Demons in the Mist (October 9th update)

[Desdichado]

Ricardo had wondered off to look around the grounds, hoping to catch sight of Francesca or some notion of where she might be, but is entirely distracted
lots of very, very comely young ladies on the staff. Wearing cute little French maid outfits.

Shautha, meanwhile, had fake half-swooned onto Gaspar's shoulder and reached down to fondle him.

He fainted himself and leans over on her. Shautha smiled and waved at one of the staff nearby. "Your master has fainted! Tell me where I may take him so he can recover!" She paused almost imperceptibly. "His personal chamber, perhaps?" She heaved him into her arms and she strode purposefully toward the main building.

Ricardo flagged down one of the maids. "Young lady, perhaps you can help us?"

"Monsieur, I would be only too 'appy to help you... with anything you may require."

Ricardo felt bad abandoning the fellow with Shautha and the gang, but well, this woman needed somebody. It only took a few moments for them to fine themelves huddled in a broom closet.

Shautha leads Gaspar into the bedroom. He was semi awake, but still somewhat woozy. "Wardrobe... malfunction. Wardrobe... malfunctION!" Suddenly he came wildly and fully awake as he realized that Shautha was laying him down on his bed and undressing him.

Meanwhile, after being ignored by Lash at nearly every conversational opportunity this voyage, Vuukran could barely contain himself at the prospect of someone listening to his stories. Nix leaned in to listen to the two hobgoblins, which only encouraged the ex-legionnaire more. "Nix, I have it on good authority", he nodded at Commander Bananas, "that the man who introduced himself to us as 'Gaspar' is, in fact, a changeling! We are all in grave danger, particularly Shautha at this moment. We can't let him out of our sight!" The monkey started babbling and screeching again.

Ricardo, meanwhile, was also seeing to about pumping the Celeste the maid... for information about recent goings-on at the estate, in particular recalling Castellana's concerns about her brother's apparent distraction. "Oh! Ah! Yes! Right zere! What? Oh, yes. 'ee's been... ahhhhh... Acting strangely. Yes. Yeeesssss! Oh, don't stop! What do I ....uhnn.. mean? Well... not like 'eemself. Ze staff... we 'ave been lonelier than we are used to. So lonely. Until you come. And 'ee does not... ahhh... yes... keep 'ee's normal routine. 'Ee comes and 'ee goes at... ah... odd times."

"Well... everyone knows that if you're feeling faint, you're too hot and need some clothing removed, after all. Especially in a hot, jungly climate like that here on Mnar," Shautha said by way of explanation. She will dismissed anyone else from the room and leaned over him with her large breasts in easy view . . .

Nix sighed. "Right. Well, I suppose I do owe you all for the rescue."

Nix took a deep breath and headed off to join Shautha and Gaspar.

At the view of Shautha's cleavage, suddenly Gaspar's reluctance seemed to fade. With a wondering look on his face, he reached up to grab a handful, and... Nix barged into the room.

"Are you two alright?" She lstared meaningfully at Shautha. "The climate can take a bit of getting used to, I know." She then sat down next to Gaspar, "and you must be overwhelmed that your little sister was in danger and is now safe." She smiled at him. On the outside.

Gaspar smiled. "Both of you? At the same time?" and started slipping out of his pants. Outside, the monkey was screaming.

Commander Bananas, sniffing curiously, went running down the hall, turned twice, and stood in front of a cupboard in the kitchen. Scritch and the hobgoblins followed quickly, and opened the cupboard door to see the body of a man who looked like Gaspar! Except that he had been dead for at least a week, maybe closer to two. He reeked, and his eyes were rotted out and his skin was starting to stretch back over his teeth and gums grotesquely. The monkey screeched again and points. Scritch hissed irritably. "Never easy. What did I do to deserve this punishment?"

"Great work, Commander Bananas!"Vuukrain said with a smile. "Hmm... it looks like the ladies of the di Vicenta family are the ones who have inherited all the looks, rather than the men."

"Where's Ricardo?" Lash asked, his voice low.

"Shautha is with 'Gaspar,' and Nix went to them. I don't know where Ricardo is." Scritch drew his kukri and turned towards the section of the manor where he last saw him, but there was no sign of the man.

Meanwhile, Ricardo whispered in the maid's ear. "My dear, I understand you are enjoying yourself, but surely such screeching is not required. We might be discovered by some of the kitchen staff."

Back in the bedroom, Shautha looked at Nix in confusion. "Who let you in! Uh, I mean, I'm from Mnar, I don't need to get used to the climate. Um, I mean, uh, can we help you with something?" Her face colored as a look of incomprehension grows.

But as Gaspar slipped out of his pants, Shautha frowned. "I don't think now is the time. You did just faint outside." She looked again at Nix in confusion.

"Ah, well we're just getting to know each other." she said, encouragingly to Gaspar. "They rescued me, ya know."

She looked back at Shautha. "In our line of business, I believe getting to know people is very important." She gave a penatrating stare at Shautha, which was quickly replaced by a smile, and then she glanced at Gaspar. She batted her eyes at him and then turns them to look at Shautha. All the while thinking, "Please get what I'm saying."

Needless to say, she did not.

In the kitchen, Lash stared at the corpse of Gaspar, his mind working furiously. He reached out to grab Skritch before he could go anywhere. "Skritch. Wait. We need to think." Lash pondered for a few more moments.

"Vuukran, we need to take this slow. I'm sure the whatever Gaspar is he's not planning to do anything to us immediately, so we have a bit of time. He certainly isn't going to do anything while Shautha tending to him, not if he wants to survive. Let's find out where we stand, and then do something incredibly rash," Lash grinned widely, "Mayhem is always better when there's a plan going wrong."

"Skritch, I need you to do a few things, please. First, find Ricardo, tell him Gaspar is dead, and the Gaspar we met is a changeling. Then, and I can't believe I'm going to say this, tell him to find Francesca and make sure she's safe. Then, I'd like for you to find out where the cargo they pulled off the ship is being stored and keep an eye on it for awhile. We need to make sure the 'special' items aren't being stolen. Mist take it! I was wondering why we had such little trouble."

Inside the broom closet: "What do you say, monsieur? I make no monkey noises, mon dieu! 'Ow dare you suggest such a theeng?"

"No, madamoiselle, I--"

The incensed maid slapped Ricardo, rocking him backwards, and he tumbled backwards out of the closet in a clatter of brooms and mops, right at Lash, Vuukran and Scritch's feet. He sputtered and scrambled in the mess as the maid quickly re-dressed and stormed off.

Getting to his feet, Ricardo readjusted his cuffs, relaced his trousers and smiled brightly. "Gentlemen. I know you'll find this hard to believe, but I believe something may be wrong with our new host, Gaspar di Vicenta."

"Nevermind on that first, Skritch. We appear to have found Ricardo already," Lash deadpanned. "Yes, Ricardo, there is most definately something wrong. Do you think you could manage to find Francesca and make sure she's safe without accidently falling into bed with her? This is very important. I'm going to try and round us the good doctor and Master Gustav and see how Mistworthy the airship is."

"Done!", the handsome young rake said with a smile, then headed off.

Back in the bedroom, Shautha's confusion was giving her a headache "A moment, please, dear Gaspar. Here," she shoved a pitcher of water at him, "take a moment to compose yourself."

She then pulled Nix out into the antechamber and whispered, "What in the Mist is going on here?!? What are you doing here?!? I wasn't going to deflower him or anything! Not yet, anyway," she finished under her breath.

"That's not the real Gaspar," Nix answered in a hushed, but dead serious, tone. "Now, lets get back to him and keep him occupied until the others show up. Follow my lead... my mother was a whore."

Shautha's brow wrinkled in even deeper confusion. "What do you mean it's not the real Gaspar? Where is he? Who is this man?" She paused. "And what do you mean your mother was a whore?"

"We believe that is an imposter. The others are looking elsewhere for information." Nix glanced inside the bedroom, rolled her shoulders, and then added, "she was a prostitute... and I learned some things. Now come on."

Shautha followed Nix back into the room, somewhat subdued.

"We're sorry Gaspar. Like I said, we're all still getting to know each other." Nix smiled at him a bit shyly. She sat on one side of the bed and motioned Shautha to sit on the other side, with Gaspar between them. "Now then," she reached out and touched a curl of his hair, "speaking of getting to know people...."

Nix preceeded to make idle chatter, talking about Mnar, the weather, travels and she included Shautha in the conversation. She occationally wet her lips and flutterred her lashes a bit at Gaspar... and sometimes at Shautha. She moved her fingertips and eyes over Gaspar's hair, his chin, his clothes... teasing.

At the same time, she was praying like crazy that the others show up really, really soon.

"Take it slow. Right," Vuukran said. "The girls will be fine for a while without us. Commander Bananas and I will go with Scritch to check on the cargo. He's a smart guy, but he may need a smooth talker to help him if people start asking questions."

Lash looked long and hard at Vuukran, but couldn't think of anyone better to send. "Ok. But remember that not everyone understands the Monkey, nor do they suspect he's got... smarts... so do your best not to tip them off, ok?" When Vuukran left, he put his hand in his face, muttering, then headed back towards Gaspar's bedroom to eavesdrop.

By the time he got there, he could hear Gaspar jumping up on the bed and stripteasing while singing "Oh, you touch my tra-la-la," at the top of his lungs. He's also been captivated the sight of Shautha's bosom and keeps trying to motorboat her.

Shautha started to get into the teasing, taking Nix's cues as well as she could.

"Ooooh, my ding-ding-dong!" Gaspar added.

Back at the airship "dock" Vuukran and Commander Bananas saw that all the cargo had been unloaded, and the crates had mostly been opened up. Some of the lace has been scattered around on the floor, but mostly it's been used as packing material for green glass cannisters. He also saw two big, hairy silverback gorillas wearing really big, nasty swords on baldrics around their shoulders loading these glass cannisters into a wagon. Another gorilla carrying a musket that looks nearly big enough to be called a cannon and with crossed bandoliers over his chest was supervising. He also found that you could understand their conversation, although it wasn't particularly interesting; just stuff like "Be careful with that!" "Ouch, my toe!" and "Why doesn't Bolgani have to carry anything?" It was in the same screeching and hooting language Commander Bananas spoke, although the gorillas spoke it in a much lower register, and they seemed to use it more robustly and to express more complex ideas than the smaller monkey could.

Meanwhile, Ricardo had found Celeste, and tried to conviner her to show him where Francesca was stached. She didn't want to have anything to do with him though... until she came running back saying that "Zere eez a body on ze floor!" with her face pale, then she burst into tears. The body turned out to be the guard that was taking Francesca to her room, and his head was split open like a watermelon that just encountered a Ginzu. Francesca was not in her room, although her bathwater wasstill warm. There seemed to be signs of a brief struggle.

Lash peeked through the door and see "Gaspar" motorboating Shautha and sporting a very erect tra-la-la. Nix looked like she was about stab someone any second now, at least when "Gaspar's" eyes weren't on her. The hobgoblin took a deep breath, pulled one of his pistols, and slammed open the door. "Begging your pardon, but your hospitality is no longer required. Please stand away from the ladies."

"What is the meaning of this? How dare you?" Gaspar shouted.

With Celeste, Ricardo drew his sword. No, the other one. "Celeste, my dear, I need you to stay calm for me. You're safe with me, don't worry." Ricardo gave the girl a reassuring kiss. "Can you show me the way back to the dock?"

Celeste wiped her tears and clung to him desperately, but she nodded and lead him to the airship dock. There they can see Vuukran hiding, crouched behind a crate and the three gorillas and everything. No sign of Francesca here.

Ricardo whispered to Celeste "Is there another exit from the estate? Somewhere somebody might have taken Madamoiselle di Vicenta?" She nodded and pointed Then, sweetheart, go to your room and lock your door, okay? I need to know you're safe or else I'll worry."

Ricardo pelted through the estate to the gate nearest where Francesca was abducted.

"How dare I?" Lash laughed, without humor. "Let's see... You've already paid me, and we found the real Gaspar two weeks dead in a cupboard, so my attention to niceties has slipped. My suggestion for you, at this point, would be to either offer me the right amount of money to let you live, or begin talking about what's going on here. Either way, I'm not a patient person, so do it quickly. You've got about 5 seconds. 5... 4...."

"Ah, you found him did you? Well, I admit it. I'm not really Gaspar. But let me ask you this: how do you know that's not a good thing? Gaspar wasn't such a nice man. Smuggling really nasty items to the gnolls to help them prosecute their genocidal wars, he was. Plus," and here he pauses to stroke Shautha's cheek fondly, "I can tell you from sad first-hand experience that the real Gaspar was a terrible lover. You would not have enjoyed his company at all."

Shautha seemed torn between leaning into Gaspar's caress and raging at him.

"Not money or an explanation," Lash remarked. "3... 2..."

Back at the docks, Vuukran whispered to his monkey. "This looks bad, Commander Bananas. Do you think there's any chance you could sway them to our side? Your powers of persuasion are impressive, indeed. No, no, you're right, they do look pretty bound and determined already. We should find the others and let them know about this. Even as strong as you are, I don't think you could fight all three of them at once, you'll need some backup. Oh, and we should get you a sword at some point, too!"

Vuukran quietly padded his way back to "Gaspar's" dressing room, completely missing Ricardo in the meantime.

The fake Gaspar leaned against the bedpost as if thinking about what to say to Lash exactly. Then his hand moved very suddenly and pulled a lever, dropping the curtains in the room. Behind four of them stood huge gorillas, growling menacingly and waving massive axes. "Gaspar" shouted "A-ha!" and made a dive for the corridor behind one of the gorillas in an attempt to escape while shouting, "Mangani! You and the boys take care of these intruders!"

 

[Desdichado]

Lash fired his pistol at Gaspar, and ran from the room. Lash's shot crashed loudly in the room, but the sudden reversal of the situation affected his aim, apparently.

Shautha screamed in frustration and chased after Gaspar. He stumbled slightly, and she tackled him and like a linebacker, throwing him to the ground before he could make good his escape. He cracked his head on the marble floor and started bleeding from a cut over his eye. Lash bravely turned and ran away, leaving the half-orc to her fate. The four gorillas out-bellowed Shautha and leapt forward, waving their axes menacingly.

"Gaspar" shouted at the gorillas, "Get her off me! Whoa! Be careful with those axes!" as they started laying into Shautha to free their boss. All four of them chopped at Shautha like she's humanoid firewood. OOC: Shautha was still awake after this punishing barage with a whopping 1 hit point.

Vuukran and Ricardo could hear the bellowing of the gorillas (and Shautha) as well as "Gaspar's" yelling, from where they were. The gorillas at the dock put down their loads and heft their weapons, looking that direction, but they didn't move yet, trusting in their compatriots to take care of any trouble.

Scritch fired at the nearest gorilla and started backing away, hoping that he will give Shautha a chance to break free. Shautha was a "bitter end" kind of fighter, though. Rather than make the attempt, she slammed her fists into Gaspar first.

Lash kept running until he crossed paths with Vuukran in the hallway. "Monkey Ambush. They got Shautha and likely Nix. Skritch may be coming, maybe not." Lash surveyed the passage/room he was in and ascertained a good chokepoint. "The two of us can maybe hold there for a bit, let the stragglers catch up, but I'd say we're hip deep in Mist right now, and the boat's sinking. Where's Ricardo?"

Vuukran shrugged. "I don't know; it wasn't my turn to watch him. Have you looked between the legs of the nearest serving wench? Hold this passage all you want, I'm going to go and deliver some Monkey Justice." With that, he manifested a sword and continued down the hall towards "Gaspar's" room.

"Whatever happened to your tales of the Red Legion, holding firm in teamwork to defeat thier foes? Did they rush off into an ambush singly to be defeated one-by-one, or would they find a defensible spot and regroup?" Lash countered.

Vuukran snapped back his retort in a scathing tone. "They're all dead now; feel free to ask the bones strewn across the battlefield some time. Besides, it's not an ambush anymore, since we know about it now! Either follow me or give your sword to Commander Bananas so it can see some use for a change!"

Lash sneered. "They outnumber you and have the advantage of position. If you wish to be a fool, then don't let me slow you."

Meanwhile, halfway to the next gate, Ricardo tried to stop when he heard the roaring and gunshot and that peculiar bellow he's come to recognize as Shautha's frustration, but his boots didn't get a lot of purchase on the polished marble floor. He drifted sideways across the hallway to plow into a potted plant, sending soil, leaves and shattered pottery all over the place. "Damnit. Where have all the servants gone?"

He sighed and set out in the direction of where his friends undoubtedly were getting themselves into yet more trouble, hoping to find another servant or two who might know more about what happened to Francesca.

Back in Gaspar's room, Nix leapt on the back on a gorilla and scratched at his neck with her dagger. Lash stood outside in the hallway fuming, and Shautha elbowed "Gaspar" in the face viciously. He bled some more. "I think you broke my nose!"

Shautha turned to flee--strategically, of course--and found herself slumping onto the ground instead. Guess I should have gone into combat rage. She sucks in one last deep breath, ample bosom heaving, before blacking out. Failed a Tumble check, got whacked with an attack of opportunity. That criticalled. Luckily for her, I rolled minimum damage and left her at -9 hit points.

Gorilla 1 (with Nix on his back) squirmed to attack her, dropping his axe and just slamming her with his hairy paws. He grabbed her with both hands and twisted and rended her soft flesh. The other three charged out into the hall with their weapons after Scritch and Lash. "Gaspar" struggled painfully to his feet and shuffled off down the hallway, holding his hand to his bleeding nose. Then he turned back, hesitantly, looking at the ladies, undecided about what to do, still remembering Shautha's ample cleavage.

Scritch slipped under an ornate dressing table and then out between the two nearest gorillas, hoping his antics would cause them to miss. As he came to his feet, he immediately began applying pressure to various points on Sautha's body, hoping to stop the half-orc from entering the Hells of Angry Monkeys. After doing so, he faded from view and breathed very, very quietly.

"Hold on tight, Commander Bananas!" Vuukran left caution to the wind and brokeinto a full run, not stopping when he saw the three gorillas enter the hallway, but instead ducking under the first one's wild overhand swing, vaulting over the second gorilla and rolling past the third into Gaspar's room. Upon seeing the grisly scenario played out before him, he bellowed in Monkey in a deep, booming voice, "TAKE YOUR STINKING PAWS OFF HER, YOU DAMN DIRTY APE!!!" before plunging his mind blade deep into his foe. "No offense, Commander Bananas."

"Mad. They're all mad," Lash muttered to himself, before unhooking the whip at his side with one hand and pulling his other pistol out with the other. "Ricardo?! Where are you?!" Lash bellowed as he drew a bead on an ape and fired.

Well, if Lash is bellowing, things can't be THAT bad. Ricardo shook his head and picked up the pace, hurrying through the strangely empty corridors. "Every caper gets complicated."

The gorilla Vuukran attacked sighed and flopped over, bleeding all over the floor. Nix bled some too. Shautha's breath rattled shallowly in her throat. "Gaspar" cried out and came running back, holding her hand. "Ah, cheri. I have never met another woman like you before. Forever more will I regret that this evening could not finish." He solemnly took off his ring, with a gigantic sapphire on it, and placed it gently between her breasts. Then Scritch appearred out of thin air right next to him. "Mon Dieu! What in bloody blazes are you..." He smiled as Scritch staunched the flow of Shautha's blood. It looked like she might pull through. "I am in your debt, little ratman. Take care of her for me!" Gaspar ran off down the passageway, but shouted back. "You have not seen the last of me, mon cheri! Someday, I will find you again, and we will continue where we left off!"

Two of the gorillas in the hallway burst howling back into the room to engage Vuukran. The first swiung his ax wildly, and with a crash the bedpost collapsesd under the blow. The other slammed his blade into Vuukran with gorilla-force. The third remained in the hallway, swinging his axe at Lash, but the snapping whip seemed to cow him and his swings were ineffectual.

Ricardo continued running down the hall and... in the corner found another poor young woman in a maid's outfit. A sudden hope flared in her eyes. "Mon dieu, monsieur! What eez 'appening?"

Ricardo screeched to a halt. "Mademoiselle. I am Ricardo Murciélago."

He pulled her to her feet and kissed her hand but she didn't seem quite as impressed with him as Celeste was, so he kept things cool. "Don't be afraid; my friends and I will protect you. Tell me, have you seen the Mademoiselle Francesca in the last fifteen minutes or so? Young lady, probably not wearing very much, possibly getting carried by gorillas. Have you seen her?"

Ricardo restrained his frustration with the terrified young woman, mainly by admiring how her uniform showed off her well-proportioned curves...

Lash snarled at the closest gorilla, and dropped his pistol and drew his cutlass into his off hand. In a low crouch, he began to slowly give ground, backing away from the simian. With a lazy gesture, the whip cracked out, the tip blurring into invisibility, and a fresh gash opened on his opponent from it's cruel kiss.

"If it were up to me, we'd just get back on our ship and pretend this never happened, but Commander Bananas says that it's curtains for you and the rest of your crew!" Vuukran grabbed one of the curtains that formerly disguised "Gaspar's" gorillas, swung it around like a bullfighter, then tossed it over the face of one gorilla, while stabbing the other through the shoulder. It bellowed and jerked back, knocking a torch from a sconce. Due to a series of extremely bad dice rolls by the gorillas, I decided that something worse than merely missing awkwardly was in order; the fallen torch caught the heavy curtains on fire throughout the room.

Nix groaned and rolled over slightly, still unconscious and now getting warmer as the flame from the curatins spread to the bed. Lash, fighting cautiously, slashed his whip out in the hallway outside. The last gorilla in the hallway smiled slyly, and backed up into the room, throwing a bag of... something... towards Vuukran. It exploded in liquid flame, coating the walls and ceiling. The room became a raging inferno. Scritch, turning suddenly invisible, attacked the same gorilla that Vuukran stabbed, who bellowed again in pain, his red-rimmed eyes focusing on the little rat-faced fellow with pure hatred.

Meanwhile, Sophie nodded excitedly to Ricardo. "Oui, monsieur, ze young girl with ze suds all ovair her bodee? Zat ze gorillas were carrying away? Zey took hair to ze east gate. Zere was a wagon."

"The east gate? Thank you, my dear." Ricardo kissed her hand and ran in the direction of the shouts and explosions.

"Why? Why always trouble finds us?" Scritch hissed as his eyes dart every-which-way, now watering from the smoke.

Lash's eyes narrowed as his opponent suddenly disengaged to rush back into the room. Glancing through the door, he took in the situation... and made a quick evaluation of the burning ceiling. His whip snaked out to wrap about one of the blazing beams running along the roof, and Lash swung through the fray, keeping his feet clear of the flaming puddles of alchemical goo. The beam creaked alarmingly, and Lash landed beside the unconscious Nix.

"First time we have some damsels in genuine distress," he snarled to Vuukran, "and bloody Ricardo isn't here to help!" He grabbed hold of the whip handle with both hands, and yanked, putting his shoulders and back into the effort, to pull the burning beam loose from the ceiling, leaving it and the bedroom's impressive chandelier free to drop on the apes below. Lash leaned over Nix to protect her from any falling debris. The main beam collapsed, bringing down with it a section of the ceiling. The injured and the uninjured gorilla are both caught in the falling debris. Bright flashes and poofs exploded around them as the bags of alchemical fire they were each holding on their bandoleers were caught in the flame and ignited. The two gorillas howled in pain and rage, flopping about for a few seconds before weakly falling to the ground, alight with flames.

The last of the gorillas pulled the curtain from his head, and promptly got stabbed by Scritch. He growled in anger, assessing the situation. Then he turned and ran. With the gorillas dead or fleeing, Vuukran (gingerly) tossed Shautha over his shoulder and exited the burning room as quickly as he could.

Ricardo came rushing up the hall, hearing his friends yelling and gorillas shrieking and flames erupting and beams collapsing. Now he was worried.

He rounded the corner just as a massive gorilla soldier staggered from the bedroom, followed by a horrendous eruption of fire from the doorway. The room beyond was obviously impassable, engulfed in flames and destruction.

Ricardo and the gorilla eyed each other for a second, and then the wounded creature took off the other way down the hall. Ricardo stared into the flaming ruin of the bedroom, seeing a few vague humanoid shapes and blazing furniture, but little else.

"Shautha... Nix... the others..."

His friends were dead. Ricardo's eyes took on a murderous gleam not seen often by anyone who knew him. "Beasts and men shall die for this."

At a dead run, Ricardo headed for the gate Sophie had mentioned, pistol in hand.

Lash, Scritch and Vuukran came out of the room, with Nix and Shautha over their shoulders. "Was that Ricardo's voice I just heard?"