Virro nods along with the others, saying “If you know of a good place to offload this, wonderful. One more thing…” He goes to Vaaz and in his usual way, removes a finger for the bag. After that, he goes back to help carry whichever chest hasn’t been accounted for, aiding in their departure as soon as possible…
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.
Archie once again stacks and picks up the first two crates, "hey before we start heading out, do any of ya wanna check out the myrkul statue? It has an aura of abjuration magic about it, and I really wanna give it a poke, might be more treasure or something, but I'd rather do it whilst someone has my back, right?"
Morty helps Virro grab the last chest and starts leading the group out of the dungeons. As you move through the dark dungeon it is eerily more quiet than when you first arrived. You all have a distinct feeling that you have accomplished what Captain Zodge all sent you down here to do and can collect your earnings.
As you emerge from the secret stairway into the bathhouse above, the change in scent is palpable. You all take a moment to breath in the perfumed air, relishing in the drastic difference then from whence you came. Looking around, you notice that the place appears empty.
Opening the doors to the outside, you notice dusk has fallen and wonder if that is why the bathhouse is vacant, maybe it is after hours?
You have just enough time for this thought to flicker through your minds when five figures leap down from the top of the courtyard wall to confront you. In addition to their black leather armor, they wear strange masks and cloaks that give each of them a vaguely dragon-like appearance. All five brandish curved steel blades reminiscent of dragon claws.
Obviously ready to attack, the one that is clearly the leader dressed in a larger face mask, longer cloak that is adorned with elongated shoulder guards, steps forward, "That is treasure that belongs to Tiamat. Drop it at once and we will allow you to live."
Virro sets down the chest and indicates to Mortlock to do the same. He holds his hands under his chin and cocks his head in a curious manner, aiming to see what stuff these Dragon cultist folk are made of. Absentmindedly, he pokes a couple of fingers that are sticking out into the pouch on his waist, then sealing the top with the drawstring, patting the pouch and then looks back up at the leader. He gives a half smile, showing his horrible teeth.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.
Archie puts down her two chests and pulls a red vial out of one, prepared to fight if needs be, "hey if this is all Tiamat's then he's welcome to apply for lost currency or compensation, there's paperwork to fill out before this is handed back, until then the flaming fists have requisitioned it as evidence kiddo!"
Reed puts the chest he's carrying down, swings his bow off his shoulder, nocks and arrow in the string and aims at the leader.
"If Tiamat wanted it so badly they should have hung on to it better," Reed says. He then points at the hand of the leader. "He's got nice fingers, Virro. You should take his if they don't listen nicely to Corlith."
Reed then calls back into the spa.
"You two, stop dawdling and get out here and make yourselves useful," Reed calls to the two skeletons. He points them to get right up close to the leader. "If he takes a step towards any of us, you beat him down."
The rooster has little to do with the treasure. The whole way out of the dungeon he spends his time running his fingers over the breastplate of his cuirass and thinking, trying to wrap his head around what happened. He silently thanks Wilfred a hundred, perhaps a thousand times for carrying Fog' Horn's remains out of the dungeon. He keeps his thoughts to himself as he rides Glory of Morning up and out of the pit of the dungeon, through the spa, and into the courtyard outside...where a bunch of ******** jump out of the bushes and start spouting gibberish he gives zero feathers about.
Roo completely ignores them for the most part. He's looking up at the sky, where he'd hoped to let Gallus's magnificent face bathe him in his brilliant light...but Gallus has retired beyond the horizon for the night. Roo's head cocks side to side as he listens to some crap about treasure and their false idol, Laundrymat, and slowly he starts to sing to himself as everyone else reckons with this new development.
Roo shrugs and saunters Glory of Morning forward as he sings.
"Behold a bird of principle Paint me invincible My sacred feathers I shall use Believe the unpredictable A native miracle Close your eyes and see what I can do....
Can you hear the crowing birds? Singing their sacred songs Their music carries in the wind A holy hand for healing Will be receiving A message how this journey ends..."
He rides into the midst of the five targets and slowly raises an empty hand while keeping his pace slow and deliberate. His other hand has Glory of Morning's reins cradled gently amongst strangely avian fingers. His head tilts back as he listens, and recognition flashes in his eyes.
"Ah, Tiamat." He says, nodding his head...which is really just a series of fast forward bobs for the little Gallusian. "She is no Gallus, for sure, but if you must worship another I suppose she is worthy. Powerful. A decent pick. Say, do any of you fine featherless folk have a smoke? It's been a long day down there in that temple to false idols. I think it's the least you can do since we've brought your treasure to you."
One in the back starts taking one out of his cloak, pauses, gives a look to the leader and they have no response, so he continues and hands it to Roo. The Gallus bobs his head quickly again as he makes his way to this cultist.
"This reminds me of a showdown." He says, moving amongst the cultists. "I wish I had a lute, I'd sing it. Alas. Buck. Anyway, I shall tell the story. It was in the Gallusian settlement of Agua Fria. An outlaw rode in one day, a real scoundrel. His name, get this, was Tex' As Red. Whatever the cluck a Tex' As is."
He pauses long enough to fetch a lighting device from his kit, lights the cigarette, and places it in his beak before taking a drag. He gestures one hand to the cultist that has handed him the smoke.
"Delicious. You, fine sir, are a true gentleman. Never let anyone tell you that you are less simply because you lack feathers. Buc-buc-buh... Now where was I? Ah, yes. Tex' As Red. So he arrives in Agua Fria. A Gallus of fine stock. Wonderful comb and wattle and tail plumage to die for. Nice, lustrous red feathers. A real beautiful specimen. And he takes over. Kills all twenty of the roosters and cockrels of the town. All of them. Slain in single combat with this warrior of unparalleled skill. Word goes out. The hens weren't happy about this, as you can imagine, and Gallus was hurt by the loss of so many fine voices to sing his praise."
Roo takes another drag on the cigarette, his eyes slowly shutting as he enjoys the taste of the smoke. Ash falls from the tip.
"Tex' As Red takes over, yes? And as word gets around, a lone challenger appears. A roaming cockerel who hasn't made his way in the world yet. Snow white feathers. Only wearing chainmail. A cheap sword because he can't afford anything more. He rides into town one morning and his appearance is on the beaks of all the hens...and of course, this makes its way to Tex' As Red, who has come down from his morning worship on the fence and gone to the coop for drinks. Bagop. Of course Red is incensed. Who wouldn't be? He controlled the whole town. All those hens were his? His flock. So he calls out this stranger."
Another drag of the cigarette, almost half gone now.
"They met in the street just a bit before Gallus reached his apex in the sky overhead, similar I suppose to how we've met in the street just now. All the hens gathered to see this fight, knowing this lone wanderer was about to meet his death. And with the Light of Morning watching, they dueled. The quickness of the wanderer is still talked about to this day, my friends! In a flash he had drawn his sword, crossed the distance, and cut Tex' As Red down. The muss. No fuss. His feathers fell in the center of the street next to the iron he'd worn on his hip."
Roo closes his eyes and pauses for a moment, taking the last few puffs of the cigarette and tossing the remains into the dust next to Glory of Morning. Smoke gently rolled from his beak as he savored the last of it.
"My father, Mar' An, was hatched just a few days later. My line has lived there ever since, all because of this lone wanderer. His name was Fog' Horn, and he was the best of us. Buck. The consummate warrior. He wore this breastplate. This is his armor. Do any of you recognize it, by chance?"
Roo rides past the cultists, getting on the far side of them as he calls their attention to Fog' Horn's armor. When none of them recognize it, he sighs.
"Worth a try, anyway. Now, is this treasure really worth dying for? For any of us? It is tangible. Temporary. There is no honor or pride tied to it. It is nothing but metal in boxes. Tiamat doesn't give a damn about it. Are we really ready to butcher each other over it? We found it. We brought it to you. Perhaps the least you can do is give us a portion and we can avoid bloodshed and go our separate ways. We have no quarrel with you."
Roo drinks something and tosses a glass bottle aside, letting it shatter at the side of the street, then goes back to singing.
"Take me to the mountaintop See a fowl for what he's got If the birds will let you pass through We use the sun for energy As far as I can reach My healing powers crystal blue...
The force of my feathers As we battle together The force of rebirth Will make you one with mother earth yeah Yeah yeah
My spirit guides the wind It brings the message that I need A blessing from the land Is what Gallus has brought to me..."
As the others are discussing the treasure, Wilfred will say. "Listen here, I don't much care what we do with the treasure, but I'll be damned if we give it to them damn Flaming Fists. They are part of the oppressing classes machine holding us working folk down. I'm tired of the bourgeoisie taking from those that that do the real work. They shouldn't see a copper piece from this pile."
Wilfred listens as Archie talks about Zariel. He says under his breath "The gods have been no help to me, maybe some of these devils can be."
As the new comers drop, Wilfred will listen to what the others have to say. Wilfred listen's to Roo's story with some interest. He now knows why he was so disturbed when finding this body. It was one of his kin. He shakes his head to focus, and adds. "Listen, we have no love for the people who stole this from you and yours. In fact, it's quite the opposite, they are our enemies as well. And we might know who and where they are. It seems like we should be working together, yea?"
The cultists eyes follow the chests as one by one they are put on the ground. The tension in the air dissipates, but they don't put their weapons away yet. "Civilized."The one in front says this a bit with mirth as he looks at the rooster, flaming suit of armor and the man with a bloody pirate's hat.
He returns his gaze back to Corlith and nods, "Alright." and he sheaths his weapons and the others mirror his actions. "Proof? Well, this treasure has been marked. We can see it whenever we are 1,000 feet from it. Like the fact only most of the treasure currently resides within these chests."He turns to look at Reed, "Why, this little halfling has part of it in his bag right now, don't you?"
As Archie pulls out the red vial, the man looks to him and then you notice a slight growl enter his voice, "Her. This treasure is going with us, there is no compensation or negotiation about it."
Noticing Reed is notching his bow with an arrow, the leader puts his hands back on the pommels of his weapons, and as the halfling calls his skeletons, nothing comes. Reed thinks back and the last he saw of them was following the group up the stairs to the spa. If he would go back, there would be a pile of bones laying at the bottom of the stairs.
Before the fivesome have a chance to react to the halfling, the Rooster starts riding towards them, singing his song. You see the four cultists constantly looking between the avian creature and their leader, unsure of how to handle the situation. One, not the one that gave the cigarette, starts unsheathing his weapon at one point, but then seeing there is no aggression and that none of his comrades are, puts it back. There is definitely an air of uncertainty as Roo ends his soliloquy.
With Roo now behind the group, the four are watching him, enraptured with the story and what is going on, but the leader. He only has eyes for the treasure and is facing the party. Answering the rooster, but keeping his eyes on the treasure, he responds, “Tiamat cares about every ounce of this treasure. Treasure is all she thinks about and it is our duty to take this back to her. We have no quarrel with you, ours is with the Vanthampurs for stealing this treasure.”
As he says this last part, his eyes land on Mortlock. “You. You are one of them aren’t you. Were you part of the thievery? I’ve heard of you, but not in relation to the theft, am I wrong? If so, we fight here. Now.” and he pulls his blades out of their sheathes again and the others follow suit, hearing the sound of the blades as they rub against the leather of the scabbard.
Hearing the man with the bloodied pirate hat pipe up, "They are your enemies as well? Then why do you have one of their kin with you?"
Morty, a looking a bit worried about the whole exchange adds, "I'm with these guys, not my family, they tried to have me killed."
"Well, that does paint things in a different color." And once again he puts his weapons away, the rest following suit. "Working together you say? Hmm.. give us our treasure back, including what is in that pocket of your halfling, and this is something we will consider."
Reed leans in and listens to Virro for a moment then looks at these new weirdos again.
”Alright, so really? Tiamat? You worship an evil dragon god? You’re no better than the group down in that cesspool. And I mean that literally. It stinks down there. So I think you should be nice and say thank you for punishing them and then let us go past.” Reed says. Then he smiles “Besides we only need it for a little while. You can go looking for it again tomorrow. Just don’t get in our way now.”
Corlith listens to the others, both the followers of Tiamat and his own companions. Even Mortlock.
He addresses Roo first, “Fog’ Horn sounds like quite the hero, Roo. A mighty Gallus who refused to be pushed around and who took what he wanted”.
”These followers of the Queen of evil dragons, whose greed knows no bounds, are trying to take what is yours by right of combat. And this proof they mention, that they can see the treasure within a 1000 feet. That is not proof at all. A neat trick perhaps, but no proof of ownership”.
He shrugs to the dragon cult leader. “I am afraid all I see before us are brigands and robbers, trying to take what is ours. Not the Flaming Fist’s mind you, ours. I don’t think we need or want an alliance. I agree with Reed on this”.
The rooster sits quietly, taking in the sounds of the city around the temple to false idols, fake gods. He takes a breath as he listen to banter between his friends and the cultists, his head cocking from side to side. Slowly he gives Glory of Morning's reins a flick and then rides off, away from his friends, toward the gate.
He unlatches it. Pushes it open...
Then scampers up the wall on Glory of Morning's back so that he can see inside the compound as well as in the city.
"Buck buck bagop!" He shouts, listening to the sound of his voice echoing around the nearby houses and buildings, then bobs his head up and down as he nods. "Well it seems we have a problem, eh? They can find us because of the treasure, cause us plenty of problems, hm? And they're going to offer the treasure up to Tiamat? Why don't we just dump the treasure all over the motherclucking ground and call the townspeople in here to pick up as much as they can? And if these chuckleclucks make a false move, we kill them just like we killed everyone else in the Temple of the Dead Three! Save for Morty, of course! Someone give our good friend Morty there a potion, eh, so he can help slice his way out of this! Oh, I know. How about I call for reinforcements from the rest of the Flaming Fists? Guards! Guards! Someone call for the Flaming Fists! We need reinforcements! There are bad people here doing bad things! Well Reed, go on then! Dump the money out! Let's give it back to the people! Oh, is that not loud enough? I can be really loud! I have a fine set of lungs! Listen! COCKADOODLEDOO!"
Roo prances Glory of Morning back and forth along the top of the wall as he does this, but keeps his eyes turned toward the inner courtyard.
"Now then, shall I call it all off, hm? Or should I be louder? Makes no difference to me. I'm just tired of playing nice with all these shady types when I have better things to do with my life and I don't really care too much for the thought of looking over my shoulder for the foreseeable future while I'm busy with endeavors I actually give a shit about. Tiamat my ass. Your god is just another false idol and you are all thralls. Slaves to power that offers you what? Anything? You're pathetic. Now if we're all done, I'm ready to move along. Buck!"
The man looks down at Reed, "Why. Why would we hunt it down again tomorrow when we have it here right now. That makes no sense and I do not care what this little man thinks of us." Looking back up to Corlith, his voice getting a bit harder, "Your need or want is trivial to me. Leave the treasure and we'll let you leave with your lives."
The other cultists turn back around as Roo starts in on his tantrum, watching as he climbs the wall on this possum. As the bird caws, they draw their weapons and take a step forward, obvious in their intent. "Leave now, I am done with this nonsense. You." pointing his dagger at Reed, "drop what you have."
Archie sighs and flips her visor up for the first time, behind it there is nothing but flames and the glow of fire pouring out, "I'm also done with this nonsense, we fought like hell for this and if you can track it then it doesn't seem like you leave us much choice, here! Come get what you deserve." She kicks one of the chests forwards and whilst the group of dragon cultists are distracted by having their treasure within their grasp, Archie pops the cork on the potion she is holding, empties the contents into her open visor and then spews a roaring gout of flame directly at the leader of the dragon worshipping asshats.
(Dex save 13 or take 16 fire damage or 8 on success)
"Well, that does paint things in a different color." And once again he puts his weapons away, the rest following suit. "Working together you say? Hmm.. give us our treasure back, including what is in that pocket of your halfling, and this is something we will consider."
Wilfred sighs. "I've use the 'Will Consider' line before. That means no."
As the chaos erupts, Wilfred says halfheartedly. "Wait. Stop. Don't.... I tried." With that, he gets out his Glaive, happy there are so many within his reach already.
Virro points his right arm at the leader of the cultists and an ethereal hand shoots forth, splitting in two, grasping at the leader of the cultists and the cultist immediately to his right. “You just couldn’t let us go, could you…”
Chill touch to cult leader : 14 to hit, for 6 points necrotic damage.
Chill touch to cultist b : 11 to hit, for 3 points of necrotic damage.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.
As things degrade into the familiar violence that is usual for the group he finds himself with, he makes eye contact with the leader.
”Let’s see if you have the skill to back up that mouth if yours, or if you are just an impotent worm, as I suspect”, he says, lacing the words with contempt.
Action: Cast Vicious Mockery on the leader. DC 15 Wisdom save or take 3 psychic damage and have disadvantage on the next attack roll it makes before the end of it’s next turn.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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Virro nods along with the others, saying “If you know of a good place to offload this, wonderful. One more thing…” He goes to Vaaz and in his usual way, removes a finger for the bag. After that, he goes back to help carry whichever chest hasn’t been accounted for, aiding in their departure as soon as possible…
A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.
Archie once again stacks and picks up the first two crates, "hey before we start heading out, do any of ya wanna check out the myrkul statue? It has an aura of abjuration magic about it, and I really wanna give it a poke, might be more treasure or something, but I'd rather do it whilst someone has my back, right?"
Morty helps Virro grab the last chest and starts leading the group out of the dungeons. As you move through the dark dungeon it is eerily more quiet than when you first arrived. You all have a distinct feeling that you have accomplished what Captain Zodge all sent you down here to do and can collect your earnings.
As you emerge from the secret stairway into the bathhouse above, the change in scent is palpable. You all take a moment to breath in the perfumed air, relishing in the drastic difference then from whence you came. Looking around, you notice that the place appears empty.
Opening the doors to the outside, you notice dusk has fallen and wonder if that is why the bathhouse is vacant, maybe it is after hours?
You have just enough time for this thought to flicker through your minds when five figures leap down from the top of the courtyard wall to confront you. In addition to their black leather armor, they wear strange masks and cloaks that give each of them a vaguely dragon-like appearance. All five brandish curved steel blades reminiscent of dragon claws.
Obviously ready to attack, the one that is clearly the leader dressed in a larger face mask, longer cloak that is adorned with elongated shoulder guards, steps forward, "That is treasure that belongs to Tiamat. Drop it at once and we will allow you to live."
“Well that answers the question of where the treasure came from”, Corlith says looking pointedly at Mortlock.
”I suggest you drop those chests”, he adds to those who are carrying them.
”Then we can have a civilised conversation and get to the matter of proof that these chests do indeed belong to Tiamat”.
He focusses on the leader, and raises an eyebrow.
”So, put away your weapons and tell me, where is your proof?”.
Persuasion: 18+7=25
Virro sets down the chest and indicates to Mortlock to do the same. He holds his hands under his chin and cocks his head in a curious manner, aiming to see what stuff these Dragon cultist folk are made of. Absentmindedly, he pokes a couple of fingers that are sticking out into the pouch on his waist, then sealing the top with the drawstring, patting the pouch and then looks back up at the leader. He gives a half smile, showing his horrible teeth.
A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.
Archie puts down her two chests and pulls a red vial out of one, prepared to fight if needs be, "hey if this is all Tiamat's then he's welcome to apply for lost currency or compensation, there's paperwork to fill out before this is handed back, until then the flaming fists have requisitioned it as evidence kiddo!"
Reed puts the chest he's carrying down, swings his bow off his shoulder, nocks and arrow in the string and aims at the leader.
"If Tiamat wanted it so badly they should have hung on to it better," Reed says. He then points at the hand of the leader. "He's got nice fingers, Virro. You should take his if they don't listen nicely to Corlith."
Reed then calls back into the spa.
"You two, stop dawdling and get out here and make yourselves useful," Reed calls to the two skeletons. He points them to get right up close to the leader. "If he takes a step towards any of us, you beat him down."
The rooster has little to do with the treasure. The whole way out of the dungeon he spends his time running his fingers over the breastplate of his cuirass and thinking, trying to wrap his head around what happened. He silently thanks Wilfred a hundred, perhaps a thousand times for carrying Fog' Horn's remains out of the dungeon. He keeps his thoughts to himself as he rides Glory of Morning up and out of the pit of the dungeon, through the spa, and into the courtyard outside...where a bunch of ******** jump out of the bushes and start spouting gibberish he gives zero feathers about.
Roo completely ignores them for the most part. He's looking up at the sky, where he'd hoped to let Gallus's magnificent face bathe him in his brilliant light...but Gallus has retired beyond the horizon for the night. Roo's head cocks side to side as he listens to some crap about treasure and their false idol, Laundrymat, and slowly he starts to sing to himself as everyone else reckons with this new development.
Roo shrugs and saunters Glory of Morning forward as he sings.
"Behold a bird of principle
Paint me invincible
My sacred feathers I shall use
Believe the unpredictable
A native miracle
Close your eyes and see what I can do....
Can you hear the crowing birds?
Singing their sacred songs
Their music carries in the wind
A holy hand for healing
Will be receiving
A message how this journey ends..."
He rides into the midst of the five targets and slowly raises an empty hand while keeping his pace slow and deliberate. His other hand has Glory of Morning's reins cradled gently amongst strangely avian fingers. His head tilts back as he listens, and recognition flashes in his eyes.
"Ah, Tiamat." He says, nodding his head...which is really just a series of fast forward bobs for the little Gallusian. "She is no Gallus, for sure, but if you must worship another I suppose she is worthy. Powerful. A decent pick. Say, do any of you fine featherless folk have a smoke? It's been a long day down there in that temple to false idols. I think it's the least you can do since we've brought your treasure to you."
One in the back starts taking one out of his cloak, pauses, gives a look to the leader and they have no response, so he continues and hands it to Roo. The Gallus bobs his head quickly again as he makes his way to this cultist.
"This reminds me of a showdown." He says, moving amongst the cultists. "I wish I had a lute, I'd sing it. Alas. Buck. Anyway, I shall tell the story. It was in the Gallusian settlement of Agua Fria. An outlaw rode in one day, a real scoundrel. His name, get this, was Tex' As Red. Whatever the cluck a Tex' As is."
He pauses long enough to fetch a lighting device from his kit, lights the cigarette, and places it in his beak before taking a drag. He gestures one hand to the cultist that has handed him the smoke.
"Delicious. You, fine sir, are a true gentleman. Never let anyone tell you that you are less simply because you lack feathers. Buc-buc-buh... Now where was I? Ah, yes. Tex' As Red. So he arrives in Agua Fria. A Gallus of fine stock. Wonderful comb and wattle and tail plumage to die for. Nice, lustrous red feathers. A real beautiful specimen. And he takes over. Kills all twenty of the roosters and cockrels of the town. All of them. Slain in single combat with this warrior of unparalleled skill. Word goes out. The hens weren't happy about this, as you can imagine, and Gallus was hurt by the loss of so many fine voices to sing his praise."
Roo takes another drag on the cigarette, his eyes slowly shutting as he enjoys the taste of the smoke. Ash falls from the tip.
"Tex' As Red takes over, yes? And as word gets around, a lone challenger appears. A roaming cockerel who hasn't made his way in the world yet. Snow white feathers. Only wearing chainmail. A cheap sword because he can't afford anything more. He rides into town one morning and his appearance is on the beaks of all the hens...and of course, this makes its way to Tex' As Red, who has come down from his morning worship on the fence and gone to the coop for drinks. Bagop. Of course Red is incensed. Who wouldn't be? He controlled the whole town. All those hens were his? His flock. So he calls out this stranger."
Another drag of the cigarette, almost half gone now.
"They met in the street just a bit before Gallus reached his apex in the sky overhead, similar I suppose to how we've met in the street just now. All the hens gathered to see this fight, knowing this lone wanderer was about to meet his death. And with the Light of Morning watching, they dueled. The quickness of the wanderer is still talked about to this day, my friends! In a flash he had drawn his sword, crossed the distance, and cut Tex' As Red down. The muss. No fuss. His feathers fell in the center of the street next to the iron he'd worn on his hip."
Roo closes his eyes and pauses for a moment, taking the last few puffs of the cigarette and tossing the remains into the dust next to Glory of Morning. Smoke gently rolled from his beak as he savored the last of it.
"My father, Mar' An, was hatched just a few days later. My line has lived there ever since, all because of this lone wanderer. His name was Fog' Horn, and he was the best of us. Buck. The consummate warrior. He wore this breastplate. This is his armor. Do any of you recognize it, by chance?"
Roo rides past the cultists, getting on the far side of them as he calls their attention to Fog' Horn's armor. When none of them recognize it, he sighs.
"Worth a try, anyway. Now, is this treasure really worth dying for? For any of us? It is tangible. Temporary. There is no honor or pride tied to it. It is nothing but metal in boxes. Tiamat doesn't give a damn about it. Are we really ready to butcher each other over it? We found it. We brought it to you. Perhaps the least you can do is give us a portion and we can avoid bloodshed and go our separate ways. We have no quarrel with you."
Roo drinks something and tosses a glass bottle aside, letting it shatter at the side of the street, then goes back to singing.
"Take me to the mountaintop
See a fowl for what he's got
If the birds will let you pass through
We use the sun for energy
As far as I can reach
My healing powers crystal blue...
The force of my feathers
As we battle together
The force of rebirth
Will make you one with mother earth yeah
Yeah yeah
My spirit guides the wind
It brings the message that I need
A blessing from the land
Is what Gallus has brought to me..."
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
As the others are discussing the treasure, Wilfred will say. "Listen here, I don't much care what we do with the treasure, but I'll be damned if we give it to them damn Flaming Fists. They are part of the oppressing classes machine holding us working folk down. I'm tired of the bourgeoisie taking from those that that do the real work. They shouldn't see a copper piece from this pile."
Wilfred listens as Archie talks about Zariel. He says under his breath "The gods have been no help to me, maybe some of these devils can be."
As the new comers drop, Wilfred will listen to what the others have to say. Wilfred listen's to Roo's story with some interest. He now knows why he was so disturbed when finding this body. It was one of his kin. He shakes his head to focus, and adds. "Listen, we have no love for the people who stole this from you and yours. In fact, it's quite the opposite, they are our enemies as well. And we might know who and where they are. It seems like we should be working together, yea?"
The cultists eyes follow the chests as one by one they are put on the ground. The tension in the air dissipates, but they don't put their weapons away yet. "Civilized." The one in front says this a bit with mirth as he looks at the rooster, flaming suit of armor and the man with a bloody pirate's hat.
He returns his gaze back to Corlith and nods, "Alright." and he sheaths his weapons and the others mirror his actions. "Proof? Well, this treasure has been marked. We can see it whenever we are 1,000 feet from it. Like the fact only most of the treasure currently resides within these chests." He turns to look at Reed, "Why, this little halfling has part of it in his bag right now, don't you?"
As Archie pulls out the red vial, the man looks to him and then you notice a slight growl enter his voice, "Her. This treasure is going with us, there is no compensation or negotiation about it."
Noticing Reed is notching his bow with an arrow, the leader puts his hands back on the pommels of his weapons, and as the halfling calls his skeletons, nothing comes. Reed thinks back and the last he saw of them was following the group up the stairs to the spa. If he would go back, there would be a pile of bones laying at the bottom of the stairs.
Before the fivesome have a chance to react to the halfling, the Rooster starts riding towards them, singing his song. You see the four cultists constantly looking between the avian creature and their leader, unsure of how to handle the situation. One, not the one that gave the cigarette, starts unsheathing his weapon at one point, but then seeing there is no aggression and that none of his comrades are, puts it back. There is definitely an air of uncertainty as Roo ends his soliloquy.
With Roo now behind the group, the four are watching him, enraptured with the story and what is going on, but the leader. He only has eyes for the treasure and is facing the party. Answering the rooster, but keeping his eyes on the treasure, he responds, “Tiamat cares about every ounce of this treasure. Treasure is all she thinks about and it is our duty to take this back to her. We have no quarrel with you, ours is with the Vanthampurs for stealing this treasure.”
As he says this last part, his eyes land on Mortlock. “You. You are one of them aren’t you. Were you part of the thievery? I’ve heard of you, but not in relation to the theft, am I wrong? If so, we fight here. Now.” and he pulls his blades out of their sheathes again and the others follow suit, hearing the sound of the blades as they rub against the leather of the scabbard.
Hearing the man with the bloodied pirate hat pipe up, "They are your enemies as well? Then why do you have one of their kin with you?"
Morty, a looking a bit worried about the whole exchange adds, "I'm with these guys, not my family, they tried to have me killed."
"Well, that does paint things in a different color." And once again he puts his weapons away, the rest following suit. "Working together you say? Hmm.. give us our treasure back, including what is in that pocket of your halfling, and this is something we will consider."
Reed leans in and listens to Virro for a moment then looks at these new weirdos again.
”Alright, so really? Tiamat? You worship an evil dragon god? You’re no better than the group down in that cesspool. And I mean that literally. It stinks down there. So I think you should be nice and say thank you for punishing them and then let us go past.” Reed says. Then he smiles “Besides we only need it for a little while. You can go looking for it again tomorrow. Just don’t get in our way now.”
Corlith listens to the others, both the followers of Tiamat and his own companions. Even Mortlock.
He addresses Roo first, “Fog’ Horn sounds like quite the hero, Roo. A mighty Gallus who refused to be pushed around and who took what he wanted”.
”These followers of the Queen of evil dragons, whose greed knows no bounds, are trying to take what is yours by right of combat. And this proof they mention, that they can see the treasure within a 1000 feet. That is not proof at all. A neat trick perhaps, but no proof of ownership”.
He shrugs to the dragon cult leader. “I am afraid all I see before us are brigands and robbers, trying to take what is ours. Not the Flaming Fist’s mind you, ours. I don’t think we need or want an alliance. I agree with Reed on this”.
The rooster sits quietly, taking in the sounds of the city around the temple to false idols, fake gods. He takes a breath as he listen to banter between his friends and the cultists, his head cocking from side to side. Slowly he gives Glory of Morning's reins a flick and then rides off, away from his friends, toward the gate.
He unlatches it. Pushes it open...
Then scampers up the wall on Glory of Morning's back so that he can see inside the compound as well as in the city.
"Buck buck bagop!" He shouts, listening to the sound of his voice echoing around the nearby houses and buildings, then bobs his head up and down as he nods. "Well it seems we have a problem, eh? They can find us because of the treasure, cause us plenty of problems, hm? And they're going to offer the treasure up to Tiamat? Why don't we just dump the treasure all over the motherclucking ground and call the townspeople in here to pick up as much as they can? And if these chuckleclucks make a false move, we kill them just like we killed everyone else in the Temple of the Dead Three! Save for Morty, of course! Someone give our good friend Morty there a potion, eh, so he can help slice his way out of this! Oh, I know. How about I call for reinforcements from the rest of the Flaming Fists? Guards! Guards! Someone call for the Flaming Fists! We need reinforcements! There are bad people here doing bad things! Well Reed, go on then! Dump the money out! Let's give it back to the people! Oh, is that not loud enough? I can be really loud! I have a fine set of lungs! Listen! COCKADOODLEDOO!"
Roo prances Glory of Morning back and forth along the top of the wall as he does this, but keeps his eyes turned toward the inner courtyard.
"Now then, shall I call it all off, hm? Or should I be louder? Makes no difference to me. I'm just tired of playing nice with all these shady types when I have better things to do with my life and I don't really care too much for the thought of looking over my shoulder for the foreseeable future while I'm busy with endeavors I actually give a shit about. Tiamat my ass. Your god is just another false idol and you are all thralls. Slaves to power that offers you what? Anything? You're pathetic. Now if we're all done, I'm ready to move along. Buck!"
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
The man looks down at Reed, "Why. Why would we hunt it down again tomorrow when we have it here right now. That makes no sense and I do not care what this little man thinks of us." Looking back up to Corlith, his voice getting a bit harder, "Your need or want is trivial to me. Leave the treasure and we'll let you leave with your lives."
The other cultists turn back around as Roo starts in on his tantrum, watching as he climbs the wall on this possum. As the bird caws, they draw their weapons and take a step forward, obvious in their intent. "Leave now, I am done with this nonsense. You." pointing his dagger at Reed, "drop what you have."
"Fine." Roo says. "I guess we have to do this then. What a waste of time."
He pulls a javelin out and wings it at the man threatening Reed.
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Archie sighs and flips her visor up for the first time, behind it there is nothing but flames and the glow of fire pouring out, "I'm also done with this nonsense, we fought like hell for this and if you can track it then it doesn't seem like you leave us much choice, here! Come get what you deserve." She kicks one of the chests forwards and whilst the group of dragon cultists are distracted by having their treasure within their grasp, Archie pops the cork on the potion she is holding, empties the contents into her open visor and then spews a roaring gout of flame directly at the leader of the dragon worshipping asshats.
(Dex save 13 or take 16 fire damage or 8 on success)
Reed smiles as the cresting wave of mayhem finally breaks.
"Kill this one first," Reed says pointing at the leader. "He's a bad person."
Wilfred sighs. "I've use the 'Will Consider' line before. That means no."
As the chaos erupts, Wilfred says halfheartedly. "Wait. Stop. Don't.... I tried." With that, he gets out his Glaive, happy there are so many within his reach already.
Virro points his right arm at the leader of the cultists and an ethereal hand shoots forth, splitting in two, grasping at the leader of the cultists and the cultist immediately to his right. “You just couldn’t let us go, could you…”
Chill touch to cult leader : 14 to hit, for 6 points necrotic damage.
Chill touch to cultist b : 11 to hit, for 3 points of necrotic damage.
A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.
As things degrade into the familiar violence that is usual for the group he finds himself with, he makes eye contact with the leader.
”Let’s see if you have the skill to back up that mouth if yours, or if you are just an impotent worm, as I suspect”, he says, lacing the words with contempt.
Action: Cast Vicious Mockery on the leader. DC 15 Wisdom save or take 3 psychic damage and have disadvantage on the next attack roll it makes before the end of it’s next turn.