The Game of Kings

"I couldn't bring people to my shop after Bim died when I tried, so I think they must have forgotten about it," Carver says.
 

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Dragen shrugs at the kobold's words and nods.

"Goblins are slightly more sturdy than kobolds, but they die more or less just as easily." He turned to look at the warforged.

"You. Do not do what you did in this fight again. When you grab your enemy you become an equal target to your opponent no matter how skilled I am with my weapon. The gods, in their infinite capriciousness and evil, have decreed that skill is not the arbiter of war once someone grabs someone. Then, and only then, chance only takes hold. Only do this thing when in a shield line, grab hold of your opponent and no matter how many arrows rain down like crows to feast upon you, chance might save you, as two sides of a coin. The ancient giants of lore themselves could not do any better without the most precise of training, nothing less than a single technique in all the worlds of gods and men is enough to overcome this handicap." Dragen made a grumbling sound in his throat.

"If you continue to do such things then there is no point to my presence. As it stands now the only thing keeping me in such unpleasant company as some of these is the payment in coin I have received. Understand, I tell you this not harshly, but only because it is truth." he said, spreading his hands in explanation.

"Now, if someone besides the cave beast would care to tell me who this dead flesh belongs to, how their throats came to smile for your blades, and why you killed them; I would be very pleased."
 

James Heard said:
"You. Do not do what you did in this fight again. When you grab your enemy you become an equal target to your opponent no matter how skilled I am with my weapon. The gods, in their infinite capriciousness and evil, have decreed that skill is not the arbiter of war once someone grabs someone. Then, and only then, chance only takes hold. Only do this thing when in a shield line, grab hold of your opponent and no matter how many arrows rain down like crows to feast upon you, chance might save you, as two sides of a coin. The ancient giants of lore themselves could not do any better without the most precise of training, nothing less than a single technique in all the worlds of gods and men is enough to overcome this handicap." Dragen made a grumbling sound in his throat.
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"At the time, you were not in combat, and he was the biggest danger to my friends," Carver explains. "Once I grappled him, it made him an easier target for those next to me, and kept him from attacking anyone else. I am more resistant to damge than they are, so such action seemed prudent. I did not mean to marginalize your skill with a bow."
 

The archer dismissed the explanation with a gesture.

"Unimportant. I speak as much to curse the devils that call themselves Man's masters as anything else, and the more urgent question is still unanswered. Who are they, and why did you kill them?"

"I am assuming, of course, that it wasn't some simple fancy to spill blood."
 

Partash breathes heavily after the fight and realizes that he's not fit for this. He's obviously used to sitting behind a desk reading forbidden lore. He replies to the concerned warforged: "Don't worry about me, Carver. I'm fine, all things considered. My prayers were heard and my wounds have been healed." He feels slightly sick to his stomach when sees all the corpses lying around and puts a hand in front of his mouth.

When Carver and Dragen start arguing, he walks over to Dragen and pads him on the shoulder. "Excellent shooting, archer. But next time you might want to signal your arrival instead of just starting to shoot and be so close to putting one of your arrows through my skull." He walks into the street and looks up and down it to make sure that the attackers don't have any extra backup coming. Then he concentrates a little to get in contact with Doral:

Doral. I believe we have to get out of here, before any possible reinforcements arrive. We survived this time, but who knows whether we'll do that the next time? Either way, we've been exposed and have to get to a safe place so that we can question the bugbear."
 

"You're mistaken. I was never anywhere near putting any arrow into you for any reason. If it seemed to be so, it must have been from the excitement of not attempting to notice that I was there in first place - which I trust you realize would have been a rather poorer outcome if I were in aid of the people you attacked?"

"This is still not telling me what is going on though. I assure you all, I await with baited breath to hear the exciting and interesting tale that led to dead people on the floor here."
 

James Heard said:
"This is still not telling me what is going on though. I assure you all, I await with baited breath to hear the exciting and interesting tale that led to dead people on the floor here."
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The 'halfling' pauses to look at the bowman, then continues his examination of magical auras, removing each magical item he finds.

"As the wizard was to tell you before you left prematurely, news of our arrival here has been leaked to the Prince. He sent these to 'deal with' this half of the party; another is most likely on the way to our suites if they are not already there." The odd halfling then gestures in the vague direction of the warforged and the druid. "One of you pick up our captive so we can get out of here to Carver's. I suggest we all get out the back. As the others have pointed out, we have little time."
 

"I see. So, the government sent someone to arrest you all, and you killed them."

"Good to know, for the next time when some pompous know-it-all deigns to chastise me for possessing a knack for violence. At least I show up during the battle, and not afterwards just in time to tell everyone else to move the bodies."

"I'm going to go somewhere where I can protect you all from yourselves better, and not listen to the pious and offended tell everyone where to mop..

Dragen exits the back door of the building, scans the area for any obvious signs of trouble coming, and if he sees none, begins to look around the streets and buildings for a position where he can observe the rest of the party better as they try to figure out where they're taking the captive peace officer and take on threats to them with as much distance and cover/concealment possible. If they begin to make their way out of that range, he'll spend alternate rounds leapfrogging behind them from position to position, to either cover their advance or rear.
 

"Halfling... you're not... you're... what?" Morika manages to get out, her mind clearly not working very clearly. "If... more coming to kill us... have my blessing if they shop... stop my head hurting... go sleep... now..." The shifter woman slumps down on the stairs, clutching her head with her hands, trying to keep her brains inside her skull. "Head... split like melon... melon... ooo... urk..."
 

Doral looked up from his bloody work and stared at Partash, a grimace of disgust on his face. He never enjoyed murder, but at times it was necessary lest a vengeful enemy turn up at the worst of times. "Agreed. At the very least, we need to get out of here and hide away or else risk a blood bath. It seems the law in this town are nothing to be trifled with, and we are not ones to go down quietly ourselves."

Doral wiped his blade clean off the clothes of his victim and strode quietly between Dragen and Vhir in order to stop their argument before the archer walked out. His words weren't directed towards them, however. "Carver, grab the bugbear as our fried suggested, please, and lead us toward your old home. And thank you for a job well done."

He then turned towards Dragen and watched him leave thinking, "So helpful, yet so dangerous to this mission. What to do about that one..."

Turning towards Morika he says, "I'm sorry, but we need to move. Are you together enough to watch our backs? I plan to hang back and see if anyone follows us, myself. The rest can take the center of our spread out column."

Staring at the 'halfling', he nods in welcome and adds, "I think a certain individual would be most affected at twisting the bugbear's mind for information when we are in the clear?"

He inadvertantly thinks for a moment, "I don't know if I can hold this group together. Are we meant to succeed or just to be a distraction? I honestly don't know how we are going to get out of this one. Perhaps this group is doomed and I should..." Doral stops himself, not sure if Partash can hear his thoughts. He makes an effort to clear his mind once more.

He leaves out the back with the party, although he takes the rear in order to keep an eye out for danger.
 
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