The Reconquista: Part I (Shadows over Istivin)

[Branding Opportunity]

(OOC: No need to apologize, James. Glad to hear that your grandfather is better.

If anyone feels like detailing this house more, please be my guest. It could turn into your own personal Fortress of Solitude, albeit in a city of over 12,000 of course. )

The rain finally lets up just after sunset as the group settles into the townhouse it rented. The building seems to be in decent condition, although it has suffered a bit from being neglected the past few years. Originally it belonged to a northern Sterich noble family who were all wiped out during the invasion.

You spend the rest of the day buying some home necessities and making the house as livable as you can on short notice.

In the middle of the night you are all awakened from nightmares by the sound of a man screaming. It seems to be coming from the street below, and is followed by the sound of several shouts and breaking glass. Judging from the quality of the noises, it is coming from a short distance away.

(OOC: Unless you have the Endurance feat I'm assuming that none of you sleep in your armor.)

 

[Thanee]

Latalya

With her enhanced senses thanks to the link with Noctra, Latalya hears the commotion and gets up immediately. She grabs her weapons and quickly donned equipment, leaving her armor on the chair, where she carefully placed it yesterday, and heads for the next window to take a look. Noctra, who is much more lively during these hours, flaps around eratically, sensing the disconcertment of her mistress.

 

[Scotley]

Morley Human Ranger

Morley groans and rolls out of bed. He decides to tug on a pair of trousers and skip armor for now. He pokes Beau with a foot to get him up and grabs his weapons then makes his way down the stairs from his 4th floor bedroom as quickly as possible, narrowly avoiding a tumble down the stairs when he trips on his own weapon belt. Finally reaching street level he hurries toward the sound a barking Beau just ahead of him.

 

[James Heard]

Frowning from the sudden interruption from his sleep, Mavic was surprised to see Eshanna tugging on her armor and quietly whispering to Miggins in the hallway already.

" 'Shanna?" he asked inquisitively.

"Back to sleep, we're going to see what's going on. I think the others are waking up as well."

Noting absently that his pillow had become disarrayed from tossing and turning, he arranged it again and promptly went back to sleep.

OOC: Did Mavic determine anything from interrogation and Knowledge checks with the two noblemen?

 

[Branding Opportunity]

OOC: Did Mavic determine anything from interrogation and Knowledge checks with the two noblemen?

OOC: The only thing that you got from the dwarf and human lords is that they regretted their harsh reactions to each other, and were glad you intervened before they killed each other. These kinds of altercations seems to be happening more and more lately. The dwarf thought that it's a result of the stress of the current state of the country, although even he was surprised by the ferocity of the encounter. From what you observed they did not seem to be under any kind of magical control.

Oh, and who is the "we" in your previous post? Eshanna and some of the Reddogs? How many?

 

[Hypersmurf]

In the middle of the night you are all awakened from nightmares by the sound of a man screaming. It seems to be coming from the street below, and is followed by the sound of several shouts and breaking glass. Judging from the quality of the noises, it is coming from a short distance away.

(OOC: Unless you have the Endurance feat I'm assuming that none of you sleep in your armor.)

OOC: In town, in bed - not normally, no. In the wilderness or when feeling threatened - that's what masterwork chain PJs are for!

So tonight, Reivik's just in his nightshirt, but I'm guessing tomorrow night, he'll jingle...! /OOC

Rolling out of bed, Reivik pulls on his boots, snatches up his hammer, and flings open his window.

With a quick glance out to make sure nobody is below, he vaults out into the night...

OOC: Jump +20 (no belt, no armbands) vs DC 15, Tumble +7 (no gloves) vs DC 15, to reduce the effective distance fallen by 10 feet each. Take 10 if it's permitted. /OOC

 

[James Heard]

OOC: Eshanna, Anders, and Thom Younger -with Miggins & Gemlem still on the guard at the villa (assuming that everyone goes to investigate rather than going back to sleep like sensible mages do).

Eshanna whispered in a direct hiss so as to not wake the rest of the Reddogs, " Anders! Young Thom! Out of your beds and be quick upon it!" Some of the other Reddog's eyes lazily opened at the disturbance in the blockhouse. The still sleepy soldiers grabbed their boots and bows, tugged the cloaks they'd wrapped as makeshift blankets upon shoulders and grumpily made their way to follow the scarred priestess as she made her way to see what the rest of the companions wished of them.

"Don't you scream either Thom," the weasely-looking Gemlem remarked as the group passed him in the halls. He made a slicing motion across his throat in pantomime, "That's just what 'em good thug likes, for 'em to fall like old folks and wimmen!" The last was said and stifled with a quick, pointed glare from Eshanna. "S'true 'Shanna, Death's promise it is! You keep yer mouth shut and cut 'em quiet with these city folk, or else they're half-ajoyed when dyin'!"

Miggins shushed the former Flen streetfleecer with an angry look, "I don't care if they're happy about it, if something's out there you scream as loud as you want. S'not as bad the giants, for surely, and we'll wake Master Mavic up right quick to set things aright, you hear?"

 

[Branding Opportunity]

OOC: Jump +20 (no belt, no armbands) vs DC 15, Tumble +7 (no gloves) vs DC 15, to reduce the effective distance fallen by 10 feet each. Take 10 if it's permitted. /OOC

OOC: I'll say you're on the third floor which means that it's about a 25' drop to the cobblestones below. As far as I can read the rules on falling damage on pg 303 of the DMG, you get to make a DC 15 Jump OR a DC 15 Tumble check to negate the first 10 ft of jumping damage, in addition for taking the first 1d6 as nonlethal damage, because you are jumping deliberately. You don't get to take both and negate 20' of falling damange. Am I interpreting this wrong, or has this been errataed? I don't mean to argue with the great Smurf about this .. but I guess I am

Oh, and yes, you can take 10 on this roll.

 

[Ranger Rick]

OOC: My ring of Sustenance allows me to only sleep 2 hours.

I assume I was asleep when awoken.

George assumes from the commotion that others will rush out half cocked, so he will take the time to throw on armor and get fully outfitted before meeting the others. The thought process is that he can come out when others have figured out what is going and take up the chase at that point while everyone else dons their gear.

George comes down the stairs to the 2nd floor and with tumble +14 jumps out the second story window.

Upon landing, "Ow, I am getting to old for this. Ladies and gentlemen, which way do we go?"

 

[Branding Opportunity]

Reivik drops from the third story window, catching his fall for a brief moment on the second story windowsill before dropping to the street below. Hammer in hand he scans the area to see where the noise is coming from (OOC: Listen check). His darkvision picks out a small group of five shouting watchmen struggling with a crazed-looking man 50 ft. away down a side alley. One of the watchmen has been pushed against a now-broken window. They all seem to be trying to grab him and place him in hand-irons, and none of them have their hand-and-a-half swords drawn.

The man they are trying to subdue is dressed in only a dirty undershirt, and is screaming incoherently as he flails and jerks around to evade their grasp.

OOC: Initiative check!
Reivik: 20
George: 18
Latalya: 17
Crazed-looking man: 16
Eshanna: 9
Anastasia: 9
Morley: 8
2 Reddogs: 6
5 City Watch: 2

As Reivik took a short cut he has two full rounds to act before any of the rest of your group gets there. Once you emerge from the house, we'll assume that you're all 50 ft. away from the confrontation.

George takes one full minute to don his armor, which means that he can start acting in 9 rounds (as your previous posts will be considered "round 1").