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"Uh, sure," Kendra says to the departing Arulia. While the feeling within the church was very oppressive, Kendra is going to face it. She watches the half elf leave, then turns and makes her way down the path she was told to follow. ~I hate this feeling,~ she thinks to herself.

Haahqae, Gregeddin and Gobax (Deserted Building, Guard Lounge)
The snakeman in leathers fires another arrow, but this one just hits the door frame and vibrates noisily for a few seconds.

The Histachii move forward, save the one who fell. It gets back on its feet. But the other two go after Gregeddin and Gobax. Both of them are clawed up and Gregeddin gets bitten, as well.

Gregeddin retaliates with his Solamnic broad sword, drawing blood from the creature. Actually, it's more like a viscous green ichor.

Haahqae sneaks behind the big table to the south and then fires an arrow into the back of the Histachii attacking Gregeddin. It screeches and arches its back in pain. This causes his invisibility to fade, but his Histachii illusion is still intact. So to anyone paying attention, a fourth Histachii just appeared behind the table, holding a bow and apparently attacking its own.

Gobax quickly picks up the fallen maul, finding it quite heavy and long enough that he is forced to wield it with both hands. He wants to move after the archer, but the Histachii is blocking his way. He could try and maneuver around it, but would risk exposing his back to the creature. So for now, he swings the weapon at it instead. Although unwieldy, he manages to strike the creature in the shoulder, leaving a big dark green bruise.

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Initiative
Haahqae (1d10+7): 10+7 = 17
Gregeddin (1d10+4): 7+4 = 11
Gobax (1d10+9): 10+9 = 19
Rogue Man (1d10+7): 1+7 = 8
Histachii 03 (1d10+3): 7+3 = 10
Histachii 04 (1d10+3): 6+3 = 9
Histachii 05 (1d10+3): 5+3 = 8

Round 3!

Rogue Man fires a sheaf arrow from his short bow at Gregeddin [TN 10] (1d20): 7, miss.
Histachii 05 moves 5 feet west and 5 feet northwest. It swings its right claw at Gregeddin [TN 9] (1d20): 16, hit for (1d2): 1 damage. It then swings its left claw at Gregeddin [TN 9] (1d20): 14, hit for (1d2): 2 damage. Finally, it bites at Gregeddin [TN 9] (1d20): 10, hit for (1d3): 1 damage. Gregeddin is now moderately wounded (75%).
Histachii 04 stands back up.
Histachii 03 moves 5 feet southwest and 5 feet west. It swings its right claw at Gobax [TN 16] (1d20): 19, hit for (1d2): 2 damage. It then swings its left claw at Gobax [TN 16] (1d20): 15, hit for (1d2): 2 damage. Finally, it bites at Gobax in hide armor (+2 hit) [TN 16] (1d20+2): 10+2 = 12, miss. Gobax is now moderately wounded (75% HP).
Gregeddin swings his enchanted (+1 hit/dmg) broad sword at Histachii 05 [TN 11] (1d20+1): 10+1 = 11, bare hit for (2d4+1): 3+1 = 4 damage. Histachii 05 is now moderately wounded.
Haahqae moves 10 feet south and five feet east. He fires a sheaf arrow with excellent aim (+2 hit) at an unaware (+4 hit/x2 dmg) Histachii 05 [TN 11] (1d20+6): 5+6 = 11, bare hit for (1d8): 2 (x2) = 4 damage. Histachii 05 is now seriously wounded. Haahqae is no longer invisible.
Gobax is blocked by Histachii 03 so attacks it instead. He swings the maul awkwardly (-3 hit) at Histachii 03 [TN 12] (1d20-3): 17-3 = 14, hit for (2d4): 4 damage. Histachii 03 is now moderately wounded.
Rogue Man fires a sheaf arrow from his short bow at Gregeddin [TN 10] (1d20): 17, hit for (1d8): 3 damage.
(OOC: The khas table is actually to the north of the room, the smaller one. The table Haahqae is hiding behind is actually for meals.

Also, archers can only shoot twice if they forgo their move action, otherwise they can only shoot once.

Initiative and Actions for Round 4?)

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Kendra Greylock (Temple of Takhisis)
The temple guards close the doors, leaving Kendra within the oppressive darkness. A trail of blue lights lead the way, offering a guide in the darkness. But they are nowhere near bright enough so Kendra can see anything in her surroundings. She has no idea how large the room she is in is or how many other people might be sharing it with her. Welling up her courage, she follows the lights since the only other choice is to turn back.

Eventually it leads her to what she thinks is an office. It's hard to be sure, but she does see a desk and a woman sitting at it, and a chair in front of the desk for Kendra. The woman is wearing black robes with her hood up, obscuring all of her features. In fact, Kendra is only certain she is a woman at all when she speaks. Her voice is feminine, but dark and kind of raspy. "Welcome Kendra Greylock, formerly Kendra Synclair of the Holy Guard." She gestures to the chair. "I understand you are looking for work as a whore..."

Arulia Seroth (Harbor District)
Arulia turns away and starts to walk at a quickened pace. She hears the guards laugh derisively, but ignores them. As soon as she turns away, the fear relents, but she keeps going for a good while until she finds herself several blocks away.

When she finally stops to catch her breath, she hears someone gasp. Turning to look, she sees a swarthy looking man in nice clothes carrying a broken lute. He stares at her openly, his mouth open slightly. But then he quickly closes it, smiles and approaches her. "Long have I been stuck in this horrid city, but never had I hoped to see such beauty, such perfection! Perhaps m'lady would care for a song!" He tries to strum the lute, but it's broken so he just makes an awful, cringe-worthy sound instead. He clears his throat. "Oh, right. I keep forgetting it's broken. Uh, let's just pretend that didn't happen. Tell me, what is your name o' beauteous one?"

Grubnick swings at #3 again, What in Sirrion's name are these things?!

1d10+9=13, 1d20-3=17, 2d4=2
Ooc: wow... a crit and I roll min dmg... *facepalm*
Crit dmg: 2d4=4
Better than last round at least

Things might be looking a little dire, but Haahqae can't think of anything that will win the combat faster then him replacing these lizard creatures with pincushions.

Action: Attack Histachii 5 twice

(Is it possible to hide and/or get backstab damage on these?)
Init (1d10): 1
Attack (1d20): 14
Damage (1d8): 5
Attack (1d20): 14
Damage (1d8): 5

Kendra takes a seat in the offer chair, but she is obviously a little freaked out by the fact that this woman knows who she is and what she is here for. "The tax hike looks to be a problem," she explains. "I'm looking for a way to help with the costs. Of course, I'm simply looking into the matter at the moment. I haven't fully committed to the idea of being a...whore just yet."

"I had some herbs there. I hope you didn't lose it while dragging me here..." He coughs again while wearing his robes (which he was sure he wear immediately after asking Leota to have them, but still, recovering from the poisoned stab he might have been confused). Before leaving with Leota he turns and asks both burned men, "Please tell me your names, it might come up during the discussion with Belzor."

Arulia cautiously considers the stranger for a long moment. She's seen this kind of oily flattery used as a mask for darker intentions many times before, and the sort of people that have come to the city with the Dragon Army have not eased her suspicions at all. She glances about, looking to see if the man has other confederates with him.

(OOC: Assuming he's alone,) Arulia finally lets down her guard, just a bit. Despite his question, she does not give the man her name. Instead, she asks, "What happened to your lute?"

Haahqae, Gregeddin and Gobax (Deserted Building, Guard Lounge)
Things quickly take a turn for the worse. Gregeddin fends off one Histachii only for another to join in. "There are too many of them!" he warns. "We need to get out of here!" But his warning comes too late. One of the Histachii leaps atop him, pinning him to the ground and knocking him unconscious.

Gobax manages to hit the Histachii he is fighting in the jaw, knocking it to the ground where it twitches and bleeds. However, with Gregeddin down, he has no further assistance against the other two and the archer.

Haahqae pops out from behind cover and fires another arrow into the back of an enemy. Before he can return to cover, though, the archer gets a lucky shot on him, hitting him square in the chest. His Histachii illusion fades, and the gnome drops backwards, darkness encroaching over his consciousness.

Grubnick is now left alone against three enemies. He can try to run and hope they don't skewer him as soon as he turns his back or he can try and finish the last three off himself.

The archer, as if sensing his thoughts, fires an arrow at him, but misses. "Surrender now goblin, and we'll spare your life!" he calls.

===========

Initiative
Haahqae (1d10+7): 1+7 = 8
Gregeddin (1d10+4): 2+4 = 6
Gobax (1d10+9): 4+9 = 13
Rogue Man (1d10+7): 9+7 = 16
Histachii 03 (1d10+3): 8+3 = 11
Histachii 04 (1d10+3): 6+3 = 9
Histachii 05 (1d10+3): 1+3 = 4

Round 4!

Histachii 05 swings its right claw at Gregeddin [TN 9] (1d20): 11, hit for (1d2): 2 damage. It then swings its left claw at Gregeddin [TN 9] (1d20): 20, critical hit! for (2d2): 2 damage. Finally, it bites at Gregeddin [TN 9] (1d20): 20, critical hit! for (2d3): 2 damage. Gregeddin is now critically wounded (25% HP).
Gregeddin swings his enchanted (+1 hit/dmg) broad sword at Histachii 03 [TN 11] (1d20+1): 19+1 = 20, hit for (2d4+1): 5+1 = 6 damage. Histachii 03 is now critically wounded.
Haahqae fires a sheaf arrow with excellent aim (+2 hit) from behind (+2 hit) Histachii 05 [TN 11] (1d20+4): 14+4 = 18, hit for (1d8): 5 damage. Histachii 05 is now near death.
Histachii 04 moves 10 feet to the west. It swings its right claw at Gregeddin [TN 9] (1d20): 14, hit for (1d2): 2 damage. It then swings its left claw at Gregeddin [TN 9] (1d20): 17, hit for (1d2): 2 damage. Finally, it bites at Gregeddin [TN 9] (1d20): 14, hit for (1d3): 1 damage. Gregeddin falls at -1 HP.
Histachii 03 swings its right claw at Gobax [TN 16] (1d20): 16, bare hit for (1d2): 2 damage. It then swings its left claw at Gobax [TN 16] (1d20): 5, miss. Finally, it bites at Gobax in hide armor (+2 hit) [TN 16] (1d20+2): 13+2 = 15, bare miss.
Gobax swings the maul awkwardly (-3 hit) at Histachii 03 [TN 12] (1d20-3): 20-3 = 17, critical hit! for (2d4): 2x2 = 4 damage. Histachii 03 falls.
Rogue Man fires a sheaf arrow from his short bow at Haahqae who is behind cover (-9 hit) [TN 13] (1d20-9): 20-9 = 11, critical hit! for (2d8): 14 damage. Haahqae falls at -8 HP.
Haahqae is down.
Rogue Man fires a sheaf arrow from his short bow at Gobax in hide armor (+2 hit) [TN 17] (1d20+2): 2+2 = 4, miss.
(OOC: Nah, you can only backstab when the opponent isn't aware of your presence. Once you've done it, they know you're there and you can't do any more.

Boy, that escalated quickly. I'm always suspicious of Invisible Castle and how often natural 20s come up. I once killed an entire party because I couldn't stop rolling 4-5 crits each round.

Initiative and Actions for Round 5?)

============

Kendra Greylock (Temple of Takhisis)
The woman pulls out some papers and goes through them. Kendra recognizes them as the file the Holy Guard kept on her when the Seekers were still in charge. "You don't seem to have any whoring experience that I can see," she notices. "Rather, you seemed quite an adept swordswoman. But according to this, you quit...or were trying to."

Tulbas Erogund (Unknown location)
"I am Sigbert," says the charmed man. "And this is Lindhart," he adds, gesturing to the other burned man.

Leota and the three Histachii escort Tulbas out of the room. They enter a large hallway with several snake statues along the walls in small niches. The snakes are cobras, specifically, with their hoods spread open and their fangs revealed.

There are a number of doors down the hall, and Tulbas gets the impression this place--wherever it is--is fairly large. He is escorted to one of the doors, the one closest to the barracks and led inside. This brings them to a very large, cavernous and dark room. There are small, lit candles placed about on the floor, which hinders Tulbas' infravision but does illuminate at least part of the room. Tulbas hears something slithering in the darkness.

"Master Belzor," says Leota. "We bring you the prisoner for inspection. He is a mage, my lord. I think you will be pleased." She nudges Tulbas. "Get on your knees," she hisses.

Arulia Seroth (Harbor District)
As far as she can tell, the man appears to be alone. "Ah, yes, this," he says, holding up the broken lute. "Well, it turns out that those strange dragonmen folk aren't connoisseurs of fine music, as it turns out. I suppose I'm lucky all it broke was my lute, but then again...it is my livelihood. I've been trying to find a place to repair it, but the prices in this city are outrageous. The best option I could find was 30 steel, and if I had not much coin, I'd just buy a new one then." He sighs and shakes his head.

"Ah, but enough of my problems," he says. "You seem troubled. How about we discuss it, say, over lunch?"

In his rush to drop the lizardlike creatures Haahqae forgot about the archer on the far side of the room, this mistake cuts through his hopes and dreams and leaves him a bleeding mess on the ground.

Action: Bleed out to -9

Grubnick raises his off-hand in surrender but doesn't release the maul just yet.Call them off and I'll drop the weapon and surrender. I don't trust those things to stop unless I see it...

Looking at the bodies on the ground, I'd also appreciate it if you'd let me bind their wounds... I'm trained. A live hostage has to be better than a dead enemy, and that gnome looks like he'll be gone any moment... I could help your friend as well. The last he added with a gesture to the woman. I did try to knock her out without killing her at first...

Light of creation watch over me. Sirrion guide me


[OOC: oh this could still all go badly... very badly,,,]

"Do you really need whoring experience to be a whore?" Kendra asks curiously. "And I was in the holy guard, but I wasn't exactly dedicated to it. Though, I have considered joining the army as well," she added. "I guess you could say that I'm exploring my options."

Arulia relaxes. Even if this man means her harm, she's confident enough in her own abilities to defend herself should she need--and he seems more foolish than malicious. "I don't know much about musical instruments," she ventures, "But is it possible to have your lute repaired for less than the cost of a new one?"

The fop's question about her own problems, though, reminds Arulia to be cautious. With a glare, she asks, "If you don't have the money to buy a new instrument, shouldn't you be saving what you can rather than buying lunch for me?" But her annoyance is short-lived. She shifts uncomfortably and stammers, "If...if you can solve my problem, you can solve the problem of half the town. Money is tight, and the new tax is making it tough for us to scrape by."

Haahqae, Gregeddin and Gobax (Deserted Building, Guard Lounge)
The archer makes a series of hissing noises and the Histachii stop their attacks. "Do it," the archer says. "But hurry. And no funny business or I'll put an arrow into your neck."

Kendra Greylock (Temple of Takhisis)
The woman leans back in her chair, tenting her hands. "Exploring all options before committing to a choice is always a wise move. As for the brothel, yes, we are reopening it. It will be a couple of weeks before we can clean it up, get it ready and 'recruit' enough girls. We're still looking for someone to run the place, and it would be quite lucrative. Not to mention, since it will be owned by the church, the new tax won't apply to it."

Arulia Seroth (Harbor District)
"I would think so," the man replies to her first question. "But this town...oh, right the new tax. I heard something about that. Is that why the prices are rising? How long is that going to last? At this rate, half the town will turn to crime. Hmm, actually I'm kind of surprised that hasn't happened yet. I guess crime is hard when you have all these soldiers milling around." He rubs his chin thoughtfully. "Anyway, what sort of work do you do? A painter's model? A poet's muse? Or do folk come 'round for miles and pay a standard fee just to glimpse your beauty?" he asks, laying it on rather thick.

You got it, Grubnick says, immediately dropping the maul.

He unslings one strap of his pack and swings it around in front of him, leaving the other strap looped on his opposite shoulder, while rushing to the Gnome. He fishes out his new bandages, and a small straight piece of iron from his components pouch which he sets aside as if preparing to use it as a splint on the tiny humanoid. Kissing his holy symbol for luck he sets about bandaging the small humanoid.

Crazy little fuzz-faced... Grubnick's voice descends into muttering to himself as he works; the occasional word loud enough to hear. ...gonna get us all killed for no reason... should burn that hat... smell funny too/...

[OOC: healing check score 14...
1d20=9
OhThankSirrion.
Congratulations Haahque, you're not-quite dead... in fact you're getting better!]

"If I was interested in running the place, what would you look for as a candidate?" Kendra asks. Running the place doesn't sound so bad, and she knows that if she was running the place she would be in charge of protecting the girls that were working for her.