PrP: Kingdom of a Thousand Faces, Part 3

What started out as a simple undead extermination mission has turned into something far more complicated. The ghost of the late Pyrrhus Brache, a nobleman apparently murdered by marauding bandits, will not leave his ancestral home until he has vengeance against his killers and a shield bearing his family's crest is recovered. Tracking these thieves has brought the adventurers beneath the Brache manor into a series of tunnels whose origins and purpose remain mysterious. During an earlier encounter with a pair of spider-faced sorcerers, the adventurers recovered a map which shows a large space labeled 'vault' at the bottom of the tunnel complex, which seems as logical a place as any to search for the missing shield.

Halani made a trip back to resupply, which apparently included bringing along Nadara for a little backup. Upon venturing deeper into the complex, the group encountered a pair of mustached noblemen, apparently in the middle of a card game in the depths of these mysterious tunnels. Diplomacy with these two went poorly. Apparently terrified of the adventurers, the two have just started running and screaming, heading into tunnels going in opposite directions. Naturally, the adventurers seemed intent on hunting them down.

GAME: Savannah rolls perception: (6)+1: 7

GAME: Savannah rolls initiative: Roll: 15 + Bonus: 4 = Total: 19

GAME: You roll initiative for Nobles: Roll: 9 + Bonus: 7 = Total: 16

GAME: Donk rolls perception: (18)+2: 20

GAME: Donk rolls initiative: Roll: 19 + Bonus: 2 = Total: 21

GAME: Nadara rolls initiative: Roll: 17 + Bonus: 3 = Total: 20

GAME: Nadara rolls perception: (5)+5: 10

GAME: Conrad rolls perception: (4)+4: 8

GAME: Donk rolls 10: (16)+10: 26

GAME: Conrad rolls initiative: Roll: 1 + Bonus: 4 = Total: 5

GAME: Halani rolls perception: (2)+12: 14

GAME: Halani rolls initiative: Roll: 8 + Bonus: 4 = Total: 12

Donk is grinning as the two "noblemen" charge off in opposite directions. "Destroyer, atta--eh?" The wolf's ears have turned toward a third tunnel, nose pointed and his whole body twitching forward like he wants to chase. "Do you smell something, Destroyer? Is there /more/ quarry??" Donk asks excitedly. He levels his lance at the darkness, kicking his heels into his mount's side. "HYAAAA!!" And away they shoot, into the unknown!

GAME: Donk rolls perception: (4)+2: 6

GAME: Donk rolls 10: (13)+10: 23

GAME: Nadara casts Command.

GAME: Jibbom rolls 1d20+6: (8)+6: 14

"Rada, lemme borrow his legs a moment. I hate it when they run. Why do they always have to run? Hey? STOP. NOW. LAY DOWN!" The gun is pointed at their back, her dragonspitter, but it doesn't s eem to actually have the desired effect. Noble's still running.

"....Did I mention I hate it when they run? Short legs."

GAME: Savannah rolls weapon5-1: (8)+8+-1: 15

GAME: Savannah rolls weapon5-1: (11)+8+-1: 18

GAME: Savannah rolls 1d20+3: (9)+3: 12

GAME: Savannah rolls 1d8+3: (6)+3: 9

When the nobles begin to run, Savannah grumbles and lifts her bow, and fires twice, once at each noble. Lyonel gets an arrow in his butt and Savannah literally growls at them both. "Get on the ground! I'm not playing with either of you anymore!"

"AAAAAGH!" Lyonel, already scared out of his wits, does not seem to like being shot with arrows. "Run, Lyonel! Run!" Encourages the other noble. Both disappear down their respective tunnels, running as fast as they can manage. The passageways are quite narrow, it will be very difficult for more than one adventurer to attempt to pursue either one effectively.

GAME: Halani rolls perception: (10)+12: 22

GAME: Conrad rolls perception: (3)+4: 7

Halani takes a moment... just a moment, mind... to slap her palm over her face as Donk goes chasing off down a tunnel. One of the WRONG tunnels. She allows herself a fierce if quiet vindictive, then snatches a candle from the card playing table and, shielding the flame as best she can, she hauls tail after Donk and Destroyer.

Conrad is largely unperturbed when the men start to run, and was about to follow Donk when suddenly someone starts loosing arrows. His eyes widening, the normally unflappable huntsman practically shouts, "What are you doing?! We're here for a shield, not to murder noblemen who were in the wrong place at the wrong time!" Seeing both Donk and Halani rapidly fading from view, Conrad growls, "Argh!" and heads down into the tunnels after them, leaving the nobles to their fates. He mutters between huffing breaths as he runs, "I will not be party to senseless murder."

GAME: Donk rolls perception: (5)+2: 7

GAME: Donk rolls 10: (9)+10: 19

Donk, however, is TOTALLY cool with senseless murder! His lance is pointed nasty-end first directly ahead. "Chase, Destroyer, give chase! Run him down, hyaaa!" he cries, as his steed makes its noisy charge, somehow being able to pick out its pursuer even in the dark tunnel.

"What the... hey! Where are you going?!" Nadara gives chase after Halani. Despite the fact that the monk is still way faster than her, she's gonna give it the college try. Mostly because, you know, Halani is the one that BROUGHT her here and she's still only somewhat clear on what's happened.

Snorting at COnrad, Savannah starts running after Donk as well. "If I was trying to murder the nobles, I wouldn't have hit that one on the ass, Conrad! Especially at such a short range!" She then shakes her head and keeps running after DOnk and Destroyer.

The nobles can be heard shouting things. Particularly Lyonel, who is screaming something about the horrible pain and injustice of it all. The voices slowly fade away as they disappear deeper into the tunnel system. Meanwhile, everyone else joins in a line, most of them following the light of Halani's candle as she follows Donk deeper into the tunnels, chasing... something. It moves fast, but it is no match for the speed of the mighty Destroyer. After winding through several twists and turns, they finally corner their quarry in a small chamber that appears to be a dead end, full of more musty scrolls. Halani's candle provides just enough illumination to reveal the creature being pursued...

It's Savannah. No mistaking it, the blonde Eldanar woman has been fleeing from the group. She's even got the bow and everything, which she raises at Donk as he approaches. Then, as the light is cast on the room, she lowers it and sighs with relief. "Oh, thank goodness. I thought you were the spiders. They dragged me off here during the battle, I just now got away. Are the others with you?" Given the traffic jam in the tunnels, only Donk and Halani can see this Savannah. But the rest can hear her voice quite clearly, which might prove highly confusing to those within sight of the /other/ Savannah at the back of the line.

GAME: Donk rolls 10: (13)+10: 23

Conrad lifts his rifle. It's aimed over Halani's shoulder, but given how close the muzzle is to her head, he may or may not fire. He was going to answer Savannah's statement, but, well, there's another Savannah. Two good things aren't always better than one. Especially when one might actually be an evil illusion.

GAME: Halani rolls acrobatics: (9)+13: 22

GAME: Halani rolls 1d20+12: (7)+12: 19

"Out of the way!" Halani shouts, quite abruptly, as Donk reins Destroyer in. She pushes past the big furry butt and keeps right on going, jumping at the second Savannah. The impetuous monk stumbles in surprise as the Savannah double neatly dodges away from Halani's grasp.

GAME: Jibbom rolls 1d20+8: (6)+8: 14

GAME: Donk rolls CMB: (1)+5: 6

"Eh??" Donk reins Destroyer in as the mount and rider charge into the chamber (fortunately moving aside to let others enter). "Hey, you look familiar... umm... the bossy elf finger-wiggler. What kind of magic did you use to get up here?"

The gnome may be confused, but Destroyer is growling like a madman, hackling and inching forward, straining towards new-Savannah.

Suddenly, there is tackleage! And Destroyer leaps forwards, catching Donk completely by surprise as he tries to grab onto one of new-Savannah's legs. But Donk yanking on the reins knocks his steed off target, and he yelps, swerving to the side. "What's gotten into you, Destroyer??"

GAME: Nadara rolls acrobatics: (6)+3: 9

GAME: Savannah rolls perception: (15)+1: 16

"What are you doing?" Shrieks the Savannah in the dead-end chamber. She kicks towards the Destroyer as she backs away from Halani, dropping her bow and inadvertently knocking several scrolls off a self. "Did the spiders brainwash you? It's me! Savannah!" She looks wide-eyed, confused and afraid.

Peering around Conrad, Savannah tilts her head as she sees.......herself. "What in the flaming hell?" Savannah calls out before shutting up as Savannah cries out as well.....

GAME: Savannah rolls sense motive: (8)+1: 9

GAME: Conrad rolls sense motive: (19)+2: 21

GAME: Donk rolls sense motive: (11)+0: 11

"Hey! Move! YOu big tub!" Conrad is being yelled at by Nadara, who is trying to squeeze by him nibmly.

And failing.

Utterly.

GAME: Halani rolls sense motive: (17)+12: 29

GAME: Nadara rolls Sense Motive: (8)+7: 15

GAME: Halani rolls 1d20+9: (13)+9: 22

GAME: Halani rolls 1d20+9: (17)+9: 26

GAME: Halani rolls 1d20+9: (18)+9: 27

GAME: Halani rolls 1d20+4: (17)+4: 21

GAME: Jibbom rolls 1d20+4: (15)+4: 19

GAME: Halani rolls 1d8+3: (1)+3: 4

GAME: Halani rolls 1d8+3: (5)+3: 8

GAME: Halani rolls 1d8+3: (4)+3: 7

GAME: Halani rolls 1d8+3: (1)+3: 4

GAME: Conrad rolls weapon2-3: (15)+6+-3: 18

GAME: Conrad rolls 1d12+1: (6)+1: 7

"Shut. Up." Either Halani doesn't believe the not-Savannah, or she figures hesitating is the greater evil. So as is her wont, the monkette steps up and punches the apparent eldanar. Her first fist goes for the woman's solar plexus, but doesn't seem to put her out of commission... still, the follow up looks painful. And elbow to the face, a knee to the stomach and then and double fisted punch to the chest.

Conrad is jostled by a jumping, tumbling goblin, and then has some woman leaning up behind him who may or may not be a soul-eating doppleganger illusion. When Nadara tries to force her way by, Conrad is forced to raise his rifle, "Hey, HEY! Watch it! You could have just as--What?" Seeing the Second Savannah about to shiv him from behind, Conrad whirls about in a quarter turn to put his back against the wall, rifle pointed at the ceiling of the tunnel, "Easy there, beautiful. Keep your hands where I can see them 'til we get this sorted out." He's not aiming at her, but the huntsman's voice is cool until the shrieks of the other Savannah reach him.

His eyes shift over, and he calls out to the false Savannah while cautiously side-stepping into the chamber, "The spiders are dead. They didn't get the chance to grab anyone. Savannah was with me the entire time." As he enters the chamber proper, Conrad whirls back around to bring his rifle level with the other Savannah, "So I'm guessing you're Boss. Nice illusion." BOOM!

GAME: Donk rolls 5: (5)+5: 10

"Wait... if there's a Savannah back there," Donk says, looking confused, "And htere's one up here..."

Destroyer doesn't have time to ponder existential dilemmas! BITE THE BAD SMELLING THING! GNARR GNARR! His teeth gnash dangerously at new-Savannah's legs.

"You stop movin' right now. I don't know what the hell is going on, but let's settle things first," says Nadara in her shrill, gobliny voice. "Now shaddap. What the hell is this?!" She's irritated and confused and not happy at all about this. Nadara is so pointing her gun at Savannah, though. A Savannah. The one that was behind her.

GAME: Jibbom rolls 1d20+8: (12)+8: 20

GAME: Jibbom rolls 1d20+8: (10)+8: 18

GAME: Jibbom rolls 1d8+4: (1)+4: 5

GAME: Jibbom damaged Halani for 5 points. 27 remaining.

"What are you doing? Stop it! I'm your friend! Stop!" The Savannah in the chamber yells. Eyes wide with desperation, she counterattacks with a surprisingly strong punch right in Halani's gut.

As she hears the fighting up front, Savannah makes a bit of a face before she looks down at Nadara, who's pointing her gun at her. "Right." She says softly before putting her arrow away. "If I make any sort of action against the party, Nadara, shoot me." She says before putting her hands up.....

GAME: Halani rolls 1d20+9: (6)+9: 15

GAME: Halani rolls 1d20+9: (12)+9: 21

GAME: Halani rolls 1d20+9: (6)+9: 15

GAME: Halani rolls 1d20+4: (6)+4: 10

GAME: Halani rolls 1d8+3: (5)+3: 8

Halani falls back a half step as the not-Savannah hits her with a surprisingly powerful punch, but the monkette pushes right back. The other woman must be on her toes, though, because she manages to dodge or block most of Halani's counter strikes. "Now.. I know you're not her, hey? Vera wouldn't hit that hard, I think.." and then Halani's fist connects with the other's jaw, and sprawls her out.

The tunnels are now eerily quiet, with the not-Savannah unconscious. The two nobles, wherever they have gone, can no longer be heard.

"...well, this is awkward," Donk says, a little uncomfortably, while Destroyer sniffs at the unconscious Savannah. He peers at the /conscious/ Savannah and peers suspiciously. "The Donk suspects we should knock her out too, just to be on the safe side," he says, brandishing his lance dangerously.

Conrad moves further into the chamber, "Just tie her up. If she's Boss, she had the chance to kill me while you were unconscious and most everyone else was dying or gone." Conrad is looking over the scroll cabinets.

"Someone really needs to explain this. And that was the plan, yes," says Nadara to Savannah. She looks horribly confused here. "Why are there *two* of her?" she asks.

Savannah just....peers at Donk. "Are you honestly that....." She then shuts up before the end of the sentence. "If I was going to kill any of you, doncha think I'd have done it long before now?" She then points a thumb at Nadara. "and without a gun pointed at me?"

"I KNEW IT!" Donk turns Destroyer towards Savannah, and prepares to lunge at her, lance-first. "She plans to kill us all! Take down the doppelganger before she can cast a spell!"

Savannah says, "Yup. I'm definitely convinced you are a complete and utter moron, Donk.""

"Maybe. Maybe not. A doppelwhatsits?" says Nadara, confused, gun still pointed at Savannah. "Look. Let's tie her up until we can figure this thing out. There's not supposed to be two of anyone, 'cept the Dread Pirate Stanix."

Savannah says this after putting her hand on her face and sighing loudly. She then looks at Nadara. "You're not tying me up, Nadara. Just keep your gun on me and shoot me. Whatever happens, I'll be with Daeus." She then walks her way forwards to look at the other Savannah.

While the other Savannah is bleeding from her gunshot wound, it doesn't look like a fatal injury. She'll almost certainly pull through, if given time to recover.

"Stop moving, 'Savannah'. I'm warning you. You're not helping your case any. If you're the real Savannah, you should undertand exactly what we're concerned here. Let us figure this out. You'd want to do the same thing. Stop telling me to bloody shoot you!" Nadara is getting really upset here. "You're only making this harder on us."

Conrad turns back around from the scroll cases, his voice ominously quiet and stern, "Quiet, all of you. We're not done here, and if Savannah were going to ambush us, she'd have done it by now. Look professional and help me search these scrolls." Turning back around, Conrad glares at the parchments as he rifles through them.

Halani rubs at her knuckles, then snorts a loose lock of hair out of her face as she looks back at everyone else. "Really?" She points down at the unconscious woman. "This one is clearly the imposter, yeah? Hasn't she," the monkette then points at the real Savannah, "been with you the whole time? Well... not you, Naddy, but you'r a goblin." She nods once at Conrad. "We're not done in her yet, hey?

"She has, sure, but maybe she got replaced earlier. I don't know. All I'm saying is that's a good point, but you can never be too careful with magic like this. For all we know, they could've us ed some kind of transposing magic, too." Nadara hsakes her head, gun still trained on Savannah.

Conrad unravels a scroll, "...This isn't the Vault. We need to go that way." Conrad turns and points at Nadara. Seeing Nadara still pointing the gun, the human huntsman garbed in Goblin accoutrements exhales through his nose. "For the love of the Green Song, would someone kindly tie up the impostor before she wakes up and Meteor Swarms us?"

"You heard her! She thinks she can take us on... The Donk thinks she's been in cahoots the whole time, and is just laying in wait! We should restrain her now, before her plan comes to fruition!"

When Savannah starts to move, Donk's voice goes up an octave. "Hey! Don't you move!" His lance stabs forward, to push Savannah in the chest and try to stop her movement. "Hands where we can see them, ambusher!"

Savannah sits down on a rock near the entrance and chuckles lightly, putting her chin on her hand. "Right Donk." She says in a bored tone.

Donk is satisfied with that. He marches his wolf up in front of Savannah, lance held directly at her and a warning scowl turned down to the seated sorceress/fighter/thing. C'mon, just try something. "Hands uuuuuup..." he prompts, nudging her shoulder with his lance.

Destroyer sniffs at her curiously, before trying to lick at her hand. Hi!

Since it appears that Savannah is passing the sniff test, literally, Nadara points towards the fallen one, "Can it tell the difference with its nose alone, then?" she asks, gesticulating with her pistol.

Conrad just shakes his head and grabs the candle, "When in doubt, trust a wolf to follow its nose. If you all need me, I'll be at the Vault." Conrad is heading out.

"Destroyer can detect imposters... but not betrayers. It's his failing, he trusts anyone who feeds him." Donk sighs, patting his mount's head, whose ears perk up happily. He's getting petted?? YAY!

"I don't think we've been betrayed. So what exactly are we dealing with here? Something that can imitate people?" says Nadara, confusedly, "Okay, nevermind. Let's get to this 'Vault'." She sniffs.

Halani just makes some inarticulate, perterbed sound, then goes about following after Conrad. She's definitely more wary than she was earlier, now, and keeps her eyes peeled for trouble. As well as she can, anyways, with the dim light provided by the candle she's somehow managed not to drop this whole time.

As he left, Conrad hefted the false Savannah up, wedging her over his shoulder with his arm around her knees, his gun over his chest with the leather thong in back, and the candle held in his miraculously free hand. His loot bag full of scrolls and books has been clipped to his belt. He mutters, "This isn't the sort of loot I had in mind when I came down here..."

"Hey, I was going to settle into a nice evening of getting drunk in a dock side tavern. This works too, though," says Nadara with shrill laughter. Still, though, she's on the wya with the others, keeping a speedy step up.

An hour passes as Conrad leads the way, navigating the windy tunnels with the aid of the map. Progress is slow, as the tunnel narrows in places to make it difficult for the larger members of the party to easily pass, particularly those carrying hostages. However, if the map is right, the vault is now straight ahead. The tunnel slopes downward sharply here, but those near the front can see an entryway into a larger chamber at the slope's end. Interestingly, light can be seen emanating through the entryway, flickering as if from candles or lanterns.

GAME: Savannah rolls perception: (2)+1: 3

GAME: Donk rolls perception: (3)+2: 5

GAME: Donk rolls 10: (1)+10: 11

GAME: Conrad rolls perception: (16)+4: 20

Conrad stops and whispers, "Trap, in the ceiling." Worn down from carrying a Savannah-replica for an entire hour of marching, he adjusts the doppleganger's hips on his shoulder with a grunt, "I can't fire like this. We need room to set this other Savannah down and maneuver." After a moment, he glances aside, "...And is anyone else concerned that she doesn't seem to have regained consciousness yet?"

GAME: Halani rolls perception: (8)+12: 20

GAME: Nadara rolls Perception: (1)+5: 6

It takes a few moments for Donk to tie real-Savannah's hands with his stubby, gauntlet gnome hands, but he manages a more-or-less secure knot that wouldn't be hard for her to pull out of. This rope then gets tied to Destroyer, and the trio happily (well, two of them are happy) saunter off to follow Conrad.

"Nope," Donk responds to Conrad's question, though he frowns at the unconscious woman. "Lay her across Destroyer's back. He's hearty, he can handle it."

Savannah is definitely not paying attention to anything BUT the rope around her wrists. No, she's definitely not happy about this, but it seems the more she protests, the more Donk seems to think she's guilty. So she keeps quiet......

It's like asking someone if they're a witch. The more they protest, the more likely it is they're a witch! Nadara nods solemnly, clearly thinking this logic through to herself. At any rate, she's following right along up until Conrad says something about a trpa. She stops. She looks up slowly. "Halani beat her pretty good," she adds.

Halani grimaces and rubs at the tough fabric woven about her knuckles and wrists. "Keeping the real one tied up is silly," she repeats, probably for the umpteenth time. "Watch the ceiling, hey?" she adds, affirming Conrad's spotting of the trap. "Just tie her up and leave her here. The not real one, I mean."

GAME: Conrad rolls climb: (9)+4: 13

Conrad shrugs, "So much for acquiring booty, eh?" Conrad chuckles and slides the doppleganger off his shoulder with a wince onto the wolf-mount. Rolling his shoulder a few times to work out the stiffness, he cracks his neck, "...Well, that was rather uncomfortable... Okay, everyone forward." Jumping up, Conrad spider-jumps his way up until he is high and horizontal enough to let others pass under him with minimal issue. When the real Savannah passes, he blinks, "Why is our caster tied up?"

"Because PARANOIA!" Donk's eyes glint a little manically, giving a broad grin to Conrad. He does peer up at the ceiling, then around. "Where is the trigger? We can use our imposter to trigger it!"

The trigger, as the perceptive folks among you can probably guess, is most likely the suspiciously smooth patch of stone directly underneath the trap.

So Nadara is cautious, of course, eyeing Conrad and avoiding that smooth space of stone. That she actually didn't notice in the first place. Despite her small steps, she manages to evade it anyways. There for the grace of Rada goes Nadara.

GAME: Jibbom rolls 1d20+15: (10)+15: 25

GAME: Jibbom rolls 6d6: (23): 23

GAME: Jibbom damaged Nadara for 23 points. -3 remaining.

CLONK! Nadara steps right on the trigger and a cascade of heavy stones falls atop her. She's out cold.

Conrad mutters from the ceiling, "Sure glad I pointed out that trap to everybody. Think she died?" Dropping down behind Savannah, he dusts himself off.

The stones, while heavy, don't completely block the entryway. By climbing atop them and crawling, the adventurers will still be able to get inside the vault, if at a slower pace.

Savannah says, "If you guys can dig her out, I can heal her." She then holds up her hands. "Untie me and I'll help.""

So Nadara isn't paying enough attention -- everyone else has stopped, and she pushes forward to see what's happening. She moves towards it -- moves up, and then steps on the smooth path of stone just a little too much. Then thre's a crumbling sound and she looks up only to see a bunch of stones falling towards her.

"Bugger," she says, before she's consumed by rubble.

"Holy hogtied-harlots!" Donk yelps when the stones come down. He's stunned for a moment, speechless as he puts a hand to his chin. "That's...unfortunate."

Savannah's request gets a suspicious glare from the cavalier, who looks her up and down, before shoving a finger at her. "This is your chance to redeem yourself. No funny business!" He gives her lead a sharp tug, and the ropes just fall away. Together with Destroyer, Donk uses their combined weight to start levering the stones away with his lance.

Halani likely would have been the one untying Savannah, except she's haveing another '.... really?' moment. Staring at the fallen rubble. Blinking away at the dust. "We did tell her there was a trap, yeah?" She looks at the others, then. Well, not Conrad, since he's past, but the others.

Worryingly, a deep voice calls out in the chamber ahead, shouting something in a language which is likely unfamiliar to most of you.

Savannah rolls her eyes as she's untied. "Oh no, no funny business, like having a doppleganger.......dumbass." She says before starting to push the rocks out of the way.

At Savannah's mouthing off, Donk glares at her. He jabs two fingers at his own eyes, then back at Savannah.

Conrad readies his rifle, nodding forward, "Well, lets not keep our guest waiting. I believe Boss, or someone who had bloody better well be Boss, is waiting for us. Get close enough and I can provide covering fire with Savannah while you dig our Gobber out."

A few seconds after the shouting, there's a loud rumbling. Then a crash of collapsing stone that comes from further back the tunnel behind you. It's some distance away, but a safe guess might be that someone is attempting to seal off possible avenues for the group's escape.

Savannah looks behind them as another rumble comes from behind them. She then looks at Donk. "I suppose I did that too." She then moves more rocks away from the gobber and waits a few seconds before digging out a potion for her.

GAME: Nadara rolls 1d8+1: (1)+1: 2

GAME: Jibbom damaged Nadara for -2 points. -1 remaining.

GAME: Savannah used a Potion of Cure Light Wounds.

Donk looks back at the sound, then forward at Savannah, and does the same motion again. Only harder this time. WATCHING YOU!

Nadara is eventually dug out, and as she's healed up, Donk leans over her. "Good to go?"

Savannah pours the potion down Nadara's throat. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to get her on her feet quite yet. So she tries a little bit of first aid......shouldn't she have done that first? XD

GAME: Savannah rolls heal: (18)+6: 24

GAME: Jibbom damaged Nadara for -3 points. 2 remaining.

Halani puts a palm to her forhead, then fishes around in her sash for a vial of her own. As Nadara comes to under Savannah's tender loving ministrations, she drops the vial... reluctantly... into the goblin's tiny green hands. Then she looks to the rubble, and wordlessly begins climbing through.

"...mmn? I'm alive?" says Nadara, shocked. She's pretty battered adn hurt, honestly, but she's slowly pushing herself back to her feet once she's awake. "Uh... sorry 'bout that. DIdn't... uh. Won't happen again. Guess Rada's not done with me yet. Must still owe her too much money."

Savannah chuckles at Nadara. "More like you triggered a trap instead of going around." She then helps Nadara up to her feet. "Come on. We need to get moving. We had a tunnel trap collapse behind us....so we're being herded."

GAME: Nadara rolls 1d8+1: (7)+1: 8

GAME: Nadara used a Potion of Cure Light Wounds.

GAME: Jibbom damaged Nadara for -8 points. 10 remaining.

And so, the rocks are cleared and the advenutrers make their way into the vault. It's the largest chamber the group has encountered yet in the underground complex, with the same rough circular shape around a hundred feet in diameter. Close to a dozen tunnels lead out from here, including the one the group just came in through. Torches have been lit in wall sconces near the entrance, though much of the rest of the chamber remains dark. The vault is filled with racks obviously intended for the storage of weapons and armor, though they are nearly empty. It looks dusty, disused, emptied long ago.

However, the most conspicuous part of the chamber is obviously still in use. Directly across the room, several of these racks have been broken to make a sort of stage, with a large chair propped atop it like a throne. Unlike most of the room, the torches there are not lit, and the throne is largely in shadow. However, a tall humanoid figure is clearly seated there, clad in heavy armor. As the adventurers crawl inside, he booms out in the deep voice heard earlier, now in Tradespeak. He speaks in a thick accent, emphasis almost always placed on the wrong syllables.

"So, the inVAders come into my COUrt. BrINGing my falLEN subJECTS like TROphies." He rises from his seat, armor clattering. "THrow down your weaPONs."

"AHAHAHAHA!" Donk's laugh is like a high-pitched machine-gun pointed at the Mr. Bossman. "Oh, you're /funny/!" He levels his lance at the man. "Clearly, you've not heard the story of The Great and Powerful Donk Yauti! ... and friends." Almost as an afterthought, he reaches back to push not-Savannah off Destroyer's back, so she slumps to the ground in a pile.

Crawling inside is right. NAdara's still looking pretty banged up. But when she sees a creature sitting on a throne in heavy armor, he stops dead and says, "I think a lot of people haven't heard that story, Donk. Please don't start now." She clears her throat, and then adds, "We'd like to have a word, sir. Ow. Ow. So, uh. We're not throwing down our weapons."

Conrad seems to consider the armored shadow's words for a few long moments...before raising his rifle and sighting down it, "No."

Savannah crawls into the chamber and.....blinks. "Well then. All of this for a crest." She says before tugging an arrow out of her quiver and putting it on her bow. "How about no? All we want is a crested shield."

Halani nudges Savannah. "And justice, too, yeah? The old ghost night wanted the thieves dealt with, too."

"You have inVAded my kingDOM. MurDERed my subJECTS. What jusTICE would your kind deliver for such OFFenses?" The figure reaches down to a scabbard at his belt, drawing a sword which glints in the little light around him. He stoops to heft up a heavy shield laying against the throne. "One of ours would be exeCUTEd, it is CERtain. I offer you MERcy, and you reJECT it."

After Savannah's words, the creature lets out a loud, cackling sort of laugh that echoes through the chamber. "This? You murDER my subJECTS for this?" He steps forward into the light, lifting the shield. No doubt about it, the crest of House Brache has been emblazoned across the front of this expertly crafted steel shield, a fine piece that once adorned the noble's home.

As he steps into the light, the creature's face becomes visible. A human man, perhaps in his fifties, with a greying beard. He wears a suit of heavy full plate armor, and grins in a disturbingly lopsided manner as he slowly approaches. "You speak to me of jusTICE? The KingDOM of the THOUsand faCES is the only place my kind have refuge. You inVADE. You SLAUghter. You call this jusTICE?" He laughs hollowly again. "This is the last MERcy I will offer. SubMIT. Or die."

"Yes! And we will plow through hundreds of your followers! We will burn and salt your lands, we will leave your women and children lamenting, we will leave you begging US for mer--" Donk pauses, blinks when the man steps into the light. "Hey, you look REALLY familiar..."

"Donk." Nadara pauses, looking pained by his words. Then she just... looks at him. Then at the armored would-be-king. "This is a *kingdom*?" she says to the other fellow, sitting on his throne until he's stepped out into the light. She does not recognize him at all, of course.

Savannah has no idea who this armored twit it, and she doesn't really care. "Submit? No. Slaughter? As far as I know, we haven't killed anyone here. The only one that has been seriously injured is us." She then thinks. "Except for one noble who has an arrow in his ass." She then Shrugs a bit. "And this isn't a kingdom, this is a delusion."

Conrad is unmoved by the whole thing, "We were attacked first and defended ourselves. ...Most of us, anyway. The shield was stolen, and we have documents to prove it. Return it, and I will leave you in peace." He lowers his rifle, "I will not murder unprovoked."

Conrad whispers to Savannah, "The spiders."

"And didn't we pretty seriously injure that lady?" Donk adds, looking back at the crumpled body they left on the ground

Savannah looks to Conrad. "Oh right. That was self-defense I believe." She then shrugs.

Halani scratches her head. She doesn't really talk to the armoured king of a thousand faces, addressing the rest of the group instead. "Pretty sure he did provoke us. The spider people? Tried to kill us, yeah? And Savannah's double over there... Of course, we could always just beat him up and hand him over to the ghost? Since It sounds like this is the guy who murdered his family or something?"

The responses given to the armored man's accusations only seem to make him angrier, his grin twisting down into a sneer as he raises his sword. "So thoughtLESSly you hurt and kill my subJECTS. You are unWORTHy of MERcy. As king, I will carry out your senTENCE." From the way he's brandishing that sword, it is clear that this will end in violence.