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<blockquote data-quote="spyscribe" data-source="post: 1114475" data-attributes="member: 5808"><p><strong>Part the Very Twenty-Fourth</strong></p><p><em>In which: the party quibbles for their quarry at a quarry. (It’s quite a quandry!) </em></p><p><em>(as recorded by Fajitas)</em></p><p></p><p> The party arrives at the Temple of Justice, where they briefly debate their next course of action. It is still early enough in the day for them to make it to the quarry and back to retrieve Andrew, the fourth of their five objectives.</p><p></p><p> Henrik and Amelia opt to stay at the Temple while the others head off to the quarry. Surprisingly, Dennis asks to come along. “Andrew and I were arrested together,” he says. “I feel a little responsible for getting him into this.”</p><p></p><p> “You bear no responsibility,” Anvil assures him. “You were framed by unscrupulous miscreants. It is no fault of your own.”</p><p></p><p> “Huh?” Dennis says. “Oh, no. We weren’t framed. We did it.”</p><p></p><p> There are several stares at that. “You did it?” Reyu says.</p><p></p><p> “But the records showed you said you were innocent,” Thatch protests.</p><p></p><p> “Well, duh,” Dennis responds. “What would you have said?”</p><p></p><p> “So you really did assault Ess Missola?” Anvil asks. “Why?”</p><p></p><p> “We were hired to,” Dennis says. “Andrew and I used to work together a lot. I was kinda the brains, he was kinda the not-brains. Anyway, this guy paid us five gold each to wait outside the compound and beat the crap outta the kid. He didn’t mention all the guards inside the estate. He kinda left that as a surprise.”</p><p></p><p> “Tell me,” Anvil says, suspiciously, “do you recall the name of the man who hired you to perform this assault?”</p><p></p><p> “Yeah,” Dennis says, thinking. “His name was… uh… Regger. That’s it. He called himself Regger.”</p><p></p><p> There is a collective shaking of heads from the party. Regger is no doubt another pseudonym of the man called Remmer or Reller, the same scarred man that set Thatch and Reyu up.</p><p></p><p> “Hey,” Hue suddenly pipes up. “If you really did attack Ess, doesn’t that mean that you really deserve to be sentenced to slavery?”</p><p></p><p> Dennis looks aghast at the notion. Anvil considers it for a moment, but says, “I do not think that is necessary. You had no intent to commit this crime before you were set up.”</p><p></p><p> “Damn straight,” Dennis agrees.</p><p></p><p> “Though your past does appear to be somewhat checkered,” Anvil reminds him.</p><p></p><p> Dennis puts a hand on his chest. “Justicar, I’ve been here, enslaved for months now. Believe me when I say that I’ve seen the error of my ways, and I have no intention of ever doing anything that lands me at your Temple again.” He looks honestly repentant. Anvil nods, satisfied that this sinner has had a true change of heart. Dennis smiles wryly. “Besides,” he says, “I was thinking of setting up shop as a gardener. Turns out I’m pretty good at it.”</p><p></p><p>*************</p><p></p><p> It is five hot hours of travel over dusty roads to the marble quarry. Reyu, Anvil, Hue, Dennis, and Essela all ride in the cart. Thatch rides Bob. Cyrus rides his own horse.</p><p></p><p> They catch a first sight of the quarry as they crest a rise. It looks as if someone has taken a bite out of the earth, exposing the rocky innards for all to see. Huge scaffolds with complicated pulley systems haul rock up the sides. Tiny people can be seen moving all about the rock face, some clearly working, others clearly guarding them.</p><p></p><p> The party draws closer. As they near the edge of the quarry, they are approached by six guards. Each has a crossbow drawn and loaded, though they do not point them at the party. One of the guards steps forward. He is a rough man, short and stocky, with a stubbly beard. “What’s all this?” he asks.</p><p></p><p> Anvil rises. “One of your slaves has been wrongfully sentenced to this fate. We are here to buy him from bondage.”</p><p></p><p> The lead guard grins, throwing a glance at his followers. “Yeah? Let’s see your money. We don’t much like armed parties trespassing all the way out here.”</p><p></p><p> Anvil reaches into his pouch and produces a handful of coins. “Our purpose here is sincere, goodman…?”</p><p></p><p> “Reyes,” the lead guard says, with an ugly grin. He looks at the money, then back up at Anvil. “I’m afraid we don’t handle these sorts of things out here. Business office is more for that.”</p><p></p><p> “Then will you direct us to the business office?”</p><p></p><p> “Tell you what,” Reyes says. “For a slight handling fee, I’ll take care of the entire transaction myself.”</p><p></p><p> Anvil sighs. More bribes were probably inevitable. “Would a handling fee of five gold pieces be acceptable?” he offers.</p><p></p><p> “See, here’s what I was thinkin’,” Reyes responds. “I was thinkin’ you hand over all the gold you’ve got, then you get the hell out of here before we prosecute you for trespassing.” He and his fellows laugh.</p><p></p><p> Anvil is about to respond harshly, but he suddenly notices that the guards aren’t holding their crossbows quite as casually as they had been a minute ago. Reyu taps him on the knee and nods towards one of the scaffolds, where another pair of guards now has their crossbows at the ready. </p><p></p><p> Very carefully, Anvil says, “That deal is unacceptable. We are here on Temple business, and have no quarrel with you.”</p><p></p><p> “Good,” Reyes says. “Then you’ll hand over the gold and be on your way.”</p><p></p><p> Anvil racks his brain for a peaceful way out, as crossbows begin to train on the party. He can feel everyone else tensing up around him, ready to respond to any aggression.</p><p></p><p> “What’s it gonna be?” Reyes asks, taking a half-step forward.</p><p></p><p> The instant he moves, Thatch goes for his greatsword.</p><p> </p><p> And the instant Thatch moves, two crossbow bolts fly towards him from the guards at the scaffold. Both strike him, one plunging deep. Thatch falls off of Bob, bleeding profusely. The party’s front-line fighter has dropped before combat has even begun. </p><p></p><p><em>to be continued…</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>*****************</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>(DM’s Note: I really didn’t mean to roll two hits, one of them a crit, on those guards’ readied action. And then I <strong>really</strong> didn’t mean to roll 21 points of damage on my 3d8. On the plus side, if it had been anyone but Thatch, it would have killed them right out, so I suppose it could have been worse.)</em></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="spyscribe, post: 1114475, member: 5808"] [b]Part the Very Twenty-Fourth[/b] [i]In which: the party quibbles for their quarry at a quarry. (It’s quite a quandry!) (as recorded by Fajitas)[/i] The party arrives at the Temple of Justice, where they briefly debate their next course of action. It is still early enough in the day for them to make it to the quarry and back to retrieve Andrew, the fourth of their five objectives. Henrik and Amelia opt to stay at the Temple while the others head off to the quarry. Surprisingly, Dennis asks to come along. “Andrew and I were arrested together,” he says. “I feel a little responsible for getting him into this.” “You bear no responsibility,” Anvil assures him. “You were framed by unscrupulous miscreants. It is no fault of your own.” “Huh?” Dennis says. “Oh, no. We weren’t framed. We did it.” There are several stares at that. “You did it?” Reyu says. “But the records showed you said you were innocent,” Thatch protests. “Well, duh,” Dennis responds. “What would you have said?” “So you really did assault Ess Missola?” Anvil asks. “Why?” “We were hired to,” Dennis says. “Andrew and I used to work together a lot. I was kinda the brains, he was kinda the not-brains. Anyway, this guy paid us five gold each to wait outside the compound and beat the crap outta the kid. He didn’t mention all the guards inside the estate. He kinda left that as a surprise.” “Tell me,” Anvil says, suspiciously, “do you recall the name of the man who hired you to perform this assault?” “Yeah,” Dennis says, thinking. “His name was… uh… Regger. That’s it. He called himself Regger.” There is a collective shaking of heads from the party. Regger is no doubt another pseudonym of the man called Remmer or Reller, the same scarred man that set Thatch and Reyu up. “Hey,” Hue suddenly pipes up. “If you really did attack Ess, doesn’t that mean that you really deserve to be sentenced to slavery?” Dennis looks aghast at the notion. Anvil considers it for a moment, but says, “I do not think that is necessary. You had no intent to commit this crime before you were set up.” “Damn straight,” Dennis agrees. “Though your past does appear to be somewhat checkered,” Anvil reminds him. Dennis puts a hand on his chest. “Justicar, I’ve been here, enslaved for months now. Believe me when I say that I’ve seen the error of my ways, and I have no intention of ever doing anything that lands me at your Temple again.” He looks honestly repentant. Anvil nods, satisfied that this sinner has had a true change of heart. Dennis smiles wryly. “Besides,” he says, “I was thinking of setting up shop as a gardener. Turns out I’m pretty good at it.” ************* It is five hot hours of travel over dusty roads to the marble quarry. Reyu, Anvil, Hue, Dennis, and Essela all ride in the cart. Thatch rides Bob. Cyrus rides his own horse. They catch a first sight of the quarry as they crest a rise. It looks as if someone has taken a bite out of the earth, exposing the rocky innards for all to see. Huge scaffolds with complicated pulley systems haul rock up the sides. Tiny people can be seen moving all about the rock face, some clearly working, others clearly guarding them. The party draws closer. As they near the edge of the quarry, they are approached by six guards. Each has a crossbow drawn and loaded, though they do not point them at the party. One of the guards steps forward. He is a rough man, short and stocky, with a stubbly beard. “What’s all this?” he asks. Anvil rises. “One of your slaves has been wrongfully sentenced to this fate. We are here to buy him from bondage.” The lead guard grins, throwing a glance at his followers. “Yeah? Let’s see your money. We don’t much like armed parties trespassing all the way out here.” Anvil reaches into his pouch and produces a handful of coins. “Our purpose here is sincere, goodman…?” “Reyes,” the lead guard says, with an ugly grin. He looks at the money, then back up at Anvil. “I’m afraid we don’t handle these sorts of things out here. Business office is more for that.” “Then will you direct us to the business office?” “Tell you what,” Reyes says. “For a slight handling fee, I’ll take care of the entire transaction myself.” Anvil sighs. More bribes were probably inevitable. “Would a handling fee of five gold pieces be acceptable?” he offers. “See, here’s what I was thinkin’,” Reyes responds. “I was thinkin’ you hand over all the gold you’ve got, then you get the hell out of here before we prosecute you for trespassing.” He and his fellows laugh. Anvil is about to respond harshly, but he suddenly notices that the guards aren’t holding their crossbows quite as casually as they had been a minute ago. Reyu taps him on the knee and nods towards one of the scaffolds, where another pair of guards now has their crossbows at the ready. Very carefully, Anvil says, “That deal is unacceptable. We are here on Temple business, and have no quarrel with you.” “Good,” Reyes says. “Then you’ll hand over the gold and be on your way.” Anvil racks his brain for a peaceful way out, as crossbows begin to train on the party. He can feel everyone else tensing up around him, ready to respond to any aggression. “What’s it gonna be?” Reyes asks, taking a half-step forward. The instant he moves, Thatch goes for his greatsword. And the instant Thatch moves, two crossbow bolts fly towards him from the guards at the scaffold. Both strike him, one plunging deep. Thatch falls off of Bob, bleeding profusely. The party’s front-line fighter has dropped before combat has even begun. [i]to be continued… ***************** (DM’s Note: I really didn’t mean to roll two hits, one of them a crit, on those guards’ readied action. And then I [b]really[/b] didn’t mean to roll 21 points of damage on my 3d8. On the plus side, if it had been anyone but Thatch, it would have killed them right out, so I suppose it could have been worse.)[/I] [/QUOTE]
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