Herald

FORGOTTEN REALMS - Gambit of Scoundrels

Leon suppressed a shudder at the mention of the bodak. A creature of the dark, to be sure, but one that is usually the result of a ritual dedicated to Orcus or a victim of a bodak. Undead creatures were already problematic to slay, but one that could simply sever the tie between your mortal body and your soul with so simple an action... the maskarran made a note to immediately cast silence and then sever both of the dwarf's arms if such a wand ever popped up. True, he and his companions could likely slay a bodak quickly enough, but it was not a risk Leon was willing to gamble on.

"And those friends and tricks of yours, sir dwarf. How do they relate to this Shagarm that Elthel mentioned while we were on our way here? We passed a patrol of his men in the street not far away, and apparently Gunalar is a... well, I suppose its now was a former employee of sorts. I imagine there must be some difficulty merely running a shop with these thugs around... let alone one that has a door that leads to friends of people that were just ambushed by their agents?," Leon asked, finally looking away from the front of the shop to cast a curious look at Yanoriim, "understand that I do not ask out of any suspicion. Just that we seem to have made an enemy of someone that your friends consider foul and dangerous. I would be very curious to know what kind of blades I can expect to be brought to my neck."

"Anything you can tell us would be helpful," Leon said, his eyes flitting towards the door that Zilaster had disappeared into as though in silent reminder of a debt owed. He wasn't expecting to get much, but any information the dwarf had was likely to be far more recent that what Breck had been able to share, and knowing how far Shagarm's reach extended could be vital to future operations.

FORGOTTEN REALMS - Gambit of Scoundrels

Aselia. Vrain. Dead companions.

Roscela. A healer? Clearly someone they felt could help Zilaster.

Zilaster. Elthel. Representatives placed highly enough to negotiate on behalf of the others. The dwarf clearly defers to Zilaster.

Yanoriim. Grocer and business partner. Close friend too.

Leon smiled a bit as he continued to monitor the front of the shop. His mind noting the details down. It was far from proving anything was worth the trouble they were going through, but it was a good sign that they had at least made contact with -someone- outside of Shagarm's faction in the area. Their words made it aggravating to separate out the natural noises coming from outside that seeped in, but so far he could detect no clanking of weapons or chanting of spells. A good start, he supposed.

“What?” Yanoriim’s eyes widened, “Dead? How? Neither of them said anything about it!”

"I imagine having poison ravage your body tends to make one skip out on tiny details like the death of an ugly bastard like Gunalar. However, it would be most accurate to say that the rest of his skull is now as forked as his tongue, apparently," Leon said, his eyes still scanning the outside area, "though if you seek to hear the full story, credit goes to our dwarf companion there. It was actually a fantastic fight to be twenty or so feet away from at the time." The last part of his words were in a much lighter tone akin to a jest.

"You should tell him the tale, Ibdur," Leon said, keeping the lighter tone as he openly invited the dwarf priest to brag about his kill to a fellow dwarf.

"The woman, Elthel can confirm his words if you choose not to believe us of course," he muttered, his tone darkening again. He didn't like this situation. Who knows how many armed bodies could be hiding out behind that door they had disappeared into, and while the half elf Zilaster seemed genuinely grateful for their assistance, killing a thug like Gunalar was no guarantee they would not all find crossbow bolts in their backs for their efforts.

After all this was survival of the fittest in it's most urban version.

Umbra: The Abyssal Connection

3)About that, I want to follow the theme/esthetic you guys have...Where did you find those faceclaims?

@CavnderOHeart

Just a suggestion/advisement on how I got mine.
3. Google image search with keywords. I think mine was "male sniper starfinder" or something like that. To put an image into the reply box, you'll need the images picture address which can be copied by right clicking the picture or by clicking on the picture until it takes you to a page where it is only the picture. The code to insert the image is "[img|address here|/img]" just replace the straight lines with square brackets.

FORGOTTEN REALMS - Gambit of Scoundrels

“Be ready.”

"Always," Leon grumbled, looking up at the shop. Either their guides were crazy or the shop functioned as some kind of front or hidden safehouse. He tried to scan the storefront for hidden symbols or signs of a thieves' guild, but his knowledge of the secret language of thieves' was limited at best. Even if he had a mastery of the strange mix of slang and coded phrases, it was still possible that the Talons or whomever their guides were a part of didn't follow the common code anyways.

Come to think of it, it was rather odd that any shop, let alone one that specialized in food would be relatively undisturbed here. He shrugged, deciding that answers would come soon enough. As long as Iliskra watched the front, he would take care of their backs. Leon stepped inside but continued to keep an eye out towards the front to make sure the heavily armed and armored group they spotted didn't suddenly decide to backtrack.

Despite the dwarf shopkeep's concerned words and likely suspicion of Leon, Ibdur, and Iliskra, the priest continued to keep his focus towards the outside. Anything he said would likely be discarded by the shopkeep, and he was in no mood to play ten lies and a truth with the dwarf when Elthel and Zilaster could provide an easier introduction.

FORGOTTEN REALMS - Gambit of Scoundrels

Leon chuckled, moving back to his companions and shaking his head. He wondered what could be so important that the woman would risk her compatriots life just to try and stop the three of them from learning about it. Was this bunch of thieves as Gundalar had called them, so fragile that they feared three newcomers to the city?

"One of you two gets to do the negotiations next time," he said, nodding at Iliskra and Ibdur.

Doing a final pat down of the corpses, Leon checked his weapon and shield harness before setting off with the rest of the group. It would be slow going, since their guides were a very ill half-elf using another as a crutch and Leon moved to be the closest to them in case the woman decided she needed help after all. He trusted Iliskra and Ibdur to keep an eye on their surroundings, and in turn he kept an eye on the pair of half-elves as they walked. He offered no conversation, knowing that the strangers would need to keep their concentration on just moving along and his own companions would be focusing on the world around them for potential threats and markings.

Instead, he reached out towards the divine connection he felt with Mask, feeling the reassuring touch of the shadows on his body. Mask's reassurance was far from a guarantee of safety, but at least it promised that the Shadowlord's goals were being forwarded. Now he just had to hope that such goals included himself and his companions. It would be a shame after all to end up discarded like so many other assets.

Umbra: The Abyssal Connection

Val's nerves still felt like they were superheated, cooling down from the brief exposure to Mercy's essence that had so rapidly and completely changed his form. He was exhausted, in pain, and damn near the point where he might not be able to stay conscious. His rifle was still in the remains of his tent along with the rest of his weapons, and he wasn't even sure now how many different groups wanted a literal piece of him now.

"Weak... can't even handle an immature copy of my form..." Mercy's voice rumbled through his mind.

"Surrender your hearts. Or we open fire."

Val visibly twitched when the newcomers arrived on the scene, hands going for a weapon that wasn't there. Ravagers. Of course it would be the dusting Ravagers. With King Ravager himself in the lead.

"Getting shot or getting eaten... gosh, that's a hard choice to make," Val called out, rising again to his feet. He could feel Mercy chomping at the bit to be released again, but channeling the Wild's power himself again so soon after such a dangerously unbalanced transformation was far too likely to kill him.

Fortunately, he wasn't the only Wild-touched around.

The man that had attempted to apprehend him suddenly changed as well, bones cracking and body deforming as vines seemingly grew straight out of the their flesh. It was a horrific sight to see up close... and one hell of a distraction.

Val forced his body to move, at first acting like he had panicked and broken at the sight of the man's change, but throwing himself into a dive straight at the shredded remains of his tent. With this many Wilds in play, he knew he needed his Abyssal Energy Handgun. Normally, he might have been tempted to let Ghost Corp and the Ravagers play things out and then take out the winner, but even he wasn't stupid enough to run the risk of the Ravagers winning. Whatever Ghost Corp had in mind for him and the women from Umbra, it would almost certainly be better than what the Ravagers did with their usual captures.

Umbra: The Abyssal Connection

Ended up working a few double shifts, could barely keep my eyes open when i got home. But im working on a post right now

Umbra: The Abyssal Connection

Will post tonight!

FORGOTTEN REALMS - Gambit of Scoundrels

Leon glanced between his companions, idly wondering if they should just leave this pair of strangers to die. The woman clearly had no intention of cooperating, even with the life of her companion on the line and the slaughtered bodies of her enemies at her feet. It was tiresome and far too much effort for what seemed a small prize.

"It does say something about us a whole when the Tempuran Arahar is the most lawfully inclined of us," Leon said with a laugh, "but she is telling the truth. We met in Chandlerscross, and our skillset tends to work best with those who are not above operating against the law of the land to get the job done."

"You clearly don't seem to give a damn that we saved your lives. Fair enough. You didn't ask us to, and as I pointed out to the former Gundalar or whatever the hell his name was, lumping us in with you on his target list guaranteed his death. You also don't seem to care that my very expensive potion is the main reason your friend there is still breathing," Leon pointed out, then turned his eyes towards the man, "sorry friend, that it isn't doing more for you. I can't purge poison from your body, but I can stop it from hurting you for a handful of hours."

"So I'll throw that on the offering table to, after all I would hate to see my potion go to waste," Leon said, talking to them both, "help us find somewhere to rest up a bit and maybe some people that are willing to trade coin for a good set of skills. And it would be helpful if they were anti-... the fuck did the ugly guy say his boss's name was? Shaggy arms? Since we probably just axed our way out of his group. Literally."

"It's either help us and return the favor we've paid you, or go in peace and try to keep your friend alive on your own. But the next time I see you, I'll consider you fair targets just like we did Gundabar or whatever and his buddies, fair enough? Unless it's to pay me back for my potion, of course."

Screwing up the names was purposeful, the easy lie slipping between his lips reinforcing the idea that maybe their group had never heard of Shagarm. The offer of delaying the poison a few precious hours might also be enough to sway the woman if she really valued the life of the man next to her, which was a safe assumption since any other rogue would have left him in the dirt to die cleanly from the poison of Gunalar's blade. And then finally a threat to cap off the idea that refusing them will end up costing her in the future even more than losing her friend now.

FORGOTTEN REALMS - Gambit of Scoundrels

Leon stood slowly, turning to watch Ibdur finish off the half-orc in a spray of crimson and broken skull fragments. It was a bit much for his taste, but he had to hand it to the dwarf, the target was definitely dead. And likely wouldn't be coming back as anything either unless he had friends in very high places.

At least he may have some benefit in his death, Leon thought to himself, flicking the blood off of his weapon and running it along the coat of one of the fallen thugs for good measure. Sheathing the weapon, he kept his shield in his off hand as he walked back over to Ibdur and Iliskra.

"I trust you are well, Arahar," Leon asked, before turning his eyes on Iliskra, "it was a good counter ambush. You gave me the opening I needed." For once, he spoke the truth, outnumbered and outmaneuvered Leon and Ibdur might have been able to fight their way clear, but it was only because of Iliskra that the strangers lived through the experience. With that, he nodded calmly and walked past them and crouching down ten feet away from the strangers.

The woman was still very hostile, staring daggers at them as though she hadn't just seen these three kill four well armed enemy thugs in half a minute. The man seemed to recognize that Leon and his companions had little to gain by killing them, and was eagerly finishing off a very expensive cure potion that Leon had left for him.

"Now then, where were we?," Leon said