Kel watched for a heartbeat as the situation unfolded. Instead of lunging in as his initial reaction was, instead that cold thing happened to his gut. He turned to his gear set against the floor and wall by the fireplace and removed his greatsword from its resting place. The others were busy wrestling with the arm of the Arbitrator. Kel looked at the Fireclaimed, staring intently at his face. If he gave any sign or signal as to what Kel was prepared to do for him, all he had to do was nod or say the words.
The knight is his already weakened state appeared to be succumbing to being choked by the hand. While the hand may have been attached to the rest of his body, it appeared defiant of it's master's wishes. Both Uthal and Ander struggled to pry the thing free, from the dragonborn's neck. It was, however, the monk's nimble hands that managed the right grip, to pin back the arm.
Struggling still to breath, the hoarse shouts came from the knight, potentially intended for one party member alone.
Kel took in a breath and raised his greatsword, with the arm being restrained by the others it was little different than a coup de grace on a trapped foe. He aimed for just below the elbow, weakest point in the armor and should the curse or infection have spread past the hand he had rather spare the Arbitrator the pain of doing this again. He brought the sword down in a felling stroke.
The strike came down, a clean cut, breaking through a weaker junction in the armor, completely severing the limb from the rest of the knight’s body. D’armes went limp in his chair, unresponsive, as blood poured from his newly fashioned stump-wound.
The halfling was quick to act though, bringing a Spade that had been resting in the fireplace. He pressed it against the open, scaled flesh; a burning sizzle coming from the contact. He held it there, until the red hot glow of the iron faded back to its natural black color. The bleeding had stopped, at least for now.
The Arbitrator’s lifeless body was slumped in the chair, his eyes closed and limbs otherwise unmoving.
Ura climbs out from under the table and looks around. „Well this is going fantastically,“ she says drily. Crouching down, she inspects the severed limb, holding one of her necrotic arrows in hand to stab it if it makes a move.
Uthal’s healing assists noticeably with where the Arbitrator’s arm had once been. While the red hot spade had assisted in stopping the bleeding, it actually did very little for the wound itself. Fortunately, the use of this closed the wound entirely, which would keep it from reopening, unintentionally, in the near future.
The limb lay on the ground, within its armored shell. Of the opening though, where it had been severed, blood trickled from it. As Ura observed it though, the trickle of blood turned darker and became a trickle of something darker and thicker. While Ura may not have been an expert in the matters, it appeared to be identical to the liquid that was on the very arrow she held in her hand, when she first pulled it from the zombie corpse back in Cathaan. The hand, for the time, lay there motionless.
An audible metal clang was the first thing heard, not of the body or arm. The halfling was hastily trying to unlock the cage and leave through the front entrance.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Ura , who had begun pulling out a normal arrow out to coat it in the fluid, sees the boy and frowns. Her hand twitches reflexively to pull out her bow and stop him in his tracks, but the thought of shooting another innocent individual in the back makes her unable to draw it. Instead, she rolls up off the floor and sprints to the door, sliding herself between the halfling and the cage before he can open it.
"Hey kid," she says with a smile, leaning her weight against the cage door in a studiedly casual pose. "Why don'tcha tell us where you're going before you abandon your severely injured boss here without a word to us?"
Kel let out the breath he had been holding for the strike. He placed his greatsword at rest against the wall once more. Things would spiral quickly now. ...Azzeal preserve us in the pure fires of truth and if your child claimed should lose his inner flame, be kind in his Rekindling and be watchful over our remaining embers... Uthal had taken to the Arbitrator, if there was life to preserve then he at least had a chance. Ura had seen fit to attempt to block the halfing. Likely though, going to seek a healer and summon the guard. Glancing at the fallen limb, Kel put a boot on it. Undead or no, it was unlikely to move his weight. He took a deep breath and spoke.
"Let him go." He said flatly towards the door. "If he seeks a healer and the Watch he has those rights as servant to the Arbitrator." He glanced around. "All of you should go. If the Watch seeks to turn this into a crime then I can and will take this blame. I was the one they saw carry him." He pointed to his blade. "I am the one that struck off his arm. As Fireborn to Fireclaimed this is a matter that will be brought before the Temple of the First Fire and we do not recognise the borders of the Kingdoms. My people will come for me. I will be brought to trial before the living God of the First Flame." He shrugged. "My God will and has seen that we have only the best intentions and attempted to help." He motioned toward the Arbitrator. "Should this one pass then his spirit can be rekindled to speak his own truth should he need do so." He looked around. "None of you need be here for what comes next. Your journey has only brought you this way, you have much farther to go."
He gestured to the door. (Activate: Thaumaturgy - The door, if unlocked, will fly open)
"Go, and be quick. His fire fades." This he said with meaning to both the halfling servant and the others.
With the finesse and grace of someone born with the sole purpose of parkour(ing) across a room to stop a little halfling from unlocking a cage, Ura almost instinctively propelled herself perfectly into place. No sooner had the little man put the key in the lock, that Ura blocked his way.
The halfling, who stood a foot shorter than Ura, looked up at him, with surprise at her sudden appearance, though it quickly turned to frustration. He attempted to push Ura out of the way. Blemish strength: 5 Ura strength: 6
The halfling threw all his strength behind it, but failed to gain the footing required to shove even a figure as light as Ura out of the way. However, this turned out to be unnecessary, as the door itself flew open, by Kel's command. The little man waddled toward the now open cage, to make his escape, leaving the party with the potentially living Arbitrator.
Uthal lets go of the knight after making sure he's secure in his seat. "Well Thiefling, that wasn't very smart. This noble sacrifice crap is only that, crap. If there is a great beast out there in need of defeating then why waste a good resource by locking it up. If I've learned anything about these kingdoms while being here it's that they aren't ruled by smart people. They'll keep you locked up even if you could help. Best you come now. Or if we stay and have the scaley-one explain what happened here. I assume whatever he said was meant for you."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Gronk in Bastion, Kingdom of Medrin Elixisysin Talaveroth (Team 2) Uthal in Lost Continent of Theviranne
Kel narrowed his eyes. "Stating facts. If you only see me as a resource then running cover puts more import of value than just another sword arm. You can find those enough between docks and bars." He pointed at the Arbitrator. "What he said was for me to take the arm, so I did." He rested his back against the wall again, careful to shuffle the limb beneath his foot as he moved. "Either the Arbitrator will survive and impart the knowledge we need in order to reseal the Black Beast or he will die and likely the last best hope in the vicinity will go with him. I suspect the Flame Keepers in the Territory may have some knowledge of these past events." He shrugged. "No sense in all of us waiting for the noose if that is what they bring. Should the Arbitrator wake then we can reconvene." He let his gaze stare out to nothing, coming to grips with his own suggestion. "I'm not sacrificing myself to the law, only hedging our bets should the worse occur. The Watch could see reason within moments. If you think it's crap however, then it means I still have quite a bit to learn concerning the races born of the Earth."
Anearis watched the whole scene unfold. It all happened so quickly. One moment they were simply talking, and the next they were cutting the arm of the Arbitrator. He tried check up on the dragonborn’s vital signs, looking for a pulse.
(Medicine: 9)
Whether the results are positive or negative, the elf turns to the group. "Your sacrifice will serve no one. Come with us and defeat this evil, Mellon."
Anearis's attempt to assess the Arbitrator yielded little new useful information, regarding his current state. Whether the scales on his skin, or armor he wore, dulled any sense of it, Anearis was unable to find a pulse, and was still unsure as to whether D'armes was still alive.
"You two and your magic hands can keep him alive, right? Just-" Ander wiggles his fingers in the vague direction of the stump. "If the crazy bastard really wanted you to chop off his cursed arm, I'm sure he'll say it."
Ura lurches forward as the door opens, and watches the halfling get away. She turns around and glares at Kel. "You sure are a trusting soul. How do you know it wasn't him who passed on some sort of an infection when he handed D'Armes his sword back? Well, not like it matters anyway, now that he's off I'm sure the guards are going to come thundering back here to arrest us for cutting off the Arbitrator's arm no matter what else happens."
As she's speaking, she squints at the dragonborn. "I thought you saved him just now. Is he unconscious or kinda dead?"she asks Uthal, coming over to look at D'Armes more closely. "Because what I saw inside his arm looked a lot like what I saw inside those zombies. And if I know anything about poison, it's that it spreads through your blood. Cutting off his arm might not have gotten rid of the infection like we hoped. I would say we should bind him, and bring him out with us to those guards who claimed to have healers for their precious Arbitrator galore, but fat lot of good that's gonna do now that his errand boy has gone to fetch the watch like this. They'll be double-punch pleased to catch us tying what we didn't cut off of him together with rope."
Coming closer to the others, she looks at the ragged, burned edge of D'Armes limp arm, and then, gritting her teeth - it's fine, when's the last time I ate meat anyway? - she begins to pull and tug away at the armor around the wound there. She tries to see if the blackness was spreading further up D'Armes scaled arm, but this really isn't her thing, and after a moment, she draws back, frustrated. "Maybe you can check and see if the infection is still spreading, since you're in the dual business of kneecap busting and healing,"she tells Uthal.
(Trying for investigation anyway to check if the corruption is still spreading through D'Armes: 18 It's probably more Medicine though: 11 )
Uthal looks back to the paladin, his grey eyes registering nothing. "We don't need just another sword arm, I think the fool dwarf proved that quite nicely. We need someone with a few more skills, which you seem to have." He then looks to Ura. "I am no healer. My kind view healing as something for the weak. I use the goddesses blessing to do that work but I do not understand how it does so or why I should, only that she tells me too and so I do."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Gronk in Bastion, Kingdom of Medrin Elixisysin Talaveroth (Team 2) Uthal in Lost Continent of Theviranne
To Anders Kel said: "I could if I wasn't spent. I've been fighting and healing all day today."He turned his head. "Saw no reason to damn him."Kel stated to Ura's glare. "Why stay as we wrestled it? Why cauterize his masters stump? If his plan was betrayal why not run as soon as he was freed from being choked?" He shook his head. "The hand is proof of infection, the people of the Maiden can give witness that I revived him and then we came here. If you all want to go I won't hold it against you. There has been harm but no crime committed and I will attest to that. Besides..."Kel huffed, closing his eyes for a moment. "As a member of the same Religion and perhaps even the same Order, I must stay to perform prayers should his flame dwindle." Kel opened his eyes and looked to the Arbitrator and then interjected to Uthal. "There is nothing wrong in being in service to a higher power such as that. If you do good works, the act alone should suffice and need no explanation."
"Well I don't think you'll be able to do much healing no matter what you believed if he's in the process of turning into a zombie right now," Ura says, grunting as she tugs at D'Armes armor to try to get access to his arm. "What I'm asking you to do is look at the guy and tell me if you think the poison that was in his arm is spreading to the rest of him, before he reanimates and punches you or me in the face. Call it a matter of self-preservation." She pauses, panting - damn it, why do people wrap themselves up in this much metal anyway? -"Or maybe town preservation. This guy was a walking one-man-army when he was on our side. What makes you think he'll be any different if he gets turned?"
To Kel, she offers a brief smile. "Glad nobody's ever stabbed you in the back before, greenie. Let's hope you never lose that unfailing optimism of yours."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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Ander grabs the arm and tries to pull it around behind D'Armes's back.
10
Kel watched for a heartbeat as the situation unfolded. Instead of lunging in as his initial reaction was, instead that cold thing happened to his gut. He turned to his gear set against the floor and wall by the fireplace and removed his greatsword from its resting place. The others were busy wrestling with the arm of the Arbitrator. Kel looked at the Fireclaimed, staring intently at his face. If he gave any sign or signal as to what Kel was prepared to do for him, all he had to do was nod or say the words.
Exitus Acta Probat
D'armes's right hand: 4
Anearis's advantage roll, with Ura's help: 19
The knight is his already weakened state appeared to be succumbing to being choked by the hand. While the hand may have been attached to the rest of his body, it appeared defiant of it's master's wishes. Both Uthal and Ander struggled to pry the thing free, from the dragonborn's neck. It was, however, the monk's nimble hands that managed the right grip, to pin back the arm.
Struggling still to breath, the hoarse shouts came from the knight, potentially intended for one party member alone.
"Ticy zmy vorp!"
((In Infernal)) "Take the hand!"
Kel took in a breath and raised his greatsword, with the arm being restrained by the others it was little different than a coup de grace on a trapped foe. He aimed for just below the elbow, weakest point in the armor and should the curse or infection have spread past the hand he had rather spare the Arbitrator the pain of doing this again. He brought the sword down in a felling stroke.
Attack: 20
Damage: 9
Exitus Acta Probat
The strike came down, a clean cut, breaking through a weaker junction in the armor, completely severing the limb from the rest of the knight’s body. D’armes went limp in his chair, unresponsive, as blood poured from his newly fashioned stump-wound.
The halfling was quick to act though, bringing a Spade that had been resting in the fireplace. He pressed it against the open, scaled flesh; a burning sizzle coming from the contact. He held it there, until the red hot glow of the iron faded back to its natural black color. The bleeding had stopped, at least for now.
The Arbitrator’s lifeless body was slumped in the chair, his eyes closed and limbs otherwise unmoving.
Uthal reaches down to the suddenly still dragonborn and places one hand near the stump, the other going to the back of his head. "Bo." cure wounds 4
Gronk in Bastion, Kingdom of Medrin Elixisys in Talaveroth (Team 2) Uthal in Lost Continent of Theviranne
Ura climbs out from under the table and looks around. „Well this is going fantastically,“ she says drily. Crouching down, she inspects the severed limb, holding one of her necrotic arrows in hand to stab it if it makes a move.
investigation: 20
Uthal’s healing assists noticeably with where the Arbitrator’s arm had once been. While the red hot spade had assisted in stopping the bleeding, it actually did very little for the wound itself. Fortunately, the use of this closed the wound entirely, which would keep it from reopening, unintentionally, in the near future.
The limb lay on the ground, within its armored shell. Of the opening though, where it had been severed, blood trickled from it. As Ura observed it though, the trickle of blood turned darker and became a trickle of something darker and thicker. While Ura may not have been an expert in the matters, it appeared to be identical to the liquid that was on the very arrow she held in her hand, when she first pulled it from the zombie corpse back in Cathaan. The hand, for the time, lay there motionless.
An audible metal clang was the first thing heard, not of the body or arm. The halfling was hastily trying to unlock the cage and leave through the front entrance.
Ura , who had begun pulling out a normal arrow out to coat it in the fluid, sees the boy and frowns. Her hand twitches reflexively to pull out her bow and stop him in his tracks, but the thought of shooting another innocent individual in the back makes her unable to draw it. Instead, she rolls up off the floor and sprints to the door, sliding herself between the halfling and the cage before he can open it.
"Hey kid," she says with a smile, leaning her weight against the cage door in a studiedly casual pose. "Why don'tcha tell us where you're going before you abandon your severely injured boss here without a word to us?"
Acrobatics: 12
Kel let out the breath he had been holding for the strike. He placed his greatsword at rest against the wall once more. Things would spiral quickly now. ...Azzeal preserve us in the pure fires of truth and if your child claimed should lose his inner flame, be kind in his Rekindling and be watchful over our remaining embers... Uthal had taken to the Arbitrator, if there was life to preserve then he at least had a chance. Ura had seen fit to attempt to block the halfing. Likely though, going to seek a healer and summon the guard. Glancing at the fallen limb, Kel put a boot on it. Undead or no, it was unlikely to move his weight. He took a deep breath and spoke.
"Let him go." He said flatly towards the door. "If he seeks a healer and the Watch he has those rights as servant to the Arbitrator." He glanced around. "All of you should go. If the Watch seeks to turn this into a crime then I can and will take this blame. I was the one they saw carry him." He pointed to his blade. "I am the one that struck off his arm. As Fireborn to Fireclaimed this is a matter that will be brought before the Temple of the First Fire and we do not recognise the borders of the Kingdoms. My people will come for me. I will be brought to trial before the living God of the First Flame." He shrugged. "My God will and has seen that we have only the best intentions and attempted to help." He motioned toward the Arbitrator. "Should this one pass then his spirit can be rekindled to speak his own truth should he need do so." He looked around. "None of you need be here for what comes next. Your journey has only brought you this way, you have much farther to go."
He gestured to the door. (Activate: Thaumaturgy - The door, if unlocked, will fly open)
"Go, and be quick. His fire fades." This he said with meaning to both the halfling servant and the others.
Exitus Acta Probat
With the finesse and grace of someone born with the sole purpose of parkour(ing) across a room to stop a little halfling from unlocking a cage, Ura almost instinctively propelled herself perfectly into place. No sooner had the little man put the key in the lock, that Ura blocked his way.
The halfling, who stood a foot shorter than Ura, looked up at him, with surprise at her sudden appearance, though it quickly turned to frustration. He attempted to push Ura out of the way. Blemish strength: 5 Ura strength: 6
The halfling threw all his strength behind it, but failed to gain the footing required to shove even a figure as light as Ura out of the way. However, this turned out to be unnecessary, as the door itself flew open, by Kel's command. The little man waddled toward the now open cage, to make his escape, leaving the party with the potentially living Arbitrator.
Uthal lets go of the knight after making sure he's secure in his seat. "Well Thiefling, that wasn't very smart. This noble sacrifice crap is only that, crap. If there is a great beast out there in need of defeating then why waste a good resource by locking it up. If I've learned anything about these kingdoms while being here it's that they aren't ruled by smart people. They'll keep you locked up even if you could help. Best you come now. Or if we stay and have the scaley-one explain what happened here. I assume whatever he said was meant for you."
Gronk in Bastion, Kingdom of Medrin Elixisys in Talaveroth (Team 2) Uthal in Lost Continent of Theviranne
Kel narrowed his eyes. "Stating facts. If you only see me as a resource then running cover puts more import of value than just another sword arm. You can find those enough between docks and bars." He pointed at the Arbitrator. "What he said was for me to take the arm, so I did." He rested his back against the wall again, careful to shuffle the limb beneath his foot as he moved. "Either the Arbitrator will survive and impart the knowledge we need in order to reseal the Black Beast or he will die and likely the last best hope in the vicinity will go with him. I suspect the Flame Keepers in the Territory may have some knowledge of these past events." He shrugged. "No sense in all of us waiting for the noose if that is what they bring. Should the Arbitrator wake then we can reconvene." He let his gaze stare out to nothing, coming to grips with his own suggestion. "I'm not sacrificing myself to the law, only hedging our bets should the worse occur. The Watch could see reason within moments. If you think it's crap however, then it means I still have quite a bit to learn concerning the races born of the Earth."
Exitus Acta Probat
Anearis watched the whole scene unfold. It all happened so quickly. One moment they were simply talking, and the next they were cutting the arm of the Arbitrator. He tried check up on the dragonborn’s vital signs, looking for a pulse.
(Medicine: 9)
Whether the results are positive or negative, the elf turns to the group. "Your sacrifice will serve no one. Come with us and defeat this evil, Mellon."
Anearis's attempt to assess the Arbitrator yielded little new useful information, regarding his current state. Whether the scales on his skin, or armor he wore, dulled any sense of it, Anearis was unable to find a pulse, and was still unsure as to whether D'armes was still alive.
"You two and your magic hands can keep him alive, right? Just-" Ander wiggles his fingers in the vague direction of the stump. "If the crazy bastard really wanted you to chop off his cursed arm, I'm sure he'll say it."
Ura lurches forward as the door opens, and watches the halfling get away. She turns around and glares at Kel. "You sure are a trusting soul. How do you know it wasn't him who passed on some sort of an infection when he handed D'Armes his sword back? Well, not like it matters anyway, now that he's off I'm sure the guards are going to come thundering back here to arrest us for cutting off the Arbitrator's arm no matter what else happens."
As she's speaking, she squints at the dragonborn. "I thought you saved him just now. Is he unconscious or kinda dead?" she asks Uthal, coming over to look at D'Armes more closely. "Because what I saw inside his arm looked a lot like what I saw inside those zombies. And if I know anything about poison, it's that it spreads through your blood. Cutting off his arm might not have gotten rid of the infection like we hoped. I would say we should bind him, and bring him out with us to those guards who claimed to have healers for their precious Arbitrator galore, but fat lot of good that's gonna do now that his errand boy has gone to fetch the watch like this. They'll be double-punch pleased to catch us tying what we didn't cut off of him together with rope."
Coming closer to the others, she looks at the ragged, burned edge of D'Armes limp arm, and then, gritting her teeth - it's fine, when's the last time I ate meat anyway? - she begins to pull and tug away at the armor around the wound there. She tries to see if the blackness was spreading further up D'Armes scaled arm, but this really isn't her thing, and after a moment, she draws back, frustrated. "Maybe you can check and see if the infection is still spreading, since you're in the dual business of kneecap busting and healing," she tells Uthal.
(Trying for investigation anyway to check if the corruption is still spreading through D'Armes: 18
It's probably more Medicine though: 11 )
Uthal looks back to the paladin, his grey eyes registering nothing. "We don't need just another sword arm, I think the fool dwarf proved that quite nicely. We need someone with a few more skills, which you seem to have." He then looks to Ura. "I am no healer. My kind view healing as something for the weak. I use the goddesses blessing to do that work but I do not understand how it does so or why I should, only that she tells me too and so I do."
Gronk in Bastion, Kingdom of Medrin Elixisys in Talaveroth (Team 2) Uthal in Lost Continent of Theviranne
To Anders Kel said: "I could if I wasn't spent. I've been fighting and healing all day today." He turned his head. "Saw no reason to damn him." Kel stated to Ura's glare. "Why stay as we wrestled it? Why cauterize his masters stump? If his plan was betrayal why not run as soon as he was freed from being choked?" He shook his head. "The hand is proof of infection, the people of the Maiden can give witness that I revived him and then we came here. If you all want to go I won't hold it against you. There has been harm but no crime committed and I will attest to that. Besides..." Kel huffed, closing his eyes for a moment. "As a member of the same Religion and perhaps even the same Order, I must stay to perform prayers should his flame dwindle." Kel opened his eyes and looked to the Arbitrator and then interjected to Uthal. "There is nothing wrong in being in service to a higher power such as that. If you do good works, the act alone should suffice and need no explanation."
Exitus Acta Probat
"Well I don't think you'll be able to do much healing no matter what you believed if he's in the process of turning into a zombie right now," Ura says, grunting as she tugs at D'Armes armor to try to get access to his arm. "What I'm asking you to do is look at the guy and tell me if you think the poison that was in his arm is spreading to the rest of him, before he reanimates and punches you or me in the face. Call it a matter of self-preservation." She pauses, panting - damn it, why do people wrap themselves up in this much metal anyway? - "Or maybe town preservation. This guy was a walking one-man-army when he was on our side. What makes you think he'll be any different if he gets turned?"
To Kel, she offers a brief smile. "Glad nobody's ever stabbed you in the back before, greenie. Let's hope you never lose that unfailing optimism of yours."