Post by Tazmuck on May 6, 2020 23:00:29 GMT
Before returning to Port Ffirst, Taz is putting up notices in the inns of Daring Heights - on it are two pictures, one of an air genasi with dark skin, and one of a winged demonic figure with the same face. Underneath is the text:
Tessara. Demonic Assassin.
Information needed - contact Tazmuck Leathertail at the Seashank in Port Ffirst.
Tessara had sworn to hunt him. He had to do something - anything - but there was no easy place to start.
His notebook had several new pages - one on rings of invulnerability, one on advanced grappling techniques, a few extra notes on spells he had encountered, and a two page spread on the powers and abilities of Tessara herself.
...
A few days earlier, Taz turned up at Girelle’s office for another job. So we are bodyguards again, he thought. He made a vow to himself - no harm would come to Girelle. In Kundar, they had succeeded but at the cost of several Kundarians. That wasn’t the reputation Taz wanted - if you hire him as a bodyguard, you should be safe. On the way to Jarvenol, Girelle looks shaken as he recounts his recent kidnapping. It was already clear that this could get complicated. BB and Sheryl tried to subtly comfort the poor diplomat, but the experience had clearly deeply affected the man.
One night later and they were ready to attend the gala that they had been invited to. People in fancy clothes were making their way towards a small building - too small for a grand gala with all these people. Where were they goin They get there, and it’s an elevator that goes down. Underground, you have no concept of the layout of the building, no easy escape routes, and Arkadius can’t fly - all bad for the job. The elevator goes down about 50 ft, not too deep but deep enough. People wear evening gowns and robes - including Girelle. The formality probably dictates it, but Taz worries that he doesn’t look like he has any armour at all below his military uniform. Could a breastplate not be decorative too?
Then they are in the underground complex, which is more of a maze than a building. He looks around and sees BB trying to remember the way. I hope she has it clear. Everyone here has bodyguards but none look like they are a threat: standard melee weapons and armour, stooges and not elite soldiers. When they get to the main room it becomes clear how big this place is. A huge space is presented to them, with all sorts of noblemen, senators and ambassadors come to join the gala.
As Girelle mingled, Taz watched everyone and everything. It all seemed fine - no hands moving for weapons or subtle somatic gestures. He kept looking for anything unusual at all - expensive weapons on normal guards for example - but saw nothing. Maybe this was just a party, after all. Sheryl kept guard atop her majestic new unicorn, Arkadius watched relaibly from the rafters, BB stood by Taz. Mace seemed to drift off towards nearby tables - Taz couldn’t help notice that whenever he returned there appeared to be less cutlery on them than before - and Serpentine spent most of the time mingling with ambassadors.
An hour or so into the evening (or later? it was difficult to tell) an air genasi, whose darker than normal skin tone stood out from the crowd, made their way towards Girelle. She moved with purpose through the crowd. Caught between decorum and duty, Taz put his hand on his sword (his axe would be too slow to draw), and let her approach, watching Girelle for a lead. Girelle seemed to welcome her as she tried to give him a gift - but something still seemed off.
Mace stepped in - he was the best to handle this, achieving his goal without breaking the highly strung atmosphere, as only Mace could. He persuaded her politely to give the box to him, but as she did - the ring bound to mace, and she cackled some crazy death threat, like a witch from a story. By the time Taz lunged at her, she had disappeared into flame.
Girelle then asked perhaps the most moronic question Taz has ever heard asked. So, there’s an assassin here… should we leave?
No, thought Taz, stay, enjoy the wine, maybe have a dance and a sing?
Yes. He replied curtly, and the others generally agreed. So they made to leave. But as they did, more stuff happened. The guards around the edge - he’d thought they looked slightly over-armed - put on red masks. The Vanguard. They were here - everywhere. Four huge, demonic beings stepped through the walls, as Taz ’s mind flashed back to the stories that Girelle and his companions had told on the way there. This wasn’t a party venue, it was a slaughterhouse.
Fuck.
They made to leave as fast as possible, escaping through the corridors. Tessara - the air genasi assassin - soon appeared again, dropping her disguise and revealing herself as some sort of devil. She made her big reveal - the ring made her invulnerable to everyone but Mace, and vice versa. The building was on fire, too, smoke and flames filling the corridors. After some stalling spells on Tessara, they were able to make their way back through the maze. BB had remembered well, they quickly found their way back to the lift, deftly avoiding both the flames and the assassin.
The final showdown was at the top of the lift, though. Tessera was there - and she made for Mace first, taking him down quickly with her bow. Taz managed to drag her away, and Arkadius cast remove curse on her ring.
Clever - the ring made her invulnerable to offensive magic, but remove curse was helpful magic so the ring slipped off. A trick to remember for the future.
She then took Girelle down before Taz managed to drag her away from him, too. Eventually, with her pinned and grounded, she took a few shots at Girelle from the floor. Then she said something - the exact words elude his memory but the meaning was clear: she would hunt all of them for the rest of their lives. And after that she disappeared completely. Both Mace and Girelle were healed pretty quickly. Not a total success - Girelle had come far too close to death - but as he was standing in front of them it seemed they had done their job. Girelle was shaken but grateful, and Taz has the feeling his services would regain some valuable reputation in the council chamber of Daring Heights.
Tessara. Demonic Assassin.
Information needed - contact Tazmuck Leathertail at the Seashank in Port Ffirst.
Tessara had sworn to hunt him. He had to do something - anything - but there was no easy place to start.
His notebook had several new pages - one on rings of invulnerability, one on advanced grappling techniques, a few extra notes on spells he had encountered, and a two page spread on the powers and abilities of Tessara herself.
...
A few days earlier, Taz turned up at Girelle’s office for another job. So we are bodyguards again, he thought. He made a vow to himself - no harm would come to Girelle. In Kundar, they had succeeded but at the cost of several Kundarians. That wasn’t the reputation Taz wanted - if you hire him as a bodyguard, you should be safe. On the way to Jarvenol, Girelle looks shaken as he recounts his recent kidnapping. It was already clear that this could get complicated. BB and Sheryl tried to subtly comfort the poor diplomat, but the experience had clearly deeply affected the man.
One night later and they were ready to attend the gala that they had been invited to. People in fancy clothes were making their way towards a small building - too small for a grand gala with all these people. Where were they goin They get there, and it’s an elevator that goes down. Underground, you have no concept of the layout of the building, no easy escape routes, and Arkadius can’t fly - all bad for the job. The elevator goes down about 50 ft, not too deep but deep enough. People wear evening gowns and robes - including Girelle. The formality probably dictates it, but Taz worries that he doesn’t look like he has any armour at all below his military uniform. Could a breastplate not be decorative too?
Then they are in the underground complex, which is more of a maze than a building. He looks around and sees BB trying to remember the way. I hope she has it clear. Everyone here has bodyguards but none look like they are a threat: standard melee weapons and armour, stooges and not elite soldiers. When they get to the main room it becomes clear how big this place is. A huge space is presented to them, with all sorts of noblemen, senators and ambassadors come to join the gala.
As Girelle mingled, Taz watched everyone and everything. It all seemed fine - no hands moving for weapons or subtle somatic gestures. He kept looking for anything unusual at all - expensive weapons on normal guards for example - but saw nothing. Maybe this was just a party, after all. Sheryl kept guard atop her majestic new unicorn, Arkadius watched relaibly from the rafters, BB stood by Taz. Mace seemed to drift off towards nearby tables - Taz couldn’t help notice that whenever he returned there appeared to be less cutlery on them than before - and Serpentine spent most of the time mingling with ambassadors.
An hour or so into the evening (or later? it was difficult to tell) an air genasi, whose darker than normal skin tone stood out from the crowd, made their way towards Girelle. She moved with purpose through the crowd. Caught between decorum and duty, Taz put his hand on his sword (his axe would be too slow to draw), and let her approach, watching Girelle for a lead. Girelle seemed to welcome her as she tried to give him a gift - but something still seemed off.
Mace stepped in - he was the best to handle this, achieving his goal without breaking the highly strung atmosphere, as only Mace could. He persuaded her politely to give the box to him, but as she did - the ring bound to mace, and she cackled some crazy death threat, like a witch from a story. By the time Taz lunged at her, she had disappeared into flame.
Girelle then asked perhaps the most moronic question Taz has ever heard asked. So, there’s an assassin here… should we leave?
No, thought Taz, stay, enjoy the wine, maybe have a dance and a sing?
Yes. He replied curtly, and the others generally agreed. So they made to leave. But as they did, more stuff happened. The guards around the edge - he’d thought they looked slightly over-armed - put on red masks. The Vanguard. They were here - everywhere. Four huge, demonic beings stepped through the walls, as Taz ’s mind flashed back to the stories that Girelle and his companions had told on the way there. This wasn’t a party venue, it was a slaughterhouse.
Fuck.
They made to leave as fast as possible, escaping through the corridors. Tessara - the air genasi assassin - soon appeared again, dropping her disguise and revealing herself as some sort of devil. She made her big reveal - the ring made her invulnerable to everyone but Mace, and vice versa. The building was on fire, too, smoke and flames filling the corridors. After some stalling spells on Tessara, they were able to make their way back through the maze. BB had remembered well, they quickly found their way back to the lift, deftly avoiding both the flames and the assassin.
The final showdown was at the top of the lift, though. Tessera was there - and she made for Mace first, taking him down quickly with her bow. Taz managed to drag her away, and Arkadius cast remove curse on her ring.
Clever - the ring made her invulnerable to offensive magic, but remove curse was helpful magic so the ring slipped off. A trick to remember for the future.
She then took Girelle down before Taz managed to drag her away from him, too. Eventually, with her pinned and grounded, she took a few shots at Girelle from the floor. Then she said something - the exact words elude his memory but the meaning was clear: she would hunt all of them for the rest of their lives. And after that she disappeared completely. Both Mace and Girelle were healed pretty quickly. Not a total success - Girelle had come far too close to death - but as he was standing in front of them it seemed they had done their job. Girelle was shaken but grateful, and Taz has the feeling his services would regain some valuable reputation in the council chamber of Daring Heights.
