Paridon: The Dark Metropolis (Ravenloft)

[kinem]

Damn. Father Berman can't shake the feeling that the masked madman isn't just evil, but really thinks he's a bird. He may be under a spell. I may be slaying an innocent man.

But if Ezra wanted him to, he would have halted in his tracks. Clearly he is fated to die. If I must slay one innocent man or one thousand, I must not hesitate or look back.

He fires his dragon pistol again at the beaked freak. He will reload again if the man doesn't go down, stepping back a bit. (ooc: to avoid AOO)

 

[industrygothica]

Darian hears the shot and tightens his grip on the gnome as he hurries out of the alley.

 

[jkason]

Ru Brike, barbaric human monk

Ru notes that Lug's mask has made space for his overly large nostrils. There's no muscle there, he thinks. As Lug tries to pull Ru up, Ru slams his fingers up Lug's nose. Blood runs forth immediately, and a shocked Lug topples off the end of the carriage into a crumpled, rolling heap on the cobblestones.

Ru swallows the gloating he's about to spout forth, remembering that he still has a runaway carriage to deal with. Hoping his inner focus still does him well, he moves to pull himself up and over the carriage to pull it to a stop.

[sblock=OOC]Since there's no longer a combatant to deal with, I'm thinking stopping the horses is a better option than beating at the wheel while trying not to fall off and under said wheel. Skills I think might be relevant to this (let me know if I missed one):

Balance +5, Climb +7, Jump +17, Ride +6, Tumble +7[/sblock]

 

[InVinoVeritas]

Torhan

Sasha furtively looks outside at Alek. "No time... Just say you love me, and I'll tell you later."

Sasha jumps up and grabs hold of Torhan, replacing his mask just as Alek enters the room. "Sasha, I hope all is well," he says, "we shouldn't keep the officer waiting with our trifles."

"Oh, most definitely," Sasha purrs, her attitude suddenly shifting from pleading to sultry. "We've grown quite fond of each other. Haven't we, pet?"

Sasha turns to face Torhan, and there--just a flash--a look of desperation gets through her leer.

 

[InVinoVeritas]

Darian, Ru, and Fr. Berman

Leaving Hieran and the women behind, Darian pulls Templeton out of the walkpaths back onto Markovstrasse. The scene before him is surreal. Ru clambers over the roof of a runaway carriage, moving away from the action at full tilt toward the festivities. A large heap of a man moans as he slowly and gingerly picks himself up from the cobblestones. And about 40 feet past that, Fr. Berman is leveling his pistol at some masked man, who is flapping his encloaked arms wildly and desperately... pecking at him.

Fr. Berman fires, and open another bloody patch on the madman. He still closes with the priest, but is too dazed to effectively strike him. It gives him the moment he needs to reload his pistol.

Ru climbs over the roof of the cab easily enough and tries to issue commands to the horses. He grabs the reins, and feels the bile of fear rise in his throat as he watches the carriage get nearer and nearer... Masked faces have turned to notice the impending carnage...

Ru pulls hard. The wheels of the carriage groan and skitter. The horses change their speed, and the entire carriage shudders as Ru desperately turns the carriage. There is not enough time to stop. But there is enough to swing the carriage, violently, back onto the Queen's Avenue, still following the police carriage, and avoiding the crowds. There is screaming. There is calls to watch out. But the carriage, and disaster, is averted.

Adrenaline pumping madly through his body, Ru barely notices the sharp pain at his throat. A moment later, he clutches his bleeding neck, gasps for breath, and looks behind him.

Emerging through a trap door in the roof of the carriage is the second beaked passenger. He is hunched, musclebound, and hirsute. In his meaty hand, he wields--ever so delicately, with pinky raised--a scalpel.

[sblock=ooc]Fr. Berman hits for 8 damage and reloads. The madman misses.

The relevant skill for Ru in this case is Handle Animal (at +0, I've checked). Oh, and Spot, too. His madman got in a sneak attack for 18 damage.

Photo by Cody Custard.[/sblock]

 

[Rhun]

Torhan

Acting? That certainly wasn't one of the skills he had learned; neither during his martial or spiritual training. Still, could it be all that different from conducting a negotiation? Turning to Sasha at her question, the paladin nods his head. "We certainly have, my love. We certainly have."

 

[jkason]

Ru Brike, barbaric human monk

Ru pulls hard. The wheels of the carriage groan and skitter. The horses change their speed, and the entire carriage shudders as Ru desperately turns the carriage. There is not enough time to stop. But there is enough to swing the carriage, violently, back onto the Queen's Avenue, still following the police carriage, and avoiding the crowds. There is screaming. There is calls to watch out. But the carriage, and disaster, is averted.

Adrenaline pumping madly through his body, Ru barely notices the sharp pain at his throat. A moment later, he clutches his bleeding neck, gasps for breath, and looks behind him.

Emerging through a trap door in the roof of the carriage is the second beaked passenger. He is hunched, musclebound, and hirsute. In his meaty hand, he wields--ever so delicately, with pinky raised--a scalpel.

Ru's shock falls quickly and neatly to anger. Twisting the reins in his hands, Ru yanks back to stop the beasts, using the momentum to also throw his weight into an elbow he aims at his enemy's solar plexus.

[sblock=OOC]Okay, if I'm reading things right, Ru can handle the horses (one assumes they've been taught how to stop, so it's not pushing) as a move action, which leaves him a standard action to attack (and since "unarmed" is basically any avalailable bony appendage, an elbow works as well as a fist or foot and sounds better in terms of flavor, I'd think).

So, Handle Animal +0, Unarmed attack +6, 1d6+3 damage. And let's throw in that last Stunning Strike while we're at it to try to get rid of that damn scalpel.

Also, given current circumstances, Ru will switch Dodge opponents, so his AC is 17 vs. Scalpel Bird.

I think that covers everything. If you want to rule that Ru can't stop the horses and hit the guy, Ru will go for hitting the guy, which might as well be a flurry in that case (+4/+4 for two attacks rather than +6 on one).[/sblock]

 

[kinem]

Father Berman was not surprised that the crazy bird mask was proving a poor weapon; it is no coincidence that most human weapons are designed to be used in the hands rather than on the face. The gods had gifted Man with hands to manipulate tools, not with a beak; that is Man's fate.

The Father, on the other hand, wields one of the most advanced weapons known to Man: a pistol. Fate must be on his side. He fires again at the madman, and will reload again if the man doesn't drop.

 

[InVinoVeritas]

Torhan

The words come forth hollowly from Torhan's mouth. Acting, performance... he is clearly more used to acting with conviction than anything that might be deceit. No, not deceit... Sasha needs rescuing, and this is the simplest way to do it without hurting anyone... Love Sasha? One must feel compassion for everyone, so yes, she is loved...

Alek stops and stares at Torhan. His mask presents a literally stony response to Torhan's comment. Does he see through it? But no, there is no ruse. What is there to see through? Does he see Torhan's doubt?

"Ha, well, then I guess the two of you should stick together. Here, Sasha, you'll probably want to whisper sweet nothings into his ear. Here, let me help you with a new face," he finally responds, pulling out a series of veils. Sasha dutifully lets the veils be tied around her head. When finished, only her eyes are visible.

"Thank you," Sasha replies. "Tell the other girls they can find a new playmate."

"They always do... In any case, we mustn't stay here. I'll go ahead and if I find Kitten and Marionette or the other policemen, I'll make sure we all meet up at the face stand again." He turns to Torhan, speaking with a friendly, helpful tone. "Many thanks for your help, today, and please, let me know if I can be of service to you this fine New Year. Ask anyone for Alekalargo Combledorn. They'll find me. Or I'll find you."

With a tip of his hat and a twirl of his cane, Alek heads out the door into the empty street.
An odd sound can be heard outside, as if it came from around the corner. Something like a runaway carriage, steadily breaking down and crashing.

 

[InVinoVeritas]

Ru

The horses scream out at the sudden command to stop. The carriage lurches, flies up, crashes against the wall, and simply adds to the furious momentum of Ru's elbow. It lands squarely in the madman's midsection, and he falls backward, hard, into the carriage, trap door falling back into place.

Ru takes a moment to get his bearings. His throat is slashed, yet the carriage has crashed, with the madman inside. He may be slightly scraped from being pressed against the wall of some apartment, but he is none the worse for wear. Clambering over to the carriage door, he opens it up to check its occupant.

Yet the carriage sits empty. Surprised, Ru looks up in time to watch the hunched bird-man, bloody scalpel still in hand, run on tiptoe around a corner into an alley.

[sblock=ooc]Ru scores a critical against the madman for 16 damage! He drops into the carriage but rolls a lucky 20 on his save... so he feints, and runs away.[/sblock]