Adventure: Love Bites

Lord Sessadore · Jul 2, 2010

Tristan shrugs. "Ok then, let's see how it goes." The elf comes bounding out of the shrubs to help Hacker and Kathalia.
[sblock=OOC]Sorry guys, I entirely forgot that this was waiting on our actions :-S

If the green stuff Mikara and Tristan are in is difficult terrain:
Double Move: to AK36 and Stealth (1d20+12-5=17).

If it's not difficult terrain:
Move: to AK36
Standard: charge to AL33 or AL34 (depending where old man is) and grab: crit! (I botched the bonus on the roll on IC, but a crit is a crit

)[/sblock]

covaithe · Jul 10, 2010

With a weak scream, the old man collapses under Mikara's rain of arrows and Kathalia's fangs. He is bleeding badly, and will likely die soon unless action is taken to save him.

No one appears to have noticed the altercation; or, if they have, there is no sign of a response yet.

[sblock=ooc]A DC 10 heal check, or the use of a healing power such as Inspiring Word, will suffice to revive the priest. I get the impression you guys wanted to capture and question him, rather than kill him; this is mainly giving you an opportunity to let him die if I've misread the situation. If you want him alive, you shouldn't have much trouble.

I had originally planned this to be a moderately tough encounter, but between the disappearance of half the PCs, and my own lack of creative energy right now, I feel the need to try to bring this to a close more quickly than I'd originally planned.

That said, I'm going out of town for a handful of days, and won't be able to check/post again before Thursday the 15th. You might use the time to think of questions for the priest.
[/sblock]

H.M.Gimlord · Jul 12, 2010

[sblock=OOC]I just got back. I'm ready to swap ideas if anyone's got any. I'll also NPC Hacker until we get another to join.[/sblock]

covaithe · Jul 16, 2010

The street is silent, but for a stray breeze that ruffles the leaves of the trees growing around the half-rebuilt church. The elderly man, likely a priest, given his fraying cassock and belt of cheap hemp rope, breathes hoarsely, laboring for air. The arrows protruding from his torso probably don't help.

ooc: I'm back. Can someone confirm that you want to heal and talk to the old man, rather than letting him die? Feel free to NPC Hacker to do it, if that's your plan.

Lord Sessadore · Jul 16, 2010

Tristan sighs as he leaves the bush. "Missed the fun, have to do the work. Ah well." The elf sheathes his sword and moves to help the old man stay alive.

Once the man's breathing has stabilized, Tristan shakes his face slightly to bring him back to consciousness. "Human, are you the one they call Father Serevas?"
[sblock=OOC]Yeah, I think we want to heal and talk to him.
Heal (1d20+4=22)[/sblock]

H.M.Gimlord · Jul 17, 2010

Hacker looks annoyedly up at Tristan, quickly dropping the beggar's guise,"Of course he's Father F***in Serevas!" He turns to look the bleeding pastor in his eyes, intentionally ignoring the fact that the man is about to die, "You'll have to excuse the company. They're a little slow." The gnome rolls his eyes at the elves, "Oh, and sorry about the needles," He flicks the fletchings on one of Mikara's arrows, allowing the shaft to resonate, seemingly oblivious to the pain it is causing the wounded cleric, "We've been hired by a former client of yours. Does the name Merith Karse ring a bell?" Hacker studies the cleric's face, "He asked you to help him with a romantic interest that went south," he pauses,"still confused? Her name was Aleana L'irkash. Maybe, now you'll remember. We'd like to know what happened to her, and (alive or dead) we want to know where she is now."

[sblock=Checks]Diplomacy 1d20+12=26
Insight (to see if Serevas betrays recognition of either Aleana or Merith) 1d20+2 = 5[/sblock]

Lord Sessadore · Jul 19, 2010

Tristan tries to watch the man's reaction as well, but is somewhat distracted by trying to keep him alive, as well as Hacker's typical insults.
[sblock=OOC]Insight (1d20+5=13)[/sblock]

nerdytenor · Jul 20, 2010

*GAZUMPF*

Kathalia transforms back into an elf, observing as the priest is stabilized.

"Yes, old, priesty fellow - tell us what we want to here so we can, um..." Kathalia looks nervously at the others. "... so that you can go back to doing priestly things. Yes? OK I'll stop talking now" Kathalia takes a few nervous steps backwards and begins humming absentmindedly to herself (Diplomacy 7)

H.M.Gimlord · Jul 21, 2010

Mikara stays at a distance. She almost feels remorse for what she has just done, attacking an unarmed cleric without provocation. She had become too used to things not being as they seemed; too used to kittens turning into dragons, too used to friends who become enemies; too used to promises broken and false advice. Now she simply hopes the old man will survive and forgive her.

covaithe · Jul 22, 2010

Tristan works to bind the old man's wounds, succeeding in stabilizing the old man for the moment despite Hacker's sadistic prodding.

H.M.Gimlord said:
"Of course he's Father F***in Serevas!" He turns to look the bleeding pastor in his eyes, intentionally ignoring the fact that the man is about to die, "You'll have to excuse the company. They're a little slow." The gnome rolls his eyes at the elves.

The priest coughs and responds in a thin, but steady voice. "Yes, I am Serevas, a priest in the service of -- aah, that stings! -- of Mireva. I..."

Hacker said:
"Oh, and sorry about the needles," He flicks the fletchings on one of Mikara's arrows, allowing the shaft to resonate, seemingly oblivious to the pain it is causing the wounded cleric, "We've been hired by a former client of yours. Does the name Merith Karse ring a bell?" Hacker studies the cleric's face.

Father Serevas, already slightly pale from loss of blood, goes white as a sheet at the mention of this name, and sways dizzily for a moment before Tristan's hands catch him.

Hacker said:
"He asked you to help him with a romantic interest that went south," he pauses,"still confused? Her name was Aleana L'irkash. Maybe, now you'll remember. We'd like to know what happened to her, and (alive or dead) we want to know where she is now."

The priest winces again, making no attempt to hide either his recognition of the names or of his dismay at hearing them. The faint lines in his face darken, and suddenly he looks much more human than half-elven. He opens and closes his mouth several times before words finally come out: "Karse. So. I take it he survived the attempt, then? Well, not survived, of course; merely escaped complete destruction. A shame. I had hoped... My sin in making the attempt can never be expunged in this life, I know, but I had thought that at least the consequences to others were at an end. It would have been a great mercy had the Five ended him that day."

"But you asked about Aleana, and what became of her. Her body was returned to her family, of course, once the Five had... dispersed... Karse. She was laid to rest in the family's innermost crypt, the most heavily warded and guarded. Or so I was told. There was no ceremony; after all, she had already been mourned at a public and expensive funeral. To admit that she had been pretending, but later died in truth, had her body stolen and barely rescued from a fate worse than death... No, that would never happen."

"I managed to snivel and blubber enough to convince the L'irkash that my part in the farce was under duress, that Karse had forced me to cooperate the whole time. They were ready to believe anything of him. It was enough to keep me alive. Though, they never quite trusted me after that, and I was soon pensioned off. Whence I came here, to try to do some small worthwhile thing with what remains of my life."