>>715741
"Maybe so, but I've had enough life threatening experiences trying to relax, so it would kill me to relax." Than replies.

Than is going to accept the dirt, there are plenty of plots she has not known, and plenty of lives lost that she has seen, all due to secret magical rituals by the nobility. Not all nobility are cruel and selfish in that way, but most are.

Purifying or killing the undead is redeeming them, but instead of the more righteous way, those who have committed crimes will have their judgement when killed, instead of redemption for all.

>spell list
Further questions: would sense poison work on allergens? If so, Marijke can increase her odds of not getting killed by shellfish. Are only the minor ones reusable?

Minor: staunch bleeding, sense poison, gum-fire, whisper-web
(If sense poison won't work on shellfish, I'll take experimental miscellany instead).

First circle: spit fire, least true healing, friendship curse

Second circle: demand gift, spit spiders.

>dietary considerations
Honestly, I wasn't sure how ethereal to physical this thing was going to be, and if diet were going to be an issue.

Nectar is just sugar water, although admittedly assorted nuts / fruit are probably easier to keep in stock than making sure you always have a bag of sugar. Hummers also eat (small) bugs, which I assume there are plenty of, at least in the settlement.

But nah, I'll keep the Macaw. It's grown on me, and is certainly ridiculous enough to aid to the amusing madwoman look I seem to have going. And if Marijke survives to live a life of luxury and clean herself up, a tropical bird of paradise becomes more appropriate.

>>715795
So, for the actual avatar, your default summon-subject... I'm thinking approximately humanoid body plan, aura of terror, yellowed mummy-wrappings that function as a tentacle with increased reach. Sound about right?

OFF: (sorry I had problems in the real so I could not respond well to this quest , or at least this is the excuse , and the fact that the English used in this post often escapes me and not understand well what happens then thought to take off if it is not a problem. otherwise i do my best to follow you > . < )

>>715832
I can think of no better form than the classic one that answers the play, so yeah, thats about perfect. Behold my Stand; In the Light of Hyades!

Speaking of, not that I want to change my choice, but does this level up come with greater understanding of arcane forces and such, greater ability to interact with them?

>>715809
>would sense poison work on allergens?
A variant on the spell which registers relevant mollusk proteins as poison? Sure, no problem. Just be aware that'll produce false positives with regard to what's dangerous to anyone else.

>Are only the minor ones reusable?
Integer-circle spells can only be cast once, then re-prepared. Possible to prepare a new load of spells two or even three times in the same day, but you'd run into mental and/or spiritual problems, comparable to the physical problems associated with twelve or eighteen hours of hard labor over a similar period.

>>715880
Of Nico's options, literal/science has the least spellcasting, but all have some. In this case... I'm a little brain-tired, basking in positive feedback, and I'd like to move on with the plot, so I'll set aside some of my usual obfuscation and just tell you to pick known spells like a 3rd level Summoner. http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/summoner#TOC-Spells
System I'm actually using is at least as much GURPS as Pathfinder, but the only change I can think of that affects known-spell options here is Mount and Unseen Servant being rolled together as variants of Summon Monster I.

>A variant on the spell which registers relevant mollusk proteins as poison? Sure, no problem. Just be aware that'll produce false positives with regard to what's dangerous to anyone else.
Marijke is self interested / selfish enough not to be particularly concerned about that.

>>715915
Shellfish enough? *winks*

So here is what Nico's list should look like.

6-0; Read Magic, Acid Splash, Detect Magic, Resistance, Daze,...
and either Arcane Mark or Open/Close, depending on how versatile arcane mark is. Can Nico create distinct glyphs or symbols with it, or can it only produce one mark? Being able to instantly scribe such things is too much to pass up. ...Can an Arcane Mark produce the full affect of the yellow sign?

4-1; Identify, Infernal Healing, Mage armor, Summon Monster 1

>>715928
That pun is poison.

(At least as far as I can tell).

>>716164
Arcane mark can produce arbitrary marks, but if cast without a specific symbol in mind it spontaneously produces a "personal seal" which is notably difficult to counterfeit. You can't break somebody's mind with it unless you could do so with nonmagical pen and paper... which may yet be possible.

Take Open/Close instead of Daze, and be advised that Identify requires some lab equipment not currently available.

>>715838
>>715807
Than is feeling stiff and sore from sleeping on a hard stone roof. The other PCs are mildly hung over (except for Marijke, who received an excellent night's sleep and an inexplicable dream-bird, as previously established), and dangling from that central pillar by their wrists (except for Yeven Sturgis, who seems to have completely disappeared).
Apparently all those chains are more than just goblin military aesthetics, and the surrounding red-black splashes... might not be paint.

>>716210
"Huh." Is all Than can say silently while looking down at her comrades.

The red-black splashes look familiar, but not fresh enough to carry the smell to her. Could be blood and ashes. Doesn't seem good at all.

She's going to stay hidden for now until someone reacts. She's not going to deal with whoever did this alone at the moment. She considers who to help first when she can.

If the chains have locks, she may prioritize Snake first to be stealthy and lockpick them. If they're just tied, maybe Marijke can detonate the chains or melt them? Or Yeven could lift the pillar out of the ground...?

rolled 3, 6, 4 = 13

---

Marijke's first act after realizing she's tied up is to try and determine if she still has her coin purse. (If it's not, cue curses and general invoking her god against thieves).

After that, she'll look up skeptically up at the large bird on her head. "I don't suppose you're any good with locks?"

Are my casting options restricted or penalized by having my hands bound in iron?

Does anything about the place where we find ourselves jump out as magical?

>>716210
Two things. If Nico *Opens his shackles, will he fall, or can he support his weight in some other way? And who appears to be around? Are the priest and his acolyte visible?

>>716216
>stay hidden for now
That incorrectly presupposes a state of currently being hidden. Three goblins are up on the roof with Than, dozens more are on guard or wandering around.

>Yeven could lift the pillar out of the ground...?
Yeven is not present. Even if she were, the pillar is twenty feet in diameter and mostly solid stone, which would make it extremely difficult to lift even if it were a 750-ton freestanding block, rather than securely fused with the floor and ceiling.

>>716226
>determine if she still has her coin purse
She does, although counting the contents might be difficult.

>"I don't suppose you're any good with locks?"
Claws might qualify as improvised tools, acute eyesight certainly doesn't hurt... and Marijke's familiar effectively has as much training at locksmithing as she herself does, which is to say, none at all.

>Are my casting options restricted or penalized by having my hands bound in iron?
Might be distracting, but some spells require no gesture, and even those that do can be managed with just finger-wiggling. Some iron can interfere with magic directly, but this isn't that kind. At worst, the distraction penalty can be offset by taking extra time... although that also widens the window of opportunity for someone to interrupt.

>>716245
Open/Close can deal with simple latches, and tie or untie basic knots, but the actual locks on these shackles require a spell of at least the second circle, or mundane skill and tools.

>Are the priest and his acolyte visible?
Not at the moment. The chained group is facing toward the northeast gate, directly away from the chapel.

rolled 6, 6, 5 = 17

---

>She does, although counting the contents might be difficult.
So long as it's got a comforting weight, Marijke is reassured, for now. (Though she will be checking her money in more detail when she's free).

>If they're just tied, maybe Marijke can detonate the chains or melt them?
I really doubt spit fire is long lasting or hot enough to cut through metal. And while I could probably use gum-fire to dump heat into the chains all day long, I really doubt I'll hit the melting point before reaching a steady state. And then there's the unfortunate fact that we're touching the chains, and metal is an excellent conductor of heat. We'd get burns long before we got freedom if we ever did, that way.

My best magical solution for freedom would probably be a friendship curse on someone holding the keys. (Assuming they're alone and no one else could interfere). Or maybe the classic "send the pet animal to fetch the keys" plan, if the goblins were careless enough to leave them out, and blind enough not to notice a giant colorful bird.

Assuming someone else can't talk us out of this first, or just be a rogue.

>what do
The sensible option is probably to cast whisper-web so we can plot escape without being heard, and rope Than into the conversation.

Could the macaw take off and do a brief fly-around? See what's going on nearby, give us a better perspective. Maybe see if there's an execution squad marching in this direction. (Not the best choice for stealthy reconnaissance, but hey, people are bad at looking up. And goblins are at least ostensibly people).

>Claws might qualify as improvised tools, acute eyesight certainly doesn't hurt... and Marijke's familiar effectively has as much training at locksmithing as she herself does, which is to say, none at all.
I'm going to write this off as getting an unhelpful inquisitive stare down from the large lump of color in response to Marijke's inquiry.

rolled 3, 5, 6 = 14

---

>>716210
Garaile should not be hung over, as alcohol was used only for sanitation.
Garaile would not have consumed alcohol together with goblins that were explicitly considered to be untrustworthy. See >>715470

>chains
It is time for Garaile to combine unusual joints with bondage experience to attempt an escape from these shackles.

rolled 4, 6, 4 = 14

---

>>716323
HUH. Did they notice her? How close are they to the edge of the roof? Garaile making any progress in the chains?

If she's not stealthed, TRY AGAIN. Or to continue not being noticed. Worst case scenario is combat attracting more attention.

I'M NOT SURE HOW SURROUNDED THAN IS RIGHT NOW.

>>716353
>try again
Stealth requires cover or concealment. If you're currently being watched, it's also necessary to break the observer's concentration and/or line-of-sight, at least momentarily. That's why ninjas love flash bombs.

The cavern is adequately lit by those violet-glowing fungi up above, and even if it were not, goblin eyes make mundane darkness-based concealment a nonstarter. Fog or smoke can provide concealment, but there's no red mist inside the outpost, and no significant fires. As for hard cover relative to the courtyard and parapets, Than's closest options would be to jump down off the roof and force entry into the chapel (sturdy door, probably a dead end) or go over the wall and hide somewhere that's not actually inside the outpost. West gate is closest. There are four or five goblins in the way, armed but not yet actively hostile; shoving or pirouetting past them should be easy enough, though not risk-free. South gate is about four yards further away, in the opposite direction, but the guards on the relevant section of parapet seem less alert.

>how surrounded
Fairly surrounded. There are at least fifty or sixty goblins total, and Than's right in the middle of their fortified base.

>>716347
>Garaile should not be hung over,
Did he have any of the local mushroom-bread, or just eat the last of his own rations?

>attempt an escape from these shackles
Left hand free, right wrist feels like blood circulation's been pinched off. Ten minutes of further squirming for a second attempt, or try something else?
A small crowd of off-duty goblins are watching as Garaile struggles, occasionally elbowing each other, laughing, or speculating what he'll do next.

>>716333
>cast whisper-web so we can plot escape without being heard,
>critical failure
Difficult to target Than without knowing where she is. So, for the next half-hour, the elf, and every goblin in the outpost, will hear Marijke's subvocalizations repeated in a piercing parrot screech, which is magically inaudible to the chained-up prisoners, including Marijke herself.

In the chapel, under Than's feet, the acolytes whinge about this new noise. One of them asks some overly-formal question, to which Brother Mesifin bellows "Denied! Not one minute ahead of schedule, you hear me?"

rolled 6, 3, 5 = 14

---

>>716375
Admittedly, Garaile probably ate some food. No one ever expects alcoholic bread.

Continue squirming. Garaile is nothing if not determined.
Also, if Garaile's axe has been confiscated, scan the immediate area for a potential weapon to acquire upon getting free.

rolled 1, 3, 1 = 5

---

>>716375
During parrot noise land, run towards the west gate. They'll see her coming if they're focusing, but shouldn't hear her coming. If there's anything in the gate that i can lure out to the goblin outpost, she'll aggravate it. May as well cause some chaos. If not, Than can just dawdle around until something happens and she can get a better position to shoot.

rolled 6, 1, 4 = 11

---

>>716375
That sucks for Than, but I take grim satisfaction in the discomfort and frustration I'm causing our captors.

I'm half tempted to have Marijke break out in song to drive them crazy or give them all headaches, but they'd probably just kill me to shut me up.

I suppose I could bluff. Pretend that was deliberate, and roll to intimidate.

"RELEASE US".

rolled 3, 6, 6 = 15

---

Is it possible for Nico to summon living or organic weaponry, similar to daedric weapons, organcraft equipment, or the stuff some dark sun people wield?

If so, Nico will prepare to summon a weapon when requested, and see about getting himself unchained as well. How are the chains connected to the pillar, are they threaded through or just looped through rings or what? Does each individual of the party have their own length of chain or are they all connected to the same length?

>>716473
Than darts around and over the goblin guards, a blur of motion. Seconds later, she's perched atop the wall, looking out past the west gate. It's another borehole, with a similar seal engraved in the floor about twenty yards out. A giant snail is approaching. Up on the parapet there's a crank mechanism, presumably used to lift the gate, and a lever whose function is not immediately obvious.
What next? Climb over the wall and hang by fingertips? Jump down and run away, or taunt the snail somehow? Stand and fight, with the narrow parapet limiting how many attackers can approach at once, and a high-ground bonus, but no cover relative to archers in the courtyard?
>>716489
There is a type of demon known to disguise itself as a bejeweled sword of magnificent sharpness, and exude memory-stealing poison, but, alas, summoning it would require a spell of the third circle. With only the first circle, combative options include one of those fish-faced rat-things encountered previously, various small poisonous reptiles and amphibians, and an otherworldly firefly the size of a large dog.

The chains are a haphazard mess, and difficult to examine from Nico's current position. Some of them loop all the way around the pillar, and others are held up with heavy staples driven into the stone, or cross-linked.
>>716482
In order to pretend the effect was intentional, Marijke would need to be aware of it. So far she has every reason to believe the spell worked correctly, as it directs the augmented echoes away from her own ears and those of the intended targets. It would seem like her fellow prisoners are simply choosing not to respond.

rolled 2, 3, 1 = 6

---

A giant snail. Oh dear. Traumatic memories are coming back to Than as the snail deliberately consumed her party one by one, all because no one could flip it over and expose it under the shell.

Well one way to get out of a mess is to use another mess, so Than is going to get in on that.

Bring the snail into the outpost and use it as a decoy, if they can kill it, to shoot down some gobbies and maybe those missionaries if they're the cause of this.

>>716606
Than successfully dives through a narrow gap between the wall of the borehole and the snails 10' diameter shell, then clings to the back and works out a pattern of kicks which resonate inside the shell, driving the monstrous gastropod onward toward the goblin outpost at it's apparent maximum speed of two yards per second.

As the snail approaches, Mesifin Styx and his acolytes walk out of the chapel and around the pillar, standing behind the mob of goblins to address the prisoners over their heads. In a disturbingly jovial tone he explains,
"Well, in case you haven't figured it out already, all that stuff about hospitality? That was a lie! We're actually planning to perform certain sacraments upon your vital organs which will, sadly, result in them no longer being functional as such. You there, Garaile... I see you've managed to get a hand free, and are still struggling, which says to me that you're a go-getter, someone with a bit more of that vital spark than most. I could use people like that. How would you feel about betraying your comrades and joining my church?"

rolled 1, 4, 4 = 9

---

>>717105
"How about no, ye crazy goblin bastards?"

Continue struggling free.

rolled 2, 4, 1 = 7

---

>In order to pretend the effect was intentional, Marijke would need to be aware of it.
Oh drat, I was afraid that might be the case.

>We're actually planning to perform certain sacraments upon your vital organs which will, sadly, result in them no longer being functional as such.
"Hey! Some of our organs are already spoken for! This is religious persecution, this is!"

Trying to catch the attention of Marijke's deity. I didn't go full priest, and I'm not sure exactly what benefits I get with lesser patronage, but surely gods don't appreciate having followers poached as sacrifices to other gods.

...hmm. Presumably a properly cast whisper-web would discriminate between covert whispers and open speech. I'm not sure if the miscast one will echo those words or not.

rolled 2, 1, 1 = 4

---

As the snail draws near the outpost, Than readies to shoot whoever is nearest to the pillar in the outpost.

In the head.

If it's Styx, so be it.

If Than heard anything of what Mesifin just said though, it will trigger her immensely.

In another way to look at it though, yay shooting people!

>>717150
Damn, Than just rolled a critical headshot, I believe.

...if that happens right after she invokes her god, Marijke is totally going to loudly credit that to divine wrath on our behalf. Maybe it'll intimidate the survivors.

Oh and I just realized this would be a perfect time for a title drop.
>Please do not [T]ake these Organs

>>717140
Brother Mesifin accepts the refusal with equanimity, but something about the name-calling hits a nerve. "I'll have you know my mother was the very flower of the Silver Scorpion Tribe, and her husbands had precisely as much say in raising me as was proper! How dare you compare me to these fil..."
pauses, remembering he's severely outnumbered by bored, excitable goblins with knives, "...valued allies of the Church?"
>>717148
Distant patrons in general, and Brem Marst (the Great Investor) in particular, are not well-known for throwing good money after bad. Main benefit Marijke gets right now from patronage is earlier access to the second circle. So, obvious options for using that: she could compel Mesifin to hand over that nasty-looking steel rod with the thorned skull and aura of black fire that he's brandishing (which would also, incidentally, bring him close enough for to Garaile to attempt a grapple), or vomit ten thousand telepathically-controlled venomous spiders into the crowd.
>>717150
The watch officer on duty at the west gate catches Than's arrow in his right eye. It penetrates so deeply, so perfectly aligned with his optic nerve, that the arrowhead glides cleanly through brain tissue and bounces off the back of his bulbous skull, concealing itself entirely before the other guards even realize they're being fired upon. He slumps over against the winch, spasming and babbling (something about key lime pie?), which the second-in-command somehow interprets as "those two from the patrol, lost down a pit trap, found their own way back. Please open the portcullis." By the time they realize their mistake, Than and the snail are through the gate and ready to wreak havoc.

However, Mesifin, three acolytes, and the prisoners are currently on the opposite side of the pillar. Than has no line of sight to them.

rolled 2, 6, 5 = 13

---

>Distant patrons in general, and Brem Marst (the Great Investor) in particular, are not well-known for throwing good money after bad.
Hmm, well, honestly, I wasn't expecting lightning from the heavens. Really, I was using Pact logic. Even if it didn't draw a reaction, drawing the attention of and even the tiniest bit of influence from a power in your favor is a good thing. Stack your advantages!

>she could compel Mesifin to hand over that nasty-looking steel rod with the thorned skull and aura of black fire that he's brandishing
Well, it's probably a magic item, but I'm less sure it's potent enough to turn the course of this mess by itself. And this doesn't seem the kind of crowd that would back down just because we got ahold of their leader.

>or vomit ten thousand telepathically-controlled venomous spiders into the crowd.
Oh my goodness they're smart weapons? I assumed they were dumbfire and therefore only useful at close range. But that means they would work as effective crowd control. I'm doing this. I'm so doing this.

"Fine. You want my organs? Let me help. I'll hork em up for you."

...I can only imagine how vomiting sounds, translated to parrot screeches.

>familiar
It might as well make a futile lockpick check. Or maybe it could look around to see if anyone has any keys it can snatch in the chaos that's about to ensue with spiders, snails, and surprise arrows hitting people.

>>717148
>divine intervention in the form of spiders
>rolled 2, 4, 1 = 7
Brother Mesifin is leading the acolytes in prayer. He recites "Where for the glory of the Horned One does the true essence lie?" and each of the acolytes offers a response.
"Not in the brain, for thought is fleeting, ever changing; crack the skull and suck it forth."
They've just gotten to "Not in the belly, that furnace of power, for it so easily turns; dissolve it in acids of its own creation,"
when Marijke croaks out "You're wrong about thought. In the Eternal Ledger, thought endures. Life... endures. The day turns, and the year, and the belly,"
There's a chittering, a gurgling, a terrible discordant whistling roar that sets the whole cavern ringing like a bell. Seething mass of miniscule eight-legged predatory arachnids erupts from Marijke's mouth and nose, streaming down her neck and chest, out across the floor to set upon the goblins as they cringe with hands over ears. "Everything turns, but the Ledger endures!"
>>717250
>futile lockpick check
>rolled 2, 6, 5 = 13
Once everyone's so thoroughly distracted, the parrot fetches some hooked bit of metal from Marijke's tool belt and starts attempting to unfasten shackles, to little immediate effect.

rolled 2, 6, 4 = 12

---

How obvious is it when the King's avatar is summoned? If it can be done with any level of covertness, Nico will summon the ragged man as far out of the priest's current line of sight as possible, on the walls or just among the buildings, while beginning to yell at the chanters, in an attempt both to damage their concentration and perhaps turn some of the goblins against them. The ragged man will close while being all spooky and shit, gotta be theatrical and all that.

"I cant say I have a great deal of experience with cults,never seen any point in it really, but I cant say Im terribly impressed by yours. Yesterday you were hoping to get some of us to join you, and now you only bother to offer to the guy who has literally no reason to! If nothing else your fathers didnt do a grand job of instilling any wit in you!Too busy wasting their time selling the fruits of your whore mother? Or perhaps you are just that desperate? A particularly greedy one, is your thorny patron? Without us here would you be poaching goblin sweetmeats for him? or would you fall amongst your own followers?"
Nico will peer about the goblin captain. If spotted, he will be called out to.
"You should really choose your allies better! This ones an idiot!"

>>717297
Summoning the King's avatar involves a ritual which can't be cut down to less than 60 seconds, and involves gestures and dance-steps which Nico can't perform while bound as he currently is.

Taunting works just fine, though. Brother Mesifin's eyes bulge and his face turns red as he bellows "Silence!" and a ten-foot radius around Nico's tongue becomes unnaturally quiet just as the giant snail slithers into view, hammering it's way through the crowd with four whirling club-ended tentacles.

Back near the west gate, an elf regains her senses. It seems at least one goblin died attempting to repel the snail, close enough that the sensation of a soul shuffling off it's mortal attachments shot through her chakras like a lightning bolt. Than is currently laying on her back in an eight-foot-wide path of slippery snail-slime. There's a goblin standing on top of her abdomen, getting ready to remodel her face with a hatchet, and two more on the walkway ten feet above, holding some sort of alchemical grenades.

rolled 3, 4, 2 = 9

---

Considering the fact that her allies were chained to a pillar possibly being a ritual, the current situation the incoming adrenaline from the kill, Than is beginning to go off.

"Release my allies, or your lives are forfeit!"

She proceeds to let out a mimicry of a banshee's shriek to further intimidate the goblins, confuse the acolytes and Styx if they know about the seal preventing undead from entering, to further incite the snail into violence against her enemies all, and protect herself all at the same time.

Launch off the goblin on top, roll to evade the grenades. Pin their knees or arms to make them unable to attack or walk, maybe both, and not cause a violent enough death to temporarily shut her down.

The hatchet slamming down into her face would only break her mask, and reveal her face which is not in a pleasant state at the moment. Wearing a slasher smile and with her red eye being the most active, as the only truth to her right now is death, slow or instantaneous. She still has a higher chance to trigger her supernatural vulnerability, and she can't hear anyone speak, but her allies are a little more noticeable.

It may not be magic, but Marijke can see something coming out of her mask as a representation of her state right now.

rolled 5, 6, 2 = 13

---

>>717300
If Arcane Mark can be cast without verbal components, Nico will smugly mark the pillar his hands are chained to with the yellow sign. Even without its memetic affect, marking the place of a religious rite with the mark of another entity is sure to bother the priest.

After that, Nico will attempt to convey to Sir Garail that he ought spare no effort in getting out of his bonds, and Nico will do the same.

rolled 3, 4, 4 = 11

---

>>717311
Garaile is already sparing no effort in getting out of these bonds, but they are pretty tough bonds.

rolled 6, 4, 1 = 11

---

>>717250
Hahahaha. That's fantastic.

Well, now that the crowd is distracted by spiders, I guess it's time to try and escape.

>Equipment: Coin purse, lockpicking / surgery tools, knives, jade amulet, cinnamon incense, dragonweed, bronze statuette (deity of trade / wealth / prosperity).
...I can't believe I just remembered I had those.

Marijke will try to reach her tools and/or get her familiar to take them off of her (hopefully we weren't searched well?). Once in hand, the bird can either try to pick the lock while better equipped, or maybe it could pass them off to someone in the party who's skilled in their use. (Well, assuming they could actually reach their own lock).

>a ten-foot radius around Nico's tongue becomes unnaturally quiet
Is Marijke in that radius? If so, that may interfere with any future casting on my part. And I'm not sure if that would block the active parrot screeching repetition effect or not. Or if that would block attempts to communicate with my familiar.

>>717332
Oh, derp, the link there should be >>717263 not 717250. And I can't deleted and repost to fix the typo without losing the roll.

>>717303
Than still hasn't actually seen the condition her allies are in, since they're around the other side of the pillar, though she might have made inferences from Marijke's "whispering."

Squirming out of the way of the axe is partially successful, reducing it to a glancing blow. The fox mask is cracked, and Than's face is marred by a bloody gash along the hairline, above her right ear. The ear is still attached, and her skull seems to be intact.
The hatchet's wielder was expecting this to be a coup de grace on a helpless target, and was accordingly completely unprepared for a counterattack. Moments later, Than has spun him around into a hammerlock, hoisted him overhead to ward off grenades, and regained her footing.

However, the slimy patch is slick as ice, and those few moments have allowed half a dozen goblin archers to assemble in the courtyard, arrows nocked and leveled at the masked intruder.

>>717311
The yellow sign is inscribed successfully, though not on the first attempt. Spoken components are hampered rather than prohibited by magical silence, just as gestured are hampered by ordinary shackles, and it requires both.

>>717314
Garaile manages to locate his remaining shackle's mounting point and simply yank the relevant staple out of the wall. He is now unbound, and has some five pounds of heavy chain securely fastened to his right wrist.

>>717332
>(hopefully we weren't searched well?)
You weren't really searched at all.
>Is Marijke in that radius? If so, that may interfere with any future casting on my part. And I'm not sure if that would block the active parrot screeching repetition effect or not.
Yes, it will, although the nonmagical echoes take a little while to die down.
>Or if that would block attempts to communicate with my familiar.
The empathic bond is unimpeded, though it remains inconveniently vague and low-bandwidth.

The three acolytes retreat from the wave of spiders, falling back to the warehouse/workshop, while Brother Mesifin wades through the increasingly panicked mob of goblins toward the oncoming snail, waving his ornate morningstar through an inauspicious kata while chanting foul (and, to the prisoners, inaudible) imprecations.

rolled 2, 6, 2 = 10

---

>>717391
Garaile will take advantage of the chaos to target Brother Mesifin, rushing forward to cave in the back of his head with the impromptu flail.
Eliminate the leadership and cut off the snake's head, so to speak.

Also, since Garaile's axe was stolen by goblins, it would be ideal to acquire Mesifin's morningstar.

>>717391
Okay, since all I did this time was get questions answered, I'll commit to the plan I rolled for here >>717332 of trying to get my familiar to help get my tools for lockpicking.

rolled 2, 3, 1 = 6

---

Toss goblin, run towards allies while evading projectiles. Nothing much else to do.

or well, the pillar at least. evading snail counts too

JamesLeng 2016/04/17(Sun)19:38 No. 717480 ID: a107fd
File 146094708608.jpg - (13.06KB , 275x220 , tactical.jpg )

>>717398
If not for Mesifin's own demand for silence, the chain would be whistling audibly through the air as Garaile winds up. Instead, it makes no sound at all until the sharp crack of two inch-wide links connecting with Mesifin's left temple. The priest stumbles another half-step forward, which brings him into the snail's reach. Two more thumps from rocky tentacles and he's crumpling like a sack of potatoes, splintered bone protruding through the flesh of his right forearm, left knee shattered.

Peeking around the corner, Nico's Babel worm recognizes the snail's movements as some kind of sign language. "What's going on? Where did all these damn goblins come from? Please, I just want to go home!"

Inside the vile priest's brow, a dark star dawns. Raw cosmic spite, the fundamental energy of destruction, pours forth to strike at all life within ten yards. Most of the goblins within that range collapse, half-dead.

>>717425
Archers on the other side of the pillar, however, seem unaffected. Three of them fail to fire, distracted with catching their thrown comrade, one misses, but two aim true. Than now has a pair of barbed goblin arrows protruding from her flesh, one in the left upper arm and one in the groin, perilously close to the brachial and femoral arteries, respectively. She scrambles off the slime trail and takes cover behind the chapel's open door before they can line up a second volley.

Through the doorway she can see what's going on to the east. The workshop's door is directly opposite, fifty feet away.
Y'know what, I'll show you a map. Nico and Marijke are chained up at waypoint 1, Garaile and semiconscious Mesifin are at 2, goblins regrouping at 3, barracks 4, chapel 5, acolytes hiding in the storehouse at 6. North is up, squares are ten feet, etc. The circular thing is the snail, to scale, not a staircase.

>>717400
Tools have been fetched, and shared with Dimitry Nicola, who is significantly more skilled at locksmithing. Parrot is not feeling so great after that spite-blast. Marijke's summoned spiders, fortunately, were wandering off toward the southeast gate and well out of range. It seems they continue in a straight line, attacking mindlessly, until she consciously directs them otherwise.

rolled 3, 3, 1 = 7

---

Nico, finding that his casting is significantly less impeded than he thought, (As sometimes is infinitely better than never) will continue trying to slip at least one hand out of his bindings, not giving much care to weather he damages them or not.

After freeing his hands, he will either try to cast infernal healing on himself (If his hands are injured) or mage armor on Ser Garail.

A little bit of tears from the pain, a lot of cursing in elvish. What's the success rate of pulling out them barbed arrows without making the injury any worse? Otherwise Than is in a lethal situation unless anyone can help her. Fortunately Mesifin just died and Garaile escaped at least(?)

This is bad.

Really a bad situation for Than.

rolled 2, 3, 5 = 10

---

>Marijke's summoned spiders, fortunately, were wandering off toward the southeast gate and well out of range.
I see gates W, NE, and S. The storehouse is SE, did you mean that? Or are they off the map somewhere?

>It seems they continue in a straight line, attacking mindlessly, until she consciously directs them otherwise.
If I'm going to direct them, I would split the swarm. One smaller group to finish the reeling heretic priest (or to at least go for his face and interrupt the vocal aspect of his casting) and a larger group to pursue and harry the retreating goblins.

The Macaw can stay put for now. Hopefully it has the sense to hunker down and not attract arrows.

>what do
Besides ordering my spiders around, there's not really much Marijke can do but pray someone undoes her bindings before her distraction is used up.

>Tools have been fetched, and shared with Dimitry Nicola
Is he at 1 too? You left him out in the summation. Marijke really hopes he uses those lockpicks to help soon, since being tied to a pole in the middle of a fight sucks.

>Peeking around the corner, Nico's Babel worm recognizes the snail's movements as some kind of sign language.
If the snail is sapient, I wonder if I can order a few spiders to try and communicate with it. Except info from Nico's worm would be OOC for Marijke, and Nico can't share with the silence still in effect.

>What's the success rate of pulling out them barbed arrows without making the injury any worse?
In the real world at least, terrible. For most kinds of stabbing or impaling injuries like that, usual prescription is to leave the arrow in place and bind the area around it until you can get to proper medical help, because pulling it out almost always makes the bleeding worse. And barbed arrows are specifically intended to cause further harm if you yank em out.

>>717482
Nico slips free of the shackles, and successfully bestows shadow armor on Sir Garaile. Not a moment too soon: half-formed plates of tenebrous force deflect a grazing hit from the snail's flailing tentacles.

Each casting of Infernal Healing would consume either a pint of sunwater or a drop of alchemically preserved devil's blood, worth about five pounds of coinage-grade silver on the open market, although the price is a moot point when Nico simply doesn't have any on hand. Even apart from that cost, the spell has some marked disadvantages compared to Least True Healing, such as inability to bring people back from certain types of injury or any type of death. For some reason I thought you'd taken Lesser Rejuvenate Eidolon instead, and I'll let you go back and switch to that if you'd prefer.

>>717525
>compass
Northeast gate, yeah. Misspoke because the corresponding borehole curves around to the south.
>split the swarm
Doesn't work. Marijke's got a little RTS mini-map in her mind, with three commandable units: self, parrot, swarm. Asking the spiders to split up is like asking her own right and left legs to walk in opposite directions.

>The Macaw can stay put for now. Hopefully it has the sense to hunker down and not attract arrows.
Parrot on shoulder, check. Eyepatch and peg leg on back-order. Let's hope you get through this without needing 'em.

>Is he at 1 too? You left him out in the summation.
Than took the precaution of sleeping on a rooftop, which made her inconvenient to carry over to the pillar. Yeven Sturgis disappeared overnight, perhaps noticing the impending ambush and effortlessly circumventing the outpost's perimeter security with her gravity powers. Sgt. Nick is, as far as you know, still at the bottom of a rancid pool, screaming himself hoarse. The other PCs - Marijke, "Sir" Garaile, Nico Nashville, and Dimitry "the White Snake" Nicola (we sure have a lot of folks named 'nic,' huh?) - were chained up to be sacrificed.

Snake has successfully unfastened his own restraints, and goes to work on Marijke's. She's the only one still in chains, apart from Garaile's improvised flail.

>If the snail is sapient, I wonder if I can order a few spiders to try and communicate with it.
Arachnids and gastropods have at least as little in common with each other as either do with mammals, and these particular spiders are intellectually on par with earthworms, or koalas; problem-solving and abstraction are utterly beyond their comprehension, never mind language. It would make more sense to attempt semaphore using a pair of live cuttlefish as flags... or, perhaps, simply wait for the Silence to expire and re-cast Whisperweb, including the snail and Nico as targets.

>In the real world at least, terrible.
Yep. When in doubt, I'm going for brutal realism here. One casting of Least True Healing on each of those two wounds would fix Than up good as new, though, and if that happens within the next in-game hour you won't even need to worry about infection.

>spiders can't split up
I'll send them after the gobos, then. Drive away the group of arrow shooting baddies, and leave Garaile to finish the priest.

>One casting of Least True Healing on each of those two wounds would fix Than up good as new
...too bad for than I've only got one of those prepared.

>>717556
Swarming spiders pursue into the barracks, leaving wounded, in some cases paralyzed and/or blinded goblins in their wake. When they're done, the place will most likely be more nearly free of fleas and bedbugs than on the day it was built.

The last pair of shackles opens. Marijke can feel the mechanism click, and see Dimitry's lips move, but the actual sound of his witty comment or request for gratitude is lost.

It looks like Mesifin Styx isn't quite out of the fight yet, and is in fact readying another pulse of killing energy even as Garaile and the flail snail begin to stave in his ribcage. Intervene, or flee?

rolled 5, 2, 2 = 9

---

>>717570
(I think I will indeed take rejuvenate eidolon rather than the unusable regeneration spell, yes)

After paling at the realization that he nearly broke his hands for reliance on a spell that he doesnt have and couldnt cast anyway, Nico will move around to the corner of the storehouse, and try his hand at tossing a blob of acid at the general area of Styx's face, considering that a burnt out tongue likely plays merry hell with verbal spells, regardless of arcane or divine nature.

After that he will simply try to keep out of the way of any fighting, and out of line of sight of any more goblin archers, rubbing his wrists and keeping the flail snail in his line of sight to learn as much of its vernacular as possible.

(Forgot to dice first time around)

>>717581
Brother Mesifin Styx's eyes melt and sizzle away into empty sockets where Nico's caustic ray strikes. The fallen priest lays, twitching, in an ever-broader puddle of his own blood. For a moment, all is still.

From the cracks in his accursed skull, a final spiteful blast erupts. Though it leaves no wounds, Garaile suddenly feels dizzy and short of breath, while Nico's joints and teeth ache like a deep full-body bruise. Some fifteen or twenty scattered goblins, already struck down by the first wave of negative energy, spasm and expire, joining their erstwhile ally in death.

A mass of phlegm and bile, more than the corpse could possibly have contained, rises like smoke and coalesces into a twisted, semi-humanoid shape, foul and demonic and bizarre, yet somehow bitterly familiar. "Mister Nashville," it says, not in any earthly language, not even in sounds, but rather through the refined medium of willful, malicious intent, direct from one soul to another and therefore clearly comprehensible to all sapient beings present, "You insulted my family, my faith, my future... weighed against that wounded pride, mere omnipresent pointless death scarcely stings. May your rapier tongue be forever sheathed!" Those last words spent, the specter falls down, deep into the earth, borne on a swirl of putrid green flame.

The snail simply shudders in horror and withdraws into it's shell.

I guess Than will just sit around until help comes. Anything more in action will make the injuries worse.

>>717597
There's more than enough clean cloth at hand to make bandages, and her own supply of fortified wine for sterilization. Is Than willing to plunder a shrine for first aid supplies?

rolled 1, 6, 1 = 8

---

>>717589
Pride?... Cultists, bah. Nico will test his sheathed tongue. "Ah, so am I to be robbed of speech or merely insult?"

That quandary satisfied, he will lend his surgery kit, as well as the use of his laudanum for painkilling and soap for cleansing, to Than, though he will leave the actual physicking to someone more competent in general, and to whom Than has given fewer mistrustful glances. An actor notices these things.

rolled 2, 2, 4 = 8

---

>Marijke can feel the mechanism click, and see Dimitry's lips move, but the actual sound of his witty comment or request for gratitude is lost.
I'll offer a smile and thumbs up in return, then attempt to move out of the silence.

>another spite blast
Was Marijke out of range from that? My Macaw is still feeling the first one.

>what do
First priority: Marijke checks that the contents of her coin purse are intact. (Charcter flaws are so much fun).

Second priority is treating Than's injuries. I think the proper procedure would be to use the surgery tools to remove the arrows, cast staunch bleeding to stop the blood loss that triggers, then cast least true healing on whichever of the two injuries is more serious. (Or to prioritize the leg shot, so she's not slowed as we flee). Unfortunately, I only have the one casting prepared, so the other will just have to be bound / bandaged normally.

Looks like Nico is assisting with the surgery or at least the cleaning the wounds? Marijke might have to shoo him away from the patient so she can cast, if he's still broadcasting silence.

Third priority is applying magic sight to Nico, see if Marijke can perceive anything about that curse.

(Uh, that's several things, do I need more rolls?).

Well it should be more noticeable to Nico with Than's broken mask. Making another can come another time or during the change between quest threads or whatever transition you're planning.

She'll accept help from Marijke, and looting for more medical supplies sounds like a good idea.

What happened to the Snake guy?

On a personal note, I don't think Nico will be muted at all. All he says is "may" conditionally, which is usually a hope, never a promise.

But hey, I'm not JamesLeng.

>>717601
>test his sheathed tongue
All the mouthparts seem to work normally, but no sound is produced. Nico Nashville can hear sounds originating more than ten feet away almost normally, though oddly distorted, but anything within that radius is utterly silent. Those standing close to him cannot hear anything at all.

>>717602
>Was Marijke out of range from that?
Might have been. Which way did she move, immediately after being unshackled?

>contents of her coin purse
All present and accounted for.

>Unfortunately, I only have the one casting prepared
Triage, bandaging, removal of the projectiles, and treatment for shock proceed in a mercifully uneventful manner. When it comes time to apply serious magic, the parrot recites a memorized phrase.
"Free samples, urawk! Limit one per customer per day, warrk!"
Sure enough, only the second application of miraculous healing actually uses up a prepared spell. Both puncture wounds and the cut on Than's forehead seem to be fully recovered, or near enough, although her mask remains cracked and hair disheveled.

So, you're all been barricaded inside the chapel, wounds treated, breath caught, 'free sample' healing passed around to anyone who seems to need it. Conversation is possible, so long as Nico is standing at the far side of the room. It's been about an hour since the fighting stopped when some goblin knocks on the door, shave-and-a-haircut, and shouts "Parley!"

rolled 4, 1, 3 = 8

---

New ISP, new ID, woo.
>Which way did she move, immediately after being unshackled?
Being a squishy caster, probably away from the writhing giant snail, the angry dark priest, and the teammate haphazardly swinging a chain around all engaged in melee.

>free sample healing
Bird has earned a treat when next Marijke gets the chance, and Brem Marst gets prayers of thanks.

>So, you're all been barricaded inside the chapel
Where's the snail? In the chapel with us, hunkered down by the site of battle still, or fleeing goblintown as fast as it can?

>what do
Immediately before the goblins arrived, Marijke would have been studying the curse placed on Nico with her magic sight. While there's a certain amusing irony in a gregarious chatterbox being silences, he's been nice to her. She's looking to see if she can tell if there might be a way to reverse it, or if a whisper-web could safely bypass it.

If there was time permitting in between the medical treatment and the goblin's arrival: I'd also liked to have given the interior of the shrine a quick inspection. Mostly so we can avoid anything unholy, cursed, or otherwise sacrosanct to the local vengeful dark deity. (And on the off chance anything else jumps out as enchanted or magical- stuff left behind by previous sacrifices, maybe)? If Garaile took Mesifin's weapon, I'd like to have inspected that too.

>"Parley!"
Since the most outspoken member of our party isn't on speaking terms with anyone at the moment: "We're listening".

rolled 3, 1, 4 = 8

---

>>717589
Garaile will equip the pilfered morningstar on the hip slot where the axe used to be.
Can I get an inventory check, so I know what they did and did not take?

Also, now that the fighting is over and a real weapon has been acquired, Garaile would like to more calmly take the time to remove the stubborn shackle and eliminate the dead weight.

Than will just do an inventory check on the shrine. With her mask broken, she's not in a good mood at the moment. She's not going to touch anything though, only look.

"Can you still communicate by writing on the ground using chalk?" she asks Nico not within his null zone.

>>717703
>squishy caster away from melee
After a dose of free-sample healing the bird seems to be fine.

>If there was time permitting in between the medical treatment and the goblin's arrival: I'd also liked to have given the interior of the shrine a quick inspection.
Not much time, if Marijke's the lead healer, but enough to get a basic layout. Semi-portable wooden altar up against the back wall topped by a cubit-high cast-iron idol of some bloat-bellied divinity, flickering black candles highlight focal points of an eight foot wide chalk diagram in the middle of the floor that looks like it's been smudged out and redrawn several times. Padded benches around the perimeter, shelves and cabinets of morbid devotional whatsits and grisly sorcerous lab equipment. Nothing stands out as especially valuable, or magical enough to be of immediate use, but it's badly organized enough that a comprehensive search could be fairly tedious and time-consuming. One of the spare robes hanging by the door was torn to strips for bandages, but the place is otherwise undisturbed.

>Mesifin's weapon
Apart from straightforward basic weapon enchantments, it is extraordinarily baneful to the softhearted, the generous, the righteous, all those who cleave to the principle of compassion and value the lives of others above their own.

>>717704
>Garaile will equip the pilfered morningstar
>>715749
>Definitely righteousness
Notably baneful against Sir Garaile himself, to the extent that gripping the unholy weapon feels like something's trying to rip out his soul through the palm of his hand. Not trying quite hard enough to actually succeed, but very nearly so, and intensely unpleasant in any case. The tearing sensation ceases immediately when the weapon is set aside.

>We're listening
"Kamlyss is me. Was second-in-command, until your elf shot my boss at the west gate. That shitsack 'emissary' and his horseface corspefucking god killed more of my boys than you all together, and then paying for that, you kept my hands clean. My dead boss, Morask, who you met in the healing-hall, he got greedy. Flicked the snake's head, forgot to put it down. Forgot why we're here. I say, you wanna go up and out, no more blood between us? You can go. Show you secret safe passage to the surface. We got lotsa supplies and six slaves locked up in storage, you take what you want from that too. All I ask is this: when home, to the king of the giants, tell her Greznek makes a better friend than enemy. Tell her Kamlyss, who holds this pass, talks before she fights, always listens, never lies."

>>717742
>all those who cleave to the principle of compassion and value the lives of others above their own
Oh, oops. That's not what I intended.

>>715386
>distill it into self-reinforcing righteousness against all things corrupt and unjust
I misunderstood this as self-righteous, against things I think are corrupt and unjust against me.
So, in the context of anger, I meant it like "You can't anger me because I'm superior to you and someday I'll be a big shot and you'll be nothing."
>>715749

In other words, I meant to go the lofty, discreetly arrogant hero path, not the paladin path, since it's a more gritty setting and paladin path will probably get me killed.

rolled 1, 1, 6 = 8

---

>>717769
Will discard unholy weapon anyway though, and look for more mundane one.

rolled 5, 1, 1 = 7

---

>>717716
'Chalk, or spell in pinch. If goblin trustworthy, thats best offer all ways but one; route out good but too much opportunity deeper.' Nico will write, and go about studying the less smudged markings on the chalken diagram, and look for some extra chalk. He will then look through any notes and such he can find, especially if the equipment here looks to be able to supply for the identification spell. Then he will stand back and cast detect magic.

After thus rummaging about, he will silently snap his fingers, and add an addendum to his writings. 'Also, should ask about why they are here, and about styx's acolytes.'

>>717776
I feel your pain, Nico. Choosing between concise and purple prose cannot be easy for you.

>goblin's offer, through the door
...dang it, Than's truthsense probably needs line of sight, doesn't it.

>>717769
Grand strategy goes over here:
>>/questdis/99268

>>717782
>truthsense probably needs line of sight
Than isn't actually sure! It doesn't come up much. Her mutation is not a sense for truth, as such; solidity shows the same blankness as being blind, because those eyes seek out vulnerabilities, whether that's a soft spot in armor, a crucial blood vessel, or a verbal argument's flawed foundation. Deliberate, explicit falsehoods may be clearer than distortion, evasion, misdirection, and omission, but always that synesthesia of a crack, a counterpoint that could be struck to devastating effect. Than can't see any serious flaws in the offer, but on some level can't escape the worry that she's simply distracted herself by staring at that iron-bound oak door in lieu of the speaker.

>>717776
>chalk
Drawer in one of the cabinets has finger-sized sticks in a variety of colors.
>supply for the identification spell
No such luck. There's an unlabeled bottle of what might be wine, but no owl feather to stir it with, and no wide, flat gemstone or blue glass lens. Disappointing lack of basic research equipment in general, really; to a seasoned occultist's eye it seems like this place is stocked with reagents for a few basic ward-maintenance and mid-range communication rituals, but not much else. Not even trans-etheric range... which, assuming some minimal competence, implies that whatever god they were praying to was believed to be personally holding court somewhere within that range, on the order of hundreds of miles at most.

> ask about why they are here,
Snake or somebody relays Nico's questions, and Kamlyss replies "We here to hold open the passage, for Greznek's use."
> and about styx's acolytes
"Slaves all yours now, if you want 'em. Already said that. Deal or not?"

>>717808
'It seems Styx's horned patron holds on this plane, less than 1000 miles. Some sendings decrease range w intervening mass. Can think of no better place than this dungeon? Maybe ask kamlys.'

Nico will then make a small tally field;
kamlys' offer
Y.N
/._
_._
_._
_._

rolled 6, 1, 3 = 10

---

>>717808
Marijke asks: do you know what became of the last member of our group? The woman yesterday's patrol found first, Yevon?"

Marijke will vote yes. She would much rather cut deals than fight our way out, and this one seems reasonable.

>>717826
>what happened to Yeven
There is some whispered discussion in the goblins' native language as Kamlyss checks with surviving witnesses before responding. "She drank almost nothing, ate like trained to avoid poison. While the rest of you sleep, asked her guards questions about latrine that make no sense, to distract them. Somehow made them dizzy and 'fall sideways.' Then she fled, maybe through south gate. If hurt, wasn't my boys."

Wanting nothing to do with the goblins anymore, Than votes yes.

>>717843
>>717826
>>717819
Three in favor, out of a quorum of five. Any counter-proposal, dissent, eleventh-hour unilateral treachery, etc.? Or shall we simply move on to division of spoils, as I queue up the start-of-thread-2 cutscene?

>>717935
Seems like a fine deal to Garaile... if it is true.
Having already been duped and nearly killed by goblins once today, Garaile finds the generous offer somewhat suspicious.
"How do we know is not another trick? This goblin can be offering any proof?"


Also, what about Sgt. Nick? Can we get some goblins to fetch him before we go?

>>717939
>not another trick
"Bad liar is Kamlyss. If only wanted to kill, be drilling on roof, pour burning oil by now."
>proof
"Open door a handspan, I give back your shield and axe. What fool arms an enemy?"
>what about Sgt. Nick? Can we get some goblins to fetch him?
"Your friend, lost near healing hall? Can't send a patrol out now. Too many dead or down, barely enough to hold the gates. Can't wait, neither. Better for everybody if you gone before reinforcements."

>>717946
Garaile will accept the axe and shield, check that they're still in good shape, and refit that axe belt loop so the axe no longer falls out at inconvenient times.

>Sgt. Nick
IC, I don't think it's right not to save him, but OOC, his player is gone and he'll be a burdensome vegetable that we'll be sacrificing our best change of escape to retrieve.

>>717961
If Garaile was down here by himself, OR with a proper expedition, the best option would be going out to find the fallen, maybe after providing some medical magic to goblin scouts to get them back on their feet in time. With the battered remains of three different lost adventuring parties, so close to the exit, and no map? Won't do Nick any good if you all get eaten before even finding him, and even less good to the other survivors. Honorable-yet-sane thing at this point is to get out, report him MIA to whoever cares, and think about retrieval after you regroup. Apologies, grieving, and somehow motivating the goblins to help when they become able, are all optional but recommended.

Refitting the belt loop is not a five-minute no-tools job. Fortunately, one of the kobold slaves is skilled and equipped for sewing or leatherworking. Another is a brownsmith and porter, while the third does cooking, tanning, and hazmat remediation. They are not recognized by the goblins as having names.
Of the three acolytes, all are more or less identically equipped and trained as ceremonial assistants and bodyguards, with black lacquered scale armor and small but elaborately-sculpted metal batons. Eswic, as already mentioned is a matronly woman, bald and pallid as a mushroom, who made some sarcastic comments about Mesifin Styx's career prospects and provided a blessing to Marijke. Goris is a younger woman, sluggish and taciturn as if stumbling through life half-asleep, kept her hood up the whole time, but performed her part in the group prayer with meticulous precision. Altsoba is lanky, androgynous, bursting with youthful energy, and has short black hair with green showing around the roots, but spent most of last night's party inside the chapel.

As to the supplies... hundreds of pounds of starchy dried mushrooms and wax-sealed green glass jars of dubious pickled meat, two massive barrels of Crack-Snout Ale that couldn't possibly fit up the spiral stair to the surface, two 4' cubic cages for the kobolds to sleep in, canvas, rope, sackcloth and coarse brown thread, some assorted animal bones and hides (small pig or large rat, hard to say) in various stages of tanning and dissection. Not much worth the trouble of carting off to resell, apart from a little bit of copper and iron bar stock, but many things potentially of direct use. Who's taking what, and how much?

rolled 6, 1, 5 = 12

---

Out of curiosity, what's the legal situation regarding slaves, or at least human slaves, on the surface? If it's not legal and we're headed thataways, that means the acolytes are either operating under the assumption their servitude will be temporary, or worried they might be headed for the black market.

Also, since it's liable to effect how my character sees the situation: how much is a slave worth, and does her faith have a moral stance on slavery? (I could rationalize opposite extremes from "people are just as much a commodity as all things are" to "souls are the currency of the Gods, and not for mortals to trade in").

For now, Marijke will regard their slaves with caution and wariness, but not cruelty or malice. The group's position isn't strong enough that they can afford to abuse or debase slaves with impunity safely, and we need all the help we can get to leave her alive and purses intact. Provided they aren't going to turn on us.

>what do
Marijke will cast detect poison on the eatables. And idly browse to see if any of that looks like it would make good familiar-chow.

"So, did you like Styx at all?" says Than in a joking manner.

She personally doesn't think Styx is a likeable man, but they could have gotten along, or only a business relationship, considering Eswic didn't seem to like him much.

A bit of friendliness may go a long way here. Give them a little smirk.

>>718025
>legal situation regarding slaves
Out on the frontier, for most practical purposes the law is whatever the toughest guy in town says it is.
Orc tribes and most pirate charters take prisoners for ransom, or sometimes recruit by pressganging and sword-point conversions, but prisoners don't do forced labor, and recruits get paid in shares of plunder proportionate to how much they helped, regardless of how they joined.
In civilized parts of the world, agricultural serfs are sometimes considered a component of real estate, like the buildings they live in, and various other sorts of indentured servitude are fairly common. There are humanitarian standards for fair treatment of sapient beings, varying wildly from one jurisdiction to the next in both formal phrasing and consistency of application.
One universal rule throughout the Drakocracy, however, forbids buying or selling any mammal, or nonskeletal part thereof, as a commodity denominated in any dragon-backed currency. Slavers and cattle-ranchers alike have to deal with the complexity of barter or trades mediated through bearer bonds, redeemable for specific containers of wheat or honey or whiskey or cheese at ancient vaults in elven lands, rather than actual gold and silver coins of guaranteed purity.
So, the kobolds would be much easier to convert to cash when you make it back to a settlement. Rule of thumb for pricing is, five years' wages from the best-paying job they'd be able to do, but morale, health, attractive appearance, and so on can swing that quite a bit.

>detect poison
Half the shroom starch and almost all the pickle jars are at least mildly fishy, possibly due to improper storage rather than malice. The alcohol is technically poison by definition, and would be met with revulsion by any non-goblin oenophile, but seems uncontaminated. The chemicals being used to tan leather should definitely not be consumed, or probably even touched without waterproof gloves.

>>>718036
>"So, did you like Styx at all?"
Eswic thinks for a moment before replying "Yeah. He wasn't so bad apart from all the complaining. Gave his best effort, on the few occasions when it mattered." Altsoba nods vigorously, and adds "He really knew how to handle a whip!" Goris simply shrugs, then goes back to nervously picking at her fingernails.
The kobolds don't seem to understand Humish much at all, and in any case have been trained not to respond on matters of opinion.

>>718024
Garaile will take a decent emergency ration of whatever mushrooms Marijke deems safe.

Also, lop off one of Mesifin's ears, as well as taking an ear off the rat-axe. Since there's an ample supply of thread, might as well start up an ear-necklace to keep that lower ambition in check.

>>718113
>ear-necklace
Eswic covers her face, then turns around and retches. Goris and two of the kobolds watch with an attitude of detached resignation, while the third moves to assist. Altsoba hesitantly squeaks, "D-do you want one of mine, too?"

So Styx wasn't a bad person, but definitely a fanatic or cultist. That's a shame.

Than flashes a nervous smile while narrowing her eyes, looks at Garaile, and all she can say is "Really?"

To Altsoba with a slight frown Than says "I don't think he takes trophies from living bodies from what I've seen so far."

Regardless of how Than feels, I feel it was a little funny.

>>718135
Eswic, thinking Than's comforting words were directed at her, waves defensively/dismissively and says "I'll be fine. Past thirty summers old but that squeamish streak is why I'm still just an acolyte." Then she takes a slug of the goblin ale, gargles, and spits it into the puddle of sick, which the chubbiest of the three kobolds has already begun cleaning up.

Altsoba calms down fractionally and lets out a sigh that might be relief, or disappointment.

>>718025
>good familiar-chow
Pure starchy stuff is unhealthy, but a marinade mix in one of the few jars of confirmed-safe pickled meat appears to include some whole walnu... nope, nope, those are rabbit brains.

Fortunately, given that you're headed for the surface, one day's standard trail rations for a human is about a week's worth for a two pound parrot, if supplemented by similarly modest amounts of fresh fruit and vegetables.

rolled 4, 1, 2 = 7

---

>Half the shroom starch and almost all the pickle jars are at least mildly fishy, possibly due to improper storage rather than malice.
>nothing good for the Macaw
Well, I guess Marijke is on a shroom diet, and the bird is eating from any proper rations I have left. I'll take a few meals worth of the safe stuff, and store them in some canvas, assuming the canvas looks fit for that. (Actually, it might be worth asking the kobold who's good with a needle to make some sacks to carry things in). I'll recommend safe stuff to anyone else too. (The slaves should probably be encouraged to take food for themselves if they don't make a move to. Everyone needs to eat, and can carry the weight of their own food).

>cages
Giving the objects of denigration and undesired carrying weight an unpleasant glance Marijke asks "are those really necessary?"

>takes an ear from the body
...the body that had it's face melted by acid and had a corrupt mass of phlegm and bile erupt from it? That's gonna be one nasty trophy. Garaile earns a weird look from Marijke.

>Altsoba hesitantly squeaks, "D-do you want one of mine, too?"
I can't tell if that's fear speaking, or if she's (?) that broken / ready to please / has a perverse tendency towards self harm. (Any could be possible, from their background).

"Keep your parts attached, they do more good that way. And I've patched more than enough bleeding for one day, I think."

>what do
Once supplied, Marijke will take the time to study Nico's condition with her sight. I'd also like to ask the acolytes if they're familiar with this effect.

>>718184
>study Nico's condition
The outward-facing portion is more or less straightforward magical silence, but instead of being a freestanding echo-manipulation that will eventually dissipate, it's rooted to a persistent structure. The overall effect might usefully be compared to a lotus: there's the visible flower (blocking sound), fed by a 'stalk' trailing back down the length of Nico's tongue to the throat chakra, fed in turn by roots deep into his identity and capacity for speech.

>ask the acolytes if they're familiar with this effect
Dying-breath curses? Yeah, definitely. Not exactly just-another-day-on-the-job stuff, but it's in all the stories. This specifically? No, pretty much every one is unique.
Obvious treatment options, ranked approximately by increasing feasibility and decreasing thoroughness:
1) Bring Mesifin Styx back to life. A dying curse whose speaker isn't dead falls apart like a tree with no trunk. Downsides: requires magic of the 9th circle or divine intervention, he'd immediately resume trying to murder you all.
2) Bring Nico back to some major city, hire a licensed and bonded curse-unraveler. Downsides: expensive, doesn't always work.
3) Bring Nico somewhere with no ambient magic. Downsides: magic is useful for a lot of other things, curse resumes as soon as he leaves.
4) Cut off the tip of Nico's tongue and put it somewhere more than 10' away from him, or into a suitably sealed container. Downsides: surgery is messy, curse resumes normal functioning as soon as tongue grows back. Upside: curse causes tongue to grow back when it otherwise wouldn't.
5) Develop some kind of sign language and/or upgraded variant of Whisperweb as a workaround.

>>718261
Hmmm. Would applying my class ability to barter and trade with various deities be an option? Not that I'm even close to willing to try something as ballsy as asking Orcus to un-curse someone who slew a priest of his without anything significant to offer as compensation, but it might be an option, in the long term.

>>718306
As a hedge witch, you barter and trade with mortals and local spirits. One specific deity facilitates that, for reasons of it's own, the way somebody might help a blacksmith set up shop in their basement to get free under-floor heating. With all three acolytes' help, you could maybe use the stuff in the chapel to contact Orcus, but there's... no real plausible positive outcome, from there. Undoing curses isn't really the Horned One's style. There's no long term where it would make more sense, either. It's like...

Say you're James Bond, in the villain's lair. You slip out of your restraints, shoot him in the leg before he hits the Big Red Doomsday Button. On the floor, plan foiled and bleeding out, he shoots your girlfriend-of-the-week. Asking for Orcus's help with this would be equivalent to activating the doomsday device yourself on the off chance it somehow fixes the girlfriend.

I was thinking it was more equivalent to walking into the villian's base and asking if they wouldn't mind terribly releasing that person they're having so much fun torturing, and not using this as an opportunity to smite me?

But yeah, even if this god were amenable to letting people buy out of his curses, I doubt we'd be able to afford (or willing to pay) the asking price.

Marijke will make sure Nico is aware of what she learned, and will thank the acolytes she consulted with.

Nothing she can really do to help him, for now. Tongue surgery (even if he wanted it) is too risky in our current situation (especially since his condition would block healing magic if we cut the big blood vessel to the tongue and he starts bleeding out or drowning in his own blood before the silence is cleared). Experimenting with modifying Whisper-web would be possible, on a day when I have experimental miscellany prepared, and I can afford to spare magic. (Paying for an expensive cure is currently a non-option, as far as Marijke is concerned. Nico would either have to be a lot more important to her, or she'd have to be wealthy enough for the cost to be inconsequential).

So, just to review the inventory... you're taking all six captives, along with their equipment, some burlap sacks full of as much of the safe food as everyone can reasonably carry, Garaile is taking Styx's ear for a necklace, and Acolyte Goris stole Styx's belt while she thought nobody was looking. Is that all? Any goods or services you're planning to leave behind as a goodwill gesture for the goblins?

>anything else
Someone should probably take some rope, just on general principles.

I can't think of any immediate use for the metal stock, at least not one that wouldn't require melting it down and casting it. Which I don't think we have time for. The cages seem too cumbersome / heavy to bother taking.

>Any goods or services you're planning to leave behind as a goodwill gesture for the goblins?
We don't have much in the way of material goods we can afford to spare. (Short of gold, which Marijke's flaw / ambition would prevent).

I'm going to assume the spider-summon expired and I don't need to order them to leave?

I suppose I could offer to spam staunch bleedings if the goblins have people in need of medical treatment, although with spiderbites, they're more likely to be in danger due to poison and/or infection, so I don't know how much help that might be. The slaves might be of more use, if they still have better healing spells prepared, or if any of them know cure poison. (I'm sort of assuming we'll be rested up by the next session so spending spells on diplomacy won't cripple us).

If the snail is still in city limits, I might be able to use Whisper-web to communicate with it, and persuade it leave / guide it to an exit so it doesn't cause the goblins further problems.

Nico's aura of silence might be useful, if there's a persistent magic effect somewhere in town they're like interrupted.

Can't really think of any other "sorry we killed up your town when you betrayed us to a dark priest" gestures.

>>718619
>gold
Actually, Brem Marst had quite a bit to say on the difference between coinage and wealth. Leaving behind, say, two or three gold coins, out of hundreds in your purse, and hundreds more still at the bottom of that foul pool, in exchange for the goblins maybe not feeling like this new leadership screwed up, like they've been robbed, and thus being willing to work with you again in the future? Could be a pretty good deal, long term. Depends how you spin it.

>spider-summon expired
Yep, gone after three minutes.

>rope, just on general principles
Most of what they've got for rope is actually treated cave-fisher filament. Each strand is twenty yards, slightly sticky and almost too thin to grip, like a rolled-up post-it note. Over 300 pound test, which compares favorably to conventional 3/8" rope. Weighs about a pound each, so three strands would displace two man-days of food, and the goblin stockpile holds more than you could reasonably carry. As with tallow candles, the stringy extrusion is edible in an emergency, though even goblins find it unappetizing. How much are you bringing?

> if the goblins have people in need of medical treatment
Very much so. Fortunately, it seems you can still hand out more true-healing 'free samples' to anybody who hasn't had one yet today. After a bit of experimentation, the parrot can even deliver touch-range magic on your behalf, for occasions when somebody is inconveniently far away or too grody to touch. Only one 'sample' can be delivered before recharging, though.

>staunch bleeding
Most of the time, if it's been an hour or more since the damage was inflicted, it's too late for Staunch Bleeding to do any good. The rare exceptions would be when somebody's got slowly-deteriorating internal injuries, or hemophilia plus an enchanted anti-dehydration tattoo that makes it possible for them to keep bleeding an abnormally long time without being dead, or something weird like that. Even in such a case, True Healing is better to the point that Staunch Bleeding would be completely redundant (unless they got injured again after the healing, or something like that).

>Whisper-web to communicate with the snail
It is unresponsive to the point of catatonia, and Nico's translation capabilities are effectively unavailable. With so many scouts and officers back on their feet earlier than expected, though, the goblins readily agree to roll the snail back outside by their own labor.

>Nico's aura of silence might be useful, if there's a persistent magic effect somewhere in town they're like interrupted.
Magically-imposed silence and a null-magic zone are completely different things. They cannot coexist; the active presence of either one is sufficient evidence of the absence of the other. Creating a null-magic zone outside lab conditions requires spellwork of the 6th circle or major geomancy. If Mesifin Styx had anything like that up his sleeve, you'd probably all be a lot less alive right now.

rolled 2, 4, 5 = 11

---

>Actually, Brem Marst had quite a bit to say on the difference between coinage and wealth. Leaving behind, say, two or three gold coins, out of hundreds in your purse, and hundreds more still at the bottom of that foul pool, in exchange for the goblins maybe not feeling like this new leadership screwed up, like they've been robbed, and thus being willing to work with you again in the future? Could be a pretty good deal, long term. Depends how you spin it.
Fiiiiiiiiine.

Marijke will invest a few gold coins of blood money with Kamlyss for diplomatic purposes, recognizing she might have to pass this way again (perhaps more prepared to clear the remaining gold from that pool?) and that maintaining good relations could be profitable in the longer term.

>Fortunately, it seems you can still hand out more true-healing 'free samples' to anybody who hasn't had one yet today
Well if the god if feeling generous, no reason not to spread the love. Free goodwill and evangelism.

>How much [treated cave-fisher filament] are you bringing?
I'll take one strand, I suppose.

If Than has any money, leave half of it, she has no use for gold really. She can have some makeshift things made on the surface (if possible) and hunt for her own food.

Anything else noticeable in Styx's (heh river of the dead) death liquid pile thing? The goblins will sweep him out and he may become undead. She really doesn't want that at ALL. She wasn't disgusted at Garaile, only disappointed to be honest, desecration isn't her favorite thing to do, but when she has to do it she'll do it.

>>718691
Styx's robes are pretty nice material, apart from being drenched in goo, and he's got some chainmail on underneath them. On his left hand there's a ring, some silvery metal with a pretty big blue gem. And, of course, that spiky skull-rod Garaile dropped like a hot potato.

Try taking everything but the chainmail. The robe can be washed, ring could be useful, maybe give it to Marijke (if it's not cursed), skull-rod is like welp why not