Scinnari, on her own assignment, greeted you in the early hours of the morning, when she returned. This 'Finn', the moneylender, has pretentions of high-society, according to her; she got herself into one of his parties, and is working on catching his eye; subtley, of course. “I could have him woven through my fingers in a heartbeat,” she assures you, “It's just that such overt action tends to be noticed.”

Unless there are further things to do, tomorrow will be the day of the event, this “Swagfest”.

[Also, since it was offscreen, what did we do today, and what is the list of things that are on Scinnari's gift? I believe the list was something like Prot. DetEvil, Prot. DetOutsiders, Prot. Scrying, and Prot. Holy, and tracking of some sort. Anything I'm missing there? Regardless, last things before the event.

Addendum: Miss-posted originally. Sorry to bother anyone else.]

>>12377985
> I believe the list was something like Prot. DetEvil, Prot. DetOutsiders, Prot. Scrying, and Prot. Holy, and tracking of some sort. Anything I'm missing there?

That sounds right to me.

>>12378048
It's going to be around 480 G, if that's the case.

Confirm?

>>12377985
If memory serves we wanted to maybe meet with Finn and/or the other captain, Lydon was it?

>>12378066
Uh, hmm. Hold on a moment while I peruse the archives. Checking to make sure.

>>12378072
I was under the understanding was that we had assigned Scinnari to make Finn malleable.

Current purely-cash hoard:
1000G, 9653S, 18C

>>12378118

I think there was talk about meeting with Lydon as well.

IX:
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/12352461/

Six or something posts down it has links to the previous three.

>>12378169
He has proven unavailable, probably, like Cygnis, getting his events ready.

>>12378048
One spell takes care of detect evil, detect outsiders, and scrying, and that's called "Non-Detection". Protection from a damage type (holy) is a bit trickier and much higher level, especially considering what she is. In fact, it may be impossible to fully protect her from such effects as dismissal and protection from evil depending on how she came to this plane.

Of course, that's not altogether a bad thing, as that gives us certain protections against possible treachery.

Did we want any safeguards other than tracking? Paralysis or sleep/unconsciousness? I don't know, but people seemed to be getting paranoid about her at some point...

>>12378311
My bad. I meant this,

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/protectionFromGood.htm

Prot. From Good

>>12378362
You can get it, I suppose. Tack 80-150 gold onto the price, depending on what you say the specifics are.

Bad night? Or too late to start?

I think the current list we have is enough. No need for a harmful thing, tracking is fine.

I advocate a change to the dragon medallion for Cygnis though. Instead of a command word to take it off, how about a command word to lock it on. That way it looks normal until activated and we can just give it to her without it being time to strike at that very moment.

>>12378601
And it will probably take longer to get going with a different start time. I for one checked at 7:00-7:30 and then went to watch some anime.

>>12378607

I like this idea. When activated it locks on, and prevents polymorphing. Until then it appears to be a mundane (albeit well crafted) amulet.

Suggestions on the code word/phrase?

>>12378620
Also, Dragon Quest not being in the name of the OP might make people miss it.

>>12378627
Obviously it should be "April Moon."

>>12378637
> April Moon

>>12378630
Yeah. I bungled the first post into a different thread. In panic and shame after I deleted it (Damn you, 30 second wait!) I forgot DQX for this one. Ideally the picture will be enough.

>>12378607
>>12378627
Alright, -480 G, and we [Scinnari] paid 400G for our dragon-bait pendant. She says the smith has an excellent reputation, and she is certain she has impressed upon him the quality required. Unknown how long it will take, though.

Is that it, then?

>>12378627
How about the word "Bind" in draconic? In the immediate sense of the present participle form of bind. I doubt it would be commonly used.

>>12378706

>>12378627

Oh, and the code phrase, of course.

>>12378706
Jesus expensive, we're going to need to get those kobolds up and smuggling pretty soon. Maybe raise a crew to raid some of Kimaziri's stashes on that map we stole.

>>12378703
>>12378637
Fuck you man, fuck you. I'm gonna cut you.

>>12378714
Nothing so simple that might accidentally get used. Cygnis is a dragon herself after all.

>>12378735
Didn't steal it; it got burned.

Dragons are reknown for their memories, though. 1d100; 80+

rolled 1 = 1

>>12378768

rolled 44 = 44

>>12378779
Oh wow. Epic fail. We forget our own name.

>>12378779

You're not allowed to roll anymore

>>12378714

Oh come on man. April Moon. It's great. That was one of the episodes that gave BADEND Beyond it's name.

>>12378714
Future perfect tense would be more appropriate actually, now that I think of it. Doesn't really matter though, it's just me being a pedantic ass.

>>12378703
>>12378703
Hey, you got to explain it, I live under a rock.

>>12378793
Oh come on, now, what're the odds he'd do it TWICE? [/tempting fate]

Well today is off to a great start.

>>12378814

April Moon was an episode of Batman Beyond. In it there was a doctor who was being coerced into building combat prosthetic for a cyborg street gang. Being a clever fucker, he built them all with a self destruct mechanism that would activate when a specific code phrase was said. The phrase was "April Moon." It was a pretty good episode, with a remarkably dark, though satisfying, ending.

I suggest making a minor purchase of a ring that hides magical effects on us. Like, say, the fact we are polymorphed. We could also throw in that it should protect us from poison, since that seems to be a good way Scinnari found to take down polyed dragons. Both those enchantments should be fairly easy and able to be done today.

>>12378844
Thank you. So, verdict on what the keyword/keyphrase was needed, and then we may we may proceed to the festival?

>>12378857
April moon is fine, but I really do suggest a quick buy of that ring just in case some of the lords try to scope us out magically. Or someone tries to poison us.

If I recall my R-Pu-Guhs correctly, we're using our amulet slot, and we have two ring slots, so that would be a good purchase, for the moment, until we can find something better.

>>12378844
"No holding back."

>>12378851
>>12378871
>>12378873
Happily, the other purchase you asked Scinnari to pick up was rather cheap, and, though you are not satisfied with the actual look of the thing, (a simple brass band with shards of obsidian set through it,) you are quite satisfied with it's functionality. [-700 silver]

>>12378911
Most excellent. I think we might be ready.

>>12378873
It's not even for sure that we are limited on magical items like RPG-fuckers. I always thought it was stupid you could only have one magical ring on each hand.

>>12378911
Let the games begin.

>>12378921
Yes, quite silly.

Not a /co/ or comics fan, so I probably don't understand the full import, but 'April Moon' doesn't do anything for me. Maybe if we did it in draconic, or something.(probably pretty safe unless Cygnis speaks to herself frequently. And it's spring. I don't think it's spring, in game, but it might be close.)

Maybe something along the lines of a threat, or taunt we could use? I'm trying to come up with a red gold (as in, copper-gold alloy) pun, but I can't. Perhaps we could just say it is in draconic?

>>12378951
"April Moon" in draconic would be good. Pretty safe, much more so than simply "Bind."

>>12378951
seconding this

>>12378920
>>12378937

Cygnis greets awaits you in your own dining room in the morning. Suddenly paranoid, you wonder how long she has been there, and whether she knows anything. She does not betray it, if she has.

"Finally up, I am glad. If you had taken any longer, I might have had to come and get you." she says in greeting.

"Fantastic. And you are doing what, exactly, in my house?" you respond angrily. She has /no/ /right/ to make such an intrusion.

"Your house? I thought this was a join venture, here?" Cygnariassis replies, obviously feigning confusion. You hold your breath, and manage to prevent smoke from billowing out of your mouth. Taking this as a sign of infuriation, (which it is, albeit, not directly,) Cygnis laughs. "Apologies, Cibach, you are fun to toy with."

"I'm not a morning person." you growl, struggling to control your rising anger and fire. Captain Cibach Azal, elf. Trader. Merchant of moderate import. You do your best to distract yourself with thoughts of the power and wealth you can achieve in the long run. For one, Freeport is a good start, well situated and suited to carving out an empire on the continent, being a hub of trade and no maritime slouch in it's own right. "Nor am I anyones toy. Neither Scinnari. Nor yours." you respond, brushing by her to the kitchen. Using a poker to stir the coals, you use the hand shovel to toss more on.

"Again, apologies, Captain Cibach." she says, sounding not at all apologetic, "I also wished to make sure you were available today, as it IS the first day of the Swagfest. You have your appearance to make, do you not?" she asks, appealing to reason. You're almost certain you detect something else in there, though.

"I'm up. I'm moving. You told me where it is, and alledgedly, have all my events prepared. What's the problem? I assure you there's not stage-fright on /my/ end."

>>12379107
"Indeed... Of course. I wished to warn you, however, my talks with Finn have been... unfortunate. He has become overzealous, I think, and hired a sorcerer-assassin who just arrived in from the mainland. Tall, bald, dressed like she's from Tashz, which she probably is. I am not certain you will be able to stop her."

"I will. Don't worry. If that's all, get out of my house. I know I have a job, and I'm going to do it." you growl shortly. You will have to get the locks changed. And possibly doubled up. Annoyed, you drop the final 'my' casually, as if you totally ignored her joke earlier.

"As you wish. Thank you for your assurances." Cygnis says, getting up and moving to leave. "I'll see you there, though you may not recognize me. As your assistant, of course, I'll be close at hand." You wait until she shuts the door quietly, and glare at her as she walks down the walk, before Scinnari reveals herself, emerald in hand, next to you.

"I wish we had just killed her when we had the chance. Or right then. I could have torn her throat out while she was taunting you." Scinnari starts, loathing in her voice.

"I almost wish you did." you respond.

"Right. In fact, if I had, maybe she wouldn't have been able to manipulate you so efficiently. 'I will. don't worry about it.'" Scinnari mocks. "You played right into her damned hands!" almost shouts. Her rage seems only partially directed at you, though.

>>12379107
We should try to be a lot more diplomatic. Try to not get angry with Cygnis, it could ruin the image we've been trying to build and put her on guard.

>>12379116
calm her down with descriptions of the things we are going to do to Cygnis after we betray her.

Surely a dragon soul will be high-currency for an erinyes?

>>12379116
We need to calm the fuck down. We're going to get killed at this rate.

And it won't even be our fault.

>>12379135
We could use it as pretense to give her the amulet.

"I'm terribly sorry about the way I acted the other day. I was surprised to see you, and as I said, I really am not a morning person. I'd like to keep on good terms with you, so I would like to present you with this, as a gesture of apology."

Then we kill her dead.

>>12379107
>>12379116

Why exactly are we so angry? Or surprised to find her there, the house was something she provided us if memory serves. I was under the impression that we had decided to be a lot smoother than that. We're acting like a textbook red now.

>>12379135
Well, we Cibach Azal is not a morning person, and values his privacy, what can we say?

>>12379116
Don't we have a present for Scinnari, at this point? Give it to her, tell her it's both an apology and a thank-you.

>>12379155
Seriously, reds are temperamental but we are blowing up constantly when we know that we're playing the long game here. We rise to every single bait dangled in front of us, Scinnari's included, despite knowing they are playing our shit.

>>12379180
And why exactly are we even doing that? Is there anyone here who actually wants to act that way? Cause I really think we need to go back to being the charmer we were when we first met Cygnis.

>>12379168
Wrong, we are acting like a textbook ANCIENT red. When we are 2000 years old with a nation, army, and huge horde at our disposal we can act like this and nobody can stop us. Doing it as a young adult? What the dick?

>>12379168
Is not property part of a hoard? We just found her both tresspassing and potentially listening in on our plans (Has she been waiting in the next room while we... gently caress Scinnari?). Sort of like stealing from a hoard, but less abstract, I figured. I'll keep your comments in mind for the future, though.

>>12379196
We should act a little prideful and angry over things like this, it's what reds do. They can't help it. However, this is just over the top. We're supposed to be playing the subtle political games and gaining power rather than getting ready to fireball people. We've been a mastermind so far, why do we fall for what is obvious teasing and baiting every single time?

>>12379210
Everything we have in this city, we owe to Cygnis. Sure, we're going to mutilate her corpse, but until then we need to play it cool.

We were doing a lot better when we were pretending to be an elf with the adventurers.

>>12379210
That is true, she might have the entire house bugged. In which case she knows most of our plans. We might be hosed.

>>12379239
Only room we've discussed things like that in is shielded against divination.

>>12379176
Let's wait and give it to her at the celebration.

>>12379210
>less abstract
MORE abstract, sorry.

Alright, I'll try to reign it in a bit.

>>12379144
>>12379164
>>12379176
[Plus some other people mentioned this,]

Though it takes significant effort, you forcibly control yourself, much faster than you thought possible. "You're right." you answer Scinnari, "I will avoid this in the future. I started off on the wrong foot- and made no effort to recover. Still, it can be turned to our advantage; you are sure no one tailed you when you commissioned the special one yesterday? How long until it is ready?" you ask, ideas already forming in your mind.

"A day, roughly, though he warned it might take more, to truly get the artistic quality we required. I almost like that dwarf, he is a true.. artist." Scinnari recalls. "Why?"

"Well, my dear lady, I was most unpleasantly startled, and thought my locks had failed, or I was being held up. Despite that it obviously turned out otherwise, I was inexcusably rude to you, and would like seek your forgiveness anyway. By way of apology, I bring a gift, I hope worthy of you, or at least, my apology." you respond, miming offering her a necklace.

"Excellent! You are right, that would be the perfect ploy. We might need to add a... 'history' to the amulet, though. Perhaps you can mention it was your mothers, or sisters, or inherited from an ancient ancestress, trivia like that. I'm sure she would love that, adding to the emotional value and lore of it." Scinnari says, shifting rapidly from anger to surprise, then excitement.

"And I wonder what value a gold's soul would bring?" you whisper to her. "An achievement for you, for sure."

"Oooh... yes. I wonder... if dragons can be broken? Ah, the fun we shall have, if you take her alive. But! As you promised her, we have things to do." Scinnari fantasizes, before catching herself.

"Indeed. I shall be back momentarily." you reply, moving upstairs to get prepared.

[typing up continuation]

>>12379352
Fifteen minutes later, you and Scinnari are making your way down the streets together, yourself dressed as a noble, and her your companion. Obviously, you do not intend to distance yourself from the people who's acclaim you depend on, so you walk. Annoying, but necessary. The docks are already swarmed with people, and almost every ship has people using it's top decks as more wharf. To one side of where you came out is the center of the waterfront, and a large stage erected on the waterside. A small patrol of the Sealord's Guard stand guard, not particularly formal or even on duty, it seems, but sufficient to keep the crowd where it is, and the stage empty. Moving around it, you are greeted by a massive red-bearded man in a Captain's hat, his assistant, a thin blond-haired man with a scroll canister and scroll in hand, which he seems to be going over with the Captain. Cygnis, or who you presume to be Cygnis, is there, a young human woman, pretty, and smiling at you. "Captain Cibach!" she greets you, solidifying your guess. The other presumed captain looks up, smiling.

"Hey, Captain Cibach? Cibach Azal?" he says jovially.

"The very one!" you respond. "Captain Lydon, I presume?"

"Aye, well, 'Captain' is a purely honorary title, 'commodore' or 'merchant', tha' be more accurate these days! Anyway, welcome! Your assistant, the pretty Ms. Cyaria, there," he says, gesturing at 'Cyraria', Cygnis' new identity, "tells me this is your first Swagfest, is that right?"

"I'm afraid so, I only recently moved myself here to follow my trading from it's hub. Can't imagine why I didn't move sooner! Good booze, decent company, and the shipwrights are better!"

"Aye, that they are, I'll give you that. Say, we should probably review the affairs today..."

>>12379562
"Ah, yes, Captain, Captain," Lydon's scribe says, addressing Lydon, then nodding at you, "I have here, the proposed listing? The drinking contest Ms. Cyaria and Captain Azal organized has already started, and you assured me you have enough to run it all day?" the scribe asks dubiously of 'Cyaria'. She nods, and he continues, "Well, then, that should take some out of the other events, at least. First of all, then, we have One Eyed Jack's Stand, traditional, of course, they'd riot if it wasn't the first event, I'm sure. Then we can switch to the raiding of the coast, a brilliant event Ms. Cyaria tells me is masterminded by you, Captain Azal?"

"Ms. Cyaria is much too modest, I'm afraid" you respond, attempting to repair whatever damage you've done to your relations with Cygnis, "It was her idea, I just added a few details. She did it from the start."

"Captain Azal is very generous." Cygni- 'Cyaria' says demurely, smiling.

"Not enough, continue, please." you respond.

"Right, well, then after that, or even during it, since the wind is supposed to be right then, will be the battle for Tashz harbor. Renactment of the capture or sinking of the Tashz navy ought to go over well with the crowd, considering the new tariffs they've instituted, I should think. Let's see here... Then your fencing contest, and... The Rat."

"Right. Well, that's great," Lydon says loudly, clapping the smaller man on the back hard enough to make him stumble. "In that case, we ought to kick things off! Up we get!" he shouts, jumping on the stage.

[dice 1d100, we're following, naturally,]

rolled 2 = 2

>>12379568
Let's see how this goes

rolled 39 = 39

>>12379568

rolled 13 = 13

>>12379606
Jesus christ.

Jumping up beside him, you brush your cloak back, and let Lydon begin the festivities.

"Oy, you lot, shut the hell up and we'll begin! AS you know," Lydon thunders, and you're glad he isn't pointed at you, "more'n two hundred years ago, the two mightiest corsair lords ever to sail the seas led every ship of Freeport out of this great harbor, and for six months struck fear into the heart of the landlubbers over there!" he shouts, gesturing at the open sea, beyond which lies the continent. Despite his terrifically loud voice, he is drowned out by the cheering. Trying once or twice, he eventually gives up, and throws his hands up in surrender. The cheering climaxes again, before dying off for him.

"Now, you all know no sailing is ever /all/ smooth and solid!" he begins again, "And the whole fleet almost was wrecked in a huge hurricane! As if that wasn't attacked, the vile fishmen attacked them, clambering over the ports, intending to butcher every mother's bastard son on every boat... Only to be met by Freeport STEEL!"

>>12379703
Again, the cheering drowns him out. Without a doubt, this is the most densely packed you have ever seen a place. It's almost three full minutes until it dies down, and Lydon manages to continue, "The stand of One Eyed Jack, Sealord Francisco's bosun, is legendary! He took on fifteen of the saguhain fishmen, all while tied to mast, to keep himself from being blown off in the gale! And we all know, he beat them back in the water fast as they could come up! SO, since Sealord Drac is busy with his lighthouse, it falls to us humble captains, myself, Lydon, and my friend here, Cibach," he introduces you, and you bow to the crowd. The applause is just as strong for you as it was for Lydon; either they don't care, Cygnis' company is larger than you'd thought it is, or they're just all equally excited today. Probably the later, you suspect. "Cibach, who liked Freeport so much he moved here, and I, o' course, are left to present you with the entertainment today! The first of which, as you lot might have guessed, is One Eyed Jack's stand! So, we'll get off this stage, and we can get contestants coming."

>>12379707
The contest, as you learn through observation, is fairly simple; volunteers have one eye covered with a scarf or eyepatch, and are tied to the central 'mast' of the stage with half a dozen feet of rope. Given a padded wooden 'cutlass', they are expected to fight off the 'fishmen', sailor toughs armed with padded clubs. Disconnecting the rope, or removing the half-blindfold is disqualification, and it's an effort to see how long you can last, and how many you can take. It does get fairly vicious, and the first three contestants fight until they're knocked unconcious, but you notice priests standing by, to heal the attackers or 'Jacks', should it be necessary. Instant victory is twelve, you find out from Lydon, who's quite enjoying the fights, cheering on attackers and defender indiscriminately, and if none get that, whoever survived the most gets the prize.

In the begining, the 'fishmen' come one or two at a time, but once someone gets through a few, they start coordinating, and swamping them. Twelve might actually be impossible, but the current record for attackers taken out is four. You can certainly beat THAT.

>>12378788
>>12378779
>>12379624
>>12379618
>>12379606
Ye GODS, /tg/ hates us. Meant pic to be with the story.

Anyway, sorry about the WORDSWORDSWORDS. And better luck on the die-rolling next. We'll need it.

rolled 74 = 74

>>12379757
Surely we can beat that.

Right?

rolled 66 = 66

>>12379757

>>12379799
The long pause for writing is rather... ominous.

>>12379807
>>12379799

"I bet I can beat that." you laugh, after a fifth defender is laid out by the first attacker. Aware of how things are often harder than they look, you're still certain you could top these sailor-strongmen.

Lydon claps you on the back, hard, and laughs himself. "Aye, and I could too... But, as it happens, it's not your event, go ahead! Why, I might do it myself, after everyone's done! But you!" he starts, as if realizing what you just said, "You could do it right now, clear aside, people!" he bellows. Probably equally obedient and stunned from the veritable sonic attack, the move aside, and Lydon announces, "Well, you all know I've hired our fishmen this year, and the clerics to go with them, but Captain Azal here, he thinks he can beat the sorry lot who've gone so far! What do you say to that?!" The crowd roars, like a gargantuan beast rising up.

"Hah, you'd like to see him try, would you? Me too! Alright, Azal, let's hope you live up to your words! Let 'im in, boys!" The fishmen part, and you advance to the center, putting the eyepatch on, and begining to tie the mast-rope around your waist. One of the 'fishmen' comes up and ties the bandanna over the side of your head, reinforcing the eyepatch. You consider objecting, but it's probably standard to prevent cheating.

"Ready....." Lydon begins.

>>12379920
"Go!" you shout, not waiting for him. immediately, you leap and lash out, coming to your full six foot extension on the rope, but managing to kick one of the attackers off the stage. The crowd cheers, evidently impressed.

Another comes at you, ugly look on his face, but you manage to disarm him with a blow to his hand, which, padded sword or not, makes him drop his club with a shout. Out of the corner of your eye, you see one coming up behind you, and manage to trip him, bringing your 'blade' down on his chest. He seems to acknowledge defeat, crawling away. A fourth falls moments later, as you feint for one on your right, and attack the one on your left.

Easy so far, but now four are moving in from the four corners at once, obviously warned of your abilities...
[dice 2d100]

>>12379912
Sorry. Not as fast as I wish I was.

rolled 62, 39 = 101

>>12379925

RACK EM UP

rolled 31, 7 = 38

>>12379925
Let's sweep these peons aside.

>>12380035
Blast and bedamned. No more rolling for me tonight.

rolled 71 = 71

Hmmm.

rolled 37, 57 = 94

Oh it was 2d100.

>>12379969
>62, 39
It's tricky, but you have hidden strength to rely on, quite literally; you chose your polymorphs to be exceptionally physically capable. And cosmopolitan though Freeport may be, they don't exactly assume the best of elves. As one of the attackers swings at you, you grab his arm in your off hand, parrying another blow with your sword. Wrenching him downward, you knock another on top of him with a kick, and flourish your sword, suggesting an impaling stab downward. Excellent. The crowd roars with laughter.

Keeping track of where the other two are, (as well as the next four already climbing on at the edges of the stage, you parry one, then retreat the other way, running around the mast. The one behind you, caught up in your rope, is pressed against the mast, stuck. Try as he might, you have too much traction, and he can't pull out. As he instead tries to wrench out, you stop, elbow backwards, then smash him across the chest, enough to break a bone or two, and certainly a popular move; evidently the crowd liked your rope-trick.Turning, you finish the last one, and then are beset by three at once, as the newcomers charge you. Forced backward, you come up against the mast, and hope that the last doesn't make it behind you.

[dice 2d100, REAL high, this time.]

rolled 15, 60 = 75

>>12380080

KEEP RACKIN'

rolled 82, 96 = 178

>>12380095

someone else please pick up the slack

>>12380118
I think you did just fine with that roll, sir.

or just use this>>12380118

>>12380095
A heavy blow catches you in the shoulder, and you stumble, getting hit again from the front. You aren't down, and as far as you remember, the defender fights until he can no longer. With that in mind, you sweep your sword up, parrying one, disarming a the first, and forcing one more back. With a modicum of breathing room, you move back around the mast, a one-two blow to the chest and kick to the stomach carrying the attacker back off the near side of the stage. Pressing onward you f- stumble.

Screaming reflexive curses, you realize that one of them was standing on your rope. They charge, raining blows upon you, and between their legs, you see the third coming to join, having retrieved his club. The blows are hard, and there isn't really all that much you can do to cushion what is essentially a hefty piece of wood, and you think you feel a rib crack.

[Last chance, 2d100, are you a bad enough dude to roll 80+?]

>>12380118
Again, I'm afraid, though excellent rolling, anyway.

rolled 15, 26 = 41

>>12380146
I thought it was the best of two?
>>12380118

rolled 58, 72 = 130

>>12380151
Argh we lose.

>>12380151
Not when the previous one was sufficient, (albeit minimally). And I dislike using rolls above my prompts.

>>12380146


use this >>12380118 please

Oh well, can't win them all. Got 7 of them at least.

>>12380146
Man, some awesome dragon guy we are. Beaten to the ground by a pack of toughs with clubs. Where the hell is our supposed +17 attack bonus and large stack of combat feats now?

rolled 2020 = 2020

Sorry about not being here today... I was busy playing reach.

>>12380184
Excuse me, +19 base attack bonus. To go with our nominal 19 hit dice. We should have had this one in the bag even if those were commoner levels.

>>12380194
If we were a dragon. Shapeshifters in this version of the game take on the attributes of what they are, in this case a magically stronger, faster, and tougher elf. But still a humanoid.

I think we did fairly well for being tied to a post and outnumbered.

>>12380151
>>12380156
Three left, but you can't quite make it. As the second arrives, you manage to kick one's ankle, lowering his stance enough for you to kick him in the chest, bowling him over. Meanwhile parrying club blows with the other, you just barely prevent any new hits from being landed on your extremely-tender chest. The late one arrives, and you attempt to rise, but are brought down by a blow that slips through your defenses. In a fury, you literally grab his leg, and tug it sideways, recieveing a scream of pain from his over-split legs, and pulling him down. Jamming your fist into his back, you turn to take on the last one which should be right on you, when a literally stunning blow hits you. You think you even go unconscious, but you awake to still hear the crowd cheering. On reflex, and a bit vengeful at the ones who kept you from winning, you rise on one arm, and shove the owner of the feet next to you off the stage, as hard as you can. Another roar goes up, but you collapse again.

When you finally do rise, however, Lydon is standing over you, giving you an arm up.

"Excellent, laddie! Brilliant fight! Ten of our bastard sea-dogs, and you didn't go down for good, oh no! More like elven, I'd say, considerin' Leens is still fishing himself out of the crowd, out there! Excellent fight! You look like you could see a healer, though, no offense," Lydon says conversationally, dragging you over to a priest on the sidelines, "Still, you might just win, ain't many who get past six, let alone ten!"

The priests magic is not powerful, and while your ribs no longer feel broken, they're still a bit sore, and your head is only calming down slowly. Displacing the previous leader, you're given a seat on the side of the stage, and watch the fight as your head clears.

[Special here, dice 4d4, for whether 10.5 wins, and another 1d100]

rolled 1178 = 1178

>>12380228
OH GODS< PLEASE ALLOW US TO DO THIS AS NEEDED!

rolled 2, 4, 3, 4 + 1 = 14

>>12380246
Er, here is the roll...

AGAIN GODS< LARGE ROLLS PLEASE!

rolled 1, 3, 4, 3 = 11

>>12380228

alrighty then

rolled 1 = 1

rolled 2, 4, 3, 4 + 1 = 14
we are so fucked...
I apoligize.

rolled 22 = 22

>>12380228

and there is your d100 good sir

>>12380191
I hear it's pretty good. Regardless of quality, it's still good, as it gets my room mate out some more, (to the room of the guys who have it,) and that's less time he's playing rap over his speakers.

>>12380184
>>12380194
See
>>12380211, even a dragon, shapeshifted into anything else, is going to take some fairly significant penalties. Not covered in claws, horns and dragon scale, for one. For two, you're still going down if you take a spear through the chest, or other nigh-certainly fatal wound.

>>12380259
>>12380257
>>12380263
>>12380265
You know, just out of pity's goddamn sake, roll both again. This is horrifying. My blessed, sacred, never-fail dice don't roll as well as these roll badly.

rolled 1, 2, 4, 4 + 1 = 12

Come on real rolls.

rolled 1, 3, 3, 3 + 1 = 11

>>12380276
GO NUMBER TWO! HIGHROLLING PLEASE!

rolled 3, 3, 4, 3 = 13

Okay, I see the problem. It's taking the d100 as a d1. Have to roll it by itself.

Here is the 4d4.

rolled 79 = 79

LETS FUCKIN' DO THIS

rolled 37 = 37

>>12380296
>>12380291
I say we roll d100 again, seperate...

I mean, 3 one's in a row? comeon!

rolled 32 = 32

>>12380301
And the d100

>>12380257
>>12380291
>>12380296

Three 1s in a row on the 1d100. Wow.

>>12380309
Dice roller bug, not actual ones. It was taking them as d1s.

>>12380334
actually, they're being taken as modifiers
dice 4d4+1d100
rolls as
dice 4d4+1

>>12380301
>>12380304

Alright, if these are our rolls we should be good.

That pause again...

This bodes ill.

rolled 85 + 1 = 86

>>12380415
If we die...
I will destroy all.

(also, testing something.

>>12380296
>>12380291
>1,3,3,3,1; 11
Aww, we lost.
>1, 3, 3, 3, +1; 11
>-1
>10

"And, WE HAVE OURSELVES A WINNER!" Lydon bellows, as the final contestant gets bowled over, with only two. The runner up got ten as well, and sits next to you.

"Well, then, these two excellent genn'lemen got the same score!" Lydon shouts, gesturing you and the burly human up, "Great work, both of 'em! But there can only be one!" he roars, and the crowd responds in kind. "Which d'ya think is most deservin', here!? I don't even need to introduce them, you watched both of them! Who do you think? Him?" Lydon says, pointing at the human. A heavy cheer goes up.

"Or him!?" the fading noise redoubles, and you are the clear victor. Evidently the crowd liked your performance. Lydon pulls out a small box, with a lid, about two feet long, a fourteen inches wide, and eight thick. "We all know what happened when the fleet escaped the storm, right?" The cheers come again, but not so loud. You get the impression they're waiting to be told, probably not because they don't know, but because the want to hear it again. "Ah, you lot know it well. They came out two miles south of Aquitaine, and on the wings of a storm to shake the gods above! Instead of panickin', or taking the chance to run back home, they landed and sacked the out-towns of the largest city on the coast, and kept their army bottled up /nice/ and snug in the castle, where they could watch!"

>>12380446

"And we know things only got better from there, yes?" you shout, unable to match Lydon's bellow, but loud enough, and with a very clear voice. "Things went south, south all the way down the coast, outrunning even the panicked rumors of their own attacks! And that, ladies and gentlemen- Hah, freebooters the lot of you, is the next challenge. Captain Stephen, here, and Pheldran, here, are our Drake and Francisco today!" you announce, gesturing at the individuals making their way onto the stage from either side, "here are there maps of the 'coast', and they, and their band of sea-salts," you force out the terminology. Silly it sounds, but evidently what the people want to hear. "get pillage every city they can get to and get back, before the sun's at noon!" The crowd cheers, and the two captains wave, and mime exchanging insults for the crowd, as, again, nothing could be heard over the shouting.

As the noise starts to die down, you shout, "What are you waiting for? You've cities to loot!" and give each a push towards the edge of the stage.

[ >>12380304 next]

>>12380304
>79
It's probably the crowd flowing away, making part for the two 'Sealords', and their band of looters, that lets you notice the cowled figure edging between the people. Edging for the stage, obviously moving forward. Glancing at Scinnari, who was sitting next to you while you watched the previous event, you nod in the direction of the person, and she looks, confirming with a nod of her own. Standing up, she walks over to you, playing the wife, the consort, to the hilt, though, you notice her nails are suddenly slightly longer. And sharper.

Edging left and down-stage, you subtley indertict yourself, under the guise of watching one of the two captains racing off into the city. A flurry of supernaturally-fast motions buzzes by you, and only the fact that you been prepared lets you lash out with a boot, tripping the lightning-fast figure moving on stage.

Or what should have been tripping, despite the solid stumble you felt, she rights herself, and you manage to grab the edge of her cloak as she moves towards Lydon. Again, unbelievably fast, almost certainly magically assisted, she whips around and clocks you, fairly damn strong as well.

[dice 1d100]

[In case it was unclear, the 4d4 was for how many the best of the other competitors got.]

>>12380531
Am trying to post a picture with all my non-progressive posts, and picture with them that it fits as well.

rolled 22 = 22

>>12380522

knock her out and take her as a prisoner

rolled 25 = 25

>>12380522

rolled 33 = 33

>>12380522
Dice. Roll well please!

rolled 76 = 76

>>12380522
Dicean.

/tg/ dice are cursed

rolled 71 = 71

>>12380531
>>12380522
/tg/'s dice hate us... Forgive us please?

>>12380590
Sometimes you just roll badly.

This is kinda excessive, though.

rolled 65 = 65

>>12380600
... That is why I will no longer roll dice...

rolled 17 = 17

Imma go ahead and let you all know, that the diceroller for /tg/ has a messed up algorithm that rolls low more often than not.

I've not been participating in a lot of the quest threads except everynow and then, but I say we grab the cloak and pull it over her head comical style, THEN trip her up.

rolled 91 = 91

>>12380651
we should also really not utilize the /tg/ diceroller... instead using dicemaid?

rolled 51 = 51

>>12380711
Capture ahoy!

rolled 96 = 96

>>12380711

prisoner get!

>>12380711
do we still have the 99 in reserve?

>>12380727
>>12380734
looks like we dont need it. Ignore my comment.
Das ist gut.

>>12380600
Really? Yeeeaaaah. Maybe I should be adding +40s to everything.

Perfect picture, but the excellent thread I got it from is still up here >>12376257 . Linky.

>>12380559
"Stop!" you shout, knowing what is undoubtedly the assassin pushing past you is unlikely to listen. Scinnari does, though, and her claws tear through the cloak, and some of her shirt and skin, leaving the assassin wounded and distracted. She turns to face Scinnari, and as her cloak billows out around her, you get your first clear look. Tall, thin, bald as far as you can tell, with tatoos tracing cicles around her eyes. Eyes that suggest she's trying to kill Scinnari (or possibly you, as the flicker back and forth unnaturally fast,) with her concentrated hate. You can't tell much of her looks, though she's obviously female,
and wrapped in the robes so common of Tashz. Fast as your eye can follow, she draws out a long, curved, bluish dagger large enough to be a shortsword. Slicing at Scinnari with the same incredibly quick motions, you manage to kick her in the back of the leg, and draw you own sword, quite possibly preventing her attack from beign lethal. Scinnari screams in anger from a cut, falling back, slightly off-red blood leaking from the wound on her arm. Preventing the attacker from pursuing, you grab her cloak more solidly this time, and pull, ripping it off, and pulling her close enough for your sword to cut at her head.

[dice 1d100, if you wanna take her prisoner, don't cock it up. Also, I deleted and reposted, as I had an unforgivable amount of errors in that one.]

>>12380711
Don't pull punches just out of pity, sometimes bad rolls make things awesome. It's just that /tg/ has a pretty bad randomization algorithm.

>>12380773
we already got our 96.
I dont think we are going to roll after this.

>>12380723
>>12380727
>referring to my original post
>all my fault anyway.
Alright, Let's do this. [post incoming.]

>>12380776
Scinnari is injured, not terribly, but a fairly decent one. And we have yet to have given her her present, meaning that we really don't want her getting too close to any of the priests. Think you can improvise giving it to her out of the blue?

>>12380727
She ducks under you blade, moving forward to try and run you through. You are prepared, however, and bend your wrist, putting your blade to her throat. Somewhat torn between killing her now, and a more decisive victory, you pull your rapier back, and slap her bare neck with the side of the blade, hard. Despite her speed, you catch her just under her head covering, at the base of her skull. Sticking your foot out, you catch her as she stumbles to the side, trip her, (this time her head ringing far too much to catch herself, hasted or not,), and come down on top of her, knees on either side of her back. For good measure, you drop your rapier, and grab both of her wrists, using your unnatural strength to bring them up behind her shoulder blades, a solid arm lock. Fast or not, she lost and you won. Stylishly, too, as the crowd has been shouting during this exchange.

Glancing about, her wrists held pinned against her back with one hand, you wave jauntily, and you hear Lydon shouting. The whole combat only took a few seconds, a somewhat exceptional feat, due mostly to your preparedness and the speed of the assassin.

"She-!" you hear Scinnari exclaim, and you look back in time to stop something unfortunate from happening, grabbing her fingers, and preventing them from finishing the spell they were forming behind her back. You hear a muffled curse from the woman below you, and savor your victory.

>>12380876
Well we can't participate in our event anyways and Cygnis is around to handle the affairs of the event. I suppose that's an excuse to allow us to take the assassin away for questioning after we be all buddy buddy with Lydon for saving his bacon.

>>12380876
We should still have that last healing potion we found in the cultist's place. I assume we carry it around with us just in case, because why not?

Pull it out and quickly make our way to our injured consort, then give it to her. Have others restrain the assassin while doing so. I'd really rather present the choker at a more apex moment, but if we can't help it then do so.

>>12380924
Goddamnit, you're right. And yes, there really is no reason not to with those; my imagined difficulty took a running jump out the window, provided that's confirmed.

>>12380876
Tie her wrists up, stuff a peice of cloth in her mouth, tie up her fingers and get a wooden pole, break it and tie her legs to each side of the pole.

Lets take her home, then perform a stripcheck. Make sure she has nothing on her.

>>12380945
nothing on her in terms of weaponry, that is.

>>12380953
weaponry, scrolls, items of any importance, she must have none.

>>12380945
Kin-keeeey...

But I must agree, in essence. I think that'd be a bit too thorough, silly as that sounds, but we ought to restrain her and take her home. If we can win her over, we've got a fairly competent (well, I mean, she could have tried shooting him, but the scene as I imagine it would make that a bit difficult.) Keep her bound, gagged, and we can skip the poles.. Grab her by the [bound] hands and lead her back to our place. Do we have an evil-genius-interrogation-basement? If not, why the hell didn't we get one with our wonderful new house? Who was in charge of that, seriously?

Guys, you do know the man she was going to assassinate will probably want first crack at interrogating her, right?

>>12380980
the gold dragon was in charge
asking for a evil theme on the furniture would probably spoil the surprise we have for her...

>>12380993
Catchers, keepers.

>>12380993
Probably but that's why we have to talk him out of it. Someone wanted him dead or removed from the event so he should remain evident! We can disappear while the people talk about how awesome we are for stopping this assassin.

>>12380980
I just know how to tie a person up...
Such as bar between hands, and ankles,
with a gag, and something to stop her from making motions with her fingers at all, along with toes as well.

Restrict all movement whatsoever.

>>12381009
But we are trying to use this to ingratiate ourselves with him so we can become his "friend" and have a second vote on the council.

I'd say that outweighs the assassin.

>>12381028
She didn't actually make it to him, did she? If this was all as fast as it's said, then he might not even know what happened, we could claim she's coming for us, and we stopped her, interrogate at our leisure, and then tell Lydon, horror of horrors, she was actually after HIM!!1one(etc)

>>12381043
so we are all for tying her up, and keeping her at our leisure.

Possibly torture if needed, but I would prefer to pull a differentherman scheme.

>>12381054
Torture is so below us though... It shouldn't be necessary. It just seems a little excessive in my mind and with what we've generally been like.

>>12381066
true. As the situation permits, we weill do as neccessary, true?

>>12381043
But that would ruin the whole value of letting the crowd know we stopped an assassin intended for another man... indeed, our rival to ascend to the council! Also any announcements or popularity boosts he might give us by exhorting us in front of the populace for saving him.

Still, it's a good idea. I'll remain neutral.

i say we say we interrogate the assassin later in private. maybe using good cop bad cop. i say instead of announcing that we stopped it we should make it fairly obvious what happened without announcing it. going for the bad ass unfazed look. rumors will do the rest.

We need to find a way to get Lydon's approval AND this assassin. It's the best way to potentially screw with Cygnis' plans. I just really have no clue yet... I guess it depends on how Lydon reacts. Maybe we can make it clear she was after Lydon but cite some fake, obscure winged elf family honour type law that she must be dealt by us based on what she did the Scinnari. She is appearing as a winged elf still, yes?

>>12381152
Gah. Based on what the assassin did TO Scinnari in injuring her.

>>12381066
Neutral or even lawful evil is still evil. Similarly, Neutral or Chaotic good might descend to torture, Freeport is not the most humane of cities, after all, and standards shift.

It seems the majority is in favor of talking our way into custody.
###############
"What just happened here?!" Lydon asks, "I blink, there's a scream, and you're sitting on top of another exotic-looking woman! I wish I could pull tricks like that!"

"It's a bit more luck than you think." you reply, not giving away your forewarning, "Actually, if I'm any guess, she was after you. Were you?" you ask, raising the arms. She doesn't respond, though it almost certainly has to hurt her. You push a bit father and get some cursing. What a pity. "Went right past me, only stopped when we started obstructing her. You got any enemies?"

"Hah! One less now, it seems, though I doubt she has anything against me personally! I could name a few, truth be told, but I don't know who would have done it... Would you be kind enough to hand her over?" he asks. Tossing about for an excuse, you advise against it.

>>12381178
"No, I don't think that would be a good idea, Lydon." you say, as if struck by a sudden thought, "Look, they obviously wanted you off the scene, preferrably permanently. Could have been a Captain on the council who didn't want your bit to succeed. Get me some rope." you finish, ordering one of the guards.

"Yeah, I could buy that. Th'obvious thing to do then is to stick it out, show them we can't be kept cowed." Lydon replies, picking up on your train of thought.

"Exactly! We shouldn't, and you /certainly/ can't leave! After all, you've still got two events to run, don't you? I've got one more, but I don't even have to be there for it, any judge would do. Though I'd hate to miss yours, I suppose I could deal with her..." Or assign Scinnari to take care of her, you think, suspecting she would take special delight in such an assignment. The captive might not survive such professional treatment, though.

As the guard comes back with some rope, you send him out to get the padded clubs from earlier, forcing her hands into fists around them, and tying them down around it.

>verdict?

>>12381178
I would like to talk with her first, and I will give you whatever I learn from her... But I do not see handing this creature in. Not even as an act of good faith.

Would you care to join us, to help question her?

>>12381152
I like that. Could work. A mix of it and >>12381132 , we ain't even mad, this is all perfectly normal. How we like to prepare for lunch.

>>12381202
(at a later point in time, of course.)

>>12381188
take home, and keep her tied. Offer the opportunity for our rival to join us in discussing this woman.

And give him an opportunity to engage in our discussion with said woman.

>>12381188
I think stopping this assassination and how we've done in the previous events has made our appearance known. Also, letting Scinnari might be bad when Cygnis learns if we're trying to appear gentlemanly. We should interrogate her ourselves I think while Lydon can keep doing what he wants. And since we get to interrogate her alone, perhaps we can exaggerate some things we learn from her in regards to Lydon...

>>12381188
Since she's secured let's go aid our wonderful "wife". As for the rest, I think we need to stay here and stay visible. All the stuff we have is because we're supposed to become a council member. To bow out of that very public role right now would be very bad.

That in mind, we have two options:
1. Scinnari can attend to the interrogation.
2. Scinnari can stay with us as a proper "consort/wife" and the assassin can be placed under guard until after the festival is over.

I vote for 2. Why do we have to interrogate her right this second? It can wait until later today. What she has to say won't change.

>>12381240
Wow, I think I drank more than I thought tonight. Let me redo one of those sentences.

Also, letting Scinnari interogate her might be bad when Cygnis learns we let a devil do it. Especially if we're trying to appear gentlemanly and all that jazz.

>>12381248
I'm worried she might be able to escape the guards are too incompetent to stop her. Hmmm. I wonder if we could use some of that drug that was used to knock out Cygnis on her back in our home to keep her out while we finish up here in the events.

Why are we interrogating the assassin? We know who sent her. Cygnis and Scinnari both TOLD us who sent her. If we want to convert her that can be done later. We're supposed to be visible and let people see us right now.

>>12381266
An assasin in the future, under us may be a good oppertunity for minions.

It may be a good idea regardless, to find out what she knows, or if we can learn any magic she knows.

>>12381266
Because maybe she can give us juicy info on Finn! Also, she herself might be an interesting source of information or skills if we can somehow gain her loyalty. Do we know anything about people from Tashz? Maybe they have some messed up honour thing for their assassins that might make her more cooperative if we can figure it out. Many potentials exist and if we leave her alone, there's a chance Cygnis might deal with her/talk to her first.

We can do that later though! We can NOT be visible at the festival later.

>>12381305
Swagfest is multiple days if I remember correctly with this being the first and I'm primarily concerned about Cygnis getting to the assassin before us. If she does, it severely limits what we can do unless we're sure we can get the assassin's cooperation.

i say that we hold off on the interrogation till after the event. to at which point we can devote our full attention to the matter.

maybe ask for her as a gift for any information you get her to reveal. maybe commenting on of my ships is short on sailors and crew are so hard to come by these days.

>>12381342
Saying we want her for our crew would not go over well methinks... I'm still for the idea of saying due to random law which we made up and is only a winged elf law, and thus something you will never heard of, is why we must deal with her! But we will tell you what we find out is a better excuse.

>>12381252
It was clear. You're cool. Question, do I write better when you've been drinking? (Curious, here. Important scientific data.)

>>12381203
>>12381237
>>12381240
>>12381248
>>12381252
>I know I'm stretching some of your intentions here, but this seems the best way to mostly-match all.

"more rope. And a staff, barrel stave would work." you order, not letting up. Wrists together, hands around the clubs, then the clubs together. Gag (the padding around the clubs. You don't fancy that it tastes very good.) in the mouth, and legs spread, in the rather unlikely, but rather dangerous event that she can cast with her feet, as some casters are reputed to be capable of doing.

"I've got it. She's secured." you say, doubting that very much. For the moment, she is without a doubt excellently bound, but all bonds break with time and effort. "Idea;" you posit out loud, "Stick her under the stage, Cy-aria," you say, just barely catching yourself, "you keep an eye on her, guards," you say, raising your voice to command the sheepish figures of the Sealord's Guard, "Shape up, and keep this area clear. Lady Scinnari, I'm sorry for my lack of concern, are you alright?"

"I'll survive, it isn't bad." Scinnari replies, though considering how much blood is pouring down her arm, you seriously doubt that. Pulling your remaining healing potion out of your pouch, you move and hand it to her, noticing a strange cinnamon-like smell. Her blood?!

"Here, my lady, I'm sorry for the delay." you apologize, offering her the potion with a bow.

"Thank you, Azal. Excellent course of action." she replies, drinking the potion slowly down.

Scinnari once again on your arm, you return to Lydon, nodding in greeting. "Wasn't there something we were supposed to be doing?"

[Dice 1d100, how well can we play this?]

>>12381375
See? this is me restraining myself. I am not rolling dice here.

rolled 9 = 9

>>12381375
Your writing seems as good as it has been in previous threads. I think it's more of a case of my brain not functioning like it should be and me skipping parts of my sentence to continue other thoughts going on in my head.

>>12381402
And I am done rolling for the night it seems... Are you guys sure we're a dragon? If we are, /tg/ really hates us.

rolled 90 = 90

>>12381375
Dice all up in here then.

>>12381402
....well fuck

>>12381408
YOu get to roll for us now.
Help me Obi-wan, youre my only hope!

we could say something around the lines of "sorry for these unforeseen turn of events but the show must go on." trying to brag without making it seem like we are doing so.

>>12381429
Say it a little bit more pirate-like.

>>12381453
"sorry for these unforeseen turn of events but the show must go on, YARRR!!"

>>12381402
>>12381408
>best of two, fook yes!

"I- I.. Yes, we were." Lydon says, giving up. "Now, while Fancisco and Drake are out there plundering, we do know not every where they landed was full of filthy landlubbers! No, they even raided the port of Tashz, capital of the southern deserts, gem in the Sultan's crown! And all while their ships were already laden down with more plunder than we've ever seen since! Now, since, thanks to my fellow captain here, I am still alive," Lydon begins, gesturing at you. A roar goes up from the crowd, "I would love to start the battle, for your own pleasure!" With that, Lydon pulls a horn or whistle of some strange design, and inhales deeply, before blowing an incredibly deep note that resounds across the harbor, drowining out everything. Some of the ships that were in port, now start casting off, while suddenly red, black, and white sails appear outside of the bay, heading rapidly inward with the wind.

>>12381488

"Here's hoping that lot remembers what they're supposed to be doing, and where! Sealord would gut me, or do his best, if the new breaker came down in the wrong place." you hear Lydon mutter beside you, just barely. The crowd is screaming and yelling, and though much reduced, with about half following 'Drake and Francisco' through the city, they're still loud and eager to get as close to the display as they can.

"I really have to thank you, Captain Azal, you quite likely saved my life there. If there's ever anything I can do for yo-" he begins, but you cut him off.

"Think nothing of it. Anyone would have done the same. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time."

"Same thin- Right place a- My fat and useless arse!" he roars, "Half that crowd would have let the assassin get me, so they could have the seat on the council themselves! Damned, half of the rest would have helped that woman, just to make sure she didn't mess up! You saved my life, no doubt about it. If there's ever anything I can do, please, ask."

>anything else, or timeskip?

>>12381494
Ask him to come to dinner.

(we may need him as an allie in the future, or a politician for when we tire of ruling directly.

this is a long term thing but before i forget after the party and interrogation we should ask the gold about her lack of memories and these visions..especially the part about the red dragon. without letting her know that we are also suffering for amnesia of some sort. use the excuse that i would like to know more information about this cult that may try to kill me at a later date for foiling their plans.point out that the cult has a bigger following than that cell in necessary. maybe nudge her into investigating it for us.

doing so will do two things draw away the golds attention from us as she investigates the cult and second give us more information, as information is power.

>>12381507

That's a... disturbingly good idea.

Lets ask if we can get a meal with him sometime, learn more about him/what he does.

>>12381494
Well, skip to the evening I guess? We can present Scinnari with the choker in the privacy of our home. I suggest having her fasten it on herself for the greatest symbolism.

Afterward we can attend to the assassin.

>>12381569
Oh, actually dinner would be a good idea... the problem is we don't have a chef.

>>12381569
Might be better to give it to her after the torture, though. Gets devils in the mood. Probably. I imagine there are some devils who dislike it or even abhor it.

>>12381584
I would say that we may be able to cook...
Or at least have a cook come in and cook for us.
It would be a great opportunity.

>>12381507
The afternoon arrives, and the sea-battle is extraordinary. Lydon, next to you, and in a glorious mood, happily admits to you that both sides are skeleton crewed, old or barely seaworthy, firing blanks from the cannons, and trading blunted arrows back and forth, but it's a good show, none theless, especially the pre rigged explosions that knock down masts, blow holes in hulls, and provide an adequate illusion of real combat damage, from this distance. The people certainly love, it; Lydon is without a doubt the most popular, but you are quite satisfied to hear some of the near by crowd whispering about you, and even some of the guards describing the assassin's capture for listeners.

After some time, "Francisco" and "Drake" come back, both teams laden down with 'plunder', lead ingots with names of various fungible goods themed after the various continental ports. Spices from Tashz and Arranda, weapons and armor from the armories of Aquitane, magical items and devices, from the cities of Kavarra, and so on. The crowd enjoys it, and you play it for all it's worth. Finally, you invite Lydon to judge the fencing competition with you, calling upon the crowd, of course, for tiebreakers.(Not that any but the first rows could possibly have a good idea of what happened, it just makes them feel more involved in the show.)

Eventually, you manage to invite Lydon to join you for supper, but he turns it down, surprisingly, saying, "You'll be busy with the assassin-witch, won't you?"

"Not to argue, but you don't want to interrogate her yourself?" you ask, thoroughly unprepared.

"You seem to know what to do with a caster! First thing you did, catch her fingers, tie her up! I'd probably end up letting her get free, and getting my stupid arse killed while she makes her escape!" he shouts, humorously,

>>12381622
"Anyway, as the jails here ain't quite what they used to be, what with the state of the Sealord's Guard, and as I certainly ain't prepared to hold a prisoner, though I suppose I could improvise fairly well, I really don't want her knowing where my house is. Or my ships, for that matter. Seems safer." Excellent, you think.

"Seems a good idea." you agree, after a moment's feigned consideration.

"Say, are you going to hang around for the Rat!?" Lydon asks, enthusiastic as ever.

"Rat? I'm afraid I'm not to certain what your event entails.

"Well, we've been going on and on about how Francisco and Drac were chasing those continentals up and down the coast, running them into their rat holes, right?"

"Yes, it does seem to be the focus of this event." you concede dryly. It is, unfortunately, lost on Lydon.

"Well!" Lydon says, hopping down behind the stage. "Glad to see my woulda-been assassin is still cooling her heels down here, ah, here we go." you hear him say from under neath, "This, is the rat!" he shouts, pulling out a cage with a massive rat in it, two feet long, at least. It's teeth seem to be missing, likely due to blunt trauma, at a guess. "They get to do the same!" Lydon says, gesturing at the crowd with the rat-cage in one hand. "Whoever catches it gets the prize; eighty gold, isn't much, but it's a popular event.

Turning to the crowd, Lydon starts the preamble, introducing the final event.

>>12381622
This is most excellent news. Now we just have to hope Cygnis doesn't want in as well and then we could be good. Unfortunately, it is 4 am where I am and I can no longer keep this up. Wish I could join you all for the interrogation but I rather not fall asleep at my comp. Don't screw it up guys and get as much info as you can. Until next time Writer-dude.

>>12381661
I'm tempted to say we should bump up the prize. Match Lydon, if not increase it. Beyond that, I don't think we should join it.

>>12381661
I think we can retire once the Ratting is underway. I'd say speak with Cygnis first to make sure she hasn't made any other plans, then head home with Scinnari and our captive.

>>12381667
Only one thirty here, but we might want to cut it out anyway. If we decide to chase the rat (with the /commoners!/,), we could finish that, or we could wrap up shortly otherwise, too.

>>12381674
We've spent quite enough lately, and this is his event. We just earned goodwill, probably best not to spend it so early.

but all that lovely gold....

btw can we spot who in the crowd is Cygnis even with her disguise. it is a good idea to know where she.

>>12381717
She's our pretty human 'assistant', Cyaria. Another identity, like we have our multiple ones.

The commoners are excellent for getting us into the council position, but to actually compete alongside them... yuck. Beneath us.

>>12381717
We also assigned her to guard our captive under the stage, (make sure she isn't wriggling free, and all that,).

>>12381680
>>12381693
>>12381739

"I think not." you respond quietly from the side. "Business and duties to attend to." you say, tapping your boot on the stage. Lydon nods, but continues his last bout of showmanship. After a suitable build up, he pulls the rat out, holds it up, and tosses it into the crowd. It sounds like a riot, and the crowd fractures rapidly, some leaving, some getting out of the way, some following, and many chasing the rat. At least you think so; after a few dozen initial feet on people's shoulders, it disappears under into the crowd, hidden by feet and bodies. From up on the stage you can track it by the screams and jumps of people in the crowd, as it dashes by them.

"Well, that seems to be the end, good luck with your council bid." you offer Lydon as the crowd disperse, most leaving, for a variety or reasons, and in all directions, but some hanging about or heading over to the drinking tent. Despite starting in the morning, it's still going strong, with fresh barrels arriving, and more people being added to the stack of drunks.

"Right, I have to get ready for the ball anyway! Sealord's holding a reception, and, assuming I succeed, newest hat on the Council, of course." Lydon responds. "We ought to both be going. Here, I'll lend you my carriage, since you have your passenger."

>final actions, and things we should do? Otherwise I'm going to assume we accept, take our captive home, and hang/tie her up somewhere, pending our attention.

was thinking to myself it would be funny to cast hast or expeditious retreat on the rat to make it interesting but we don't have those and it might back fire.

>SK.Mockery@Yahoo.com

Should someone want to contact me, with further questions, plans, suggestions, or other devious intentions.

when do you plan to start it up again?

>>12381858
Sunday, I think. Just as a warning, I doubt I'll ever do a friday again; I often have

>>12381884
>laptop
>typing
>palm accidentally touches mousepad, accepted as click
>mouse was over 'submit button' for some reason
FFFF-
I usually have a regular game on fridays, it was cancelled today. (Hence Quest.)

ah

Goodnight all, then.