Topic: Strong Arms of The Law: Labyrinth's High Society Ball (Week 3-2) (Read 12341 times)

Doom · « **Reply #20 on:** August 01, 2012, 04:13:18 PM »

Ragjen: She frowns at you at first, giving your outfit a strict look-over to try and see through your obvious hucksterness. She offers you a hit off her bottle. "... Pelor? I didn't think we had anybody from those has-beens coming out this far."

Azura, Karvan: The Ball will begin shortly and you'll be asked to leave if noticed wandering around the regular floors.

Maxi: It's a small fairy, of course! You can tell because she nibbles your finger before you can stow her in a pocket or something! You are able to enter the ball on general connections with your family.

Attica: Well... you're perfectly undetected and can sneak in effortlessly. But you go cross-cat-eyed trying to pay attention to anything with the mingling scents of delicious foods being wheeled in. Doh.

Doom · « **Reply #21 on:** August 01, 2012, 04:25:47 PM »

The Ball starts!

The Temple of Kord seems to grow a lot of extra staff in the next few hours as several city guard begin keeping the riff-raff out from the front. Casual worshipers are politely escorted out, save for one Pelor-worshiping Dragonborn. No crowds gather outside the Temple but frequent small posses begin filing in, moving up to the small band of 4 Guards at the front door, making their introduction and either being allowed in or making a scene ("Do you know who I am!?") until they succeed or are turned away. At least a dozen Minotaur-headed parties enter and a single Dwarven-headed one does as well, along with a few miscellaneous ones.

Inside the second floor is staffed by a few of the old-fashioned Jeeves-style Warforged and a pair of very luxurious buffets are spread out. The first floor is the dance hall and has been spritzed up a bit with some prestidigitations and a sculpture of a posing Herculean Minotaur Athlete in mid-discus toss, carved into a huge block of comet ice. It firmly occupies the space a bit south to the center of the open dance floor. At the far north there seems to be a small stage that has been built by having super-heavy stone carted in.

Maxi is able to enter on his Labyrinth connections, Azura has covered sneaking in and I need a response from Azura and Karvan about my last prompt. The rest of you will have to try the door.

Maxi: There's no immediate sign of your co-conspirators. Or, alarmingly, the heroes you've put your faith in! But the Ball has just started in the last hour...

R^2 · « **Reply #22 on:** August 01, 2012, 05:40:52 PM »

I'm figuring a dwarf out-of-towner isn't getting in by any of his own virtues. Latir waits for Bertram to show.

Joxam · « **Reply #23 on:** August 01, 2012, 06:45:53 PM »

Maxi tries to look like he belongs and is nonchalant while also asking his pocket, "Are you comfortable enough in there?"

Malikial · « **Reply #24 on:** August 01, 2012, 09:26:48 PM »

Karvan will hide in the areas they found that looked hide-able. He takes Azura with him and asks, "What do you think we should do? We're not invited to this place but... well, sometimes I get a pass into such places. I'm pretty famous for fighting so people, specifically Kord followers, usually let me in." He shrugs and says, "I could probably walk down there and put on a good show, but they might just as well throw my ass out." He shrugs and waits for her to respond. Oh and side note, Karvan is actually whispering, showing that, for once, he actually DOES understand stealth.

Doom · « **Reply #25 on:** August 02, 2012, 06:03:22 PM »

Maxi: The spider-fairy just stares at you for too long quietly.

Karvan and Azura: Hanging out in the top-floor access tunnels keeps you in the Temple as the Ball starts.

Latir: After several minutes, Bertram still hasn't shown. But Wanda does show up, wearing a... formal, stiff and modest outfit similar to Jeeves' duds, yet obviously a bit fresher and with some maid-appropriate frill and long skirt down to the shins. She looks pleased all the same and applies a screw-tightening to the center of her nose, fixing a set of dainty pince-nez spectacles in place. She presents you with a scroll in a simple leather case that has information on most of the attendees, granting you +4 to Diplomacy, Bluff, Intimidate and Streetwise while at the Ball. "Hello, Latir. What are we waiting for? Are... Chadwick and his date arriving soon?" Scroll data seems simple... Family Name, Head of House full name, short list of immediate family, the Industry they're head of and their political leanings in the last year. So you end up with a guy like Grax Gruston, Sportsball Mogul, voted to fleece the Dwarven populace with additional taxes to pay for renovations to his Labyrinth Stadium.

R^2 · « **Reply #26 on:** August 02, 2012, 08:01:07 PM »

Latir looks over the scroll, brow furrowing at the number of names on the list who made a fortune by trampling on the rights of dwarves and warforged.

"Wanda, you are looking... lovely. Are you hoping to blend in with the other wa-- secretaries and assistants here? I have not seen Morgiana and her fiend... or Bertram. Without either Bertram or Chadwick I doubt we will be able to get in at all."

sentrygun · « **Reply #27 on:** August 02, 2012, 10:10:16 PM »

Food?

Code: [Select]

Attica Endurance
1d20 +9
19 + 9 = 28

It's all probably overseasoned junk, and with all the minotaurs in attendance who knows if there's any meat at all. There's more important things to do. Electric things. But, if there's no entrances besides the main one, her plan of trapping them would be a bit pointless. The structure's sturdy enough that a thunderstorm wouldn't do much to shake things up, and the lighting is the most boring kind: fire. Nothing fun for the Lightning Fury to do with everything being against her. Ah, what a shame. Alas, she might have to settle for a direct strike.

Worse yet, Attica didn't have anything frilly and ridiculous to fit into the crowd with! Projecting electricity might work, but it might stand out just a touch too much. For now, she skirts the edges of the ballroom, taking a look at how the event unfolds.

Doom · « **Reply #28 on:** August 03, 2012, 04:12:57 PM »

Attica: The Ball is unfolding into a poke. Poke? *Poke*

Quote

a cute little naked woman the size of the finger, with delicate wings like a dragon-fly's and chitinous extra arms and hip/shoulder armor bits like an angry spider. She has a demure elegance and two mouths... the normal humanoid one and what look like rows of serrated, circular teeth starting at her chin and vanishing under the bottom of her head.

The fairy darts about your head and pokes you at random. It tugs on your whiskers... and then gnaws on your ear. It tingles... until you feel blood drawn.

Maxi: We're moving into the end of the first hour. Most of the Labyrinth Noble families are here and you can recognize them easily, given how your Mother entertains and tries to move you into working for this world. The heroes seem to be very late... there are still a few occasional arrivals. The masked mummytaur arrives a few minutes after the passing of the hour but never looks towards you or acknowledges you, making himself busy with small-talk next to the buffet table on the second floor.

Latir: Wanda beams. "It is important to honor mildly uncomfortable customs, especially when trying to sneak into strange social circles." She uses her index and middle fingers paired together to acutely adjust her specs. "Uhm... Latir, it will be a hassle without them, but we can't miss this chance to intercept Dr. Quint. Shall we talk our way in?" Wanda prepares a Bluff check to grant you +2 via Aide Other and succeeds. She stands behind you and assumes a completely humble posture, one hand holding the wrist of the other at her stomach and her head tilted slightly down, following you in attendance. She whispers. "While we're in Labyrinth, I'm all yours." Where her face might usually checker-board with the red panels, Wanda overrides that function with an eye-lid panel closing and opening quick wink.

Niku · « **Reply #29 on:** August 03, 2012, 06:30:26 PM »

Tikka had a lovely evening with Wanda all told! She learned where a great many shops were, found out how to be thrifty in spending without sacrificing quality, and in general was quite pleased to speak with someone who had a similar view on the relative merits of being made of flesh or metal or hewn together debris teetering around a psychic presence. But eventually she decided that she would like to continue shopping for a bit of time before the ball, as she didn't feel quite like she'd spent enough time shopping. Was she addicted? Heavens no, but as much as the bits and bobbles that she had opened her purse to procure might have fit the bill for a fancy party, she had decided quite simply that there was no reason to show up until she was absolutely perfect.

There was also the matter, upon reaching such perfection and actually arriving at the Ball, of getting inside. It didn't matter how well she held up her skirts (most poised!) or what the bearing of her posture was (as straight as a rail! Literally!) if she wouldn't be granted entry after all, but well, if everyone else had gotten inside, then it stood to reason that she should as well, right? Still, throwing about the Holsten name and promising that her party was already inside and she was simply running fashionably late didn't quite strike Tikka as the correct way to get her well-heeled foot in the door, and so she smiled quite pleasantly at each of the four guards in turn. Peacock feathers gleamed in rainbow hues just around the faces of her eyes, for if Wanda may have dissuaded her from festooning her dress with them, she could not have convinced Tikka that a masquerade was not in order if she was to be the only Shardmind amidst a teeming ballroom of meaty things!

"Good evening gentlemen, I am here to delight, entertain, and court as many as I am able, for I am pre-eminently winnable of hand and lonesome of arm, and I hadn't the time nor the room on my person to worry about my invitation, but I am certain that isn't an issue," she said with something that on a more fleshy person may have prompted a decolletage emphasising breath just beneath the low-slung gold-trimmed bodice that made up the top of Tikka's ensemble. Unable to addle and distract in more traditionally feminine ways, well, she settled for making her voice particularly lilting, hurried, and winsome.

Code: [Select]

Tikka Bluff
1d20 + 14
10 + 14 = 24

R^2 · « **Reply #30 on:** August 04, 2012, 07:11:13 AM »

Latir scratches his fuzzy head, then replaces his cap. "Wanda, have you seen any evidence that Ollam Winehaus may be in attendance? If we cannot enter by association with Sydney House, we may be able to get in by his favor."

Latir waves the scroll case. "If any dwarves are here, he would be... But he may bot be granted the right to extend invitations by his high-class minotaur overlords."

Mrs. Awesome · « **Reply #31 on:** August 04, 2012, 08:58:56 PM »

Azura looks to Karvan, then back again at Chadwick. "I think he needs to be as far away as we can get him, while still having Veihj close by to alert the others of any trouble. Let's follow these paths a bit, so no one sees us unless they're purposely seeking us out. And those that may might well get one of my arrows in their brain, so let's hope, for their sakes, they keep their distance." She strings an arrow, and leads their way down a passage way away from the festivities.

Malikial · « **Reply #32 on:** August 04, 2012, 10:50:58 PM »

Karvan pats Azura on the shoulder and growls out, "Well, it's no problem, if someone is looking to do us wrong I'll just tear out their lungs." He leans down near Chadwick's shoulder and waggles his eyebrows, growling out, "Hope it's an elf... Elf lungs are a bit of a delicacy, best served only lightly seared." He chuckles to himself and it's not readily apparent if he was joking as he pats Chad roughly on the back and then rolls his shoulders, pulling his bladed shield off his back and holding it ready.

sentrygun · « **Reply #33 on:** August 05, 2012, 12:12:11 AM »

Attica bats at the fairy, trying to pin it down and, if successful, zap it. Unfortunately, she hasn't been chasing much in the way of flying vermin and likely swats about at the air more than the pest.

Code: [Select]

Attica's Swat (plain DEX)
1d20 +13
3 + 13 = 16

Doom · « **Reply #34 on:** August 05, 2012, 11:42:47 AM »

Latir: Wanda looks a bit distressed, eyebrows rising in concern on little ratchets. "Ah... Latir... I believe the only Dwarf that managed an invite on any sort of connection was a... ah... Scab Boss associated with the Firebrand Miners." She perks up as she notices Tikka talking the Guards into a blinking stupor. They talk amongst themselves for a bit before parting like a brown and gray sea of armored cows. Using your height differences to nudge him between the shoulder-blades with her knee, Wanda prompts Latir to head up and insinuate himself into Tikka's entourage of zero.

Attica: So close, but she darts out of the way like a haughty bird. You two are currently poised beneath the banquet table... she flits about at the edge of the table-cloth and gives you many lewd gestures, culminating with turning around, spreading her legs, bending over and giving you an upside down raspberry beneath her own bare fanny.

Azura and Karvan: You sneak down the empty top-floor access tunnels... up ahead you can make out an open door? A ray of light?! Inside... a lantern is lit and set atop a heavy crate filled with something. Next to it is a plain stone chair with a human-sized set of traveling clothes in a jaunty red/white pin-stripe laid out, as though the wearer decided to strip naked and take off. Next to that are a half-dozen more heavy anonymous crates. Veihj is keeping guard/messenger closer to the door to the 2nd and 3rd Floors of the Temple and Ball proper... you need a mere Dungeoneering Check of 15 or better to reach him instantly! Minotaurs and Mazes, am I right?

Maxi: You can feel a... a tingle! In your head! A voice reads out very clearly: "The first six are in position. Dread is prepared for phase two. Stand-by." Puzzling... and you're interrupted as a young Minotaur fellow about your equivalent age(young feisty noble son) comes over, wearing a set of overly fancy and poofy hunting gear with an open smoking vest, puffing away on a pipe to go with it. "Ahhh, Maximillian! Good of you to make it!" Jacob Kernsworth as you know him(and as Wanda looked up) is an avid Sportsballer and a fan of hunting in the Open Rifts. He is an heir to his Father's masonry and stone-carving empire... and has had the rare decency to work to better the lot of the Dwarven underclass, speaking infrequently against abusive laws.

Maxmaps · « **Reply #35 on:** August 05, 2012, 11:59:12 AM »

Choosing to ignore the rather unkind comment, Ragjen just sat down by the woman and poured himself a drink. "Bunch of people showing up. No harm in adding to the numbers. You muscly types are pretty welcoming, usually." He added the last word with a drink before taking a long swig.

Joxam · « **Reply #36 on:** August 05, 2012, 12:18:29 PM »

Maxi tries to remain composed as he hears the voice in his head and then when that business is done he winks at Jacob, "You know how I love rubbing elbows and bending the knee, friend."

"How has the hunting been lately? I confess I've never seen the draw, its all just a little too much bang for my buck. I prefer to stay home and practice at having a social life. Although, some say you can end up just as dead just as fast in that line of work...."

He extends his hand for a shake in a true gesture of kindness to someone he likes.

sentrygun · « **Reply #37 on:** August 05, 2012, 04:29:16 PM »

Hmph. Fine, if she can't catch her with her paws, then how about frying it with a precise bolt of electricity?

Code: [Select]

Attica Ensorcelled Blade (at-will melee attack)
1d20 +21
13 + 21 = 34

Accurate enough.

Büge · « **Reply #38 on:** August 05, 2012, 08:23:34 PM »

Morgiana, unlike the others in the team, strolls through the front door, hand in hand with "Chadwick". She looks like a rather plain minotaur girl with a reddish brown pelt and stubby horns. She's wearing a modest gown the colour of yellow clay and lined with sparkling chips of quartz. Chadwick is wearing his finest tailored suit and grinning like a tax collector.

They begin mingling. Morgiana keeps Chadwick close, introducing herself as Fjolda, Chadwick's cousin, to anyone who asks. She and her companion seem thick as thieves, occasionally giggling and whispering to each other and sharing a plate of hors d'ouvres.

R^2 · « **Reply #39 on:** August 06, 2012, 06:26:35 AM »

Latir is visibly disgusted. "Okay, new plan. We retreat, Quint attacks the temple under the assumption Chadwick and Bertram are here -- and they are not. Bertram is MIA for some reason and Chadwick is safe with Azura somewhere else. Quint murders any number of vile, reprehensible people inside on his rampage, the Reaches are made a better place overall, and Quint accidentally balances out some of his own terrible deeds."

The only thing stopping Latir from being 100% serious is the impracticality of switching plans this late into the mission.

"Ah, there is our ticket in." Latir and Wanda insinuate themselves in with Morgiana-disguised and "Chadwick" to get into the ball.

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Author Topic: Strong Arms of The Law: Labyrinth's High Society Ball (Week 3-2) (Read 12341 times)