"You mean. it's just you three and your pet mouse, or are there any more of you lurking back there?" asks the halfling, trying to peer around the corner and looking at you even more suspiciously than before.
"And we don't live here!" he says indignantly. "Good gods no! We're treasure hunters, same as you, I reckon, by the looks of you. We're looking for some treasure that was left here by our ancestors, long ago, when this was all on the surface. After that, this wasn't such a nice place for decent folk like us, what with all these zombies as we call them walking about and whatnot, and we had to leave Ekuepool and find our own way in the world, but now we've come back to reclaim what's rightfully ours."
"Hear, hear!" says one of the other little people.
"Now, I'm not afraid of the council. They made enemies of my folk when they gave up fighting the zombies and closed off the undercity. They want our treasure for themselves, I figure, but we sneaked in by the river under cover of night. We're pretty good at hiding from the lord's patrol, and we'll sneak out the same way once we have what we came for. That is," and he eyes you suspiciously again, "unless you big folk are working for the council and were sent down here to spy on us and take what's ours."
As he speaks, the halfling seems to be telling the truth. He looks the three of you over once again and his demeanor towards you softens somewhat. "Nah, you three don't seem like spies, especially not you with your jangling armor," he says, laughing at Tarek's noisy attempt at hiding. "You seem more like a hero than a spy. If we had a hero like you on our side and someone to think up a plan quick-like, we'd have our treasure back in no time flat."
He politely offers Anakis his hand. "Button's the name, Remacle Button. Now, my friends and I have a bit of business in this alcove you're standing in. Are you going to let us pass?"
Anakis giggles at the halfling's name and shakes his hand, "Nice to meet you Mister Button. I'm Anakis. And this is Custard," she says introducing her mouse. "We're just here to get rid of the undead things roaming around down here. I'm sure there's plenty of treasure for us all though. What is hidden in here? I found this hilt of some sort on the ground. Is it yours?" She pulls out the hilt and holds it up to look at it again.
Remacle's eyes widen momentarily at the sight of the hilt dangling in front of him, but at Ash's mention of a couple more of us, he begins to look nervous and guarded. Torrent's words seem to calm him down a bit, though, and he says, "That's alright. You never can be too careful in a place like this."
Then, turning his attention back to the hilt and hurriedly studying it with his eyes, he says, "Yes, I believe that does belong to us. My old grandad said it would be here, a bit of a family heirloom, actually. You can see that it's hob- er, halfling size. Of course, it isn't valuable -- more of a good luck charm, really. We've only just now come back for it because we realized that we must have missed it on the way in. Isn't that right, fellas?"
The other halflings nod in agreement.
"Thanks for finding it for us," says Remacle. "We'll just take it now and be on our way. I don't want to take up more of your valuable time than I already have, you being important monster hunters and all. Nice job on the zombie, by the way," he says looking at the decomposed corpse lying on the floor nearby.
Having dealt with many a conman and liar over the years, Nicolas tries to determine whether or not Remacle is telling the truth about this hilt and his group. (Insight: 22)
Anakis looks quizzically at the hilt, then to the alcove, then back to Remacle. "Didn't you want to check in here? What if there's something else as well?" She looks to the others, unsure of what their thoughts on the halflings are. "Why don't you join us? There might be more treasures down here? Maybe even some more from your ancestors? We could use the help."
(Anakis is trying to convince them to stay, partly because she doesn't want to give up the hilt, but also because she wonders if they might know more about down here and what other treasures they have. They do seem suddenly hurried to leave considering they were adamant about finding heirlooms. DM - not sure if you want a persuasion (17) to stay, or deception (7) to convince them that we would need their help?)
"Don't worry, we're all peaceful people," Tarek reassures the halflings, nodding to the rest of the group to confirm the truth of his statement. Tarek is not sure if he trusts Remacle. The "hob" and subsequent correction catches him off guard. "Hob... hob... your grandfather is a hobgoblin?" he asks Remacle. "That doesn't really make sense."(Insight on Remacle: 20)
Aluzira cautiously makes her way out as Ash motions for them to come out, and introduces herself with a small wave. “My name is Aluzira, I’m traveling with them to help where I can.” After that, she remains quiet while listening to the conversation.
Nicolas, you notice that when Remacle calls the hilt a family heirloom, and especially when he says it's a good luck charm, that he seems a bit too eager to convince Anakis and the rest of his audience that the hilt has no other purpose. Also, you notice that he seems eager to move on quickly from the subject of the hilt to other matters, so as not to have his statements questioned. Everything else he says about his group and their activities is said in a straightforward manner, however.
"We were going to look in there for the hilt," says Remacle, "but since you've already found it, there's nothing left for us to do in this exact spot, nothing at all. The real treasure lies elsewhere." He pauses a moment, considering Anakis's request.
"I appreciate your offer of companionship," he says, "but we've had quite a morning ourselves, avoiding zombies and all, and I thought we'd retire for a bit to the entrance of this place for an early elevenses, if you take my meaning." He pats his stomach and looks longingly at the hilt Anakis is holding.
Tarek's question brings him out of his reverie. "Oh goodness me, no!" he says. "Not hobgoblins! It's a word we have for ourselves in our own language. I've been speaking to my friends here so much that I slipped back into it, but halfling suits us alright when we're among big folk such as yourselves."
"Forgive me for the misunderstanding," Tarek says after Remacle clears up the fact. "It's not every day I come across a halfling. Now, if you don't mind, we'll be passing through."
Anakis looks closely at the hilt now, seeing as Mr. Button is so keen to have it (Investigation: 14 - perhaps for some sort of markings or names?). "This is a good luck charm?! Wow, I've never had one of those before. Though, I would have thought it would look... more impressive?" she says to herself as she looks it over.
(DM Question - how far is the group of halflings from the corner in the tunnel they just came from? And how far are we from them?)
(OOC - Anakis really wants to keep the hilt, lets be honest. To her, "it's not stealing if I need it more than someone else", and with the halfling saying it's a good luck charm, even if he's lying, she really thinks that she needs it more than him. Had an idea to get them moving on, trying to do it without having to give them the hilt, using some Thaumaturgy and deception.)
"Pleased to meet you Miss Aluzira," Remacle says. "It's a pleasure I'm sure."
When Tarek says you'll all be passing through, the halflings don't all step out of the way but look to Remacle as to what they should do.
Anakis, as you look more closely at the hilt, you can see that the irregularly shaped pommel does indeed bear an embossed rune or marking upon it, just slightly raised from the surface.
Remacle watches you examining the hilt with a keen eye and replies to your comments. "Yes, well, there's no rhyme or reason to what object some may attribute their luck, but it was considered lucky in my family going back some generations. It's just an old hilt that was left behind when my ancestors had to flee the zomblies all those years ago. Can I have it back please? We'd like to get out of you and your friends' way and be about our business, if you don't mind."
At this point, Remacle is standing within reach of you. (I'm not sure if it was you or he who stepped forward to shake hands.) I assume that if he moved forward, that his party would have come with him, so that he and another halfling would be nearly at the corner you were hiding behind and just behind the zombie, and the back row of the group of halflings would be about forty feet out from the far corner.
Remacle clears his throat and puts out his hand with the palm facing up.
Anakis looks at Remacle, then to Torrent, Tarek and Aluzira, her eyes pleading her colleagues to help as she holds the hilt close to her chest.
(OOC - I'd forgotten that we'd shaken hands. Forty feet, hmm. Could she easily make her way between the halflings or are they pretty well blocking the path forward?)
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Ash, seeing Anakis's look, walks forward "That's quite enough of that. She found the trinket, it is her's to keep. I think you have overstayed your welcome down here. Scram, or the council will find out" As he speaks, His bloodred eyes seem to glow.
They don’t appear to be hostile (although they aren’t striking you as particularly friendly either), so you should be able to move forward between them without a problem. They aren’t trying to block the path forward through the hallway.
Not that it affects the outcome of his action here, but I don't think Ash is proficient in Intimidation.
"What'd I tell you, fellas?" Remacle says to his companions. "Agents of the council trying to take what's ours!"
He turns to Ash and the rest of the group, his face livid. "We're not going to budge from this spot, I tells you. You think just because you're bigger 'an me, you can scare me with tellin' tattle tales to the council? We were here a long time before you were, and I think you've outstayed your welcome, mister! We may be small, but we outnumber you two to one, so I'd like to see what you're going to do about us settin' up camp here until you go crawlin' back upstairs to your masters at the council."
"You tell 'em, Remmy!" says one of the other halflings.
Remacle defiantly folds his arms in front of his chest and stands his ground with his chin raised proudly.
Nicolas is going to attempt to cast minor illusion without revealing his position. (OOC - there are no verbal components, but there are somatic, so Sleight of Hand?: 14)
With minor illusion, he will create a sound behind the halflings, mimicking the sounds of the zombie as close as possible.
During the conversation, the halflings have all squeezed forward, so it's no problem to target your spell at a spot behind them, and I don't think the gestures would give away your position, but the sound you create will emanate from a place within the radius of their torchlight, basically creating the effect of an invisible zombie. Do you still want to do that?
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The players describe what they want to do.
The DM narrates the results of their actions.
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"You mean. it's just you three and your pet mouse, or are there any more of you lurking back there?" asks the halfling, trying to peer around the corner and looking at you even more suspiciously than before.
"And we don't live here!" he says indignantly. "Good gods no! We're treasure hunters, same as you, I reckon, by the looks of you. We're looking for some treasure that was left here by our ancestors, long ago, when this was all on the surface. After that, this wasn't such a nice place for decent folk like us, what with all these zombies as we call them walking about and whatnot, and we had to leave Ekuepool and find our own way in the world, but now we've come back to reclaim what's rightfully ours."
"Hear, hear!" says one of the other little people.
"Now, I'm not afraid of the council. They made enemies of my folk when they gave up fighting the zombies and closed off the undercity. They want our treasure for themselves, I figure, but we sneaked in by the river under cover of night. We're pretty good at hiding from the lord's patrol, and we'll sneak out the same way once we have what we came for. That is," and he eyes you suspiciously again, "unless you big folk are working for the council and were sent down here to spy on us and take what's ours."
As he speaks, the halfling seems to be telling the truth. He looks the three of you over once again and his demeanor towards you softens somewhat. "Nah, you three don't seem like spies, especially not you with your jangling armor," he says, laughing at Tarek's noisy attempt at hiding. "You seem more like a hero than a spy. If we had a hero like you on our side and someone to think up a plan quick-like, we'd have our treasure back in no time flat."
He politely offers Anakis his hand. "Button's the name, Remacle Button. Now, my friends and I have a bit of business in this alcove you're standing in. Are you going to let us pass?"
Aluzira unsure of wether or not she should remain hidden looks, if she can, to Anakis, Tarek, and Ash hoping for a signal as to what to do.
Anakis giggles at the halfling's name and shakes his hand, "Nice to meet you Mister Button. I'm Anakis. And this is Custard," she says introducing her mouse. "We're just here to get rid of the undead things roaming around down here. I'm sure there's plenty of treasure for us all though. What is hidden in here? I found this hilt of some sort on the ground. Is it yours?" She pulls out the hilt and holds it up to look at it again.
Ash looks at Aluzira and Torrent, motioning for them to come out. "There are a couple more of us..."
“I will take responsibility for what I have done. [...] If must fall, I will rise each time a better man.” ― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer.
"Right. Sorry, jus' wanted options in case'a sommat going bad. Hlo. I'm Torrent, a shepherd of the Bog that's far outta his element."
Salazar - Human Warlock of the Fiend (1) - The Lucarcian Incident
Shepherd Torrent Brallern Water Genasi Druid (1) - Ekuepool
Celeste Belle - Air Genasi Mutant Blood Hunter (1) - Old West
DM for A Waterdhavian Heist
Remacle's eyes widen momentarily at the sight of the hilt dangling in front of him, but at Ash's mention of a couple more of us, he begins to look nervous and guarded. Torrent's words seem to calm him down a bit, though, and he says, "That's alright. You never can be too careful in a place like this."
Then, turning his attention back to the hilt and hurriedly studying it with his eyes, he says, "Yes, I believe that does belong to us. My old grandad said it would be here, a bit of a family heirloom, actually. You can see that it's hob- er, halfling size. Of course, it isn't valuable -- more of a good luck charm, really. We've only just now come back for it because we realized that we must have missed it on the way in. Isn't that right, fellas?"
The other halflings nod in agreement.
"Thanks for finding it for us," says Remacle. "We'll just take it now and be on our way. I don't want to take up more of your valuable time than I already have, you being important monster hunters and all. Nice job on the zombie, by the way," he says looking at the decomposed corpse lying on the floor nearby.
Having dealt with many a conman and liar over the years, Nicolas tries to determine whether or not Remacle is telling the truth about this hilt and his group. (Insight: 22)
Anakis looks quizzically at the hilt, then to the alcove, then back to Remacle. "Didn't you want to check in here? What if there's something else as well?" She looks to the others, unsure of what their thoughts on the halflings are. "Why don't you join us? There might be more treasures down here? Maybe even some more from your ancestors? We could use the help."
(Anakis is trying to convince them to stay, partly because she doesn't want to give up the hilt, but also because she wonders if they might know more about down here and what other treasures they have. They do seem suddenly hurried to leave considering they were adamant about finding heirlooms. DM - not sure if you want a persuasion (17) to stay, or deception (7) to convince them that we would need their help?)
"Don't worry, we're all peaceful people," Tarek reassures the halflings, nodding to the rest of the group to confirm the truth of his statement. Tarek is not sure if he trusts Remacle. The "hob" and subsequent correction catches him off guard. "Hob... hob... your grandfather is a hobgoblin?" he asks Remacle. "That doesn't really make sense." (Insight on Remacle: 20)
Aluzira cautiously makes her way out as Ash motions for them to come out, and introduces herself with a small wave. “My name is Aluzira, I’m traveling with them to help where I can.” After that, she remains quiet while listening to the conversation.
Nicolas, you notice that when Remacle calls the hilt a family heirloom, and especially when he says it's a good luck charm, that he seems a bit too eager to convince Anakis and the rest of his audience that the hilt has no other purpose. Also, you notice that he seems eager to move on quickly from the subject of the hilt to other matters, so as not to have his statements questioned. Everything else he says about his group and their activities is said in a straightforward manner, however.
"We were going to look in there for the hilt," says Remacle, "but since you've already found it, there's nothing left for us to do in this exact spot, nothing at all. The real treasure lies elsewhere." He pauses a moment, considering Anakis's request.
"I appreciate your offer of companionship," he says, "but we've had quite a morning ourselves, avoiding zombies and all, and I thought we'd retire for a bit to the entrance of this place for an early elevenses, if you take my meaning." He pats his stomach and looks longingly at the hilt Anakis is holding.
Tarek's question brings him out of his reverie. "Oh goodness me, no!" he says. "Not hobgoblins! It's a word we have for ourselves in our own language. I've been speaking to my friends here so much that I slipped back into it, but halfling suits us alright when we're among big folk such as yourselves."
"Forgive me for the misunderstanding," Tarek says after Remacle clears up the fact. "It's not every day I come across a halfling. Now, if you don't mind, we'll be passing through."
Anakis looks closely at the hilt now, seeing as Mr. Button is so keen to have it (Investigation: 14 - perhaps for some sort of markings or names?). "This is a good luck charm?! Wow, I've never had one of those before. Though, I would have thought it would look... more impressive?" she says to herself as she looks it over.
(DM Question - how far is the group of halflings from the corner in the tunnel they just came from? And how far are we from them?)
(OOC - Anakis really wants to keep the hilt, lets be honest. To her, "it's not stealing if I need it more than someone else", and with the halfling saying it's a good luck charm, even if he's lying, she really thinks that she needs it more than him. Had an idea to get them moving on, trying to do it without having to give them the hilt, using some Thaumaturgy and deception.)
"Pleased to meet you Miss Aluzira," Remacle says. "It's a pleasure I'm sure."
When Tarek says you'll all be passing through, the halflings don't all step out of the way but look to Remacle as to what they should do.
Anakis, as you look more closely at the hilt, you can see that the irregularly shaped pommel does indeed bear an embossed rune or marking upon it, just slightly raised from the surface.
Remacle watches you examining the hilt with a keen eye and replies to your comments. "Yes, well, there's no rhyme or reason to what object some may attribute their luck, but it was considered lucky in my family going back some generations. It's just an old hilt that was left behind when my ancestors had to flee the zomblies all those years ago. Can I have it back please? We'd like to get out of you and your friends' way and be about our business, if you don't mind."
At this point, Remacle is standing within reach of you. (I'm not sure if it was you or he who stepped forward to shake hands.) I assume that if he moved forward, that his party would have come with him, so that he and another halfling would be nearly at the corner you were hiding behind and just behind the zombie, and the back row of the group of halflings would be about forty feet out from the far corner.
Remacle clears his throat and puts out his hand with the palm facing up.
Anakis looks at Remacle, then to Torrent, Tarek and Aluzira, her eyes pleading her colleagues to help as she holds the hilt close to her chest.
(OOC - I'd forgotten that we'd shaken hands. Forty feet, hmm. Could she easily make her way between the halflings or are they pretty well blocking the path forward?)
Ash, seeing Anakis's look, walks forward "That's quite enough of that. She found the trinket, it is her's to keep. I think you have overstayed your welcome down here. Scram, or the council will find out" As he speaks, His bloodred eyes seem to glow.
Intimidation 8
“I will take responsibility for what I have done. [...] If must fall, I will rise each time a better man.” ― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer.
They don’t appear to be hostile (although they aren’t striking you as particularly friendly either), so you should be able to move forward between them without a problem. They aren’t trying to block the path forward through the hallway.
Edit: Cross-posted with Ash's post above.
Not that it affects the outcome of his action here, but I don't think Ash is proficient in Intimidation.
"What'd I tell you, fellas?" Remacle says to his companions. "Agents of the council trying to take what's ours!"
He turns to Ash and the rest of the group, his face livid. "We're not going to budge from this spot, I tells you. You think just because you're bigger 'an me, you can scare me with tellin' tattle tales to the council? We were here a long time before you were, and I think you've outstayed your welcome, mister! We may be small, but we outnumber you two to one, so I'd like to see what you're going to do about us settin' up camp here until you go crawlin' back upstairs to your masters at the council."
"You tell 'em, Remmy!" says one of the other halflings.
Remacle defiantly folds his arms in front of his chest and stands his ground with his chin raised proudly.
Nicolas is going to attempt to cast minor illusion without revealing his position. (OOC - there are no verbal components, but there are somatic, so Sleight of Hand?: 14)
With minor illusion, he will create a sound behind the halflings, mimicking the sounds of the zombie as close as possible.
During the conversation, the halflings have all squeezed forward, so it's no problem to target your spell at a spot behind them, and I don't think the gestures would give away your position, but the sound you create will emanate from a place within the radius of their torchlight, basically creating the effect of an invisible zombie. Do you still want to do that?