Kulan: Knightfall's Crisis in Bluffside Game [IC]

"Keep them divided," the dwarf mercenary yells out. "Don't let them get organized!"

The two Loyalists quickly move from the old house to block the front door of The Crossed Candles. They move with precision and forethought.

"This was a trap!" Custodio yells out to his allies. "Be wary!"

"Of course we knew you were coming," the dwarf replies. "Surround him," he orders his mercenaries." Kill him quick."

"Yes sir!"

"I'll handle that damned knight," he adds. "Find the Loremaster, overwhelm him with numbers. Bring him down."

"What about the paladin, sir," the male merc next to him asks.

"He isn't here... but be wary. He could reappear without warning. Worry about them," he motions to the Elites guards down the street.

OOC: The two Loyalist Soldiers double move to block the front door leading into the candle shop.

---

Falen:
Falen, wary of the beggar, hears the shouting echoing off the building. Clearly doing this diplomatically and quietly is a waste of time. The city is splitting its seams.

“A moment, Sir.” Falen says politely to the beggar. Focused, he moves quickly to the opposite side of Tymbeck to the corner of the building (15’), winking at Tym with one finger up as if he’d casually come upon a new idea.
“One moment.”

In a single breath, time slows to a crawl for Falen. He whispers the quickest of spells, no components, and only a twitch of his finger, a divination that grants him an immediate framework for sizing up a target, even if that that target appears in his vision for but a moment.

The last 5 feet to the corner, time still crawling, he simultaneously draws Fallen Star, his magical obsidian blade, and invokes a spell to launch it the distance to the targets as he peers around the corner. He grits his teeth and throws the blade.

He knew the minute it left his fingers. He smiled. Nathanial Aceron would be known as a helluva shot, even if a bit of a turdnugget.

The dwarf and one of his companions saw the blade an instant before it hit him. For a moment, he saw fear whirling toward him. He felt pain, and then the heat.

Nobody else within eyeshot of the dwarf, not the Loyalists, the mercenaries, nor even his own Exemplars or the Elite Guard, saw the dagger. Nor did they see the thrower. They simply saw the fireball envelop the mercenaries and the dwarf.

“Go kick rocks, you court jester,” Falen mumbles, pulling back behind the wall as the dagger returns to his hand and into its sheath.

He smiles at Tymbeck and the beggar, “It appears we have company. So we’ll have to make this quick. Where were we?”

Notes: OOC thread has rolls. Confirmed Critical Hit.

Aust Thale said:

The dwarf and one of his companions saw the blade an instant before it hit him. For a moment, he saw fear whirling toward him. He felt pain, and then the heat.

Nobody else within eyeshot of the dwarf, not the Loyalists, the mercenaries, nor even his own Exemplars or the Elite Guard, saw the dagger. Nor did they see the thrower. They simply saw the fireball envelop the mercenaries and the dwarf.

Click to expand...

The blade digs into the dwarf's shoulder and he looks stunned for just a second. The the flames roar to life. somehow, the dwarf mercenary manages to shield himself from the worst of the flames. The mercenary to his left takes the full brunt of the flames while the woman to the left is shielded partly by the dwarf's on movement.

"Arg! What was that?" The male merc exclaims.

The dwarf goes to pull the blade out of his shoulder, but it is no longer there.

"How very interesting," he says while patting out his beard. He looks down the narrow street. He doesn't see Falen. "Deal with who you can see," he says to his mercenaries. "I'll will find out who that was and chop his head off."

The dwarf walks with purpose down the street. He scan for signs of danger. Falen tries to duck back behind the back of the shop, but Tim is in the way. The unseen seer tries to make himself look small, but the dwarf easily sees him.

"Aceron!" The dwarf spits. "You should have kept running! I'll let The Dusk deal with you!"

He looks past Falen to Big Tim. "You!" He points at Tim. "Let us dance with death together knight! I'll even let you lead!"

Tuck curses in his native Draconic.

"They were waiting for us," he concludes, then moves back to the front of the store while retrieving a fragile looking vial from his magical bag. Seeing two people moving in front of the open window, the crafty kobold tosses the glass vial outside, where it bursts open and splatters both enemies with corrosive acid.

JustinCase said:

Tuck curses in his native Draconic.

"They were waiting for us," he concludes, then moves back to the front of the store while retrieving a fragile looking vial from his magical bag. Seeing two people moving in front of the open window, the crafty kobold tosses the glass vial outside, where it bursts open and splatters both enemies with corrosive acid.

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The shot through the window just misses hitting the half-open window. The bursting acid burns the Loyalist, his ally, and also splashes on Custodio.

"Please be more careful," Custodio says as he keeps his eyes on the foes gathered around him.

JustinCase said:

OOC: From the description a few posts ago, there is an open window next to the front door, so that's where Tuck throws the vial of acid, hopefully striking one loyalist directly and the other indirectly. View attachment 282777 Ranged touch attack with acid vial: 1D20+11 = [14]+11 = 25 for 1D6 = [5] = 5 acid damage Loyalist next to him takes 1 acid damage. (Edit: Does sneak attack damage apply? If so, add 1 damage.)

Click to expand...

JustinCase said:

OOC: I assume the wall/door shields Tuck and Vincenco from taking damage, but if not, so be it. It doesn't look like whoever is spying in the shop, has a way into the room, does it? The spyhole does not also contain a hatch or something?

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Zenpher charges in next to Custodio and slashes at the mercenary next to Custodio with his sword, but the mercenary easily avoids the blow.

Neurotic said:

Akos looks at the halfling solemn and just a little bit sad.
"Possessed..." he says dreamily "...yes, that could explain it."
He takes some liberty...

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Just as Akos is about to move towards the halfling and sit down, he notices shadows moving on the other side of the curtain. He takes a glance again and sees that the bed has moved and a trapdoor is now open in the wooden floor. He can see light coming up from inside the trapdoor and flickers with movement.

Someone is down there and is coming his way. He still can't hear them, however. There is too much noise coming from outside.

Neurotic said:

OOC: Diplomacy vs halfling: 1D20+25 = [2]+25 = 27 - if we weren't interrupted (with this roll, it is exactly as were interrupted at a critical moment )

Click to expand...

OOC: Definitely interrupted.


Forgot to note the door leading into the back. It stands open.

Loremaster looks at the trapdoor and then at the shop keeper hiding, undecided for the moment. He decides it makes no sense to run to the front room and risk whoever comes from down under killing her.
"Nelie, snap out of it! Run through the back, there is a big knight guarding it, Sir Tymbek! Run away, this might get busy quickly."

OOC: actions remain the same as written earlier (activate the armor), except the movement, Akos remains in the doorway and draws wand of grease

Vinny follows Tuck's lead and puts himself next to the other open window. Instead of a flask of acid, he casts magic missile through the window. The force bolts slam into the other Loyalist blocking the door. The warrior grimaces in discomfort, but he doesn't yell out in pain. These soldiers of Waldo seem to be more disciplined.

You will pay for that, Sectarian," he says.

Vinny just grins at the man.

On the wall, the three Regulars take aim with their crossbows. Two of the Regulars fire at the mercenary standing next to Custodio and Zenpher. One of bolts hits the roof of the candle shop while the other finds it mark, but it is a glancing shot. The third Regulars doesn't fire in unison. Instead, he turns and fires at his fellow regular on the wall, but the shot hits the winner wall next to the Regular.

"What!?" The man looks at the other Regular who fired at him.

The traitor puts down his face shield, draws his short sword, and moves down the wall towards the other regular.

"Stop him!" the Regular on the tower of the gate yells.

The Regular guard, now facing his former Regular, is forced to drop his crossbow and draw his own blade.

Captain Camburn hears the commotion coming from the wall and looks up. He sees the Regular advancing towards the other guard. There is no doubt that the man means to kill the other guard.

"Blast it!" He yells. "More traitors."

He motions to the female Elite. "Petronille, go help deal with that bastard!"

"Yes sir," she replies.

The old warrior moves down the street next to Zenpher while drawing his bastard sword. He uses the sword one-handed with a light shield. He brings the sword around against the mercenary and the blade sinks in deep. The mercenary reels from the blow.

"Damn Elite," he gasps. "Where did you come from?"

The captain doesn't engage with the mercenary. He prepares himself for any counterstrike.

Big Tim would like to try lead the dwarf away from the fight, but Falen's position makes him rethink his plan. Instead he moves around the half-hobgoblin and steps forward to face the dwarf mercenary. The large knight places himself next to Falen and strikes out with his greatsword after unsheathing it with a single motion.

The dwarf sees the blow coming and easily dodges it. While it is not Tim's best sword strike, it keeps the dwarf focused on him instead Falen.

"You will have to do better than that," the dwarf says calmly.

Tim can see that the dwarf is bristling with weaponry. He carries a wicked-looking axe in one hand and an intricate push dagger in his other hand. The dwarf has no shield but is wearing a chain shirt made of adamantine. There is a bastard sword strapped to his back, but it doesn't look like it will impede the dwarf's movement. There is a wild menace to the dwarf's eyes.

This is not a foe to take lightly. Tim can tell that just by looking at the dwarf.

---

Meanwhile...

Custodio takes a step away from the mercenaries to stand behind Zenpher. He unbuckles the magical warhammer given to him by Oakfirst and straps on his shield, foregoing his bastard sword for increased protection. He prays to the Purifier for aid and the hammer begins to shimmer with electrical energy.

Petronille moves away from the fight down the street towards the gate. "You two, go back up the captain!" She orders the Regulars.

"Yes ma'am," one of them replies. The other nods.

OOC: Custodio casts Weapon of Energy on the warhammer of Femke Antuma. +1d6 electricity damage; 2d10 electricity damage on a critical.

---

Inside the Shop:

Neurotic said:

Loremaster looks at the trapdoor and then at the shop keeper hiding, undecided for the moment. He decides it makes no sense to run to the front room and risk whoever comes from down under killing her.
"Nelie, snap out of it! Run through the back, there is a big knight guarding it, Sir Tymbek! Run away, this might get busy quickly."

OOC: actions remain the same as written earlier (activate the armor), except the movement, Akos remains in the doorway and draws wand of grease

Click to expand...

The woman is shaking uncontrollably, but she senses that Akos is trying to help her. She nods and scrambles to go into the front room to get the key from under the counter.

Tuck and Vinny are surprised by her appearance but can tell she's not a threat.

"Akos! "What is going on back there?" Vinny yells.