tobago ♔ the key is our vice

[everyredcent]

WHO || Thoster, Christos, Aedan, Penelope, Hook
WHAT || The Knights follow a lead on potential Slovechnian slaves
WHERE || The Devil's Fire Tavern, Tobago
WHEN || May 22nd  [forward dated]
HOW || Actionspam

The tavern the Knights have been sent to is located on the impoverished lower west side of the city. It derives its name - The "Devil's Fire Tavern" - from a red glow that magically escapes the tavern's windows after the sun goes down, an ornament added by the current proprietor. The inside of the place is inhospitable, to say the least. The floor is made of irregular stone tiles that are covered by a damp sludge of ash and mud, and the rarely used fireplace reeks of some unknown substance. The furniture is old, but serviceable. Still, they serves good ale for a fair price, has an irregular supply of local and exotic wines and other delicacies, and serves up a cheap ploughman's lunch to nearby workers.

The clientele seems mostly composed of beggars lucky enough to have money to spare; dockworkers avoiding their wives after a day's work, and representatives of the city's various criminal elements. A cook and serving girl are visible, and there are a few open tables scattered about. Christos, glad to be off the sunny streets and in a locale that feels much more familiar to him, heads towards one in a corner immediately.

Comments

[ex_noble101]

[Aedan isn't overly invested in the idea, himself. Hopefully it won't bite them in the ass later, but for now he will just begin to move ahead so they weren't wasting any more time.]

[unhand]

[Hook sighs and stands up, nodding at Penelope and turning to follow Aedan.]

[righteousmight]

[ penelope holds her sword up, lighting the way ahead, but she waits for christos to lead because he's their rogue. ]

[everyredcent]

[ but the doggies liked hook :( he smelled like salty pirate. there doesn't seem to be anything else to find, so christos scowls a bit at penelope's bright sword, and then heads across the hall, glancing in around the corner through the door.

the huge cave smells and sounds like the sea, and the walls and ceiling are damp and dripping. a dozen slaves are being held here, bound and huddled in one corner. two pirates stand guard over them, as well as another dog. they look nervous, and one of the slaves is staring blankly around strangely, his head and eyes darting oddly about like a bird. the guards seem to be watching this uneasily, but neither seems to notice the others, particularly over the yapping of the dogs from the other room. ]

[righteousmight]

[ sorry bro. not all of us - or any of us but you, actually - have darkvision.

penelope eyes that weird slave with the neurotic neck twitch for a moment or two, unsure if it's just nerves or some kind of legitimate condition. you know, besides the ptsd they're probably all suffering from being captured and held as slaves 8| yeah, she's definitely ready to kill some slave-masters now.

she looks back to the others in the group, nodding as if to signal they should move forward. for justice! ]

[ex_noble101]

[Aedan wants to see the shady-ass shit too, so he moves up beside them to catch a glimpse of what they're up against. Considering what quick work they made of the last set of guards, he doesn't see those two posing much of a problem.

Although his gaze lingers on the slave with the erratic movements after he'd assessed their captors. That seemed odd--even from the perspective of the slavers, apparently.]

[everyredcent]

[ the way christos shifts his blade in his hand eagerly makes it clear what he's thinking. he nods to the others to move in. someone else can take these d-bags. ]

[bluffcheck]

[Well, seeing as Thoster was so keen on getting in on the fun last time, he won't wait for further invitation. Just gonna head in to bash one of them with his Morningstar. But if a move silently is needed, he rolled a 6... But his attack roll was a 19? For 11 damage if it all works in his favor.]

[ex_noble101]

[When Thoster rushes in to attack the closer of the two guards, Aedan follows close behind so as to engage the second man before he might make a move to assist his comrade. His initial sword attack ends up serving more as a method of distraction than anything, allowing Aedan to plunge the dagger held in his off-hand deep into the second guard's ribcage (attack 13 damage 3 & attack 29, crit for 18 piercing damage +3 cold damage).]

[everyredcent]

[ thoster gives the guy a mighty CRACK over the head, while aedan comes up and fucking murders this other bitch, slipping his dagger right between chinks in the guy's armor. he lets out a surprised hurk, and then slips off the blade onto the ground.

while one guard is still standing, christos assumes you guys have got this. :| and that leaves him to kill the dog. again. #dogslayer he moves in and chops at it with his rapier (atk 29, dmg ... 39). that is one dead dog. ]

[bluffcheck]

[The feel of his weapon hitting true is incredibly satisfying, but seeing as the man is still standing, Thoster just lets the good times roll and swings again (attack 19 again... weird, damage 8). Now would be the time when he would normally say something witty, but he feels like that might bring attention to them if there are more people down here. Siiiiigh. Being quiet while in battle in lame. #bardproblems]

[everyredcent]

[ well that's... three for three. .___. /init ]

[righteousmight]

[ penelope moves in, giving her allies a quick once over to make sure none of them have been injured. you guys are pretty awesome, and her grin displays just how much she likes that.

she'll just... search the room now, if that's okay (search 15). ]

[unhand]

[Welp, that was fast. Hook moves over and starts freeing the slaves.]

How do you lot feel about getting out of here?

[righteousmight]

[ oh, right. slaves. yeah she'll help with that instead of searching the room. she can tend to the injured, as well (heal 21), but would rather save spells for her teammates, if needed. ]

[ex_noble101]

[Aedan will just ... watch y'all do your thang. He's not so sure they should be letting these people out just yet to potentially make a fucking break for it and possibly alert more guards only to get slaughtered or recaptured or who knows what else if that twitchy looking fellow is any indication. But yolo. If Christos-senpai ain't worried he won't be either I guess.]

[righteousmight]

[ that's... also a good point, but too late now! besides, some of them look really hurt ;_; ]

[bluffcheck]

[Thoster will keep an eye out, just in case someone else shows up and thinks to get the jump on them. Three people freeing slaves is enough right? Spot 23 to keep his eyes peeled? idk.]

[everyredcent]

[ the pirates have some money on them, but beyond that, there's not much to find. the slaves are uninjured, but incredibly grateful, grabbing penelope's hands to thank her profusely as christos, who is busy peering at one of them. ]

Your tattoos. [ he points to one with the tip of his rapier and the slave shrinks away. ] What are these, then?

[ "I-- I don't know. They did this to us. They wouldn't tell us anything." ]

[righteousmight]

[ that certainly seems interesting. penelope absently drops the hand of the slave thanking her to stare openly at the markings (spellcraft 18??) ]

[bluffcheck]

[Thoster steps over and takes a look at the tattoos because he's nosy and curious. Also he took the dead pirates money. Just so you know. But if there are tapestries of bard gods down here, maybe he has heard stuff about things (bardic knowledge 25)]

[everyredcent]

[ penelope would recognize that there is definitely something magical in the design of the tattoos, although they oddly do not resonate with any detectable magic. thoster has heard of tattoos that can be used to store spells before, and would have heard tales in the old world of such tattoos created by the Red Wizards of Thay and the Zhentarim, often as scrying focuses for those who inscribed the tattoos in the first place. ]

[bluffcheck]

Hang on. [He want to get a closer look.] These marking remind me of stories I've heard of the Red Wizards of Thay. Could be magic stored in them, or ways to keep tabs on their 'property.'

[righteousmight]

Is there a way to dispel such magic, or to expend it's charge, if it has one? [ she asks to... no one in particular, because she certainly doesn't know ]

[everyredcent]

Removing the tattoo itself should do it.