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Message: <blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 3552509" data-attributes="member: 1210">The creature flies without wings. It is a ball of death, with multiple flailing barbed tentacles emerging from it. It flies low through the crowd, lashing out, crushing and tearing and killing. A chorus of screams rises up from the rabble; those who can, scramble away. The thing begins flying down the street, towards our heroes. The party begins shouting at people to clear the area and casting spells to prepare for battle. It is far enough away that Erasmuz casts create food and water, and the party has a quick sausage snack. Keeping a wary eye on the closing monster, the party hurriedly consumes a few sausages, with Erasmuz being sure to apply liberal amounts of condiments to his own helping.As the flailing dreadnought gets closer, Ari summons an air elemental to slow it down. Everyone reluctantly stops eating and moves into fighting formation. The creature ignores the elemental and charges the group, first flailing at Naomi’s corpulent bulk (and triggering an energy retort which damages the creature in kind) and then suddenly giving off a blast of metal and spikes that wounds everyone rather severely!But our heroes retort with a combination of spells and weapons. Ari charges with his spear; Erasmuz creates a spiritual weapon that strikes at the dreadnought. It reels. Nara, meanwhile, hurls a sound burst at the monster, damaging it further. Then, wincing from the creature’s spikey blast, she moves in with her morningstar. A moment of dueling and she lands a solid blow on its front section, and this is enough. The thing is already badly weakened; her morningstar’s blow is sufficient to disable it. It collapses to the ground, dying.The party is pretty wounded, too; so they use what healing magic they have available to them to patch themselves up reasonably well before continuing along. Their next stop is the so-called “Small Quarter”, where the halflings and gnomes live together. They are to meet the Peachtree representative for dinner. Along the way, they spot the famed Slysneak Family Circus, and a fellow named Elmo Wheelwright sells them some high-grade halfling pipeweed. “Erasmuz! You scoundrel!” The party turns, and Erasmuz sees Alvin Slysneak, an old... acquaintance. They had met on the Plane of Shadow years ago; they had had similar goals but competing interestes, and each had set the other up. Since then, they had met up on several occasions, both as rivals and as allies. “Come, my boy,” Alvin says smoothly, putting his arm around Erasmuz and ushering him away. “I may have... an opportunity that you would enjoy.”Watching Alvin and Erasmuz walk away, the others can only shrug. “We still have to meet the Peachtrees for dinner,” Nara reminds the others. They nod and move along.Ambush!Suddenly Rush clutches at his breast and gives a great cry. An arrow is stuck in him. “What... where...?” Federico whines. “There!” shouts Naomi, pointing a pudgy finger at one of the buildings nearby. “I saw someone on the roof!”The party dashes to the building, most of them climbing to the roof while Jawbreaker goes in the back door. It appears to be an apartment building. There is no one on the top of the building; however, there is an open trap door leading within.Our heroes dash within. “There!” Yip shouts, and the party bum rushes a helpless bystander by accident. While Nara moves downstairs, the others dash into another door nearby- but there are many doors to many apartments in this place. There is no assassin visible.Down below, Jawbreaker is hassled by a few toughs, but he cuts off their belts so that their pants fall down around their ankles. Nara comes up about then and bops one of them on the head from behind with her morningstar, so he goes to sleep while his friend decides that there is no need to hassle our heroes after all. Naomi scans a few minds, but there is no sign of a would-be assassin. “He got away,” Jawbreaker says, disappointed. He plucks the crossbow bolt from Rush’s chest- the soulknife gasps in pain as he does so. Jawbreaker takes a long sniff of the bolt, catching the scent of the person who fired it.* “I will know him if we find him,” he announces. “Who do you think that was?” wonders Nara. Federico suggests, “Maybe the Peachtrees. Maybe they’re trying to, you know, solve the problem in an easier fashion.”“While we’re on the way to meet them for dinner? That doesn’t make sense.” Naomi shakes her head, setting her chins a-jiggle. “Well, it had to be someone,” Rock says. “That was an assassin.” He glares at his halfling friends. “You have interesting enemies.”“Speaking of which,” mutters Federico. The restaurant comes into view.Deep breaths. The party walks inside, and they are shown immediately to the back, where a well-set table surrounded by a hall dozen halflings awaits. One of them stands up. “Greetings,” he says. “My name is Madriel Peachtree. I’ll be speaking for my clan here tonight.”The meal is huge.Next Time: Dinner with Madriel!*Jawbreaker has the scent SQ, due to his bear warrior prestige class.</blockquote>

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