switzerland ♔ the words tightening around my throat

[silverguardian]

WHO || Nyna, Cara, Felicity, Stiles
WHAT || The Knights are sent to hear about a prospective job from an art collector
WHERE || Bern, Switzerland
WHEN || April 13th, 2015
HOW || Actionspam

The streets of Bern swell with the myriad sights and scents of its industry: the wood and polish of carpenters' shops, tantalizing aromas wafting from dozens of bakeries, and the heavy oil scent of artists.  Meanwhile, hundreds of rich colors give the district an appearance of a holiday festival.  The townhouse of Asheron Coyl comes into view, perched on a small rise that overlooks the street.  A low fence covered in vines abuts the street.  A gate opens onto a flagstone path that wends past frozen flower beds, fountains, and sculpted shrubs to the front doors.  A bell hangs next to the gate, reading "Please ring bell" in several languages.  With an 11 disguise check, Nyna didn't really bother to dress all fancy, opting instead for her paladin armor, sorry guys.   She can be the sexy bodyguard.  

Comments

[mordsith]

[Cara doesn't want to wait for the armor to get very far, she withdraws her weapons and moves to strike. ( atk 25 , dmg 2 | atk 18 , dmg 6 ) She hits high around the head with her first hit and attempts for a low hit on the side.]

[allmydreams]

[Felicity also isn't going to waste time worrying about anything but the knight for the right now, shifting to fire on the creature once (attack 16 action point says 22, damage 6 if that hits).]

[behindcloseddoors]

[ only cara's first weapon leaves a scratch on it - even felicity's bullet bounces off its armor easily. however as it raises its fists, the scratch heals over entirely before it brings both fists down on cara's head (atk 26 & 25, dmg 14 & 14) ]

[trebond]

[ That distracts Alanna sufficiently from her pursuit of the painting itself, turning instead to approach the armor and swing her sword (atk 31, 21; dmg 6, 11). ]

[behindcloseddoors]

[ at that point, the figure in the painting abruptly SLIDES OUT OF IT, and finds himself standing there, looking a bit sluggish, but raising his hand to cast some kind of spell that puts a shield of flickering light around him ]

[killingtodeath]

[Stiles does not want to get in the way of all these much more effective people going after that statue... so he'll just try to step out of the way.

Just in time for the painting guy to step out and freak him the fuck out.]

Whoa! Hey, there's no need for any of that... whatever it is you're doing.

[diplomacy 40. They do not need to add magic to this mix, okay.]

[mordsith]

[WHAT THE HELL. She feels a little dazed from that, clearly, but she still makes an effort to retaliate, because what the hell!! (atk 24, atk 22 | dmg 7). When the figure from the painting moves, she glances to it, listening to Stiles, but mostly she's going to just make sure this armor doesn't get far.]

[allmydreams]

[That is not a good sign. But she's going to let Stiles try and diplomacy the guy to see how it goes, so she'll continue to shoot at the knight and try to keep it off Cara (attack nat 20, damage 12).]

[behindcloseddoors]

[ cara lands another hit as felicity's bullet sings into the side of the thing. again, it seems to heal up some of the damage, and goes slamming back into cara (atk 21, atk 32, dmg 11 & 12) ]

[trebond]

[ Alanna swings twice, but only one hits (atk 28, dmg 11) while the other goes wildly wide because she's distracted by keeping an eye on Stiles and making sure that the sorcerer from the painting doesn't turn on him. ]

Stiles, be careful!

[behindcloseddoors]

I don't know who you are, or how you found this place and passed my defenses, but I advise you to leave. [ he casts another spell on himself, raising his palm out towards them ] This is your last warning.

[killingtodeath]

I would love to. I mean- really. But see- there's something going around here that's pretty...well, evil and we're sort of against that.

[Maybe if he keeps this guy talking the actually effective people can make some headway??]

[druidisms]

[ shaking off the apparent wave of vertigo he got from the spinning floor, gus steps up behind stiles, putting his hand on his shoulder and casting barkskin for an effective bonus of +4 to stiles' ac. eyeing the women and realizing he'd need more room to get his murder on, he leaves them to assault the armor. ]

You have about ten seconds to surrender. That's your last warning and I'm not actually real big on warnings.

[ sorry to ruin all your hard work, stiles. ]

[mordsith]

[Cara is at a loss here, because on one hand she wants to keep hitting the thing that keeps hitting her -- but it doesn't seem to be doing anything... other than getting her hit.

She takes a step back, putting herself on guard, but not advancing on the target.]

I can do this all day. [No, she probably can't -- but (bluff 24) she might be good at making it seem like it.]

[allmydreams]

Your little revenge trip killed our friend.

[Felicity is going to keep her focus on the knight as she speaks, but she takes a cue from Cara and steps back, but her gun is still drawn.]

We got past your defenses because this needs to stop.

[behindcloseddoors]

[ the man steps behind the guardian, raising a hand and saying a word in some magic lingo to it that causes it to grind to a halt with its hands raised to slam into anyone who dares to step close. ] Lower your weapons, if you don't wish my shield guardian to add to that toll.

[trebond]

[ Alanna looks like she


hates this plan


for about twelve reasons, not least of all that she still can't shake how unnerving she finds his appearance, but her fist tightens around the crystal sword and slides it back into its gilded hilt all the same. With feeling. Worst case scenario, like, she has magic, but at least he's talking. ]

You're lucky you still have a head to bark orders with, given what's passed here. You have a lot to answer for.

[behindcloseddoors]

I do? [ he snorts ] Endrik Archerus is the man who did wrong here. And he answered for it already.

[killingtodeath]

Okay, well- first of all. Who are you, dude? And why are you living in this weird secret passage?

[druidisms]

And who has a fucking firebreathing dog?

[mordsith]

[Yes. Cara too would like the answers to these questions.]

[allmydreams]

[Felicity also hates this plan, but she will take her gun off the shield guardian, lowering it to her side but not putting it on the ground.

That being said, she does want to point out one things:]

Archerus stole your paintings. You were the one who killed innocent people.

[behindcloseddoors]

[ he narrows his eyes, straightening up and lifting his chin. ] My name is Imron Gauthfallow, and what Archerus stole from me wasn't mere art.

I hail from Faerun, where I studied extensively the wizarding arts. My style is unique in that I have discovered a way to combine my arcane talents with my artistry to enhance the viewing experience - something that gave me a distinct edge over the local ... competition. [ he sneers ] I showed the people of this world sights and exotic creatures from beyond it that surpassed their wildest imagination.

Archerus [ he scowls the name ] began presenting works to nearby galleries that were not merely copies of my originals, but copies of those that had not seen the light of day in public. He'd somehow stolen ideas from my works in progress, and passed them off as his own.

It seemed that my own servant, one who I had bent over backwards for, treated as my own family, betrayed me to that fool.

[trebond]

But it was your wizardry, not Archerus, who created them to come alive. Your magic that killed them.

[behindcloseddoors]

My magic that sought redress for the harm done to me, no more.