Family Matters (AshPrince) GMed by Hafnium

[Tassadar]

Spoiler

HP = 37, PP = 33, EP = 30, Status = Fine

Elizabeth moved through the crowd like a serpent through fallen leaves, her armor and weapons both silent and perfectly hidden beneath her long, flowing dress. The balls that the Badarian nobility held were always fruitful sources of both information, and clients, and this one was no exception. While a fairly minor house, the ball that Elizabeth had been sent to tonight came at the expense and invitation of House Dreslin. They were old blood, nobles since long before the Lich King had taken his throne, but they hadn't adapted well to the changing times. Their riches had long come from the mining of iron, and the production of weapons and armor with them. The iron mining still did fairly well, but it the head of the house had refused to allow his business to evolve with the times. When the army had switched largely to the use of firearms, the head of House Dreslin, a man by the name of Antaeous Theodore Dreslin who was almost seventy years old by now, had kept his ironworks producing blades and chainmail, neither of which were in high demand any more.

There were many rumors to be picked from the crowd, this night, and many days of picking the facts from them to follow. Some she had heard already, from a group of court ladies in puffed out dresses who giggled and flitted their eyes as they spoke, about the youngest son of Lord Dreslin trying to marry his way out of his failing family. As she'd passed a table of guards, she'd heard something about keeping an eye on Lord Dreslins first son, who had been rumored to be trying to assassinate and replace both his father, and his elder brother, who had long gone along with everything that his the head of the house did and said. More information on either rumor, either verifying or denying it, might prove very profitable to any of a fair number of parties interested in House Dreslins iron mines and metalworking businesses.

"Elizabeth! Lady Elizabeth!" A voice cried out through the noisy throng that was the ball, ad Elizabeth turned to find a young woman jostling her way through the crowd toward toward. The woman, more a girl really, was a member of House Silrocio, a fairly influential house. She was the only daughter of the brother of the head of that house, and her name was Karina Silrocio. She'd passed gossip to Elizabeth from time to time, and the girl even seemed to like her quite a bit, though she wasn't sure if she herself returned such sentiments. Elizabeth had learned many secrets from the girl, over the three years they'd known one another, and if nothing else she had proven to be a valuable resource.

Karina hurried up to Elizabeth, her formal gown flowing more naturally than any other in the place, and even the normally professional girl had no choice but to admire her beauty. Karinas skin was slightly darker than the normal pale among the Badarian nobility, with a slight olivine tinge. Her eyes were the color of chocolate, deep and dark enough for any man or woman to fall into. Her hair was a matching color, and had a natural curl to it that could not be controlled by any hairdresser, so she kept it shorter than was currently popular, letting fall no farther than her shoulders. Her dress was a deep dark green, like the leaves at the heart of a forest, and was embroidered in silver and gold lace. Despite the relative tightness of the garment, it could not conceal Karinas impressive curves, and her cleavage spilled out of the confining garment impressively. She was currently engaged to a lesser noble of an unimportant house, but she had been sending messages to Elizabeth of late, asking for a private meeting. As yet, she hadn't had time to answer them with anything more than courtly stalling tactics.

She didn't try to hug Elizabeth, or even to grasp her hand, but she did get slightly closer than might be considered appropriate in order to quietly say; "Elizabeth.... There's something I need to tell you about... Something you need to see. It's... You're the only one who I think I can trust with it. Not even... Not even my parents know yet. Please.... It's important." She seemed sincere, and distressed.

 

[AshPrince]

Re: Elizabeth Silver (AshPrince)

Elizabeth’s first and only real reaction to her old acquaintance was to raise a carefully manicured eyebrow, and even that simple expression remained displayed for only the half second it took for its owner to realize she had it. Behind her eyes Elizabeth’s mind whirled with the implications, something Karina would only trust to her, was, dubious, either the girl was far more stupid than Elizabeth had taken her for or far more trusting, but the fact that she had yet to inform even her own family, and the obvious distress worn as clearly as the girl’s dress did lead itself to certain implications.

Still, no information no matter how important would be worth a wick of trouble if announced in the middle of a crowded ballroom, and Karina’s distress had indubitably drawn the attention of every gossip and eavesdropper in the court. “Calm down Karina, deep breaths” Elizabeth raised an arm around the girl, setting her hand carefully on her shoulder, a simple act of companionship, though it could be considered more, this was purely for appearances, flies with honey and all that. “Come on, let’s talk someplace more private hmm?” She smiled softly to her companion, patting her softly on the shoulders and attempting to lead her toward the main doors of the ballroom, even she wouldn’t try to eavesdrop on someone holding a conversation alone in a hall. Well she would, but she was a Silver.“What is it dear, you can tell me.” The words tasted too sugar-sweet even to her.

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Elizabeth Silver (AshPrince) GMed by Hafnium

Spoiler

HP = 37, PP = 33, EP = 30, Status = Fine

As Elizabeth had expected, the sight of her leading away a noticeably distressed Karina had already elicited some chuckles and words from a few of the more observant groups in the room. Rumors that the two had declared their love for one another at the ball would have likely circulated by the next day. The gossip of the nobility could be handled, at least. That sort of thing came and went quickly amongst the notably loose-lipped group that made up the noble rumormongers, as long as there were no repeat performances, anyway. In a way, they weren't very much different than House Silver, except they did not always realize the value of the words they would so easily give away and discard.

The other girl wordlessly allowed herself to be led by Elizabeth. Thankfully, Karina did not appear to hear the lewdest of the spoken comments, or perhaps any of them. If she had been aware of them then the information might have been even harder to extract from her, the young noblewoman seemed troubled enough as it was. "It's... it's," Karina fumbled with her words. "How do I... Here." The young noblewoman began to look for something in the hallway. Eventually her eyes settled on a small, yet still incredibly gaudy, vase on a table in the hallway. Karina began to stare intensely at it, an act which, had anybody seen it, might have had them add insanity to the growing list of rumors that would spread about her that night. Or it would have, if the vase had not began to levitate into the air after nearly half a minute of her efforts. The information that would have circulated from that would have been much worse.

Thankfully, the olive-tinged girl set the vase down rather quickly after mentally picking it up and managed to do so without breaking it. "See!" Karina exclaimed, a little excitably. "I-I don't know how I got this way. You're the only one I thought I could trust." Karina seemed to fall under the definition of both trusting and foolish. Under the rule of the Lich King, mages and people with other such powers weren't exactly welcomed with open arms and kindness by those who enforced his laws. The girl had unwittingly given Elizabeth enough material to blackmail her entire family on. Yet, the assassin also knew that there might be more to that particular story.

Any attempt at gathering more information was cut short when another person entered the hallway, a fairly trusted servant of her father, Robin. The name did not seem to match the man, he was short, shorter than Elizabeth, and plump to boot. His flesh was pallid and flabby and crammed into fine black clothing that was much too small for him. All that remained of the man's head of black hair was a tacky comb-over and a ridiculous looking curly mustache. Yet, for all that, Robin was a capable assassin, information gatherer, and thief. In his youth he had been a low-born orphan who had managed to survive on his ability to scrounge necessities and stick knives into the ribs of anybody who might impede that, he had never lost his touch. His common birth was part of the reason he was trusted, Robin had no claim to the Silver heritage and everything he had, he owed to Andrew.

The plump man looked at Karina with an expression of mock surprise that she was there with Elizabeth. The noblewoman was fooled but Elizabeth wasn't, Robin was a retainer to her father, he had been eavesdropping. The little man likely didn't know the full story, however, since it hadn't all been vocal. "Lady Karina, what a pleasant surprise!" He lied and took a deep bow. Then Robin turned to her, his eyebrow raised and offered another bow. "Milady, I do not wish to intrude on your conversation with Lady Karina but your father wanted me to send for you." The pudgy assassin sniffed twice, almost a verbal tic for the man, as though he had gotten a marble stuck in his nose and had never gotten it out. The way Robin spoke, however, made it clear that he had a more confidential message for her that couldn't be repeated in Karina's presence. The other noblewoman did not dismiss herself, however, looking to Elizabeth as though waiting for some sort of answer.

 

[AshPrince]

Re: Elizabeth Silver (AshPrince) GMed by Hafnium

Though the rumor mill may have been useful for her own work, Elizabeth had little love for those involved. They spread rumor for their own amusement, Elizabeth would lend no credence to her alleged love for Karina, she would report the girl’s spellcraft to her father as was required of her, though quite honestly it was doubtful to come to anything too severe. Certainly her family would want the young mage’s secret kept for purposes of marriage, but Elizabeth had her doubts that a woman spell caster would be more than blip on the Lich King’s radar. Maybe binding brand, or some other method of sealing, but Karina seem the sort too soft for battle, and one would hope that if Elizabeth could recognize this, any agent of the Lich would as well.

Robin on the other hand was a different manner, common men had their place, particular in a family of rogues, but there was something about Robin that had always rubbed Elizabeth the wrong way, an adequate messenger and even fighter when the situation called for it, but he had little tact for maneuvering among nobles and stood out amongst them like a bloody thumb.

Still, there was only one appropriate response for when Elizabeth’s father called. “Of course, I’ll see him right away. Thank you Robin.” She bowed slightly to pear shaped man, before turning back to Karina, one hand resting atop the brunette’s shoulder, to comfort and assure her as would be expected of a doting friend. “Try to calm down, enjoy the ball, I’ll be back when I can.” Hopeful even in her distressed state, Karina would understand the duty of a Badarian woman to answer her father’s call under any circumstances. “We’ll talk when I get back, okay? We’ll figure something out, you know there’s nothing we can handle, as long as we think before we speak.” And hopefully that would be enough to keep the busty child from sharing with anyone else, secrets were useless if they ceased to be secrets.

Elizabeth nodded to her friend, giving her one last faux smile before turning down the hall to the way Robin had come. She wondered if her father had come to fetch her in person, or if she was expected to bound back to the family house at his beckon call.

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Elizabeth Silver (AshPrince) GMed by Hafnium

Spoiler

HP = 37, PP = 33, EP = 30, Status = Fine

Robin walked away even as Elizabeth spoke her assurances to Karina. "Okay," the busty girl replied doubtfully. "I hope you get back soon." Karina sounded almost like she was pleading. The olive-tinged girl allowed Elizabeth her leave, however, understanding her duty to her father. The noblewoman reluctantly returned to the ballroom as Elizabeth began to follow after the way Robin had come and gone. The House Silver heiresses' work seemed to be cut out for her in the task of tracking down her father's pudgy retainer as he was already out of sight and the estate had a labyrinth of pathways.

As soon as Elizabeth was out of sight of Karina, however, she heard him. Sniff, sniff, was the only noise that the otherwise silent Robin made as he fell in and began to walk beside her. "Milady," sniff, sniff, the little man spoke in a manner that made it seem as though the common utterances of nobles left an odd taste in his mouth. "Lord Silver has information on one of your wayward cousins. It seems that for all the lad's opinions about your unmarried status, he is not quite being faithful in his own marriage. Quite unfaithful even as we speak, it seems. Of course, your father is just overjoyed to find that he's alive and well, after he lost track of the lad when your other cousins came up missing. " Sniff, sniff. Robin hadn't looked at Elizabeth since he had begun speaking to her. To anybody who might see the two together the conversation would most likely be passed off as idle chitchat. Not that there was likely anybody so far away from the ballroom at that point in the night with the festivities still underway. "But that is something for a discussion on the carriage ride, I'm sure you agree."

If Elizabeth had continued walking then she would have found herself led to the entrance of the building, overlooking a courtyard. A staircase lead down to a well maintained pathway cut through an pristine green field that covered the rest of the ground between the tall stone privacy walls. A gate of iron bars was the sole intended point of entrance into the courtyard and it laid at the other end of the field. Statues lined the pathway of varying poses and sizes, apparently made by different sculptors. There were a few small, carefully trimmed trees and the occasional bed of flowers. Overall, the place was carefully designed and manicured, the result of hundreds of hours of work each week by House Dreslin's servants.

The gate was open and a carriage and driver were awaiting. Robin made a gesture with his hand towards the carriage, "Shall we be off to see Lord Silver, milady?" Sniff, sniff. It did not seem as though the pudgy little man was referring to her father. Robin sniffed again.

 

[AshPrince]

Re: Elizabeth Silver (AshPrince) GMed by Hafnium

“Of course, best not to keep my father waiting.” Elizabeth maintained a brisk stride all the way across the yard and to the carriage, and an arm’s length distance between herself and the chubby Robin. Such courtyards were rather common among nobility, they kept the common element at bay and made excellent places to store gaudy works of art designed solely to show off the wealth and splendor of the owners.

As she walked, her fists curled at her side, and Elizabeth found herself subconsciously clenching her jaw. So one of her cousins had been located, and was sleeping around. It would likely be simple enough for her to just assassinate the stray relative, but it was in fact philandering about then there seemed little cause for it. Hard enough for someone to argue she should be married when they were already, her marriage would do them no good other than giving them a new ego to court, but if they were bedding the neighbors, or worse the servants, than they had no standing at all.

Ultimately of course, whatever action she took would have to be her father’s will. He was not only her father, but the head of her house and she was a woman after all, there was an etiquette to be followed even when assassinating a relative. He had no doubt already decided on a course of action before ever even calling for her. If she wasn’t needed to play some part her father would have simply left her at the party.

She didn’t look forward to a sharing a carriage with Robin, but it couldn’t be helped, he, like her, served her father, and as it was he seemed to be speaking for him. Still, she didn’t following orders given by the round man, even if they were ultimately her father’s . “How far is it?” Outside the range of prying ears, and beyond the veil of the stagecoach doors she had no cause to maintain her façade, her words were cold, direct and to the point, dripping with every bit of contempt she had for bulbous man playing go-between.

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Elizabeth Silver (AshPrince) GMed by Hafnium

Spoiler

HP = 37, PP = 33, EP = 30, Status = Fine

The round man nearly had to scamper to keep up with the stride of the noblewoman. Robin still had somehow managed to reach the carriage before Elizabeth and opened the door for her. Unfortunately, no matter how she chose to step in, he got into the carriage after her. It seemed as though Elizabeth would, indeed, be forced to share the ride in the less than enjoyable company of Robin. The driver cracked his reins and the horses pulled the carriage onward.

"Not far, not far at all," Robin replied with another sniff, sniff. "You should be back in time to help the young lady." It seemed as though the stout man had considered saying more than that but thought it best not to anger Elizabeth. "Your lord father has instructed me to tell you that the lad must die." Sniff. Robin spoke as naturally as though he had just informed Elizabeth that her father wanted her to come in for tea. "Of course, normally, Lord Silver would not waste time or resources on some foolish lad looking to spread his seed all across the Necropolis. This lad was a little more foolish than that, however." Sniff, sniff. "This lad was quite vocal in having a very good friend of his as your suitor. Unfortunately for him, he was equally vocal in his childhood friend's plans for your lord father after a marriage had been secured." Robin gave an even look at Elizabeth, perhaps the first time he had looked her in the eyes at all since he had come to fetch her. "His friend, of course, is dead. But it seems that the lad's continued survival does not please your lord father given the boy's foolishness." Sniff.

"Lord Silver wishes him to die to make an example of him," The fleshy rogue did not specify exactly who the example was intended for. "He has specified that how this is accomplished is up to you. I have been ordered to serve you until the task is completed, as-." The rogue's statement was cut off mid-sentence at the frightened neigh of horses. Suddenly, the carriage had lurched and tipped over, sending both passengers slamming into door which had just hit the ground. Robin managed to get himself upright with about the same timing as Elizabeth. Robin forcefully pushed the other door, which now served as something of a roof, open and out of the way and that's when Elizabeth got her first view of it.

Something had Arrived over the skies of the Necropolis. It was a gray thing that appeared to be made of living flesh with wriggling tentacles trailing it. The whole thing shined with a slimy sheen. More worryingly, small objects were falling off of it and plummeting to the ground. Shrieks filled the air in the city as it was assaulted by the monstrous thing in the sky.

Robin scanned around for a moment before looking back to Elizabeth, "Milady, I think you'll want to be armed for this." Sniff, sniff. When Elizabeth followed his eyes she could see what he was talking about. A group of four short gray creatures on spindly legs stood in front of the overturned carriage. Where one might expect arms on a normal humanoid these creatures instead had at least a dozen, eight foot long tentacles. One of the creatures was in the process of strangling the driver with one of those tentacles.

 

[AshPrince]

Re: Elizabeth Silver (AshPrince) GMed by Hafnium

Elizabeth crossed her arms under her breast and laid one leg across the other as she sat back to let her father’s instructions wash over her. A simple assassination, nice enough that he let her decide how things were to be done, she preferred to slip in and out without anyone the wiser, minimal casualties minimal sightings if it could be helped, though it seemed she’d be working with Robin on this one, at least he was competent enough a rogue…

Then the carriage was on its side and she was on her back with Robin’s elbow digging into her chest. “Bugger…” She huffed slightly, blowing her bangs out of her face and righting herself as Robin pushed the coach’s door open. He scowl only deepened as she saw the monstrous thing hovering in the skies above the city and had her Long Knife drawn before Robin had even managed his quip.

There was some, things, in the road, and one of them was strangling her driver! Elizabeth would have had no affection for the man even if she knew him but at it stood there were four of the clearly unfriendly things, and one of her, though she supposed Robin could count in a fight. Hauling her upper half out the topside of the carriage, long knife in one hand, she brought herself to sit on the walls of the carriage, letting Robin find his own way up, and drew a throwing knife before hurling it at the grey thing attacking her driver, aiming for its center mass. “Now would be an excellent time to start serving Robin.”

Spoiler

Actions: Throwing knife 3d4 + 8, attack on the thing strangling the driver

Called Shot: When using a ranged weapon, you can take a -16 penalty to your to-hit to inflict double damage on the target if your attack hits. This stacks with the doubling on a successful sneak attack.

Sudden Shot: When attacking with a ranged weapon in melee combat, you can take -10 to Dodge for that round in order to make a Stealth check at -10 against an enemy that you are attacking. If you succeed, that attack counts as a sneak attack. (assuming the one attacking the driver is close enough to be considered a melee target)

To Hit d20 + Main(Body 24) – 16 (+3?)
Dodge 20 (25+10-5-10) (+3?)
Stealth _ +10 (Stealthy) -10 (Sudden Shot)

I don’t know if my “Lucky” Trait applies to any of this but it says +3 to all “non-damage rolls” so I think it should…
Also sorry if you know any of this already, first combat, I’m a little excited ;3

PS: you hit 100 posts congrats man ;p

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Elizabeth Silver (AshPrince) GMed by Hafnium

Spoiler

HP = 37, PP = 33, EP = 30, Status = Grappled, 11/12 Resistance

Rolls

Spoiler

(I think Lucky is technically only supposed to effect to-hit rolls, casting rolls, perception rolls, etc. though I'm inclined, and am totally going to unless told otherwise since I'm GM'ing this thread, to count it in for dodge just because you can only take it once. Speaking of dodge, I think you subtracted your EV penalty from dodge, it's actually supposed to affect speed so your dodge is actually a bit higher. Finally, I'm glad the notion of impending violence and/or tentacle fun-times is exciting, this hopefully won't be the last time it comes up! )

Elizabeth's Action: Rousing game of pin the knife on the alien rapist.
Attack: 1d20 => 7 + 11 = 18 vs 35. Miss.

Robin's Action: Activate Whirling Death and play "Will it Blend?" with tentacle rapists.
Attack: Hit.
Damage: 3 + 12 + 10 = 25 and 6 + 12 + 10 = 28. Dead.
5 damage to self.

Tentacle Rapist #1 - #3 actions: It's probably safe to guess.
TR1: Grapple Elizabeth. Failure.
TR4: Grapple Elizabeth. Success. Elizabeth is at 11/12 Resistance.
(Rolled a 20 for your second grapple, a 1 for your first. Edit: I also derped up my explanation of what how I rolled the grapples. Number overload. @.@)
TR3: Strangle Robin. Miss.

The grey-skinned thing was fast and it's wild movements and apparent lack of bone structure spoiled Elizabeth's aim. The House Silver heiress did not seem likely to hit the thing with any overly fancy tricks. It used it's spindly legs to close the distance with the young woman and before she could ready another knife the thing was upon her. At least a dozen tentacles all made an effort to grab and subdue the assassin but none were able to outmatch Elizabeth in swiftness.

Robin, in the meantime, had hopped out of the cabin and plunged directly at one of the monstrosities faster than it seemed like his stubby legs should have been able to carry him. The stout assassin's daggers had all but materialized in his hands and he rushed at the tentacled beast as a whirlwind of steel. But, it was with a simple thrust and a slash that the thing was decapitated, spraying the ground with odd liquid that might pass as the thing's blood. The third monster had snapped the carriage driver's neck like a twig, dropping his lifeless corpse to the ground, and tried to wrap a tendril around Robin's throat to bestow him the same fate but the stout man was too quick for it.

Elizabeth had her own troubles as the last creature attempted to grab at her. Unlike the other's attempt, however, the new one succeeded in wrapping a slimy tentacle around her waist. The young assassin could feel her skin begin to warm and tingle as the ooze went seeped past her clothing and armor. Elizabeth would have to get the tentacles off her quickly if she didn't want to experience their secondary use.

 

[AshPrince]

Re: Elizabeth Silver (AshPrince) GMed by Hafnium

Gritting her teeth, both at her miss and both the creature’s attempts to grasp at her, Elizabeth decided to screw it, raising her Long Knife above her head to swing it down at the tentacle grabbing her, intent on slashing it, preferably to cleave it completely free of its owner simply for the affront of attacking her, and in no small part for inflicting her with the warm tingling that crept across her skin, but if these things could feel pain, she’d settle for causing them a lot of it.

Spoiler

Long Knife attack: 1 + 3d6 + 12 Slashing Damage

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Elizabeth Silver (AshPrince) GMed by Hafnium

Spoiler

HP = 37, PP = 33, EP = 30, Status = Grappled, 5/12 Resistance

(Thanks for the congrats earlier, totally missed it. I also totally missed that I hit 100 posts, so yeah. >.>)

Rolls

Spoiler

Grapple: Elizabeth wins.
Attack: Hit.
Damage: 22.

Robin Action: Whirling Death off. Cut TR2.
Attack: Hit
Damage: 3 + 12 = 15 and 3 + 12 = 15. Dead.

TR1 Grapple Elizabeth. Hit. Elizabeth has been grappled. 6 resistance damage, 5/12.
TR3 Strangle Robin. Hit. 16 - 1 = 15 damage.

Elizabeth successfully cut herself free from the tentacled monstrosity before it could do anything else to her. Robin rushed back to aid her and finished the beast with a well placed pair of daggers in it's back, or what seemed to serve as it's back. Together, the two dispatched the thing with relative ease. Unfortunately, that left two more of the invaders still alive.

The monster that Robin had left behind had not forgotten him. It's spindly legs carried it to the stout rogue with enough haste to catch him off guard. One of it's tendrils wrapped around the man's neck, yanking him into the air and choking him. Elizabeth was unable to dodge in time as the other tentacled beast's appendages caught her legs, then her arms. More ooze leaked through her clothing, it was more potent than the last time. Her skin grew more sensitive as the slime touched her, her clothes were becoming unbearably hot, and she could feel the beginnings of arousal. The ooze that the creature was secreting was clearly an aphrodisiac of some sort. Based on Robin's predicament, it did not seem as though he'd be able to lend any aid, the pudgy man was too busy with his own battle. It was a fight between the heiress-assassin and the monster.

 

[AshPrince]

Re: Elizabeth Silver (AshPrince) GMed by Hafnium

Elizabeth snarled at the thing accosting her, kicking and struggling as she managed to pull a second throw knife from her waistline before flicking it suddenly toward the horror holding her, following her second of defiant freedom with a sweep of her Long Knife just for good measure, if this, thing was going to get the better of her, than she was going to make damn sure it took a few scars along the way.

Spoiler

Sudden Shot with the throwing knife and a basic attack with the long knife, I can do both because of my Two handed fighter talent right? It says that a throwing knife can be used as a one handed sword and the talent says that I can make two attacks with one handed weapons a round so... Plus it would make sense to be able to do both. PS: posting from my phone, so please forgive any errors and what not...

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Elizabeth Silver (AshPrince) GMed by Hafnium

Spoiler

HP = 37, PP = 33, EP = 30, Status = Mostly fine.

Rolls

Spoiler

Grapple: Elizabeth wins
Stealth: Elizabeth wins.
Attack: Automatic Success (Throwing Knives), Miss (Long Knife)
Damage: (8 + 12) * 2 = 40. Dead.

Robin's Action: Attack TR3
Attack: Success and Success.
Damage: 11 + 12 = 23 and 6 + 12 = 18. Dead.

Elizabeth managed to get her throwing knife into her hand without the monster ever noticing. A simple flick of her wrist sent the steel flying directly into what appeared to be it's torso. As the dagger buried itself, the thing simply fell, motionless. Robin finished his own enemy by severing the tentacle strangling him and planting his other weapon into it's base. When it was all said and done the two stood near an overturned carriage, it's horses had fled much earlier in the fighting. The deceased driver laid in a heap.

"Well, milady, I believe a change in plans might be in order," Robin was too busy gasping for air for his customary sniffling. "Your lord father will doubtless still want the lad dead. It might be a little more difficult with these things running about. Similarly, there is the matter of those who were left at the ball," the stout man obviously referred to Karina. The girl and her newly acquired powers could prove useful during the fighting, though Robin seemed to believe that Elizabeth might have some other attachment. The pudgy House Silver retainer had never been very good at reading the heiress. "Your lord father still has his guards and others on hand, he should be safe for a time but I would be errant in my duty to not mention that we should eventually return to him. But, milady, I will serve in whatever decision you make."

Sometime between the beginning of their skirmish and the end, the city appeared to have devolved into utter chaos. The occasional fire dotted the landscape. Shouts and screams filled the air. The area of the city they were in was fairly affluent. Most noble houses and holdings had their own personal guards, meaning that they hadn't been hit as hard by the invasion as the sections of the city that lived in poverty. The roads between them remained dangerous, however, as invaders continued to pour into the city from the gray monstrosity in the sky.

(2 XP gained)

 

[AshPrince]

Re: Elizabeth Silver (AshPrince) GMed by Hafnium

Elizabeth held her Long Knife at arm’s length, pointed down at the crumpled mass of the wriggling grey thing that had accused her, watching it for any sign that it was not truly dead, not moving until completely satisfied. Her breath came heavy and he skin tingled slightly, but she was fine, and standing up turned to her father’s retainer as he outlined their options.

Her cousin needed to die, that was her mission, and with the city thrown into chaos it was the perfect time to strike against him, but four of these things had come close to catching the better of her, though she had a new respect for Robin’s ability to kill, not that she’d ever voice it, and there was the matter of those at the ball. Honestly they would probably be well enough defended, they were in a noble house after all, and there would be guards.

“You will escort me back to the ball, if we stay low and stick to the narrows and side streets we should be able to avoid most of the, whatever they are.” Elizabeth spoke simply, still working the steps out in her own mind even as she strode to the thing she had killed and retrieved her throwing knife from its torso, holding her Long Knife to its throat just encase it decided to come back to life. In a city ruled by a Lich, better safe than sorry. “Once we have retrieved anyone there who’s abilities may be of use, you will return to my father’s side and inform of these developments, while I, accompanied by whomever we may find at the party will continue to my cousin’s residence under the guise of using it as a safe haven. Once there, I will assassinate my cousin as discretely as possible, his death can be blamed either on the creatures or those who will accompany me from the party. Either way, suspicion should fall far from me.” Elizabeth cleaned her throwing knife on the chest of the thing she was reasonably certain was actually dead and intended on staying that way, before turning down the road back to the Dreslin estate, staying low and sticking to the shadows.

Spoiler

Actions: Sneaking back to the Dreslin estate

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Elizabeth Silver (AshPrince) GMed by Hafnium

Spoiler

HP = 37, PP = 33, EP = 30, Status = Fine.

Rolls

Spoiler

Stealth (Elizabeth): Success
Stealth (Robin): Failure

Robin merely sniffled and nodded at Elizabeth's orders. The two crept their way through the more affluent section of the city, making their way back to the Dreslin estate. The portly rogue proved to be less dexterous and stealthy than Elizabeth herself, despite his talent for stabbing things. Nothing seemed to accost them as they made their way around and past the various ancillary buildings that supported the section of the city belonging to the ruling class. The occasional noise of the invaders at their grisly business still seemed to find them from differing parts of the city.

Unfortunately, disaster struck as they were moving to cross a cobblestone street to get to the road that would ultimately take them back to House Dreslin's holdings. Elizabeth had made it across the street quickly, Robin had been in the middle when it had happened. Several more of the creatures came crashing into the street from the invading form in the sky, they were infinitely larger than the last ones the duo had encountered, however. There were also seven of the things. They didn't seem to notice Elizabeth from her position in the heavily shadowed alcove of a building, it did not take much looking around for them to see the small fat man, however.

Robin's daggers seemed to leap into his hands again, he turned away from Elizabeth, towards one of the creatures and spoke aloud. "Oh dear me, I don't believe I'll be able to make my appointment to the Dreslins with milady today." Sniff, sniff. "Well, she'll just have to go on without me. I'm sure I'll catch up, it is my duty as a retainer of House Silver." His tone was even, never changing from what it had been when he had been sent to fetch the heiress. It was obvious that he was hinting for her to run while he distracted the creatures. He did not look back at what action Elizabeth took, however, presumably worried about giving her hiding position away. "Now, what was the term of my youth? Oh yes, I remember... Come here so I can rip off your heads and defecate down your throats, you ugly things." Sniff, sniff.

 

[AshPrince]

Re: Elizabeth Silver (AshPrince) GMed by Hafnium

Elizabeth grit her teeth, grinding them slowly against one another as she peered out from the shadows. She wanted to go on, she should go on, the creatures were bigger, there were more of them to boot, and Robin was making it fairly obvious that he had more confidence in his abilities than she did. She found her hands falling to her knives out of instinct.

She should have run, but she had the advantage that the creatures didn’t know she was there. Her fingers shifted from her blades, to her knives, drawing a throwing knife in each hand and biting her tongue between her teeth. He blood screamed at her to leave the portly man to his fate, but had it not been for his assistance she would have been utterly overwhelmed in their last fight, and she had intended to do a great deal of traveling through the beset city, she would be remiss to leave her escort behind, at least without some assistance.

She would run, but not without taking advantage of what she could first. Elizabeth readied her throwing knives, one in either hand, taking careful aim of the great beasts as she knelt beneath the shadows of the street. She held steady watching the creatures as they turned to face Robin, and then, hurled her knives with specific aim toward two of them, set to flee down the street to the Dreslin house whether her blades landed or not.

Spoiler

Actions: continued Stealth.
Called Shot on two of the monsters.
Running down the street immediately after performing attacks.
Question: If my Stealth check succeeds that means that both my attacks are Stealth attacks in addition to Called Shots right? So they're instant hits double damage due to Stealth, and double damage for being called Shots, meaning they'd deal x4 damage?

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Elizabeth Silver (AshPrince) GMed by Hafnium

Spoiler

HP = 37, PP = 33, EP = 30, Status = Fine.

(Yes, that Called Shot you had attempted earlier would have hit too except the stealth check failed which... looking back on it, I completely forgot to add into the rolls section. Whoops.)

Rolls

Spoiler

Stealth vs GTR1: Elizabeth win
Attack: Automatic Success
Damage: ((10 + 12) * 2) *2 = 88 - 4 = 84 damage. Dead.

Stealth vs GTR2: Enemy wins.
Attack: Miss

Robin's Action: Activate Whirling Death, Slice & Dice.
Attack: Hit and Hit
Damage: 11 + 12 + 10 = 33 - 4 = 29
Damage: 3 + 12 + 10 = 25 - 4 = 21. Dead.
5 damage to self.

Enemies Actions: Attack Robin
GTR3. Miss.
GTR4. Miss
GTR5. Hit. 17 - 1 = 16 damage.
GTR6. Miss.
GTR7. Miss.

Elizabeth took careful aim from her hiding spot. Her arm swung forward, loosing the dagger at the peak of the movement. It went one foot, five feet, ten feet, and then struck one of the monstrosities hard enough to hilt in it's skin. The tentacled creature seemed to simply collapse from the deadly throw. The assassin's second throw was more hasty and the next beast was more prepared for it, dodging out of the way at an unnatural angle that a boned creature would seem incapable of. With a young woman in view, the alien invader that Elizabeth had targeted was far less interested in the portly man. It's lack of attention on the other assassin would prove to be it's downfall, however, as Robin went tearing into it in a whirlwind of steel and the liquid that served as the creature's blood before it could pursue the House Silver heiress.

As Elizabeth fled, Robin positioned himself in between the oncoming monsters and her. The little man did an impressive job of dodging most of the attacks but took a strike to his side that seemed to leave him woozy. By the time the second flurry of attacks had begun she was already out of sight of him, running down the road to make it to the Dreslin estate.

Thankfully, the remainder of the return trip was relatively uneventful. Every minute seemed to leave the city more and more overrun with the invaders and she hadn't even seen the worst of it yet. The alien creatures had mostly left the lifeless areas of the city, including the ancillary structures that made up the non-estate parts of the section of the city she was in, in order to join their brethren in attacking the more populated sections. This meant that Elizabeth wasn't accosted on her way to the Dreslin estate. It also meant, however, that when she returned to the place, it looked as though it had undergone a siege.

The iron gate was battered off the hinges and several sections of wall had trails of ooze where the attackers had simply gone over them. Armored soldiers laid dead and dying in the courtyard which now bore several craters. Windows of the estate were smashed and the sounds of frantic battle and screams came from inside. More distressingly, all of the women outside of the estate were alive but weren't untouched. They laid in the grass with torn dresses, bloated bellies, covered in slime, and with the invader's seed leaking out of them onto the ground. Some of the used girl's eyes were empty, the most disturbing ones were those who still burned with lust.

Elizabeth found herself in front of the estate door but there were several windows the girl could likely reach if she wanted to enter a with a bit more subtlety. The invaders had even gone through the trouble of smashing the windows for her ahead of time.

(Gain 2 more xp.)

 

[AshPrince]

Re: Elizabeth Silver (AshPrince) GMed by Hafnium

Elizabeth crouched low, just outside the battered fence to the interior of the Dreslin estate. She slowly surveyed the interior, sharp grey eyes looking for any sign of life, or danger, or both. She chewed on her cheek at the sight of the women, knowing that had it not been for Robin’s assistance she likely would have joined them in the street, but more distressing were the utterly overwhelmed guards. She had hoped to draft the Dreslin guards for her march to her cousin’s estate, and if trained soldiers couldn’t hold off the tide of whatever had made it inside, a single rogue’s odds seemed doubtful.

She crept through the gateway, staying low and keeping her back to the wall, one hand on the hilt of her Long Knife, the other readying a throwing knife just encase she caught a glimmer of something crawling. Elizabeth was even dubious of the raped women, keeping her hand on her knives as she passed any of them, ready to silence them forever should they threaten to reveal her. In thinking about it, she might have done the women a favor in slitting their throats, but she was in a hurry and had little time to play mercy killer. She’d make her way inside through one of the broken windows, but first she’s check frontwards backwards every direction in between to insure nothing got the jump on her. She was the only one who got to do any sneaking.

Spoiler

Perception Checks all around.
Stealth Check to get inside a first floor window.
If anyone near Elizabeth makes a noise, basic attack with Long Knife to kill them.

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Elizabeth Silver (AshPrince) GMed by Hafnium

Spoiler

HP = 37, PP = 33, EP = 30, Status = Fine.

Rolls

Spoiler

Stealth: Elizabeth wins x3. (By margins of 1's and 2's, no less. D: )

The agile Elizabeth crawled up and into the building through one of the shattered windows. Nothing seemed to make a move toward her as she went. The assassin found herself in the labyrinthine passageways again, though it was a much more disturbing scene on her second visit. The gaudy decorations were largely smashed on the ground, which created a small hazard in itself. The hallways all seemed to be coated in one liquid or another, whether it was ooze, blood, or something a little more worrying. The occasional dead guardsman or raped woman littered the hallways as well, like some sort of macabre decoration.

As Elizabeth got her bearings she could discern a noise apart from that of frantic fighting that appeared to be coming from the ballroom. Something was slamming into a door and a woman was screaming. A peak down a side hallway revealed that three of the things she and Robin had dispatched earlier were assaulting a closed door that seemed likely to break at any moment.

The screaming did not sound familiar to the assassin and the path was not on the way to the main ballroom. Elizabeth could just easily ignore the scene and continue moving if she were so inclined.

 

[AshPrince]

Re: Elizabeth Silver (AshPrince) GMed by Hafnium

Elizabeth grimaced at the gruesome scene decorating the halls of the noble house. She crept carefully down the hallway, keeping her back to the inner wall, her hands holding her knives at the ready just incase something thought it could get the drop on her. Fortunately for the Silver daughter, she got the drop on three of the things she’d faced before. They didn’t need to die, but then again when did anything really need to die? And besides, now she had the advantage, she might not if these things decided to wander down the halls at a later date, plus she was alone and the people on the other side of that door would probably be grateful, even if they couldn’t fight, they’d make good distractions to storm the ballroom.

Elizabeth drew her blades, her Short Knife held in one hand while the other plucked a pair of throwing knifes from her waistline. She readied herself for combat, slow deep breaths as she took careful aim on the nearest two of the creatures, making one slow arc of her arm, mentally projecting the arc of the knife’s path before pulling her arm back, and letting her knives fly.

Spoiler

Continued: Stealth Check
Called Shot: Throwing Knife X2
Am getting my +4 Thief bonus to Stealth & Perception for being an urban environment?