Planescape 3.5e - Cold Black Mask

[Dire Lemming]

With no time and no room to cast a spell, Anthony does the only two things he can think of to avoid detection. Hide behind the door, and toss a fuzzball from his bag of tricks onto the other side of it. Sure, he's not really skilled at hiding, but putting a solid object between you and the person you seek to avoid detection from doesn't really involve much skill, and hopefully whatever animal appears will provide a good distraction.

OOC: What's the voice sound like? Also, do I even have my bag of tricks with me? I assumed that Anthony would have removed most of his equipment before going to bed, so maybe all he has on him are some pants. :\

 

[Ambrus]

OOC: I haven't yet heard back from Cage-Rattler to confirm it, but I'm going to assume that István makes it back to the room safely so that we can move on. Hope that's okay.

A short while later, István silently sneaks back through the Slumbering Lamb boarding house's common room and up the stairs. Pausing at the door to his room, the whisper-gnome test it to make certain that his friends haven't barred it since he left and, seeing that they haven't, gently eases it open so as to make as little noise as possible. István quickly ducks inside so as to assure Heinrich, who he expects to be on watch, of his identity.

Turning around, the gnome gently closes the door and slides it locking bar closed as quietly as possible. Pulling his hood back and his heavy scarf down, István nimbly makes his way over to the seated priest, kneels and sets a leather bag down onto the floor between them. The gnome uncinches the bag and holding up a finger to his lips as he looks up at the priest, pulls it open to reveal the bloodied form of a tiny maroon humanoid with leathery bat wings, sharp twisted horns and a severed tail impaled through the chest with a silver dagger.

Gripping the dagger's handle, the devil-slayer pulls it out and thoroughly cleans the vile ichor off its blade by wiping it on the inside of the bag. István then returns it to his ornate Shou bracer sheath and pulls the bag closed once more. István stands, leans in and whispers to Heinrich as he begins removing his cloak, goggles, scarf and baldric. "Please wake me in two hours and I will take over the watch good popa. Let everyone else sleep."

 

[Cage-Rattler]

Hagen sat upright when the gnome entered the room. "István! Where have you been? I was beginning to fear the worst."

Heinrich easily recognizes István's gruesome cargo (Knowledge: Religion = 18); apparently, the gnome had slain an imp out in the night. The little fiends often served as spies and messengers for wicked spellcasters or more powerful devils.

=======================================

Shielding himself behind the open door (Hide check = 16), and with a deft toss, Anthony flicks a ball of fuzz around the door and into the other room. There's a grunt of surprise as whomever was about to exit presumably noticed the ball roll past him, followed by a series of loud, angry-sounding porcine snorts. Although he couldn't see into the room from this angle, judging from the noises, the aasimar guessed that the those in the room were staring down the snout of an bad-tempered fhorge.

"Soddin' -- where the sod-pike did that thing come from?" an unfamiliar voice cried in alarm.

"Don't torque it off," another voice said tersely; Anthony recognized it as coming from the one who threatened Dinah earlier. The speaker slowly began backing out of the room, too focused on the irate animal to notice the aasimar crouching a hairsbreadth away. The individual was tall and slender, with dusky-colored skin and severe, inhuman features:

When he spoke, the words seemed to slither off his tongue and linger in the air.
"Finn, get on the other side of it. Vezi, don't move a soddin' muscle."

 

[Ambrus]

Hagen sat upright when the gnome entered the room. "István! Where have you been? I was beginning to fear the worst."

The wayfarer nearly jumps out of his skin at Hagen's loud tone of voice. It seemed his efforts to let everyone sleep had been in vain. István turns towards the man in mild confusion before answering. "The worst? I've only been gone, what, twenty minutes?..."

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

"You should tell us where you are going when you do such things, little one," says Heinrich sternly. "Without such knowledge, we had no way of decided whether or not you were in danger. Should you have found more trouble than you could handle, we would not have been able to rescue you."

The priest looks grimly at the carcass in his gauntleted hands. "As it is, I think perhaps you very nearly did. Where there is such a creature to serve as messenger, there is a more powerful master. We should be double on guard tonight."

 

[Zurai]

Sindr, who had only just started to doze off when all the commotion started, sits upright and blinks to clear the drowsiness from his eyes.

"Istvan! Yer back! Good t'see y'didn't get et. An' y' brung us back 'n imp? Ain't tha' nice. Th' password's 'sunberry'. G'night." With that garbled and cryptic message, Sindr quickly casts his alarm spell and rolls over, intending to go back to sleep.

[sblock=Gnomish]"Ward the west, guard the east, save the north, 'ware the south."[/sblock]
[sblock=OOC]I'm assuming that taking 10 on a +12 Klanes check will let him identify an imp.[/sblock]

 

[Ambrus]

István frowns at the priest's stern lecture; he wasn't used to traveling with others nor was he in the habit of detailing his intentions. "I've escaped slavery and traveled halfway around the Realms on my own popa; I believe I'm capable of keeping myself from harm.

I couldn't know that I'd find a lidérc lurking outside the boarding house before I left. And I wasn't going to allow it to remain there to visit the evil eye upon us nor risk loosing sight of it to come and fetch you. The battle was quick, discreet and now it is laid low and I without a scratch to speak of. It tried to flee towards a nearby building, but I could not see inside to find what succor it hoped to find there.

I believe we are safe enough for the moment. Kindly watch while I sleep popa, and I will relieve you once I awaken in a few hours. Parika tut." Unless Heinrich or Hagen has something more to say, István will climb up onto one of the free top bunks, curl up beneath his cloak (fully dressed) while holding his sheathed crystal shard to his heart.

OOC: If nothing else occurs, then István will awaken on his own in merely two hours as he said and take the second and all subsequent watches without waking anyone else. He'll pass the time by checking the flour he's spread around for tracks, the state of the mug of milk near the window or by playing a form of solitaire in the dark with his Faerûnian Talis deck.

 

[Cage-Rattler]

"No one's doubting your capabilities, friend;" Hagen said in a reconciliatory tone, "we were just worried. At the very least, let us know when to expect you back next time."

The group whole once more, they settled in for a night's rest. Heinrich resumed his post, and Sindr waved his hands in arcane gestures and uttered a few words of power before resuming his previous state of unconciousness.

Heinrich Stronghand: [sblock] As time slowly creeps by, the room falls silent save for the sounds of his companion's slumber. Somewhere far away a bell chimes ten.

The minutes continue to march on, and the time draws near for Heinrich to end his shift, when a faint whisper of a noise catches his attention: murmured words wafting up from outside, right below the window. Heinrich thinks he can distinguish two different speakers, but their words are too low and distant to make out at this time. (Listen check = 18)[/sblock]

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

Heinrich frowns and stands. He makes no attempt to disguise his movement - he knows from experience his stealth leaves something to be desired - and instead hopes to simply sound like a restless watchman pacing about. He carefully makes his way towards the window, listening closely.

 

[Dire Lemming]

With the angry fhorge keeping the berks' attention for now, Anthony has time to think things over. He's no fighter, there's no way he can take on all three of them alone, assuming there aren't more he hasn't heard, with nothing but his pants. So, he needs help...

OOC: Cast charm person on the Shadowswyft. (He does count as a person doesn't he?) DC 12 + one for cloaked casting for a total of 13... :\ Wow, this character really is crippled in combat.

EDIT: Hold on, I was looking at my con modifier instead of my int. DC is 14 or 15 with cloaked casting. Still not great, but not hopeless now at least.