Mits translates for May.

<primordial>"The blonde half-dragon said, 'Whatever you said, I'm sure it was stupid. So... try talking COMMON if it's within your power, you surprisingly limited spawn of powerful beings!'"

She calls a glowing circle underneath both enemies that burns them!

"Much better!  Thanks for bringing them together!"

The whole area rumbles with thunder before KABAM! A 15' diameter lightning bolt slams behind the fiends and pretty much destroys one of them while the other somehow dodges. "I'm pretty sure that lightning bolt translates into any language."

---

Thunderstroke v BF1, BF2. Miss(27) Hit(34)!
 dmg: 62

BF1 HP: 64 - 62 = 2

  Another shimmering image of Raichel appears momentarily behind the Blood Fiend, taps them on the shoulder, and punches them on the face when they look.

111-24=87 (or 67, if they were Vuln radiant)

Kada'ne slices four times and the enemy vanishes, banished temporarily to a demi-plane!

"Ah.  Good that worked.  He'll be back soon.  Ready yourselves."

The deva steps forward, ready to attack.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:59, Mon 29 Feb 2016.

Timothius waves a hand to extend the effect he put on it. Just in case it somehow survives the onslaught it is about to endure. He then prepares to make it vulnerable to everything. "Thanks. I wonder if it will even have a chance to scream?"

---

Minor: Peacekeeper's Proclomation (extending Pacify)
Standard: Ready Sever the Source (which is auto-hit) for when BF2 appears.

May readies herself to take down the fiend when it reappears. Of course, just marking it will be fine too.

---

Readied: Weapon Mayster's Strike v BF2. Miss(36)
 dmg: 34
This message was last edited by the player at 07:12, Mon 29 Feb 2016.

Raichel gets in a ready pose and grips her staff. When the enemy appears, it will get a walloping.

---

Readied: Five Storms v BF2. Hit(35)!
 dmg: 39

The blood fiend reappears!  The deva claws it and blinds it!  Mits blasts it!

Timothius makes the guy vulnerable and, well...

May uppercuts it, sending a jaw flying.

Raichel twirls her staff like a helecopters' blades and whacks the monster so many times, we once again get to hear machine-gun sounds.

The fiend falls motionless.

  The radiant damage image of Raichel shows up and... sees the words 'BRUTALITY' floating in the middle of the screen, shrugs, and high fives Raichel with her player's permission.

  "Right, not the strongest power. But it's hard to argue with 'can't miss'"

Mits gives a grin and thumbs-up.  "I like it!"

She looks to the Deva.  "So what brings you out to a dangerous place like this alone?"

The odd fellow approaches and says, “Many thanks my
friends. Had not you interceded on this humble servant’s
behalf, poor Mayhem would have found the Raven Queen’s
unwelcome embrace, but not before enduring the equally
unpleasant teeth and claws of those terrible brutes. In
exchange for your heroic intervention to save this unworthy
life, I am duty-bound to return the favor if you will allow
me. But first, introductions are undoubtedly in order. As my
errant words may have indicated already, I am Mayhem, your
humbled and indebted servant. Citadel Mercane is very much
my home away from home; perhaps I can be of some service?"

Raichel is blushing. "...you just make an illusory image of me like Mittens did. You two flatter me."

She then looks at Mayhem. "It was our honor to aid you."

May says, "Mayhem?! What an AWESOME name!"

Raichel says, "Heh. And similar to yours, May."

May's eyes go wide as if this was the first time she ever realized her name began the word "mayhem" "...woah."

Timothius nods and introduces the team to Mayhem before saying, "You can actually be quite helpful. We're looking to meet with some individuals."

He fills Mayhem in on what location they were headed, but says nothing about githyanki, ambassadorial missions, or anything about the mission.

  Kyle is aware that Devas do not usually have a tendency to grow claws, but honestly doesn't care because holy **** Endangered NPC that actually tried to pitch in.  Having a totally metal name is also a plus.

  "I wonder if I will ever get used to seeing apparent gratitude for preventing somebody's messy demise."

  He looks over to Raichel, and comments "It sort of just happened in this case, but you certainly deserved a few extra hits in even if only by proxy."

  Radiant Raichel is clearly revenge against all those 1's the real thing rolls.

Mits grins at May.  Mayhem bows and agrees to be the group's guide through Citadel Mercane.

Deep in the mountain, reached only by an enormous fissure, stands Citadel Mercane. Built
centuries ago by a race of planar merchants to serve
as a trade hub for their enterprise, the citadel still
serves in this capacity, but also as a refuge for exiles,
criminals, and other planar scum. The founders have
long since vanished, ceding power to the marut mercenaries who were hired to guard the settlement and
to a new cabal known as the Seven Diamonds Society.

The characters must pass through the cleft and
travel nearly a half-mile into the mountain to reach
the outpost.


The mists thin and give way to an enormous chamber,
easily a mile in diameter. Red crystals as long as towers
encrust the walls. Suspended in the chamber’s center is a
spheroid architectural mass of minarets, walls, stairs, and
bridges. Steel struts emerge from the fortress and extend
to the walls to keep it in place. Piers bristle from these
supports, looking like hairs from afar, but you can see an
astounding assortment of vessels, ranging from tiny skiffs
to astral hulks crewed by hundreds. Traffic moves through
yawning gates constructed to resemble toothy mouths. You
can see a half-dozen facing your direction.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pini...69a01b081ac77062.jpg

No bridges grant access to the Citadel, but the Astral
Sea’s nature allows even non-flying individuals to fly.
It’s about a quarter-mile through the air to reach the
fortress, and so it takes about five minutes to cross
the distance.

"Wheee!" Mits cheers, "Airship woulda been nice to have.  Shame we couldn't cram it through the portal circle.  And there's a good chance it would be stolen while we were about our business, given this place's rep."

Mayhem is happy to tell what he knows of the city.

CITaDEl MERCanE
A trade compound in the heart of a mountain, Citadel
Mercane sees traffic from all sorts of planar peoples.
Population: 9,000. The Citadel boasts a diverse
population consisting of just about every kind of
civilized creature imaginable, from angels to devils,
from humans to maruts. Githyanki are numerous since
they often duck into the Citadel to trade plunder for
supplies.
Government: The Society of Seven Diamonds rules
Citadel Mercane with the permission of the marut
mercenary companies who enforce the law here. The
Society is made up of seven raavasta, each of whom
conceals its true appearance behind a mask. The high
cabalist is Tordaka, a raavasta who appears in public
as a humanoid with golden skin and sporting overlarge
feathery wings. His greatest rival is a corrupt and decadent fiend named Trethrix, who prefers the disguise of
a svelte young woman.
Defense: The maruts protect the stronghold from attacks. Three mercenary companies billet here, and the
Iron Sons are the oldest and have the most influence.
Commerce: A bustling black market thrives in the
Citadel, and any goods can be had for a price. Drugs,
poisons, cursed items, terrible rituals, astral vessels,
magic items, slaves, and anything one could want are
all for sale. Most trading takes place in the open-air
market that sprawls just inside the outer wall and
surrounds the inner fortress. The best inn and tavern is
the Dreaming Spire, boasting thirty rooms and a menu
with cuisines hailing from no less than a dozen worlds
and a hundred civilizations.
Organizations: Temples of any sort are not permitted
in the Citadel, but priests of every god, living and dead,
are free to move about the city. Many planar factions
including the Xaositects, the Fated, the Mercykillers,
and even the Doomguard have offices here.

Raichel is gripping her staff angrily. "People trafficking..." she says with a growl to her voice.

Timothius puts a hand on her shoulder and says, "Slaves will be safe enough. People are not interested in killing something that makes life easy for them. However, many lives rely on us focusing on the task at hand. We'll get back to this some time, but not today."

May says, "Thanks for all the info, Mayhem. You sure know your stuff."

From here on out, though, May takes point for the group and keeps an eye out for random ambushes.

  Well, the party's DOES fold up into a pocket sized container.  But it's a daily item usage to unfold it and the odds of theft when left parked full sized are valid.

  Kyle is going to be highly displeased by a lack of professionalism before this module is even half over, isn't he?  "I'm sure many see slaves as a status indicator, but it always seemed to me it just meant you were unable to afford proper servants or workers."  Sure, slavery is bad and fantasy slavers tend to be just as happy to feed half the civilians to monsters instead, but immoral AND a sign of poor business makes it that much worse right?

  OOC: I'm recalling a nowhere near the items themselves blurb that 'Astral' clipper/cutter only work on the astral sea and are not fully functional airships -.-  But with how many zillion airships dangled in front of us there are this modules with only plot locks on them, screw it totally works/worked in this campaign.

Mits nods.  "Yeah.  Staying focused for now is a good idea.  We need to get to The Dreaming Spire.  You know where that is?"

Mayhem nods.  "Beyond the Bazaar."

The Bazaar
Just inside the outer wall is the floating bazaar, an
insane collection of floating platforms and free-floating structures filled with planar travelers.

Even before you pass through the gate, you get a sense of
the chaos and wonder of the Bazaar. It is a maze of floating
earthmotes, each crowded with merchants hawking their
wares. Visitors float from stall to stall, swapping platinum
coins for all manner of goods. You spy larger structures
too, some sideways towers, others spherical buildings, while
others still could pass for ordinary in your native world if
not for the fact that they float about, drifting through the
marketplace. Astonishingly, there are no collisions even
though everything is in motion.

Beyond, or perhaps beneath, is an interior wall,
hundreds of feet away, and it sports more gates and tall
statues of strange humanoids that look up at commerce’s
dance above.

Merchants use stalls situated on small earthmotes
ranging from 2-by-2 platforms to more sizeable
structures containing bits of architecture, fossilized
bones, and other oddities. The free-floating maze is in
constant motion, so mapping the place is both unnecessary and impossible. To help navigate the Bazaar,
tiny mechanical servantsguidesflit through the
crowds, offering aid to any traveler who appears lost.
These creations are artfully crafted, each unique and
strange. Examples included tiny dragons, cherubic
babies, metal skulls with glowing eyes, shimmering
balls of light, and so on. Each guide is a construct with
AC 27, other defenses 22; 1 hp. They cannot attack,
and they explode in a shower of harmless sparks
if destroyed.

Using a guide or not, the PCs can find just about
anything they could want here. Let the PCs sell off
equipment, make purchases, and make any other
preparations they need before proceeding with the
adventure.

Word on the Street
Characters might make Streetwise checks in the
Bazaar to learn general information about the place.
Mayhem grants the PCs gain a +2 bonus to their
Streetwise checks.

( Mits gets a 23 total )
DC Information
20 Citadel Mercane has stood for a thousand years
and is a popular trade center for the merchants
across the astral Sea.

Timothius immediately adores any of the cherubic ones and tries petting or hugging such constructs, but is careful not to harm or break any of them.

May and the twins all think most of the constructs are cool regardless.

Raichel seems to be on a role with finding info while Timothius only seems to be learning the same as Mittens.

May is too enamored with the city and just relies on her allies to learn more.

---

May Streetwise: 10
Raichel Streetwise: 28
Timothius Streetwise: 22

  Kyle admires the versatility, if not their durability.  He can only imagine how often replacements are needed.

  Still having a  CHA penalty and Arcane Mutterings not covering it, Kyle is just going to pass on the streetwise check himself.

  "It would just figure you could simply buy some of the artifacts we have seen before, but I doubt we will find such a thing on any nearby shelves."  Well, unless there really IS a clearance sale on bitterglass chambers.

May learns:

25 The Citadel is open to all, provided visitors
respect its laws. The most important
commandment is “Harm no one.” The watch does
not tolerate violence in the city, and those who
break this law are either cast out or executed.
There are exceptions, though. Why just the
other day, a group of githyanki from Tu’narath
was slaughtered outside the Dreaming Spire. The
maruts did nothing and no one knows why.

Mits is guessing, "Obviously, the killers bribed the guards."

<telepathy>"Here's hoping those weren't the githyanki we were looking for."

Screams pierce the Bazaar’s steady hum, presaging a mad
rush. Through the fleeing people, you see a massive demon
leap from one ruined stall to land on another. It whips
its chain about, decapitating three two too-slow patrons. Two
more demons bound into the scene, roaring and screeching
in rage.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pini...1d81282112413c51.jpg
http://33.media.tumblr.com/f94...zhbcpHkD41r0zz7o.jpg

"Surprisingly fuzzy for demons," Mits comments, "I wonder if 'harm no one' includes demons and means 'do not rescue people being attacked by demons' in this case."

Mayhem flees, seeking shelter.  Kada'ne seems to be giving Mits' rhetorical statement some serious thought.

"Attacking these demons will almost as likely hinder your mission as help it.  I will join in whatever you decide."

Timothius is annoyed. "Option three. We make fun of them to draw their attention, and then flee for the authorities."

Raichel was about to charge when Timothius makes his suggestion. "I stink at making fun of people."

May steps forward and says, "Hey there, cowards! What's your problem? Did you lose to a wimp and now you're taking it out on people no stronger than a piece of parchment?"

   Tim's plan is good, so hopefully it's one that can actually work.  Though odds are the 'law enforcement' will hide until the problem is solved and then complain at the survivors.  "Simple raichel, you ask them why they are too afraid to use their fists instead of chains despite being over twenty times their victim's size... Well, if they are even in a mindset to notice."

<Primordial>"Demons are stupid heads!" Mits shouts.

The demons do not look like they're paying any attention to the taunts.

<Abyssal>"Rrraaargh!"

May says, "Wow. OK. Back to option one where we fight them?"

Timothius is getting more annoyed by the moment. "Option four: Kyle buffs May, she holds their attention and does everything she can to "not fight" them, Raichel uses her outstanding speed to get the authorities while Mitts I stay here as insurance. It's either that or we all run."

Raichel looks to the nearest construct, "Where are the authorities?"

May says, "Either way, I'm on it." and rushes to the enemies!

---

Initiatives:
May - 30
Rai - 34
Tim - 28
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:14, Wed 02 Mar 2016.

The guide points.  "The nearest authorities are in that direction and will be arriving in approximately 30 seconds.  Defending the life and property of the good people of Mercane is commendable.  So long as one does not destroy more than what they save in the process."