With only one way to go - through the western door - this is where the party heads. On the other side they find a corridor with some doors exiting... A LOT of doors!

There is a set of the double doors to the north and south. Another set of double doors to the east, and a single door in the east. The double doors in the north have a sign saying 'MEN'S CHANGING ROOMS', the double doors have a sigh saying 'LADIES' CHANGING ROOMS'.

Logan creeps down to the branch in the corridor to the west and finds that it leads to a reception desk. There are three people there. An attractive young lady filing her nails, a muscly man leafing through a magazine and a scrawny young boy folding towels. You'll need to be quiet if you want to avoid attracting their attention.

"They don't seem aware of anything, so there is probably no point loosing time talking to them... let's get to this door while we are at it" she said opening and pushing into the central door quickly so as not to be noticed.

OOC: Sorry guys, no real reason for going one door or the other.. I was thinking on checking men changing room first.. but given that the description for the reception was already given I figured we were already at that corner... so, opening central room.

The double doors open into a 40' by 20' room with half a dozen massage tables inside. In the middle of the room sits a large brazier with hot coals giving off a thick steam. There are six men in the room, three striped to the waist and lying face down on the massage tables and three masseurs working on them.

"Hey," says one of the workers. "You need to make a booking!"

It is pretty clear that there are no hostages in this room.

Zan draws his silver short sword again. "We'd better slay them," he says matter of factly. "They may be collaborators."

This gets the attention of a couple of the men and they draw back in alarm.

"Zan... I think we got the wrong room.. the representation must be in a different room... and remember in this one you don't get to get naked, this is a serious place after all...... ". Angati went to open the door to the south as she winked the men in the room... "Just remember our troupe's name... The jade raven's... satisfaction guaranteed if you get my meaning... now.. please do excuse us".

She said holding Zan's arm and pushing forward onto the next room "No time to waste, remember?. If they are not... we are loosing time here".

Logan blinked at Zan, unable to believe what he had heard.  Pulling him along, he whispered in a harsh tone: "What are going to do, kill every bystander who gets in our way?  Come one, let's find your friends before it's too late."

Zan shrugs and they leave the men in peace. Continuing down the corridor they try the next door on their left.

A great billow of steam escapes the room when the door is opened, and it is not until it clears that they can see enough to make out a luxurious 40' x 40' room with large white ceramic flagstones covering the walls and floor. These are carefully fitted around the lip of a kidney shaped tranquil bathing pool, which three men dressed in togas are dipping their feet into as they sit on the side of the water. Gentle columns of steam rise from four handing braziers of heated rocks as carefully measured drop of water fall upon them.

On the other side of the room is a set of double doors with a brass plaque on them which reads 'TO MUDPOOLS', below this is a hastily scribbled note written on paper which says 'CLOSED FOR MAINTENANCE'.


This message was last edited by the GM at 19:44, Tue 09 Feb 2016.

Zan takes a few steps into the room, puts his hand on the hilt of his rapier and  surveys the three men relaxing by the pool. "This time?" he asks, arching one of his half-elven eyebrows back at his companions.

It's strange - Logan only spoke to him for a few minutes the last time they met, so he didn't get a chance to form a firm impression of his fellow rogue, but Zan's moral compass didn't appear to be THIS out of whack at that point.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:45, Tue 09 Feb 2016.

Angati just shook her head as she hurried forward.. that hastily written note was really suspicious... she thought about sparing a second to say something to the men there.. but she figured it was best just to move along. Zan's comment had left her rather unsettled.

Taking the lead, she pushed the doors open as he tightened her hold of her morningstar.

Celene was starting to get the feeling that this was some kind of ruse to distract them from something happening elsewhere. Before she was able to act on her feeling Agnati pushed the doors open. The room beyond would answer the question.

Logan paused.  Something about Zan was striking him wrong.  His pranks before - hiding the wheel of cheese on Logan, was petty, but not evil.  The way Zan was acting now was starting to ring alarm bells inside of Logan, and the rogue kept checking the Jade Raven as they moved, making sure he wasn't flippantly slaying the innocent bystanders.  Logan started to wonder about his own safety, and if Zan had dragged them at the behest of something else, or if someone was impersonating Zan to get them here.  But why choose Zan?  There'd have to be scores of people who Logan would have been more inclined to help, so it didn't make that much sense.  Maybe it was just the stress of having his comrades faces danger?  Logan wasn't sure, but entered the room keeping a sharp eye on the other rogue, alert for deception.

Celene allows Zan to pass her by and then casts a spell as quietly as she can in hopes of discerning any magic that might be affecting the rogue.

Using 1/day detect magic and concentrating on Zan.

11:22, Today: Celene rolled 24 using 1d20+7.  Spellcraft. Spellcraft if needed.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:22, Wed 10 Feb 2016.

Celene casts her spell as Logan hangs back a bit to keep an eye on Zan - the Shadowshore rogue doesn't have too slow down much to achieve this since Zan is pushing past anyway to get to the double doors.

The sorceress see a strong magical aura emanating from the new shinny silver sword sitting on the half-elf's waist. Celene has only ever seen something like it once before where she was tasked to retrieve a certain magical item from the Aubrek house...

But then it is too late as Angati and Zan have pushed open the double doors and revealed the room on the other side.

It is a huge room, 40' wide and at least 100' long with a high vaulted ceiling and tiled completely in expensive looking white glazed ceramics. There are three 15' diameter mud pools sunk into the floor, all gently bubbling warmly from some hidden heat source. At the southern end of the room an artificial fall of crystal-clear water cascade down from an opening high up in the wall into a large pool: a nearby plaque identifies it as a rinsing station.

The room is filled with over two dozen people. The first thing that the party notes is that the remaining Jade Ravens are indeed here. Tolin Kientai, the arogent ranger who serves as their leader; Kaskus Kiel, the driud dressed in his green armour (although no sign of his animal companion, the obese Baxtor the Badger); and the exotic dark-haired Liamae Teslikaria, untamed sorceress.

Lined up against the eastern wall, their backs against the row of tall columns holding up the ceiling overhead is a collection of almost two dozen random townspeople. They are a mismatched grouping of the type of folk you might expect to be out and about early in the morning in Sasserine: Fishermen and district guards. Merchants and maids. Errand boys and down on their luck sailors. The are just standing almost motionless in two rough rows with their mouths hanging wide.

OOC: Okay, as promised the condition of the hostages depends on the time taken to get here which was... moderate performance (met expectations as my boss would always say in my annual review). Therefore...

"Ah-ha!" screams out Tolin. "You are too late ZSabrehawk," he says, looking directly at Zan. "Your friends are at the bottom of ze mud-pit and very soon they will be encased in ztone forever! You! Lacky!" he points at the druid Kaskus. "Finish it!"

The dwarven druid raises a scroll - hesitantly and with jerky movements like he doesn't seem sure if he wants to do it - and starts casting a mud-to-stone spell off the scroll.

Zan goes bezerk. "You will pay for this you imperialist swine!" he screams and charges Kaskus.

Back in the steaming pool room things are also getting hot. The three men pull daggers out from their togas and rush the party crying out things like "Long live the imperium!"

This shit just got real! Okay, we are going to take a leaf out of Beni's book with initiative this time. All the PC's and Zan will roll, if you get a result better than the average for the opposition (the three bath-tub men and the three Jade Ravens) then you get a sort of 'extra round'. Then the enemy goes, then the party just acts as a group from there on in.

Battlemap
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:41, Wed 10 Feb 2016.

START OF PLAYERS' ROUND ONE

HIT POINTS & MISFORTUNE
Angati  HP: 28/28 <MF NOT USED>
Celene  HP: 18/18 <MF NOT USED>
Logan   HP: 21/21 <MF NOT USED>
Zan:  <MF NOT USED> -2

Tolin: <MF NOT USED>
Kaskus: <MF NOT USED>
Liamae: <MF NOT USED>

Bath Man A: <MF NOT USED>
Bath Man B: <MF NOT USED>
Bath Man C: <MF NOT USED>

<SPELLS AND EFFECTS>
None

20:44, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 14 using 1d20+2.  Zan initiative.

Bad Guys:
20:46, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 21,11,15 using 1d20+3,1d20+3,1d20+3.  Bathmen inititive.
20:45, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 15 using 1d20+2.  Liamae Initiative.
20:44, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 19 using 1d20+1.  Kaskus Initiative.
20:44, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 24 using 1d20+6.  Tolin initiative.
Bad guys' average is an impressive 17
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:47, Wed 10 Feb 2016.

Angati perceived time in a somewhat different manner, and while the druid started to recite the scroll in her mind's eye, she started casting herself a spell to disrupt his casting. For everyone else, both things seemed to happen almost in unison... but Angati had the upper hand. She only hoped that the future would show him cowering in fear, so she kept an eye on him making sure she'd pick a convenient outcome.

---

Free :  | Swft : | Move : | Stnd : cause fear on scroll reader

08:53, Today: Angati rolled 18 using 1d20+1.  Initiative.

Cause Fear DC 15   ---- waiting on misfortune on the guy to make it through.

---

HP: 28 |  AC: 22 | CMD : 15 | Saves: 4/3/4

Special Notes:

  (De)Buffs :
 Conditions :
  L0 Spells : 5/5
  L1 Spells : 4/6 Cure Light Wounds, Protect from evil, Cause Fear, Ill Omen (dual cursed),Divine Favour
  Abilities : Misfortune, Starlight Agility (dodge), Time Flicker (3/3 minutes blur).

10:45, Today: Celene rolled 11 using 1d20.  Initiative.

10:57, Today: Logan rolled 22 using 1d20+4.  Initiative.
Doing my best to bring up the average!

That's a tie, right? I assumed though that he meant if any of us, individually, beat their average we could act.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:02, Thu 11 Feb 2016.

So Angati and Logan get to take a turn before the mobs - let's call it a surprise round since they will catch their enemies flat-footed. Then the mob, then all the party together and alternating from there on.



20:34, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 24 using 1d20+5.  Kaskus resist cause fear.
20:34, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 11 using 1d20+5.  Kaskus reroll because of MF.


Kaskus resists the spell and raises the scroll to start casting. Angati casually looks into an alternate reality and pulls out a better result - she is getting rather good at doing it.

The bottom lip of the chocolate biscuit eating guardian of the wilds begins to quiver and then he drops the scroll and screams at the top of his lungs as he stares at Angati. Then he flees straight away from her, through the crowd towards the door in the south-east corner of the room.

OOC: OK Logan, you get to act in the 'surprise' round.

"Imperium?"  The Shadowshore rogue sounds confused.  "Anyone have the slightest idea what's going on here?"

Further conversation is prevented as the knife-wielding man lunges at the rogue.  He skips a step back.  "Ah!  I could have just had Zan kill you, you know!"  Weapons at the ready, the rogue drops his restraint, and goes after the man.

---

Standard: TWF versus C.  15 damage vs AC 26 (And more if an 11 hits.)  10 damage vs AC 14.
5' Step to F7

11:56, Today: Logan rolled 10 using 3d6.  Short Sword Damage.
11:56, Today: Logan rolled 15 using 3d6+5.  Rapier Damage.
11:55, Today: Logan rolled 14 using 1d20+6.  Short Sword Attack.
11:55, Today: Logan rolled 11 using 1d20+8.  Crit Confirmation.
11:55, Today: Logan rolled 26 using 1d20+8.  Rapier Attack.

---

HP: 21/21
AC 18/ F1 R7 W3
Invisibility

In reply to Logan (msg # 70):

That hits versus his flat-footed AC.

The rogue counters the charging bather and places two well aimed blades into the man's stomach. With a soft squishing noise the dagger armed man slides off the blades and tumbles backwards into the hot pool.

OK, mob turn coming up next.

"You mizerable fat dwarf," screams Tolin. The ranger looks across the room to the source of the trouble and sees the elderly madam Lidu looking definitely back at him.

"Zeriouzly Zabrehawk. You are bringing out the geriatrics now? You!" he points at Liamae. "Take her out!"

Liamae, standing across of the other side of one of the mud pits shakes her head but then her face twists in pain. She closes her eyes and is forced to draw out one of her magic spells and fling it at Angati.

OOC: At least she choose the nicest one she had - charm person at DC14 and Angati gets a +5 bonus because she is in combat.

With the double doors now wide open, Tolin gets a look at Logan and Celene in the bathroom for the first time - and almost has a seizure. Finally, he just stands like a slack string puppet with no-one moving him right now - and the fancy sword in his hands speaks for him.

"What?! Blondie and Gutter-rat? What are you two doing here? Well, never mind!" The sorceress and the rogue meet their old foe again - the bombastic Czarine Valora!

The sword starts vibrating along its length until it reaches a natural frequency and then the words coming out shake with power. "You two. Zee the dagger on the floor?" The man who Logan just killed did drop his dagger, and it is lying a few feet away from both of them. "It'z nice, izn't it? Pick it up! One of you pick it up now!" The dagger does look good. And valuable! It would be so easy to reach out and take it...

OOC: DC14 will check from Celene and Logan please. If you fail (after MF) then you bend over and pick up the nice, shiny dagger.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:22, Sat 13 Feb 2016.

Artists impression of the battle with the three mudpits shown as well as the rinsing station down the back. The guy on the left is wielding Czarine Valora, and the one of the right Sabrehawk.