, Mission spins to his left, and launches a rapid kick at the fleeing thief's head [Attack roll 13; Miss]. The thief reacts to the attack with almost preternatural speed, and ducks and rolls under it causing it to miss by several feet.
As Cale is rolling away, Farron hurls his dart [Attack roll 13; Miss]. At first, it appears that the dart has hit, but when Cale rolls back to his feet, it is just hanging limply in his cloak, and falls out as Cale runs out the door.
Cale's brother is only a step behind him, and both of them disappear into the dark outside the door. They leave only the stunned party, desperately trying to figure out how they could have escaped so quickly, in their wake.
Garth continues to snore noisly, not even waking up when Cale's brother dropped his head onto the ground.
[This is the next round. Only a short surprise round has passed. Cale and his brother are outside the door, the rest of the party is in the tower. Initiative order is Mission 28, Garyth 24, Spurt 23, Sa'id 21, Cadfael 19, Cale 18, Farron 7.]
(By the way, Mission rolled a 5 to get his 13 attack roll, and Farron rolled a 10. It's just random chance that those two rolls wind up being 13.)
From: Karl
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; what, it wasn't a big enough mess already?
Wouldn't perhaps be Friday the 13th there in the tower, would it?
From: Tom
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; what, it wasn't a big enough mess already?
I think that's Cale's new lucky number. :)
Tom
From: Matt
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; what, it wasn't a big enough mess already?
That is, of course, unless he happens to choose Rennik's direction to run. That'd be... um... bad for his health.
Y'all should've just let Rennik thump him a few times. He'd have been more forthcoming, I bet, after a few bruised ribs, a dislocated shoulder, and a shattered elbow. :)
Ah well...
From: Raja
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; what, it wasn't a big enough mess already?
[OOC: No worries about the slow pace -- like I said, this is final exam season for me, and then I'm flying home for the longest Christmas break I've ever had. So between now and January I won't be getting my email as often (two or three times a day as opposed to every half hour).]
Sa'id growls in frustration as Cale and his brother slip out the door. Either the rogues were marginally more intelligent than he'd credited them for, or his attempted bluff had simply gone unnoticed. That none of his companions had even thought to stand between Cale and the door was almost unforgivable idiocy.
He glances down at the spell components in his hand. Sa'id knows that Mission, Garyth, and Cadfael are certainly foolhardy enough to go running out into the dark after Cale and his brother. A small part of him wants to toss the fireball out the door anyway, but reason overrules it and he decides against simply hurling his fireball after the fleeing pair. What spell to use, then? Sa'id mentally flicks through his repertoire. None of his long-range combat magic would be any use in the dark. His crossbow would take too long to load. The best choice, then, would be to brighten the area around the tower. It would help his comrades chase Cale, and help him line up his next spell -- provided their quarry wasn't already too far away.
All of this runs through Sa'id's mind in a mere instant. Reluctantly, he returns the pinch of sulphur and ball of guano to their belt pouch, then begins moving quickly toward the door. The incantation of a Light cantrip is on his lips [Light, targeting Sa'id's staff].
From: Mike
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; what, it wasn't a big enough mess already?
He's safe. Garyth sees that the dart has missed its target, and, for a moment, feels relief.
For a moment.
Realization dawns almost immediately, and Garyth nearly trips over his own feet as he scrambles after the rogues.
OOC: If Garyth can catch up with either one, he will attempt to grapple with and pin the first one he can.
Rules Question, Chasing the Rogues
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; what, it wasn't a big enough mess already?
OOC: Ty: Some time back, I had Mission search Spurt, Cale and Garth; I'm assuming he didn't find anything of interest, such as weapons or whatnot, since nothing was mentioned. . .
Blood and Stone! Mission grinds his teeth, and leaps after the escaping men.
He will try to trip whichever thief is closest.
OOC again: Does the trip attack take one full round? If he's using Flurry of Blows, can Mission trip, and make one attack in the same round? If permitted, obviously this is what he wants to do. ..
And speaking of multiple attacks, if Mission is using Flurry of Blows, can he make TWO stunning fist attacks? Or does Stunning fist take the full round?
From: Scott
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; what, it wasn't a big enough mess already?
From the Open Source:
**********
STUNNING FIST [GENERAL]
Prerequisites: Dex 13, Wis 13, Improved Unarmed Strike, base attack bonus +8.
Benefit: You must declare that you are using this feat before you make your attack roll (thus, a failed attack roll ruins the attempt). Stunning Fist forces a foe damaged by your unarmed attack to make a Fortitude saving throw (DC 10 + 1/2 your character level + your Wis modifier), in addition to dealing damage normally. A defender who fails this saving throw is stunned for 1 round (until just before your next action). A stunned character can't act, loses any Dexterity bonus to AC, and takes a -2 penalty to AC. You may attempt a stunning attack once per day for every four levels you have attained (but see Special), and no more than once per round. Constructs, oozes, plants, undead, incorporeal creatures, and creatures immune to critical hits cannot be stunned.
Special: A monk may select Stunning Fist as a bonus feat at 1st level, even if she does not meet the prerequisites. A monk who selects this feat may attempt a stunning attack a number of times per day equal to her monk level, plus one more time per day for every four levels she has in classes other than monk.
**********
So I can only use stunning fist once per round. . . but it doesn't say anything about being able to make an additional attack with flurry of blows.
Let me know what you think, Ty.
From: Karl
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; what, it wasn't a big enough mess already?
Just for the record, Farron thinks a good trouncing-by-halfling was in order all along. Things just moved too quickly and *poof* our halfling was gone.
From: Karl
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; what, it wasn't a big enough mess already?
Farron, for an instant, is glad to see the thief gone. With no one left to lay claim, he might very well come into possession of some very valuable and powerful magic items. But as quickly as the thought crosses his mind, another follows that tells him letting the thief get away might be a Very Bad Idea, considering he might very well be in league with their quarry and on his way to warn them or enlist their aid even now. He moves to join Sa'id at the door. Like his fellow mage, he runs through his list of remaining spells and chooses his remaining Magic Missile incantation which he will use at first sight of Cale.
From: Scott
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; what, it wasn't a big enough mess already?
If they don't catch the escapees immediately, Mission won't pursue them into the forest-- they have one captive remaining, and he's leery of letting THAT one go, too.
So Mission will keep one eye on Garth-- if the big man so much as grunts, Mission will tumble away from the battle as soon as he can, and knock him silly.
From: Dan
Subject: Re: Cleaning up the mess; what, it wasn't a big enough mess already?
OOC -- Garth shouldn't be getting up for a while. I believe Ty side probably by morning. Certainly not for a few hours anyway.
Cadfael's spell of healing dies on his lips and becomes a heated curse as Cale darts past his turned back and out into the woods.
He will quickly run after the thieves, although he has little chance of catching them in his heavy armour. If he gets close enough he'll try and tackle one of them to the ground. But he won't follow for more than a round, if they're gonge, they're gone.
"You're all slackers."
Subject: Busy next week
Hey guys,
I'm going to be on 12-hour shifts next week and will likely have no internet while I'm at the office. I expect I'll probably still be able to make at least one post a day, but not until quite late.
Sorry.
From: Dan
Subject: Re: Busy next week
Just as well. I have 4 finals next week and probably won't be checking my E-mail all that often either.
From: Scott
Subject: Re: Busy next week
You're all slackers.
I'm working 64 hours this week, and you don't see ME whining about, "Oo, ooh, I don't have any internet, I have finals this week, my three kids all have the flu and a wolverine is chewing off my kneecaps, ooh, ooh."
:snort:
Mission will use Southern-Mountain-Lands-On-Town-Idiots-Flying-Kick against Dan and Mike.
:)
See You Next Year
Subject: Re: Busy next week
Can't wait 'til the game starts up again. I'm looking forward to a new year, filled with Mission trouncing TomDavidson. . . uh, I mean Cale.
:)
From: Karl
Subject: Re: Busy next week
Just checking in to say I'm still alive and waiting for the game to start back up.
From: Raja
Subject: Re: Busy next week
I'm alive as well. Definitely looking forward to January.
Well, aside from the part where my beloved computer doesn't boot. I hope I don't have to buy a new one. :(
From: Mike
Subject: Re: Busy next week
Alive here as well. I'm going to be out of town from tomorrow (12/23) through 1/1, so I think archive updates will be spotty, but I ought to be able to check my email at least once a day. Although I suspect everyone else will be similarly busy.
From: Ty
Subject: Re: Busy next week
It will definitely be January before I can get going again. Sorry guys.
From: Matt
Subject: Re: Busy next week
Yeah, I'll be gone for New Years and be back on the 3rd or something. After that I'm pretty much golden.
Matt
See You Next Year (cont'd)
Subject: Re: Busy next week
Think you're sorry now, buddy?
Just wait.
The vaunted 'fourth wall' that dungeon masters hide behind will not keep you safe from Mission's wrath.
Oh, no.
You're going down, lizard-lips.
One way or another.
:)