Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

[thetwo]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

Spoiler

And the RNG gods say...

Amber awoke with the intense awareness that someone was standing just inside her ward, at the doorway. A voice spoke, at the edge of perception. "Yea, I heard the innkeeper tell her which room. Cute as hell, too. Ready?" Opening her eyes would reveal that the room was still pitch black, even the moon set or covered by cloud.

 

[sturm]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

When the ward she had emplaced alerted her to the intrusion, Amber's eyes flew open and she rapidly sorted through what she wanted to do to counter this invasion of her personal space. At the same time, she knew she needed to reevaluate her understanding of the way locks worked on the surface, that or invest in something better than was used by this inn.

Given that all she knew about the current intrusion was that there was more than one intruder and that she was in an inn that had no vacancies, she decided to use shock and awe rather than overwhelming force in dealing with whoever this was. At least at first. She still had her purpose after all, and she wasn't about to let anyone stand in her way.

Working quickly in an attempt to get the jump on whoever was in the room, she shifted her hands and cast an eye-searing cone of magical light to blind whoever was out there before summoning a water elemental to mitigate the numerical advantage the ner-do-wells had on her. Once she had an idea who she was dealing with, she would be able to use a more appropriate response, though for now she would have to be content with denying them the element of surprise and easy access to her body.

Spoiler

Aiming for non-lethal, at least until she can identify her targets
Quicken: 4 EP -10 casting penalty
{HF} Searing Light (Cone) [Targets affected by this spell must win a Resistance check against the caster or become Blinded. The caster gets a +4 bonus to this check.] lv 3 light, 4 EP, 20 to cast
attack: d20+58
damage1d6+12)*3
resistance: d20+39
Summon water elemental: 2EP, 10 to cast

Spoiler

Body:24
HP: 24
AV: 7
Grapple: 48
Talents:
Grapple expert x2
Pain resistant
Mutation:
Natural attack
damage: 2d12+8

OOC:

Spoiler

Random Number Generator gods?

 

[thetwo]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

Spoiler

Casting: success (both)
To-Hit (man 1): 58+15 = 73 -> Hit
Resistance (man 1): 39+15 = 54 v 38 = 13+25 -> Success!
Damage (man 1): (2+12)*3 = 42-5 = 37

To-Hit (man 2): 73
Resistance (man 2): 54 v 43 = 18+25 -> Success!
Damage (man 2): (6+12)*3 = 54-5 = 49

The flash of light gave Amber a snapshot of the situation. There were only two men, both wearing dark clothing, their faces covered. One was holding a case full of small, metal tools, the other held what seemed to be a club in one hand, and a bag in the other.

Then the light was gone. Without waiting a moment, Amber pulled her favored elemental into existence between her and the invaders. She felt, rather than saw, the familiar form come into existence.

And then there was a thump. A bang. Loud cursing, and the sound of someone trying to stumble down the hallway.

Spoiler

Bah, not going to bother with a statblock. >.>

 

[sturm]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

Spoiler

Initiating Hammer Time

Getting her bearings on the situation, Amber reacted quickly to take advantage of her new enemies' confusion. To preserve her momentum, she continued to rapidly cast low level spells to subdue her targets until she could decide what to do with them.

First, she cast her eldritch lantern so she could see her assailants. Once she was able to target her enemies, she would order her water elemental to grapple the closest one into submission while she tried to hit the other creep with a ray of paralysis.

Spoiler

Quicken, 4 EP and -10 to cast
Eldritch Lantern (Utility) lv 3 arcane (have focus) [A bright light illuminates up to 20 feet around the caster. Creatures may not attempt to make stealth checks while within the radius of this spell, and illusions become transparent so long as the light is near them allowing them to be identified without any additional checks.]

Order water elemental to grapple closest man, attempt to put him in submission hold

Ray of Paralysis (Bolt) arcane 2 [Deals damage as a spell one level lower, but the target must win a Resistance check against the caster or become Paralyzed.] targeting further man, unless there is a closer threat not otherwise engaged.
damage: 2d4+8 or 7, does math done for damage round up?

Total EP spent: 10

 

[thetwo]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

Spoiler

Damage rounds naturally (>= .5 rounds up, <.5 rounds down). In this case he had 3 HP left anyway, so it's pretty much academic.

Casting: Auto-success
To-Hit: Auto-success
Damage: >3
Resistance: he's unconscious anyway

The magical light illuminated a man lying still on the floor just outside the doorway, wearing a mask over his face and all black clothing. A leather case full of small, metal tools lay next to his hand, and a short club was still loosely grasped by the other hand. Amber's elemental moved in response to her mental command, easily securing the apparently-unconscious man.

Stepping out into the hallway would show the second man moving along the wall, stumbling and cursing. His club was on the floor behind him, but one of his hands now held a dagger. He didn't respond to the lantern light, and was completely incapable of dodging the magical bolt that took him in the back. He fell to the ground and remained still.

There was the sound of someone moving elsewhere in the inn, both down on the main floor and at the other end of the hallway.

Spoiler

Spent 20 EP total, so far. Arcane lantern active, elemental active.

 

[sturm]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

It seemed the engagement ended with the paralysis of the other man, however Amber was aware of the other movement in the inn. It could be these two had friends, but it could also be neutral patrons who had done nothing wrong, so she wasn't about to use any aggressive magic. She kicked the unconscious man's club away and ordered her elemental to drag the other one back to her room. She wanted to find out a little about these two before getting the guards involved.

She wasn't about to just drop her guard though, she had just cast a number of spells inside, if whoever was down at the other end of the hall wasn't at least a little concerned, then they were either deaf, blind, or potentially a threat. She cast an arcane armor spell just in case while she shielded herself with the doorway and called out down the hallway. "Who's down there? Are you a friend of these two?" There was a sharp, warning edge in her voice.

 

[thetwo]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

Down at the end of the hall, a man leaned out from another doorway. A short sword was in his visible hand, but he didn't seem to be wearing the dark clothes the other had. In fact, it was clear that he wasn't wearing any shirt at all, though Amber couldn't see anything of his legs or hips. "What's going on out there! Some of us are trying to sleep! What two?"

His eyes strayed downward, to the unconscious or possibly paralyzed man with the knife. He cursed and disappeared back into the room, the door closing with a thud.

The sound of someone moving on the main floor of the inn continued. Possibly several people, now. Amber could almost make out low voices.

 

[sturm]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

At the man's response, Amber shook her head and muttered under her breath, "No I don't need assistance, thank you..." Seemed there wasn't a lot of chivalry to be found in this end. Returning her focus to the matter at hand. While her elemental dragged the other one back to the room, she searched the one she had knocked out, removing his mask in the process. Assuming there were no interruptions, she would do the same to the paralyzed man, having the elemental watch over her and the door just in case.

Once she had searched both men, and relieving them of anything that looked particularly valuable, she would gather up her few things and carefully move downstairs with her elemental, hoping to report these men to whatever passed for a guard around here.

 

[thetwo]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

Spoiler

Perception: ???

Unfortunately, neither man had thought to bring very much of value on their night's escapade. She found a purse on one of the men, but all that was in it was a set of wooden dice. Aside from that, the most valuable things they had were in the sack she had briefly seen in the flash of light.

Inside the sack was a fairly considerable length of thin cord, along with a few other objects that took a minute to identify. A ball gag. A pair of locking metal cuffs joined by a very short chain. And a metal collar with a small lock. The sack itself looked about big enough to hold an adult.

At which point a voice called out in a stage whisper from the top of the stairs. "I've got two armed men with me, and the sheriff has been summoned. Come quietly or this will go badly for you. We don't abide thieves in my inn."

 

[sturm]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

The sum of the men's caused Amber to frown. From the looks of it, these men had been aiming to kidnap her. For what purpose she couldn't yet be sure. She did give the collar an extra look though, using a simple arcane cantrip to examine it to discern if it might be a sealing collar, something that would be used in the capture of mages.

Finally hearing a voice from the top of the stairs, Amber replied to the nervous voice of the innkeeper from before. "What about kidnappers? I think that's what these men were after. Though I suppose in a sense one could call that theft. Either way, I must I am not very impressed with the lock on your door. The whole purpose of my staying here was so I wouldn't have to tangle with the scum of the earth."

The mermaid had her elemental push the two men out into the hallway, though remaining somewhat behind the doorway. She was looking out enough to see who might be on the stairs, but trying to not get blasted if it turns out the men had additional help. She had her elemental get back into the room as well, but still in a position to intercept someone rushing the doorway before they could get to her.

 

[thetwo]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

Amber's spell didn't reveal anything magical about the collar. It seemed to be simple, mundane metal. After a minute, the innkeeper appeared in her doorway, two enormous men standing behind him.

"Kidnappers?" He glanced at the pile of rope and bindings. "What!? They dare... in my inn!!?"

The man noticed the little leather case on the floor, and picked it up. He opened it, and prodded at some of the tools, morosely. "Ah. Well. Never seen a lock the right man couldn't open with the right tools."

He leaned down, and pulled the masks from both men. "Don't suppose you recognize either of them?"

Amber didn't recall seeing either of them before. After waiting for a response, the innkeeper turned to the doorway and gestured at the unconscious men. "You two, take these to the sheriff and tell him they were slavers." He turned back to Amber, as the two men ducked under the doorway and picked up one kidnapper each, throwing them over a shoulder.

 

[sturm]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

Amber shook her head morosely in response to the innkeeper's query. "Sorry, I've never seen them before in my life." Fortunately the collar the men had brought did not appear magical in nature, likely this had been an attempted crime of opportunity. The slavers would have had to be confident to a fault or utter fools to attempt to capture a mermaid without using a sealing collar, indicating they probably hadn't known who or what they were messing with. It was better than someone deliberately targeting her, but it was still a sobering event.

As the men were being carried off, the mermaid wondered if she couldn't turn this to her advantage. "I don't suppose the sheriff offers a reward for capturing slavers?"

In the absence of a decent reward, Amber would query the innkeeper if he didn't volunteer one himself. "Well what about you, it seems I've saved you a good deal of trouble," she lowered her voice to a whisper, "having slavers kidnapping young girls from your inn during the night can't be good for business..." Amber wasn't greedy, she figured something like this could happen to any innkeeper, what she really wanted was the most accurate map of Anudor and the surrounding waters as she could get, if the innkeeper could get her something of that nature himself or otherwise assist her in that endeavor she would be more than happy to consider them square. She told the innkeeper as much and awaited a response.

 

[thetwo]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

"What? This isn't so common an occurrence that the Sheriff is worried about it overmuch, I think." The innkeeper seemed to be lost in thought for a moment. "Though perhaps he should be. A few travellers have vanished unexpectedly in the last few months..."

He started, the implications of Amber's last statement sinking in. He gave her a stern look. "No slaver kidnapped any girls from my inn. Why, they never would have gotten back out even if they had kidnapped you. Me and my bouncers would have dealt with them." He paused, then added, grugingly. "Of course, I'm sure that you'll receive a full refund when you leave, for the inconvenience."

 

[sturm]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

"How very reassuring..." After a pause Amber added, "That will be fine."

Against her better judgement, Amber's interest was piqued in the reports of missing travelers and the possibility of slavers operating in the area. Though she wanted desperately to free Elric, she knew she would need more power and probably some back up. Even if the islands of the dead wizards didn't kill her, she didn't like her chances against Dr. Saban as things stood now. Maybe a detour every once in a while would pay off if it could increase her readiness for what awaited her on her path to freeing Elric.

"What do you mean 'missing travelers?' Is there anything you could tell me about this, I might be able to look into it." She wasn't about to commit to something that could take an extremely long time to resolve, but she decided there was no harm in at least hearing the issue.

 

[thetwo]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

"Oh, a few little things lately. Wouldn't have thought anything of it if those two hadn't been bold enough to try kidnapping someone from my own inn... a party complaining that one of their members hadn't shown up, a merchant's guard leaving without asking for their back-pay... maybe half a dozen in the last year, two or three in the last month." The man coughed. "But if you'll excuse me... it's still several hours 'til dawn."

Whether or not Amber did, the man stepped out of her room.

 

[sturm]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

Amber nodded to the innkeeper, apparently she would need to wait for morning to discuss the kidnappings further. Wouldn't want to disrupt his night, she thought sarcastically to herself. She closed the door behind the innkeeper, locking it back. She looked around the room for a nightstand or something else she could lay in front of the door to give her at least a little extra security. If the door opened inwards, she would even move the bed a little so the bedpost blocked the door if that option was available to her.

Once she had at least attempted to make her room more secure, she crawled back into bed, wishing she could sleep with her eyes open. She didn't release her elemental, letting it remain as long as its form could hold together, grateful for even the brief extra security it could provide.

 

[thetwo]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

Once she did finally manage to get to sleep - a chair wedged under the door - Amber slept soundly until morning. The elemental was gone, of course, having dissolved as she lost consciousness, leaving not even a puddle.

The mermaid could smell sausage cooking in the kitchen, and hear the first few patrons moving about as they awoke. Nobody else had managed to enter her room, or even - as far as she could tell - bypass the lock. Either the innkeeper's precautions had worked, or hers had. Or nobody else had tried.

 

[sturm]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

Amber woke up grateful for the rest, and also glad to not wake up in chains. She took a minute to ready herself and gather her things before the smell of cooking food drew her downstairs. She decided to see about getting her complimentary meal while the food was fresh. After that it would be time to follow up on the discussion of a possible slavery ring kidnapping people in the area.

 

[thetwo]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

The main room of the inn wasn't terribly crowded, and Amber found a seat at a small table. Almost immediately, the innkeeper hurried over, tapping a maid on the shoulder as he came, and redirecting her to Amber with her tray.

"Ah, good morning. Terribly sorry again for the inconvenience." He opened a small pouch and counted out five denarii, but moved aside for the maid and her tray without handing them over. The maid hurried away, but the innkeeper lingered, still holding the coins. "Will you be staying with us again tonight?"

Breakfast seemed to be eggs, sausage, and bread.

 

[sturm]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

Amber accepted the coins from the innkeeper with a wane smile. She replied to his question with a simple, "I will let you know when I decide." Despite what had happened previously, this was still the safest-appearing place she had found, certainly what she would choose if she couldn't find a better place. Though there was the option of returning to the sea as well. It would bear considering.

Once Amber began to dig into her food, she asked the innkeeper, "I have decided that these disappearances might bear looking into. I was hoping you could give me some information so I could know where to start looking. Perhaps people who knew the missing or anything else you feel might be important?"