Talashia flicks her eyes to Shayliss, who has only eyes for Sivan. She glances furtively at Sivan, then on seeing herself momentarily unobserved, leans against the table in such a way as to knock the fish platter off onto the ground.
"Ahh! I'm so clumsy. How embarrassing," Talashia says quickly. "Oh well, there's plenty more where that came from, and there's no fear cleaning up after it all with the dog around."
"Fair lady, where did you say are you from? You know each other?" Sivan asks Talashia, looking back to Shayliss
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The collie sets aside the plate he'd been holding when he sees the fish platter fall and spill onto the ground. Success! Kell wags his long tail vigorously as he offers the kindly white haired woman a thunderous bark in thanks. He'd have to keep an eye on her.
The tawny collie turns his attention back to his feast. He had no need to hurry now; any food that touched the ground was from then on the sole property of the nearest dog. It was a rule that all civilized folk respected. Settling in for a proper meal, Kell sets to work on the spiced haddock fillets; savoring every bite.
Kell observes a mother dressed a tad too crisply for the day shoo a curly haired toddler from a dropped piece of half-eaten curry-spiced salmon, also at Ameiko Kaijitsu's buffet--though two tables down. Suddenly aware of a veritable cornucopia of dropped luncheon items, Kell detects the scent of lobster chowder wafting from the Hagfish's table, and a peppercorn venison from the offerings of the White Deer Inn. Oddly, no other dogs or small vermin are in sight. Usually, the festival square would be a mecca of leavings for any animal within a two-mile radius.
The day flows forward, the sun warming the afternoon air with thick golden motes of light that soon enough resonate soupily at the day draws to a close. At the advent of evening, the day's stiff trade winds die down and the air becomes humid, hot with the perspiration of so many bodies in tight quarters. Just before sundown, Father Zantus returns to the wooden podium along with Mayor Deverin and Sheriff Hemlock for the official consecration of the new cathedral. A large covered wagon accompanied by a pair of robed acolytes is wheeled into the square.
After a toast and a quick thanks to the crowd who is by now in the early stages of drink with Ameiko's early winterdrop mead, Father Abstalar Zantus -- the Cathedral's replacement for the dead Father Tobyn -- takes the podium and delicately clears his throat. Even with nothing more than his appearance and quiet throat clearing at the podium, the crowd softens its jubilation in order to pay better attention to the lead priest. No one is entirely silent, but many raised mugs lower in respect and the tone sombers a touch. Father Zantus begins with thanks and a welcoming prayer, his arms raised to the heavens, before launching into a brief oratory that soon spellbinds the front of the crowd three or four tables deep.
Oratory
"We gather today to honor tradition, to give thanks for a bountiful harvest, for friendship and fellowship, but also to offer dedication for this wondrous new work of artisanship that stands behind me and which shall for all the years stand in silent testament to grace, the mending of broken spirits and hearts. How fitting, then, that we should all once again revel in a tale of old, a legend of Desna filled with the promise of hope and a life of love and dreams.
Now, aeons ago, ere even you were born, John Thomas," Father Zantus gestures in jest to a bent old man at the gathering--surely one of the oldest men in town, judging by the creature's jagged row of bones jutting through a thin shirt of linen along the old man's stooped spine--before continuing, "one of Desna’s avatars plummeted from the Heavens after a great battle with Lamashtu, Goddess of Monsters and Madness. The blind orphan Yrit nursed Desna's avatar back to health, and to thank the child, Desna transformed Yrit into an immortal butterfly. In this form, the child Yrit could forever fly in the day and night, seeing all the wonders of the world."
Father Zantus pauses and softly gestures to the wagon. At the priest's signal, the pair of acolytes grasp the loose canvas covering the wagon and shoulder the heavy material backward, releasing a cloud of swallowtail butterflies who immediately take to flight, filling the air with gossamer hues of blue, green, and black. The members of the crowd in the square who hadn't yet stilled themselves to listen to Father Zantus's oratory do so now, and the air becomes filled with reverance as the "children of Desna" float and waft on a light breeze. Eager for the Luck of Desna to come to them, small children (and even some grown men, hazy with mead), extend anticipatory arms skyward, hoping for a butterfly to light upon a finger.
Father Zantus opens his mouth to continue weaving the legend, but a sharp retort, like the crack of distant thunder, slices through the drowsy crowd as the sun's setting rays paint the western sky. A lone stray dog -- the only dog of the day, other than Kell -- that has crawled under a nearby wagon to sleep starts awake as a woman's scream slices through the air. A moment later, another scream rises, then another. Beyond them, a sudden surge of strange new voices rises--high-pitched, tittering shrieks that sound not quite human. The crowd parts and something low to the ground races by, giggling with disturbing glee as the stray dog gives a pained yelp and then collapses with a gurgle, its throat cut open from ear to ear. As blood pools around the dog's head, the raucus sound of a strange song begins, chanted from shrill, scratchy voices.
mfloyd3, Merlin's Shadow, jkason
Elyra, Grokk, and Tac spot the shape racing by that killed the dog and recognize the beast as a goblin. The goblin now hides at the edge of the covered wagon--a single goblin, licking the blood from its dogslicer as it looks excitedly at the crowd, obviously seeking a new target.
Elyra, Grokk, and Tac made their Perception check and get an action for the surprise round.
Sorry, no love for Taran (despite a circumstance bonus), Talashia, or Sivan on the Perception check.
In order to gain a measure of player trust and to verify that I'm correctly using the PF rules, I'm going to include die rolls for the first few sequences. After I'm satsified that we've reached equilibrium, so to speak, I'll cease revealing rolls--unless you specifically ask me to do so on a per circumstance basis.
Tac finds his pride and excitement instantly shattered by the dog's death. He doesn't recognize this one as the stray who frequented the build site, but thoughts of the oddly helpful Sandstone quickly came to mind.
"What the hells did you do you little ... goblin?" he calls out. He begins circling the goblin, trying to move to a position behind it without even thinking, eyes questing about for the best angle.
OOC
Tac will draw his rapier as part of movement and start circling to try to get in a flanking position. Surprise round means he only has the move action, I believe. Activating Dodge, so his AC bumps +1.
Do you want to perform all rolls, or do you want us to do combat rolls with an online roller like Invisible Castle? No worries either way.
Tac wasn't a warrior, but he was a problem-solver. That's what engineers did: they weighed costs and benefits and made additions or subtractions based on what was best for the overall structure.
And this goblin, surely, was a piece of shoddy material that threatened to damage all sorts of extra elements if it wasn't excised. So while he preferred an abacus and a drafting table, a rapier was going to have to do for fixing this particular dilemma.
If he could just get someone else to distract it, he thought he might have a good angle on the critter's spleen.
Grokk growls low in his throat. Foul goblins! Is there no limit to their evil? The half-orc draws his hammer and shield and charges the goblin with a guttural cry, his hammer a blur as he tries to bring the creature down.
Grokk growls low in his throat. Foul goblins! Is there no limit to their evil? The half-orc draws his hammer and shield and charges the goblin with a guttural cry, his hammer a blur as he tries to bring the creature down.
Elyra was caught off-guard as Tac and the half-orc charged the goblin. She drew her sword and looked to Tac, but resisted the urge to run after her cousin and protect the reckless idiot.
Something's not right, she thought. It would be suicide for a lone goblin to charge into town and start cutting things. She scanned the town, searching for other intruders.
Spoiler:
Elyra is making a Perception check. Base +8, +10 to spot goblins (favored enemy).
After licking its bloodied dogslicer clean and letting out a victorious but garbled whoop, the goblin by the wagon hops back and forth over the carcass of the dead dog, pulling and tugging at the dog's fur until great tufts of skin and hair litter the packed dirt in a three-foot ring around the dog.
Grokk growls low in his throat. Foul goblins! Is there no limit to their evil? The half-orc draws his hammer and shield and charges the goblin with a guttural cry, his hammer a blur as he tries to bring the creature down. The hammer misses the goblin but flays the side of the wagon, sending a shower of splinters into the air with a loud crack. As wooden shards of wagon fly, the goblin dancing rings around the dead dog grunts in surprise and looks up to spot a massive and angry half-orc bearing down on him from the front.
Tac finds his pride and excitement instantly shattered by the dog's death. Although he doesn't recognize the dog as the stray who frequented the build site, thoughts of the oddly helpful Sandstone quickly came to mind. "What the hells did you do you little ... goblin?" Tac calls out. Beginning to circling the goblin, Tac draws his rapier and warily moves to a position behind the goblin, his eyes searching for the best angle. After circling north and then east a few paces, Tac finds himslf at the edge of the northern byway that skirts the north face of the public square in front of the Cathedral, by the rear wheel of the wagon. A loud crack, followed by the sound of splintering wood alerts Tac to the presence of a potential ally, causing Tac to lunge forward to take a shot with his rapier at the distracted goblin. The tip of Tac's rapier eases past the goblin's leather armor and holes into the creature's backside 'til the rapier is buried halfway deep. Tac filets the goblin in the liver for 4 points of damage, causing the goblin's eyes to burn red with fear and quivering rage as it turns its head to perceive that its days are shortly numbered. Sandwiched between Grokk and Tac, the goblin wildly swivels its head, clearly seeking an escape route.
Caught off-guard as Tac circles north and the half-orc charges the goblin, Elyra draws her sword and looks to Tac, but resists the urge to run after her cousin and protect the reckless idiot. Something's not right, Elyra thinks. It would be suicide for a lone goblin to charge into town and start cutting things. Scanning the town, Elyra searches for other intruders and quickly notes two other wee but reeking beasties scrabbling in the festival square in front of the Cathedral. The first goblin Elyra spots clambers onto a nearby buffet table of food. Its eyes wide with glee, the goblin drops its stubby blade and commences stuffing an entire smoked salmon down its gullet. Not bothering to chew, the goblin wretches but continues to stuff itself, sending a spray of flaked fish over a nearby human woman garbed in frilly lace and a ruffled collar. The woman screams and blindly begins to flail, trying to get away from the hideous goblin perched atop the serving table.
Hearing a cry across the square some 50 feet distant, Elyra looks up to spot a smaller goblin hopping back and forth, making faces and waving a dogslicer in front of a frightened child devoid of her parents. The goblin snarls, taunting the girl, eliciting a second higher-pitched shriek from the terrified child--much to the goblin's delight, for it closes the gap and makes another face then waits in eager anticipation for the girl's reaction.
******************************End of Surprise Round, Start of Round 1***************************
The festival square alights in a chaotic frenzy of screaming citizens, most of whom drunkenly scrabble from the scene. A haze of dust soon thickens the air as folk push back from tables and trip over one another in pandemonium, dropping all manner of silverware, ale tankards, and platters in their wake. Taran, Sivan, and Talashia all spot two goblins in the northeast corner of the festival square--one goblin is cornered and bleeding between a reedy human man (Tac) and a towering male half-orc (Grokk), while a second goblin appears to be distractedly stuffing its gullet with smoked salmon atop a nearby buffet table. In the south and west corner of the square, more shouting and shrieking is audible above the din of dust and fear.
Status: one wounded goblin by the wagon, flanked by Tac and Grokk. One unwounded goblin on top of buffet table close to wagon (within 30 feet of all PCs). One unwounded goblin scaring a small child, 50 feet distant (Elyra is the only one to have spotted the third goblin).
The sight and sound of goblins running wild in the town center raises the tawny collie's hackles. With bystanders fleeing the area, the canine is left out in the wide open square. Knowing of the small creatures' unreasoning hatred of dogs, Kell lets loose with a series of thunderous barks to draw the invaders' attention to himself.
Hearing a cry across the square some 50 feet distant, Elyra looks up to spot a smaller goblin hopping back and forth, making faces and waving a dogslicer in front of a frightened child devoid of her parents. The goblin snarls, taunting the girl, eliciting a second higher-pitched shriek from the terrified child--much to the goblin's delight, for it closes the gap and makes another face then waits in eager anticipation for the girl's reaction.
The terrified screams of the child send icy rage coursing through Elyra's veins. She risks one more glance at her wayward cousin, noting his bloodied rapier. Good for him, she thinks, and raises her longsword over her head as she charges across the square toward the goblin standing near the child.
Crunch
I'm figuring Elyra is wearing her armor (she had little else to wear, and scruffy armor is slightly classier than scruffy clothing), but she would not have her pack, bow, quiver, axe or buckler (assume she left these in Tac's apt).
For the charge:
AC: +3 Dex +2 armor -2 charge = +3
Longsword: +6 to hit, 1d8+3 damage
Here is the breakdown if there are questions:
To-hit: +1 BAB +1 Str +2 favored enemy +2 charge
Damage: 1d8+1 Str +2 favored enemy
Last edited by mfloyd3; 9th June 2009 at 08:38 PM..
Reason: realized target goblin was ambiguous
Talashia whirls about at the strange giggles and the screaming behind her. What she sees drops her mouth open in shock. A goblin on the table, stuffing itself! In broad daylight! What had happened to her town that this could be?! Where was the guard?!
The air around her took on the rank, acrid smell of ozone as thin arcs of lightning sizzled and popped in her hair and between her arms and sides, shoulders and head.
"What...do you think...you are...DOING HERE?!" she bellowed, A whip of lightning flicked away from her and lashed across the distance separating her from the goblin, searing the air with a thunderclap as it went!
The tip of Tac's rapier eases past the goblin's leather armor and holes into the creature's backside 'til the rapier is buried halfway deep. Tac filets the goblin in the liver for 4 points of damage, causing the goblin's eyes to burn red with fear and quivering rage as it turns its head to perceive that its days are shortly numbered. Sandwiched between Grokk and Tac, the goblin wildly swivels its head, clearly seeking an escape route.
"Hey, that worked!" Tac says excitedly. He frowns a moment at the sight of blood on his weapon, but shakes it off quickly, eyes looking for another opening as his half-orc ally tries to smash the offending goblin.
The goblin cornered between Tac and Grokk by the wagon howls in pain as Tac wrenches his rapier free. Desperate to escape, the goblin scuttles forward and spears the half-orc cleric in the calf. The goblin's dogslicer sinks its jagged edge into Grokk's leg, sawing muscle and ripping connective tissue for 4 points of damage. The wretched goblin yanks its blade free and darts underneath the wagon to get free of Tac and Grokk. As the goblin scurries away, Grokk quickly reacts to the pain and the hideous scrabbling creature by swinging his warhammer in a great underarc that catches the goblin broadly on its backside and squishes the creature on the flat understide of the wagon. "Filthy goblin. Die!" Bits of goblin pulp drop with a heavy thud to the packed dirt ground of the festival square. Grokk crushes the goblin with a critical success for 27 points of damage.
The sight and sound of goblins running wild in the town center raises the tawny collie's hackles. With bystanders fleeing the area, the canine is left out in the wide open square. Knowing of the small creatures' unreasoning hatred of dogs, Kell lets loose with a series of thunderous barks to draw the invaders' attention. The goblin perched atop the buffet table spares a quick glance at the thundering collie but quickly resumes its feast, this time picking up a serving platter and licking the leftover savories from what had been a plate of curry-spiced salmon. The heat of the crushed Riddleport peppers used to make the curry, however, proves too much for the goblin. The creatures eyes water in pain from the heat, and the goblin drops the cleaned platter to claw at its face--all the while yopping pitieously.
Its cousin distracted, the goblin busily terrifying the small girl, however, hears the collie's thunderous bark and--grinning in delight--moves away from the child to engage Taran. The little goblin is quicker than most and darts forward, springing the last two meters, to slash Taran with a dogslicer, wickedly singing a grotesque chant as it circles to seek its next blow. The dogslicer sings a line down Taran's side, partially revealing hide and scales beneath tawny fur, and dealing 3 points of damage.
Taran moves to reply, first lunging forward neatly to bite the still-grinning goblin, but missing. Two powerful paws range toward the goblin's midsection, the first hitting for 3 points of damage and causing the goblin to swoon to the dirt. With the goblin's tumble to the ground, Taran's second swipe with a paw misses, but an elongated arc with his tail that deals another 3 points of damage finishes the horrid mewling goblin with a crunch as the creature's spine cracks in twain.
Seeing Grokk beat the cornered goblin into a bloodied pulp and hearing the gutteral clacking of another goblin close at hand on the otherside of the wagon, Tac starts to move around the back end of the wagon toward the buffet tables flanking the Cathedral, rapier in hand. After skirting the wagon, Tac extends his swordarm to spear the feasting goblin but misses when the miserable creature bends over to grab a new plate.
Talashia whirls about at the strange giggles and the screaming behind her. What she sees drops her mouth open in shock. A goblin on the table, stuffing itself! In broad daylight! What had happened to her town that this could be?! Where was the guard?!
The air around Talashia takes on the rank, acrid smell of ozone as thin arcs of lightning sizzle and pop in her hair and between her arms and sides, shoulders and head. Three older boys intent on watching the gore of the scene from behind the safety of an overturned bench table cry out in fear at the sight of Talashia and, one of them bawling, "She's on FIRE!!!" turn tail and run from the square. The boy's cry of fire quickly spreads panic throughout the festival square--folk scream in terror, echoing the cry of fire, and the thick crowd presses backward, trampling and stampeding to get away.
"What...do you think...you are...DOING HERE?!" Talashia bellows at the feasting goblin perched on the buffet table. A whip of lightning flicks away from Talashia's hand, lashing out across the distance separating her from the goblin, searing the air with a bitter-scented thunderclap as it flies toward the goblin, crashing down upon the creature and dealing 7 points of damage. The goblin, briefly outlined in white-hot electricity, quivers a touch then falls to the table in a heap of black-mottled flesh. So hot is the creature's dead carcass that the wooden buffet table begins to smolder.
Elyra, whose rage had been keyed by the terrified screams of the child across the square, sees the goblin cross the festival square and slice a tawny collie. Blood runs from the collie's side where the goblin slices through hair and...scales? Elyra blinks then takes a harder look. Despite the dust hanging in a thick sheet in the air, the glimmer of some sort of brown-hued scaling is evident around the collie's wound. Taking a quick look around the square, Elyra spots no one else beside herself who appears to have noticed the collie's strange wound.
Yelling, "Die, miscreant!" Sivan tilts his mighty glaive outward and starts a heroic charge at the goblin perched atop the buffet table but stops short as a woman with pale hair lit with a halo of crackling lightening sears the goblin with a bolt of electricity from 20 feet distant.
Townsfolk on all sides pant in terror and scrabble over one another in a desperate attempt to remove themselves from the terror in the festival square. The dust kicked up from several hundred feet of fleeing people thickens, clotting normal vision and filling nostrils with the scent of earth and blood. Soon, only a lone child--a girl left parentless and terrified by a dogslicer-bearing marauder--stands motionless at the southwestern corner of the empty square. The girl is quiet, her brown eyes pooled with fear and horror.
*****************************End of Combat. For now.**********************
Status: Grokk, injured, @ 5/9 HP. Goblin (wagon) dead. Goblin (table) dead. Goblin (square) dead. Buffet table possibly on fire. Four injured townsfolk lying prone in square. Girl standing alone in corne of square. Please post at will, initiative is over.
Though injured the tawny collie maintains a stoic demeanor so as to avoid drawing unwanted attention to his plight. Turning his head to quickly inspect the wound in his flank, the dog takes advantage of the obscuring dust and causes the riven flesh to ripple and seemingly mend itself with but a moment's thought. Trusting that no one in the panic ridden square noticed any of this, the vigilant collie carefully surveys the area for more lurking threats.
OOC: Reestablishing magical disguise and making a Perception check; taking 20 if given the time.
Though injured the tawny collie maintains a stoic demeanor so as to avoid drawing unwanted attention to his plight. Turning his head to quickly inspect the wound in his flank, the dog takes advantage of the obscuring dust and causes the riven flesh to ripple and seemingly mend itself with but a moment's thought. Trusting that no one in the panic ridden square noticed any of this, the vigilant collie carefully surveys the area for more lurking threats.
Abruptly, the collie curses his luck. Standing at the edge of the square is a dark-haired woman in leather armor, staring slack-jawed at him. Abruptly her features set, and she begins to advance. The longsword in her hand, while not immediately threatening the collie, remains free of its scabbard.
Elyra glances around the square. The crying child and the injured villagers call out for her attention, but the dog-thing appears the more immediate threat. Her skin crawls as she sees the dog's flesh seem to creep over the wound, and she walks slowly forward.
The swordswoman pauses perhaps ten feet from the ersatz collie, eyes narrowed in a cool stare and jaw set like steel. "Here now," she says to no one as she calmly looks the creature over. "What are you, then?"
As the goblin scurries away, Grokk quickly reacts to the pain and the hideous scrabbling creature by swinging his warhammer in a great underarc that catches the goblin broadly on its backside and squishes the creature on the flat understide of the wagon. "Filthy goblin. Die!" Bits of goblin pulp drop with a heavy thud to the packed dirt ground of the festival square.
Tac starts at the utter pulping of the goblin by the half-orc he'd been pestering before. "Reminder: do not make half-orc angry," he says under his breath.
He swears at his own inadequacies at missing the goblin on the table, but then stares, wide-eyed, as Talashia begins to crackle with elemental power
Quote:
The goblin, briefly outlined in white-hot electricity, quivers a touch then falls to the table in a heap of black-mottled flesh. So hot is the creature's dead carcass that the wooden buffet table begins to smolder.
"Also: stay on Talashia's good side," he whimpers, adding to his mental Staying Alive To Do List.
Quote:
Status: Grokk, injured, @ 5/9 HP. Goblin (wagon) dead. Goblin (table) dead. Goblin (square) dead. Buffet table possibly on fire. Four injured townsfolk lying prone in square. Girl standing alone in corne of square. Please post at will, initiative is over.
Noticing the smoldering of wood, Tac looks about, hoping for water but being content with any non-flammable liquid to douse the goblin carcass if that's what it takes to keep the table from actually catching fire.
"Are there any clerics still about?" he calls plaintively. "We have, um, there are people who seem to be broken here."
Once he's satisfied that any potential fire is out, he'll move to the closest wounded person. "Can you stand? What hurts?"
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