Pandora

"Snake guts!! In my hair!! Eeeeewwww, that's going to take ages to get out. I'm going back to spells. Hey Atramor, I'll give you a hand with that pesky Rat with my Wind magic from the back row. Rufindel, could you please target the Snake? I'm hoping you can seal it to prevent us from being poisoned." Party Order: Cronk Nyx Atramor Rufindel

"Ok, we're getting somewhere. We're gonna have to face the nastiest nasties sooner or later, so this round I'm going to step forward, save my Ether, and hack at the Poisonous Snake A from the front row with my Dawnstar. A normal hit should finish him, and I can take the damage if necessary. Cronk, how do you feel about tackling the Scorpion? You have a 50/50 chance of protection from its special, and could withstand some damage if it succeeded? That is until we ask Rufindel to (try to) seal it next round, of course. I know you're a seasoned fighter, so I hesitate to suggest your actions. " Party Order: Cronk Nyx Atramor Rufindel Deepest apologies, Scuba, I must have been a bit confused, sorry.

"Cronk, I just your Angel! And nice one, Rufindel, two Miracles in a row. It seems luck was temporarily on our side, let's hope it continues.. Right, so, due to the seriously unpleasant Specials the Poisonous Snakes and Scorpion have, I'd still like to focus on the others first, to thin the field before the inevitable mass-poison and, uhm, stucking. I would suggest leaving Poisonous Snake B and the Scorpion alone for now. With that in mind, I shall target the Adder, using my Wind magic again, from the back row." Party Order: Cronk Nyx Atramor Rufindel OOC: Just to check, should I not be doing double damage, as these are all vermin and susceptible to Wind??

"I bet there was the magnifying glass, and a million gold, and gems, and looooads of nice stuff in the chest Cronk chose. Stupid snake." grumbles Nyx as one of the snakes bites her on the arm. To retaliate she once more summons forth the power of the tornado with her Wind magic and hurls it towards the otherwise unremarkable Spider, from the back row. Party Order: Cronk Atramor Nyx Rufindel "Rufindel, if bad luck prevails you may be grievously wounded by both a hit from your enemy and a free hit, thus you shall go last to avoid a free hit. Although, if you could rustle up a Miracle, that'd be handy too. Let's keep at them, guys."

"You have got to be kidding me. Sorry folks. Yo, old dude! Do you know you've got a load of nasties down here?! Why couldn't you just leave your magnifying glass lying around upstairs? I would suggest that we leave the Snakes and Scorpion until later, and focus on the Rats, Spider and Bat for now. I think the poison effect will be immensely irritating if we contract it too early on. With that in mind I shall utilise my Sapphire, and cast Wind magic on the Spider from the back row. We know we'll have to take a few hits for a bit, but hopefully we'll roll a few shields and we'll be ok. Party Order: Cronk Atramor Nyx Rufindel"

"Ok, so we'd best open a chest, then. Uhhhhhhhm that one!" Nyx points to the chest on the right, by the froggy staff. "And let's all cross our fingers that it doesn't contain only a single Level 1 spider that drops a million gold and tons of gems... "

"I'm having déjà vu. Or is it déjà entendu? Whatever. Just before we go any further, I just wonder what the title of that book is? And while I'm wondering, and looking at the title, I'd like to listen to the chests in case any hiding beasties are making a noise and thus revealing their presence. Suspicious? Moi? "

"Ooooh look, stuff! I love stuff! Hmm, I have a feeling that, much as I'd like Rufindel to strangle a tune out of the banjolele there, we should probably be looking inside one of the three chests. I suspect, quite strongly, that if we choose poorly then we will be faced with a big beastie to punch repeatedly until it falls over. It would be quite handy if we had a magnifying glass to examine the chests for traps, but alas that seems to be the base problem. Atramor, there's an outside chance your cloak may be useful, however I fear the VITS will likely inform us that they are merely chests, made of wood. It's worth a try, though?"

"Right, I actually think the safest thing is for Atramor to distract them, that way if he does end up in combat then he can escape. If I just start a fire and they wander over to me, then they might just want to investigate the items I'm carrying, or slit my throat for the hell of it, and I don't fancy that much. Like you say, fires aren't all that uncommon in these seedy districts, but maybe if you and your chicken put on some sort of show.... well, who knows, perhaps they'll be so entertained they pay you? "

"I'm guessing that no matter how diplomatic and adorable Cronky is, it's probably better if we don't alert the Wolfgang to our presence. So, we need to find a way to get past the Wolfgang, hopefully without getting our heads kicked in. I think we have time to throw a few ideas around. Perhaps we could try to create a distraction? I could try to start a small fire in front of the warehouse to the left of the Antiquarian's place and we could then run round to the right while they go and watch the pretty flames? Is that too lame? Do you think they'd fall for that? Or shall we go the old-fashioned route of chucking something into the middle of them and watching them fight it out between themselves? It's a shame we can't use the crossbow Cronk has and just start picking them off one by one, but that's life I guess. Any other ideas? Hopefully better ones? "

"Well they look a bit mean and nasty. And there's a lot of them. And they all have quite a bit of health. If there is a more stealthy way to go about this then, frankly, I think we'd be better off. Atramor, don't you have any sneaky Rogue-ey characteristics that would allow you to eavesdrop without being seen? And if we must approach them, then I agree with Cronk that we should talk to them (nicely) and it might be best for Cronk to do the talking seeing as he's very diplomatic and friendly. If all else fails, perhaps we can draw a couple of them out at a time, so we wouldn't have to fight them all in one go? There would be a lot of free-hits we'd be taking; I don't share your confidence, Atramor, that we can take them all in one go. I have a bad feeling about this, so just in case, I'm going to down another Tonic. If we do end up fighting it will be a long fight and I don't want to run out of Ether and have to risk breaking a nail. "

"And I would still like to know if you recognise this amulet or its carving."

"Uhhm, drink will do that to you. Ahem, as good Cronk here says, we're from Heroica. In addition to the questions he's asked, I'd also like to know if you recognise this amulet? Or what the markings on it mean?" Nyx carefully shows the man the amulet, whist keeping hold of it.

"Okay, but...:" "Aaanyway, I'm sure we'll find out soon enough. I'll hang onto the helmet for now. Oh and Cronk, may I look at the Amulet? There is an outside chance that it might resonate with my Magely ways. Maybe. Who knows?"

"Yay! Nice one, Cronk! Maybe if we can wake this guy up he can tell us what the hell it is." "Are you sure that a Remedy cures Intoxication?? Anyway, I nominate Rufindel... "

"See, he manages to sleep in an alley. Anyway, don't kick him too hard, that's a lot of blood to be outside a person (assuming it's his) and we don't want to accidentally kill him. Atramor, would you like this helmet? The other two already have helmets and I'm not sure this one goes with my outfit. Oh, and why do you think the basement leads to the Metasimians' hideout? It could be anyone's hideout. Or just a basement."

And another for me too, please!

"Never stopped me from sleeping before" mumbles Nyx "oh well, I guess I should drink a Tonic. Now, onto the spoils. Unless you want otherwise, I suggest: Atramor - Nutritious Banana and 8 Gold Cronk - Heavy Crossbow and 7 Gold Rufindel - Metasimian Ale and 7 Gold Nyx - Longsword and 8 Gold"

"Hmmm, I wonder if there's a safe place to rest, just while we divvy up this loot. I think you might be the best person to receive the banana, Atramor, as I don't really want to lose Ether, and I imagine our healing-type friends don't either. Is there anything in particular that anyone would like? We don't actually have a Ranger in the party, so the Crossbow's not helpful right now, and the other weapons aren't quite as honed as the ones we already have. I guess we could take them and sell them, but that seems... ungrateful." Nyx scans the area, wondering if she can rest and regain her lost Ether and wondering how to best divide the spoils of battle.

I think this would be right at home in the 'Prometheus' thread... that you've already posted in. I will merge them.

Nyx once more summons pure pain in the form of Darkness magic and aims it at the remaining Metasimian from the back row. Party Order: Cronk Atramor Nyx Rufindel

Nyx raises an eyebrow at the remaining Metasimian. Although she says nothing to him, her expression clearly reads 'you've seen what fate befell your comrades, are you sure you wish to face my magics?' While her foe shifts uncomfortably and scratches under his armpits, Nyx regroups with her friends. "Atramor, I truly admire your desire to keep fighting, but even with you in the back row this remaining ape could knock you out if luck goes against you. Please, retrieve your shiv and let Rufindel heal you; Cronk and I will handle the offense for now." Darkness magic, Metasimian (sword), back row. Party Order: Rufindel Nyx Cronk Atramor

"Okay, let's see how this goes.... Party Order: Cronk Rufindel Atramor Nyx Cross your fingers, guys."

The voice in the sky can... "You might hit me Monkey-Man, but I'll hit you back twice as hard! (maybe) Rufindel, we could really use one of your rather handy Miracle-thingys about now, but please could you heal me (you heal a little less than Cronk and I have a little more health than Atramor at the mo) and Cronk, please will you heal Atramor's wounds for him? Thanks. Atramor, mate, it looks like you and I will have to keep at the apes; it would be unfair to just let them pound on Cronk. I'll continue with Darkness against Crossbow Metasimian from the back row. I suggest you also attack from the back row - we just need him targeted, but there's no need to risk extra damage. Let's hope we don't end up as smudges on the floor. Sound like an ok-ish plan, team? Other suggestions are very welcome."

"I agree, but there's only a 50/50 chance of success with sealing. It's easier to heal you now than have to scrape you off the pavement at the end and use a Phoenix Essence on you. I shall continue with Darkness against Crossbow Metasimian, again from the back row" Party Order: Rufindel Cronk Atramor Nyx