CH. 14: Darkest Hour

[BishGada]

Seeing Jinali hurt badly Tulbas hopes she might consider surrender. "Stop! I don't want to hurt you if that can be avoided." He shouts. If she doesn't freeze on spot he will strike her again hoping to knock her out.

==================================================================
(OOC: I don't think she is stopping so Tulbas strikes with the spectral hand again.
Can't Tulbas put distance between them to ensure she won't be able to attack every round? The spectral hand has range.)

[HorizonsDream]

"I hope not," Kendra says. With a sigh, she stands up. "I'll see what I can do about getting you a shave, but I should probably go for now."

[TristenC]

Grubnick glances to the dwarf and back to the woman. Taking a deep breath he calms himself a little, perhaps his mentor's passion and predicament were rubbing off. Don't worry about it. Tensions in the city are high. It's always hard to know who to trust... He scratches the large scar on his face, Thanks for the warning. I'm no stranger to dangerous circumstances. I've actually worked with this one once before, so maybe it'll work out this time. What's our task and the pay?

[JadedDM]

Haahqae (Outside Prefect's Mansion)
Casting his spell, Haahqae easily scales the walls of the mansion, reaching the roof atop the second floor. Exploring it thoroughly, he finds no opening large enough for a dragon. The dragon that guards the mansion is even larger than the one he saw guarding the vault, so how it enters or exits remains a mystery. There is no sign of the dragon now, at least. The only opening Haahqae finds at all is a chimney directly above the dining room. It's nowhere large enough for a dragon,however.

(OOC: Haahqae casts Spider Climb on himself.)

Kendra Synclair (Prefect's Mansion)
"Just be safe out there," Norris says. "I would hate to finally be freed only to have nobody to return home to."

Tulbas Erogund (Tower of Wayreth, Unknown Floor on AT 15)
Tulbas tries to move away from Jinali, but she always follows wherever he goes. He tries to strike her again, but she shrugs off the cold as if it were nothing. Likewise, he avoids another strike from her cackling hands.

Initiative
Tulbas (1d10+1): 9+1 = 10
Jinali (1d10+1): 3+1 = 4

Round 10!

Tulbas attempts to touch Jinali with his spectral hand (+2 hit) while she is protected (-2 hit) [TN 9] (1d20): 20, success.
----Jinali saves vs. spell [TN 12] (1d20): 16, pass. She takes no damage.
Jinali attempts to touch Tulbas with Shocking Grasp while he is shielded (-6 hit) [TN 10] (1d20-6): 3-6 = -3, miss.

(OOC: Tulbas can move away from her, and has been, but there's nothing stopping her from closing the gap. So if he moves 60 feet away from her, she can move 60 feet on her turn, etc. Her movement rate is the same as his, so she just chases him around the room. Actions for Round 11?)

Gobax and Shima (Grinning Goat Tavern)
"The payment is information," the woman explains. "The information of two women that your dwarf friend is searching for; they call themselves Yvette and Xyleena. I know where they live and will relay that information to you if the job is completed. I've no idea if you are interested in such things, though. But the dwarf, the minotaur and the half-elf sure were."

[Chris1234]

"I was doing it to help them. The information is of no independent use to me though," states Shima with a shrug, thinking it wouldn't matter soon anyway.

[TristenC]

I already know where they are, and i know why the others were looking for them. He looks to Shima amd back to the woman. He could ask for info about the church, but that was risky. She might as well turn him in as give it... there were other things, but he needed more information about their task. What is the job, anyway? he asks quietly. I can't decide what it's worth until i know what i'm doing.

[BishGada]

Tulbas tries to touch Jinali again.
==================================================
(OOC: Can Tulbas lose his action to avoid Jinali's attack completely?)

[Haahque]

Chock up one more point for the theory that dragons are actually oozes who can squeeze their body into impossibly small spaces. Unless the dragon sleeps on the roof, it’s either going down that chimney or walking in the front door, both of which are impossibly small spaces.

Haahqae seriously consideres popping down the chimney and investigating the house from inside while the dragon is away. It’s a great opportunity that he has to make the most of! But then he realizes that if he did that, he could not get out again since he hadn’t prepared a second spider-climb spell today. Damned planning without knowledge of where he’s scouting. Next time he’ll have to switch up his spell selection to be more useful.

Without seeing any way he can do anything useful here (as frustrating as that is); he decides to take out his frustration with a few of his enemies who are also in the noble district. Now that he knows where Xleena and Yvette live, he plans to pay them a visit.

(Haahqae climbs down from the roof and goes to the other house while still invisible.)

[HorizonsDream]

"Don't worry," Kendra says. "I'll be okay," she assures him before she finally leaves. She pauses outside the door for a moment, and sighs before she returns to Tethys to see when he scheduled the execution.

[JadedDM]

Haahqae (Outside Prefect's Mansion)
Haahqae scales down the building and is about to leave when the front door opens. It is an old man, well-dressed, slightly balding. He looks like a butler, or some kind of servant. "You there," he says to one of the door guards. "The execution will be held today after all. Send word to prepare the gallows in the market square. And prep security. We don't want any untimely interruptions should any rebels still be out there."

Kendra Synclair (Prefect's Mansion)
Kendra returns to the prefect to speak with him. "I've scheduled the execution today at Tenth Watch. Do you need any preparations before then?"

Tulbas Erogund (Tower of Wayreth, Unknown Floor on AT 15)
Tulbas touches Jinali again with his spectral hand, but she is able to shake off the effects of the spell without taking damage. In a rage, she leaps at him but he sidesteps just in time. She crashes into the floor for a moment.

Initiative
Tulbas (1d10+1): 1+1 = 2
Jinali (1d10+1): 10+1 = 11

Round 11!

Tulbas attempts to touch Jinali with his spectral hand (+2 hit) while she is protected (-2 hit) [TN 9] (1d20+2): 8+2 = 10, success.
----Jinali saves vs. spell [TN 12] (1d20): 16, pass. She takes no damage.
Jinali attempts to touch Tulbas with Shocking Grasp while he is shielded (-6 hit) [TN 10] (1d20-6): 1-6 = -5, critical fumble! She falls prone.

(OOC: You mean like go into full defense? It takes up your round and it raises your AC, but it doesn't make you invulnerable, no. She might still hit you anyway. Actions for Round 12?)

Gobax and Shima (Grinning Goat Tavern)
The woman shakes her head. "Sorry, but I'm not authorized to tell you any details of the job until after you accept it. My employer wants it kept a secret. All I can say it is dangerous and that two people have died so far trying to complete it."

[TristenC]

"Gobax" looks dubiously between Shima and the lady. That makes it pretty difficult to accept on my end, doesn't it? He stops and thinks for a long moment, watching the woman and the people nearby as he thinks. Asking for the plans to the temple right out would probably get him turned in, never mind that these folk were likely so cautious because of the occupation. But there wasn't much worth risking himself aside from saving Delharn, and saying anything of that would net him the same trouble... Grubnick takes out his pipe, and nibbles the stem idly as he thinks. I'd like a map... a map of the sewers under this city. That way I can avoid any... Occupation Entanglements.

[HorizonsDream]

"I've...never executed someone before, so I'm honestly not sure how to go about it," Kendra admits.

[BishGada]

"Release your charge and I'll spare your life." Tulbas seizes the opportunity, to shove some sense to to woman head. If she doesn't obey immediately he will attack her while she is on the floor.

[JadedDM]

Kendra Synclair (Prefect's Mansion)
Tethys shrugs. "It's easy. You just swing your sword. You do it all of the time, but in this instance the opponent isn't moving around. So it will be simpler then what you are used to."

Tulbas Erogund (Tower of Wayreth, Unknown Floor on AT 15)
"Never!" Jinali screams, leaping to her feet. Tulbas manages to avoid her thanks to his protective spells. His spectral hand touches her again, but she just shrugs it off. She seems to have incredible fortitude to keep ignoring the effects of the spell. It's clear from the crazed look in her eyes, she isn't going to back down any time soon.

Initiative
Tulbas (1d10+1): 10+1 = 11
Jinali (1d10+1): 8+3 = 11

Round 12!

Jinali attempts to touch Tulbas with Shocking Grasp while he is shielded (-6 hit) [TN 10] (1d20-6): 13-6 = 7, miss.
Tulbas attempts to touch Jinali with his spectral hand (+2 hit) while she is protected (-2 hit) [TN 9] (1d20+2): 17+2 = 19, success.
----Jinali saves vs. spell [TN 12] (1d20): 13, pass. She takes no damage.

(OOC: Actions for Round 13?)

Gobax and Shima (Grinning Goat Tavern)
The woman frowns, and then looks at Shima accusingly. Turning back to Gobax, she says, "There are no maps of the sewers. Not any I know about, anyway. Anyway, I'm not authorized to renegotiate the deal I already made with your dwarf 'friend.' What's really going on here? It's clear to me that you both are lying about something. And why are you trying to avoid the soldiers? There a big bounty on your heads or something?"

[HorizonsDream]

"Then I guess I don't really have to prepare," Kendra says. "Do you believe something like this will tarnish the image of the hero of Haven though?" she asks curiously.