Session 23: Playtime with Dunlan
Noon, Tuesday the 30th. Festival is on the 2nd. Next full moon is on the 10th.The Plan:
Sartorii will stuff the Sprite in her bag, take the hat of disguise, and head to Meera's Flophouse by 2pm. They will open Dunlan's window ahead of time.
Then, wait for Dunlan to get home.
Sartorii will fire her poisoned arrow through the window. Once Dunlan is incapacitated, they go in to finish him off.
Clarence and Rutana will be nearby in case of emergency, but far enough to stay out of sight. Clarence plans to wear a cloak and keep his tail tucked up over his shoulder.
Foundry lets you make tiny tokens, the Sprite is tiny now!
At 2:45, Sartorii and the Sprite head to the flophouse. Sartorii uses the Hat of Disguise to cast Illusory Disguise, concealing herself as a homeless man.
The building is pretty ramshackle. The windows, if they could be called such, are basically just slats. No glass, just blinds and shutters. The window does not open fully, but the slats open to let light in.
Prior intelligence stated Dunlan lived on the bottom floor, second large living space.
Sartorii peers in a window and spots two large food bowls with Vs carved in the side, and a shrine in the corner. She is also greeted by the vague smell of lizards.
She rolls a 20 on Society to judge the shrine. A stone with a sword jabbed in it, the sign of Gorum. Gorum is basically Ares, but less shitty.
"Our Lord in Iron." Chaotic neutral, god of battle, strength, and weaponry.
Beside that, a Numerian Orcish tribal symbol. An icon of one of the barbarian tribes.
Sartorii attempts to slightly break one of the window slats.
Rolls an 8 on Thievery, bonus adds up to 19.
She shimmies one of the slats off then gently puts it back in place.
She then moves aside a bit to wait.
At 3:05, Dunlan walks in with his lizards and settling in for the night. He doesn't notice shit.
Wood groans audibly as Dunlan settles onto his cheap wood bed.
Dunlan sits with his head in his hands. One lizard walks up and flops its head in his lap, and the other looks up at him with big ol' eyes. Dunlan cups its chin and coos at his little angels.
He's tired. Over it. Taking solace in the creatures.
Alright, let's shoot him.
First roll is one too short. Spent a hero point to reroll, rolled one lower.
Second arrow hits.
Dunlan fails his first fortitude saving throw.
Sartorii clambers atop the stable directly behind her.
As soon as they're atop the stable, the Sprite uses Message to alert Rutana and Clarence.
Rutana and Clarence start making their way around the right side of the building, expecting Dunlan would go around the left.
Sartorii crit fails a stealth roll and falls through the roof of the stable, causing a loud crash. Haybales abound inside the stable, and Sartorii tries rolling stealth again.
The Sprite mage hands the door open from inside Sartorii's bag, to make it look like they ran after falling the roof.
Dunlan is slowed; he busts through his window and looks around. He tastes his wound. "Poison, the coward's weapon." He notices the stable's door is open.
The lizards follow Dunlan out and start sniffing about. Rutana and Clarence are just out of range. Having found no one, the lizards enter the stable.
Dunlan succeeds his second saving throw against the poison. He grabs his arm and pulls the arrow out, then squeezes the wound. Poisoned blood flows out, and he appears more alert.
Rutana attempts to exploit vulnerability on Dunlan, but cannot recall anything about orcs specifically. She gets a bonus against Dunlan specifically.
As no one has been detected yet, Rutana abstains from further action. Clarence also abstains from acting.
The lizards are hissing at the hay bale Sartorii and the Sprite are hidden in.
Electing not to be cornered by lizards, Sartorii attempts to jump back up through the hole in the ceiling. With a 19 she makes it through the hole, and with a 24 on stealth she moves a bit away from the hole.
The Sprite skips his turn, too.
Dunlan walks into the stable and sees his lizards hissing at a hole in the roof. He touches a necklace he has and asks Victor which way they went. Victor hisses and chirps, and Dunlan looks up at the hole. He jumps up and grabs a plank in the ceiling, but it snaps beneath his weight and he falls back to the floor.
Dunlan then orders the lizards outside.
Sartorii hears the lizards scuttering around outside the stable, hissing.
Rutana fails a stealth check. One of the lizards hisses in the direction of Rutana and Clarence. It smells a cat a fox and a bat! Those are things that are not normally next to each other! It's weird! It's weird and bad out here, Dunlan!
Rutana takes a Sleep scroll out of the bag of holding and casts it on one of the lizards. The lizard makes its saving throw, and takes a -1 to perception.
Sartorii takes a running jump off the stable's roof and clambers onto the roof of the flophouse, and 18 feet off the floor. The Sprite climbs out of her pocket at this point.
Dunlan manages to climb on the stable roof this time.
Sartorii and the Sprite roll stealth, but Dunlan fails a perception check and jumps off the roof.
"Stop this sculking, face me!"
One of the lizards scuttles over to Rutana and bites her for 9 damage.
Rutana swings her short sword at the lizard, but the dice are being very rude to everyone today.
Clarence steps out from behind Rutana and goes for the ol' claw-shield, with a critical fail on his claw attack. Using the newfangled critical fumble deck, Clarence gets a Sprain; until healed, he gets Clumsy 2.
Sartorii moves to the edge of the roof and shoots another poisoned arrow at Dunlan, getting the first critical success of combat, dealing 22 damage. Dunlan then crit fails his fortitude saving throw; he is Slowed for a minute, the next 10 rounds. Again from the newfangled crit deck, the arrow gets lodged in his bone for 1d6 persistent Bleeding damage, rolling another 5.
A second arrow deals another 5 damage.
The Sprite pops his head over the edge of the roof and flings three Magic Missiles at Dunlan for another 9 damage.
Dunlan whistles and runs inside the stable. He is immediately followed by his lizards. Dunlan closes the door after them.
Within he recovers from the persistent bleeding damage. He calls out from inside the stable, "Is this about the elf?"
No one answers.
Rutana approaches the stable and opens the door.
There are two lizards waiting inside, but they cannot attack yet.
Clarence stands between Rutana and the lizards and raises his shield.
Sartorii steps up behind the Sprite and fires another arrow through the hole in the stable roof, striking Dunlan with another crit, again lodging an arrow in bone for more persistent Bleeding damage.
The arrow firmly lodges itself in his lower back and he falls to the ground, paralyzed.
Dunlan whistles for the lizards to stop, and combat ends.
The lizards lay down beside Dunlan.
"Sneaking, skullduggery, and poison." Dunlan sighs. "You would fit right in with Besh and his crew."
Sartorii responds from the stable roof, "We hate that bitch!"
"You never answered me. Is this an answer for the smartmouthed elf?"
"We're sure you have plenty others."
"Fewer than you think. More than I should."
Sartorii asks about the lizards.
"My angels. Send them home to my family in Numeria. They should never have been here. We never should have been here."
The Sprite asks if he's here willingly, and if not, if he's willing to leave and never come back.
"I cannot leave. I am honor-bound to remain, to perform these dark acts until such time as my debt is repaid."
Sartorii asks about the debt, and how far Besh's reach goes.
"It was...five years ago now, on the outskirts of Numeria. We were attacked by monsters of unknown origin with skin of steel and eyes of glass. Besh saved my life, and that of my people. He was nearby. Perhaps he knew at the time. He gave me a poultice, potion, an elixir, and it wove my wounds together with magic. Though my people were devastated, I was the one who suffered the most grievous injury. I was surely going to die. I owe a life-debt to Besh, and I cannot leave till I repay it."
While the party deliberates about whether or not to spare Dunlan, the lethargy poison kicks him and he falls asleep. He wakes up a minute later.
"I am honor bound to fight and die for Besh. I have fought. I have lost. And you may kill me. But... I am not honor bound to speak with him, or his compatriots. They are not the type of people I value."
The party discusses turning Dunlan over to Astrafel with proof of the lizard bite on Rutana's leg, but that raises the question of whether the lizards would then be killed.
"That was my next line of questioning. Would you take care of my lizards?"
Rutana jumps down and takes the necklace. The lizards hiss at her a bit, but they're fine.
The Sprite forages for a rat to feed to the lizards.
Plan next time: turn Dunlan in to the po leez, babysit his lizards.