"Explosive," Brother Pi mutters as he tries to get up from the ground. Dusting himself off, he looks Arinitam in the eyes.
"Apologies, but this is a highly explosive substance. One spark, and..."
The dwarf motions with his hands, moving them apart quickly as if holding a fast expanding invisible ball.
"What substance would that be, eh?" Arinitam looks on the ground and sniffs the air.
"I don't smell anything odorous. Of course, my nose isn't good for smelling. It's been broken more than once, I tell yous."
Oleander rolls to his feet and dusts off his clothing.
"Perhaps I should put on weight and take up axe fighting. That was terribly uncoordinated of me. I suppose we look all the part of some side street entertainment."
He laughs at himself.
"I would not rob you even if I were starving. Well," he laughs again. "Now that we have distracted you from lighting that thing. I will assure you our clumsy attempt at acquiring it was to save all our lives. That strange aroma is produced from oil of vitriol which is dangerously flammable.."
"Oil of vitriol," Arinitam replies.
"I don't think I've heard of anything like that before. But if your sure then I'll refrain from my habit." The man takes a close look at the wall where the marks had been after putting away his pipe. "I was sure I had scrubbed every little bit of it away."
He looks at the two young adventurers.
"I will trust your better noses. Now, what can I dos tos get rid of the rest of this oil, if there is danger? We wouldn't want a stray spark tos burn down the Threads, eh."
Arinitam looks towards the wide throughfare of Magma Avenue. He watches as the avenue hustles and bustles with increased activity. The city is out in full force and a fine carriage rolls down the avenue towards the northern section of the city. He turns and looks at the two of them with some concern.
"Eh, what about the runoff from my cleaning earlier? Yous don't think that would be dangerous, dos yous?" He points towards the avenue.
"There was a lot of smelly water and nasty bits that had tos be washed away. Most of it went intos the storm drains, I think, but I can't be sure."
The carriage's driver urges the horses on to go faster along the cobblestones of the avenue. The wheels ride rough over them. There isn't a spark, but could it happen.
"Ohs nos." Arinitam exclaims when he sees a young Bastite acolyte put a pot over a firepit. The young human quickly lights it. The air around him flares to life, and he quickly catches fire. He begins yelling and runs out into the street. He drops to the ground and tries to roll out the flames. Instead of smothering the fire, being closer to the ground causes the remaining oil on the avenue to ignite. There is a massive flash of flame along the ground. It streaks back along the cobbles towards the Threads of Destiny in a line of fire. Arinitam fails to get get out of the way before the flames rush under his feet towards Brother Pi and Oleander.
The firepit erupts into a massive explosion as more oil vapor finds it. The pot flies into the air like a ungainly firepot fires from a catapult. The horses pulling the wagon bolt. The carriage rushes out of control as the fire spooks the equines. The wheels of the wagon barely avoid catching fire as the horses rush into Star Park near the House of Stars. Flames rush towards the storm drains where the fouled oil was washed into earlier in the day.
OOC: Treating the initial flames heading towards Pi and Oleander as a fireball spell cast by a third-level wizard (3d6). Arinitam fails his save. The PCs get a +2 circumstance bonus because of prior knowledge. Make a Reflex save (DC 14).
If the flames reach the storm drains, there will be a much larger explosion (5d6, DC 16). Your PCs have mere moments to react. Some clean water or lots of dirt or sand should stop the flames. There is an adjacent alley that is clean of the oil. You guys can make straight Dexterity checks (DC 18) to smother the flames before they enter the drains. There is a +2 circumstance bonus if either of your PCs has the Run feat. (I can't remember if either of your PC's do.)
------
"Sorry, that spell is beyond my abilities."
"That's too bad," Vilmar replies.
"I guess you'll have to find someone who can help."
"Well I would prefer an official contract. What say you Bravec, Kane?"
Kane says, "Perhaps we should go to the Temple of the Cat; my order has strong connections there. I'm sure one of their people could help. As for a contract, that sounds like a great idea; I'm less interested in the money, than I am in building a reputation in this city as a reliable agent of the law."
Kane knows that the person to speak to at the temple is Mistress Jendy Aslaxin. She and her acolytes are likely hard at work already. Kane looks in the direction of the temple. He knows that they likely did some sparring in the early morning and that now they are preparing to have their first meal of the day.
Bravec rubs his chin in thought, then smiles and nods. "I think official sanction and the pay that goes with it would be our best approach. If we can get this spell without too much coin up front then I say let's do it." He takes up the handle of his little wagon and adds, "we are burning daylight here, I say lets be on our way."
"All right, I'll send one of my boys to tell Lord Shötte to expect you," Vilmar replies.
"Start with the Bastites and go from there. I will put out the word to some of my contacts to see if there has been any other vandalism t-"
An explosion in the distance interrupts Vilmar. Everyone nearby turns to look towards the sound of the explosion. Kane doesn't see the flames, but he does see smoke rising in the distance near the Temple of the Cat. The crowd gasp and watches as a line of flame rushes into the air, suddenly. The ground doesn't shake, but the trio of adventurers can hear yelling in the distance. Then you hear the high-pitched sound of horses neighing in fear.
"What was that?" Vilmar says with a terrified look on his face.
Many of the onlookers move away from the sound of the explosion to seek shelter. There is genuine fear in their eyes. The memories of what happened eight years ago still haunts many of them.
OOC: Time to bring everyone together! Note that your PCs can't get there in time to stop the flames from going into the storm drains, as the distance is too far.
