Amadea, ever so carefully, used the front of his crossbow to open the door, in order to cover whatever might come charging out.
Eirian follows Amadea's lead and mutters quietly, "...Reeks of ambush..."
Amadea, looking down his crossbow, peered through the door he had just opened.
Gaius arrived and remained quiet, he looked around counting and realized they were missing several warriors. "Let's wait until everyone is here..." he muttered.
Saris moved through the shadows on the mansion until she was next to the rest of the group. She looked around, hoping that Urien and the newcomer would hurry.
Zaalek found his place in the room toward the back middle of the group.
Urien came in behind, adjusting his breeches slightly. "Sorry," he whispered as he unsheathed his longsword and walked next to Amadea through the darkened mansion.
Peeking through the partly opened door, Amadea saw a large hall, like those that can be seen in royal mansions, the floor is shining black marble or obsidian and two statues adorn the sides of the hall, from, beside each statue is a stairway that leads to a balcony from where you can see the whole room. directly under the balcony and facing the main entrance there is a sturdy wooden door and hanging from the ceiling at the very middle of the hall he can see a beautiful chandelier.
Urien pointed out the stout door. "There," he whispered to Amadea.
Amadea nodded. "Try it," he whispered to Urien. "I'll cover you from here. Open it in a manner that you won't get in the way of my shot." He put a crossbow bolt into his mouth and pointed his loaded crossbow at the door.
Urien crept as quietly as he could towards the door. He checked the hinges of the door as he neared to see whether it would open towards him or into the room beyond.
Urien walks through the obsidian floor as his steps echo through the large hall, and his splint mail clings with every step. After a couple of painfully loud seconds, he arrives at the door and immediately notices the door opens towards the hall he is in.
Amadea winced at every creak. Bad idea! "Urien," he whispered as loudly as he dared. "Can you open that door quietly?"
Eirian shakes her head and mutters, "More chance of him squeaking too loud than the door..."
Amadea eyed Eirian. "Would you like to try? You're little and quiet."
Eirian eyed Amadea a moment in return, trying to work out whether he was just being defensive or serious. She nods and then slips quietly into the hall and heads over to where Urien is standing. She presses up against the wall.
Urien took hold of the door handle, ready to wrench it towards him and open the door for Amadea.
Gaius walked in after Eirian, as quietly as he could, there was no telling what was waiting for them behind that door. Luckily enough, his robe didnt make as much noise as Urien's armor, however his steps on the black floor were as noticeable as those of the others.
Saris slipped in after Gaius, walking in all fours like a cat, surprisingly enough, she made no noise whatsoever, it was as if she was not even breathing.
As Urien got a hold of the handle, he noticed in dismay that the door was locked, either that or rusted shut. Which was also possible seeing the bad state of the handle.
"Well, given the condition of the door handle, I think it is safe to say no one will surprise us by coming out of there," whispered
Amadea. "Should we try the stairs, Gaius?"
Urien didn't wait for an okay from Gaius, but started up the stairs slowly, his sword at the ready.
"Urien!" said
Gaius in a hushed voice as the knight recklessly climber up the stairs, his armor making a terrible noise. "Get down here! The other hauken is still outside! you're gonna get us all killed." he said as his face grew red and he glanced at the second flight of stairs behind them, hoping Urien would guess his thoughts. If the enemy came to the balcony, they would easily trap the party on the stairs by having some men go down the second flight and through the hall. They would not only be surrounded, but forced to fight in a bottleneck.
Eirian sighed as she moved away from the door and looked for Zaalek.
Zaalek is looking around and amazed at the architecture. "OOOOOOOO." Completely unaware that he had been left behind.
Urien paused on the stairs, glancing to Gaius and then back up the stairs.
Urien glanced at Gaius for a few seconds, he then glanced back up the stairs and his eyes widened, standing there was a tall man wearing leather armor and a a leather cap, he hold a heavy crossbow on one hand and its aiming straight at Urien's chest, with the other hand he holds the marble sword of a nearby statue. With a smirk, he lowers the sword and the steps on the stairs recede, leaving two large, twisted obsidian ramps where the stairs were. Unable to hold on to anything, Urien slides down to the main hall, knocking Amadea down. Just then the group hears a loud bang behind them, the exit door has somehow been locked shut, leaving Eirian and Zaalek outside!
Urien, Saris, Amadea, Gaius
Amadea struggles to his feet and points his crossbow at the newcomer. "Just say the word, Gaius."
Before Gaius can reply, several more men have poured into the balcony, all of them holding heavy crossbows, the four men quickly stand at the edge of the balcony and point their crossbows at the warriors below. "Hold you fire!" a voice is heard coming from the inside on the manor. An older man emerged from the door that leads to the balcony, he is in mis late 50's, is kind of plump and has white/grey hair. The man walks towards the edge of the balcony, the group can notice he is wearing a half-plate armor with a musket hanging over his back, and an estoc on his right hand.
"Why have you invaded my property?" yelled
Verholm at the group below. "Talk quickly or I shall dispatch you as thieves!"
Amadea, though unneverd from the reenforcements
, bit down on the bolt his mouth and pointed his crossbow at Verholm.
Urien placed a hand on Amadea's shoulder to show him to calm down. "Lord Verholm," he called to the man on the balcony. "We know of your plot against the Empress. You, and all those that plot with you, will be tried for high treason. Come with us and your lives may be spared." He looked up to the crossbowmen. "Do these warriors of yours know that they fight against the lady Empress, or did you forget to mention that to them?"
"Hmph, these mean here fight for money, not nations." replied Verholm with a smirk. "So you know everything about the plot don't you? hahaha, what a great service you have been to me young knight! here I was thinking I was dealing with common thieves! I was thinking of just locking you up on some cellar for a few days." he said as he paced around the balcony and his smile grew larger. "Or even hiring you to work for me! I mean, you got past my guards, that counts for something! hahahaha, but NO! Turns out that, as you have so graciously pointed out to me... I have the Caerhamian spies in my hands right now! The more reason to kill all of you!" continued the old man as he returned to the balcony door and opened it. "These fools have killed themselves.. just do the burying... use our new acquisition." said Verholm to the first crossbowman, and then walked out the door.
Urien cursed himself silently. "Warriors of Verholm he called out to the men on the balconies. "You may fight for money but you still have homelands! Verholm and his allies are nothing but traitors to the Empress, mere cowards who could not stand to face a woman as a leader. Are you men also cowards? Or will you lower your weapons and join alongside us, on the side of the Empress, and be rewarded by her?"
Amadea held his crossbow at the ready, but not pointed at the enemy in case Urien won them over.
"Besides," Urien called out again, "I'm sure Verholm isn't paying you enough for your work. How much is it? 10 gold pieces a week?"
Before the crossbowmen had time to reply, the man Verholm had commanded pulls a secret switch and the door that was previously locked opens up, revealing a hideous hunched creature behind it. The creature somewhat resembles an entirely black lizardman, with spikes growing out of his back and a powerful tail lashing about. Some greenish liquid drips out of its mouth as it charges towards the party!
Combat has started!
The turns and positions as following! -
Pitch Demon (J8/9, 33/34 HP)
Saris (E12)
Amadea (E8)
Crossbowman 1 (M5 10/10)
Urien (G8)
Crossbowman 2 (M7 10/10)
Crossbowman 3 (M9 10/10)
Gaius (D7)
Crossbowman 4 (M11 10/10)
The Pitch demon walks from the next room towards J8 and stands there for a few seconds, seeking the best target.
Saris's Turn! -
Saris remains hidden behind the statue, hoping the pitch demon has not noticed her yet and knowing she'll be an easy target for the crossbowmen if she comes out.
Amadea's Turn! -
"Any ideas?" Amadea shouted to Gaius as he fired at one of the crossbowmen (Cr1-M5).
The Crossbowman quickly places his crossbow in front of him and the arrow collides with the wooden body of the weapon!
In turn the first crossbowman fires at Amadea!
"Beats me!" replied Gaius ready to take cover behind the statue. "Those crossbowmen are going to fill us with holes! Let's just hope Miss Eirian finds a way in!"
Amadea copies the defensive move of the first crossbowmen, putting his crossbow in front of him to block the missile.
The bolt bounces off a metal strip on Amadea's crossbow, protecting him from the damage!
Urien's turn! -
Urien, seeing that the creature was far too powerful for him to take on, stood where he was, going into a defensive stance.
The second crossbowman fires at Amadea as well!
Amadea dives away from the shot in the direction of Saris, hoping to take cover eventually.
Once more, the bolt misses its target, just then the third crossbowman takes aim and fires at Urien!
Urien raised his shield in an attempt to block the incoming fire.
The bolt struck Urien's shield soundly, leaving the knight unharmed!
Gaius's turn! -
Gaius ran towards E4, taking cover behind the statue.
The last crossbowman fired a bolt at Urien as well, aiming low this time.
Urien bent his knees so he was crouching low, almost entirely hidden by his shield.
Though Urien's shield was too small to cover him and it was of no avail this time, luckily enough, his splint mail deflected the bolt!
Seeing Urien as a perfectly good target, the pitch demon starts its attack by spitting corrosive poison at him!
Urien raised his shield again to save him from the venom.
The poison bounced off Urien's shield harmlessly!
Saris's turn! -
Noticing that the Pitch Demon was distracted on Urien, Saris tries to take him by the flank, attacking him with her two scimitars.
Noticing Saris's intent, the Pitch Demon leaps forward, escaping her attacks!
Amadea's turn! -
Continuing to move towards the column Saris had formerly been behind, Amadea fires another shot, this time at the Pitch Demon.
Noticing Amadea shooting at him almost immediately, the Demon slashes at the incoming bolt with his spikey tail, the projectile then sticks into it, dealing 1 damage!
The first crossbowman reloads and fires at Amadea!
Amadea continues to dive towards Saris' pillar, hoping to reach it.
Once more, Amadea barely managed to evade the bolt by jumping out of the way.
Initiative order changed!
Pitch Demon (J8/9, 33/34 HP)
Saris (E12) (Camouflage)
Amadea (E8)
Crossbowman 1 (M5 *_*)
Eirian (O8)
Zaleek (O9)
Urien (G8)
Crossbowman 2 (M7 10/10)
Crossbowman 3 (M9 10/10)
Gaius (D7)
Crossbowman 4 (M11 10/10)
Eirian's turn! -
Eirian fires an arrow through the doorway, aiming for the middle of the first crossbowmen's back.
The crossbowman is taken completely by surprise as he feels the projectile strike his lower back, he turns just in time to see his attacker before he falls over the balcony, dying as he hits the ground!
Zaleek's turn! -
"What the?!" says Gaius from his hiding place as he sees the crossbowman fall.
Zaalek charges for the other crossbowman on the right with his spear and attempts to impale the enemy.
Eirian, Zaleek
Eirian turns at the sound of the door slamming behind her and smacks her palms against it. "What? Hey!!" She bangs loudly on the door.
Zaalek jumps when the door slams shut and awakens from the daze. He runs toward where Eirian is pushing at the door.
As much as they bang and bash the door, it won't budge, it appears that the pair will have to find another way in.
"Dammit!" Eirian spits, fired up for the first time since she landed on these strange shores. She turns to Zaalek, "Come on, we need to find a way in." She walks backwards, away from the manor, and looks for an open window.
From further back, Eirian notices most of the windows are barred, however, one window on the far right side of the mansion seems to be open.
"There," Eirian spies the open window. "Come on!" She lifts off and flies towards the window.
Zaalek takes off right after, following Eirian to the window.
Eirian reached the window and looked around before slipping inside the building.
Zaalek says, "Do you see anything?"
While next to Eirian.
Eirian and Zaleek come across a dimly lit room, the walls are rough and the floor unpolished. There is a sturdy wooden door on the wall opposite to the window and the room is filled with sacks and barrels. Apparently, they have stumbled upon a pantry.
Eirian heads over to the door. She eases the door open a crack and tries to see if there's anyone in the next room.
From the door, Eirian can see a large area with a tile floorand white walls, several pots stand on some doorless cupboards on one side of the room, on the very center is a large stove with a chimney that probably heads to the roof through the ceiling and a large table. It's a kitchen and there is no one in sight.
Eirian turns towards Zaalek, "There's no one. Come on." She heads into the kitchen and looks for a way into the rest of the manor.
Zaalek follows in after Eirian. "Being in this kitchen kind of makes me hungry."
As soon as she steps into the kitchen, Eirian notices a large wooden door which probably leads to the hallway, behind her and on the opposite side of the pantry door, there is a much fancier mahogany door.
Eirian eyes the two doors before heading over to the mahogany one. She pulls it ever so slightly ajar and peekes through the crack.
Zaalek during this time is searching the pantry for some food.
Peeking through the crack, Eirian can see a beautifully decorated dinning room behind the mahogany door, it seems it has not been used in quite some time, in any case, this door doesn't lead to the hall. Zaleek on the other hand, was able to find several loafs of bread, fresh goat milk, butter, honey and some ham.
"Alright". Zaalek begins pulling out the food and making a sandwich out of the ham and bread. "Hey Eirian do you wants some food?"
Eirian walks up and cuffs Zaleek about the head. "For all we know, the others are dead, and you're worried about your stomach."She glowered before heading over to check the hallway. Once again she cracks the door, looking and listening.
Zaalek shoves his sandwich in his pocket. "....Sorry..."
He walks to the door next too Eirian and waits.
From the second door, Eirian spots the hallway, it seems to be clear, counting the number of windows she saw from outside the manor, the balcony right above the group should be about 3 doors down.
Eirian steps into the hallway and heads towards the third door.
Zaalek follows Eirian, but also looks at all of the windows
Finally, Eirian comes across the right door, opening it just a crack, she is able to spy on several crossbowmen barraging the main hall with arrows.
"Eirian what do you see?" Zaalek asked.
"Crossbowmen. Four of them." Eirianreplies quietly, turning towards Zaalek. "We'll have to be quick if we're gonna take all of them."
"Ok, ill follow out right behind you." Zaalek replied. Zaalek grabbed his weapon and prepared to fight.
Eirian shakes her head and moves further back from the door so as not to attract attention. "I'm better with my bow. I'll cover you." She points through the doorway at the crossbowman to their far right, "I'll take him from here, you go for the him, " She gestures at the crossbowman immediately to their right. "And then I'll try for the one on the left. Alright?"
"Ok" answered Zaalek
Initiative order changed!
Pitch Demon (J8/9, *_*)
Saris (E12)
Amadea (O7)
Crossbowman 1 (M5 *_*)
Eirian (O8)
Zaleek (O9)
Urien (G8)
Crossbowman 2 (M7 *_*)
Crossbowman 3 (M9 U_U')
Gaius (D7)
Crossbowman 4 (M11 6/10)
Eirian's turn! -
Eirian fires an arrow through the doorway, aiming for the middle of the first crossbowmen's back.
The crossbowman is taken completely by surprise as he feels the projectile strike his lower back, he turns just in time to see his attacker before he falls over the balcony, dying as he hits the ground!
Zaleek's turn! -
"What the?!" says Gaius from his hiding place as he sees the crossbowman fall.
Zaalek charges for the other crossbowman on the right with his spear and attempts to impale the enemy.
Before the crossbowman has realized he's being attacked, Zaleek manages to drive his spear through the man's torso, killing him!
Urien's turn! -
Urien let out a loud war cry and charged at the large, reptilian creature, slicing at it with his longsword.
The pitch demon turns his huge head towards the knight and leers at him as he easily gets out of the way, avoiding the slash
The third crossbowman turns to Zaalek, seeing that two of his companions had already fallen, he pulls out his dagger and tries to stab the hauken!
Zaalek attempts to dodge the blow by jumping away from the attack while simultaneously swinging the spear like a club attempting to knock the crossbowman of balance.
Zaalek manages to jump out of the way and takes flight, hovering near the balcony just out of the crossbowman's reach!
Gaius's turn! -
Gaius runs out of the pilar now that the archers have their hands busy and touches Urien with the tip of his staff, casting a bless spell on his attack capabilities!
Gaius now has 3/18 MP!
Urien now was 8/6 Atk
The last corssbowman turns and tries to fire at Eirian!
Eirian dodges to the side, taking shelter behind the door.
Eirian manages to use the door as a shield, the bolt harmlessly striking the other side!
The pitch demon quickly turns to Urien and jumps towards him as a raptor would, attempting an air strike!
Urien raised his shield in an attempt to block the attack.
Urien raises his shield and the Pitch Demon lands on it, with incredible strength, Urien is able to hold up the entire weight of the Demon for a second or two, until the beast leaps off the shield!
Saris's turn! -
Seeing the Pitch Demon concentrated on Urien, Saris runs and jumps over the beast trying to slash it with her scimitars.
Saris slashes out at the Pitch demon but its tough hide bounces off the attack, with her second scimitar she tries a stabbing motion instead of a slash and barely pierces the skin, dealing one damage!
Amadea's turns! -
Amadea takes careful aim at the Pitch Demon and fires, hoping to hit it unawares in a vulnerable spot.
The Pitch Demon spots Amadea aiming at him and jumps as high as he can, knocking Saris away and avoiding the bolt!
Eirian's turn! -
Eirian ready's her bow and then steps back into the doorway and fires at the last crossbowman.
The crossbowman was reloading his crossbow when Eirian fired at him, the arrow struck his leg dealing 4 damage and the man screamed in pain as he fell to the floor. After a second, he started to get back up, trying to hold back the blood from his leg with his hand!
Zaleek's turn! -
Zaalek flips his spear so that the point is directly facing the crossbowman. Then he throws it aiming for the enemies heart
Zaleek swiftly throws his spear at the crossbowman who had just attacked him, the weapon strikes the enemy warrior on the side dealing 7 damage! severly wounded, the crossbowman falls on his knees, still trying to reload his weapon with the spear sticking out of his side!
Urien's turn! -
Urien roared in rage and stabbed his longsword at the creature, desperately trying to slay it.
Urien finally manages to break the Pitch Demon's defense and drive his blade into the monster's right leg, dealing 9 damage!
The crossbowman Zaleek stabbed lets go of his weapons and raises his hands as a sign of defeat!
Gaius runs near the balcony and yells out to Eirian. "Miss Eirian! So glad you're ok! pull the statue's marble sword so we can go up!!"
The last crossbowman, still willing to fight, fires a bolt at Zaleek!
Zaalek jumps to the side in attempt to dodge the bolt.
Zaalek manages to sidestep the bolt!
The Pitch Demon decides to target an easy prey, with a quick run he tries to use a crippling strike on Amadea and bite his arm!
Amadea tries to avoid the vicious attack by dodging behind the pillar, keeping the support between him and the beast.
The pitch Demon leaps towards Amadea but he quickly runs behind the pillar, though encumbered by his splint mail, the archer manages to escape the beast!
Saris's turn! -
Saris shooks her head and roares angrily at the Pitch Demon. She concentrates in the wound Urien managed to make on the demon's leg and tries to attack there.
The pitch demon immediately turns to Saris and raises both claws, using them to take a hold of both of Saris's scimitars, then it screeches in Saris's face, roaring back at her.
Amadea's turn! -
"Saris, no!" shouted Amadea. He raised his crossbow at the Pitch Demon and fired, praying a successful hit would free Saris.
Amadea masterfully aims the shot and fires directly at the Demon's belly, which is not protected by armor. The bolt strikes the Demon in the side, penetrating into its stomach and dealing 13 damage! The Lizard lets go of Saris and thrashes about as it wails in pain.
Eirian's turn! -
Eirian bolts over to the marble statue and tugs on it's sword.
As Eirian pulls the sword, the steps in the ladder reappear making it possible for the group to ascend to the baolcony.
Zaalek's turn! -
Zaalek grabs his light mace and charges the pitch demon attempting to strike it's head.
Zaleek succesfully flies down on the Pitch Demon and smashes its head with his Mace! The beast growls in pain as it falls sideways to the floor, twitches for a few seconds, and then dies!
Urien's turn! -
Urien cursed as he saw the Pitch Demon fall to the floor. "I was hoping to slay that," he muttered before yelling loudly and charging up the stairs at the remaining crossbowman.
Begins to run towards the stairs but he doesn't make it before the crossbowman has thrown his weapons and surrendered as well!
Everyone gains 833XP!
Saris leveled up!
Eirian leveled up!
Amadea leveled up!
Zaleek leveled up!
Urien growled as he reached the top of the stairs. "Bleedin' archers not got an ounce of bravery," he muttered. He looked down at the others. "Are we going to sit around all night or are we going to chase after that pig Verholm?"
Amadea walked up the stairs as he reloaded his crossbow. He came to a stop in front of the wounded crossbowmen. He kicked their weapons out of their reach. When he finished reloading the crossbow, he looked pointedly at the prisoners. "Start talking. Now."
Saris growled lowly and shook her head while standing up. "Thank you" she said in a low voice to Amadea once she was standing. She walked towards the pitch demon and recovered her scimitars. Then she watched the crossbowmen quietly, listening to what they would say.
Eirian threw a relieved smile at Gaius, "Sorry we tooks so long."
Zaalek walks over to where his spear has impaled the enemy and take its out.
The crossbowmen stirred as their own crossbows were pointed at them. The one who was still able to talk (the other one was barely concious as he had been struck by a spear) looked up to Amadea. "Let us go! we're jus' hired men! we dun' know nuttin!"
"Then what use are you?" Amadea pointed his crossbow at the barely conscious crossbowmen. Staring at the one who had just spoken, Amadea fired the crossbow at his companion's head.
Urien gasped at what Amadea had done before his face went hard. "That was hardly necessary," he said coldly, his eyes burning with anger.
Amadea coolly reloaded his crossbow before looking at Urien, his face equally hard. "These are not 'hired men.' Let me remind you what we just fought. If the haukenen hadn't intervened when they did, we would be dead, either torn to pieces or shot with bolts. No ordinary mercenary attacks people defending themselves from Pitch Demons," Amadea pasued, taking a deep, shuddering breath. "I have lost too many companions to scum like this, and I will lose no more!" Amadea finished with a shout as he pointed the reloaded crossbow at the surviving crossbowman.
Gaius climbed up the stairs and glanced at the dead crossbowman. "I'd say it was an act of mercy... that spear went right through the man's stomach, it would've been a slow and painful death otherwise."
"Arhg! we're just hired men I tell ya! the Pitch Demon was Verholm's! We jus' fed it!" squealed the crossbowman. "I'll tell ya anything I know! jus' dun kill me!!"
"Where has Verholm gone?" Urien asked. "And if you don't give us a satisfying answer, I won't stop my friend here shooting a hole through your head."
"Ack! he is still in the mansion! I swear! He must be in the study, he spends tons o' time in there!" yelled the man desperately covering his head, as if his hands could stop a crossbow bolt.
"Where is the study?" asked Saris, who had moved silently closer to the men. She looked at the poor crossbowman with menacing eyes and waited for an answer.
Urien went to the door Verholm had gone through in his escape and kicked at the middle of it hard.
No realizing the tha door was not even locked, as Eirian and Zaleek had used it to enter the balcony, and that it opened towards him, meaning it had to be pulled, not pushed. Urien kicked the door and was pushed back by the force of his own foot, falling on his ass and making a lot of noise with his armor.
Zaalek almost choked on the food he was eating (food he had found before). He tried to control the laughter, but failed miserably.
Amadea looked up briefly to see what the noise was about.
The crossbowman looked up in terror and pointed towards the door. "G..go that way, to the left, down the hall and then right, i... its the last room!"
"Shall we," asked Amadea to Gaius, as he rifled through the deceased crossbowmen's belongings, making sure to gather the bolts for himself.
Eirian snickered at Urien and shook her head.
Saris almost laughed as Urien fell, but managed to contain herself. "Now disappear of our sight" she said to the crossbowman after listening what he had to say. She approached the door and waited for the others.
Urien got up, blushing heavily and opened the door the simple way.
Amadea walked up the stairs and covered the door Urien had just opened.
The crossbowman swiftly stood up and ran down the stairs, escaping through the front door, which appeared to be unlocked now.
The hallway past the door was lile all the other hallways in the mansion, the floor was made out of polished wood and covered with an expensive red carpet, the sides were painted white and wall treated, and every 10 feet or so there was a painting or a brazier emerging from the wall. To the right was the area that the Hauken had crossed to reach the party, to the left, the hallway continued about 60 feet, with two doors on its right side, and at the end, it made a turn to the right as well.
Urien slowly advanced into the hallway, unsure of any traps before taking a deep breath and walking casually along.
Saris followed Amadea and Urien through the hallway. "Do we check these rooms too?" she asked, remembering the crossbowman had said the study was the last room of the hallway that went to the right.
Gaius walked next to Saris, he stood in the middle of the corridor, waiting for the others. "We'd better make haste now... we can check the other rooms later..."
At Gaius' words, Urien picked up his pace to a brisk walk, holding his sword at the ready again.
Zaalek completely oblivious to the conversations, started to examine each of the paintings as he passed them.
Amadea moved as far to Urien's left as possible without bumping into the wall in order to fire a quick shot if necessary.
Eirian put an arrow to her bowstring and held it relaxed but ready as she followed the others down the hall.
Saris followed the group silently, with her senses all alert.
The party took a right turn at the end of the hallway, and they came across another hallway, similar yet a lot shorter, at the very end of the hall there was a semi-closed door, a small haze of light seeped through the door into the hallway.
Gaius turned his head to the others and brought his finger to his lips, indicating them to be quiet. He then turned to Urien and pointed at him, whispering. "Specially you" this said, he went one, trying to make as little noise as possible.
Amadea covered the door as Gaius approached it.
Zaalek squinted his eyes to see the door and grabbed his spear with both hands.
Urien stood back, knowing he was the noisiest of them all, and prepared for anything to happen.
Saris advanced with legs and arms like a cat, silently and with her ears alert, trying to hear any noise coming from the room.
Gaius looked around at the others, he nodded to let them know he was opening the door and then walked slowly towards the room. And pushed the door open with his staff.
Inside the room stod Verholm, an old aristocrat standing in front of a warm fireplace. He had a glass of red wine on one hand and a longsword in the other, he no longer wore the clothes they had seen him in before. This time he was totally outfitted for battle, he had a brerast plate on, a flowy red cape on his back and a fancy iron helm resting on the floor next to his feet. "Umph... how rude, to invade my property like this, kill my men and my pet...." said simply the old man, taking another sip of the wine before picking up the helmet.
Urien mimicked Verholm's manner. "Rather rude to try and wrestle control of a province that doesn't even want you," he said, mockingly copying the aristocrat's voice before grinning and pointing his blade at Verholm. "You will burn in the deepest levels of the Underworld for the death and depression you brought here."
"Don't bring that helmet another inch to your head," said Amadea as he pointed his crossbow at Verholm.
"This has been MY land for over 30 years now young man, and never have the people complain, now, there is a war coming up, you might not know it, I don't want MY people to be casualties of this war, hence I have decided to ally with the winning side and that requires some sacrifices, now this might not be your precious 'empress' you traitor! but this alliance will save the lochmorian lives and that's all I care about, Barenzo's politics can go to hell for all I care." replied Verholm deeply enraged with Urien's accusations. "And YOU Caessenian filth, don't tell me what I can or cannot do!" he bellowed as he placed the helmet on his head and waved at Amadea with his hand.
Amadea was about to fire a bolt at Verholm when he felt his eyes fogging up, eventually all he could see in front of him was some grey fog and then everything went black, he tried to reach out in front of him, realizing there was no actual fog around him and yet he could see nothing.
"This is your last chance!" said Verholm sensing Amadea's despair at going blind. "Leave and don't come back, go and find a deep hole where to hide, and trouble me no more! Just hope its deep enough."
Amadea fired his crossbow at last place it had been pointed, hoping Verholm hadn't moved his position. "Gaius, help me! I cannot see!"
Amadea fired the bold but unable to get a grip on the crossbow, the recoild deviated the shot, which struck a nearby wall and was lost into the study.
Urien got into a stance ready for battle. "Barenzo shall never win while I live!" he roared at Verholm, ready to duel with the man.
Combat has started!
The positions and initiative are as following!
Eirian (G6)
Saris (G1)
Zaalek (C6)
Amadea (G5)
Verholm (*_*)
Urien (D8)
Gaius (F6)
Eirian's turn! -
Eirian moved forward, pushed herself into the doorway to her right(E8) and lined up a shot. Aiming for a gap in Verholm's armor, she fires.
Verholm does not even try to dodge or block Eirian's attack, he raises his rapier and his warpick and heads towards the group as Eirian's arrow bounces off his breast plate!
Saris's turn! -
Saris puts on the hood of her black cloack and walks past Eirian into Verholm's bedroom, trying to hide in the shadows. She looks around for possible danger or something of use, and heads to the door at H1, trying to remain undetected.
Verholm does not notice the silent shadowcat slipping into his bedroom, he continues to focus on the main group while Saris moves to H1 in total stealth.
Zaalek! -
Zaalek raises his spear with his left hand and the mace with his right. He then goes airborne(as much as the room will allow) and flies toward Verholm with his spear thrusted out in front and his mace and a position best suited for blocking still in his right hand.
Zaalek extends his wings and prepares to take flight, but in the process he knocks Amadea and Eirian to the floor! Unable to fully open his wings in the small corridor, Zaalek jumps in the air but cannot really lift his body and ends up crashing into Urien's back and pushing him to the ground as he falls!
Amadea, blinded and pushed to the floor, cannot find an anchor point to get up!
"How could YOU defeat my mercenaries?!" asks Verholm partly in mockery and partly in disbelief as he sees the mass of jumbled warriors lying on the floor. He taunts them with his mace and waits Urien out.
Urien's turn! -
Urien got up, shooting a venemous glance at Zaalek. "Damned Hauken! You'll kill us all!" With this he turned back to Verholm and charged at him, sword at the ready.
Verholm smirks as he easily parries Urien's attack! He traps his longsword between his mace and warpick and then tosses the knight to the side!
Gaius's turn! -
"You're all brawns and no brains Knight!" laughs Verholm as he ignores the falling Urien and heads towards the vulnerable archers.
With the last of his magic power, Gaius blesses Saris's attack power, but he does it carefully, trying to prevent Verholm from realizing that Saris slipped into the next room.
Gaius now has 0/18 MP
Saris now has 8/5 Atk!
Eirian's turn! -
Eirian scrambles to her feet and tries to move Amadea back, away from Verholm and into the other room.
Amadea, already disoriented from blindess and Zalek's manuever, was initially startled, but when feeling Eirian's soft hands and wingtips, surrendered himself and attempted to move himself in the direction she was pulling him.
Eirian and Amadea managed to move to G8 and H8!
Saris's turn! -
Hoping Verholm would be too concentrated in the hallway in front of him to look back, Saris advanced with all haste and caution possible towards him, attacking with both scimitars!
Moving as swift as lightning, Saris attacked Verholm from behind, surprised, the nobleman was not able to dodge or block her strike, one of her scimitars penetrated his armor and lower back, dealing 9 damage and the second one slashed through his thigh, dealing 6 damage!
Zaalek's turn! -
Zaalek fixes his glasses back into position, seeing that Verholm is disoriented, Zaalek this time charges toward him (on the ground)with the light mace ready to attempt to bash Verholm's head.
Zaalek stands up, changes his weapon, strapping his spear to his back and pulling out his mace, then charges towards Verholm, stopping in D6 to deliver the blow, having changed his weapon, however, prevents him from completing the attack before Verholm can react!
Amadea's turn! -
Hearing the sounds of battle muffled slightly, Amadea could only hope he was away from the crux of the battle. He reloaded his crossbow and hoped the veil of darkness parts while he still has breath in his body.
With a scream of pain, Verholm turn to Saris and attempts to stab her with his rapier and bash her head with his warpick!
Saris tries to jump as far as she can from Verholm to avoid being hit by his weapons.
Saris tries to jump away, but Verholm is too fast for her, his warpick cleaves into her side, dealing 10 damage! and his rapier slashes throug her thigh, dealing 5 more damage! After having received such punishment during her jump, Saris barely manages to land safely on E3, using her claws to get a grip on Verholm's desk!
Urien's turn! -
Urien charges at Verholm, attempting to slice into his exposed back with his longsword in a wide arc.
Urien slashes at Verholm but his longsword bounces harmlessly off the old man's breastplate!
Gaius's Turn! -
"Dammit!" says Gaius as he sees Saris be flung through the air. Immediately afterwards he runs towards G1 to try to help her out.
Eirian's turn! -
Eirian reloads her bow and takes another shot at Verholm, aiming for his eye.
Once more, the arrow strikes but at no avail, though Erian's shot is perfectly lined up, it just bounces off Verholm's helmet as the man lowers his head!
Saris's turn! -
Terribly wounded, Saris moved towards Gaius as she saw him come to help her, hoping the others would distract Verholm enough time.
Sariws is now in F1
Zaalek's turn! -
Zaalek swung his light mace a quickly as possible ,hoping to take Verholm's head with the swing.
Verholm lifts his light pick and easily bashes Zaalek's mace away!
(Amadea's turn, Blind Expired!
As his vision cleared, Amadea got his bearings and rushed back to the hallway. See Saris' grevious wounds, his blood boiled with anger. Raising his crossbow, Amadea aimed at Verholm's throat and fired, hoping to stop the tyrant's breath once and for all.
Once more, the bolt strikes Verholm's breastplate and bounces off harmlessly!
"Your life ends here man of lochmore!" yelled out Verholm as he tried to stab Urien with his rapier and bash his leg with his warpick. "Be more careful about your loyalties in the next life!"
Urienattempted to block the warpick with his sword and the rapier with his shield. "My loyalties lie with good!" he roared.
Urien managed to block the rapier's attack with his shield, the pick's attack, however, was too strong for his arm to handle and Verholm just pushed away the longsword as he drove his warpick into Urien's leg, dealing 2 damage!
Urien's turn! -
Urien fell to his knees and brought his longsword round quickly to cut through Verholm's legs at the knees.)
Using his other hand, Verholm jabs the rapier down, sticking it in the floor and blocking Urien's low attack!
"They are? and I guess YOU define what is good eh boy?! I'd rather side with Thadre than see my homeland be charred by the flame!" Verholm yelled out as he blocked Urien's attack.
Gaius's turn! -
Gaius rips the lower part of his tunic and quickly wraps Saris's stomach with it, preventing her from loosing any more blood through the wound on her side. (Use of Heal Skill)
Saris now has 4/16 HP!
Eirian's turn! -
Eirian Loads her bow and fires another arrow at Verholms leg.
As Eirian fired, Verholm placed his rapier facing the arrow, when the arrow struck, it clashed with the tip of the rapier, shattering the arrowhead!
Saris's Turn! -
Saris takes a deep breath. "Thank you" she whispers to Gaius looking at his eyes after he casted the heal spell. Then she used the moment to move back into Verholm's bedroom and disappear in the shadows.
Saris is now camouflaged!
Zaalek's turn! -
Zaalek continues to try to beat Verholm's face in with the mace.
Zaalek bashes away with the mace, but Verholm heatbutts the mace away, not taking any damage from the blow whatsoever.
Amadea's turn! -
Amadea ran around to the north eastern entrance to the room and tried to shoot at Verholm's back.
Amadea managed to run between Verholm and Zaalek, finally getting to G3, he reloaded, but didn't have enough time to fire!
Verholm raises both hsi rapier and warpick and attempts to attack Urien on both flanks at once!
Urien attempts to raise his shield on his left arm to block the attack from that side, while using his longsword to block the attack from the other.
Urien quickly raised his shield and longsword, the shield has no trouble parrying the ligh pick's attack, but the Knight cannot block the fast tip of the rapier, whcih scratches his arm dealing 2 damage!
Urien's turn! -
Urien attempts to use Verholm's sudden opening in his defences to thrust his sword into the underarm area of Verholm's armour, hoping that, like most armour, it would prove to be a weak point.
Ignoring the pain on his arm, Urien stabbed towards Verholm's underarm, piercing through his armor and cutting his side! As he took 10 damage, Verholm screamed in pain!
Gaius's turn! -
Gaius moved to I1, next to Saris. "Here" he said as he had her drink one of his potions.
Saris now has 12/16 HP!
Eirian's turn! -
Eirian reloads and fires at an unprotected part of Verholms body, hoping for a hit whilst he is distracted by Urien.
This time, Eirian's arrow manages to pierce Verholm's breastplate but it does not reach his body!
Saris's turn!-
Saris thanks Gaius with a movement of her head as he handed her the potion. Watching Verholm being hurted by Urien, she smiles faintly and decides to try another attack. Moving silently, she tried to surprise him again.
Saris sneaks behind Verholm and lashes out at him with both Scimitars, however this time, Verholm's armor holds its ground!
"Damn woman!" yells the man as he turns to Saris
Zaalek's turn! -
Zaalek attempts to push Verholm down while he's turned so that the arrow in his breast plate will be force into his flesh.
Taking advantage of Verholm's high armor, Zaalek manages to push him to the floor, unfortunately, the arrows sticking out of his armor break rather than digging in!
Amadea's Turn! -
With Verholm newly helpless, Amadea tried to take advantage and fire a bolt at his underarm, attempting to replicate Urien's recent success.
Unfortunately, with Verholm on the floor, his head facing him and Zaalek and Urien so close, Amadea found it hard to make his shot. He let go off the bolt, which pierced the stone floor a few inches away from Verholm's right shoulder!
The old man managed to scramble to his feet, he turned towards Urien with fire in his eyes. "You've forced me to do this boy!" he roared as his muscles began bulging, his facial features deformed as his skin became coarse, like some sort of leather. His teeth grew out of proportion, coming out of his mouth along with white foam. Verholm grew over everyone in the area, his ominous shadow towering over Urien and Zaalek, dwarfing them. The ogre-like Verholm swung his Wapick brutally at Urien, attempting to knock him back!
Urien knew he wasn't fast enough to dodge the attack, so he raised his large shield to block the warpick, hoping it would hold against the creature's strength.
Urien managed to block Verholm's bash in the last second with his shield, however, he underestimated the nobleman's new strength and was blown away to D8, taking 2 damage upon his fall!
Urien's turn! -
Urien got up and took a defensive stance, knowing he wouldn't be fast enough to make a clean attack at Verholm.
Gaius's turn! -
Not really knowing what to do, Gaius moved behind the desk, ready to back up the others if needed.
Eirian's turn! -
Eirian swings her bow over her shoulder and draws her short sword and buckler, moving in closer to cover the others as best she can.
Saris's turn! -
Saris watched horrorized as Verholm grew in size. Still, she ran and tried to climb one of Verholm's enormeous legs and stab him with her scimitars...
Saris runs towards Verholm and stabs one of his legs and his side with the scimitars, cleaving through his armor and dealing 8 damage!
Zaalek's turn! -
Zaalek dashes to the side away from being in front of Verholm carrying his mace with him as a shield towards G6.
Amadea's Turn! -
Amadea again fires his crossbow at Verholm, aiming for his newly exposed flesh.
Noticing the bolt coming his way, the monstrous Verholm lifts his gauntlet and uses it to block the attack!
Immediately afterwards, Verholm leaps forward towards Eirian, who was now the closes to him, and bashes her in the chest with both Warpick and rapier!
Eirian attempts to block with buckler and sword.
Eirian raised both sword and shield but it was useless, the brutal power of Verholm pinned her against the hallway wall, where he crushed her arm, with his Warpick, breaking it and dealing 10 damage, and pierced her stomach with his rapier, dealing 10 more damage!
Urien's turn! -
Urien snarled in anger that one of his companions had been knocked down. He brought his sword round behind him and charged at the ogre Verholm, swinging the blade towards the inside of the left leg, near the groin.
As the massive man crushed Eirian, Urien saw his opportunity, lunging forth, he stabbed Verholm's now exposed chest, dealing 11 damage!
Gaius's Turn! -
"Miss Eirian!" yelled Gaius as Eirian was knocked out. He ran towards F6 and picked up Eirian, pulling her away from danger. Immediately afterwards he pulled out his last healing potion and had her drink it.
Eirian now has -5/16 HP
Saris's turn! -
Saris felt very angry when she saw the hauken girl all wounded. After seeing Urien's move, she tried to attack his legs again.
Saris lunges forth, both swords at the ready, however Verholm's skin has also grown tougher, she barely manages to scratch the man's right leg, dealing 2 damage!
Zaalek's turn! -
Horrified of what happened to one of his childhood friends, Zaalek ran toward his spear while bombarded by past memories. Managing to keep his concentration he equipped his spear and prepared for his next move stopping at C6.
Amadea's Turn! -
Amadea was torn between attacking Verholm and aiding Eirian. Realizing that his shots were having little effect on the monster, he ran to the fallen hauken and gave her his healing potion.
Eirian now has -1/16 HP!
Enraged, and knowing his transformation was about to expire, the monstruous Verholm cleaved at Saris with both weapons!
Saris quickly tries to escape Verholm's attack, hoping she would be fast enough.
Saris jumps out of the way, but her armor slowed her down, she managed to avoid the warpick, tumbling out of the way. However, the superior speed of Verholm's rapier proved its worth, stabbing Saris in the stomach as she jumped, puncturing many internal organs and dealing 10 damage!
After his attack, Verholm behan panting and fell on his knees for an instant, reverting back to his original form, he stood up slowly and returned to his battle stance, he had not given up yet.
Urien's turn! -
Urien grinned as Verholm took his normal form, obviously tired. He quickly charged forwards, aiming to slide his blade past the warlord's defenses and into his midriff.
Urien ran towards Verholm and stuck his sword between Verholm's shoulder and neck, dealing 11 damage! The man clutched his neck in an attempt to stop the massive blood loss!
Gaius passes his turn, trying to drag Eirian out away from the battle while taking a look at her wounds.
Saris's turn! -
Saris complained about the pain with a low growl. She regretted not having any healing potions with her. She walked away to G1 to think her next move better.
Zaalek's turn! -
Now out of Verholm's line of sight, Zaalek ran as quietly as possiple up to Verholm and lept into the air hoping that his weight and gravity will force this spear through Verholm's neck.
Zaalek approaches Verhom from the back and crushes the man's spine with his spear, delaing 8 damage!
Battle has ended!
Everyone gains 9000 XP!
Urien has leveled up!
Saris leveled up!
Eirian leveled up!
Gaius leveled up!
Amadea leveled up!
Zaalek leveled up!
"Death to all tyrants," said Amadea as he searched the fallen Verholm.
Zaalek hurried over to where Eirian, to see if he could help out. "Anything i can do to help"
"Well done, Zaalek!" Saris exclaimed weakly, as his attack made the big man fall. "We seriously need to recover now" she said, while she looked around the place for potions or anything of use.
"Indeed," said Amadea as he continued searching the body.
On Verholm's body, Amadea found,
Masterwork Rapier
Masterwork Warpick
Angel Wing Earrings
Breast Plate
Iron Helmet
Viper ring
Gauntlet
500 GP
Urien cheered as Zaalek brought down the big man. He eyed what Amadea had found on Verholm, his eyes taking notice of a few items he fancied. "I'll let everyone else see if they want anything first," he said, looking down at his own garments. "I've had a large amount of past items."
"I wouldn't mind having the gauntlet or the helmet," said Amadea as he gave his last potion to Eirian.
"Are you sure you will be able to work you bow with either of those?" asked Gaius who had noticed Amadea wrestling with his Splint Mail in order to make the shots. He then turned to Eirian, who was now concious, and finished bandaging her up. "Miss Eirian, are you feeling better now? Can you stand up?"
"That is a good point, Gaius. I may need to go back to the leather armor, as this set is too slow. The gauntlet and the helmet don't seem to impede my speed, though," answered Amadea.
"I would like to test out his warpick." Zaalek looked over to where the warpick was.
Saris stopped looking around for any drawers or closets she could register and eyed what Amadea had found. "I wouldn't mind getting any of those jewels" she said with a faint smile, paying particular attention to the earrings.
Urien examined the master rapier, waving it around a bit. "What do you guys think? Will it do better than one of my old longswords?"
"Stick with the longswords, you're nod the speed type..." replied Gaius absently as he ran his fingers through Eirian's cheek, then slapped it lightly. "Something's wrong..." he muttered, the girl was healed but she didn't seem to wake up.
Urien went to stand by Gaius. "She can catch up with us if we leave her a note as to where we are heading."
"Yeah, that would be real considerate" replied Gaius oviously annoyed with Urien's bluntness. "Let's leave her here with Verholm's corpse without finding out what's wrong with her, I'm sure she'll catch up if she doesn't die!" The acolyte stoop up and carried Eirian to the next room, laying her in Verholm's bed. "Amadea!" he said to the archer. "Please go around the mannor with Saris and find anything you consider we could use, weapons, potions, and more importantly, evidence so we can make a case against him. Killing a noble is not exactly something that will put us in good terms with Nerva OR Caessen, unless we can justify it."
Urien laughed slightly. "No need to be curt, Gaius. I'm just slightly worried about meeting anymore of Verholm's guards."
Amadea nodded to Gaius and began his search by looking around Verholm's quarters, the adjacent room, and the hallway for any containers or features that seemed out of place.
"Alright, sir" said Saris and followed Amadea in the search.
Amadea and Saris searched carefully through the whole Mansion, they managed to get into almost everywhere, except a tough looking cellar door, using their keen eyesight, nothing escaped their grasp. After about an hour of work, their placed everything they deemed useful or necessary on a couple of Verholm's chests and headed upstairs. Luckily enough, there seemed to be no more guards, apparently, the old man had staged his last defense in the entrance hall. They returned to the studio, where Gaius had carefully piled several documents next to a heavy brass key. Verholm had a bedsheet over him and Eirian was still lying on the bed, a warm piece of cloth over her forehead.
"Okay," said Amadea, breathing heavily from his exertion. "What do we have?"
Urien skim-read over some of the documents. "Seems like Verholm was a very naughty boy."
Gaius took the documents from Urien and carefully read some of the first pages. "This is serious..." he said glancing at Amadea.
Dear Verholm,
I am glad you finally saw the light and joined me in this holy crusade. I will require that you build a grand fortfication using your own mannor as the center, this will be the central point for our revolution. We will strike at the heart of the infidel queen of Caessen by taking out her dearest allies first. By now, Gunang must've weakened the western reaches of Rysallis. Nissto will soon draw the Grand Druid, Angkone out of the moonwater glad and that will be the time to strike. Our special squad, led by the infamous Queen of Spades, Stefania Neis, will camp in the mannor two weeks from now and then filter into Rysallis. Shortly after, our army can move north. My zealots are eager to face the forest people in combat. I will need you to send every man you can spare down to Lochmore to be trained. It will all depend then on Neis's success on her mission. Should she fail and return, have her executed for her crimes at once, since this is her only chance for a royal pardon.
Vizenz Barenzo.
"This letter is dated three weeks ago.. meaning the special squad already passed through here..." mumbled Gaius sitting down heavily on a chair behind him.
Amadea's face darkened at the import of the letter. "There is so much to do, and so little time," he murmered. "Would it be of any use to track this squad with their week headstart? Would any communications by us succeed in reaching the right ears in time?" Amadea sank into a hunch, face buried in his hands. "Have our efforts here been for naught?"
"I'd say.. we have to make a decision here..." replied Gaius just as dismayed, partly because the failure of their mission and partly because of Eirian. "We either go.. and chase after this elite squad with a weeks head start on us... or we stay here and try to fend off an army on our own..." he said with a slight, hopeless chuckle as he realized the futility of both attempts.
Amadea, continuing to cover his face, merely shook his head, saying nothing.
Saris shook her head as well. She watched both spies and evaluated what to do, while resting her back against a wall, her arms crossed over her chest. Building an army by themselves didn't make much sense to her. On the other hand, they could still hope this Stefania would fail on her quest, or at least be delayed on her way to Rysallis. "I say we go after the squad. It sounds to me like the best choice. We know they are going to Rysallis. We could evaluate which way they've taken to get there. And they don't know we know what they're up to" she said after a while of thinking. "The only problem is that time is against us", she added, looking at the unconscious Eirian and then returning her sight to her own wounds.
"If you want I can follow them by flying at a high altitude." Zaalek scratched his left wing.
Amadea looked up from his hands, showing reddened eyes. "That would make you one lone Hauken against a crack squad, as the rest of us still need to catch up. They might spot you, even at high altitude, which would allow them to either increase their speed or to prepare ambushes and traps against us. Still, it may be our only chance, should you be able to slow them down by placing your own traps in their path. We could leave Eirian in the hands of innkeeper for her safety while the remainder us begin the chase." He stood slowly and looked at Gaius. "That is unless you think we can do more good here by holding control of the town and manor with what forces we can raise against this enemy."
"nay.. any resistance we can muster here with the help of the townsfolk will just result in needless deaths..." replied Gaius with a grim expression on his face. "In fact.. it will be best if we instruct the townsfolk to just play along and obey the army that is coming.. as to avoid casualties." he continued as he stood up and walked to the window, carefully looking out. "Nevertheless... I abide by the decision of most of the group.. in the meantime let's just get what we can from Verholm's equipment..."
Amadea nodded in agreement. "If we are to go after Stefania Neis and her team, I think it would be best if I share some information on them. Stefania leads a somewhat infamous gang of thieves. They are known as the Deck, and like as their name might suggest, are fifty-two in number. They are divided in the four suites, which are obviously spades, hearts, clubs, and diamonds. Stefania's lieutenants are known as the Aces, and each has twelve elite warriors under their command, save the Ace of Spades, who has Stefania as the Queen of Spades in his suite," Amadea paused thoughtfully. "Supposedly all four of the Aces and Stefania were secretly executed in Lochmore for her crimes of murder, theft, and disturbance of the peace after an informant tipped off the authorities, leading to their capture. The remaining Deck members melted into the shadows. I can only imagine that something went awry if Stephania and her underlings are back in action, rather than dead and buried."
Saris yawned, covering her mouth with one hand. "Sorry, don't get me wrong, Amadea. It's a very interesting story" she hurried to say, "But right now I don't seem to be processing information very well. I suggest we try to get some rest - I'm awfully tired" she said, another yawn melting with the last sentence.
Amadea eyeballed Saris. "Yes it is very interesting. We are all exhausted, and perhaps a short rest is in order. We must, however, as soon as possible, resupply, deposit Eirian somewhere safe, and immediately begin pursuit with the utmost haste, because we are a week behind and the Deck is most likely not moving slowly towards their objective."
Urien stood up and went over to Eirian's bed. "It is decided yet... I'll stay here though, someone's got to take care of Eirian, and I can't just abandon The Wisp in the port, good luck guys." said the knight as he picked up Eirian and exited the room, heading towards Osvik.
In Verholm's body, the party found
Rapier + 5
Warpick + 4
Angel Wing Earrings
Breast Plate
Iron Helmet
Viper ring
Gauntlet
500 GP
"Take whatever you need and get some rest" said Gaius in a gruff tone as he waved goodbye to Urien and Eirian. "We'll leave as soon as dawn breaks..."
"I need to exchange this wretch mail for my old leathers. This new armor clearly isn't working. That iron helmet and gauntlet wouldn't slow me down, so I'd like to have one or both of those, if everyone is okay with that. Also, do we have time to take what we don't use and sell it, or will that slow us down," asked Amadea.
"Good luck" said Saris to Urien and Eirian as they left. "That's fine by me" she said then to Amadea. "I could take the rapier" she added, eyeing the weapon and thinking of switching her scimitars for something else for some time. "You should take the earrings" she said looking at Gaius. Some extra resistance for the acolyte could be of use, she thought.
"I wish that Verholm had some food on him." Zaalek's stomached growled loudly. "Im getting a little hungry."
"I'll make us something from the pantry..." replied Gaius then ducked and picked up the earrings "nay.. " he said "I'm no warrior, you take them." he continued, offering the earings to Saris. "Besides they'll look good on you, I'll take the viper ring, though."
¨OI! What da hell's this!?¨ A loud voice growled immediately after Saris had spoken. Stepping into the room, Rei'zel glared around him and sized up the four strangers who appeared to be the cause of the bloody carnage both outside the Manor and in. Feeling pretty wary, as well as quite bold, the Ignean spoke up to someone behind him, all the while still staring at the four ahead of him, ¨Liliath! Ya' may want a' come 'ere and see this!¨ Shortly after saying this, he spoke out to the group, a sneer forming from his lips, ¨A pack a' thieves now, eh? Who are ya'? Part a' the Deck!?¨
Liliah walked into the room, and came up near Rei'zel. "What is it?" She asked quietly.
Gaius reached out for his staff as Rei and Liliah entered the room. "Who are YOU!?" he asked back, then, after processing whta Rei had just asked, he yelled back. "WHat do you know of the deck?" He exchanged glances with Zaalek, Amadea and Saris so they would get ready for combat if necesary.
¨I asked ya' first, tough guy¨ responded Rei as he slowly raised his claws in battle position, staring fiercely at Gaius, his mood worsening, ¨Give meh´ yur´ names and tell meh´ if yur´ part a´ the Deck.¨ Quickly glancing behind as Liliah entered the room, the Ignean barked a warning, ¨Ya´ recognize any a´ these guys as being Deck members, Lydia!? Yur´ memory´s much better n´ mine!¨
Saris received the earrings Gaius handed to her, and then startled. She was surprised she hadn't heard the couple come. Inmediatly she adopted an agressive stance. She listened what Rei was saying. "Part of the deck, huh? What if we were?" she asked cautiously.
Liliah looked them over. "None that I have seen anyway." She hadnt been part of the deck for a long time, and much of her time as apart of the deck was one big blur.
Hearing Liliah's comment, Rei humphed and lowered his guard slightly as he turned to stare at the Panther speaking to him, "S'either yur' new recruits or yur' ne'even related!" Looking around the room as he spoke, Rei strode toward a nearby chair and slouched upon it, continuing to address the four in front of him with his unusual tongue, "Yuh' dun' e'en have the official Deck patch n' number. Well 'nyway, if yuh' were members ah' the Deck, I'd just wuddav' beat yuh' senseless fur' joining those scum n' the first place! N' after that I'd interr'gate yuh' and all."
At the mention of the Deck, Amadea's eyes darkened. Raising his crossbow slightly, he asked, "Why don't you tell us what you know of the Deck, and your purpose in coming here? We've had our patience tried enough in the last few days."
"Well, it wasnt us. We just got here." Liliah said as she leaned up against the wall.
Rei snorted and nodded his head as his companion spoke, before following, "Aye, no need t'be all hostile now, eh? I see no 'arm in talkin'." Still slouched, the Ignean once known as the Flame Tiger continued, "Meh' n' Lilina 'ere were once members ah' the Deck b'fore the whole thing went under. Why we look fur' 'em now is our own business."
"You're the jack of hearts..." mumbled Gaius still with his staff in battle stance, pointing at the patch on Rei's shoulder. "Yer one of the decks higher ups! If you're a former member I guess you don't really know what the deck is up to right now... let's say we trade some information.." said Gaius, still not trusting Rei.
"So yuh' heard ah' meh' then, eh?" Rei grinned as his ego went on a rocket trip, revealing his unusual Tiger-like fangs in the process, before leaning forward from his chair, "Ah' right priest, yur' on. Whattaya' wun' know?"
Zaalek stood there dumbfounded, then his stomach growled loudly. "Uh, excuse me." He left in search of food.
Liliah's eyes followed the departing man, but she remained silent, and stood where she was.
Amadea shook his head and sighed at the haukin's distractability.
Gaius sat down in another chair across the room, directly in front of Rei'zel, he gently asked Amadea to lower his crossbow with a swift hand motion. "First off, I want to know why are you here? aren't you supposed to be with the deck? they already passed through here..." he asked, knowing he could be talking to a powerful enemy, he reached for his weapon, just in case. "And second, I want to know any information you might have as to the current objective of the Deck."
"Humph! Bastard's stomach could'n' control itself, eh?" Rei sneered as he watched Zaalek leave the room before turning toward Gaius and muttering aloud, "Goddamn d'yuh ask a lot ah' questions. A'right, scum, I'll tell yuh' this much; I'm 'ere 'cuz I'm lookin' fur' the Deck, I ain't with the Deck no more, and... yuh' say they passed through 'ere, eh?" Growling, the Ignean turned toward Liliah and yelled, "Y'hear that Lara!? We got 'ere too fuckin' late!" Feeling like he was wasting time, Rei'zel made sure to keep his answers to Gaius brief, "If yuh' want information, yur' asking the wrong man. Meh' n' Delila thought the Deck was done, finished, roasted like a pig. We was happy 'bout that, they were even bigger scum than you lot 'ere. Turns out, though, word's been around the group's reformed again, with Stephania back at the helm." Soon after saying this, Rei's tone softened slightly (a fact which he didn't realize) and he continued, muttering, "We're lookin' t'find out if that's true. Per'aps knock a bit uh' sense into 'er in the process."
"We'll catch up with them eventually sir." Liliah Always thought that because of her low ranking, she had to adress those higher than her in such a manner.
Amadea complied with Gaius' gesture and lowered the crossbow, but glowered at the Ignean's use of "scum." "You'll have to explain to me, Ignean, where you get the stones to refer to us in such a manner, given that you were" - Amadea put extra emphasis on the word - "members of the Deck, and your intentions in located your former comrades are at best, ambiguous."
Rei turned to look at Amadea, sizing him up quietly for a few moments, before getting up and striding toward the shorter man, "Yuh' got guts, kid, I'll give yuh' that much. I ain't obligated t'give yuh' mah' life story, though, but I'll tell yuh' this..." Stopping short of a few feet from Amadea, the Ignean continued speaking, "I dun' know what the Deck're planning now, but I know no good'll come uvvit'. They've gone t'hell and all they innerested' in since they came back is spilling needless blood, I know it 'cuz I seen 'em do it in the past. Now me and Lolita, we ain't the type who kill fur' the sake ah' killin'. That's why we ditched 'em. All that I said be the truth and I give yuh' that as mah' word as a warrior uh' the Masomakali."
Amadea nodded as Rei replied. "Fair enough. Answer me this last query. You say you aren't the type to kill for the sake of killing. Are you the type to kill for the sake of protection others, and if you are, would you stand against the Deck?"
"I protect those close t'me any way I can, take that as yuh' will." Rei replied, his short patience nearly reaching its limit, "N' I've been standin' against the Deck for some time now. Yuh' happy?"
Liliah pushed herself from her wall, and walked over to Amadea and Rei. "I haven't been in the deck long, but from what I have seen, killing seems to be a sport to them."
"So, you were in the Deck, that's good to know" Saris said after hearing Liliah, relaxing a bit. "Maybe you could help us, then" she said. Wondering if they were going to get any time to rest, she leaned against the wall Liliah had been resting on a moment ago.
"Ok then..." said Gaius analyzing the situation carefully(Uses detect lies) "... I believe you..." he finally sighed, leaning back a bit on the chair. "I believe its your turn to ask questions... I'll try my best to provide you with information..."
"Ah'right, that's fair." Rei responded as he tried to calm down and let off steam for a moment. Having cooled off enough, the Ignean began asking, "What the hell are yuh' lot doing 'ere and killing off them guards outside and that fat fuck down over there? I know it ain't the Deck's doing... blood's too fresh. Also..." At this, Rei'zel stared with distrust at the four around him before continuing, "How the hell d'yuh' know about the Deck and what're they to yuh'?"
"Let's see..." replied Gaius wondering were he could start. He looked back at Saris and Amadea, then looked around for Zaalek, noticing he wasn't around. "Good riddance..." he mumbled. "I am Gaius Varro, this is Saris Asdar of the Panther Clan, and Amadea Tor, from Rysallis. We're agents of Empress Claudia Orator, Amadea and I were sent here to monitor the situation in Osvik... upon our arrival we found out that Lord Verholm was holding the town hostage, so we decided to stop him..." he said wondering if Rei would believe them, it was much more logical that they were just a band of thieves robbing an old man's home. "We found some documentation... mentioning the Deck, Amadea had researched the group, apparently they are heading north right now, and an army is heading here as well, hence we can't stay long. They seem to be going to Deepwood city, in South Rysallis..."
Listening to Gaius as he spoke, Rei couldn't help but feel like there was something slightly 'off' with that explanation. Thinking back for a second, the Ignean tried to determine whether Gaius had spoken the truth to him or not (Detect Lies). After a quick moment of thought, Rei let out a "Humph, that's either a shitty lie or the crazy truth, but yuh' dun' look like a shitty liar t'me so I'll believe yuh'." Quiet for a second after saying this, he thought to himself before speaking up, "North, yuh' say? And this lil' crew 'ere is gun' follow 'em, I imagine? Har har, that's a sight t'see! Ah'right, I've decided! Meh' n' Vivia 'ere are joining yur' crew! If we're all 'eaded the same way, might as well 'ead there together, eh?"
Gaius turned to Amadea and Saris to see what they though of this idea, he considered Rei to be honest, but didn't know if they could trust him just a few minutes after meeting him. "What do you guys think?" he asked
Liliah sighed to herself. has he ever gotten my name right? She thought to herself.
Amadea shrugged. "So long as they're willing to do their part when the fighting inevitably comes, so be it."
Saris agreed with a nod. "I think we may need help with all this. It's not a bad idea to go together", she said, thinking she would mantain herself in alert, just in case. The planetarii's intention to look feline was an interesting thing to observe, she thought.
After filling his gut with food he found, Zaalek came back and quietly slipped back into the room trying not to cause anymore negative attention towards him.
Rei grinned, his fangs very visible, and let out a growl before responding, "Yeah, I'll do muh' part, shorty, just so long as yuh' do yours. Anyway, I guess I'll introduce muh'self for the few uh' yuh' who dun' know. Name's Rei'zel Armada, but y'all can call me Rei." Turning around after saying this to look at Liliah, the Ignean walked up to her and tried to give her a noogie, "Well I gave muh' name, Leena, so yuh' should give yours."
Liliah sheilded her head, then said so the others could hear, but trying to make it so Rei couldnt hear, "My names Liliah. She glanced over at Rie. "Although my friend here hardly ever calls me that."
Gaius replied with a slight nod, "A plasure to make your acquaintance..." he said, unable to shake his polite upbringing off even when speaking to someone as Rei. "Nice to meet you too Liliah. Well, since we are going to be working together, I guess you should know our skills... Saris here is an expert stealth fighter, she can move as a shadow through almost anywhere. Zaalek is probably our main fighter right now, so far I've seen him do some good things with that spear and his ability to fly.. oh yes... you might not be familiar with the likes of him.. I think they call themselves Hauken..." he said, pointing towards the first two party members. "Amadea is a master of bow and arrow, I'm sure you and him will have much to talk about." he said to Liliah as he gently pointed towards her longbow. "And I am a healer... I'm guessing you are some sort of fighter to Rei'zel?" Gaius said as he plopped down on the chair. "Now.. I suggest we get ready to spend the night. Amadea, Saris, plase distribute Verholm's items. It must be past midnight already, and we'll have to rise with the sun if we are to catch up with the deck..."
"Zaalek, huh? A haaaaau.... hau-what? Hauken?" Rei stared fiercely at the said youth, not sure what to make of him (considering he had never seen a Hauken before), "Well I'm dis'pointed. I hear them winged folk were 8 feet tall, coughed lightning, and breathed 'urricanes. This 'ere punk doesn't look 'nything how I picture 'em." Promptly forgetting his observations, the Ignean then looked around the mansion with the experienced eye of a vagabond, mixing it with the cautious eye of a hunter, "Well yuh'd be one 'orribly stupid crew to sleep 'ere t'night with all these bodies layin' around. First things first, I say, let's pay a lil' respect t'the butchered n' either bury or burn their corpses. That way we dun' attract no diseases nor get bad luck nor raise the angry dead. Me? I'd rather burn 'em all and save us the trouble of 'aving t'dig holes." That said, Rei proceeded to grab the dead Verholm's leg and dragged it out of the room. Soon, his figure vanished, and only his slurred speech emanated from outside, "Someone 'elp me take these dead bastards t'the courtyard and light a fire! I 'aint gon' do it alone!"
Taking a little bit of offense to that comment Zaalek tried his best to ignore that what was said. He thought to himself, "I bet you wouldnt be disappointed if this spear went clear through your skull..."
Saris looked at the things that were still left, not paying much attention to Rei'zel, but thinking of going to help as soon as the items were distributed. She took the earrings to herself and handed Gaius the Viper ring. "Here, take it.." she said. Saris looked at the Warpick + 4, the Breast Plate and the Iron Helmet. "Can you use any of these?" she asked Zaalek.
"Im not sure, i might be able to use the warpick." Zaalek pictured the amount of force required to make a lethal. "I'll use it if its not too heavy."
Liliah quickle sprinted to catch up with Rei, not wanting to be left behind.
Having dragged Verholm's corpse outside to the courtyard, Rei dumped the carcass before grabbing the nearby bodies of the crossbowmen that Amadea, Zaalek, Saris, & Co. had killed earlier. As he dragged them toward Verholm's body, the looter in him kicked in to high gear and he eyed each of the bodies, looking for anything useful from them.
On the bodies, Rei'zel found -
3 Crossbows
1 Heavy Crossbow
4 Leather Armors
4 Leather Helmets.
67 Crossbow Bolts
"Bah, no 'wunner these pussies lost." Rei muttered as he picked up the heavy crossbow and all 67 crossbow bolts, "Well, 'aving a bow n' a crossbow ain't gon' kill me." After thoroughly checking to see that he didn't miss anything, the Ignean gathered all the corpses together in a pile and stepped back, observing his handiwork, "Ah'right, scum, burn in peace." As soon as he said this, Rei'zel casted Heat on the bodies.
Rei'zel threw a couple of logs on top of the bodies and raised his hand, placing his index and middle fingers gently on the biggest log. He muttered some of the few ignean words he knew and his hair seemed ablaze for an instant, his eyes became light red and his skin seemd to glow as he heated the log to a great temperature, causing it to start burning almost immediately. In a couple of minutes, the fire had engulfed the whole pile.
Grinning gleefully as he witnessed the 'magnificent' flames, Rei'zel stood idly by and continued staring, before muttering to himself, "Well that should keep away the flies n' vermin..." Turning around, the Ignean slowly walked away from the fire and toward the mansion, not having yet noticed that Liliah was nearby.
Amadea, seeking to shed the cumbersome armor that had failed to help as much as he'd hoped, exited the manor as quickly as he could and made the exchange for his old leathers before returning to the party.
Saris thought if she should divide the money in four or six. The new arrivals hadn't done anything yet to earn that money, but since they were all going to be a group now, she assumed she would have to give them something. She divided the money in six piles of 80 coins each and gave the remaining 20 coins to Gaius. "You didn't get many things from what we found here, so keep them", explained she, taking her money and retiring to a more solitary corner, waiting for the next action.
"Uhm.. thanks..." said Gaius, though he wasn't comfortable with taking more money than the others, he planned of spending it all in healing potions for the party in the next town. "Ok then.. about the rest of the items, Saris should take the rapier, I think its better than one of your rapiers... an unless someone want that breastplate and gauntlet, we'll sell them."
Amadea, enjoying the greater comfort his old armor provided.
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