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<blockquote data-quote="Hairy Minotaur" data-source="post: 3516873" data-attributes="member: 11574"><p><strong>Mark of an Assassin</strong></p><p></p><p>“Pfft, we don’t need those guys. I think we can cause enough chaos at the docks to get us some of that platinum before anyone realizes it’s missing.” Kessen advises Xanthos and Turgar</p><p></p><p>“I could transform into a dolphin or a rock crab and work loose some ties or create a leak and we can loot the sunken barge further down the river.” Xanthos suggests</p><p></p><p>“I say we go for it, agreed?” Kessen asks</p><p></p><p>Xanthos readily accepts, but Turgar find it difficult to shake what the people who’ve spent the most time in Highcastle have been saying, plus the reasoning that the barge would be guarded extremely well, began to wedge it’s way back into Turgar’s psyche. </p><p></p><p>“I’ve changed my mind, I’m going sewer sweeping with them.” Turgar finally said and headed off to follow the other half of the party</p><p></p><p>“Well, more for us I guess and after this score we won’t need them anymore anyway.” Kessen advises </p><p></p><p>Turgar catches up as Menthos is explaining the duties to everyone.</p><p></p><p>“They lost two groups of priests; both groups had six members in them. The first group they sent down four days ago, the second group two days ago, nothing has been heard from them since. We’re likely to come across various members of other churches and maybe a patrol or two from the Overlord. None of them should be there and if no one in those groups returns to their point of origin alive we needn’t have to worry about repercussions if you catch my drift.” Menthos says winking</p><p></p><p>The party nods and heads down a set of ancient stone steps that descend at a steep angle underneath the temple. As they progress along the steps the party feels a weight they hadn’t noticed before lifted from their shoulders momentarily and replaced with another different weight. The procession of warriors stopped as in unison they noticed the subtle change, all but Menthos who noticed not a lifting of weight but the placement of it.</p><p></p><p>“Whew, it’s oppressive down here, who in their right mind would want to be down here anyway?” Menthos states</p><p></p><p>“I rather find it calming like a warm blanket, albeit a huge sized and heavy one.” Haimish notes</p><p></p><p>“I’d say the same thing, like going from anxiety to a gregarious seizure.” Turgar adds</p><p></p><p>“Doopa think it smell funny.” The ogre wades into the conversation</p><p></p><p>As the party reaches the bottom of the stairs, in the middle of a great room, a grand mosaic is displayed along the walls and floor of the room depicting primitive humanoids receiving the gift of fire from a human shaped being with a living flame atop his head. Reluctant at first to accept the gift the races eventually relent and are seen cooking their food, lighting their caves, walking beneath stars, and fending off wild beasts. Eventually the gift is seen as leading the races to settle down and build cities.</p><p></p><p>“This Kador guy is sure full of himself, no mention at all about the role dragons played in prying you people from the muck of humanity.” Turgar says inferring to Haimish</p><p></p><p>Haimish observes that the ceiling at one time had a mosaic as well, but he paint has flaked off and the faint outline remaining is too dim to make out any longer. </p><p></p><p>The room has three exits one to the west, one to the north, and the last to the northeast. They decide to head north first and after short twenty foot walk down the north corridor, they come to a closed heavy wooden door. Haimish places an ear to the door, but alas Doopa’s stomach fails to keep quiet and Haimish hears nothing from the other side of the door. Giving the ogre a displeasured look, Haimish backs away and tells Doopa to listen.</p><p></p><p>“Doopa not hear anything with door closed.” And the barbarian promptly heaves the door open, tearing it off its hinges in the process. Splinters of dirt and metal hinges go flying back down the corridor to the great room. </p><p></p><p>“EEEEYYYYEEE, keep the horses away form me!” A voice shouts from within the room</p><p></p><p>“Are you from the lost Kador search party?” Haimish asks to no response</p><p></p><p>“Are from the lost Donner party?” Menthos asks to no response either</p><p></p><p>“Are you even lost?” Turgar asks to no response</p><p></p><p>“Do you hear anything now?” Doopa shouts</p><p></p><p>The party enters the room and spies a huddled man in ragged clothes crouched against the back wall opposite the door.</p><p></p><p>“Keep the horses away from me!” The man shouts</p><p></p><p>“What horses? We don’t have any.” Haimish replies</p><p></p><p>As the light from the great room begins to disperse some of the darkness in this room, the party can make out the unkempt beaded face of a man.</p><p></p><p>“Doopa say we kill him if he not from temple.” The ogre announces</p><p></p><p>“Wait, I don’t think he’s a threat. Sure he looks haggard, but those eyes speak to me of a soul in torment and the way the sweat beads on his brow suggests a man who’s spent his entire life laboring under the suns rays.” Haimish explains</p><p></p><p>“What kind of crap was that? You heard the priests, if his not one of them, kill it.” Menthos reminds the bard</p><p></p><p>Haimish ignores the warlock and approaches the scared man, “would you like some cheese or a piece of bread?” Haimish produces both from inside his cloak</p><p></p><p>“Doopa wise enough to know you don’t feed the wild animals, you kill them and then you feed the wild animals to your stomach.” Doopa advises</p><p></p><p>“I do not wish this poor soul harmed while I yet live, I will get him to leave and not bother the priests, you need not worry about him he’s not going anywhere.” Haimish announces</p><p></p><p>“That’s mighty pretentious of one, what makes you think I won’t kill him?” Menthos inquires</p><p></p><p>“The downside of being better than everyone else is that people tend to assume you're pretentious.” Haimish responds</p><p></p><p>“You’re full of crap.” Menthos informs Haimish</p><p></p><p>After waiting for Haimish to feed the unstable man, the party returns to the great room and heads to the west exit.</p><p></p><p>“If he’s gone when we come back, you’ll have to explain that to Statinisor, because I sure am not.” Menthos states</p><p></p><p>“He’ll be there.” Haimish responds</p><p></p><p>The west corridor goes thirty feet then turns south for twenty feet then back west and ends in a door. Haimish hands Doopa the rest of his bread and waits for the ogre’s stomach to stop complaining before listening to this door as well. The bard picks up a distinctive hissing sound.</p><p></p><p>“Snakes.” Haimish speaks aloud</p><p></p><p>“Yummy.” Doopa replies</p><p></p><p>Haimish looks back at Turgar and Menthos who shrug their shoulders, he then turns to Doopa and bows away from the door, offering the obstacle to the ogre. Doopa grabs his club and smashes down the down with one swing. His proud demeanor is reduced to astonishment as twin daggers are plunged into Doopa’s back and a giant snake head lashes from beyond the doorway and plants it’s fangs into Doopa’s left shoulder.</p><p></p><p>Menthos and Turgar leap back as Haimish slams his shield at the head of the snake; however a leathery wing slips in front of his blow and takes the full brunt of Haimish’s slam. Doopa twists away from the bite and the snake tears away a hunk of muscle from Doopa’s shoulder.</p><p></p><p>Menthos launches an eldritch blast into the snake’s head as the settling debris brings the body of the snake in focus. The thing flies with the aid of two massive leather wings, two short arms sprout from the body, and each wields a wickedly curved dagger. The eyes of the thing are not reptile like but are red and irisless not unlike a demon’s.</p><p></p><p>Turgar quickly brings up his helpful aura and steps in to take Doopa’s place in front of the creature. Menthos watches as the color from Doopa’s face drains away and realizes he’s been poisoned.</p><p></p><p>“The bite and maybe the daggers are poisonous.” The teifling explains</p><p></p><p>Haimish blocks both dagger thrusts from the snake with his shield, then dodges the bite as he slams his shield into the midsection of the snake and then slashes his blade across it’s “belly”.</p><p></p><p>The thing wails in pain as it buffets the bard with its wings and snaps its tail at Haimish’s shield and wrapping its tail around the shield wrist of the bard. Doopa swings weakly at the creature, missing it however, but forcing it to turn sideways in the door and dragging Haimish between it and Doopa as it turns. Menthos sends another blast into the creature, as Turgar hacks at the thing’s tail, trying to get it to release Haimish’s shield arm.</p><p></p><p>Haimish lets momentum carry him into the room so he is now flanking the creature with Turgar and Haimish swings at the snake’s head. Doopa collapses to the floor and his breathing becomes laborious as blood weeps from his shoulder like a cracked dam.</p><p></p><p>The snake spins it’s tail in a tight circle and flings Haimish into the center of the room, it then turns it’s attentions to Turgar who drops his healing aura for a protection one just as it snakes twin daggers slash just short of the dragon shaman, the head however bites deeply into Turgar’s arm and thrashes back and forth ripping the flesh as it spills it’s venom into the wound.</p><p></p><p>Using the preoccupation the snake was having with Turgar’s arm, Menthos launches an eldritch blast into the left eye of the snake thing and it immediately lets go of Turgar’s arm. Haimish gets up and pounces on the snake ramming his shield’s lower point into it’s back and in a powerful slash he cuts off the right arm of the snake.</p><p></p><p>Bleeding and disorientated, the snake creature tries to back up against a wall, but its flight wavers as Turgar cuts off a wing and Menthos uses the flanking ogre and human to deliver the death blow with an eldritch blast down the thing’s mouth, destroying the lower jaw.</p><p></p><p>The heroes pick up Doopa and race back to the stairs to return to the temple for some healing for Doopa.</p><p></p><p>Meanwhile Xanthos and Kessen circle the exterior of Highcastle until they can spot the docks from across the estuary. Ogres and minotaurs each baring the symbol of Carnack load crates unto a huge barge parked at the end of the Burghondy’s dock. Dozens of scrags patrol the water around the barge; Xanthos spots a wyvern attempting to camouflage itself in the thickets on the far side of the estuary from where he and Kessen crouched.</p><p></p><p>“How do you want to do this? I should fire some flame arrows unto the barge and then you swim underneath it?” Kessen asks</p><p></p><p>“We’re woefully unprepared for this, I think we should wait and see have much of those are part of the traveling retinue.” Xanthos responds</p><p></p><p>“Chaos works best when it’s not planned, the longer we wait the greater the chance we’ll be found out.” Kessen advises</p><p></p><p>“Still I… Did you feel that?” Xanthos stops mid thought and asks as he feels the presence of someone else, only not physically, more like a mental brush stroke.</p><p></p><p>“Feel what?” Kessen replies</p><p></p><p>“We need to get out of here, now!” Xanthos states as he grabs Kessen’s hand and drags him away from the water’s edge.</p><p></p><p>The shifter doesn’t let up until they are back inside Highcastle’s walls, “What was that for? I thought we were on the same page?” Kessen asks</p><p></p><p>“Our position was compromised, no matter what we tried to do; I don’t think it would’ve surprised them at all.” Xanthos warns </p><p></p><p>“That sucks, it was a great plan. How do I know you didn’t get cold feet? Or that you’re not planning to go back there later?” Kessen demands</p><p></p><p>“You don’t but feel free to get yourself killed, I’m not going back.” Xanthos states and walks away heading for the inn where he agreed to meet with who he hoped were members of the assassin’s guild.</p><p></p><p>Dejected, Kessen however returned to the Temple of Kador, where he hoped the party he tried to leave was having a good adventure. He would make them see they needed a scout’s skills.</p><p></p><p>Xanthos waited out the night in the inn anticipating his meeting but no one ever showed, depressed and downtrodden, Xanthos reluctantly returned to the temple to rejoin the rest of the party, unaware that for the entire night doppelgangers monitored his every move, and two master assassins waited outside his door for the chance to surprise the shifter when he left his room. When Xanthos opened his door in the morning there was no evidence anything was amiss.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Hairy Minotaur, post: 3516873, member: 11574"] [b]Mark of an Assassin[/b] “Pfft, we don’t need those guys. I think we can cause enough chaos at the docks to get us some of that platinum before anyone realizes it’s missing.” Kessen advises Xanthos and Turgar “I could transform into a dolphin or a rock crab and work loose some ties or create a leak and we can loot the sunken barge further down the river.” Xanthos suggests “I say we go for it, agreed?” Kessen asks Xanthos readily accepts, but Turgar find it difficult to shake what the people who’ve spent the most time in Highcastle have been saying, plus the reasoning that the barge would be guarded extremely well, began to wedge it’s way back into Turgar’s psyche. “I’ve changed my mind, I’m going sewer sweeping with them.” Turgar finally said and headed off to follow the other half of the party “Well, more for us I guess and after this score we won’t need them anymore anyway.” Kessen advises Turgar catches up as Menthos is explaining the duties to everyone. “They lost two groups of priests; both groups had six members in them. The first group they sent down four days ago, the second group two days ago, nothing has been heard from them since. We’re likely to come across various members of other churches and maybe a patrol or two from the Overlord. None of them should be there and if no one in those groups returns to their point of origin alive we needn’t have to worry about repercussions if you catch my drift.” Menthos says winking The party nods and heads down a set of ancient stone steps that descend at a steep angle underneath the temple. As they progress along the steps the party feels a weight they hadn’t noticed before lifted from their shoulders momentarily and replaced with another different weight. The procession of warriors stopped as in unison they noticed the subtle change, all but Menthos who noticed not a lifting of weight but the placement of it. “Whew, it’s oppressive down here, who in their right mind would want to be down here anyway?” Menthos states “I rather find it calming like a warm blanket, albeit a huge sized and heavy one.” Haimish notes “I’d say the same thing, like going from anxiety to a gregarious seizure.” Turgar adds “Doopa think it smell funny.” The ogre wades into the conversation As the party reaches the bottom of the stairs, in the middle of a great room, a grand mosaic is displayed along the walls and floor of the room depicting primitive humanoids receiving the gift of fire from a human shaped being with a living flame atop his head. Reluctant at first to accept the gift the races eventually relent and are seen cooking their food, lighting their caves, walking beneath stars, and fending off wild beasts. Eventually the gift is seen as leading the races to settle down and build cities. “This Kador guy is sure full of himself, no mention at all about the role dragons played in prying you people from the muck of humanity.” Turgar says inferring to Haimish Haimish observes that the ceiling at one time had a mosaic as well, but he paint has flaked off and the faint outline remaining is too dim to make out any longer. The room has three exits one to the west, one to the north, and the last to the northeast. They decide to head north first and after short twenty foot walk down the north corridor, they come to a closed heavy wooden door. Haimish places an ear to the door, but alas Doopa’s stomach fails to keep quiet and Haimish hears nothing from the other side of the door. Giving the ogre a displeasured look, Haimish backs away and tells Doopa to listen. “Doopa not hear anything with door closed.” And the barbarian promptly heaves the door open, tearing it off its hinges in the process. Splinters of dirt and metal hinges go flying back down the corridor to the great room. “EEEEYYYYEEE, keep the horses away form me!” A voice shouts from within the room “Are you from the lost Kador search party?” Haimish asks to no response “Are from the lost Donner party?” Menthos asks to no response either “Are you even lost?” Turgar asks to no response “Do you hear anything now?” Doopa shouts The party enters the room and spies a huddled man in ragged clothes crouched against the back wall opposite the door. “Keep the horses away from me!” The man shouts “What horses? We don’t have any.” Haimish replies As the light from the great room begins to disperse some of the darkness in this room, the party can make out the unkempt beaded face of a man. “Doopa say we kill him if he not from temple.” The ogre announces “Wait, I don’t think he’s a threat. Sure he looks haggard, but those eyes speak to me of a soul in torment and the way the sweat beads on his brow suggests a man who’s spent his entire life laboring under the suns rays.” Haimish explains “What kind of crap was that? You heard the priests, if his not one of them, kill it.” Menthos reminds the bard Haimish ignores the warlock and approaches the scared man, “would you like some cheese or a piece of bread?” Haimish produces both from inside his cloak “Doopa wise enough to know you don’t feed the wild animals, you kill them and then you feed the wild animals to your stomach.” Doopa advises “I do not wish this poor soul harmed while I yet live, I will get him to leave and not bother the priests, you need not worry about him he’s not going anywhere.” Haimish announces “That’s mighty pretentious of one, what makes you think I won’t kill him?” Menthos inquires “The downside of being better than everyone else is that people tend to assume you're pretentious.” Haimish responds “You’re full of crap.” Menthos informs Haimish After waiting for Haimish to feed the unstable man, the party returns to the great room and heads to the west exit. “If he’s gone when we come back, you’ll have to explain that to Statinisor, because I sure am not.” Menthos states “He’ll be there.” Haimish responds The west corridor goes thirty feet then turns south for twenty feet then back west and ends in a door. Haimish hands Doopa the rest of his bread and waits for the ogre’s stomach to stop complaining before listening to this door as well. The bard picks up a distinctive hissing sound. “Snakes.” Haimish speaks aloud “Yummy.” Doopa replies Haimish looks back at Turgar and Menthos who shrug their shoulders, he then turns to Doopa and bows away from the door, offering the obstacle to the ogre. Doopa grabs his club and smashes down the down with one swing. His proud demeanor is reduced to astonishment as twin daggers are plunged into Doopa’s back and a giant snake head lashes from beyond the doorway and plants it’s fangs into Doopa’s left shoulder. Menthos and Turgar leap back as Haimish slams his shield at the head of the snake; however a leathery wing slips in front of his blow and takes the full brunt of Haimish’s slam. Doopa twists away from the bite and the snake tears away a hunk of muscle from Doopa’s shoulder. Menthos launches an eldritch blast into the snake’s head as the settling debris brings the body of the snake in focus. The thing flies with the aid of two massive leather wings, two short arms sprout from the body, and each wields a wickedly curved dagger. The eyes of the thing are not reptile like but are red and irisless not unlike a demon’s. Turgar quickly brings up his helpful aura and steps in to take Doopa’s place in front of the creature. Menthos watches as the color from Doopa’s face drains away and realizes he’s been poisoned. “The bite and maybe the daggers are poisonous.” The teifling explains Haimish blocks both dagger thrusts from the snake with his shield, then dodges the bite as he slams his shield into the midsection of the snake and then slashes his blade across it’s “belly”. The thing wails in pain as it buffets the bard with its wings and snaps its tail at Haimish’s shield and wrapping its tail around the shield wrist of the bard. Doopa swings weakly at the creature, missing it however, but forcing it to turn sideways in the door and dragging Haimish between it and Doopa as it turns. Menthos sends another blast into the creature, as Turgar hacks at the thing’s tail, trying to get it to release Haimish’s shield arm. Haimish lets momentum carry him into the room so he is now flanking the creature with Turgar and Haimish swings at the snake’s head. Doopa collapses to the floor and his breathing becomes laborious as blood weeps from his shoulder like a cracked dam. The snake spins it’s tail in a tight circle and flings Haimish into the center of the room, it then turns it’s attentions to Turgar who drops his healing aura for a protection one just as it snakes twin daggers slash just short of the dragon shaman, the head however bites deeply into Turgar’s arm and thrashes back and forth ripping the flesh as it spills it’s venom into the wound. Using the preoccupation the snake was having with Turgar’s arm, Menthos launches an eldritch blast into the left eye of the snake thing and it immediately lets go of Turgar’s arm. Haimish gets up and pounces on the snake ramming his shield’s lower point into it’s back and in a powerful slash he cuts off the right arm of the snake. Bleeding and disorientated, the snake creature tries to back up against a wall, but its flight wavers as Turgar cuts off a wing and Menthos uses the flanking ogre and human to deliver the death blow with an eldritch blast down the thing’s mouth, destroying the lower jaw. The heroes pick up Doopa and race back to the stairs to return to the temple for some healing for Doopa. Meanwhile Xanthos and Kessen circle the exterior of Highcastle until they can spot the docks from across the estuary. Ogres and minotaurs each baring the symbol of Carnack load crates unto a huge barge parked at the end of the Burghondy’s dock. Dozens of scrags patrol the water around the barge; Xanthos spots a wyvern attempting to camouflage itself in the thickets on the far side of the estuary from where he and Kessen crouched. “How do you want to do this? I should fire some flame arrows unto the barge and then you swim underneath it?” Kessen asks “We’re woefully unprepared for this, I think we should wait and see have much of those are part of the traveling retinue.” Xanthos responds “Chaos works best when it’s not planned, the longer we wait the greater the chance we’ll be found out.” Kessen advises “Still I… Did you feel that?” Xanthos stops mid thought and asks as he feels the presence of someone else, only not physically, more like a mental brush stroke. “Feel what?” Kessen replies “We need to get out of here, now!” Xanthos states as he grabs Kessen’s hand and drags him away from the water’s edge. The shifter doesn’t let up until they are back inside Highcastle’s walls, “What was that for? I thought we were on the same page?” Kessen asks “Our position was compromised, no matter what we tried to do; I don’t think it would’ve surprised them at all.” Xanthos warns “That sucks, it was a great plan. How do I know you didn’t get cold feet? Or that you’re not planning to go back there later?” Kessen demands “You don’t but feel free to get yourself killed, I’m not going back.” Xanthos states and walks away heading for the inn where he agreed to meet with who he hoped were members of the assassin’s guild. Dejected, Kessen however returned to the Temple of Kador, where he hoped the party he tried to leave was having a good adventure. He would make them see they needed a scout’s skills. Xanthos waited out the night in the inn anticipating his meeting but no one ever showed, depressed and downtrodden, Xanthos reluctantly returned to the temple to rejoin the rest of the party, unaware that for the entire night doppelgangers monitored his every move, and two master assassins waited outside his door for the chance to surprise the shifter when he left his room. When Xanthos opened his door in the morning there was no evidence anything was amiss. [/QUOTE]
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